‘An “unhappy Man” vs. the “pursuit of Happiness”’

    

The Sunday Times

Mr. Cole Tomas Allen of California, an unhappy man, is in custody after a failed attempt on President Donald Trump’s life hours ago at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner in Washington, DC.

A good (and familiar) question was posed the other day on Faceypage and, since the semiquincentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is near, I thought I’d expand my limited answer to that query for this edition of The Magpie Mason.

Bro. Thomas of Thornton Lodge 486 in Texas asks:

“Can someone please explain whether or not the 3rd paragraph of the EA Charge is actually a charge or a suggestion?”

Knowing nothing about any ritual(s) promulgated by the Grand Lodge of Texas, I didn’t know what might be communicated in the third paragraph of his lodge’s Entered Apprentice Charge, but the abundant replies to his question clarified that for me. In New York, we actually have two charges from which to choose to instruct the youngest Entered Apprentice. The first charge includes the following (although it’s the fourth graf):

In the State you are to be a quiet and peaceable citizen, true to your government and just to your country. You are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but are patiently to submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live.

As an aside, I’ll point out how this echoes in our Installation of Officers. In seating the new Worshipful Master, he must agree to fifteen commands, including:

II. You agree to be a peaceful citizen, and cheerfully conform to the laws of the country in which you reside.

III. You promise not to be concerned in plots or conspiracies against the government, but patiently submit to the law and the constituted authorities.

IV. You agree to pay a proper respect to the civil magistrates, to work diligently, live creditably, and act honorably by all men.

None of the above are Masonic secrets. The EA Charge is not protected by oath; the Ancient Charges and Regulations for the lodge’s new Master can be heard by all who witness the ceremony, which often is attended by our families and friends. What wisely was kept confidential were Thomas’ reasons for asking, as he did not reveal personal political opinions or why he might take being a peaceable citizen as merely a suggestion for Masons.

Anyway, here is my long form Magpie answer:

I wouldn’t think any part of a charge would be discretionary, but that [third paragraph] part most definitely is a command that reverberates through history.

The idea enters Masonic ritual via The Rev. James Anderson’s book The Constitutions of the Free-Masons from 1723, the jurisprudence (although it contains other content) of the premier Grand Lodge of England.

The best known, most frequently cited portion of that book is “The Charges of a Free-Mason.” Not only is this section kept current by the United Grand Lodge of England, but also we find this section reproduced in the pages of grand lodges’ law books all over the world. We New Yorkers can read it on page 57 of Masonic Law of New York. Freemasons who don’t know Anderson’s Constitutions should read it because it informs much of what we think, say, and do in our lodges. (This will be covered in what I’ll present to the Observant lodges of Oklahoma when I step to the lectern on St. John’s Day.)

Charge I, “Concerning God and Religion,” is credited by some historians for partly inspiring the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but Charge II is our topic today, to wit (spelling modernized):

II. Of the Civil Magistrate supreme and subordinate.

 

A Mason is a peaceable Subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concerned in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry has been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so ancient Kings and Princes have been much disposed to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and Loyalty, whereby they practically answered the Cavils of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honor of the Fraternity, whoever flourished in Times of Peace. So that if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State, he is not to be countenanced in his Rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other Crime, though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it remains indefeasible.

Click to enlarge.

You see the similarities to the charges shown above. This is whence they came.

Anderson’s book also contains a legendary history of Freemasonry, some of which is factual, some fanciful. Among the reliably accurate notes is mention of English laws dating to the Middle Ages. In England, the various Statutes of Laborers regulated stone masons’ qualifications, remuneration, ability to meet, and other details, but the statute of 1405 specifically compelled such workers to take an annual oath to comply with the law. Anderson writes (spelling modernized):

Now though in the third Year of the said King Henry VI, while an Infant of about four Years old, the Parliament made an Act, that affected only the WORKING Masons, who had, contrary to the Statutes for Laborers, confederated not to work but at their own Price and Wages; and because such Agreements were supposed to be made at the General Lodges, called in the Act: Chapters and Congregations of Masons, it was then thought expedient to level the said Act against the said Congregations: Yet when the said King Henry VI arrived to Man’s Estate, the Masons laid before him and his Lords the above-mentioned Records and Charges, who, tis plain, reviewed them, and solemnly approved of them as good and reasonable to be holden: Nay, the said King and his Lords must have been incorporated with the Free-Masons, before they could make such Review of the Records; and in this Reign, before King Henry’s Troubles, Masons were much encouraged. Nor is there any Instance of executing that Act: in that, or in any other Reign since, and the Masons never neglected their Lodges for it, nor ever thought it worthwhile to employ their NOBLE and EMINENT BRETHREN to have it repealed; because the working Masons, that are free of the Lodge, scorn to be guilty of such Combinations; and the other free Masons have no Concern in Trespasses against the Statutes for Laborers.

Stone masons’ literature of the 1400s, namely the Regius Poem, communicates the same thinking. The marvelous website of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon still shows the poem and the modern translation from 1923 by Bro. Roderick Baxter of QC2076, including:

In more recent years, Masons’ practice of being peaceable citizens has proven valuable in inoculating the Craft from suspicion. For example, when the Irish Republican Army seized the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in Dublin exactly 104 years ago, they relinquished control of the property (after six weeks) because Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths were satisfied that Irish Freemasonry was apolitical and nonsectarian, despite its fraternal connection to England. More information on that here.

National Archives

What about the Declaration of Independence? The American Revolution placed Freemasons here in rebellion and war against their king. That’s not very peaceful! How did our Masonic ancestors, the famous and the obscure alike, square their commitment to the Craft with their revolution? Benjamin Franklin knew about Anderson. The first Masonic book printed in the New World was Franklin’s reprint of Anderson’s Constitutions in 1734.

Perhaps Anderson’s Charge II sometimes must be a romantic ideal, something aspirational, that has to be suspended when considering “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” for yourself and your posterity. America’s Founders, whether Masons or not, did not see the distant British king as their civil authority. After all, the colonists had no representation in Parliament. There were sympathizers (Bro. Edmund Burke and others), but that’s not the same as electing your own MPs. Meanwhile, the colonists here did elect local representatives and were used to having their say in government.

In addition, we would be wise to consider that Anderson wrote for his time. (He’d be stunned to hear us talking about him 300 years later.) 1723 was early in the Hanoverian era, the dawn of which finally concluded decades of political violence in England. Think about what happened there between 1640 and 1721. Some of the major points:

➢ The Long Parliament

➢  Civil War

➢  Regicide of Charles I

➢  Cromwell

➢  The Restoration

➢  Glorious Revolution

➢  Bill of Rights

➢  The Act of Union

➢  The Hanoverian Succession

➢  Bro. Walpole as Prime Minister

There’s stability by 1723. The Grand Lodge, desiring royal patronage, wants to be known as being supportive of the constitutional monarchy, and so codifies its peaceful intentions, noting their historical basis.

Other replies to Bro. Thomas’ question on Thursday placed the Declaration of Independence at odds with the EA Charge, and even hinted it may be time to knock off this peaceful citizen business. (It appears those remarks have vanished.) But there is a valid historical question: How can Anderson’s “unhappy Man” and Jefferson’s “pursuit of Happiness” be reconciled?

     

‘New leadership in New Jersey’

    

Gill Raoul Calderon

Grand Master Omar Morris
and Junior Grand Warden Glenn Visscher.

Congratulations are in order upon the huge news pulsating right now from Atlantic City: Omar Morris is the new MW Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, and RW Glenn Visscher has been elected and installed in the Grand South. Huzzah!

I’ve known both for a long time (Omar is from my former lodge), and I couldn’t nominate Masons more worthy for these top jobs. Personally, being a refugee from that Grand Lodge, I believe the single most important task for the voting members of that jurisdiction is to continue electing decent human beings to their highest offices. The coming four years are looking bright indeed over there.

Congratulations to all.

UPDATE: It’s been brought to my attention that I can be misunderstood in the above to have implied that RW Glenn’s rival in the election is not a decent human being. No such thought occurred to me. Both of this year’s choices for Junior Grand Warden were outstanding, and the Grand Lodge would have benefitted if RW Ron Murad had prevailed too.

     

‘The ALR: Installation’

    

I can’t believe the year is nearly finished, but in three weeks The American Lodge of Research will host its Installation of Officers when I will be safely ushered to the sidelines where I belong. RW Bro. Yves Etienne will ascend to the Solomonic Chair; the officer team will advance; and a new face or two might join the line.

If you can get to Masonic Hall on Monday the 30th, we’ll be in French Doric on 10 at 7 p.m.

Being a research lodge, our Installations are brief, fast, and perfunctory because those involved already have been feted, at least once, elsewhere over the years, so there’s no dinner, cocktails, etc. Wait, I just learned there will be a mini-collation!

I am drafting a farewell speech that I have trimmed to a perfect forty-five minutes, and I predict there won’t be a dry eye in the room.

Returning to civilian life, my Masonic activities will be centered on my three research lodges, plus whatever occasional, annual, or sporadic events of a like nature that catch my eye.

Hope to see you on the 30th.

     

‘New WM coming to NJ LORE’

    

Happy New Year, everybody!

If, for some reason, you choose not to attend Masonic Con New York on the eighteenth, you ought to visit New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 for its Installation of Officers. Bro. Don was elected to the Solomonic Chair last month, and there is a corps of eager officers supporting him.

The lodge meets at Freemasons Hall in North Brunswick, home of Union Lodge 19.

     

‘Installation congratulations’

    

Felicitations are due to Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076 upon its installation of officers yesterday. We knew in advance that Bro. Trevor McKeown was destined for the Solomonic Chair, but did you know Bro. Gerald Reilly was joining the officer team?

Gerald Reilly

Gerald, a legend from the dearly missed Masonic Light group and co-author of The Temple That Never Sleeps, is Inner Guard now. Well done, brethren, and congratulations!

Click here to see the meetings scheduled for the coming year.

Click here to read the list of all officers and members.

Click here to take your place in the Correspondence Circle, the lodge’s publishing business whence comes the annual AQC volume.

     

‘It is done’

    

Or maybe I should say “Now I’ve done it!”

Last night, The American Lodge of Research convened its Annual Meeting for elections and installation of officers, plus other regular and constitutional business. In addition to officers moving up, we have new faces in the officer line. Bro. Erich, who happens to be the secretary of New Jersey’s research lodge, is our junior deacon. He also is a Ph.D. candidate, specializing in nineteenth century Freemasonry, at Drew, and is a Masonic book dealer. A good guy to have around. Bro. Ziad, who presented a fascinating paper last year on Princess Lamballe, is our “Master Mason without,” observing the approach of you-know-who. RW Michael Chaplin joins our trustees team because serving as DDGM of the First Manhattan isn’t that demanding after all. Who knew?

Yours truly is the new Worshipful Master.

How I’ll always remember it.

I joined the lodge’s officer line so long ago I actually was still Master of New Jersey’s research lodge. Sixteen years ago. Feels like about fifty. Since I had a captive audience, I harangued the brethren with my inaugural paper, “It’s Just Common Sense: Thomas Reid and the Fellow Craft Degree.” This is an explanation of how one of the most important philosophical writings of the Scottish Enlightenment, that concerning the Five Physical Senses, came to be incorporated into what we today call the Middle Chamber Lecture.

It’ll come across better in print—if I ever get the book finished—than in my oral presentation, but for example, here’s a whiff of New York’s Middle Chamber Lecture:

Smelling is that sense by which we distinguish odors, the various kinds of which convey different impressions to the mind. Animal and vegetable bodies, and indeed most other bodies, while exposed to air, continually send forth effluvia of vast subtlety, as well in a state of life and growth, as in the state of fermentation and putrefaction. These effluvia, being drawn into the nostrils along with the air, are the means by which all bodies are distinguished. Hence it is evident that there is a manifest appearance of design in the great Creator’s having planted the organ of smell inside of that canal, through which the air continually passes in respiration.

And here is a puff of Dr. Reid’s thoughts circa 1764:

University of Glasgow

Dr. Thomas Reid

Natural philosophy informs us, that all animal and vegetable bodies, and probably most other bodies, while exposed to the air, are continually sending forth effluvia of vast subtlety, not only in their state of life and growth, but in the states of fermentation and putrefaction. These volatile particles do probably repel each other, and so scatter themselves in the air, until they meet with other bodies to which they have some chemical affinity, and with which they unite, and form new concretes… But that all bodies are smelled by means of effluvia which they emit, and which are drawn into the nostrils along with the air, there is no reason to doubt. So that there is manifest appearance of design in placing the organ of smell in the inside of the canal through which the air is continually passing in inspiration and expiration.

Reid was not a Freemason, as far as I can determine.

Looking ahead, The American Lodge of Research will shift gears for this 2024-25 term. For our Stated Communications, we’ll have meetings organized around themes.

Tuesday, October 29

That’s a fifth Tuesday

“Masonic Hall Monitors” will be our theme. Our keynote speaker, RW Ben Hoff, Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, will present his new paper on the origins, evolution, and diversity of Masonic ritual ciphers, monitors, and exposures. Also, RW Samuel Lloyd Kinsey, Chairman of the Custodians of the Work, will visit to discuss the research that went into Grand Lodge’s latest ritual book and the upcoming monitor (the first monitor since the 1980s). RW Michael LaRocco, Executive Director of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library, will exhibit choice samples of such books—the antique, the rare, the odd.

Macoy Masonic Supply Co.

The new Macoy Monitor reprint with bookmark.

And the Worshipful Master will conclude the evening with a very brief explanation of the newly published reprint of the Macoy Monitor of 1867.

Monday, March 31, 2025

That’s a fifth Monday

“A Night for the Marquis and the Count” will be the theme. RW Chris Ruli of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and author of the upcoming book Brother Lafayette, will discuss the Masonic aspects of the Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour of the United States in 1824-25. Bro. Huhn, Junior Deacon, will discuss Alexis de Toqueville’s thoughts on Freemasonry, as gleaned from his tour of America in 1831-32.

This meeting will be a small part of New York Freemasonry’s commemoration of Lafayette’s tour.

Monday, June 30, 2025

A fifth Monday

Annual Meeting. RW Yves Etienne to become our next Worshipful Master!

In addition, we will hold a meeting on the road, possibly at New Rochelle. Also, a series of Zoom sessions, bringing together our members wherever dispersed about the face of the earth, is conceived. Plus, there’s always time for a Festive Board! (Bro. Chris planted a most intriguing idea in my head last night for the Festive Board.)

My thanks to MW Bill Sardone, who took charge as Installing Officer; to W. Michael, who invested us with our jewels as Installing Marshal; and to W. Conor, who guided us spiritually as Installing Chaplain.

Congratulations to W. Bro. Michael on completing his year in the East. He made sure we revived our tradition of hosting a Festive Board, and he continued our practice of co-hosting an event with another Masonic group. A good year.

And best of luck to my brother officers. We are in for good times.

     

‘Researchers to look at Pope Leo XIII’

    

Kolbe Foundation

Pope Leo XIII

Western New York Lodge of Research will meet next Saturday for its Installation of Officers, Festive Board, plus a paper on the papal past. From the publicity:

Western NY Lodge of Research

Annual Election,

Installation of Officers,

Festive Board

& Presentation

Saturday, May 11, 10 a.m.

Bro. Ken Stuczynski will present “The Libel of Pope Leo XIII.” Menu: vegetable soup and turkey sandwiches, and dessert. $20 at the door. RSVP no later than May 8. Attire: jacket (tie optional).

These guys have their whole year planned. Click here. They meet in the Scottish Rite Valley of Buffalo, located at 2379 Union Road in Cheektowaga.

If I understand, there is a chance this meeting will be available via Zoom. Also, if you’re a regular, hopefully you know how to RSVP. (I don’t want to publish the phone number.) I would go just for the soup, but it’s 300 miles away.

   

‘St. John’s Lodge installation’

    

Look to the West!
Ionic Hall, Masonic Building, Boston.

There’s something infectious about the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts’ claim to be the oldest in the New World (and third eldest in the world, after England and Ireland) when you are inside the Masonic Building in Boston, the Grand Lodge’s headquarters. Yes, Pennsylvania Masons say something about that claim—and, as far as I’m concerned, the current English grand lodge dates only to 1813!—but when the Massachusetts Grand Master says it inside Ionic Hall on the occasion of the 154th installation of officers of St. John’s Lodge… it’s just extremely persuasive!

The original grapes!

Furthermore, this lodge dates to July 30, 1733, when it began meeting at the Bunch of Grapes tavern, prompting the claim that it is “the oldest Masonic lodge in the Western Hemisphere.” Again, the Philadelphians harrumph, and there even is local confusion thanks to some accounts pointing to some lodge holding meetings in King’s Chapel in Boston in the 1720s(!), but this edition of The Magpie Mason is the first in a series on the past weekend’s celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which united Masons and other groups in proud remembrance. The photo at right shows the original grapes that hung outside the tavern in the 1700s! Straightforward advertising signage in a time of near universal illiteracy. They are displayed in the East for special occasions.

St. John’s is an amalgamation of First Lodge, Second Lodge, and Third Lodge, the originals of that period, if I understand correctly.

I had to disable my IroniMeter2000™️ because what passes for government in Boston and Massachusetts today seems an impossible fate to befall the land of the Boston Massacre, Tea Party, Shot Heard ’Round the World, Bunker Hill, and so much more in the birth of this nation.

Worshipful Master Mark and his officers.

Anyway, preceding St. John’s installation, there was the Historic Tavern Tour, originally a six-stop pub crawl until Democracy Brewing backed out at the last minute for some reason. But the brethren persevered and marched from Elephant & Castle to Sam Adams Tap Room to Union Oyster House to Bell in Hand Tavern to, at last, the Green Dragon Tavern.

I had signed up for this, but reconsidered. It was to begin at three o’clock; the installation was set for 6 p.m. I figured all the walking, the waiting for drink (and food) orders, and the drinking and eating would not be possible in that timeframe. I really wanted to attend this installation. And I don’t take alcohol before lodge meetings anyway. Someday I will get back up there when I have more time, and I’ll visit those esteemed establishments—especially the Green Dragon!

MWGM Hamilton, center, with his retinue.

But the installation was pretty quick, open to families and friends, and elegant. W. Bro. Mark is the new Worshipful Master. Huzzah! (There was a lot of that during the weekend.) Grand Master George F. Hamilton presided in the East. I didn’t know a soul in the room except for Bro. Rob, who traveled from the South to the West; and Bro. Rich, the new Grand Historian in New Jersey, on the sidelines.

The Three Great Lights.

They had an official photographer, who gradually is sharing his work on Faceypage, but these are authentic Magpie photos. Yet again, I regret not bringing a real camera.

I’d had a really long Friday, rising at about 3 a.m. so, by the time the lodge closed, I was happy to return to the hotel and collapse.

I always check out regalia,
especially in historic lodges.

One thing in particular said by MW Hamilton really caught my ear. He mentioned how Fourth Estate Lodge had consolidated with St. John’s Lodge. Fourth Estate consisted of newspaper journalists and, it is said, every paper in the city was represented in its membership. I have read a little about this lodge in my research of my own lodge, Publicity 1000. Publicity was instituted October 30, 1922, and Fourth Estate was constituted October 2, 1923. I don’t know if there ever was any interaction, visitation, etc. between the two. Fourth Estate consolidated with St. John’s on May 23, 1985. Hugo Tatsch was a member in the thirties! We got Haywood from Iowa, and they got Tatsch from Iowa.

Once upon a time, the Masonic Building had DC power and these handles controlled the electricity in Ionic Hall. Kelitrol Stage Switchboard, installed by Clark & Mills Electric Co.

Congratulations and happy 290th anniversary to St. John’s Lodge! It felt like a warm and welcoming place.

MW Melvin M. Johnson, Grand Master, 1914-16.

     

‘Research officers now installed’

    

CWLR photo

Civil War Lodge of Research 1865, of Virginia, Installation of Officers, Saturday at Farmville Lodge 41.

“In consequence of your cheerful conformity to the charges and regulations of the Order, you are now to be installed…”

Congratulations to the officers newly installed at Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 in Virginia!

Our new Worshipful Master is Bro. John Butler. The first meeting of 2024 will convene Saturday, April 13 at Mebane, North Carolina.

That’s a little far for me, but the subsequent meeting will be July 13 in Delaware, and I’ll catch up with the brethren then.

Congratulations also to now Past Master Andy Wilson on a busy term now complete.

     

‘The ALR concludes another year’

   

Bill Sardone photo

I hereby wrap up the Magpie month of June with an update from The American Lodge of Research. We met last night for our Installation of Officers and to hear one research work.

RW Bro. Ron, a perennial grand rank guy in New Jersey, who also is a New York Mason, returned to the lectern to tell us the truth, “maybe,” about the Morgan Affair. I don’t mind admitting I wasn’t looking forward to this. The Morgan Affair, despite being a long and complicated story that intersects with a variety of historical threads—including, however improbably, U.S. political history—nonetheless is a well covered topic that everyone knows about. Or so I thought.

Ron surveyed the brethren present to assess their knowledge about it, and I was surprised to see a good portion of the room raise their hands to signify they didn’t know what it was. Therefore, Ron’s presentation was a bigger success. I won’t recount his findings of facts because I still think practically everyone knows the basics of the tale, but his paper delves beyond those basics, and he even got me interested with some of the secondary points he discovered. Nicely done.

Then, it was time for the Installation. W. Bro. Michael, who has been a Worshipful Master so many times that I get chest pains just thinking about it, is our new Master. The Magpie Mason continues to Peter Principle his way upward, so now is found in the West. Bro. Yves (whose name, we just learned, does not have the French grammatical liaison between the first and last names) is in the South. Bro. Michael now is found at the right of the Worshipful Master; Bro. Daniel, who wowed us in March with his philological work, is Junior Deacon. Bro. Dave and Bro. Praveen—God bless ’em—remain at the Treasurer’s and Secretary’s stations. I think that’s everyone. (Our bylaws permit us to seat more officers. We just need more Active Members to seek the mantles.)

MW Bill and Bro. Thomas.

A great surprise was meeting Bro. Thomas, who I found somewhat accidentally via the QCCC website because he serves as the Local Secretary for New York. He also is an experienced lecturer who travels to and from Hungary, speaking on Freemasonry in that nation. It seemed natural to me that he might want to attend our meetings, so I invited him, and now he’s getting involved with us. My marketing background isn’t going to waste!

We saw several new faces, in fact. Bro. Chris was raised to the Sublime Degree a few months ago, and already is seeking out Masonic education. And there were others with whom I didn’t get much chance to chat.

MW Bill congratulates PM Conor.

Arguably, the most memorable moment came when MW Bill Sardone, who I think of pretty much as our godfather, thanks to how mightily he contributed to our relaunch two years ago and for attending our meetings since, invited Past Master Conor to the East for a special presentation. In recognition of his own outstanding leadership during these two years of rebirth, Conor received a special Past Master jewel—One of a kind! Ain’t no other PM of The ALR gonna get one!—crafted by Bro. John Bridegroom himself.

The ALR seal at center.

Despite being put on the spot, Conor rendered a gracious acceptance speech, during which he shared a funny story of how his mother had asked if the lodge wouldn’t present him an award for all his hard work. He explained to her that it’s an honor to serve, but now he can show her he has been presented a nice trophy after all.

In other news, the upcoming book of transactions is still upcoming. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’m slowly making progress in the editing. And an altar cloth! I volunteered to have one made, stipulating that I’d rather avoid the thick, plush velvet type, because they are expensive and kind of difficult to fold for storage, and instead will procure a simple blue cotton version. I figured it would be simple to commission something from a local tailor. It’s not that easy, apparently, but I’ll get it done, and will unveil it at our next meeting in October on a date to be announced.

In the meantime, look for us on Zoom, where we will supplement our Stated Communication schedule with periodic online discussions. Magpie readers will be the second to know when these events are announced.

     

‘Haight speech at White Plains Lodge!’

    

At the George Washington Birthday Parade
in Alexandria, Virginia four months ago. That’s Andrew at left.

W. Bro. Andrew Haight was installed in the East of White Plains Lodge 473 on June 7. The installing team was led by none other than MW Bill Sardone (who, I think, will do likewise at The ALR on Tuesday), and the new Master then delivered a wonderful speech to the brethren and Masonic family. Sorry to say I couldn’t be there, but here is the Worshipful Master’s address. Oh, before I forget: Happy St. John’s Day!

Being the will of Divine Providence that I achieve the end of my laborious journey Eastward, I have arrived at this Station standing before this public assembly as Master of Masons. I bow my head in modesty and offer my humblest thanks to the Supreme Being.

I must also thank those earthen-bound individuals, to whom I owe the highest honors:

• To Most Worshipful Brother William Sardone for his support on this occasion by serving to install myself and the Officers of White Plains Lodge No. 473, I owe my most heartfelt gratitude.
• To Right Worshipful Brother John G. McAloon and Very Worshipful Brother Raphael S.C. Wong for not only discharging the roles of Installing Chaplain and Installing Marshal, but also for their wisdom and guidance during the years that have led to this point.
• To Worshipful Brother Stephen Mark Petty, Jr. for his leadership of the Lodge which has not only yielded fond memories and new traditions, but has also supported me as a treasured mentor, preparing me for this very moment.
• To all the Past Masters of White Plains Lodge for their invaluable advice, their trust, and for paving the way.
• To the newly installed Officers of the Lodge for their support and effort in faithfully carrying out my designs for the Lodge.
• And to all the family and friends, Brothers, and mothers, who have joined us today for contributing their goodwill and gladness for the occasion at hand.

Thank you!

Especially to Daniela Petty, wife of Past Master Stephen Petty, who so graciously allowed Stephen to build a better future for White Plains Lodge: I thank you.

Understanding is what led me to knock upon the doors of this Lodge. It was the quest to reconcile the yearning within my heart to understand the divine spark within my soul—that impulse that rings true in each and every one of us to build the life that God has laid out for us, to create a legacy of noble deeds for the sake of posterity, to achieve the blessing of immortality that led to my becoming a Mason, in this very room.

But what takes place within this room? What is accomplished for the sake of the Lodge that calls the attention of so many devoted husbands, fathers, students, actors, composers, businessmen, authors, escape artists, prime ministers, kings, astronauts and, until this point, no less than fourteen U.S. presidents? The likes of Voltaire, Henry Ford, George Washington, or Mozart wouldn’t have been swayed by simply a supper club with a proclivity toward pancake fundraisers and hot dog cookouts, right? So, why would they join?

“Good men, by nature, wish to know.”

Leonardo da Vinci

The Lodge is where a Man comes to know himself. He enters apprehensively, trusting that he be in the faithful, capable, hands of men who will endeavor to make him better. Through his experience, over time, the wisdom of his brethren begins to take root; his desire to know Truth unfolds before him as he is guided by his predecessors and learns their thoughts and their ways. When at last the man is made to stand on his own two feet, the work of the evening completed, the Lodge is set to close, dispersing the diverse men of the Lodge back into the world, to mix back into their cultural roles, as if nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary had occurred at all. This is Masonic Love.

The Lodge teaches Love: to Love God, to Love yourself, to Love your family, to Love your neighbors, to Love your country. Masons are taught to Love one another, as only such a pure emotion can call together so many different men, scattered about the lands, to gather themselves for the sake of making another man a better man. While the fruits of that Masonry may, for the time being, go unseen, the Mason knows he has done his portion of labour, and he will never tire of being useful. 

“Zeal is the fire of love, active for duty—burning as it flies.”

W.R. Williams

Now that everyone knows Masonry takes good men and makes them better, I’d like to offer a few of my own reflections, adapted to my own personal interests and inclinations, expressive of a heart truly Masonic, on what it can mean to take a good man and make him better. If you indulge me with attentiveness, I will proceed with candor about Alchemy.

Alchemy may call to mind the manufacture of the Philosopher’s Stone. Its associated activities may seem a bit “Harry Potter” on first thought, however, I assure you that about six hundred years ago the students of medieval Alchemy, were on the cutting edge, searching for immortality as fervently as I had been when I knocked upon the door of this Lodge, and, if they had discovered the substance which turns lead to gold, the need for absolute secrecy would be paramount. So, how can we alchemize?

Solve et Coagula or, separate and join together (or “dissolve and coagulate” in strict Latin) is a line from the practitioners of medieval Alchemy, which is only to say that nothing new can be built if, not before, we make space, breaking the old.

Alchemy is an ancient proto-science tradition, a precursor to modern inorganic chemistry. C.G. Jung saw it as a Western psychology dedicated to the achievement of individuation, as substances, physical states, and molecular material processes could be metaphors for metaphysical matters, spiritual states, and, ultimately, transformations.

Solve et Coagula is the essential alchemical process. “Solve,” or “solutio,” refers to the breaking down of elements; “Coagula” refers to their coming together. In the process of transmuting base metals into gold, this contained both a literal and a metaphorical meaning. “Solve” referred to the dissolving and vanishing of hardened, or calcified, positions and negative states of body and mind. “Coagula” referred to the coagulation of dispersed elements into an integrated whole, representing a new synthesis, of sorts.

We find that this procedure is like the biological process of metamorphosis, where the ability of a physical body to decompose and recompose is highly involved. Many observations have indicated that programmed cell death plays a considerable role during physiological processes of multi-cellular organisms. We find particular interest in Goethe’s phenomenology approach to the subject of plants. Although his ideas of transformation were about the continuous metamorphosis of living things and did not relate our contemporary ideas of transmutation, he did arrive at a sophisticated view on changeability and drew the conclusion that organisms may have within itself the ability to take on the shape which is most suitable for its surrounding conditions.

The idea of survival variability also may describe the tendency of certain chemical classes to combine with certain substances in preference to others. In his novel Elective Affinities, Goethe describes people as chemical beings whose amorous affairs and relationships were like the pairings of Alchemical classes. Alchemists state that there exist in nature two opposing forces. Such energies come from a single source and manifest in all aspects of creation, like mercury and sulphur; sun and moon; feminine and masculine. Two apparently opposite realities that complementary transcend duality.

This eternal binary opposition is a factor of everyday life. In order to make good men better, Masonry teaches men to overcome, and re-integrate in an exalted state. The Philosopher’s Stone, however, is the earthly, not spiritual, treasure of the Alchemists, and is described as a physical substance, which is concentrated, purely divine energy that can be used for performing miracles. If God has made it for us, then it must be possible to achieve.

Alchemy, in this context, can be seen in the simple metaphorical sense of drawing out the divine which is already within us. It is to this end that I dedicate my work, as Master of this Lodge, to reinforce, research, recognize, and achieve. It is my goal, that by endeavoring to manifest the perfection of the Supreme Being, the Brethren of this Lodge may come to understand the beauty of creation promised in a single stanza of William Blake’s poetry:

To see a world in a grain of sand—
and a heaven in a wild-flower.


Hold infinity in the palm of your hand—
and eternity in an hour.

By accepting this Charter, it has become my duty to lead this Lodge and instruct its members that it may prosper and foster the spirit of Masonry, that its good effects may be felt beyond the walls of this Temple. To support our entire jurisdiction, and the community from which we proudly take our name, White Plains Lodge No. 473 will realize its destiny and claim its reputation, as not merely a well-run benevolent institution, but as a model, most faithful to the Great Architect’s design, of what Masonry should be, and, in its course, what Masonry will be. For in my mind, excellence is what my Brethren deserve from me, it is what the Lodge deserves from its Brethren, it is what the community deserves from its Lodge of Freemasons, it is what God deserves for making it possible and bringing us together here tonight. As understanding can elicit the divinity within mankind, so must we call upon the Almighty to set us up, as was intended.

In a specific sense, doing what I see plainly as my charge, I formally announce that White Plains Lodge No. 473 establishes a commission to determine in what capacity the resources and history of this Lodge may be leveraged, that we may attend our Patriotic duty to Country, by participating in the semi-quincentennial of American independence in 2026. It is a natural course for us, being the oldest building in the downtown City of White Plains, and with a Lodge history that stretches back even further, we will reveal ourselves for the historic institution that we are.

With more than three years to research and develop the role we may play, I believe the timing is right to coordinate with neighboring Lodges, municipalities, and our Grand Jurisdiction, to put forth our most excellent effort in organizing the 250th anniversary of rejecting tyranny, proclaiming liberty, and the founding of the Country that God has favored: the United States of America.

I have the firmest confidence that the Officers have paid strict attention to the charges and duties of their stations and places, and will happily labor for the harmony and benefit of the craft. Like the mechanism of a watch, each part of us is essential.

I will always lead us toward the wonderful future that awaits us, and I invite you to follow. Our course to be aligned with a bright star in heaven, there is no storm we cannot navigate. If I were to leave you with a statement or quote that will define this is year, it is simply this: 
“Do good. Have fun.”


Our work can be austere and solemn, requiring our attention and focus; we must do good. However, God wants man to be happy, and life was made to be enjoyed. As a heart free from regret is easily filled with gladness, it opens the mind to cheerfulness and the body to delight. I thank each one of you for making this night so special. Having now attended our duties and accomplishing the ceremonies of the evening, the good has been done. Now, let’s go have fun!

     

‘Publicity Lodge’s new officers’

    

Publicity and visiting Masons last night.

Publicity Lodge 1000 will enter its second century this fall with its newly installed officer team, they having been made legal last night.

It was a fine affair. And public, so we enjoyed the company of family and friends of Freemasonry.

etymonline.com

The Installing Master, one of our venerable PMs, guided us through the ceremony as Leonard Bernstein would conduct the Philharmonic. Multiple Right Worshipfuls attended to demonstrate their friendship to the new Master. (I withhold his name, unsure if he is known publicly as a Freemason.) A contingent of Prince Hall brethren did likewise. And our Fourth Manhattan VIPs supported our special night too. And Oscar stopped in to say hello as well, before heading upstairs to Allied Lodge, where he had a speaking engagement.

It was a full house in the Doric Room.

Several Publicity Masons we haven’t seen in a while turned out, which is a big part of the fun too.

Past Master Chris transmits Solomonic wisdom to his duly installed successor, Worshipful Master Tom, as Installing Master William looks on.

For my part, I continue as Tiler, keeping away the cowans and eavesdroppers. However I struck out in my bid to serve as Historian also. Apparently our bylaws didn’t create the position, so there’s no way to install anyone as such. I foresee a proposed amendment this fall when we resume our labors. (Our Grand Lodge’s Grand Historian has the goal of seeing every lodge include a Historian.) I’ll keep busy doing the relevant work in the meantime.

Aside from our summer outing, probably one Saturday next month, Publicity Lodge will meet next on September 11. We’re known for hospitality, so come visit—and check in with the Tiler.