Visiting Washington DC's Masonic Heritage and Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"

The US Capitol

I recently read the book "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown and have been fascinated by the history of Washington DC. The city has a strong literary tie with this book, since the whole plot takes place in the city. Dan Brown is an expert when it comes to providing details about a place. The Lost Symbol is no different and it begins in the US Capitol Building, which has a strong connection to a cult, "Freemasons". The whole plot of the story is about a person named Mala'kh seeking for the ancient power of the Masons, the secret of which is buried in Washington DC, by taking Peter Solomon, a renowned freemason, captive. Following this, the story revolves around Langdon finding Peter Solomon and a pyramid.

Freemasonry is a cult that promotes good deeds, consisting of adult males only. It has been in existence since 1717. Though it's not a religion, they believe in a "Supreme Being" or "The Grand Architect of the Universe". The most popular freemasons include, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Roosevelt, Mozart, Vivekananda, Steve Wozniak, and many more. The 33rd degree or the highest degree is provided to a mason who has exhibited great knowledge and passion, he is called the Master Mason. I mentioned earlier that the story involves a pyramid. Pyramid is a deeply revered symbol by Masons, which represents Eye of God.

Library of Congress

Now, back to the story. The story begins with Robert Langdon (our favourite symbology professor) arriving to the US Capitol. Washington DC is so well developed and technologically advanced but has a tale that's not very well known. The US Capitol Building, as we all know is the house of the Congress. But the history of the building dates back to 1793, when George Washington, the first US president and a mason, laid the first cornerstone to the building. The building has the visitor centre, Library of Congress, the largest in the US with over 39 million books and the Botanic garden. The real plot begins from the Rotunda in the US Capitol which houses the famous fresco called the "Apotheosis of Washington" (which literally portrays George Washington ascending to heaven), below which lies the "Hand of Mysteries".

The Washington Monument

From here, Masonic traditions are explored all over the story. Another interesting part of the story is Noetic Science (study of inner engineering), which is explained by Katherine Solomon, sister of Peter Solomon. The pyramid in this story is a great plot as it holds many answers. I would recommend reading the book since it involves great stories behind every answer found. Spoiler alert: The villain of the story was a big twist. Langdon and Katherine's debate on Noetics are great and provides good reference to the Bible. We are then taken to the House of the Temple, which is the headquarters of the Freemasonry. Nearing climax, Dan Brown leads us to the Washington Monument, the cornerstone of which was laid by the masons. The apex of the monument reads, "Laus Deo" (Praise to God).

Dan Brown always instills in us something new through his books. I didn't even know about Freemasonry, Noetic Science, science in historic books, thermal imaging gun, sensory deprivation tank, and many little details. I learnt a lot through this book and would pursue learning more about this. Please do share what you learnt through Dan Brown's books. Buy this book today and have a happy reading! Sincerely 😉, (People who read the book would understand this connotation) pen-pixie

Photos by Louis Velazquez on Unsplash, Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash, Eric Dekker on Unsplash