Seminary - The Tau and the Triple Tau

Read article below. Read Bishop Katia’s Commentary at the end, & perform the SenseGod’s Mark on you exercise

The Tau and the TripleTau

By H. Meij, H.P.
Tokyo Chapter #1 R.A.M.
February, 2000

The Triple Tau is one of the most important symbols of Royal Arch Masonry but where did it come from, and what does it mean?

The Tau:

The Tau (T) is the19th letter of the Greek alphabet. In ancient times it was regarded as the symbol of life, whereas the 8th letter of the Greek alphabet, theta,was considered the symbol of death. Many say that these two symbols created todays plus (+) and minus (-) symbols. The Tau is a veryold form of the cross, and is also known as St. Anthonys Cross, after the saint that was martyred on a cross of that shape.

The Hebrew form of the word Tau is pronounced tov,which means marking, etching or scrawl. In Pagan times, a warrior returning honorably from battle could attach a T to his name. An ancient Royal Arch lecture explains that those acquitted of a crime, or returning unhurt from battle could also use the T as a sign. This custom is also illustrated in the Bible, Ezekiel 9:

.the man clothed with linen, which had the writers inkhorn by his side. Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set Tau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof”

In other words, the Tau cross was put on men to distinguish those who lamented sin, although newer versions of the Bible have replaced the ancient term Tau with mark. In imitation of this practice, in the 26thdegree of the Scottish Rite, a Tau is put on the candidates forehead after the candidate has been purified with water on the head, to distinguish himself before proceeding.

[Katia inserts: The cult of Mithras was said to have marked or even branded the Tau onto foreheads of new initiates. In ancient Sumeria and Egypt a Tau was marked on the forehead using ashes. In Ezekiel we read of ink being used to make the Tau, God’s official mark. The Tau stood for the Sumerian sun-god Tammuz, a dying resurrecting “good shepherd” solarg od. Tammuz and Jesus embodied the same archetype, as Magdalene and Ishtar (wife-goddess of Tammuz) embodied the sacred feminine archetype.]

Triple Tau Three Taus or T and H?

It has been said that three Taus come together to form the Triple Tau,. Others say the Triple Tau is originally the coming together of a T and a H, forming , meaning Templum Hierosolyma, or the Temple of Jerusalem. Christians interpreted the symbol as Holiness supporting Trinity. Royal Arch records dating from 1767 show this symbol. In addition to meaning Templum Hierosolyma(The Temple of Jerusalem), it is also said to mean Clavis ad Thesaurum -“A key to the treasure” – and Theca ubi res pretiosa – “A place where the precious thing is concealed.”

The Key becomes apparent in the Jewel:
Freemasons wear jewels not only to denote their status in the respective degrees, but also as each jewel is purported to have special symbolism. The Companions jewel, worn by most Royal Arch Masons, is no different.The Triple Tau is an intricate part of the Companions jewel as pictured below:

The jewel incorporates the double triangle, also known as the Seal of Solomon with the following inscriptions:

Nil nisi clavis deest Nothing is wanting but the key

Si talia jungere possis sit tibi scire satis If thou canst comprehend these things, thou knowest enough

Invenimus cultor dei civis mundi We have found the worship of God, O citizen of the world

Deo, regi, et fratribus, honor fidelitas, benevolentia For God, king, and brethren; honor, fidelity, and benevolence

Significance of Plato and the Jewel:
The studies of Euclid and Plato involved the study of many shapes and forms.In Platos studies, he and his disciples noticed that the study of the universe involved the study of different volumes, as all that is in this world, from the smallest atoms to the largest items, consisted of volume.When they studied each shape (triangle, square etc) they noticed that only5 shapes are completely equal no matter from what angle they are viewed.These shapes were subsequently called The Five Platonic Solidsand were described in detail in his famous works called The Timaeus. The five solids represented the four base elements of this world (fire, air,water, earth) and the fifth, heaven, represented their all-encompassing universe.

The Five Platonic Solids

Plato

Volume

Shape of Face

Faces

Edges

Corners

Degrees

Illus.

Heaven

Dodecahedron

Pentagon

5040

Fire

Tetrahedron

Triangle

720

Air

Octahedron

Triangle

1440

Earth

Hexahedron

Square

2160

Water

Icosahedron

Triangle

3600

Mathematicians have long known that these five shapes are the only shapes that can equally divide three-dimensional space, and were the pinnacle of ancient geometric and esoteric knowledge (a sphere also equally divides space,but as it has no faces, edges, corners or degrees, was not considered a solid).

The Seal of Solomon and the five elements:
At first glance, one would not see the five Platonic shapes in the Seal of Solomon, but when one looks at the number of angles, the picture becomes clear. It will be found, that the number of angles in the Triple Tau (The key), and a multiple of it, is equal to combinations of the triangles in the Seal of Solomon. Hence the Triple Tau, or key,unlocks the Seal of Solomon to reveal the five Platonic shapes!

First, we need to know two pieces of information.Lets first look at the Triple Tau, . We see that there are made up of 8 x 90 degree angles, equal to a value of 720 degrees. (I have numbered these 1 through 8 for easy reference), or 8 right angles, as follows:

Therefore,the number of degrees in a Tau,, is 8 x 90 degrees= 720 degrees.

Second, we can also observe that the Seal of Solomon, as shown in the Companions jewel, is actually made up of several triangles, which we can mark as follows: Triangle A-B-C,triangle D-E-F, triangle G-H-I..

Thirdly, we learn from our Royal Arch ritual the following:

The equilateral or perfect Triangle is an emblem of the three essential attributes of Deity, namely, Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence;and as the three equal sides or equal angles form but one triangle, so these three equal attributes constitute but one God

With this in mind, we can say that one triangle shown in the jewel, is actually made up of three triangles as follows(triangles a, b, and c), which also forms a fourth in the center(triangle d):

Such a triangle, when looked at it from a geometrical value of its angles,is equal to 60 x 12 = 720 (because there are 4 triangles, each triangle being equilateral, has three 60 degree angles each)

Combine the Triple Tau and the Key of Solomon:

Now we have all the prerequisites to proceed to reveal the five Platonic shapes embedded in the Companions jewel with the help of theKey, or Triple Tau. You will notice that:

- Triangle GHI = 1 x. Why? We already know that consists of 8 right angles of 90 degrees each. Hence = 8 x 90 = 720 degrees. Triangle GHI shows 4 equilateral triangles,which we showed above is also equal a geometrical value of 720, which in turn equals the total degrees of a Tetrahedron, symbol ofFire.
  
  Triangles ABC DEF = 2 x = 1440 degrees= the degrees in an Octahedron, which is the emblem of Air.
  
  Triangles ABC DEF GHI = 3 x = 2160 degrees= the degrees in a cube (Hexahedron), which is the emblem of Earth.
  
  Triangles DEF is can also be divided into 4smaller triangles by GHI, add ABC. These 5 triangles = 5 x = 3600 degrees= the degrees in an Icosahedron, which is the emblem of Water.

We have now found the four elements. What remains is the last,Heaven. We find that the intersection of triangles ABC and DEF,form six smaller triangles around the circumference of the jewel, whose base rests on the central triangle of GHI. As one triangle is 180 degrees, and there are four equal triangles in one (see above), means that one triangle on the circumference is 180 x 4 = 720. There are six triangles on the circumference, so 6 x 720 = 4320. Add to this the revolving central triangle GHI (720) and you obtain 4320 + 720 = 5040, which is equal to the degrees of a Dodecahedron, which is the emblem of Heaven.

Conclusions:

Through the key , the five Platonic solids are revealed in the Royal Arch Companions jewel. The G.A.O.T.U. [Grand Architect of the Universe] created the elements out of the void, without which man cannot exist reminding each of us of His Omnipotence.

- Illustration 1 The Five Platonic Shapes
  
  Dodecahedron (Heaven, all-encompassing Universe)
  
  Illustration 2 The Five Platonic Shapes
  
  Tetrahedron (Fire)
  
  Illustration 3 The Five Platonic Shapes
  
  Octahedron (Air)
  
  Illustration 4 The Five Platonic Shapes
  
  Hexahedron (Earth)
  
  Illustration 5 The Five Platonic Shapes
  
  Icosahedron (Water)
  
  Bibliography:

- Ritual, The General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International
- Freemasons Book of the Royal Arch, by Bernard Jones
- The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science, by Michael Schneider
- Dictionary of Symbols, by Carl Liungman

Article on the Triple Tau was originally found on this page:
http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~jafarr/The%20Tau%20and%20the%20Triple%20Ta1.html

http://www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/%7Ejafarr/The Tau and the Triple Ta1.html

Bishop Katia’s Commentary Top
Daughters of Tsion especially need this Triple Tau information because they need to create a set of the 5 Shapes of Plato for their spiritual magiks use. When conjuring up something or making prayer or battle magiks, the Daughter of Tsion will actualize the power of sacred geometry, the power of creation itself, by fingering the facets of the Platonic shaped balls,cube, and pyramids. Hebrew letters of creation or their Greek or Latin alphabet counterparts, runes, sigils, symbols and / or heiroglyph-like symbols,will be painted or written on the facets. Have you ever seen a dreidel?It’s the little spinning top used at Hanukkah. The dreidel is like a cube but has a point on the bottom to make it spin. It has special Hebrew letters written on its facets (sides). You spin it and see which face is up when it lands, similar to throwing dice. Dice are also tools of sacred geometry, believe it or not. The Daughter/Cleric of Tsionor Knight/ress of the Temple would do well to add a pair of dice to her/his spiritual toolbag.

Fingering. Think of how a flute player covers certain holes with his fingers, using thousands of fingering combinations and patterns to thus create something that didn’t exist. Something beautiful and inspiring. Like measuring land or sacred space for a building.

TAU CROSS: Long ago known as the “Cross of Egypt.” It is shaped like the letter “T”, often with a circle or ovoid above it symbolizing divinity (divinel ife, or life itself) — the ankh. The halo is a circle put over someone to symbolize divinity or sainthood. The Tau cross with a circle on top becomes an ankh. Very potent symbolism there since the ankh is also called the cross of life. There is a mixture of claims between the ankh and the Tau Cross being the Cross of Egypt since the ankh is a development of the Tau Cross. Inductees into the Mysteries of Mithras were branded with this symbol on their forehead. The cult of Mithras was a major competitor of Christianity. Mithras was the bull-god worshipped in the Roman empire about the time of Christ. Mithras was hailed by his believers as the “angel of light” and “heavenly light” and is associated with the sun because of its “heavenly” location. Here’s an illustrated tourof the Tau cross from our friend Jennifer Emick’s immense online archive at Symbol Dictionary.net.

ANKH: This symbol represents life, fertility and is also known as the Key of Life. As a development of the Tau Cross (after the Greek letter, Tau “T”,also known as the Egyptian Cross or the Crux Ansata, one application of the ankh represents the genitals of both sexes: the ovoid or yoni (the symbol of external female genitals and Shakti, the wife of Shiva) and the cross below it as the male member. Following Christ’s death, the Tau Cross portion of the ankh was a symbol of death and ending, ostensibly because of the similarity of the Tau with the Cross of Christ and the profuse use of the Tau (and similar) cross configuration to crucify thieves and other criminals.The yoni or halo atop the Tau Cross represents life and divinity, thus making the symbol of life now a symbol of both life and death like the yin yang symbol. But originally the ankh meant life and life as even the lower Tau portion meant life in ancient times. The ankh meant life and reincarnation.

Now perform the following exercise which you should recognize from the Archdiakon techniques lesson.

Sensing God’s Mark on the Forehead and Right Hand (a technique developed here at our Mystery School) TOP

In Step 1 you sense the subtle circulation of the body (Step 1 is from Richard Smoley’s Inner Christianity)

Pick one shoulder blade and feel it touching the seat back behind you. Now close your eyes and take your mind, and “go” there to that shoulder blade. And just sense it. Feel the contact point it makes with the seat back.Feel it from the inside of your shoulder blade. You are inside sensing this body part. Are you in? Feel anything moving inside there? Does it feel kinda un-solid? Like maybe something in there is swirling around a bit? Some kind of invisible energy moving around inside your shoulder blade? Some people feel a tingling, some get a sensation of warmth. Or it feels like your shoulder blade is “dizzy” inside. Like some energy is flowing and moving below the surface.

You could “travel” to your elbow and feel it touching your chair, or you could go to the heel of your foot and sense where it makes contact with your shoe.

Do this technique enough and you become aware of a subtle circulating energy in your body. You could call it life force, Ruach, Godforce. We know what Luke Skywalker would call it: The Force. This invisible energy that you sense just under the surface of your physical body is called the subtle body in eastern traditions. It is the invisible body you send out sometimes while sleeping, or in an out of body experience, or in so-called “astral travel.”

What is the Mark of God?

The Creator God in the OT tells us he has marked or sealed his chosen ones,put an invisible seal on their foreheads and right hands. [Deut 11:18, Ezek.9:4] [God marked the righteous on their foreheads: Rev. 3:12; 7:3; 9:4;14:1; 22:4] Esoteric Christians know that the chosen ones are actually those that CHOSE GOD. We have free will, remember so the chosen ones are those that made an agreement with the Divine Source to work to fulfill their destiny, their Purpose of being – to climb that tower, flip that switch,and get to know the Divine intimately. Any person who agrees to be THEIRS- the Godhead’s – will be “marked” or “sealed” somehow by the direct contact with holiness. You give them your heart and they mark you on the forehead or right hand, says the Bible. The forehead symbolizes thinking-patterns and the right hand symbolizes behavior. The book of Revelation talks of god writing his name on peoples’ foreheads (and sometimes uses the term putting his seal there). No one knows what God’s seal looks like, but Judaism teaches it is the Hebrew letter Tav, because Tav means “seal,” “impression – like an embossed seal,” or “code” and is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet,thus the seal of creation – because God used the 22 letters to create the universe. In Greek — the alphabet of early Christianity — the Hebrew letter Tav becomes Tau, which lucky for us who can’t read Greek, is also our capital T in the Latin alphabet.

But God’s actual seal may take different forms. Some people who do this technique see the six-sided hexagon, which is considered the building block of the universe in Sacred Geometry. The hexagon appears in honeycombs, ice crystals,every snowflake and is the heart of the Star of David.

Whatever form it takes, God’s seal on you can be SENSED by going to the forehead or right hand just like we “traveled” to the shoulder blade a minute ago.Close your eyes again real quick and “go” to the inside of your right hand.With your inner eye have a look around. See what you can see, or just FEEL as we did the shoulder blade. Feel God’s mark on you.

WARNING LABEL: People prone to the power of suggestion can get all scared they have the mark of the beast on them when doing this exercise. That’s why this one is supposed to be done under the supervision of an instructor. Still, you can do this on your own if you are careful to remember the mark of the beast is taken voluntarily and only when fully conscious. You have to CONSENT to wear it and have to physically offer up your right hand or forehead to be marked. And all this is not going to happen until the apocalypse, so I assure you, you are perfectly safe.

Because these exercises really are quite potent they sometimes come with warning labels. Esoteric techniques can and will cause you to ascend – they will take you up to your beloved (and within, as this is Inner Christianity,Esoteric meaning Inner).

They work because they engage and put to work all four realms of your being- body, mind, soul, and spirit.

Simple is powerful. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of any given technique.

Exercise:

1. Draw a Seal of Solomon, aka Star of David. Notice the hexagon inside.

2. Now draw a hexagon by itself. If you look closely at a hexagon,you see that it is the outline of a cube.

3. Draw a cube inside your hexagon. It is called the Cube of Space, and sometimes Cube of Creation.

Daughters of Tsion Only: You should make the 3D images above either out of clay, bake them and paint them, or out of paper. Some shapes such as the cube are available for purchase in various places and school math kits have several. Try an internet search or just get some clay and make your own.