‘33 & Beyond’

     

I have seen 33 & Beyond: The Royal Art of Freemasonry, and it is good.

I finally had chance to watch Johnny Royal’s 2017 film love letter to the fraternity yesterday and, while I won’t write a review, I recommend it.

The movie runs 90 minutes. With numerous interviews and footage of various untiled Masonic persons, places, and things, it relates philosophical interpretations of the degrees of Craft Masonry, the A&ASR-SJ major degrees, and the York Rite too.

In the interviews, we hear from young and not so young, and from famous and not yet famous brethren. Most, I think, are Californians, including Kendall, Cooper, and Doan; and there are Oklahomans Bob Davis (now Grand Master) and the late Jim Tresner, both of whom, unsurprisingly, are indispensable.

Conspicuously missing are any New Yorkers—the closest we get is a three-second clip of a homeless guy on MacDougal Street—but I guess you can’t have everything.

Watch it on Prime Video or Xumo. And stay through the end credits for a funny coda.

     

‘Journal 37 is a gem’

     

It’s been out for several weeks actually. The Journal of the Masonic Society No. 37 for Summer 2017 hit members’ mailboxes right around the Summer Solstice, so I’m late in catching up on The Magpie.

With a gorgeous shot of the East of Norman Hall in the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia on the front cover—that building never takes a bad photo—and a close-up of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania’s George Washington Apron on the back, these bookends enclose more than half a dozen explorations of the meaning of Masonry.

To join The Masonic Society, click here. Members receive four issues of The Journal per year, and enjoy full access to the superlative Masonic on-line discussion forum (if you can pull yourself away from Facebook) of international reach. In addition, our famous parchment patent with hand-pressed red wax seal memorializes your member status in a way you’ll want framed and hung on your wall. And those are just the material benefits of being with us. Learning more about your Craft in the company of like-minded Freemasons is the true point of it all.

In his President’s Message, Ken Davis imparts Part II of his advice on how to conduct Masonic research. I won’t give it all away, but one point I think is key is—his words— “Build a crap-detector.” (I call it a bullshit detector, but this is a family blog.)

When reading about Freemasonry, or anything really, consider the author’s credentials and qualifications. Look into the publisher. What other titles has it released? Is this material recent enough to be valuable currently? Scrutinize the sources. Are they reliable? Beware of academia. Sometimes reliable sources can be biased too. And, most importantly to me, distinguish between myth and history. I don’t know how many sensible and educated men in this fraternity believe the medieval Knights Templar were this merry band of mystic archaeologists who evolved into Freemasonry, but that’s a lecture for another day.

In every issue, we welcome the new members of the Society. Thirty-five are listed this time, including Brer Josh Heller of Pennsylvania! Josh is co-founder of Masonic Light, which marked its 17th anniversary exactly two months ago. I forgot to write about that. Amazingly, Josh and I have never met. I’m going to have to sneak up on him at one of his gigs one night. He plays the guitar in a rock and roll band. Welcome to TMS, Josh!

In his editorial, Editor in Chief Michael Poll tells of “The Domino Effect” that occurs when Masons labor together. The results can be the desired positive effect or can be unwanted negativity. It depends. Read his thoughtful—and I would say Rosicrucian-inspired—message on Page 10.

Turn the page and find a timely piece by Brent Morris titled “Albert Pike and the Ku Klux Klan.” In just a couple of hundred words, Morris challenges the highly flawed old sources that have been recycled over the decades to claim Pike was a member or even senior officer of the Klan.

I call this timely because it was only a month ago, on June 6, that National Review stupidly published an article by Edward Condon titled “The KKK Is Not the Christian ISIS: The Klan’s Hateful Theatrics and Symbolism Are Rooted Not in Christianity but in Freemasonry.” In this, Condon repeats the libel and goes even further, saying:

Pike was not recruited for his military savvy, however. He came into the Klan through his position as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry’s southern jurisdiction. Pike’s 800-page Masonic catechism, Morals and Dogma, and his time as Grand Commander were major factors in setting the ritual and philosophical tone for the higher degrees of American Freemasonry; it was this experience and authority that had the Klan knocking at his door as they looked to give their ragbag insurgency some ritualistic credibility and intimidating theatrics.

(I used to be a longtime subscriber to this magazine. I’m glad I’m not any longer, and not just for this reason. Fortunately, Art de Hoyos responded immediately with an informative and correcting letter to the editor, but I don’t know if it had any effect.)

Meanwhile here on planet Earth, Brent Morris explains there are but two published claims of Pike being with the Klan. Both are from the early 20th century (as in after Pike’s death, when he could not reply to them) and both are unsubstantiated and so shaky that no reputable historian should rely on them.

Clay Anderson of St. Paul Lodge 3 in Minnesota gives us “Mozart, Masonry and the Magic Flute” which contextualizes the history of the Austrian world outside the temple at the time Mozart composed his Masonic opera, and also explains the Continental way of Masonic initiation that the composer experienced. If you wonder what is so Masonic about this piece of music, read this article.

Mike Poll is back, this time on Page 22, with an interview of Art de Hoyos, Bob Davis, and Shane Harshbarger of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. Here all four collaborate on explaining why a Master Mason should consider the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for his future. (To be clear, it is the Southern Jurisdiction being discussed, and not the other jurisdiction.) Excerpted:

Arturo de Hoyos: “The Scottish Rite, perhaps more than any other Masonic system in the United States, presents a wider tapestry of Masonic philosophy… As I studied it, I realized that the Rite was not just pomp, not empty ceremonial, but a system which labors to fill the promise to provide ‘more light in Masonry.’ Many people don’t realize that the Scottish Rite is the most popular form of Masonry on the planet. Its Craft degrees are conferred in more countries of the world than any other version. Being a Scottish Rite Mason also gives me the opportunity to teach Masons about Masonry. If the Blue Lodge is like an undergraduate degree, the Scottish Rite is like a post-graduate degree. We simply learn more—and the stuff is pretty cool.”

Robert Davis: “The value of the Rite’s teachings is wholly embedded in the rituals of the degrees. And that value exponentially increases in proportion to the number of degrees which are presented to its members. Taken as a whole, the instruction of the Rite carries out six major historical themes in Freemasonry, along with four essential quests of the journey to mature masculinity. These themes and quests have to do with awakening consciousness within oneself. This is one of the most difficult challenges for most men. Yet, it is what makes Freemasonry a transformative art. For men, life needs to be seen as a journey. The Scottish Rite is built on the clear understanding that men need to be engaged in their own quest for self-improvement. The greatest value of the Scottish Rite is that it facilitates this fundamental psychological need in men.”

Shane Harshbarger: “Scottish Rite and Craft Masonry are so intertwined and linked that to speak of one without the other isn’t possible. In a general sense, I see Scottish Rite and Freemasonry continuing to decline in membership as a percentage of total population. Yet, I am not convinced that we need to fear this. We simply need to plan for the challenges that come with this reality. Conversely, I believe Freemasonry and Scottish Rite will always exist. There is no possibility of it dying out or disappearing. There will always be men who are looking for what Masonry and Scottish Rite offer. It is our job to ensure that when a man joins, he receives the experience that we promise to him. Masons need to do Masonry and be Masons… The future of Scottish Rite for me rests on Valleys that have social functions, perform and utilize all 29 degrees, and have continuing Scottish Rite education. There is more Scottish Rite than any Valley can do in a year, five years, or ten years, but we must be organic.”

There is a great deal more to this three-way interview. Get The Journal.

In book reviews, the great Chuck Dunning’s new Contemplative Masonry (that has yet another photo from the Philadelphia Masonic Temple on its cover!) is defined by reviewer Christian M. Christensen as “an extremely important and useful book for the brothers seeking to either get started or deepen their contemplative practices.” Meanwhile Tyler Anderson explains why The Ten Books of Architecture (actually a single volume summary of it) by Vitruvius is important to Freemasons and Masonic ritual.

In the back of the book, we have Brett Laird Doyle, a Full Member of Texas Lodge of Research, with “Captain Peter F. Tumlinson: Texas Ranger, San Jacinto Hero and Freemason.” This is a sterling example of why Masonic researchers today ought to concentrate on the Masonic history/biography in their own backyards. Your local research lodge, wherever you are, does not need more “papers” that deliver shallow understandings of broad historical topics that have been defined expertly by the authors we read already. Follow Doyle’s lead here, and bring to light the life of a brother Mason. Or a lodge history. Something significant to your locality.

John Hairston returns to The Journal with more remarkable details from the story of Prince Hall Freemasonry, this time with previously overlooked proof of the existence of Mark and Past Master degrees as conferred by African Lodge in the early 19th century. He’s not lost in arcana here. This is really cool research that shows how old archives can yield new understandings of the way we were.

There is much more to this issue of The Journal, but I’m at 1,600 words already and I doubt anyone is still reading. Join The Masonic Society now and improve your life immeasurably!
     

‘Masonic Society news’

     
Issue No. 26 of The Journal of The Masonic Society is reaching members’ mailboxes now and, since it is still St. John’s Day, I thought I’d share the details with some other news. First, for those who can attend Masonic Week in Virginia next month, please know The Masonic Society’s Feast and Forum (our annual meeting) will be hosted Friday, January 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the hotel. Click here for the Masonic Week meal reservations form, and don’t forget New Year’s Day is the deadline for reserving your accommodations.

Second, if you want to advertise in the pages of The Journal, have a look at our rate card, and contact me at ads(at)themasonicsociety(dot)com to make the arrangements.

I haven’t received my copy of The Journal yet, but Bro. Leif in Norway got his, and Bro. Makia in Jersey received his, and Secretary Nathan in Indianapolis took delivery on the overruns a few days ago, so it’s getting around. Anyway, in this Fall 2014 issue, you shall find a complementary mix of writings providing insight into ritual, some current events, smart analysis for best practices, and other, frankly, must read info you need to know.

Casey A. Fletcher, a Member of the Society, presents “Elus in an Envelope,” an exploration of the 9°, 10°, and 11° of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction) of Freemasonry. The “Elu Degrees” convey an alternative story from what is revealed to Master Masons in most Masonic lodges in the United States. Fletcher provides his readers description of the action in these rituals, which is indispensible to those who haven’t received these SJ degrees, and he explains some of the vexing esoteric aspects of the degrees that I hope will entice Master Masons to pursue membership in the A&ASR-SJ.

In her “A Brief Historiography on the Persecution of Freemasons During the Spanish Inquisition,” anthropology Ph.D. candidate Laura M. Wilhelm of University of Nevada-Reno compares and contrasts distinct historical narratives from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries that show Freemasons as hunted victims of the Inquisition in Europe and the New World, and Freemasons as masters of the world, spreading around the globe with the rise of British Empire, and its unbridled proliferation across the United States. Of course the two streams of history are not mutually exclusive. Freemasonry is a human society that adapts to any locale; it can be revolutionary and heretical where dissent from authority is needed to spark liberty, and it can be peacefully conservative in free societies. It can be compromised and compliant in Cuba. Long story short: Ms. Wilhelm does a fine job of piecing together less known facts to relate a story that will advance your Masonic knowledge.

I smiled when I read the headline of Mohamad Yatim’s article “Freemasonry and Your Return on Investment,” knowing that my friend’s professional background in finance and his honed leadership skills in Freemasonry would result in a bold opinion that needs to be heard: Namely, that the officers of Masonic lodges must be thoughtful and practical in structuring the revenue side of a lodge’s budget.

Long ago, when the iconoclast Stephen Dafoe compiled his Masonic Dictionary, the letter D entry was “Dues that Don’t Anymore” by Masonic secretary-treasurer extraordinaire Nathan Brindle (actually the Secretary-Treasurer of The Masonic Society), who patiently explained the urgency for lodges and other bodies to assess their financial needs and manage their dues rates accordingly. From what I can see in my own Masonic memberships and observations of others, Nathan’s call has been heeded. As far as I’m concerned, the goal is not to raise dues for the sake of raising dues, nor even to “keep out the riff-raff”—riff and raff very often will come up with the money if motivated—but to ensure the lodge is adequately funded every year, and able to save some for tomorrow. Being adequately funded by the lodge’s membership reaps two principle benefits: That Masons themselves accept the basic obligation of sustaining their lodges, and that lodges need not trick the public into paying the bills either by renting the premises or, worse, hosting the abominable pancake dinners and spaghetti breakfasts that no one admits are tacky and unprofitable.

Anyway, Mohamad illustrates how the decline of the U.S. Dollar has been ignored for many years by lodges in the United States, and he makes the compelling case—the only argument worth hearing—that Freemasons should pay sufficient annual dues to create a quality Masonic experience. Proper maintenance of building and grounds; meals we’d be proud to serve and eager to eat; furniture, décor, paraphernalia, regalia, etc. in great shape; and some parity with other men’s attractions, like golf club memberships, are vital exterior characteristics that make a Masonic lodge appear relevant in the 21st century. How does your lodge fare?

Michael Halleran, our Executive Editor (and Grand Master of Kansas), suggests an “Implausible Collaboration?” in which he tells the story of a Mason named Charles Gray, a doctor in the U.S. Cavalry during the Civil War. Drawing from Gray’s diary, Halleran presents the amazing personal story of a Union officer who was permitted to travel to lodges despite being… a prisoner of war. The New York (Ark Lodge) Mason was captive in South Carolina, where he visited lodges and enjoyed hospitality and gifts from the local brethren. Any well read Mason ought to know facts and fables of Masonic civility between combatants, particularly during the U.S. Civil War, which show how Masonic brotherhood can transcend borders and conflict when the Masons involved give life to the spirit of the brotherhood, but this is “a direct, contemporaneous, and unimpeachable account of actual Masonic collaboration between enemies.” But not all was brotherly love. Some Masons among the Confederates passionately objected to the fraternization, and made damning charges against those who treated their captured brethren to fairly extravagant comforts.

In the end, Dr. Gray was released from incarceration in July 1862, and he returned to New York, but then resumed a career in the Army. “For reasons unknown,” as Halleran concludes with this startling detail, “[Gray] withdrew his membership in Ark Lodge on 3 May 1870.”

In his “The Observant Mason” column, Andrew Hammer presents “Perfecting Our Points of Entrance.” Here, the author of Observing the Craft explains how ritual might benefit from a reordering of the Perfect Points of Entrance. As we know them, the guttural, the pectoral, the manual, and the pedal correspond to the Four Cardinal Virtues. In Hammer’s estimation, “the four perfect points of entrance may correspond to the four realms of existence as found in the Kabbalah. These realms take us from the temporal to the spiritual plane, and correspond to overlapping areas of the Sefirot, or Tree of Life.”

In short, this most thoughtful and esteemed speculative Mason reassigns each Point of Entrance to a different Cardinal Virtue. Readers familiar with Hammer rightly can expect another clearly reasoned suggestion for improved understanding of Masonic ritual and symbol, and those who do not know Hammer yet may be startled by his unapologetically being right all the time.

And finally in the feature article department is my own reportage of the 2014 Masonic Restoration Foundation Symposium at Cincinnati in August. I cannot believe it’s been four months already, and I’m glad I wrote this story so I don’t forget what happened. The full text of the article is below; it is a slightly different and definitely longer version than what could fit in The Journal.

Elsewhere in The Journal are the usual features:

• President’s Message – The lovely and talented Jim Dillman delves into Indiana Masonic history to find a valuable lesson in charity.
• News of the Society – Cool current events in the Craft. And some weird, scary stuff too.
• Conferences, Speeches, Symposia & Gatherings – our calendar of Masonic events in your district and around the world.
• Book Reviews – Contemporary and classic titles reviewed by the sharpest minds.
• Masonic Collectibles – An exclusive look at exceptional rarities courtesy of—who else?—Yasha Beresiner. Not to be confused with Masonic Treasures, which adorns the back cover.

If you are a Freemason in a lodge under a grand lodge that is part of, or in amity with, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, then you should join The Masonic Society, and enjoy the benefits of membership. Our quarterly Journal, a membership patent you’ll want to have framed for proud display, and other tokens of fraternal esteem are waiting for you. Click here and take it from there.


Here is my news from the MRF 2014 Symposium:

Masonic Restoration Foundation

meets in Ohio

The Masonic Restoration Foundation hosted its Fifth Annual Symposium in August in Cincinnati, Ohio, drawing hundreds of Freemasons from around the United States to learn about the Observance movement from those who have set T.O. lodges to labor. Founded in 2001, the MRF, according to its website, “serves as a clearinghouse of best practices in Freemasonry. Its supporters share ideas and information, discuss Masonic topics, and conduct local, regional, and national Masonic education conferences upon request of members or lodges, and with permission of the Grand Lodge in which its events are held.” This weekend event was hosted jointly by Caliburn Lodge No. 785 and Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792, both of Ohio, with Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 of Indiana and Lodge Ad Lucem No. 812 of Pennsylvania. The itinerary kept its participants and guests active with discussions, lectures, meals, and ritual, among other attractions. It should be noted how all seven brethren who presented lectures during the symposium are members of The Masonic Society.

The location was the Cincinnati Masonic Center, a beautiful example of neo-classical architecture built in 1928. Its origins begin in 1916, when the Cincinnati Masonic Temple Company began acquiring contiguous properties in the Queen City’s downtown business district with the goal of erecting a temple. The Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati and Syrian Shrine joined the effort (although the Shrine did not move in), and the result is the grand landmark on East Fifth Street, a location well known in the city thanks, in part, to its Taft Theater, a popular performing arts space. Bro. Donald Crews, author of the newly published book Cincinnati’s Freemasons (and a TMS Member), began the symposium with his lecture recounting the history of Freemasonry in Ohio, an informative and very interactive talk that engaged many brethren from out of state whose grand jurisdictions played roles in the establishment of the fraternity in Ohio during the 1790s.

Bob Davis at the informal
Sunday panel discussion.

The brethren adjourned to the ballroom for a festive board hosted by Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 of Indianapolis. The fine meal with ample libations for the toasts would have been enough, but MRF Past President Robert G. Davis of Oklahoma (a Founding Fellow of TMS) complemented the affair with his well received lecture “Journey to the Masculine Soul,” his thoughtful explanation of why good men should explore the mysteries of Freemasonry. “When we create lodges where the overriding vision is social honor and we select men of status to join our ranks, we sustain the cultural paradigm upon which Freemasonry was erected,” he said. “We educate and demonstrate to every generation of members the Masonic importance of status. And the way we sustain status in our lodges over time is when the upper level men become mentors to the lower level men and the upper level men are consciously aware that the subject of mentoring is social honor—which can only be taught through life experience and symbolic interaction.”

Davis’ term “social honor” is key. “In the hierarchical relations of lodge, (and we are informed in the Entered Apprentice Charge of this relationship), we are indeed superiors, inferiors, and equals to each other, and it is essential that we play roles as all three,” he added. “We must be prepared to pass from one position to another just as we are born, age and die. We must be taught, as we must teach others. This is the true dynamic of our society of Brothers. There is a time to rule, a time to be ruled, and finally, there is a time to pass the reins to the next generation.”

“Tying this to social honor—the inferior, no less than his superior—regulates the social contract we have with each other as Brothers,” Davis explained. “This is why an inter-generational contract works. The ideal type of equality is friendship. We cannot have friends who are not equals. The social contract required in Freemasonry is that friendship lives in honor. Honor determines status because again, above all else, a specific style of life is expected from all those who wish to belong to the inner circle. In a fraternal sense, style is our group identity. We dress and act like others whose company we cherish. Honor in an aristocratic sense is an exclusive concept. Only peers are considered capable of honor.”

The altar of Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792 holds six VSLs.

The next morning a lodge of Master Masons was opened by Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792, an Observant lodge set to labor four years ago. Six Volumes of Sacred Law appear on the altar. In addition to the Holy Bible there are the Tanakh, the Koran, a Shinto text, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Jefferson Bible, Thomas Jefferson’s interpretation of the Gospels published after his death. The solemn opening impressed the brethren assembled, who filled nearly every seat in the spacious Eastern Star Room. Refreshment was called so that the day’s programs could begin. Four lectures were offered in pairs in the morning, forcing the attendees to make hard choices of which to attend. TMS Member Oscar Alleyne of New York presented “Fides, Vita, Rex: Communicating Esoteric Topics without Making Them Run for the Hills,” and TMS Founding Member Daniel Hrinko of Ohio, a psychologist, discussed “The Initiatory Experience and Human Nature.” Hrinko explained in plain language the mutual benefits of a lodge bringing a new man into the fraternity, and cautioned that each petitioner deserves particular care. It is essential to both those who initiate and those initiated that time and effort be invested and for familiarity to be established—steps far beyond what an investigating committee takes, and even what one mentor can offer. He advocates devoting up to six months to help a petitioner and the lodge decide if they are right for one another—a busy period of establishing trust, building a potentially lasting connection that is a fundamental to the initiatory experience. “We do things for emotional experiences, so try to understand why he petitions for the degrees of Freemasonry,” Hrinko added. “Tell him our reasons to help him discover his reasons. Make it personal.” The months leading to an Entered Apprentice Degree should be a mutual personal investment with readings (Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” for example) and honest discussions to build friendship. And when the time arrives for initiation, the lodge must fill its role as a sacred space that receives new members with respect and solemnity.

Paul Smith

The second pair of lectures were delivered by Shawn Eyer of Washington, DC (a Founding Fellow), who praised the virtues of music in lodge with “And Hinder Not Music,” and Member Paul Smith of New Hampshire, who spoke with moving candor of “Forming a New Lodge: Sharing the Reality.” Smith recounted his tale of laboring in the quarries of his mother lodge, and weathering various frustrations in the process, before his personal studies led him to the Traditional Observance movement—and the real headaches began. The steps taken by Smith and a small group of like-minded brethren were common sense and necessary; he explained in detail how a club was formed to examine the many aspects of T.O. lodges and figure the best ways to incorporate them into a local lodge. “What do we envision?” they asked reflectively. The organizing—matters of regalia, lodge paraphernalia, and the like—were easily addressed, but they faced resistance when presenting the concept to other Masons, including close friends. Those who have been around long enough recognize that obstacle. Accusations of elitism and similar conduct abounded, but the founders of what would become Phoenix Lodge No. 105 responded with a Masonic relations campaign to clarify the myths and facts of T.O. lodges, including sending forth brethren to speak in other lodges about the virtues of the T.O. model. When it was time to call a vote of the Grand Lodge, it was unanimously in favor of chartering the lodge. Smith explained the commitment the lodge makes and its candidates’ reciprocity. One requires eighteen months of activity before being raised to the Third Degree: six as a petitioner, six as an Apprentice, and six as a Fellow Craft. This time includes making presentations to the lodge that demonstrate understandings of Masonic ritual and symbol, and other displays of understanding.

Smith’s overall message to those embarking on creating their own Observant lodge is don’t believe for a minute that it will be easy and will enjoy the support of the grand lodge. The reality is not only will there be opposition, but that even some of your supporters will change their minds, but if there is room for convivial Masons and charitable Masons, there also must be room made for those brethren who work toward excellence in meaningful ritual and continuous Masonic education.

Michael Clevenger

The Keynote Presentation of the day came from Michael Clevenger, a Past Master of New England Lodge No. 4 in Ohio, a Leadership Instructor for the Grand Lodge, and a TMS Founding Member, who discussed “Becoming Masonry.” For this writer, it indeed was the most salient summation of not only the specific cause of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, but also of the meaning of Freemasonry itself. Clevenger presented practical philosophy; he puts into the brethren’s hands the tools needed to craft a Masonic life. This is not recitation of ritual, but a way to use ritual and symbol to create daily lessons that modify one’s attitudes and behavior, augmented by plans that reinforce Masonic teachings and in effect serve to organize the mind along Masonic philosophy. In Clevenger’s system, each degree and every Working Tool provides ways to apply Masonic teaching to daily life. Worksheets give the Masonic student a place to write down and compare ideas, such as what the ritual says, for example, about the Common Gavel; what the Common Gavel means to the Mason personally; and how he will use these concepts in real life. In addition, the brother is challenged to envision how the Common Gavel and his knowledge of it will benefit his life, his family, job, community, and—yes—Masonic lodge. In setting specific goals, Clevenger’s method encourages daily reinforcement of Masonic values. A Freemason is to know himself, through reflection, evaluation, and learning; to know others by developing relationships; to be of value to others by assuming an attitude of service; to show respect by practicing the Golden Rule; and to be a leader who displays Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

In addition to the ritual oaths and obligations of Masonic degrees, Clevenger devised “My Masonic Obligation,” a philosophic guide to life: “I am a Mason because I believe that no man should live his life in a random manner. He should be guided by a plan that honors his God, supports his fellow man, and provides a way to improve himself daily. Masonry provides this plan for me, and I will live in pursuit of knowledge and understanding for the purpose of providing for my family, supporting my Masonic brethren, and improving my community. My continued hope is that I live respected and die regretted.”

Chris Hodapp and Mark Tabbert

It’s always a treat to meet the authors of the books we love, and rounding out the lectures with informality and ease were TMS Founding Fellow Chris Hodapp and Member Andrew Hammer, author of Observing the Craft as well as the President of the MRF, appearing separately for Q&A with the brethren. The session with Hodapp was facilitated by Founding Fellow Mark Tabbert, of the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Virginia, who made the most of Hodapp’s breadth of knowledge as the tireless traveling man who probably has visited more lodges than anyone in promotion of his book Freemasons for Dummies, which has sold more than 120,000 copies, making it the best selling book on Freemasonry in generations. “Traditional Observance is not the savior or golden goose for us all,” he cautioned. “At Vitruvian, we sometimes have more visitors than members. So pay attention to the visitors. You are influencing their thoughts.” Attentiveness to new brethren is key also. “A Mason’s fourth meeting is the most important one,” Hodapp added, “because that’s when he sees if the fraternity practices what it preaches.” He also noted a change in what’s being preached, meaning the most common question facing the fraternity in recent years was what does the lodge do for the community, but with a generational change, that thinking has vanished. Remedies he’d like to see include increases in annual dues and assessments, so that Masonry places a higher value on itself; the abandonment of one-day mass initiations; and a split of the Shrine from Freemasonry to allow the Nobles to do everything necessary to raise funds for their hospitals. “I’m very optimistic about the fraternity,” he concluded. “A younger generation will come in like a freight train, raising dues and insisting that ritual work be better.”

But the day was not over yet. The brethren returned to the lodge, and the Craft was called back to Labor to witness Lodge Ad Lucem No. 812 of Pennsylvania confer the Master Mason Degree of its jurisdiction’s ritual. Unique among the various Craft rituals of the United States, the Pennsylvanians’ ritual is akin to certain lodge rituals of England. One Fellow Craft was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in a ceremony none will soon forget. Contributing toward the spirited community of the brethren was the closing event of the day: a Scotch Harmony—a lesson on pairing savory hors d’oeuvres with exotic whiskies, with generous samples of all and the guiding hand of a Scotch whisky expert.

The Sixth Annual Masonic Restoration Foundation Symposium will take place August 21-23 at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania’s famous Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.
     

‘2013 College of Freemasonry’

    
The flier below speaks for itself. This part of New York is too far north for this Magpie, but if you are in the area, you would do well to attend this event. To have all of these speakers together for a single day very well may be too much, but it is a good kind of too much.

Click to enlarge.

     

‘The Bernie’

     

The flier above says it all. Click to enlarge. See you there.

(Thanks to Bro. Mohamad for the tip.)

     

'99 Degrees of fun!'

    
"That's ninety-nine degrees of fun right there!"

Bro. Colin Peterson
Indiana


One of those wonderfully positive developments pending in New Jersey Freemasonry I mentioned in a post somewhere below is the symposium the Scottish Rite will host on May 19. Coming to the podium are Ill. Robert Davis of the Valley of Guthrie, Oklahoma; Ill. Chris Hodapp of the Valley of Indy; and Ill. Brent Morris of the Valley of, among others, Washington, DC.

I believe the reputations of these nationally treasured scholars and brethren speak for themselves, and I predict you'll learn not only some more about Freemasonry from their presentations, but also be shown new ways to look at our Craft.

Click here to register. It's only $50 per person, which covers breakfast and lunch, and souvenirs. This is open to (regular/recognized) Master Masons.

This is a Mohamad-Moises Production, so you are guaranteed an unforgettable day.
    

'Save the date: May 19'

    

    

‘Welcome to New York!’

    
They met at Keens tonight. That’s the brethren of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons, and honored guest Bro. Robert Davis, at Keens Steakhouse for a Festive Board. Bro. Bob is President of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, the think tank that gave birth to the Traditional Observance movement in American Freemasonry. St. John’s attained its T.O. certification in 2007, the year of its 250th anniversary, proving that old lodges can learn “new” tricks. Since it began adopting the hallmarks of T.O. lodges, St. John’s No. 1 has transformed itself from a typical lodge on the Masonic landscape to a unique force in Freemasonry that others would be wise to emulate.

They dined on a three-course meal in the Bull Moose Room at Keens, named for Bro. Theodore Roosevelt, in the spirit of “making good men better!”

A little about Bro. Bob:

Robert G. Davis is Executive Secretary of the Scottish Rite Bodies in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He is a Past Master of three Masonic lodges, and served as the charter Master of Guildhall Lodge No. 553, a traditional practices lodge in Oklahoma. He is a KYCH, a 33° Mason, and recipient of the Grand Cross. He has been employed by the Scottish Rite in Oklahoma for 24 years. He is a Past Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Oklahoma, and serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Masonic Charity Foundation. He is a Past Sovereign in the Red Cross of Constantine, Past Sovereign Master in the Allied Masonic Degrees, and Past Governor of the Oklahoma York Rite College. Nationally, he is on the Education Committee of the York Rite Sovereign College of North America, the Masonic Education and Research Committee and Rituals and Ritualistic Matters Committee of the United Grand Imperial Council of the Red Cross of Constantine, and serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Scottish Rite Research Society and Editor of Heredom. He is President of the Masonic Restoration Foundation. He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Masonic Information Center of the United States. He is past President and Fellow of the Philalethes Society and serves as the editor of the High Council publications of Masonic Rosicrucians. He is a member of the Nine Muses Council No. 13 in Washington, D.C.

Robert is well known both in the areas of Masonic Research and Masonic Renewal. For his work in Masonic Renewal, he was awarded the Paul Horn Memorial Medal by the Grand Lodge of the State of Washington. He was the first person to receive this highest award of that state who is not a Past Grand Master. In 1999, he was selected to receive the Grand Master’s Award of the Grand Lodge of Kansas (the highest honor given by that Grand Lodge) for his work in Masonic Leadership.

Davis also holds the Cross of Honor and the Legion of Honor in DeMolay and is an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council of the International Order of DeMolay.

Before moving to Guthrie, Davis served 14 years in the City Management and City Planning professions. He is past president of the Guthrie Education Foundation and the Lions Club. He served two terms on the City Council of the City of Guthrie, where he served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and Chairman of the Guthrie Industrial Development Authority. In addition to being employed with the Guthrie Scottish Rite, Davis is also a freelance writer and a grant writer for governmental entities, Native American tribes, and non-profit organizations.

His hobbies include history, sociology, the esoteric traditions, men’s studies; and writing about all of these. He is currently writing a book on the history and evolution of the Masonic ritual, and has published a book on manhood in America, focusing on the fraternal quest for the ideal in masculinity. Robert is married. He and his wife Sharon have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Bro. Bob spoke tonight on “The Heart of Traditional Observance Masonry.” In addition, the George Washington Inaugural Bible was present, and there also was a supply of the miniature reproduction Bibles on hand for sale.

Sorry I couldn’t attend, but I hope to see you soon, Bob.

‘The new AQC is here!’

   

Courtesy Aspen Film Society

Ars Quatuor Coronatorum is here! And perfect timing too, with a fresh foot or so of snow on the ground, there’s plenty of time to light up some Christmas Cheer and read.

The book of course contains the annual transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, edited by Bro. John Wade. It is available to members of QCCC, so sign up today.

This is Vol. 121 for 2008. I am especially looking forward to Bro. Robert Davis’ “The Communication of Status: An Essential Function of Masonic Symbols,” and Bro. Trevor W. McKeown’s “An Historical Outline of Freemasons on the Internet.”

An amateur blogger and moderator of a number of Masonic Yahoo! Groups™ myself, I couldn’t resist quickly scanning McKeown’s paper before reading it. It was fun to see:

“One notable group, created by Josh Heller on 8 May 2000, provided the inspiration for The Temple That Never Sleeps.”

And it is nice to see friends Bessel, Blaisdell, Hodapp, Poll, and others mentioned for their hard work over the years.
   

‘Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job!’

     
By the way, have you heard Dan Brown has a new novel out? The Lost Symbol is setting sales records and, naturally, has the Masonic world wondering what its impact on the fraternity will be. Early concerns remembered the treatment Opus Dei received in Brown’s previous mega-seller, The DaVinci Code, which portrayed the Roman Catholic lay organization as practically a murder cult, and wondered if Freemasonry was in for a similar ride.

Truly, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the problem posed by The Lost Symbol is that Freemasonry is presented with too much idealism. Dan Brown’s Freemasonry consists of the most powerful men in Washington – the Senate Majority Leader, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, et al. – not united in a conspiracy to oppress and exploit, but banded together to preserve ancient wisdom until the time is right to reintroduce humanity to these mysteries.

Establishing parallels between, to borrow a title, the Secret Teachings of All Ages and noetic science, which in the story is explored by a lone scientist toiling inside a secret lab on the campus of the Smithsonian Institution, our author echoes a stirring message imparted by none other than Robert Davis and Jim Tresner, two of the leading educators of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Incidentally (or maybe not merely incidentally), the Scottish Rite is the specific form of Freemasonry the novel explores.

At the 2004 session of New Jersey Council of Deliberation, Bob and Jim were flown in from Oklahoma to speak on the potential Scottish Rite Masonry has to stir within its brethren the desire to help mankind recognize a new phase of collective awakening. The talk was so well received that Ill. Davis was brought back in 2006, when he presented his paper titled “The Purpose of the Scottish Rite and the Spiritual Awakening of the New Millennium: an Unworldly Partnership.”

Excerpted:

My Brethren, in the history of the world, there have been two periods when a spiritual awakening has taken place across every culture at the same time; where a striking transformation of consciousness occurred in unison across every major population group – all independently of one another – and which resulted in a re-definition of religion and a global awakening of man’s understanding of things spiritual and religious. These have been called Axial Periods because they gave birth to everything which, since then, man has been able to be. It was during these periods that we meet with the most deepcut spiritual dividing lines in history.

The first, and most profound period, occurred in a 500-year span from 800 B.C. to 300 B.C. It was during this time that China saw its two great teachers, Confucious and Lao-tze, from whose wisdom emerged the schools of Chinese philosophy. In India, the Hinduism of the Vedas was transformed by the Upanishads, which changed Hinduism from a polytheistic to a monotheistic religion; where Buddha, the “Awakened One” and Mahavira ushered in two new religious traditions – Buddhism and Janism. The concept of individual enlightenment came from this tradition. In the eastern Mediterranean region, the transformative prophets – Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, called forth from their people a new moral awareness which took Judaism to a higher level based on individual moral responsibility and where the idea of a messiah came into being. In Greece, Western philosophy was born. From Phales and Socrates to Plato and Aristotle, a new rational explanation of the universe was conceived; where moral consciousness was awakened and new metaphysical systems were born. “Know Thyself” became the watchword.

It was an extraordinary global transformation. Although the leaders who effected this change were philosophers and religious teachers, the change was so radical that it affected all aspects of culture because it transformed consciousness itself. It was, in fact, within the horizons of this form of consciousness that the great civilizations of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe developed. It was this form of consciousness that spread to other regions and became dominant worldwide. It was a consciousness that was self-reflective, analytical, and which could be applied to nature in the form of scientific theories, to society in the form of social critique, to knowledge in the form of philosophy; to religion in the form of mapping an individual spiritual journey. To this day, regardless of where we have been born, we live in the structure of consciousness that was shaped in this 500 year period. And it was within this structure that the intellectual and spiritual substance of Freemasonry was born....

Western civilization as we know it today is the product of four great movements that occurred over another 400-year period, all tied to the structure of consciousness which came out of the first Axial Period. These four movements were the Renaissance, the Reformation, the French Revolution, and the Industrial/Social Revolution....

It is time that we create an identity for the Scottish Rite that is uniquely ours in the family of Freemasonry – one which focuses on this original intent of our enlightened society of men....

We are moving into a new Axial Period.... We are on the cutting edge of something bigger than we know and, like the first Axial Period, the new one will redefine traditional paths of spirituality and shape the horizon of consciousness for future centuries. It too will have a great significance for world religions; and it will be driven by both an individual consciousness and a global one. And since this development will be global and connected with new forms of technology, religious futurists are suggesting that we can expect to see a convergence of cultures and religions this time, rather than a division as occurred in the first Axial Period. This has enormous implications for the Scottish Rite.

Seekers of Truth will search each other out and meet in conditions and atmospheres of mutual trust and understanding, with an eagerness to alter misconceptions about each other and prepared to appreciate the values of the other. Dr. Ewert Cousins, Professor of Religious Studies at Fordham University, forecasts that “the partners of this new conscious-raising enterprise will be mutually enriched by passing over into the consciousness of the other and discovering the synthesis of the greater and higher goal of their collective awakening.” In Masonry, we have long defined this as the search for the Lost Word....

I would love to give you all 4,262 words, but you get the idea. (To read more about Robert’s talk, click here, scroll down to the August 2006 issue of The Northern Light magazine, open the PDF, and turn to page 7.) For his part, Dan Brown crafts his protagonists as like-minded strategic thinkers. Brown, the optimist – maybe even the gnostic – wants his readers to view humanity as a brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of god, a global family poised to receive the wisdom of the ages, cleansed of obfuscatory dogma and stunting superstition. The message is delivered obliquely by the mystics of Masonry (not revealing too much to the uninitiated), but bluntly by the scientist. From page 504:

Katherine propped herself on her elbow. “And I promise, if we as humans can honestly grasp this one simple truth, the world will change overnight. I should preface this,” she said, “by reminding you of the Masonic mantras to ‘gather what is scattered,’ to bring ‘order from chaos,’ to find ‘at-one-ment.’ We have scientifically proven that the power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought.”

Langdon remain silent, wondering where she was going with this idea.

“What I’m saying is this. Two heads are better than one, and yet two heads are not twice better, they are many, many times better. Multiple minds working in unison magnify a thought’s effect exponentially. This is the inherent power of prayer groups, healing circles, singing in unison, and worshipping en masse. The idea of universal consciousness is no ethereal New Age concept. It’s a hard-core scientific reality, and harnessing it has the potential to transform our world. This is the underlying discovery of Noetic Science. What’s more, it’s happening right now. You can feel it all around you. Technology is linking us in ways we never imagined possible: Twitter, Google, Wikipedia, The Magpie Mason, and others all blend to create a web of interconnected minds.” She laughed. “And I guarantee you, as soon as I publish my work, the Twitterati will all be sending tweets that say ‘learning about Noetics,’ and interest in this science will explode exponentially.”

Okay, I added the Magpie part.

...Langdon shut his eyes. In the darkness of his mind, he found himself thinking about universal consciousness, about Plato’s writings on “the mind of the world” and “gathering God,” [and] Jung’s “collective unconscious.” The notion was as simple as it was startling.

God is found in the collection of Many, rather than in the One....

Langdon’s thoughts were spiraling now – dreams, memories, hopes, fears, revelations – all swirling above him in the Rotunda dome. As his eyes began to close again, he found himself staring at three words in Latin, painted with the Apotheosis.

E pluribus unum.

“Out of many, one,” he thought, slipping off into sleep.

The Lost Symbol is divided into 133 chapters, which I do not think is arbitrary, because it ought to remind us of Psalm 133, the timeless verse of Scripture that begins: “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” This has been a narration of Western initiatic ceremonies for at least 1,500 years, when St. Benedict wrote it into his Rule for monastic life.



Knowing that many of you intend to read this novel, I won’t reveal plot twists and specific devices that concern Freemasonry, nor will I decode the puzzle above. However, I must say that what Ill. Bro. Davis says above about the Lost Word is heard in this story. Mr. Brown beat the copyright infringement suit brought against him in Britain by the co-authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but I do suspect he owes Bob Davis a mention on the acknowledgments page of The Lost Symbol, at the very least.

I will say that I remain doubtful of Mr. Brown’s abilities as a novelist. The Lost Symbol is meant to be a thriller, yet it is notably unthrilling. Its plot takes place in a 24-hour period during which the heroes suffer unspeakable physical and psychological punishments, but carry on with a stoicism that would make the Black Knight look like a pansy. There are other problems, but you’ll discover them yourselves.

Read it if you must, but would someone please tell me where to find the big parking lot that Brown claims is behind the House of the Temple?
     

‘On the go in Stillwater’

Guildhall Lodge No. 553 in Stillwater, Oklahoma is a little outside the Magpie Mason’s orbit, but he has long wanted to visit the Valley of Guthrie, so maybe he’ll get there eventually.

The lodge has a busy year planned for 2009. Many thanks to Bro. Robert Davis, one of the founders of this Traditional Observance lodge, for sharing this information. Here is the lodge’s education agenda:

January – “Out of the Crucible: from the Reformation to the Age of Enlightenment”

February – “The First Recorded Freemasons, and Rosicrucian History”

March – Festive Board

April – “Sacred Space and the Lodge: A Footprint of Sacred Geometry”

May – “Current Global Trends in European Masonry”

June – Festive Board

July – “Comparing Practices of Kavvanah to Practices of the T.O. Lodge”

August – “C... K... Qabalah and Hermetic Philosophy”

September – Festive Board

October – “Alchemy: Spagyric Tincture Lodge Experiment”

November – “Jungian Psychology and Esoterica 101”

‘Big Night’ (continued)

Bro. Robert L. Barrows, Grand Organist of the Grand Lodge of New York, was next on the program Monday night, speaking on “Freemasonry and Music.” A musician himself, even a choral director, Bob is well known for his lectures on a variety of music subjects. “This is what it’s all about, isn’t it?” he said, opening his remarks with a rhetorical question about culture, either the Craft or life in general. “Or it should be.” He came not to discuss famous musical Masons like Mozart, Haydn and Sibelius, but to explain “the why” of music in Freemasonry. “Why should the arts concern us at all?”

He answered his own question in two parts.

There is a shared camaraderie. Music in lodge should be accessible to “the rankest amateurs in the room,” he explained. “I don’t know about your lodge, but in my lodge….” Laughter ensued. Getting serious again, he explained that music serves a unifying purpose that reinforces what perhaps is the most important goal of the lodge: to bring people together. Freemasonry adopts no creed, but its use of music appears to have been borrowed from church and synagogue. “It’s not that we ‘took,’ but our use of music comes from the same source.”

Secondly, Barrows cited “an enormous craving” for a personal relationship to the mythos of Freemasonry, especially to the Sublime Degree. The lodge’s use of music “creates a timeless and perfect parallel universe that connects all of us in a virtual temple not made with hands,” he said.

“You can’t just do that by talking about it, folks. You have to do it. And we do that through the evocative power of the arts,” he added. Through the arts we can evoke the richness of the whole of the gentle Craft.” To not have that would be a “tragedy,” an atmosphere “we can get at the corner bar.”

“The arts are, for us, more than a paste-on adornment,” Barrows said in conclusion. “They are the core. Without them, we cannot express our true Masonry.”

During the Q&A, Bro. Barrows said something else equally worthy of notice: that Ludwig van Beethoven and J.S. Bach were Freemasons. He explained that a coffee house the two composers frequented was known to be an establishment where Masons gathered.


Next on the agenda was to be the lovely and talented Bro. Robert G. Davis, author, lecturer, Secretary of the Valley of Guthrie, &c., &c.

But he couldn’t make it, due to a sudden scheduling conflict. But the paper he was to deliver did arrive, and was presented by Bro. Marcus Fuller of King Solomon-Beethoven Lodge No. 232 in NYC. Its title: “Freemasonry and the Theater Arts.” Bro. Fuller, an actor seen in several television series, including “Law & Order,” was wisely chosen to give the talk.

“DEAD! Dead! This whole deed is done!” Fuller cried, beginning the paper with an excerpt from “The Ruffians Lament,” a drama set in the wake of You Know What.

Fuller explained how Masonic degrees are all theater. Hundreds of degrees that are “ritual in structure, but theatrical in nature.”

“All the stories of human occurrences become plays,” he explained, alluding to Aristotle. “Comedy, tragedy, pleasure, magic, education. Man loves to imitate. What we Masons do is basically theater, so why aren’t we better at it?” To answer that question, Fuller took us on a historical tour, back to the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, to examine the period when craft guilds staged mystery plays in their towns. These plays, with the supervision of the church, even turned into competitions among the various guilds. They influenced the social lives and education of the thousands of people who saw them, until the plays were outlawed by King James, “making them at least semi-secret, or at least deeply esoteric.” The Master Mason Degree is a mystery play.

Of course the obvious theatrical experience in American Freemasonry is found in the Scottish Rite where, since the 1880s, the AASR has used all the tools of the stage to introduce its initiates into “a rich world of fantasy and pageantry.”

“Masonry had reinvented itself as an art,” Fuller said. The degrees went from the dark rooms of the lodge to the pageantry of “a powerfully heightened initiation,” that made it possible to “mass produce” Masons. “It is a highly charged romantic experience” to those found on both sides of the footlights.

Fuller closed with a quote of his own: “I went to the theater as a child and looked into the lights,” he said. “And men told me the truth.”

From left: Bros. David, Philippe, Rob and Luther.

OKLAHOMA!

Hmmm. So it is possible for a Masonic grand lodge in this country to be relevant today.

This news – actually it’s so old it can’t be called news – was just brought to my attention via the Masonic Library and Museum Association. Bravo Grand Lodge of Oklahoma!

Masonic Charity Foundation’s $500,000 gift to create gender studies chair at OSU
Gift to focus on role men play in enhancing society


(STILLWATER, Ok. July 16, 2008) – Oklahoma State University announced today a $500,000 gift from the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma (MCFO) to create a chair in gender studies at OSU. Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment, as well as the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gift will have the impact of $2 million in endowed funds.

The gift will create the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma Gender Studies Chair, which will be housed within the College of Arts & Sciences.

“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations and we applaud the Masons’ on this generous gift,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “We sincerely appreciate what the Masonic Fraternity is doing for OSU academics and research.”

In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, MCFO made the gift prior to the July 1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program. This gift is part of the $66.8 million in endowed faculty gifts OSU announced recently.

The interest of the Masonic Fraternity lies in academic disciplines like sociology, psychology, history, and philosophy aimed at researching the importance of men and the role men play in enhancing the stability of family and social life, as well as the economic and social progress of society. (Emphasis added by Magpie.)

“Our fraternal society is first and foremost the study of men and manhood,” said Robert G. Davis, MCFO board member. “There are few academic studies which have focused on the role gender-specific organizations have played in enhancing the physical, social and psychological health of individuals.”

Davis continued, “Our hope is that this partnership with OSU will enhance family, social and community life through gender studies aimed at focusing on the needs of men, the ideals of manhood and a higher awareness of the importance of men in society.”

Endowed professorships and chairs are academic designations which provide support for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well as other support. These endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and retain the best and the brightest academic minds in the world.

S.M.I.B.