PROTECT THE TEMPLE. DEFEND THOSE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES. PRACTICE SACRED SCIENCE FOR THE FREEDOM AND UPLIFTMENT OF HUMANITY.
As one noted Templar scholar observed, "when you go deep enough, the Templars are involved with almost everything." And when a name gathers sufficient mystique unto itself, and when it has genuine spiritual power behind it, it will inevitably become the target of defamation. Few names in history are as revered as the Knights Templar – and few are subject to as much distortion and defamation. And the Templars of old knew this. It was actually part of the medieval Templar initiation to repeatedly remind the candidate for Templar knighthood that he was taking on, not a path of honor and glamour, but one of persecution and mockery. “You are daring to attempt to live by a high code of honor in the name of God. You will be defamed and mocked for this. Do you truly desire to follow this path?”
And then there are those factions who systematically seek to defame all genuine spiritual institutions, through infiltration and corruption. For a simple demonstration of this, one need merely do an internet search for the phrase, “The truth about…,” and fill in the blank with the name of whatever worthy person or institution which has accomplished great good in the world, and there you will find the rumors, defamation, and yes, the actual misdeeds of ordinary human beings who have associated themselves with that name. The truth about: the Catholic Church, the Freemasons, the Jews, the Jesuits, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, the Franciscans, the Puritans, the Baptists – all of them fallible, all of them noble, all of them human. And in the wake of this tidal wave of defamation, people become reluctant to even invoke the once-holy name of these institutions, lest the cynics cry, “Oh, haven’t you heard the ‘real truth’ about them?”
And so now, these many centuries later, we are told that the Templar name is so damaged, so compromised, that it is nearly useless. From drug gangs in Mexico to Nazis to subversive Illuminati-wannabes, the Templar name has been dragged through the mud of history. And yet, remarkably, the mystique survives. This is due, I believe, to the timeless values of love and courage and humility at the heart of the Templar story. And so we will not surrender this holy name.
The Poor Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon. To be a Templar was to serve “the Temple.” To be taught and initiated in the inner circle was to learn the ancient sciences behind the creation of sacred space in alignment with the ley lines of Earth, for the upliftment of humanity. The Templars of the inner circle knew that their esoteric lineage and sacred science stretched far back into the mists of history, passed on through the Sufis who taught them, through the Essenes who taught the Sufis, through the mystery schools of Isis, the Judaic Order of Melchizedek (from which came the Christ), the Djedhi Priesthood of Pharoanic Egypt, back to the Vedas of India, and possibly even further to the lost civilizations of Lemuria and Atlantis.
But right use of the ley lines is not enough. The dark faction knows this high science as well and manipulates it to their advantage as they can. But they are crippled (though they seem not to know it) because service-to-self as a dominating agenda carries inherent liabilities of ultimate division and downfall. So the Templars articulated a high standard of service-to-the-good-of-all, an ideal Code they strove to embody, conditioned, of course, by the social/cultural realities of medieval Christendom, and the geopolitical reality of the Crusader era. The Templar dedication to the Magdalene, and their study of ancient sacred sciences, made them vulnerable to accusations of heresy (as indeed they later were so accused in their downfall). So they encoded their teachings in symbolism, and left unmistakable manifestations of their knowledge in the great Templar monuments, the Marian cathedrals, Rosslyn Chapel, Mont St. Michel, and elsewhere.
They fell, of course. They lost their 'day job,' you might say, their real-world cover story for their inner sacred work, when the resurgent Saracens drove them from the Holy Land after two centuries. They were still rich and powerful - but the French king, Phillip IV, was deeply in debt to the Order and worked tirelessly for their downfall. For without their exalted status as the elite warrior-monks for the Christian presence in the Crusader kingdoms, they were vulnerable. And so they were taken down, defamed, tortured, burned at the stake, and the Order seemingly disappeared into the mists of history.
This too was a cover story. In Portugal the Order escaped the brutal suppression taking place in France, and simply changed their name to The Knights of Christ, ultimately founding the nation of Portugal itself as their base. A Templar presence certainly survived in Scotland, leading to the formation of the Freemasons for the construction of Rosslyn Chapel a century later. A legend also has it that Templar knights swept in to aid in the crisis of the formation of the Swiss Confederation, which would adopt a rather Templaresque cross for the national flag.
There are several organizations today which take the Templar name, and lay claim to being the original Order, or assert that they are the protectors of an ancient holy bloodline, or that they practice the ancient sacred science and are guiding (or manipulating) human history from behind the scenes. I was intimately involved with one such organization in a leadership position, so I know whereof I speak.
I saw in those years that the mystique of the Templar name can be a trap for the ego as well as an inspiration for the soul. The novelty of legal nobility titles, claims of Templar ancestors, and a thirst for mystic prestige were pitfalls I witnessed on a daily basis - and indeed felt their temptation myself. I saw how easy it could be to forget the Templar motto, "Non nobis, non nobis Domine, sed nomine tuo da gloriam." Not unto us, O Lord, but to Thy Name be the glory!
The Templar name matters, it is powerful and beautiful...and it is just a worldly name for a band of servants who serve the only Name that matters.
Now I am part of a humbler manifestation of that ancient holy Order, which goes far back beyond the tainted Crusader legends. Unlike my former association, we make no grand claim to being "the restoration of the original Order," we bestow no titles other than that of Brother or Sister, we exact no dues, we adhere to no one party or politician, we hand out no nobility titles, we honor our heritage but do not champion this or that bloodline, and, no, we do not seek to protect a supposed descendant of the beloved Master of Galilee. We honor those organizations which seek to carry on the Templar esoteric legacy, provided they seek to embody the Code. And above all, we honor Sacred Union - the balance in the soul of Divine Feminine and Sacred Masculine expressed in our revered Protectress, St. Mary Magdalene and Yeshua the Christ.
In the end, it's all about the story. Every six to seven hundred years, it seems, there comes a need for a Bridge in Time - the passing on of sacred knowledge and a high holy legacy at a time of a shift of ages. At such times, human freedom is in peril as a dark wave threatens to forever bury the holy stream of wisdom, love, compassion, and courage.
At the dawn of 2021, we stand for the sovereignty of the soul in direct communion with Spirit, and for the God-given human rights of the people against the corrupt corporate elite, which is merely the latest manifestation of the service-to-self agenda of those who freely embrace enslavement and domination. As a practical matter, we share knowledge of how to raise our frequency and vibration, how to pierce and dissipate the energetic restraints placed on humanity and on our Mother Earth. We are 'sacred activists' and take a stand against injustice. We sing, we dance, we share poetry and art, and we band together with all those who share these values, as a universal family seeking abundance, peace, healing, and freedom for all peace-loving people. And we will defend our families and our communities when necessary.
We call ourselves The Johannine Templars, honoring the mystic legacy of the 'beloved Apostle' John, and the original "Apostle to the Apostles," our beloved Magdalen, who were both perfect exemplars of a Union of Love with the Universal Christ. Our work can be explored at the Blue Star Rising - The Templar Awakening channel on YouTube.
On this New Year's Day, we celebrate a dawn of hope for us all, and pray that you who read this, your family and loved ones, will enjoy the blessings of the One Spirit, the beloved Source, the Creator/Creatrix, our Mother-Father-Friend-Beloved God, throughout this year and always!
love and blessings,
Michael Henry Dunn