‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’

     

Prise de la Bastille by Jean-Pierre Houël. Watercolor, 1789.

Today is French National Day, known colloquially as Bastille Day, the commemoration of the most celebrated event of the French Revolution: the seizing of the Bastille, the notorious prison-fortress, on this date in 1789.

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité,” the French national motto, was coined with the spirit of the revolution. It echoes throughout the degrees of Freemasonry, particularly in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, itself a descendant of a French system of Masonic degrees.

Of the 32º (Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret), Albert Pike writes:

“...that Equilibrium between Authority and Individual Action which constitutes Free Government by settling on immutable foundations Liberty, with Obedience to Law; Equality, with Subjection to Authority; and Fraternity, with Subordination to the Wisest and Best [is representative of] the True Word of a Master Mason, the true Royal Secret, which makes possible, and shall at length make real, the Holy Empire of the true Masonic Brotherhood.”

The Magpie Mason sends best wishes to the French brethren and lodges wherever so dispersed over the face of the Earth and water, regardless of jurisdiction and status of recognition.
    

‘The End is near’

    
Registration for the Semi-Annual Meeting of The Masonic Society in Philadelphia closes one week from Saturday.

Courtesy 20th Century Fox

There will be events throughout the day and night on Saturday, July 28 in the City of Brotherly Love, including presentations from three Masonic scholars you in New Jersey know well:

RW Ben Hoff, Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education; RW Howard Kanowitz, one of our most prolific researchers and writers; and RW Ray Thorne, current Master of the research lodge, all will speak. They will be joined by RW Tom Savini, director of the Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York, who also will make a presentation.

The full itinerary can be read here.

Take notice of the banquet at The Union League. Not to be missed!

The Masonic Society holds its semi-annual meetings in different cities around the country, and this year’s is the closest to New Jersey yet. (Our Annual Meeting is held in Virginia every February during Masonic Week.)

The New Jersey Second Circle of The Masonic Society will meet next on (or about) Friday, November 30 for our annual Feast of Saint Andrew. Details TBA.
    

‘Landmarks here and there’

  
The Second Masonic District Book Club and Discussion Group has its summertime plans lined up.

Saturday at 1 p.m., the brethren will host a barbecue to complement the already meaty discussion subject of the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. This will take place at Alpine Tilden Tenakill Lodge No. 77, located at 404 Tenafly Road in Tenafly. (That’s in New Jersey, for those of you checking in from Riyadh and Dakar.) Cost per person: only $10.

Reservations are requested. Simply e-mail to 2mdbookclub (at) gmail.com

Next month, the group will partner with Fidelity Lodge No. 113 for a trip to Virginia to enjoy other landmarks.

I love photographing this place.

Thursday, August 9 – a trip to the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, and a visitation to Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, which meets within the Memorial. There will be a special speaker in lodge that evening, and a Festive Board of course. Cost per person for dinner: $5.

Friday, August 10 – a daytrip to Washington, D.C. to visit the House of the Temple. The headquarters of the Mother Council of the World has been benefitting from renovations in recent years, with more improvements to come as the centenary of this John Russell Pope masterpiece nears.

Also on the itinerary is a stop at Mount Vernon. Known formally as George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum and Gardens, this indeed is the residence of Martha and George Washington. It has been a good friend to Freemasonry in recent years. I think it is safe to say that as a repository of Washington’s effects, Mt. Vernon was excruciatingly slow to acknowledge Freemasonry’s role in the man’s life, and vice versa, but an exhibit was installed several years ago that highlighted Washington the Freemason. More recently, the newly celebrated Mt. Nebo Lodge apron was displayed there. Even the gift shop seems to offer some interesting Masonry-related items.

Simply e-mail to 2mdbookclub (at) gmail.com to get involved.
  

'ALR Festive Board'

     
Friday night was the occasion of The American Lodge of Research’s Annual Meeting for the election and installation of officers, and other necessary business. Oh yeah, and the Festive Board!

Bro. Mark Koltko-Rivera

A new change in by-laws has rescheduled our Annual Meeting from St. John Evangelist Day, when holiday travel and the inclemency of the season prevents a well attended meeting, to the proximity of St. John Baptist Day, when there are no such concerns, and we align ourselves with the regular calendar of New York Freemasonry. It was a good move, smartly thought out by the proposers. So ALR’s schedule of Stated Communications now is June 24 (unless June 24 lands on a weekend, holiday, or other religious observance, or coincides with Grand Lodge’s Saint John’s Day activities, in which case the Master will select a near weekday), October 29, and March 29.

Rather than have the 2012 officers jostled so soon into their original term, the line will remain in place, except for a switch of the Wardens. Bro. Henry now is in the West, and Bro. Daniel returns to the South. But we gained a Marshal upon the election to Active Membership of W. Henry Colon, junior Past Master of Shakespeare No. 750, who was installed moments after being made eligible to serve as an officer. The Installing Master was none other than RW Bill Thomas, the new Deputy Grand Master, who is a Past Master of ALR.

In other exciting news, RW Pierre F. de Ravel d’Esclapon was elected to Fellowship in ALR. The lodge’s Active Members elect Fellows extremely rarely, and only on the basis of outstanding Masonic research, and it was Bro. Pierre who settled centuries of uncertainty surrounding the Masonic membership of another Pierre, namely the designer of the Federal City, Major Pierre Charles L’Enfant. In the course of Bro. Pierre’s research into his terrific paper on French lodges in 18th century New York City, he also discovered in the meeting minutes of Holland Lodge No. 8 the evidence that answered the lingering question into L’Enfant’s Craft membership. Click here to read about that.

The firing glass.

Then it was time for the Festive Board. We headed to Sagaponack, one block down on 22nd Street, for a typically excellent meal with plenty of wine and various beers and ales. As Senior Deacon I was tasked with proposing the toast to MW James E. Sullivan, the new Grand Master. Bro. Mark Koltko-Rivera delivered the keynote, titled "A Primer for Esoteric Research," that acknowledges the reality of esoteric studies entering the field of Masonic research. I think it is safe to say modern Masonic research, beginning with the appearance of Quatuor Coronati 2076, has concerned historical facts (e.g. L’Enfant), and that doesn’t have to change if students approach the esoterica with the same determination to get at the truth. It is a tougher job, because facts are facts, but matters of the spirit ... are spiritual matters. Anyway, Bro. Mark’s lecture will appear in next year’s Book of Transactions.



Along the way, Bro. Henry unveiled the designs of various pieces of regalia and attire coming our way from Toye, Kenning and Spencer, including new officer aprons, membership jewels, neckties, and cufflinks.

As above: The ALR apron of Past Master Harold V.B. Voorhis photographed in its display case at a Scottish Rite valley.

So below: The TKS design (that's only a sheet of paper!) of one of the officer aprons coming soon to ALR. Looks like we're keeping it traditional. I am envious of the brethren in New York who have no Grand Lodge parameters on regalia design.

We didn’t get out of there until midnight. This was a really great evening, perfect even. The only blemish was found on my end at 12:10, when I exited the restaurant and found my car had been towed.

The finest public servants in the city work at Pier 76.

     

'Endeavour!'

  
Among the anti-Masonry in the entertainment media is the prejudice of one Inspector Morse, the eponymous character in the long-running (thirty-three episodes!) detective series from ITV. One story in particular, titled "Masonic Mysteries," from 1990, shows the Chief Inspector framed for a murder, seemingly by Freemasons. There's even a sub-plot concerning the staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

The origins of Morse's anti-Masonic leanings went largely unexplained, other than the general, perennial fear of Masonic conspiracy inside the institutions of justice in Britain, but this also lands squarely during the period of real life suspicion of Masonic inspired corruption of British institutions, leading up to Jack Straw's edict in 1997 mandating judges and magistrates to declare if they held Masonic membership.

Anyway, tonight on PBS, the prequel to the Inspector Morse series just concluded a moment ago. Titled "Endeavour," it depicts Morse on his first case, the murders of two young people near Oxford, with a related prostitution ring led by an automobile salesman. Confronted by Morse, the car dealer warns the young detective, bragging of having very important contacts in his circle of friends. "Or square," as he put it.

And thus, the viewer is given a glimpse into how the inspector came to his jaundiced view of the Craft.
  

'Don Falconer, R.I.P.'

    
After a perfect evening with The American Lodge of Research in New York City Friday night, the sad news of the passing of Bro. Don Falconer awaited me in the in-box.

Verily, I suspect he'd laugh if I joked he was done in by that "esoteric edict" from his grand master. (See post below.)

Funeral Service:

Tuesday, July 3
1:15 p.m.

Macquarie Park in the Palm Chapel (Delhi Road in North Ryde)

That's Australia.

Message from his son:

He was an extraordinarily wonderful person who did not like fuss and was very humble. Accordingly he would say 'Please no Flowers.' He deserves a good send-off, and I know that many people loved and respected him, so if you wish to join the family and his friends, we would welcome you.

Please let me know if you are attending by Sunday p.m. to enable arrangements on the day to be properly planned.

Thank you for being part of his life.

Jeff Falconer and Family

‘The Icarus Syndrome’

  
In the Masonic Light group last Wednesday, the brother known worldwide as the Canberra Curmudgeon posted the text of an edict from his grand master Down Under – United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, specifically – that was hot off the presses. Since then I’ve seen it on the Dummies blog, and the FD2L blog, various vBulletin sites, and even on Facebook. Despite being one of the first to read the edict on the web, I guess I’m pretty much the last to blog about it, and since we have a few final minutes of Father’s Day remaining, I will try to explain, drawing from the lesson of one of mythology’s great father-son disasters, why the edict is no big deal.

But first, the nothing about which there is much ado:

Grand Master’s Edict

Announced at the Grand Communication – 13th June, 2012

On 12 May 2010 the Board of Management passed a resolution stating the principles governing esoteric research. These principles are central to the practice of Regular Freemasonry. In order that there be no doubt that they bind every brother and Lodge in this jurisdiction I have decided to make them the subject of a Grand Master’s edict. At my request the Board of Management has rescinded its resolution so that it may be substituted with the following edict which takes effect immediately.

1. Authorised, official Masonic Education and Instruction is only ‘Regular’ when applied to Free and Accepted or Speculative Masonry (Regular Freemasonry).

2. Because of the widely divergent interpretations which can be placed upon it, I am concerned about the unqualified use of the word ‘esoteric,’ or any of its derivatives or extensions, within Regular Freemasonry. Such use needs to be avoided as it has been and can be misconstrued to the detriment of the Craft.

3. I encourage all Masons to make daily progress in the acquisition of Masonic knowledge. Speculation and discussion within the Landmarks of the Order are to be commended.

4. Within Regular Freemasonry, interpretive discussion and exposition concern only the progressive acquisition of Masonic knowledge towards an understanding of the secrets and mysteries of the Craft, promoting the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. To avoid any misapprehension, such regular discussion and exposition shall be described as ‘speculative,’ and the term ‘esoteric’ shall not be applied.

5. Regular Freemasonry does not permit within it any form of esotericism which encompasses or tends towards occultism, sorcery, alchemy, astrology, profane mysticism, transcendentalism, supernaturalism, druidism, rosicrucianism, satanism or any concept or movement related to any of these. The presentation, endorsement and/or promotion of such subjects in any Lodge holding under the UGL of NSW and ACT whether the Lodge be open, adjourned, at refreshment or closed or at any connected or associated Lodge function should be deemed irregular and is strictly forbidden.

6. Any breach of this Edict constitutes serious unmasonic conduct and shall be treated accordingly.

7. The Grand Master from time to time may grant dispensations to permit the presentation of papers on esotericism which would otherwise constitute a breach of this edict. A dispensation may be granted on such terms and conditions as the Grand Master may impose. An application for a dispensation must be made to the Grand Master in writing through the Grand Secretary. Normally it will only be granted if the proposed paper is a genuine and proper piece of masonic research.

Okay, and here is why I say this is nothing to worry about, much less justify the bizarre caterwauling (“book burning!” “thought control!”) that I’ve seen on web these past several days. It’s the Nekillim Syndrome, defined by psychology researchers as “the mindless, hysterical (but often amusing) reaction to the action of a Masonic grand master.”

As I phrased it in our conversation on ML:

Having had some time to digest this news, I’m looking more closely at what this edict states, and what it does not state.

The grand master is governing the Craft lodges, and not interfering with Masonic Rosicrucians or any appendant or concordant group. He does not prohibit activities independent of Freemasonry.

The edict prohibits sorcery, satanism, and the like in the lodge. We don’t object to that, do we? It prohibits alchemy and rosicrucianism in the lodge. Is that really so problematic? I don’t think a ban is necessary, but I can’t say it deprives Masons of urgent or fundamental Masonic knowledge. Others listed in Item 5 sound reasonable to me. I don’t want Freemasonry confused in the mix of New Age activities.

I work in Masonic education because I believe Masons ought to be educated about Masonry. There is a lot to learn in Freemasonry. A lodge that focuses on Masonic learning will not run out of material to cover any time soon. Maybe that is better than having programs on transcendentalism in the lodge.

There is a group on Facebook called “Esoteric Masons” or something like that. It has some useful information; it has some less-than-useful information; it also has Masons advertising their availability for Masonry’s invitational orders. It has a lot of talk, some of it plagiarized, about rosicrucians and other topics. What is missing usually is a mention of Freemasonry. I think there is esoterica to Freemasonry, and maybe this grand master wants that explored before lodges diversify their activities by going off topic.

That said, I doubt there is some frantic need for this edict. Are the lodges in New South Wales hives of satanist astrologers or something?

I’d encourage the brethren to follow the model of Canonbury and Rose Circle, and host conferences that explore other avenues of esoteric study, independently of the Craft so they may enjoy full freedom. It can’t be too difficult to find an accessible venue where Masons can spend a Saturday learning about, say, the similarities of symbols in Masonry and Alchemy; or Masonry and Tarot. If there’s a demand for that, someone will show up. If it is organized professionally, maybe the event would qualify for the dispensation that is offered.

Keeping calm and carrying on,

Jay

I do not know the Grand Master of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territories, so I cannot view his edict through or in proximity to his eyes, but looking at it with my own eyes, it makes some sense.

There is another syndrome in Freemasonry, and I have diagnosed and named it myself. The Icarus Syndrome is exhibited by Masons who really should be laying their personal foundations of Masonic knowledge by – if I may paraphrase a few rituals – going to lodge, conversing with more knowledgeable brethren, studying the Liberal Arts and Sciences, being charitable toward their brethren, and making a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge, but who instead pursue other knowledge for which they are not yet prepared. Or maybe they are prepared, but make a wrong turn and wind up in dubious rites and orders.

Courtesy The Folio Society

In Greek mythology, Daedalus, whose name means “bright” or “cunningly wrought,” was an extremely handy inventor and craftsman – “a wonderful smith,” in the words of Bro. Robert Graves in his The Greek Myths anthology – and the father of Icarus. Both were imprisoned on Crete by King Minos, and to make their escape, Daedalus fashioned a set of wings for each of them. Thread held together the large quill feathers, and wax was used to hold the smaller feathers in place.

They took flight, literally, in a northeasterly direction. The father warned his son not to fly so low as to wet his wings in the sea, nor soar so high as to melt the wax in the sunlight.



You know the rest: Icarus, not ready for the knowledge and responsibility entrusted to him prematurely, enjoyed the wonderful freedom of motion too much and sailed too high. The sun melted the wax of his wings, and he fell into the sea, drowning.

The end.

Don’t let this happen to you.

I know all the nonsense about sorcery, Satanism, druidism, etc. is not any concern of any real Freemason in any real Masonic lodge but, frankly, the Alchemy and Rosicrucianism do figure into Masonic studies, with other parallel and related practices as well.

Those will be there for us when we are ready for them. To make oneself ready for them, a Mason divides his time in a specific method, measures his thoughts and actions in certain ways, and applies himself with deliberation and finality to achieve an ultimate, desired result. So you have to ask yourself if you want to be a “seeing is believing” Mason who is in control of his passions, his physical powers, and his intellect, or do you want to be a “believing is seeing” Mason who can be fooled into just about anything because he lacks the fundamental knowledge and acquired experience that creates wisdom.

It’s all free will and accord, brethren. No one is going to arrest your movement whichever way you go, but remember what happens when you fly too high before you’re ready.

‘Ingathering: Change of venue’

    
The New Jersey 2012 Allied Masonic Degrees Ingathering has a change of plans.

Instead of taking place at Livingston Lodge No. 11, it will take place at Madison Lodge No. 93. Madison is only a few miles away. No big deal.

Same date and time: Saturday, July 28 at 9 a.m. Same program of Grand Tilers of Solomon Degree and papers to be presented. Same killer lunch to be served.

Click here to register.
    

‘Cliff-in-Chief’

    

This just in: Ill. Cliff Jacobs, 33° is the new Commander-in-Chief of New York City Consistory, having been installed into the symbolic chair of Frederick the Great last night.

(three “Huzzahs!” here)

Illustrious Jake, as he sometimes is known, is one of the guiding lights in the New York City Masonic renaissance of recent years, active in Craft Masonry and beyond. He received the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry in 1990, and was coroneted a 33° Mason in 2008.

If you share his passion for fine writing instruments, follow his blog here.

Illustrious Sir, if you ever need me for anything, just let me know.

    

‘Astronomy: Transit of Venus’

     

I usually sleep through the rare astronomical wonders, but I hope to catch this one, since the sun will be up.

From National Geographic:

“This Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on where you live, sky-watchers around the world will be able to see a cosmic spectacle known as a transit of Venus. The events are so rare that only six Venus transits have been observed since the invention of the telescope more than 400 years ago.”

From NASA:

“This is the Official Sun-Earth Day webcast for the Venus Transit brought to you live from the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.”

From The New York Times:

“The rare astronomical event, known as the transit of Venus, comes in pairs about once every century, with the previous one occurring in 2004. The next one will not take place until 2117, making the event on Tuesday truly a last-chance opportunity. Unless, of course, it rains.”

     

‘Anderson’s Constitutions’

  

Title page of first edition of Benjamin Franklin’s 1734 reprint
of Anderson’s Constitutions. This copy is among the special
collections of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The Second Masonic District Book Club’s June meeting will be devoted to a discussion of Anderson’s Constitutions.

Monday, June 25

7:15 p.m.

Fidelity Lodge No. 113

99 South Maple Avenue

Ridgewood, New Jersey

All Master Masons are welcome. Click here to download the club’s recommended copy of the document, an electronic version of Benjamin Franklin’s 1734 reprint of the 1723 English original. If you didn’t know, Franklin’s reprint was the first Masonic book published in the New World. The patron of printers in America made a verbatim copy at a time when only the earliest of Masonic lodges in the American colonies were extant. Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Green Dragon in Boston, and Solomon’s Lodge in Georgia each, in its own way has claim to be the oldest lodge in America, but there weren’t many more here in the early 1730s. It also should be noted that Franklin became Grand Master of Pennsylvania (Moderns) the year he printed the Constitutions, on Saint John Baptist Day.

I am looking forward to this discussion. Anderson’s Constitutions may be the most important but most misunderstood text in Masonic letters. We today look upon its First Charge, that “Concerning God and Religion,” allowing our modern eyes to misinterpret how it codified religious tolerance among the various Christian factions of 1720s London as something universal, a taste of the multiculturalism that indulges 21^st century sensibilities. Its terminology (e.g. “stupid atheist” and “irreligious libertine”) is not as clear and blunt as we today assume. There is much room for discussion right there.

The second most famous aspect of the document is its lengthy “history” of Freemasonry. Needless to say it is a legendary history tracing the transmission of Masonry, or Geometry, from Biblical patriarchs and prophets to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; to the Saxons, Danes, and Normans; to Plantagenets, Tudors and Stuarts; to the Duke of Montagu – “the most noble Prince” and the Grand Master of Masons.

You neo-Templars out there would be wise to notice the absence of any mention of the Crusades and Knights Templar, or any other marauding army that killed so many infidels in the name of the Prince of Peace. The thinking of Masonic origins, at least at the official level of that time, had not yet heard the myth of Templar beginnings of Freemasonry.

But there will be time to talk about it all June 25. Hope to see you there.

    

‘That High and Lonesome Sound’

     










Posting this unexpected interesting announcement makes the sad news about the death of Doc Watson yesterday a little easier to take. The Ninth Manhattan District’s German Masonic Charitable Foundation will host its first Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival next month at its German Masonic Park in Tappan.



Traveling Man Bluegrass Festival

Saturday, June 16, from noon to nine

German Masonic Park

120 Western Highway

Tappan, New York




Tickets are $25 each, and a portion of each sale will be donated to the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome research and other efforts into SIDS research.




Tickets are available here.







     

‘Light and meditation’

    
Historic Munn Lodge No. 203 will host a Festive Board June 14 to honor W. Milton Sporn for his contributions to the Craft, AND the occasion will be marked by a lecture delivered by W. Lenny Lubitz titled “The Influence of Light and Meditation in Masonic Ritual.”

Lenny is a friend of the Magpie. We frequent the same venues, from ALR to ICHF and more. I know he regards Masonic education very seriously, so I do not hesitate to recommend hearing him speak.

Cost is only $25 per person, and the event is open to Apprentices and Fellows.

    

‘Freedom is a light’

    

Facing Independence Hall is George Washington, standing in one of only five public squares

planned in William Penn’s 1682 survey of Philadelphia.

“Freedom is a Light for which many men have died in darkness” is the main inscription
on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Today I’m just repeating a previous Memorial Day post, but with a different angle.

In everyday life, I think most people forget the meaning of patriotism, allowing that unifying virtue to be blended with what really is jingoism, or at best a “me too” moment, free of commitment or sacrifice.

As is often the case, the rituals of Scottish Rite Masonry help me make sense of such concepts. The Master of the Symbolic Lodge Degree (20º) in the A&ASR Southern Jurisdiction puts it succinctly:

“Patriotism, willing to sacrifice itself for the common good, even when neither thanks nor honor follow it; that asks not whether that which the country requires will or will not be popular, but does the right without regard to consequences. Let there be Light!”

As you know, this national holiday began as Decoration Day, the occasion to adorn the graves of the fallen of the U.S. Civil War. Decoration Day was established by General Order No. 11, issued by Gen. John Logan on May 5, 1868, who vowed: “If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.”

Again it is Scottish Rite that says it all. From the Chapter of Rose Croix: “So may the Light that never fails, the Love that never forgets, and the Life that never ends, illumine our world.”

SMIB.
    

‘To keep and not conceal’

     

  

For you library conservators and museum curators out there, the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library will welcome a pro next month to present a program on how best to handle, store, preserve, and display Masonic papers, certificates, and other materials. Ms. Andrea Pitsch, who holds a Master’s Degree in Art Preservation, also encourages attendees to bring specimens, so she may offer informed advice on specific items. A lively Q&A session is anticipated as well.

Tuesday, June 12

6 p.m.

Masonic Hall, 14^th Floor

71 W. 23^rd St.

New York City

RSVP (required) to (212) 337-6620 or info(at)nymasoniclibrary.org

This is a service being brought to you by the Library Trustees to assist you in the vital preservation of archives, books, and other records that both conserve and transmit Masonic history. A step beyond saving the archives of Masonry from inundations and conflagrations.

 

‘The Temple of Solomon’

     

Author James Wasserman will return to the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library for another speaking engagement next month, Director Tom Savini announced this week.

Wednesday, June 6

6 p.m.

Masonic Hall, 14^th Floor

71 W. 23^rd St.

New York City

Wasserman will discuss his book The Temple of Solomon, “a lushly-illustrated exploration of the Temple in history and legend.” (His publisher will have copies of the book available for purchase in both hardcover and softcover formats, as well as limited copies of the author’s other works.)

Attendance is free, and open to the public.

‘Observing the Craft’

    
Retrieved recently from a dead PC is my review of Bro. Andrew Hammer’s terrific book Observing the Craft written for The Journal of the Masonic Society. I didn’t know Hodapp already had written a review for the publication, so this review might as well have been lost in a hopelessly infected and disabled computer. But it was resurrected, with some other files, by a wizard earlier this spring, just in time to submit to Cory Sigler for his first issue of the new The New Jersey Freemason magazine, which arrived in the brethren’s mailboxes a week ago. I only had to dust it off, trim a few words, and click send.


Now, if I can get my thousands of JPGs off that computer, I’ll be a happy man.




Observing the Craft: The Pursuit of Excellence in Masonic Labour and Observance

By Andrew Hammer

Mindhive Books, 2010, 145pp.

Click here to order your copy.

Not to be confused with either Traditional Observance lodges or the Rite of Strict Observance, Andrew Hammer’s book has us cast our eyes to the East to observe his trestleboard for Masonic labors. Observing the Craft briefly and boldly reaches two key objectives: First, to show Freemasons that the rituals and symbols of the lodge impart all the Light Masonry intends, and secondly to convince the Mason that the lodge ought to be cherished, that it is worthy of his time and talents. Along the way, Hammer unflinchingly redefines Masonry’s numerous appendant, concordant, and affiliated fraternities as “distractions” that deprive lodges of the brethren’s attention; and he provides a simple formula for improving the lodge experience so that Masons can enjoy the excellence they expect and deserve. He gets that and much more done in only 145 pages, perhaps unsurprising for a Mason who shares the name of a tool made to deliver sudden, forceful impacts.

For context, it should be understood that Bro. Hammer is not a typical American Mason. A native of the United Kingdom (which explains his book’s British spelling), he is a Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, which meets inside the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. The ethos he helped bring to this historic lodge in the previous decade is summarized in a plain statement to prospective petitioners. I paraphrase: “The question is not ‘Can I become a Mason?’ There are many lodges in the area that will be glad to have you. The question is ‘Can I become a Mason in Alexandria-Washington Lodge?’” This is not arrogance, but it is a reason why his lodge was dubbed the Grand Lodge of Northern Virginia, a sobriquet bestowed unkindly by Virginia Masons who instead should have been taking note of A-W’s revival under the leadership of Hammer and his colleagues. In the revitalization of Masonic lodges taking place across the country in recent years, Hammer’s touch is felt thanks to his leadership in the Knights of the North think tank, The Masonic Society educational fraternity, other organized proponents of Masonic renaissance, and of course this book.

Observing the Craft is audacious in its phrasing, but its thinking is so fundamental as to be irrefutable. It is, after all, paraphrasing the teachings of the lodge. When Hammer challenges the flawed belief that more men equals a stronger fraternity, which leads to mass initiations, he says “The very essence of membership in the Craft is not about bringing people in, for whatever reason… the essence of membership in the Craft is that it must be sought.” He essentially is reminding us of the Entered Apprentice Charge, which urges us to be cautious in recommending a man to the lodge because it is the mysteries of Masonry that distinguish us from the rest of the community. And where that charge warns us against arguing with the ignorant that ridicule Masonry, Hammer insists “If we are to be consistent in that charge, then we must also not suffer ourselves to placate prying eyes or the mindless paranoia of philistines.” Not a motto for Square and Compass Day.

Addressing charity, the author describes it as “the perfection of every virtue,” something with which we all can agree, but he is fearless in making the distinction, long forgotten in Masonry, that “Masonic charity is not material benevolence. Rather, it is the spiritual and philosophical awakening which motivates it.” Does not the lecture of the First Degree instruct us, on the subject of Relief, in acts of emotional and psychological kindness?

The author also writes at length on tangible aspects of lodge life, namely dining, dress, and ritual. Of the first item, Hammer takes us to the Festive Board, a stylized Masonic meal (not to be confused with the Table Lodge) that follows the tiled meeting, but continues the decorum of that meeting. “The guiding idea is that the food should be of the same quality one would find in any fine restaurant, and it should be presented and served in a way that conveys dignity even if served on paper plates.” In ambiance, the Festive Board is a place of good cheer, where the brethren may speak candidly, offer toasts, and basically balance the solemnity of the lodge meeting with the joy of fellowship.

As regards dress, Hammer explains that attire is nothing less than a Mason’s “physical manifestation of his effort to bring his mind and soul to a state of excellence.” The specifics are best left to the lodge, but “No one should dress differently for lodge than they would to attend their house of worship or take part in any other important event in their lives.”

On ritual, it is “perhaps the single most important aspect of observing the Craft” and “what transforms a room into a lodge, the men in that room into Masons, and the profane into the sublime.” It goes without saying, so Hammer gently reminds that the performance of our rituals to the highest levels of proficiency is the primary goal, but his larger point concerns ways to “excite the curiosity of all observant Masons.” Urging us all to always work within the guidelines of our respective jurisdictions, the author suggests the following:

• Confer the degree on one man only so he makes an individual journey, and is the center of the lodge’s attention.

• Employ music to “elevate the assembly of minds gathered together” and to accentuate different aspects of ritual work at specific times. Conversely, use silence to remove all distractions from the sense of hearing. Obviously, this means no chatting on the sidelines, but also much more for the benefit of everyone’s state of mind.

• To further assist the focusing of the mind, light and darkness must be properly managed. “Darkness, like silence, concentrates the mind by removing all other distractions” and the light revealed to the candidate when the hoodwink is removed should be only “a simple flame,” so no other “competing visual images” enter his mind. That’s the moving flame of the candle, mind you, and not the kitschy “Masonic light bulb.”

• Appealing to our sense of smell, Hammer praises incense. The sense of touch can be addressed through what is called the Chain of Union, the interlocking of arms and clasping of hands to achieve “psychological and physical union” around the entire lodge room.

Clearly, to Andrew Hammer, Freemasonry is a verb. To observe the Craft is to take up the Working Tools and thoughtfully go about our labors in self-improvement, but doing so harmoniously together. It’s all explained in our rituals, lectures, charges, and other orations. The trick is to not be content with merely memorizing and reciting all that inspiring literature, and instead to animate it by doing what it advises. In his concluding paragraphs, Hammer explains “This book was written in an attempt to call the Craft from refreshment to labour. That labour involves confronting our fear with dignity; it involves standing up for the ideas of free thought and free association in the face of those who would demand we eviscerate our mysteries before their altars of cloying superficiality; it involves respecting ourselves enough to say that we must not be afraid to reach for more light within ourselves, that light of the contemplative spirit within each of us that cannot be meted out to curious bystanders just because they want to see it.”

It is the blueprint – if you will, the designs upon the trestleboard – for a successful lodge of skilled craftsmen. How many of us will heed the sound of the gavel?

    

‘The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner’

    

Courtesy Cupola Productions.

New York Open Center will host the premier screening of Jonathan Stedall’s biographical documentary The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner this summer.

The screening, accompanied by a lecture, will take place Tuesday, August 14 at 8 p.m.

New York Open Center is located at 22 East 30^th Street, near Madison Avenue, in Manhattan.

From the publicity:

Tonight the director of this long-awaited film introduces his new work. Shot in Austria, Switzerland, India, the United Kingdom and the United States during 2011—the 150th anniversary year of Rudolf Steiner’s birth—this documentary looks not only at the biography of this remarkable visionary and philosopher, but also at his world-wide legacy in education (Waldorf Schools, Camphill), agriculture (Biodynamics), medicine (Weleda, Hauschka), and all areas of social and spiritual life. At the heart of this film lie the classic questions: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

Admission costs $20 for members of NY Open Center, and $22 for non-members.

(How New York Open Center called dibs on the debut, over the Anthroposophical Society, is unknown to me.)

Click here to see the trailer.