«Excellent,» Langdon said. «The mural portrays the Father of Our Country using a tripod and pulley to lay the cornerstone of our Capitol Building on September 18, 1793, between the hours of eleven fifteen and twelve thirty.» Langdon paused, scanning the class. «Can anyone tell me the significance of that date and time?»
Silence.
«What if I told you that precise moment was chosen by three famous masons george washington, benjamin franklin, and pierre lenfant, the primary architect for d.c.?»
More silence.
«Quite simply, the cornerstone was set at that date and time because, among other things, the auspicious Caput Draconis was in Virgo.»
Everyone exchanged odd looks.
«Hold on,» someone said. «You mean. . like astrology ?»
«Exactly. Although a different astrology than we know today.»
A hand went up. «You mean our Founding Fathers believed in astrology?»
Langdon grinned. «Big-time. What would you say if I told you the city of Washington, D.C., has more astrological signs in its architecture than any other city in the world zodiacs, star charts, cornerstones laid at precise astrological dates and times? More than half of the framers of our Constitution were Masons, men who strongly believed that the stars and fate were intertwined, men who paid close attention to the layout of the heavens as they structured their new world.»
«But that whole thing about the Capitol cornerstone being laid while Caput Draconis was in Virgo who cares? Cant that just be coincidence?»
«An impressive
coincidence considering that the cornerstones of the three structures that make up Federal Triangle the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument were all laid in different years but were carefully timed to occur under this exact same astrological condition.»
Langdons gaze was met by a room full of wide eyes. A number of heads dipped down as students began taking notes.
A hand in back went up. «Why did they do that?»
Langdon chuckled. «The answer to that is an entire semesters worth of material. If youre curious, you should take my mysticism course. Frankly, I dont think you guys are emotionally prepared to hear the answer.»
«What?» the person shouted. «Try us!»
Langdon made a show of considering it and then shook his head, toying with them. «Sorry, I cant do that. Some of you are only freshmen. Im afraid it might blow your minds.»
«Tell us!» everyone shouted.
Langdon shrugged. «Perhaps you should join the Masons or Eastern Star and learn about it from the source.»
«We cant get in,» a young man argued. «The Masons are like a supersecret society!»
«Supersecret? Really?» Langdon remembered the large Masonic ring that his friend peter solomon wore proudly on his right hand. «then why do masons wear obvious masonic rings, tie clips, or pins? why are masonic buildings clearly marked? why are their meeting times in the newspaper?» langdon smiled at all the puzzled faces. «my friends, the masons are not a secret society. . they are a society with secrets.»
«Same thing,» someone muttered.
«Is it?» Langdon challenged. «Would you consider Coca-Cola a secret society?»
«Of course not,» the student said.
«Well, what if you knocked on the door of corporate headquarters and asked for the recipe for Classic Coke?»
«Theyd never tell you.»
«Exactly. In order to learn Coca-Colas deepest secret, you would need to join the company, work for many years, prove you were trustworthy, and eventually rise to the upper echelons of the company, where that information might be shared with you. Then you would be sworn to secrecy.»
«So youre saying Freemasonry is like a corporation?» «Only insofar as they have a strict hierarchy and they take secrecy very seriously.»
«My uncle is a Mason,» a young woman piped up. «And my aunt hates it because he wont talk about it with her. She says Masonry is some kind of strange religion.»
«A common misperception.»
«Its not a religion?»
«Give it the litmus test,» Langdon said. «Who here has taken Professor Witherspoons comparative religion course?»
Several hands went up.
«Good. So tell me, what are the three prerequisites for an ideology to be considered a religion?»
«ABC,» one woman offered. «Assure, Believe, Convert.»
«Correct,» Langdon said. «Religions assure salvation; religions believe in a precise theology; and religions convert nonbelievers.» He paused. «Masonry, however, is batting zero for three. Masons make no promises of salvation; they have no specific theology; and they do not seek to convert you. In fact, within Masonic lodges, discussions of religion are prohibited.»
«So. . Masonry is anti religious?»
«On the contrary. One of the prerequisites for becoming a Mason is that you must believe in a higher power. The difference between Masonic spirituality and organized religion is that the Masons do not impose a specific definition or name on a higher power. Rather than definitive theological identities like god, allah, buddha, or jesus, the masons use more general terms like supreme being or great architect of the universe. this enables masons of different faiths to gather together.»