After serving in the East, what characterizes the office of Past Master (P.M.)? If anything, the P.M. has a wider range of service than ever before; there’s a world of Freemasonry that requires their experience, much as we need the Masters of crafts to mentor and teach new workers. Life for the P.M. is not fading, not at all. If anything, the world becomes far vaster than they could ever imagine.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: After the East, Catalyst, Co-Freemasonry, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, Confidant, education, evolution, Experience, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Harmony, IPM, Leadership, Lodge, Masonry, Masons, Master of the Lodge, Mastership, Mentor, Officer, Past Master, Shadow, Silent Watcher, Stability, Teaching, The East, Warden, Wider Service
What, the curious Freemason asks, has the Yggdrasil to do with Freemasonry? In the first instance, it is a symbol of something, and we Freemasons enjoy a good romp through symbol dissection. Second, Freemasons have their own tree, and it is interesting the symbolism that coincides and collides when we look at the two motifs. The Tree of Freemasonry is the acacia (Western), or in Latin, Acacia Vera or vachellia tortilis. The tree is an evergreen tree, common in warmer climates, and is found in Africa, the Middle East, and other temperate climates. The tree’s wood is used to build weapons and furniture, and its resin is used in incense and perfumes. Biblically, it is referred to as the shittah tree and was the wood Moses used to build the Ark of the Covenant and it was used in the construction of the Tabernacle. While it has many practical uses, I see there is one reason it is such a symbol of immortality: it is an evergreen.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Acacia, Acacia Vera, Africa, Anthropology, Ark of the Covenant, Asgard, Ash Tree, Ashvattha, Bodhi Tree, Co-Freemasonry, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, communication, Dragon, Eternal, Evergreen, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Gods, Hero, Hu, Humanity, Jötunheim, Mason, Masonry, Masons, Middle East, Midgard, Moses, Myths, Níðhöggr, Neil Gaiman, Niflheim, Norse Mythology, Old Norse, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Snakes, Tabernacle, The Bible, The Grand Lodge of Ohio, Tree of Life, Trees, Universal Life, Women, World Tree, Yggdrasill
What do Dharma and Freemasonry have in common? Dharma is, according to the ancient Sanskrit, “to hold, to maintain, to preserve.” In the early Vedas and other ancient Hindu texts, Dharma referred to the cosmic law that created the ordered universe from chaos. According to theosophy, Dharma [from the verbal root dhṛ to bear, support] means equity, justice, conduct, duty; right religion, philosophy, and science; the law per se; the rules of society, caste, and stage of life. This definition of Dharma ties immediately to what we know is the goal of Freemasonry: Ordo ab Chao – Order from Chaos.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Annie Besant, Bro. Oscar Wilde, Buddha, Catholic, Co-Freemasonry, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, Dharma, Divinity, Dogma, evolution, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Know Thyself, Mahabharata, Mason, masonic, Masonry, Masons, NOSCE TE IPSUM, ordo ab chao, Perfection, Religion, Republican, Spirit in Matter, Spiritual, Supreme Will in Evolution, Svabhava, The Theosophical Glossary, Truth, universe
THE Flaming Sword, more popular in literature than perhaps in actual use or fact, seems to be symbolically related to several key concepts, all appropriate to the office of the Tyler, or guardian of the Temple entrance. It may represent that only those that hold Truth or Wisdom may enter holy places or stand in the presence of that Truth.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: adam and eve, Bifrost, Book of Genesis, Bronze, Bronze Age, Brother Albert Mackey, Cheribum, China, Christian, Christianity, Co-Freemasonry, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, Cross of Christ, earth, Eden, esoteric, Esoteric View, Fire Giants, Flaming Sword, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Freyr, garden of eden, Genesis, Hebrew Texts, History, Iceland, Iron Age, Jophiel, Mason, masonic ritual, Masonry, Masons, Medieval Europe, Middle East, Moon, MUSPELHEIM, Norse religion, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Ritual, Stars, Sun, Sword, The Craftsman, Tiler's Sword, Tree of Life, Truth, Tyler, universe, Voluspa
IN this series, we seek to uncover the hidden meaning found in the artistic works of numerous Masters, including Michelangelo, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, William Blake, Georges de La Tour, and Raphael. First, by outlining a basic structure for analyzing art through an esoteric lens; thereby, utilizing both observation and intuition, symbolically represented by the concrete and abstract minds.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Art, Brother Albert Pike, Classical Art, classical elements, Co-Masonry, esoteric, esoteric and exoteric, esoteric freemasonry, Esoteric Symbols, Esotericism, Esoterics, exoteric, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Geoffrey Hodson, Georges de La Tour, initiation, Manly P. Hall, Manly Palmer Hall, masonic, masonic symbolism, Masonry, Masons, Michelangelo, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Universal Co-Masonry, William Blake
Perhaps the question is not “Does or Should a Freemason judge another” but “How or What should a Freemason judge?” To cast doubt on someone because they don’t believe or act as you do seems to me to be a false judgement.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Ballot, Bro. Albert Mackey, Co-Masonry, Co-Masons, Duty, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, George Watts, Integrity, Judge, Judgment, Justice, Lady Justice, Last Judgement, Lochner Last Judgement, Lodge, Masonic Virtues, Masonry, Masons, Obligation, Time Death and Judgement, Virtue
WOR. Bro. David Lettelier was a life-long Mason. Born March 21st, 1959, his was a life spent in service to the expansion of the Craft he loved so dearly. A Past Master of Northside Lodge No. 283, in St. Petersburg, Florida and member of numerous appendant bodies, Bro. David lived and breathed for Freemasonry.
Category: Freemasons, Masonic Events, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Apron, Bro. George Washington, Brotherhood, Brotherly Love, Co-Masonry, Eternal Work, Faithful Servant, Freemasonry, Freemasons, In Memoriam, Internet, Mason, Masonry, Museum Curator, Northside Lodge, Northside Lodge No. 283, Past Master, Service to Humanity, St. Petersburg, Temple Not Built With Hands, Universal Co-Masonry, Washington's Masonic Apron
IN this series, we seek to uncover the hidden meaning found in the artistic works of numerous Masters, including Michelangelo, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, William Blake, Georges de La Tour, and Raphael. First, by outlining a basic structure for analyzing art through an esoteric lens; thereby, utilizing both observation and intuition, symbolically represented by the concrete and abstract minds.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Art, Classical Art, classical elements, Co-Masonry, esoteric, esoteric and exoteric, esoteric freemasonry, Esoteric Symbols, Esotericism, Esoterics, exoteric, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Georges de La Tour, Hidden in Plain Sight, initiation, Manly P. Hall, Manly Palmer Hall, masonic, masonic symbolism, Masonry, Masons, Michelangelo, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Religion, Universal Co-Masonry, Veiled, William Blake
Many a man has reasoned about faith, heaven, infinity, and God until his brain reeled at the impossibility of comprehending the infinite with the finite, and ended by saying in despair: “I cannot believe in God!” Then he has taken his wife or his child in his arms and there found happiness, completely oblivious to the most profound, as the most simple fact of all faiths and all religions; where love is, there is also God!
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Albert Einstein, Antients, Atheism, Atheist, Belief, Bible, Book of Constitutions, Constitution, Declaration, Define, Definition, Divinity, Dr. Anderson and the Charges of a Freemason, Fellowcraft, Fraternity, Freemason, Freemasonry, Freemasons, God, Grand Orient de France, Great Architect, Higher Power, Holy Bible, James Anderson, Masonry, Masons, Moderns, Old Charges, Regius Poem, Science, St. John's Day, Stupid Atheist, UGLE, United Grand Lodge of England, Universal Religion, universe
Posted on 4 Feb 2021
by jonathandinsmore
1 Comment
Freemasonry upholds the virtues of Temperance and Equality; its principles remind us of the inherent Unity of all of Humanity: One Brotherhood of Mankind united under God. The Craft instructs its initiates to avoid extremes by finding a middle path and to practice the Golden Rule with our fellows.
Category: Freemasons, Universal Co-MasonryTags: Bro. John Lewis, Brotherhood, civil discourse, civility, debate, discourse, Echo-Chamber, Freemasonry, Freemasons, Golden Mean, Golden Rule, Love, Masonry, Masons, Middle Path, Political Discussions, President Abraham Lincoln, Robert Anton Wilson, Rotunda, Self-Control, Skill, Temperance, Tolerance, Truth, U.S. Capitol, Unity, Universal Co-Masonry, Work