‘Masonic March madness!’

     
There are so many great things for the thinking Freemason to do this month! Check out some of these events within the apartments of the Temple and without.

Thursday, March 2 – Washington Lodge 21 in the First Manhattan District will meet at 7 p.m. in the French Doric Room on the tenth floor of Masonic Hall (71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan). Program: A lecture on American Talmudist and Washington Lodge Brother Israel Baer Kursheedt given by the lodge’s own W. Bro. Tessler.

Friday, March 3 – New York Open Center will host an open house with a discussion of Esoteric Quest at 7:30 p.m. Free admission. 22 East 30th Street in Manhattan. From the publicity:

The Open Center’s Esoteric Quest conferences have now run for over 21 years and are some of the world’s leading events on the Western spiritual paths. We invite you to join us for an informative and engaging evening in which we will briefly review the remarkable history of the Quests and look forward to the upcoming Esoteric Quest in the Western Isles of Scotland in August. The Outer Hebrides in the North Atlantic are where Celtic and Norse cultures mingled, where megalithic standing stones dot the landscape of the isles of Lewis and Harris, and where big skies, mountain vistas, and the ever present rolling sea provide the context for our thirteenth Quest. Join us for a convivial and entertaining evening. All are welcome.

Friday, March 3 – The Gurdjieff Foundation of New York will hold a new introductory session at 6:30 p.m. in the lecture hall at Quest Bookshop. Details here:

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Sunday, March 5 – The School of Practical Philosophy will present a new Plato Study Day titled “Plato’s Path to Prosperity.” Click here.

Sunday, March 5 – Anthroposophy NYC will present Anne Keller-de Wild, who will present “The Five Temperments: An Open Secret, Continued.” Details here.

Tuesday, March 7 – My favorite chapter of Piers Vaughan’s latest book concerns the Archangel Raphael, and on this night the Scottish Rite Valley of New York City will host Piers (33°, MSA, PMWM, etc.) for a reading of this very chapter and a book-signing. Details here:

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Wednesday, March 8 – Mariners Lodge 67 in the First Manhattan District will meet at 7 p.m. in the Doric Room on the eighth floor of Masonic Hall (71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan). Program: Voyage into Mystery Chapter X: “Secret Origins of the Illuminati” presented by Josef Wages. From the publicity:

Who were the Illuminati? Why was it formed? Is there a connection to Freemasonry? Does it still exist, and is it behind the “New World Order?”

Bro. Josef Wages is a famed Masonic author who is one of the principal editors of the book The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati. (Copies of the book and Illuminati jewelry will be available for sale.) Open to Apprentices and Fellows.

Program will be followed by Mariner’s legendary maritime-themed Festive Board at 9 p.m. Reservations are a must. Click here.

Friday, March 10 – The Fourth Manhattan District (my home) will host a Grand Lecturer’s Convention. These are amazing happenings. Bro. Richard Kessler, the Right Worshipful Grand Lecturer, will discuss a certain aspect of the meaning of Masonry. A real treat, especially for those of us new to New York Freemasonry and are unaccustomed to knowing Grand Lodge officers who can discuss Freemasonry brilliantly. At Masonic Hall: 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.

Saturday, March 11 – New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 will host the Magpie Mason! A Past Master of the lodge, I will tender my first presentation to the brethren in a really long time. Titled “Question Everything (And Answer as Best You Can),” I’ll recount the history of Masonic education, and explain how attainable an advancement in Masonic knowledge really is, even for the timid seeker.

We meet at Hightstown-Apollo Lodge 41 in Hightstown.

Thursday, March 16 – The inimitable Andrew Hammer, president of the Masonic Restoration Foundation and author of Observing the Craft, will present the 2017 Wendell K. Walker Lecture, hosted by Independent Royal Arch Lodge 2 in the First Manhattan District. All info on this flier:

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Thursday, March 16 – The Mythology Roundtable of New York will meet for Mesopotamian Mythology Class at Brooklyn Brainery at 8:15 p.m. From the publicity:

Mesopotamia, the ancient “Land Between Two Rivers” in present day Iraq, was home to many different gods. Though less-well known today than the pantheons of ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, the gods of Mesopotamia had just as many grand adventures, big personalities and poignant observations on the human condition. We know them today thanks to a rich ancient literature, including the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh,” the first example of written epic poetry in world history.

In this class, we’ll meet the most important gods of Mesopotamia: tempestuous Inanna (the original femme fatale), wise Enki, monster-slaying Ninurta, and many more. We’ll hear the story of the great “two-thirds divine” hero Gilgamesh and uncover the original context of familiar names like Ishtar and Lilith. We’ll also learn how these gods were worshipped, and how the worship affected history, up to and including the modern world.

This class is a general introduction to the myths and legends of Mesopotamia. No previous knowledge of the subject matter is required.

Friday, March 17 – Atlas-Pythagoras Masonic Lodge 10 in New Jersey will welcome back Past Prestonian Lecturer (2014) Michael Kearsley, who will speak on “1814 Consolidation and Change: The First Year of the United Grand Lodge of England.” Details here:

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Saturday, March 18 – The Rose Circle Research Foundation will bring renowned scholar, author, Freemason, Fama translator, etc. Christopher McIntosh back to the lectern to present “New Light on the Golden Dawn.” From the publicity:

In the founding of the 19th century English occult society the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a key role was played by an alleged German Rosicrucian adept named Fräulein Anna Sprengel, who had the magical motto Sapiens Dominabitur Astris (the wise person overcomes their stars). In this lecture, historian Christopher McIntosh reveals a sensational discovery he made about Fräulein Sprengel, and speaks about its significance for the history of the Golden Dawn.

Ticketing information is still to come.

Saturday, March 18 – A great day is in store at the Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge in Elizabethtown. The publicity:

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Monday, March 20 – The Rosicrucian Order will host a celebration of the Spring Equinox. If you’ve ever wondered about your harmonious relationship among your fellow man, nature, and deity, here’s a great opportunity to learn from the Grand Master. 6:30 p.m. at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. in Manhattan.

Saturday, March 25 – The C.G. Jung Foundation will present a daylong seminar led by Michael Conforti, Ph.D. titled “Time of the Forgotten: Trauma, Memory, and Healing.” Details here.

Monday, March 27 – The Mythology Roundtable of New York will meet to discuss the new issue of Parabola magazine, “The Search for Meaning,” at 6:15 p.m. in the Kristine Mann Library at the C.G. Jung Foundation. 28 East 39th Street (fourth floor) in Manhattan. A mandatory reading assignment to prepare for the discussion.

Wednesday, March 29 – I don’t know what is going on with The American Lodge of Research. It hasn’t published a book in about six years. I haven’t received a mailing in two or three years. The website is gone. The Yahoo! Group is effectively shut down. At Masonic Week a couple of weeks ago, a past officer confided the lodge is basically dead, and yet its Faceypage still hints at activity. A meeting on this evening with RW Pierre de Ravel d’Esclapon, a Fellow of the lodge, presenting “The Vatican and Freemasonry: A History of Misunderstanding?” Eight o’clock in the Jacobean Room in Masonic Hall.

Thursday, March 30 – The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library’s lecture series will continue with DeMolay International Grand Master Bill Sardone speaking on Jacques DeMolay. 6:30 p.m. at Masonic Hall in NYC.

And in April…

Saturday, April 1 – QUEST XXXVII at Scottish Rite Masonic Hall in Rockville Centre, New York. 9 a.m. “A Way of Life.” See flier below:

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Wednesday, April 5 – RW Hammer returns to New York City for a great Table Lodge:

Thursday, April 6 – The Scottish Rite Valley of New York City will host its annual Feast of the Paschal Lamb, with Ill. Richard Kessler, 33° delivering the address. This Past Most Wise Master will be there! Details here:

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‘A Midsummer’s Night Mythology’

     
New York Mythology Group, the New York City Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, will take it outside for a night under the stars in Central Park on Wednesday. From the publicity:

A Midsummer’s Night Mythology:

Stories Under the Stars

With Antoine Faddoul

Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m.

Antoine will present stories of the constellations as viewed by different civilizations’ myths, with expressions through artworks, and artifacts. Join us for an enchanting evening. Bring refreshments, if you like.

Meet at Cleopatra’s Needle behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 79th Street.

Antoine Faddoul is a polymath designer, artist, storyteller, and futurist with a multidisciplinary approach combining elements of astronomy, general science, archaeology, history, art, ancient mythology, and linguistics. He has lectured, written, and edited dozens of books, papers, and articles.
     

‘Here cometh April again’

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.”

Charles Lamb


Frankly, this is as much for keeping track of my own calendar as anything else.

April 1 – New York City Mythology Roundtable: Discussion on The Book of Symbols, 7 p.m. at Caffe Dante on MacDougal Street in the Village. Bring your copy of the book.

April 2 – Drisha Institute for Jewish Education’s mixed program (lecture, workshop, et al.) on “Prayer: What Are We Doing?” Starts at 6:30 p.m. 37 West 65th Street in Manhattan.

April 1-4 – Nightly discussion on Appellatio Fraternitatis, newly published philosophical literature by the Rosicrucian Order. 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center, located at 2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in Manhattan.

April 5 – “Taste of Yeats” at New York University’s Ireland House in the Village. No part of the day’s program is focused particularly on Yeats’ spiritual life, but any discussion of his life and work, I figure, would at least touch on the esoteric themes of his writings. Regardless, it should be a great day. Registration is paid in advance.

April 5 – “Life Against Death,” the third of four lectures by Eugene Schwartz in the In the Midst of Life: Understanding Death in Our Time series at the Anthroposophical Society’s New York City headquarters at 138 West 15th Street. 7 p.m. $20 admission for non-members.

April 9 – “The Origins and Offshoots of the Hierarchies and Humans,” the eighth of the 10-part Spiritual Beings and Their Work lecture series at the Anthroposophical Society. 7 p.m. $20 admission for non-members.

April 10 – Current Events Evening Talk led by Serguei Krissiouk on “Ukraine’s Fierce Struggle for Freedom,” concerning the historical, cultural, political, and spiritual causes of the current international crisis. Anthroposophical Society. 7 p.m. $20 admission for non-members.

April 14 – Opening Night of the f r e e spring semester at the School of Practical Philosophy. 12 East 79th Street in Manhattan. (Also available elsewhere in the United States.) Click here for info.

April 14 – Full Moon Meditation. I have participated in a few of these since last summer, and it’s still a pretty exotic experience. No ritualized, memorized, canned prayer, but something far more primal and true. 8 p.m. at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center.

April 15 – “A History of Dream Interpretation: Finding Meaning in Dreams from Ancient Cultures to Modern Societies” with Dr. Stanley Krippner. 8 p.m. at Observatory, located at 543 Union Street in Brooklyn. $12 admission.

April 17 – “The Last Supper Seder Transformed for Our Time,” is a clarion to eradicate all forms of enslavement everywhere. Anthroposophical Society. 7 p.m. Donations welcome.

April 21-25 – “The Sacred Circle of the Year: Ancient and Modern” explores the Rosicrucian approach to the pre-Christian and Christian-era calendars, namely the eight-fold cycle of the year. Facilitated by Steven A. Armstrong, nightly from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center uptown.

April 26 – Builders of the Adytum’s “Vibratory Attunement Ritual.” Yeah, me neither, but I’m going to check it out. Four o’clock at 71 West 23rd Street, 12th floor, in Manhattan.

April 30 – Illustrated art lecture by David Lowe titled “The Face of Christ: the 1400s from Giotto On.” Leonardo’s The Last Supper, Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment, and Raphael’s The Transfiguration, among other masterpieces, lead us deep into the origins of Rosicrucianism. (Mr. Lowe will lead a gallery walk at the Met on May 3.)
     

‘The Book of Symbols at Mythology Café’

     

At the meeting next Tuesday of Mythology Cafe, the New York City Roundtable of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, the group will discuss that wonderful publication The Book of Symbols. Written and compiled by skilled hands of the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, and published by Taschen in 2010, The Book of Symbols runs more than 800 pages and delivers hundreds of illustrated lessons on how man has harvested meaningful symbologies from the natural world and ages of human culture. It’s difficult to describe; I’ll have to dig up the review I wrote of it four years ago for some magazine or other. The book is a masterpiece, and I have found it useful countless times in aiding my own understanding of symbolisms in various esoteric contexts. It’s all here: the mystical, the practical, the mythological, the factual, the astral; animal, mineral, vegetable; the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s an amazing document.

The meeting will take place April 1 at Caffe Dante, the historic nook on MacDougal Street near the corner of Bleecker in the Village. Just a block west from our old haunt. Will begin at 7 p.m., and likely conclude at nine. (I am a little anxious to see this new Dante. It closed for renovations three months ago, and I have not seen the new look yet. It was such comfortable and comforting space, with its incredible, illustrious history.... Well, we shall see.)

Courtesy Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York

The organizers ask that we bring our books along, as there will be group discussion. “Choose 3 to 5 images from The Book of Symbols. Subjectively engage with each image/symbol. Prepare to share your critical and intimate encounter(s).”

It’ll be a great night.
     

‘Masonic Café?’

    

As promised on The Magpie Mason way back in 2010, yours truly will be the evening’s lecturer at the April 20 meeting of the New York Mythology Group. Our group is the New York City Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and among its regular activities are these monthly discussions, collectively known as Mythology Café, or perhaps for this one evening, Masonic Café.


The topic, unsurprisingly, will be Freemasonry, consisting of a summary of the fraternity’s complicated history, with explanations of the spiritual aspects of Masonic ritual and symbol. Mindful of the audience demographic, the speaker will anticipate pointed curiosity of Masonic tenets, practices, and even the vast diversity of lodges in New York City.

We’ll meet at 7 p.m. at our usual haunt, Ciao Stella, located at 206 Sullivan St. in Manhattan, between Bleecker and Third streets in the Village.

Membership in the New York Mythology Group is open to all, and you should formally join us if you plan to attend this event because we need your reservations. Seating at Ciao Stella is somewhat limited – it’s a pretty small place – and it is not unusual for Mythology Café to fill the room. Since management allows us to take over the restaurant, it is expected we all contribute toward the night’s receipts, so even if you don’t want to order a full meal, at least have a drink or something. (I’ll be having a few.)

   

‘Never too early’

    
And from our Never Too Early to Plan Ahead Department....

In April of next year, the Magpie Mason will be the guest lecturer at Mythology Café, the New York City Chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. Date TBA. Mythology Café meets at Ciao Stella Restaurant, located at 206 Sullivan St., between Bleecker and Third streets, in Manhattan.

The topic, unsurprisingly, will be Freemasonry, consisting of a summary of the fraternity’s complicated history, with explanations of the spiritual aspects of Masonic ritual and symbol. Mindful of the audience demographic, the speaker will anticipate pointed curiosity of Masonic tenets, practices, and even the vast diversity of lodges in New York City.

    

‘Mythology and Mysticism’

    
Mythology Cafe, the New York City chapter of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, met for its monthly dinner-lecture last night, despite the disruption in the neighborhood caused by the visit of President Obama across the street. Our topic was “Mythology and Mysticism” in a conversation capably led by Morrin Bass, one of the principals of the New York Awareness Center.

The understanding of mysticism presented at Mythology Cafe causes me to concentrate especially intently to follow what is being said, as one might if conversing with a person whose primary language is foreign. It is a language barrier I encounter almost every time I attend these meetings. This is not because I’m any kind of ascetic follower of a messiah (I am far more interested in the messages than the messengers), but because I think I see the group’s terminology as the product of modern innovating; it is mostly a pastiche of Jungian psychology and what I can only call “New Age” self-improvement. I am not complaining – and it must be remembered we’re part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation! – but I always think there is a larger context that goes unmentioned or even missed.

In leading our discussion, Dr. Bass explained the purposes of mythology and mysticism, saying, in part, that both are necessary in the communication between the subconscious and the conscious, a process that is essential to those who want to change themselves, which she said is the essence of spirituality. Myths are stories that transcend space and time, using universal archetypes to reach each person on an individual level.

Mysticism, if I understood her correctly, offers a means to affect reality.

Tapping into a modern story to illustrate how transcending time and space can alter contemporary reality, she reminded us of the more serious implications of Back to the Future.

The very popular comedy is a fun movie, for sure, but also one that depicts a youth, with the aid of a wizard-figure, who journeys back through time to “tweak” the character of his father and reshape the present. “It’s up to us what to take as reality,” she said. “Our past can be our future. Our future could be our past.” Persephone, Orpheus, Beowulf, and others were cited as examples of ageless stories of transcending existence.

My own understanding of mysticism is best expressed by the great F.E. Peters, a favorite professor during my university days. From his book Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The Works of the Spirit, excerpted:

Mysticism is sometimes taken as the esoteric understanding of God and His works given to a few chosen souls, or as the immediate apprehension of, and even identity with, God Himself. In either case, mysticism found a profound, if occasionally troubled, place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The sources of the trouble are not far to seek. For one thing, such a privileged understanding seemed to create ‘a church within a church,’ an elite group of believers who, if they did not often trouble those latter members of the flock, certainly troubled their shepherds. And among some of the adepts, their special understanding, their ‘gnosis,’ which they at least thought was more profound, and perhaps even more authentic, than that possessed by the ordinary believer, had the effect of reducing what might be called ‘ordinary revelation’ to an inferior status and, as an occasional corollary, of freeing the adept from the ‘ordinary observance’ prescribed by that other, public revelation. And finally, the mystic’s intuitive leap into the neighborhood, or even the very bosom, of God seemed to violate one of the most profound and strongly held beliefs of the three monotheistic faiths, that in the utter transcendence, the absolute otherness, of God.

Professor Peters’ take on mysticism surely is not foreign to Freemasonry, certain avenues of which are traveled by brethren who discern in its rituals and symbols secrets they appropriate for themselves. I admit to being guilty of this to an extent, but the position held by myself and those like me is not necessarily of our own making. When a member of a private society that exists to explore morality, eschatology, and other adult concerns always is surrounded by fellow members who offer nothing but “kid tested, mother approved” frivolity, even his simple sincerity in studying the rituals and lectures can make him look like an isolated hermit by comparison. He may resign himself to that identity, or embrace it, but it is not entirely of his own creation.

“If a man knows more than others,
he becomes lonely.”

  

C.G. Jung

Everybody should be actuated by both an acknowledgement of a need for self-improvement, and by a strong desire to work toward and achieve that development. I have to do a better job of understanding that there are different methods and language others employ toward that end.

The next meeting of Mythology Cafe will take place Wednesday, August 11 at 7 p.m. at Ciao Stella, located on Sullivan Street, between Bleecker and Third. The topic will be “The Evolution of Religious Belief.” Click here for a description of the topic.