The Obelisk
History
The earliest Obelisks were known as ‘benben’ stones. They were rough hewn and truncated, but they were tipped off by the pyramid ion shape which distinguishes obelisks from other monumental columns.
The spirit of the sun god was supposed to enter the stones at certain periods, and on these occasions human sacrifices were offered to it. The victims were probably prisoners of war who had been captured alive, and foreigners, and when these failed the priests must have drawn upon the native population.
At On, king after king erected benbens in Re’s honour, so that by 1300 B.C. the city was full of obelisks. The Roman author Pliny wrote about this city of On where kings ‘entered into a kind of rivalry in forming elongated blocks of stone, known as obelisks, and consecrated them to the divinity of the Sun’.
In 'Our Phallic Heritage' we are told that 'All pillars or columns originally had a phallic significance, and were therefore considered sacred. Pan, the goat god and god of sensuality, was often represented as an obelisk. A former witch writes 'The obelisk is a long pointed four sided shaft, the uppermost portion of which forms a pyramid. The word 'obelisk' literally means 'Baal's shaft' or Baal's organ of reproduction' (Page 341 Masonic and occult symbols illustrated. Dr. Cathy Burns)
To understand why the obelisk is so important to masons one has to understand the Masonic version of Egyptian mythology behind their rituals. Osiris was a king of Egypt who married his sister Isis. His brother ‘Set’ wished to usurp the throne and so plotted his death. He tricked Osiris into climbing into a golden chest. As soon as he was inside, Set nailed down the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. It was carried off to Byblos in Syria where it came to rest against a small Tamarisk tree or Acasia tree, with the dead Osiris still inside. Isis found out what Set had done to Osiris, so she set off to find her husband.
A vision led her to Byblos, where she recovered his body and took it back to Egypt. Alas! Set stole it and tore it into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout Egypt to prevent Osiris coming to life again. Isis recovered all but one of the pieces - the penis - and gave Osiris a fit burial. Their son, Horus, avenged him by slaying Set. Another son, Anubis, resurrected Osiris with the ‘lion grip’.Having triumphed over the grave, Osiris now reigns as king and judge of the so called dead. The piece of Osiris that Isis never recovered was the penis, which Set had thrown into the Nile where it was eaten by fish. Ever resourceful, Isis manufactured an artificial organ around which the Egyptians established a cult or festival.From this it is a small step to the conclusion that the benben or obelisk was itself a phallic symbol. Whether of Osiris, Re or fertility in general, it was a symbol of fatherhood ‘The rock that begot’.
To Freemasons groping for mystic enlightenment in the 1800’s the obelisk was the only architectural symbol of Osiris still in existence. And if, as some Masonic historians claim, Hiram Abiff is really Osiris reborn there could be no greater proof of Masonic ascendancy in the modern world than Egyptian Obelisks thrust by masons into the heart of the West’s great cities. These would also symbolise Boaz and Jachim, the twin pillars which masons claim were built in front of Solomon’s temple, in imitation of two obelisks at the entrance of Egyptian temples.
Martin Short - Inside the Brotherhood, 1995
The spirit of the sun god was supposed to enter the stones at certain periods, and on these occasions human sacrifices were offered to it. The victims were probably prisoners of war who had been captured alive, and foreigners, and when these failed the priests must have drawn upon the native population.
At On, king after king erected benbens in Re’s honour, so that by 1300 B.C. the city was full of obelisks. The Roman author Pliny wrote about this city of On where kings ‘entered into a kind of rivalry in forming elongated blocks of stone, known as obelisks, and consecrated them to the divinity of the Sun’.
In 'Our Phallic Heritage' we are told that 'All pillars or columns originally had a phallic significance, and were therefore considered sacred. Pan, the goat god and god of sensuality, was often represented as an obelisk. A former witch writes 'The obelisk is a long pointed four sided shaft, the uppermost portion of which forms a pyramid. The word 'obelisk' literally means 'Baal's shaft' or Baal's organ of reproduction' (Page 341 Masonic and occult symbols illustrated. Dr. Cathy Burns)
To understand why the obelisk is so important to masons one has to understand the Masonic version of Egyptian mythology behind their rituals. Osiris was a king of Egypt who married his sister Isis. His brother ‘Set’ wished to usurp the throne and so plotted his death. He tricked Osiris into climbing into a golden chest. As soon as he was inside, Set nailed down the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. It was carried off to Byblos in Syria where it came to rest against a small Tamarisk tree or Acasia tree, with the dead Osiris still inside. Isis found out what Set had done to Osiris, so she set off to find her husband.
A vision led her to Byblos, where she recovered his body and took it back to Egypt. Alas! Set stole it and tore it into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout Egypt to prevent Osiris coming to life again. Isis recovered all but one of the pieces - the penis - and gave Osiris a fit burial. Their son, Horus, avenged him by slaying Set. Another son, Anubis, resurrected Osiris with the ‘lion grip’.Having triumphed over the grave, Osiris now reigns as king and judge of the so called dead. The piece of Osiris that Isis never recovered was the penis, which Set had thrown into the Nile where it was eaten by fish. Ever resourceful, Isis manufactured an artificial organ around which the Egyptians established a cult or festival.From this it is a small step to the conclusion that the benben or obelisk was itself a phallic symbol. Whether of Osiris, Re or fertility in general, it was a symbol of fatherhood ‘The rock that begot’.
To Freemasons groping for mystic enlightenment in the 1800’s the obelisk was the only architectural symbol of Osiris still in existence. And if, as some Masonic historians claim, Hiram Abiff is really Osiris reborn there could be no greater proof of Masonic ascendancy in the modern world than Egyptian Obelisks thrust by masons into the heart of the West’s great cities. These would also symbolise Boaz and Jachim, the twin pillars which masons claim were built in front of Solomon’s temple, in imitation of two obelisks at the entrance of Egyptian temples.
Martin Short - Inside the Brotherhood, 1995
