THE EYE IN THE PYRAMIDWe now appreciate how much impact buildings can have on the people who live in them, and London still has many grim concrete tower blocks to remind us how an architect’s paradise can become a hell for those who live there. While, these days, there is more study of the psychological effects of our environment, it doesn’t all fall to men in white coats. And this is where, at the more surreal end of the field, psycho geography comes in.
The London Psycho geographical Association is described by Wikipedia as “a largely fictitious organization”. Its work, which has been praised by Iain Sinclair, consists largely of grandiose proclamations and calls for geo-psychic revolution:
“The integration of non-Euclidean psycho-social space into a post-Newtonian mechanics is faced by the emergence of an anti-Euclidean opposition which will rekindle the fires of revolt with the matchsticks of metaphor. By drawing upon ancient song lines which reassert themselves within the modern urban environment, psycho geography as the practical application of anti-Euclidean psycho-geometry offers the third pole in the triolectic between the false universalism of modernism and the universal virtuality of post-modernism.”
The LPA might be a valid attempt to reshape our consciousness of our environment, or it could just be an elaborate practical joke. Jokers or not, the LPA shares the approach of those who wanted to make London a symbolic New Jerusalem. If the Freemasons are secretive, powerful Illuminati, then the LPA are the anarchic Discordians seeking to reclaim the city for the masses.
London still sees more than its share of buildings which seem to owe more to the occult than to strict practicality. Number One Canada Square, better known as Canary Wharf, is topped with a conspicuous pyramid with a flashing light at its apex. It could hardly be a more graphic embodiment of the familiar image of a pyramid topped by an eye, a symbol familiar from the back of the US dollar bill.
The architect of One Canada Square was Cesar Pelli, who is quoted as saying that the tower was intended to be a simple geometric form. “Of the four different roof shapes available from the World Financial Center, he chose the pyramid because he found it to be common in most cultures,” according to one source.
Pyramids are not exactly common in our culture – although Hawksmoor certainly added a few. The height of the Canary Wharf pyramid happens to be 130ft (40m), which some have suggested makes it an embodiment of the 13 steps of the Masonic pyramid.
“This is the clearest symbol yet. Screw the Washington Monument; I think I’ve found the biggest Obelisk and Eye of Horus yet. This has got to be down to the Masons,” writes one excited blogger as he demonstrates how the Canary Wharf complex can be mapped on to Masonic symbols. Of course, conspiracy theories do not need much of a launch pad, and others skilled in the art have managed to link Pelli to the Freemasons, the Skull & Bones Society, the Order of Death and much, much more…
Now a new generation of skyscrapers is set to reshape London’s skyline. In the Far East, nobody would question the importance of the buildings’ alignment. Even if architects don’t believe in Feng Shui, no investor wants to be part of something that spells bad luck. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised at the Freemasons’ penchant for sacred geometry.
Finally, perhaps the clue is in the name. The City of London is also known as the Square Mile, even though it is rectangular. Squares feature heavily in Masonic rituals and recognition signs. Masons are required to “square their actions by the square of virtue” and are sworn by “God and the Square”.
Vocabulary To introduce - bring (something, especially a product, measure, or concept) into use or operation for the first time Rationality - based on or in accordance with reason or logic Bonds - a thing used to tie something or to fasten things together Fraternity - a group of people sharing a common profession or interests Descendants - person, plant, or animal that is descended from a particular ancestor Approach - come near or nearer to (someone or something) in distance or time Demolish - pull or knock down (a building) Pagan - a town in Burma, situated on the Irrawaddy south-east of Mandalay. It is the site of an ancient city, founded in about ad 849, which was the capital of a powerful Buddhist dynasty from the 11th to the end of the 13th centuries. Arrangement - the action, process, or result of arranging or being arranged
Assimilated - take in and understand fully (information or ideas); absorb and integrate (people, ideas, or culture) into a wider society or culture
Alignment - arrangement in a straight line or in correct relative positions Inflict - cause (something unpleasant or painful) to be suffered by someone or something Spawning - produce or generate a large number of smth. Emblem - a heraldic device or symbolic object as a distinctive badge of a nation, organization, or family Upheaval - a violent or sudden change or disruption to something Incarnation - a person who embodies in the flesh a deity, spirit, or quality Attempt - an effort to achieve or complete a difficult task or action Conspiracy - a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful Required - officially compulsory, or otherwise considered essential; indispensable Deliberate - done consciously and intentionally
Summary The City of London, or Square Mile, is history and mythology made concrete, going right back to the celebrated London Stone itself. Settlement here dates to pre-Roman times, but the biggest influence on the City as we know it today was the rebuilding project that took place after the Great Fire of 1666. This gave London much of its present form and introduced many of its greatest monuments. We now tend to view the 17th century as a period of scientific progress when rationality broke free from the bonds of superstition The Freemasons emerged at just the right time for the great rebuilding project The great architect of the new London was of course Sir Christopher Wren – astronomer, geometer, Royal Society founder member, MP and architect. He also appears to have been a Freemason. On 18 May 1691, the antiquary and biographer John Aubrey noted: “This day… is a great convention at St Paul’s Church of the fraternity of the adopted masons, where Sir Christopher Wren is to be adopted a brother…” Working with Wren were two other notables, John Evelyn and the notorious Nicholas Hawksmoor. The latter was nicknamed “the devil’s architect”, and his Masonic credentials are not in doubt. Hawksmoor’s membership was recorded in 1691, when he became Wren’s assistant. Other acknowledged Freemasons include John James, the second surveyor appointed alongside Hawksmoor, and Nathaniel Blackerby, treasurer to the commission building new churches. To the builders of the new London, the city was to be the New Jerusalem. Rome was in the hands of Catholics, so London must succeed it as the capital of the true faith. This was reinforced by a popular theory that the English were the descendants of the Lost Tribe of Israel, who disappeared into the West after the destruction of the kingdom in 722 BC Several concepts were put forward for the new street plan. All of these did away with the warren of tiny streets and alleys and imposed some sort of regularity. Some, such as the plans put forward by cartographer Richard Newcourt, were simple grid patterns. But both Wren and Evelyn had more complex ideas, and it has been suggested that Evelyn’s plan bears a marked resemblance to the Sephiroth or Tree of Life from the mystic Cabala, “the best hieroglyph of the known and unknown universe”. Wren realigned the axis of St Paul’s so it stood 2,000 cubits (914m / 3,000ft) from Temple Bar to the West and the same distance from St Dunstan-in-the-East in the other direction. Hawksmoor’s St George-in-the-East is 2,000 cubits from the London Wall, St John Horselydown was placed 2,000 cubits from the Monument and Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth is the same distance from his Christ Church Spitalfields.
The measure of 2,000 cubits is used in the biblical Book of Numbers in its rules for city planning: “Measure from without the city on the east side 2,000 cubits.” It had featured in modern studies of sacred geometry since 1662. John Wilkins, vicar of St Lawrence Jewry and the first secretary of the Royal Society had converted it into modern measures, creating the essential yardstick for a New Jerusalem. Christopher Wren is remembered as the chief architect of modern London, but his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor towers above him in occult circles thanks to his 12 churches built in accordance with the 1711 Act. These made a break from the traditional Gothic style and introduced a new and alien geometric vocabulary of obelisks, pyramids and cubes. Hawksmoor’s churches are based on a layout of intersecting axes and rectangles, which he described as being based on the “rules of the Ancients”. His work borrows from Egypt, Greece and Rome – all revered by the Freemasons – and often in a grand manner. Hawksmoor’s St Mary Woolnoth is based on the idea of a cube within a cube. Masonic influence on London didn’t end after the Great Fire. In the early 19th century, Freemasonry enjoyed a period of more open popularity. Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of George III, became the first Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. Secrecy was relaxed and famous Masons of the day included the Duke of Wellington and architect Sir John Soane.
Soane was, appropriately enough for a Mason, the son of a bricklayer. His works included the Bank of England, perhaps the most significant emblem of power in the new century. Soane’s work on the Bank continued for 45 years and he described it as “the pride and the boast of my life”. Another of Soane’s masterpieces was the Freemason’s Hall in Great Queen Street, meeting place for hundreds of Lodges and home of the Grand Temple. London still sees more than its share of buildings which seem to owe more to the occult than to strict practicality. Number One Canada Square, better known as Canary Wharf, is topped with a conspicuous pyramid with a flashing light at its apex. It could hardly be a more graphic embodiment of the familiar image of a pyramid topped by an eye, a symbol familiar from the back of the US dollar bill. Now a new generation of skyscrapers is set to reshape London’s skyline. In the Far East, nobody would question the importance of the buildings’ alignment. Even if architects don’t believe in Feng Shui, no investor wants to be part of something that spells bad luck. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised at the Freemasons’ penchant for sacred geometry. Finally, perhaps the clue is in the name. The City of London is also known as the Square Mile, even though it is rectangular. Squares feature heavily in Masonic rituals and recognition signs. Masons are required to “square their actions by the square of virtue” and are sworn by “God and the Square”.
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