Double-Headed Eagle
of Lagash
"As the
Adept knows, the double-headed eagle is a Hermetic Symbol, representing the
Divine Generative Potency, and Productive Capacity of Nature. like the human
figure with two heads, one male the other female, - God and Nature; the
Egypian Osiris and Isis."
Long used as the insigne of a Scottish Rite Mason, the "Double Headed Eagle
of Lagash" is now the accepted emblem in the United States of America of the
32 Degree. It is the oldest crest in the world. It was a symbol of power
more than two thousand years before the building of King Solomon's Temple.
No other heraldic bearing, no other emblematic device of today can boast
such antiquity.
Triangle of Perfection (Wisdom, Power, and Beauty) - made to represent the
Tetragrammaton, or sacred name of God. Yahweh is the Hebrew vocalization of
the Tetragrammaton יהוה.
The two headed eagles are the coming together of two houses (families),
Abraham and Lot though Boaz and Ruth.
The Supreme Council awards the 33° as a way of honoring outstanding and
selfless work performed in the Rite or in public life. At its annual session
the Supreme Council elects members of the Rite to receive the degree.
Members unanimously so elected become Honorary Members of the Supreme
Council.
"On the 1st of May, 5786, The Grand Constitution of the Thirty-third Degree,
called the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, was
finally ratified by His Majesty King of Prussia, who as Grand Commander of
the order of Prince of the Royal Secret, possessed Sovereign Masonic power
over all the Craft." - Origin and Progress of the Supreme Council 33rd
Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for England, Wales, the
Dominions and Dependencies of the British Crown.
Gandaberunda (Gun-daa-bhae-rundaa, from Kannada) is an Indian mythological
bird. It is always shown with two heads and beaks, and believed to possess
magnificent strength. Ancient religious Hindu texts (Vishnu Puranas)
annotate the Gandaberunda to be a personification of Lord Vishnu, the
Mediator (one of the three primary Gods in Hinduism).
The double-headed eagle first originated in the mighty Sumerian city of
Lagash. From cylinders taken from the ruins of this ancient city, the
double-headed eagle seems to have been known to the kings of the time as the
Storm Bird. From the Sumerians this symbol passed to the men of Akkad, from
whom it was brought to the Emperors of the East and West by the Crusades.
Eagle, with a natural head, was an emblem of Jupiter, that is, god of moral.
To the pagans, Eagle, with a natural head, was an emblem of Jupiter, that
is, god of moral law and order, protector of suppliants and punisher of
guilt. Among the Druids, Eagle was a symbol of their Supreme Being.
The double-headed eagle was adopted by emperor Isaakios Komnenos (1057-1059)
being influenced from local traditions about such a beast (the haga) in his
native Paphlagonia in Asia Minor. Local legends talked about this giant
eagle with two heads that could easily hold a bull in its claws; the haga
was seen as a representation of power, and people would often "call" it for
protection.
There seem to be some who believe that the double-headed eagle may have been
a Masonic symbol as early as the twelfth century, but, it probably was first
known to Freemasonry in 1758, upon the establishment of the Council of
Emperors of the East and West in Paris. This was a part of the Rite of
Perfection, a rite of twenty-five degrees, from which was evolved a large
part of the present system of Scottish Rite.
The successors today of the council of Emperors of the East and West, are
the various Supreme Councils of the Thirty-third Degree throughout the
world. They have inherited the insignia of the personal emblem of Frederick
the Great, First Sovereign Grand commander, who conferred upon the rite the
right to use in 1786; at which time seven additional Degrees were "Adopted"
making thirty-two "Ancient" and "Accepted" Degrees to which was added a
governing Degree, the 33rd.
