‘Rosicrucian readings’

     
Rosicrucian reading and discussion abound! Here is some news of local and virtual group studies:

A new printing.

First, Master Masons from lodges under the Grand Lodge of New Jersey are always welcome at the Second Masonic District Book Club’s meetings. The club will get together Tuesday, February 24 to discuss Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins by Manly P. Hall.

First published in 1929, thirty-five years before Hall was made a Mason, Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins followed by a year Hall’s masterpiece The Secret Teachings of All Ages, from which Origins sprang as an exposition of several Secret Teachings chapters. Excerpted:

“Preston, Gould, Mackey, Oliver, and Pike—in fact, nearly every great historian of Freemasonry—have all admitted the possibility of the modern society being connected, indirectly at least, with the ancient Mysteries, and their descriptions of the modern society are prefaced by excerpts from ancient writings descriptive of primitive ceremonials. These eminent Masonic scholars have all recognized in the legend of Hiram Abiff an adaptation of the Osiris myth; nor do they deny that the major part of the symbolism of the craft is derived from the pagan institutions of antiquity when the gods were venerated in secret places with strange figures and appropriate rituals. Though cognizant of the exalted origin of their order, these historians—either through fear or uncertainty—have failed, however, to drive home the one point necessary to establish the true purpose of Freemasonry: They did not realize that the Mysteries whose rituals Freemasonry perpetuates were the custodians of a secret philosophy of life of such transcendent nature that it can only be entrusted to an individual tested and proved beyond all peradventure of human frailty. The secret schools of Greece and Egypt were neither fraternal nor political fundamentally, nor were their ideals similar to those of the modern Craft. They were essentially philosophic and religious institutions, and all admitted into them were consecrated to the service of the sovereign good. Modern Freemasons, however, regard their Craft primarily as neither philosophic nor religious, but rather as ethical. Strange as it may seem, the majority openly ridicule the very supernatural powers and agencies for which their symbols stand.”

The Second Masonic District Book Club meets at Fidelity Lodge No. 113, located at 99 South Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Discussion group will meet at 7:15 p.m. Attire: casual.

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Meanwhile in cyberspace, the Rosicrucian Order itself offers its recommended reading lists, separately, for members and the public.

Members have access to their list via the private website’s Community Reading Room. Titles include Rosicrucian Code of Life for February, and Master of the Rose Cross: A Collection of Essays By and About H. Spencer Lewis for next month. “On the first of each month we will be posting discussion questions to get everyone started and you are also welcome to post your own questions and reflections.” Concurrently in a Facebook public group, those interested in Rosicrucianism may participate in this syllabus through the coming twelve months:

February: Kybalion by Three Initiates
March: With the Adepts: An Adventure among the Rosicrucians by Franz Hartman
April: Initiates of the Flame by Manly P. Hall
May: Awakening of the Psychic Heart by John Palo
June: Mansions of the Soul by H. Spencer Lewis
July: Mental Poisoning by H. Spencer Lewis
August: Rosicrucian Principles for Home and Business by H. Spencer Lewis
September: Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life by H. Spencer Lewis
October: Fama Fraternitatis
November: Confessio Fraternitatis
December: Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
January 2016: Positio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis
February 2016: Appellatio Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis
     

‘Landmarks here and there’

  
The Second Masonic District Book Club and Discussion Group has its summertime plans lined up.

Saturday at 1 p.m., the brethren will host a barbecue to complement the already meaty discussion subject of the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. This will take place at Alpine Tilden Tenakill Lodge No. 77, located at 404 Tenafly Road in Tenafly. (That’s in New Jersey, for those of you checking in from Riyadh and Dakar.) Cost per person: only $10.

Reservations are requested. Simply e-mail to 2mdbookclub (at) gmail.com

Next month, the group will partner with Fidelity Lodge No. 113 for a trip to Virginia to enjoy other landmarks.

I love photographing this place.

Thursday, August 9 – a trip to the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, and a visitation to Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, which meets within the Memorial. There will be a special speaker in lodge that evening, and a Festive Board of course. Cost per person for dinner: $5.

Friday, August 10 – a daytrip to Washington, D.C. to visit the House of the Temple. The headquarters of the Mother Council of the World has been benefitting from renovations in recent years, with more improvements to come as the centenary of this John Russell Pope masterpiece nears.

Also on the itinerary is a stop at Mount Vernon. Known formally as George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum and Gardens, this indeed is the residence of Martha and George Washington. It has been a good friend to Freemasonry in recent years. I think it is safe to say that as a repository of Washington’s effects, Mt. Vernon was excruciatingly slow to acknowledge Freemasonry’s role in the man’s life, and vice versa, but an exhibit was installed several years ago that highlighted Washington the Freemason. More recently, the newly celebrated Mt. Nebo Lodge apron was displayed there. Even the gift shop seems to offer some interesting Masonry-related items.

Simply e-mail to 2mdbookclub (at) gmail.com to get involved.