The 'Occult" Origins of America: Part 1

[Don Barone]

Part I

Washington, DC

. . . To those of you who do not know me allow me just to say that my life has been a ceaseless search for hidden meanings in the things I was told were not interconnected. Strange diverse connections such as between Ancient Egypt, Greece during The Golden Age, The Roman Empire, Christianity, The Crusades, The Templars, Gothic Architecture, The Cathars, The Renaissance and most assuredly the spread further into the new lands of America. I have found some bizarre links to all of this but most would scoff at the thin threads that hold it all together. However the threads are beginning to turn to rope as my studies broaden and go more in depth. I think it is best if we work backwards and start with this new land, America and try to trace it's roots right back to "The Beginning". Can we find a link from Washington DC, a new capital of a new land, and Heliopolis, an ancient, perhaps the first capital of an ancient land, Egypt. Can we discover "the tie that binds" ? I think we can!

. . . What better symbol of America can we find than it's capital city, Washington, DC. There have been many books written on the Masonic connection with Washington with some trying to tie in astral charts and star sightings and such but I think perhaps it may be other things that we need be concerned with. The fact that George Washington, America's first president was an active mason I do not think can really be disputed. He is shown laying the cornerstone for The Capitol, using a special trowel specially designed for this occasion by a Masonic Silversmith. Here are a couple of early pictures that depict the event.

Here is a little article about the trowel George Washington is using in the sculpture and the actual trowel.

"The cornerstone of the Capitol Building of the United Stated of America was laid with Masonic Honors on September 18, 1793. As the site was located within the Masonic jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, the ceremony was conducted under the auspices of that Grand Lodge with Rt. Wor. Joseph Clark as Grand Master pro tem. Wor. Brother and President George Washington presided over the ceremony, in which he was assisted by Rt. Wor. Brother, Clark of Maryland, Wor. Brother Elisha C. thingy, Master of his home lodge, Alexandria Lodge No. 22 ofVirginia, as well as Wor. Brother Valentine Reintzel, Master of Lodge No. 9 of Maryland (now Potomac Lodge No. 5 of the District of Columbia).

Both the silver Trowel and marble Gavel used by George Washington in laying the cornerstone were crafted especially for the occasion by Brother John Duffey, a silversmith of Alexandria who was a member of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4. The trowel has a silver blade, silver shank, ivory handle and a silver cap on the end of the handle. In addition to the Trowel and Gavel, Brother Duffey crafted Masonic working tools of walnut for use in the ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony, President Washington presented the Gavel to the Master of Lodge No. 9 and the Trowel to the Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22.
The inscription on the trowel was engraved on the underside of the blade sometime after 1805 and reads as follows:

"This Trowell, the property of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 A.F.& A.M. was used by General George Washington September 18, 1793 to lay the corner stone of the Capitol of the United States of America at Washington, D.C."

After the Capitol Cornerstone ceremony, we find no mention of the Trowel's use until 1816, when it helped lay the cornerstone of Mechanics' Hall on Alfred Street in Alexandria. Subsequently, the Trowel was used by Alexandria-Washington Lodge for special cornerstone ceremonies, and demand became heavier during the first half of the twentieth century.

Alexandria-Washington Lodge looks on the Washington Trowel as one of its most prized possessions. Today, it is on public display in a special case in the Alexandria-Washington Replica Lodge Room in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial." . . . Go here: www.gwmemorial.org/Collections/george_washington_trowel.htm for a more complete article on this trowel.[/size]


There are many more connections which can be made and all one has to do is use key search words in Google and you can find all the proof one needs. However how does all of this tie into France, The Renaissance, King Louis XIVth and "The Occult" [ I would prefer the words Hermetic Alchemy here]. Well may I suggest we first start with The Occult or Hermetic Alchemy as a base.

Stay Tooned ... more to come

Best Regards
Don Barone

[JoeS]

One thing worth noting is at that time in History, pretty much "everyone who was anyone" was a Freemason, so it's not at all suprising that some of the major figures of the Revolution were also Freemasons. One has to be careful in drawing conclusions from this. If you are going to speculate that the founding of the USA was a masonic endeavour, you are using the same argument that you could use today to say that Golf is a neferious plot due to the number of influential people who play the game.

Joe.

[Don Barone]

Hi Joe ...

If it was only the fact that they were Masons then perhaps I might agree but there is a great deal of other data which I will present to show that the links between the Old and New Worlds is much more than we have ever been led to believe. I will tie in The Gardens of The Palace of Versailles, The Renaissance, King Louis XIVth [The Sun King] and a myraid of other things which in the end I think will conclusively show that something or someone has set this in motion. I have yet to really pin it down to an indivdual or even a certain time but suffice it to say the fact the Washington DC is a direct link to what was happening during the Renaissance and even much before will become obvious .

I have three parts ready to go but was advised by a person I sent it to that perhaps I did not set it up quite good enough so I am still thinking on it. I will however go ahead and post the three parts I already have and hopefully it can provoke further debate and lead my studies in certain directions. Jaimi has read them and feel that they are ready to post.

The upcoming publication of "Talisman" by Bauval and Hancock I am sure will follow many of the thoughts and ideas that Jaimi and I have been tossing about over the last year and a half, but in my honest opinion, judging on personal conversations with Graham and reading how and what they write I think once again they will be just slightly off the mark. [please this is just my humble opinion and I will most certainly buy the book when released and will do a book review here after reading it] Would that I had the abilities of these two to put pen to paper is such an eloquent way.

However it is sure to start a lot of people thinking about this avenue of research. I am convinced that this will be the most controversial of all their books and will lead to many fascinating discussions and research by various individuals. Interesting times ahead to be sure !

Best Regards
Don Barone