You are being redirected as the page that you are looking for has moved. You will want to re-bookmark that page as this one will disappear soon. You have 40 seconds here.

Click here if you are not redirected automatically.

This site has effectively moved. My new domain name is dcsymbols.com . Since files are posted there, I ask that you use that site now so I don't have to update this page any more before I delete it. If you have bookmarked any of my pages, you will want to re-do those, as all my Geocities stuff will be gone in a month. It is not disappearing, it is just moving. The file names will be the same except the domain name will change.

See: a list of some of my DC Symbols Webpages - The links on this page have been edited to reflect the movement of files to the new domain.

Bigbytes
bigbytes at dcsymbols dot com

Masonic-friendly

I contend that this website represents the first original, comprehensive, and Masonic-friendly examination of the subject of Symbolisms Embedded in the District of Columbia Map Layout.

It is original in the sense that what I present here concerning templates that were used for the Washington, D.C. map are My Own Ideas (first posted online in 2001), and is comprehensive in that I have made an attempt to cover all the bases so to speak, from history to astronomy and architectural design principles - including dealing with the huge amount of Misinformation about the ongoing DC planning project that is being broadcast without regard to the Truth, mainly across the internet by anti-Masonic individuals , although some book authors are guilty as well.

[Did you know that FDR invented Public Radio so that people who didn't have cable TV could hear his debates with Lincoln?]

This presentation depends a lot on visual imagery and setting some facts straight, as critique is half of what I do, and we can learn a lot about astronomy, the map, and the design and development of the Capital City in the process of dispelling some myths and 'bad facts'. I say astronomy again because where ever we find geometry, astronomy won't be far off. Hence the two spheres that we see in Masonic symbolism, the globe and the celestial sphere.

As a matter of fact, surveying in 1791 was still a practical combination of geometry and astronomy, as it had been for centuries before - like Masonry and symbolic architecture in general. The method begins with establishing a true meridian (N/S) line, then determining due east-west. You will recall that amateur astronomer Benjamin Bannekker was brought in on a temporary basis to help Andrew Ellicott establish meridian (north-south) lines and orient the District to the cardinal directions, before L'Enfant arrived on the job.

Reading about the Mason-Dixon Line, you will see that one of them was a surveyor and one was an astronomer, although one can imagine a surveyor who is also an astronomer. You find when you study Masonry, that it centers around surveying and astronomy, and the building arts in general, plus some symbolism.

Consider the placement of geodetic centers on the globe. A geodetic center is the 'navel' from which measurements are made in a certain culture. Today, the accepted center is located at Greenwich, England. Apparently the Romans had a stone that is still in London that they used for measurements there. In Egypt the geodetic center was once located at Thebes (Karnak Temple), and in Greece it had been at Delphi.

Curiously we find that if we divide ninety by seven, then multiply by 2 we get Thebes latitude, multiply by 3 and we arrive at the latitude of Delphi, and (90/7) x 4 equals the latitude of Greenwich. Delphi is at 38 27 north latitude, about 38.5 degrees. You will note that Jefferson located Monticello at 38 north, and that the north point of the district is located very near 39 north; one degree straddling the Delphi latitude. Monterrey, Mexico is parallel to Thebes.

It was said that L'Enfant designed a column to be located 1 mile east of the Capitol Building, where Lincoln Square is today, from which measurements would be taken. In the map at the top of the page, you can see a rhombus between the CB and Linc. Square. We find the longitude of the Capitol to be 77 25 W, and we wonder where 77 00 falls. Lincoln Sq. is 76 35, so we know that 77 degrees splits the rhombus between these two. Jefferson's Monticello is located at 38 30 W, a degree and a half to the west.

If we divide 90 by 7 then multiply 6 by we get 77 (77.14) degrees, which is also 7 x 11. 360 / 11 = 33 (32.7) degrees, the location of Charelston, S.C.

Ellicott's Topo Map of the District
(with 16th St axis in red)

Above we see Ellicott's 1793 topogrpaphic map of the ten by ten mile area of the District of Columbia. The north south axis of 16th Street is marked in red. Notice how it is aimed down the Potomac River. George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon, is located just south and west of the southern tip of the map. Washington owned hundreds of acres within this 100 mile area. His wife, Martha Custis, owned 900 acres that is now the Arlington Cemetery, on the west bank of the Potomac.

In case it hadn't already occured to you, I will point out that 77 is twice 38.5 degrees. The real numbers are 38.57 (38 34 12 N) and 77.14 (77 08 34.25) W. Mt. Vernon is located at 38 42 40 N and 77 05 24 W, on the north shore of the river: 3 seconds east and 8.5 seconds north of that point, which is south of the river.

---

DC Map Timeline

While it is true that the streets number and letter beginning at the Capitol Building, it should be clear that 16th Street is the main north south axis. Also, the distric boundary and meridian lines were being laid out for weeks before L'Enfant arrived on the site, so it is not true that L'Enfant laid the center of the city out, then determined the border. And since Mr Bannekker left in early 1791, it is not possible for him to have saved the day by drawing the map from memory in 1792, when L'Enfant was fired. The Benjamin who helped with the drafting was Benjamin Ellicott, Andrew's brother.

The timeline that I develop does not support the idea that Ellicott significantly altered L'Enfant's map. This idea is introduced in an alternate timeline developed by Richard M. Stephenson (a former employee of the LOC) in an 85 page book called A Plan Whol[l]y New: Pierre Charles L'Enfant's Plan of the City of Washington (1973). The Stephenson timeline is used by the Corps of Engineers in writing about the L'Enfant plan, as well as by Nicholas Mann, author of The Sacred Geometry of Washington DC. In a critique of Stephenson's book I defend the idea that it was L'Enfant that introduced the changes into the map that have been attributed to the Ellicott brothers.

* DC Map Images with commentary.
* A Washington DC Map Chronology - A chronology of Washington DC maps beginning with the first L'Enfant map in 1791.

* Library of Congress Map Collection search results for "washington, d.c." - These, along with the collected letters of the Founding Fathers, will provide the primary documents for this study. Note that you can toggle between the list and gallery views.

Looking further down the page you can see another animated image where I overlay the pyramid cross section onto the map to measure the 'fit'. In the image above we see that connecting the points of the pentagram also produces a grid of parallel (red) lines. Projecting Pennsylvania and Mass. Avenues as straight lines to the southeast show both of those to be bent. Penn Ave is bent because the Capitol has been located so far north. It was moved because the planned location fell on the steep side of Jenkins Heights.

Had the CB been a few hundred feet to the south Penn Ave would be straight there and match the pentagram grid. A (red) line connecting the points on the right side of the pentagram helps locate the ideal position of the CB. The last frame of the animation shows the map after 1943 when the Pentagon Building was built. There we see that New Hampshire Avenue is extended to Arlington Cemetery, then is reflected back to the Ellipse via Memorial Drive and the Lincoln Memorial, at the same angle as the pentagram grid. We also see the front side of the Pentagon directed to the ideal CB location at this same angle.

We conclude from this that the pentagram produces a grid of lines which serve as the regulating lines for the design of the DC map. Also that Pennsylvania Ave is bent for topographic reasons. Since the designed location fell on the side of a steep hill, it was moved north a bit, so that two segments of PA don't match the grid. The new location produces a 19.5 degree angle with the WH; and the sine of 19.5 is .3333. Elements in the post 1943 map were designed so as to bring parts of the map back into alignment with the pentagram grid.

If you focus your attention on Scott Circle north of the White House, where Massachusetts and Rhode Island Avenues cross, you can see that it represents the center of a triangle with crossing diagonals. The designers of the map began with the figure of an equilateral triangle, including the diagonals which bisect both the internal angles and the opposite sides, and they shortened it, so as to represent the pyramid cross-section. If the image were not shortened, it would represent a 'top' view of a tetrahedron; or conversely, you can see a shortened version of a top view of a tetrahedron.

That is, the pentagram and the triangle are intimately related, and all the elements in the map are short and wide, like the Ellipse located south of the White House. Notice how extending the sides of the hexagon inscribed in the circle below locates the top points of the pentagram.

Lines which bisect the angles of an equilateral triangle also bisect the opposite sides. As the angles are all 60 degrees in that triangle, the diagonals generate 30 degree angles. When an equilateral triangle (with its diagonals) is shortened so that the base angles are ~52 degrees, the diagonals become 23+ degrees like the tropics. The Great Pyramid is located at 30 degrees north latitutde and has 52 degree base angles.

Scott Circle was a point in a circle in a hexagram before it was shortened. The fact that the McMillan plan was drawn with a circle south of the WH indicates that they were not 'in' on the symbolism. The image above compares the 1522 Milan Cathedral plan (including regulating lines) and the DC planning map. Both can be seen to be based on the triangular Gates of Light form of the Tree of Life; the Kircher tree does not work here. The cathedral plan uses an equilateral triangle and the map uses an isosceles triangle with ~52 degree base angles. See once again how extending the sides of the hexagon inscribed in the circle locates the top points of the pentagram, and how this form of the tree features an overlapping hexagram and pentagram.

Displacing the CB bends both Penn and Maryland Aves

The pentagram not only defines the regulating lines, but it also sets the scale for the map plan. The wide points of the pentagram are the same distance east-west from each other as the WH and CB are. The point where Penn Ave meets the East Branch is the same distance east of the CB. Penn Ave and N St intersect in Georgetown that distance west of the WH. If the Capitol had been 600 feet south, the development of the 23 degree rhombus grid containing the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and Metatron's Cube in the map would have looked like this.

I recommend that the image on the right below is the ideal template used by the map planners, with a few changes, like the large triangle was reduced so that the base angles were ~ 52 degrees like the Great Pyramid; this is why the figures in the map (pentagram and hexagram and triangles) are short and wide. This figure uses three overlapping circles to produce a circle centered on the central circle but twice its size. The upper and lower circles with the outer circle figure to us the yin/yang emblem.

The Tree of Life on the Dodecahedron on Metatron's Cube

We can also see the tetractys, the vesica, the rhombus, the cube, the Star of David, the Tree of Life (10 spheres) and Metatron's Cube (13 points), which is itself related to the platonic solids. Note again, that the tree shape that works here is the A-shaped Tree of Life and not the H-shaped Kircher version of the tree. The image on the left shows the relationship between this form of the tree and the dodecahedron and Metatron's Cube. Note how the pentagonal faces triangulate and form the illusion of the hexagon and cube.

The Tree of Life represents the relationship of the One to the Many (Essence to Existence) and is here composed of a pentagon overlapping a hexagon. The hexagon, which can be seen as a cube, represents the macrocosm and the pentagram, associated with the dodecahedron, represents the microcosm. Here we see the same idea developed by M.C. Escher.

3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Below we see this template on the western half of the DC map, shortened so that the triangle simulates the pyramid cross-section. We also know that the Washington Monument is east and south of its ideal location, in order to better represent the Queen's Chamber in the map/pyramid. The Capitol Building is also about 600 feet north of its ideal location, for topographic reasons. The only major point that appears to be missing is the one opposite to the Capitol on the west bank of the Potomac.

Note the pentagonal fractals that double in height.

---

Concerning the pentagram in the map, you will note that it consists of 5 crossing lines that produce a total of 15 segments. One of those line segments is missing, but it does not keep us from recognizing the pentagram, just as having only half the triangle does not keep us from visualizing that as complete. The lamest of all the arguments concerning the map, is that that one missing segment (of 15) invalidates the pentagram in the map; and the lamest presentation of that argument is delivered here by Robert Hieronymus, where he suggests that the pentagram 'doesn't have laygs'. Click the image for sound.

He talks about drawing his own lines? Why would you need to do that? If you look at this image, you can see that the section that was left out ran in the low area of Rock Creek there (for what that's worth). No legs? What the heck does that even mean? Its missing one segment of fifteen. It is hard to conduct serious scholarship in this environment Robert, but you can tell us about the 'seven layers of meaning' again if you want. :-(

The image that you see above comes from page 169 of Chris Hodap's book "Solomon's Builder's", and illustrates how Rhode Island Avenue does not run all the way to Washington Circle. [You will note that Chris has chosen to use the June 1791 map as an illustration. That map was revised and never used. Compare the image here with the one at the top of the page, and see "DC Map Timeline" above.] Above that it reads, the question is whether the pentagram really appears at all and the answer is not really. What is sad is that this is about all these two have to say about the geometry of Washington DC between the two of them, and this is just silliness.

Brent Morris, who pretends to be a scholar too, chimes in with the idea that to his recollection magical signs and sigil needed to be complete to work, and since the pentagram wasn't complete it couldn't be a magical or satantic sign, therefore Masons are not Satanic or magicians. Actually he puts it in the form of a question, which is: if magical signs need to be complete to work, and if Masons are supposed to be so all powerful, why couldn't they make a complete pentagram?

If you look you will see that Mason Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published a partial printing his play "Faustus" in 1790; a play that the earliest forms of which, known as the Urfaust, were developed between 1772 and 1775. In Goethe's Faust, the pentagram prevents Mephistopheles from leaving a room -

Mephistopheles: Let me own up! I cannot go away; a little hindrance bids me stay. The Witch's foot upon your sill I see.
Faust: The pentagram? That's in your way? You son of Hell explain to me, if that stays you, how came you in today? And how was such a spirit so betrayed?
Mephistopheles: Observe it closely! It is not well made; one angle, on the outer side of it, is just a little open, as you see.

This suggests that while the pentagram is generally understood to be a tool for protection, to ward off, or keep evil at bay, the broken pentagram is a symbol of magical invocation, of capturing or containment; a symbolic means of a controlling ensnarement. The open pentagram is a snare.

Emblems with Symbolic Significance

Herein I suggest that the appearance of symbols in the Washington, D.C. landscape as well as in the U.S. Great Seal (seen on the back of the one dollar bill) is neither accidental nor coincidental, but is a strategem illustrating Allegories Rich in Coded Messages composed by and addressed to a few knowledgeable individuals, just as we see in the Bible.

Remember that it is the ability to interpret the esoteric symbolism that separates members from non-members, and masters from apprentices. Encoding the esoteric (secret) teachings as a means of segregating the inner circle from 'them that are without' is not an uncommon practice, and is referred to as 'the doctrine of exclusion'.

From "The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry" by AE Waite:

"Masonry is described as belonging to the realm of Allegory and Symbolism from which it should follow that it has one meaning on the surface and another beneath, while in the logic of this world of images it is held that things which are within are greater than those without, some secret matter not imparted ligthly or some vital truth which is capable of illustration and adornment by recourse to images and types. We deal in Scripture with substitutes and veilings everywhere."

One part of the ancient mysteries (the so-called lesser ones) was astronomical as we see in the Hiram legend, while the other (the greater mysteries) was theosophical as in the Royal Arch stories which feature Enoch. Theosophy is concerned with "the mystery of the kingdom of God', which like mathematics, geometry and symbolic thinking is beyond the capabilties of some people.

"And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables... Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" The suggestion is clearly that the message has been composed on at least two levels as some of the content is not meant for everybody. Remember that when you read the exoteric official explanations of the symbols in the Great Seal; or when you read that the thirteen step pyramid signifies Strength and Duration and that's all.

I stop short of recommending that these symbols were designed to serve as talismen or instruments of dominion over nature (that is for purposes of magic or practical geomancy) as some have done, saying only that they were intended as contemplative and meditative glyphs accompanying and illustrating legends, like all Masonic and Kaballistic symbols.

Much of what has previously been written online about elements of the DC landscape has been done so in the 'tabloid style', meant as an indictment of Masonry, and intended to cause a sensation- you will find none of that here. I intend to look at the symbols in the DC map and US Great Seal as forms of heraldry, without trying to prove occult intent. [There will be time for that later :-)] A national symbol like the Great Seal, is built up in the same way as a herald designing a coat of arms.

* Anti-Masonry FAQ - intended to address willful ignorance and malicious misinformation.
* For Christians Regarding Freemasonry - a continuing source of new and vital information.
* U.S. Grand Lodges 2007 Membership under 1.5 million

The Masonic Party Line

You will please note that this is not in any way an anti-Masonic treatise. I am neither a Mason, nor am I anti-Masonic. My degree is in Philosophy, and this is directed to the philosophically minded reader, book publisher and film maker, as well as to the curious and lovers of puzzles in general. My intention here is to approach the subject matter from an architectural and historical, rather than an emotional and superstitous point of view. I will have to say, though, that I am a little disappointed in the weakness of the Masonic arguments in regard to this matter where most Masons (and Masonic apologists) appear uncharacteristically shy.

After proclaiming how many Masons signed this and that document and have served as president, when it comes to the subject of the Great Seal or the Washington, D.C. map, the claim appears to be 1) that the design work was 'subbed out' to non-Masons, 2) that there was only one Mason on the committee to influence it, and 3) that those aren't Masonic symbols - with a footnote that reads "Although architect John Russell Pope was not a Mason, his plans naturally integrated much Masonic symbolism".

Working on a Building

Pope designed the Jefferson Memorial, the National Archives Building and the Scottish Rites House of the Temple (seen above) with a thirteen tiered unfinished pyramid on top that begs the question whether the thirteen tiered unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal is a Masonic symbol or not. The point is that one does not have to be a Mason in order to be able to integrate Masonic symbolism into design schemes with knowledgeable Masons or Kaballists close by (or next door).

The HOT from above.

As interest in the Great Seal and DC map symbolism has grown, so has the number of arguments in what I have chosen to call the Masonic Party Line in this regard. You have never seen the number of uses of the phrases "was not known to have been a Mason" or "their is no documentary evidence of.." as you will see in a book or film about the seal or map. The lack of evidence is presented in just the manner that you would expect of defense attorneys.

This argument goes nowhere since JR Pope proves that 'one does not have to be a Mason in order to be able to integrate Masonic symbolism into design schemes'. I recommend that 'although designer L'Enfant was not known to have been a Mason, his plans naturally integrated much Masonic symbolism', just like Pope. And the same can be said of others like Jefferson; at some point the question of Masonic memebership falls to the side as an important issue.

To Build a New Vision.

Akhnaton was an 18th Dynasty Egyptian King who instituted a short lived religous reform. The problem was that he was a monotheist, and most of the people were polytheists. This derived from the fact that political unity had been bought at the price of including everyone's local deity into the religion. Akhnaton mandated a Universal relgion which used the sun as the outward symbol of the invisible infinite deity. When he was 'voted out' his religous system was over-turned. In a page that I am calling Moses Was an Egyptian I echo the assertion that Moses and the Levites were priests of the Aton religion that may have been forced out of Egypt in the revolt.

I think that you can appreciate the historical richness presented on this page which suggests that, "The enlightenment philosophy embraced by Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and other engineers of American Democracy evolved from the same Rosicrucian roots that Freemasonry did".

* The Symbols of America - "There are those who argue that despite appearances, the Masonic looking symbolism is pure accident." It is probably not an accident that reformer Martin Luther chose a rose and cross for his personal emblem . The fact is that Masonry, Rosicrucianism and their symbols and legends were a large part of the intellectual climate of the day in the 1790's; as was neo-classism.

* Temple Architecture and Pagan Symbolism of Washington, DC - According to this page, "The Roman Pantheon, with it's classical portico and pediment, was the model for the Capitol's original dome and rotunda. Classical temples and their libraries were the models for the buildings of Washington, DC."
* Goddesses, Eagles, and Coins - "The new republic of the United States went beyond its Capitol city's architecture being full of classical themes; its coins adopted classical mythology and some of its politics for its symbolism."

It is also true as A.E. Waite says that, "Since Masonry appeared on the historical plane, occultists and mystics have tended towards it, it has received them amiably, and all have elaborated the system in accordance with their particular notions." This means that there are multiple versions of Masonry, like the Kaballah and Christianity.

Consider this neo-classical interpetation of the Greek legend where the soul comes from and returns to the stars via seven planetary spheres. In Masonry this is depicted as a ladder and as a spiral stair case. This is the pulpit from St Paul's Chapel in NYC attended by both Washington and L'Enfant. (See L'Enfant and the Iconography of Independence which discusses emerging American values.)

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
All God's Children go to Heaven.

Here we have the earth represented by the checkered floor, the seven steps, and the heavens at the top for a total of nine arcs, arks or arches as we see in the Royal Arch legend. Pure Masonic/Kaballistic imagery. Adding the four directions we get a total of thirteen.

The Scottish Rites

The Scottish Rites is a branch of Masonry that is based in DC and embraces both the ancient mysteries and the kaballah. The Royal Arch Degree, the crown jewel of the Scottish Rites, is the the thirteenth SR degree, and was first conferred (1753) in the US in the Fredericksburg, Va. Lodge where George Washington was a member. Here we see President Washington with an apron trimmed in red, as well as the red sash and triangle jewel that deonotes the Royal Arch Degree.

While the Scottish Rites were not organized in the US until 1801, the theosophical and kaballistic ideas on which it was founded already existed in the Royal Arch Degree and lodges that supported that. Remember that Craft or Speculative Masonry deals with Hiram and the building of Solomon's Temple, while the Royal Arch pertains to Enoch and the second temple. Below we see the red and the equilateral triangle that we saw in the Washington image above. This same emblem is on the the west face of the SR House of the Temple.

Invoking Revelation

"The tradition of the kabbalists and gnostics is not merely a collection of facts or beliefs jealously guarded by masonic and other hermetic groups, but consists of a method whereby certain incommunicable knowledge can be gained through a course of study in preparation for induced moments of perception, in which aspects of the hidden universe stand out clear and orderly to the inner mind... Revelation comes to those who invoke it through intense studies and a lively curiosity of mind." - John Michell

The Workings of Freemasonry

The fact of the matter is that, if there are Emblems with Symbolic Significance embedded in the DC Map layout and US Great Seal, AND if you want to be able to understand the nature of that significance to the designer(s) THEN you need to learn to understand the concepts implied in the design from the point of view of the designers- and you can't do that 'from the outside', that is, at the same time as you are attacking the moral rectitude of the symbolisms involved there in.

This means that really understanding the symbology involved in the DC planning map necessarily requires an understanding of the workings of Freemasonry (especially the Scottish Rites) and the Kaballah (embraced by the Scottish Rites), as the symbols in the map and seal are both Masonic and Kaballistic; but so is Bible symbolism. Remember that Jesus is portrayed as a builder (carpenter) who traveled to Egypt and lived 33 years. David reigned as King of a united Israel for 33 years in Jerusalem, after reigning his first 7 years in Hebron.

Any study of the DC map and the Great Seal needs to look at Masonry and its symbols, and some of what is written online about symbols by Masons is quite good.

* Masonic Symbols - "Any graphical representation of Freemasonry should be viewed within the context of what Masonic ritual actually says about such a symbol rather than what others have personally attributed to it!" He contrasts personal and Masonic symbolism, while some raise the spectre of 'officially recognized' Masonic symbols vs. rogues. This, of course, just depends on who is in charge in the area at that time.

. . .

Presuming that most readers are not versed in Masonic symbolism, I will review for the shortest time. While most Masons don't realize it, the Masonic ritual is derived from the Mysteries, which grew out of Greek tragedy, which began as festival dances which imitated the movements of the sun, moon and planets in the sky. These early circle dances were the origin of both social dancing and magical and religous ceremonial.

Note that this cannot be rightly called sun or star worship, because what is being imitated in the dances is the Divine Order of which the planetary movements are only one representation; Geometry is another. The goal of these imitative, sympathetic magic ceremonies is the invocation of Harmony via the imitation of the harmonious motions of the planetary spheres, and they were 'institutions truly deigned to be a continuing benefit to the human race'.

On a short page called We're All Dancing in a Ring Around the Sun I compare the structure of the Masonic floor work to the Sufi Sema ceremony and ancient Greek Tragedy. The Masonic ceremony imitates the movements of the sun as seen from the earth, north of the equator in the first degree, where the sun moves from left to right; south of the equator in the second degree, where the sun moves from right to left; and between the tropics in the third degree. The sufi dancers moves from right to left in imitation of orbiting bodies, a heliocentric image. Early Greek tragedies centered around a sacrificial ode, built around the same dialectic triad as Masonry.

"The dance consisted of three sections: strophe, antistrophe and epode. The strophe consisted of a turn, the antistrophe a counterturn, with matching rhythms and metres. Circumambulation was reversed: the movement from right to left was called the strophe and that from left to right the antistrophe. The epode was a fixed position."

In a set of pages that I am calling The Masonic Lodge Floor Explained, I intend to show how the symbolic lodge floor reflects the astronomical lines of the earth. All of that is explained in HPH Bromwell's book about Masonic Geometry. The first degree pertains to the June Solstice, the Tropic of Cancer, the northeast and the left (looking east into the sunrise.) The second to the December Solstice, the Tropic of Capricorn, the southeast and the right. The third degree pertains to the Equinoxes, the Equator, east and the center. [The cornerstone for the White House was laid in the northeast and that of the Capitol Building was laid in the southeast.]

The Master's Square - compares the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the New Jerusalem to the Masonic Temple, and investigates the universal, astronomically based, geometric method for Temple design and construction. This relates the patterns in the Masonic Floor to all the sacred objects in the Bible, as well as temples around the world.

Closely related is a page where I show how to derive the Sri Yantra from the template that is introduced in the pages above. Here is an animation that shows the first six triangles of the yantra drawn on lines on the globe. I suggest that the horizontal lines in the sri yantra are 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees.

* My Thesis *

Simply stated, my primary thesis is that the Washington DC planners used more than one image as templates for the design of the city map - one of those images was the cross section view of the Great Pyramid as seen above (see video), while two others were Metatron's Cube (see video) and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. (see video).

* Two Questions *

If we can accept the notion that the elements in the Washington, D.C. map may correlate with features in the cross-section image of the Great Pyramid , then two questions present themselves, 1) what is there under the river that correlates to the subterranean chamber, and 2) what might elements in the map tell us about features of the pyramid that we don't know about yet?

In 1646, John Greaves published a book entitled Pyramidographia that included information that he had gathered when he personally surveyed the Gizah Plateau, beginning in the 1636. You can see a copy of Greaves' illustration of the outside of the Great Pyramid on page 24 of Peter Tompkins' book Secrets of the Great Pyramid. The Greaves' exterior image of the GP has been cited as being the model for the reverse side of the US Great Seal, and I had, at one time, pointed to the interior image from Greaves' book (seen below) as one of the templates for the DC map layout.

I say 'at one time' because something occured to me that changed my way of thinking about that. I looked at Greaves image of the inside of the pyramid closely and noticed that the relieving stones and chambers above the King's Chamber weren't being depicted. I found that these weren't discovered until 1837. The subterranean chamber is also not depicted since it was full of debris when Greaves was there; yet when you look at the map, the relieving stones, the decsending passage, and the 'well shaft' all appear to be depicted.

The map/pyramid appears to include features in the real pyramid that weren't in the 1646 Greaves image, and that were unknown to Greaves, but apparently not the DC planners! This seems to point to an older source than the Greaves images. The big question is, what that source might be? Who might possibly have been in possession of 'prints' that showed features in the pyramid that were covered up in the construction process?

Below we see an illustration from a book by Colonel Richard William Howard-Vyse who 'proved' the existence of the upper chambers using gun powder. This is the first 'modern' depiction of the relieving stones and chambers, other than the map that is :-)

As the story goes, Howard-Vyse is said to have claimed that there were relieving stones and chambers above the King's Chamber, and that he could prove it. He then set out blasting his way up the interior of the pyramid. He is the one who named the chambers that were found during that event.

The state of the map makers knowledge of the pyramid structure appears to have surpassed that of academics in this case. And as I said, the other question is, if the map represents the pyramid and it included features that were unknown in 1791, might it indicate somehow features that we still don't know about?

A third question that arises is whether Howard-Vyse's conjecture concerning the relieving stones and chambers was based on an engineering hunch or on a drawing such as might have provided the DC planners with their view of the pyramid cross section.

We notice that the fit would have been better had the Capitol Building been a little bit further to the south. See how projecting the (red) line that connects the right side points of the pentagram passes south of the CB location. Penn Ave is bent on both sides of the Capitol because it was located so far north. You can see just how afar north when you project Penn Ave from Georgetown to the White House then straight to the East Branch. The point where the right side of the triangle crosses this straight line is the 'ideal' location of the CB.

Maryland Ave., which helps locate the Jefferson Memorial, also crosses at the CB and is bent. This means that the memorial is north of its ideal location as well. Projecting Mass Ave as a straight (red) line, shows that it is bent too. Note how the SE segment of Mass Ave is anchored on Lincoln Square, as the SE section of PA is anchored on the CB. While straightening PA would entail moving the CB south, straightening Mass Ave would entail moving Linc Sq east.

Note that the diagonal grid formed by connecting the corners of the pentagram features 23 degree angles like the tropics. [At the latitude of DC, the cross quarter days occur 22 degrees from due east and west, close to the same angle.] But this only works north of the WH, due to the displacement of the Capitol Building. The section of the map surrounding the pentagram is clearly the correct part. Everything south and east of there is displaced with the CB.

Below is an image of the current map configuration. We see how extending New Hampshire (left side of triangle) helps locate Arlington Cemetery and Memorial Drive, which is directed to the Ellipse from there, by way of the Lincoln Memorial. Notice that the bearing of Mem Dr is the same as that of NY and Rhode Island Aves. That is, Memorial Drive has been aligned with the diagonal grid north of the WH.

Here we show that a (blue) circle centered on the Ellipse (south of the WH) and extended to the apex of the triangle, also crosses the triangle at the ideal CB location. Looking at a 1792 topogrphic recreation, we see that the planned location for the CB fell on the steep side of Jenkins Heights. Note that each topographic line represents a rise of elevation of 10 feet. The compromise location yields an angle of 19.5 degrees between the CB and WH. The sine of 19.5 is .333.

On top of that, you can see that the front of the Pentagon Building (1, 2) is directed at that point where the right side of the triangle crosses the straightened PA, and that this line is on the same bearing as above (is aligned with the pentagram diagonal gird). Where that line crosses the 16th St axis (red dot) is the ideal location of the Jeff Mml. A (red) circle centered on the WH shows that point to be the same distance from there as the apex of the triangle is. That is the triangle formed by connecting the dots on the pentagram that Robert doesn't see. There are also those who suggest that the pentagram in the map is coincidental.

The Pyramid Cross-Section

If you have read David Ovason's book Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital, you may remember that during a discussion of the US Great Seal he states his opinion that the pyramid makes a better symbol of America than the eagle does , and that 'in spite of the insistence on Egyptian themes within Washington, D.C.' the pyramid has been marginalized and obscured there. I suggest that while it may have been obscured in the map, the pyramid has in no way been marginalized there. Let me show you what I mean.

The Washington Monument

Looking at the red part of the animated image at the top of the page you will see that 1) the White House and four other points in the map are located at the corners of a (shortened) pentagram, and that 2) New Hampshire Avenue, which connects the left hand corners of the pentagram, forms one side of an isoceles triangle with ~52 degree base angles, the same base angles as the cross-section of the GP. That is to say, playing connect the dots with the pentagram in the map produces a triangle that matches the cross-section image of the Great Pyramid - from pentagram to pyramid. But there's more...

Looking at the pyramid image you notice that the Queen's Chamber 1) is offset from the King's Chamber, and 2) is directly under the 'apex' of the pyramid. Below we see that the Washington Monument is likewise offset from the White House, and we wonder if the two facts might be connected? If there is more to the map than the depiction of the pyramid base angle? [Note the shape of the relieving stones above the King's Chamber and how the shape of the top of the Wash Mmt is not unlike the shape of the Queen's Chamber.]

The Washington Monument, offset from the White House.

[Note also how the WH centers on 16th St, the Scottish Rites House of the Temple (seen in the distance) fronts on 16th St, and the Washington Monument lies on a line that passes between 15th and 16th Sts, behind the HOT- that is, these three do not lie on one straight line as some suggest, and the angle between the WH, the Wash Mmt and the CB is not 90 degrees but about 97.]

Looking closer (in the black section of the animated image at the top of the page) you see that other of the pyramid elements appear to be represented by features in the map layout as well. Potomac Avenue is the Descending Passage and Penn Ave is the Ascending Passage and Grand Gallery, while the White House is the King's Chamber and the offset Wash Mmt is the Queen's Chamber. The old canal simulated the 'well' shaft, and even the Great Step at the top of the Grand Gallery is depicted.

The illustration below is generated by overlaying a cross-section image of the pyramid onto the 1818 DC map and can be used to measure the 'fit' between the two. The point of the relieving stones above the King's Chamber is matched with Scott Circle north of the White House and the junction of the Ascending and Descending passages is matched with the junction of Potomac and Pennsylvania Avenues. All in all, the fit is pretty good. Even the great step appears to be depicted. The only element that is not directly apparent is the subterranean chamber, which would be in the middle of the river if it existed.

This does not 'work' well if the Wash Mmt is not offset,
AND would work better if the CB were a bit further south.

I recommend that 1) the open area that was planned for the City Hall south of the CB (Garfield Park today) is intended to represent the grotto in the wellshaft which is located at ground level where the masonry meets the native stone in the actual pyramid, and that 2) G Street, which today helps locate the Jefferson Memorial on the 16th Street axis, is intended to represent Ground Level.

The Capitol Building

* Note that the Capitol Building appears to be north of where it 'should be' according to the pyramid image, due to a bend in Penn Ave. That is, if the CB had been a little bit further south the map would have been a better match to the pyramid image. (See related video.)

A Corollary

The passage to the Queen's Chamber from the Gallery has a 2 foot step in it, that is, the QC is off set in two planes and the monument is offset 371 feet east of the centerline of the WH and 123 feet south of the center line of the CB; also offset in two planes.

A corollary of the thesis about the pyramid cross-section being depicted in the map is that the real reason that the Washington Monument was moved was to better represent the Queen's Chamber in the map. (See related video)

The official story about the move is that the land was 'unstable' at the point (marked A below) directly south of the WH and directly west of the CB. Both the L'Enfant planning map (below) and the Ellicot map (1792) show extensive landscaping around the originally proposed site, but by the time that the monument was to be built, none had ever been done- on purpose, I suggest, in order to force the move.

Note the planned (1791) landscaping around point A

As a matter of fact, none of the proposed landscaping around 'point A' was done until after the design and location of the Washington Monument had been changed. The DC map that was used in the pyramid overlay image above is the 1818 Robert King map; if you draw a line due west of the CB and due south of the WH, you will see that they actually meet over water in that map. Since the Potomac River experiences tides like the ocean which is not far away, the shore line is actually constantly shifting. By 1848, when work on the monument began, the Tiber Creek had been converted to a canal, but the mouth of the creek had yet to be filled in. The landscaping indicated in L'Enfant's map was not completed until 1875.

When we hear the story about how the land was tested at 'point A' and determined to be unstable, remember that that location lay on the bank of a river and that the plan was to position a foundation that is 80 feet across there. The problem wasn't so much that the ground was unstable, but that there was very little 'ground' there, and the landscaping that had been in the plan, never was carried out, for some reason. As I said, the real reason that the monument was moved was that the landscaping that was called for in the original plan was not done in time- but on purpose, I suggest.

Since both L'Enfant's and Ellicott's maps emphasize point A as the axial crossing spot, and the Washington Monument is the only element in the map that requires moving in order to better represent the pyramid, the question arises as to when and by whom that move was included in the plan? An alternate plan suggests itself, that being that the pyramid cross section was intended from the beginning, and that all the talk about a statue where the axes cross was just a diversion.

As the story comes down to us, the current placement of the monument was unplanned and an engineering move that trumped L'Enfant's original idea. But could it be that the original location / equestrian statue story was a hoax, and that L'Enfant himself was the one who designed the pyramid cross-section into the map, including the notion of moving the monument location?

The implication here is that since the planners knew that an image of the pyramid cross section probably wouldn't be popular with the general public, nor would the idea of using the phallic monument to represent the Queen's Chamber, they sought to keep their intentions secret. Also since they knew that the offset of the monument from the WH, the CB and the 16th Street axis would cause dissonance, they were forced to 'invent' a reason for the move. Yes the ground was unstable at point A, but the supposed plan was to fill the area in so that it would be stable there- and this was not done until too late.

---

Asymmetry

There are two axes of symmetry in the DC map. One is East Capitol Street running east from the CB; the other is 16th Street running N-S through the White House. Point A in the map above, where these axes cross, represents a balance point between these symbolic presidencial (N-S) and legislative (E-W) axes. The asymmetry caused by moving the monument south and east from this point presented a problem for some people, like the members of the McMillan Comission.

Below you can see the 1901 McMillan Plan which was supposed to 'complete' L'Enfant's plan. Note 1) the attempt to restore symmetry to the center of the map by arbitrarily accenting the line south from the WH (the 16th St axis), 2) that the Washington Monument is not at the center of the cross but to the right of that 371+ feet, and 3) that this is 'just a plan' and not how DC looks today- scroll up to the image of the monument and compare. (See my youtube video on the McMillan plan.

McMillan Plan of 1901

This McMillan plan image is one of the single greatest sources of misinformation surrounding the D.C. map. Without ever referring to a current map many people presume that it resembles this plan somehow, but it does not.

In an article entitled Symbolism of Washington, DC we see a copy of the McMillan plan described as the map of the Mall, which it is not. Please see this interactive map of downtown DC and notice that it does not look anything like this plan. The basic similarity is that the plan contains the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials that are in the current map, though not much of the rest is. (A large road map that you can get at your local book store gives you the current configuration of the city.)

The McMillan plan designs the Mall around the line connecting the CB and the relocated Washington Monument which is south of due west by about one degree. The Lincoln Memorial is placed on this same misaligned axis. That is the Mall and East Capitol Street are a degree different in bearing from one another. Only E Cap St is square to 16th Street. What appears to be the central point in the 1901 plan is actually over as 100 feet south of the 'point A' in L'Enfant's map.

Fat Man Atomic Bomb 1945

Note the asymmetry in the 1901 plan itself. As was pointed out, the map is symmetrical around 16th Street running through the White House, but the plan is not. Instead of locating the Lincoln Memorial the same distance west of 16th that the CB is east of it, they halfened the distance, so that it looks like an atom bomb instead of a rhombus. (The McMillan Plan depicts the cross section of the atomic bomb in 1901.) Note also that what is a circle below the WH in the 1901 plan is an ellipse today.

If you look closely at the plan and the red lines that I have added, you will see the reason that they didn't extend the figure. The Mall is running down hill and it forms an odd shaped axis for the rhombus that is supposed to be in the map.

Christopher Hodap, in Solomon's Builders, uses this cuttingedge.org website as a refrence (p 176). At the top of that page they show you the McMillan plan (with west at the top) and further down the page they number the points on the McMillan plan as Sepheroth on the Tree of Life. The problem is that you can look at page 177 of Hodap's book and see that the elements spelled out in the McMillan plan do not exist in today's layout. Neither of these sources appear to understand this.

In the section on the McMillan Commission in his book, The Sacred Geometry of Washington DC, Nicholas Mann writes that "the problem of the mislocation of the Washington Monument was sucessfully resolved by realigning the entire Mall to a new east west axis... The two axes made a great cross through the Washington Monument and this new focal point was enhanced by formal construction and planting schemes". This comes from page 146 and is right under an image of the 1901 plan. As I said, the Washington Monument is the object to the right of the center of the cross in the 1901 plan that he is describing, and the current configuration does not look like this; there are no formal construction and planting schemes there. Mann is describing the McMillan plan as if it existed today, which it does not.

An American Cross?

Robert Hieronimus in the newly released United Symbols of America displays a copy of the McMillan plan, west up, (p 245) and describes the cross that Mann alludes to as Christian, as America's cross. He uses the McMillan plan to show how the 'five prominent monuments' on the Mall can be connected in the shape of a cross; these are , of course, the WH, the Wash Mmt, the Jeff Mml, the CB and the Lincoln Mml., and I have connected them by red lines above. The Washington Monument is not in line between the WH and Jeff Mml so its a pretty rugged cross.

Robert borrows this idea from internet Christians who point to "a perfect cross imposed upon the landscape, with the White House to the north. The Jefferson Memorial is to the south, the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west", as a symbol of the Christianity of L'Enfant and the Founding Fathers.

The fact is that the five monuments don't form a 'regular cross', because the WH, Wash Mmt and Jeff Mml don't line up. What does line up is the element in the 1901 plan that was placed on the 16th St axis where it crossed the line between the CB and the Wash Mmt. Both Mann and Hieronimus appear to believe that the monument lies there? Both of these deny the pentagram in the map but bless the 'cross' in the McMillan plan.

Above we see the version of the Tree of Life suggested by Charles Westbrook. As you can see he features only nine spheres and his top sphere does not line up with the others. If that point had been chosen in line, it would be in the position that I suggested above that is the same distance west of the WH (16th St) as the CB is east of it. Note that he does the same thing that the McMillan planners do, inspite of the fact that a straight line won't connect the WH, Wash Mmt and Jeff Mml, he draws one from the WH striaight to the JM. This is the line that forms the cross, but misses the Washington Monument.

---

* The Tree of Life and Metatron's Cube *

Metatron's Cube composed of thirteen circles (12 around 1), and

The Kabbalistic Tree of Life composed of ten spheres (eleven with Daath),

were also used as templates for the map. Since the triangles in the map have ~52 degree base angles, both the tree and the cube were shortened for use in the map. All figures contained within these glyphs are also shortened- like the hexagram, the pentagram and the circle, which becomes an ellipse.

* Remember that even though the Washington Monument wasn't finished until late in the 19th century and the last element in both the map/tree and the map/cube, the Jefferson Memorial completed in 1943, was built on land that didn't exist in 1792, there are streets in the planning map pointing to each of these structures. 16th St, G St and Maryland Avenue point to the future location of the Jefferson Memorial and Virginia Avenue points to the location of the Washington Monument, before and after it was moved. Many of the features of current day DC are hinted at in the 1792 planning map.

The Tree of Life and the Legend of the Soul's Journey (See the video presentation of this.)
An Introduction to Kabbalistic Themes in the Bible

---

Facing the Future

Site designed and maintained by Bigbytes