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Well Brethren, tonight's the night. After I get home I'll have had the Royal Arch degrees, Cryptic degrees and Order of the Red Cross conferred to me. Saturday morning we're continuing with Order of Malta and Order of the Temple. I'm so excited, it's been over 2 years since I was made a Master Mason, so I'm eager to receive new light.
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Mar 6, 2013 16:41
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| # ? May 17, 2024 19:55 |
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You are a loving mad man. You'll definitely enjoy it but... Order of the Temple alone can take over 4 hours if they do the full thing. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM, I'm a past Commander.
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Mar 6, 2013 17:09
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That's why their doing Malta/Temple on Saturday. I was told to show up at 7:30am and expect to stay until sometime in the late afternoon 
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Mar 6, 2013 19:08
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After a half year of dinners and talks with the men I now call brothers, and learning what masonry has meant to them, I have taken my first step and was initiated last night. I've been spending much of today in reflection - simply thinking on my initiation and excitedly pondering what the future holds for me in Freemasonry. As I imagine is somewhat common, though I can well recall the initiation (as I experienced it), I am now - even more eagerly, perhaps - looking forward to seeing it from the other side. And so my path unfurls. A very exciting time it is, to be sure.
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Mar 7, 2013 07:09
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 Very articulate, Alehkhs. Welcome, brother, and congratulations!
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Mar 7, 2013 07:54
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Welcome Brother.
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Mar 7, 2013 08:40
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I did my EA tonight, and I think I surprised a few people afterwards when I told them that I started thinking about joining Freemasonry in 2008. I was lucky to have one of my friends who answered a lot of my questions before I decided to petition in attendance. I'd say overall it was not at all what I was expecting, but in a good way. After we were finished, I was introducing myself to people, and found a lot of them worked for various city or county departments, which was interesting, since i am a state employee. That wasn't anything I had even thought of prior to talking to them, but its an interesting coincidence. So that means we'll at least have things to talk about. I've got a lot to study and learn, but from my interactions at the various dinners I've been at and meeting people tonight, it's very definitely worth it. While the WM told me the advice he got when he first joined was "don't forget, there are going to be assholes in any organization", I can see the definite ties of brotherhood amongst them. There were people who had not seen each other in months or years, and a brother who is living with another while he gets back on his feet after a layoff. They all caught up with each other, but also were sure to talk to my guest and me. Now that I've taken the first step, which is already the hardest, I think the path will be a good one. If the thread is indicative of what's to come, I'm sure it will be.
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Mar 7, 2013 10:53
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Welcome Brothers!
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Mar 7, 2013 13:16
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All these brothers are becoming newly-Entered Apprentices, whereas last night I was made Mark Master Mason, Past Mason, and Most Excellent Master. On Saturday I'll be receiving the Royal Arch degree, both Council degrees, and the three Commandery degrees I learned some really cool tidbits about our lodge. There's a chandelier in our Scottish Rite room - when the lodge was constructed, one of the members (or maybe a visiting member) was lead glass designer for Tiffany & Co. He noticed that we needed more lighting in the room and constructed that chandelier onsite for free. It's so gorgeous. Also, the volume of marks we have has Mark Master Masons' marks dating back to 1828 when the chapter (Chorazin Chapter no. 13) was founded  - granted, this is spanned over a multitude of actual physical books, but they're all still stored in the lodge.Two years ago when I was raised, I thought I knew basically everything about Masonry and the lodge... it's a good feeling knowing that I don't 
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Mar 7, 2013 14:14
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Congratulations to all our new brothers. And Alehkhs, I apologize for the indisposition of the goat, but think the rest of the degree went rather well, despite my being part of it.
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Mar 7, 2013 17:10
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Glorified Scrivener posted:Congratulations to all our new brothers. Well, I was told there would be a virgin. I just didn't know it was supposed to be me.
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Mar 7, 2013 17:28
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lone77wulf posted:While the WM told me the advice he got when he first joined was "don't forget, there are going to be assholes in any organization", I can see the definite ties of brotherhood amongst them. This is advice worth remembering, another I've heard and repeated over the years is "Being a Mason doesn't mean you're good man, it means that at one point your Brothers thought you were."
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Mar 7, 2013 17:32
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Brethren, we've done it!!!!
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Mar 7, 2013 17:52
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When doing a recent clean up of our hall, we came across many of our old (ooooold) record books, including these, which may be of interest to a few brothers. This is the record book of the first meeting of Knights Templar here in Sonoma County as they formed their Commandery, dated 1882:  We have a 7'x7'x4 fire safe from an old bank that was in the area, and it was a real pleasure to go through many of its contents with our new Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts. Application records from before the great quake (1906), meeting minutes and bill receipts from the 1880s, even a copy of the original blueprints to the building, c.1881. Some of our guys are very, very interested in the local history of Freemasonry, and it was a veritable treasure trove of information for them. It really is great to see our newer members with such zeal for our history and culture. Edit: We also found a "black book" of local (Northern California) expelled/suspended/non-dues-paying Freemasons from the early 1910s, each name and date beautifully handwritten
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Mar 7, 2013 18:25
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One thing an old man told me at the lodge last night: "The real secret of Freemasonry isn't the grips or the words or anything, the real secret of Freemasonry is in going through the degrees. Sure, you could tell someone how to do a grip or what a word may be, and people have, but how are you going to tell your wife or friend exactly what you felt that night you were initiated? Or that night you were raised? There's no way to do it." That really struck a chord with me.
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Mar 7, 2013 19:39
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Greetings new brethren! And Qpzil, I like that thing the old man told you. I'm going to be going through the York degrees next month.
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Mar 7, 2013 19:56
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Congrats to the new bros, and nice going, Qpzil... I've yet to be disappointed by seeking more light in Masonry.
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Mar 8, 2013 00:11
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Greetings and congratulations new Brethren.
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Mar 8, 2013 07:50
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Darn you, now I sort of want to go through the York and SR degrees. Though with the oath in commandery I don't think I could do those degrees in good conscience. Question York Rite brothers, could I do the degrees up to commandery and not progress or is that some sort of faux pas?
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Mar 8, 2013 14:47
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Lovable Luciferian posted:Darn you, now I sort of want to go through the York and SR degrees. Though with the oath in commandery I don't think I could do those degrees in good conscience. My understanding is that yes, you can. But, I'd say that a large majority of people who join the YR do so solely to get to the Commandery.
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Mar 8, 2013 14:58
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QPZIL posted:My understanding is that yes, you can. But, I'd say that a large majority of people who join the YR do so solely to get to the Commandery. And in Commandery you have to swear to defend Christianity right?
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Mar 8, 2013 15:00
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Lovable Luciferian posted:And in Commandery you have to swear to defend Christianity right? It seems to vary by jurisdiction. In NC the wording is "swear to defend the Christian faith," but I've seen another petition (Illinois maybe?) where the wording is "swear a belief in the Christian faith." Not to turn this into a theological discussion, but the first I can do. The second I can not. Just like blue lodge and the issue of belief in a higher power, as long as you can answer "yes" without hesitation, reservation, or secret evasion of mind, then it's not discussed any further. I've read on another forum of their being Jews in the Commandery, though obviously I can't speak for them. edit-- and one more thing to note, people often think of the Scottish Rite and York Rite as structured the same way: a series of degrees that build on each other. This isn't true. The York Rite is a loosely connected group of three independent bodies: Chapter, Council and Commandery. In some states, you even get 3 separate dues cards! So, Commandery isn't to be thought of as the "highest degree of York Rite" or "the end of the York Rite degrees", it's simply one of the 3 bodies that make up the York Rite. You can easily (in my mind) go through the Capitular and Cryptic degrees and leave it at that if you so wish. Count Thrashula fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 15:06
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QPZIL posted:It seems to vary by jurisdiction. In NC the wording is "swear to defend the Christian faith," but I've seen another petition (Illinois maybe?) where the wording is "swear a belief in the Christian faith." Well even the idea of swearing to defend the christian faith is unappealing to me. Thanks for taking the time to tell me what you knew before I wasted time really looking into it.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:09
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The argument, at least with the "swear to defend the Christian faith" wording, is that you're defending a Christian's right to have said faith, to worship as they see fit. I don't really agree with that interpretation, but to each their own.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:09
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Colonial Air Force posted:The argument, at least with the "swear to defend the Christian faith" wording, is that you're defending a Christian's right to have said faith, to worship as they see fit. That's the way I interpret it. I will defend the Christian faith just as much as I will defend the Muslim faith or the Luciferian faith or the Buddhist faith or whatever. But, I totally understand why others would interpret it differently, and that's one of the beautiful things about Masonry - you get out of it what you put into it going in.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:12
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Colonial Air Force posted:The argument, at least with the "swear to defend the Christian faith" wording, is that you're defending a Christian's right to have said faith, to worship as they see fit. Yeah that seems like a stretch to me too. Well I think the SR, Shrine, and OES don't require any of that so all of those are still options for me.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:13
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Lovable Luciferian posted:Yeah that seems like a stretch to me too. The SR would cerrrrtainly not require that. I haven't been through it, but if Morals & Dogma is anything to go by, it focuses way more on ancient pre-Christian religions and mysticism. Then again Albert Pike is as crazy as a football bat.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:18
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QPZIL posted:Then again Albert Pike is as crazy as a football bat. I said something like that to a Brother the other day and he got huffy and called me "irreverent." The dude was bonkers, I don't know why people try to deny that.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:24
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Lovable Luciferian posted:I said something like that to a Brother the other day and he got huffy and called me "irreverent." The dude was bonkers, I don't know why people try to deny that. Granted, I love reading mystic texts, but I put Pike in the same "fascinating and crazy" camp as Aleister Crowley. I love reading both of their works, but as people they're off the deep end.
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Mar 8, 2013 15:32
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QPZIL posted:Granted, I love reading mystic texts, but I put Pike in the same "fascinating and crazy" camp as Aleister Crowley. I love reading both of their works, but as people they're off the deep end. I consider Pike not crazy but definitely quirky. Dude said a lot of bonkers poo poo, but he was trying to build a syncretic mystical system of everything, which is pretty ahead of his time. It's essentially the same thing Crowley was doing, but at least 50 years prior and with less cultural information to draw from (a significant portion of Crowley's work is lifted wholesale from Vajrayana Buddhism). He was in essence a southern gentleman-scholar, he just happened to have a socio-spiritual area of focus instead of politics or science. I think that's super cool. That a lot of his stuff hasn't stood the test of time in the way that, say, Joseph Campbell's has is mainly a reflection on how far ahead of his time he was. Scholarly attempts at analyzing mythology hadn't become "a thing" yet. Also I don't mean to imply that Campbell and Pike do the same thing: Pike was really into the mysticism side of things. But in essence Pike sat down with the Scottish Rite's rituals and went "let's make everything relevant to everything else. He missed the mark on a lot of poo poo but is notable the way Freud is notable, in that he did a first. That said, where you are matters with regards to Scottish Rite. The Northern Jurisdiction doesn't use Morals and Dogma at all, and its ritual structure is significantly different at points. It's also important to note that Pike didn't develop (much of) the SR in the Southern Jurisdiction, he just wrote a lot of words about already extant ritual, and they ran with it.
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Mar 8, 2013 17:02
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Lovable Luciferian posted:Darn you, now I sort of want to go through the York and SR degrees. Though with the oath in commandery I don't think I could do those degrees in good conscience. Like QPZIL has said, you definitely do not need to join Commandery to be in York Rite and a good portion never does. During the Order of the Temple you are asked to defend the Christian religion along with several other things (destitute widows, and orphans). The OoT ritual is meant to represent the path which a historic Knight Templar would have to take to become a member of the order. Just like the penalties of our obligations in blue lodge, this oath isn't literal and it shouldn't be taken as such. What I would say, however, is that there are quite a few biblical references (eg. Jesus, the crucifixion, Judas etc.) so the entire thing may be uncomfortable for that reason. If you want to talk about it further feel free to PM me and I'll be more candid. With that said I know of many Sir Knights that are not Christian and I am far from it myself, yet I am a twice past Commander. Straithate fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 18:21
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As a side note to my quote above, the guy who told me that was at least infinity years old, could barely talk, but had been a Past Master, Past Grand High Priest, Past Thrice Illustrious Master, and Past Commander. He was wearing more bling than a New York rap star. It's amazing the wisdom he had, and just as amazing were his achievements. I mean that's... half a lifetime going through the chairs!
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Mar 8, 2013 18:49
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QPZIL posted:Granted, I love reading mystic texts, but I put Pike in the same "fascinating and crazy" camp as Aleister Crowley. I love reading both of their works, but as people they're off the deep end. Also I'm really strongly thinking of demitting, but it isn't something I've found a lot of clear answers about. Most of the information I've found is more to the purpose of changing lodges. Masonry would be great if not for all the loving Masons, and there is a further reason some in the thread are privvy to. Anyone have bullet points?
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Mar 8, 2013 19:33
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This is what I love about Freemasonry when it works. http://freemasonrytoday.com/news/international/item/276-palestinian-becomes-israeli-grand-master quote:A Greek Orthodox Palestinian Arab, Nadim Mansour, has been installed in Tel Aviv as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, a position he will hold until 2013. That's some real "Brotherhood of Man" poo poo right there. EDIT: Just realized it's from last year, and he probably just cycled out. Still had me going 
KweezNArt fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 20:05
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Sub Rosa posted:Also I'm really strongly thinking of demitting, but it isn't something I've found a lot of clear answers about. Most of the information I've found is more to the purpose of changing lodges. Masonry would be great if not for all the loving Masons, and there is a further reason some in the thread are privvy to. Anyone have bullet points? I hope whatever is going on is resolvable without dimitting, but sometimes it is the right choice and should be straight forward. I happen to be working on a dimit for for a Brother in the Lodge I'm secretary of here in Montana, so I can't speak to the process in other jurisdictions, but I imagine it would be similar.
Having processed applications for affiliation by Brothers holding a dimit from another jurisdiction; the dimit is copied for the lodge records and sent to the state Grand Lodge, who verifies its authenticity with the Grand Lodge of the constituent issuing lodge, after which balloting is held on the application for affiliation. A Brother in raised in Montana, having been unaffiliated for more than a year, would not be eligible to visit lodges while traveling, as they would not technically be in good standing. And why yes, being a Lodge Secretary is exactly as much fun as it sounds like. Glorified Scrivener fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 20:39
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Being Secretary does make your user name rather fitting, though.
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Mar 8, 2013 20:45
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Straithate posted:During the Order of the Temple you are asked to defend the Christian religion along with several other things (destitute widows, and orphans). The OoT ritual is meant to represent the path which a historic Knight Templar would have to take to become a member of the order. Just like the penalties of our obligations in blue lodge, this oath isn't literal and it shouldn't be taken as such. I know you Brothers aren't trying to sell me on York Rite so keep my reply with that in mind. I think York rite just isn't for me. I'll defend any brother, but I refuse to give my word to defend some random person's faith. I'm all for freedom of religion but there are some sects of Christianity that are flat out unhealthy in my eyes. I apologize for the derail. Lovable Luciferian fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Mar 8, 2013 |
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Mar 8, 2013 22:32
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I have no real interest in pursuing the York Rite degrees or bodies, but I have the opportunity to take part in just the Mark Master degree next month, and I'll admit I'm highly considering it. From what I understand, and it may just be "Masonic tradition," but it used to be given as part of the third degree, I'm always a fan of fleshing out my knowledge of the Blue Lodge and its history. Commandery is simply not for me, for like reasons as LL stated above, and I don't have a burning desire to get involved in Council, Royal Arch, or Scottish Rite.
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Mar 8, 2013 22:38
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FreshFeesh posted:I have no real interest in pursuing the York Rite degrees or bodies, but I have the opportunity to take part in just the Mark Master degree next month, and I'll admit I'm highly considering it. From what I understand, and it may just be "Masonic tradition," but it used to be given as part of the third degree, I'm always a fan of fleshing out my knowledge of the Blue Lodge and its history. The Mark Master degree is not only tradition, but is considered by the United Grand Lodge of England a supplement which completes the Master Mason degree, and it is given as a supplement to complete the third degree in all Lodges under UGLE, GL of Scotland, and GL of Ireland. If you have the opportunity to take it as a standalone I'd really recommend it. As it stands I'm going to see if I can get it from the GL of Ireland next time I'm over there.
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Mar 9, 2013 00:40
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Glorified Scrivener posted:
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Mar 9, 2013 00:54
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