Freemasonry is a post-collegiate mostly-all male fraternity dedicated to the social development of the member to form a broader sense of the self and their community.
This came from the internet from some time back. It has a more magical bend but could probably apply to any “esoteric” or “secret society.”
If there are other tell-tale signs that you think are missing, drop them in the comments blow.
10 signs that an occult/esoteric group leader has lost his focus.
The leadership starts to think that they, and their group, are actually important.
The leader starts to claim that they are the re-incarnation of a famous leaders and/or occultists.
Their leadership takes a lot of drugs or start drinking.
The leadership decides to pack in their day job and live off their students of their Order.
Leaders start claiming authority from Secret Chiefs or Invisible beings. (or I’ll add a Moral Law).
They ask you to give you all their money or want to shag you or your partner to assist your spiritual path.
They start to become incredibly paranoid.
They feel the need to attack other orders, personalities and systems.
The leadership lose any sense of humor.
The leadership starts to believe their own bullshit.
The list gets into each point and makes for a fun read correlating them to one particular group or another. And, I suppose, you could equate the list to any group: religious, social, fraternal, etc.
The best advice is that you should you find yourself following such a person or group – “trust in the universe that you will find new teachers.”
Back to the drawing board on the virtues and vices of Moral Turpitude, this time woven again with the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Masonry where it is being tangled in with the moral law.
“…these charges are retribution for speaking out about the discrimination that I experienced…”
Reported in late 2010, Kentucky Masons slapped down the open disdain for gay masons in a vote made in the Grand Lodge session. The vote would have, if passed, made Kentucky Masonry a pro-family state that recognized only marriages between a woman and a man. The proposal, you might remember read like this:
“Freemasonry is pro-family and recognizes marriage as between one man and one woman. Any other relationship is a violation of the moral law and therefore unmasonic conduct. Homosexual relationships, openly professed and practiced, are a violation of the moral law and therefore unmasonic conduct. No openly homosexual Freemason shall be allowed to retain membership in this grand jurisdiction.”
The change to the Grand Lodge constitution failed, and a more open and diverse Freemasonry prevailed.
Until now…
On the heels of the failed change, charges have been brought against the brother who was then Master of Right Angle Lodge in Winchester, Kentucky.
John Wright, the brother who was for a time at the heart of the storm, has a Masonic trial set for April 8th on Masonic charges that were filed against him in the weeks following the statewide Masonic same-sex marriage referendum.
The change sought in the constitution came in 2010 when Wright and his wife filed for divorce when he realized that he was gay. As Wright started to open up about what happened, he says, in an October 20th 2010 article on Kentucky.com article that “news of my sexual orientation spread … like wildfire,” which has lead to some Kentucky Masons to declare Homosexual relationships, openly professed and practiced,[as a] a violation of the moral law and therefore un-Masonic conduct. Saying further that no openly homosexual Freemason shall be allowed to retain membership in this grand jurisdiction. The measure failed, and things settled down.
Reported today, March 24th 2011, in Kentucky.com is that membership of openly gay Masons is again being challenged as charges have been brought against Wright on the claim that he “violated the sanctity of his marriage” and “deserted [his wife] due to his homosexuality.” with another charge which alleged that Wright “revealed privileged Masonic Communications” because he talked openly about it.
The one charge said to of had no probable cause was that Wright had violated the Grand Lodge constitution because “he had openly forsaken his belief in God … by refusing to obey the Moral Laws in declaring his homosexuality which the Moral law declares as an abomination to the law of God.”
What’s most interesting is that the charges were brought by fellow Masons of neighboring lodges, not Wrights home lodge of Right Angle.
When inquery was made at the Grand Lodge by the articles author, Grand Secretary Joseph R. Conway declined comment.
Back to the quote from the beginning, Wright says in the article:
“Personally, I feel these charges are retribution for speaking out about the discrimination that I experienced,”
“In my heart, I feel that if I had left my ex-wife for another woman, nothing would’ve been said to me about it, nor would I have been brought up on charges, I know of many Masons in Kentucky who have been divorced and re-married, some several times, and charges were never brought against them for abandoning their spouse by causing a divorce action to be filed,”
Wright’s penalty, if found guilty, could include admonishment, a reprimanded, suspension, or expulsion.
Named in the piece are the 5 Brothers who found his distant actions to be so reprehensible, one of whom is a detective of Jessamine County Sheriff’s Department.
Interestingly, Jessamine County lists the treating of all people with tolerance and dignity as one of their aspects of Law Enforcement professionalism. Apparently, that’s no so the case outside the agency when concerned with a Moral Law.
You can find a complete list of those individuals who brought the charges in the Kentucky.com article should you want to send them a note to reconsider their actions.
Or, better yet, send a note to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky to let them know how you feel about the validity of the charges. This could be a great learning opportunity shaped by the Fearless Campaign to shape LGBT rights going on right now in Congress. Maybe this is a small step that Masonic leadership can take to empower themselves with the moral courage to do the right thing.
In the mean time, how do you feel? Do you think the charges are in retribution to Wright’s coming out of the closet and his subsequent divorce, or do you agree that he violated some un-coded and multifaceted Moral Law that weaves itself invisibly through our being like smoke but surrounds our decisions like iron?
…Syfy will develop “Culture Shock With Tommy Lee,” in which the former Motley Crue member seeks to uncover and expose secret societies. Stern said that any show involving a celebrity was a tough sell to him, but that he was won over by Lee’s sincerity. “This comes from a very deep-seated, personal desire to uncover the truth behind these secret societies,” Stern said, “starting with his father’s membership in the Freemasons.”
From the Syfy channel programming announcement:
Culture Shock with Tommy Lee — This one-hour investigative travel show follows Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee as he attempts to uncover the various rituals, symbols and other mysteries of secret societies around the world. Tommy Lee will dig into the history behind the secret society, search out its meeting locations and members, and meet with former members to reveal the society’s rituals and deepest secrets. A production of ITV Studios America. Executive producers: Tommy Lee and Carl Stubner. Supervising producer: Jenna Barnes.
I don’t know about you, but nothing says investigative travel reporter like glam metal drummer Tommy Lee. Maybe its a play on words, a double entendre, as he exposes their “deepest secrets” – definitely culture shocking.
And didn’t Brad Meltzer try to do something like this on Decoded?
If the show hasn’t hooked you yet, maybe Lee’s bio of his early occult leanings will, especially as his bio reads that he lived in West Covina up through his High School years. It stands to reason that his father, whom he mentions was a Brother in a West Covina Lodge. And everybody knows just what a hot bed of occult activity West Covina is.
Hodapp makes some good observations as to the brand extension of the Syfy channel as the network to “Imagine Greater”, which must mean to imagine bad reality shows, but hey, maybe the show will be a good one, right? Perez Hilton has high hopes for what he’s calling Tommy Lee’s “Ghost Hunters…Rock N’ Roll edition”.
I would think that Lee won’t have far to go, as some of his closest friends sport some “secret society” tattoos in plain sight – just ask Dave Navarro to show you his elbows where he sports Aleister Crowley’s adaptation of the Unicursal Hexagram, one of the emblem/logos of Thelema. Even Lee sported his own esoteric tattoos, at one point wearing a backwards swastika tattoo on his arm – backward from the Nazi rendition which presumably stood for the crooked arm cross from ancient India used in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism religious practice.
In the same Hustler Magazine article, the interviewer asks Lee what his secret to being so lucky is. He answered:
I don’t know if there is one. I definitely don’t try. Maybe that’s the secret right there. I think I have a lust for life. When I wake up in the morning, I’m like: “What are we doing today?!” I still have that little kid thing. I’m not sure what that is. It might be my children’s fault. They keep me young. I still do all the shit that at some point most adults stop doing, like playing in the sandbox. They keep my lust for life alive.
Apparently playing with his kids wasn’t “secret” enough and now he needs to uncover and expose the secret societies that his father belonged to. If its anything like his other reality moments, I’m sure it’ll be all over the internet.
“Lincoln police went to Waverly early Sunday to find a man who they say fired a handgun twice following a fight at his girlfriend’s Lincoln home.
[Edward Watts was] arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault, strangulation, terroristic threats and use of a weapon to commit a felony after police learned of the incident at the house in the XXX block of Eldora Avenue in Lincoln, Officer Katie Flood said'”
The man arrested, shown in Journal Star report as the booking photo, is alleged to be the 2011 incumbent Grand Master of Nebraska Masons – Edward David Watts.
The a consequence of the events following the brutality of that day have started to make some ripples in the Masonic pond, which have lead to calls for his removal from notable past editor of the Philalethes Society Journal of Masonic Research Nelson King who published on the Masonic Brothers yahoo Group on a January 8th:
It is necessary to bring to your attention a grave breech of dignity and honor imminently befalling the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, USA with ramifications for Freemasonry worldwide. The man set to be installed as Grand Master of Masons of Nebraska on February 5, 2011, Deputy Grand Master Edward David Watts, was recently arrested by police and subsequently formally charged by the Lancaster County Attorney in Lincoln, Nebraska with four felony crimes. These include First-degree Assault, Strangulation, Terroristic Threats, and Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony.
He goes on to say that, following his installation as Grand Master that he would dismiss the charges against himself and continue on as the Grand Master of Masons in Nebraska. He says further:
The distressing part of this situation is the fact that nothing has yet been done to remove Watts from Freemasonry in Nebraska or even remove him as a Grand Lodge Officer. In fact, it has come to our attention that even though Masonic charges have been filed, the leadership of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska and the Nebraska Jurisprudence Committee appear to still believe there is nothing that can prevent Watts from being installed as Grand Master.
The plea in the email continues as King says:
The notion of “innocent until proven guilty” does not apply in this case. That standard applies to the court system, not a private fraternity. Watts has already done significant damage to the fraternity by making the wrong decisions that led to his latest felony arrest and his past criminal misconduct contributes to the overall assertion that he should not be Grand Master. Watts’ tactics include making unsubstantiated claims that the charges will be dropped, the police were corrupt and wrong, and the man he victimized is lying. This is in an effort to ensure no Masonic punitive action takes place before he is installed as Grand Master. Watts then intends to keep pushing back his trial until after he leaves the Grand East or doesn’t care if he is convicted of the crimes once he is already Grand Master.
Citing a long spate of felonies and morally questionable activities, King sums his appeal this way saying:
All of these things show a pattern of poor judgment and conduct unbecoming any Freemason, let alone a man who would be Grand Master. Regardless of whether or not any of the current felonies with which Watts is charged are dismissed or reduced, the totality of the circumstances dictate that Watts must be expelled from the fraternity lest it be viewed by the public as a secret society that condones misconduct by its leadership and further covers up such behavior.
The fear is that besides am ugly public drubbing, that the UGLE would rescind its recognition of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska because of such horrendous decision making and unsound judgments.
The argument itself is based on the question Moral Turpitude which is a Masonic Jurisprudence loop hole by which to expel a member should they befall, or have discovered, a social hiccup.
Wikipedia has an good definition of Moral Turpitude that, though lengthy, says it all.
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States that refers to “conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals.” It appears in U.S. immigration law from the nineteenth century. In other common law jurisdictions it is dated or obsolete.
The concept of moral turpitude escapes precise definition but has been described as an “act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes to his fellowmen or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between man and man.” The specific acts that such a concept includes inevitably change over time, as general public acceptance or abhorrence of issues alters; for example, until recent times, a man engaged in homosexual behavior was still considered as engaging in “criminal behavior involving moral turpitude.”
The classification of a crime or other conduct as constituting moral turpitude has significance in several areas of law. First, prior conviction of a crime of moral turpitude (or in some jurisdictions, moral turpitude conduct, even without a conviction) is considered to have a bearing on the honesty of a witness and may be used for purposes of witness impeachment. Second, moral turpitude offenses may be grounds to deny or revoke a professional license such as a teaching credential, license to practice law, or other licensed profession. Third, it is of great importance for immigration purposes, as offenses which are defined as involving moral turpitude are considered bars to immigration into the U.S.
So, in a nutshell, if you have a DUI, minor criminal infraction, pay your taxes late, spit on the curb, have been drunk in public, or any of a long long list of base acts in society, your guilty of moral turpitude, in a sense, a moral law.
The charge is prevalent and in use in modern Masonic times in that I myself have seen it administered on a, then, brother for a past criminal offense that had since been socially paid and legally expunged. Let there be no mistake – Moral Turpitude is still very much a scarlet letter offense in Modern Masonry and a good means to clean house when little else for Masonic charges can be found.
In the case of Watts, the appeal from King was not the only place the story surfaced on the web.
In December of 2010, a small local opinion piece on the matter appeared on the website VansOpinions.com. A reading though the published journal gives a detailed reporting of one, seemingly, Nebraska Mason observed the incident as Robert J. Van Valkenburg, the author Van, opines about the Golden Chain Gang of Nebraska Grand Lodge leadership who in his first writing on the subject slams the leadership of Nebraska saying:
Year back, a few of the self-serving “leaders” of the fraternity, nearly all of which were lawyers wanting to maintain control of the fraternity, plumbed themselves into several of the key committees of the grand lodge. Additionally they changed the Bylaws of the Grand Lodge to the extent that the man elected to the position of Deputy Grand Master was also “Grand Master – Elect” meaning he would assume the highest position without a further vote of the Masons attending the subsequent “Annual Communication” [meeting] Thus, Watts, when elected, was locket into being installed in 2011.
His complaint was that Watts had resigned without there being a clear line of succession for the outgoing Grand Master John T. Parsons of Papillon. Van said that this was a coup of sorts bemoaning “about the few so called leaders of the fraternity who are corrupting its teachings for their own self-serving purposes. The members are kept in the dark, manipulated, lied to and deceived by “The Gold Chain Gang” in Nebraska.”
But that wasn’t the end of the story, of Van’s or of Watts, and continues in later posts by Van who chronicled the story in the days following his first post.
Since the posting of the last article a number of sources have indicated Edward David Watts in fact, had NOT resigned as Deputy Grand Master of Masons of Nebraska. In all fairness to Watts, a good deal more discovery has taken place and interesting discoveries have been made. Unless we have received erroneous information from a person in the Office of the Clerk of Lancaster County Court, Criminal Division, a “Preliminary Hearing” will be held on a case captioned “State v. Edward D. Watts” at 10:00 A.M. on 6 December 2011, at which time we believe a number of interesting facts will be presented to the Judge. This article should give all interested parties…INCLUDING THE JUDGE…a number of documented facts worthy of detailed investigation. My advice to Watts – FOR NOW DO NOT RESIGN. IF YOU HAVE, RESCIND IT!
He goes on to quote from the first degree saying:
“Justice is that standard, or boundary of right, which enables us to render to every man his just due without distinction. This virtue is not only consistent with divine and human laws, but is the very cement and support of civil society; and as justice in a great measure constitutes the real good man, so should it be the invariable practice of every Mason, never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof…”
To which he takes the position that Watts is innocent until proven guilty – even of moral turpitude, which I have to be honest, is the best way to proceed, no matter our elevated idea of morality that allows us to evaluate and condemn a man for what we want to say his depravity is.
Van takes it a step further and begins a tirade on the GL leadership who, in acting in their mind in the best interest of the fraternity. He starts his next foray February 17th, 2011, this way:
At the 154th Communication (Convention) of the Grand :Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Nebraska held in Grand Island in early February 2011, John T. Parsons, the incumbent Grand Master, proved the fraternity can provide a means to make good men bad when they ignore and corrupt the teachings of the fraternity and its Constitution and Bylaws. Bad people, even egomaniacal asses manage to wedge themselves into all organizations even the most honorable Masonic Fraternity.
He goes on to proclaim the Nebraska Grand Master, John Parsons (note Watts has not been installed yet) as being “Most Un-Masonic” while he while presided over the last annual meeting of the fraternity. The rub this time over a conspiracy that was fomented to keep Watts from being installed, Van reports:
John Parsons has unfortunately chosen to conspire with others in an unlawful attempt to keep a worthy Brother, David Watts, from rightfully being installed as his successor pursuant to ARTICLE VII of the organization’s Constitution. Parsons has pompously pranced about Nebraska making appearances and elsewhere for the last year as the seated “Grand Master” and do so to a large extent on OTHER MASONS’ MONEY. Having members of the Masonic Fraternity and those in other appendant bodies treat him royally has, in my opinion, gone to his head. I believe he just can’t accept the fact that from the ranks he came, and now most properly, to the ranks he must return.
Van writes this on the heels of Parsons having told the oldest living Past Grand Master Don Swanson, a permanent member of the Nebraska Grand Lodge, to “sit your ass down and shut up” in an open meeting attended by hundreds of Nebraska Masons when Swanson stood up for Watts. Van says of the matter:
During a business portion of the Grand Lodge session, Parsons presiding, the matter of false and fabricated “Masonic Charges” against Watts were presented to the body (by Swanson). That in itself was totally out of consonance with “Masonic Law” and in fact, in my opinion, a Masonic Offense.
But, the story doesn’t end there. Van Valkenburg goes on to post on February 24th some of the most controversial yet material reporting:
It’s time for ALL Nebraska Masons to know what has been going on “behind their backs” In some areas of government, it might be called “back channeling” or clandestine dealings outside of prescribed and lawful avenues. It appears the Grand Lodge of Nebraska has been taken over by a self-appointed group of Past Grand Masters and their cronies reducing all honest and trusting Masons to being nothing more than a source of funding to support their wishes and whims. Most of the evil doers are attorneys.
Going further proclaiming now that Parsons is in fact the Mason who should be expelled from Nebraska Freemasonry and not Watts, as you would think based on the Moral Turpitude clause.
Then, Van drops a bombshell:
On the evening of 17 February 2011, before the close of a duly opened Lodge of Master Masons in Wood River, Nebraska (Cement Lodge #211), the oldest living Past Grand Master of Masons in Nebraska, Donald Swanson, properly and formally installed David Watts as the new Grand Master replacing Parsons.
Careful attention was given to the installation being done in strict accordance and compliance with established procedures and within the scope of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Grand Lodge. There were 14 members present, two of which were Past Grand Masters. This was done in spite of the fact Parsons had sent a letter to all Past Grand Masters telling them he would have them expelled from Masonry if they participated in installing Watts. I forgot to mention, the installation had to be done by a Past Grand Master. Swanson was the only one willing to thumb his nose at Parsons and see the deed was done without interruption.
The following Saturday, Dave Watts, the newly installed Grand Master, traveled to Alliance, Nebraska and installed the other “elected” officers of Grand Lodge. He thereafter went directly to Denver, Colorado to attend a regional conference of Grand Masters as Nebraska’s representative.
As with any bombshell there was a lot of collateral damage with shaking fists and claims of charter pulling, expelling members, and even civil law suits, as Van opined that he believes the “‘SOB(s)’ victimized by fraternal corruption may have civil recourse in a real court of law.”
And, if bad couldn’t go to worse, Van then begins to enumerate the raising of sex offenders as Masons in Nebraska lodges who was left unchecked to move through the chairs.
Overwhelming, isn’t it? The picture of a train wreck comes to mind from all fronts here, especially if even half of what Van reports is to be believed.
The facts we do have is that an Edward D. Watts was in fact arrested and in fact charged with the crimes. The Grand Lodge of Nebraska website shows as its leadership John T. Parsons as the Grand Master and E. David Watts as the deputy Grand Master, presumably the one and same E. David Watts currently listed as the Deputy Grand Master from Osceola. Further, the Annual Communication and Installation invitation of GL officers’ looks like business as usual with no mention of who is slated for installation or who was installed, and the Nebraska Grand Lodge news tab of the site has as its most recent entry a communication award from 2009.
Very little else can be gleaned from the web on the issue, and it seems that Van’s reporting is the ONLY reporting coming out of the state. Van mentioned Watts and Parsons crossing paths at the Conference of Grand Masters in February, but the events itinerary has no mention of either nor of Nebraska for that matter.
I did come across a open case in the Lancaster County office of the District Attorney, State vs Edward Watts case number of CR11-95, where the name matches the criminal charges from November 21, 2010 with two of the previous charges dismissed by the court. Those two dismissed charges were Terroristic Threats and Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony. While those two charges were dropped Assault, 1st degree and Strangulation remain in an open case.
So where do things stand now?
Truthfully, it’s hard to tell, especially as Van has not reported further, and there has been no “official” word from the Grand Lodge. It would seem, from Van’s observation that there is a Schism in that there are two presiding Grand Masters Watts and Parsons while issues of Moral Turpitude and guilt sway in-between. Is this really a pall over Nebraska or Freemasonry for that matter as King so chillingly proclaimed? Or is it just another bump in the long road of independent governance that each state of Masonic fiefdoms cling to?
Truly in this train wreck, only time will tell which engine stays on the tracks and if it really reflects a knee jerk expulsion for moral turpitude or a claim of guilty until proven innocent.
Personally, if the facts are true, it’s not a very good example of Masonry to be put forth – period.
Its an interesting idea, a super close moon, and and a high astrological portent…
The term comes from Richard Nolle (aka Astropro – Certified Professional Astrologer) who coined it, according to his website, in 1981. Of the event, besides a myriad of planetary calamities of floods, fires, and earthquakes, Nolle says of the SuperMoons that they have a noteworthiness “for their close association with extreme tidal forces working in what astrologers of old used to call the sublunary world: the atmosphere, crust and oceans [and earth].”
Mark Paquette on the Accu Weather blog, states Nolle’s predictions to the celestial going on with the forcast which “will bring strong earthquakes and storms and/or unusual climate patterns.”
Who knows, sounds like their trying to pin the Japan quake on the phenominon.
Paquette points out what science believes are the benchmarks of the lunar rising saying
“there are scientific laws that say the moon affects the Earth (i.e. tides). There are also less proven theories that propose that the moon affects the Earth in other ways (i.e. abnormal behavior during a full moon [lunacy])
NASA scientist Jim Garvin had this to say of the Supermoon:
“‘Supermoon’ is a situation when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than on average, and this effect is most noticeable when it occurs at the same time as a full moon, So, the moon may seem bigger although the difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times.”
“It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect,” Garvin explained. “The ‘super’ in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer, but unless we were measuring the Earth-Moon distance by laser rangefinders (as we do to track the LRO [Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter] spacecraft in low lunar orbit and to watch the Earth-Moon distance over years), there is really no difference.”
Not so much a link to the Japanese quake Garvin says:
“The Earth has stored a tremendous amount of internal energy within its thin outer shell or crust, and the small differences in the tidal forces exerted by the moon (and sun) are not enough to fundamentally overcome the much larger forces within the planet due to convection (and other aspects of the internal energy balance that drives plate tectonics),”
Either way stock up on provisions just in case and break out the binoculars Saturday evening and enjoy the super moon.
NPR had an interesting story about the upcoming celebration of 150 years of the Italian Constitution and the apparent dis-unity between its Northern and Southern Region.
The statement was about the culminating fight in 1861 to create a liberal, unified Italy. Unified in that Italy prior to this revolution was the center occupations, revolution, and Papal monarchies, and European incursions.
In the story, the line that jumped out in the middle was about a present day conservative coalition that has espoused a separatist agenda from the unified Italy, called the Northern League.
Their present day disdain for a unified Italy comes with this condemnation about the Revolutions commander, Giuseppe Garibaldi. their comment in the piece was that “Garibaldi was a mercenary,…financed by English Freemasons.”
Just in trying to unravel the complexity of the Italian civil and political world in the 1860’s would take a few pages of preliminary explanation, but at the heart of the quote above is the idea that Garibaldi, and the revolutionary forces, were somehow Masonic in nature.
Foldout lithograph from Memoirs of the Secret Societies of the South of Italy, particularly the Carbonari - from the International Institute of Social History
Early, as Italian unity was beginning to take shape in the moral imagination of the peninsula’s inhabitants, it began to take shape in a patriotic and liberal secret society called the Carbonari, who were said to of organized in the form of Freemasonry, broken into small cells scattered across Italy – and more especially as it was populated by Freemasons attempting to separate the fraternity from the political movement.
From Wikipedia on the Carbonari:
The aim of Carbonari was the creation of a constitutional monarchy or a republic, they wanted also defend the rights of people against all forms of absolutism. Carbonari, to achieve their purpose, were ready to commit assassinations and armed revolts. The membership was separated into two classes—apprentice and master. There were two ways to become a master, through serving as an apprentice for at least six months or by being a Freemason on entry. Their initiation rituals were structured around the trade of charcoal-selling, hence their name.
It goes on to say that the Masonic revolutionaries were wiped out by 1831, but not after fomenting and revolting against the then Papal States of Pope Gregory XVI with the aid of the Austrian Army in Rome. And, the article suggests that it was the Carbonari Victory in Naples, in 1820, in which the Carbonari revolution in Naples led to King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies to promise a constitutional Monarchy and make concessions to revolutionaries.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
What strikes me is that it was in this vein that led to the future battles of Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860 and his push to unify the region which didn’t fully manifest for many years after in 1871 with the Franco-Prussian War to link it to the Carbonari/Freemason connection.
The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon has a terrific article on Garibaldi – the Mason which says of his Masonic career:
Garibaldi, as Fulvio Conti recounts in an article published in “Hiram” in 2002 on the occasion of the one hundred and twentieth anniversary of his death, was initiated into Freemasonry in 1844, at the age of thirty-seven, in the “L’Asil de la Vertud” Lodge of Montevideo. This was an irregular lodge under a Brazilian Freemasonry which was not recognised by the main international masonic obediences, such as the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Orient of France.
Later, in 1844 he regularised his position, joining the lodge “Les Amis de la Patrie” of Montevideo under the Grand Orient of France. Garibaldi entered Freemasonry during his exile, taking advantage of the asylum which was offered by the lodges to political refugees of European countries governed by despotic regimes hostile to democratic or nationalistic movements.
Garibaldi then attended the masonic lodges of New York in 1850 and London in 1853-54, where he met several supporters of democratic internationalism, whose minds were open to making socialist thoughts their own and give Freemasonry a strong anti-papal stand.
It makes for an interesting link, Garibaldi the Mason and the Revolutionary fore-bearers in the Carbonari, which leaves one to wonder if perhaps the Northern League might not just be plucking a ill-tuned cord in Italian history.
Garibaldi, if in fact was a Masonicly influenced revolutionary, seems to of had the right idea, at least about throwing in his aid to an early Civil War president Abraham Lincoln, offering his military prowess to the embattled president, as he ardently desired to do so was upon the “declaring the abolition of slavery”, which he suggested nearly 2 years before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
On a lighter side, why not just stay more up to date on the peccadilloes of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi which really seem to tumb-the-nose at the great achievements of his revolutionary predecessors.
In the mean time, a warm Masonic salute to 150 years of Italian Unification.
A new video out from the World Exemplification of Freemasonry by Br. Dr. Guy L Beck on Freemasonry in the British Empire and the Colonial expansion of Freemasonry into India.
The video WEOFM video explores the expansion of Freemasonry in the Hindu world including the notable Freemason, and Swami, Vivekananda who, while still named Narendranath Dutta, was Initiated in 1884 at Anchor and Hope Lodge No. 1, Kolkotta.
He opens with an excerpt from Professor Jessica Harland-Jacobs, who some may remember was a guest on Masonic Central. Makes for an interesting view.
Masonry helping the community, a subject near and dear to me especially given its taking shape in California.
The Masonic Homes of California today announced the opening of the Masonic Center for Youth and Families, a not-for-profit, outpatient facility that will provide integrated psychological services to youth ages 4 to 17 struggling with behavioral, academic, emotional, or social difficulties.
“Existing resources to help young people are strained and at times limited. The Masonic Center for Youth and Families is one of the few centers in the nation to bring together testing, assessment and treatment services under one roof,”
says Steffani Kizziar, executive director.
The center, located in San Francisco’s historic Presidio, is now accepting clients. Youth and families are eligible to receive services, which include:
Comprehensive assessment of the youth through cognitive, personality, and neuropsychological tests as well as interviews with the parents, teachers, and other individuals for additional insight
Psychodynamic psychotherapy, family therapy, and couples therapy treatment delivered through individual and group therapy and analysis
Comprehensive treatment management during and after care
“As professionals, we have witnessed attrition and oversimplification of needed services for children and adolescents,” says Dr. Terrence Owens, clinical director. “We are steadfast in our commitment to provide young people and their families the help they need and address psychological difficulties in a complex, comprehensive and thorough manner.”
Many of the staff professionals are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in various disciplines of the mental health field. The center’s integrative model of multidisciplinary collaboration among the clinical professionals provides the benefit of multiple perspectives for each client.
Each member of the center’s clinical staff holds advanced degrees and licenses and has an average of 20+ years of experience. Besides Dr. Owens, clinical director, key staff includes Philip Erdberg, PhD, research and assessment director, and Michael Bronzo, MD, medical director.
Charitable funding provided by the Masons of California allows the Masonic Center for Youth and Families to offer accessible treatment and flexible payment options. The center reviews each potential client on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all in need receive treatment, regardless of financial limitations.
“Our organization has been an advocate for youth and seniors for more than 110 years,” says Melvin Matsumoto, executive vice president of the Masonic Homes of California. “The founding of this center demonstrates our commitment to helping young people feel understood and empowered to realize their potential.”
For more information about the Masonic Center for Youth and Families, including the application and treatment process, visit www.mcyaf.org.
The center, from theirwebsite, says of its service:
The Masonic Center for Youth and Families is a place where young people who struggle with behavioral, learning, and psychological problems can unlock their full potential.
We form a complete picture of the young person’s life: how cheerful she is in the morning and how difficult her tantrums can be. That his report card shows Cs, but he invented a new axle for a truck when he was five. Then we base our treatment on what we learn.
We help young people find their voices, and then themselves.
This sounds like a terrific asset to the Golden State, and I’m really glad to see Masonic relief action.
What celebration of the study of mathematics would be complete without taking a day off for pie, strike that I mean Pi?
We can pick up a brief history on the numerical letter from Wikipedia which may pique the interest of some readers and its relation to the Temple of Solomon, as it reads…
The earliest known textually evidenced approximations date from around 1900 BC; they are 256/81 (Egypt) and 25/8 (Babylonia), both within 1% of the true value.[9] The Indian text Shatapatha Brahmana gives π as 339/108 ≈ 3.139. It has been suggested that passages in the 1 Kings 7:23 and 2 Chronicles 4:2 discussing a ceremonial pool in the temple of King Solomon with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits show that the writers considered pi to have had an approximate value of three, which various authors have tried to explain away through various suggestions such as a hexagonal pool or an outward curving rim.
Without getting into the mathematics of the irrational yet transcendent number, the number has a significance too for the calculations involved in the ancient exercise of squaring the circle, a past time often associated in the practice of Freemasonry – hence the Square and Compass. you can read an interesting article on the practice by Bro. William Steve Burkle KT, 32° in a paper titled Musings on the Geometric Properties of the Square and Compasses.
And, if your stuck on the idea of having pie for National Pi day, then NPR has a good write up on the subject with some tasty sounding recipes to celebrate the day with they did a neat story on the day too, with an audio clip on the “Sound of Pi by Michael Blake (the original video has been taken down, but you can still hear his musical arrangement in the NPR piece.
Here are a few more videos that relate the infinitely long series of numbers to musical notes, creating an interesting arrangement of modern sound.
And, if the math isn’t your thing, then just have some pie to celebrate as you continue trying to square that circle, something even Pike mentions in his 28th degree.
You can read more about what others are doing for Pi day at the Pi Day website.
Gene Weingarten from the Washington Post seems to think that only “ladies who are direct descendants of Cotton Mather, or…secret Masonic initiation rites involving men wearing aprons” sing the second stanza of the Star Spangled Banner.
It would be an interesting rant to rail on the guy for deciding to use Masonry in his description of which “creepy hyper patriotic gatherings” sing the added lines, but it does make for an interesting read. Maybe he was thinking of the Tea Partiers or something?
So, just for the record, Secret Masonic initiation Rites don’t sing the second stanza either… even if there are a few Masonic/Patriot reinactment groups out there.
Green Mountain Chapter, National Sojourners from http://www.vtfreemasons.org/photoalbum/pawin06.asp
For the record, this is the full version… And yeah, maybe Masonic blogs post the whole thing… just for the record.
Maybe he was thinking of the Krista Branch ” I am America” listening audience?
An interesting couple of facts, the song actually has 4 stanza’s and was written to the tune of a popular British drinking song for the Anacreontic Society, a popular gentlemen’s club of amateur musicians in London, so it goes in Wikipedia. They have an interetsing song that goes along with their name called The Anacreontic Song which goes something like this…
But back to the Star Spangled Banner, should you want to sing all 4 stanzas, the lyrics are:
O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
I wonder how much poor Christina Aguilera would of missed that mark.
Back to the drawing board on the virtues and vices of Moral Turpitude, this time woven again with the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Masonry where it is being tangled in with the moral law.
and/or explore the group who would make just such a Masonic-politico connection by exploring the Northern League itself in 
by Damian Tambini. Or, if European Secret Societies are of greater interest, check out 
by Bertoldi
