The Empty degree is thought to date back to 1875, a decade after the close of the American Civil War when it was used in Masonic lodges throughout the nation.
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Philosophical Intellectual Masons versus Structural Administrative Freemasons
Recently I have been reading some essays by Masons who are dismayed at all the talk about membership, dues, dress, Grand Lodge edicts and other issues that they believe bring into the mix undue discussion, debate and division — the three Ds. For them the philosophy of Masonry, its symbolism, its virtues, its morality, its […]
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To Die Or Not To Die
“To be, or not to be, that is the question:Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troublesAnd by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,No more;” The articles by Brothers Sean Kennedy and Stephen Dafoe regarding the decline in Freemasonry has brought […]
Continue readingBait & Switch, I Quit
This is the story of Brother Steven McAfoose, Senior Warden of Lux Lodge No 846, Grand Lodge of California. McAfoose’s story is similar to that of recently published Brother Salman Sheika’s. You might call this “Why I Left Freemasonry Part 2.” But this story has a happy ending. McAfoose quit and returned. This is not […]
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Texas MasoniCon 2018, The Aftermath
Good things and fine times need to be savored and contemplated before revealing. And so, I have done exactly that with Texas MasoniCon 2018. This was truly an event to be savored and reviewed and revered. It is unlikely that so many Masonic speakers of such talent can be showcased all in one place in […]
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We Revisit Concert Pianist Brother Hando Nahkur
Freemason Hando Nahkur discusses his homeland, Estonia, how and why he became a Mason and what the life of a Concert Pianist studying for his Doctorate is like. Along the way we get to watch him perform. This visit with Hando we were really much more able to do justice to his performances as […]
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Texas Masonicon
What is Texas Masonicon? Here is how they tell it: In their efforts to seek more light, the brethren of Fort Worth Lodge #148 began a tradition of bringing in guest speakers for Masonic educational talks. Talk after talk, our membership flourished and was enriched. After how much we have enjoyed the benefits of this […]
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Ben Wallace & The Middle Chamber Masonic Education Program Of North Carolina
WB Ben Wallace always knew that there were deeper meanings embedded in Masonry, it just took him awhile to find them. And when he did, there was no stopping him from organizing and promoting esoteric, philosophical Masonry across the entire state of North Carolina. First, he had to found North Carolina’s first Traditional Observance Lodge, […]
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Right Worshipful Frank Jackson
RW Frank Jackson was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in 1969 at the age of 18. Today he is both the Grand Junior Warden of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas and the Grand Historian. Jackson offers many Masons a different perspective on the origins of higher knowledge, scholarship, […]
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I Had A Dream ~ The Last Degree
The wages of a Master Mason and the lesson of the Third Degree is – IMMORTALITY! If you have ever taken the time to contemplate on the meaning within the Craft, the culmination of the Masonic journey, what the way of life we call Masonry is, well its end is IMMORTALITY. And when we get […]
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