The Gauntlet - April 2011

THE MASONIC EAGLE

spes mea in deo est

As a Masonic symbol this device is time honoured and appropriate. It is no less the badge of the Grand Inspector and Sublime Prince than that of the Grand Elect Knight. As the symbol of the Inspector it suggests an equal contemplation of both sides of a question-and thus, judicial balance.

It is seen as the fitting emblem of an elect knight in ancient religious engravings, and to the exclusion of the cross itself, it appears upon the banners of the knight and prince who behold the apparition of the virgin and child of the rosary.

And, as in ancient Mesopotamia, the double eagle is here associated with the sun symbol in the form of the Chaldean Elu, which the knight and prince wear, evidently with the same ancient meaning: "The light toward which my eyes are turned."

Thus does the double-headed eagle stand today for that which it stood in ancient days, its two heads, facing the Ultimate Sun, reminding men and Masons that there is yet even "more light" for the pilgrim who travels East, and in whose heart is the motto, spes mea in deo est (my hope is in God), representing the 1855 Scottish Masonry 32

THE TOUCAN

Sacred to the Incas...

This beautiful and colorful rainforest bird has been associated with evil spirits, and said to be the incarnation of a demon; the father of a new child must not eat Toucan flesh as it might bewitch the new-born child and cause it to fade away, so the myth goes.

The Spanish weren't too sure what to think of the bird, but they did give it its name.

Sacred to the Incas and revered by the Maya, the Toucan was a mystic symbol and a tribal totem; the medicine men considered it an incarnation to fly to the spirit world.

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"it's that time of the year"

TRIDENT

Seniority and Supremacy by Sea

The staff of Poseidon (in Greece) and the staff of Neptune (in the Roman Empire) are referred to as tridents. Poseidon was the younger brother of Zeus and master of the seas, rivers, and earthquakes in Greek mythology.

The symbol was representative of seniority and supremacy by sea.

In the Euphrates-Tigris region and along the eastern Mediterranean coast the trident has since time immemorial been a symbol of thunder and lightning. In Christian art the trident is an attribute of lesser devils and the Evil One, the staff of the Devil.

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TRILLIUM FLOWER

Trillium literally means "three parted lily, and it was Linnaeus (the naturalist) who created this fitting name to describe the tripleness of this forest wild flower. The State wild flower of the Ohio and the Provincial flower of Ontario (Canada), the Trillium can reach heights of 18 inches. With age they can turn to pink. Popular folklore says that if a Trillium is picked off a mountain, it will cause rain. The white trillium is a symbol of beauty, purity, healing and is often associated with the Trinity, a Christian doctrine, stating that God exists as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but is one being. The root was used by native North American Indians and the early settlers, for medicinal purposes. The Trillium is referred to by some as the Wake-Robin, likely because its an early spring bloomer, and by others as the Western lily, the latter resulting in the adoption of some of the symbolism associated with the European lily

THE FEAST OF THE TRUMPETS

Throughout Europe trumpeters had become a powerful, organized body of musicians employed directly by the king as a symbol of his own importance and also to entertain the court. The tradition of an elite trumpet corps stretches back to the middle Ages. A Symbol of Majesty, Preparedness and Recognition.

The Feast of Trumpets models itself on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Not normally celebrated in Mainstream Christianity, a small number of evangelical Christians celebrate the Feast of Trumpets.

Some connect the observance with the "sound of the trumpet" that they believe will occur at the return of Jesus Christ ("For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God."

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Popular Free Graphic Software Serif Draw for Windows has introduced some changes worth noting. The software was in disfavour when Vista came out as the Free version of Serif would not work with the Vista operating system nor its offspring Windows 7. The new free version is now called the Draw Plus Starter Edition and works with Vista and Windows 7. We should further note that when you have Serif ready to go, to open a wmf file you don't select "open", you use "insert" from file. For those who want to try it out, click on the Serif logo.

Free software for Windows and Mac. Tips: Use "open" to open a wmf file. To ungroup the image, click once on it and choose "modify" (top command bar), then select "break". To group an image you select the image with your mouse, then choose "modify" then "Group. To download software click on the Logo.

Know of other Free graphic software programs? Please let us know so that we can post it for other members to take advantage of.

The World's Leader in Heraldry Art

We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

Top Command Bar/View Select 'enhanced' and not 'enhanced with overprints';
Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK);
Top Command Bar/Tools Select 'Save Settings as default' ;
When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).