‘Masonic Week 2015’

     

The schedule for Masonic Week 2015 is posted here, including the link for accommodations at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia. It arrives a bit earlier this time, beginning on Wednesday, January 28.

The Masonic Society Feast and Forum still dominates the Friday dining options. MW Bro. Michael Halleran, Grand Master of Masons of Kansas and the Executive Editor of The Journal of The Masonic Society, will be our keynote speaker.

You may notice the absence of the Rosicrucians (and Knights Occidental!), as SRICF has broken away from Masonic Week and will meet in November 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky instead. Fraters, I am sure, will receive those details before long.
     

‘Tree of Life Seminars’

    
The brethren of the Scottish Rite of Washington, DC and the fratres of the Masonic Rosicrucians of DC will co-host a series of seminars beginning next month, featuring knowledgeable speakers offering eight approaches to learning about the Tree of Life as a “Pathway to Enlightenment.”

More great news: one need not be physically present in DC. These sessions will be available via the web. Admission to all eight seminars, whether in person or via the internet, costs $90, but those who register before Saturday, March 10 will benefit from a discount, bringing the total cost to $75.

You can’t go to the movies eight times for $75. Or $90.

The schedule: All sessions will take place on Sundays, from 4 to 6 p.m. Panelists for discussion: TBA.

March 25 – Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Darryl Carter.

April 22 – Sufism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Julianne Hazen, Director of Sufi Studies, Sufi Center, Medina, New York.

May 20 – Vedanta Yoga and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ill. George R. Adams, 33°, GC.

June 17 – Science and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Pierre Gaujard, Physicist.

September 16 – Buddhism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ven. Bhante Katugastota Uparatana, Buddhist Chaplain, American University, Washington.

October 7 – Esoteric Christianity and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Fratre Marcel Derouches.

October 21 – Taoism and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Dr. Darryl Carter.

November 11 – Freemasonry and the Tree of Life, Pathway to Enlightenment, presented by Ill. George R. Adams.

Read about the presenters here.
   

Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis

Masonic Week 2010: The Rosicrucians

The High Council Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (Rosicrucian Society of the United States) met on Thursday.

From left: Thurman, Marcel, Rob, David, X, and Billy.

Left: Tony Clifton.

Right: David Dixon Goodwin, IX°, GC, Junior Deputy Supreme Magus.

Grand Archivist David Lindez, IX°, GC

and Sean Graystone, IX°, Third Acolyte.

Left: Thurman C. Pace, Jr., Past Supreme Magus.

Right: Aaron Shoemaker, IX°, Director of Ceremonies.

David with Supreme Magus William H. Koon II, IX°, KGC.

David D. Goodwin with X.

(Sorry for the blur. I shot this from very far away.)

Richard Van Doren, left, with Thurman C. Pace, Jr.

     

‘The fruits of labor at Alpha’

     

W. Bro. David Lindez, left, receives the thanks of Alpha Lodge No. 116 from Worshipful Master Kevin and District Deputy Grand Master Fred Waldron Wednesday night. David was Master last year.

We enjoyed a nice evening at Alpha Lodge the other night with a fun, interactive program complemented by a heartfelt gesture by the lodge in salute to its junior Past Master.

The meeting began with Worshipful Master Kevin calling W. Bro. David Lindez to the East, where he was presented with an etched golden plaque commemorating his service to Alpha Lodge in 2009 – when The Magpie Mason conferred upon it the nickname “The Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex County.” If you read this blog with any regularity last year, you learned of the world renowned lecturers and other visitors who made stops at Alpha Lodge, surely testaments to W. Bro. Lindez’s qualities as a man and a Mason. Bro. Rob Morton, Senior Warden, was summoned to the East for the purpose of awarding David his Past Master’s jewel and ring.

The program for the evening was a multifaceted group presentation united under a theme one might term “The fruits of labor.” Five presenters took turns in a kind of show-and-tell format, giving talks and displaying items to make the point that working hard in Freemasonry yields benefits of health and happiness, with the possibility of acceptance into Masonry’s invitational and honorary orders to boot.

Bro. Gerard, recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land, spoke on the Tree of Life, pointing out the parallels between this timeless esoteric map of the spirit to the meaning of Masonry. Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty are not only supports of a lodge; they epitomize vigorous health of psyche, body, and spirit.

W. Bro. Franklin of Nutley Lodge No. 25, also recently passed from the Master’s chair, likewise worked wonders during his year in the East, dispensing Light to the brethren with the help of an impressive itinerary of guest lecturers and with a variety of very enjoyable activities. You may have read about these meetings on this blog also.

Left: W. Bro. Franklin displays his replica George Washington apron.

Right: Bro. Gerard explains the Tree of Life.

Franklin talked frankly about what Masonry means to him, and what he has gained from his experience as Worshipful Master. For “Show and Tell,” he gave the brethren an eyeful of the beautiful apron his lodge gave him. Not the constitutionally mandated lambskin bordered with purple grosgrain–although he got one of those too–but a wonderful reproduction of the apron presented to Bro. George Washington in 1784 by the Marquis de Lafayette.

Bro. José, also from Nutley Lodge, and a newly initiated brother of the Allied Masonic Degrees, spoke enthusiastically of the AMD. Franklin and José are among the charter members of Alexandria Council No. 478, one of the four(!) AMD councils chartered in New Jersey in 2009.

José displayed AMD regalia (aprons, breast jewels, etc.), connecting each piece to its corresponding degree, and explained these time honored degrees, sometimes with the help of W. Lindez.

Bro. José displays the miniature jewels of the AMD.

Yours truly spoke of The Masonic Society, careful to point out how membership is not invitational, and that all that is required is a curious mind desirous of further Light in Masonry. Circulating copies of all six issues published thus far of The Journal of The Masonic Society, I explained the philosophy of the publisher: to offer a top quality periodical that delivers solid scholarship, colorful current events, insightful opinion, fiction, poetry, helpful advertisements, and more – the way the excellent Masonic magazines of the early 20th century did, but this time with state-of-the-art layout and design.

The Magpie Mason does a lot of work in Freemasonry–frankly, more than is healthy–and nothing instills more pride than my association with The Masonic Society. Since introducing ourselves in 2008, membership in the Society has grown to more than 1,000. Issue No. 7 of The Journal is now arriving in our members’ mailboxes, and our on-line discussion forum is buzzing with 650 members discussing 3,300 topics. And we’re getting ready for our second annual Gathering and Banquet on February 12 in Alexandria, Virginia at Masonic Week. In addition, local events, called Second Circle meetings, are taking place all over the United States and Canada, with one in the works for Britain too! It is exhilarating to eyewitness such success.

After my spiel, several other Masonic Society members rose spontaneously to say how much they too love the magazine. José said when he receives each new issue of The Journal, he stays awake late into the night reading it from cover to cover. That was one of the more tame endorsements offered. And then, our Master of Ceremonies thoughtfully held up a stack of Masonic Society membership applications, asking “Who wants one of these?” Nearly every brother in the room stuck out a hand to get one. Thanks for that, guys.

And speaking of our intrepid Master of Ceremonies, it was none other than X who brought us all together, kept us all on topic, and thematically tied together our presentations... with calisthenics thrown in too! (The Magpie Mason is unable to share the memorable photo of the exercising, for fear of being pummeled.) Seriously though, think about that. Imagine a couple of minutes near the start of a lodge meeting devoted to some simple stretching exercises to get the blood circulating, awakening the body and mind. I’m a strong advocate of adding a moment of silence to the early minutes of a meeting for the sake of tranquility, but the perfect complement to this would be, let’s say, a “moment of motion!” Just a minute of stretching arms, legs, back, and neck to maintain alertness. (Or maybe your lodge has no one napping on the sidelines!)

X’s own talk included a show-and-tell display of the replica claymore given to him in thanks by his grateful commandery, the excellent Trinity No. 17. But more importantly he shared with us the numerous pieces of “bling” (his word). In what really could be the most important remarks of the evening, thanks to their candor and brevity, X said these beautiful aprons, medals, jewels, collars, sashes, and swords are not to be treasured for their impressive appearances or intrinsic values, but they must be seen as symbols of the intangible: the spreading of Brotherly Love, the readiness to extend Relief, the resolute upholding of Truth. It was a blunt challenge to our senses of duty and honor which, to be honest, needs to be heard much more often in this fraternity. I’m sure we all have seen instances of titles and privileges being bestowed with undue generosity, which of course devalues the fraternity itself, to say nothing of reducing its regalia to gimcrackery.

Yes, it was a great night at Alpha. As usual.


The Magpie Mason will be the guest lecturer at Alpha Lodge’s Regular Communication of Wednesday, May 26. Topic: “Death: Why I’m Looking Forward to It!”
     

‘Hockley revisited’

     
Courtesy of Ill. Cliff Jacobs of the Valley of New York City.


Now Available from The Teitan Press: “The Rosicrucian Seer: Magical Writings of Frederick Hockley.”

An important collection of Hockley’s writings, with a biographical introduction by John Hamill, and chapters on Hockley’s Manuscripts, and “Hockley as an Astrologer” by R. A. Gilbert. The editor, John Hamill, is one of the leading historians of English Freemasonry - with a particular fascination for its more unusual byways. R. A. Gilbert is of course an acknowledged authority on the 19th century occult revival on which he has written and lectured extensively.

Frederick Hockley (1809-1885), was a major, if often overlooked, figure in 19th century occultism. He was an active “seer” who engaged in scrying, and took an interest in ritual magic, alchemy and spiritualism. He was also a Freemason, who was associated with the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and other esoteric fraternities. In addition, Hockley sought out and copied Grimoires and other magical, alchemical and kabbalistic texts that had lain hidden in private collections around England. Many of Hockley’s early manuscripts were commissioned by John Denley, the bookseller who had acquired Ebenezer Sibly’s stunning library, the source of many of the texts that Francis Barrett used in compiling “The Magus,” while others were for his own use. After his death, Hockley’s library was dispersed, and it is known that many Hockley manuscripts made their way into the hands of members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Such was the high regard in which Hockley was held, that one of that group’s founders, W. Wynn Westcott, not only wrote that Hockley’s manuscripts were “highly esteemed,” but also posthumously claimed him as Adept of the Golden Dawn. “The Rosicrucian Seer” not only reveals much about Hockley’s life and esoteric activities, but also provides invaluable insights into the occult milieu of 19th century England that gave rise to the Golden Dawn and inspired its members.

“The Rosicrucian Seer” was previously published as a paperback in 1986. This new edition, the first in hardcover, has been extensively revised and corrected, and contains much new material both by and about Hockley.

New book. Fine in fine dust jacket. (36444) $45.00
Publisher: The Teitan Press. York Beach, Maine USA, 2009.
Details: First Edition Thus. Edition Limited to 950 numbered copies.
ISBN: 9780933429154.

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‘The Rosicrucians’

Masonic Week 2009 is history, but perhaps these photos will help preserve that history. During the course of about 72 hours, the Magpie Mason shot approximately 300 photographs, of which 255 were keepers.

Obviously, not all can be displayed here, but I’ll post a number of the better ones in a series of updates. Herewith is Part I, “The Rosicrucians.”

On Thursday afternoon, after a committee meeting of The Masonic Society (held in the ominously numbered room 2012 of the hotel), I happened to catch the colorful exit of the fratres of the High Council of Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis, presided over by MW William H. Koon II, Supreme Magus.

Philippe & Co. carrying banners.

Oliver has the strength of ten men.

Secretary General Franklin Boner.

Chris Jessen (IX°), Minister of Music, also is grand organist of a number of the groups that meet at Masonic Week. His musicianship adds so much to the proceedings that I cannot remember what it was like without him. His keyboard sounds like the pipe organ at the Royal Albert Hall.

Fratre David, Grand Archivist, exits the Council. David is Worshipful Master of historic Alpha Lodge No. 116 in East Orange, New Jersey. He is an enthusiastic and diligent laborer and leader in several fields of esoteric studies.

For me, this one says it all. Fratre David (IX°), left, confers with Past Supreme Magus Thurman C. Pace, Jr. It is hard to explain what Thurman means to a great many Masons, especially a number of us in New Jersey.