THE MANTHANEIN CHRONICLES

Masonry in Fiction: A Death on the Wolf

2012-01-09T10:39:00.005-05:00

From the time I became a Mason I knew my next novel would deal in some way with Freemasonry. I had two choices: write something along the lines of a Dan Brown novel, or have a more realistic story where one or more characters are Masons. I chose the latter. A Death on the Wolf is a coming of age story set in southern Mississippi during the summer of 1969. The main character, Nelson Gody, is a fifteen-year-old wrestling with all the typical teenage issues, but guided by a widower father who is a Mason, and who takes to heart the tenets of Freemasonry and lives his life accordingly. As we follow Nelson over the course of that summer we see how he is influenced by the way he's been raised as he faces moral and ethical dilemmas centered around falling in love for the first time, dealing with a secret his best friend has been hiding, and a dark stranger who one day rides into town on an exotic motorcycle. The summer ends with the devastating effects of Hurricane Camille, which laid waste to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August of 1969.

A Death on the Wolf is available in trade paperback ($15.99) or e-book ($4.99) at Amazon or other online booksellers.

Laying the Capitol Cornerstone

2011-09-18T12:54:00.006-04:00

On this date in 1793 George Washington presided over the Masonic ceremony laying the cornerstone for the Capitol building in Washington, DC. The following is the newspaper account of the event, from the Columbian Mirror & Alexandria Gazette.

On Wednesday last one of the grandest MASONIC Processions took place, which perhaps ever was exhibited on the like important occasion: It was in all probability much facilitated by an advertisement which appeared many days before in several news-papers of this state.

About 10 o'clock, Lodge, No. 9, were visited by that Congregation, so graceful to the Craft, Lodge, No. 22, of Virginia, with all their Officers and Regalia, an directly afterwards appeared on the southern banks of the Grand River Potomack: one of the finest companies of Volunteer Artillery that has been lately seen, parading to receive the President of the United States, who shortly came in sight with his suite -- to whom the Artillery paid their military honors, and his Excellency and suite crossed the Potomack, and was received in Maryland, by the Officers and Brethren of No. 22, Virginia and No. 9, Maryland whom the President headed, and preceded by a bank of music; the rear brought up by the Alexandria Volunteer Artillery; with grand solemnity of march, proceeded to the President's square in the City of Washington: where they were met and saluted, by No. 15, of the City of Washington, in all their elegant regalia, headed by Brother Joseph Clark, Rt. W.G.M. --- P.T. and conducted to a large Lodge, prepared for the purpose of their reception. After a short space of time, by the vigilance of Brother C. Worthy Stephenson, Grand Marshall, P.T. the Brotherhood and other Bodies were disposed in a second order of procession, which took place amid a brilliant crowd of spectators of both sexes, according to the following arrangement.

Viz. --- The Surveying department of the City of Washington.
Mayor and Corporation of George-Town.
Virginia Artillery.
Commissioners of the City of Washington, and their attendants.
Stone Cutters, Mechanics,
Two Sword Bearers.
Masons of the 1st. Degree.
Bibles &c. on the Grand Cushions.
Deacons with Staffs of Office.
Masons of the 2d degree.
Stewards with wands.
Masons of the 3d degree.
Wardens with truncheons
Secretaries with tools of office.
Past Master with their Regalia.
Treasurers with their Jewels.
Band of music.
Lodge No. 22, of Virginia, disposed in their own order.
Corn, Wine, and Oil.
Grand Master P.T. George Washington , W.M. No. 22, Virginia,
Grand Sword Bearer.

The procession marched two a-breast, in the greatest solemn dignity, with music playing, drums beating, colors flying, and spectators rejoicing; from the President's Square to the Capitol, in the City of Washington; where the Grand Marshall called a halt, and directed each file in the procession, to incline two steps, one to the right, and one to the left, and face each other, which formed a hollow oblong square; through which the Grand Sword Bearer led the van; followed by the Grand Master P.T. on the left --- the President of the United States in the Centre, and the Worshipful Master of Number 22, Virginia, on the right --- all the other orders, that composed the procession advanced, in the reverse of their order of march from the President's Square, to the south-east corner of the Capitol; and the Artillery filed off to a defined ground to display their maneuvers and discharge their cannon: The President of the United States, the Grand Master, P.T. and the Worshipful M. of No. 22, taking their stand to the East of a huge stone; and all the Craft, forming a circle westward, stood a short time in silent awful order;

The Artillery discharged a Volley.

The Grand Marshall delivered the Commissioners, a large Silver Plate with an inscription thereon which the missioners orders to be read, and was as follows:

This South East corner Stone, of the Capitol of the United States of America in the City of Washington, was laid on the 18th day of September 1793, in the thirteenth year of American Independence, in the first year of the second term of the Presidency of George Washington, whose virtues in the civil administration of his country have been as conspicuous and beneficial, as his Military valor and prudence have been useful in establishing her liberties, and in the year of Masonry 5793, by the Grand Lodge of Maryland, several Lodges under its jurisdiction, and Lodge No. 22, from Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas Johnson, David Steuart and Daniel Carroll, Commissioners, Joseph Clark, R.W.G.M. pro tem,., James Hobam and Stephen Hallate, Architects.” Collin Williamson, Master Mason.

The Artillery discharged a volley.

The Plate was then delivered to the President, who, attended by the Grand Master pro tem., and three Most worshipful Masters, descended to the cavazion trench and deposited the plate, and laid it on the corner-stone of the Capitol of the United States if America, on which were deposited corn, wine, and oil, when the whole congregation joined in reverential prayer, which was succeeded by Masonic chanting honors, and a volley from the Artillery.

The President of the United States, and his attendant brethren, ascended from the carazion to the East of the corner-stone, and there the Grand Master pro tem., elevated on a triple rostrum, delivered an oration fitting the occasion, which was received with brotherly love and commendation. At intervals during the delivery of the oration several volleys were discharged by the Artillery. The ceremony ended in prayer, Masonic chanting honors, and a 15-volley from the Artillery.

The whole company retired to an extensive booth, where an ox of five-hundred pounds weight was barbecued, of which the company generally partook with every abundance of other recreation. The festival concluded with fifteen successive volleys from the Artillery, whose military discipline and maneuvers merit every commendation. Before dark the whole company departed with joyful hopes of the production of their labor.

Frederick Dalcho, 33°

2011-05-25T08:03:00.004-04:00

Today marks the 210th anniversary of Frederick Dalcho's receipt of the Thirty-Third Degree. His original patent, the oldest extant document of the Scottish Rite, resides in the archives of the Supreme Council in Washington, D.C.

Dalcho was instrumental in the formation of the Scottish Rite and served as its first Lt. Grand Commander. He was born in London in 1770 and came to America with his family in 1787. He studied medicine under his uncle and became a physician in 1790. He joined the Freemasons in Savannah, GA in 1792. While serving in the Army, he first moved to Charleston in 1796 where he would come in contact with High Degree masonry and meet the other men he would join with to form the Scottish Rite.

Early History of the High Degrees in the US

2011-04-17T18:46:00.002-04:00

This is a terrific lecture given by Ill. Bro. Brent Morris, 33rd on the early history of High Degree Masonry in the U.S. His analysis and contrast of the nascent York Rite degrees and the degrees of the Royal Secret (what would become the Scottish Rite) is especially interesting.

The Royal Secret in the U.S. before 1801 from WEOFM on Vimeo.

A Dialogue with a Non-Mason

2011-03-02T12:43:00.003-05:00

Earlier this morning I got into a dialogue with someone about Masonry on the facebook page of a local radio station. At first I thought she was commenting on her husband who was a Mason, but I quickly realized that was not the case. Here is the exchange in full:

Her: My entire problem with the masons, the higher you go, the more secretive your activities are. I have no problem with my husband coming home and not telling me every single little detail about his day. I do have a problem with parts of his day being completely off limits because some guy he's in a club with said he couldn't tell. That's a bit scary. What is it that you can't tell your spouse?????? That's disrespectful of marriage. I don't want him hanging around with people like that.

Me: If your husband is a Mason then he knows our order of loyalty is as follows: God, Family, Lodge. Sounds like the two of you need to have a serious talk if you feel his membership in the Masons is disrespectful of your marriage.

Her: my husband isn't a mason, I know couples who are in that boat, though, and what happens at the lodge stays at the lodge. It does cause problems.

Me: There are things that happen in the Lodge that stay in the Lodge. But nothing happens in a Lodge that should compromise a marriage unless the wife wants to insist that she has a right to know everything, down the last detail, of what her husband does 24-7. If a man is in that kind of marriage, then, because his ultimate loyalty must be to his family, he should not be a Mason. A wife who trusts her husband will trust that if her husband can't tell her certain things about the Masons, that's a reflection of his character and ability to abide by a pledge and that nothing in his loyalty to the Lodge is detrimental to his loyalty to his wife and family.

Her: But wouldn't that trust dictate that if asked, an honest man should be able to answer? Encouraging secrecy between a man and his wife is a HUGE red flag to me. H U G E. I don't have to know everything, but if I ask, and you tell me that some dude that ISN'T joined to you inside the boundaries of marriage, the holiest of institutions, told you that you couldn't tell me, we got a problem.

Me: It would boil down to how much YOU trust your husband. Do you trust him enough to forgo your own curiosity, because that's all it is. You certainly don't have a need to know the details of what goes on in a Lodge. And keep this in mind: if your husband is a Mason and you ask him to reveal certain things he's sworn not to, you would be putting him the position of violating his oath. If he does that, how much faith could you really have in him after that?

Her: If I am to trust you enough for you to not tell me what you've done with your evening, why do you not trust me enough to tell me? Trust goes both ways. Trust also says that we have accountability between us. People who end up struggling through hardships like hidden addictions and adultery usually start with "Go ahead, honey, I trust you."

Me: Well, clearly your husband should not join the Masons.

Her: I'd just not have faith in someone to start with who would endanger OUR vows as we became ONE by taking an oath to an outside organization or person to keep things from me. I don't expect you to come home and tell me what you had for lunch... everyday or how many times you rode the elevator. When you go outside our home and spend significant amounts of time with people I don't know doing things you are required to keep from me, that's an issue. I can't believe someone who has taken a marriage vow WOULDN'T consider that a problem.

Me: It's a trust issue and it would clearly be a problem for you, thus if your husband sought membership I would counsel against it.

Her: It's not WHAT you're doing. Heck, it could be, but you're all secretive about it so we don't know. It's the fact that when you take a marriage vow, the TWO become ONE and to violate that vow with an oath to keep things from your spouse is immoral. It creates trust issues. I don't care if you're off feeding orphans, if you are keeping secrets from your spouse, it's wrong.

Me: What if your spouse is a lawyer? Should he violate attorney-client confidence just because you want to know? Or a doctor? Should he violate doctor-patient confidence just because you want to know? Or what if he's a civilian contractor for the DOD with top secret clearance? Should he violate his oath and reveal state secrets to you just because you want to know?

Her: Gary, I don't go out and volunteer or socialize in such a way that I can't tell my husband. I know attornies, doctors, etc. The two are one. If the spouse wants to know, they will know. Because my friends and family know that the marriage covenant is more important than any other covenant made between two people. I don't think we can equate "where we've put our warships and why" to "I'm going out for the night, don't you dare ask where I am and what I'm doing". Really?

Me: I really don't think this is something you need to worry about if your husband is not a Mason. You clearly are suspicious of Masonry and uneducated about it. No Mason would say to his wife "I'm going out for the night, don't you dare ask where I am and what I'm doing." What is more likely is "I'm going to Lodge, honey, and I'll be back around 10. My phone will be on buzz so call if you need me."

Her: Trust goes both ways. Sorry. I think it's immoral, and I know about as much as anybody who isn't willing to take that nasty oath is able to know.

Me: How do you know it's a "nasty" oath if you haven't taken it?

Her: It requires me to keep info from my spouse. REQUIRES. NOTHING escapes the accountability and devotion of a solid marriage vow. NOTHING. That fact makes it nasty. Nothing else is required to qualify that assessment. Nothing can possibly redeem it. You could destroy poverty total and completely, feed, clothe and house every woman and child on the planet.............. but if you're keeping things from your wife, especially because someone on the outside of your sacred marriage vow told you to, it's a nasty oath. You've asked your wife to trust you when, not only have you not trusted HER, you've vowed NEVER to. EVER.

Me: So when the Chief Justice of the SC Supreme Court swore me in to the SC bar, and I swore to keep "inviolate" the confidences of my clients, was I taking a "nasty" oath? Does your view of the marriage covenant require me to violate that oath if my wife decides she wants to know something about one of my clients?

Her: yep.

Me: Okay...at least you're consistent, I'll give you that.

Her: It's a matter or priority. Of who you esteem highest. If my husband were a lawyer, and I had a concern for his safety or the motives of a client to do something to undermine my husbands character, morals, or general wellbeing I would absolutely ask questions and there would be a problem if he didn't answer. I wonder how many men have left to go 'to the lodge' and wound up elsewhere and go away with debauchery because their wives were never allowed to ask? I know. I know. You're honest, moral and just. You'd never do that. You do, however, have a weakness somewhere. I'll not ask you where. There will be temptation at some point, however, in that area, and if your accountability partner is being left in the dark about your activities, she can't be your helpmate, as god's word says she is to be. Keep your accountability coach in the dark and you can fall into a hole and you won't even know it til the dirt starts being thrown in behind you.

Me: So once again your bias and ignorance about Masonry comes out. Again (and this is my last word on the subject), since your husband is not a Mason, you don't need to worry about it.

Her: I'll go ya one further, that debauchery may be happening inside the lodge. They may very well make it in the doors. Who am I to know, a husband couldn't share that info with his wife if he wanted to. Nothing sucks more than that moment during a debate when you realize you're wrong, eh?

Samuel Colt: Gunmaker and Mason

2011-02-25T14:47:00.003-05:00

On February 25, 1836, Bro. Samuel Colt was granted a patent for his revolving cylinder handgun, what would become the "Patterson" Colt revolver. This gun was the progenitor of every successful revolver design from every U.S. gun maker, but more especially Colt's own Walker, Dragoon, Army and Navy percussion revolvers, as well as the legendary Single Action Army model of 1873.

Colt revolutionized gun making in the 19th century by introducing mass production and assembly lines to what had been the exclusive province of artisan gunsmiths. The company that bears his name is still going strong.

Was Abraham Lincoln a Mason?

2010-10-30T23:22:00.003-04:00

From Mastermason.com: Abraham Lincoln was not a Freemason. He did apply for membership in Tyrian Lodge, Springfield, Ill., shortly after his nomination for the presidency in 1860 but withdrew the application because he felt that his applying for membership at that time might be construed as a political ruse to obtain votes. He advised the lodge that he would resubmit his application again when he returned from the presidency.

Lincoln never returned. On the death of the president, Tyrian Lodge adopted, on April 17, 1865, a resolution to say "that the decision of President Lincoln to postpone his application for the honours of Freemasonry, lest his motives be misconstrued, is the highest degree honorable to his memory."

Albert Pike's ESOTERIKA

2010-07-27T23:12:00.005-04:00

Albert Pike spent the latter part of his life immersing himself deeply in the study of the symbolism of the Blue Degrees. The result of that study was what could arguably be considered his third Magnum Opus: the book Esoterika: Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry (the other two being his first rewrite of the Scottish Rite rituals and, of course, Morals and Dogma). Pike never intended Esoterika to be published and only two manuscript volumes were produced, one of which rests in the archives of the Supreme Council and the other with the Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 in London. In 2005 the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction authorized the publication of Esoterika and it is now available not only to Scottish Rite Masons, but to all Masons.

Restoration Books of Logan, UT has announced a limited edition of 100 copies of Esoterika hand-bound in navy blue morocco goatskin with traditional hand-marbled endpapers. The binding was designed to reproduce that of the original bound copy in the archives of the Supreme Council. Arturo De Hoyos, Grand Archivist of the Scottish Rite, will sign each copy.

With only 100 copies being produced they are sure to go fast. I reserved my copy yesterday.

You didn't learn this in history class...

2010-07-18T20:26:00.005-04:00

Freemasons are justifiably proud of the role the fraternity played in the founding of the United States. If you'd like to read an unusual theory of the earliest European explorers to North America that involves the Templars and Freemasons roughly 400 years before the Founding Fathers penned the Declaration of Independence, I highly recommend this book by Scott Wolter.

Was Thomas Jefferson a Mason?

2010-07-10T20:44:00.002-04:00

Was Thomas Jefferson a Mason? I know this topic has been dealt with in Masonic and non-Masonic texts alike, but I have to confess I've not read much on the subject. But in perusing a letter Jefferson wrote in 1800 to Benjamin Rush, I was struck by this passage: "... for I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." The context in which Jefferson wrote this was an argument against the establishment of an "official" form of Christianity for the nascent United States. But any Freemason can't help but be struck by how peculiarly Masonic those words are—especially if you are a Scottish Rite Mason. And the Scottish Rite owes much to French masonry and Jefferson spent a great deal of time in France.

The full text of Jefferson's letter can be found here.

"Turn the Key" by Freestonemusic

2010-04-26T20:06:00.002-04:00

Freemasonry and the Political Arena

2010-04-22T22:37:00.006-04:00

I've just finished the second section of the Scottish Rite Master Craftsman Program, which covers the 4th through the 14th degrees, also known as the "Ineffable Degrees." As I studied and pondered these degrees of the Lodge of Perfection I was struck by the political lessons taught in many of them. Often times we think of Masonry as a “safe zone,” free from discussions about the two most divisive topics known to man, namely, politics and religion. To some extent this conception of Masonry is accurate. For the most part you don't hear too many discussions in the Lodge about religion or politics. But as the lessons of the degrees of the Scottish Rite amply illustrate, Masonry is neither areligious or apolitical.

The fundamental tenets taught in most of the 4th through 14th degrees are loaded with essential political truths. Thus, the question I have to ask myself is readily apparent: As a Freemason, how should I seek to implement those truths in my daily life? Perhaps in the same way that I manifest the moral lessons of the Craft, i.e., not in that I openly proclaim that I act a certain way because I'm a Mason, but in the sense that my moral compass is grounded in the lessons of Masonry and therefore I am duty bound to act a certain way. Thus, when it comes to politics, I don't openly proclaim my political beliefs as “Masonic,” but rather I seek to influence the political arena in whatever way I can to move it toward the great political truths taught in Freemasonry. Is this not what the Founding Fathers of the United States who were Freemasons did? They did not seek to establish a “Masonic party” to rally the citizenry around the controversial political philosophy that they learned in their lodges, and which helped shape the nascent Federal government. No, they simply took the fundamental political truths in which they were grounded by virtue of being Freemasons and fashioned a system of government based on those truths. I as a Freemason today, in whatever way I may interact with the political process—be it at the ballot box or by serving in some elected or appointed office—must do the same if I am to be true to my obligation as a Freemason. My vote (or my work in a political office) must always be true to the fundamental political truths taught in the Lodge of Perfection: An enlightened citizenry; an independent judiciary; an economic order based on capital and labor; an upper house of legislation; a lower house of legislation; trial by jury; a chief executive; and a constitution or fundamental law. So mote it be.

The Motto of Freemasonry

2010-04-21T23:30:00.005-04:00

In 1858 Albert Pike gave an address at the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. In it he offered the following as the timeless motto of Freemasonry:

Devotion to the interests of the People; detestation of Tyranny; sacred regard for the rights of Free Thought, Free Speech, and Free Conscience; implacable hostility to Intolerance, bigotry, Arrogance and Usurpation; respect and regard for labor, which makes human nature noble; and scorn and contempt for all monopolies that minister to insolent and pampered luxury.

If you are a Mason, is this the motto of your local lodge? Do you manifest the tenets of this motto in your daily life? Food for thought.

Scottish Rite Master Craftsman Program

2010-04-16T08:13:00.008-04:00

The Scottish Rite Master Craftsman program is a correspondence course of advanced study for members of the Scottish Rite. It covers the history of the Scottish Rite as well as the history, lessons, and esoterica of the Degrees of the Scottish Rite. For more information, click here.

I actually signed up for the program shortly after joining the Scottish Rite. Unfortunately, all that was delivered to me was the main textbook, the Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. I finally got around to ordering the program kit again a couple of weeks ago, and this time the first exam was included with a new second edition of the Monitor and Guide. Since I'd already combed through much of the Monitor and Guide, I took the first exam yesterday and it's off in the mail today back to the House of the Temple to be graded.

I would encourage all Scottish Rite Masons to check out the Master Craftsman program. It's an enjoyable and affordable way to expand your knowledge in Masonry.

From Steward to Senior Deacon

2009-12-03T22:40:00.004-05:00

We had Blue Lodge officer elections and installation tonight. I was appointed Senior Deacon for 2010. This is a great honor and privilege. I'm looking forward to the duties this office entails.

Lost copy of Francken manuscript found

2009-11-16T09:41:00.006-05:00

The oldest extant rituals of the Lodge of Perfection are contained in the Francken manuscript. Up until now there were only three known surviving copies. A fourth copy in the possession of the District Grand Library at Lahor, Pakistan had been reported. Apparently that copy has now been found. You can read about it here.

This is a find of tremendous importance for Scottish Rite Freemasonry. In the realm of biblical scholarship it would be like finding a second copy Codex Sinaiticus.

The Ring of the Perfect Elu

2009-10-20T08:24:00.004-04:00

The Valley of Spartanburg had its annual Feast of Tishri banquet last night. And while some valleys across the Rite no longer do the Ring Ceremony, this is a tradition that my valley continues. It followed the sumptuous roast leg of lamb dinner.

For this year's ceremony I was asked to give a lecture on the meaning of the 14th Degree ring. Here is the text of that lecture:

The ring of the Perfect Elu, which is awarded to every Scottish Rite Freemason who attains the 14th Degree, is one of the oldest Masonic accoutrements. In the earliest existing 14th Degree ritual of the Rite of Perfection, found in the Francken Manuscript of 1783, the ring is described as a plain band of gold with this inscription: Virtus junxit, mors non separabit. This is Latin for “What virtue has united, death cannot separate.” At some point in the late 19th century, the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction altered the ring to add the equilateral triangle with the Hebrew letter “Yod” in the middle, and the Southern Jurisdiction later adopted this design as well, and it is the ring used today.

Like most things in Freemasonry, the ring is a symbol, and in the wearing it should bring to mind many aspects of what you have learned and will learn as a Scottish Rite Mason. The ring is a circle, and a circle is a symbol of completion. That it is awarded with the final degree of the Lodge of Perfection is appropriate since the word “perfection” as used does not denote being “perfect” in the sense of being “flawless,” but rather in the antiquated use of the word meaning “complete.” (It is in this same sense that the word “perfect” is used in the preamble to the Constitution of the United States: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union...” meaning, of course, to form a more complete union.)

The Lodge of Perfection completes the journey of Symbolic Masonry you began with the first three degrees. The ring symbolizes that completion and is an ever present reminder of your Masonic journey. The equilateral triangle is emblematic of the three essential attributes of the Great Architect of the Universe: omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. The Hebrew letter “Yod” in the center of the triangle is the first letter of the ineffable Name of God and should serve to remind you of what was lost in the Third Degree and is found in the Degrees of Perfection. In so doing, the ring reminds you that as a Freemason you are identified with and should demonstrate continued dedication to that highest and most universal human aspiration: reverence for and service to God.

As you progressed from the Symbolic Masonry of the Lodge of Perfection into the chivalric degrees, you learned that purity of Honor, integrity of the Sword, and spotlessness of the Shield were the three highest ideals of our Ancient Brethren. “Honor that never broke faith with anyone” was supreme and preserved despite danger or personal loss. “Integrity of the Sword in never failing to draw it in defense of innocent and right” was a duty embraced with fervor and acted upon with courage. “The Shield never to be sullied by protecting oppression and wrong” was the symbol of each brother's dedication to the knighthood. When the ancient knight passed to his eternal home he bequeathed his Honor, his Sword, and his Shield to another, one near and dear, one he knew would carry on his quest unblemished and victorious.

The Scottish Rite ring also symbolizes these ancient emblems of Honor, Sword, and Shield. And just as with our Ancient Brethren, on its owner's death the ring should be given with dignity and pride to another Scottish Rite Mason so that he may carry on the Masonic Honor, Sword, and Shield of the fallen Brother.

As to the wearing of the ring, there is no prescribed method. It may be worn on any finger, with the triangle pointed either away from or toward the wearer. The position is irrelevant so long as the ring is worn with honor in keeping with the deep symbolic meaning inherent in it.

As you receive your ring and ponder the mysteries of its symbolism, let me leave you with these words of Albert Pike from his chapter on the 14th Degree in Morals and Dogma:

To make honor and duty the steady beacon-lights that shall guide your life-vessel over the stormy seas of time; to do that which it is right to do, not because it will ensure you success, or bring with it a reward, or gain the applause of men, or be “the best policy,” more prudent or more advisable; but because it is right, and therefore ought to be done; to war incessantly against error, intolerance, ignorance, and vice, and yet to pity those who err, to be tolerant even of intolerance, to teach the ignorant, and to labor to reclaim the vicious—these are some of the duties of a Mason.

As you wear your Scottish Rite Ring, I hope you will remember that it is not merely a piece of jewelry, but a symbol of the bond you have to a great fraternity and the pledge you have made to fulfill your duties as a Mason.

The Scottish Rite responds to the Lost Symbol

2009-10-20T08:18:00.002-04:00

The Supreme Council for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, has created a web page in response to the interest in Freemasonry created by Dan Brown's latest novel, The Lost Symbol. You can view the page by clicking here.

Rumor: At the Feast of Tishri held last night by my local Scottish Rite valley, a brother told me that he'd heard that Dan Brown is planning to petition for membership in the Masons.

My thoughts on The Lost Symbol

2009-09-24T10:12:00.008-04:00

I finished reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol last night. It took me longer to get through than I anticipated for two reasons: 1) This book is not a "page turner," and 2) I've been very busy over the last two weeks.

Since the book was released on September 15 I have purposely not read any reviews or blog posts about it, whether by Masons or non-Masons. I did not want the impressions of others to prejudice my own reading of the novel. So, untainted by the commentary of others, here are my impressions of The Lost Symbol after a first reading:

First, just from a plot standpoint, the storyline is very slow to develop and it never really takes off as in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. Dan Brown seems to have a set formula for his Langdon novels, and he has repeated it here: A bizarre and deluded "bad guy," a female victim, a "secret" that has world-wide implications if reveled, and Robert Langdon as the hero/protagonist.

Of course, my main interest in this book was how Freemasonry would be presented and how the book would affect the fraternity. I am happy to report that Brown portrays Masonry in a positive light and nothing about the storyline is disparaging in any way to Masons or Masonry. That being said, however, I was disappointed in the lack of depth in how Masonry is portrayed in the novel. Whether it was intentional on Brown's part, or reflects superficial research, is open for debate. What is troubling are the flat out inaccuracies regarding Masonry in general, and the Scottish Rite in particular. These are errors that even a modicum of research would reveal. For example, no Mason ever attains the 32nd degree in his local lodge. The 32nd degree is part of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and is conferred by the Consistory of the Royal Secret, the body within the various local Scottish Rite valleys that governs the 31st and 32nd degrees in the Southern Jurisdiction, or the 19th through the 32nd degrees in the Northern Jurisdiction. The highest degree conferred in any local (or "Blue") lodge is Master Mason, the Third Degree.

The Scottish Rite as portrayed in Brown's novel is clearly the Southern Jurisdiction, the headquarters of which is at the House of Temple in Washington, D.C. At the beginning of the story Brown depicts the villain, a 32nd degree Mason, being invested with the 33rd degree. In the Southern Jurisdiction no one can proceed directly from the 32nd degree to the 33rd. You must first be inducted into the order of the Knight Commanders of the Court of Honor (K.C.C.H.), and then you may at a later time (after a prescribed period) be invited to join the ranks of the 33rd degree. It's also important to note that unless you are one of the 33 active members of the Supreme Council, the 33rd degree is strictly an honorary degree. Brown never states it explicitly, but the depiction he gives of the induction of the villain into the 33rd degree within the Temple Room of the House of the Temple would seem to imply the man is being inducted into the Supreme Council. And regarding the Supreme Council, Brown once again shows a lack of basic research when he refers to the leader as the "Worshipful Master" of the House of the Temple. A "Worshipful Master" is the head of a local lodge. The head of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite is the Sovereign Grand Commander.

Brown depicts the ring worn by 33rd degree Masons as a highly stylized one with a double-headed "phoenix" and a triangle with the number "33" in the middle. Again, some basic research would reveal that the 33rd degree ring is actually a triple band of gold with nothing more on it than a triangle with the number "33" inside the triangle. Also, one of the symbols of the Scottish Rite is a double-headed eagle, not a phoenix as Brown describes it.

The use of Masonry in this story is superficial at best. I can think of numerous ways Brown could have made this novel more appealing to Masons and more intriguing for non-Masons. The history of the United States has a rich Masonic tradition that is barely touched on in The Lost Symbol. Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite have a diverse philosophical and esoteric nature that Brown could have more fully utilized in the storyline. And I'm not talking about Masonic "secrets," but rather clear and open teachings of the fraternity that are out there for anyone to read. (If only Brown had visited the bookstore at the House of the Temple and spent a few hundred dollars his story could have been the better for it.)

To sum up, I have to say I was disappointed in The Lost Symbol. There was so much promise and potential given Dan Brown's story telling abilities, but this time he just doesn't deliver the goods.

Reading The Lost Symbol

2009-09-15T15:07:00.003-04:00

I just picked up a copy of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. It will probably take me 2 or 3 days to get through it, and then I'll be posting my thoughts.

The Only Response a Mason Could Make

2009-08-21T10:25:00.002-04:00

Back in July I posted my commentary on the fiasco Gate City Lodge No. 2 was embroiled in over their raising of a black man to the sublime degree of Master Mason. My article was entitled "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," and I invite you to read it now if you have not done so.

As the months have passed since this controversy in Georgia Masonry has subsided, the implications have continued to reverberate in back-channel discussions and open proclamations in lodges and Grand Lodges across the country. The dropping of the ridiculous charges against Gate City and its officers was an encouraging sign, but I like countless other Masons have awaited some overt gesture from the Grand Master of Masons in Georgia "setting the record straight" on the issue of race and membership in the ancient fraternity of Freemasonry. Now, the wait is over and the Grand Master has spoken. In an edict issued August 19, 2009, Most Worshipful Brother J. Edward Jennings, Jr., Grand Master of Masons in Georgia, stated the following:

The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for the State of Georgia

August 19,2009
EDICT No. 2009-1
TO ALL CONSTITUTENT LODGES UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF GEORGIA, FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS:

WHEREAS: Freemasonry has existed in Georgia since it founding in 1734 and is the oldest Fraternal organization in the State, and;

WHEREAS: Freemasonry is universal in scope, being a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God, and;

WHEREAS: the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free & Accepted Masons, holds membership in this worldwide Brotherhood, and;

WHEREAS: our Ancient and Honorable Fraternity welcomes to its doors and offers its privileges to men of all races, colors and national origins who believe in a Supreme Being, as stated in our Degrees and Lectures, and;

WHEREAS: no reference is made to exclude any petitioner with regard to race, color or national origin in any of the Rituals or Masonic Code authorized for use in the Constituent Lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, and;

WHEREAS: it is incumbent on all members of our Brotherhood to abide by the Rules, Regulations, Laws and Edicts of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That no negative reference be made by any officer or member of any Lodge chartered under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, in reference to a petitioner's race, color or national origin, who believe in a Supreme Being, during any Lodge Communication, conferral of degrees, proficiency practice or proficiency examination;

Further, be it resolved, that it is the responsibility of the Worshipful Master of each Lodge constituted under the Constitution of he Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, to insure and enforce strict compliance with this EDICT, and, further, to have it read at the next two communications of the Lodge after receipt by the Lodge.

Any Lodge reported in violation of this Edict will be disciplined.

Given under my hand as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, this 19th day of August, 2009.

J. Edward Jennings, Jr.
Grand Master

Attest
Donald I. DeKalb
Grand Secretary

Some will complain that this edict is insufficient because it does not specifically address the Gate City situation and redress the wrongs done to that lodge. I would argue that a public edict of the Grand Master would not be the proper venue for that. This edict addresses the very issue that precipitated the Gate City controversy, and it does so in clear and unambiguous terminology. I commend the Grand Master of Georgia for issuing the only public response any true Mason could give on the issue of race and membership in Masonry: that when it comes to the color of a man's skin, the lodge, its members, and officers are to be colorblind, and no man should ever be judged unworthy of membership based on his race.

Tidbits from Morals and Dogma - #1

2009-07-21T22:54:00.007-04:00

I am a year into my Masonic journey, and I have finally started working my way through Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma in earnest. I think even the most seasoned Masonic scholar will admit this is far from an easy read. Every page--indeed, almost every paragraph--practically demands thoughtful reflection to digest the genius that is Pike's view of Freemasonry.

As I progress through this tome of Pike's, I will be posting from time to time small excerpts--what I'm calling "tidbits"--which I think are of particular interest to modern Masons seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the fraternity to which they belong. The first tidbit is from the chapter on the Second Degree of Masonry, that of Fellowcraft:

Knowledge is convertible into power, and axioms into rules of unity and duty. But knowledge itself is not Power. Wisdom is Power; and her Prime Minister is Justice, which is the perfected law of Truth. The purpose, therefore, of Education and Science is to make a man wise. If knowledge does not make him so, it is wasted, like water poured on the sands. To know the formulas of Masonry, is of as little value, by itself, as to know so many words and sentences in some barbarous African or Australasian dialect. To know even the meaning of the symbols, is but little, unless that adds to our wisdom, and also to our charity, which is to justice like one hemisphere of the brain to the other.

Do not lose sight, then, of the true object of your studies in Masonry. It is to add to your estate of wisdom, and not merely to your knowledge. A man may spend a lifetime in studying a single specialty of knowledge,--botany, conchology, or entomology, for instance,--in committing to memory names derived from the Greek, and classifying and reclassifying; and yet be no wiser than when he began. It is the great truths as to all that most concerns a man, as to his rights, interest, and duties, that Masonry seeks to teach her Initiates.

And what of these "great truths" that Masonry seeks to teach its members?

Truths are the springs from which duties flow; and it is but a few hundred years since a new Truth began to be distinctly seen; that MAN IS SUPREME OVER INSTITUTIONS, AND NOT THEY OVER HIM. Man has natural empire over all institutions. They are for him, according to his development; not he for them. This seems to us a very simple statement, one to which all men, everywhere, ought to assent. But once it was a great new Truth,--not revealed until governments ahad been in existence for at least five thousand years. Once revealed, it imposed new duties on men. Man owed it to himself to be free. He owed it to his country to seek or give her freedom, or maintain her in that possession. It made Tyranny and Usurpation the enemies of the Human Race. it created a general outlawry of Despots and Despotisms, temporal and spiritual. The sphere of Duty was immensely enlarged. Patriotism had, henceforth, a new and wider meaning: Free Government, Free Thought, Free Conscience, Free Speech! All these came to be inalienable rights, which those who had parted with them or been robbed of them, or whose ancestors had lost them, had the right summarily to retake.

And how does Masonry, by adding to the "estate of wisdom" of its members, ensure that these great Truths are not lost?

The wiser a man becomes, the less will he be inclined to submit tamely to the imposition of fetters or a yoke, on his conscience or his person. For, by increase of wisdom he not only better knows his rights, but the more highly values them, and is more conscious of his worth and dignity. His pride then urges him to assert his independence. He becomes better able to assert it also; and better able to assist others or his country, when they or she stake all, even existence, upon the same assertion.

The boy who wanted to be an astronaut.

2009-07-19T16:04:00.004-04:00

The Palmetto Bug has posted over on his blog about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and how one of the astronauts, Buzz Aldrin, was a Freemason. I've added a bit to that discussion by pointing out that Aldrin was actually deputized by the Grand Lodge of Texas with the charge to claim Masonic jurisdiction of the moon for the Texas Grand Lodge.

Bug's post has reminded me of the excitement I felt 40 years ago as a 10-year-old boy following the news updates of Apollo 11's voyage to the moon. And then the fateful day of the landing arrived and we were all glued to the TV listening to Walter Cronkite's commentary as we watched Armstrong descend the LEM ladder and set foot on the surface of the moon.

Much of my childhood was spent in and around the area of Cape Canaveral, Florida. My father worked for a NASA contractor from the early 60s until 1968, so I got to visit the space center often and even spent time with several of the Original Seven astronauts.

Here is a photo of me taken at the Cape when I was about 7 or 8. That is the Saturn V (the Apollo launch vehicle) on its launch pad in the background. I'm not sure which Apollo this one would have been, but it would have to have been one of the early (pre-moon shot) ones.

The Masonic Art of Peter Waddell

2009-07-17T11:04:00.004-04:00

It's becoming clear from the clues being pumped out on the Twitter page of Dan Brown's publisher that the plot of The Lost Symbol is going to involve the supposed Masonic layout of Washington, D.C. Whether or not the design of the capital was influenced by Masonic symbolism has long been debated inside and outside the fraternity. Well-respected Masons come down on both sides of the issue. Ill. Bro. Akram Elias, 33rd, the Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of D.C. believes the layout of the city intentionally includes Masonic symbolism. Ill. Bro. Brent Morris, 33rd, the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, disagrees.

Peter Waddell is a modern artist who gave an exhibition of his Masonic paintings in 2005 entitled His artwork is really quite striking, and given the title of this exhibition it's easy to see where he stands on the question of whether or not Washington, D.C. is filled with Masonic symbolism. Whatever you believe, Waddell's paintings from this exhibit are worth reflecting on, for they are themselves, without doubt, loaded with Masonic symbolism.

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

2009-07-07T11:59:00.016-04:00

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, with the exception of the double-headed eagle (an emblem that has been associated with the Scottish Rite from its beginning), 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 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.

The color of the seal (as well as the color of the D.C. skyline) on the book may also be emblematic of the Scottish Rite. The Freemasonry of Europe (in particular, France, as opposed to England) is often referred to as "Red Masonry." The roots of the Scottish Rite are in continental Masonry (which supposedly originated in Scotland) and not in the Masonry of England.

Given all this, I think it seems clear from the book jacket that the Scottish Rite will figure heavily into the plot of The Lost Symbol. It will be interesting to see how. I'm looking forward to reading it.

The heart is deceitful above all things.

2009-07-04T13:06:00.023-04:00

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

2009-06-09T18:17:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-04T09:35:00.003-04:00

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.

KSA Chartering Ceremony

2009-06-01T21:24:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-15T10:57:00.003-04:00

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.

Junior Deacon Pro Tempore

2009-03-05T22:15:00.002-05:00

Tonight was the stated communication at my Blue Lodge. Our Junior Deacon could not attend, so I was asked to fill in. It was an interesting experience because the Junior Deacon has considerably more to do in a regular meeting than a Steward.

I was able to report that our Lodge website is off to a successful start for 2009. Based on inquiries we've received from the web site in the month of February, it looks like we will be getting as many as three new members.

Our District Deputy Grand Master was in attendance tonight, which was a real treat. He chided me about not updating this blog very often, so I figured I'd better make a post. ;-)

And that's all for this month. Till next time, the journey continues...

The Journey Continues

2009-02-24T12:02:00.002-05:00

I have been extremely busy since the first of the year, and while my online Masonic activities may have suffered, my "real life" ones haven't.

As I posted previously, I am a Steward this year at our Lodge. We had the district-wide officer instructional meeting back in January, and it was very good to see how seriously the lodges in the area take Masonic education. I learned a lot at that meeting.

Our local Scottish Rite valley is organizing a Chapter of the Knights of St. Andrew and I'm on the organizing team for that. We are in the process now of deciding on regalia, etc. and we hope to have the Chapter constituted soon.

I've also been asked to participate on the 18th Degree Team for the upcoming joint North Carolina/South Carolina Scottish Rite Reunion to be held in Charlotte in April. Lots of memory work involved for this. (Those of you in the Scottish Rite know what I mean.)

And that's about it. My Masonic journey continues...

Appointed a Steward and Lodge Webmaster

2008-12-06T11:41:00.005-05:00

I haven't had much time for this blog over the last month, hence no new posts in November. Just a quick update: At our regular Blue Lodge meeting this past week we had the election and appointment of officers for next year. I was appointed as one of the Stewards.

Also, at our October meeting our Lodge voted to have a web page and I was elected as Webmaster. I designed the web site and submitted it to the Grand Master for approval. I just got the word yesterday that it was approved for content and style, so it's up and active now:

www.spartan70AFM.org

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 7

2008-10-31T21:49:00.011-04:00

Number 7, and the final article, in a series on Albert Pike's views of Freemasonry.

The goal of this final article in my series on Pike's views on Freemasonry will be to digest the main points of the preceding six articles. Again, let me state clearly that my reading of Pike is certainly not exhaustive and the substance of this series only reflects the conclusions I've drawn from what I've read of Pike's writings.

First off, Albert Pike viewed Masonry as an organic whole, with each modern iteration of it representing to a greater or lesser degree the "pure Masonry" lost in its own pre-history. Pike believed the Scottish Rite captured the essence of true (or pure) Masonry and that other "rites" did so to a lesser degree. Indeed, I'm quite certain that the modern notion of the Scottish Rite as an "appendant body" to Freemasonry would have been a totally alien concept to Pike. For him, the Scottish Rite was Freemasonry, and in its most pristine form.

Be that as it may, Pike believed the substance of Masonry was hidden in the Blue Degrees (and remember, the Scottish Rite includes the first three degrees--the Blue Degrees--and has its own rituals for them). For him, the sum total of Masonry can be found in the symbology and ritual of these first three degrees. But by design the sum is never taught in the Blue Lodge. True Masonry always involves more than the Blue Degrees; they are just the entryway into the Craft.

Pike believed that the Preston-Webb tradition, and its commentators, offered spurious and erroneous interpretations of the symbols and rituals of the Blue Degrees. "Masonry, tortured out of shape by these interpreters, no longer has a Secret and Holy Doctrine, is no longer Sanctum Regnum or Holy Empire." But it is important to note that it was only the meaningless and trivial interpretations of the Blue Degrees that Pike lamented, not the Degrees themselves or the Blue Lodge which conferred them. Pike had the utmost regard for the Blue Lodge and spent the latter part of his life laboring to explicate the true meaning of the symbols and rituals of the Blue Degrees. The result was his monumental book, Esoterika: Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry.

As for the origins of Freemasonry, Pike was a realist. He rejected early in his Masonic education most, if not all, of the fanciful theories of the ancient origins of the Craft. Pike firmly believed that Freemasonry was the legitimate heir to the Ancient Mysteries, the Hermetic and Alchemical philosophies, the Jewish Kabbalah, and the Essene teachings, as well as pre-heretical Gnosticism. The issue then becomes, how did Freemasonry become the repository for this amalgam of ancient teachings? There is ample evidence in Pike's writings that he never completely abandoned the Templar theory of the origins of Freemasonry, since the Knights Templar could account for how these schools of thought were brought to Europe from the Middle Eastern cauldron that brewed them.

Given Pike's understanding of what Freemasonry is, it's easy to see why he would eschew simplistic answers to the question "What is Freemasonry?" Let us close out this series with Pike's own words:

The true definition of the Freemasonry of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is this: it is an advance toward the Light; a constant endeavor, in all its Degrees to elevate the Divine that is in Man, the Spiritual portion of his compound nature, his Reason and his Moral Sense, above, and make it dominant over, and master of, the human, earthly, and material portion of his nature, his passions, and his sensual appetites.

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 6

2008-10-29T00:06:00.003-04:00

Number 6 in a series on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry.

In this, the sixth installment of my series on Pike's views on Freemasonry, we are going to look at Pike's definition of Freemasonry. The following is taken from Pike's The Porch and the Middle Chamber: The Book of the Lodge.

Masonry, more appropriately called Freemasonry--in French Franc Maçonnerie--has received many definitions:

The definition given of the Order by the Grand Orient of France is: "The Order of Frank Masons is an association of wise and virtuous men, whose object is to live in perfect equality, to be intimately connected by the ties of esteem, confidence, and friendship, under the name of Brethren; and to stimulate each other to the practice of the Virtues."

An English definition is, that "Freemasonry is a system of Morality, veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols."

Each definition is exceedingly imperfect. The Order of Freemasons is, or ought to be, an association of intelligent, virtuous, disinterested, generous, and devoted men, regarding each other as Free, Equals, and Brothers, and bound by the obligations of Fraternity to render each other mutual assistance. And Freemasonry is a system and school, not only of morals, but of political and religious philosophy, suggested by its Allegories and concealed under its Symbols. And, including in itself several degrees of Knighthood, it is also a Chivalric Order, requiring the practice and performance of the highest duties of the Man, the Citizen, the Patriot, and the Soldier.

The true definition of the Freemasonry of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is this: it is an advance toward the Light; a constant endeavor, in all its Degrees to elevate the Divine that is in Man, the Spiritual portion of his compound nature, his Reason and his Moral Sense, above, and make it dominant over, and master of, the human, earthly, and material portion of his nature, his passions, and his sensual appetites.

When one compares Pike's lofty definition of Freemasonry to many of the modern conceptions of the Craft, we might be inclined to echo the words of the prophet Jeremiah: "Oh, how the gold has become dim!"

Continue to Part 7

Scottish Rite Video

2008-10-26T00:17:00.005-04:00

In the late 70s or early 80s the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction released a promotional video called "The Dynamic Scottish Rite." The video was narrated by Ernest Borgnine, 33°.

At the end of the video the then Sovereign Grand Commander, Henry C. Clausen, gave a brief talk on the philosophical side of the Scottish Rite. Here it is:

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 5

2008-10-25T10:11:00.020-04:00

Number 5 in a series on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry.

In this fifth installment of my series on Pike's views on Freemasonry, we are going to examine his understanding of the origins of the Craft. Keep in mind that Pike was always quick to point out that his views were his views alone, and were proffered for Masons to accept or reject. All Pike asked was that every Mason who read his works reflect on them, reason, and through his own diligent quest, draw his own conclusions.

Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, in his Preface to Pike's Esoterika, tells us that

Prior to the emergence of the "authentic school" Pike had, like many others, read the speculations and theories of earlier writers, sometimes accepting their fantastic claims of the Fraternity's supposedly ancient origins. [Pike] tells us that, for a time, he put faith in the "fancies about the Egyptian origin" of Freemasonry ... , but he ultimately rejected this and similarly unfounded "fancies."

One of the early theories that Pike would have been exposed to was that of the Templar origins of Freemasonry. There is ample evidence in Pike's writings that he never completely eschewed this theory, believing that there was some kernel of truth in it. In his essay "The Order of the Temple," Pike juxtaposes a Templar theory of the "derivation of Masonry from the [Ancient] Mysteries" against the origins of the modern "Order of the Temple" (the Knights Templar of modern Masonry) in order to show that, while the Masonic Knights Templar, as an "order," were not direct descendants of the historic Knights Templar from the time of the Crusades, Freemasonry itself could possibly make that claim.

Pike believed that Freemasonry had inherited the Hermetic philosophy and Ancient Mysteries of the East, and that the truths of these Mysteries lay hidden in its symbols and rituals. The issue then becomes, just how did these Ancient Mysteries of the East find their way into the lodges of working stonemasons in Europe?

It is certain that the modern Initiation [ritual of Freemasonry] was borrowed from that of the Hebrews. Almost all the words of the degrees are Hebrew, the Ritual is borrowed from the Jewish Religion, and the doctrines of Masonry are in great measure those of the Essenian Mysteries. [Is it not] therefore probable that it was Jewish travelers that communicated Initiation to modern Nations? It is not: the separation between the Jews and other races, or rather the aversion of one for the other, was too great for any such communication to have taken place. Moreover, if we examine the formulas of Initiation, and its ceremonial, we shall see that they bear the impress of both religion and chivalry; and it must, therefore, have been a military and religious association that received the wrecks of the ancient initiation, and transmitted this institution to the moderns.

We adopt the opinion of those who think that this transmission was effected by the Knights of the order of the Temple: but how did it take place? As to epoch, it must be fixed at the time of the crusades, which retained the Templars for a long while in the Orient. Did they receive initiation from those among the Jews, who had preserved the Essenian Mysteries? Or was it not rather communicated to them by some Christian Sect? The latter is the most probable supposition.

In the chapter of Morals and Dogma on the 30th Degree (Knight Kadosh), Pike gives his clearest exposition of the connection between Freemasonry and the Knights Templar. (One must keep in mind that the bulk of this chapter, as in the rest of Morals and Dogma, is Pike quoting some unnamed source material, in this case an "enemy" of the Templars. Pike's own words throughout Morals and Dogma are always set off by brackets within larger sections where Pike is quoting other authors. I have not retained that punctuation in my quotes below, however. Any bracketed material in my quotes are my own words):

A hundred years ago it had become known that the Kadosh were the Templars under a veil, and therefore the Degree was proscribed, and, ceasing to be worked, became a mere brief and formal ceremony, under another name.

Pike believed the persecution of the Templars by the King of France and the Pope was predicated upon two things: First, their acceptance and assimilation of the Eastern Mysteries found embedded in the teachings of the Jewish sect known as the Essenes, as well as Kabbalistic Gnosticism (Johannism). And second, their avowed desire to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem for the express purpose of reconsecrating it as a See for Eastern Orthodoxy:

This rebuilding, formally predicted by the Judaizing mystics of the earlier ages, had become the secret dream of the Patriarchs of the Orient. The Temple of Solomon, rebuilt and consecrated to the Catholic worship, would become, in effect, the Metropolis of the Universe; the East would prevail over the West, and the Patriarchs of Constantinople would possess themselves of the Papal power.

Thus the Order of Knights of the Temple was at its very origin devoted to the cause of opposition to the tiara of Rome and the crowns of Kings, and the Apostolate of Kabbalistic Gnosticism was invested in its chiefs.

The tendencies and tenets of the Order were enveloped in profound mystery, and it externally professed the most perfect orthodoxy. The Chiefs alone knew the aim of the Order: the Subalterns followed them without distrust.

The Templars, like all other Secret Orders and Associations, had two doctrines, one concealed and reserved for the Masters, which was Johannism, the other public, which was the Roman Catholic. Thus they deceived the adversaries whom they sought to supplant. Hence Freemasonry, vulgarly imagined to have begun with the Dionysian Architects or the German Stone-workers, adopted Saint John the Evangelist as one of its patrons, associating with him, in order not to arouse the suspicious of Rome, Saint John the Baptist, and thus covertly proclaiming itself the child of the Kabbalah and Essenism toghether.

The ultimate demise of the Templars began, as is often the case with any movement or cause, from within:

The seeds of decay were sown in the Order of the Temple at its origin. Hypocrisy is a mortal disease, it had conceived a great work which it was incapable of executing, because it knew neither humility nor personal abnegation, because Rome was then invincible, and because the later Chiefs of the Order did not comprehend its mission. Moreover, the Templars were in general uneducated, and capble only of wielding the sword, with no qualifications for governing, and at need enchaining, that queen of the world called Opinion.

Their watchword was to become wealthy in order to buy the world. They became so, and in 1312 they possessed in Europe alone more than nine thousand seignories. Riches were the shoal on which they were wrecked. They became insolent, and unwisely showed their contempt for the religious and social institutions which they aimed to overthrow. Their ambition was fatal to them. Their projects were divined and prevented. Pope Clement V and King Philip IV, the Fair, gave the signal to Europe, and the Templars, taken as it were in an immense net, were arrested, disarmed, and cast into prison. Never was a Coup d'Etat accomplished with a more formidable concert of action. The whole world was struck with stupor and eagerly waited for the strange revelations of a process that was to echo through so many ages.

What did unfold, however, was not the revelation of the truth behind the arrest and prosecution of the Templars, for

[i]t was impossible to unfold to the people the conspiracy of the Templars against the Thrones and the Tiara. It was impossible to expose to them the doctrines of the Chiefs of the Order. This would have been to initiate the multitude into the secrets of the Masters, and to have uplifted the veil of Isis. Recourse was therefore had to the charge of magic [and heresy], and denouncers and false witnesses were easily found. When the temporal and spiritual tyrannies unite to crush a victim they never want for serviceable instruments. The Templars were gravely accused of spitting upon Christ and denying God at their receptions, of gross obscenities, conversations with female devils, and the worship of a monstrous idol.

The real crime of the Templars was their openness to religious teachings that emanated from outside the See of Rome:

The better to succeed and win partisans, the Templars sympathized with regrets for dethroned creeds, and encouraged the hopes of new worships, promising to all liberty of conscience and a new orthodoxy that should be the synthesis of all the persecuted creeds.

As to what the Templars were openly accused of:

It is absurd to suppose that men of intellect adored a monstrous idol called Baphomet, or recognized Mohamed as an inspired prophet. Their symbolism, invented ages before, to conceal what it was dangerous to avow, was, of course, misunderstood by those who are not Adepts, and to their enemies seemed to be pantheistic. For the Johannism of the Adepts was the Kabbalah of the earlier Gnostics [which] degenerat[ed] afterwards into those heretical forms which Gnosticism developed.

To all this the absurd reading of the established Church, taking literally the figurative, allegorical, and mythical language of a collection of Oriental books of different ages, directly and inevitably led. The symbols of the wise always become the idols of the ignorant multitude.

The end of the drama is well known, and how Jacques de Molay and his fellows perished in the flames. But before his execution, the Chief of the doomed Order organized and instituted what afterward came to be called the Occult, Hermetic, or Scottish Masonry. In the gloom of his prison, the Grand master created four Metropolitan Lodges, at Naples for the East, at Edinburgh for the West, at Stockholm for the North, and at Paris for the South. The initials of his name, J:.B:.M:., found in the same Order in the first three Degrees, are but one of the many internal and cogent proofs that such was the origin of modern Freemasonry. The legend of Osiris was revived and adopted, to symbolize the destruction of the Order, and the resurrection of Hiram, slain in the body of the Temple, of Hiram Abif the Master, as the martyr of fidelity to obligation, of Truth and Conscience, prophesied the restoration to life of the buried association.

Nevertheless [the Order] lived, under other names and governed by unknown Chiefs, revealing itself only to those who, in passing through a series of degrees, had proven themselves worthy to be entrusted with the dangerous Secret. What the Chiefs of the Order really believed and taught, is indicated to the Adepts by the hints contained in the High Degrees of Freemasonry, and by the symbols which only the Adepts understand.

(One can't help but be struck by the similarities between this "history" of the Knights Templar and what would, nearly three centuries later, prompt the rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church that would become known as the Protestant Reformation.)

Whether or not Pike, throughout his Masonic career, held to this outline of the origins of Freemasonry--or even whether or not he held to it at all and only believed it to be possible if not probable--remains the subject for further study. This is only what I've gathered from my readings of Pike to date, which are certainly not exhaustive by any means. But I can state, without question, that Pike rejected the notion that Freemasonry as a philosophical system evolved from the guilds of working stone masons of the Middle Ages.

Perhaps the closest we will come to a definitive look at what Pike believed concerning the origins of Freemasonry is revealed in a letter he wrote to Robert F. Gould (of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 in London) in 1888, just three years before his death:

I cannot conceive of anything that could have induced Ashmole, Mainwaring, and other men of their class to unite themselves with Lodges of working Masons, except this--that, as Alchemists, Hermeticists, and Rosicrucians had no association [of their] own in England or Scotland, they joined the Masonic Lodges in order to meet one another without being suspected; and I am convinced that it was the men who inherited their doctrines who brought their symbols into Masonry, but kept the Hermetic meanings of them to themselves.

Continue to Part 6

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 4

2008-10-22T20:47:00.006-04:00

Number 4 in a series on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry.

In this fourth installment in my series on Pike's views on Freemasonry we are going to look at his understanding of the Scottish Rite and where it fits in the "big picture" of Freemasonry. The following is adapted from Pike's address to the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction in 1866.

When Freemasonry appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages, it had a mission that exposed it to persecution, and that accounts for the solemnity of the obligations of its Lesser Mysteries.* If it had been only what Blue Masonry now is in England and America, its obligations, being out of all proportion to its objects, and unnecessary, would have been inexcusable or absurd.

The Freemasonry of the Ancient and Accepted Rite is "The Royal and Sacerdotal Art." It teaches "The Holy Doctrine" of Pythagoras and Plutarch. It conceals the profoundest mysteries in its words and symbols, as the Alchemists and Hermetic philosophers did in their seeming jargon. It is Isis, wearing her mask impenetrable except to the adepts. Those whose Master "is clad in blue and gold" ought to know why it is termed "Scottish" Masonry and understand the meaning of the Kadosh, and know why that leads to the mountain of Heredom, Heredom, or Heroden in Scotland.

Our instruction and discoveries ought to be jealously retained within our Sanctuaries. Our degrees are not mere commentaries, or commentaries at all, on the Blue Degrees. Legitimate commentary upon these indeed, would be but brief. That the Master Mason obtains only a substitute for the True Word is exceedingly significant and suggestive for everyone who will reflect. If the old Masters have in those degrees concealed the profounder meaning of the symbols, I will not be wiser than they and reveal them. If the true meanings have been lost by time, like those of the Assyrian hieroglyphs, and the keys contained in the Higher Degrees enable us to solve the enigmas of the sphinx, I will not lessen the value of those degrees by transferring that which belongs only to those who receive them to the Brethren who do not choose or are not permitted to ascend; and still less to those who treat us with a rude discourtesy.

Assuredly we have no apologies to make to Blue Masonry for daring to devote ourselves to so holy a cause. ... We do not reply to the ridicule or invectives of those, nor seek to confute or enlighten them, who are content with the Masonry of the Blue Lodges. What they write against the Higher Degrees can deter none from seeking our Sanctuaries who are fit to enter them and are wanted.

You style yourselves "Sovereign Grand Inspectors-General, Grand Elect Knights of the Holy House of the Temple, Grand Commanders of the Holy Empire. You are so, if you know the Royal Secret and understand the Holy Doctrine. You claim to hold all the powers of the first and last Grand Masters of the Templars, within this jurisdiction; and that claim is valid, there is ample internal evidence in the degrees, to those who understand them. The Kadosh are the real "Soldiery of the Temple."

*Frequently in Pike's writings you will see him refer to the Blue Degrees as the "Lesser Mysteries" of Freemasonry.

Continue to Part 5

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 3

2008-10-22T09:00:00.009-04:00

Number 3 in a series on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry.

While at times Albert Pike can come across in his writings as denigrating or downplaying the Blue Degrees, the truth is quite the contrary. Pike had a profound respect for the Blue Lodge, for this was, for him, the gateway into Masonry, and its symbols and ritual contained and concealed the truths of the Fraternity to which he devoted most of his life.

Pike set out his views of the Higher Degrees in relation to the Blue Degrees quite definitively in his 1886 "Address of the President" delivered to the Masonic Veteran Association of the District of Columbia:

If our labours and writings in other Degrees and Bodies tend to elevate the Symbolic Masonry, to illustrate its symbols and invest them with a higher significance and a more solemnly religious meaning, to apply and expound and comment upon and make more forcible the moral law of the Blue Degrees, 'the principle tenets of Freemasonry,' 'included between the two points of the compasses,' to communicate to the zealous Masonic student more exalted ideas of the God in whom Masons put their trust, and strengthen him with more convincing proofs of the existence of the soul after this life ends, then those who work and write there are the efficient Apostles of the Freemasonry of the Blue Degrees, true fellow-workmen in the field of Masonic Labor.

Let us therefore, my dear Brethren, always remember, that first of all and above all, we are Master Masons; and wherever we work and labor, calling ourselves Masons, let us work and labor to elevate and dignify Blue Masonry; for we owe to it all that we are in the Order; and whatever we may be elsewhere, we are always amenable to its law and its tribunals, and always concerned to maintain and magnify its honour and glory.

Pike spent the latter part of his life true to the admonition he gave in his "Address of the President," immersing himself deeply in the study of the symbolism of the Blue Degrees. The result of that study was what could arguably be considered his third Magnum Opus: the book Esoterika: Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry (the other two being his first rewrite of the Scottish Rite rituals and, of course, Morals and Dogma). Pike never intended Esoterika to be published and only two manuscript volumes were produced, one of which rests in the archives of the Supreme Council and the other with the Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 in London. In 2005 the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction authorized the publication of Esoterika and it is now available not only to Scottish Rite Masons, but to all Masons. In my opinion, it should be required reading for all Master Masons in the Blue Lodge.

Continue to Part 4

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 2

2008-10-19T23:37:00.005-04:00

Number 2 in a series on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry.

As I pointed out in Part 1 of this series, Pike believed the great truths of Masonry are concealed in the rituals and symbology of the Blue Degrees. Let's explore that further in the following, adapted from the lessons of the 32d Degree:

What is most worth knowing in Masonry is never very openly taught. The symbols are displayed, but they are mute. It is by hints only, and those the least noticeable and apparently insignificant, that the Initiate is put upon the track of the hidden secret. A word seemingly used at random, and as it were by chance, long escapes notice, and at last attracts the attention of some inquring mind, and gives the clue that leads to new discoveries. Many of these [clues], by the manipulations of the improvers of the work, men of audacious mediocrity, such as Preston and Webb, have disappeared forever, and meaningless trivialities have taken their places. Some remain, proofs of the great antiquity of Masonry much more convincing than all the babble of those whose business is to invent and pervert and not to discover. Masonry, tortured out of shape by these interpreters, no longer has a Secret and Holy Doctrine, is no longer Sanctum Regnum or Holy Empire.

It was never intended that the mass of Masons should know the meaning of the Blue Degrees, and no pains were spared to conceal that meaning. The commentators pretend to do what they cannot do and have no right to do. They deceive and delude those who read their works; and their only exucse is that they are blind leaders of the blind.

Whether the Higher Degrees have for you any real value depends upon your capacity to understand them and upon the amount of study and the degree of reflection you have bestowed upon them. The wisdom that constitutes true intellectual wealth is not easily acquired. In these degrees, the Lectures, the Obligations, the incidental explanations, the opening and closing ceremonies, are all in unison, each word carefully weighed, and each meant to have effect. No man can understand them fully without close and long study, and profound thought. Often the sentence is truly the symbol that hides the meaning, or the hint that puts you upon the track of discovery. The symbolism of Masonry is not only a sphinx, but a sphinx nearly buried in the sand, which the envious centuries have heaped around it.

And from the 14th Degree:

It has been objected to us, that in our lectures we under value that which is absurdly called "Symbolic Masonry," as if any Masonry could be not symbolic. It is quite true that we should not value it if we saw nothing in the Symbols of the Blue Lodge beyond the imbecile pretences of interpretation of them contained in the ordinary sterile instruction which we owe to Webb and his predecessors. These misinterpretations are not so much guesses at the true meaning as merely arbitrary and unwarranted explanations invented with but a moderate degree of ingenuity, and no more authoritative or genuine than any others that an ingenious fancy might invent today. To pretend that they have been transmitted to us from antiquity is a mere fable. By the same process, an Egyption hieroglyph might be made to mean anything. To these pretended interpretations it is owing, and to those blind guides who look no further into Masonry, that intelligent men find so little to attract and interest them in Masonic Symbolism, and that much which is found in the Blue Degrees seems trivial and sometimes absurd.

Freemasonry must once have had other and very different purposes, and other and vastly more interesting and important objects than those for which, in the United States and England, at least, it now exists. All of its symbols, that are not merely modern inventions, have a concealed meaning, which never appeared in the Liturgies or Rituals, these containing only hints cautiously given, and ideas easily misunderstood (and so intended to be) by all but the Adepts.

We do not demand your assent to these conclusions. We state them here to lead you to reflect and study, that you may decide for yourself. All that we positively assert is, that so far from containing in themselves all Freemasonry, the Blue Degrees, especially in England and the United States, only conceal the Light from the Initiates, were at the beginning only a means of organization, and are now only preliminary and rudimental.

Continue to Part 3

Albert Pike and Freemasonry - Part 1

2008-10-19T14:19:00.007-04:00

This is the first post in a series I plan to do on Albert Pike's views on Freemasonry. The substance of this post was the reply I made to a poster's comments on my post "Why I joined the Scottish Rite."

Based on my reading of Pike and the history of the Scottish Rite (which certainly is not exhaustive, by any means), Albert Pike viewed Masonry as an organic whole, with each modern iteration of it representing to a greater or lesser degree the pure Masonry lost in its own pre-history. Pike believed the AASR captured the essence of true Masonry and that other "rites" did so to a lesser degree, but the sum and substance was hidden in the Blue Degrees.

Pike believed (and it's still reflected in the teachings of the Scottish Rite) that the Blue Degrees with their elaborate symbology and ritual were purposely designed to conceal, not reveal. So, in that sense, when the anti-Masons claim that the "truth" of Freemasonry is hidden from the the holders of the lower degrees, they are correct. Where they are in error is in what they believe is being hidden.

Pike believed, and the Scottish Rite teaches, that the sum total of Masonry can be found in the symbology and ritual of the Blue Degrees. But by design the sum is never taught in the Blue Lodge. Pike believed true Masonry always involved more than the first three degrees as given; these are just the entryway. What Pike lamented is the belief that what is given as given to the Mason in the Blue Degrees represents the truth of Masonry on its face. Pike believed the teachings of the Blue Degrees as given had one end: to prod the Mason to look behind and beneath the surface of those teachings to find the treasure within. And he believed the Higher Degrees of the AASR were the most suitable pathway to that treasure.

I believe the current notion of the Scottish Rite as being an "appendant body" to Masonry would have been foreign to Pike. Keep in mind that while not generally practiced, the Scottish Rite has its own versions of the first three degrees, and is, therefore, a complete system of Masonry unto itself. And I believe that is the way Pike viewed the Scottish Rite. It was, for him, Freemasonry in its most unadulterated form.

Continue to Part 2

Why I joined the Scottish Rite

2008-10-18T22:18:00.004-04:00

Today I completed the 15th through the 32d degrees of the Scottish Rite. During one of the lectures one of the officers made the comment that the Scottish Rite is the "University of Freemasonry," which is true...IF.

It's true if you view the Higher Degrees as a means and not an end. For the Higher Degrees to be of any benifit to the Master Mason, he must view the Scottish Rite as a life-long "distance learning" program of the University of Freemasonry. And it's a program from which you never graduate: there is always more to learn, more to comprehend, more to master.

The Master Mason who views the 32d degree as a "terminal degree" and never picks up a book thereafter, never studies, never delves deeper into the teachings and mysteries to which the Higher Degrees are only a portal, has short-changed himself and may as well not have bothered.

For me, the reason to join the Scottish Rite is best summed up in the following, which is adapted from the lecture for the 4th Degree:

If you have been disappointed in the first three Degrees, as you have received them, and if it has seemed to you that the performance has not come up to the promise, that the lessons of morality are not new, and the scientific instruction is but rudimentary, and the symbols are imperfectly explained, remember that the ceremonies and lessons of those Degrees have come to us from an age when symbols were used, not to reveal, but to conceal, and that these antique and simple Degrees now stand like the broken columns of a roofless Druidic temple, in their rude and mutilated greatness; in many parts, also, corrupted by time, and disfigured by modern additions and absurd interpretations.

A few rudimentary lessons in architecture, a few universally admitted maxims of morality, a few unimportant tradtions, whose real meaning is unknown or misunderstood--these will no longer satisfy the earnest inquirer after Masonic truth. They are but the entrance to the great Masonic temple, the triple columns of the portico. Let him who is content with these seek to climb no higher. But you have taken the first step over this threshold, the first step toward the inner sanctuary and heart of the temple. You are in the path that leads up the slope of the mountain of truth; and it depends upon your secrecy, obedience and fidelity, whether you will advance or remain stationary.

Imagine not that you will become indeed a Mason by learning what is commonly called the "work," or even by becoming familiar with our traditions. Masonry has a history, a literature, a philosophy. Its allegories and traditions will teach you much; but much is to be sought elsewhere. He who desires to understand the harmonious and beautiful proportions of Freemasonry must read, study, reflect, digest, and discriminate. The streams of learning that now flow full and broad must be followed to their heads in the springs that well up in the remote past and you will there find the origin and meaning of Masonry.

From the 3d to 14th in less than 48 hours

2008-10-11T15:56:00.004-04:00

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.

I was one of 9 candidates for the Ineffable Degrees today and they were beautifully done. The SGIG made a point of telling the class that I had just been raised a Master Mason on Thursday. I don't know if proceeding to the Lodge of Perfection less than 48 hours after being raised a Master Mason is some sort of record, but it sure seemed to surprise most of the Brothers when they heard it.

So, I'm now a 14th Degree Mason. I will get the 15th through the 32d degrees next Saturday.

Raised a Master Mason

2008-10-11T04:09:00.004-04:00

This past Thursday evening was the penultimate event in my Masonic journey, a journey which began back in April when I petitioned my lodge for membership. From that point forward, as I was entered an Apprentice and passed to the degree of Fellow Craft, I have committed to memory copious amounts of arcane dialog and information, the sum and substance of ancient rituals that millions of men before me have learned in their own journeys toward the light. It was all to prepare me for that singular event, being raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, the Third Degree of Ancient Craft Masonry.

The trek has been rewarding in ways that can never be adequately expressed in a mere blog post. Indeed, the marrow of Freemasonry can't be shared in words or conveyed in a documentary on The Discovery Channel. To truly know Masonry is to experience it. The books you read, no matter how many, and the shows you watch, no matter how farfetched, only give an imperfect glimpse into the reality that is Freemasonry. The truth is in the doing, the working of the Craft, and my work has just begun.

For a larger version of this picture, click here.

A peculiar system of morality, veiled...

2008-10-06T09:03:00.005-04:00

I was logged in to the Masonic Central broadcast last night, and as usual it was a good and lively discussion. I would encourage all Masons, or anyone interested in learning more about the Fraternity, to listen in on Sunday nights at 9 pm Eastern.

Often, the discussions you can't hear during the broadcast are just as interesting as the ones you can. There are usually two or three of us carrying on a conversation in the IM-like interface that pops up when you log in to Talk Shoe to listen to the broadcast. Last night, the text "chat" strayed a little off topic when the main audio conversation was dealing with showing movies (projected DVDs) in the lodge (a "movie and popcorn night," if you will). I made the point that the license a person is granted when they purchase a DVD does not cover any sort of public showing. When you buy a DVD, you are licensed to watch it in your home. That's it under US copyright law and international intellectual property laws. One Brother responded that he didn't pay any attention to stuff like that. Is that an appropriate way for a Mason to respond?

I believe as Masons we should strive to follow the law insofar as we know what the law is. The posted speed limit is 65 mph? Then don't drive 70. It's that simple. Want to show movies in your lodge? Then take the necessary steps to secure the proper license for showings by a non-profit organization.

No man is perfect, which means no Mason is perfect. But if I truly want to "improve myself, in Masonry," am I just going through the motions, or am I really trying to make a difference in the way I conduct myself? When I'm late for that meeting and I fly past motorists who are driving the speed limit, and I've got my Masonic license plate and/or Masonic emblems showing proudly on the back of my car, who am I kidding? And what sort of message am I sending out about Freemasonry? That it's a "peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory?" Or veiled in hypocrisy?

Approved for the Third Degree

2008-09-05T17:10:00.000-04:00

At their regular meeting last night, the Lodge voted to approve my raising to the degree of a Master Mason. The ceremony is scheduled for October 9.

In the meantime, the memory work on the Fellow Craft degree continues. I have met with my coach twice now and we have already covered most of the material that I have to learn. There is a lot of similarity to what I had to memorize for the Entered Apprentice degree, so that makes it somewhat easier this time. Plus, there is less material to digest. Therefore, I am confident I’ll be ready to recite the required material on the 9th in preparation for being rasied to the 3d degree.

Passing to Fellow Craft

2008-08-30T16:49:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, August 28, 2008 I was passed to the degree of Fellow Craft, the Second Degree of Ancient Freemasonry. In order to be qualified to pass to this degree I had to recite in open Lodge all the material from the Entered Apprentice degree that I have been working to memorize over the past month. I wish I could say I was able to do it perfectly, but there were a couple of stumbles. The Fellow Craft Degree itself was memorable and moving, and the fellowship warm and welcoming at the dinner afterwards.

The memory work for this degree starts next week as I prepare to be raised a Master Mason at the end of September.

Do you believe?

2008-08-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

I started reading Robert Lomas's book Turning the Hiram Key last week. This book is Lomas's attempt to chronicle his personal journey into Freemasonry as he delves into how the rituals of the Craft have affected him.

Lomas begins the story of his journey with his first exposure to Freemasonry and his subsequent desire to join the fraternity. When he gets to the point of talking about submitting his petition to join the Lodge, he recounts this verbal exchange with the man to whom he was about to hand his letter of application:

"Before you can hand that in, I need to talk to you about an important question. You'll have to come for an interview and answer it before we'll decide if you'll be allowed to join."
"What's that?"
"When you come for interview you'll be asked if you believe in a supreme being."
"Do you mean do I belong to a church?"
"No, that's not necessary," he said. "But you must accept that there is such a thing as a supreme being."
"Can I think about my answer?"

Those who are totally ignorant about Freemasonry may not realize that one of the central tenets is belief in God. But much to the dismay of fundamentalist Christians here in the US, Freemasonry doesn't care which God. Therefore, membership is open to all men who profess a belief in God, be it the Triune God of Christianity, the God of the Torah for Jews, Allah for the Muslims, or virtually any other deity of a recognized religion. Therefore, a little alarm bell sounded in the back of my mind when I read Lomas's response to the first question that is asked of anyone seeking to join Freemasonry: Do you believe in God?

"Can I think about my answer?"

What's there to think about? Either you do or you don't. But not for Robert Lomas. I'll let him explain:

By trade I am a scientist, and I found this question difficult to answer. It is ambiguous--with hindsight, I suspect deliberately so. I ended up doing considerable research before deciding how to answer, and I began by looking at the meanings of the words used. ...
Often the term "supreme being" is taken as a synonym for God. But the dictionary possibilities are wider. You could legitimately join [Freemasonry] if you believe in a deity who, though limited in power, is made of a rich cream sauce; this hypothetical supreme being might be called "the custard god." ... But a custard god is too weird for a scientist to accept, and anyway my wife keeps me on a diet. But, luckily, "supreme being" can also mean the greatest nature or essence of existence that can be imagined; to me this is the "Laws of Physics."

I actually had to put the book down after I read that paragraph. The little alarm bell was now a resounding gong as I realized what sort of prevarication this man was willing to go to in order to become a Mason:

If I wanted to become a Freemason the first peculiar question I had to face up to was, did I believe that there was an order underlying the behavior of the universe?

Do you see what Lomas has done? In order to be able to answer the question in the affirmative, he had to redefine the term "supreme being." Again, I'll let Lomas's words explain:

Thinking my position through, I had no doubt. I could answer a truthful "yes" to the admission question. And I did not have to compromise my scientific beliefs. This, then is my definition of "supreme being"--my scientist's creed if you like:
I believe in a number of immutable laws that apply throughout the whole of creation. These relate to the way matter behaves and are often called the Laws of Physics. They include such well-known relationships as the conservation of energy and mass and their interchangeability, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Fermi-Dirac statistics and the laws of thermodynamics. I believe that matter is made up of twelve fundamental particles, six quarks and six leptons. There are four forces, strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational. I also believe that forces are mediated by the exchange of particles. I accept the existence of twelve force-carrying particles and think there might also be a thirteenth, the graviton, but I'm not sure about that.

Can any man, if he is being honest with himself, actually think that by requiring a belief in a Supreme Being, Freemasonry expects or accepts a deity you made up yourself ("the custard god"), or the abstract and impersonal "Laws of Physics"? When the Lodge is opened with prayer to the Great Architect of the Universe, can any man in good conscience believe that he is seeking the blessings and wisdom of the Laws of Physics? When faced with the trials and tribulations that life throws at us, how much comfort do prayers to the Laws of Physics bring to a troubled and weary traveler?

These questions may seem facetious, but I assure you they are not. They reveal the heart of the matter at issue when a prospective candidate is asked "Do you believe in a Supreme Being?" If you allow the person being asked to create his own god so that he may answer in the affirmative, the answer becomes meaningless and an exercise in sophistry. Would Mr. Lomas find it acceptable if he asked me if I believed in the Laws of Physics, if I answered "Yes, so long as I can make up my own Laws of Physics"? I doubt it.

Approved to pass

2008-08-08T15:30:00.000-04:00

The Lodge had its regular meeting last night and I was elected to receive the second degree. The date set for my passing to the degree of Fellow Craft is August 28, 2008.

In the meantime, the memory work continues. The Master of the Lodge, who is my coach, tells me I’m making good progress and he’s confident I will do fine on the 28th when I have to recite from memory a large chunk of the Entered Apprentice degree in open Lodge in order to pass to the Fellow Craft degree.

We met last evening for a memory work session before the start of the regular lodge meeting. There were several brothers there early and a few of them had fun peppering me with questions to see how much I had learned of the Entered Apprentice degree. I think I acquitted myself well.

The Origins of Freemasonry

2008-07-30T15:24:00.001-04:00

There have been literally thousands of books written on the subject of Freemasonry, from well-researched scholarly tomes, to the most off the wall and amateurish conspiracy theories. Once I made the decision to become a part of "the world's oldest secret society," I spent a great deal of time delving into the history of Freemasonry and have to date read at least a half dozen books on the subject.

First, let me say that I have never bought the idea that modern Freemasonry evolved from medieval stonemasons. I grew up in a family that had several Masons in it, so I remember hearing this particular "history lesson" of the origins of the Craft at various times throughout my childhood whenever I or someone would spot an uncle's Masonic ring and ask "What is that?" Something about this explanation for the origins of Freemasonry just didn't seem cogent to me. And as my research has revealed, my "hunch" that there was more to the story than ancient stonemasons was probably right.

In a nutshell, here are some of the conclusions I've reached regarding the history and origins of the Freemasons:

Freemasonry more than likely originated with fugitive Knights Templar, who fled to Scotland from Europe and England in 1307 when the Pope sanctioned the arrest of all Templars on the charge of heresy.

In an effort to continue their Brotherhood "underground," the fugitive Templars met covertly as "masons," eventually adopting the working tools of the stonemasons and developing elaborate symbology based on these tools to teach and memorialize spiritual and moral lessons, as well as to teach and preserve the history of their Brotherhood.

Being devote Roman Catholics, when the Templars were in effect cut off from God by being excommunicated by the Pope, they developed their own rituals which may have been derived from Jewish rituals they were exposed to in Jerusalem, or perhaps from Essene documents discovered when they were excavating the Temple mount in Jerusalem.

The Templars/Masons recognized a fundamental theological truth that would eventually be fleshed out in the Protestant Reformation 250 years after they were condemned as heretics, namely, that every man himself is ultimately responsible for his own relationship to God, and no intermediary in the form of an earthly priest is needed. This would have been rank heresy to medieval Roman Catholicism.

The Templars were French speaking, which can account for some of the oddities of Masonic vocabulary. For example, the Templars referred to each other as frére, "brother." Once they went undercover as masons, a "brother Templar" would be called frére Maçon. Over the centuries, as Masonry evolved in the English speaking lands of Scotland and England, frére Maçon became Anglicized into "Freer Mason" and finally "Free Mason."

By the early 18th century, with the Reformation having changed the theological landscape forever, the necessity for the Templar/Masons to remain underground in fear of their lives had passed. Freemasonry became "public" with the formation of Grand Lodges in England and Scotland, but its true origins were still veiled by the cover of operative stone masonry in allegorical form.

Freemasonry's ultimate triumph comes with the founding of the US, and its government based on a worldview that had evolved over the preceding three centuries in the underground Lodges of Freemasons.

Repetitio mater memoriae

2008-07-22T15:21:00.000-04:00

The memory work continues, and my journey so far as an Entered Apprentice is as a catechumin. My coach tells me that I’m making good progress.

One precept that my Latin teacher in college hammered home was repetitio mater memoriae, “repition is the mother of memory.” Having nothing in writing to study means I have to remember the very questions I need to ask myself if I want to “study” on my own when I’m not working the material with my coach. Amazingly, I’ve found that I can do it. Since my first session with my coach last Friday I have been going over the catechsim in my mind off and on several times a day. Today was the first time I’ve worked with my coach since then and I was able to repeat the material we went over last week with only one mistake.

The material we covered today was a bit more complex, so we didn’t cover quite as much as last time. We are going to meet again tomorrow. Also, there is someone being intiated as an Entered Apprentice at a neighboring lodge on Thursday evening, and my coach and I are going. As an Entered Apprentice I can only attend a lodge that is open in the First Degree, which basically means I can only attend the initiation of another Entered Apprentice. I’m looking forward to being a part of someone else’s inititiation while my own is still fresh in my mind.

Can a Christian be a Freemason?

2008-07-19T15:18:00.000-04:00

I ran into a man today, a perfect stranger, while we were both waiting in line. I had prepared for the wait and had John J. Robinson’s book Born In Blood with me to read. The man asked me about it, and I gave him a brief synopsis of what I’d gathered from the book thus far. He then proceeded to tell me that his “problem” with Freemasonry was that you only have to believe in “a god” to be a member, and if you are a Christian you believe in “the God.” I didn’t tell him I was a fresh initiate into Masonry. I just nodded my head and let him continue: “The very first oath they make you take, you have to deny Christ,” he said. I looked surprised. “Yeah, they lead you in blindfolded and half naked and you have to say you’re a poor candidate and then they ask what you are seeking and you say ‘more light’. But a Christian doesn’t need more light.”

It is said that there are three things that every Freemason contends with: Ignorance, Tyranny, and Fanaticism. This poor fellow was imbued with his fair share of at least one and possibly two of these. I never did tell him I was a “new” Mason. I didn’t tell him how wrong he was in his narrative of what a candidate is asked and swears to. Maybe I should have. But I’ve dealt with people like him many, many times and they are usually much happier if they don’t have to be burdened with the facts.

Can a Christian be a Freemason? The obvious answer to that questions is “yes.” Usually what people who ask it really mean is “Should a Christian be a Freemason?”

I am a Christian. Most people who know enough about Christianity to be able to discern the difference would label me as a “conservative” Christian. If at any point in my journey into Freemasonry I am faced with ritual, doctrine, teaching, or whatever that would cause me to deny Christ or the fundamental tenets of orthodox Christianity, then my “journey” would end right then and there. From what I know of Freemasonry at this stage of my trek, however, I don’t think that will ever happen.

Initiation: The Degree of Entered Apprentice

2008-07-19T15:12:00.001-04:00

My initiation as an Entered Apprentice Mason took place at the Masonic Temple on the evening of July 17, 2008. Having done a considerable amount of research on Freemasonry, I more or less knew what to expect. Perhaps that is partly why I wasn't really nervous—but I'm sure that had more to do with the warm fellowship and encouragement I received from all the members of the lodge prior to the start of the ceremony.

I'm not going to discuss any of the details of the ritual and ceremony involved in my initiation to the first degree of Masonry. Anyone reading this can do a Google search and find out the basic details of all three Masonic degrees. Keep in mind, however, that no matter what you read on the Internet, in books, or see in TV documentaries about Freemasonry, each Masonic jurisdiction will have slight differences in the detail of the ritual involved in each of the three degrees. This I quickly discovered during my initiation as an Entered Apprentice.

I will say that while everything about the ritual and ceremony was solemn and serious, the members of this lodge have a good time and enjoy "doing Masonry." They all evinced a joy about introducing someone new to the mysteries of Freemasonry. From the "education" I was given before the meeting started, to the dinner afterward, everyone seemed genuinely happy to have me joining their fraternity. All in all, it was an enjoyable and meaningful experience.

Unlike in some jurisdictions, the "memory work" required to proceed to the second degree at this lodge is done the "old fashioned" way, i.e., it's all given verbally. There is nothing in writing which the Entered Apprentice can study. He can't take notes. He can't record anything. He has to learn all the required material by a give and take verbal exchange with his "coach," who in my case is the Master of the lodge. Once the coach is confident the new brother has memorized the material and can proficiently recite it by memory, the meeting to "pass" the Entered Apprentice to the degree of Fellow Craft is scheduled. In South Carolina, an Entered Apprentice cannot pass sooner than 28 days from his initiation.

My memory work began July 18, the day after my initiation. After about an hour of working with my coach I was able to recite from memory (almost perfectly) about 25% of the material I have to learn. I will meet with my coach once or twice a week until I can recite it all, perfectly, from memory. Once I can do that, I'll have to do it in open lodge before all the brothers. Only then will I be allowed to pass to the second degree.

It is my plan to be ready to take the second degree as soon as the required 28 days have passed.

The Balloting

2008-07-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

The investigation process took about two months. My petition was originally supposed to be voted on at the June meeting, but one of the officers who was on my investigation committee could not attend the meeting so the vote was postponed until the July 3rd meeting.

Despite all the positive feedback I got from the officers during the investigation process, I was still apprehensive as the day approached when my petition would be voted on. Late in the evening of the 3rd I sent an e-mail to my friend whom I’d originally called about joining to ask the result of the balloting. I checked my e-mail the next morning. No reply. All day Friday went by. No reply. All day Saturday went by. No reply. Now I was starting to wonder. No one likes to deliver bad news by e-mail, so I was starting to wonder if I’d get a letter in the mail saying “Sorry, you were black balled.” And that’s all it takes. A single “no” vote and you don’t get in.

Voting for new members in the lodge is done by secret ballot. Each member casts his “yes” vote with a single white marble-sized ball. There is one black ball in the balloting box and if any member casts his vote using that, the petition is rejected. Period. No questions are asked, and no reason need be given.

Finally, on Sunday I received an e-mail from my friend informing me that my petition had been approved and I had been elected to receive the Entered Apprentice degree, the first of the three degrees of Craft Masonry. I’m scheduled to be initiated on July 17, 2008.

The Investigation

2008-07-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Every person who petitions a lodge for membership is "investigated." How thorough the investigation is varies among the Masonic jurisdictions: some are rather lax; some more strict. I'd say my investigation fell somewhere in the middle. It involved a background check and three meetings or interviews with lodge officers. Two of these were in person and one was over the phone. The questions and discussions were general in nature but centered around why I desired to join and my belief in God.

Here is a list of the requirements taken from the Grand Lodge of South Carolina web site:

General Requirements

Must believe in a Supreme Being.

Must be male.

Must be 18 years old or older.

Must have resided in the state of South Carolina for 12 consecutive months.

Must be able to read and write English.

Must be recommended by two Masons.

Investigation and Balloting

Must apply by petition at a regularly scheduled business meeting.

Petition must be in the petitioner's handwriting.

Petition must accompany the specified fee. Fees are set by individual lodges and approved by the Grand Master.

The lodge will assign a committee of three to inquire into the petitioner's qualifications and make a report at the next scheduled business meeting.

If the committee is favorable, a vote of the lodge members present at a business meeting is taken.

If the vote is unanimous, the candidate is invited to take the first degree of three degrees.

2B1ASK1

2008-07-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

On April 10, 2008, just shy of my 49th birthday, I submitted my petition for membership to one of the local lodges.

Having grown up in a family that had a lot Masons on both my mother’s and father’s side, I already knew that I would never be asked or invited to join the fraternity. To join, you have to approach a Mason and ask. But once I made the final decision to join, I realized that I didn’t actually know any Freemasons “2ASK.” All my family members that I knew were Masons have long ago passed away. So I just went to the web page of one of the lodges that meets in the big Masonic Temple downtown to get a contact address. The names of the officers were all listed there and I thought I recognized the name of one of them. Turns out it was a man I used to work with a few years ago. I had no idea back then he was a Mason. So I called him up. He remembered me well, and that’s how I wound up petitioning the lodge where he is a member and officer.

My Masonic Journey

2008-07-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

This blog is intended to be a record of my journey into Freemasonry as well as periodic articles on, about, or related to the subject of Freemasonry.

"Manthanein" is transliterated from Ancient Greek and means "to learn."