‘Emerson’s point with circles’

     
The School of Practical Philosophy will host another study day to examine more writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson next month. This will be a different class from what you might have read about previously on The Magpie. From the publicity:

Emerson Study Day

Sunday, October 16

8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

$30 per person,

includes light brunch and printed materials

School of Practical Philosophy

12 East 79th Street

Manhattan

Click here for tickets.

Come explore the spiritual and intellectual legacy of America’s great philosopher and teacher Ralph Waldo Emerson. At this study day, we will consider selected passages from “Circles,” an essay in which Emerson expresses man’s unlimited, ever-changing and expanding nature. His words are both inspirational and fortifying, and always address a love of freedom.


From the essay:

“Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth, that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning; that there is always another dawn rising on mid-noon, and under every deep, a lower deep opens.”
(First Series 1841)

All are welcome. No prior study of Emerson is required.

8:30 a.m. – Sign in. Coffee.
9 a.m. – Introduction and brief history, followed by two study sessions in small groups.

Class led by Barbara Solowey.
     

‘Setting out for the Masonic frontier’

     
The deadline for registration is near for The Masonic Society’s “Freemasonry on the Frontier” conference in California in three weeks. From the publicity:

The Masonic Society Announces

Speakers for ‘Frontier’ Conference

The Masonic Society has announced the line-up of nine speakers for its conference “Freemasonry on the Frontier” to be held October 7-9 in Morgan Hill, California. A registration form and hotel information can be found here.

“We’ve built the event around a particularly distinguished slate of speakers,” said Society President Kenneth W. Davis. “When possible, we’ve arranged topics chronologically and geographically, tracing the growth of Freemasonry from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.”

Samuel Clemens, better known as “Mark Twain,” will kick off the program with an after-dinner speech Friday evening. Brother Clemens’ talk is made possible by Jefferson H. Jordan, Jr., immediate past grand master of Masons in New Mexico.

Mark Tabbert, director of collections at the George Washington Masonic Memorial, and author of several acclaimed Masonic books, will deliver Saturday morning’s keynote address. His topic will be “George Washington and the Masonic Frontiers of the 1700s.”

Also on Saturday morning, William Miklos, past master of Northern California Research Lodge, will speak on “Masons Pushing or Pulling the Constitutional Convention,” and Moises Gomez, past grand historian of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, will speak on “Early Traveling Lodges of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey: Bringing Light to the American Frontier.”

Adam Kendall, collections manager and curator of exhibits for the Henry W. Coil Library and Museum at the Grand Lodge of California, and editor of The Plumbline, the quarterly bulletin of the Scottish Rite Research Society, will keynote the Saturday afternoon sessions, speaking on “Pilgrimage and Procession: The 1883 Knights Templar Triennial Conclave and the Dream of the American West.”

Also speaking Saturday afternoon will be Kyle Grafstrom, of Verity Lodge 59, Kent, Washington, and author of articles in both The Philalethes and Living Stones, on “Freemasonry in the Wild West.” Wayne Sirmon, past master of Texas Lodge of Research and instructor and fellow at the University of Mobile, will present “West by Southwest: The Expansion of Frontier Freemasonry in the Old Southwest.”

John Bizzack, fellow and board member of The Masonic Society, fellow of the Rubicon Masonic Society in Kentucky, and author of five books on Freemasonry, will deliver Saturday evening’s after-dinner speech, “The Expansion of Freemasonry into the West: The Pivotal Role of Kentucky, 1788-1810.”

John Cooper, past grand master and past grand secretary of Masons in California and current president of the Philalethes Society, will keynote Sunday morning with “Freemasonry and Nation-Building on the Pacific Coast: The California Experience.” His speech will be followed by a panel of all speakers, discussing with the audience “Freemasonry on the Frontier.”

Sunday afternoon will feature a tour of the Winchester Mystery House, with Masonic connections, and said to be haunted.

The conference is directed by Gregg Hall, member of Morgan Hill Masonic Lodge, California, and The Masonic Society’s board of directors.
     

‘The Resurgence of Freemasonry’

     
The Livingston Library is at it again, this time welcoming the Right Worshipful Grand Historian to the lectern. The library is located on the 14th floor of Masonic Hall, located at 71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. From the publicity:

The Resurgence of Freemasonry

Join us on Thursday, September 29 at 6:30 p.m. for what is sure to be an exciting lecture! Friends and family are welcome.

In his presentation, R.W. Bro. Mark E. Koltko-Rivera argues that the last thirty years of the fraternity’s history make it clear that, unless very serious and radical changes are made to the status quo, American Freemasonry will become all but extinct within the lives of the men whom we are now initiating. Koltko-Rivera explains why this is so, how we arrived at this juncture and, most importantly, what Masons can do to not only arrest the decline of Masonry, but also to bring about the resurgence of the Craft to a state where we have more Freemasons—and stronger Masons—than we ever had in the United States.

Please RSVP here.

About the Presenter

The Right Worshipful Mark E. Koltko-Rivera, Ph.D., is the Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of New York. He is the author of the book Freemasonry: An Introduction, and the forthcoming The Resurgence of Freemasonry. He has appeared on Discovery Channel and History Channel as an expert on the American Founding Fathers and Freemasonry. He is also the founder and chief educational officer of The School of Freemasonry (www.freemasonschool.com), an online enterprise. Koltko-Rivera holds a doctoral degree in psychology from New York University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and currently teaches as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Hunter College, The City University of New York (CUNY).
     

‘Next Week: Knight of the Sword’

     
If you’re a Cousin in Knight Masonry, you ought to consider attending the meeting next week of Northern New Jersey Council, where the Knight of the Sword Degree will be conferred.

That will be Wednesday, September 21 at Pantagis Renaissance (Snuffy’s Restaurant) at 250 Park Avenue in Scotch Plains. Cocktails at six. Dinner at seven ($32 per person). Meeting will open after dinner. Contact the Scribe to let him know you are coming.

Click here to read David Lindez’s recent blog post on the subject of the degrees of Knight Masonry. The Order of Knight Masonry is a fraternity attached to the York Rite. Members are notable Royal Arch Masons who are invited to receive these “Green Degrees” that originate in Ireland.
     

‘Friday the 16th’

     
It’s September, so our Masonic lodges are emerging from hibernation. My lodge, Publicity 1000, will hold its first meeting of the new Masonic year on Monday, and another lodge I’m fond of will meet soon to host a brother who I like too.

Atlas-Pythagoras Masonic Lodge No. 10 will welcome Oscar Alleyne as the evening’s guest lecturer next Friday. His topic will be “The Tools of Symbolism.” See the flier below, but let me add one missing detail about Oscar’s Masonic work: He serves on the board of The Masonic Society! (Try to get that in there next time, Mohamad!)

See you there.

     

‘Guggenheim to exhibit Symbolist art of the Rose+Croix salons’

     
Okay, calm down. It won’t open until next summer, but it will happen, and it will be a first for any museum.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will present about 40 works of Symbolist art first presented in fin de siècle Paris in Sar Péladan’s annual Rosicrucian salons. Péladan founded his own idiomatic system of Rosicrucian thought (don’t we all), and the art he cultivated in his Rose+Croix salons drew deeply from Christianity and Greek mythology, among other sources, to breathe some shock and awe spirituality into the Paris art scene, which was dominated by Realism at that time.

The exhibit will be open from June 30 through October 4, 2017. Then the collection will go to Venice to be shown in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection from October 27, 2017 through January 7, 2018.

From the publicity:

Mystical Symbolism:

The Salon de la Rose+Croix

in Paris, 1892-1897

In 1892, Joséphin Péladan (1859-1918), a Rosicrucian, self-proclaimed high priest of the occult, author, and critic, organized the first Salon de la Rose+Croix. This annual exhibition in Paris showcased mystical Symbolist art, particularly a hermetic, numinous vein of Symbolism that was favored by Péladan and dominant during the 1890s, a time when religious and occult practices often intertwined. Mysterious, visionary, and mythical subjects, often drawn from literary sources, prevailed in the art at the salons.

Orpheus Death by Jean Delville, 1893.

Images of femmes fragiles and fatales, androgynous creatures, chimeras, and incubi were the norm, as were sinuous lines, attenuated figures, and anti-naturalistic forms. Cosmopolitan in reach, the salons featured artists from Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, such as Antoine Bourdelle, Jean Delville, Rogelio de Egusquiza, Charles Filiger, Ferdinand Hodler, Fernand Khnopff, Alphonse Osbert, Armand Point, Gaetano Previati, Georges Rouault, Carlos Schwabe, Alexandre Séon, Jan Toorop, Ville Vallgren, and Félix Vallotton.

“Mystical Symbolism: The Salon de la Rose+Croix in Paris, 1892-1897” will capture a fascinating, transnational cross section of artists—some well known, others less so—and invite a fresh look at and new scholarship on late 19th century Symbolist art. Organized by Vivien Greene, Senior Curator, 19th- and Early 20th-Century Art, with the assistance of Ylinka Barotto, Curatorial Assistant, “Mystical Symbolism” will feature about 40 works culled from the six Salon de la Rose+Croix exhibitions, as well as pertinent historical documents. A musical component with pieces by Erik Satie and others will complement the presentation and underscore how composers played key roles in the development of the movement. The exhibition will highlight central artworks shown at each salon in order to tease out themes such as the role of Orpheus, the adulation of the Primitives, and the cult of personality that developed around figures including Richard Wagner and Péladan himself. These carefully chosen works and groupings, in turn, will allow for an in-depth exploration of the diverse and sometimes opposing concepts that informed Symbolism in the 1890s.

A fully illustrated catalogue will comprise essays on the salon and its main themes (Greene); the contemporary reception of the salon (Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond, independent scholar); and the connections between Symbolists tenets and those of early 20th century avant-garde artists (Kenneth Silver, Professor of Art History, New York University). It will also contain a selected bibliography and artist entries authored by emerging scholars.
     

‘Check out the Pennsylvania Academy in October’

     
The Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge has announced the line-up of speakers for its October session. From the publicity:

Pennsylvania Academy

of Masonic Knowledge

Presents

Heather Calloway

Christopher Murphy

John Hairston

Saturday, October 15

Freemasons Cultural Center

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Check back for topic information and biographies, coming soon!

The next session of the Academy of Masonic Knowledge will be held October 15, 2016, in the Deike Auditorium of the Freemasons Cultural Center on the campus of the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 9:30 a.m. A lunch (requested contribution of $10) will be served at noon, and the program will be completed by 3 p.m. All Masons are welcome to attend. Dress is coat and tie.

Pre-registration is required.

To pre-register, please send your name, address, Lodge name and number, and telephone here.

Please recognize that a cost is incurred to the program for your registration. If you pre-register and subsequently determine that you will be unable to attend, please have the Masonic courtesy to cancel your reservation by the same method and providing the same information.


As noted above, the Academy will follow-up with the speakers’ bios and topics, but in the meantime, I can explain the little that I know.

Heather Calloway

Heather Calloway is Archivist & Special Collections Librarian and an Assistant Professor at George Washington College in Maryland. Her connection to Freemasonry runs deep, as she served the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction) as Director of Programming, as the Museum Curator, and as the Digital Media Director at the House of the Temple in Washington, DC. Freemasonry runs in her family as well. You may have heard of Danny Calloway, a Past Grand Master of Masons in New Mexico. Heather is a favorite speaker among those of us who get around to such events. I look forward to hearing her again.

Chris Murphy

Christopher Murphy is the Charter Junior Warden of Fibonacci Lodge 112, the first Observant Lodge chartered by the Grand Lodge of Vermont. He is a full member of Vermont Lodge of Research 110, and is a member of the Philalethes Society. I think I saw somewhere on Facebook that he is to present his paper “The Tavern Myth” at the Academy. He has had this published in The Philalethes, but I do not know what it entails. I am wondering if it complements what Shawn Eyer has been saying for several years, and I am really eager to hear it for myself.

John Hairston

John Hairston is at labor in Harmony Lodge 2 under the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington, and is the author of Landmarks of Our Fathers: The Critical Analysis of the Start and Origin of African Lodge No. 1. It’s not just that he wrote a book. This brother wrote a book that cites research that could turn everything we think we know about African Lodge upside down. A compelling thesis I want to hear directly from the writer!

Let me also say it is not necessary to be a Pennsylvania Mason to attend the Academy’s sessions. Just follow the directions for registration and follow the directions on GPS, and you’ll be fine. I’ve been attending on and off for about seven years, and it’s always a great time. I don’t even mind the six-hour, 300-mile roundtrip. It’s that worthwhile.
     

‘The Royal Arch Pendant of a Civil War Hero’

     
The Livingston Library continues its outreach to the Masonic fraternity and the public—on a very regular basis apparently—and not just in the library. This event was announced today. From the publicity:

The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston

Masonic Library,

Cornerstone Masonic Historical Society,

and Museum Village

Proudly Present:

The Royal Arch Pendant of a Civil War Hero:

Sgt. William C. Lilly,

149th Infantry, New York State Volunteers

Courtesy George Washington Masonic Memorial

By Catherine Walter, Curator

Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library

Friday, September 2

8 p.m.

Museum Village

1010 State Route 17M

Monroe, New York

Free and open to the public.

For information, call 845.476.8784.

Sgt. William C. Lilly was a true life hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, unlike the Friend to Friend myth. Read about him here.
     

‘Traubenfest date set for October’

     

This just in: The Freemasons of the Ninth Manhattan District will host their annual Traubenfest on Sunday, October 2 at German Masonic Park in Tappan, New York. Gates will open at 11 a.m. Admission is only five bucks (but free for children under 14), and the event will open “rain or shine.”

It’s a fun day of enjoying German food, German beer, German band music, and all things German, and it is hosted by the German heritage lodges of the Grand Lodge of New York.

They now have a website. Click here for directions and other information.

By happy coincidence, Grand Master’s Day at DeWint House, only about a mile away in Tappan, also will take place that day, so do what I do and make a full day of it in that beautiful little town.
     

‘Help Masons' Hall survive another 200 years’

     

Courtesy Masons' Hall 1785.

A treasure of an eighteenth century Masonic historic site in Virginia is in serious need of repair, and a fundraising effort is underway to secure the money needed to restore the building to greatness, and ensure its longevity far into the future. Even $5 donations are welcome.

Masons’ Hall in Richmond boasts a colorful history as both a Masonic and public space, involving historic figures within the fraternity and in American history. A charitable foundation named Masons’ Hall 1785 was established in 1997 to preserve the building, and to educate the public about its illustrious past.

Click here to donate greatly needed funds.

Give what you can. Perhaps induce your lodge and other Masonic groups to do likewise. Another way to give is to buy memorial bricks. Click here to pursue that avenue.

The following text comes from the foundation’s website and is copyright © 2016 Masons’ Hall 1785.

HISTORY

Richmond’s Shockoe bottom is home to a unique historical gem. Built 1785-87, Masons’ Hall, at 1807 East Franklin Street, is the oldest 18th century frame building with large public spaces in Virginia. The unusual heavy beam structure has been studied by architects and engineers.

Masons’ Hall is associated with Richmond’s leaders. The building was designed and constructed under the leadership of Edmund Randolph and John Marshall. Edmund Randolph was a prominent lawyer, governor, first United States Attorney General and Grand Master of Virginia Masons. Richmond Randolph Lodge No. 19 was named in his honor. Other grand masters with offices in Masons’ Hall included John Marshall, lawyer and judge, and Solomon Jacobs, Richmond mayor, businessman, and president of his congregation. The Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention met in Masons’ Hall before travelling to Philadelphia in 1787.

The building was a hospital during the War of 1812. The Marquis de Lafayette and his son (named George Washington in honor of the first president) visited Masons’ Hall and were made honorary members in 1824. Richmond City courts and council met in Masons’ Hall. Religious groups unwelcome elsewhere conducted services there during the 19th century. Eliza Poe, mother of Edgar Allen Poe, made her last performance at Masons’ Hall.

There are many interesting stories about Masons’ Hall. One is associated with the end of the Civil War. There was no battle of Richmond in April 1865. As Union armies approached from the southeast along Williamsburg Road, the city was evacuated. Chaos erupted and fires set to destroy military stores raged out of control and laid waste to much of the undefended city. The city fell prey to violence, looting. and rioting. The elderly mayor, under a fluttering white sheet, approached the Union army in a carriage with the urgent request for speed to advance and protect the citizens of the city. The Union army advanced, restored order, and extinguished the fires. Armed Union soldiers were immediately posted to protect three Richmond buildings, one of which was Masons’ Hall. President Lincoln walked near Masons’ Hall on his way to the Virginia Capitol on April 4, 1865, ten days before he was assassinated. Masons’ Hall survived the devastation of war. However, time has taken its toll.

A ceiling beam crack was discovered and a temporary brace installed. Other damage and deterioration were discovered. A comprehensive plan is being developed with the assistance of an architectural firm.

Masons’ Hall should be saved. It is in dire need of repair and restoration. Preliminary estimates exceed $2 million. It should be restored and made available to the public so future generations may visit this exciting and important structure and learn about those who served freedom and tolerance during times this nation was born and strived to survive. Masons’ Hall 1785, a charitable foundation, was established as a tax-exempt foundation by Richmond Circuit Court Judge James B. Wilkinson to preserve Masons’ Hall.

JOSEPH DARMSTADT:

FIRST SAVIOR OF MASONS’ HALL

By Matthew Maggy

Richmond Freemasons

This week we will focus on Joseph Darmstadt, a Richmond Freemason, and first savior of Masons’ Hall. Darmstadt, with other Jews, played a vital role in the growth of Richmond, in civic, business, and cultural matters. He was originally a Hessian soldier. Hessians were German mercenaries hired by the British during the Revolutionary War, and nearly 30,000 of them fought against the American Revolution.

Joeseph Darmstadt was captured during the Battle of Saratoga and was taken to Virginia by American forces. Joseph remained in the Commonwealth after the Revolution, and not long after, he renounced his foreign allegiance, settled in Richmond, and became an auctioneer and merchant in Richmond serving the German farmers of the Shenandoah Valley. His morning ritual of serving coffee on the Shockoe Market made his store a favorite meeting place for local merchants to catch up on news and gossip of the day.

Joseph played a role in the establishment of the first Jewish Congregation in Richmond about 1789. Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome was the sixth and westernmost congregation in the colonies, and one of the six that congratulated George Washington upon his inauguration as first president. The 1790 census shows Richmond with the fourth largest Jewish population, following only New York, Charleston and Philadelphia. The first Jewish burial ground in the state was established on Franklin Street in 1791 and, the first synagogue was dedicated on Mayo Street in 1822.

He was also an involved Freemason and active member of Richmond No. 10, an original owner of Masons’ Hall, and as a Grand Lodge officer, after he played a vital role in the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Joseph Darmstadt is likely the first person who should be credited with first saving Masons’ Hall.

In 1791, a considerable sum was owed to the contractors who had erected Masons’ Hall and the contractor had filed a lien that would have forced the sale of the building. Joseph, a generous man, assumed the burden and soon after advanced the money to meet the debt of 247 pounds. Calculated for inflation that would equal $53,000 in 2016. His generosity stopped the sale of the building and has allowed for the building to be used without interruption for the last 227 years!

Sadly Masons’ Hall needs your help today. Five dollar donations are being collected. Please help save this original piece of American history.

If you are interested in more information on the history of Jews in Richmond, please visit Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives.


For more on Masons’ Hall, visit Cornerstone of Richmond here.
     

‘Art, Science, and Spirituality’

     
I think I see a pattern emerging: On the last Thursday of the month, the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library is the place to be. On the evening of Thursday the 25th, the library will host Armin Kuljiš who will present “Art, Science, and Spirituality.” From the publicity:

Art, Science, and Spirituality

Presented by Armin Kuljiš

Thursday, August 25

6:30 p.m.

Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library

of the Grand Lodge of New York

71 West 23rd Street

14th Floor

Manhattan

Based on three key elements: art, science, and spirituality, Armin Kuljiš’ mission is to “awake consciousness” of the miracle and beauty of life, from the simplest to the most complex events. He seeks to transmit this combination of thoughts, feelings and knowledge through his artwork, which includes painting, drawing, engraving, urban art, digital design, and photography. Armin’s art flows by either combining techniques or applying each one of them separately. Within its abstract, nature many of his pieces have a strong spiritual content amalgamated with miscellaneous shapes, colors, and architectonic designs. Through his photography, enriched with light, shade, and beautiful reflections, Armin invites us to focus our attention on the magnificence of simple daily life images.

“Serendipia” represents the way Armin Kuljiš—through lines, strokes, and highlights—lets and makes things happen to share his gratefulness for life. It is also an invitation to enjoy art from different perspectives.

Armin Kuljis was born in La Paz, Bolivia in 1981. He graduated as an Architect Summa Cum Laude from Universidad de Aquino in La Paz in 2005. Later, his passion for art and culture brought him to Mexico City, where he also earned a Master’s Degree in Architecture with an honorable mention at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 2009. In order to enrich his techniques, Armin studied painting, drawing, and composition, screen painting art and engraving at the Real Academia San Carlos in Mexico City. In addition, he worked as a professor at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the Universidad La Salle in Mexico.

From 2007 to 2015, Armin has participated in several collective and individual art exhibits in Bolivia, Mexico, and the United States. As an artist, his main source of inspiration is nature in all its manifestations, and he devotes an important amount of time studying and teaching architectural biomimechry and sacred geometry.
     

‘New book on Masonic art and architecture’

     
A new book concerning Freemasonry in New York is just out. Symbols in the Wilderness: Early Masonic Survivals in Upstate New York is co-authored by Christian Goodwillie and Joselyn Godwin, and tells the story of the fraternity’s art and architecture during the Federal period. From the publicity:

Symbols in the Wilderness: Early Masonic Survivals in Upstate New York by Director of Special Collections Christian Goodwillie, began with a chance glance at a building as he drove to Cooperstown, New York. Intrigued by the structure, Western Star Lodge chartered in 1797 and now the Bridgewater Masonic Lodge, he became even more interested in the artwork it once housed. Thus Goodwillie’s exploration of Masonic symbols – expressed in paintings, murals, textiles, and graphics – began.

The resulting book, co-authored by Colgate University Professor of Music Emeritus Joselyn Godwin, provides documentation and analysis of Upstate New York’s hidden heritage of Masonic buildings and material culture from the 18th and early 19th century. It is co-published by Hamilton College’s Richard W. Couper Press and Colgate University’s Upstate Institute. Hamilton’s Digital Imagery Specialist Marianita Peaslee produced the volume’s many color images.

Freemasonry played a vital role in the social development of New York State. Its Lodges provided a trusted place for newcomers to meet and for friendships and business partnerships to develop, free from political, professional and sectarian differences. During its explosive growth from 1790 to the end of the 1820s, Masonic brethren produced iconic architecture, as well as extraordinary examples of folk art. Most of these have remained entirely unknown outside the Upstate lodges that, against all hazards, have preserved them. Their symbolism seems mysterious and confusing to outsiders, but once explained, offers insight into a period and place unique in American history.

A presentation and book-signing is scheduled with the co-authors on Sunday, August 21 at Johnson Hall in Johnstown, New York at 1 p.m.
     

‘Flag waving at Nutley Lodge’

     
Being that it’s been a month and a half since this event, I’d better stop procrastinating and get to it before my memory is old enough to qualify for a Flashback Friday post, but I had a great time at Nutley Masonic Lodge No. 25 in New Jersey on June 20. Having been invited to speak by Worshipful Master Joel (I think I’ve appeared at Nutley as a guest speaker more often than at anywhere else) in proximity to Flag Day, I presented a review of the symbolism displayed in a number of U.S. state flags. Not all 50, but about 20 of the most interesting. Needless to say several of these flags are most conspicuous to the initiated eye.

There is no reasonable claim of Freemasonry influencing these flag designs in any way, but I hoped to illustrate how instructive images Masons use are found in major and official public symbols also. I didn’t prepare much in formal remarks, so what follows are simply some notes concerning each flag.

Bro. Dave, Master of the local Rose Croix Chapter and a member of Nutley Lodge, was instrumental in bringing me back to the lectern, so of course I was sure to begin with this flag: Louisiana.

One of the alternate names of the Rose Croix Degree is Knight of the Eagle and Pelican, and one of the key symbols of the degree shows the pelican in her piety, a metaphor for love and sacrifice. For the purposes of Louisiana, the flag’s symbolism is Roman Catholic, but if you’ve read Manly Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages you probably recall the above illustration, a full-page, by Augustus Knapp, showing the full Rose Croix imagery.

Utah – The Beehive is one of my favorite Masonic symbols, and it is not uniquely Masonic. It is widely understood as a symbol of industry, but considering Freemasonry’s significance to Mormonism, which begat the State of Utah, it is an apt choice for the flag.

Alabama – St. Andrew’s Cross: St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scottish Freemasonry. This X-shape is the cross on which Andrew was crucified.

Alaska – Astronomy: the North Star and the Big Dipper.

Arizona – “As the sun rises in the East,” or sets in the West as the case may be. Thirteen rays = the original states. The colors are from the flag of Spain. The star symbolizes the copper mining industry.

Maine – We see the North Star again. “Dirigo” means “I lead.” For the Masonic eye, we have the anchor at right. The symbol of Hope.

New Jersey! – Liberty holds a staff topped with the red cap. This hat was presented to freed Roman slaves, and it appears in several state flags. The shield shows three plows to symbolize the agriculture of the Garden State. At right is the ancient goddess Ceres (grain) holding none other than the cornucopia.

New Mexico – Sometimes simple is best. What we have here is another sun symbol. There are four angles of a square. Four parts of a circle. This is a sacred symbol of the Zia tribe of Native Americans. Four is the sacred number denoting the circle of life; the four cardinal directions; four seasons; four elements.

New York – Another radiant sun. Justice stands at right with the scales—another Scottish Rite symbol. There’s that Roman slave cap again at left. The body of water is the mighty Hudson River.

Oklahoma – I included this because it has a smoking pipe. Lots of Native American symbolism built into this. That’s an olive branch.

Rhode Island – The anchor of Hope most prominently.

Virginia – Left breast bared! This is Virtus, goddess of virtue. Sic Semper Tyrannis means Thus Always to Tyrants—what John Wilkes Booth shouted after shooting President Lincoln. This was designed by George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but not a Freemason.

Washington, DC – Taken from the coat of arms of the Washington family–not just George Washington, but his ancestors dating to the 12th century. Benjamin Franklin said this emblem partially inspired the look of the U.S. flag. It also appears on the Purple Heart.

Magpie file photo

Washington State – Kind of speaks for itself. This Grand Lodge of New York apron is worn by RW Bro. Bill Mauer, a noted historian and trustee of DeWint House, the Washington Headquarters in Tappan.

West Virginia – The Latin motto means “Mountaineers are always free.” On top of the crossed rifles is that slave’s red cap again. To the left we see an ear of corn and also a bushel of wheat. June 20 is today: the anniversary of the state’s admission to the Union.

Wisconsin – Masonic symbols: the anchor, the cornucopia, the spade & pickaxe, as in Royal Arch Masonry.


Flag images courtesy united-states-flag.com
     

‘Looking to October in Tappan’

   

Magpie file photo

DeWint House historic site, owned and maintained by the Grand Lodge

of New York for the enjoyment of the public, located in Tappan, NY.

It’s hard to think of October right now, but Grand Master’s Day will take place Sunday, October 2 at DeWint House in Tappan, New York.

Masons, family, and friends are invited to take part in what I consider to be one of the most enjoyable afternoons on the Masonic calendar. I have been attending since, I think, 2009, and the weather has been perfect all but once, and even that was just a little brief rain.

A terrific buffet brunch (the most important meal between breakfast and lunch!) at The ’76 House (110 Main Street, Tappan) begins at 11 a.m. Seating is very limited, so advance payment is required to hold your place. Those details still to come.

At 1 p.m., the festivities at DeWint House (20 Livingston Avenue, Tappan) will begin. The program details are still to come.


Click here to see more of this wonderful historic site and museum, but better yet, get there some time to visit. If you cannot attend Grand Master’s Day, go to DeWint House during its regular hours and see this treasure for yourself.