§3: Intro: The Book of Jaffeth and the Tablet of Aries
Chapter 2: Masonic Plates in Oahspe
Part VI: The Book of Saphah Revisited
Discovering the True Path of Oahspe
crane, owl, goose, ibis, peacock, parrot, raven, chicken, dove, egrit, vulture, eagle, quail, penguin, rooster, heron, sandpiper, partridge, flamingo.
Total Masonic Symbols: 30 out of 30 (100%)
Thusly, these results, certainly confirm yet another plate in Oahspe to be based on Masonic dogma.
Here is a good mental experiment: imagine that you have never read nor heard of Oahspe and you by accident come across this plate by accident. Furthermore, let us imagine that you are archaeological expert familiar with ancient cultures.
What will then be your reaction to said image above?
Plate of Aries*6
Newbrough Placement:
Saphah – Se’moin: 53↔53
• Best Placement:
Saphah – Se’moin: 50→ *44
Plate Masonic Symbols: Stars, 7-Star Constellations (around the sun, around Aries, around animal pairs), sun, crescent moon, deer, moose, goat, sheep, elk, camel, stork,
In a word, your reaction would be one of “confusion.” As an expert, you could name the ancient cultures associated with such animals and the lights of the sky: sun, moon, and the stars. However, you would be forced to conclude that since no single culture every held all of the above symbols as sacred simultaneously in any single moment of time, that therefore this collection was NOT from the past but from the current era, collectively made by those familiar with ancient religions. This artefact was fabricated to appear as if it were from the past.
On the other hand, if you had no such archaeological expertise, just being an ordinary new age seeker, your reaction would likely be one of repulsion and confusion. You might ask: “Just what good is such imagery!? Is this a false religion of some kind? Demonic voodoo worship?”
§4: Origin: The Book of Jaffeth and the Tablet of Aries
Nevertheless, there is quite a bit that we now know about the Tablet of Aries, but only because of relatively recent research. *45
On the other hand, if you were a member of a traditional faith such as Christianity or Islam, you might decide all of these images are naught but demonic idolatry.
The 50th image of Saphah, Sed, has text which describes this plate well, where you can see Sed above the sun:
In all of these three cases, only negative reactions can be reasonably expected. However, for those of the Masonic orientation, a tone more of reverence and idolatry would likely occur. For the Mason does not necessarily seek specific meaning or visionary messages from a spiritual work. He only asks that as many arcane signs and symbols as possible be crammed into a ritual image Explanations concerning the challenges associatedb with virtue and works of charity, are far, far, away from his mental focus.
50. Sed (Panic), the sign Aries, or, in English, letter T.
The sign of wisdom; of gentleness. Sed, a lamb (Kii).
A man's nose and eyebrows. The man who winneth by love, gentleness. The Great Spirit, E-O-Ih, said: This is My Son.The corporeal sun ye can behold at high noon, but MySon Sed standeth above this. All that are gentle and good draweth he to My kingdom, Nirvana. A sheep
with a woman's face; symbol of love. A name signifying gentleness and wisdom. Written sign of a lamb or of the
nose and eyebrows of man. A symbol of stars and zodiac. *6
The twelve mammals and twenty birds are totems (32 in all, all of which are different animals) for 32 different Faithist tribes in ancient Jaffeth that is now called China. Concerning the meaning of such symbols, one can see that all the mammals are vegetarian and as such portray these Faithists tribes as peaceful and harmonious. Yet the birds also portray positive qualities of the Faithists in that the birds symbolize the ability to rise in freedom above earth and onward to reach the heavenly skies:
These, then, are the tribes than sprung of them: King,
Si, Gwe, Loo, Hi-Gah, Hi-se-Gua, Yo, Ha Fung, Ne,
Hi Lam, Se'ing, Yuth, Lo, Jon, Ying'e and Ho Lun Gow.
{16 tribes} From the line of Ha Fung sprang Enam-jo and Ze'zoo (half I'hin) {2 tribes} From Ying'e sprang No'e and Yu Laim {2 tribes}; also Yu'tse and He-ah
{2 tribes}. And God commanded the He-ahns {1 tribe} to dwell toward the south, and they so dwelt. From the line of King descended the We Yah-ho {1tribe}; and
they lived toward the north and made fellowship with the Foe-Sim {1tribe}, who were I'huans by blood, and also followers of the Zarathustrian law under the name Sa Sin, having rab'bahs whom they called bah, the same as to this day. From the tribes of Foe-Sim sprang Han {1tribe}; and from We Yah-Ho sprang Hi and Te-Wing'e {2 tribes}; both of which tribes had the Light and the Voice. [First Book of God II, 8-11] And it came to pass that a woman of Hong Ge {1tribe}, with three adopted children, escaped from the tyranny of Dhi'wan, fleeing for the southern tribes of
Hi See Gua and Yo, and Gwan Goon {3 tribes, the other tribe of Yo is from the NORTH}; and with her, Po wed, and he named his wife Ah T'dowh Jee.
[1st Book of God 3: 5] *6
And this is what the sub-heading “See Book of Jaffeth” is referring to, among other things, the 32 Faithist tribes in Jaffeth. So it would seem logical to infer that in the original manuscript of Oahspe, there were sub-books for each region of the earth. Additionally, another inference might be that this region, for which Po was a prophet for, that the history of Po’s work was originally found in The Book of Jaffeth. And in this renaming of this section, we see it was was inferiorly changed to “The First Chinese Bible.--Being of Po, an iesu, chosen by God for the children of Jaffeth.”
First, the Faithists of Po and Jaffeth worshipped the Creator and would not have made an idol out of their own tribes. Secondly, the higher angels do not make symbolic pictures for mortals to study which are of themselves not discernible without special secret knowledge. To do so would be to burden the minds of mortals with something that is simply one more layer of mental images that would only interfere with mortals receiving direction inspiration from the Creator. That is of course, a stated major goal Oahspe.
Hence, Newbrough once again has no problem editing Oahspe anyway he chooses, and as in other instances, also not that wisely. Perhaps it was also changed so that the non-elite modern Faithists and infidels would be less likely the discover the hidden meanings of this plate
However, the Masons do believe in acquiring, organizing and secretly teaching, creating,* and learning “mystic symbols.” They also believe that mystic symbols gain greater power where those who are the profane, where those who are not
Masons, or who are yet qualified to for that secret knowledge, know nothing of what said symbols really represent.* 38
So, the question that arises is who created the symbolism of this plate? Was it members of the Faithist tribes of Jaffeth? The higher heaven angels who created Oahspe? Dr. Newbrough and the Masonic spirits? In fact, it is certain that Newbrough and the Masonic spirits created it for several reasons.
And thus, you will notice no explanation was ever really given about the meaning of the animals and their number and that was done intentionally. Yet virtually all or all of the animals are Masonic in nature, some of these are presented more than once.
Therefore, in accordance with all that has been stated on this issue, The Plate of Aries is falsely presented as part of the original manuscript.
I do not doubt much that The Plate of Aries is one of the set images painted on the ceilings of the The Temple of Jehovih (or The Temple of Tae possibly), where it is said that star constellations are depicted. It is also clear that all of these plate images are simply more paganistic Masonic symbolism obsession. The temple of Jehovih, which was devoted to public worship on every seventh day of the week, was provided with fountains in the north-east and south-west, and with the four lights of the square, and with the four dark corners of evil and temptation, and with a throne of Light in the east, with time-bells, a gau and sacred wheel. The ceiling represented the stars and planets, interblended with plateaux of the heavenly kingdoms. The east was adorned with the rising sun, the south with the sun at noon, and the west with the setting sun. The north was adorned with the pole-star and aurora borealis. The belt of the zodiac, colored in
cream-yellow, crossed over the ceiling and faded down the east and west walls. On the south wall was the coil and travel of the great serpent (solar phalanx), from the time of the Arc of Bon (of Moses, Capilya and Chine) down to the Arc of Kosmon, in the etherean heavens. (Kingdom 11:6) * 6
Not the Creator, nor the angels, have ANY interest in people studying such esoteric symbols when there is such real work to be done in service to a world that needs so much love and light. This plate is but another fabrication by the Masonic spirits and Newbrough to hijack the true message and true mission of Oahspe.
§4: Analysis: The Book of Jaffeth and the Tablet of Aries
In many editions of Oahspe, the Plate of Aries has a curious caption: See also the Book of Jaffeth. Obviously, since Oahspe has no listed Book of Jaffeth, it
has been assumed that that very book was never published with all the rest of the Oahspe books, much like the books of Knowledge or Ouranothen or Zemers were not. Through the research of Jim Dennon, Harry Hilton, others, and by one’s own casual observations, it is pretty clear that Oahspe was never published in the condition it was originally channeled through as. Plates were positioned besides the wrong text. Passages of text or even whole books were intentionally removed or mistakenly left out.
editorial mistakes in publishing Oahspe might be rectified (without causing even more serious mistakes, of course). Consequently, my first reaction to the caption for the Plate of Aries was that if there is no known version of it, then it is necessary to at least investigate whether some portion of the published Oahspe could be that book. My research efforts indicate that this is probably the case. Additionally, I would like to add in a non-logical, personal sense, that it feels right to call this section the Book of Jaffeth. However, I will now present the evidence and logic for this conclusion.
Alas, yet many of the veteran readers of Oahspe, while curious to see other unpublished texts from Oahspe, are content to know that the basic messages of Oahspe made it into publication; for example:
First, it should be remembered that the plate is obviously explained fairly completely by Se’moin (50), and this is indeed where the plate should be positioned near in any version of Oahspe:
①There are heavenly organizations of progressive service,
②Love for the Creator and love for our brothers and sisters are important spiritual keys,
③Each person is responsible for their own salvation through affiliation and good works, or
④Purification of the mind and body are essential for spiritual progress. So fortunately, virtually all of the major texts and spiritual principles have been published at any rate. Nevertheless, I feel myself drawn to see if any earlier
Aries Image of Plate*6
50. Sed (Panic), the sign Aries, or, in English, letter T. The sign of wisdom; of gentleness. Sed, a lamb (Kii). A man's nose and eyebrows. The man who winneth by love, gentleness.
A'sed (Poit). Ahed (Fonece). Aheb (Ebra). Aheb (Hebrew). And Sed rose up on the third day after the creation of the world and stood above the sun. The Great Spirit, E-O-Ih, said: This is My Son. The corporeal sun ye can behold at high noon, but My Son Sed standeth above this. All that are gentle and good draweth he to My kingdom, Nirvana. Do not unto another what ye would not desire done unto you, or ye shall not behold My Son Sed, who standeth on My right hand. The earth is Mine, saith Sed; by love will I redeem it. Ay'sed (Vede). A sheep with a woman's face; symbol of love. Gently, or gentleness. Let or Leat (Ebra), or as a lamb speaketh. A'nah (Hebrew). Ba'ba (Chine). Hy'sed (Vede). Sed (Aribania). A name signifying gentleness and wisdom. Written sign of a lamb or of the nose and eyebrows of man. A symbol of stars and zodiac.
Let this be the season to bring together male and female. They shall go to the altar and consult the voices of the stars through my prophets. Whoever hath Sed in him returneth good for evil (Chine). [Sapah, Se’moin (50)]*6
As you can see, there are a large number of textual references which match up with, or explain further, the symbolism present in the tablet:
① The largest image is the sheep / lamb / ram, which is a universally known symbol for Aries.
② “ba ba” (Chine) is a close approximation of the sound made by these animals.
③ “…and stood above the sun” parallels the image of the ram standing above the sun in the plate.
“ A sheep with a woman's face” certainly describes the largest depicted animal in the plate.
⑤ “A symbol of stars and zodiac” is a clear match with the sheep and the eleven smaller mammals to the immediate right of it.
⑥ “Let this be the season to bring together male and female” could be pictorially symbolized by the depicted Sun (male) and Moon (female).
⑦ “They shall go to the altar and consult the voices of the stars through my prophets.” In this case, there is no altar depicted though the crescent moon is often a symbol for worship or spiritual communion. However, there are clearly dozens of stars illustrated all about the other images. The conclusion one may soundly make is that the Plate of Aries is very well described by Saphah, Se’moin (50). Hence, the reference to Jaffeth logically indicates that any reference to this plate from Jaffeth, does not necessarily need to cover the major explanatory points to make the remaining aspects of this plate clear. Some of the points not explained clearly in the Se’moin text include:
iii. the type of mammals in the plate. It would be expected then, that the Book of Jaffeth would at least contain information related to these points. It does not follow that this book would offer extensive information about the Plate of Aries because:
① Se’moin (50) already gives fairly extensive information about it, and
② The Plate of Aries does not contain symbols which may be exclusively associated with the regions of Jaffeth (China and the Far East).
Oher Saphah plates which may be cross-referenced closely with the the Plate of
Aries include the Tablet of Biene and the Tablet of Zerl. In the first case, many of the Biene vegetarian mammals and birds are found on the Tablet of Aries. This is consistent with the spiritual ideas conveyed in Se’moin (50); that is, many of these mammals (Aries) may be described as non-aggressive, vegetarians, including in some of these cases, “gentle” as well. Concerning the birds and these mammals, the Tablet of Zerl states:
① the number of birds and animals shown in the plate,
② the reason why there is a focus on the sound which a sheep (Aries) makes:
i. “ba ba” (Chine),
ii. the arrangement of the stars, and
The sacred birds of Zerl were written by an outline drawing of each and every one; but the pronunciation (in imitation of its speech) was different in the whole of the thirty-four tribes. The tame quadrupeds had fewer names. In Iz or Ez there were but twenty-two tribes, and, being the most sacred tribes of the west
of the continent, their pronunciation varied less. Eolin said: Because Iz hath kept my commandments holy, I have bestowed a new tablet (Kii). [Sapah, Zerl (9)] *6
This information indicates that the birds were symbolic of sacredness, and likely were totems for the Faithist tribes. From this, it may be inferred that the Book of Jaffeth would contain references to tribes which match up with the number of animals on the Plate of Aries.
an overzealous editor, who probably grew up having his perspective of spiritual ideas shaped under the heavy tutelage of Christian Bible-toting teachers. Just as other “editing” decisions were made by the original editors, such as removing various books or sections of text from the published Oahspe, so in this case a questionable choice was probably made. Nevertheless, it is certainly possible, using a parallel sense of reasoning, that the histories of Abraham, Brahma, and Eawahtah, were originally found under the respective titles of Book of Arabin’ya, Book of Vind’yu, and Book of Guatama.
The First Book of God, which gives the account of Po (along the other separate accounts of Abraham, Brahma, and Eawahtah), contains a number of similar references as described above. Since this account is also an account of the first major spiritual activity in Jaffeth, this is the text which I suspect may have originally been entitled the Book of Jaffeth. Certainly its present heading or title seems suspect. Consider it now: The First Chinese Bible.--Being of Po, an iesu, chosen by God for the children of Jaffeth. *6
Clearly this section is in no way The First Chinese Bible, for this section is not a collection of books, simply a few chapters in length. Why then is this section called a “bible”? There does not seem to be a solid reason for this, other than
1. The Twenty Birds and the Twelve Quadrupeds
The first correlation between these texts and Aries is between the tribes and the animals. As the text in the Tablet of Zerl refers to the birds and quadrupeds as representing tribes of specific numbers, so too here can it likely be concluded in the Tablet of Aries. In this case, the twenty birds and twelve quadruped mammals gives a total of thirty-two animals. Interestingly enough, thirty-two tribes are mentioned in the history of Po, in the following verses:
These, then, are the tribes than sprung of them: King, Si, Gwe, Loo, Hi-Gah, Hi-se-Gua, Yo, Ha Fung, Ne, Hi Lam, Se'ing, Yuth, Lo, Jon, Ying'e and Ho Lun Gow. {16 tribes} From the line of Ha Fung sprang Enam-jo and Ze'zoo (half I'hin) {2 tribes}.. From Ying'e sprang No'e and Yu Laim {2 tribes}; also Yu'tse and He-ah {2 tribes}. And God commanded the He-ahns {1 tribe} to dwell toward the south, and they so dwelt. From the line of King descended the We Yah-ho {1tribe}; and they lived toward the north and made fellowship with the Foe-Sim {1tribe}, who were I'huans by blood, and also followers of the Zarathustrian law under the name Sa Sin, having rab'bahs whom they called bah, the same as to this day. From the tribes of Foe-Sim sprang Han {1tribe}; and from We Yah-Ho sprang Hi and Te-Wing'e {2 tribes}; both of which tribes had the Light and the Voice.
[1 God 2: 8-11] *6
And it came to pass that a woman of Hong Ge {1tribe}, with three adopted children, escaped from the tyranny of Dhi'wan, fleeing for the southern tribes of Hi See Gua and Yo, and Gwan Goon {3 tribes, the other tribe of Yo is from the NORTH}; and with her, Po wed, and he named his wife Ah T'dowh Jee. [1 God 3: 5] *6
2. “Ba ba” [ = father] (Chine)
The sign of Aries, as depicted in the Tablet of Aries, and described in Se’moin (50), exemplifies a spiritual leader. Here also from this text, we learn the explicit reason for this:
From the line of King descended the We Yah-ho; and they lived toward the north and made fellowship with the Foe-Sim, who were I'huans by blood, and also followers of the Zarathustrian law under the name Sa Sin, having rab'bahs whom they called bah bah, the same as to this day. [1 God 2: 10] *6
Therefore, a second correlation between this text as the Tablet of Aries has been found, that is, an explanation for why spiritual leaders were called rab’bahs. In other words, the sign of Aries is a sheep / ram, and the sound of a sheep’s call (ba-ba)has, through sound association, been used to form a word (rab’bah) to
be used as the title for a spiritual leader.
3. The Arrangement of the Stars
A third correlation between this history of Jaffeth and the Tablet of Aries is the depiction of the stars. The stars are arranged on this tablet in patterns of triangles. The triangle is mentioned as a special symbol representing God in these passages: Now, whilst they were thus discoursing, a light in the form of a triangle came and rested on Po's head, and the word Te-in was inscribed on the sides of the triangle. [1 God 7: 6] *6
4. The Type of Mammals
A fourth correlation is in the mentioning of animals in the text which explain why the particular animals in the Tablet of Aries were chosen.
Feed thou him according to the Ormazdian law. To make him a warrior, give thou him fish and flesh. To make him patient and strong, with docility, remember the camel and the ox, feeding on the herbs that grow on the earth. [1 God 4: 22] *6
Provide ye also triangles, and espouse Me, and I will deliver your kingdoms also. [1 God 7:11] *6
It should also be added that in the history of Po, there are twenty-one references to spiritual light (or the sun), thus establishing this as one of the main themes of the text, just as the Plate of Aries does in depicting the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Hence, as this passage explains, vegetarian animals are more peaceful and powerful (such as the depicted camel and the ox). Furthermore, so too were the other quadruped mammals which were shown. These animals represent a marked contrast of a more harmonious nature (as compared with lions and tigers, see Tablet of Baugh-ghan-ghad.), just as the I’hins contrasted in spiritual nature with that of the druks.
Conclusions
Until we find editions that mirror the original manuscript, we can never be perfectly certain that the passages in question, the first major historical focus in Oahspe upon the land of Jaffeth, was originally entitled the Book of Jaffeth. Nevertheless, it does appear likely that this section was originally entitled Book of Jaffeth, and was meant to be a sub-book to the First Book of God, just as the Book of Shalam was to the Book of Jehovih’s Kingdom on Earth.
If so, then it is reasonable to conclude that the other great leader sub-sections had sub-book titles as well. It does seem logical that the first major spiritual work accomplished in Jaffeth, through Po, its first great spiritual leader, should be included in the Book of Jaffeth. The evidence mentioned implies this to be the case. Even if the Book of Jaffeth is a sub-book of the First Book of God, this is not a major change, but rather a small improvement which clarifies geographically upon the content of that and other text sections. Therefore, my recommendation is to reinsert these titles into Oahspe for greater clarity.
