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!”
     

‘Truth Crosses the Bridge’

   

Piers, John and Rob at Trinity on Monday night.

It was a typically memorable evening at Trinity Commandery No. 17 on Monday. There are about 10 Templar commanderies in New Jersey, but I think everyone acknowledges that Trinity offers the most. In its ritual work, education, camaraderie, and other characteristics, Trinity is regarded highly around the country. Even Grand Master Koon is a member here. For the program Monday night, Commander Rob Morton welcomed to the podium SK Piers Vaughan, past commander of historic Morton Commandery No. 4 in New York City, which is another outstanding KT commandery that confers its Orders in the Church of the Incarnation, a landmark Episcopal church on Madison Avenue. Piers also is a bishop in the Old Templar Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and is an archbishop in the Ecclesia Rosae Rubeae and Aureae Crucis. Loyal Magpie readers also know him from St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons in New York’s First Manhattan District, and from the Rose Circle Research Foundation.

Trinity is preparing to confer the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross in June, so Piers’ chosen topic worked perfectly.

“In the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,’ Indiana has to select the Holy Grail from a table covered with goblets. Finally, eschewing the gold, silver and bejeweled chalices, he reaches for a simple little pottery cup at the back of the table,” Piers began. “From among the sea of ‘empty vessels’ he has selected the simplest, the least impressive of those on offer, and he has chosen the most important treasure of all: the Holy Grail. In a similar vein, we often search for meaning among the better known degrees of our beloved Craft, yet sometimes the greatest treasure lies in a place we least expect. The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is often seen as a curiosity, a mildly interesting piece of whimsy which we put on before the ‘important’ degrees of Malta and Temple. This quaint little play in three acts about a man being sent to the court of a king, crossing a bridge only to be arrested, and then restored to his former estate seems to teach us little. And the strange debate within the degree, about wine, kings and women seems almost out of place in a Masonic ceremony.

“Yet this little degree is one of the oldest of all Masonic degrees, and so venerated that it occurs in the Allied Masonic Degrees in England under the title Red Cross of Babylon, is strongly alluded to in the Royal Order of Scotland, and even features in the Order of Knight Masons, the ne plus ultra of Irish Freemasonry. Further afield, in continental Masonry it is the 16° of many Scottish Rite systems, and is the only degree surviving intact from the mysterious rite of the Elect Cohens of the Universe of Martinez de Pasqually.

“Why would such an apparently innocuous degree be thought worthy of such preservation, especially in such exalted bodies as the Royal Order of Scotland and the Knight Masons of Ireland? Even stranger, why would it be considered a pivotal degree in early magical systems, this degree which talks of a journey and an apparently frivolous debate?”

Piers went on to give the scriptural and legendary basis of the Order. The Knights know it already, and others can read an apt summary here. But what is it trying to teach us, Piers asked.

“The Order is usually split into three Acts,” he said. “In Act I, the Sanhedrin lament the fact that their efforts to rebuild the City and Temple at Jerusalem are constantly thwarted, either by aggressive enemies or by indifferent edicts. They elect to send an ambassador to the Court of Darius to plead their case. Zerubbabel offers to go, as he is known to the King at Babylon. In Act II, Zerubbabel attempts to cross a river by means of a bridge, but is arrested by guards and imprisoned. In Act III he is brought before the King, and his commitment to Truth and to his vows result in his being released and exalted, and, following the famous debate, he is allowed to return to his native land bearing gifts, with the promise of a free pass for him and his fellows.

“Although the journey is sandwiched between what appear to be two more impressive sections, do not let this distract you. The journey is in fact the most important part of all!”

This artifact is a fragment of a Babylonian stele, and is on display in the Museum at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It dates to approximately 500 BCE, and tells the story of the rebuilding of the Temple by Cyrus, the Persian king, on the 12th day of the fourth year of his reign.

“Now, many Masonic degrees explicitly talk of a journey:
• the Second Degree
• the Third Degree
• the Most Excellent Master Degree
• Mark Degree
• Most Excellent Master Degree
• Holy Royal Arch
• Royal Master Degree
• Select Master
• Super-Excellent Master.

“They all contain journeys, and if one accepts that all circumambulations are a symbolic journey, then all Masonic degrees contain such a journey,” Piers continued. “We find the symbolic use of a journey in many important books, not least Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales,’ Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ and Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ Of all the Masonic systems of degrees, the journey undertaken by Zerubbabel in the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is perhaps the most strange of all.

“In the Holy Royal Arch we learn that the name Zerubbabel signifies ‘Truth.’ Zerubbabel, like the ‘Pilgrim’ of Bunyan, is therefore the embodiment of this quality. It is ‘Truth,’ therefore, which undertakes this extraordinary journey, traveling, it might be noted, from West – or Jerusalem – to East – or Babylon – in a surprising reversal of the usual journeying which leads to the Holy City. In this case enlightenment is sought not in the Holy Land but beyond its shores. What is most important about this particular journey is that it is two-way. The immense significance of this will become apparent when we consider the fact that the journey involves crossing a bridge.

“Where or what is this mysterious river over which Zerubbabel must cross? An indication of the answer, surprisingly, lies in the preface to the Red Cross of Babylon Degree, published in England, which is worth quoting at length:

In the great religions of the world – for example Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Shintoism – there is a tradition that the soul has to cross the river of death, usually over a bridge, but sometimes by ferry as in Greek mythology, or by dividing the waters as Elijah did before his translation… In all the Rites, crossing the bridge is a symbolical representation of death, while the subsequent experience of the candidate is emblematical of the judgment of the soul.

“In this sense the bridge is also like Jacob’s ladder in the First Degree; it is a means of crossing a divide or chasm which separates two places. Much is made in the Book of Ezra about being ‘over the river,’ or ‘this side of the river’ and ‘beyond the river,’ so using the idea of the river as a key delimiter between two lands or empires. So what is the nature of these two worlds, this river and this bridge?

“The river has often been used as a symbol for the veil of forgetfulness or death, and its waters wash both cares and remembrances from the transitioning soul,” our teacher continued. “The two lands represent the conscious and subconscious worlds.... There is a veil which separates these two worlds, and this can only be pierced by means of traversing a path or bridge. Truth, then, crosses the bridge between the earthly world and the celestial plane, there to be detected as an intruder (naturally, for he is both conscious and living); yet he was chosen for this task because in the legend from the Red Cross of Babylon ‘Zerubbabel was formerly well-known to the King, and now offers his services to undertake the hazardous enterprise of traversing the Persian dominions, and seeking admission to the presence of our Sovereign.’ So it appears that Truth was accustomed to crossing this bridge in the past in order to communicate with this mysterious ‘King,’ but may have forgotten how to do it, which is why he is stopped, recognized as not belonging to that second world, and apprehended.”

“However, on receiving an audience with the mysterious ‘King’ he is recognized and a final test is put to him,” Vaughan added. “This test is one of determining that he understands the importance of silence or secrecy. Truth demonstrates his understanding of the importance of keep silent on secret matters, and the ‘King’ now welcomes him as a friend. The mortal is accepted in the land of the dead, or the subconscious world. But has his mysterious bridge been ‘burned,’ and will he be allowed to return to the material plane with the gifts he will learn on this journey?

“Now we come to the most perplexing part of the story – the Immemorial Discussion, in which three arbiters argue the supremacy of wine, the power of the king, women, and truth. At first glance this debate seems almost out of place in the scheme of things. Why would this be a central part of the ritual? If accepted at face value, it has little to teach us, but we have learned by now that the debate itself is a symbol of something else, something higher.

“The topic, not surprisingly, is about strength. Can the goals of Zerubbabel be achieved through physical, material or temporal objects, such as wine, women or kingly power (and remember that Christ himself was tempted with bread and kingly power)? Even though Zerubbabel is given the task of arguing the strength of women, he comes to realize that only Truth can set him free. That is to say, that the strength which he seeks to build his personal Temple lies within himself. Well pleased with this result, the ‘King’ asks him what he needs, and he replies the ability to return as needed, in order to learn more. This is granted (in the symbolism of passports). And this is no casual gift, for Truth now has the ability to pass between the two planes of existence without further let or hindrance. Furthermore, he is lavished with more gifts and talents to take back with him to the material plane.

“And finally, in a supreme gesture, the king gives him words of power and a sigil to enable him to make the transition in future. In knowing that the power to transform and to build the Temple within lies inside himself, he now has the power to move between life and death itself. Death no longer holds any terrors for our hero.”

Piers’ entire paper, replete with explanation of more esoterica and symbolism, can be read here.