Antique Order of the Outdoor Gardeners
The ancient order of the Brotherhood of Gardeners or originally ye Fraternitie of Gardiners East Lothian , as it is called in the oldest protocol of August 16, 1676, was founded in Haddington . It is a fraternal association that has spread from Scotland to England , Ireland and the British colonies . The modern gardeners from Scotland are not to be confused with the Prussian gardeners .
The outdoor gardeners' lodges existed parallel to Freemasonry . Modern outdoor gardening (1676) is older than modern freemasonry (1717). Both the Masonic lodges and the outdoor gardener's lodges contained clauses from the beginning that enabled non-professionals and non-craftsmen to become members. These members were called either speculative members or gentlemen members.
For outdoor gardeners it was also clearly regulated that the membership fee for professional gardeners had to be lower than the fee for all other professional groups and non-craftsmen. They were essentially organized democratically. The box cashier ( called box ), in which the box money and box papers were, was subjected to a regular and meticulous examination.
history
17th century
The desire of the Scottish gardeners of the 17th century to organize seems to coincide mainly with the growing interest of the local nobility in the Renaissance and landscape gardens, which increased the need for professional gardeners. Most of the early rules deal with the practical aspects of gardening, as well as with the dissemination of information within the outdoor gardeners' lodges regarding speculative-spiritual and technical knowledge. Some social rules stipulate, among other things, how donations and financial contributions should be used, e.g. B. to help needy widows, orphans and poor people. The 15 duties ( called interjunctions ) attached to the protocol of 1676 also show that great importance is attached to good behavior, behavior and good morals.
18th century
Around 1715 a second outdoor gardener's lodge was established in Dunfermline , which was strongly encouraged and supported by two members of the local aristocracy, the Earl of Moray and the Marquess of Tweeddale. Their published chronicle contained a membership list which listed a duke, a marquis, six earls, seven lords, eight knights and hundreds of soldiers, ministers, lawyers and other landowners and lairds.
The two mother lodges in Haddington and Dunfermline expanded their recruitment area considerably, but without the establishment of new outdoor gardeners lodges. It was not until 1796 that three new outdoor gardeners' lodges were founded: in Arbroath, Bothwell and Cumbnathan.
19th century
There were several efforts to unite across cities; however, some of the older outdoor gardener's lodges deliberately remained independent. A common administration or a grand lodge for the outdoor gardeners did not come about until 1849 in Penicuik . Three outdoor gardeners' lodges were founded in the USA: the Ash Lodge in New Jersey, the First Thistle Lodge in New York and the Lonaconing Thistle Lodge in Maryland. The outdoor gardeners expanded from Scotland into the former colonies.
In the middle of the 19th century, the outdoor gardener brotherhood had thousands of members. At its peak, there were over 10,000 outdoor gardeners in the Lothian region alone, who belonged to more than 50 outdoor gardeners' lodges. Just for comparison: Lothian is an area south of Edinburgh measuring 1,725 km², i. H. an area that is half the size of the island of Mallorca .
20th century
In the 20th century, most of the members fell victim to both world wars. The total membership was ultimately too small to survive.
In 1911, a national law was introduced in Great Britain, which obliged the state to provide social security for its citizens. Then the Grand Lodge and some independent outdoor gardeners' lodges met in the same year. In 1939 the Haddington outdoor gardener's log was suspended for the first and only time in its history. Despite the recruitment of new members, the Haddington outdoor gardeners declared their dissolution on February 22, 1953.
In 1956 the ancestral seat of the Scottish Grand Lodge was moved from Penicuik in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa . By the late 1960s, the outdoor gardening lodge in Great Britain had almost died out as an organization. Outside the British Isles - especially in South Africa and Australia - organized outdoor gardening continued to exist and flourish.
21st century
In Australia in 1866 the outdoor gardeners' lodges joined together to form the Grand United Order of Free Gardeners . For over 140 years they flourished and prospered on the Australian continent. However, in 2006 she suffered a bitter blow. A September 2006 report by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) found that standards for cooperatives were no longer in line with the old tax laws. After all, it was the same reasons that had led to the decline of outdoor gardening in Great Britain half a century earlier. Nevertheless, they were partly responsible for a revitalization of outdoor gardening in Great Britain, because four years earlier they had gone to Scotland in search of traces of their own origins.
Between 2000 and 2002, outdoor gardeners from South Africa and Australia took the step of reviving the outdoor gardening fraternity in Scotland. Fortunately, they met former gardeners. In 2002 Scottish, English, Australian and South African outdoor gardeners established a foundation to promote and revitalize outdoor gardening in Great Britain . The aim of the foundation is to revive and preserve outdoor gardening as well as its ceremonies, speculative knowledge, secrets, its spiritual knowledge and its customs.
Gardening today
The outdoor gardener's lodge The Countess of Elgin had the matriculation number 105 of the old grand lodge (1849). It was then given matriculation number 3, because it was one of the three founding lodges of the new Grand Lodge, which had evolved from the old one and is now commonly called New Order 2002 . The three founding lodges of the New Order 2002 are Caledonian Thistle Lodge No. 1 (2002 / Edinburgh), Cianalas Lodge No. 2 (2002 / Brora) and The Countess of Elgin Lodge No. 3 (2002 / Kirkcaldy). The new grand lodge has founded 33 outdoor gardeners lodges to date, namely in Scotland, England, the USA, Wales, Monaco, France, Australia, Spain, Belgium, the Philippines and Germany.
On March 17, 2020 was in Schwetzingen the Freigärtnerloge Carl Theodor the golden garden e. V. founded. It is the very first outdoor gardener's lodge in Germany. It is not for profit, registered in the register of associations and is directly linked to the oldest Scottish tradition of gardening from 1676. She received matriculation number 30 from the new grand lodge.
Spiritual content
Outdoor gardeners see, among other things, a spiritual access to themselves in the garden. The idea of outdoor gardeners refers in particular to the biblical garden of paradise and the care of the earth, which is metaphorically equated with the cultivation of the spirit, the soul and the virtues. Their attitude corresponds to a deep affection for the creator, creation, nature and man. The appeal to the paradise garden, but also to the tree of life, which stands in the middle of the paradise garden, represents a conscious connection to the Judeo-Christian mysticism, the Kabbalah .
The three degrees of outdoor gardener
The outdoor gardener ceremonies refer to the biblical story of the Garden of Eden . Adam is venerated by the outdoor gardeners as the first ancestor of the outdoor gardeners. Consequently, the Bible is open on the altar of the Book of Genesis at chapter 2, verse 15.
1st degree = outdoor gardener apprentice
The first degree is about the biblical story about the Garden of Eden and the fall of man that led to his exile from the garden.
The symbolic tools used by the outdoor gardeners are also presented: squares , compasses and the gardener's knife.
What is interesting at this level is that his realization lies in the fact that the original mystery of creation was entrusted to Adam and Eve at the same time, which corresponds to verse 15 of the 2nd chapter of Genesis. Because the separation of man into man and woman took place later, namely only from verse 18 ff. Of the 3rd chapter.
2nd degree = fellow outdoor gardener
The second degree builds a bridge from the Garden of Eden to Noah and his ark . After the Flood, Noah was not only the first patriarch of his family of eight, but also of all humanity. He is therefore regarded by the outdoor gardeners as the second ancestor of the outdoor gardeners.
The second degree ceremony takes the outdoor gardener on a journey from the Garden of Eden via other gardens to the Garden of Gethsemane . They should serve him as models for a life connected with nature.
3rd degree = master gardener
The third degree focuses on King Solomon , who is considered by outdoor gardeners to be the third ancestor of outdoor gardeners. King Solomon was a knowledgeable and scholar who also had knowledge of all kinds of trees, shrubs and plants. He was not only responsible for building the temple, but also for laying out the royal garden, from which all kinds of incense, incense, resins and oils for temple service were extracted.
Ceremonial clothing for outdoor gardeners
There are four groups of symbols on the apron. The all-seeing eye of God and the three symbolic tools are located on the overhanging flap: compasses, square measure and gardener's knife, which are explained in more detail in the first degree. The eye is to be understood as a symbol of divine omnipresence, because belief in a divine world order is a prerequisite for admission to outdoor gardening. God is worshiped under the term The Great Gardener of the Universe .
The spatial separation of the upper, first group of symbols on the flap from the rest of the apron should indicate the transcendence of the upper area. The lower area of the apron houses three groups of symbols:
- The four letters P, G, H, E,
- the four letters S, O, N, A and
- Noah's ark, the rainbow and the dove with the green olive branch in its beak.
The first group of letters on the Schurzen refers to the four rivers that arise in the middle of the Paradise Garden: Pischon, Gihon, Hiddekel ( Tigris ) and Euphrates . They can be interpreted as cover words for the four outdoor gardening virtues: love, wisdom, harmony and truth. Because the four rivers flow from the middle of the paradise garden into the outside world and are supposed to carry the four outdoor gardening virtues into the world.
The next group of letters S, O, N, A stands for Solomon, Noah and Adam. Their order is not chronological and the letter O does not represent a biblical person, but rather the olive branch or olive tree. While the biblical tree of the knowledge of good and bad was misinterpreted as an apple tree, the second tree in the middle of the paradise garden is mostly interpreted as an olive tree.
Noah's ark, the rainbow and the dove with the green olive branch in its beak form the lowest, fourth group of four symbols. The three symbols allude to three passages in the Old Testament and to the promise of a new world order.
Outdoor gardeners lodges in Europe, the USA and the Philippines
The following outdoor gardener's lodges have existed in Europe and the USA since the new Grand Lodge was founded on October 12, 2002 (called New Order 2002 ):
- No. 1 - Caledonian Thistle, Edinburgh (founded in Scotland in 2002)
- No. 2 - Cianalas, Brora (founded in Scotland in 2002)
- No. 3 - The Countess of Elgin, Kirkcaldy or Lodge No. 105 (founded in Scotland in 2002)
- No. 4 - Adelphi Bluebell, Uddingston (founded in Scotland in 2002)
- # 5 - Cheshire Bluebell, Cheshire (founded in England in 2003)
- No. 6 - Eden, Leuchars (founded in Scotland in 2003)
- No. 7 - Ayrshire Bluebell, Ayrshire (founded in Scotland in 2004)
- No. 8 - Virginia Bluebell, Strasburg, Virginia (founded in 2004 in the USA)
- # 9 - Spagyria Bluebell, Davisburg, Michigan (founded in the US in 2010)
- No. 10 - Mormond Hill Bluebell, Strokes (founded 2011 in Scotland)
- # 11 - Buckeye Bluebell, Ohio (founded in the US in 2012)
- # 12 - Spoonwood, Pennsylvania (founded in the US in 2012)
- No. 13 - Hanging Gardens of Babylon Lodge, London (founded in England in 2013)
- No. 14 - Flower of the Forth Bluebell, Stirling (founded in Scotland in 2013)
- No. 15 - Cenhinen, Wales (founded April 18, 2015 in London)
- No. 16 - Sorbus Bristoliensis, Bristol (founded in Wales)
- No. 17 - Garden of England, Strood inKent (founded in England)
- No. 18 - Metatron, Monte Carlo (founded in Monaco)
- No. 19 - St. James Bluebell, Coat Bridge (founded in Scotland)
- No. 20 - English Rose, Essex (founded in England)
- No. 21 - Parc Floral D'Apremont, Paris (founded in France)
- No. 22 - Sunflower, Brisbane (based in Australia)
- No. 23 - Jardin de San Pantoleon de Losa, Burgos (founded in Spain)
- No. 24 - Garden of Eden, Treherbert in the Rhonda Valley (founded in Wales)
- No. 25 - Jardin du Moulin de Feline, Lyon (founded in France)
- No. 26 - Lennox Thistle, Dumbarton (founded in Scotland)
- No. 27 - Fleur de vie, Boussu (founded in Belgium)
- No. 28 - Les Jardins de Gasteiz, (founded in Spain)
- No. 29 - Sampaguita, Quezon City (founded in the Philippines in 2020)
- No. 30 - Carl Theodor to the golden garden, Schwetzingen (founded in Germany in 2020)
- No. 31 - Kaningag, Cebu City (founded in the Philippines in 2020)
- No. 32 - St. Andrew Bluebell, East Kilbride (founded in Scotland in 2020)
- No. 33 - Ylang-Ylang, Manila (founded in the Philippines in 2020)
literature
- Robert LD Cooper. Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood , Rider, October 5, 2006, London, 272 pages ISBN 978-1-846040-49-8
- Robert LD Cooper. The Origin and History of the Order of Free Gardeners , Quatuor Coronati Lodge , No.2076 (2000) ISBN 0-907655-475
- Robert L. D Cooper. Freemasons, Templars and Gardeners ANZMRC (Melbourne 2005) ISBN 0-9578256-2-5
- W. Gow. A Historical Sketch from the Records of the Ancient Society of Gardeners, Dunfermline (1910)
Web links
- Outdoor gardener's lodge Carl Theodor zum golden Garten eV
- Adelphi Bluebell Lodge No. 4th
- Facebook: Free Gardeners Scotland
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon Lodge No. 13
Individual evidence
- ↑ Homepage outdoor gardener lodge Carl Theodor zum golden Garten eV (accessed on April 14, 2020) - history of outdoor gardeners
- ↑ Inter junctions for ye Fraternitie of the Gardiners of East Lothian. August 16, 1676.
- ^ Robert LD Cooper. The Origin and History of the Order of Free Gardeners , Quatuor Coronati Lodge , No.2076 (2000). P. 112
- ^ Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood, Rider, October 5, 2006, London, p. 165.
- ↑ Inter junctions for ye Fraternitie of the Gardiners of East Lothian. August 16, 1676.
- ^ Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood, Rider, October 5, 2006, London, p. 166.
- ^ Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood, Rider, October 5, 2006, London, p. 164: By 1849, twenty Lodges were known to exist, and on November 6, 1849 a meeting was held at Lasswade, Midlothian, to which all known lodges were invited, with the intention of establishing a Grand Lodge.
- ↑ At the end of the 19th century, branches for women and young people were opened. Much like it was with Freemasonry: Shriners, DeMolay, Eastern Star, etc.
- ^ Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood, Rider, October 5, 2006, London, p. 184: The order could not survive, as the destinies of the Lodges of Dunfermline and Haddington, legally terminated in 1953, prove.
- ↑ https://www.smh.com.au/business/free-gardeners-withers-on-the-vine-20060929-gdohu4.html accessed on April 21, 2020
- ↑ http://adelphibluebell4.scot/about.html accessed on April 21, 2020
- ↑ http://freigaertner.org/unsere-freigaertnerloge accessed on April 21, 2020
- ↑ cf. 1. Book of Moses 2:15: And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to build it and keep it.
- ↑ cf. 1. Book of Kings 5:13: And he spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to Isop, which grows out of the wall. He also spoke of cattle, birds, worms, and fish.
- ↑ The English name for God is The Great Gardener of the Universe , abbreviated: TGGOTU.
- ↑ cf. John 20:15: He said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for She thinks it is the gardener and says to him, Lord, have you carried him away, tell me, where did you put him, and I will fetch him.
- ↑ cf. 1st book of Moses 7: 1-10 (flood), 1st book of Moses 8: 6-12 (dove with olive branch) and 1st book of Moses 9: 8-17 (rainbow).