The Mystery of the Saucer
Dejunkifying my kitchen, which contains many things
from my mother's house, I find an old saucer with strange markings and embark
upon a websearch to decipher its origins. I become quite upset about the
saucer!
The saucer looks like it ought to have a cup to go
with it, but I haven't found a matching cup. In the depression in the center of
the saucer where a cup would fit, there is a five-pointed star. The points are
green, orange, blue, yellow, and white. The center of the star, which is a
pentagon, is also white, as is the rest of the saucer. The saucer also has a
gold, slightly fluted rim, and ten small gold stars. In the center of the
central pentagon is another pentagon, outlined in gold, and inside it the image,
drawn in gold, of an open book. In the space between the two pentagons, there
are letters: A L F A T--but there is no way to know which letter to start with,
which hampers my ability to compose a Google search. On each of the triangles
that form the points of the star, there is an image, drawn in gold. The green
triangle has a hard-to-read image, perhaps a tall building with a large base.
The red triangle has an easy-to-see chalice, which seems quite mysterious. The
blue triangle seems to have another building, a low multipart building with an
arched central area. The yellow triangle seems to have a sheaf of wheat, and the
white triangle seems to have an ancient type of helmet. The reverse side of the
the saucer identifies the manufacturer: Royal Stafford (and adds: bone
china/made in England). Above that are the letters
"OES."
So what to Google? I try "star helmet chalice oes." I'm very excited when the result is a single entry:
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Meanings of Tombstone Carvings
... OES, Order of Eastern Star. OUAM, Order of United American Mechanics. ... Crown Upon Skull, Triumph of Death. Cup or Chalice, The Sacrament. Cypress, Hope. ... Helmet, Military. ...
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~historic/ meanings_of_tombstone_carvings.htm - 53
----------------------------------------------------------------
The page collects so many things that might be on a tombstone that it doesn't help me as much as I'd thought it would, but I do have reason to think the OES is "Order of Eastern Star." I Google that and get to this page, and there at the top is something quite close to the star from the saucer. I note the site has a counter that says "You are visitor 1 since March 18, 1998." Hmmmm. Oh, there's a "clip art" button. At first I think, cool, I'll put the star here. Then, I decide against it. This is clearly somebody's religious symbol and I don't want to misuse it (even though they are offering it as "clip art").
According to this site there are 1 million members of the Order, which "is not a religion." "Its appeal rests in the true beauty of the refreshing and character-building lessons that are so sincerely portrayed in its ritualistic work." Hmmm. "Dr. Rob Morris, the Poet Laureate of Masonry, founded the Order using beautiful and inspiring biblical examples of heroic conduct and moral values. These portray the noble principles which should adorn the personal lives of Eastern Star members. Eastern Star strives to take good people and through uplifting and elevating associations of love and service, and through precept and example, build an Order which is truly dedicated to charity, truth and loving kindness." Well, that is really vague, but apparently it's beautiful, good, and spiritual. I wonder what those rituals are and if one of them is infiltrating the houses of nonmembers with mysterious saucers. I notice that where my saucer has a helmet, the star on the website has a crown and scepter.
This is a bit more informative. The organization seems to be something like a spinoff from Freemasonry that accepts women (as well as men).
The funniest thing about this plate is that for years I've noticed it lying around and I've always thought it was a souvenir from Texas! My parents used to live in Texas (I was conceived there), and so I see a star on a plate that was theirs, and I think Texas. I was ready to throw it away if it was some sort of Texas souvenir, because I'm trying to dejunkify and stop using my house as a place to just store things I don't like and don't use. But if it represents something profound that had to do with one of my grandfathers (who were both Masons), then I think I shouldn't toss it.
I still don't know what the ALFAT letters represent, So I decide to Google the letters in order, putting a different one of the letters first until I get somewhere. The first two attempts produce nothing. The third attempt scares me: it's FATAL! (It's a real "redrum" moment.) Now, I want to throw away the horrible plate. If I were Stephen King, I could write a 500 page book about the plate. Are there any movies about scary plates? Yeah, I know there's that Nazi plate in American Beauty, and there's probably an animated plate in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and there are the amusingly pornographic plates in "The Birdcage." Okay, I collect my senses and Google "FATAL Eastern Star" and get this : "At the end of the initiates ceremony, the signs, passes, grip, and symbols of the Order are explained to the candidate, including the letters F.A.T.A.L. which appear on some Eastern Star documents. These are an abbreviation of the Cabalistic Motto: 'Fairest Among Thousands, Altogether Lovely.' The abbreviation FATAL is said to remind the initiate that 'it would be fatal to the character of any lady' to disclose the secrets of the Order. Those who do not assassinate their character by telling the secrets are assured that their faithfulness to the Order of the Eastern Star will grant them eternal life." I also find this : "The Eastern Star emblem is similar to the Goat of Mendes (Baphomet), its initials F.A.T.A.L. stand for the fatal attraction and bondage of Eastern Star. The Congressional Medal of Honor has an inverted star with three dots after each point (Masonic points). The streets around the White House were designed by a Masonic architect and form the Goat of Mendes. Jefferson and Franklin were both Masons. The statue of liberty was given by French Masons to American Masons and has Masonic occult symbols all over it."
All right, now I'm really upset about the whole thing, not just the saucer, but the Medal of Honor, the White House, and the Statue of Liberty! The hell!
So what to Google? I try "star helmet chalice oes." I'm very excited when the result is a single entry:
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Meanings of Tombstone Carvings
... OES, Order of Eastern Star. OUAM, Order of United American Mechanics. ... Crown Upon Skull, Triumph of Death. Cup or Chalice, The Sacrament. Cypress, Hope. ... Helmet, Military. ...
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~historic/ meanings_of_tombstone_carvings.htm - 53
----------------------------------------------------------------
The page collects so many things that might be on a tombstone that it doesn't help me as much as I'd thought it would, but I do have reason to think the OES is "Order of Eastern Star." I Google that and get to this page, and there at the top is something quite close to the star from the saucer. I note the site has a counter that says "You are visitor 1 since March 18, 1998." Hmmmm. Oh, there's a "clip art" button. At first I think, cool, I'll put the star here. Then, I decide against it. This is clearly somebody's religious symbol and I don't want to misuse it (even though they are offering it as "clip art").
According to this site there are 1 million members of the Order, which "is not a religion." "Its appeal rests in the true beauty of the refreshing and character-building lessons that are so sincerely portrayed in its ritualistic work." Hmmm. "Dr. Rob Morris, the Poet Laureate of Masonry, founded the Order using beautiful and inspiring biblical examples of heroic conduct and moral values. These portray the noble principles which should adorn the personal lives of Eastern Star members. Eastern Star strives to take good people and through uplifting and elevating associations of love and service, and through precept and example, build an Order which is truly dedicated to charity, truth and loving kindness." Well, that is really vague, but apparently it's beautiful, good, and spiritual. I wonder what those rituals are and if one of them is infiltrating the houses of nonmembers with mysterious saucers. I notice that where my saucer has a helmet, the star on the website has a crown and scepter.
This is a bit more informative. The organization seems to be something like a spinoff from Freemasonry that accepts women (as well as men).
The funniest thing about this plate is that for years I've noticed it lying around and I've always thought it was a souvenir from Texas! My parents used to live in Texas (I was conceived there), and so I see a star on a plate that was theirs, and I think Texas. I was ready to throw it away if it was some sort of Texas souvenir, because I'm trying to dejunkify and stop using my house as a place to just store things I don't like and don't use. But if it represents something profound that had to do with one of my grandfathers (who were both Masons), then I think I shouldn't toss it.
I still don't know what the ALFAT letters represent, So I decide to Google the letters in order, putting a different one of the letters first until I get somewhere. The first two attempts produce nothing. The third attempt scares me: it's FATAL! (It's a real "redrum" moment.) Now, I want to throw away the horrible plate. If I were Stephen King, I could write a 500 page book about the plate. Are there any movies about scary plates? Yeah, I know there's that Nazi plate in American Beauty, and there's probably an animated plate in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and there are the amusingly pornographic plates in "The Birdcage." Okay, I collect my senses and Google "FATAL Eastern Star" and get this : "At the end of the initiates ceremony, the signs, passes, grip, and symbols of the Order are explained to the candidate, including the letters F.A.T.A.L. which appear on some Eastern Star documents. These are an abbreviation of the Cabalistic Motto: 'Fairest Among Thousands, Altogether Lovely.' The abbreviation FATAL is said to remind the initiate that 'it would be fatal to the character of any lady' to disclose the secrets of the Order. Those who do not assassinate their character by telling the secrets are assured that their faithfulness to the Order of the Eastern Star will grant them eternal life." I also find this : "The Eastern Star emblem is similar to the Goat of Mendes (Baphomet), its initials F.A.T.A.L. stand for the fatal attraction and bondage of Eastern Star. The Congressional Medal of Honor has an inverted star with three dots after each point (Masonic points). The streets around the White House were designed by a Masonic architect and form the Goat of Mendes. Jefferson and Franklin were both Masons. The statue of liberty was given by French Masons to American Masons and has Masonic occult symbols all over it."
All right, now I'm really upset about the whole thing, not just the saucer, but the Medal of Honor, the White House, and the Statue of Liberty! The hell!
Posted: Sat - May 8, 2004 at 07:52 PM
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Published On: May 08, 2004 08:25 PM
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Published On: May 08, 2004 08:25 PM