The Masonic Plan for Chaos: "Solve et coagula" and “Ordo ab Chao”

Michael Hichborn | Guest Article | The Daily Knight

Having grown up at the peak of the Cold War, I can honestly say that we are living in the most chaotic and uncertain times I have ever known. Since 2020, things in the United States have been constantly shifting. It started with travel restrictions due to an oriental illness, followed by riots, election anomalies, and disruptions in commerce. More recently, it’s been economic upheaval, a disastrous crisis at the border, threats of violence against Justices of the Supreme Court, and the looming threat of war with Russia.

Affairs in the Church are even worse. While the Traditional Latin Mass is under constant threat and faithful Catholics are subjected to worse and worse draconian measures regarding the use of ancient rites for the sacraments, the foundations of our faith are being eroded by the very men whose charge it is to preserve and protect them. The German bishops are pushing women’s ordination to the priesthood and same-sex, so-called “marriage.” Pagan practices are being introduced into the liturgy in various regions around the world. And now, priests are talking about “dialogue” and “understanding” when it comes to self-professed “transgenders” and the practice of child-killing.

But … in addition to this chaos, we have heard buzz of phrases like “Great Reset” and campaign slogans like “Build Back Better.” In June of 2020, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote an open letter to President Donald Trump saying, “It will not be surprising if, in a few months, we learn once again that hidden behind these acts of vandalism and violence there are those who hope to profit from the dissolution of the social order so as to build a world without freedom: Solve et Coagula, as the Masonic adage teaches.”

Solve et coagula means, “To loose and congeal.” Put another way, it means to break down and then resolidify. In September of 1991, Master Mason Eugene W. Plawiuk gave a presentation to the Norwood Lodge No. 90 titled, "Liber Capricornus: The Symbolism of the Goat." In his talk, he explained the meaning of the phrase “Solve et coagula,” saying:

"The Goat of Mendes or Baphomet whom the Templars were accused of worshipping is a Goat Headed deity, being formed of both male and female principles, with a Caduceus of Mercury for its phallus. One arm points up and one down, with the latin 'Solve et Coagula' written on them. This is not the christian devil but a symbol of the ancient alchemists representing the fact that nature and natures God is a combination and balance of male and female forces, light and darkness, moisture and dryness. The very principle of Hermes Trismegitus; As Above So Below" is what is symbolized by Baphomet."

In short, it is the mystical idea that the very nature of things can and will change, given the proper application of destruction. Alchemists believed that lead could be changed into gold. Evolutionists believe that one species can become another. The transgender movement is predicated on the idea that one’s sex can be changed through the mutilation of the genitals.

But the changing and destructive nature of the act is not the end in and of itself.

Solve et coagula is the active application of the motto for the 33rd degree of Freemasonry, “Ordo ab Chao,” which means “order out of chaos.” If the “solve” is the “chaos,” then the “coagula” is the desired order.

Freemasonry’s most prolific and prominent author, Albert Pike, wrote about the conjoined meaning of these two mottos in his book, “Morals and Dogma.” The 28th degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry is called “Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept.” Pike uses the philosophy of alchemy to explain the desire for order out of chaos:

“God created chaos; Nature produced it; God, Nature, and Art have perfected it …

“Chaos means universal matter, formless, but susceptible of all forms. Form is the Light inclosed in the seeds of all species; and its home is in the Universal Spirit …

“It is thereby evident that, in the Great Work, we must employ ten parts of philosophical Mercury to one of Sun or Moon. This is attained by Solution and Coagulation. These words mean that we must dissolve the body and coagulate the spirit;”

In this particular rite of Masonry, the idea of dissolving matter and reforming it in the spirit is directed at the gnostic idea of self-mastery, but this is merely the introduction of the notion of drawing order from chaos, or breaking something down in order to build it up again. As I mentioned, “Ordo ab Chao” is the motto of the 33rd degree of Freemasonry. An article from the website, “Universal Co-Masonry” explains:

“On an even deeper level, what is this universe made of? There are many ways to answer that, and one of them is that it is made of gradients of Order and Chaos. We can see in history and in our own lives that these are not two separate things, but are both a continuum, and a dynamic process of change. As Chaos ensues, old orders are broken down to allow new ones to emerge. Like Ying and Yang, death and rebirth, Order and Chaos follow from and give birth to one another, in an ever-renewing cycle of creation and evolution.” (emphasis added)

But nowhere else is this notion of “Order from Chaos” more strongly codified than through the enlightenment thinker, Georg Wilhelm Frederich Hegel. There is some debate as to whether Hegel was ever himself a Freemason, but there is no doubt that he ran in Masonic circles. Whatever the case, his approach to what he called the “dialectic” was the basic application of the Masonic though of order from chaos. The Hegelian Dialectic is best understood as a three-step process of “Theses + Anti-Thesis = Synthesis.” Another way of understanding this is to see how the French Revolution (fomented by Illuminized Freemasons) would be the thesis, while the Reign of Terror would be the anti-thesis. And what came from the two would be the Masonic “order” of the secular state.

In today’s world, we can see that we are on the precipice of “chaos” as the secular and religious order is being systematically broken down. In the United States, we are facing an unprecedented economic and societal collapse, bringing the most financially and militarily powerful nation in the world to its knees. In Europe, entangling alliances and growing international tension is leading to an ever-increasing possibility of all-out war. In the Catholic Church, our understanding of the Sacraments, the Liturgy, and even the most basic elements of morality are being deconstructed before our very eyes. And globally, we see powerful figures in the world of science, technology, medicine, and finance coming together to grant ever-increasing power to the United Nations.

When the final strand holding everything together is finally cut, there will be nothing but utter chaos. It will seem as if the floor of civilization itself will have fallen into a bottomless pit, and the offered solution will be an international system of governance with a syncretistic approach to religion. All faiths are to be accepted as equal; the only understanding of morality to be commonly accepted is that intolerance is not to be tolerated; and the universal brotherhood of man is to be applied in a universal system of socialistic integrity. In short, it is the Great Work of the Freemasons as codified in the Great Seal of the United States; the “Novus Ordo Seclorum” or “New Order of the Ages.”

But as faithful Catholics we must never compromise the Truth, we must never accept the compromises of syncretism, and we must boldly work to draw souls to Christ, whether at home, at work, in prison, or on our way to the gallows. Do not be afraid of what the word is going to do to us … the world has always been our enemy. Our problem is that we have become too comfortable in it. We must remember that this world is not our true home; we do not belong here. We are in exile and hoping for Our Savior to take us to our eternal home, which is Paradise. But to get there, we must be willing to suffer for the sake of the Kingdom.

Remember well what Our Blessed Lord told His disciples:

“If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember my word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

I tell you about the Masonic plan for Chaos, not to frighten, but to forewarn and to urge you all to prepare. Be ready to suffer because suffering is coming. But do not be afraid. Place yourselves fully under the Mantle of Our Lady. Pray the Rosary daily. Make the Five First Saturdays and Nine First Fridays as soon as you can (while we still can). Wear your brown scapular. Prepare your household as you would in preparation for a coming storm. But do not be afraid and offer all that comes to you up to Our Lord.

Ave Maria!

As always, please pray for the Church, for our bishops, priests, deacons, and for Lepanto's mission as we continue to unearth the truth and "restore all things to Christ." (Col. 1:20)

Christus Vincit!

Michael Hichborn

President

Lepanto Insititute