The A.A.S.R and The Lost Symbol

The cover art for the hardcover jacket of the new Dan Brown novel The Lost Symbol has been revealed. Dan Brown stated years ago that his next novel would deal with the subject of Freemasonry, so it should come as no surprise that there is a Masonic-like symbol on the cover of the book.

It is being reported that the wax seal on the jacket cover is actually the seal of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. I assure you, this is not the case. Here is the wax seal on the book jacket enlarged and enhanced to reveal some of the detail:

Here are the official seals of the Scottish rite for the Southern Jurisdiction, the headquarters of which is at the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.

As you can see, the wax seal on the cover of Dan Brown's novel bears little resemblance to either of the official seals of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction. It actually more closely resembles the seal of the Scottish Rite for the Northern Jurisdiction, but it is not identical. However, the Latin inscription at the base of the seal leaves little doubt regarding the connection to the Scottish Rite:

The wax seal is eerily similar to, and could easily be mistaken for, the familiar Scottish Rite double eagle, but the Latin Ordo ab Chao ("Order out of Chaos") is the de facto motto of the Scottish Rite and has been associated with the Rite since the formation of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree in 1801. This motto appears boldly on the patent for the 33rd Degree that was issued to Frederick Dalcho by John Mitchel in 1801 and is the given subtitle of the Supreme Council's first pronouncement to the Masonic world, the Circular Throughout the Two Hemispheres of 1802. Therefore, I think it seems clear that Brown or the publisher (or both) intend for the readers to make the connection between The Lost Symbol and the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the pages of Dan Brown's novel. I'm looking forward to reading it.

The heart is deceitful above all things.

The prophet Jeremiah tells us "the heart is deceitful above all things." This post is not going to be an exegetical essay on the meaning or interpretation of that passage from the Old Testament. But taking the words on their face, this sage proposition appears to be especially a propos in light of the recent unpleasantries surrounding Brother Victor Marshall and his membership in Gate City Lodge No. 2 in Atlanta, GA.

Regular readers of Masonic blogs and web sites are no doubt already aware of the controversy surrounding Gate City Lodge No. 2. But for those who aren't, here's a brief synopsis: Brother Marshall is African-American. His admission to membership in Gate City Lodge No. 2 largely went unnoticed (he is, in fact, the second African-American to be raised a Master Mason in that lodge) until he began to do what Masons routinely do all over the country: visit other Masonic lodges. When Brother Marshall visited a lodge in Savannah, that's when the proverbial excrement hit the wind generating device. Complaints were made to the Grand Lodge of Georgia and the Grand Master of Masons in Georgia finally issued a statement saying that Brother Marshall had been duly raised a Master Mason in a legally constituted lodge and he was, therefore, a Brother Mason and should be received as such by other Masons. End of story, right? One would think so, but then the Worshipful Masters of two neighboring lodges, Metro Daylight Lodge No. 743 in Chamblee, and Philologia Lodge No. 178 in Conyers, filed formal charges against the Worshipful Master of Gate City Lodge No. 2. I won't bore you with the details of the allegations in these charges because they all boil down to a single proposition: To allow a non-white man membership in a Masonic lodge in Georgia is a violation of Masonic Law.

One would assume that based on his previous statement (that Brother Marshall was a Mason and should be received as such), the Grand Master of Georgia would not allow these ridiculous charges to stand. But he did, and a trial date was set. Gate City Lodge No. 2 then upped the ante by involving the secular courts when they filed a civil lawsuit against the Grand Lodge and the Brothers that had proffered the charges against them. The wisdom of this move is certainly questionable, but it did ensure one thing: the mainstream media would sooner or later take notice. And they did. The Associated Press was the first to report on it, soon followed by The New York Times. And now the The Guardian in the U.K. is reporting on it. Earlier this week it was reported that the Masonic charges against Gate City Lodge No. 2 have been dropped, but the civil lawsuit still stands.

As these events have unfolded I have resisted the urge to make known my thoughts on this blog. I wanted to see how all this played out, not only in the Masonic courts, but in the civil courts. I am glad to see that the Masonic charges have been dropped. I would hope they were dropped for the right reasons, namely, the Brothers who proffered the charges against the Worshipful Master of Gate City Lodge No. 2 came to their senses and realized that their premise and the charges they laid against a fellow Mason were predicated on a falsehood. I hope they realized that the ancient fraternity to which they swore solemn oaths and obligations, if it lives by the ideals it seeks to inculcate, judges no man by the color of his skin, but only by his character as evidenced by his words and deeds. Perhaps they came to understand that despite the deceit in their own hearts, there is no written or unwritten law in Masonry that says a black man cannot be a Mason.

Any Mason in the United States who was raised according to the Webb Form rituals (which is what is used in virtually ever Masonic jurisdiction in the U.S.) is taught that the first place a man is prepared to be a Mason is in his own heart. As I have pondered that foundational principle of Masonry I have come to the conclusion that's the reason Freemasonry does not recruit members--why Masons are forbidden from ever directly asking anyone to join their ranks. A man who is prepared in his own heart to be a Mason already has, albeit in a nascent form, the principles of Freemasonry burning within him. As such, he will--if given the opportunity--seek membership on his own, and once admitted to the fraternity, begin a life-long quest to improve and build upon the preexisting moral foundation that led him to the door of the Lodge in the first place.

But, alas, the heart is deceitful above all things. It can hoodwink a man into believing he is better than he is, that his aim is true and his motives pure, that the passions he holds dear are righteous. No man who seeks admittance into Freemasonry is perfect. But it is up to every man who becomes a Freemason to subdue the deceits in his own heart and improve himself by and through the sacred tenets of the fraternity to which he has sworn allegiance. For when the reverse becomes the norm, when the sacred tenets of Masonry are subdued and transmogrified to conform to the deceits of the hearts of imperfect men, Freemasonry is on a low road to irrelevance and extinction. Let us pray that the dropping of the Masonic charges in the Gate City No. 2 case is evidence that Masons in Georgia have chosen the high road.

Remembering Charlie

When I joined the Scottish Rite in the fall of 2008, I posted about my experience at the Greenville Fall Reunion. I want to quote from that post regarding the Brother who welcomed me in the parking lot of the Scottish Rite center early that Saturday morning before sunrise:

What a day. Up at 3:30 am. Coffee and the paper. Shave and shower. Get ready and leave for Greenville by 6:00 am in order to be at the Scottish Rite Center by 7:00 am. I got there about 6:50 am and it was still pitch dark. No cars in the huge parking lot, so I just stood there in the dark. About 7:00 a Lincoln Town Car pulls into the lot and parks right beside me. An older Brother gets out wearing the white hat of a 33d Mason. He greets me and I shake his hand and introduce myself.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"C'mon," he replied, "we gotta go in around back."

Now keep in mind this is a large parking lot and I'd parked toward the front of the center. We start a rather long walk down the hill to the back of the center and as we round the corner I see several cars in the back. I was immediately struck by how kind and gracious this elder Brother had been to me. He could have just pulled up, rolled his window down, and said "You need to park around back." But he didn't. He saw me standing there "stranded" and parked beside me in order to walk me to the back where everyone was--and him probably at least 25 years my senior. What a memorable way to start me off in the Scottish Rite.

That Brother's name was Charles "Charlie" Saylors. I learned yesterday that Brother Saylors passed away on Sunday. I regret not getting to know him better, but I have fond memories of him giving impromptu lectures at the most inopportune times (as far as the Degree Teams were concerned) all during the presentation of the Degrees at the Reunion. It was easy to see then that Brother Charlie commanded the respect and admiration of his fellow Masons, and I'm quite sure he will be missed by one and all.

Godspeed, Brother Charlie.

Albert Pike and Freemasonry

I have received a few requests over the months to consolidate my articles on Albert Pike and Freemasonry into one easily accessible article. Rather than cutting and pasting all seven articles into one, I decided just to create a new blog post with links to the individual articles.

• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 1
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 2
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 3
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 4
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 5
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 6
• Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 7

KSA Chartering Ceremony

Tonight at the stated meeting of the Valley of Spartanburg, the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Scottish Rite for the State of South Carolina conducted a brief, but very solemn and moving signing ceremony, in which our newly formed Chapter of the Knights of St. Andrew came into existence. In his exhortation, the S.G.I.G. reminded all the charter members of the solemn duties we learned in the 29th Degree of the Rite and charged us ever to diligently uphold them as a duly constituted body of the Order.

The photo above is of the charter members and officers taken after the signing of the Charter. The S.G.I.G., Ill. Mike Smith, is in the center holding the Charter along with the newly appointed Venerable Master of the Chapter. That's me to the left of S.G.I.G., the Secretary-Treasurer, dressed in our KSA regalia.

Knights of St. Andrew

After several organizational meetings where a core group of 32° Masons in our Valley have fleshed out a vision for a KSA chapter, we are now down to the rubber hitting the road. At the next regular meeting of our valley the S.G.I.G of SC will sign the charter bringing into existence the Spartanburg chapter of the Knights of St. Andrew. Coinciding with the signing of the charter, he will appoint the four senior officers, of which I will be the secretary-treasurer.

We are all very excited to begin this new Masonic body in Spartanburg. While fully cognizant that most KSA chapters are service organizations, our chapter is going to be different. We intend to focus not only on service to the valley, charity work, and fundraisers, but on the esoteric and Masonic educational needs of our members. Ritual, esoterica, and education will factor heavily into all our meetings and activities.