Astral Projection, Remote Viewing,Ley Lines

[Reverend DSD]

I'm still wating for some credible documentation that "astral projection has been scientifically proven".

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the article I was looking for, which doesn't surprise me because it was probably 3-4 years ago when I read it. Now most of the time when I read articles like the one I am talking about I am rather skeptical. But if I can remember correctly it was in a "Modern Science" magazine (or something of the sort) that I read when I went to the dentist's office. Now I have read a couple of books on astral projection and that is why the article caught my eye, I did check its credibility and it was a extremely good source. I will keep looking around because I swear I tore it out of the magazine when I left, so I am sure I must have it somewhere around here.

Sincerely,
Rev. DSD

 

[Rev Wayne]

Astral projection just may be at work among the people of the Ga tribe in Africa. Part of their metaphysical beliefs include a belief in the general human makeup to include "kla" and "susuma." The susuma is roughly parallel to the soul, and the kla comes across as either the mind or the "life-force." They have a belief that at night, there are some whose susuma roams about and finds sleeping victims, feeding on their kla. The beliefs, however, appear to stem more from superstitious fears than anything else.

 

[engiin]

No drugs are used in the rituals of Freemasonry--legitimate or regular Freemasonry, that is. .

"The ritual works mainly by question and answer, as in the Craft lectures, but one significant ritual practice deserves particular mention. At certain times the Brn. travel the reverse way of the Sun. This is correct, for they are then supposed to be in the region of the D--d, and popular tradition has always taught that the ghosts of men go reverse of the Sun. " pg.63


"The Cup of Rememberance in the U.S.A. is still drunk from an unusual receptable, and is emphatically the Cup of Mystical Death." pg.71

"Armed with the weapons of the Spirit we go forth on our spiritual journey, and after long and painful travels return victorious from our conflict with the spiritual foes of man." pg.72

Henry Adamson, M.A., in "The Muses Threnodie" written in 1636, says:-

"For we are Brethren of the Rosie Cross, We have the Mason's Word and Second Sight:"

These quotes come from the book "The Higher Degrees in Freemasonry," by J.S.M. Ward, ISBN 1-56459-422-X, also available in HTML format online
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ward_HD_handbook.html

Now this "Second Sight" is very suggestive of astral viewing, and the ritual drinking something in a cup that makes one remember, suggests the idea of recall of the spirit, like in astral travel, where the physical body undergoes that mystical death (just paralized, not really dead), allowing the spirit (or ghost) of man to wander around in the abode of the dead (i.e. the astral world). These things are met in the higher degrees of Freemasonry, above the usual 3*, but the question is, what is in that "Cup of Rememberance"? What's the drink? I think that's where people get the idea of there being some mysterious drug, or herb, or such, that when drunk puts the candidate into the altered state of consciousness where he can then walk in spirit. Otherwise, why is there this symbolism in Freemasonry, of walking around in the realm of the dead, drinking a cup of rememberance, and obtaining some special second sight?

 

[DCP 32° K.T]

...J.S.M. Ward...

Whenever I see that name, I think "irregular Mason" and "crackpot." Both claims be true.

 

[engiin]

Whenever I see that name, I think "irregular Mason" and "crackpot." Both claims be true.

Well, I don't know the fellow. I only read his book. But, he does include that mysterious Key PI=355/113 in his printed work, indicating that it's connected somehow with the 30th degree of masonry, you know, the one where the jewel is the cross above a crown on a double eagle holding a sword in their talons. Whoever these guys are, I think they know something, because their key is everywhere to be found by those who care to look. And if this "irregular" Ward, knows enough to describe this, then that gives his other ideas some credit in my eyes.[ I have no idea what irregular means, and how it's different from regular; besides, I'm more interested in true or false, whether it's a regular truth or an irregular truth is not really the point]

 

[Rev Wayne]

I have no idea what irregular means, and how it's different from regular; besides, I'm more interested in true or false, whether it's a regular truth or an irregular truth is not really the point]

That's no surprise, since your irregular posts have given us ample evidence that you really have no idea what anything else means, either.

The easiest way to put it, if he is a member of an irregular group, he ain't no Mason, and nothing he says about Freemasonry can be considered true--regular truth or otherwise.

 

[DCP 32° K.T]

...the 30th degree of masonry, you know, the one where the jewel is the cross above a crown on a double eagle holding a sword in their talons.

Actually, I just looked at the jewel for the 30th Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction. The jewel has no crown on it at all. The Cordon, however, does have a an embroidered double-headed eagle with a crown. Just FYI.

Whoever these guys are, I think they know something, because their key is everywhere to be found by those who care to look. And if this "irregular" Ward, knows enough to describe this, then that gives his other ideas some credit in my eyes.

You certainly are entitled to your opinion with respect to what you interpret as truth. Certainly what is truth to one will not be truth for another. If you really want to get a good feel for what Ward was about, you will need to read more than one online text of his work. I have read many of his works, and they have led me to the conclusion that he is unreliable as a source, often making things up from whole cloth. Masonic reviewers of his work also append comments like "must be read with caution" to their reviews of his work. Having read a number of his works and deeming most of them unworthy a place on by bookshelves, I have come to the conclusion that he is unreliable.

That is not to say that everything he writes is untrue or erroneous. I merely give counsel to be wary and sourcecheck everything if you plan to use him as a reference to truth. In short, I give the same advice masonic reviewers of his work have given. Read his works with caution.

[ I have no idea what irregular means, and how it's different from regular; besides, I'm more interested in true or false, whether it's a regular truth or an irregular truth is not really the point]

Irregular and regular carry a wide range of meanings and connotations. But, the key to remember is that anything an irregular Mason says about Freemasonry should be taken with a grain of salt and with caution, as it may or may not actually represent the Fraternity in reality.

Now, while on this point, I cannot now seem to find my biographical material on Ward at the moment, though I am searching for it. It is possible that I may have confused him with Yarker but Ward's practices point to irregularity, as do his connections with Gerald Gardner and OTO. Additionally, I have read a number of Ward's works and have found many fanciful interpretations. Additionally, he has in past been referred to by some as "the scholar who the builders rejected." I guess all I am saying is: "Use his works with caution."

 

[engiin]

That's no surprise, since your irregular posts have given us ample evidence that you really have no idea what anything else means, either.

My post are neither irregular nor regular, having never been initiated into that order (I guess I didn't make that clear enough). They are simply what I see. The truths are clearly evident to those that can see them. I only point the way, giving hints and clues, in much the same way I received lots of hints and clues from reading and looking here and there myself.

The easiest way to put it, if he is a member of an irregular group, he ain't no Mason, and nothing he says about Freemasonry can be considered true--regular truth or otherwise.

Rev Wayne, your world seems to me to be entirely black and white. I live in a world with many colors, and shades of color too. I would suspect that many regular masons also say things that are not true, given that they are like most other men.

 

[engiin]

Now, while on this point, I cannot now seem to find my biographical material on Ward at the moment, though I am searching for it. It is possible that I may have confused him with Yarker but Ward's practices point to irregularity, as do his connections with Gerald Gardner and OTO. Additionally, I have read a number of Ward's works and have found many fanciful interpretations. I guess all I am waying is: "Use his works with caution."

Well, I wasn't interested in Ward's bio before. But, hearing you say he's "irregular" peaked my interest. [since I've mostly read things from regular masons] Looking around the internet, I found a bit of bio on him here,

http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/obscure2/ward.html

His full name is "John Sebastian Marlowe Ward"

He was initiated into the regular Freemasonic

"Isaac Newton University Lodge while a student at Cambridge".

That's news to me. The fact that he went to Camgridge University suggests to me he's no fool (at least no ordinary fool). It takes alot of hard work and talent to get into Cambridge. So, Ward had to be pretty smart (academically, at any rate; there are different kinds of smarts; maybe he wasn't so politically smart, giving away secrets of the Fraternity, but otherwise there's nothing to suggest he's incompetent or unqualified to report on the matters; put it this way, given a choice between Rev Wayne and J.S.M. Ward, I'd take Ward's word any day just from his obvious credentials)

That bio says Ward was consecrated an irregular Bishop after he became a regular mason. So, I can understand the confusion. Ward was irregular to the church, but not irregular to masonry.

What I find most interesting from that site, is Ward's interest in Witchcraft (that was the subject of another thread around here somewhere, I wish I'd found this information earlier). It seems Ward had preserved a 'witches cottege' which became the coven house for the Wicca religion later on. Ward himself used his powers as Bishop to consecrate the famous Gerald Gardner who went on to become the founder of modern Witchcraft introducing the term Wicca for it, and obtaining the 'witches cottege' from Ward to hold his witches coven (fascinating stuff). Perhaps the most telling thing there is that Witchcraft was illegal in Britain until 1951, and yet these guys were able to go around the law and do their own thing without worry. Hmm...powerful connections I guess.

 

[engiin]

Irregular and regular carry a wide range of meanings and connotations. But, the key to remember is that anything an irregular Mason says about Freemasonry should be taken with a grain of salt and with caution, as it may or may not actually represent the Fraternity in reality.

I just found this interesting quote from Pike;

"The Blue Degrees are but the court of portico(porch) of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally mislead by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine that he understands them....their true explication is reserved for the Adept, the Princes of Masonry." (32nd & 33rd degrees)

General Albert Pike wrote those words in a work called: Morals and Dogma in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1871.
[end quote]

found here: http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Freemasonry.htm

I wonder who has the correct interpretation of anything masonic?

 

[Rev Wayne]

Ward was irregular to the church, but not irregular to masonry.

Maybe if you spent more time reading the websites you jump around to for out-of-context quotes, you wouldn't make such careless statements. Everything on the website you just cited from indicates that Ward was quite the fly in the ointment for Freemasonry, as well as for anything else he came in contact with. Quite the unregulated and undisciplined man, unfortunately.

In his writings Ward shows himself to be a rather controversial and relatively progressive polemicist, asserting, against the view of most Masons (and to the delight of some of their Christian critics), that Freemasonry was a religion (of sorts). Ward also attacked the effort, in the years following the 1914-1918 war, to raise a million pounds to build a new Freemasons Hall to serve as a monument to those bretheren who had lost their lives in the fighting. In particular he condemned the awarding of jewels to the most generous (read welthiest) donors. Ward also attacked the decision of Grand Lodge to exclude German members from lodges under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England - a symptom of the jingoistic hysteria brought on by the war. On other issues Ward was equally progressive for his time, advocating admitting women into Freemasonry for example. His liberalism had its limits however; while accepting Asians had a place in Freemasonry, Ward’s prejudice towards black Africans was unrelenting. . . .



Having established his reputation as a writer Ward began to claim that he was receiving visions warning him of the second coming of Christ. This unorthodox behaviour would eventually, in the 1940’s, get Ward ex-communicated from the Church of England. By then however he was already be active in the Old Catholic movement. The Old Catholics originated with a dispute inside the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands. This began in the 17th century as a result of the allegedly heretical writings of one Cornelias Jansen and finally ended with the permanent separation of many Dutch Catholics in the 19th century following the Pope’s declaration of infallibility. . . .


On the basis of his visions and the impending return of Christ, in the mid-1930’s Ward founded a lay order known as the Confraternity of Christ the King. . . .

Complementing his role as herald for the second coming and leader of a religious order, Ward sought, and received the title of bishop, not once but three times over. The sheer number of consecrations given by independent bishops and some of the unlikely people who were able to legitimately claim to have received consecrations caused a degree of scepticism amongst those they were seeking to impress. To overcome this problem a concept of multiple consecrations was divised whereby the same person could be consecrated several times, each time through a different line of succession thus strengthening their credentials. Soon bishops from different lineages were exchanging consecrations in order to shore up each others’ claims to apostolic succession.

Well, let's see, he didn't see eye to eye with Freemasons, nor with the Church of England, joined a group of independents who banded together to consecrate each other and shore up each other's credentials, eventually founding his own group when he couldn't get along with anybody else.

Be honest about it, the guy was not representative of Christianity, nor of Freemasonry. It would be the same if a non-Christian were to pick Fred Phelps as a representative individual of what Christianity is all about.

Regular or irregular, you picked the wrong guy to try to paint a picture of Freemasonry--and you got your information from a website that you clearly knew does not even itself support the picture you just tried to draw.

So then, exactly what are you representative of? That has been the muddiest picture since you've been around here.

 

[engiin]

Everything on the website you just cited from indicates that Ward was quite the fly in the ointment for Freemasonry, as well as for anything else he came in contact with. Quite the unregulated and undisciplined man, unfortunately.

"Unregulated and undisciplined" ? Or, "Uncontrollable and Creative"? Seems to me that Freemasons were unhappy with Ward because he didn't toe the line. He didn't keep the silence, the way you're supposed to. He wasn't satisfied with the status quo and wanted to revise things. That could make him seem like a trouble maker to the establishment, for sure. Given that he's from Cambridge, I can understand. He was just too bright. I just saw this move Mozart the other night again, and I recall how "unregulated and undisciplined" Mozart was in the opinion of everyone around. But, that didn't detract from what he had to say. His music was brilliant.

Regular or irregular, you picked the wrong guy to try to paint a picture of Freemasonry--and you got your information from a website that you clearly knew does not even itself support the picture you just tried to draw.

I picked a guy who had the guts to say something. He's the right type of guy. He was a regular mason, he didn't demit from masonry, and masonry didn't kick him out. He clearly liked masonry, enjoyed the practice, wanted others to know about it, and even wanted to revise things, add his own rituals, etc..This is no anti-mason here. He is the real deal. Masons are just upset that he spoke too much, and probably wrote things that they thought shouldn't be written down. He was providing hints of interpretations of higher degrees where the standard practice in masonry was just to show the symbols. So, of course, he was in conflict with the establishment. And, of course, masons have to discredit some of what he says.

So then, exactly what are you representative of? That has been the muddiest picture since you've been around here.

What do I represent? I guess the best answer would be 'curiosity.' I have an uncanny habit of finding out things.

 

[DCP 32° K.T]

..."The Cup of Rememberance in the U.S.A. is still drunk from an unusual receptable, and is emphatically the Cup of Mystical Death." pg.71...

Now this "Second Sight" is very suggestive of astral viewing, and the ritual drinking something in a cup that makes one remember, suggests the idea of recall of the spirit, like in astral travel, where the physical body undergoes that mystical death (just paralized, not really dead), allowing the spirit (or ghost) of man to wander around in the abode of the dead (i.e. the astral world). These things are met in the higher degrees of Freemasonry, above the usual 3*, but the question is, what is in that "Cup of Rememberance"? What's the drink?

I know exactly what it is to which Ward refers. Of course, I do not recall it being called the cup of remembrance (a quick check of the rituals I have also did not turn up the term). In America, there are five libations (actually they are a sort of toasts in regular wine glasses, four with water and wine mixed), each one to the memory of specifically named individuals. The fifth libation certainly is drunk from an unusual receptacle and is symbolic of death and mortality, the cup from which all must drink. In this cup is pure wine, mingled with nothing else. It always must be pure, unmingled wine and there can be no exceptions. Absolutely NO drugs of any kind are placed therein.

There is no 'second sight' in the Templar Degree and no mention of such a thing. There is no astroprojection, no recall of the spirit, no wandering of the spirit in the realm of the dead, and these quaint items you describe certainly aren't met with in any Degree of the York Rite of which I am aware--and I have participated in all the Degrees of the York Rite, all fourteen of them (yes, there are fourteen, of which fact many are unaware), as well as participating in conferring some of these Degrees upon candidates. I have seen no such thing in the Scottish Rite, either, and I participate in conferring those rituals upon candidates at least twice yearly, if not three to four times a month when things get busy. If such things as you describe were there and were there drugs used, I would know of them. It all just ain't there, my friend.

I think that's where people get the idea of there being some mysterious drug, or herb, or such, that when drunk puts the candidate into the altered state of consciousness where he can then walk in spirit. Otherwise, why is there this symbolism in Freemasonry, of walking around in the realm of the dead, drinking a cup of rememberance, and obtaining some special second sight?

There is no altered state of consciousness where anyone walks in spirit. No drug, herb, or anything else but pure wine is used in the ritual. There is no cup of remembrance in the Templar Ritual I know but there are 'toasts' to the remembrance of certain named individuals. There is no second sight in the Degrees of the York or Scottish Rites, nor any mention of such a thing in those rituals. Anyone who claims such is not playing with a full deck. Oh, wait! That would include Ward, who went off the deep end and got himself into odds with both the Church and the Fraternity over his claims. There is no explanation of any walking around in the realm of the dead in the rituals of the High Degrees, drinking from the cup of rememberance, or obtaining some special second sight. If there were any references to such, I would be aware of them.

For the record, in the Commandery of Knights Templar, I serve as Generalissimo, which is the Officer's Station 'second from the top', and my duty is "to assist the Commander in the duties of his office and in his absence to preside." What you are bringing up is a key point in reminding those who would rely upon Ward for their understanding of the Fraternity will run into things cut from whole cloth. Not even the old rituals I have (1783, 1825, 1860, 1873, 1975, etc.) contain such information as that which I should be able to find if it's there. As Masonic reviewers have stated about many of the works written by 'the scholar rejected by the builders', read his works with caution. Nothing reinforces that point better than what you have posted.

 

[Rev Wayne]

I have an uncanny habit of finding out things.

And you have an uncanny definition for "making things up." Or should I say, "uncontrolled creativity."

 

[DCP 32° K.T]

...maybe he wasn't so politically smart, giving away secrets of the Fraternity, but otherwise there's nothing to suggest he's incompetent or unqualified to report on the matters; put it this way, given a choice between Rev Wayne and J.S.M. Ward, I'd take Ward's word any day just from his obvious credentials)...

Take Ward's word without caution and be misled. It's your choice. Looks like you are pretty far afield already. There are no secrets of masonry that Ward had given away. Had he done so, the highest penalty to be invoked upon a Mason would have been in order. The charge? Unlawful Revelation. This charge is punishable by expulsion from the Fraternity. There are no exceptions and I know of no Masonic charges brought against Ward for such a thing.

...Perhaps the most telling thing there is that Witchcraft was illegal in Britain until 1951, and yet these guys were able to go around the law and do their own thing without worry. Hmm...powerful connections I guess.

Perhaps you ought to read a little further into the background of these men, particularly Gardner. They kept it all a secret. Had Ward told his regular Lodge brothers what he was doing, he would have been charged with unmasonic conduct and the requisite Masonic penalties affixed. No "powerful connections" there; just succumbing to conspiracist mindspeak.

 

[DCP 32° K.T]

I just found this interesting quote from Pike;

...
"The Blue Degrees are but the court of portico(porch) of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally mislead by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine that he understands them....their true explication is reserved for the Adept, the Princes of Masonry." (32nd & 33rd degrees)

General Albert Pike wrote those words in a work called: Morals and Dogma in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1871.
...

Further down on the web page, the author claims that Morals and Dogma goes all the way to the 33°, a false claim that demonstrates that the author certainly could not have read the book he allegedly cites on the page. The above quote contains a few words not in the original text, or in any other edition for that matter, aside from mispellings, and the ellipses are misused to indicate text left out when there really is no text left out. Parenthetical material is added. Thus, this text appears to be a quote recycled from some other source of misinformation that leaves out the context of the remarks that are cited. Further, the parenthetical remarks above that the princes and adepts of Masonry were the 32° and 33° Masons are not found in the original and fly in the face of the context. Consider also that those who receive the 28° receive the Degree entitled Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept. Who, then, are the princes and adepts?



That said, there is other information that is left out for the reader of your quote, context of which the reader will be unaware because the reader may not have consulted the context and not actually read the works of Pike or seen the rituals, the full lectures of which are published in Morals and Dogma. Without that crucial context, misunderstandings galore can abound. Pike did believe that there was intentional 'deception' of Initiates in the Blue Degrees. He believed that to be the only logical explanation for what he regarded as trite and inane interpretations of the symbols offered in the rituals of Symbolic Masonry. However, the context of Pike's works shows that this was NOT a current practice in his day and says nothing of current practice in our day. Rather, the work of 'deception' was carried out and worked into the Degrees by what Pike considered to be the creators of the Degrees in order to conceal the true meaning of the symbols, and it falls to the Adepts to find and understand them. Pike was not saying that Masons of the High Degrees are to deceive those of the Blue Degrees, as critics of Masonry and of Pike make him out to claim. Pike continues on the same page:

The whole body of the Royal and Sacerdotal Art was hidden so carefully, centuries since, in the High Degrees, as that it is even yet impossible to solve many of the enigmas which they contain. It is well enough for the mass of those called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees; and whoso attempts to undeceive them will labor in vain, and without any true reward violate his obligations as an Adept. Masonry is the veritable Sphinx, buried to the head in the sands heaped round it by the ages....

The doctrines of the Chiefs would, if expounded to the masses, have seemd to them the babblings of folly. The symbols of the wise are the idols of the vulgar, or else as meaningless as the hieroglyphics of Egypt to the nomadic Arabs. There must always be a common-place interpretation for the mass of Initiates, of the symbols that are eloquent to the Adepts. (Morals and Dogma, 819)

​

Consider also the direct teaching of Pike in the preceding context:

Truth, a Mason is early told, is a Divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue; and frankness, reliability, sincerity, straightforwardness, plain-dealing, are but different modes in which Truth develops itself. The dead, the absent, the innocent, and those who trust him, no Mason will deceive willingly. (Morals and Dogma, 184)


​

But, with this said, do you really think those who practiced the Blue Degrees of the Scottish Rite would be unaware of what was said by Pike? Consider the following from the ritual of the Blue Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite:

You must study, my Brother, be patient, and wait.


Yet we shall not entirely refuse to enlighten you; by hints, which, if you are an apt disciple of the Sages, you may understand. Meanwhile, we again refer you to the Volume of Morals and Dogma....

My Brother, for the present your instruction as an Apprentice is about to end. In addition to that which you will find in the Volume of Morals and Dogma, you may obtain the monitorial instruction in the Liturgy published for use of the Craft in the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.

​

Yep, there sure is a conspiracy of the members of the High Degrees that hides everything from the Blue Degrees. Such measures to hide the truth from Masonry's members!

found here: http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/Freemasonry.htm...

Now, there's an accurate website, if I ever saw one--NOT! Many errors of fact and demonstrable lack of understanding there but who's counting? And, you just demonstrated that you indeed are getting much of your information from conspiracists, misinformation that clouds judgment rather than bringing things out of the mist and into the light.

 

[Andrew McIntosh]

Hi all,

Have been reading through all the posts and thought the following would be useful.

A close friend of mine was a leader in the Inner Peace Movement where he was taught ESP, telepathy, divination, mediumship, reincarnation, as well as astral travel. On one out of body trip he felt as though he were dying, and in another dimension, yet still aware of beings surrounding him in a place of darkness. While in this state Paul cried out to return to the love in his wife's eyes and following a conversation with an ethereal voice was returned to his "natural" surroundings. Within a couple of days of this experience he was in a Psychiatric Hospital. Paul's return to sanity came after a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ in the Psychiatric Hospital, and some rather necessary deliverance from the demonic forces that he had opened himself up to. His book "Escape from New Age deception" is obtainable from Bill Subritzky's website if anyone wants to check out his story further.

Astral projection is an occultic practice. A person who has been involved with this practice needs to fully renounce their involvement in it.

There are of course situtations like at the operating table where people having a near death experience often see themselves looking down from above etc. I do not believe that this situation is occultic. The person may have been near death, and their soul/spirit was getting ready to leave!

I was interested in the comments about Freemasonry as I know a man who was a Masonic prodigy in New Zealand. Over fourteen years he was taken right through every degree up to the 30th of Scottish Freemasonry, as well as right through the Knights Templar degrees. Upon his joining the World Council of Freemasonry he was conferred the title "Prince of darkness".

Manly P. Hall who went on to become a 33rd degree F.M. wrote in The lost keys of Freemasonry, p19 "The Masonic order is not a mere social organisation, but is composed of all those who have banded themselves together to learn and apply the principles of mysticism and the occult rites."

Manley P. Hall, was eulogized by the Scottish Rite Journal as the fraternity's greatest philosopher.

If we take Albert Pike in context from Morals & Dogma p741,744. "Masonry is a search after Light. That search leads us directly back, as you see, to the Kabbalah...All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabbalah and return to it...all the Masonic associations owe to it their secrets and their Symbols...On is filled with admiration. on penetrating into the Sanctuary of the Kabbalah, at seeing a doctrine, so simple, and at the same time so absolute."

Manly Hall in "Lectures on Ancient Philosophy" states

"Much of the writings of Albert Pike are extracted from the books of the French magician, Eliphas Levi, one of the greatest transcendentalists of modern times. Levi was an occultist, a metaphysician, a Platonic philosopher, who by the rituals of magic invoked even the spirit of Apollonius of Tyana, and yet Pike has inserted in his Morals and Dogma whole pages, and even chapters, practically verbatim."

Even the shape of the Masonic logo, the square and compass, comes straight from these occult doctrines.

In his book on the Kabala, Mason Eliphas Levi reveals the diagrammatic overview of its layers of truth. Called the "General Plan of Kabalistic Doctrine, it is carefully arranged as one tapered "V" underneath another inverted, tapered "V". Right in the middle is a point within a circle, with the god of the Kabala. Exactly the same arrangement as the Masonic square and compass with it's "G" representing God. (Levi, The History of Magic p454). I don't think this is taught in the lower portico's of the Blue Lodge?

It should come as no surprise that the Kabala is the common link woven in and out of many secretive and symbolic religions.

Perkins L, The Meaning of Masonry, Exposition Press, New York encourages Masonic brethren to "Go to the library and ask for books on any of the following topics: Ancient Wisdom, Ancient Mystery Schools; Ancient Masters; Manes and Manicheans; The Magi; The Gnostics; Hermes, Pythagoras or Plato; the Essenes; The Medieval Alchemists; De Molay and the Templars; Medieval and Modern Rosicrucianism; The Yoga Schools." Ref p127.

Much of the information presented can be credited to "Blinded by the Lie" by Lyndon Ellis. I have only presented a small chunk, and it contains first hand evidence from 50 Masons, Witches and Occultists.

I have another posting covering Freemasonry under another thread that you are welcome to search out and read further if this issue is of interest to you.

In closing both astral projection and F.M. are occultic, which means they are sinful, and as Christians we should not participate in the works of darkness.

God Bless, Andrew