Dedicated to Athos A. Altomonte's work of instruction
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The hexagram is an ancient symbol also known as ‘King Solomon's Clavicles'; it is a seal that opens many doors, more that we can imagine.
In the two overlapping triangles we recognize the synthetic symbol of a transcendent reality. There are many keys to its interpretation, and this is true for every symbol. Beyond the geometrical reality, we know that our fathers used this symbol to give a philosophical sense to the reality we recognize, because it is part of the many meanings that have been poured into this symbol.
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In the second image the top triangle points to the bottom, whilst the bottom one points to the top. They don't touch each other, meaning that they disown each other because they are on two different planes. Their disposition shows a will to descend and a will to ascend , in the sense of returning.
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The use of colors helps us to better express the philosophical-alchemic concept. The dynamics of the two triangles produce penetration, which tradition acknowledges as the Work.
The red triangle is the fire element, where by fire we mean the animic fire; the blue triangle is the water element, viz. the personality not yet focused on its emotional drives.
At this point we have three elements: fire, water and another, air, the mother, space. Fire can't exist without air and when fire touches water it can't sublimate it. We must remember that in space, viz. the Great Mother, it is contained energy, which on the physical plane is represented by the air element that is, indeed, energy.
When fire touches water the latter evaporates. In this allegory alchemists hid a fundamental step for the achievement of the Work. The difficulties that the spiritual researcher faces by choosing the ‘Way of Return' are expressed by the mists and miasmas generated by this contact.
From a biblical point of view, we have the sacrifice of the fire element (the Master with the Disciples, the Soul with Personality, …) which, with this act of will, sublimates the heaviest part and makes it aerial, allowing it to ascend – we must remember that the term ‘ascent' refers to the vibratory value.
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These dynamics develop in the symbol that in the Old Testament is known as ‘the seal of the four Evangelists'. This is also a precise indication hidden in the symbolism of the Masonic floor, which from a square turns into a rhombus, as it is well known from the representations of the Lodge picture of the third degree. |
If we examine King Solomon's seal, viz. seal of the Temple, in the work of the Temple we must consider the six triangles that represent six energies necessary to work in the Temple in a qualitatively sufficient way (referring to the templar, viz. the man who works in the Temple); these six energies imply the knowledge and study of the Seven Rays.
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Since this seal points to the Temple of King Solomon, which is in actual fact man, it is the key to access the knowledge of the Great Planetary Lodge, the Humankind, and its evolutionary process represented in the three Halls (Hall of Ignorance, of Learning and of Wisdom, which are the three A. F. M. degrees on the planetary level) going from microcosm to macrocosm.
In the development of the triangles we must consider two elements; one is the effect in itself, which is real, the other is the space where it manifests itself. The grid resulting from such development is where the reality of the effect is produced. Since everything takes shape into a grid, let's see how the star is developed and then we will consider the grid.
In the initiatory language we have two basic indications: the five-pointed star is man in his microcosm; the six-pointed star represents the fulfilled man. The man of this Earthly Lodge can become fulfilled only through one way, which is the lighting of the centers.
We must point out that the process of lighting of centers is produced by the precipitation of energy of the higher Self (the Soul) when the lower Self (Personality) deliberately decides to discipline itself for its recognition and intervention, through a process of purification (not in a moral sense but as energetic characterization, matching the lower vehicle to the energies of the higher one). In this process of integration, which implies the building of the bridge between the two Selves (the two ‘banks') there is the creation of a path, a channel through which the energy of the Soul starts the gradual activation of the centers. Every other process aimed at prematurely energizing the centers of force brings a serious danger for the psycho-physical health of the man who hasn't chosen to work on his inner refinement yet.
Emphasizing oneself on only one center, especially if it concerns low level drives and instincts, implies neglecting the others, whilst we must get to the point of being aware that we are advancing, working with all the centers rather than only with one. In particular the mind is not enough; the latter must be an instrument connected to the morale where we have decided to deliver a service to us, in our improvement on the initiatory path and to the brothers (the cross – vertical and horizontal arms); therefore we must connect our personality and our mind to the service.
The use of the creative mind that uses psychic energy guided by the judgment of the heart makes man able to modify his personality through his attributes (the triple lower self). The concrete mind doesn't modify man's attributes. For this reason aspirants are advised against focusing the work on the concrete mind* more than it is necessary. Its role of analysis and elaboration is certainly important, but if this development is not balanced by the energy of the heart that brings perception, which then becomes intuition, in this man the aridity of intellectual coldness will prevail, even when he is thoroughly erudite.
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*In the plane of concrete mind there are several degrees of development, which go from the reasonable mind to the logical one, up to the intellect. Usually man uses a mind permeated by the emotional sphere, which he tends to isolate when he is busy at work. From here the popular saying ‘work ennobles man'.
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The development of the stars represents the Order that develops by following this scheme, a proper mandala ; when we are looking for what is inside we get lost on the plane of concrete mind, whilst the planes of abstract and even intuitive mind start vibrating due to sympathy, because a zoom effect is originated among the concepts geometrically contained one inside the other.
The hexagon is the concept of templarism closest to the truth; although the six-pointed star contains a real concept, it is far from reality because it is allegorical. Indeed it is necessary to develop the hexagram giving it motion (each vertex produces a circumference) and therefore obtaining the scheme of the solar system. 
