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THE FIVE-POINTED STAR
You may wonder why what follows has not been more widely published long before this. After all, the five-pointed star has been the national symbol since our nation began, one star for each state in the union. Our nation was founded by men who were, for perhaps the most part Free Masons, men who were part of a secret organization originally devoted to individual freedom and the overthrow of kings, dictators, and like despots, whether rulers of nations or rulers of other types of organizations. Such dedicated men have been hunted and killed in the past, causing them to go underground.
The Masonry comprised the activists, those who were the "warriors" for individual freedom.
There were other groups who kept the deepest secrets.
The information found herein and much information of like nature has
been kept under wraps for centuries because certain religious organizations feared
that its power might expose them and thus diminish their hold on the masses.
Perhaps some of it can be shown now to those who have ears to hear.
Think of yourself as you would have been had you lived in a past age without modern gadgets to distract you. You look at the world around you for hints as to what it is, how it works, and how it was conceived and built. You look for patterns in the growth of plants, examine the nature of each number, and study the geometry of shapes. You notice that each number is a consequence of those that went before it and that certain number sequences match the numbers found in certain geometrical shapes.
If we think of a Creator who is Beingness, then we tend to wonder who created the Creator. Then we wonder who created the Creator of the Creator. Then we wonder who created the Creator of the Creator of the Creator - and this reasoning can continue to infinity. The ancients considered this thought process, realized its fallacies, and concluded that Beingness is eternal, neither created nor destroyed, without a beginning or end. The circle was known to have no beginning and no end. Like Beingness, it was endless. So the circle became the symbol representing that which has always existed and will always exist, the infinite, the eternal.
The Beingness that is Eternal is the Creator of all that is created. It is also the destroyer of all that is destroyed. We know today that matter and energy are equivalent according to the equation e = mc2. Any matter that is destroyed either becomes another form of matter - or energy which can become matter again. Energy cannot be destroyed except to become another form of energy - or a form of matter. All things are created from something that has been destroyed (actually just rearranged) to form the building blocks for new things to be created (a new form of orderliness).
Most things that are left to themselves begin to die, meaning that they lose their orderliness so that a complex organism can no longer function and its parts become separated. Life creates an orderliness from those separated parts. No one knows when life, according to the usual understanding of life, actually begins. Single-celled animals exist, single-celled plants exist, the single-celled euglena exists. Lesser forms of life are the virus, the viroid, and perhaps the crystal which is only a step or two behind the viroid. There is also the molecule formed from atoms, and atoms formed from electrons and protons. From the electrons and protons to the more complex organisms, life is an organizing process. So we need new definitions for death and life. Death should be defined as the disorganizing principle, and life should be defined as the organizing principle.
In ancient Sanskrit, we find the religion that says that there is the Great Brahma who is the All and has three facets: the Lesser Brahma who is the Creator, Shiva who is the Destroyer. and Vishnu who is the Preserver. The universe feeds upon itself. The ancient Hebrew language, that of the Torah (meaning "natural law"), is another example of a long-ago time when ancients knew about a universe feeding upon itself. In fact a more detailed ancient symbol of Beingness and an eternal Creator is a circle that is a snake with its tail in its mouth, symbolizing a universe eating itself.
Within the circle that is Beingness, there is a Life Force with its own symbol that is circumscribed by the circle that is Beingness. This symbol is a perfect example of the math that is found within the Life Force. In the movie Star Wars we see the concept of a Life Force. This concept is not merely fantasy.
Many years
before the beginning of this era,
the Egyptians
were using what
we call the Pythagorean Theorem to find the
square root of
five so that they
might construct a
perfect pentagram (five-pointed star). This symbol was known to be a quality
of the planet Venus which moved about the sun in such a manner that each conjunction
with the earth
was precisely two-fifths of the way about the sun from the last conjunction with earth.
When one connected the dots that were adjacent conjunctions, the result was a
pentagram.
Each line in this symbol is divided into three parts. If we call the center part "A" and each outer part "B", then B divided by A is equal to 1.6180339, a number the Greeks later called "phi". The length A plus B, divided by B, also equals phi. And the complete length of one line, A plus B plus B, divided by the length A plus B, also equals phi. When phi is inverted, it equals .6180339, and when it is multiplied by itself, it equals 2.6180339. Going one step farther, 2.6180339 multiplied by 6/5 is pi.
The Egyptians called phi the Golden Mean. And their priest-scientists knew that this was the number of the life force and that the pentagram was, therefore, the symbol of the life force. And a perfect pentagram is constructed by making A equal to 2 units in length, and B equal to 1 plus the square root of 5 in length.
B/A = (A+B)/B = (A+B+B)/(A+B) = (1+51/2)/2 = 1.6180339 = phi
The old priest-scientists knew that a certain series of numbers represent the life force. These numbers are now called the Fibonacci series after the man who re-discovered it. They consist of numbers that are the sum of the two preceding them. 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, 5+8=13, 8+13=21, and so on. So the numbers beginning the series are 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 21. From the 21st number in the series on, if one divides a series number by the one preceding it, the answer is phi. The numbers of this series are found in the construction of the head of a sunflower, that of a pine cone, the cross-section of our bones, the frequencies of music, the planetary orbits, and, in fact, all of life. The very ancient people considered it to be the series of life, and the pentagram the symbol of life.
0
1
1 = 0 + 1
2 = 1 + 1
3 = 1 + 2
5 = 2 + 3
8 = 3 + 5
13 = 5 + 8
21 = 8 + 13
34 = 13 + 21
55 = 21 + 34
89 = 34 + 55
144 = 55 + 89
233 = 89 + 144
377 = 144 + 233 This 12x12 and the 13th number of the series.
610 = 233 + 377
987 = 377 + 610
1597 = 610 + 987
2584 = 987 + 1597
2584 / 1597 = 1.6180338
If we were to continue the series, phi is approached even more closely by dividing the last number in the series by its predecessor.
The pentagram that is circumscribed by the circle represents the life force within the body of the Eternal, the Creator.
The smallest angle within the pentagram is exactly 36 degrees. 36 is the extension of 8 which means
8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 36.
Eight is the number of the old sabbats (the solstices and the equinoxes plus the midpoints between them). The other two angles of the pentagram are 72 degrees which is twice 36, and 108 degrees which is thrice 36. The number 36 is often used in the old codes to represent the pentagram or life force.
There is a simple way to construct a pentagram that is not quite perfect, but close enough to fool the human eye. This shortcut method was used often in past millenia and, if the units used were inches, it would be accurate to within .04 inch. Its units are shown in the second illustration below. Note that the radius of the circle is 13 and that the diameter is 26. The ancient Hebrews apparently either borrowed this knowledge or inherited it from an older source. It could have been taught to Moses by the Egyptians when he was growing up as a prince in the royal household.
The smallest whole number circle diameter which can contain the whole number construction of the life force (represented by the pentagram) is the number 26. The letters representing what we have interpreted to mean "God" are the Hebrew IHVH (yod-heh-vau-heh). Each letter in old Hebrew is also a number.
I + H + V + H = 10 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 26.
This is not a name and should not be pronounced because it is not even a word. Instead, it is the four letters found in three conjugations of the verb to be, meaning that which is, was, and ever will be. It is the way the Hebrews could write the Eternal. The ignorant sometimes pronounce it "Jehovah".
Hebrew is composed of words which are also sums. These words spring from a foundation of verbs which are the roots of the Hebrew language. The sums of these roots are divided into spectrums and subspectrums. For example, the number 8 is the spectrum in which we find the verb "love" or the verb "hate" - both words have the same sum.
Going back to the pentagram, to reach from the center where we are, and touch the Eternal (the circle), the distance (obstacle) we must traverse is 13 (strong emotion, love or hate), composed of either 4 (order) plus 9 (study), or 5 (life, being human) plus 8 (devotion, love as a verb).
phi = (1 + 51/2) / 2
One divided by phi = 1 / 1.6180339 = .6180339
phi squared = (1.6180339)2 = 2.6180339
phi squared times (6/5) = (2.6180339)(6/5) = 3.1416 which is pi
Pi is the number used to find the circumference or area of circle, so it was considered a way to measure the Eternal. This made it a very holy number. The old shortcut method to show pi in calculations was to use the fraction 22/7.
22/7 = 3.1429
Phi and pi are both irrational numbers which is one reason the ancient priest- scientists preferred to show them as geometrical symbols.
No one really knows where this fund of knowledge
began. Although it is found in ancient Egypt, we are beginning to realize that the
Egyptians received it from a seagoing people who predated even the Sumerians,
settled in the Tigris/Euphrates region,
and once lived upon the island of Dilmun (Bahrain) among other places. This is but a
sampling of what these people had to offer. Much of it was burned or otherwise
destroyed by religious fanatics.
People from before recorded history were interested in mathematics. Mathematics has always existed as the foundation of the universe, and humankind's discovery of mathematical principles did not happen overnight. It was a subliminal process at first, happening very slowly as people grew in awareness, and it predated written language by many thousands of years. It was necessary to use simple math to count things and to divide them. The first traders used math to barter and that was a long, long time ago.
As mathematical knowledge coursed upward, there came a time when ancient humanity was very well versed in the mathematical intricacies of geometric figures. One figure, in particular, fascinated the ancients of many cultures. This was and is the five pointed star or pentagram. Ten has been used as one of the simple numerical bases for as long as one could count his fingers. But our base ten system is really one with only nine written numbers because zero is not a number and ten is a one followed by a zero. The middle number between one and nine is five. And philosophically, the number five, the one that is midway between one and ten, was considered the number of humanity because humanity was considered the mediator between the higher forces and the lower kingdoms, the caretakers of the Creator's garden. Five as a geometric figure, the pentagram, looks a bit like a human with two legs, two arms, and a head. So the pentagram as well as the number five became the symbol for humanity.
The circle, on the other hand, had no beginning and no end. This was the symbol for the No-Thing, the Eternal, the Infinite, with no beginning and no end. A circle with a dot in it became the symbol for the Face of the Creator, the body we call the sun. The circle with both a horizontal line (female force) and a vertical line (male force) in it became the symbol for manifestation on the earth plane. The circle about a square became a symbol for the seasons or the yearly cycle. There were other symbols of like nature, all predating phonetic alphabets, but forming ideas in written form nevertheless, and predating most ideograms.
One of the most revered symbols was the circle which circumscribed (enclosed) the pentagram, for this was humanity or the life force within the Creator. And of the ways in which one may construct this symbol accurately, perhaps the oldest way, is to draw a vertical line 26 units long and to divide it into two equal parts of 13 units each. Any unit will do - inches, half inches, feet, millimeters, etc. - as long as one consistently uses the same unit throughout.
Next, we swing a circle about the line with a compass or compass-like device so that the center of the line is the center of the circle, and the circle passes through the exact ends of the line. Now we have a circle with a radius of 13 and a diameter of 26.
From the top of the line, we drop down 9 units and make a mark. This leaves 4 units to the center. We make a horizontal line through this mark that extends on each side as far as the circle. We next make a mark 5 units below the center. This leaves 8 units to the bottom of the circle. We draw two straight lines through this new mark, beginning at the ends of the horizontal line and ending at the circle. Now we connect the bottom of each of these new lines with the top of the vertical line, and we have a circumscribed pentagram. This means of constructing a pentagram is precise, but not exact - yet it is exact enough for the human eye.
The circumscribed pentagram is used today by the Masons, the Rosicrucians, many modern Pagan and new-age groups, and the United States of America, to name but a few. It has been used most often by groups who oppose any form of kingship or dictatorship, and especially the idea of a state religion or any sort of persecution by religious bodies or the state. Thus, it is a symbol of liberty and equality of opportunity.
Thirteen is a key number in the pentagram: 13 sidereal moon passages in one year, 13 weeks in one season, 13 tribes of Israel, 13 notes in the musical octave including the octave note, 13 units in the hypotenuse of the 5, 12, 13 right triangle, 13 inches for the pipe length for middle C, 13 original colonies, etc. Eight is another key number: 8 old sabbats represented as 8 spokes on the wheel of the year, the number of the Hebrew verb meaning love (and representative of their love/hate spectrum), 8 notes in the diatonic scale when including the octave note, 8 years in the old calendar cycle that mated the passages of the sun and the moon, 8 points on the cube (salt crystal), etc. The extension of 8 is 36, the number of degrees in the smallest angle of the pentagram, and the square of 6 (the number that means perfection). The extension of 36 is 666, which was incorporated into the *Fahrenheit temperature scale so that exactly 66.6 degrees lie between freezing and the temperature of the human body. Seen as the "beast" in The book of Revelation, 666 has been misinterpreted as evil. Actually, it is neither evil nor good. At the most easily understood level, the number 666 was never meant to be anything but the initial physical state of each human or of generic humanity, providing the necessary vehicle for success or failure in life. It is the job of each of us to tame and use the beast properly.
[* Note that in the Fahrenheit temperature scale, there are 180 degrees between freezing water (32 degrees) and boiling water (212 degrees). There are 360 degrees of arc in one full cycle and 180 degrees of arc in one half-cycle. From freezing to boiling and then back to freezing is an analog of one complete cycle. Most of nature is composed of cycles.]
Most of the above was taken from The Oldest Magic, Copyright (C) 1992 by Lew Paxton Price.
Facts not found in the The Oldest Magic include the following.
The ancients were well aware of the solar system and how it functioned. They knew that connecting the points of sequential conjunctions of the earth and Venus were similar to drawing a pentagram as seen from a point above or below the solar system. Consequently, they connected Venus with the pentagram.
It appears that they were also aware that the number 666 was a means of codifying the element of life we call carbon in its most common form. There are 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons in a typical carbon atom. This isotope of carbon is found in nearly all life on earth - both plant and animal - and is considered the basis of our form of life. There are 5 isotopes of carbon, which again seems to allude to the pentagram. Carbon 12 and carbon 13 occur naturally with carbon 12 being present 98.7 percent of the time. Carbon 14 has a short but useful radioactive half-life, and is used as a tracer in medicine. Carbon 10 and carbon 11 are of radioactive origin with half-lives too short to be of use.
Note that one type of right triangle is composed of lines that are 5, 12, and 13 units long. There are 5 books in the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament), and Torah is a Hebrew word that means "Natural Law". There are 12 obvious tribes of Israel in the book called "Numbers" in the Torah (the Hebrew name was not "Numbers", and meant "in the wilderness"). But actually, there were 13 tribes because the Levites were at the center of the encircled 12, and their name meant "adhesion" (they kept the tribes together). The Hebrew language is one of the oldest on the planet.