‘Masonic Wisdom Cards for our daily meditations’

    

Lewis Masonic

Masonic Wisdom Cards. Click here.

From the fertile minds of Jonti Marks and Bridie Blaze, via Lewis Masonic, comes Masonic Wisdom Cards: A Deck for Daily Reflection. Think of them as working tools for daily meditations on Masonic thought.

This is not a tarot deck. While the cards are seventy-eight in number, they depict handmade images of symbols we know from the Craft lodge, plus several from the Mark and Royal Arch degrees. As Lewis Masonic Managing Director Martin Faulks recently phrased it on social media: “When I was made an Entered Apprentice, I was given three working tools to contemplate—and I remember being quietly disappointed that I couldn’t take them home with me.” I think we all suffered that awkward moment in the First Degree, but this package should make amends.

Lewis Masonic

I should note for my fellow Americans, almost all of the symbols in this deck are known to you, but there are a few that derive from other systems. The chisel is known to American Masons who have advanced to the Mark Degree but, in Craft rituals emanating from English and Scottish lodges, it is employed during the EA°, ergo its presence here. Likewise, the skirret and the pencil are taken up throughout the British Isles during the Third Degree. We also find the lewis, the wand, the key, and others, but allow these to inspire you to learn more about the rituals and symbols of our brethren across the Atlantic. (Frankly, the dormer window is a new one on me. I should have joined the Dormer Study Circle!)

From beyond the Craft, we encounter the keystone, the triple tau, the arch, the ark, and more. These also may be foreign to American Masons, but perhaps those cards may be motivational for pursuing further Light in the Royal Arch chapter. But enough disclaimers. What about the deck?

Reverse of the cards.

The backs of all cards are identical, displaying the deck’s title surrounded by six symbols, all amid a starry-decked canopy. The cards, from No. 1 Boaz to 78 Keystone, feature various shades of blues and greens. All very subdued, without distracting bright colors, which allows the user to focus on the symbols inside their ovoid frames. Those symbols—and remember they are hand drawn—are clear, but artistic; sober, but enchanting; animated, but calming. A balance is achieved that will facilitate the moments of contemplation that hopefully will conjure deeper understandings of Freemasonry’s symbols and epiphanize real life applications.

We are not alone in deciphering the symbols. Another tarot-like aspect is the inclusion with the deck of a key—a small booklet—penned by Jonti Marks who gives us his interpretations. None of us would have difficulty recognizing Card 59, captioned “The Point within a Circle,” and Marks helps us internalize its meaning, explaining:

Today’s card is an opportunity to consider the boundaries which operate in our lives, and which offer us frameworks and structures within which we can be useful to society, true to ourselves and faithful to our purpose. It asks us to appraise how well we are operating within these frameworks and how we might improve ourselves to do so more fully. It asks us to work on becoming ever more centered in our truth.

Conversely, card No. 31, captioned “Charity,” does not depict an obvious Masonic image, but rather shows a heart crowned with flames—reminiscent of the Claddagh ring?—surrounded by nine stars. Marks says:

Charity is not just giving to those who are worse off than ourselves. It is an open-hearted, fully-awakened cognizance of our very real connection with all life. Charity is love in action, and love is the essence, the nature, the stuff of life. Think on this. Study yourself. See where you are holding on to an illusion of separateness from your fellows. Learn to see beyond it.

As noted, the Masonic Wisdom Cards were made for personal reflection and growth, and I also recommend using decks to spark lodge discussion and activity. It would be fantastic for a Worshipful Master to distribute, say, a dozen cards among the brethren assembled. Each can devote a few minutes to discussing his card’s content and what it means personally, followed by the Master (or his designee) reading Bro. Marks’ explanations in the booklet. Perhaps a regular feature of every meeting could be conversation about just one card. After a degree, maybe talk about one or more cards relevant to that ritual. I don’t mean to micromanage.

I’ve been reading up on Bro. Jonti Marks online. His bio on Lewis Masonic states:

Born in London and growing up partly in England and partly in East Africa, Jonti was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge Harmony 3084 EC in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 1990. He later joined Lodge Scotia, 1008 SC, also in Nairobi, and it was through the Scottish lodge that he was first introduced to the Holy Royal Arch, being exalted in Faith and Charity Chapter 329 SC in December 1991.

After moving back to England in 1998, Jonti, who was a school teacher and headmaster for twenty-seven years, joined the Old Bromsgrovian Lodge 5743 EC where he served as Master in 2013. Jonti was a founding member of the Old Bromsgrovian Chapter and he was the first member to pass through all three Chairs of that Chapter. He is Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer in the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire and a Past Provincial Grand Steward in the Provincial Grand Chapter.

Jonti Marks and Bridie Blaze.
From their Kickstarter page.

Jonti has been interested in the deeper meanings of Freemasonry from the earliest days of his involvement with the Craft. He has always been keen to consider how the knowledge and wisdom contained in our rituals can be applied in a meaningful way to the life of every brother or companion who sits in lodge and chapter and who professes to subscribe to our particular and peculiar way of seeing the world.

You might be familiar with his series of books of Masonic meditations.

Of our artist, Lewis Masonic says:

Bridie Blaze is a Cornish folk artist living in Porto, Portugal, whose whimsical, hand-painted work celebrates the beauty of imperfection. Her art captures the wonky, wonderful magic of nature, folklore, and mystical traditions, embodying an essential truth: that light and beauty are found not in perfection, but in authentic, joyful expression.

All the cards, each measuring approximately 2¾ by 4¾ inches, and the book fit snugly inside a handy hard box with a magnetic lid that will prove durable for your travels. Put it in your apron case and bring it to lodge.

These cards are, yes, great for young Masons ripe for revelation; and, after possessing a deck more than a week, I have learned the Wisdom Cards also can remind those of us who’ve been around decades of the strength and beauty of our Craft’s tenets.

Click here.

     

‘Use Mallet, Chisel, Level, Plumb, and Square’

    

Go, work with utmost skill and loving care,

The Temple needs thy work, do all you can:

Use Mallet, Chisel, Level, Plumb, and Square,

And shape Earth’s dust to Heaven’s eternal plan.

“The Working Tools,” as found in the book Speculative Masonry by Andrew S. MacBride

My thanks to Eureka Chapter 7 in Orlando, Florida for hosting me last night via Zoom for a discussion titled “A Scottish Rite: The Mark Man, Mark Master, and Mark Master Mason Degrees.”

I received the MMM° in 1999 and am embarrassed to admit I hadn’t truly collated my perceptions, knowledge, opinions, speculations, etc. on this complicated ritual until I began preparing for this speaking engagement last year. Don’t get me wrong. Always loved the degree, but its origin and evolution, its symbols, and the ritual’s many moving parts have been compartmentalized in my mind all this time. If nothing else, I now possess a linear understanding of it. This is, after all, an elaborate degree. In my homework, I was reminded of important aspects I’d forgotten and I learned things too. Mark Man was conferred in a lodge of Fellow Crafts on Fellow Crafts. Mark Master was conferred on Master Masons. A Mark Man’s earnings were noticeably less than a Mark Master’s. Is that the source of the friction in the current ritual’s lesson on wages?

Excellent Franklin Suco and the companions at Eureka Chapter are kind to me. They flew me down for a talk on the RAM Degree two years ago and, despite that, they welcomed me back last night for this Zoom meeting. The Q&A was very brief, which could indicate I was making no sense.

Anyway, I tried to keep it all about Scotland. I began with the Schaw Statutes with their item on the book of marks; segued into the Mark Man and Mark Master degrees and what differentiated them; discussed Scottish ritual; contrasted the MMM Working Tools against Scottish EA Working Tools; examined the current MMM and FC obligations; and closed with a call for Florida Royal Arch Masons to charter their own lodges of Mark Master Masons. (I think that suggestion took root.) For context, I visited England by noting something is missing from the 1813 UGLE Articles of Union, but credited the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales; explained why so little is known of the early rituals; shared a little New Jersey history regarding Mark lodges in 1811; and occasionally got long-winded.

It may be reasonable to view the Mark Master Mason Degree as a basic working man’s degree—and I think Mark Man was—but, in its details, the MMM° is a refinement of important aspects of Craft Masonry theory. American Masons ought not think of it as a speed bump on the road toward Royal Arch. It is the entry point of what used to be called Keystone Masonry. We ought to resurrect that name.

I’ve never spoken so much on a Sunday night in my life. My voice actually grew hoarse.

(Joel, if you see this, I apologize. You had asked me to prepare something on the Mark Degree several years ago, but I couldn’t get it done at that time. If you need me, just let me know. And happy birthday!)

     

‘Scottish EA° Working Tools’

    

My lodge had the honor of initiating two candidates for the mysteries of Freemasonry Monday night. I’ve always enjoyed the variety shown in rituals around the Masonic world; the following example offers not only different language in defining the familiar Working Tools of the Entered Apprentice Mason, but also reveals a Working Tool unknown to lodges in the United States.

Under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, there is no single ritual promulgated by headquarters. Instead, lodges are free to customize the work. This doesn’t produce anarchy. Masons are responsible. It just means there isn’t a down-to-the-letter standardization of ritual.

What follows comes from The Scottish Ritual of the Three Degrees of St. John’s Masonry, printed by Lewis in London in 1895.

I now present to you the Working Tools of an Entered Apprentice Free Mason, which are, the Twenty-four inch Gauge, the Common Gavel, and the Chisel.

The Twenty-four inch Gauge is to measure our Work, the Common Gavel to knock off all superfluous knobs and excrescences, and the Chisel to further smooth and prepare the stone, and render it fit for the hands of the more expert Craftsman.

The Twenty-four inch Gauge is the first instrument placed in the hands of a workman, as it enables him to measure the work he is about to begin, so that he may estimate the time and labour it will cost.

The Gavel is an instrument of labour. Known to Artists under various appellations, it is still admitted by them all that no work of manual skill can be completed without its aid.

The Chisel is a small instrument, solid in its form, but of such exquisite sharpness as fully to compensate for the diminutiveness of its size. It is calculated to make impression on the hardest substances, and the loftiest structures are indebted to its aid.

But as we are not operative, but rather Free and Accepted, or Speculative Masons, we apply those Tools to our Morals.

In this sense the Twenty-four inch Gauge represents the twenty-four hours of the day,—part to be spent in Prayer to Almighty God; part in Labour, Refreshment, and Sleep; and part to serve a friend or Brother in time of need, that not being detrimental to ourselves or our connections.

The Common Gavel represents the force of conscience, which should keep down all vain and unbecoming thoughts, so that our words and actions may appear before the Throne of Grace pure and unpolluted.

The Chisel points out to us the advantages of Education and Perseverance, by which means alone we are rendered fit members of regularly organized Society. That the rude material can receive a fine polish from repeated efforts alone. From the whole we deduce this moral: That Knowledge, aided by Labour and prompted by Perseverance, will finally overcome all difficulties, raise ignorance from despair, and establish truth in the paths of Nature and Science.

I can’t locate this quotation, but it fits Aristotelian thought.