St. John's Eve & Marie Laveau - Similarities

On my last trip to New Orleans I made it a point to visit the crypt of Marie Laveau, also known as the Widow Paris, the Voodoo priestess of New Orleans.
Above is one of the many photos I took of the supposed “most haunted crypt” in America, the burial place of Marie Laveau.

While researching the life of Marie I found some interesting symbols that have similarities in other mysteries’ schools.

History informs us that Marie Laveau presided over rituals on St. John’s Eve, which began at dusk on June 23rd and ended at dawn on the 24th.
The Feast of St John coincides with the June solstice, the Christian holy day is fixed at June 24, but in days of old, festivities are celebrated the night before, on St John's Eve.
St John the Baptist is one of the two patron saints of Freemasonry, the other being St John the Evangelist, whose festival occurs on December 27, six months later. According to McCoy's Masonic Dictionary, participation in the Festival of St. John at midsummer is a duty of every Mason. The two saints stand at either end of the spectrum marked by the solstices, the doorways of light and dark, of zeal and of learning. For those so interested in why lodges are dedicated to the holy St. Johns I highly recommend reading the informative paragraph on “dedication” in The Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by Albert Gallatin Mackey.
Please do not confuse Freemasonry with Voodoo, I’m just showing shared of symbols, in this case the Holy St. John.
A small side note, call it trivia if you like: John Wolfgang Goethe, the illustrious German poet was initiated into Freemasonry on the eve of the festival of St. John the Baptist, in 1780; and on the eve of the same festival, in 1830, the Masons of Weimar celebrated the semi-centennial anniversary of his admission into the Order.
Now back to St. John’s Eve and the rituals of Marie Laveau.
St. John’s Eve is the most important date on the Voodoo calendar. On this night, the Voodoos have always gathered for a great conclave. There is an alter on the ground with snakes and food in front of it. The queen goes on top of the table and does her dance of worship. She then puts a picture on the ground of St. John, signaling the start of the meeting. Everyone present then goes to the ground and knocks on it three times. This is in representation of faith, hope, and charity.
Hundreds attended, including reporters and the curious who were charged fees. There were drums beating, bonfires and animal sacrifices. Offerings were made to the appropriate Loa for protection.
The Loa are the spirits of the Voodoo religion. They are also referred to as Mysteries and the Invisibles. The three classes which the “Les Invisibles” break down into are the basic fundamental principles of voodoo which consist of: Les Morts (which are the collective dead), Les Marassu (the original twins from which the human race has evolved) and Les Mysta (also known as the mysteries; the Loa (lwa) or the Gods). The Loa has the status of a divine spirit and represents either an aspect of life, natural element, or a moral principle.
They are somewhat akin to saints or angels in Christianity in that they are intermediaries between Bondye (Bon Dieu, or good god) the Creator, who is distant from the world and humanity. Unlike saints or angels however, they are not simply prayed to, they are served. They are each distinct beings with their own personal likes and dislikes, distinct sacred rhythms, songs, dances, ritual symbols, and special modes of service. Contrary to popular belief, the Loa are not deities in and of themselves; they are intermediaries for a distant Bondye.
Although I am not familiar with the mythical significance of the werewolf I do enjoy the idea of Loup-Garou. People were kept safe from the Loup-Garou, the Cajun werewolf that, allegedly, was afraid of frogs. Once the soul of a man is cursed to be the Loup Garou, he will become the dreaded creature, and will roam the bayou tearing into and devouring whatever or whoever crosses his path. Cajun legend says that the werewolves even gather for Loup Garou Balls. It is said that they fly in on large bats, and dance together under the full moon.
Participants danced in intoxicated abandonment and, seemingly, became possessed by various Loas. She sat on her throne and directed the activities. Marie kept a large snake, Le Grand Zombi, which she would dance with in worshipping Damballah, shaking a gourd rattle to summon the deity. Damballah is one of the most important of all the loa. He is depicted as a serpent and is closely associated with snakes. He is considered the father of all the rest of the loa and, along with his wife companion Ayida Wedo, to be the Loa of creation. He is usually symbolized with the Catholic figure Moses. Damballah has been linked to Moses, because of the bronze serpent staff that Moses used to protect the Israelites from the poisonous snakes as described in the Old Testament.

One needs only to view the symbolic representation of Damballah to see why I was excited by the symbol.



It is my hope to post more photos of my trip in the future, but for now adieu.

Tolstoy's Pierre Becomes a Freemason

I just love what Tolstoy wrote in War and Peace about Freemasonry, although written well over a century ago I think it still describes Freemasonry today. In his famous lengthly novel Pierre observes four different types of Masons, which are you?

"He divided all the brethren whom he knew into four categories. In the first he placed those who took no interest in the transactions of the lodges, or in human affairs in general, but were exclusively absorbed in the mysterious doctrines of the order, absorbed in questions as to the threefold nature of God, or the three primordial elements of matter, sulphur, mercury, and salt, or as to the significance of the Cube, and all the symbolism of Solomon's Temple. Pierre reverenced this class of Masons, to which belonged principally the older members of the brotherhood, and losiph Alekseyevitch, in Pierre's opinion,—but he could not share in their pursuits. His heart was not attracted by the mysterious side of Masonry.
In the second category he reckoned himself, and those like himself seekers, inclined to waver, not yet successful in walking the straight and intelligible way of Masonry, but all the time striving to walk in it.
In the third category he placed the brethren and they formed the majority who saw in Freemasonry nothing but superficial formalities and ceremonies, and who insisted on the strenuous fulfillment of these external forms, caring nothing for their real essence and significance. Such were Villarski, and even the Grand Master of the Supreme Lodge.
In the fourth category, finally, were reckoned also the great mass of the brethren, and especially those who had been recently admitted. These were men who, according to Pierre's observation, believed nothing, and desired nothing, and entered the brotherhood simply for the sake of bringing themselves into intimate relations with rich young men endowed with influential connections, of whom there were many in the lodges.
Pierre began to feel dissatisfied with his activity. Masonry, at least Masonry such as he knew it in Russia, it sometimes seemed to him, was founded on mere formalities. He did not dream of doubting Masonry itself, but he was persuaded that Russian Freemasonry was on the wrong track, and had turned aside from its first principles. And. therefore, toward the end of the year, Pierre went abroad to become initiated in the highest mysteries of the order."