‘Read Square Thoughts by Bro. Rob’

    

In addition to Cameron Bailey of Emeth and several others, I enjoy a Substack written by another Freemason who goes by Bro. Rob. Square Thoughts is an often updated column (nine posts this month so far) on, yes, Masonic ideas and opinions. I think you will have pleasure and profit by reading him too. Click here.

In his profile, he identifies as:

Retired Coast Guard Master Chief. Twenty-plus years of service. Antarctica twice (yes, it’s as cold as you think). Chief Engineer on multiple tours before teaching at our Senior NCO/ Chief’s Academy, thousands of students from DHS, DOD, local law enforcement, reserves, other government agencies, and partner nations worldwide. These days: Past Master and Lodge Secretary. Executive coach who’s worked with everyone from C-suite executives at major banks and software companies to stay-at-home moms launching their dreams. Credentialed coach, QHHT Level 2 practitioner, homeschool dad who takes college classes for fun…

I’m a universalist-oneness-wisdom-Christian. Yeah, it’s a mouthful. Basically means I see truth everywhere and God in everything. I believe ancient wisdom keeps getting repackaged because truth doesn’t change, only the wrapper. The Hermetic principles pop up everywhere, Masonry, military leadership, quantum physics, usually without people realizing how old these ideas are. My life philosophy: Be Love, Teach Love, Have Fun. Sounds simple. It’s not. My approach: Curiosity over judgment. Love over fear. “Sure I can help” (much to my wife’s dismay).

But read all about it here.

Excerpted from recent essays:

Many of us are coming to believe that honesty about our origins might actually strengthen rather than weaken our institution. The historical record suggests that speculative Freemasonry emerged in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, probably in Scotland, when operative stone lodges began admitting gentlemen members who had no intention of cutting actual stone. These “accepted” Masons found something valuable in the lodge structure, the ritual framework, the symbolic vocabulary. They adapted what they found to serve philosophical and social purposes the original craftsmen never imagined. The story here isn’t one of unbroken ancient lineage. Something more interesting emerges. A story of creative adaptation. Of men finding useful forms and filling them with new meaning. Of institutions evolving to meet emerging needs. Isn’t that exactly what we need now?

“The Stories We Tell Ourselves:

Masonic Origins and the Danger of Myth Over Mission”

January 21

If your lodge has fallen into the Rotary Trap, the path out isn’t complicated. It’s just uncomfortable. The hardest part is saying no to a brother with a good idea. He’s standing in front of the lodge, enthusiastic, volunteering his time. The idea isn’t bad. It might even be good. But good for what? Good for whom? Before the vote, ask yourself a few questions. Does this require the lodge, or just a few brothers? Sometimes a brother has a passion project that doesn’t need the lodge’s name or treasury behind it. He can do it himself, with whoever wants to join him. The lodge doesn’t have to own everything its members care about. Could he do this at Rotary? If yes, why are we doing it? What makes this distinctively ours? If the answer is nothing, that’s worth noticing. What are we not doing if we do this? Every yes has an opportunity cost. The calendar only holds so much. The same brothers who’ll execute this are probably the same brothers doing everything else. What gets crowded out? Does this serve the men in the room, or the men we wish were here? A lot of visibility projects are really recruitment fantasies. We imagine the community event will attract new petitions. Maybe. But are we taking care of the brothers we already have? Is this transformation work, or is it activity? Busyness feels like progress. It isn’t always. Some of the most important lodge nights look like nothing from the outside. Men sitting together. Real conversation. No agenda except presence.

“Charity as Overflow”

January 13

Your brother-in-law just told you he watched something about Freemasons controlling the government. Your nephew texted you a TikTok. Your father-in-law thinks you’re in a cult. Here’s what to remember: You are not defending an institution. You are being witnessed as a man. The strongest argument against the conspiracy isn’t a counterargument. It’s you. It’s every interaction they’ve ever had with you. It’s the fact that you’ve been the same person before and after you joined lodge, maybe a little better, maybe a little more patient, maybe a little more likely to volunteer. When they look at you and think about what they watched, they have to reconcile those two realities. Your life is the refutation. You can’t logic someone out of a belief they didn’t logic themselves into. If your relative has built their worldview around hidden powers and secret conspiracies, Freemasonry is just a prop in a larger drama. You’re not going to dismantle that worldview over pie. Set the boundary. Protect the relationship. Let time do its work.

“When Your Brother-in-Law Watched That Podcast:

Navigating the New Anti-Masonry”

January 4

There are still men who need a private room with trustworthy Brothers. Men who can’t speak freely at work or church or in their communities because they carry questions that would mark them as troublemakers. The world keeps producing them. So is Masonry still functioning as that sanctuary? Or have we domesticated ourselves so thoroughly, focused on fish fries and degree mills and memorization without understanding, that we’ve forgotten what the Lodge was for? When a Brother raises a difficult question in Lodge, is he met with engagement or embarrassment? When a man of genuine intellectual curiosity petitions, does he find thinking men around the altar, or does he find another organization that wants his dues but not his questions?

“The Lodge as Sanctuary (For the Thinking Man)”

December 15

I’ve sat through more than my share of Masonic “lectures.” Some were fine, some were good, and some… well, let’s just say they were indistinguishable from a college term paper being read aloud. You know the look your dog gives you when you say “bath?” That’s the look half the lodge has when someone cracks open a 30-page dissertation on the deeper meaning of the beehive. The problem isn’t the scholarship. We need brothers who dig deep, who pour through old texts and pull out gems. The problem is that most men in lodge don’t have time, or frankly, interest, in wading through academic papers on a Tuesday night after work. They came for light, not a lecture hall.

Why This Matters to Me

I’ve been a curriculum designer. I’ve worked as an adult educator. And that is a slightly different ball game than teaching children. Adults bring a lifetime of experience, responsibility, and distractions into any learning space, including lodge. If you don’t frame information in a way that’s relatable, practical, and immediately meaningful, you’ll lose them before you ever get to the good stuff. Adult learning is simple at its core: People learn best when the material is relevant to their lives They need to connect it to something they already know They need it presented in a way that is clear, practical, and digestible.

The Mistake We Keep Making

This is where Masonic education often stumbles. Too often, we assume the average brother is on the same level as those of us who live for Masonic education. That assumption is flat-out wrong. The truth? The average Mason doesn’t need a Ph.D. thesis on symbolism in a 1,000-word essay. He needs a foundation: the ABCs of Masonic education, taught with clarity and patience. We’re too quick to serve steak tartare when the brother still needs scrambled eggs. And it’s not disrespectful to teach at that level; it’s responsible. It’s the same way you’d teach someone new to any craft: you start with fundamentals.

“Scrambled Eggs Before Steak Tartare”

September 10

Speaking of Masonic lectures, I do not know if Bro. Rob makes himself available for speaking engagements, podcast interviews, etc., but he’d be great at all the events you and I attend (if not plan).

     

‘Texas says the apron is a place of the skull’

    

Marcus Delzell

Honorem Memento Mori by Marcus Delzell.

The Grand Lodge of Texas hosted its Grand Annual Communication this weekend at Waco, and one of the proposed amendments to the Laws approved by the voters (known as the Grand West) was Resolution No. 21.

Listen, to some of the guys, this was a really big deal: As of yesterday, it is legal to include the skull among the symbols adorning Masonic aprons.

Does Texas include the skull among the symbols revealed during their degrees? I have no idea. Most of the rest of us in the United States have the hourglass, the scythe, and the weeping virgin to remind us of mortality—to say nothing of the reading of minutes.

In coincidence, Bro. Marcus Delzell, of Parsons Lodge 222 in Austin, is an artist who painted the apron at top. On social media a week ago, he says:

My latest Masonic artwork in a series of symbolic paintings on aprons. This work was inspired by the memorial for the death of Hiram Abiff, and the symbols therein are represented in this work, abstracted to expand on different facets of symbolic meaning.

Since the monument is functionally a memento mori, I’ve included a skull from whose cranium is growing a sprig of evergreen; except this specific evergreen is that of eucalyptus, because of its property to be split in two to grow another plant with the second part. The red ribbon is representative of the weeping virgin. In many western fairy tales, a lock of hair is emblematic of innocence, and when illustrated is typically presented with a red ribbon to accentuate its carnal meaning. I’ve split Father Time into two symbols, one to highlight the invaluable time each of us have remaining, and the other to highlight his Saturnian aspects: The clock set at five seconds to midnight reminds us that our time on this mortal plane may end abruptly and soon. With this in mind, we should maintain the imperative to use our remaining seconds intentionally. The crow eating from the egg is the frontispiece of the artwork. This represents Chronos, or Saturn, who ate his children out of fear that they would overthrow him; even the Greek gods were not immune to the consumption of time. The potential for life from the creature in the egg has been stolen, and his eggy fortress of safety and vitality has been vanquished.

 

Marcus Delzell

The consternation evoked by this symbol should remind us to be patient, warm, and to keep the sanctity of innocence and potential in the forefront of our thoughts. In western esotericism, borrowing from Hinduism, there is a concept of the right and left hand paths. With each symbol facing towards the right, this artwork has a rightward chirality. This is a symbol for the right-hand path, which consists of a belief in the separation of mind, body, and soul; and the belief that judgment awaits us—something familiar to us as Masons.

 

Honorem Memento Mori

2026

16x16, acrylic on leather, cotton tassels

Not everything at the Communication was so pleasant. There is some kind of awful scandal concerning control of the board that governs the Masonic Grand Lodge Library and Museum of Texas. I may revisit this subject later, but right now I don’t know or even follow everything this entails. I anticipate knowledgeable coverage on the Dummies blog before long anyway.

     

‘Celebrate World Logic Day!’

    

CIPSH

Logic teaches us to guide our reason discretionally in the general knowledge of things, and to direct our inquiries after truth, as well for the instruction of others as our own improvement. It consists of a regular train of argument, whence we infer, deduce, and conclude, according to certain premises laid down, admitted, or granted. In it are employed the faculties of conceiving, judging, reasoning, and disposing; all of which are naturally led on from one gradation to another, till the point in question is finally determined.

William Preston

Illustrations of Masonry

1775

Logic. The art of reasoning, and one of the seven liberal arts and sciences, whose uses are insulated in the second degree. The power of right reasoning, which distinguishes the man of sane mind from the madman and the idiot, is deemed essential to the Mason, that he may comprehend both his rights and his duties. And hence the unfortunate beings just named, who are without the necessary mental quality, are denied admission to the Order. The Old Constitutions define logic to be the art “that teacheth to discern truth from falsehood.”

Albert Mackey

An Encyclopædia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences

1874

Logic is that science which directs us how to form clear and distinct ideas of things, and thereby prevents us from being misled by their similitude or resemblance. Of all the human sciences, that concerning man is certainly most worthy of the human mind, and the proper manner of conducting its several powers in the attainment of truth and knowledge. This science ought to be cultivated as the foundation or groundwork of our inquiries; particularly, in the pursuit of those sublime principles which claim our attention as Masons.

Middle Chamber Lecture

Standard Work and Lectures

Grand Lodge of New York

Looking around the world today, evidence of logic might not be obvious, but today is World Logic Day nevertheless. Most regular Freemasons in the United States are instructed, to some extent, in Logic during the lecture of the Fellow Craft Degree. Maybe your lodge employs the New York version above or something similar, or perhaps something closer to the Preston quotation at top. They suffice. Logic is essential in understanding Geometry. In understanding anything, really. With logic, for example, one studying Masonic history is immune to silly Templar nonsense notions. But what of the history of logic? As far as we know, this dates back about 2,500 years to Aristotle. Sure, many philosophers have defined logic since Aristotle’s time, but he was the first. Or at least his writings are the earliest still extant, so we have to start with him.

H. Cart de Lafontaine

In “The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences,” his Prestonian Lecture for 1930, Henry Philip Cart de Lafontaine (fascinating man!), while Master of QC2076, writes:

Logic is the name given to one of the four main departments of philosophy. It is the science of the processes of inference. There are three types of inference: the first being from particular to particular, which is called analogical inference; the second is from particular to universal, which is inductive inference; the third is from universal to particular, which is deductive inference.

We will illustrate these three types in order to give a clearer meaning, and we will employ the names of three Greek cities in the illustrations, though any others might quite as well be substituted.

Suppose I say, “Border war between Thebes and Phocis is evil,” and then make the further statement that “Border war between Thebes and Athens is similar to that between Thebes and Phocis.” From these two, I draw the analogical inference that “Border war between Thebes and Athens is evil.”

Again, I may say that “Border war between Thebes and Phocis is evil,” and follow up that assertion with the assertion that “All border war is like that between Thebes and Phocis.” From these two statements I draw the inductive inference that “All border war is evil.”

I now start with this inductive inference that “All border war is evil,” and I follow on with the statement that “Border war between Thebes and Phocis is border war,” and draw the conclusion by deductive or syllogistic inference that “Border war between Thebes and Athens is evil.”

You will see that this is rather like an algebraical problem; by eliminating certain factors, you arrive at a definite conclusion of analogy, induction, and deduction. We owe to Aristotle this triple distinction.

World Logic Day is the creation of the sometimes illogical and detestable UNESCO, which proclaimed the first such observance for this date in 2019. That proclamation says, in part:

The ability to think is one of the most defining features of humankind. In different cultures, the definition of humanity is associated with concepts such as consciousness, knowledge and reason. According to the classic Western tradition, human beings are defined as “rational” or “logical animals.” Logic, as the investigation on the principles of reasoning, has been studied by many civilizations throughout history and, since its earliest formulations, logic has played an important role in the development of philosophy and the sciences.

Despite its undeniable relevance to the development of knowledge, sciences and technologies, there is little public awareness on the importance of logic. The proclamation of World Logic Day by UNESCO, in association with the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), intends to bring the intellectual history, conceptual significance and practical implications of logic to the attention of interdisciplinary science communities and the broader public.

A dynamic and global annual celebration of World Logic Day aims at fostering international cooperation, promoting the development of logic, in both research and teaching, supporting the activities of associations, universities and other institutions involved with logic, and enhancing public understanding of logic and its implications for science, technology and innovation. Furthermore, the celebration of World Logic Day can also contribute to the promotion of a culture of peace, dialogue and mutual understanding, based on the advancement of education and science.

So, if your lodge meets today, be sure to rise when permitted and tell the brethren about World Logic Day, and maybe even toast this occasion during the Festive Board—especially if you work Logic ritual.

     

'Maritime Festive Board and Beefsteak Banquet’

    

Magpie file photo

At the 2020 Beefsteak Banquet.

It’s been a year since Mariners 67 hosted one of its world famous Beefsteak Banquets, so we’re due. I cannot recommend this occasion strongly enough. I attended one six years ago (photos here), and had a truly incredibly enjoyable experience. This is less than three weeks away, so don’t delay. From the publicity:

Mariners Lodge 67

Maritime Festive Board

and Beefsteak Banquet

Saturday, January 31

Seating at 5 p.m. & gavel at six

Grand Lodge Room, Masonic Hall

This event is part of the International Grand Lecturer’s Convention, and the convention delegates will receive a sizeable allocation of tickets. Purchase now if you don’t want to miss out!

The apron.

Tuxedo (preferred) or Business Formal; everyone gets a Butcher’s Apron. This event is open to Masons and male guests only. Tickets are transferable, but not refundable. We regret that we are unable to provide complimentary tickets. Kindly forward this email to anyone in your Masonic circle who might have an interest in attending.

Five Course Menu

First Course

Iced Shrimp, The Ancient Mariner’s Cured Salmon, House Pickles

Second Course

Pastrami with Rye Toast, Roast Pork with Rolls, Tomato-Braised Lamb Meatballs

Third Course

Memphis-Style Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs, Braised Beef Short Ribs, Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Fourth Course

Strip Steak, Lamb Chops, Potato Medley

Fifth Course

Assorted Dessert Platters

Draft Beer from the legendary Bronx Beer Hall.

The Festive Board is a feature of Masonry that extends back to our beginnings. Operative stonemasons would gather on important occasions around tables laden with food and drink to celebrate in fellowship with the tangible fruits of their labor. Most common were feasts on St. John the Baptist’s Day and St. John the Evangelist’s Day, which were not coincidentally right around the time of the Summer and Winter solstices. These traditions have been part of our Craft ever since. Indeed, one of the reasons given for forming the first Grand Lodge in 1717 was to hold an annual feast.

In the days before Masons had their beautiful purpose-built Masonic Temples and Lodge Rooms, members of the Craft often convened their Lodges in taverns and restaurants. The tables were pushed back and Square and Compasses might be scratched out in the sawdust covering the floor while the Brethren performed their Masonic Work. Before too long, the idea arose of taking advantage of what the tavern had to offer, and a practice was born whereby the Brethren would take food and drink on a Masonic form and while conducting the Work of the Lodge.

Over time, various ritual practices of the Festive Board evolved, especially among military officers, who incorporated various elements from their formal dining traditions. These historic rituals and traditions have been resurrected in the modern day, and the Masonic Festive Board with its multiple courses of food, toasts, responses, and giving of “Masonic Fire” has become one of the most popular special events among Masons.

The Mariners Lodge Maritime Festive Board is a unique form of these table ceremonies, which invokes certain early Masonic legends and incorporates elements of historical naval practice and seafaring tradition. The Mariners Lodge Maritime Festive Board and Beefsteak Banquet incorporates elements from the rich New York tradition of the Beefsteak Banquet—those famous celebrations of gluttony where men gathered to eat massive amounts of aged steak, lamb chops, shrimp cocktail, pork belly and mini-burgers washed down with bottomless schooners of beer. Forks and knives are strictly prohibited in those days, but you will be provided with cutlery as well as a butcher’s apron.

Come for Fellowship! Come for Masonic Tradition! Come for a 19th Century Experience! Come for All You Can Eat!

April 15, 1939 issue.

When promoting these events, I always like to share the magnificent magazine article “All You Can Hold for Five Bucks” by Joseph Mitchell, writing for The New Yorker in 1939. Click here. Enjoy.

     

‘Mokannas Cigar Aficionados headed to Richmond’

    

‘William’ Churchill: cigar lover.

In the name of William Churchill (they’ll explain when you get there), Mokannas Cigar Aficionados’ Winter Retreat is on for next month in Virginia. MCA, of course, is the cigar lovers’ auxiliary of the MOVPER, a.k.a. the Grotto. There is a moving initiatory rite you’ll never forget! Or maybe you will. How should I know? From the publicity:

Winter Retreat 2026

Richmond, Virginia

February 27-28

Friday, February 27

5:30 p.m. — Private tour of historic Masons’ Hall

6:30 p.m. — Dinner & Cocktails & Cigars at Havana 59 (tabs on your own)

Saturday, February 28

Breakfast at the hotel (on your own)

12:30 p.m. — Lunch at a location TBD (tabs on your own)

2 p.m. — Black Iris Social Club

Premium spirits available. Snack menu available. (tabs on your own)

Dinner at Black Iris (meal TBD)

$20 Registration fee. Click here.

Cigars available for purchase at both locations. BYO cigars recommended. Nearby cigar shops: Havana Connections, Griffin Cigar, and Cigar Realm.

     

‘Lecture: The Work of Hilma af Klint’

    

Altarpiece No. 1 by Hilma af Klint, 1907.

The Livingston Library’s lecture series is back, resuming later this month with a discussion on fine arts by an artist. From the publicity:

The Spiritual in Art:

A Guide to the Unseen Forces

Behind Matter

The Work of Hilma af Klint

Presented by Milosz Jeziorski

Thursday, January 29 at 6 p.m.

Masonic Hall, 14th floor

The spiritual message of Hilma’s Paintings for the Temple series. What esoteric traditions inspired Hilma af Klint? And how do we understand the intersection between spirituality and art? That is the ambitious purpose of this presentation.

Milosz Jeziorski

Milosz Jeziorski, a Past Master of Compact Lodge 402, is a multidisciplinary artist and creator of the podcast Creative Codex, where he crafts sonic portraits of history’s great creative minds. He holds a Master’s in Film Scoring from NYU and won Best Original Score at VisionFest for Ontologica.

RSVP here.

There will be priority seating for Friends of the Library, a new membership program created to support the educational mission of the Livingston Masonic Library. Annual membership costs $50 and includes priority seating at lectures and access to an exclusive Friends reception before each program.

Photo ID is required to enter Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.

     

‘Mid-Hudson Masonicon in four weeks’

    

Tickets are on sale for the Mid-Hudson Masonicon to be hosted at Rip Van Winkle Lodge 468 up in Cairo in just four weeks! (Not to be confused with the Hudson Valley Masonicon, which usually is for June.) These graphics give all the info:

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘California conference in March’

    

If you can get to UC-Berkeley on March 14, you’ll want to attend the 2026 International Conference on Freemasonry, where five speakers, quarterbacked by Susan Mitchell Sommers, will discuss “Freemasonry in Popular Culture: 1700 to Yesterday.” From the publicity:

Join with Masons and scholars from around the world at the 2026 International Conference on Freemasonry on March 14, as we dive into the fraternity’s relationship to film, politics, and propaganda. From Nazi-era signage to Illuminati scares, this year’s conference is going deep on supposed Masonic plots throughout history—and the cultural ephemera associated with exposing them.

Register today to secure your spot at this can’t-miss Masonic education event, being held at UC-Berkeley’s Krutch Theatre at Clark Kerr Campus. 

Event Organizer

Dr. Susan Mitchell Sommers, Chair

International Conference

on Freemasonry

After earning a Ph.D in British history at Washington University, Susan Mitchell Sommers joined the faculty at Saint Vincent College in Pennsylvania, where she is a professor of history. Sommers has been a fellow of the Royal Historical Society since 2014 and has been involved in editing the Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism as well as Zeitschrift für Internationale Freimaurer-Forschung.

Speakers

Amanda Brown-Peroy

Professor of English

University of Bordeaux

“The Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy and the Use of Propaganda in the WWII Period: Film, Radio, Pamphlet, and Exhibition.”

The Judeo-Masonic conspiracy is a well-known theory associating Jews and Freemasons in their supposed alliance to achieve world domination. Although this alleged scheme still circulates today among certain conspiracy circles, the turn of the 20th century and the years leading up to the Second World War constitute its heyday. In this paper, we’ll explore the alleged links between the Jewish community and Freemasonry, and the use of this association by Nazi Germany through a multi-faceted propaganda targeting the civil populations of the invaded and enemy countries of the Reich.

Dr. Brown-Peroy completed her Ph.D in English Studies in 2016. Her doctoral thesis was titled: “Freemasonry and the Notion of Secrecy in 20th Century England: From World War II to the 2000s.” Brown-Peroy has published numerous academic articles dealing with aspects of 20th century English Freemasonry. Her many presentations include one at the 2014 meeting of this conference, titled “Secrecy as a Universal Factor of Both Inclusion and Exclusion.”

Dr. Felipe Côrte Real de Camargo

Ph.D candidate

Iowa State University

“Masonic Secrets on the Silver Screen: Representations of the Craft in the Seventh Art.”

Since its invention, cinema has become one of the most powerful and popular tools for transmitting ideas and shaping ideologies. Although modern Freemasonry was already nearly two centuries old when the Lumière brothers held their first public screening, it was through cinema that many people first encountered an image—often inaccurate—of what Freemasonry was. These portrayals, while rarely faithful, fueled the popular imagination and helped embed Freemasonry into 20th century pop culture. This paper explores how Freemasonry has been represented in film across different countries and genres, examining the purposes these portrayals served in their specific historical and political contexts.

Felipe Côrte Real de Camargo is a historian at the University of Bristol, where he obtained a Ph.D in historical studies. His research focuses on the material culture of Freemasonry, secrecy, moral philosophy, and emblematic traditions in the 18th century. He has taught at both Cardiff and Bristol universities, contributed to international journals, and presented his work at major conferences across Europe and the Americas.

Erich Morgan Huhn

Ph.D candidate

Drew University

“Illuminati, Illuminism, Illuminatus: The Making of Modern Conspiracy.”

As conspiracy theories become increasingly mainstream, what can we learn from two classic conspiracy tales? In 1797 John Robison published Proofs of a Conspiracy and set off Illuminism, a frenzy of conspiracy thinking. In 1975, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson published The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which revived popular culture’s obsession with the Illuminati. Although these two publications were separated by more than 175 years, the impact they had on spurring conspiracy theories were similar.

Erich Morgan Huhn’s research focuses on the way Freemasonry and fraternal organizations helped reinforce middle-class values and were used as tools of social “placing” throughout the long 19th century. In 2019, he published New Jersey’s Masonic Lodges (Arcadia Publishing), which examined the way the fraternity used architecture to connect with the organization’s foundation myth and present an air of authority and legitimacy. He has contributed reviews, chapters, and entries to several Masonic and academic works.

B. Chris Ruli

Lecturer, History Department

California State University, San Marcos

“Brother Lafayette: Freemasonry During the Marquis de Lafayette’s American Tour (1824-1825).”

The year 2024-25 marked the bicentennial anniversary of Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette’s, public and final visit to the United States. This presentation examines the often-overlooked Masonic activities associated with Lafayette’s tour, his relationship with the fraternity, and how the nation’s Freemasons engaged, wrote, and talked about the famous Founding Father and Freemason.

Chris Ruli is a historian and researcher on early American Freemasonry. He is the author of The White House & The Freemasons, Brother Lafayette, and other publications that explore the often-overlooked relationship between Freemasonry, politics, economics, and culture. Ruli’s work has appeared in academic publications, popular print, television, and digital works including The Washington Post, History Channel, and dozens of history-focused podcasts. Ruli currently serves as the assistant grand historian of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, S.J.; and a grand superintendent of the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States. He is also involved in the Scottish Rite Research Society and the Philalethes Society. Ruli is a contributing fellow of the Philalethes Society and serves as their third vice president. He is also a contributing member of the Historical Society of Washington D.C.

Timothy Sheils

Informatics scientist

and software developer

“Magic Lantern Slides: an Early Masonic Adoption of Technology.”

Magic Lanterns represent one of the first steps away from the traditional tracing board or master’s carpet. Initially powered by candles or kerosene lanterns, a glass slide was inserted into a slot and projected through a lens onto an opposing surface. These slides were manually changed during the various lectures, allowing emphasis on different symbols. Through the late 1800 to mid-1900s, various manufacturers of both lanterns and slides produced materials for Masonic lodges, among other organizations, and eventually contributed to the standardization of the presentation of Masonic symbolism. These slides were used throughout Masonic degrees, at no small cost to the lodges.

Timothy Sheils works with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, where he serves as an informatics scientist and software developer. He has published a number of papers on the intersection of chemistry and pharmaceuticals with new technologies. He has a special interest in developing therapies for rare diseases. Sheils has degrees in philosophy and sociology and computer science.

     

‘Happy World Introvert Day’

    

First, Happy New Year! Second, Happy World Introvert Day! It’s still January 2 here for a few more minutes, so I’ll squeeze in this note celebrating this day of post-holiday recovery and refocusing.

Dr. Heyne’s book

World Introvert Day was hatched by psychologist Felicitas Heyne only fifteen years ago, so don’t feel cheated if you didn’t get the day off from school growing up.

On her website, Heyne says: “introverts are a misunderstood minority. We live in an extrovert world, and introverts often appear to be arrogant and strange, which they aren’t. Introverts just work differently. And let’s not forget that although introverts might be a minority, they are a majority in the gifted population. Most famous scientists, philosophers, artists, and thinkers are introverted. Introverts shape the world we live in. But they also have to face specific health risks, job-related problems and often difficult relationships.”

Dr. Jung

The concepts of Introversion and Extraversion (note the “a”) come from C.G. Jung, who devised the two categories as personality types. Writing in Psychology Today in 2012, psychologist Stephen A. Diamond explains:

“For Jung, there were essentially two types of people: introverts and extraverts. These were Jung’s terms, for which he gives specific definitions. While his term introversion is today widely used as a synonym for shyness, introversion is not necessarily shyness. But there is a close relationship between shyness and introversion, which Jung felt (and I fully agree) is largely an innate tendency…

Introversion is a turning inward toward the interior world of ideas, feelings, fantasies, intuitions, sensations, and other facets of subjective experience. The introverted type finds most of his or her meaning and satisfaction not in the outer world of people, objects, things, accomplishments, but rather in the interior life, the inner world. Extraverts, on the other hand, live almost exclusively in and for the exterior world, deriving fulfillment from regular interaction with outer reality. Introverts tend to have difficulty dealing with the outer world in general. Extraverts have equal trouble attending to the inner world. And both resist doing so, in what frequently becomes a chronic, habitual pattern of avoidant behavior… 

What is so astounding is how fundamentally and diametrically different extraverted and introverted types truly are! By their very nature, these are radically divergent modes of being-in-the-world, antithetical attitudes toward life.

Of course, no person is totally introverted or extraverted. These are two extreme poles on a continuum which we all occupy. A majority of us lean toward the extraverted orientation, placing true introverted types in the statistical minority in most westernized cultures. Indeed, introversion tends to be stigmatized in our culture, pathologized, and deemed abnormal. When introversion is extremely one-sided, it can turn into pathological shyness, social phobia, schizoid personality, autism or even psychosis: a total detachment or dissociation from outer reality. Extreme extraversion can manifest in compulsive activity, workaholism, mania and addictive behaviors (e.g., sex addiction) serving the purpose of avoiding introversion or self-reflection at any cost. Some rhythmic balance between introversion and extraversion is essential for mental health. Introversion and extraversion appear to be innate temperaments or personality traits which can be and are, however, influenced by environment.”

Jung thought everyone would be healthiest by balancing the two poles.

If you have any experience in Freemasonry, you likely noted how the Order is almost entirely by and for the extraverts. One of my first observations about the fraternity during my early years in the 1990s (in New Jersey) was the disorder revealed by the disconnect between what the rituals and orations clearly intend and what the consistently convivial calendar delivered. Jung and I would have appreciated a balance. Each of us is a Brother—an individual—but one cannot be a Brother separate; there must be at least one other. (And, hopefully, both smoke pipes!)

As we New Yorkers phrase it through our First Degree Charge:

There are three great duties which, as a Mason, you are obliged to inculcate—to God, your neighbor, and yourself. To God, in never mentioning His Name, save with that reverential awe which is due from a creature to his Creator, imploring His aid in all your undertakings, and esteeming Him as the chief good; to your neighbor, in acting upon the square, and doing unto him as you wish he should do unto you; and to yourself, in avoiding all irregularity and intemperance which may impair your faculties, or debase the dignity of your profession. A zealous attachment to these duties will insure public and private esteem.

And also:

Preston: the source.

➤ “In your outward demeanor, be particularly careful to avoid censure or reproach.”

➤ “During your leisure hours, that you may improve in Masonic knowledge, you are to converse with well informed brethren, who will always be as ready to give, as you will be to receive, instruction.”

➤ “If, in the circle of your acquaintance, you find a person desirous of being initiated into Masonry, be particularly careful not to recommend him, unless…”

Balancing the severities is harmony in who we are and what we do.

     

‘That History Chick visits Scottish Rite museum’

    

Happy St. John’s Day! I hope you enjoyed a Saturday of Masonic thought and activity during this hectic holiday season. Me? I’m toiling away trying to finish the Autumn(!) issue of the Masonic Library and Museum Association’s newsletter during which I discovered this.

A few days ago, YouTube’s That History Chick published her video chronicling her first visit to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Located inside the headquarters of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the USA, the fifty-year-old educational and cultural institution currently offers its Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington exhibit.

Click the image above to see her 41-minute video.

     

‘Grotto New Year’

    

Azim will start the 2026 Grotto year with a gathering in Queens. From the publicity:

Azim Grotto

The Handsomest Grotto

in the Realm

Trivia League

Wednesday, January 7 at 7 p.m.

Focal Point

43-50 12th Street

Long Island City

You are cordially invited to join Potent Monarch Joseph McMillen and the Prophets of Azim Grotto 7 at our first of many Lucky No. 7 Socials. We’ll kick off the new year in style as we display our trivia and imbibing expertise at Focal Point in Long Island City. Trivia starts at 7:30 p.m., so please be there by seven, at the latest, to make teams. Also, be sure to wear your fez!

RSVP on our Facebook page.

The Lucky No. 7 Socials will continue every month on the seventh. Subsequent locations to be announced. For example, February’s will be on the first Saturday at “Somewhere Warm. Or At Least Indoors.”

In recent news, we had our annual elections and installation of officers on December 7 at Tipsy Nomad on East 28th Street. Our new leadership is:

Monarch McMillen

➣ Potent Monarch Joseph McMillen

➣ Chief Justice Andrew Christopher Haight

➣ Master of Ceremonies Jason Cohen

➣ Venerable Prophet Victor Marshall

➣ Treasurer Steven J. Baker, PM

➣ Secretary Zachary N. Ostrow, PM

Congratulations all (especially to longtime Magpie reader Haight)!

There are appointed positions that are going unstaffed, I think because one must be present to be appointed, and getting to the annual meeting on a Sunday in December appears to be difficult for many. Attendance at these things often seems to be sparse. But I’m confident 2026 will be a grea…well, it’ll be a year!

It’s Christmas Eve! If you celebrate, I hope you can be with those who mean the most to you. Enjoy!