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When Lewis Masonic was founded back in the 18th century, there were some very clever minds working on the idea of making a machine that could reproduce human speech. 

For many years, there had been legends of such contraptions. Tales of automatons or brazen heads that you could have a conversation with. Carnival and street performers, along with charlatans, had created acts to mimic these dreams, but now some very clever minds were trying to make this a reality.

By 1769 Wolfgang von Kempelen had created a hand-operated air-powered speaking machine which was manually operated using a bellows and some levers, and could say vowels or simple words. It used a reed from a bagpipe and a rubber “mouthpiece” that the operator could manipulate. If you search online, you can find some interesting videos of reproductions of this device.

Then in 1837, Charles Wheatstone improved this design to make a speaking machine that could say whole words! Some onlookers thought there was a bit of imagination involved in its reception, but many came to see it. We are, however, told that speaking machines reached new heights in 1846. Joseph Faber exhibited the "Euphonia", a mechanical device that he had spent 30 years developing, which had a whole mechanical replica of the human throat, vocal organs and mouth. By pressing a key, an operator could make it speak and move, but it did so with a German accent!

Freemasons of the day must have been fascinated, as we know they had a keen interest in scientific inventions, and some had even arranged for demonstrations of such things in some London lodges.

Lewis Masonic or  “A Lewis” as it was known back then, very much trailblazed in terms of what kind of masonic reading matter was available, but we have no record of any creation of an artificial ritual prompt!

We do, however, continue our tradition of invitation and adaptation and are pleased to announce the release of our first audiobook, which you can download on your phone, tablet and computer. Lewis readers who already use our Ebooks will be pleased to learn that it uses the very same app.

Our First Audio Book is

The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Lodges – Audio Book
By Tony Harvey

Click Here to Order

We don't, however, have a mechanical voice or AI simulator reading the text for you. We have managed to convince the author himself to use the recording studios at Freemasons’ Hall. We are most honoured to also announce that Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, Sir David Wootton, has been kind enough to read his foreword to the book.

In the modern day, when so much of our time is spent in front of computers or screens or various types, it is understandable that once we've got home and spent some time practising our ritual, some of us might rather listen than read. Likewise, having a Masonic audiobook allows you to learn and be inspired on the go, whether you're driving, going for a walk, or gardening.

If this proves successful, the goal is to convert many more of our books into an audio format. 

Happy Listening

After my initiation in 2018, I immediately decided to gain deeper insight into the Brotherhood. So what better first step than studying the oldest official document about the history of Freemasonry? To my delight, it turned out to be a medieval text: the Halliwell Manuscript a.k.a. The Regius Poem. As an ardent lover of poetry my journey into the origins of the craft could not have had a better start. 

 Although I had had a fair share of medieval English at University back in the 1980s, I was slightly disappointed to find my knowledge of middle English rather rusty. So I googled for a translation in modern English. To my utter surprise, though, I could not find one! Yes, there were prose translations, as well as a ‘modernised’ version by Brother Roderick H. Baxter, which was published in 1914. His mix of middle and modern English offered some help to understand the text, but it was definitely not aimed at literary appreciation. In short: for more than a century nobody had ever created a translation in modern English that paid respect to the beauty of the original. 

Thus I wondered if I would be able to do what I once did for a series of poems by one of my literary heroes, Philip Larkin. I had thoroughly enjoyed translating his poetry in 2003 and was then pleased to learn that a Dutch publisher appreciated my labour and was willing to take the risk. My old confidence resurfaced and I decided to accept the challenge of translating the Regius Poem. Translation, after all, is the best form of close reading.

Day after day, I managed to do approximately four to six lines during the first two hours of early mornings. And after roughly two-hundred days, I finished the job. In Dutch. I was now more than familiar with the contents of the Regius Poem. Mission completed? No - I decided to share my masonic labour by contacting Fama, the Dutch equivalent of Lewis Masonic. Fama’s editors were convinced that my translation would be welcomed by Dutch Brothers and in 2022 the Regius Poem rolled of its  presses - in rhymed modern Dutch.

It was then that I learned that many Dutch Brothers, even those who had been initiated decades ago, appeared to have little to no knowledge of the poem’s contents. Some had heard of it, and a handful had read parts of it in Dutch or English prose. This made me wonder about my English-speaking Brothers. Would this go for them too? After all, I had always been told that Dutch students of English were naturally more familiar with the syntax of middle English, when compared to their native-speaking counterparts. English students often regarded this older version of their mother tongue as a kind of foreign language.  

Anyway, I decided to restore the poem’s trinity by re-erecting its pillar of beauty, as this would support its other pillars of wisdom and its strength. Reading it should be as relaxed and pleasurable as listening to the poem was in the early fifteenth century. 

And what did I learn from the Regius Poem as its translator? 

1. The poem is not about Freemasonry. It is a guideline for medieval stonemasons. Modern Brothers will recognize many of its rules and regulations, though.

2.It is not one of the best medieval poems, if compared to its contemporary medieval bestseller, for instance, The Canterbury Tales. 

3. The poetic quality of its chapters varies. The section on how to behave in a church was done by good poet. But then it was more or less copied from the works by John Lydgate, a renowned monk in his days. Personally, I am inclined to think that Freemasonry saved the Regius Poem from oblivion. Nonetheless, you may not find it in most anthologies on middle English poetry.

4. It is a very serious poem, which is unusual as medieval poems in general tend to display at least some humour. The only thing I discovered was a pun. In my translation of the seventh point, I used an apostrophe in ‘ Fellow’s’ (line 5, below). But, if you read it aloud, an audience may interpret the seventh point differently. Pun intended by the medieval author. 

The seventh point is perhaps significant

for a good long life that God may grant,

as you shall not, it openly announces,

sleep with your Master’s missus.

Nor with your Fellow’s, in no way at all

as the craft would find it intolerable. 

5.The poem was meant to be performed by a spoken-word artist.

6. The poem’s history of masonry is an achronic hotchpotch of events that would impress a medieval audience, not a modern one.

7. It is a unique specimen of medieval literary art that deserves its place in the Old Charges, as it provides a sharp picture of a place and a time in history that inspired freemasonry’s modern format. (Imagine a medieval lodge with stonemasons listening to a theatrical performance about their history and their do’s and dont’s.)

8. The poem is not just about men and their do’s and dont’s within a craft. It is also very explicit about do’s and don’ts regarding the etiquette towards women. Basically, it urges stonemasons to respect them in many ways. It is therefore exemplary in urging Brothers repeatedly to see and treat them in accordance with the poem’s prescriptions for fair and decent behaviour. To Brothers, women are Sisters, no more, no less. In the following lines, the author warns the Brothers in a light-hearted way, for instance.

In a chamber, filled with female delight,

hold your tongue and just nourish your sight. 

Harry G. de Vries (1961) is a freemason (initiated into Lodge L’Inséparable no. 12 at Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands in 2018 and now a member of Lodge Van Aerssen Beyeren no. 263 at Putte). He is the author of a volume with translations of poems by Philip Larkin, which was published in 2003. In 2020 he published a collection of English poems of his own: Colourisations. In the summer of 2024, his first masonic novel 'Het Horloge van Celis' (Celis' Watch) was published (in Dutch) by GiST publishers at Delft, the Netherlands. 

To get your copy of the Regius Poem please click here

The Winners of the Arcana Veritas Distinction Awards Are …

The Grand Lodge of Scotland recently hosted the first-ever Arcana Veritas Distinction Awards, an award dedicated to recognising outstanding contributions to Masonic literature. Held at Freemasons' Hall, the event honoured writers whose work deepens the understanding and appreciation of Masonic history, philosophy, and symbolism.

The award ceremony was led by Peter Taylor, Chair of the Information and Communication Committee, who announced the following as winners:

• Masonic History: Dr. David Harrison for his book The Life and Death of John Yarker

• Masonic Philosophy and Symbolism: Anthony Richard Baker for his work Freemasonry: Material, Moral and Mystical

• Masonic White Paper: Stewart Clelland for his piece "Ozymandias! The Rite of Misraim in Scotland"

Grand Secretary William Semple commended the awardees for their skill and insight in exploring a wide range of Masonic subjects. He emphasised the importance of their work in enriching the Masonic community and promoting a deeper understanding of its principles and traditions.

A full recording of the Arcana Veritas Distinction Awards ceremony will be available soon from the GLOS.

Lewis Masonic would like to congratulate the winning authors and thank the Grand Lodge of Scotland for this initiative.

Within Freemasonry, we find a multitude of stories.

To the esotericist, the language, symbols, and allegories employed in Freemasonry are not simply an antiquated hangover from our less enlightened forefathers. They are deliberate, purposeful, and well-guided systems of instruction- an active method of instruction that reaches beyond simple storytelling. Candidates don't just read or hear about these stories; they live them by participating in dramatic re-enactments. This book explores why such initiatic myths are more than just entertaining tales.

The practice of using allegorical dramas to impart wisdom isn’t unique to Freemasonry. In fact, many of the ancient initiatic Mystery rites were centred around very similar stories. For instance, in the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries initiates were led through dramatic rituals designed to bring initiates to an inner understanding of their relationship to Man, Nature, and the Gods. In one famous part of the Eleusinian rites, the great secret revealed was nothing more than wheat (although, curiously translated to corn by some British translators). To the uninitiated, this might seem insignificant, but in context of the myth of Persephone’s abduction by Hades, the rite being held in the dark vault-like atmosphere of a cave, and the ritual being held in the late-Summer, this symbol held profound meaning. It symbolised life, death, and rebirth. It was perhaps the next best thing to extracting from the candidate the Divine Spark within and presenting it to their attention. This is similar to the secrets within Freemasonry and its appendant bodies. To the uninitiated, they might mean very little. But within the context of our dramas, with some sincere thought and reflection, some meaning can be unlocked.

The true power of these initiatic myths lies not in the literal interpretation of their elements but in their ability to strike a sympathetic chord within our own being. It’s about the context in which they’re revealed and the emotional journey of the initiate. In ritual, these secrets are not just shown; they are experienced. This book explains how this approach elevates these stories into transformative experiences, bridging the gap between allegory and personal realisation.

Freemasonry is just one example. Other initiatic organisations, both historical and contemporary, use similar methods. Whether it’s the Masonic lodge or an ancient mystery temple, these societies share a common theme: they present their aspirants with a symbolic journey that leads them to deeper truths about themselves and the universe.

This book not only presents an analysis of Freemasonry’s most significant narratives but also explores the narratives behind other historically significant esoteric traditions. Readers will gain an understanding of the origins of these stories and why they continue to hold such enduring appeal for their members. Through a blend of historical exploration and esoteric insight, this work uncovers the purpose behind the symbols and rituals used in initiatic orders.

Whether you’re a seasoned Freemason, an esoteric enthusiast, or simply curious about the inner workings of initiatic societies, this book provides a detailed look into the role that these myths play. Beyond their historical roots, these stories carry universal truths that resonate with anyone on a spiritual or philosophical path.

https://www.lewismasonic.co.uk/esoteric/the-temple-and-the-vault.htm

Remembering the Tercentenary?

Readers who celebrated the Tercentenary will be happy to hear of a book launch that took place at Freemasons' Hall before the last quarterly communications. 

Published by Lewis Masonic Oliver Lodge's title 'Tercentenary'  is a beautiful visual celebration of the events commemorating the three-hundred-year anniversary of the founding of the Premier Grand Lodge, which gives behind-the-scenes insights from the Grand Director of Ceremonies in charge of the greatest celebration in the history of the craft.

Attendees included the ProGM Jonathan Spence, as well as Matthew Mitchell and Richard Clifford, who produced the spectacular show at the Royal Albert Hall, and acclaimed actor Sir Derek Jacobi too!

Photographs of the event by Gary Stratmann.

Congratulations to the Grand Council of the Royal and Select Masters of England and Wales and its Districts and Councils Overseas who are celebrating their Sesquicentenary at Freemasons' Hall today!

In 1717 the first Grand Lodge was founded in the Goose and Gridiron Tavern in London. Three hundred years later in the rather more spacious Royal Albert Hall, we saw the most grandiose Masonic celebration in living history.

And now Lewis Masonic is due to publish a book that will transport the reader to that momentous occasion.

Written by a well-known senior member of the United Grand Lodge of England and illustrated by spectacular photos from the day, this volume promises to act as a permanent exhibition of the great celebrations. Discover the story behind the Tercentenary with insights into the planning itself.

The Grand Master, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, was kind enough to take the time to review the design, publishing and production process for this historical work and has agreed to write a foreword.

The Grand Master learnt about the history of Lewis Masonic and shared which volumes he owned himself.

Keep an eye on the Lewis Masonic website and subscribe to our newsletter for more updates on this book and to discover who our mystery author is.

All images © Chris Allerton https://www.chrisallerton.com/

So, what does a Master Mason look like?

It’s a question I keep asking myself.

How does a Master Mason move through this world of forms? How does a Master act? Speak? Think?

What, exactly, is a Master Mason a master of?

In some ways, my latest book, “Hiram’s Way” is an attempt to answer all these questions and an exploration of the idea of Mastership in a more esoteric spiritual way: not mastership of a physical art, necessarily (although, of course, that’s what we might expect from a definition of an Operative Master Mason.) No, my questions wanted a deeper answer, a more personal, introspective answer; an answer that saw Mastership, not as external power and control but completely within the context of an inner achievement; an inner path to becoming all that we can be. It the Mastership of Confucius, of the Buddha and, perhaps, of Hiram Abiff who left a legacy for we Freemasons that demonstrates for us, without doubt, that an honourable death is nothing to be feared compared to the horrors of a dishonourable life

Which is all very well. But what does a Master Mason look like?

Perhaps we all have different ideas of what a perfect human is and can be, but all our religions and philosophies, all our gurus and self-help books suggest that kindness, love, tolerance, empathy, generosity and faith are some of the marks by which a self-realised soul may be known. 

So are these the qualities of a Master Mason?

A look at our ritual, our lectures, our Ancient Charges all seem to suggest that, yes, they are. 

If we were to look for a pictorial and symbolic representation of what a Master Mason looks like, we might go, for example, to the famous wood-cut of 1754, showing “A Freemason form’d out of the materials of his Lodge.” We might also - as Freemasons are wont to do - ponder for a while on what this picture might have to teach us, and to what extent it might help to answer our question: “What does a Master Mason look like.

First of all, our symbolic Master Mason stands upon a chequered floor. We know that this mosaic pavement represents all the diversity of life and so the first thing we can deduce is that a Master Mason is of this world. He is not apart from it; not a hermit or a recluse; he is not a meditating sadhu in a cave or a monk lost in contemplation. No, he is in and of the world and he knows its struggles, its sufferings; its joys, its sorrows; its light and dark

Around him on the floor are certain artefacts: a rough ashlar with hammer and chisel to show, perhaps, that he has done the work necessary to perfect himself. A Lewis, discarded and unconnected, to show that, for the moment, he has moved beyond needing the strength and support that a Lewis might give him, but also acknowledging that it is within reach, still fixed to perfect stone, ready for when the need might arise.

And at his feet is a tracing board on which can be seen Euclid’s 47th proposition clearly drawn out. The symbolism here is deep and many layered, but let us choose to see it as a statement of perfection; of problems overcome and solved; of a life squared and true; a life in which the search to solve the great mysteries has given way to a deep and true understanding of how the world works. 

And the Tracing Board itself? A plan fulfilled; a building raised; a Temple completed: a life dedicated to the glory of God and the upliftment of his fellows. These are the things upon which a Master Mason’s life rests. These things are his foundation.

His feet are formed of two perfect Ashlars and, again, this suggests that the attaining of Mastership is a task that requires time, effort and skill. We are told in our ritual that the perfect Ashlar represents man in the fullness of years after a lifetime spent in ‘regularity  and propriety.’ And so it is with our Master Mason. It may not automatically mean that a Master Mason is always an older Brother because we have all met old souls in young bodies and young souls in old. But always, there is an element of these three things: time, effort and skill.

Our Master Mason’s legs are formed of two great pillars. They represent strength and stability and, when conjoined, as they must be within the symbolic body of our Master Mason, they signify ‘to establish.” 

What can we deduce from this? That a Master Mason stands by the strength and stability of the Order. Also, that a Master Mason is himself a living of example of the strength and stability that come from a life well lived, founded on the finest principles, grounded - as he is - on a true and complete experience of life.

And it also reminds us that Masons are builders. We establish lives and relationships that are strong and stable and we are both nourished by them and nourish others through them.

The tops of the these two pillars are described in some detail in our ritual. They represent the Earth and the Heavens; they contain lily-work for purity and pomegranates for plenty; they are topped with an over-reaching symbol of unity and. It is interesting to note that these spheres form the viscera of our symbolic Mason: the root and guts of what he is; the driving engine of his life: purity, plenty, unity. We can suppose without doubt that these things are at the core of what it is to be a Master Mason.

If his viscera are the spheres that topped the pillars of the Temple, we can see that his chest - let us say his heart - is formed of the Volume of the Sacred Law. His life beats to the rhythms of its teachings and his clear understanding of the relationship between Creator and Creature is what allows him to call all men “Brother.”

His arms are squares that speak of rectitude of actions. His strength is all used up in doing what is right. They are linked, of course, to the book that is his chest, as from the teachings therein contained, he derives his guidance and his sense of how to act in the world.

His neck is the Level because he understands that all lives are equal in worth in the eyes of God. His neck also rests firmly on the VSL, because it from there that his understanding comes.

His hands are Lewises, speaking of strength and mutual aid. In his right hand are a pair of compasses to keep him in due bounds with all of humanity. In his left, a plumb-line, symbolising uprightness of life and action.

And finally, his head. His head is the sun, that ‘Grand luminary’ that “..enlightens the Earth and dispenses its blessings” to all.

The sun is everything: light, life, knowledge, power, warmth: an eternal blessing. A Master Mason is, literally, a bringer and a shiner of Light. He understands the doctrine of the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God and he dispenses the blessings of this knowledge to all who come within his circle.

He stands at the centre of things, as does the sun, and it is within his orbit, his gravitational pull, that we are able to feel the light and love of our Creator.

It is here that the path of Freemasonry will lead us if we allow it. This is the Mastership to which our ritual points.

This is what a Master Mason 

looks like:

Grounded. Centred. At peace with the world and himself.

By Jonti Marks

This article was inspired by Jonti's new book Hiram's Way

Click To Learn More

With both Autumn and the second wave of Covid-19 upon us, we may well be wondering if our Lodge meetings will ever be the same gain. One profoundly human survival characteristic is the adaptive capacity to meet, overcome or work around unforeseen, challenging situations. Such changes usually start with the sharing of a simple idea or strategy that subsequently gains evolutionary traction. Supporters can see how that idea might work on the ground in the future igniting an enthusiastic desire to become an active part of a shared vision solution.

This is an idea about the future of Lodge meetings in a Covid-19 world.

Quite a number of rural pubs are keeping their businesses alive by creating outdoor bars with marquees serving as outdoors dining/social spaces; some even come with heating. Science seems to point towards a much reduced risk of Covid-19 transmission in well ventilated outdoors spaces provided social distancing etc. is maintained. An open sided marquee, barn or industrial building could all, theoretically, serve as outdoors meeting venues. After all, KST was modelled on a Tabernacle hosting the Ark of the Covenant.

The Covid-19 virus seems to thrive in autumn/winter environment and abates in the spring/summer months. The majority of Freemasonry’s meetings are held between September and April, but what if we turned this on its head and met, socially distanced, outdoors from April to September inclusive? (6 months) Considering Freemasonry’s membership age profile, venerable Brethren would also be spared the rigours of winter travel.

• There are records of Lodges meeting outdoors (dispensations duly granted) without the benefit of any shelter.

• The Festive Board becomes a bring your own, socially distanced, outdoor picnic.

• Lodges could be split into groups of 20 to 30 all sharing a single outdoor Lodge space.

• The cost of a new, suitably sized marquee would be c. £20,000. This could be funded by way of a meeting contribution of £5 to £10. Given the alternative option of no meetings at all, the majority should see this as being reasonable. The aim would be to see the facility being fully utilised 6 days a week. A Lodge of Rehearsal could be held an hour or two before Regular Meetings. Time might be made available for a shared Lodge of Instruction.

• Some Lodges contribute a single item of Lodge furniture which, in the absence of any other practical alternative, could be stored on site by renting a container. Alternatively, we go back to back to 17^th century practices of simple furnishings augmented by tracing boards on fabric with smaller items such VSL, S&C’s, Warrant, Collars being transported to and from the shared venue by individual Lodges.

• The other demands would be temporary toilet facilities and a suitable outdoor space which could be anything ranging from an underutilised recreation area, field, private parkland etc. The other option is to revert back to meeting in local inns and public houses that have set up their own ‘private hire’ outdoors facilities. Perhaps some landlords, who cannot afford to put a marquee in place despite having the space to do so, might welcome a helping Masonic hand.

• It might also be possible to conduct the more intimate elements of Ceremonies by developing some outdoors PPE wear for the Master and Candidate. Alternatively, where a Lodge has two or more members in a family bubble, it might be possible to visually demonstrate the same, or for the Candidate to be shown a short video of the same on a mobile device.

• An income might be derived from renting the facility to other non-Masonic social groups to fill any usage voids.

Whilst recognising that social rules are subject to some variation, the spring/summer months and being outdoors are our best hope whilst the virus is with us.

Just an idea to mull over!

Kim March PM

Image credit: Alistair Williamson/www.freeimages.com

The Health Benefits of Learning Masonic Ritual

By Martin Faulks

There is a lot involved in Masonic ritual. The words must be learned by heart with precision and then performed under pressure. Besides the words themselves, inside the lodge room everything is placed in an exact order. We have exacting routines that take place involving specific routes to walk, steps to take, objects to move, knocks to make, salutes, and signs.

The whole practice is a team effort that keeps everyone involved on their toes watching out for the actions or words that trigger the next response. Beyond the details of the ritual Masons also need to remember other things - the names of brothers in the lodge and the guests, candidates, the titles of the lodge officers, as well as the salutes and signs to give. All this requires both short and long term memory, along with a good side helping of awareness, focus, information processing, coordination, eloquence and sometimes quite a bit of adaptability!

Often Masons of many years in and out of the lodge mention that they feel that Masonic ritual has been good for their memory. Sometimes they mention they have noticed that practicing ritual helps keep their mind sharp, or even that they believe it keeps them young.

You may also hear Masons talk about Masonic ritual practice as a form of relaxation, something that you can see is very much part of Masonic tradition if you read early texts of the Craft.

But is there any truth behind these observations?

There are no specific studies into the effects of Masonic ritual, but there are some very similar disciplines that have been researched in depth. For example, those who have honed their skills using classical memory techniques from Ancient Greece. This uses the layout of a building called a Memory Palace (like our lodge room), specific locations (like our pedestals), and images representing the things to be remembered (like our Masonic symbols).

Practitioners of this art are not only capable of learning long complicated scripts as Freemasons are wont to do, but can also perform feats like memorising a whole pack of cards or the different articles of a magazine from one reading. (Almost as impressive as those Directors of Ceremonies who can remember the names and ranks of all the Grand Officers present!)

For a long time, people have wondered if this kind of training has any effect on functioning memory and mental ability in daily life? Does learning sections of text help long term memory, or does having to put a list of guest names in your mind for a proclamation or toast help your short term memory when you visit the shops? In short, does all this memory work and mind training make a difference to the everyday performance of the mind?

There are some studies that show some very interesting results that could help us to see the health benefits of going through the chair.

Memory Training Improves Brain Function

A recent study that tested the brain functions of a group of memory experts gave some very interesting results, showing us some of the changes to the human brain that this form of training can have.^[1] In this study 23 of the top “memory athletes” were compared to untrained individuals of a similar age, gender and IQ. First they scanned their brains while relaxed and then while involved in memorising a list of words. Unsurprisingly the memory experts performed far better than the control group. The brain scans showed that this was due to increased brain connectivity. It seems their brains were more dense and better connected, but was this due to genetics or training?

To find out the investigators separated the untrained individuals into three groups: one was asked to practice the locational memory technique (the method similar to Masonic ritual)  for half an hour every day for a total of six weeks; the second group practiced a very challenging working-memory task; and the third group did no memory training whatsoever.

When tested after this period the only group that showed both improvements in functional memory and brain connectivity similar to those memory champions were those using the memory palace system. Furthermore, these changes were still present in this group over four months later!

But it’s not just formal memory palace training that yields results, repeated studies have shown that London taxi drivers (who as part of their training must memorize all of London’s roads - known as “The Knowledge”) also have an enlarged hippocampus, the large paired structure in the brain that forms memories and also maps spatial locations. This shows that repeated practice of a particular activity causes physical changes as the brain adapts to perform better.

So the Past Masters were right, the memory palace system used by both memory experts and by Masons alike does seem to be a very powerful method of improving brain function.

So now we know that Masonic ritual does help with memory, what about the idea it could also keep you young?

Masonic Ritual Training Maintains Youth

The first study we looked at focused specifically on memory training, but as we summarised before there are many skills needed for the successful performance of Masonic ritual. The good news is that studies have been done into the effect of a similar regime with this kind of range of brain training and the results are interesting indeed.^[2] Studies demonstrate that any practice involving the need for quick responses shows increased improvements in brain processing speed and accuracy, and that disciplines that require the participant to regularly practice awareness actually change the brain, making them more aware in day to day life.

Most importantly it has been demonstrated that benefits from cognitive training can extend for as long as 10 years! Those who stimulate their brains through formal training or structured cognitive activities tend to be better off cognitively during the aging process than those who don’t have mental stimulation.^[3] So, next time you hear a Mason tell you that the Craft keeps him young and the ritual training sharp you better take it seriously.

The brain scans even showed that very modest amounts of training can produce effects that are very long lasting. It also suggested that cognitive training may translate to benefits in the tasks of daily life necessary for independent living, such as balancing a checkbook or going grocery shopping. Even more interesting, is the long term effect brain training and memory work seems to have on physical tasks. Ten years after the study they were asked to assess their ability to undertake physical tasks (rise from a chair or transfer from a bed)  and the group that had undergone memory training reported far better results. It seems that what is good for the brain is also good for the body.

“Could you perform the address to the Master at the installation?”

But there is more. It turns out that small bursts of refresher training is very powerful. Previous studies hadn’t examined what impact booster training sessions would have, but the active study suggests such sessions can be invaluable. About one-half of the subjects who received the initial training were randomly selected for supplementary training after one year and again after three years, and the patients in this group showed additional benefits after 10 years over those who had received only the initial intervention.

So there you have it. Those old Past Masters were right, Masonic ritual is good for the memory and can keep you young. So now we have to ask ourselves. What else are they saying that we really should be listening to?

Click here to buy Martin’s book on the subject and learn more about the history of Masonic Ritual and Memorisation.

To see his displays of memory (including memorizing a whole pack of cards) and hear talks on the subject click here.

The Health Benefits of Learning Masonic Ritual

By Martin Faulks

There is a lot involved in Masonic ritual. The words must be learned by heart with precision and then performed under pressure. Besides the words themselves, inside the lodge room everything is placed in an exact order. We have exacting routines that take place involving specific routes to walk, steps to take, objects to move, knocks to make, salutes, and signs.

The whole practice is a team effort that keeps everyone involved on their toes watching out for the actions or words that trigger the next response. Beyond the details of the ritual Masons also need to remember other things - the names of brothers in the lodge and the guests, candidates, the titles of the lodge officers, as well as the salutes and signs to give. All this requires both short and long term memory, along with a good side helping of awareness, focus, information processing, coordination, eloquence and sometimes quite a bit of adaptability!

Often Masons of many years in and out of the lodge mention that they feel that Masonic ritual has been good for their memory. Sometimes they mention they have noticed that practicing ritual helps keep their mind sharp, or even that they believe it keeps them young.

You may also hear Masons talk about Masonic ritual practice as a form of relaxation, something that you can see is very much part of Masonic tradition if you read early texts of the Craft.

But is there any truth behind these observations?

There are no specific studies into the effects of Masonic ritual, but there are some very similar disciplines that have been researched in depth. For example, those who have honed their skills using classical memory techniques from Ancient Greece. This uses the layout of a building called a Memory Palace (like our lodge room), specific locations (like our pedestals), and images representing the things to be remembered (like our Masonic symbols).

Practitioners of this art are not only capable of learning long complicated scripts as Freemasons are wont to do, but can also perform feats like memorising a whole pack of cards or the different articles of a magazine from one reading. (Almost as impressive as those Directors of Ceremonies who can remember the names and ranks of all the Grand Officers present!)

For a long time, people have wondered if this kind of training has any effect on functioning memory and mental ability in daily life? Does learning sections of text help long term memory, or does having to put a list of guest names in your mind for a proclamation or toast help your short term memory when you visit the shops? In short, does all this memory work and mind training make a difference to the everyday performance of the mind?

There are some studies that show some very interesting results that could help us to see the health benefits of going through the chair.

Memory Training Improves Brain Function

A recent study that tested the brain functions of a group of memory experts gave some very interesting results, showing us some of the changes to the human brain that this form of training can have.^[1] In this study 23 of the top “memory athletes” were compared to untrained individuals of a similar age, gender and IQ. First they scanned their brains while relaxed and then while involved in memorising a list of words. Unsurprisingly the memory experts performed far better than the control group. The brain scans showed that this was due to increased brain connectivity. It seems their brains were more dense and better connected, but was this due to genetics or training?

To find out the investigators separated the untrained individuals into three groups: one was asked to practice the locational memory technique (the method similar to Masonic ritual)  for half an hour every day for a total of six weeks; the second group practiced a very challenging working-memory task; and the third group did no memory training whatsoever.

When tested after this period the only group that showed both improvements in functional memory and brain connectivity similar to those memory champions were those using the memory palace system. Furthermore, these changes were still present in this group over four months later!

But it’s not just formal memory palace training that yields results, repeated studies have shown that London taxi drivers (who as part of their training must memorize all of London’s roads - known as “The Knowledge”) also have an enlarged hippocampus, the large paired structure in the brain that forms memories and also maps spatial locations. This shows that repeated practice of a particular activity causes physical changes as the brain adapts to perform better.

So the Past Masters were right, the memory palace system used by both memory experts and by Masons alike does seem to be a very powerful method of improving brain function.

So now we know that Masonic ritual does help with memory, what about the idea it could also keep you young?

Masonic Ritual Training Maintains Youth

The first study we looked at focused specifically on memory training, but as we summarised before there are many skills needed for the successful performance of Masonic ritual. The good news is that studies have been done into the effect of a similar regime with this kind of range of brain training and the results are interesting indeed.^[2] Studies demonstrate that any practice involving the need for quick responses shows increased improvements in brain processing speed and accuracy, and that disciplines that require the participant to regularly practice awareness actually change the brain, making them more aware in day to day life.

Most importantly it has been demonstrated that benefits from cognitive training can extend for as long as 10 years! Those who stimulate their brains through formal training or structured cognitive activities tend to be better off cognitively during the aging process than those who don’t have mental stimulation.^[3] So, next time you hear a Mason tell you that the Craft keeps him young and the ritual training sharp you better take it seriously.

The brain scans even showed that very modest amounts of training can produce effects that are very long lasting. It also suggested that cognitive training may translate to benefits in the tasks of daily life necessary for independent living, such as balancing a checkbook or going grocery shopping. Even more interesting, is the long term effect brain training and memory work seems to have on physical tasks. Ten years after the study they were asked to assess their ability to undertake physical tasks (rise from a chair or transfer from a bed)  and the group that had undergone memory training reported far better results. It seems that what is good for the brain is also good for the body.

“Could you perform the address to the Master at the installation?”

But there is more. It turns out that small bursts of refresher training is very powerful. Previous studies hadn’t examined what impact booster training sessions would have, but the active study suggests such sessions can be invaluable. About one-half of the subjects who received the initial training were randomly selected for supplementary training after one year and again after three years, and the patients in this group showed additional benefits after 10 years over those who had received only the initial intervention.

So there you have it. Those old Past Masters were right, Masonic ritual is good for the memory and can keep you young. So now we have to ask ourselves. What else are they saying that we really should be listening to?

Click here to buy Martin’s book on the subject and learn more about the history of Masonic Ritual and Memorisation.

To see his displays of memory (including memorizing a whole pack of cards) and hear talks on the subject click here.

The staff of Lewis Masonic were delighted to attend the opening of an exciting new art installation at The Library Museum. Created by a London and Margate-based art collective (whose members are Louise Beer, Melanie King and Rebecca Huxley), Lumen has an astrological theme taking inspiration from one of the classical seven planets very close to the heart of Masonic tradition.

Over its long history Freemasonry has many interesting connections with the Moon and the night sky. In fact Buzz Aldrin was both the first man and the first Mason on the moon! Masonic lodges in the countryside would often meet on full moons because in the days before street lights it was easier to travel to lodge.

Looking to the tradition itself the Moon symbolically appears in Masonic art and teachings from it would seem the very beginning. Our jewellery, regalia, lodge rooms and even Masonic Ritual contains references and connections to our nearest neighbour.  

,,

If we look to the beginning of the eighteenth century when the first Grand Lodge was formed, the Age of Enlightenment was in full flow and those of learning explored with fascination the arts, sciences and philosophy. They looked to the natural world to build their understanding of the universe they found themselves in and gazed up at the stars trying to comprehend the heavens through astronomy. Through learning they looked to improve themselves and become better. Just what would those early Masons have made of this new display at the Museum at Freemason’s Hall? These were the men often at the forefront of contemporary thinking, they looked to tradition and old teachings in order to improve and build upon what was already known. I think they would have been excited and inspired by what has been done, a new light to illuminate symbols from the past and with it an opportunity to discover something new.

This opportunity awaits you until the 25^th July 2020.

The Museum of Freemasonry is free for all to visit and is very close to Covent Garden and Holborn tube stations. If you haven’t visited Freemason’s Hall before I can highly recommend going on one of their free tours, but be sure to book ahead.

Article by Martin Faulks 

Photos by Clare Hughes ©Museum of Freemasonry, London and Kindra Jones.

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts will be the venue for next year’s Quatuor Coronati Masonic Research Conference – ‘Freemasonry on the Frontier’ - from 18-20 September.  

Quatuor Coronati is regarded as the world’s premier lodge of Masonic Research, and the Conference builds on the highly successful event held last year at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria VA, which saw Masons attend from across the US as well as internationally.  

Quatuor Coronati was established in 1884 in London and is the world’s oldest Masonic research lodge.  The Lodge established the QC Correspondence Circle – ‘QCCC’, the first Masonic research society, over 130 years ago, with the purpose of sharing research and encouraging education and scholarship.  And this continues today.  

The Boston Conference brings together a slate of world-class speakers not only from around the US but also from across the Atlantic, with many well-known and popular presenters, including Bob Cooper, the Curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland; Brent Morris, Editor of Heredom; Mike Kearsley, a past Prestonian Lecturer; Ric Berman, the Immediate Past Master of QC and past Prestonian Lecturer; Walter Hunt, Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; Andreas Onnerfors, Professor at the University of Gothenburg Sweden, the current Master of QC; and other leading national and international speakers.  A full list of speakers, papers, and the detailed Conference Program is available online at www.quatuorcoronati.com.

The Conference program mirrors the westward expansion of the American frontier from the thirteen colonies on the Atlantic coast in the eighteenth century, through to the Mid-West in the late eighteenth century and nineteenth century, and finally to the Pacific coastal states at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth.

The intention is to make certain that there is plenty of time for attendees to question speakers and raise their own points, with the aim of generating a stimulating discussion and debate across the floor.  

All are welcome to attend the Conference, which begins in the afternoon of 18 September and features a period-costume demonstration lodge that evening.  Saturday’s lecture program is followed by a reception and dinner, with a further programme of speakers on Sunday 20 September.

Tickets can be booked online at www.quatuorcoronati.com/2020-conference-book/

This is an incredible opportunity to attend a unique Masonic event and to listen to papers from and discussions with some of freemasonry’s foremost speakers.

A strong, supportive relationship between an Apprentice and an Apprentice Master is the means by
which the traditional wisdom of The Craft has been passed on. In the present day when an
Apprentice joins a lodge, they have a proposer, a seconder and a mentor to look after them, but it
is the lodge, as a whole, that takes on the responsibility of becoming their Apprentice Master. For
over five hundred years Freemasonry has successfully educated its new members about the ways
and practices of our ancient order and helped them to benefit from its various activities in the areas
of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. However, in recent years the Craft has encountered two new
issues. These are interrelated problems of recruitment and retention.
Until the 1980’s we did not have much trouble finding Candidates. Young people took the
recommendation of their elders on trust. Lodges had waiting lists, and it could take twenty years to
reach the chair. In our modern information driven age that has changed. Now potential candidates
will google Freemasonry, and either be scared away by anti-masonic fright stories or attracted for
strange reasons. We do attract some Candidates through our peculiar form of Internet Dating, but
often the Candidates we keep for the rest of their lives join us through personal interaction.
If we are to survive for another five hundred years, we need to address the way society has
changed and think about the way we exercise the corporate responsibility of the lodge to implement
our duties of care to support new members and how we inform prospective Candidates about our
aims and purposes.
Social media, websites, books, newspaper article and documentaries all have a role in attracting
attention but by far the best way to secure life long masons is by lodge open nights where we
encourage interested individuals to visit one of our social events and use that opportunity to explain
who we are, and what we do. But that is not my topic today. Simply encouraging a potential new
member to ask for Initiation is only the beginning of inculcating a life long interest in our Craft.
And that is the purpose of my talk today.
In the fifteenth century, when Freemasonry began, there was no formal education of craftsmen.
But the Schaw statues of 1598 laid down the first duties of the apprentice master. Training took
place in working groups (lodges) where the apprentices received continuous supervision and
guidance. The Apprentice-Master would demonstrate and explain the task, and afterwards the
Apprentice would imitate the master’s skills whilst being guided and helped towards their own
understanding. The relationship took the form of a legal contract between Master and Apprentice.
Apprentices would first become Journeymen, who received Craftsmen’s wages for their work
whilst still under the employment and direction of their Master. When they developed sufficient
skill and had proved their understanding of the work, they would eventually become Masters in
their own right, empowered to pass on their knowledge of The Craft to the next generation.
This is the model that Freemasonry used to pass on its knowledge and understanding via
proposers and seconders, even as lately the 1980’s but in recent times it has fallen into disuse. There
have been many attempts to improve ‘Masonic Education’, but most of these seem to rely on the
provision of online material without emphasising the need for personal interaction between the
Apprentice-Master and their charges. The office of Mentor pays lip service to this tradition but is
often just an administrative collar office, not the intensely personal tutoring relationship of the
Master to their Apprentice. I have been working to address that deficit for the last twenty years.
My urge to help Freemasonry survive began when I wrote these words in a best-selling book,
entitled The Book of Hiram.
“Freemasonry is dying. For most people life is far more complicated than it was just a
generation ago. We work harder and we have more disposable income. Long-term

A Lodge’s Duty to its Apprentices

2

commitments are usually avoided at all costs. In an age when employment comes packaged as a
series of renewable contracts and even marriage is out of vogue, it is not surprising that men no
longer queue up to sign on for a lifetime of acting out odd-ball rituals in a local hall with no
windows. A candidate for the Craft is expected to enter a life-long relationship with a lodge
before learning what Freemasonry is. They are given no advance warning of what they will be
expected to do, or what benefit it will be to them. It is little wonder if the Grand Lodges that
govern Freemasonry around the world are having difficulty in selling a proposition that does not
meet any of the normal criteria of a marketable product.
Whilst most Freemasons are happy to admit their membership, some prefer to keep the
whole subject private and, in the face of prejudice in the workplace, others find it
necessary to sometimes deny that they are members. The impression of secrecy that
surrounds individual Freemasons is brought about by their embarrassment in talking
about the nature of our rituals that, in the cold light of day, sound odd in the extreme. If
asked what such strange rituals are all about, they often must confess that they do not
know.
I have come to believe that the compelling reason for silence amongst Masons is not so
much a compulsion to adhere to their sacred vows or a fear of macabre retribution from
their fellows; it is more the fact that they do not understand a word of the ceremonies
they participate in, and their main fear is that people will laugh at the bizarre rituals they
continue to perform.”
If Freemasonry is to continue to survive let alone to thrive, it is important that new members
learn about all aspects of Freemasonry, including the one thing that makes it unique among fraternal
associations, its study of Truth.
Freemasonry’s approach to the study of Truth uses, Ritual, Myth and Symbolism and it is an
understanding of these topics which a lodge must impart, and I know from many years of
experience as a university lecturer who pioneered internet teaching, that it cannot be done by
relying completely on the processes distance learning which the Internet personifies. Apprentice
guidance must be done face to face, with a Masonic Tutor demonstrating, explaining and
advocating the various aspects of ritual, myth and symbolism in such a way as to enthuse and
motivate their new brother. Personal interaction and a willingness to spontaneously answer
questions are the basis of this approach.
Since 2003, I have been giving lectures of Masonic Instruction to new apprentices with a fair
measure of success. I began this work at the instigation of W. Bro Sandy Macmillan of St Lawrence
Lodge in Pudsey, Yorkshire West Riding, when he asked me to help a new group of six entered
apprentices understand the Order they had just joined.
Let me outline how I approach this task.
Freemasonry is based on Three Grand Principles. Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. The Lodge,
with its formal meetings and social events, demonstrates and teaches Brotherly Love. The Charity
Stewards, with their Covenant forms and regular promotions, show how to carry out the duty of
Relief, but it is down to each individual lodge to demonstrate how to approach and understand
Truth.
To become a Mason, an Apprentice has got to be ready to seek knowledge, and that urge for
knowledge begins in their heart. They will find, through the degrees, that it ends there as well,
because that knowledge is deep inside themselves.
The chisel is a symbol of the process of education and instruction in the ways of our Ancient
Craft. You are told as an Entered Apprentice that you should make daily steps in Masonic
knowledge. You should study the objects of research in each degree.
Education shapes your intellect, it expands your mind, it broadens your perspective, and it makes
you a far more civilized human being. The discipline of study and learning is a good habit to
acquire. Masons encourage all their Entered Apprentices to make their own daily step in Masonic
knowledge. But the Masonic method of squaring and shaping a rough ashlar is necessarily slow.
You need to learn caution. You must measure and check before you use the hammer. Once the chisel bites into the stone it is changed forever. The key to success is to develop craftsmanship, take pridein your work and appreciate that each stone in the plan of Freemasonry, no matter how small, or how apparently oddly shaped, is needed and is vital to complete the structure.

Daily use of your chisel of education cannot be over emphasized. Stones are not shaped by
emotion or good intentions. Without the sharp cutting edge of a highly honed education you cannot
hope to cut the stone cleanly and beautifully. If you think the cost of instruction and education is
expensive, then consider for a moment of the immense cost and consequences of ignorance.
This is where the personal engagement of an Apprentice Master or Masonic Tutor is needed to
explain and demonstrate the philosophical methods of Freemasonry and to encourage their
Apprentices to develop knowledge and understanding. This involves three areas.
1. How to memorize and deliver ritual
2. The duties of each office in the lodge
3. Understanding how to study Truth
Always remember it is better to apply skill and knowledge in small cutting steps rather than to
wreck the stone with ill-considered random blows which crack and destroy it. This is where the
face to face interaction of Master with their Apprentice is vital. Simply reading material online is
no substitute.
There is a simple sequence of four steps which, if followed soon after the Candidate’s Initiation
Ceremony, ensure that the apprentice is informed about what is happening and inspired to want to
continue to take daily steps in Masonic knowledge.
1. At the end of the ceremony make sure a senior member of the lodge, i.e. proposer,
mentor, Worshipful Master, or someone known to the Candidate gives an explanatory
welcome to them. This can be done in lodge, or at the festive board, possibly as part of
the ritual of the Apprentice Chain and the singing of the Apprentice’s Song.
2. At the next practice, or lodge meeting, deliver a lecture explaining the symbolism of the
ceremony to your new apprentice. Do this soon after the ceremony while the Candidate
is a rough ashlar fresh with the quarry dew and keen to learn. I wrote such a lecture in
2003 and have given in countless times since. I use a PowerPoint presentation, but other
brethren who wanted to deliver it did not always have access to computers, screens and
projectors, so I also created a reading version which takes about thirty minutes to
deliver and can be recited directly from the page. When I give the lecture, I always
follow it with a question-and-answer session for the apprentice/s before throwing the
queries open to any other brother who is present.
This lecture needs to be delivered as soon as practical after the Initiation ceremony. It
can be boring for the lodge to continually hear the same lecture, but we need to
remember that for the Candidate it is completely new. With that in mind, I usually ask
the lodge to decide if they want to devote a meeting to the lecture or if they would
prefer it to be delivered at a practice night, or lodge of instruction, for the apprentice
and those of his more experienced brethren who would like to support him.
To handle any possible questions requires a wide background knowledge of the degree
and its history, and I soon found that, although individuals were happy to deliver the
content, either with slides or by reading, they were not always confident about
answering questions.
To help them I set up an online message board where interesting questions could be
posed which I would answer. I have made this Frequently Asked Question section
available on my Masonic Tutor Support Website, and new questions are answered for
any interested Masonic Tutor who registers for support.

It is my experience that once an individual has given the lecture a few times, either using
slides or reading, they quickly become more confident in answering questions. It is a
truism that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it to someone else.
The lecture can be used in several different ways. If there are a group of apprentices in
different lodges in the same hall, it can be given in a meeting organized just for that
group and any interested supporters, or mentors. Each means of delivery works, but
there are advantages in bringing together groups of apprentices in a shared venue as it
can encourage visiting.
3. An important area of Masonic instruction is a formal description of the Tracing Board of
the First Degree. There is a ritual for this, which can be found in the various ritual books,
but it is a long and complex piece to memorize. If you have a brother who can deliver
the ritual from memory, then treasure him. As such individuals are rare, it often means
that the tracing board description is not delivered to the apprentice before they are
passed to the next degree, and sometimes it is never delivered in lodge.
Just as I found that it was easier for a tutor or proposer to read a set piece of instruction
rather than deliver a lecture from memory, so I found a need for a simple reading
version of the First-Degree Tracing Board which covers all the landmarks needed to
guide the apprentice’s progress. For that purpose, I wrote a version of The Description of
the First-Degree Tracing Board to read directly from the page. It is a composite
rendering which draws on the best descriptions I know of the landmarks of the degree,
taken from a number of different versions of the ritual.
When delivering this reading it is useful to display the lodge’s tracing board to the
apprentice/s and to point out each of the landmarks as they are mentioned in the text.
I also recommend the creation of a good quality photograph of the lodge’s board in
order to give an electronic copy to the apprentice to place in a hidden folder on their
phone to encourage them to study it when they have a quiet moment. This delivery of
the ritual of the Tracing Board should be ideally be done as the centre piece of a lodge
ceremony, as this shows the apprentice the importance that the lodge attaches to this
formal teaching. If that is not possible then it should be given as the centre piece of a
lodge of instruction. After the delivery, time should be allowed for the Apprentice/s to
ask any questions which may have occurred to them. If you are not confident in
answering questions, then my Frequently Asked Question forum is available.
4. Finally, it is important to make sure that a new apprentice meets the rest of his lodge
and quickly learns who is who and what they all do.
My suggestion expands on the idea that Freemasonry teaches by asking its candidates to
carry out tasks during the ceremonies, i.e. learning test questions to progress, or taking
part in rituals as they move up the ladder of officers. To that end I have created a series
of simple tasks for a new apprentice to carry out, which will help them learn about their

own lodge. The sequence needs to be overseen by a tutor but is essentially a self-
marking exercise. The apprentice is asked to write a short account of what they have

learned during each task, and the tutor either reads it and comments or discusses it. All
the tutor needs to check is that the apprentice did the task, understands what they have
learned and answers any questions that might arise.
The tutor’s role is to be supportive, encouraging and helpful as the new apprentice meets all the
main characters who form their new lodge. The tasks are divided into four separate categories.
An important feature of Freemasonry is visiting. The first, and most basic, task is to visit another
lodge.

This is followed by three additional tasks which cover the Three Great Principles of
Freemasonry:
Brotherly Love
Relief
Truth

Each significant step along this path should marked by a certificate of approval by the officers of
the lodge.
These tasks do not all necessarily have to be completed before the Apprentice is passed to a
Fellowcraft. But the sooner the new mason completes them the better equipped they will be to
become a long-term active Freemason.
For completing the introductory task and a single task of their choice from each of the three areas
they should earn a Certificate of Achievement from the Junior Warden.
For completing the introductory task and two tasks of their choice from each of the key areas
they should earn a Certificate of Achievement from the Senior Warden.
For completing the introductory task and all the other tasks they should earn a Certificate of
Achievement from the Worshipful Master.
In this way each step of integration into the lodge is marked and formally acknowledged by the
lodge.
These, brethren, are my thoughts on how we approach the critical issue of how we pass our love
of Freemasonry on to the next generation and to help with that process I have begun to write a
series of Masonic Tutor’s Handbooks to provide the teaching material, and guidance on its personal
delivery, to any lodge which wants to learn how to support and encourage its new members.
The long-established Web of Hiram ( www.webofhiram.org )website has agreed to provide
online support to aspiring Masonic Tutors and Lewis Masonic will be distributing The Masonic
Tutor’s Handbooks, including the subject of this presentation Volume 1 – The Duties of an
Apprentice Master.
Watch this space for the launch of the first book in the The Masonic Tutor’s Handbooks –
Volume 1 The Duties of the Apprentice Master.

                Click Here to Pre-order

To build on the success of the order in London and surrounding areas the Supreme Magus Anthony W. Llewellyn X ° has chosen to form a new Province and to appoint Alexander Rofaila IX° as the First Chief Adept of London.

The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Society of Rosicrucians in England or SRIA) is an independent Christian society. Admission is limited to Master Masons who are subscribing members of a Lodge under the Grand Lodge of England or a jurisdiction in amity with Grand Lodge and who accept and believe in the fundamental principles of the Trinitarian Christian faith.

The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia does not, however, constitute another interesting degree in Freemasonry, to be acquired in the course of ordinary Masonic progress. It is something beyond and outside Freemasonry.

The membership of the S.R.I.A. is made up from brethren who have all trod the same path within the structure of Masonry. The Society is the ideal forum for Masons who wish to extend their contemplation of the hidden mysteries of Nature and Science.

The S.R.I.A. can provide the thoughtful Mason with direction, structure and resources for his enlightenment and advancement in working out the great problems of Life, in comprehending and appreciating his relations to his fellow man and to his Creator.

If you would like to join or find out more please click this link

https://www.sria.uk.com/about-the-society/

Puzzling Freemasonry

by Seb Giroux

Freemasonry is fascinating, isn’t it? The lure of all the mysteries, the progressive ideas it has inspired in countries like the United States, the symbols that are supposed to hide in plain sight and this special bond between brothers that they are forbidden to share outside, all of this played widely in my imagination long before I could finally join.

At my initiation, I was so eager to learn a few things, to get to grip with what really takes place behind these closed doors. The jokes in my Lodge didn’t help either. Some of the brothers talked about a skull, some blood, being rather undressed or blindfolded, having to fall backwards and trusting someone would catch me, having to give away all my money, even my soul.

Of course, the ceremony went very well. I was in awe of all the hard work that went into it. Then came the ancient charge that invited me in its inimitable and wordy style to make a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge. We’ve all heard it. But really, what does that mean, and how are we supposed to comply? Well, the simple truth is that everybody can interpret this in their own way.

My thirst for a better understanding of Freemasonry increased tenfold after joining as I discovered the complex ramification of the Order and its history. Learning about it can be incredibly daunting and may appear much too laborious for many. Literature and research abound, but most of the texts require a rather academic mind. And that got me thinking: could there be a way to explore and share all that knowledge in a manner that playfully mixes entertainment and learning? Could brothers make their daily advancements without this awkward feeling that they are back on a school bench?

The answer came to me in what is called gamification. This means employing elements customarily found in games. I immediately knew that Freemasonry would be a great place to explore this concept. The first game I created was the Third Degree crossword. I wanted to place a graphic element into it as well as a specific theme. Then came the idea of a quest. So many numbers have a symbolic meaning; it was very easy to create a trail through numbered questions.

So many games exist that can be used and transformed that it is almost limitless. I have to admit I probably have more fun creating the puzzles than I would have resolving them. The trickiest one of all has been an adaptation of the family classic Cluedo or Clue. It took me some time to figure a way to make it feasible for a single player and still retain the logical challenge of the original.

Next came the choice of topic. I wanted it to be entertaining and educational but also to debunk some of the common myths about Freemasonry. You know, the stuff we keep seeing in movies and novels such as the seal of the United States, the logo for Gmail, Freemasons on the Moon, the layout of Washington D.C and of course the Templar connection. A lot of these are quite enjoyable to play with. What is true, what is pure invention, who to trust? I have tried to address a few of these urban legends, but I am pretty positive that doubts will subsist… Some tales will never die. They are forever part of the Freemasonry fabric.

As I was compiling the final draft, I had to eliminate a few puzzles. Some because they didn’t work, others because there was simply not enough space to fit them all. Since then, I have kept creating new games and questions. With all this material now available, there may be future editions of the puzzle book. Keep an eye out!

Until then, I wish you a very pleasant time wrapping your mind around these 100 puzzles

                                    Click Here To Order

Advice for those intending becoming a Freemason

By Julian Rees

If you are considering becoming a Freemason, there are some things to consider – the why, the how, the where, the when and probably many more that will occur to you.

The first and most important of these is the ‘why’ – why become a Freemason? Something has caught your attention and has made you curious. Or you may have read or heard something about Freemasonry that makes you want to know more.

Let’s start with some obvious aspects. Many have the impression that Freemasonry is rather static and staid, but properly understood, Freemasonry is a dynamic pursuit, leading to a fuller understanding of knowledge of yourself. It is an enlightening pursuit and opens up your understanding of what is really important in your life, outside of all the clamour going on in the world – the political, ideological and social clamour, and others such as activity in your workplace – allowing you to access those aspects of your real self.

Someone once said: ‘Freemasonry should be fun – if it isn’t fun it isn’t working!’

But beyond that, Freemasonry unites persons of different social, ethnic, philosophical and religious distinctions. Freemasonry as practised today is more than three hundred years old, and some branches of Freemasonry nowadays also admit women, either in all-female lodges or in mixed lodges.

Many Freemasons – probably most – will tell you how it has changed their lives, made them more confident people. They will tell you how it has enabled talents within themselves to come to the fore, to make them confident speakers, able to make decisions which before seemed overwhelming.

But there are some myths and disinformation surrounding Freemasonry. You may have heard how secretive Freemasonry is. Let’s look at that for a moment. Throughout the world, there are very prominent Masonic buildings – Freemasons’ Hall in London is one. Such a prominent building could hardly be said to be concealing anything.

The notion of secrecy probably stems from the early days of operative stonemasons, who guarded their craft to prevent unqualified workers from taking work away from those who had served their apprenticeships and earned their wages honestly.

Today, Freemasons prefer to say that, like social organisations such as tennis clubs, their proceedings are private rather than secret. The full contents of Masonic ceremonies are not divulged willingly to the outside world, as to do so would blunt the effect for those who afterwards decided to join.

And it should be remembered that you can’t become a Freemason by reading the ceremonies from a book – true membership comes about by experiencing the impact of the Masonic ceremonies themelves.

Freemasons call the first ceremony an ‘initiation’. Initiation, in many cultures worldwide, is characterised as a beginning. The word comes from the Latin ‘initium’ meaning ‘start’. And so it is in Freemasonry – it is a kind of re-birth, a start on a different road, away from the cares of the world. It is certainly an exciting journey! It will lead you to other sources of knowledge, working through symbols and allegories, a knowledge which can lead to an increase of wisdom and fulfilment.

Through the ceremonies and discussions in lodges, Freemasons seek to realise on earth the greatest degree of moral, intellectual and spiritual development for all. Freemasons are not ‘better’ people than non-Freemasons – they do however realise the enormous benefits of seeking to improve themselves.

We mentioned ceremonies. There are three principal ones, referred to as the first, second and third degrees. Each degree is enacted in a ceremony, similar to the mystery dramas and plays of the medieval world. The first, as we mentioned, is an allegory of re-birth; the second an allegory of our journey through life, and the third deals with our passage as we approach the end of our physical life on earth.

Aside from the esoteric aspects of Freemasonry, it should be mentioned that there are important philanthropic aspects, and Freemasonry worldwide and in its local communities, does a great deal to alleviate poverty, sickness and hardship.

In short, Freemasonry is a way of experiencing a world other than the material, physical world, with all its cares and distractions, and will lead you to a contemplation of things that really matter.

Open the door and start to experience!

For more information of Freemasonry and how to join please purchase 

So you want to be a Freemason? by Julian Rees

by Greg Kaminsky

While chatting with publisher Martin Faulks of Lewis Masonic a few weeks ago, I was speculating about the manner in which modern initiation, by and large, does not seem to measure up to the descriptions and effects of initiations from the ancient and classical world. Now it’s certainly possible that this could simply be viewing the past through rose-colored glasses and imagining a prior golden age. But it’s also possible that there is some merit in the notion that initiations in the distant past did have components and consequences that were different than today. If we accept that ancient initiations were more efficacious as an axiom, it provides very fertile ground to explore the meaning of initiation and discover what ingredients could improve, or actually facilitate the initiatory process for modern initiates.

Historian Walter Burkert, in his essential tome Greek Religion, when describing the evidence of ancient initiations stated that, “The very fact that the reactions described … are not uniform but vary between perplexity and exaltation indicates that this is … a … sympatheia of souls and rituals, some form of resonance which does not come in every case but which, once it is there, will deeply move or even shatter the constructs of reality.” (p. 114) Now it is important to acknowledge two things about this statement: first is that not every initiate had this sort of ultimate initiatory experience and second is that some did have a reality moving or shattering experience, and this would be quite unlike the experience of modern initiates, generally speaking. A reality shattering initiation should be interpreted as an experience that prevents the initiate from continuing to live in the manner that they once did and having to turn their attention and activities to the service of the divine. If we can acknowledge and accept this as fact, we can assume that there is are specific acts, ingredients, and attitudes engaged in ancient initiatory ceremonies that we have neglected and may be key factors for producing the sort of reality shattering experience described by Burkert.

I want to be clear. I do know that initiations conducted by modern Masonic lodges and appendant bodies, as well as those offered through various esoteric fraternities, orders, and societies do, in fact, produce experiences that are often revelatory. These cause elation, a feeling of connection, joy, and may awaken a longing to understand the mystery that is life. But all too often, that revelation is not transformative because the imparting of information and knowledge does not equal transformation, and often leaves the initiate desiring to understand more, yet without the supports that would facilitate a change in the state of one’s being. I intend to explore what I see as the reasons for initiations not having the effect of a change in one’s state of being. And there are several.

From my investigation into the mystery cult of Samothrace, detailed in The Art and Science of Initiation, it is evident that there was a combination of place and myth that formed the foundation for the initiatory rites. So, the location of the sanctuary, or temple, was the same location where the mythology (from which the ritual was derived) was set, where the story took place. Being in the very same place that the gods enacted their mytho-poetic adventures and going through an initiatory rite derived from that very mythology inevitably had a profound impact on those who took part. We also know that the very names of the deities of Samothrace were known only to the initiates and there is also evidence that these names were likely magical formulae that enabled those who knew and pronounced their names to achieve specific results. Aside from not being able to hold the rites in the place of the myth, modern initiations do try to recreate the myth through ritual reenactment and also utilize names and words of power that are superficially unintelligible.

But there is another crucial factor that modern initiatory groups in the West often lack, which is the initiator being a realizer—one who has attained stable gnosis, one who has gone beyond mind and made real the understanding of divine expression to the point that they can transmit it to their students and disciples. There is a sympathetic resonance that is the essence of initiation where the initiator can communicate the nature of reality to the candidate. This is similar to the way in which tuning forks work. If you have two tuning forks pitched to middle C and you strike one, then bring it closer to the other, the one not struck will begin to vibrate and make sound. The initiatory process is the same. It is introducing a resonance into the body mind of the candidate that has the potential to transform the candidate into the same thing that the initiator already is. This is a huge missing link in the chain of modern initiations in many esoteric schools and the implication is that modern initiations that don’t feature a realized initiator may tend towards being counter-initiatory.

Another crucial factor that is not often considered in understanding the differences between initiations in the past versus those conducted in modern times is the attitude of the participants. I believe this is actually the single most significant problem with regard to initiations not effecting transformative changes. If one is convinced that the deities are real, that the initiators are true conduits for the divine, and that the rite has the power to transmit the seed of transformation, this would allow for the ceremony to have a much greater impact. But all too often nowadays, there is uncertainty about the deity (or outright disbelief in their very existence) and the initiators are not capable of realizing the divine nature of reality and therefore unable to transmit the seeds of transformation. In these circumstances, it is easier to understand how the attitudes of everyone involved would be more casual and profane and less reverent and profound. If participants had the proper attitude, the initiatory rite would take on a sacredness that would only enhance every beneficial aspect for all involved. Unfortunately, the modern materialistic and nihilistic mindset is anathema to the sacred and that must be reconciled in order to make the initiatory process more effective and what it is intended to be. When I use the term materialistic nihilism, what I’m referring to is acting as if what we can perceive and experience with our senses and consciousness is all that exists. Now many of us may profess beliefs in phenomena that cannot be perceived, but we rarely act is if that is the case. In my opinion, if we did truly enact the beliefs we profess, our lives would be more centered around the Great Architect’s trestle board, or at least working to determine what we must do to serve those plans better. And I include myself in that assessment.

Even if an initiatory rite has every other aspect listed in this essay (including a living enlightened master), if the candidate’s attitude is one of materialistic nihilism (which is that promoted by our culture today), then the initiation will likely be less than transformative. This materialistic nihilism also affects almost everyone to some greater or lesser extent, so the effect can become cumulative in that not only does the candidate lack proper context for the ritual, but those conducting it likely suffer from the same. Only a return to valuing the sacred, the sublime, the divine can remedy this. That means a reorientation of what we pay attention to, to what we love. Because we pay attention to what we love. And the divine is the most jealous lover there is. So, cultivating our lives around the teachings, around our relationships, and around honoring that which makes our lives possible is the single greatest factor in determining whether esotericism is functional. I don’t think I can be any clearer than that.

Finally, we must understand that there are at least three aspects to the initiation. First, there is the rite that transmits the seed of transformation. Second, the initiate must cultivate this seed and allow it to grow within themselves through the methods that the initiation process empowers them to practice. This is the actual work involved in the Great Work and it is understandable that this is usually an almost insurmountable obstacle. Last, there is the final product of the initiation—the realization of the truths conveyed during the rite. While modern fraternities, societies, and orders may always try to do the first, it is a minority of members that seem to actually practice the methods, and because there was no realization initially transmitted, even the possibility of actual realization through practice becomes a faint hope at best. With this in mind, we can begin to understand why modern esotericism so rarely produces the results that the sages lead us to expect—gnosis.

It is for these reasons that modern initiations don’t currently compare with the initiations from ages past. However, it is important to understand that it is still possible in our time to gather all of these elements together (place, myth, names of power, realized initiator and teacher, the proper attitude of the candidate, and the three aspects of initiation, practice, and realization) to produce substantial results and the potential to transform those who are seeking a direct connection with the divine. But if these ingredients continue to be overlooked, ignored, or discarded, there is no hope of restoring the efficacy to initiatory rites that should be present. Because I have seen and experienced initiations from both sides (initiation and counter-initiation), I know the differences to be real. But I also know that without the candidate valuing the divine, the possibility of greater connection, and being willing to work and give everything for it, initiation cannot succeed. It is my desire that initiation rites be what they were originally intended, and the seeds of transformation are spread so more may know truth.

To read more about Ancient Initiation from Greg Kaminsky please see

The Art and Science of Initiation

Edited by Jedediah French

https://www.lewismasonic.co.uk/esoteric/the-art-and-science-of-initiation.htm

By Martin Faulks

Anyone who reads the early records of Masonry will notice that Freemasonry
is often referred to as "St Johns Masonry". The first Grand Lodge was formed in 1717 on
24th June, the feast day of John the Baptist. But why was John the
Baptist chosen as the patron of the Masonic craft? Surely Solomon, St.
Vincent, or one of the many other saints who have an association with
builders or craftsmen would be more appropriate?

Well, look into this matter and you will soon find many
explanations - both historical and symbolic. 

Having considered this matter for some time, I have come to the opinion that
the reason is as follows. John the Baptist lived his life with a focus on
self-purification and preparation for the coming of higher teachings.

Could it be that Craft Freemasonry was dedicated to him because the core aim
of the Craft was, and always has been, the transformation of vice into virtue?
The truth could be that to the early Masons those who followed the teachings
offered by Freemasonry were like John in that they were purifying and
improving themselves. Perhaps this could be a hint that even then there were
higher teachings that were yet to come.

If so, what do you think the next step would have been in those early times?

By Martin Faulks

It's commonly thought that the Order of the Eastern Star was created by Rob Morris in 1846 as a means for female relatives of masons to walk the path of self-improvement. Few people seem however to have wondered where he gained his inspiration. My studies focus on the Art of Memory and its historical development. In the last month I found some startling evidence that may change how one of this orders is viewed.

I have started to uncover a practice whereby meditation of figures of women of virtue in a ritual format has been used in Christianity for a very long time. The use of memory as means of Christian contemplation dates back a very long way, at least as far as the Roman African, Saint Augustine of Hippo in 400AD.

Now Rob Morris was a very dedicated Christian, who not only took his studies seriously, but also very deeply. Indeed he even went on a pilgrimage to the holy land. The first name for the OES was The Rosary of the Eastern Star. Is it possible he based this whole working on an older Christian tradition found in convents?

By Martin Faulks - General Manager

Last week I had the chance to visit the Museum of Freemasonry in order to view their latest display ‘William Perfect: Enlightenment Mason, Medic and Man of Letters’.

This display is all about the life of William Perfect (c.1734-1809) A fascinating display, it includes many documents and possessions pertaining to his life including letters, poems, masonic items/jewels, and portraits. Anyone who has read of life in the 18th century will know that it was a very exciting time, with many opportunities for those who wished to live very dedicated and fulfilling lives. William Perfect epitomises the Renaissance polymath with diverse interests and great dedication to learning. This display is a beautiful snapshot of the time and of Freemasonry gone by through the lens of one man’s life.  It’s well worth a visit and you are sure to find something unexpected. Personally I found the story of the all female Pseudo-Masonic group known as the Jiggy Joggies who suffered great hardships to meet and the poem to the victory of the smallpox virus particularly interesting and memorable.

Location: Freemasons Hall

Price: Free

12 Jul - 11 Jan 2020

Museum of Freemasonry

60 Great Queen Street

London

WC2B 5AZ

If you want the full story be sure to join the museum Archivist Susan Snell on a personal tour of the new Library and Archives temporary exhibition. Tickets available on Saturday 7^th September 2019 only.

Click Here to book

The Mysteries of Mithras was an ancient Roman Mystery Cult which was practiced between the 1st to the 4th century CE and centred on the worship of the solar deity “Mithras”. Its followers met in private temples and were sworn to secrecy, but it may surprise you that the ancient Cult of Mithras is alive and well… and is being worked in the leafy suburbs of England.

Actually, the Mysteries of Mithras is a relatively new Masonic Order which is inspired by and uses the allegory of the lost and ancient Mysteries of the same name. However, the Mysteries of Mithras does not try to be a historical re-enactment, nor do they claim to have a direct lineal descent, instead the Mysteries of Mithras takes its inspiration from and bases their allegorical Grades on the teachings and symbolism of this ancient cult.

Just like the Roman Cult of Mithras there are seven grades or trials, when an initiate join’s he will take the Trial of Corax, this ceremony will be the initiate’s first introduction to the Order, with the ceremony delving into the meaning of the Mithraic Mysteries and the creation myth of the Universe.

The genesis for the creation of this Order came after a meeting of the Holy Royal Arch, when a number of the Companions were discussing the ceremony and its meaning and the topic of Mithras came up in the conversation. Over time these members decided to try and piece together the ceremonies for themselves. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to recreate an ancient Mithraic ceremony, instead they wanted to use the rich symbolism to create their own modern version of the mysteries that would satisfy their curiosity and encourage their own personal development.

Creating these ceremonies however resembled putting together an old jigsaw-puzzle that was missing most of its pieces, but it was always of the upmost importance that they make sure they never strayed far from the central themes and evidence known about the ancient cult.

Finally the day came when the ritual was completed and ready to be worked, everyone that joined found to their amazement that what had been created was something special and from this genuine passion for these lost mysteries, its lost spark had once again been reignited.

The Mysteries of Mithras is open to all Master Masons who are members in good standing and recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). Our Order’s objective is to bring together Brethren with an inquisitive and philosophical view on Freemasonry, who wish to learn more about themselves and the hidden mysteries of life. We invite and encourage all aspiring aspirants who are seeking to endeavour to make a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge to knock at the door of our Mysteries and enquire into our anciently inspired rituals

For more information please click here Or email [email protected]

You can also follow their twitter here

https://twitter.com/MMithras

By John Belton

I am not going to tell you how to choose a subject but how to deal effectively with all the information – and at the end to offer either an interesting talk or an article any editor is happy to print. Most ideas end up getting written down on paper so its good to start with some simple rules.

How long to speak for?

The golden rule is that one page of text in Word, in Times New Roman 12pt, is around 500 words – and 500 words takes 5 minutes to speak in English. If it takes you less than that you are speaking too fast J

It is a simple rule and I am always amazed just how many have never been told it. This applies equally to Professors in Universities (would you believe it!) or Brothers in their Lodges If a Lodge want a 15 minute talk then do not stand up with more than three pages.

The Story is IMPORTANT

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If it has not then your audience will not enjoy it properly. So the introduction needs to set the scene, then what follows already has a context that is understood. And sometimes it is hand to divide the text up with sub-headlines, even if it only helps you the author keep everything in the right order.

Remember where your evidence came from

This can be critical because usually in every audience there is some clever person whio will question one of your facts. Word makes this really easy - click ‘References’ and click ‘Footnote’ and write where you found your information. What I can guarantee is that you will eventually forget to do this and then discover that it takes you hours to find the page or date of your key evidence. Do it when you first write it and its only another 30 seconds.

Just discovered you have written too many words

Well join the club! It does indicate that you have hunted hard and found more information than you need. And you need to chop out those extra inessential words. Just stop moaning and do it. Just remember the old film adage of the ‘cutting room floor’. When a director shoots scenes he always gets too much footage, and it is no good presenting 3 hours of film when the cinema is want 90 minutes before the start to get the next audience ready to roll again. So just be a pro and do a good edit.

Copy Edit

We all make mistakes, we mispeel, we forget the punctuation, and we all write nonsense. So print a copy out, take a red pen and mark up all the errors. Then enter all the corrections on the ‘Word’ original and save them.

John Belton is the author of A Questioning Eye On Freemasonry

A collection of fresh in-depth articles exploring the curiosities of Freemasonry

in their historical context and that of wider society. 

Click Here for for information.

Freemasons are bound together through their shared experience of Masonic initiation and through the morals of the fraternity, which is taught during the initiation. It is then, too, that he learns to orientate himself away from the petty distractions of life and toward what is essential to a healthy soul. Most especially, he is orientated towards the Great Architect or God.

Yet, according to the Traditionalist school of thought, there is also the phenomenon of “counter-initiation.” Founded, during the first half of the twentieth century, by French metaphysician René Guénon, and shaped to a large extent by Sufi, spiritual teacher, author, and artist Frithjof Schuon, Traditionalism has had a small but significant impact on culture, subtly influencing Prince Charle’s book Harmony, for example.

For the original Traditionalists, a decline in human consciousness has taken place over the millennia. At first, in the Golden Age (or what Hindus call the Satya Yuga), man lived in harmony with nature and with God. Yet, as millennia passed, man became less connected to nature and God and more and more self-centered and materialistic. In the final age (the Iron Age or Kali Yuga), often associated with our own time, man will face the worst of challenges. According to ancient Greek, Norse, and Hindu accounts, in the final age, religion will no longer be of any importance, brother will fight brother, families will be torn apart, a man will be admired for his wealth rather than for his character, and leaders will be greedy, and, regardless of how much they already possess, they will want more. In the Kali Yuga, man is out of balance with himself, his society, nature, and God. We might say, then, that initiation attempts to restore to the initiate a consciousness that is akin to that of the Golden Age -- to restore harmony to his intelligence and life and, as we have noted, to reorientate him towards God.

Counter-initiation orientates him in the opposite direction -- towards the consciousness of the materialism, the world, and the self. Such an experience can have all of the trappings of an initiation: ritual, symbols, teachings, a fraternal camaraderie, and so on. Yet, rather than directing the “initiate” towards Deity, it channels and misdirects his seeking -- his search for the truth, and for something beyond him -- into non-spiritual and even anti-spiritual pursuits. We can see this very clearly in religion itself. Many “houses of worship” are now only so in name, with their sermons largely or perhaps entirely political.

The result might be activism, street protests, and voting for a particular candidate, or it might be politically-motivated, “religious” extremism, intolerance, and violence. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's,” Matthew 22:21 records Jesus as saying. Regardless of whether one is a Christian or not, the sentiment is that we should neither confuse politics and religion nor this life and the next.

Initiation -- including Masonic initiation -- orientates us towards God and to the “temple not made with hands.” Counter-initiation orientates the individual towards Caesar; towards the political, the worldly, and the self. And while the initiate finds an inner-peace, harmony, and connectedness in his life, the individuals that have gone through a counter-initiation find themselves often consumed by anger, a sense of disharmony, and disconnectedness.

By Angel Millar

To read more about counter-initiation please see 

The Art and Science of Initiation

Edited by Jedediah French

https://www.lewismasonic.co.uk/esoteric/the-art-and-science-of-initiation.htm

On the evening of the 8th February the Library Museum of Freemasonry in London opened its doors to present its latest exhibition - Decoded: Freemasonry’s Illustrated Rulebooks. As General Manager of Lewis Masonic I was amongst the guests invited to the preview night.

Having recently celebrated the tercentenary of the creation of the United Grand Lodge of England, this exhibition is a chance to view Freemasonry as it developed after 1717. The display has been produced under the expert guidance of curator Martin Cherry and offers a unique chance to investigate and gain insight into this transformative phase in the history of the Craft. The exhibition is set during a fascinating and volatile time in Freemasonry’s history, when strongly competing ideas over which qualities an ideal Mason should possess caused Freemasonry to both flourish and almost destroy itself. As such this exhibition is of interest both to the philosophical Mason and the lodge historian alike.

Eagle-eyed Square readers may have noticed an invite to our subscribers in the last issue of the Square for an interesting event in Bologna Italy. It was for the founding of a new Stability Lodge followed by a fabulous charity ball.

Pictured above (left to right):  R.W.Bro. Giuliano Zamboni, Provincial Grand Master of Emilia-Romagna; W.Bro. Martin Faulks, General Manager of Lewis Masonic; Martin's fiance Kindra Jones; M.W.Bro Fabio Venzi, Grand Master of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy.

The Consecration of Loggia Nettuno No.292 (RGLI) in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy took place on Saturday 12th January 2019. This was the very first stability working lodge ever to be founded outside of England and our General Manager Martin Faulks, accompanied by his fiancé Kindra Jones, was there to see it.

This was followed by a fabulous Bolognese charity ball with the Grandmaster Fabio Venzi and the Provincial Grand Master Giuliano Zamboni in attendance. An impressive €3000 was raised for the charity 'Il Sentiero dello Gnomo' to help local families of very young children infant in need of assistance.

Click here to learn more about the history of Stability Ritual

Click here to learn more about the charity Il Sentiero dello Gnomo

 Systematic Encoding of Masonic Ritual to Long-term Memory

Memory systems have existed for thousands of years - mainly to memorise impressively long lists of random objects, numbers or playing cards. The award of Grand Master of Memory (nothing to do with Freemasonry) was first introduced in 1995 as a three-stage challenge - it was initially given to anyone who successfully memorised all the following challenges:

• • 1000 randomly generated numbers in 1 hour
• • running order of 10 decks of playing cards in 1 hour
• • running order of 1 deck of cards in 2 Minutes

Whilst such feats may seem astonishing they do not necessarily require a high degree of intelligence, but rather a significant ‘brain training’ time investment.

Memorising Masonic Ritual is a semantically founded mission - the Ritualist is effectively providing an educational service to the Candidate whilst invoking reflective contemplation among more experienced Brethren. The core challenge is to command the Candidate’s full attention by presenting our Ritual workings with conviction and confidence. This requires far more brain power than simply memorising a long list of words.

Introducing the ‘5-Minute Ritualist’

The 5-Minute Ritualist is a scientifically founded, flexible, time and labour saving method for memorising Masonic Ritual using short, regular, highly focussed learning sessions. It has been developed as a range of time managed, memorisation and educational tools that can be universally applied to any form of Masonic Ritual.

The 5-MR methodology has been developed to satisfy a long list of needs and conditions, without sacrificing ‘ease of use’ virtues. Whilst the key benefits are the saving of time and effort there are several other beneficial factors to consider. Perhaps the best way of illustrating these is to compare conventional ‘learning straight from the book’ practices with those conferred by the 5-MR working tools based system.

Learning straight out of Ritual book presents our brains with several challenges. There is a need to disregard all the other matter on the page other than the small number of words we are trying to memorise at any one time. This is can be distracting and potentially disheartening, especially when learning a lengthy working, as we are constantly reminded of the mountain yet to be climbed!

Our Working Memory can only hold a small number of words at a time, so as we read across the page we need to mentally chunk the Ritual into memory friendly portions. This is an extra brain job and errors can be made - take in too many words in one go and our Working Memory becomes overloaded. Processing comes to a halt!

We will also frequently look away or close our eyes for a trial recitation of what we have learnt - trying to find our place can easily and frustratingly break our concentration. Yes, we can use a ruler to mark our place, but that is another potentially concentration breaking brain job.

If we happen upon a word, phrase or element we do not know or fully comprehend our mission becomes unnecessarily arduous. It is akin to trying to memorise unfamiliar foreign language content which slams the brakes on the encoding process. Admittedly, this will be more of a challenge for inexperienced Brethren.

There is a tendency to memorise the work as a single block, learning the first line, then another, reciting both together to prove we can recall both. We learn the third line and recite all three lines again, and so on, until we complete our entire learning task. Inevitably, we recite the first lines far more often than the last lines, creating a much deeper memory of the beginning of the work and a relatively weaker end. This practice often results in ‘second half’ memory lapses during presentations which are often misattributed to fatigue.

So how does 5-MR surmount or minimise these challenges? It chunks the Ritual into small blocks displayed in a list format. These blocks are called Encoding Beats and are memorised one E-Beat at a time (many classical actors break their words into Beats). This minimises eye movement helping to maintain focussed attention; breaks a big challenge down into a psychologically pleasing series of small step tasks; spares our brains the task of chunking Ritual on the hoof thereby minimising Working Memory overload events and we can more readily find our place again following a trial rehearsal. To help new Brethren understand the archaic language content every 5-MR Workings Plan has its own glossary, so it also serves as an educational tool.

There is nothing new in list formatting - poets, classical playwrights, lyricists etc. present their work in this way because they want to help people memorise their words.

The system includes an intermediate encoding stage, so the Ritualist recites their target words several times, then drops their eyes to read or recite the Ritual from a heavily edited version of the words, before moving onto the final phase of recalling the words without prompting. This cycle is repeated until the E-Beat content can be confidently and accurately recalled. Working in this way breaks the tedium of just repeatedly reciting the words; provides another confidence building progress checkpoint and opens a Recognition process. Think about examination questions. We look at a question, but simply cannot call the answer to mind. Wait a minute! It is a multiple choice question and scanning the answer options we are instantly drawn to one because we Recognise it as being correct. 5-MR uses a ‘first letter’ prompting system - if we cannot Recall the word we may well Recognise it from the prompt.

However, 5-MR drills down further to other ‘time and effort’ saving levels.

For example, having successfully rehearsed a new Ritual working a couple of times we might naturally incline to think ‘mission accomplished’. This will almost certainly not be the case because the memory processing is still relatively shallow and will start to fade away quite quickly. If we continue to regularly rehearse our work, we will arrive at a ‘deep processing’ destination. We will instinctively know when we have arrived - our recall of the work will feel and appear effortless. This frees up more cerebral capacity we can apply to other presentation dynamics. Once we reach deep processing status, rehearsing the work one or twice a month will keep it alive, so we can recall and recite the work on demand.

5-MR also deploys several other easy to use working tools including an anytime, anyplace, anywhere ‘rehearsal and memory check’ tool that only a Freemason can understand! The latter has multiple functions including serving as a discreet prompt for memory challenged Brethren. There are also structural tools to help memorise the sectional running order of longer workings. All the essentials are housed within in a dedicated 5-MR Workings Plan for each working. Even the psychological impact of colour has been factored in - pale blue is said to foster calmness and high concentration. How apt!

The 5-Minute Ritualist Guide book gives the reader a tour through the Ritual encoding processes and all the system’s component parts; encoding and presentation tips; time, nerves and Local Workings management; three First Degree sample Workings Plans and supply of dedicated 5-MR Practitioner’s Stationery, so readers can set up their own DIY trial for any Masonic Order.

The 5-Minute Ritualist - is this the future in waiting? Only time will tell!

To Purchase Please Click Here

Congratulations to our General Manager Martin Faulks who has been promoted to London Grand Rank.

ST

1 COMMUNICATION 2019 OF THE
REGIONAL GRAND LODGE EMILIA-ROMAGNA

with the

CONSECRATION OF THE STABILITY LODGE NETTUNO OF BOLOGNA

the very first Italian Stability Lodge, under the guidance of the Stability Ritual Association
followed by a

CHARITY GALA DINNER AND BALL

to fund the purchase of essentials for 0-1 y.o. infants of local distressed families

Program for Brethren and Ladies

Saturday morning 10 AM — 12 AM - meeting of the Dove & Swan Lodge of Bologna, n°. 286 — RGLI (Irish Ritual); meanwhile a guided tour of the ancient and fascinating city of Bologna is arranged for the Ladies.

Saturday afternoon 3 PM — 6 PM - Regional GL Communication and Consecration of the Nettuno Lodge of

Bologna, in the presence of the Grand Master of the RGLI: 2.00 PM - Registration

3.00 PM - Opening of the Regional Grand Lodge Emilia-Romagna 3.30 PM - Consecration of the Nettuno Lodge of Bologna

4.30 PM - Installation of the Master Designate

6.00 PM - Closing of the Regional Grand Lodge Emilia-Romagna

Meanwhile a visit at the Pinacoteca Nazionale (National Gallery) of Bologna is arranged for the Ladies.

Saturday evening 7.30 PM —1 AM - Charity Gala Dinner and Ball (black tie):

7.30 PM - Aperitif

8.00 PM - Gala Dinner (four courses)

9.30 PM — Presentation of the Charity Collection to the representatives of www.ilsentierodellognomo.org
10.00 PM - Ball with traditional and group dances (led by a dance instructor). A bar is open during the ball.

Dinner and Ball tickets cost €50 per person, this includes a €20 donation for the said charity. This is to be paid in advance by bank transfer or PayPal; further donations, or from those who are unable to attend the event, are most welcome. To receive an invitation to the event with information on how to book and pay for tickets and to receive suggestions for the accommodation, and/or just to donate, please write to [email protected]­-romagna.it.

Please note that the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy (http://www.glri.it/) is the only Italian Grand Lodge recognised by the UGLE; the proper Masonic protocol between the two Grand Lodges has been followed in all interactions between the RegGL Emilia-Romagna and the Stability Ritual Association. A list of UGLE Brethren who will attend the meetings will also be communicated to the UGLE.

A

Special congratulations to our Chairman David Allan who is the Master of The Stationers’ Company this year. To find out more about David’s election and The Stationers’ Company please Click Here. 

Lewis Masonic is part of the Ian Allan group of companies. For this reason our management and staff were recently invited to an special day at the Great Cockcrow Railway in Surrey. It’s a miniature railway complete with stations and different routes and a whole range of miniature steam engines!

If you are yet to visit its well worth a taking the time to do so.

Please click here for more details and opening times.

On the 19th of September 2018 the Library Museum of Freemasonry in London held a VIP opening of their new “Bejewelled: Badges, Brotherhood and Identity”

display. This exhibition features the largest range of  masonic ‘jewels’ from the long tradition in English Freemasonry ever displayed. Our general manager Martin Faulks however was not the only Lewis Masonic presence at this stunning event. We were happy to see the UGLE 275th Jewel manufactured by Ian Allan Regalia on display too!

AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON MASONIC NATIONAL MEMORIAL

14-16 September 2018 See the Full Program and Apply for Tickets at

www.quatuorcoronati.com

By Robert Lomas 

One advantage of writing for Lewis Masonic is that when they commission a new book that they think I might find interesting they sometimes send me a pre-release review copy. Last week they did exactly that with a new book about symbolism they plan to release later this year. The author’s name was new to me but the title intrigued at once. It was “Know Thyself”.

Two things attracted me about the title. Firstly, the concept of knowing yourself had an instant allure, it is a key teaching of Bro Walter Wilmshurst who founded the Lodge of Living Stones. Wilmshurst has long proclaimed the view that Freemasonry is a spiritual self-help system which helps you understand yourself and so make contact with the divine spark of consciousness that makes you human.  The second feature was the use of the second person singular form of Thy. For some time now I have been working on an English translation of a Victorian Welsh novel Rhys Lewis, by Daniel Owen. The use of Thee, Thou and Thy declined in English during the nineteenth century but it is still a form used in Welsh and implies close intimacy with either a human or with the Deity. (You see this in the King James Bible.)  Having been struggling to capture the nuances of this second person pronoun when translating Victorian Welsh in modern English, I am acutely aware of its significance.  Thyself implies an intimate understanding of the Divine Spark at your own centre, the spark which makes you human and connects you with the Grand Plan of the Great Architect.  It is an inspired title which works on many levels of symbolism. It is fresh and yet traditional, simple yet complex and carries in two words the most fundamental secret of Craft Masonry.

The book, which discusses how to use the symbols of Freemasonry to improve your life, is written by Bro Michael Schiavello. Michael is a graduate of the Masonic Education Scheme of the Grand Lodge of Victoria, Australia as well as an experienced and successful sports commentator. Many years ago I contributed to the discussions which culminated in the education scheme he studied and also donated a module on Masonic history. Masonic education is valuable in many ways but most importantly it encourages individuals to think about themselves and the Craft they have joined. Michael has taken the practices of Freemasonry and set them within a world-wide tradition of symbolism and philosophy. But this is no dry and dusty academic tome. Bro Michael regularly commentates on live sports events. He is a skilled communicator and expresses himself clearly. And he doesn’t pull his punches. The book opens with a question. What is the meaning of life? That question goes right to the heart of the peculiar system of morality which is veiled in allegory and illuminated by symbols. It is the question which drives all great religions and philosophical systems of the world. And it is the raison d'être of Freemasonic Initiation.

The book sets Freemasonry’s teaching in context of humanities’ attempts to answer the great question. Michael understands the versatility of teaching via allegory and symbolism. It can speak in many different ways and to different levels of understanding. By encouraging his brethren to think about what a symbol means to them and how they interpret a ritual allegory he helps them develop themselves. If thou art interested in learning about thyself this book will guide thee without forcing thee to accept any pre-set ideas. It will help thee reach deep within thyself to find the secret at thine own centre.

Know Thyself by Michael Schiavello is due out soon Click Here to find out More

Colin Browne 
creator of the S&C Masonic Tarot

To the best of my knowledge this was only the second specific Masonic deck produced and the first that specifically stayed within the basic Craft Degrees. The reason I chose to produce this deck was that I could not find an existing deck that I was comfortable with. When considering other decks I invariably found the graphics not to my taste or far too detailed and prescriptive. This is not to say that they are wrong in anyway. I always tell people who enquire which Tarot deck or book is the best to purchase, that it is the one that they feel comfortable with.

Freemasons are taught that Masonry is a progressive science and as can be seen from the development of the rituals this is the case. The Fellow of Craft Degree clearly states that the member should study the liberal arts and sciences. This was clearly to ensure that a Mason could think and develop opinions independent of the current restrictive and repressive church dogma of the time. If Masonry can move with the times and retain its credibility as new scientific discoveries were made without losing sight of its traditional landmarks, then the same should be true of the Tarot. If the meanings of the original cards were either Humanist, Christian or both then that does not prevent them now acquiring new and broader meanings in a climate of free religious thought. The Tarot is a vehicle to a greater end and as such should not stagnate by hanging on to the original meanings, which are inappropriate to our current thinking. If we take for example the card called The Hanged Man or Le Pendu which many believe related to punishment, humiliation and treason in its originally form. Why should this card now not hold a much more subtle association with indecision and a midway point? After all it is no longer the practice to hang traitors upside down as punishment. Quite correctly the traditional penalties in Freemasonry have been removed from the obligation as there is no record of them ever being carried out. The candidate is certainly reminded that they once existed to ensure that the history is not lost, but it would be ridiculous to ask him to swear on oath on what would never take place.

When I conceived the idea of this deck in about 1996, I sought to design, compile and produce a Tarot deck which embodied the broad principles of the modern Masonic Craft and takes the art into the future. Yet at the same time reflects not only to the earliest examples of the Tarot, but also draws out and enhances the aspects of the Freemason’s Craft that are entrenched in other earlier decks. I deliberately ignored all degrees beyond the Third, but I included the Holy Royal Arch and Mark Master Mason degrees. This is because I believe that the Holy Royal Arch is Ancient Freemasonry worked in a truncated form, and the Mark Master Mason Degree adds an important key at Craft level. The exclusion of the other Degrees is based on the premise that the fundamentals of Freemasonry are all inculcated within the Craft. It can be argued strongly that all the Degrees beyond the Third are not as old as the three Craft degrees. Indeed some schools of thought claim them to be creations of the Masonic boom of the 18th Century.

In the developmental methodology of these cards I followed a process where I have embodied all the four aspects of the Tarot suits, as reflected in the four Kabbalistic worlds called, Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah.

Assiah is the world of Physicality (Earth) as illustrated by the Suite of Pentacles and is embodied in my deck by the tactile act of painting the cards. This reflects the work of the operative Craftsman.

Yetzirah is the world of Emotions (Water) as illustrated by the Suite of Cups and is embodied in my work by the emotive images displayed on the cards as well as the emotions I felt whilst producing them. This reflects the sensitivity of the Mason to his environment.

Briah is the world of Intellect (Air) as illustrated by the Suite of Swords and is embodied in my pack by the mathematical and rhetorical relationships between the cards as reflected by the Liberal Arts and Sciences which are inculcated in the Fellow of Craft Degree.

Atziluth is the world of Spirituality (Fire) as illustrated by the Suite of Wands and is embodied in my work by the sub-conscience acts necessary for the conception and creation of all things.

I made a conscious decision when I started in 1996 to paint these cards at full size rather than at a much larger scale and then reduce them. Whilst I acknowledge that reduced graphics often look more attractive than the originals that they came from, I felt that it was very important that no detail should be lost or compromised, which is always a risk with reductions. The geometrical format of each picture I painted is that of a double square reflecting the frontal view of the Altar of Incense. The size of each representation being of two inches by four inches, which relates to the twenty-four inch gauge numerologically. I also felt that it was important that the cards were developed in a distinctly hand-crafted genre, as Freemasonry is all about “Craft”. Being an architect by training and profession I have sought to design these cards in the most simple, un-cluttered and planar form possible. I have also endeavoured to stay as close to the original concept as possible. The reason for this being that I am uncomfortable with any Tarot decks that are too prescriptive and detailed. I chose the French spellings for the major arcana as I felt them to be more in keeping with the definitions that I was looking for. Since producing these cards I have used them extensively for both personal meditation and magickal ritual and have experienced considerable success in both of these fields.

By 1998 I had designed and completed a deck consisting of the 40 minor arcana cards and 22 major arcana cards, which correspond to the Kabbalistic doctrine surrounding the Otz Chiim. I only produced the 16 Court cards some two years later in 2000, once I had discovered what I felt to be satisfactory definitions of their import. These cards being more specifically related to divination.

The 22 paths on the Tree of Life are reflected by the 22 Major Arcana and are named in keeping with the current recognised practice. I have not numbered the cards, as the ordering is a very subjective matter, with considerable disagreement amongst the various learned bodies as to the correct sequence. However I have proposed my own numbering format, which I feel fits in with the Masonic path of development. I believe that it is possible that there is no fixed or finite arrangement of the Tarot to the paths of the Otz Chiim. I hold the view that the Tarot, as with all religious and spiritual issues, should remain a personal matter between each individual and TGAOTU, as each person pursues their own destiny with their own Supreme Being. This philosophy is of course one of the key aspects of Freemasonry.

Whilst from quite an early stage I had generally satisfied myself with a particular arrangement of the cards. I was informed in a dream in December 2002 that La Papesse should be the 11th Path. On making the change I discovered that when she is exchanged for with L’Empereur a triangle is formed as in the ritual for the Three Principals of the Holy Royal Arch.

I am a firm believer that design is not a linear process, but rather a spiral one, and as such, there were numerous changes made as I progressed. Also I believe that post-rationalisation is a very important learning exercise in putting together the whole, particularly as the meaning of many subconscious acts was only discovered later in the process. Indeed I am sure the Kabbalists would acknowledge that to incorporate all four worlds, a spiral revisiting process is essential to a successful conclusion.

Click Here to Purchase

The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati by Josef Wäges, Reinhard Markner, and Jeva Singh-Anand is gaining momentum internationally. Comprising the entire ritual body of the Bavarian Illuminati for the first time since the order’s dissolution over 200 years ago, the book received the Regulus Award for Distinguished Service to the Scholarly Community on May 29 at the first World Conference on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History. The conference is a biannual three-day event in Paris, convened by the Policy Studies Organization and visited by scholars from around the world.

The conference organizers noted that The Secret School of Wisdom provided scholars for the first time with“reliable information about what has been a myth in popular literature and on the Web, and thus opens up new possibilities for research.” Wäges and Markner, the editors of the book, traveled to Paris to receive the award, presenting a lecture on the Illuminati the following day.

Josef Wäges is a Freemason, historian, and author of the forthcoming book The Columbian Illuminati.

Reinhard Markner is a German historian and philologist. An expert in early modern secret societies, he is the chief editor of Die Korrespondenz des Illuminatenordens (2 vols, 2005/13). He is a member of the Gotha Research Centre at the University of Erfurt and currently works as a researcher at the University of Innsbruck.

Jeva Singh-Anandis a Freemason and professional translator specializing in eighteenth century German literary texts. He has translated over a half dozen works relating to Freemasonry and the Bavarian Illuminati.

Founded in 1973, the Policy Studies Organization is a nonprofit organization publishing a number of academic journals and books across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and organizing around twenty events at major universities annually. According to the PSO website, it was established as an outgrowth of the American Political Science Association, for academics and researchers who were interested in how public policy and organizational policy were being studied and discussed.

The conference was co-sponsored by the National Library of France and the American Public Library.

http://www.lewismasonicdigital.com

When John Hogg produced his first successful publication under the pseudonym A. Lewis in 1864, the telephone was just being invented. To him the idea that ritual could be stored in a form of memory other than that of the brothers in his lodge would have seemed fantastical to say the least.

He was, however, passionate about helping his fellow Mason learn ritual and the modernisation of Masonry. In fact, he had seen that Masonic exposés were being used by Masons as an aid for learning, and believed that a proper ritual book should be produced.  This would allow Masons to learn the official ritual without the corruption and confusion of using editions that had been produced by opponents of the Craft.

It was this inspiration that led to him publishing the first ever commercially produced Masonic ritual book called Perfect Working.

In the modern age Lewis Masonic has the same goals: to aid the brethren in their Masonic education, and to make sure that brethren learn the genuine Masonic ritual, rather than poor quality counterfeit rituals produced digitally and unscrupulously circulated.

It is for this reason we have created Lewis Masonic Digital. The only website that you can trust to be producing the most up-to-date, official rituals for Craft and Royal Arch Masonry in an easy-to-use, downloadable electronic format.

Digital Edition of the Emulation Ritual

The Official/Authorised eBook version of the Emulation ritual is now available in a totally secure downloadable  eBook format (ePUB)  for those wishing to read it on their desktop computer (PC or Mac), tablet (e.g. iPad or Galaxy), smartphone (e.g. iPhone or Samsung), or dedicated eReader (e.g. Sony, Kobo or Nook).

Customers will then be certain that they are purchasing, downloading and reading the authorised version, not some version rewritten for a lodge’s specific working, or a corrupted version from an anti-masonic site.

What is an eBook?

Definition

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘eBook’ as...

‘An electronic version of a printed book which can be read on a computer or a specifically designed handheld device.’

But a more complete and, in our view, accurate definition can be found on Wikipedia...

‘An electronic book (variously: e-book, eBook, e-Book, ebook, digital book, or even e-edition) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices.[1] Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printedbook, e-books can also be born digital. TheOxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book,"[2] but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. Commercially produced and sold e-books are usually intended to be read on dedicatede-book readers. However, almost any sophisticated electronic device that features a controllable viewing screen, includingcomputers, manymobile phones, and nearly allsmartphones, can also be used to read e-books. Some companies, such as Amazon, with their Kindle for PC software, provide an emulator that allows a user to read their format on other platforms’.

Fig.1 eBooks views (from left to right) On PC using Adobe Digital Editions; on the iPad; on a Kindle; on an Android smartphone (HTC)

Features

eReading software packages (e.g. Adobe Digital Editions; Blufire; Readmill; Calibre and other proprietary packages from Apple and Amazon) are designed to optimise the reading experience on the specific device that the reader is using. Common features include:

1. Resizing the Font

The user has the option to resize the font and the eBook will automatically re-paginate or reflow to accommodate the reader. So if your eyesight is not too strong you can enlarge the font to meet your needs.  

2. Bookmark a Page

Just tap the bookmark feature and close your eBook, when you come back to it you’ll be taken straight to your bookmark.

3. Highlighting

Highlight quotes and passages and easily find them again. This activity can also be social, some eReading software like (Readmill) is designed to allow users to share their personal highlights and comments with other readers of that same title, either within a private reading group or more publicly with other Readmill users who have purchased the same eBook.

4. Notes

Create and then easily display archived notes. Instead of scribbling in small writing in the margins of a paper book, you can type a clear note in your eReader.

5. Dictionary

Tap a word and the definition will be displayed.

6. Search

Search for topics or keywords inside your eBook, or out on the Web. Similar to the word look-up feature, this is something that augments the reading experience. This is of course a very useful tool when learning ritual. simply search for your office in the lodge to see all the ritual you are to perform.

7. Links

Internal links from the contents page and/or from individual works within the text take you to related content within the same eBook.

There are many other features not mentioned here including a range of potential multimedia enhancements dependent on the specific software. Some will allow you to have the text read out to you, so you have a chance to rehearse your responses, and others have more basic features like the ability to change the font or background colour, or brightness to suit your personal preferences. Links to free eReader software can be found here http://www.lewismasonicdigital.com

Buying an eBook

The links below will take you directly to the page to buy and then download a ritual. The website is designed for first time users and will guide you through the whole process, including the downloading of any software needed.

Introduction                                                                                            11

A Note on Sources                                                                                  39

Preparatory Essay : A General Idea of the Society of the Illuminati            44

I. Minerval Class                                                                                       

1. Noviciate                                                                                               

Obligation. Letter of a Candidate                                                          49

Instructions for the Insinuati, or Recepti                                               49

Instructio pro insinuantibus seu recipientibus                                       51

General Statutes of the Order                                                              52

An Easy Cipher for Ready Use                                                            58

2. Minerval Degree                                                                                    

Statutes for the Minervals                                                                   59

Initiation Ceremonies                                                                          62

Form for an Initiation Minutes for Absent, Adult Candidates, Who Would

Object to Being Initiated in the Same Manner as Very Young Men     67

Introduction Ceremonies                                                                     69

Statutes and Ceremonies for the Minerval Assemblies                         70

Calendarium                                                                                       78

Correct Pronunciation and Spelling of the Persian Months of Our Calendar      79

3. Minervalis illuminatus, or Illuminatus minor                                             

Instructions for the Superior of the Minerval Church Concerning              
        the Issuing of this Degree                                                               80

Addendum A. Address During the Initiation of an Illuminatus minor       83

Addendum B. Instructions for a Better Understanding of the Order’s

    Organisation                                                                                   87

Addendum C. Instructions for the Education of Useful Collaborators     92

Addendum D. A Lesson the Illuminati minores Receive in Writing       100

Addendum E. Explanation of the Minerval Allegories                           103

4. Initiation of a Magistrate of the Minerval Church                                     

Ceremonies for the Initiation of a Magistrate                                      105

Instructions for the Minerval Magistracy                                            107

Instructio pro Superiori                                                                      109

De officio Censoris                                                                            111

De officio Quaestoris                                                                         112

De officio Secretarii                                                                           113

II. Freemasonic Class                                                                               

A) Symbolic Freemasonry                                                                         

I. Ritual Book for the three Symbolic Degrees                                            

Introduction                                                                                       115

1. Ritual for the Entered Apprentice Lodge                                             116

Before the Lodge is Opened                                                              120

Opening of the Lodge                                                                        120

Initiation into the Entered Apprentice Degree                                      121

Catechism                                                                                        128

Questions One Can Ask a Brother Entering the Lodge                        131

Closing a Lodge                                                                                131

On Table Lodges                                                                              131

Ritual for the Consecration of a New Lodge                                        133

Ritual for the Excommunication of a Brother                                       134

Ritual for the Table Lodges, if Sisters Are Present                             135

2. Fellow Craft Degree                                                                               

Ritual for the Fellow Craft Lodge                                                        136

Initiation into the Fellow Craft Degree                                                 137

Catechism of the Fellow Crafts                                                          141

Closing the Fellow Craft Lodge                                                          142

Secret Cipher of the Freemasons                                                       142

3. Ritual for the Master Lodge                                                                    

Opening the Master Lodge                                                                144

Initiation of the Master                                                                       144

Closing the Master Lodge                                                                  150

II. Improved Constitution Book for the St. John’s Lodge                              

A) General Constitutional Articles, which Must Be Read Out in Every Lodge

Introduction                                                                                       151

I. Character and Qualities of a True Mason                                    151

II. Public Conduct                                                                          152

III. Information about Other Institutions                                           156

B) Statutes for this Particular Lodge

C) Particular Articles of Instruction, Must Be Read during Every Officers Lodge

I. Instructions for the Officers Lodge                                              159

II. Special Instructions for the Worshipful Masters                          162

III. For the Deputy W. M.                                                               163

IV. For the Senior Warden                                                             163

V. The Junior Warden                                                                    164

VI. The Secretary                                                                          164

VII. The Treasurer                                                                         165

VIII. The Master of Ceremonies                                                     165

IX. The Almoner                                                                            166

X. The Housekeeper                                                                      166

XI. The Orator                                                                               167

XII. The Stewards                                                                         167

XIII. The Sick Visitor                                                                     167

XIV. The Decorator                                                                       167

XV. The Librarian                                                                          168

XVI. Information about the Serving Brethren                                   168

Addendum A. Report about the State of the Lodge                              169

B) Scottish Freemasonry                                                                           

I. Scottish Novice                                                                                      

Introduction                                                                                       171

I. Opening the Lodge of the Scottish Brethren                                    171

II. Catechism of the Scottish Brethren                                                172

III. Closing the Scottish Brethren Lodge                                             173

IV.
Information About the Working Lodges, Where the Main

    Points Should Always Be Read                                                      173

V. Lodge Ritual for the Initiation to this Degree                                   174

Addendum A. Secret Instructions for those Tasked with

    Recruiting New Members to the O.                                                186

Addendum B. Questions Used for Assessing the Character of a

    Candidate for this Degree                                                              188

Addendum C. Nosce te ipsum !                                                          200

II. Illuminatus dirigens                                                                               

Introduction                                                                                       203

I. Further Information and General Instructions                                   204

II. Instructions Concerning the Lower Classes                                    205

III. Instructions Concerning the Freemason Lodge                              207

IV. On the Reception into this Degree                                                210

V. Of the Solemn Chapters for Initiation                                             212

VI. Opening the Chapter                                                                    213

VII. Initiation Ritual                                                                            214

VIII. Closing the Chapter                                                                   228

IX. Of the Love-Feasts or Agapes                                                      229

X. Ceremonies during the Consecration of a Chapter                          230

Addendum A. Form for the Lodge Constitution                                    231

Addendum B. T‌he Prefect’s Order Star                                              232

Addendum C. T‌he Knights’ St. Andrew’s Cross                                  232

Addendum D. Secret Cipher of the Scottish Knights                           233

Addendum E. Explanation of the Masonic Hieroglyphs                        233

Addendum F . Catechism of the Scottish Knights                                238

III. Mysteries Class                                                                                   

A) Lesser Mysteries                                                                                  

I. Lesser Priest Degree. Presbyter                                                             

Introduction                                                                                       240

Further Information Concerning the Acceptance to this Degree           242

Ritual for Continued Initiation                                                             243

Addendum A. Instruction in the First Chamber                                    247

Addendum B. Instructions for the First Degree of the Priest Class      280

Addendum C. On the Initiation of a Decanus                                       293

II. Lesser Regent Degree. Princeps                                                       

Notification to the Provincial Superior Regarding the Issuance of this Degree  300

Initiation Ritual                                                                                  302

Addendum A. Administrative System for the Entire Order                   309

Addendum B. Instructions for the Entire Regent Degree                     312

Addendum C. Instructions for the Prefects, or Local Superiors            317

Addendum D. Instructions for the Provincial Superiors                        328

B) Higher Mysteries                                                                                  

I. Docetists                                                                                           332

II. Philosophi. Sages                                                                             349

IV. Appendix                                                                                             

A School for Humanity                                                                          380

Some Early Documents                                                                         390

Statutes of the Illuminati                                                                    390

Reform of the Statutes of the 1^st Class                                               396

Guiding Idea                                                                                     402

Instructio pro Recipientibus                                                               404

Instructio Insinuatorum                                                                      408

Instructions for T‌hose Who Have Received the Facultas insinuandi    409

24 Points Designed to Be Presented as Questions to New Candidates 411

General Explanation of the Society of the Illuminati (alternative beginning) 412

Supplement to the Illum. min. for the Better Instruction of the Superior    413

Preparation for T‌hose Who Are to Participate in Governing the Order     418

Footnotes to a Revised Presbyter Degree                                              434

Instructions for the National Inspectors   438

Would you like to visit the UK and see the greatest sites associated with the founding of the Craft? To meet experts and like minded brothers on a journey of a life time?

Join the Square magazine and Lewis Maosnic on

…A MASONIC JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

London, York & Edinburgh

Sunday 10th – Sunday 17th May 2015

Join us for a journey into the past of the Craft

with a breathtaking tour of the most important sites

in Masonic history.

A trip of a lifetime for any enthusiastic Mason, this adventure into the past will not only enable you to stand on the very spot where the first Grand Lodge was formed in London in 1717, but you will also be able to view the oldest recorded Masonic manuscripts in the world in the Library of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Furthermore, with lodge meetings in both countries, you will be able to experience the culture and Masonic traditions of England and Scotland. This fabulous three city trip  takes you to the most famous landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and Edinburgh Castle. Explore the mysterious and Masonic connections for yourself in visits to Rosslyn Chapel just outside Edinburgh and The Temple Church in London, sites made famous by Dan Brown's TheDa Vinci Code.

Not just for Masons, this trip offers plenty for the wives and partners too. The chance to see many major landmarks, a fine dining cruise experience on the Thames provides the perfect opportunity to meet fellow Masons’ wives and of course there’s plenty of opportunity for some shopping along the way too.

Tour highlights include:

London

The town of towns, a dream trip to the place where the first Grand Lodge was founded in 1717, the charm of London has to be experienced to be believed.

• A visit to Freemason’s Hall, the centre of English Freemasonry for over 230 years.

• A complete tour of the City of London, including all the iconic landmarks such as Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben.

• Buckingham Palace in time for Changing of the Guard Ceremony.

• A visit to the world famous Westminster Abbey featured recently as the site of Wedding of HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

• View sites related to famous Freemasons such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Duke of Wellington.

• Attend the meeting of one of the most prestigious and oldest known Masonic Lodges in London.

• Go to see a London Musical (tickets included in price).

• Visits to the National Maritime Museum including the Royal Observatory, Queens House and the Old Royal Naval College.

• The Temple and Church. Site from which the Knights Templar made their way to the Holy Land for the Crusades.

• Visit St Paul’s Cathedral whose architect, Christopher Wren, has been said to be the first Grand Master.

York

Enjoy an afternoon at leisure in the city of York. Built by Roman conquerors, York boasts of a rich history that catches the eyes and heart of every visitor who sets foot in this picturesque city. Visit the historic Minster and explore the alleyways and connecting passages called snickelways, or if you want a wider view of the city, you can walk the city walls from which you can see some of the best sights that York has to offer.

Members of the York Rite and those who value Masonic history will love the chance to visit the city said to have been the first to initiate a speculative Mason.

• Stay in a historic 18th century grade II listed building.

• Dine with the Lord and the Lady Mayoress. Set in beautiful gardens in the heart of historic York.

• The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is one of the finest surviving medieval guild halls in the world … a truly unique setting.

• Walk along two miles of Ancient Defences with some sections dating back to  Roman times.

• View the Masons' Marks hidden on the amazing medieval buildings through the city.

Edinburgh

The uplifting spirit and fascinating history of bonnie Scotland is all pervasive and unstoppable. The stark contrast between the ancient mythic and modern cosmopolitan means that the city of Edinburgh has something for every taste.

• Scottish Rite Masons or Masons with Scottish ancestors especially will find the experience of brotherhood, friendliness and celebration something they will remember forever.

• A private guided sightseeing tour of Edinburgh.  This will include the traditional sights such as Edinburgh Castle,  the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scott Monument.

• A traditional Scottish meal will be served, which of course will include the traditional ‘Ceremony of the Haggis’.

• Experience the unique atmosphere and drama of a Scottish Lodge meeting where a ‘pie and beans’ supper will be provided.

• Visit the legendary Rosslyn Chapel, now known worldwide following Dan Brown’s book, The Da Vinci Code, and the subsequent film.  The chapel was founded in 1446 and is still owned by the original family.

• Have a private tour of the Grand Lodge of Scotland with W. Bro. Bob Cooper, Curator and Librarian of the Museum, and view some of the oldest and most impressive Masonic documents in the world.

• View the apron of Brother and poet Robert Burns.

  For More Detials Please visit http://thesquaremagazine.com/squaretours.html

PRESS RELEASE – LEWIS MASONIC

29/08/14

Philippa Faulks (Publishing Manager)

ENGLISH FREEMASONRY AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR

BY

THE LIBRARY & MUSEUM OF FREEMASONRY

A NEW BOOK FROM LEWIS MASONIC EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR ON ENGLISH FREEMASONRY

When Britain declared war on 4^th August 1914, English freemasonry faced unprecedented circumstances. Freemasonry was and is non-political, and the discussion of politics at Masonic meetings was and is forbidden, but during this period the United Grand Lodge of England, the governing body for freemasonry in England and Wales and across much of the British Empire, had to deal with the impact of global war.

The book examines the effect of the First World War on freemasons in England, on freemasons fighting on the Western Front and elsewhere and on freemasons held as prisoners of war. The war created new, war-related charitable causes for which freemasons raised funds, prompted a response from the established masonic charities and fostered the formation of a major new masonic charity in the post war period.

Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen Street in London, completed in 1933, was dedicated to the freemasons that died in the war. It was one of many different types of memorials created by Freemasons. The end of the war saw a significant increase in membership of masonic lodges and geographical expansion, which created new challenges for the Grand Lodge.

The richly illustrated book draws on the extensive collections held by the Library and Museum and will coincide with an exhibition called English Freemasonry and the First World War to be held at The Library and Museum of Freemasonry at Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London. Amongst the objects, images and documents pictured in the book are lodge fittings created from appropriated war materiel, souvenirs from freemasonry on the front line and diaries kept by masonic prisoners of war.

This fascinating, informative and richly illustrated book covers: 
 
 ·        The Masonic World in 1914
 ·        Men at War - the serving Brethren and volunteers
 ·        Prisoners of War
 ·        Roll of Honour and Memorials
 ·        Trench Art
 ·        Charity
 ·        Post War World

Paperback, 96 pages

280x210

£14.99

http://www.lewismasonic.co.uk/general/english-freemasonry-and-the-first-world-war.htm

PRESS INFORMATION

Contact

Martin Faulks (Sales and Marketing)

Lewis Masonic

[email protected]

01986 895433

07717687040

- ends -

PRESS RELEASE

Publishers Lewis Masonic Reveal the ‘Real’ Secrets of the Illuminati in Forthcoming Book – The Secret School of Wisdom – The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Iluminati

• The first book in history to publish the complete rituals of the Illuminati

By Philippa Faulks

July 1, 2014

You’ve heard of the Illuminati, but do you know who they were or what they really did…or still do?

During the Second World War, the Nazis, fearing that the Masons might pose a secret threat to their plans, raided the German Masonic lodges, stealing everything written they could find - files, lists of members and ritual texts.

Having been seized by the Red Army during the final stages of the conflict Moscow, these documents are now stored at The Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage (GStA PK), Berlin-Dahlem.

This is where German historian and researcher Reinhard Markner found something many have been searching for - for centuries.

Sitting in the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage (GStA PK), in Berlin-Dahlemin, he holds something unspeakably important his hands. It is a document written in the mid-1700s by a young Ingolstadt professor named Adam Weishaupt, who went on to become the founder of the infamous Bavarian Illuminati. Written by hand and explosive in content; it is a document that reveals the true aims of its mysterious founder before the Order started.

About the Illuminati – New World Order or Moral Society?

Many conspiracy theories revolve around the Illuminati. They are perhaps among the most notorious secret societies ever to have existed, and at the same time they are perhaps the strangest. During the short period of its existence in the 18th century they tried, largely in vain, to gain power and influence. Yet, when they were banned and persecuted after less than ten years as a society, that striving for power and influence suddenly no longer existed.

To this day, conspiracy theorists believe that the incredibly important members who surrounded Weishaupt, made a covenant that since then has directed world politics.

The stated goal of the movement was to fight for the Enlightenment ideals of reason, equality and religious tolerance. At first it consisted only of Weishaupt, who chose the swaggering code name ‘Spartacus’, and four students. It was confined to provincial Ingolstadt, whose university in Bavaria was regarded as comparable to leading universities such as Göttingen.

During the 1770s, however, highly educated citizens and enlightened aristocrats in the city of Munich also became aware of the club, which fit into the 18th century fashion for secret societies.

By 1780, the young Adolph Freiherr von Knigge - code name ‘Philo’ - joined, and the Illuminati were gaining ground rapidly due to his Masonic connections. They spread out over the whole of Germany. At its height, the Brotherhood counted up to 2000 members. Celebrities such as Goethe and Herder entered. Schiller, in his Don Carlos in the eighties wrote about the general enthusiasm for the Illuminati and incorporated it in the figure of the Marquis of Posa.

But the more the members of the new society gained insight into it, the more they got the impression that all the fuss about secret degrees, observances and rituals were only about oneself; that the real goal of the Order was not the higher knowledge of its followers, but the mere existence of the Order. The secret truths that the Order supposedly had, and that came from the earliest times of humanity, did not exist. Increasingly they saw Weishaupt as an impostor, even one with an authoritarian leadership style. When the Government finally banned it in Bavaria in 1785, many had already turned away from him. Only when there was no longer an ‘Illuminati’, did the myth of an evil lodge full of powerful enemies of the State unfold – a myth which lives on until today.

Despite its official prohibition in 1785, the Brotherhood’s existence has thought to have continued until the present day. Best-selling author, Dan Brown, played with this idea in his novel, Angels & Demons.

Historians find it hard to curb the fantasies that are in circulation. Not least, because they struggle to explore the Illuminati with a difficult lack of sources until now!

Markner, 46, is a research associate at the University of Innsbruck and a specialist in the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and the history of the Freemasons. A man who recognizes the handwriting of Adam Weishaupt or Freiherr von Knigge, when he sees it:

‘Weishaupt taught his followers that true wisdom must be passed on in secret in order to protect them from censorship and persecution by the Catholic Church and the secular authorities," says Markner. This idea can also be felt in the early manuscript which he found in the course of his investigations, and which he referred to as "Proto-Illuminatismus.’

When Weishaupt wrote the text, he was just in his mid-twenties and newly appointed professor of canon law at Ingolstadt. Apparently not too busy with his teaching duties, he called for a hidden ‘School of Humanity’, which would lead its members to the path of virtue.

The ideal that it aimed to achieve was ‘the best possible education for their entire physical and mental abilities and powers.’ As cloudy as that goal was, the structure of the club that Weishaupt envisioned were already concrete.

He imagined the meetings of the School as secret reading circles that would meet in as many cities. Members would share their books and pool their resources for new acquisitions. The conspiracy was to ensure that one could also obtain controversial literature.

In order to gain influence, Weishaupt relied on infiltration. His students, ‘unobserved’ are to mentor and influence other groups in secret. This required strong characters; recruits from the elite.

But Weishaupt maintained his vision after his exposure. He fled to exile in Gotha, where the Elector of Bavaria could not prosecute him and the supposed rebels. Until his death in 1830, he tried to restore his ruined reputation. He admitted mistakes, and distanced himself from some thoughts he had expressed as ‘Spartacus’. But he held to his earliest vision.

In a ‘justification of my intentions’, Weishaupt noted that, ‘My main crime is that I not only knew the good, or wanted it, as so many teachers have, but that I did more, and made effective preparations for its wider dissemination, and founded a school to do so.’

The title ‘Illuminati’ does not appear in the text. Instead, he advocated a ‘School of Humanity’. The draft, which a contemporary called Weishaupt's first Unionsacte, contains not only the noble goals which Weishaupt's secret society wanted to prescribe, it also provides a premonition of their own destruction.

Markner's goal is to reconstruct all the important teachings and ritual degree texts of the Order of the Illuminati from the original documents and to publish a book. It will be published in October, first in English under the title "The Secret School of Wisdom,"

About the Authors

Reinhard Markner is a research associate at the University of Innsbruck and a specialist in the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ and the history of the Freemasons.

Josef Wäges is a Freemason, amateur historian, and author of the forthcoming book The Columbian Illuminati.

Jeva Singh-Anand is a Freemason and the translator of three full-length Illuminati related source documents, including ‘The Secret School of Wisdom’

About the book:

The Secret School of Wisdom - The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati

by Jeva Singh-Anand, Joseph Wages, Reinhard Markner

For more than two hundred years, the world has held a prejudiced view of the Illuminati. Much has been claimed for and against the Order - its name synonymous with secrecy, intrigue, and mystery in the modern context, despite a poverty of concrete evidence in the English language. Little has been said about the factual structure and development through its life cycle. The Secret School of Wisdom - The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati, is a ground-breaking text. It marks the first time that a comprehensive ritual book for the society has been re-assembled. Every degree, its instruction and associated texts, has been included and assembled in chronological order of progression. The reader will be guided along the same path as many of Germany's most enlightened men, as they did in the years immediately prior to the French Revolution. They will ascend from one level of knowledge to the next. Much of this material has never been published, let alone translated into English. Supplemental texts are included to gain further historical insight into the Order. The documents have been checked for accuracy with the original archival texts, and carefully translated into English.

The Secret School of Wisdom - The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati is a pioneering text, a full working manual of the Order, and an astounding insight into the world's most intriguing secret society.

Discover:

• The first book in history to publish the complete rituals of the Illuminati

• The doctrine of the Illuminati in their very own words

• The regalia and jewels of the Order completely revealed for the first time

• The development of the rituals and teachings of the Order

• The secret goals of the Order to reform society - exposed in detail

• The rituals that went on to become part of modern day Freemasonry

• The secret signs, grips and passwords of the Illuminati revealed

http://www.lewismasonic.co.uk/the-secret-school-of-wisdom-the-authentic-rituals-and-doctrine-of-the-illuminati.htm

https://www.facebook.com/secret.school.of.wisdom?fref=ts

Contact:

To learn more about The Secret School of Wisdom or to interview the authors, please contact:

Martin Faulks,

Lewis Masonic

Riverdene Business Park

Molesey Road

Hersham

KT12 4RG

Direct Line: 01986 895433

[email protected]

Macoy Publishing (1849) is proud to announce that they are now the
official American distributor of Lewis Masonic (1886) in the United
States.

This landmark in Masonic publishing means that by visiting Macoy.com
you can now purchase, in dollars, the largest range of Masonic books
offered by any Masonic supplier in the whole of the United States. So,
no need to pay for shipping from the UK.

The combined range now covers all areas of Masonic publishing,
including, but not limited to:

Ritual books and Monitors
Books for those considering joining the Craft
Masonic Symbolism
Masonic mysteries and adventures
Handbooks for Lodge Officer
Jokes and Masonic humor
Royal Arch
The Mark Degree
The Knights Templar
Rosicrucianism
Masonic Philosophy
Lodge and Chapter Music
Talks and performance in lodge
Scottish Rite
Higher Degrees
Masonic history
Bibles

To order our books from America please click here http://www.macoy.com

Over the last two years Lewis Masonic has made great efforts to improve its publishing program to meet the needs of modern Masonry. For this reason we have produced this questionnaire to get feedback from our valued customers, so we may continue evolving our business to support Freemasonry and Masons worldwide.

Click Here to have your say.

The Myths, Origins, & History of Freemasonry

Freemasonry traces its origins back to its loose organizational form during the late medieval Stonemasonry period. Freemason history encompasses three phases, including the emergence of operative lodges during the Middle Ages, the acceptance of speculative Freemasons, and the gradual growth of speculative lodges under the Grand Lodges that govern them. In 1717, the formation of the first Grand Lodge occurred in London. Due to the scarcity of written material, historians face difficulties in uncovering information about this fraternal organization. In fact, scholars from all over the world struggle with waning through a plethora of misinformation generated by Freemasons and non-Freemasons alike. As a result, the summation of the history of freemasonry requires years of research and resources to create a comprehensive outline of notable events and developments surrounding Freemason history. The information below traces the development of freemasonry starting with its organized bodies of operative stonemasons to the speculative lodges and Grand Lodges of today.

The Origins, Myths, and Theories

The earliest masonic texts contain segments of information about the craft and mystery of freemasonry. According to The Halliwell Manuscript or Regius Poem created between 1390 and 1425, masonic craft began with Euclid in Egypt. The Cooke Manuscript foretells how masonry stems from Jabal, son of Lamech, in Genesis 4:20-22. It also explains how it came to Euclid and then to the Children of Israel in Egypt before eventually finding its way to England during the reign of King Athelstan. This myth gave birth to subsequent manuscript constitutions that all trace Freemason history back to biblical times.

To Read the Full Article Click Here

On Thursday 26th September, Lewis Masonic attended an event at Freemasons' Hall held by the UGLE Universities Scheme to introduce their work and announce the University Lodge Ball which will be held on Saturday 23rd November 2013, in the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company in London. It is taking place to mark the 150th anniversary of the Grand Ball hosted by Apollo to mark the marriage of the Prince of Wales (later Grand Master and King Edward VII) to Alexandra of Denmark. Proceeds will be donated to the Royal College of Surgeons and Combat Stress, the Veterans' mental health charity. 

On Saturday 27th July, Lewis Masonic were kindly invited to run a book stand at the East Anglian Mark Masonry Provincial AGM in Ipswich. 

Celebrating milestones like centenaries or bi-centenaries is important within Masonry. It is also good for membership - studies show that organisations and clubs that celebrate their history have a more active membership and continue to thrive.

By publishing your history to commemorate such an event, it helps bring the Lodge together, educate brethren and give them a sense of understanding of the importance of their role in the Lodge.

At Lewis Masonic we understand why. We were founded in 1886 and as the world’s oldest Masonic publishing company, we have been trusted with many of these celebrations over the years.

Some recent examples:

Grand Lodge Of England 275th Anniversary Programme

Marking Well: A Celebration on the 150th Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Mark Masons

200 years of Royal Arch Masonry

Through the Lodge and Chapter Doors: a History of Freemasonry in Surrey

So if you are a member of a Grand Lodge or other Masonic unit that is due for an anniversary, why not celebrate it in style by submitting your manuscript to the world’s oldest Masonic publisher?

Email: [email protected]

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£11.80

We know our customers are discerning Masonic readers and so we want to know what you would like to read next. 

Tell us about a book you would like to see published by Lewis Masonic. It could be a title about the history and mystery of Freemasonry or one that tells you more about Ritual. Does the symbolism of the Three Degrees fascinate you or do you want to know more about the running of a Lodge. Would you like to see more books about a particular Order or perhaps a certain Masonic figure?

Let us know by leaving your comments below. 

We are always looking for new authors, so if you feel you would like to be a new voice in Freemasonry, please contact [email protected] for details of our submissions process.

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BVP video company are looking for knowledgeable Masons who would be willing to undertake a Masonic book review to camera in the home counties, alternatively willing to travel to the home counties to be filmed. The videos will be show on the Masonic Lewis web site. Replies to [email protected]