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.
Observations on the esoteric from author Greg Stewart (Masonic Traveler) about the fraternity of Freemasonry, its impact on civil society and contributions to the material culture.
This is a subject I’ve explored on a few occasions, but upon finding these videos, I thought they could better illustrate the working of the Order.
Perhaps unnecessary to say, like most religions the present day Golden Dawn comes in several styles, each practicing in a lineage from the systems founders – William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. Of interesting relevancy, each was a Freemason and a member of S.R.I.A., the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia which is a Trinitarian Christian Masonic order.
While the videos present an interesting glimpse of costumed ceremony, I found a tremendous insight in reading The Essential Golden Dawn by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. The books subtitle is An Introduction to High Magic, but what I found most interesting were the descriptions of the degrees and grades of membership. The Cicero’s do their level best to describe the work, which by most concerned with the order, consider it magic.
“Magic”, the Cicero’s say, “inclines toward thinking and doing while religion gravitates toward feeling and being. The two are very definitely related, but they are not identical. The yearning for the supernatural propels them both, though in different ways.”
As a good primer, The Essential Golden Dawn will satisfy a more than passive curiosity about the system and give you a better than Wikipedia sense of its history and key players. What I found most valuable was the in detail descriptions of the grades.
In contrast, I looked at Israel Regardie’s The Golden Dawn for an examination of the rituals and was surprised by their similarity to, what I can only assume to be, their Masonic inspiration. This parallel is a theme echoed by the Cicero’s when they say of the Golden Dawn that “…the initiation ceremonies of the Golden Dawn are based on a series of mystery plays or ritual dramas in which the officers reenact specific mythologies that are essential to the Western Esoteric Tradition.” Ritual plays, I believe, are the foundation of the Masonic ritual, of at least the third degree. Regardie’s work is an apostasy of sorts given his publication of the Golden Dawn rituals.
Not so much in the details, but in the space between them. Often, the parallels come in the ideas or the word usage which triggers the Masonic memory that a “so mote it be” can do. But reading the rituals for depth, what struck me was the emphasis of trying to derive a greater symbolic meaning from the costumes, wands, rituals, and ephemera.
This parallel is a theme echoed by the Cicero’s when they say of the Golden Dawn that “…the initiation ceremonies of the Golden Dawn are based on a series of mystery plays or ritual dramas in which the officers reenact specific mythologies that are essential to the Western Esoteric Tradition.” Ritual plays, I believe, are the foundation of the Masonic ritual, of at least the third degree. Regardie’s work is an apostasy of sorts given his publication of the Golden Dawn rituals in 1971. Yet, it was his publication of those rituals which most who practice the system today say saved it from extinction.
So, without going into more of the history or the books, have a look at a few videos from the Golden Dawn tradition.
This video has a lot of circumambulation and ritual practice.
I was cleaning up some past posts on the site and happened onto one from 2009 about the 10 Year Anniversary of Phoenix Masonry. In the post was a mention of Brother Henry O. Studley’s tool box, which prompted me to do a quick search for it online.
Wikipedia says of the chest that…
When closed and hanging on a wall it takes up an area of approximately 39 inches by 20 inches with a 9 inch depth. It opens to become a 40 inch by 40 inch tool chest. The chest is made out of , and mother of pearl, materials that were probably taken from the Poole Piano Company’s scrap material. Read more on Wikipedia about Henry O. Studley.
The story goes that before Br. Studley died in 1925, he gave the chest to a friend which has made its way to the Smithsonian in the late 1980s and later into a private collection..
Early in the search I found this…
The tip off link in the video comes at 1:28, but you have to look sharp to catch it. When you watch, try and absorb the craftsmanship.
At the end, the narrator from the DiY channel says “One can only imagine the kind of piano that Mr. Studley was able to build.”
I can imagine Studley building the kind of piano not made by hands…
This collection of Albert Pike Quotes comes from the Apprentice Degree in Morals and Dogma.
While one could extract all manner of quotes from the book, these struck me as most succinct of his teachings as they seem to emit double or triple understandings to their meaning. As he progresses in the degrees you can definitely sense his take on the the more esoteric side of the fraternity, of which this is a taste.
FORCE, unregulated or ill-regulated, is not only wasted in the void, like that of gunpowder burned in the open air, and steam unconfined by science; but, striking in the dark, and its blows meeting only the air, they recoil and bruise itself.
The blind Force of the people is a Force that must be economized, and also managed, as the blind Force of steam, lifting the ponderous iron arms and turning the large wheels, is made to bore and rifle the cannon and to weave the most delicate lace. It must be regulated by Intellect.
Intellect is to the people and the people’s Force, what the slender needle of the compass is to the ship–its soul, always counseling the huge mass of wood and iron, and always pointing to the north.
Thought is a force, and philosophy should be an energy, finding its aim and its effects in the amelioration of mankind.
The two great motors are Truth and Love.
The POWER of the Deity Himself is in equilibrium with His WISDOM. Hence the only results are HARMONY.
Deeds of daring dazzle history, and form one class of the guiding lights of man. They are the stars and coruscation from that great sea of electricity, the Force inherent in the people.
To strive, to brave all risks, to perish, to persevere, to be true to one’s self, to grapple body to body with destiny, to surprise defeat by the little terror it inspires, now to confront unrighteous power, now to defy intoxicated triumph–these are the examples that the nations need and the light that electrifies them.
It is the force of the people that sustains all these despotisms, the basest as well as the best.
Less glory is more liberty.
Thus the spirit of liberty and innovation is reduced by bayonets, and principles are struck dumb by cannon-shot; while the monks mingle with the troopers, and the Church militant and jubilant, Catholic or Puritan, sings Te Deums for victories over rebellion.
The force of the people is exhausted in indefinitely prolonging things long since dead; in governing mankind by embalming old dead tyrannies of Faith; restoring dilapidated dogmas; re gilding faded, worm-eaten shrines; whitening and rouging ancient and barren superstitions; saving society by multiplying parasites; perpetuating superannuated institutions; enforcing the worship of symbols as the actual means of salvation; and tying the dead corpse of the Past, mouth to mouth, with the living Present.
Despotisms, seen in the past, become respectable, as the mountain, bristling with volcanic rock, rugged and horrid, seen through the haze of distance is blue and smooth and beautiful.
The sight of a single dungeon of tyranny is worth more, to dispel illusions, and create a holy hatred of despotism, and to direct FORCE aright, than the most eloquent volumes.
The FORCE of the people cannot, by its unrestrained and fitful action, maintain and continue in action and existence a free Government once created. That Force must be limited, restrained, conveyed by distribution into different channels…
The FORCE of the people, or the popular will, in action and exerted, symbolized by the GAVEL, regulated and guided by and acting within the limits of LAW and ORDER, symbolized by the TWENTY-FOUR-INCH RULE, has for its fruit LIBERTY, EQUALITY, and FRATERNITY,–liberty regulated by law; equality of rights in the eye of the law; brotherhood with its duties and obligations as well as its benefits.
The rough Ashlar is the PEOPLE, as a mass, rude and unorganized. The perfect Ashlar, or cubical stone, symbol of perfection, is the STATE, the rulers deriving their powers from the con-sent of the governed…
Though Masonry neither usurps the place of, nor apes religion, prayer is an essential part of our ceremonies. It is the aspiration of the soul toward the Absolute and Infinite Intelligence, which is the One Supreme Deity, most feebly and mis-understandingly characterized as an “ARCHITECT.”
The unknown is an ocean, of which conscience is the compass. Thought, meditation, prayer, are the great mysterious pointing of the needle. It is a spiritual magnetism that thus connects the human soul with the Deity.
It is but a shallow scoff to say that prayer is absurd, because it is not possible for us, by means of it, to persuade God to change His plans.
Our free agency and our will are forces. We do not absurdly cease to make efforts to attain wealth or happiness, prolong life, and continue health, because we cannot by any effort change what is predestined. If the effort also is predestined, it is not the less our effort, made of our free will. So, likewise, we pray. Will is a force. Thought is a force. Prayer is a force.
Man is not to be comprehended as a starting-point, or progress as a goal, without those two great forces, Faith and Love. Prayer is sublime.
Every Lodge is a Temple, and as a whole, and in its details symbolic. The Universe itself supplied man with the model for the first temples reared to the Divinity.
It is the Master of this Lodge, of the Universe, Hermes, of whom Khurum(Hiram) is the representative, that is one of the lights of the Lodge.
To study and seek to interpret correctly the symbols of the Universe, is the work of the sage and philosopher. It is to decipher the writing of God, and penetrate into His thoughts.
… Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, are the perfections of everything, and nothing can endure without them.
… there should be Wisdom to conceive, Strength to support, and Beauty to adorn, all great and important undertakings.
The Wisdom and Power of the Deity are in equilibrium.
Omnipotent power, infinite, and existing alone, would necessarily not be constrained to consistency.
The laws of God are not obligatory on us because they are the enactments of His POWER, or the expression of His WILL; but because they express His infinite WISDOM. They are not right because they are His laws, but His laws because they are right.
Wisdom, Power, and Harmony constitute one Masonic triad
…the wisdom of the Architect is displayed in combining, as only a skillful Architect can do, and as God has done everywhere,–for example, in the tree, the human frame, the egg, the cells of the honeycomb–strength, with grace, beauty, symmetry, proportion, lightness, ornamentation.
Harmony in this, as in all the Divine, the material, and the human, is the result of equilibrium, of the sympathy and opposite action of contraries; a single Wisdom above them holding the beam of the scales.
To reconcile the moral law, human responsibility, free-will, with the absolute power of God; and the existence of evil with His absolute wisdom, and goodness, and mercy,–these are the great enigmas of the Sphinx.
The Dimensions of the Lodge, our Brethren of the York Rite say, “are unlimited, and its covering no less than the canopy of Heaven.” “To this object,” they say, “the mason’s mind is continually directed, and thither he hopes at last to arrive by the aid of the theological ladder which Jacob in his vision saw ascending from earth to Heaven; the three principal rounds of which are denominated Faith, Hope, and Charity; and which admonish us to have Faith in God, Hope in Immortality, and Charity to all mankind.”
The Square is a right angle, formed by two right lines. It is adapted only to a plane surface, and belongs only to geometry, earth-measurement, that trigonometry which deals only with planes, and with the earth, which the ancients supposed to be a plane. The Compass describes circles, and deals with spherical trigonometry, the science of the spheres and heavens. The former, therefore, is an emblem of what concerns the earth and the body; the latter of what concerns the heavens and the soul.
… still the divine ever mingles with the human; with the earthly the spiritual intermixes; and there is something spiritual in the commonest duties of life.
… woe to that people which, seeking the material only, forgets that it has a soul.
Genuflection before the idol or the dollar atrophies the muscle which walks and the will which moves.
Hieratic or mercantile absorption diminishes the radiance of a people, lowers its horizon by lowering its level, and deprives it of that understanding of the universal aim, at the same time human and divine, which makes the missionary nations.
A free people, forgetting that it has a soul to be cared for, devotes all its energies to its material advancement.
The citizens copy after the State, and regard wealth, pomp, and luxury as the great goods of life. Such a nation creates wealth rapidly, and distributes it badly. Thence the two extremes, of monstrous opulence and monstrous misery; all the enjoyment to a few, all the privations to the rest, that is to say, to the people; Privilege, Exception, Monopoly, Feudality, springing up from Labor itself: a false and dangerous situation, which, making Labor a blinded and chained Cyclops, in the mine, at the forge, in the workshop, at the loom, in the field, over poisonous fumes, in miasmatic cells, in unventilated factories, founds public power upon private misery, and plants the greatness of the State in the suffering of the individual.
It is a greatness ill constituted, in which all the material elements are combined, and into which no moral element enters. If a people, like a star, has the right of eclipse, the light ought to return.
The Sun is the ancient symbol of the life-giving and generative power of the Deity. To the ancients, light was the cause of life; and God was the source from which all light flowed; the essence of Light, the Invisible Fire, developed as flame manifested as light and splendor.
The Sun was His manifestation and visible image; and the Sabæans worshiping the Light–God, seemed to worship the Sun, in whom they saw the manifestation of the Deity.
The “Master of Life” was the Supreme Deity, above both, and manifested through both; Zeus, the Son of Saturn, become King of the Gods; Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, become the Master of Life; Dionysus or Bacchus, like Mithras, become the author of Light and Life and Truth.
The Sun and Moon represent the two grand principles of all generations, the active and passive, the male and the female. The Sun represents the actual light. He pours upon the Moon his fecundating rays; both shed their light upon their offspring, the Blazing Star, or HORUS, and the three form the great Equilateral Triangle, in the center of which is the omnific letter of the Kabbalah, by which creation is said to have been effected.”
The word Prudentia means, in its original and fullest signification, Foresight; and, accordingly, the Blazing Star has been regarded as an emblem of Omniscience, or the All-seeing Eye, which to the Egyptian Initiates was the emblem of Osiris, the Creator. With the YOD in the center, it has the kabbalistic meaning of the Divine Energy, manifested as Light, creating the Universe.
The JUSTICE and MERCY of God are in equilibrium, and the result is HARMONY, because a Single and Perfect Wisdom presides over both.
…the great commandment of Masonry is this: “A new commandment give I unto you: that ye love one another! He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, remaineth still in the darkness.”
Many great deeds are done in the small struggles of life. There is, we are told, a determined though unseen bravery, which defends itself, foot to foot, in the darkness, against the fatal invasion of necessity and of baseness.
There are noble and mysterious triumphs, which no eye sees, which no renown rewards, which no flourish of trumpets salutes.
Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment, poverty, are battle-fields, which have their heroes, – heroes obscure, but sometimes greater than those who become illustrious. The Mason should struggle in the same manner, and with the same bravery, against those invasions of necessity and baseness, which come to nations as well as to men. He should meet them, too, foot to foot, even in the darkness, and protest against the national wrongs and follies; against usurpation and the first inroads of that hydra, Tyranny.
The protest of the Right against the Fact persists forever.
Whatever occurs, we should have Faith in the Justice and over-ruling Wisdom of God, and Hope for the Future, and Loving-kindness for those who are in error. God makes visible to men His will in events; an obscure text, written in a mysterious language. Men make their translations of it forthwith, hasty, incorrect, full of faults, omissions, and misreading.
It is absurd to say that Error, wounded, writhes in pain, and dies amid her worshipers. Truth conquers slowly. There is a wondrous vitality in Error. Truth, indeed, for the most part, shoots over the heads of the masses; or if an error is prostrated for a moment, it is up again in a moment, and as vigorous as ever. It will not die when the brains are out, and the most stupid and irrational errors are the longest-lived.
Masonry should be an energy; finding its aim and effect in the amelioration of mankind.
Morality is Faith in full bloom. Contemplation should lead to action, and the absolute be practical; the ideal be made air and food and drink to the human mind. Wisdom is a sacred communion. It is only on that condition that it ceases to be a sterile love of Science, and becomes the one and supreme method by which to unite Humanity and arouse it to concerted action. Then Philosophy becomes Religion.
…Masonry, like History and Philosophy, has eternal duties…
To be true, and to seek to find and learn the Truth, are the great objects of every good Mason.
On this national Holiday, we are to reflect and celebrate one of the greatest Americans in our pantheon of Founding Fathers, Martin Luther King, Jr. One of his many contributions to our American way of life came at one of his darkest hours which produced one of his brightest writings in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. In it, king gives us an insight to the truth behind his protests and a reflection in how far afield we, as a nation, have walked from justice which we derive out of our own understanding of the moral law.
Masonry speaks at many levels about the Moral Law, how it is a rule and guide to what ‘being’ a Freemason is all about.
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail which was an answer to his criticism for his peaceful protests in the south in pursuit of equality between white and black Americans.
In his letter, King writes to address criticism made against his presence in the Alabama protests to southern religious leaders who, in their collective opinion, thought the American Negro should wait for their equality, which King says acts as a “tranquilizing thalidomide” which, in the African American ear rings as a justice “never” to be had.
If you’ve never taken the time to read his letter, I highly suggest you not only read it, but take some time to understand his meaning and intent behind it, especially on this day of remembrance.
But, my purpose here is to look at his teaching of the Moral Law and how that squares with the Masonic understanding as taught in the fraternity’s catechism. In his letter King, talking about the unjust laws of segregation, says that a just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. He says “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”
At the time of his writing, segregation was a daily reality for black Americans, which “distorts the soul and damages the personality” giving the “…segregator a false sense of superiority, and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.”
So what does this have to do with the Moral Law of Masonry? First we need to understand how masonry sees the Moral Law, which is something I explored in 2010 in Whence came the Moral Law in Freemasonry?In that piece, the question asked was “Is the Moral Law from a religious perspective, as in given to man by the Great Architect, or a man made law constructed with religious ideas but applied in a humanistic manner so as to apply to our interaction with one another?” My conclusion, after looking at several sources, was that the idea of the Moral Law was best exemplified as being “…the virtues which we ought to cultivate, always tend to our own happiness, and that the best means of promoting them consists in living with men in that perfect union and charity which are cemented by mutual benefits.”
In essence, the Moral Law could be distilled down to living of the Golden Rule which, in the Christian faith, comes from Matthew 7:12 which says:
“In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law of the prophets.”
Interestingly this is a Rule, Law, or Code that is in nearly every faith system.
So, what lesson can we take away from Kings Injunction of the Moral Law and the Masonic application of it? Essentially, King and his peaceful protest to fight injustice in American society was a challenge to fight a law of segregation that was out of harmony with the moral law, even though many felt that it was. His example was to examine a just and unjust law saying “An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority that is not binding on itself…difference made legal” while “a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow that is willing to follow itself,” or “sameness” made legal.
The greatest stumbling block to this sameness is not the extremist of ideal but the “…moderate who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” In other words, not going with the status quo and working to make things better for all.
Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Further in the letter King asks “…Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love?” He also writes about the role of religious institutions and their lethargy in the movement to end segregation as “…a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a taillight behind our community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice.” which I believe could be applied to religiously concerned fraternities who hold so dearly to be upholders of the idea of a Moral Law.
Needless to say, King was angry at the position religious leaders of the south had taken and puts the challenge to them to aspire to justice and the upholding of the moral law saying “There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early church Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” But he goes on to challenge the church saying “The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound…so often the arch-supporter of the status quo” that “…if the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant ‘Social Club’ with no meaning for the twentieth century (emphasis mine).”
Again, on this Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday, I strongly recommend reading his letter so as to gain a better understanding of the past within which it was written and to apply that understanding to the injustice that remains to this day, now nearly 60 years since its writing. When you read it ask yourself if your institutions of association application put you in the headlights or the taillights leading to higher levels of justice. As you read it, reflect on the ideals of the Moral Law, in society and in Masonry, and what it means to you in your faith, practice, and understanding of justice, as without it no law could be truly just.
The U.S. Constitution says in the first amendment that
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
The enactment of this prohibition prevented the Federal government from establishing a national church or religion or to excessively involve itself in religion in general but particularly to the benefit of one religion over another.
The outcome of this prohibition in the 200 plus years since its signing is today a pantheon of religious practice across America and a change in the national practice of faith. In effect, the establishment of religious freedom has allowed for a unique form of national religion to emerge with its own set of practices, rituals, and traditions. It is in effect, an American religion, established in the vacuum of any other religious tradition.
So as to make the point, every year 25 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. Each one of these 30 million trees are placed prominently in the home, business, or Public Square, and then decorated with elaborate representations of riches and finery so as to make this mundane tree of wood and leaf become something of a dramatic representation of splendor. Once decorated, many place equally stunning packages of varying size and decoration beneath it. And lastly, to punctuate the bedazzled tree and packages, many households hold elaborate parties within which many a carol is sung in its presence and special libations of holiday beverages (Eggnog anyone?) poured in commemoration of the trees decoration.
Dog Nativity Scene Even Jesus Would Love! from bestweekever.tv http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-12-21/dog-nativity-scene/
Amidst the special tree are a few ancillary affects which include a mysterious pot bellied man in a red suit who spreads cheer and mirth through magical gift giving, to whom many a child is taught to set out offerings of milk and cookies. And, under many of those trees is a small decorative Crèche, often remade with the pop culture cons of the day in representation of its historical significance.
Amazingly, nowhere is this ritual practice and performance written down or made sacred through any writing or sacred tradition.
Rather, its ideas are passed to the public through the things we buy such as the soft drink Coke, or its harder cousin Budweiser which annually make images of how to celebrate the holiday with their products. Or, in even more rabid devices created to influence your decisions in making purchases of gifts quelling your need to buy and collect for yourself and appealing to your need to appease the wants of those you love.
No, this American Religious tradition is unique and one within which art imitates life which is imitating art. Not many of us pull the candy canes and twinkle lights out in October, yet stores slowly begin to remind us of the coming tree adulating season.
Mind you, they’re not saying here comes the Christ’s Mass, their saying here comes Christmas, here come the holidays, or just simply Happy Holidays.
In case you didn’t make the connection, every December 25th, we celebrate Christmas which, as religious traditions go, is the birth of the Christian Christ Jesus. Yet, in the increasingly secular and religiously diverse America, we’ve kept the name of christmas (note the lowercase c) and created our own national religious holiday season.
But, this American Religion isn’t alone in its incorporation of the holiday and, in case you missed them, other religious holidays happen in December which only help to lend themselves to the greater notion of a Holiday Season so as to recognize everyone’s faith.
Islam celebrated Ashura on the 5th. Ashura is the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar marking the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram. It is a Shi’a Muslim day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH (680 A.D.)
Buddhism, the much admired Eastern tradition, had Bodhi Day on the 8th which is celebrated as the day that the historical Buddha experience enlightenment.
Catholic Christians Celebrate several special days along with the Christian Mass including Saint Nicholas Day on the 6th. Saint Nick is perhaps the origin of the idea of Santa Clause as he is commonly called Nikolaos the Wonderworker for his secret gift giving. Also in December is The Immaculate Conception day on the 8th which celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the Feast Day for the Virgin of Guadalupe on the 12th which is to commemorate the vision on the Tepeyac hill by the recently converted Aztec Indian, Juan Diego, of the Nahuatl Virgin Mary.
Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, is celebrated from the 21st through the 28th in remembrance of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt.
Pagan/Wiccan communities celebrate the Solstice with a Yule celebration on the 22nd. Yule is most likely the Germanic source for much of our winter arboreal adulation as it is a winter holiday consisting of feasting and celebration at the changing of the solstice. Today, the burning of a Yule log is a common theme which harkens back to this tradition.
On the 26th, Zoroastrian’s celebrate Zarathosht Diso, the death of Prophet Zarathushtra. The celebration of this holiday, held annually on December 26th is often a private and personal one held within homes and temples without an external manifestation.
Not to forget in Masonic tradition, St. John the Evangelist’s feast day on December 27th, most commonly celebrated on or near the solstice and a day to reconnect with your Masonic brothers after having been away. Often, if celebrated, it is with a Festive Board or Table Lodge.
And, one of my personal favorites is the remembrance of Saturnalia, the Roman era festival held in celebration in honor of the god Saturn, the father of the god Jupiter. In ancient times, this feast took place from December 17 through the 23rd and is thought to of begun around 217 B.C.E. Ironically (or perhaps not) the holiday consisted of celebrations, gift giving, and visiting of friends. The customary greeting for the holiday was “Io, Saturnalia!” Io pronounced “e-o”) which is a Latin interjection such as “ho” as in “Ho, praise to Saturn.”
With so many holidays and celebrations going on in December, it’s ok to step back and look at the months many celebrations and say Happy Holidays without stepping on your religious toes or secular admonishment of religion. Because Congress shall “make no law respecting an establishment of religion” its up to us to celebrate however we want – be it as one of the 30 million christmas tree buyers or as Buddhist celebrating the day of enlightenment. In either case, it make no difference, by the fact of our communal celebration we together are creating an American Religious Holiday.
THIS IS AN UPDATE – due to scheduling issues, the date of the Symposium on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism has changed – it will take place on April 28, 2012. The call for papers has been extended to January 2, 2012.
CALL FOR PAPERS – Symposium on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism. National Heritage Museum, Lexington, Massachusetts Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism – Saturday, April 28, 2012
The National Heritage Museum will be holding its biannual symposium, Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism, on April 28, 2012, at the museum, in Lexington, Massachusetts. We are now seeking paper proposals for the symposium.
The National Heritage Museum is an American history museum founded and supported by Scottish Rite Freemasons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States. As the repository of one of the largest collections of American Masonic and fraternal objects, books and manuscripts in the United States, the Museum aims to foster new research on American fraternalism and to encourage the use of its scholarly resources.
The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. Diverse perspectives on this topic are sought; proposals are invited from a broad range of research areas, including history, material and visual culture, anthropology, sociology, literary studies and criticism, gender studies, political science, African American studies, art history, economics, or any combination of disciplines. Perspectives on and interpretations of all time periods are welcome.
Possible topics include:
Comparative studies of American fraternalism and European or other international forms of fraternalism
Prince Hall Freemasonry and other African-American fraternal groups
Ethnically- and religiously-based fraternal groups
Fraternal groups for women or teens
Role of fraternal groups in social movements
The material culture of Freemasonry and fraternalism
Anti-Masonry and anti-fraternal movements, issues and groups
Fraternal symbolism and ritual
The expression of Freemasonry and fraternalism through art, music, and literature
Approaches to Freemasonry – from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transnational perspectives; the historiography and methodology of the study of American fraternalism
Proposals should be for 30 minute research papers; the day’s schedule will allow for audience questions and feedback.
Proposal Format: Submit an abstract of 400 words or less with a resume or c.v. that is no more than two pages. Be sure to include full contact information (name, address, email, phone, affiliation).
Send proposals to: Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., Director of Collections, National Heritage Museum, by email at anewell@monh.org or by mail to 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421.
Deadline for proposals to be received is January 2, 2012. For more information about the National Heritage Museum, see www.nationalheritagemuseum.org. For questions, contact Aimee E. Newell as above, or call 781-457-4144.
I picked this up through one of the channels that buzz on the internet about Freemasonry.
It seems a radicalized line of Evangelical Christianity is putting thought to action in a November 11th, 2011 call to action to liberate Michigan, the United States, and the rest of the world, from the demons of Baal.
This isn’t something just hatched out of a moments thought. It comes from an effort that has been on the drawing board for more than a year with this idea being the intense topic of discussion and prayer within their precincts under the religious organization Transformation Michigan.
Their aim is to mobilize churches, people, and ministries on 11/11/11 to bring a Great Awakening of America by reaching Muslims with the love of Christ, Raise up the Black Prayer Movement, bring to light Pro-life and Family Issues with Biblical Social Justice. Also on their prayer agenda is the hope to raise Economic Conditions in Michigan and Returning our Nation to a Biblical Worldview and Preservation and Safety of America.
Oh, and they want to do it, explicitly, with the eradication of Freemasonry and Islam in mind.
Rachel Tabachnick on Talk to Action has a synopsis of the planned attack from Transformation Michigan on November 11th.
This last aspect comes out of the West Michigan Prayer Center which bills itself as a trans-denominational Kingdom Building Ministry dedicated to preparing the way of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they aim to achieve their goals by trespassing with teams in Michigan intercessors at Mosques and Masonic lodges in the state to perform a “divorce” ritual from Baal.
Luckily, the organization has a website that talks about their plan, and they’ve made a video about it too.
What really strikes a cord is their reason for doing this and how they came upon their logic for it. It’s disagreeable enough that any group sees the need to impose their religious ideology on other faiths, but to take it to others houses of worship to impose their ideology seems more a bully provocation than a sweet welcome to the neighborhood greeting.
Freemasonry gets wrapped into the equation through a series of conference calls on the subject hosted by Transformation Michigan, the group behind the November 11th call to action. In the audio call below, from 4.11.2011, deals specifically with their supposed connection of Freemasonry and Islam in a talk given by Pastor Bill Suddeth.
[podcast]http://newsite.transformmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Bill-Suddeth-Free-Masonry-and-Islam-41111.mp3[/podcast]
Suddeth comes out of R.A.M. Ministries which is a branch of the International Society of Deliverance Ministers, a denomination of Apostolic Pentecostal Evangelism, which is itself a fairly young line of Christianity. What Suddeth believes, and tells this audio audience, is that as Islam is big in Dearborn Michigan, it is in fact the Shriners who have opened the door for radical Islam with their logos (Scimitar, Star, and Isis) and rituals held in their temples. Given that Masonry is the path to Shriners, the Masons are therefore the target for his consternation, aka witch-hunt. Listen for yourself to the audio recording and judge their ideas and actions for yourself, and correct me if I’ve missed anything.
The sad thing is that no one among Suddeth’s, Warzywak’s, or Christopher’s ministries have EVER taken the time to reach out to local Freemasons or Shriners to ask them about it, at least in any way within which they make claim. Suddeth says as much explaining with Rick Warzywak the need for spiritual Special Forces to eradicate these demonic influences.
Suddeth has an interesting webpage dedicated to the subject of Tearing down the Strongman Freemasonry and his 50 state tour, for which he takes a love offering to come out and give an 8 hour lecture on the links between Freemasonry and Islam.
Suddeth, a self described former drug addict and alcoholic, is dubbed the foremost expert of what Freemasonry is doing to America, and has his teaching on the web, which you can watch here.
It’s long, but you must watch the video above.
The sad thing is that Suddeth had a father who was a Mason and took him to Shrine parades.
Somewhere in this miasma these groups have directly linked Freemasonry with Islam as conduits by which Baal has been allowed into America. Their goal is to dismantle the idolatrous worship structures, which includes the Masonic lodge. Using biblical references of destroying idolaters, which is in a manner a religious hate speech, they admittedly have maps to locations and teams of prayer warriors ready to intercede for you. Throughout the speakers us military terms to refer to their prayer intercessors and use innuendo of “striking first” to drive out
This is like a Jack Chick cartoon book made manifest. What strikes me is that this kind of activity is a violating act of religious in toleration and really only a step or two away from inciting some act of violence against those who don’t see faith in the same way that they do especially when using language that is a clear reference to violence.
As a side note, much of the call to action for this intolerance comes from John Benefiel and Cindy Jacobs who were both endorsers of Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Perry and his prayer event in Houston a few months back.
So, on 11/11/11 and you’re in Michigan, keep your eyes out for TheCall prayer warriors trespassing intercessors at your lodge to offer up a prayer. And, if anyone has a lead for where and when Suddeth is going to be in So Cal, I’d love to get wind of it to sit in and have a chat with him.
It’s Halloween, time for spooky movies, and the new film Paranormal Activity 3 does a terrific job in delivering the spooktacular. If you haven’t followed the series, Paranormal Activity 3 is actually the first story installment of the trilogy giving us the foundation of its Paranormal predecessors.
I won’t give away the plot (big house, bumps in the night, and Ghost Hunter esque videography) but in the climax of the movie, the audience is treated to a glimpse of perhaps why the activity is so paranormal and a tease of things to come. Its a fun film and perfect for the season and with the end of the film, I can only say that there needs to be a pre-prequel to tell the story of the apparition/demon Toby and what really is going on at Grandmas house. But it was the end of the film that I found myself pulling it into the Masonic nexus of freemason symbols.
Neared its end, there came a scene that made me chuckle and find a thread to pull with a link to Freemasonry. In the films transition from a faux cinéma vérité into a DIY shaky camera aesthetic, a la Blair Witch Project, we catch a glimpse of the why the activity is so paranormal. This is the last 15 minutes of the film that Derrick Deane of Fandango.com says “.. will ‘Mess You Up For Life'” which is right about where we find the Masonic connection.
It’s obvious that the sinister Paranormal Activity is coming from somewhere. Its not so obvious from where. Its not the benign ghosts from the Disney Haunted Mansion, or the night vision sleuthing of Syfy’s Ghost Hunters. On the wall, in the manner of the Satanic Panic films from the 80’s, is the Luciferian leverage to make it really creepy.
If you go watch the film, pay attention to the unicorn.
In the blur between the faux cinéma vérité and shakey cam we, from the vantage of the hapless cinematographer and stepfather Dennis, find ourselves looking for the missing wife and step kids amidst a flurry of things that go bump in the night. There, on the all where the cute and cuddly unicorn once rested is a modified Magical Triangle of Solomon followed by a quick camera pan to the infamous Sigil of Baphomet on the opposite wall.
While, neither of the symbols are truly freemason symbols, the Magical Triangle comes out of a tradition of King Solomon, the wise king and one third Master Architect behind the construction of the great Temple constructed in his name to house the ark of the covenant.
Christian tradition holds the wise king was benign and kingly in status, but when you read deeper into the subtext of Judaism and Islam, as Lon Milo Duquette does in his book The Key to Solomon’s Key: Is This the Lost Symbol of Masonry?, we discover a king, prophet, and wizard, on the level of the great eastern Magi. Duquette writes “…he [Solomon] could talk with animals, fly through the air on a magical carpet, and cause others to fly through the air to him.” One other thing Solomon is thought to of done was summon evil spirits. The Triangle comes out of a work called The Lesser Key of Solomon the King or Clavicula Solominis Regis, a work originally translated by MacGregor Mathers who, in occult circles, was a well known Golden Dawn mage and Masonic devotee in the rebirth of magical spiritualism.
As the symbol goes the triangle with the circle, Duquette refers to is as the Magical Triangle within which Solomon commanded evil spirits. As it was used in ritual practice, it was a place on within which the magician inscribed on the ground to hold the demons he summoned. While it looks good in the movie on a wall, the symbols when used to summon “evil spirits” it is to be made 2 feet from a Magical Circle on the ground in evocations.
The Sigil of Baphomet is a bit more abstract in the Masonic landscape. Coming out of the work of French Occultist Eliphas Lévi, the pentagram with a rams head is more a device to illustrate (represent) evil than serve as any summoning symbol. Often the illustration includes the words Samael and Lilith which are inscribed in the middle and come from the work La Clef de la magie noire, by French Occultist Stanislas de Guaita. Guaita was a student of Levi’s work and elaborated in image to Levi’s conception. The Church of Satan website says of the symbol “…oriented in the opposite direction, the pentagrammatic Star is nothing more than a symbol of iniquity, perdition, blasphemy: its two points in the air become the horns of the foul Goat threatening Heaven, and whose head is framed with the stellar pentacle, with its low ears in the side branches, and its beard in disorder in the single lower point.”
Levi’s work, in time, became important in the occult world at the rise of spiritualism in the late 1800’s along side with tarot cards, Ouija boards, astrology, and séances. Evidence of Levi’s influence can be traced into the workings of the Golden Dawn which is in and of itself an extrapolation of Masonic degree work.
So, with those two images at the end of the film, from an occultist’s point of view, it’s easy to see the film maker’s idea of connecting the Paranormal Activity to some form of magical summoning from which the terror ensues. Without a doubt, the two symbols have been absorbed by the black magic community and fallen into the material culture of all things evil, with Paranormal Activity 3 becoming the latest instance. As viewers watch the film and begin to ask themselves the meaning of the two symbols, it makes me wonder if it will incite another decade of Satanic Panic as it did in the 80’s or if the sinister black magic of the cinema will be treated as just another work of cult fiction made to titillate the timid with the evils of witchcraft and black magic shrouded in the horror things that go bump in the night.
Collected here are notable dates to those in the history of Freemasonry and founding dates of particular aspects of the craft.
If you know of a particular date that’s not on the list, drop it in the comments, and it will be added to the roll.
Unlike national holidays or religious observance holidays, these may (or may not) be widely celebrated, but should perhaps be considered as special days of note in the Masonic calendar and days to give pause for a few moments to reflect on their significance to the wider craft.
This is a living post in that it will be open to additions in the future.
Masonic Notable Dates
January
January 4–8, 1808 – Grand Lodge of Ohio was establishedº≠ January 9, 1844 – Grand Lodge of Iowa Founded January 12th, 1886 – Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 Consecrated in London January 13, 1818 – Grand Lodge of Indiana established º January 14, 1892 – The beginning of the Allied Masonic Degrees in America January 17, 1706 – Ben Franklin born. Statesman, Diplomat, Past Grand Master January 17, 1865 – Grand Lodge of Nevada was founded in Virginia City, Nevada January 17, 1872 – Grand Lodge of Utah was established≠ January 23, 1910 – SCIOTS adopted their name (originally Boosters from 1905) January 25 1759 – Robert Burns born (d. July 21 1796)º January 26, 1866 – Grand Lodge of Montana was founded≠ January 27, 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born (d.5 December 1791)º
February
February 7, 1981 – Grand Lodge of Alaska was established in Anchorage, Alaska February 19, 1811 – Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia founded February 22, 1732 – George Washington born, first President of the United States February 24, 1853 – Grand Lodge of Minnesota foundedº
March
March 6, 1775 – Prince Hall, was made a Master Mason in Irish Constitution Military Lodge No. 441 March 12, 1807 – Albert Gallatin Mackey – d. June 20, 1881 – Masonic Author, notably of the Masonic Dictionary March 17, 1856 – Grand Lodge of Kansas established, Wyandotte County, Kansasº March 18, 1919 – Order of DeMolay founded in Kansas City, Missouri, later to become DeMolay International March 25, 1882 – Grand Lodge of Arizona was established in Tucson
A Feast Day that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. Maundy Thursday move between March 19th and April 22nd with the Easter holiday. Celebration is held on the Thursday before Easter.
April
April 6, 1922 – International Order of the Rainbow for Girls founded in McAlester, Oklahoma April 8, 1790 – Grand Lodge of New Hampshire was founded≠ April 16, 1838 – Grand Lodge of Texas established in Houston, Texasº April 17, 1787 – Grand Lodge of Maryland was founded April 20, 1884 – Pope Leo XIII published an encyclical, Humanum Genus against Freemasonry based upon the hoax by Leo Taxil April 21, 1821 – Grand Lodge of Missouri was founded in Columbia, Missouriº
May
May 6, 1850 – Grand Lodge of California was established in Sacramento, CA May 11, 1865 – Grand Lodge of West Virginia was founded≠ May 17, 1921 – High Twelve founded, Sioux City, Iowa May 20, 1989 – Grand Lodge of Hawaii founded May 31, 1801 – Ordo ab Chao, Founding of the The Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA
June
June 1, 1820 – Grand Lodge of Maine was founded≠ June 6, 1806 – Grand Lodge of Delaware Established June 11, 1821 – Grand Lodge of Alabama was established in Cahawba, Alabama° June 13, 1889 – Grand Lodge of North Dakota was established at Mitchell, South Dakotaº June 13, 1890 – Grotto, or the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm was founded, Hamilton, New York June 14, 1873 – Order of the Amaranthorganized in New York City, New York June 20, 1812 – Grand Lodge of Louisiana was established
June 22 1867 – Walter Leslie Wilmshurst born (d. July 22 1939)* June 23, 1868 – Grand Lodge of Idaho founded
June 24, 1717
Proto Grand Lodge, Grand Lodge of London and Westminster forms at the Goose and Gridiron alehouse in St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, England.
June 27, 1791 – Grand Lodge of Rhode Island founded≠ June* of 1826 – Grand Lodge of Michigan was established (Bessel suggests September 14, 1844)º≠
July
July 3, 1863
The meeting of Armistead and Hancock on the battle field. Union Captain, and brother, Henry H. Bingham coming to the aid of Confederate Brigadier General, and brother, Lewis Addison Armistead. Said to be “one of the greatest examples of the ideals of Freemasonry in action” leading to the dedication of the Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial statue at the Gettysburg National Cemetery.≠
July 6, 1830 – Grand Lodge of Florida Founded July 8, 1789 – Grand Lodge of Connecticut founded. July 21, 1875 – Grand Lodge of South Dakota was formed≠ July 24, 1783 – Simón Bolívar (d. December 17, 1830) – Venezuelan military and political leader.
Like Washington and the American founding fathers, Bolívar played a key role in Latin America’s successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. Bolivar was initiated in 1803 in the Masonic Lodge Lautaro which operated in Cadiz, Spain and was given the 33rd degree of Inspector General Honorary in April of 1824.
July 27, 1818 – Grand Lodge of Mississippi was founded July 30, 1733 – Grand Lodge of Massachusetts founded
August
August 2, 1861 – Grand Lodge of Colorado founded August 5, 1813 – Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite founded August 7, 1742 – William Preston born – d. April 1, 1818. Author of the revised Masonic Ritual August 7, 1877 – Grand Lodge of New Mexico was founded≠
September
September 11, 1826 – the beginning of the Morgan Affair and the rise of the Anti Masonic Party – William Morgan arrested (and then abducted on September 12, 1826) in Canandaigua (city), New York September 15, 1851 – Grand Lodge of Oregon was established (Bessel lists August 16) September 21, 1880 – Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis consecrated September 23, 1857 – Grand lodge of Nebraska was founded.º September 26, 1872 – founding of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. September 26, 1786 – Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was established in Philadelphia, PA.
Feast of Tishiri
15th day of the 7th month – though the date moves with the Jewish Calendar (7th Month of the Jewish calendar somewhere between September and October).
The origin of the Feast of Tishri is described in the book of Leviticus where it is said that the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying that on the fifteenth day of the month of Tishri of the Hebrew civil calendar, “ye shall have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord.” The Feast of Tishri is the Hebrew equivalent of Thanksgiving or Harvest festival.
The origins and significance of the Feast of Tishri make it the most Scottish Rite of festivals. No other occasion epitomizes the character and purpose of the Feast of Tishri more wholly than the dedication of King Solomon’s Temple. The rich legend of the Temples dedication, celebrated during the Feast of Tishri, is an essential part of the Fourteenth Degree.
By observing the Feast of Tishri, Scottish Rite Masons share the fraternal spirit and reaffirm our dedication to human concord and the brotherhood of all men. As Brothers, we resolve to build, as King Solomon did, peace for all mankind.
October
October 5, 1874 – Grand Lodge of Oklahoma was established≠ October 13, 1778 – Grand Lodge of Virginia was founded≠ October 15, 1794 – Grand Lodge of Vermont was established≠ October 16, 1800 – Grand Lodge of Kentucky established (founded 1788)º October 18, 1911 – Corner Stone laid in the Construction of the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction house of the Temple in Washington October 20, 1920 – The Order of Job’s Daughters, founded in Omaha, Nebraska October 23, 1894 – White Shrine of Jerusalem was incorporated October 30, 1771 – Thomas Smith Webb, (d. July 6, 1819) author of Freemason’s Monitor or Illustrations of Masonry, the foundation text of the York Rite American system of Freemasonry and the Founding Father of the York or American Rite
November
November 6, 1876 – Order of the Eastern Star first General Grand Chapter formed in Indianapolis, Indiana. November 21, 1838 – Grand Lodge of Arkansas Founded* November 30, 1835 – Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, – d. April 21, 1910. Author, humorist lecturer, and father of American literature. November 30 – Saint Andrews Day – The Feast of Saint Andrew
December
December 8, 1858 – Grand Lodge of Washington was established.≠ December 9, 1787 – Grand Lodge of North Carolina was established.º December 11, 1822 – Grand Lodge of Illinois founded. December 15, 1782 – Grand Lodge of New York was established.º December 15, 1874 – Grand Lodge of Wyoming was formed. December 16, 1786 – Grand Lodge of Georgia founded. December 18, 1786 – Grand Lodge of New Jersey≠ December 18, 1843 – Grand lodge of Wisconsin established.≠
United Grand Lodge of England established, the proto Grand Lodge, Grand Lodge of London and Westminster forms on June 24, 1717
December 27, 1783 – Grand Lodge of South Carolina was established.≠ December 27, 1813 – Grand Lodge of Tennessee was formed. December 29, 1809 – Albert Pike, author of Morals and Dogma born, d. April 2, 1891 (aged 81) December 31 – New Years Eve-Auld Lang Syne
Sources: ° – Wikipedia ≠ – From Paul Bessel’s Website * – Secondary source
I take great wisdom from Albert Pike. When taken in portion, his writings in Morals and Dogma strike me almost a prophecy along the lines of Nostradamus or the Oracles of Delphi. It was in a deep reading of his work on the third degree that I found the passages below.
In navigating his writing in his Magnum Opus under the third degree, these gems of political observation ring true today probably more than they did in the nearly 150 years ago. I was at once shocked with a twinge of amusement that Pike foresaw perhaps the situation within which we find ourselves today. And in his writing he looks to Masonry as part of the remedy for it, but with his own cryptic warning about looking to the society of builders.
It was a problem America, and the world perhaps, is faced with today which is that those in charge are “possessed by the devil of commercial avarice” which he describes as being the point when “a nation becomes possessed with a spirit of commercial greed, beyond those just and fair limits set by a due regard to a moderate and reasonable degree of general and individual prosperity.”
Pike delves the subject deeply, without the realization that what he would write about could (or would) be happening. But, in the subtext of his work, maybe he saw that it could happen.
When the thirst for wealth becomes general, it will be sought for as well dishonestly as honestly; by frauds and overreaching, by the knaveries of trade, the heartlessness of greedy speculation, by gambling in stocks and commodities that soon demoralize a whole community. Men will speculate upon the needs of their neighbors and the distresses of their country. Bubbles that, bursting, impoverish multitudes, will be blown up by cunning knavery, with stupid credulity as its assistants and instrument. Huge bankruptcies, that startle a country like the earth-quakes, and are more fatal, fraudulent assignments, engulfment of the savings of the poor, expansions and collapses of the currency, the crash of banks, the depreciation of Government securities, prey on the savings of self-denial, and trouble with their depredations the first nourishment of infancy and the last sands of life, and fill with inmates the churchyards and lunatic asylums. But the sharper and speculator thrives and fattens. If his country is fighting by a levy en mass for her very existence, he aids her by depreciating her paper, so that he may accumulate fabulous amounts with little outlay. If his neighbor is distressed, he buys his property for a song. If he administers upon an estate, it turns out insolvent, and the orphans are paupers. If his bank explodes, he is found to have taken care of himself in time. Society worships its paper-and-credit kings, as the old Hindus and Egyptians worshiped their worthless idols, and often the most obsequiously when in actual solid wealth they are the veriest paupers. No wonder men think there ought to be another world, in which the injustices of this may be atoned for, when they see the friends of ruined families begging the wealthy sharpers to give alms to prevent the orphaned victims from starving, until they may find ways of supporting themselves.
This seems to be speak directly to the efforts of the Occupy Wall Street protestors in New York, and now around the country over the “heartlessness of greedy speculation, by gambling in stocks and commodities…” who have “ruined families.” Has anyone questioned the patriotism and loyalties of the companies and banks that continue to benefit while those whom they prey continue to inch into “distress?”
Pike goes on to say:
We should naturally suppose that a nation in distress would take counsel with the wisest of its sons. But, on the contrary, great men seem never so scarce as when they are most needed, and small men never so bold to insist on infesting place, as when mediocrity and incapable pretense and sophomoric greenness, and showy and sprightly incompetency are most dangerous.
Like a call for action, Pike declares the need for the Masonic principles saying:
So much the more necessity for Masonry!
War has not ceased; still there are battles and sieges. Homes are still unhappy, and tears and anger and spite make hells where there should be heavens. So much the more necessity for Masonry! So much wider the field of its labors! So much the more need for it to begin to be true to itself, to revive from its asphyxia, to repent of its apostasy to its true creed!
So how does Masonry fit into this troubling world? As a Master Mason, it is the lesson of the third degree itself, Pike says:
Masonry seeks to be this beneficent, unambitious, disinterested guide; and it is the very condition of all great structures that the sound of the hammer and the clink of the trowel should be always heard in some part of the building. With faith in man, hope for the future of humanity, loving-kindness for our fellows, Masonry and the Mason must always work and teach.
We have to step back a bit to see Pike’s concern about this responsibility when he talks about Faith, Hope, and Charity saying:
These forces are within the reach of all men; and an association of men, actuated by them, ought to exercise an immense power in the world. If Masonry does not, it is because she has ceased to possess them.
This is a subject I’ve explored on a few occasions, but upon finding these videos, I thought they could better illustrate the working of the Order.
, we discover a king, prophet, and wizard, on the level of the great eastern Magi. Duquette writes “…he [Solomon] could talk with animals, fly through the air on a magical carpet, and cause others to fly through the air to him.” One other thing Solomon is thought to of done was summon evil spirits. The Triangle comes out of a work called The Lesser Key of Solomon the King or Clavicula Solominis Regis, a work originally translated by MacGregor Mathers who, in occult circles, was a well known Golden Dawn mage and Masonic devotee in the rebirth of magical spiritualism.
, by French Occultist Stanislas de Guaita. Guaita was a student of Levi’s work and elaborated in image to Levi’s conception. The 
