The Communicator

Volume 67 No. 01

January - February 2020

The Antiquity of Geometry - pg 10

Membership

R.B. Dinner

Get your Shirts

pg 6

pg 8

pg 10

2 Seattle Scottish Rite

Scottish Rite Communicator Valley of Seattle

www.seattle-scottishrite.org

SCOTTISH RITE OFFICERS Ill. James D. Cole, 33° Sovereign Grand Commander Ill. Alvin W. Jorgensen, 33° S:.G:.I:.G:, Orient of Washington Ill. Sat Tashiro, 33° Personal Rep. of S:.G:.I:.G:. pr@seattle-scottishrite.org Daniel Southerland, 32° KCCH General Secretary Communicator Editor secretary@seattle-scottishrite.org Gene Ulrich, 32° KCCH Treasurer Ill. Tom Lamb, 33° Almoner PRESIDING OFFICERS

Am I A Builder?

Unknown Author

I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town.

With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell, They swung a beam and the sides fell.

I asked the foreman, Are these men skilled And the kind you would hire, if you had to build?

Gale Kenney 33° Master of Kadosh, Consistory

And he gave me a laugh and said, No indeed, Just common labor is all I need.

Adam Creighton 32° Commander, Council of Kadosh

I can easily wreck in a day or two What other builders have taken a year to do.

Bob Dearborn 32° KCCH Wise Master, Chapter of Rose Croix

And I thought to myself as I went my way, Which of these roles have I tried to play?

Bryan Reagan, 32° Venerable Master, Lodge of Perfection

Am I a builder that works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square.

Seattle Scottish Rite Center 1207 N 152nd St. Seattle, WA 98133-6213 206 324-3330 voice 206 324-3332 fax

The Communicator (USPS 485-660) is published by the Valley of Seattle, A&A Scottish Rite, 1207 N 152nd St., Seattle, WA 98133-6213, for the benefit of its members, bimonthly and is mailed as a non-profit publication to all members of the Valley of Seattle and to specified other interested parties. $2.00 per member is assessed for the publication of The Communicator. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle, Washington and at additional mailing offices.

The material contained within this publication is intended for the education and enjoyment of the members of the Masonic Fraternity and all material published becomes the property of Seattle Valley of Scottish Rite. Postmaster: Send address changes to — The Communicator at 1207 N 152nd St., Seattle, WA 98133-6213.

Am I shaping my deeds to a well made plan, Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks the town, Content with the labor of tearing down.

Seattle Scottish Rite 3

News from the Personal Representative

We want to wish our valley members and their families a Happy New Year, as we resume our labors for another year. The leaders of the Seattle Valley are enthusiastic with our accomplishments in 2019 and look forward to another great year in 2020. We are on firm financial grounds, due, in great part, to the increased revenue from our rentals by the valley office and the oversight of the Finance Committee.

We are in the midst of the winter months, with the short days and long nights, and the corresponding drop in temperature. However we are reminded how fortunate we are to live in the Pacific Northwest with moderate temperatures.

Summarizing the events since the last Communicator, we had a great class of 2019 with nine receiving their 32° caps in early October at our Cap and Ring Ceremony. This is our second annual celebration. Bob Dearborn, 32°, KCCH was the Master of Ceremonies, with the assistance of VM Bryan Regan and Illustrious Gale Kenney, 33°. We look forward to the involvement of our new Master of the Royal Secret with us in the activities of the Seattle Valley meetings and degrees.

Our November stated meeting was our annual RWB dinner, recognizing the efforts of our senior leadership, with primary focus on recognizing those members achieving their 50 years in our Rite. There were all invited to be recognized but were unable to attend due to traffic congestion and inclement weather that evening.

The last degree held in 2019 was the 28°, Knight Commander of the Temple, which concluded the second year of our four year cycle with the performance of 5 non-terminal degrees, in addition to the five terminal degrees.

It was held on 7 December 2019.

A special dinner meeting was held on 17 December with the speaker, Bob Cooper, from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. It was a memorable meeting enjoyed by all.

The main business of the November meeting was the election of officers for 2020. The results were as follows: Lodge of Perfection: VM Kirk Stensvig 32°; SW Richard Brzustowicz, 32°KCCH; JW Anthony Brandt 32° Rose Croix: WM Jeff Hardin 32°KCCH; SW Gerry O’Brien 32°, SW; JW Bryan Regan 32° Council of Kadosh: Cmdr. Ian Hyde 32°KCCH; 1st LC Arturo Ortiz 32°; 2nd LC Illustrious Gale Kenney, 33° Consistory: Master of Kadosh Bob Gunther, 32° KCCH; Prior Don Schumer 32°; Preceptor Bob Guild, 32° , KCCH, Treasurer; Gene Ulrich 32° KCCH, and Almoner, Illustrious Tom Lamb, 33 ,will continue in these positions in 2020.The contribution of the members of the important committees is also acknowledged. They

provide the necessary oversight for our valley.

Our goal for 2020 is to increase the participation of our many black hats in the valley. Plans are underway to give them increased roles, give them opportunities to assist in the degrees and bring forth new ideas, ever mindful of their valuable time. Hence we will start the year with Knights of St. Andrew Day, on 18 January. It will include performance of the 29°, Knights of St. Andrew, KSA, in the morning at 11 AM followed by a lunch and ceremony initiating black hats into our valley KSA.

Our stated meeting in 2020 will be 21 January, and will be installation of the new body officers, directors and committeemen for 2020, followed by our usual brief, but necessary business meeting. The meeting will start at 7:30 PM with dinner at 6:30 PM

These meetings will have been preceded by our EXCOM meeting on 5 January, where we will have met and started the planning and decisions for 2020 calendar. The results will be on our web page.

The early months will focus on the class of 2020. We will be hosting Friends Night in February as a part of our stated meeting with the view towards interesting Master Masons towards this end. Each member is urged to be an ambassador in our many lodges and inform interested Mason on the upcoming class.

4 Seattle Scottish Rite

Our March meeting will be the annual Remembrance and Renewal, which will be hosted by the Rose Croix. All meetings will be preceded with the usual dinner at 6:30 PM and the ceremony at 7:30 PM, followed by a brief business meeting.

As we start this year, it is important that our members put forth their energies in attracting new Master Masons into our Scottish Rite, and our valley, in particular. Please invite those who may not be members to attend our upcoming Friends Night.

Our two Scottish Rite clubs, sponsored by the Valley of Seattle, will be having their meetings in the coming weeks. The West Seattle Scottish Rite Club (WSSRC) will be having its first 2020 meeting at Southgate Masonic Center in Burien on 11 January 2020 starting at 9 AM. Speaker will be Illustrious Tom Lamb, 33°, who will speak on Rudyard Kipling and his Masonic life and works.

Further information can be obtained by contacting Brother Richard Syson at nosys@comcast.net.

The Eastside Scottish Rite Club (ESRC) will expand its educational efforts to cover both the esoteric aspects of Masonry as well as in-depth study into the Master Craftsman program. The esoteric aspects and mystical concepts of Masonry will be held at the Issaquah Masonic Center (IMC) located in Issaquah, under the direction of Illustrious Brian Thomas on Wednesday, 30 January, starting at 7 PM. He can be contacted at bjt19@comcast.net or 425-226-0463.

All Scottish Rite members of the Seattle Valley receive the Communicator, but may miss the fellowship with their fellow members within the valley and find the difficult-travel-miles to-and-from our Shoreline building a major problem. For these members, you are invited to attend one of the clubs in your area. Your attendance at the club meetings is tantamount to attending our stated meetings.

For those who are able to attend our meetings at the Shoreline valley facility, you are always welcome to our pre- and post-meeting fellowship time together. This is becoming the highlight of our time together.

Fraternally, Sat Tashiro 33° Personal Representative of the S:.G:.I:.G:.

REMEMBER: The Scottish Rite Scholarship Foundation of Washington is now accepting applications for 2020 if you know anyone who is eligible let them know and have them go to WWW.SRSFWA.ORG to apply today.

Seattle Scottish Rite 5

Greetings All,

A Very Happy New Year to you all. As we open the doors on a fresh new year we look ahead at what may be and I know we are looking to grow in all we do. So I look back to last year for examples and see our Valley is growing quite well. As you know we have completed the remodel of the offices and members lounge, which continues to fill up after each meeting with fellowship. This tells us we are moving in the right direction as to growth in the membership, this is not only how many new members we are bringing in but the amount of members that are coming to our functions. We have seen growth in this also. So I ask you all to keep up the excellent work in all you do to make this the best place to be.

Remember to talk with your Brothers and let them know Scottish Rite is a great place to continue their masonic journey.

As the new year starts we will be putting out our new class degree dates for the year so everyone can mark their calendar and join in on the fun. We look forward to seeing how many will join us this year as we have several already waiting for the start. Please contact me if you need any new member packets. We have included a membership application in this issue. Also if a new candidate has a financial issue with the start up costs have them contact me and we will discuss options. We never want a brother to wait or have hurdles in his journey.

We already have several functions on the calendar and it seems to fill up fast. One of the great items you will want to attend is our Knights of St. Andrew day, We will be conferring the 29° as well as having our initiation and Knighting of our new Knights of St. Andrew members. This is on January 18th at 10:00 am, with lunch provided.

Also another great evening is an “Evening with Robert Burns” The flyer is in this issue and should sell out fast so get your ticket today. This is not your normal burns night as we are putting a great twist on the usual and having an interview with this great brother.

. We will be able to accept credit cards starting at our next stated for all transactions as I know all of you have asked and we are getting it done for you. Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming.

I ask all Scottish Rite members to get out and talk about how great this fraternity is to all you see. When you are out at any meeting or gathering of masons, talk to them, bring them to a dinner (they are free) and show them the great things we are doing. I try to talk about our fraternity at all the many concordant bodies I attend and am getting a great response. Even at the York Rite, and Shrine (ya, just joined as I found some extra time). You will be surprised at how interested they will become when they hear what we have to offer in advancing their Masonic journey.

On a very personal note, I as well as our Scottish Rite Family would like to send our deepest sympathies to the Deputy Grand Master of Washington Grand Lodge, RW Chris Coffman and his family for the loss of his wife Lynn . This tragic loss is felt throughout the Masonic family and beyond.

We will always be here for our family and keep the Coffman family in our thoughts and prayers.

Fraternally, Daniel Southerland, 32° KCCH General Secretary

Seattle Scottish Rite 6

7 Seattle Scottish Rite

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Valley of Seattle

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America 1207 N 152nd St. Shoreline, WA 98133 Telephone (206) 324-3330 ___________________________, 20______ Today's Date

TO THE OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF: SEATTLE LODGE OF PERFECTION

SEATTLE CHAPTER OF ROSE CROIX

SEATTLE COUNCIL OF KADOSH

SEATTLE CONSISTORY

I THE UNDERSIGNED, DO CERTIFY THE FOLLOWING TO BE TRUE AND CORRECT: MY FULL NAME IS ____________________________________________________________. MY AGE IS ______ YEARS. MY DATE OF BIRTH IS ________ ________ ________. I WAS BORN AT ________________________________________.

STATE OF _____. I CURRENTLY RESIDE AT _______________________________________________________________.

Address, City and State I HAVE RESIDED THERE FOR ____________ YEARS. MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS _________________________________________________________________________________.

MY MAILING ADDRESS IS_______________________________________________________________________________.

Street address or Post Office Box City, State, & ZIP MY CURRENT TELEPHONE NUMBER IS (____)_______________________. SPOUSE NAME_______________________.

Area Code MY OCCUPATION IS _____________________________. I AM EMPLOYED BY __________________________________.

If retired, state previous occupation If retired, enter “Retired” I AM A MASTER MASON IN GOOD STANDING IN _________________________ LODGE NO. ___________ LOCATED AT ___________________________________ , UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF____________.

I WAS RAISED TO THE DEGREE OF MASTER MASON ON __________________________________________________.

Date you received third degree PLEASE ENTER YOUR CAP SIZE (IF KNOWN) __________.

PLEASE ENTER YOUR RING SIZE (IF KNOWN) __________.

Continued on other side

Page 1 of 1

Seattle Scottish Rite 8 What motivated you to join the Scottish Rite?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please indicate your interest in the following subjects. 

Scottish Rite Education



Scottish Rite Ritual



Esoteric Research & Education



Participation is Scottish Rite Degrees



Participation as an officer in one of the four bodies



Participation in Scottish Rite Committees, i.e. Finance, Building, etc.



Americanism (ROTC, JROTC)



Craft Lodge Education



Craft Lodge Ritual



Other ___________________________________________________

THE SUPREME COUNCIL REQUIRES ACCEPTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES: THE INCULCATION OF PATRIOTISM, RESPECT FOR LAW AND ORDER, UNDYING LOYALTY TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. DO YOU APPROVE OF THESE PRINCIPLES? ________ YES ________ NO I HAVE NEVER PREVIOUSLY APPLIED FOR ANY OF THE SCOTTISH RITE DEGREES NOR FOR ANY MEMBERSHIP IN ANY BODY OF SCOTTISH RITE MASONS. (IF PREVIOUSLY APPLIED FOR MEMBERSHIP HERE OR ELSEWHERE, USE THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS APPLICATION TO PROVIDE FULL DETAILS OF SAID APPLICATION, SPECIFICALLY INCLUDING THE SCOTTISH RITE BODIES TO WHICH APPLICATION WAS MADE, DATES THEREOF, AND RESULTS OF SAID APPLICATION ) I NOW RESPECTFULLY MAKE THIS APPLICATION TO RECEIVE THE DEGREES OF THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY, PROMISING ALWAYS TO BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE THIRTY-THIRD DEGREE OF THE SOUTHERN JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATED OF AMERICA. ________________________________________________________________________ (Signature)

PLEASE ATTACH A COPY OF YOUR CURRENT CRAFT LODGE DUES CARD PLEASE FILL IN ALL PROCEEDING BLANKS ================================================================================== RECOMMENDED BY: (TWO SCOTTISH RITE SPONSORS ARE NECESSARY) 1.____________________________________________________________________________________________ Printed Name Signature Address 2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Printed Name Signature Address RECEIVED _________________________ REFERRED ____________________________ ELECTED __________________ Please include the $200.00 fee for the degrees plus $100.00 dues for the current year with your petition: Total of $300.00 *for petitioners under 31 years of age the fees are $125.00 plus $100.00 dues for the current year: Total of $225.00 The total fees for the 4°-32° degrees of the Scottish Rite include your 14° ring, 32° Scottish Rite hat, Master Craftsman book and materials, and A Bridge to Light: A study in Masonic Ritual & Philosophy.

Page 2 of 2

9 Seattle Scottish Rite

AN EVENING WITH ROBERT BURNS FEBRUARY 8th, 2020 AT 6.00 PM Seattle Scottish Rite Masonic Center 1207 N 152nd Street, Shoreline, WA 98133

Sponsored by Seattle Scottish Rite, Lodge ALBA #315 and Seattle Burns Society You will witness Burns being interviewed by none other than Sir Walter Scott, Scotland’s first novelist, one evening at Sir Walters home, ‘Abbotsford’, also known as ‘Clarty Hole’ the original farm’s knickname.

Note, such a meeting could never have taken place. Scott was 20 years younger than Burns. However, they did meet once in Edinburgh.

All masons, spouses and guests are invited to attend a special celebration of Scotland’s Bard, Robert Burns.

This is NOT a Burns Supper, but a unique way to appreciate the Bard, his poems and songs, and to get a better appreciation of his life.

Tickets $25

Tickets must be reserved by January 17th

by calling, mailing or e-mailing Scottish Rite Office, 1207 N 152nd Street, Shoreline, WA 98133 Phone: (206) 324-3330 Secretary@seattle-scottishrite.org

PROGRAM 6.00pm 7:00pm 8.00pm

Social Time Traditional Burns Dinner Robert Burn’s interview by Sir Walter Scott (ca.1793)

10 S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e

The Antiquity of Geometry In speculating about symbols, especially Masonic symbols, we are naturally led to think of geometric figures.

Mindful of the frequently asserted claim that modern Speculative Free-masonry is the inheritor of the secret tradition or learning of the ancient priesthoods, who thereby exercised the decisive power of knowledge over their rulers and kings, we assume that these symbols were created or discovered by the learned men of the priestly class.

While that is undoubtedly true of many of the more complex and theoretical figures developed by ancient geometricians, a little more speculation should lead us to the realization that the most ancient, the most primitive geo-metrical symbols used by homo sapiens were discovered and developed by ordinary men for very practical reasons. Without knowing it, the earliest scientific investigators were the original Speculative Masons, who curiously traced Nature to her innermost recesses and thereby initiated the art of geometry, the one most revered by Freemasons.

And because they were the first discoverers of theoretical truths which had to be expressed in symbols (primitive language being completely inadequate, and the symbols being the practical techniques of their investigations), they acquired a special advantage by which they were able to achieve unusual status and power.

Primitive man had to climb from a rude state of brutish survival on an individual basis to a simple state of social organization (like a group of families or clan, which could specialize to some extent by developing the practical arts of agriculture, the hunt for meat, storing surpluses, etc. ), before he could allow the weak or the elderly to survive. It was probably such individuals who first had leisure to investigate, to speculate, in the simplest possible form of that activity. But when their efforts gave them knowledge by which they were able to advise and direct the activities of the tribe, they realized its power and kept it secret to preserve their status and influence. It was passed on to disciples who were sworn to secrecy. The secret tradition was originally a practical necessity, for self-preservation.

Such a development probably occurred many centuries ago long before the ancient civilizations of which we have any historical records. Nor did it come about quickly, in three or four generations. It must have taken millennia of puzzled observation and the slow accumulation of simple facts to arrive at even the crudest kind of symbol which encompassed more than an observation of shape or direction.

The sun and the moon have always been the foremost luminaries of nature influencing the lives of men on this planet. Both are round or circular in shape. Even the most untutored savage probably recognized a crudely drawn circle in the sand as a pictograph of those heavenly bodies. But since the moon changed its shape regularly each month, it could be differentiated from the sun by representing it as a crescent, a shape in which it appeared much more frequently than it did as a circle.

The circle, therefore, became a universal symbol of the sun, because it was always round when it could be observed. And because it was obviously the one great heavenly body which brought life-giving light and warmth for the growing seasons, it became the first great object of wonder, cosmic fear, and adoration. In other words, it was man's first god and the symbol of the sun, the circle, became the first representation to denote the divinity that shapes our ends.

But when the organization of human societies, even in their simplest state, made possible the survival of some of the physically weaker and elderly members of such groups, a leisure class came into existence, which had time to observe natural phenomena more closely, to investigate the immutable laws of nature, to speculate.

One of the earliest observed phenomena of the sun was probably its gradual change of position on the horizon at its rising and its setting. But not until this change of position was studied and noted with something akin to exactness (the scientific method) did primitive man derive some useful knowledge from his observations.

Among the oldest relics of man's initial science, the observation of the sun, are crude markings on stone which depict the arc of a circle formed by points of the rising or setting of the sun between the summer and the winter solstices.

Such an ancient monument as that at Stone-henge, England, is a highly refined and sophisticated representation of such solar observations. It's comparatively modern.

S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e 11

While it must have taken long periods of time to develop such a simple representation of the sun's journey from season to season, try to imagine the superstitious awe and wonder of the primitive sun-gazers when they began to realize that the circular sun was drawing a great circular arc on their earth's surface, that the great sun-god was re-creating his shape right before them.

And when they had amassed enough information to realize that the sun in its rising and setting always turned in the other direction at a definite time, repeated annually, they not only had knowledge which determined a beginning and end for certain seasons, they had unlocked a secret of nature,which gave them power to advise and to regulate the lives of their neighbors and tribesmen! They had learned the hard way that knowledge is power' and to preserve that power, they made it a secret among those who had been chosen to search for light. The circle, therefore, became the first and oldest symbol containing wise and serious truths for the initiated.

Probably one of their first achievements was to predict the summer and winter solstices. Undoubtedly they made those days significant and sacred They became a priestly class.With their secret knowledge they established the earliest religious festivals, which Masons still observe as Saints John Days.

If this speculation is reasonable, we conclude that the circle was the first geometric figure constructed by primitive man. It was not merely a drawing it was literally a construction, resulting from arcs eastward and westward from a central point of observation, curved segments which resulted from joining the points which marked the sun's daily rising and setting from one solstice to the other.

If the central point of observation had been fixed by a pole or solid stone pillar, the shadow cast by the pillar from hour to hour gave the primitive observers a series of straight lines by which they could construct a whole circle of dots equidistant from the central point of observation.

What made the circle so sacred and mystic a symbol was the fact that it was a construction, not a mere representation of a shape, as if the fiery lord of the sky had revealed himself to the children of men, and thereby unlocked other secrets for the initiated to discover and to guard.

The lines which connected the stone-marked points where the sun arose and set each day, as well as the lines of the shadows created by the central stele or pillar as the sun passed over-head each day, obviously created patterns of crossing lines which undoubtedly aroused the curiosity of those primitive speculatives.

After generations of observers had been at work, there must have come a day when one of them recognized the symmetry of the crossing lines which created four right angles, the cross within the circle. Since that probably occurred when night and day were practically equal, the equilateral cross also became a sacred figure, fraught with special meaning and symbolism. And from that geometric construction, another 'â‚ŹĹ“revelation from the All Highest, probably developed its use as a religious symbol, especially in festivals linked to the vernal equinox, when the dead seed was quickened into life again.

But the equilateral cross, one may surmise, was the second fundamental geometric figure constructed by the primitive observers of the sun it resulted from their representations on the earth's surface of the lines drawn by the sun god himself, as he moved from east to west, or cast a shadow from the central point of their simple solar observatories.

12 S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e

As a figure, it probably first suggested the concept of space especially as a direction. An equilateral cross drawn in a circle immediately suggests the directions in which natural phenomena take place, like the sun's passage across the sky, or the directions from which the four winds of heaven blow. As a simple but as yet undefined compass, it was a useful tool of knowledge, whose practical applications were veiled from the uninitiated, who were given mystical and supernatural explanations of the cross meaning.

It was known all over the world, in the most primitive societies, from northern Europe to India, from China to the steaming jungle civilizations of Central America. Its frequent appearance in the religious symbolism of the Toltec and Aztec Indians of Mexico frightened the Roman priests who followed Cortez to the conquest of Tenochtitlan and one of the principal reasons why they ordered the destruction of so many of the artifacts and records of those civilizations was their fear of a pagan cross.

The cross assumed a myriad of forms, many of them having a speculative or religious symbolism, from the so-called Latin cross, which is the cross on which Jesus was crucified, to the swastika (a good luck amulet), to the Lorraine cross, with double or triple traverse, a symbol familiar to Masons of the Scottish Rite. One writer has identified 385 different crosses, but the majority of them have little interest except for those engaged in the decorative arts and the science of heraldry.

Most writers on the subject agree that the equilateral cross, like the circle, the line, the crescent and the triangle, forms so simple and natural a geometrical figure that it must have been one of the earliest geometrical constructions which primitive man stumbled upon as a representation of the principal directions of space the earth, the sky, the rays of light, the wind-rose, etc.

It naturally became a symbol of man with outstretched arms, of birds on the wing, of a double-headed hammer, of the bow and drill for making fire. But as a part of the esoteric knowledge of the most primitive scientists, the observers of the sun, it contained more meaning than a simple pictograph. It embodied concepts of radiation or space. As a symbol of the rays of the sun, it veiled knowledge of the use of these lines in solar observations and became a symbol of the tree of life on which depended the death and renewal of life resulting from the annual changes of the seasons.

However, if primitive man, by simple geo-metric constructions, discovered the knowledge whereby he could predict the solstices (by the circle of stones of his solar observatories ), sooner or later he must have run into the problem of measuring time, i.e., how to count by using units of time. The day was undoubtedly the first unit he used, since the sun automatically measured it for him and the sun was the object of his study and veneration. A day, moreover, was a lapse of time which he could remember in his first attempts to classify and to store information for future use.

But it is extremely doubtful that he originally had either the language or the mental capacity to count quantities as large as the number of days between the summer and winter solstices, even though he had arranged a stone for each day on the solar circle which he had laid out on the ground. He had learned by generations of observations that when the rising sun touched one end of the arc, it was the first day of summer, and that when it touched the other end, the sun would turn again and seek each day a more southerly point of arising. But that he had a language of numbers by which to express that extent of the passage of days, one may seriously question.

We know, however, that primitive man used numbers to indicate quantities but the records they have left on stone suggest an ability to use only the simplest, the rudimentary numbers suggested to them by the ten fingers on their hands and the ten toes on their feet.

S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e 13

Among their chiseled records on stone, the numbers found most commonly are five, rep-resented by five strokes attached to a stem (the hand), and a rake-like figure consisting of a bar from which depend seven short strokes, a representation of the number seven.

Whence came that particular number, which in subsequent civilizations and religions was especially revered?

Was its very antiquity one reason for its universal importance?

Why are there seven ages of man, and seven liberal arts?

Why are there seven gods of happiness in Japanese folk-lore?

Why are there seven sages in the folk-lore of ancient Greece?

Why did the Sioux Indians have seven council fires?

Why did the Romans boast of the seven hills on which their eternal city was built? Why is the number seven so frequently used in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament?

And why does the week have seven days?

The following speculation is offered with no proof whatsoever it is sheer guess-work to suggest a possible reason why the number seven became so important in the intellectual and cultural development of mankind. It was a Mystic number because it was one of the earliest discoveries of the primitive scientists, the observers of the sun.

It was a primordial unit to measure the passage of time which resulted from the earliest discoveries that God is always geometrizing.

If the year was a concept involving numbers of days too large for the mind of primitive man to handle, he probably turned to observations of the other great luminary in nature, the moon, to observe the passage of time.

We can only speculate. Could the ancient geometricians have joined the four points of the cross within the circle to form a square and discovered that each side of the square was related to one arm of the cross (the radius of the circle) in the approximate ratio of 7 to S? If so, they had made the first crude application of the Pythagorean formula, but at the same time discovered that the perimeter of the square measured 28 units, the duration of the 'â‚ŹĹ“lunar year in days. The square having four equal parts of 7 units, the phases of the moon divided the lunar year into four equal parts of 7 days, or a week.

By speculating on the long and agonizing process by which primitive man developed his intellect and spiritual insights, imperfect as they still are, modern Masons may increase their respect for man and his potentialities. So mote it be.

This article was taken from www.masonicshop.com/masonicarticles

14 S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e

Messages Happy Birthday!

Congratulations from all your Scottish Rite Brethren To our members over 90 who have reached a very important birthday!

January

February

Edward Hauff 01/23/1924

Brian Kirkpatrick 02/28/1925

Rudy Coffing 01/29/1924

Kjartan Ask 02/28/1928

William Ellzey 01/08/1925

Cecil Sundbeck 02/18/1929

Gordon McCarrell 01/19/1926

Kenneth Freese 02/05/1930

William Dodd 01/26/1929

Frank Walters 02/21/1930

Joseph Hoskins 01/01/1930 John Ebert 01/25/1930

Polo shirts are in!

Get yours now $20.00

S e a t t l e S c o t t i s h R i t e 15

www.seattle-scottishrite.org

MONTH TIME EVENT January 18

10:00 am

KSA (29) degree & Initiation

January 21

6:30 pm

Stated Meeting & Installation

February 1

9:00 am

Excom Meeting

February 8

6:00 pm

An Evening with Robert Burns Dinner

February 18

6:30 pm

Stated Meeting

* All events subject to change.

Jackets $40.00 looks great

Follow us on Twitter! @SeaScottishRite

Scottish Rite of Freemasonry 1207 N 152nd St. Shoreline, WA 98133-6247

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