The Practice of Brotherhood

Canadian DDGM Wayne Anderson offers a weekly Masonic Newsletter that is usually an article or paper that he or other brethren have authored. He presents his 800th article with this one below that I thought was so outstanding that it had to be shared. It is written by California Grand Master John L. Cooper III, FPS.

Behold How Good and How Pleasant

John L. Cooper, FPS, on the meaning of the 133rd Psalm in the First Degree

Among the first things that an Entered Apprentice hears at his Initiation into Freemasonry is the beautiful 133rd Psalm. It goes like this:

    Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

    It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

    As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Bible, Square and Compasses and Gavel

This cryptic psalm is at once a challenge for us to enter into a profound mystery, and a promise that if we do so, the results will be a life-changing experience. Let me share some thoughts with you about the 133rd Psalm.

First, what it is not: This psalm makes no religious statement about our relationship to God. There is absolutely nothing in the psalm that implies a connection between “dwelling together in unity” and “life forever more.” The relationship between God and man is the proper province of a man’s own religion, and about that Freemasonry purposely has nothing to say. It cannot be said too often. Freemasonry is not a religion, and is not a substitute for religion: Let there be no mistake about this. While a belief in God is a prerequisite for a man to become a Mason, he must work out his own relationship with God outside the context of Freemasonry itself. We do not have a theology. We do not lead anyone to a relationship with his God, and we do not in any way ask a man to substitute his own understanding of God, as taught by his particular religious faith, for anything he will learn in Freemasonry. Freemasonry deals with our relationships with each other, and the implications that such relationships have on our own lives, and the lives of those we meet along the pathway of life. We insist that a man is responsible before his God for what he does with his life, but we ask each one to seek the important and eternal answers from his own religious faith.

What, then, does the 133rd Psalm have to say to us as Freemasons? It must have meaning for us, or else it would not have such a prominent place at the beginning of our Masonic journey. What do we want an Entered Apprentice to know about the meaning of this beautiful psalm? And does that meaning have anything to say to us who have traveled far in our Masonic journey? I believe that it does, and let me share my reasons.

The first and last stanzas of this psalm are connected, and when read together without the intervening stanza, which is merely an explanatory phrase, the purpose of the psalm stands out much more clearly. Let me read to you the first and last stanzas as one thought:

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity […] for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.

In the Bible, and in particular in the part of the Bible which Christians call the Old Testament, a blessing is a unique act of conferring a special power upon another. Usually it is thought of as a divine act, that is to say, God granting His blessing upon an individual, or upon a people. But that is not the only usage: It was also a means of handing on power and authority from one generation to another. It was a way of guaranteeing the continuity of a community down through the ages. I believe that the Psalm 133 has this latter meaning for us as Freemasons, rather than any religious significance. And a proper understanding of this can help each of us practice the teachings of Freemasonry in a more effective manner.

The first stanza states the condition which will make the last stanza effective. Without the necessary condition of “brethren dwelling together in unity,” there will not be the necessary result of God’s blessing. If the first condition is not met, the second action will not occur. If a Mason cannot understand the mystery of “dwelling together in unity,” he cannot expect the consequence of God’s blessing upon what he does as a Mason. In simple terms, that is what we are telling the Entered Apprentice Mason when Psalm 133 is recited at his first step in Masonry. The lesson is a simple one, and yet one that will have profound implications. Much of what he will learn in the degrees of Masonry will explain to him how he can build the sense of brotherhood and unity within the Masonic fraternity. And much of what he will learn applies to those in the world at large who are not Masons, but who will also come within the reach of our understanding of “brotherly love.” But a blessing will not accompany it if he does not understand the necessary connection.

What, then, is “unity?” That is the operational word in the first stanza. First, “unity” is not “uniformity.” Freemasonry does not expect a man to cease to think when he becomes a Mason: Quite the contrary. One of the surest proofs that Freemasonry is not a cult is that we insist that each man think for himself. Freemasonry is, by one definition, the search for truth, and each Mason is asked to work out the meaning of truth for himself.

Secondly, “unity” is not “conformity.” Conformity means going along with the rest of the world. In fact, Freemasons have always been non-conformists. In an age when men and women hated each other because of differing religious beliefs, Freemasonry insisted on acceptance and understanding as the foundation for a world-wide brotherhood. In an age when social rank and power determined a man’s station in life, Freemasonry insisted that all were created equal, and that each person should have an opportunity to be all that he or she could be, based upon merit and not upon title and wealth. And in an age when some knew the “truth,” and enforced it upon others with the point of the sword, Freemasonry insisted that truth would emerge on its own if we just were patient enough in seeking it.

What, then, is the “unity” which confers such a blessing? I would suggest that it is the same thing as seeking the good of others around us. If I am seeking what is good for you rather than what is good for me, I have transformed our relationship from one of selfishness into one of selflessness. The bond that holds us together is strengthened when we seek good for each other before seeking good for ourselves. And the practice of this brotherhood – for such it truly is – shapes our attitudes in all our relationships. If I can make the practice of brotherhood the standard of my daily life, then all my relationships are transformed. My relationship with my wife and my children is transformed. My relationship with my fellow-workers is transformed. My relationship with my community is transformed, and my life has suddenly become a blessing for those around me: A means by which God can bless others.

Listen again to the words of this beautiful psalm, but listen with this new understanding:

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity […] for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.

This is a life-giving promise – not in a religious sense – but in a human sense. Freemasonry tells us that if we live our lives as if others were more important than we ourselves are, that our lives will be enriched by a blessing we could not otherwise know. It is a great mystery, and it was first taught to us when we became Entered Apprentice Masons. And through the years, if we have properly understood it, that mystery has grown in grace and in power until it shapes and blesses us every day, and in everything that we do.

John L. Cooper III, FPS, is the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge F&AM of California and the First Vice President of the Philalethes Society.

Yours in the Bonds of our Gentle Craft

Wayne D. Anderson, FCF, MPS
D.D.G.M. Frontenac District 2015-16

wda_572@sympatico.ca

Reports That The Grand Lodge Of New Jersey Continues To Abuse Its Membership

New Jersey Map

The Lone Ranger writes about the continued abuse of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey. He and his deputies must remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

It’s a sad day when a number of Masons within a Grand Lodge must go underground to protect themselves.

What gives Super Authority to the Grand Master of New Jersey is a much disputed Landmark which is New Jersey’s Landmark #3 as written in its Constitution. You can see a printout of this below.  See also New Jersey Landmark #7. These Landmarks give the Grand Master absolute dictatorial power to do whatever he wants as long as it doesn’t violate another Landmark. It gives him the power to ignore or overrule any of the by-laws, rules and regulations of the Grand Lodge. What this translates out to is tyranny and abuse of power, whereby Masons live in the threat of being expelled and Lodges live in the fear of being closed if the Grand Master’s orders are not being followed.

GL NJ Proceedings

The following is a newsletter that The Lone Ranger has recently sent out titled IN GOD IS OUR TRUST‏:

THEN CONQUER WE MUST, WHEN OUR CAUSE IT IS JUST,

AND THIS BE OUR MOTTO: IN GOD IS OUR TRUST

The Star Spangled Banner (4th stanza)

NOLUMUS LEGES MUTARI
(WE DO NOT WANT THE LAWS TO BE CHANGED)

My Brother:

We now have over 3,600 Deputy Rangers. Thank you for your continuing interest and unflagging loyalty.  Recently, many of you have written to ask why we are crusading against the Elected Line for the removal of the illegitimate Landmarks 3 and 7 and the restoration of Warren Lodge #13’s Warrant and the restoration of the illegally suspended and/or expelled masons from around the State.

Star Spangled Banner

You might have seen the edicts issued by our new Grand Master. He has re-arrested the warrant of Warren Lodge, in an effort to deprive its members of their building, continuing the unmasonic, and expensive lawsuit against the Masonic Temple Association of Belivdere (Warren Lodge) and has continued the illegal suspensions and expulsion of brothers who have not been given their U.S. Constitutional right and Grand Lodge Constitutional right to a trial. It appears that he is now joined the  “Gang of Four”, now to be known as the “Gang of Five”.

We have been fighting this fight since 2014 and realized that most of you were not “Deputized” when we began, so we are going to review how this travesty has come to be.

The crux of the problem goes back to 1903. The Grand Master had put together the “Wallis Committee”. It was made up of Past Grand Masters who INVENTED Landmarks 3 and 7. You need to know that these so-called landmarks appear nowhere else in any list of Landmarks, recognized or not, anywhere else in the world. To be real Landmarks they have to be of ancient origin, universally recognized and absolutely irrevocable.

They were inserted in the Committee’s report in an attempt to seize absolute power for the future Grand Masters. They would give him the power to do whatever he wanted to do, to disregard the Constitution and By-Laws at will, and to never be held responsible for any of his actions.

In 1903 M.W. Brother Ewan moved that the report of this Committee be received and spread in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge, just as any other report.  There never was a vote to accept them and that was for one obvious reason.

I ask you, if you were a Past Master, Master or Warden, would you have voted to give the future Grand Masters the powers of an ABSOLUTE DICTATOR? Of course you would never do it. Obviously, that Grand Master realized it would never go anywhere and he wisely did not call for a ratification vote.

For the next 111 years Landmarks 3 & 7, hereafter referred to as “unlandmarks”, were not abused and caused no problems, with one exception that will be reviewed in a future newsletter. In 2012, less than Grand Master Glenn R. Trautmann started the persecution of the brethren of Warren Lodge because one of his cronies did not like the results of that lodge’s election. He vacated the legal election of the lodge and suspended and/or expelled some of the membership without the trial that is guaranteed by our Constitution. In 2013, less than Grand Master Dorworth, hereafter referred to as “Dorworthless,” arrested the warrant of Warren Lodge and filed a lawsuit that is aimed at the confiscation of the Masonic Temple Association of Belvidere’s property and funds. ((a recognized, legal New Jersey Corporation) This lawsuit was continued by less than grand masters Sharpe, Montuori, and yes, our new less than grand master Kaulfers (shame on you).

Let’s look at the history of Masonic Landmarks:

In 1858, Albert G. Mackey, the foremost Masonic writer of his day, was the first to distinctly enumerate the landmarks of Freemasonry. His “An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences”, published in 1874, lists the 25 Landmarks of Freemasonry. This and other Mackey books became and have continued to be, the recognized authority.

Our current Elected Line and it’s smarmy, subservient legal counsel, better known as the “Evil Legal Beagles”, falsely claim that the powers given to the Grand Master in New Jersey Landmarks 3 and 7 are legitimate because they have existed since 1903. How lame can they get? They can’t even provide any proof of any kind or type showing that these Landmarks were ever voted on, either singly or in their entirety, during the 1903 Grand Lodge Annual Communication. They claim the were voted on in less than past grand Master’s Sharpe’s Annual Communication, but if you were there, you know that was a joke, as he had his “henchmen” walking around the Grand Lodge taking names of anyone who opposed his arrogant rant on the Lone Ranger and his Deputies, and then proceeded to ask that those who agreed with him please stand.You know that there was no discussion and that was NOT a vote. Oh, yes, didn’t the report that less than past grand Master Sharpe had his Grand Historian, Grand Instructor and “Evil Legal Beagle” contrive state that Landmarks could not be voted on, because anything that can be voted in, can be repealed?

They are five spoiled little boys who claim that their fairy godfather gave them special dispensation to do whatever they want to do with or without their parent’s permission. It is nothing less than a naked power grab. In the past they would have gotten away with this abuse because there was no way for us to find out what they were up to. More importantly, there was no way for those of us who had learned what was going on to exposed their abusive disregard of our Constitution. It is the INTERNET that has made all of this possible. The Internet is their second worst nightmare; we are their first.

They have used this lie to usurp sweeping powers to disregard any and all parts of our Constitution. In recent years many brethren have been suspended and expelled without the due process as put forth in our Constitution. Warren Lodge is still under attack by our Grand Lodge. Will you be next? Will your lodge be next?

Just because this mistake has existed for the past 111 years there is no reason, real or imagined, to perpetuate this disgusting abuse of illegitimate powers.

Nowhere in Mackey’s or any other publication on landmarks is the Grand Master given the powers that are enumerated in New Jersey’s so-called Landmarks 3 and 7 as stated in 1903 Wallis Committee’s Landmark Report. It just is not true. As you will read below, the Grand Master’s powers are clearly limited to the recognized landmarks 5,6,7 & 8. 

The 1903 Annual Communication would never have adopted these landmarks because they are in direct violation of Landmark 25 (reproduced in its entirety for you to see the truth):

The last and crowning landmark of all is, that these landmarks can never be changed. Nothing can be subtracted from them – nothing can be added to them – not the slightest modification can be made in them. As they were received from our predecessors, we are bound by the most solemn obligations of duty to transmit them to our successors. Not one jot or one tittle of these unwritten laws can be repealed; for, in the respect to them, we are not only willing but compelled to adopt the language of the sturdy old barons of England, “Nolumus leges mutari.” (English translation: “We do not want the laws to be changed.”)

The time has come to demand our Grand Lodge to correct this grievous situation. If the Grand Master and the Elected Line still wants these so-called unLandmark Powers, then they must prove how they can be considered as they are not listed anywhere else or recognized by any Grand Lodge anywhere in the world.

New Jersey Grand Masonic Temple
New Jersey Grand Masonic Temple

The other 24 Landmarks are enumerated herein. They are reproduced in their entirety as they were originally published in 1858 (1924 edition) in the attached file:

  1. The modes of recognition are, of all the landmarks, the most legitimate and unquestioned…
  2. The division of symbolic Masonry into three degrees is a landmark that has been better preserved than almost any other…
  3. The legend of the third degree is an important landmark, the integrity of which has been well preserved…
  4. The government of the Fraternity by a presiding officer called a Grand Master
  5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft…
  6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations of conferring degrees at irregular times….
  7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations give dispensations for opening and holding Lodges…
  8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight…
  9. The necessity of Masons to congregate in Lodges…
  10. The government of the Craft, when so congregated in a Lodge, by a Master and two Wardens…
  11. The necessity of every Lodge, when congregated, should be duly tiled…
  12. The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft…
  13. The right of every Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren, in the Lodge convened, to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons…
  14. The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular Lodge…
  15. It is a landmark of the Order, that no visitor unknown to the brethren present, or to some one of them as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without first passing an examination according to ancient usage…
  16. No Lodge can interfere in the business of another Lodge or give degrees to brethren who are members of other Lodges.
  17. It is a landmark that every Freemason is amenable to the laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which he resides and this although he may not be a member of any Lodge.
  18. Certain qualifications of candidates for initiation are derived from a landmark of the Order…
  19. A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Master of the Universe….
  20. Subsidiary to this belief in God, as a landmark of the Order, is the belief in a resurrection to a future life…
  21. It is a landmark that a “Book of the Law” shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every Lodge.
  22. The equality of all Masons is another landmark of the Order.
  23. The secrecy of the Institution is another and most important landmark…
  24. The foundation of a speculative science upon an operative art…

Now that you know the truth. There are two more topics that will be reviewed for you in future newsletters. The first is the truth about the continuing persecution of Warren Lodge #13. In the meantime, think about these questions:

  • Have you wondered just how much of our money has been spent on this lawsuit?
  • Was the money for the lawsuit or the suit itself authorized by the members of Grand Lodge at any emergent or annual communication?
  • Grand Lodge has to have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000, yet there is no accounting for it in any budget Grand Lodge has faked in the past 4 years. Maybe it is time for a real audit?
Lone Ranger

The second and latest in Elected line abuse of powers is the secret creation of the now infamous Grand Lodge of NJ Ashlar Fund, Inc. Again, we ask:

  • Did you vote for its creation?
  • How much was Acacia Lumberton Manor actually sold for?
  •      Where is the money invested?
  • How much interest has it earned?
  • Have you seen an audit?
  • Do you really believe it cost $75,000.00 to set up that corporation?

Thanks to the Internet and a small group of dedicated Deputy Rangers, the Elected Line and their sniveling underlings are no longer to do whatever they want to do without us learning of their dirty deeds. We will keep you informed.

Grand Master, we are watching every move you make; you cannot hide

Sincerely and fraternally,

Philo Publius

Prince Hall And Mainstream Masonic Rapprochement And The Expression Of Brotherly Love

It isn’t easy for old dogs to learn new tricks, for new ways to be adopted by our elders, for CHANGE to be easily accepted.

As it is so in civil society so is it so in Freemasonry. Ask any Past Master. He will tell you that, “We always did it that way.”

So why should it be any different for Masonic Recognition? It took until 1989 for the first permanent Recognition of Prince Hall Freemasonry by the state of Connecticut. Many others followed yet some waited until after the turn of the century. Today, in 2016, there are still 9 states who refuse to recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry.

All But 9 States Recognize Prince Hall

All But 9 States Recognize Prince Hall

In Civil Society Integration and Civil Rights were a battle. Martin Luther King is proof of that. Civilly the war has been won, although there are still some skirmishes. Masonically many battles have been won, but the war has not yet been declared victorious. In civil society we have a Federal Government. In American Freemasonry we do not have a National Grand Lodge. The United States federal government was able to mandate integration by law backed by Federal troops. We cannot do that in Freemasonry.

No amount of force can change the hearts of men. And whether civilly or Masonically, we must admit that there are men (and women) who still do not want to change.

Read: Prince Hall And Mainstream Masonic Rapprochement And The Expression Of Brotherly Love.

So those of us who really and truly believe that “All men are created equal… That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” and that “it is the internal not the external qualifications which recommend a man to be made a Mason,” and that all Masons meet on the level, will need to become a light to the rest of the world.

We will need to let that light shine blazingly bright by our thoughts, words and actions.

And I am here to report on some bright light and to show how Brotherhood can really work.

Recognition has come hard for the state of Texas. The two Texas Grand Lodges signed a compact of mutual recognition on April 23, 2007 but without cross visitation. Inter-visitation was not approved until November and December of 2014. Even then it took time to fully implement.

In October of 2015 my Lodge, Pride of Mt. Pisgah No.135, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas F & AM received Jewel P. Lightfoot No. 1283, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM for a visitation.

Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283 visits Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135

Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283 visits Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135

In December of 2015 Jewel P. Lightfoot received Pride of Mt. Pisgah for a third degree, the raising of an African-American Mason.

Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135 visits Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135 visits Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

Bro. Chris Thompson, Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

Bro. Chris Thompson, Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283

The two Lodges have developed a sincere affection for each other. Brothers from Jewel P. Lightfoot even attended a Grand Raising at the Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge.

PM Michael Huskisson 1283, GM Wilbert M. Curtis, Eric Brewer 1283, David Villegas 1283, David Bindel 1283, Rick Parker 1218

PM Michael Huskisson 1283, GM Wilbert M. Curtis, Eric Brewer 1283, David Villegas 1283, David Bindel 1283, Rick Parker 1218

But that’s not the end of the story.

In April of 2016 I visited Fort Worth Lodge No 148, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM. My friend and Brother Hando Nahkur and I  had longed to sit in Lodge together for years and finally it came to pass.

Hando Nahkur and Frederic L. Milliken

Hando Nahkur and Frederic L. Milliken

Fort Worth Lodge No 148 was very receptive to my visit and rolled out the red carpet. The Lodge served an excellent home cooked meal. Afterward, in Lodge, I presented a lecture on the history and traditions of Prince Hall Freemasonry. Near the end of the meeting Hando Nahkur rose and moved that the Lodge give me a fraternal donation. This from a Lodge and Brothers I had just met for the first time. Not only was I not a member of their Lodge and a complete stranger until then, but I didn’t even belong to their Grand Lodge.

Fort Worth Lodge No 148

Fort Worth Lodge No 148

Now that’s how you bury the hatchet and build bridges.

I returned to Fort Worth Lodge No 148 the following month and presented them with a gift, a 3rd Degree statue. You see, one act of Brotherly Love and Affection deserves another act of Brotherly Love and Affection.

WM Bryan Whit and Frederic L. Milliken

WM Bryan Whit and Frederic L. Milliken

3rd Degree Statute

3rd Degree Statute

Both Prince Hall and Mainstream Freemasons need to travel and seek out opportunities to build bridges and to spread the cement of Brotherly Love and Affection – that cement which unites us into one sacred band, or society of Friends and Brothers among whom no contention should ever exist…

We cannot change the world with a snap of our fingers. But what we can do is one Brother at a time, one Lodge at a time, build understanding and mutual admiration. By breaking bread together and participating in Lodge together we can remove the suspicions, the doubts and fears and demonstrate that we are ALL ONE.

By the exercise of Brotherly Love we are taught to regard the whole human species as one family – the high and low, rich and poor; who, as created by one Almighty Parent and inhabitants of the same planet, are to aid, support, and protect each other. On this principle Masonry unites men of every country, sect, race, and opinion, and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

3rd degree statute in the East

3rd degree statute in the East

A new era seems to have dawned on Freemasonry. The Gay Mason issue has caused some Grand Lodges to pull Recognition from others. The Grand Lodges that are practicing Freemasonry as it should be practiced are not letting those Grand Lodges get away with unMasonic conduct anymore…maybe. It’s just too bad that the those trying to do the right thing have not given equal weight to Black discrimination within Freemasonry. Again, we still have 9 Grand Lodges that do not Recognize Prince Hall.

Freemasonry is the one society or organization that can bring peace and harmony to a fractured, troubled world. It can do so by example and if its membership will truly practice the virtues of the Craft that has for centuries brought men together. Freemasonry, by nature, is not divisive as it brings together those with many differences into one Brotherhood of all men under the Fatherhood of God. It is not exclusive, but inclusive.

As Freemasons, we can, day by day, seek out others, reach out that hand and grasp the hand of a stranger, even a Brother that has not yet made our acquaintance or a Lodge that we have never been to. We cannot change the world, but we can one Brother at a time, one Lodge at a time make a better world.

What we can say here is that Texas Prince Hall Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis, Pride of Mt. Pisgah Lodge No 135, Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283 and Fort Worth Lodge No 148  deserve commendations for promoting peace and harmony and also bringing together those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.

Author Interview-Rob Lund on The Hidden Code in Freemasonry

Rob Lund, author, book, Hidden meaning in Freemasonry

Rob Lund

Robert V. Lund believes that The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual is a book that should be read by all Freemasons. The work, he says, strives to provide a deeper understanding of the hidden information at work behind the scenes of the rituals of Freemasonry. What makes this book different, the author claims, is that it looks beyond the literal veil to the hidden code that underlies each of the craft rituals and the truer meaning of its ceremonies. I talked recently with Robert about his book in hopes of catching a peek behind the veil.

Masonic Traveler (MT): Let’s start at the beginning. Who is Robert Lund?

Rob Lund (RL): I am a Past Master of Kilwinning Lodge #565 of Toronto, Ontario (Canada), and currently serve as Secretary. I have served as Chairman of the Toronto West District Education Committee for a number of years and served one year in the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Education. I am [the] editor of our Lodge newsletter and write at least one article for it every month. I also run our Lodge website.

I have written lectures on the esoteric meaning of our rituals and presented them numerous times throughout the district. I have also presented at one of the Ontario Masonic Education Conferences. I have had articles published in The Lightbearer, a magazine of the Canadian Theosophical Association.

MT: Do you belong to any other esoteric or initiate rites or bodies?

RL: I am a member of the Rosicrucian Order AMORC, and the President of the York Lodge of the Theosophical Society (founded by H. P. Blavatsky) and a member of the Board of the Canadian Theosophical Association. For a couple of years, I was a member of another masonic Rosicrucian order, the SRIA.

MT: How long have you studied Freemasonry?

RL: I’ve been a Mason for around ten years now. I always knew I would be a Mason since my early twenties but just never got around to pursuing it.

MT: What finally led you there?

RL: For the past forty years, I have been a seeker of truth: the truth behind religions (especially Christianity); the truth behind human origins, and the truth regarding our existence and purpose on earth. These interests go back to my teens. I’ve always felt that there is more to life, this world, and the universe than meets the eye and it’s only in the last decade that I started doing something about it.

The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual

The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual

MT: Tell us about your new book The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual.

RL: My book [The Hidden Code in Freemasonry] is a product of my Masonic, Rosicrucian, and Theosophical journeys and it ties them together. It shows how the composers of our Masonic ritual have embedded information taken from the esoteric mystery traditions and teachings perpetuated for thousands of years, to be discovered by those who have eyes to see, and to be acted upon in order to fulfill their purpose. The book provides the evidence of this hidden “code” and gives a detailed analysis of the three craft degrees showing what these hidden messages are and what they mean. And, since knowing is of little avail without action, the book makes suggestions for next steps.

MT: Interesting. What inspired you to put pen to paper (or finger to keys)?

RL: All through the three degrees, I was waiting for the “secrets and mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry” to be revealed to me. They never came. I was disappointed enough to consider leaving Freemasonry.

All Masons talk about receiving light but, how many actually know what that means? How many actually actively seek further?

It was after reading certain Masonic authors such as Manley P Hall, JSM Ward, and more especially W. L. Wilmshurst, that I began to see the light. That’s when I started my own analysis of the craft degrees, using Rosicrucian and Theosophical teachings. My discoveries are what I want to share with all Masons because the underlying messages are very important to everyone.

MT: What was the hardest thing about writing it?

RL: Let me first tell you the easiest thing about writing this book: finding the material.

Over the years, as I learned things, I wrote articles and lectures and so the material was at hand. What was much harder was putting them together in a cohesive way in a structure that would make it readable. I had help from some of my Masonic Brethren which assisted in achieving this.

MT: I love the cover, is there any particular symbolism at work there?

RL: The cover photo is one of the many fine lodge rooms in the Detroit Masonic Center. I added the additional artwork.

The parchment background is to signify the contents being of ancient origins. The symbols signify the source of the knowledge (Theosophical, Rosicrucian, and Vedic).

MT: Plans for future books?

RL: I am working on another book that deals more specifically with the symbols within Freemasonry and its rituals. However, this will not be ready for quite some time.

Thanks for this Robert. I can’t wait to read the book and I wish you the best for its success.

You can find a sample of Robert’s work by reading his article, Evidence of Hidden Meaning in Masonic Ritual. And, you can find his book, The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual, in print and as an epub on Amazon.

You can find more on Robert Lund on Facebook.

MOLOR – The Missouri Lodge of Research

Recently, the great work of the Missouri Lodge of Research was brought to my attention.

The Research Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Missouri, AF&AM on September 30, 1941 under the direction of MWB Harry S. Truman with the purpose of gathering and disseminating historical information pertaining to the origin and development of Freemasonry and to its members who have contributed to its growth and development.

One of the projects the Missouri Lodge of Research is undertaking is the digitization of its rare holdings resulting in a number of works made available for download and reading on the secure issuu.com format. What makes this digital library unique is that it’s member and participant sponsored giving allows members the opportunity to contribute to this preservation and knowledge transfer work.

One of the annual events that the Missouri Lodge of Research sponsors is the Truman Lecture, which has hosted a number of notable Masons over the years on a wide of topics (you can find a list of them here). Most remarkable about series is that it represents Freemasonry in action, the act of presenting to its membership a breath of knowledge and information by some of the most notable speakers in the contemporary craft.

Membership to MOLoR is open to any Master Mason in or out of the state of Missouri. In-state members may participate as an active member giving them access to lectures and events in state. Out of state correspondent members receive MoLAR’s quarterly newsletter, an annual book selection published by the Lodge of Research and all of their other corresponding materials.

Evidence of Hidden Meaning in Masonic Ritual

rebisA Sojourners post by W. Bro. Rob Lund.

Albert Pike once wrote: “Freemasonry is the subjugation of the human that is in man, by the Divine; the conquest of the appetites and the passions, by the Moral Sense and the Reason; a continual effort, struggle, and warfare of the Spiritual against the Material and Sensual.” Morals and Dogma, Sublime Prince

I found this definition of Freemasonry to be an appropriate introduction to what I am about to present.

I have always sensed that our ritual had a deeper significance than what appears on the surface. Through my association with other esoteric bodies and their knowledge, I have been able to recognize phrases, analogies, allegories, and symbols from these ancient teachings. Many Masons have either lost sight of, or are not aware of, what our ritual is indicating to us. I have made it my mission to share this discovery with all Masons, and would now like to expose, to you, in the coming chapters, some of the deeper meaning behind the ritual of our degree rituals, in the hope that you will propagate this information to others.

I have come to understand that there are three aspects to our ritual: physical, mental, and spiritual. The first degree is mostly related to the physical; the second degree to the mental (or intellectual), and the third to the spiritual. Also, each degree is built on the one before, so there are three levels: 1st degree – physical also (representing birth), 2nd degree – mental (also representing growth and development), and 3rd degree – spiritual (also representing death).

However, each one of the degree rituals has, within it, those same three levels. The physical relates to the actions and symbols; the mental relates to the moral and intellectual aspects; and the spiritual is what is explained in the following chapters.

First, I must tell you that there is no official view regarding this deeper aspect of our ritual. Grand Lodge cannot provide you with any standard book that contains these explanations (in fact, few Grand Lodge publications refer to the deeper, more esoteric, side of Masonry). Therefore, there are a few different interpretations that you may come across. It doesn’t matter – what matters is what is meaningful to you.

Next, I must put forward some arguments that provide evidence that there is a deeper meaning.

Our ritual tells us that there is. At your initiation, you were announced at the door of the lodge as “a poor candidate, in a state of darkness, humbly soliciting to be admitted to the mysteries and privileges of Ancient Freemasonry.” What are these mysteries? Is Freemasonry ancient?

I will remind you that, during the examination before passing to the second degree, you were asked: “What is Freemasonry?” The answer you were to give is: “A beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.” Brethren, in this statement are the first clues that there is something that is hidden. Let’s examine this statement further.

A “System of Morality…” – Are the rituals of Masonry there merely for the purpose of teaching morals: Temperance, Prudence, Justice, Charity, and Brotherly Love. Was Masonry instituted to teach these elementary virtues? As you well know, those who are “fit and proper people to be made Masons” must be “Just and upright men …… and strict morals.” So, ask yourself if Masonry was meant to teach morals to those who are already moral?

Veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols…” – “veiled” means “hidden or covered,” and that is another clue. “Allegory” means “a story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning,” and that is another clue. A symbol is “something used for or regarded as representing something else,” which is yet another clue.

As you can see, this statement of the definition of Masonry refers to something hidden. This is a clear indication of something deeper hidden in our ritual.

What is it that is veiled? The Junior Warden’s Tracing Board lecture begins,

The usages and customs of Masonry have ever corresponded with those of the Egyptian Philosophers, to which they bear a near affinity. Unwilling to expose their mysteries to vulgar eyes, those philosophers concealed their particular tenets and principles under certain hieroglyphic figures and expressed their notion of government by signs and symbols.

What this is suggesting is that, as in the ancient Egyptian mysteries, something is concealed in our customs.

These points indicate the real secret of Masonry: that our ritual hides deeper, more esoteric, spiritual lessons, based on various ancient mysteries and teachings that have been taught throughout the ages, in different forms, and is still being taught today.

These mysteries are not written or taught within Freemasonry. They are embedded for the use only of those who seek the light, through education, contemplation, understanding, and assimilation. It does not matter what religion, if any, you may follow, as these mysteries apply to all. The candidate, if he is to benefit by the light to which the Craft leads, must be prepared to keep his mind open, and seek those mysteries. They contain information which is of vital importance to us all.

The sources of our Initiation Ceremony, while based, perhaps, on old Operative ceremonies, are a blend of various streams of influence, usually called the Ancient Wisdom or “Secret Doctrine“, which is common to all the Ancient Mysteries and Initiation systems from the dawn of history. These are combined with elements from more recent systems, such as Hermeticism, the Hebrew Qabalah, Rosicrucianism, Muslim Sufism, Christian Mysticism, Buddhism, Theosophy, Anthoposophy, and others, drawing symbols from all of them.

Researching these, and there are many books regarding them, it becomes clear that all these sources have been promoters of the same Mysteries, and that they proclaim the same truths. Many of them also have rituals with layered meanings, and many correspond to our Degrees. Some of the founders of Freemasonry, as we know it today, were Rosicrucians, who are teachers of the ancient wisdom. Having studied their teachings myself, I can clearly see the signposts embedded in our ritual. I encourage you to do your own further research to verify this for yourselves. I will go so far as to say that it will be the most important thing you do in your life.


Rob Lund.

Rob Lund.

Rob Lund is a Past Master of Kilwinning Lodge #565 in Toronto, Canada, where he serves as Secretary. He has served as the Chairman of the Toronto West District Education Committee and on the Grand Lodge of Toronto Committee for Masonic Education. He is also the author of the new book The Hidden Code in Freemasonry: Finding Light through esoteric interpretation of Masonic Ritual, published in 2016.

You can follow Rob on Facebook.

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry
John Tolbert and Frederic L. Milliken
John Tolbert and Frederic L. Milliken

Recently I attended a Festive Board of Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM.  The guest speaker DDGM John Tolbert made a passionate presentation on Hermeticism and Freemasonry using slides as illustrations. That made his presentation peppered with pictures which is what this article will look like. Jewel P. Lightfoot, the founder of this Lodge, had a marked interest in Hermeticism as you will see. This made the Presentation all the more personal to the members of this Lodge assembled. Tolbert was kind enough to allow me to reprint his presentation with his pictures which you will find below.

HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY AND FREEMASONRY
by Brother John Tolbert

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Have you ever wondered why all of the words and passwords that we use in our degrees are in Hebrew and that every prayer we use in our degrees are from the Old Testament?

Have you noticed that a Masonic Lodge room is full of diametrically opposed objects and symbols which represent polar concepts or ideas? Examples of these opposites are:

  • Square and CompassesDoric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx
  • Rough and Perfect Ashlars
  • Jachin and Boaz / Wisdom and Strength
  • Terrestrial and Celestial Globes
  • Darkness to Light
  • Checkered Pavement / Black and White pavers
  • East and West…North and South
  • Death and Rebirth
  • Sun and Moon
  • Stepping off upon the right and left feet
  • Cowans and Eavesdroppers Ascending and Descending

Isn’t it interesting that Masons are encouraged from the very beginning to control their passions and to pursue a virtuous and pure life? It’s interesting, because the Greeks demanded the very same thing from their candidates before they were admitted into the Ancient Mystery Schools, and the School of Pythagoras (you can see a map of the school here).

After reading thousands of pages written by Masonic scholars, I am convinced that Freemasonry was not “invented” by the English (nor the Scots) in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.  Yes, in the early eighteenth century, Freemasonry was developed into a regulated institution and rituals were developed from existing initiatory rites of operative Lodges, but something else was going on beneath the surface and intellectuals of the time could sense that there was more.

In the most recent issue of Heredom, the annual publication of the Scottish Rite Research Society, on page 61 (a paper about the 1738 anti-Masonic Papal Bull by Marsha Keith Schuchard) it reads:

“In January 1721, when the antiquarian William Stukeley (close friend of Newton and Desaguliers) determined to join the fraternity, “suspecting it to be the remains of the mysteries of the ancients…”

This illustrates that even from the first years of organized Freemasonry, educated men were recognizing something about Freemasonry that led them to believe that it was rooted in ancient philosophy and concepts.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

The namesake of this Lodge, Jewel P. Lightfoot, speaks candidly to the Texas Mason concerning the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Craft.  Please listen carefully to the following quote from the INTRODUCTORY in our current monitor, written by Lightfoot many decades ago.

“ The presence in the modern Masonic system, of many of the emblems, symbols and allegories of the ancient Temples of Initiation, as well as certain rites performed therein, has persuaded the most learned among Masonic scholars to conclude that Masonry is of very ancient origin, and is, in some aspects, the modern successor of, and heir to, the sublime Mysteries of the Temple of Solomon, and the Temples of India, Chaldea, Egypt, Greece, and Rome [I am certain that he was referring to the cult of Mithras], as well as the basic doctrine of the Essenes, Gnostics and other Mystic Orders“

With this single quote, Brother Lightfoot clearly asserts that Masonry contains remnants of the symbols and rites of the Ancient Mysteries and Masonry also contains the basic doctrines of known esoteric groups, which he terms, Mystic Orders.

This is precisely what the antiquarian William Stukeley had noticed in 1721; there were aspects of Freemasonry that seemed to have similarities to known rites and cults of the ancient world.

This presentation is specifically written to explore one well known stream of thought from the ancient world, broadly called Hermetic Philosophy, and its potential influence on the early progenitors of our Craft. Remember that Stukeley was a close friend of Newton and Desaguliers. John Theophilus Desaguliers is generally credited with the early development of our three degree system, he was the secretary / research assistant for Newton for twenty years, and he was also the third Grand Master of English Lodges.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

NOTE – The association of Desaguliers with Isaac Newton is well worth researching; Newton was a practicing alchemist, obsessed with King Solomon’s Temple, and concealed his heretical religious views in enciphered writings, which were supposed to be burned at his death but were retained and translated in the twentieth century.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Hermetic Philosophy focuses around an entity called Hermes; this entity has also been named Thoth (Egyptians), Mercury (Romans), and Hermes Trismegistus or Hermes Thrice Great.

Thoth, Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, may or may not have been just a single person, but the name and legend could have been inspired by some incredibly intelligent human (like Plato, Pythagoras, or Hypatia) who had such a capacity for knowledge, that their writings evolved into myth and legend, and sometimes converted into God forms. Plato is a perfect example of how one very intelligent person can have profound influence on entire civilizations, and the effects can last for centuries.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Most esoterically minded Masons are already aware of the great intellect of “Hermes” and his contributions of science and knowledge to mankind, but let’s examine how Hermetic Philosophy was evident in 15th-18th century literature, art, and direct Masonic connections. It is important to recall at this point that the typical European citizen had been enduring centuries of civil unrest, violent revolutions, constant wars, disease epidemics, cruel oppression from monarchs and religious authorities, public torture spectacles, and the raw uncertainty of life itself. In light of these long term social stresses, it is no wonder that a new, mysterious, and apparently ancient spirituality would capture the fascinations of intellectuals and develop into obsessions of looking for a better world, a pure un-corrupt religious experience, and a closer relationship to God. These are the allures of so-called Hermetic Philosophy.

The term Hermeticism, doesn’t really have a dogmatic or well defined definition, but in general, it includes the study of alchemy, gnostic spirituality, Kabbalah, theurgy, astrology, and other mystical approaches to relating the physical reality to the spiritual realm. Almost any occult science could be included under the Hermetic umbrella.

The following is a brief and certainly incomplete list of known references to the interest in Hermeticism in 15-18th century Europe.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

1.Marsilio Ficino’s translation of what is now called the Corpus Hermeticum brought Hermes and the mysterious writings into the focus of philosophers and the ecclesiastic authorities. The Hermetic writings were interpreted as having predicted the coming of Christ and therefor acceptable; a beautiful marble floor panel in Siena Cathedral (1480s) in Italy depicts Hermes Trismegistus as being a contemporary of Moses.

2. Hermes was a central character in the Sloane (1646) manuscript Constitutions. Hermes discovers the two pillars, one of brick and one of marble, which contain the preserved wisdom and knowledge of the ancient masters.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

3. Alchemy, being within the scope of Hermetic Philosophy is everywhere in Europe during this period. The Medici funded translations of ancient scrolls rescued from Byzantium revealed to the Western mind the concepts of alchemy. The Rosicrucian manifestos of the early 1600’s, likely written by Johanne Valentine Andreae and his associates, set off what is called a furor of interest in alchemy as well.

4. Giordano Bruno is travelling around Europe (the late 1500s) promoting controversial mathematical and astronomic theories; he is also promoting the Hermetic Art of Memory, which is not just a mnemonic strategy of memory, but a mystical technique. Bruno was burned at the stake in early 1600 for his heretical scientific and spiritual views.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

5. William Shaw, the Master of Werks for James VI, declares in the Second Shaw Statutes (1599) that all craft fellows and prentices shall “Tak tryall of the art of memory”. William Fowler, a colleague of Shaw, had met with Bruno in London in the 1580s and it is feasible that this is how Shaw became exposed to the Hermetic Art of Memory.

6.Robert Cooper, the Grand archivist of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, makes many references to Hermeticism in his book Cracking the Freemasons Code. Brother Cooper asserts Hermeticism as being a component of Scottish Freemasonry in the 1500-1600s.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

7. The interest in Alchemy, astrology, magick, and the Kabbalah are very evident in the circles of Royal Society members, and well known Masonic persons. Elias Ashmole, Isaac Newton, Thomas Vaughn, and others were known alchemists and studied occult subject matter; their personal libraries are evidence of these interests. John Byrom maintained a group of intellectually inclined Brothers who convened in an occasional gathering called the Cabala Club, and Lodges in London have minutes showing that papers were presented in Lodges about John Dee, Rosicrucians, and Jacob Boehme. Boehme’s visionary spiritual writings as well as John Dee’s books of angel magic and alchemy were of extreme interest to many intellectuals and free thinkers during this time period.

8. Kabbalah teacher Rabbi Leone Yahudahdi Modena, in 1680, lectured in London about Solomon’s Temple, Lawrence Dermott, the Grand Secretary of the Antients refers to the Rabbi, as Architect, Hebraist, and Brother.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

9. Acception – There existed in the 1600’s an elite organization, which was closely associated with the London Mason’s Company, the operative organization of stone Masons. This elite and secretive group was called The Acception and only “accepted” very few members (one being Elias Ashmole); the cost of membership was very high, and one had to be highly educated and well respected. The early 20th century Masonic scholar and writer Reverend Castells, asserts that the name “The Acception” is synonymous to Kabbalah, which in Hebrew means “to receive.” Reverend Castells is convinced that “The Acception” was a purely speculative Masonic organization.

10. Medieval Kabbalists held Hermes in great veneration, no wonder, since he is considered (in some legends) as having given the Kabbalah to Moses. The Zohar contains phrases which closely parallel the well known Hermetic motto, “As above so below.” “Come and see: the world above and the world below are perfectly balanced.” (Zohar 2:176b) Kabbalah and Hermeticism share the all important mystical understanding of the balanced interrelations of heaven and earth.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx
Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

King Solomon’s Temple as a Symbol to Freemasonry

I found this piece on an old disc the other day. I wrote it as a piece of architecture to a, now, defunct Masonic Club here in Los Angeles – the Hermes Trismegistus Traditional Observance club in Culver City. It dates back to August 22, 2006, almost ten years to the day.

Reading through it, I thought it would be fun to share it again to see if it still holds it esoteric weight.

King Solomon’s Temple – A Symbol to Freemasonry

Sanctum Sanctorum
Sanctum Sanctorum

Solomon’s ancient temple was built a top Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem between 964 and 956 B.C.E. Its construction is chronicled in the First Book of Kings, which begins at the end of King David’s reign and the crowning of Solomon.  As king, Solomon continues the task his father began which was to build the temple. The text tells us that God restricted David, having collected the materials to construct the temple, from building it because of the blood he shed at the conquering of Israel. Ultimately, Solomon completes work on the temple, which was built to house the Ark of the Covenant, and become “a glorious temple for which God was to dwell”. (1 Kings 8:13).

Chris Hodapp, in his manual Freemasons for Dummies, defines Solomon’s Temple as a representation of the individual Freemason, where both an individual man and the physical temple take “many years to build” as a “place suitable for the spirit of God to inhabit.” The work of a becoming a Freemason is, in my opinion, a metaphor to the construction of the temple. This definition is not far off the mark, but alone it says nothing of why this bold metaphor is used.

Through deeper explorations of this topic, I was lead to a broader understanding of the temple and its relevance to the Freemasonry we practice today. One path of that exploration led me to understand it from the perspective explored in the works of John Dee, Henry Cornelius Agrippa and Francesco Giorgi, each an important Renaissance philosopher.

In Dame Frances Yates text The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age, she suggests that early Renaissance Cabalists felt the temple represented a definition of sacred geometry that was mirrored in the temple by reflecting a perfect and proportional measure made “in accordance with the unalterable laws of cosmic geometry.” These ideas formed from the work of Francesco Giorgi in De Harmonia Mundi, which drew in Vitruvian principals of Architecture and integrated the foundation of Christian Cabalism with the ideas from Hermetic study to create “connections between angelic hierarchies and planetary spheres” that [rose] “up happily through the stars to the angels hearing all the way those harmonies on each level of the creation imparted by the Creator to his universe, founded on number and numerical laws of proportion.”

kabbalah, Cabbalah, tree of life, Hermetic Qabalah

These ideas are from an early Christian Cabala (c.1525), before the open appearance of Freemasonry, and Solomon’s temple, as we know it today. Building on the ides of Giorgi, Cornelius Agrippa explored the ideas of Alchemy, Hermetic, Neoplatonic and Cabalist thought, and wrote about them in his book De Occulta Philosophia (Three Books of Occult Philosophy), published in 1533.  In this text, one important idea was that the universe was divided into three worlds (degrees), which consisted of an elemental world, a celestial world, and an intellectual world, each receiving influences from the one above it.  The first world was believed governed by natural magic (element) and arranged substances “in accordance with the occult sympathies between them.” The second world is concerned with celestial magic that governed “how to attract and use the influences of the stars.” Agrippa himself calling it “a kind of magic mathematical magic because its operations depend on number.” The third world represented ceremonial magic “as directed toward the super celestial world of angelic spirits.” Beyond that, Agrippa says, is the divine itself.  These ideas are not about the physical temple, but instead I see it representing an unseen or perhaps inner temple, the travel in what we call today the self.

This philosophy of this divine self, interacting with the magical principals I suggest, merged at that time into the then strong and intelligent stone mason guilds, blending their practical application of numbers and formulation with the exploration of the divine worlds that many worked to physically construct. These ideas were accepted and adopted into the early landmarks of Freemasonry where, I believe, that the temple was perceived as more than a representational place of being. Over time, as philosophy and understanding changed, much of the fraternity lost sight of why Solomon’s Temple was important, that it represented a more mystical and philosophical construct akin to Agrippa’s spheres. Its interpretation has, today, moved into a metaphorical position becoming a part of the metaphorical stage in which our craft is set. But by examining how the temple exists in our degrees today will see some of that connection to the Renaissance philosophy.

Samuel Lee depiction of Solomons Temple
Samuel Lee depiction of Solomons Temple

In modernity, King Solomon’s Temple, within Freemasonry, appears in each of the three degrees (or worlds) as different aspects within each degree. Within the first, it is represented as the ground floor, the allegorical entrance into the fraternity. The temple is not depicted as the complicated structure; instead it is as an unfinished edifice, which is implicit to the ritual. Like Agrippa’s first elemental sphere, the first degree of masonry is the initiate’s entry point into Freemasonry and its philosophy, giving the initiate the elemental components to start his formation, only the work is not the rough labor of the operative, but instead the work of the speculative.

The Second Degree makes use of the temples middle chamber, whose dual meaning represents the halfway point into the temple, and the halfway point of Freemasonry. But interestingly we are taught here that the second degree is the most important of the three degree, as it is here we are lead through the 15 steps from the ground floor to the middle chamber of King Solomon’s Temple, where we as masons are instructed on our “wages due and jewels.” The various adornments of the temple have a multifaceted meaning that is described in this degree, which again factor into the representation of the temple.

But what makes this degree so important to me is that it is not the middle chamber, but the odyssey across the three, five and seven steps to it that mark it as important. Across those steps we are taught about the three stages of human life, the five orders of architecture, and the seven liberal arts (amongst other things), and like Agrippa’s second sphere of celestial magic, its mathematical influence can be felt throughout.

This path is the important symbolic link to the temple, where our ritual goes so far to remind us that of the three degrees, the Fellowcraft is the one that applies “our knowledge to the discharge of our respective duties to God, our neighbor, and ourselves; so that when in old age, as Master Masons, we may enjoy the happy reflections consequent on a well spent life, and die in the hopes of a glorious immortality.” The importance being laid on the journey of a Fellowcraft.

king solomon and the ark
Sanctum Sanctorum or, Holy of Holies

The third degree, or the consequence of that well spent life, ultimately represents the Sanctum Sanctorum or, Holy of Holies, in King Solomon’s Temple. Mentioned at the end of the Fellowcraft, this is where the brother reflects on the “well spent life” by the rewards of his work. The symbolism here is that it is the deepest heart of the temple and the furthest attainment of a Freemason. It also is to represent the deepest penetration into the psyche of the man. This is also the pinnacle of the ritual without the further exploration of the additional rites. The Holy of the Holies is representational of the celestial realm defined by Agrippa, and is the closest sphere outside of the divine itself. It functions as the house of God, both literally in the constructed temple, and metaphorically within the newly raised Mason.  This echoes the ideas mentioned by Giorgi and later expanded on by Agrippa and Dee.  Dee’s further expansive ideas later went on to influence early Rosicrucian thought in a similar fashion.

Agrippa’s three worlds, I suggest, form (in part) the basis of the steps and the journey through King Solomon’s Temple through the degrees of Freemasonry. The presence of King Solomon’s Temple in ancient thought, from the earliest Old Testament writings to the pinnacle of renaissance occult philosophy has preserved it as an iconographic representation of the path to the divine. Solomon’s temple is not a solitary place in history, used as a simple metaphor in which to base an allegorical play. Instead, it is a link in early Christian Cabala and Hermetic thought, which is just as vital today, as it was then, to the tradition of Freemasonry. Still a metaphor but a more profound one whose importance is not often explored or represented in modern Masonic thought. Looking at the ideas of this renaissance philosophy, I believe that philosophy becomes squarely linked to the past, present, and future of Freemasonry and to King Solomon’s Temple.


Sources:

  • Duncan, Malcom C., Duncan’s Ritual of Freemasonry. New York: Crown Publishers. 2005.
  • Hodapp, Christopher, Freemasons for Dummies. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2005.
  • The Holy Bible, NIV, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing. 1984.
  • MacNaulty, W. Kirk, A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol. London, Thames and Hudson. 1991.
  • Vitruvius, 10 Books on Architecture. Trans. Morgan, Morris Hickey. New York: Dover 1960.
  • Yates, Frances, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age. London/New York: Routledge, 2003.

Is A Reconciliation Between The Catholic Church And Freemasonry Possible?

 I was prompted to contemplate a thawing in Catholic-Masonic relations upon reading this Associated Press article today titled Pope insists conscience, not rules, must lead faithful

Here we read:

Pope Francis said Friday that Catholics should look to their own consciences more than Vatican rules to negotiate the complexities of sex, marriage and family life, demanding the church shift its emphasis from doctrine to mercy in confronting some of the thorniest issues facing the faithful.”

He said the church must no longer sit in judgment and “throw stones” at those who fail to live up to the Gospel’s ideals of marriage and family life.”

“On thorny issues such as contraception, Francis stressed that a couple’s individual conscience — not dogmatic rules imposed on them across the board — must guide their decisions and the church’s pastoral practice.”

“We have been called to form consciences, not replace to them,” he said.

“He insisted the church’s aim is to reintegrate and welcome all its members. He called for a new language to help Catholic families cope with today’s problems. And he said pastors must take into account mitigating factors — fear, ignorance, habits and duress — in counseling Catholics who simply aren’t perfect.”

“It can no longer simply be said that all those in any irregular situations are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace,” he wrote. Even those in an “objective situation of sin” can be in a state of grace, and can even be more pleasing to God by trying to improve, he said.

Could it be that the many changes that Pope Francis has made to the Catholic Church pave the way for a reconsideration of its opposition to Freemasonry?

Ever since 1738 the Catholic Church has prohibited membership in Freemasonry. For a complete overview of the historical rulings by the Church see The Catholic Church and Freemasonry

Posted by Greg Stewart on Freemason Information.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis

Looking at a Pope who has not been in office for a great length of time, you can see some far reaching reforms and adjustments that have already been made. Would it be a fantasy to surmise that somewhere down the line this Pope might relax the ban against the Craft?

The Atlantic in an article titled Will Pope Francis Break the Church? offers these observations on the pontiff.

The Church is not yet in the grip of a revolution. The limits, theological and practical, on papal power are still present, and the man who was Jorge Bergoglio has not done anything that explicitly puts them to the test. But his moves and choices (and the media coverage thereof) have generated a revolutionary atmosphere around Catholicism. For the moment, at least, there is a sense that a new springtime has arrived for the Church’s progressives. And among some conservative Catholics, there is a feeling of uncertainty absent since the often-chaotic aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, in the 1960s and ’70s.”

“That unease has coexisted with a tendency to deny that anything has really changed since the former cardinal and archbishop of Buenos Aires became pope. From the first unscripted shocker—his “Who am I to judge?” in response to a reporter’s question about gay priests—many conservative Catholics have argued that the press is seeing what it wants to see in the new pontiff.”

“Francis is clearly a less systematic thinker than either of his predecessors, and especially than the academic-minded Benedict. Whereas the previous pope defended popular piety against liberal critiques, Francis embodies a certain style of populist Catholicism—one that’s suspicious of overly academic faith in any form. He seems to have an affinity for the kind of Catholic culture in which Mass attendance might be spotty but the local saint’s processions are packed—a style of faith that’s fervent and supernaturalist but not particularly doctrinal. He also remains a Jesuit-formed leader, and Jesuits have traditionally combined missionary zeal with a certain conscious flexibility about doctrinal details that might impede their proselytizing work.”

pope, papal logo, catholic church

Emblem of the Papacy

“But there are times when Francis himself seems to desire something more than just a change in emphasis. Even as he has officially reaffirmed Church teachings on sex and marriage, he has shown a persistent impatience—populist, Jesuit, or both—with the obstacles these teachings present to bringing some lapsed Catholics back to the Church. His frustration has emerged most clearly on the issue of divorce and remarriage: he has repeatedly shown what seems to be tacit support for the idea, long endorsed by Walter Kasper and other liberal cardinals, to allow Catholics in a second marriage to receive Communion even if their first marriage is still considered valid—that is, even if they are living in what the Church considers an adulterous relationship.”

“The problem for Francis is that Kasper’s argument is not particularly persuasive. Describing Communion for the remarried as merely a pastoral change ignores its inevitable doctrinal implications. If people who are living as adulterers can receive Communion, if the Church can recognize their state of life as nonideal but somehow tolerable, then either the Church’s sacramental theology or its definition of sin has been effectively rewritten. And the ramifications of such a change are potentially sweeping. If ongoing adultery is forgivable, then why not other forms of loving, long-standing sexual commitment?”

“This, then, is the place where Francis’s quest for balance could, through his own initiative, ultimately fall apart, bringing the very culture war he’s downplayed back to center stage. And it’s the place where his pontificate could become genuinely revolutionary. His other moves are changing the Church, but in gradual and reversible ways, leaving lines of conflict blurry and tensions bridgeable. But altering a teaching on sex and marriage that the Church has spent centuries insisting it simply cannot alter—a teaching on a question addressed directly (as, say, homosexuality is not) by Jesus himself—is a very different thing. It would suggest to the world, and to many Catholics, that Catholicism was formally capitulating to the sexual revolution. It would grant the Church’s progressives reasonable grounds for demanding room for further experiments. And it would make it impossible for many conservatives, lay and clerical, to avoid some kind of public opposition to the pope.

Could this mean that Catholic Freemasons might be granted the right to receive communion and hold positions of lay leadership in the Church? Certainly Freemasonry does not seem to be on Pope Francis’ top ten list of changes yet to come. But if the mood, the emphasis away from doctrinal purity, persists then perhaps some sort of reconciliation can take place between the Church and Freemasonry. And if that comes to past we will be in a new day of peace and harmony.

Building Athens

A book review by Wor. Bro. Frederic L. Milliken

Building Athens

Building Athens

Coach John Nagy has written a most important book for the Fellow Craft, Building Athens – Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education – Volume 3. It is about the winding staircase with emphasis on the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences. In case you have forgotten (heaven forbid), the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences are Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy.

The first three are categorized as the Trivium, the latter four labeled the Quadrivium. The Trivium, Nagy tells us: “ …is to convey to students an understanding of how Words are used as Symbols. Study of such matters includes the eventual ability to decode and encode meaning and intent using Words as a base.” The Quadrivium “… is to convey to the student and understanding of how Numbers are used as Symbols. Study of such matters includes the eventual ability to decode and encode meaning and intent using Numbers as a base.”

But the larger question I am sure you are asking by now is why is the book titled Building Athens? What does Athens have to do with the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences?

Nagy tells us:

Masons unfamiliar with the legacy of Athens hamper their Masonic progress. To participate in Masonry at the Fellow Craft Level without having knowledge of Athens’ most famous citizens and, more specifically, their Works is to see and experience Ritual as a shadow show likened to that depicted in Plato’s Cave.

Most of us know about Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras. But how many of us have heard of Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Democritus, to name a few?

John "Coach" Nagy

John “Coach” Nagy

Actually, when Nagy first envisioned this book it was going to be more of an explanation of the rich symbolism in the Second Degree but the end result took a turn when reality dawned on the Coach.

First, in observing other Masonic writers he noted how some produced the unfolding of layers of symbolism.

“Through this insight, I realized that these Brothers had constructed writings that hid things in plain view through Symbolic Layering. They Masterfully conveyed Light without hiding it. They shared it knowing that Brothers would see Light that profanes couldn’t. Trained Brothers knew what was conveyed.”

Symbolic Layering is one fascinating aspect of this book and one which the reader must discover on his or her own. That led Nagy to his conclusion that Trained Minds are so important to understanding Symbolic Layering and the meaning of Masonry.

I quickly realized that a Mason’s mind must be first ‘readied’ to receive such information before he can benefit from it. I also realized that no matter how I might go about my initial focus, without a ‘readied mind’, my actions would be equivalent to discussing colors with a blind person. No such sharing would have relatable significance.

But how is this done? How are Freemasons readied to receive this information?

“Fellow Craft Masons that diligently invest in the education pointed toward by Ritual physically reshape their ‘Ashlars’, a.k.a. ‘brains’, toward what is required by the Builder. They furthermore reinforce natural affinities that their brains already have and cultivate interconnections that change how reality is experienced. This training transforms each mind’s ability to sort, uncover, discriminate, differentiate, distinguish, decide, detect, project, create, evaluate and a host of other mental talents that would otherwise lay dormant or poorly used if not otherwise nurtured.”

Once again Nagy emphasizes Trained Minds in Trained Masons.

“Information challenged individuals, unable to deal effectively with information overload, become lost within information. Trained Masons know what is pertinent. They furthermore know how to see through illusions offered up as a fact to see Truths hidden within and fallacies veiled in truth.”

So in Catechism form Coach Nagy sets out to retrain our minds in order that we may separate the chaff from the wheat, see the layering of symbolism and discover the meanings of Masonry and its application to our daily lives.

Nagy talks about the great Greek philosophers and their contribution to symbolic thought and the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences.

In regards to Plato, Nagy tells us that,

Plato was influenced by Socrates, along with Pythagoras, Aristophanes, Protagoras, Homer, Hesiod, Parmenides. Aesop, Heraditus, and Orphism

As we start into the specifics Nagy tells us,

Masonry is a training ground for Symbolic understanding. Without an intimate knowledge of Symbols, Masons become malnourished by the inability to absorb what is presented.

Nagy talks a lot in the book about Shibboleths which he defines as “a word, phrase, motto, slogan, or saying used by adherents of a party, group, sect, organization, or belief, also a widely held belief, truism or platitude which can be a linguistic tool that allows for identification of a specific group based upon pronunciation  of specific words.”

The subsequent chapters of the book take each of the 7 Liberal Arts and Sciences in detail.

“Grammar is many things. It is the Strength aspect of the study of Symbols as words. It is a fingerprint, identifying sources with such pinpoint accuracy that no masking can obscure it. It tells its observer the history, culture and attitude of its source. It develops the left Temporal, Occipital and Parietal lobes of the brain thus providing pattern recognition skills to those developed. As a Mason, I recognize that Grammar knowledge allows Masons to Travel in directions that hold back illiterate men.”

“Rhetoric is the Beauty aspect of the study of Symbols as words. Moreover, as only things of Beauty can do, it invites those affected to experience its Beauty by merely taking in what is offered. Any Persuasion that occurs is not forced though; it is not put upon those so invited. It is put forth to partake in and its recipients are wholly responsible for what they do with it.”

“To Master influences such as these, Masons must know what persuades. Rhetorical study cultivates understanding, insight and planning into this. It also requires Craftsmen to know what future such Work shapes. With such training Masters duly Craft its ends. As Centers of Influence, their Work creates Spheres of Influence.”

“Logic is essential in Building anything having Integrity. Non-reason condemns people to unnecessary, damaging and life-threatening conclusions. Ritual informs Masons that Logic is important. Masons must apply Logic in their Work to assure that what they have wrought is both sound and viable in supporting their aims. Sadly, Masons receive only a shadow of what is required Logically to Raise them Above the norm.”

“Logic is the Wisdom aspect of the study of Symbols as Words. Logical abilities allow Masons to discern Truth from fallacy. The power of right reasoning is deemed essential to Masons. Without Logic, Masons cannot comprehend their rights and duties. Without Logical faculty, men are considered insane; viewed as madmen and idiots; and denied admission into the Masonic Order. Lack of Logic also limits Travel.”

“Arithmetic lets Masons see the world in such dramatic detail that they appear to be sighted to the blind untrained. It requires foundational understandings of how Numbers manifest and what can be done with them. Arithmetic is the Strength aspect of the study of Symbols as Numbers. Through Arithmetic, the world becomes a familiar place.”

“How does this happen? Arithmetic study develops the abilities of Masons to recognize relationships and reveal patterns. Its study also forces Masons to understand, confront and deal effectively with concepts related to zero and infinity. Through its Strength, Arithmetic enables Masons to have real impact through development of analogy.”

“Geometry is one of two Wisdom aspects of the study of Symbols as Numbers. Geometry puts dimension to those concepts revealed and accepted during Arithmetic study. It also facilitates dealing with irrational quantities. Geometry trains the mind to imagine things that exist, things that may exist and things that will never exist. It’s amazing how much Geometry is part of our world.”

“Masons studying Geometry bring ordered thinking to their physical world. It also hones their critical thinking; sharpness portable to other disciplines such as Music and Astronomy. Of all the aspects of Masons developed by such study, the one applied toward the measure of man may very well be its most important.”

“Music is intimately dependent upon Arithmetic and Geometry. There is Logic behind its construction. Music has both a Grammar of its own and it is itself the Grammar of sound! Most importantly, its purpose is identical to that of words when employed as Rhetoric, through its use, it persuades. Lastly, understanding of Music supports a Mason’s understanding of Astronomy.”

“Music relates to internal and external motion and requires a firm understanding of how motion Works under certain conditions. Builders who know these basics can then both evaluate and devise systems that employ such motion.”

“Ultimately, the capstone of Liberal Art and Science studies opens up a Mason’s ability to seriously study of Theology and Philosophy. Astronomical information is often times conveyed within such texts and it takes a trained individual to identify when such information is present. This requires all the skills developed by Liberal Art and Science study.”

Building Better BuildersThese are only the chapter headings – a tease. Where you mind really gets challenged is in the catechism of each chapter. There is where the general becomes the specific; there is where the learning takes place; there is where the mind is expanded; there is where you must commit much time and energy.

Once you have completed this expansion of the mind an overview of the big picture illustrates the importance of such study. Nagy tells us:

“To look deeply without toward what constitutes the makeup of your world is to put forth an effort to see and seed the possibility of knowing the very essence of Creation. Of all the actions that Masons can take, except for ‘sincere and searching self-reflection’, this action has the deepest impact. It permeates everything thereafter done.”

Finally, we are told:

“Next to the Entered Apprentice Degree, no more demanding Work in all of Masonry can ever match what is ordered upon Masons within the Fellow Craft Degree. It’s most unfortunate that the Work specified as important to Masons within the Fellow Craft ritual is ‘skipped over’ by far too many Masons as they pursue the title of that ‘next’ degree. Mentoring Master Masons would do well in tempering the enthusiasm of those Fellow Crafts desiring the next level, as well as their own, especially if they have yet to earn the title.”

Leaping over this specific Work has damaging consequences for the Mason, the Brothers who have to deal with that Mason, the Fraternity as a whole and future Masons who Enter and expect proper guidance from Brothers.

Building Athens is not just an information book but a challenge. I consider myself reasonably well informed, no Rhodes scholar mind you, but time and time again I felt a need to consult further research on some of the points Coach Nagy was making and some of the references he alluded to. This is the kind of book you might want to read twice. Once you mind has been expanded it makes much more sense the second time around and you will “get it” finally.

The only question left: ARE YOU READY TO RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN?

You can find John Nagy’s book, Building Athens – Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic Education – Volume 3, on Amazon and on his website.