X Signing in. Today I'd like to talk about money. I'm afraid I have come upon dire times and am in need of funds if I am to continue this video series. If any of you princely subscribers out there feel enough generosity your heart, I would be forever grateful if you could spare me a dollar or fifty. I accept cash, checks, money orders and paypal. Please send your donation to: Don't Let X Become an Ex- Fund 42 Bleeding Heart, St. Kraimia River, New Jersey P.O. Box 2012. You won't find anyone asking for a handout here. I ain't George Bush, Senior and Bill Clinton giving their puppy dog routine, and I ain't any of these dubious "feed the children" predators who play the guilt card on the gullible and overly selfless. These charities are nothing more than another scam the government and other entities use to further deplete the bank accounts of the already financially-stressed. Due the math - when 90% of the American population controls just 15% of the wealth, what economical sense does it make that the common citizen should foot the bill for the charities? Next time a charity turns on the violin music with you, I suggest you tell them to go bum the remaining 10%, whose pocket change could feed more mouths than the combined donations of a million average Joes. Tell them you are already donating to the needy - yourself. Now, if only that were tax deductable... Speaking of money and taxes, I thought I should cover the darker and more arcane aspects of that all-powerful philosophical illusion we call currency. Not so much its economical function in the world, but the meaning behind it and its symbols. Perhaps some of you are familiar with the phrase, "Coin of the realm." It's a seemingly mundane enough expression until you take note that the word "realm" is derived from the word "reality". In turn, "reality" is derived from the word "reaal", meaning royalty. In its original sense, this literally meant that the ruler is the source of reality for his kingdom, and that he has the power to dictate and alter that reality. Considering money has bore the image of monarchs and political leaders since the advent of coins as monetary tokens, the image can be interpreted as a reminder that the ruler validates the reality and controls the value of that fiat currency. This plays into ancient alchemical concepts of magic - making something from nothing; i.e.,creating a system of trade out of something that is otherwise a worthless object or data. That brings us to the fact that most of America's founding fathers were Masons or close associates of Masons, a secret society with a rich alchemical tradition. Though their motives are debatable, it is likely they translated these ideas and philosophies into the system of money we use to this day. Although it is denied/unacknowledged by most, it is an inidisputable fact that federal American architecture and icons are rife with Masonic - and thus alchemic - symbols. This is never more true than in monetary script. First of all the, the dollar sign itself is very similar to the alchemical symbol for Mercury [see video example], as well as the Staff of Mercury/Hermes, the Caduceus. The Caduceus - originally representative of the Serpent coiled around the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden - is a common symbol in the medical world, its symbolic roots in alchemical transformation and healing. A symbol of the American goddess Columbia holding a Caduceus also appears, interestingly enough, on the side of the Federal Reserve building. Perhaps the 20th Century's most famous Mason, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is not only responsible for the Masonic-laden design of the modern dollar bill, but annexed the gold standard as well, essentially turning the US economy into a tenuos, almost "magical", idea. [Cont. in Part 2]