Secrets of the U.S. Great Seal: The Lost Symbol

by Moe | Jun 20, 2018 | Freemasonry, Meaning of Symbols

The act of U.S. Congress of the old Confederation, passed June 14, 1777. declared the inaugurating the stars and stripes, “That the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” (United States Congressional serial set, Volume 1276)

Approximately 5 years later it was on this day for the summer solstice, June 20, 1782, when Congress officially adopted the secret design for the U.S. Great Seal by Irishman, Charles Thomson. Over the next five years, more secret symbols were placed in the design such as an olive branch representing peace was placed in the ‘right talon’ (not a claw) of the Phoenix and a bundle of 13 arrows in the ‘left talon’ representing war.

Over the head of the Phoenix, there appear the 13 stars that are arranged in rows of 1-4-3-4-1, forming a six-pointed star. This original design was officially adopted as the National Seal in 1787.

Please note, the placement of these symbols in the talons is important.

The question we must all ask, what do these secret symbols mean and what was this a “new constellation” the Congress was speaking of?

In the 1820 passports prepared by U.S Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, we can find the Phoenix of Adams and the 13 stars were arranged in the form of a lyre. We may find some clues like the Phoenix of Adams held in its beak the constellation Lyra. (representing a new constellation)

The US Seal which now has the alleged shield looks almost exactly the same as the constellation Lyra minus the “Missing Symbol” – The Lyre.

This event is described in detail in the Magazine of American History, Volume 19;

John Adams, subsequently President of the United States, the father of John Quincy Adams, who was also a President of the United States, was chairman or president of the Board of War in 1777. In possession of his family, as I was informed by his grandson, the Hon. Charles Francis Adams, is an heirloom, a seal representing an eagle holding in his beak the lyre of Orpheus, an old constellation of thirteen stars, these stars radiating into a circle of thirteen stars, with the motto;

“Nunc sidera ducit, “Now it leads the stars,” quoted from the description of the lyre of Orpheus in the Astronomicon of Manilius.”

Through the harmony of his lyre Orpheus is represented as having silenced the vigilance of the regions of Pluto, Hades, or theShades, returned to earth, and led trees and rocks, vivified by the magic of his lyre, to follow where he led. Deified as a constellation of thirteen stars, his lyre was said to lead these celestial bodies, as it had silenced those of Hades and led the animate and inanimate bodies terrestrial, and whirls the immense orb of the world in its revolutions.”

Here is another old image of the Phoenix with Lyre from an old U.S. passport from the 1800’s. It is unmistakable.

If you think I might be mistaken, look for the Double stars in Lyra. Epsilon forms one corner of a roughly equilateral triangle with Vega and Lyra. The Summer Triangle is a large star pattern made of 3 bright stars in 3 separate constellations. Look for it ascending in the east on in the evening of June.(EarthSky)

What are the origins of the symbols on the U.S. Great Seal?

If we go back in time to the birth of Western Civilization, we will find that the symbol of the Lyre was the Ancient national symbol of the Cretans.

The first Lyra was said to be modeled after a bow and arrow which makes sense since the Cretans were well known as the world’s most famous Archers. It was the most popular musical instrument on the island of Crete and in the world for thousands of years.

Diodorus Siculus said the Lyra invented on the Mediterranean island of Crete. History later validates this claim by Siculus with the earliest picture of a lyre with seven strings that appears in the famous sarcophagus of Hagia Triada (a Minoan settlement in Crete), which was used during the Mycenaean occupation of Crete (1400 BC).

The Cretans (Phoenicians, Ionians, Argives, and Minoans) also had laws concerning music, and for many ages, they played the harp for their kings, queens, healing, entertainment, and for their military marches. For this divine reason, the harp would become one of the main symbols for these people who we know of by the names of the Cretans, Phoenicians, Ionians, Minoans, Arcadians, Atlanteans, Persians, Greek Hellenes, Hebrews, Scythians, Saxons, Angles, Irish, Picts, and Celts.

They would leave their symbols such as the Lyre forever all over the globe in the lands they had conquered, including Ireland and America.

One of the founders of the ancient Gnostic mysteries of Orphism, and possibly the mythical Orpheus himself was said to be a Cretan man named Epimenides Gnosis (Greek: Ἐπιμενίδης), whose tattooed body and skin were held venerable by the ancient Spartans because it was said to reveal “secret things.” Epimenides had lived in the 7th century B.C. and was born in the city of Gnosis, which today is called the city of Knossos.

Plutarch tells us that Epimenides was almost like a messiah to the Greeks at the time, because he had purified Athens and the only reward he would accept was a branch of the sacred olive, and a promise of perpetual friendship between Athens and Knossos. Plutarch had written;

“Epimenides purified Athens after the pollution brought by the Alcmeonidae, and that the seer’s expertise in sacrifices and reform of funeral practices were of great help to Solon in his reform of the Athenian state. The only reward he would accept was a branch of the sacred olive, and a promise of perpetual friendship between Athens and Knossos (Plutarch, Life of Solon, 12; Aristotle, Ath. Pol. 1).”

It was Orpheus’s lyre that was triumphant over the forests and deserts, the deities, and the Furies. Just like Epimenides was triumphant over the plague in Athens.

Here is an old image of Orpheus with his Lye and what looks like a Phoenix in the upper left corner.

For his Great Work, Epimenides would be immortalized in the Heavens as the Thirteen Stars of Orpheus. The Lyre of Orpheus, received into the heavens after his death.

The legend of Lyra Constellation tells the story of Orpheus, who was given a harp by the god Apollo. Lyra constellation lies in the northern sky, which is best seen in June through October in the northern hemisphere and is at its highest in the midnight sky in the months around June. It is best known for its brightest star, Vega and also Arcturus.

This is where we get the story of the Cretan Gnostic Princess and Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, which is an almost perfect semi-circle of stars. Ariadne was immortalized in the halls of Gnosis and Freemasonry for helping her lover, Theseus who was the mythical founder-king of Athens to conquer the Minotaur and deliver him out of the Labyrinth by the means of a Thread.

For doing so, she was also known as the “Mistress of the Labyrinth“,  As noted on the Linear B inscription from Knossos, “to all the gods, honey… to the mistress of the labyrinth honey.”

To put another Masonic plot on this story, we find that Ariadne had acquired the assistance of one of the first known Freemasons in history, Daedalus. He is one of the most famous artists and builders of Crete that were the forerunners to the Grecian building communities and Roman Collegia. The very same ancient guilds which modern Freemasonry descends.

Later Ariadne was immortalized in the heavens by being assigned a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere of seven stars called, Corona Borealis which in classical mythology signifies the crown given by the god Dionysus to the Gnostic princess Ariadne and set by him in the heavens. Its brightest stars form a semicircular arc. Its Latin name, inspired by its shape, means “northern crown”.

So, we have the Lyre, 13 Stars of Orpheus and Olive Branch as verifiable symbols originating with the Ancient Gnostics and First Freemasons in Crete. That is interesting given the fact that the Masons helped found the United States of America and I believe the first Freemasons hail from Crete.

Conicidence or Divine Providence?

What does a ‘Great Seal’ mean?

The meaning of the word ‘seal’, when used in the context of a national symbol such as the Great Seal of the United States, would mean “a symbol and or thing regarded as a legal confirmation or guarantee of something or authenticity.” Therefore, we can say it is a “legal seal” governed by law.

With that said, when a country such as the U.S.A decides to “create a legal seal”, they must do so under the “ancient international laws of heraldry.” We can find that the meaning of the word heraldry is derived from the word ‘herald’, which means, “an official messenger bringing news; a person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen.”

Heraldry means the practice of devising, granting, displaying, describing, and recording coats of arms and heraldic badges. In each country in the world, you will find symbols that represent, and/or as a form of identification of the regime in control of the land and or a nation.

This is why the Chinese teacher, politician, and philosopher, Confucious once famously said, “Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.”

However, I would respectfully disagree with the Chinese philosopher because the facts are symbols, seals, and coats of arms are the world’s most important “legal symbols” that have been used since Ancient Egypt and the land of the Hittites. The Egyptians and Hittites adopted their own unique “ideograms” or symbols to reflect their particular races, ideologies, religions, laws, Gods and or spirits they associated themselves with.

As time went on, the inheritors of these races absorbed much of their culture and DNA into the very fabric of their own societies such as the Ethiopians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans who all continue this tradition of heraldry till this very day.

Now that we know that our national seal is a “legal symbol that identifies the regime in control of our nation,” and we know that this regime “Trusts in God,” we can then study the symbols contained in the seal to discover not only what they mean, but what they represent and who or what “regime is in control of our nation”

We can find the importance of seals in the New Testament Bible which in the West is our Divine and Sacred Laws for Christians. The bible is called the New Testament because it is a legal document much like a will or testament is today which means “a person, the testator, expresses their wishes as to how their property is to be distributed at death, and names one or more persons, the executor, to manage the estate until its final distribution.”

For example, in the Book of Numbers, the children of Israel were commanded to gather beneath these emblems and declare their pedigrees ie: races for it is said in 2 Timothy 2:19; “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal – The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

Jesus was from the Tribe of Judah (Idea) whose main symbol of heraldry was the lion and we later find the lions, well actually what are called in French “Passant Gardant” with William the Conqueror  (King of England),” in which all American presidents are said to be descended from. Our first President who was also a Freemason, George Washington is the 19th Great-grandson to William the Conqueror.

The Lion and leopard or the Lion ‘passant gardant’ which are now the symbols of the royal majesty in the coat of arms of Wales, England, and Estonia are passant gardant. In French blazon this charge is called a léopard; a lion rampant gardant is a léopard lionné and a lion passant with his head in profile is a lion léopardé.

FIAT LUX! Let us all open our Holy Bible to the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes and make sure both points of the compass are elevated above the square with the “G” in the ‘middle.’

The lion has always been the main symbol of the Gnostic mysteries. 33rd degree Freemason and author, Manly P. Hall had written in The Lost Keys of Freemasonry;’

“The picture shows how the grip of the Lion’s Paw was given in the Pyramid Mysteries. The priest wore over his head the mask of a lion. By this grip, the spirit in man, long buried in the sepulcher of substance, is raised to life, and the candidate goes forth as a builder entitled to the wages of an initiate.”

Today, we find the “Eagle (ie: Phoenix) of the Caesars” as evidence of the antiquity of heraldry itself with the National Symbol of several countries all around the world representing their noble status and descent.

Yes, including the United States of America…

Hence, the official motto of the United States of America – “In God We Trust.”

Let me please add that when we say the “Eagle (ie: Phoenix) of the Caesars”,  we mean “Julius and Augustus Caesar.”  Julius Caesar was known as “Divus Iulius” (Latin for “Julius is God”), and his son Augustus would be given the title of Divi Filius (Latin for the “Son of a God”).

In Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: Some Short Sketches Among the Gnostics, George Robert Mead had written about the event beautifully, “As the honorific inscriptions said of the birthday of the Roman Emperor Augustus, so said after them all Christians of the natal day of Jesus.”

Later, Adam Weishaupt, of the Bavarian Illuminati, describes Caesar’s regime and their methods of Disorder;

“Jesus of Nazareth, the Grand Master of our order, appeared at a time when the world was in the utmost Disorder, and among a people who for ages had groaned under the yolk of Bondage. He taught them the lessons of reason. To be more effective, he took the aid of Religion–of opinions which were current–and in a very clever manner, he combined his secret doctrines with the popular religion, and with the customs which lay to his hand.”

As the Masons say, ‘ORDO AB CHAO.’ 😉

Moe

Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.

www.gnosticwarrior.com

Secrets of the U.S. Great Seal: The Royal Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

by Moe | Jun 20, 2018 | Freemasonry, Meaning of Symbols

On the 4th of July, 1776, immediately after the declaration of independence, the “Continental Congress” appointed Freemasons Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and a mysterious man from Geneva Spain with a French name, Pierre Du Simitiere as artist and consultant to a committee to prepare a device for a Great Seal of the United States.

The word continental means “coming from or characteristic of mainland Europe or an inhabitant of mainland Europe” and that is exactly who this Continental Congress was. Also, an interesting note is that Pierre’s last name, Du Simitiere is not a common surname whatsoever, in fact, you will not find it anywhere!

Simitiere is derived from the French cimetière and Latin word cimeterium. In English this is “cemetary,” which originally meant “an area of asylum around the church.” The meaning was said to be passed from church Latin into French.

The Masonic committee lead by the famous Freemasons and this mysterious man had submitted their design which was said to be a mixture of political and religious images on the 10th of August 1776.

The Seal they proposed contained the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the harp of Ireland, the fleur-de-lys of France, the imperial eagle of Germany, the lion of Holland, two goddesses, one of Liberty, the other of Justice, with Pharaoh and Moses on the Red Sea. (United States Congressional serial set, Volume 1276).

It was truly, a religious international symbol representing the “Founding Fathers and their Founding Countries.”  However, this first Masonic design of the Great Seal was not adopted by the Congress.

In 1782, Freemason William Barton had proposed a Phoenix in flames as the original Great Seal in America as a symbol of a renewed liberty. Eventually, the first design of the Great Seal of the United States would be attributed to Charles Thomson and was adopted immediately by Congress on June 20, 1782.

In Thompson’s old design of Seal, we can see what some people might think is an eagle but in reality, is the mythical purple bird of the ancient mysteries known as a Phoenix with a scroll in its beak with the 13 Latin letters, E Pluribus Unum, meaning in English, ” Out of Many, One”.

According to 33rd Degree Freemason and author, Manly P. Hall, the United States was founded by Masons trained in European mysticism. Hall had stated in his infamous book, The Secret Teachings of All Ages that the mysterious symbol mistakingly thought to be the American Eagle, in reality, is the Phoenix. (The Secret Teachings of All Ages – pages XC-XCI)

It is also important to note that the 13 stars and the number 13 has a significant meaning to the Masons but it does not mean what most people think it does. The common interpretation is that it represents the 13 colonies but that is not true.

Hall had said, “The significance of the mystical number 13, which frequently appears upon the Great Seal of the United States, is not limited to the number of the original colonies.” He had written in his book, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry – “These were the immortals to whom the term ‘phoenix’ was applied, and their symbol was the mysterious two-headed bird, now called an eagle, a familiar and little understood Masonic emblem .” 

Please keep in mind as you read this article that Secret Society of the Freemasons played an instrumental part in the founding of our country so it is only natural that they left their secret symbols wherever performed their Craft and whatever important documents and monuments they worked on.

If we are to ask our ancient historians like the Father of History, Herodotus and the Roman Senator and Historian, Tacitus both claimed that the “first appearance of the Phoenix” began in the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Sesostris (Seth, Sethos, Set I). Seth was the legendary king of ancient Egypt who led a military expedition into parts of Europe, as related by Herodotus. Manetho called him master of the Mediterranean and according to Diodorus Siculus (who calls him Sesoösis) and Strabo, he conquered the whole world.

The legend of the Phoenix was first told in the City of the Sun or in Greek, Heliopolis where the first written records were given to us by Herodotus in his work titled Euterpe. He had written how the Phoenix was first seen in Heliopolis during the reign of Pharaoh Seth (Seti, Suthy or Sesostris) and then in the reign of Amasis shortly after the days of Ptolemy.

Pharaoh Seth plays a prominent role as the main hero in the Book of the Dead. The most important temple in the City of the Sun at this time was the “Mansion of the Phoenix” or “Mansion of the Benben.” It has also been called the temple of the sun. In Utterance 600 of the Pyramid Texts speaks of Atum as you rose up, as the ben ben, in the Mansion of the Benu in Heliopolis (Hart, p.16).

It also important to note that the meaning of the symbol of the Phoenix was rebirth, and reincarnation and the color purple unique to this firebird has long been associated with royalty since time immemorial.

The 6th and 7th-century archbishop, Isidore of Seville had said the name of the Phoenix was derived from its purple-red hue, and was considered “the royal bird” and therefore also referred to as “the purple one”. In medieval Latin glossaries, the Phoenix is called ‘the purple one’ because it was ‘the royal bird’. The Latin word for purple is purpureous – meaning shining or splendid.

Thus we can say that the Purple Phoenix represents royalty…

It’s important to note that the Founders of our country were also involved in foreign politics.

For example, it was said that the designer of the original seal, Charles Thomson was an Irish-born Patriot and when they say patriot, they do not mean for the United States, they mean for the “Secret Masonic Continental Brotherhood.” After all, he was from Ireland and all the Founding Fathers had hailed from mostly European countries with secret associations and apparent royal connections and backers.

It was said that Thomson’s role as secretary to Congress was not limited to clerical duties and according to biographer Boyd Schlenther, Thomson “took a direct role in the conduct of foreign affairs.” In fact, all the Founding Fathers were involved in foreign affairs because these affairs were directly involved in the forming of the United States of America with the Great Seal being the most important “royal symbol” of this event

Over the next five years, more secret symbols of the Brotherhood were added to the Great Seal. I will discuss some of these in my next articles.

Moe

Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.

www.gnosticwarrior.com