Brother seeker of enlightenment,

These have indeed been trying times and I hope you and your loved ones have stayed safe from this pandemic. Since we have not been meeting together, I hope you have been following my educational seminars in the e-bulletin. Over the last several months I have presented the religious degrees of the Council of Kadosh, the 23° through the 26°. Starting in June we will resume our meetings virtually via Zoom. These will again be on the third Wednesday of the month, therefore the next, the 27° will be on June 17th at 7:00 p.m. Those of you who regularly attend will receive an invitation as we have your e-mail addresses. If you are new and wish to participate, please notify Ill Keith at the Valley office at GenSecOrl@gmail.com. Let him know you would like to join the Seekers of Light class and provide him your e-mail address. He will ensure you receive an invite via eMail.

We will continue the rest of the year on Zoom and finish by the end of the year so we can have the graduation ceremony at the January stated meeting. Remember to receive your diploma you must have attended 50% of the sessions. The resource material for this and all subsequent degrees is as listed below. It is suggested you study the 27th degree beforehand. We are at a point in the Council of Kadosh where we are experiencing degrees of great philosophical and religious import and as such are very difficult to grasp at times. We will see nothing less with the 27°, so be prepared. This is one of the most significant of the whole Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

As before the resource material for this and all subsequent degrees is as listed below. It is suggested you bring your copy of “A Bridge to Light” to class and study the 27th degree beforehand at home. At the completion of the 32nd degree we will have a graduation ceremony for those brothers who have attended 50% or 15 sessions. With seven sessions remaining this gives you a good chance to catch up and qualify for this honor.

Important Symbols:

  • Seal of Solomon (Macrocosm)
  • The Pentagram (Microcosm)
  • Right Triangle
  • Pythagorean Tetractys
  • Equilateral Triangle of Red, Green and White sides
  • The Rebus

Lessons:

  • Nature reveals a power and wisdom and continually points to God
  • The visible is a manifestation of the invisible. (So above, so below)
  • In the universe two opposing forces provide balance. There is no death, only change.
  • God is at once both remote and intimate.
  • The moral code of Masonry is more extensive than that of philosophy.

Topics for Discussion:

  • Symbolism being the key to Masonry, why has a discussion of it been so long delayed until this point?
  • What is the difference between philosophy and religion? When are they in opposition and when in harmony?
  • What does the Kabbalah propose regarding the phenomenon of Creation? I will be lecturing on this one!
  • What is the ultimate objective of science?
  • Unity evolving out of duality is a central theme of this degree. Trace this from the 3 lesser lights of the Blue Lodge to this degree.
  • What is the meaning of the Ouroboros (snake with its tail in its mouth) in various cultures and this degree?
  • What is the symbolism regarding salt and its consumption in this degree?
  • This degree is styled Knight of the Sun. Father Adam and Brother Truth have symbolic associations with the sun. What does the sun represent in the philosophical lodge, the moral lodge, they physical lodge?
  • If a spark of God exists in all men, what does that tell us about the way we should treat others?
  • Discuss the symbolism of the pentagram.
  • Discuss what is meant by the visible is a manifestation of the invisible.
  • What is the mystic tie?

Looking forward to an interesting and rewarding session,

Ill. Harry Eisenberg, 33°