halloween as a hermetic tradition

Halloween as a Hermetic Holiday

halloween as a hermetic tradition

Little ground exists between Halloween and Freemasonry. Here and there a costume ball or an orange crepe paper centerpiece marks the passing of the season, but that is probably the extent of any connectivity. For me, the holiday has always been an important one even as my own little goblins have forsaken the quest for candy for more adult like pursuits.

This is the first year of a house devoid of pint sized celebrants leaving me to reorient myself to the signs of the season. Few could argue that the air itself reminds us that it is autumn – it comes from the harvest; the slow subjugation of the sun; the withering leaves. Today, I’ve come to see the holiday in a different perspective, a Hermetic point of view that, in a sense, encapsulates some importance of the season.

For me, Halloween is the point upon which my spiritual year turns. It is the window between the bountiful summer that comes from the victorious sun and its falls closer to the horizon. Autumn is the stretching shadow that foretells of things to come. This is when the cold seeps in, the dead begin to walk and ghosts skulk out from shadows.

As an adult, I’ve found a greater love of the holiday with a deeper sense of what it represents. My childhood memories of the season have paved the road of time with recollections of cheap drugstore costumes imbued with magical powers – powers that allowed me to wantonly go door-to-door in search of candy. These magical powers were not remarkable themselves but the costumes that they came from were. They gave me the power to pretend for a time to be someone else. Besides being a day of candy corn and mummy dogs, the celebration of Halloween is a way of celebrating the opposite ideation of ourselves – to be something more than what we are. In doing so, it allows us to assume that things power, if even if for an instance.

Understandably, this ignores the traditions of Samhain or dia de los muertos as they each in kind have their own specific practices. Rather than celebrating the dead or forestalling their return, I see the fundamental aspect of Halloween as the celebration of becoming something we wish we were. The season reminds us of this with the change in the air that it brings. It taunts us with the slowly enveloping cocoon of winter looming before us.

The lessons I glean from All Hallows Eve are the forces of change at work in both our physical and mental universe as we reminiscence and contemplate the imaginary roles of our past and future selves. It is the polarity that the Kyablion speaks of and the duality that such polarity embodies. From those thoughts go our fears on the flickering lights of the jack-o-lantern and upon the whispers of invisible ghosts.

The celebration of the harvest and of Halloween gives us command over the power of our past and shows us the potential of our future. It puts us in charge of who we are at this moment of being in a way similar to the action of becoming HIram Abiff. Fundamentally, it represents our own juxtaposition of static change giving us, perhaps, a glimpse of some dimensional otherness.

That’s what Halloween reminds me of – melancholy and spice; damp eyes wet with the glimmer of the future; it’s imagining what we want to be.

It’s Halloween, time for us to assume an imaginary mantle of some otherness of who we want to be… even if for just a few fleeting hours.

Freemason Tim Bryce.

Working for Goons

BRYCE ON SOCIETY
– Making the work environment unbearable.

One of the reasons Scott Adams’ cartoon, “Dilbert,” is so successful is because it hits close to home in depicting office life. Corporate management is one of Adams’ favorite targets in which they are shown as bumbling idiots. They are very determined in controlling all activities of the business. Their approach is predictably wrong, and they embrace every management fad that comes along. Because of their strong sense of authority and control, perhaps “goons” is a more appropriate label. This is essentially no different than Hitler’s goon squads during World War II where they harassed people, and practiced thuggery to implement the Führer’s policies. Under this approach, management’s policies are implemented top-down with no bottom-up input being tolerated.

Earlier this year, I wrote a column entitled, “Beware of the MBA’s,” whereby I made the observation today’s management tends to manage people more from a numbers point of view as opposed to a results perspective and their ability to work with others. I recently saw this first hand in a company with a national chain of outlets for manufacturing products. After several years at the helm, the founder and president stepped aside and retired. Shortly thereafter, the board of directors appointed a new CEO, someone with experience in the company but who was much younger and ambitious. The first thing he did was replace all of the regional sales managers with younger people (late twenties), and office managers in their early twenties. The more experienced sales and office managers were demoted and pushed aside. Instead of sales volume, the sales force was managed by a series of spreadsheets which considered the number of sales calls made, both in person and on the telephone. Instead of worrying about customer care and satisfaction, the numbers were of paramount importance. To make matters worse, whereas salesmen had previously been managed by the local sales manager, who was there to review their progress and solve their problems, the sales force now reported to a goon squad of regional sales managers, who were located out of state, and local office managers who acted as the eyes and ears of the regional managers.

This resulted in a serious morale problem. Since people were managed primarily by numbers, they became apathetic in the company’s business. They quickly realized concepts such as customer service and quality assurance were considered passé. They also knew they could easily outfox the young office managers who lacked experience. Over time, the office units started to experience delays in shipments to customers, lost revenue, sloppy inventory, and a general disregard for the company overall. Since they realized fighting the goon squad was futile, they undermined the company instead. Conditions became so bad, the employees began to resign, the key ones first (sales and customer service), then the clerical workers. Today, approximately 40% of the people in the local office have resigned and moved on. At first, the goon squad believed it would be easy to find replacements, but after realizing what the corporate culture entailed, the company can only afford mediocre workers. Maybe that is how management wants it.

Businesses certainly do not have a monopoly on goon squads. Nonprofit organizations typically have more than commercial enterprises. When the goons have captured the leadership of such groups, they recruit assistants and deputies not because they are intelligent or hard workers, but because they know how to follow orders with gusto, regardless if they know them to be harmful.

To the goons, it is not about offering inspired leadership, it is all about maintaining control over the organization and stifling resistance. It is no small wonder we live in an age of autocratic rule (Theory X). Goon squads are not interested in listening to the input of the workers. You either play ball or be prepared to be turned out. Such a management philosophy is dangerous in my opinion. It means spreadsheets take precedence over customer service, sales calls over sales volume, and in the case of nonprofits, suffocating rules over flourishing membership.

I am certainly not suggesting all companies operate in this fashion, but the reality is Scott Adams has a lot of material to work with for a long time. If we cannot relate to it, it wouldn’t exist. Unfortunately, goon squads are very much alive and well in this country.

Keep the Faith!

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square and compass, freemasonry, S&C, freemason information

Who is the Better Mason?

BRYCE ON FREEMASONRY

Who is the Better Mason? The individual or a Lodge officer?

I have been wrestling with a conundrum lately regarding Freemasonry: Who is the better Mason, the person who is properly initiated, passed and raised a Master Mason and disappears shortly thereafter, or the Mason who becomes an officer of the Lodge? Let me give you my spin on it.

There may be many reasons why a Mason drops out of sight; first, his occupation may require him to work difficult hours or to cause him to move to another locale. As Americans, it is not uncommon for workers to move throughout the country. In my case, I have lived in eight different locations throughout the United States. I suspect I am not alone. The “Traveling Mason,” as I call him, still respects the tenets of Freemasonry, but is not actively involved with the workings of the Lodge, either his Mother Lodge or as guest of another Lodge. Yet, he dutifully pays his dues as is required of him.

Another reason for not attending Lodge is perhaps he devotes more time to family activities or another Masonic body, such as the Shrine, Grotto, Scottish Rite, or York Rite. The culture of the Craft Lodge may be such, the Master Mason prefers attending these other bodies instead. In other words, he finds it more rewarding to attend these other bodies than a Craft Lodge. And if the Craft Lodge is mired in politics or incompetence, the Master Mason will likely look elsewhere to invest his time.

There is also the possibility a member may have joined, become disenchanted with all of Freemasonry and dropped out of sight. This is likely the cause for the members dropped from the rolls each year under the category of “Suspended; Non-Payment of Dues.” Even under this scenario, it is unlikely the person will totally dismiss the obligations he took and the Masonic lessons he learned.

Regardless of the reason for dropping out, if the Master Mason learns the lessons of Freemasonry, takes them to heart, and uses them in his walk through life, be it at home or in business, than he is a True Mason, regardless if he has paid his dues or not.


Read: Freemasonry is Dying


As to the Masons who are officers, let us first consider the purpose of the Craft Lodge, which is to initiate new members, and to provide a venue to discuss Masonic related topics for the betterment of the Craft (aka, “Masonic Education”). There is also the matter of managing Lodge finances and assets, such as the Lodge building. This means, Lodge officers have three primary responsibilities:

  1. Proficient in Masonic ritual (the three degrees), as well as addressing the topic of membership. Of course, people join of their own free will and accord, but the officers should consider alternatives for communicating the virtues of Freemasonry to the public; e.g., an open house, recognizing a person or organization for their work, assisting a school or charity, etc. If the officers are not proficient in ritual, or in addressing membership, they are not doing their job competently.
  2. Providing Masonic Education, including such things as history, morality, charity, or contemporary subjects, such as how to use the Internet, computers, financial planning, etc. If the officers are not doing this, they are not doing their jobs competently.
  3. Managing finances and assets. Maintaining the Lodge building and furniture is one thing, managing the finances is another, and something commonly overlooked in many Lodges. There is no excuse for not preparing an annual audit of finances, and a budget for the new year, not unless they do not know how to perform such tasks. Lodge officers have a fiduciary responsibility to do such things as financial planning and preparing feasibility studies. If a Lodge appears to be in financial decline, it is up to the officers (and hopefully a finance committee), to determine how to raise income (such as an increase in membership dues) or lower expenses. If the officers are not doing this, they are certainly not doing their jobs competently.

Then again, I have seen far too many Lodges where a person becomes an officer for the wrong reason, such as to simply earn a Past Master’s apron and to be called “Worshipful.” Such people are in it to win accolades as opposed to truly serving the operations of the Lodge (something they are not qualified to do). Progression through the line is not a right, it has to be earned. If the person is not qualified to assume the office, he could cause considerable problems and, as such, he needs to be properly trained to assume the position, just like any other job.

In theory, the Craft Lodge is supported by the Grand Lodge who provides assistance in teaching the three primary responsibilities. However, if the Grand Lodge becomes overbearing, then the Craft Lodge will likely be encumbered by bureaucracy which is essentially no different than big government becoming intrusive in the lives of business and the individual. The Grand Lodge should serve the Blue Lodge, not the other way around.

So, who is the better Mason; the individual or the Lodge officer? Although I have known a handful of good Lodge officers over the years, professional people who know what they are doing, I have seen far too many not take their responsibilities seriously, are unqualified, thereby becoming detrimental to their Lodge and Freemasonry overall. In my mind, the True Mason is the person who has learned his Masonic obligations, implemented them in his walk through life, and respects the precepts of the fraternity. It is certainly not the person who dresses up in a tux, marches around the Lodge room, and practices politics for personal glory.

Freemasonry is a fraternity, not a club. It is a beautiful logical concept that is often physically implemented poorly.

Keep the Faith!


Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field.

He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim’s columns, see:  timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2014 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.