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Just found out I'm taking the Mark Master degree on Monday night. I'm super excited to be getting another degree again! I have absolutely NO clue what to expect either. Is it done the same basic way as the first 3 degrees (ie the "preparation")? Any info any York Rite brothers here could offer without ruining the surprise of the whole experience would be fantastic. Congrats to Stik for taking the EA degree and welcome, brother!
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Jan 17, 2013 16:38
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Flying Fortress posted:Can you visit another lodge that meets on a better night? Do other jurisdictions allow EAs to visit other lodges?
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Feb 8, 2013 23:47
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QPZIL posted:Just sent off my paperwork for York Rite, 3 weeks and 2 days until I start that journey I just took my first two YR degrees a few weeks ago. I was thoroughly impressed and cannot wait to continue with the rest.
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Feb 12, 2013 04:51
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Most Excellent Master degree tonight. I'm really excited about this. One of the guys mentioned the other day in passing that there is at least 1 more (more than one?) where the candidate is hookwinked. I wasn't expecting anymore degrees to be like that, so now before each degree I'm wondering if this is the one where it's happening haha (it's no secret that some of the degrees are hookwinked, right? If it's any issue, I'll gladly take that part out). Anyway, just wanted to express my excitement about continuing to seek more light.
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Mar 13, 2013 20:00
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QPZIL posted:How far are you along? Or rather, what have you done/not done? I'm guessing 1/2/3/Mark/Past? Exactly. They did Mark and PM together in January and are just now getting to MEM. Royal Arch is happening on April 9th and then they are doing the 2 Cryptic degrees together a couple weeks after that. I'm jealous of you getting to do the entire freaking YR in one day. I initially wasn't going to do the Commandery because of the whole Christian obligation thing. After watching the last couple pages here unfold, I decided to go talk to our secretary, who is also the current EM of the Commandery I'd be joining, and he showed me the part of the obligation that concerned me. I think I'm ok with the way that it's worded in our jurisdiction (MD) so it looks I'll be taking the YR all the way to the top now! imac1984 fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Mar 13, 2013 |
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Mar 13, 2013 20:24
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QPZIL posted:I do wish I had taken it over a longer period of time. The way I explained it to my fiancee was like watching a 9-hour movie full of awe and beauty and steeped in history, but completely over your head and baffling - and then having like 300 years of literature written about it. Now that I've been bombarded with a full day and a half of degree work, I have the daunting task of wanting to read as much as I can about the degree work and the history and the symbolism and everything. Gotta admit, that degree wasn't my favorite. I LOVE the history behind it though. I'm definitely looking forward to the Royal Arch in a few weeks. btw I'll shoot you a PM at some point here today about the talk I had with our secretary.
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Mar 14, 2013 16:42
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Royal Arch Degree tomorrow night! I can't wait. QPZIL, sorry I've been slacking with the PM about the whole phrasing of the Commandery obligation(s). That book you're talking about writing sounds amazing though. I'm really looking forward to getting beyond "finishing the story" and heading off into whatever (hopefully amazing and esoteric) direction the rest of these degrees take. I'm also signed up to do the 2-day Scottish Rite reunion here in DC next month where we go up through the 32nd. I'm going to have a LOT to review in the next months!
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Apr 8, 2013 22:01
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TemetNosceXVIcubus posted:Since that part is there solely to verify the sex of a person, then you could easily remove it once being a male is no longer a requirement to enter the craft. I don't think you're thinking of the right "very first part"
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Apr 9, 2013 01:15
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Keep in mind this bit is secret in a whole bunch of jurisdictions. And even if it's not, this is a super cool aspect of the degrees that I was glad wasn't ruined for me ahead of time. So for the sake of potential brothers/candidates reading this, it might be best to consider amending it a bit. On another note, I received the Royal Arch degree last night and the information that you get from it is so ridiculously cool. The ritual is fascinating and the history is equally as amazing. While the whole Chapter degrees are more christian than I was expecting, it didn't stop me from getting a great deal out of them. Next stop, council degrees at the end of June! edit: spelling imac1984 fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Apr 10, 2013 |
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Apr 10, 2013 19:57
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Some Zero posted:Any brothers up for a long drawn out email chain while I vent and try and salvage a blue lodge issue? PMs work as well just don't want to suck anyone in with out full disclosure. PM or guitarzan212 @ gmail works for me too.
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Apr 23, 2013 19:32
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Colonial Air Force posted:During last week's EA degree, the candidate was told that ancient masons wore their aprons a certain way to keep from "soiling themselves". This is incredible. Somehow this slip-up has never crossed my mind as a possibility before. Great, now I'm going to be chuckling (currently JD, so geographically, I'll have a front row seat!) every time this part comes up.
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Apr 30, 2013 13:29
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I participated in our Scottish Rite Valley's spring reunion this weekend, so uh... Master of the Royal Secret checking in! All I have to say after going through all that is  I could spend the rest of my life studying those degrees and would still not get even remotely close to mastering them. At this point, I don't think I could explain what I went through even if I was allowed.
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May 12, 2013 22:49
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Anyone hang out on the Freemason facebook page? Because it's awful. I really wish someone other than a giant Randroid would take over it. yeah, it's absolutely terrible. There's another one that's Freemasons of the World or something that is equally terrible. All the graphics and stuff they post is just embarrassing most of the time IMHO. Apparently a large chunk of 168k+ people would probably disagree with me though.
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Jun 12, 2013 19:39
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Brothers, I'm hoping someone will be able to help me identify these two items. My great grandmother was involved in the Eastern Star and my great grandfather was a mason. My dad just brought me a bag full of various masonic jewelry to give me since he's not a mason and I need some help with these two things. Obviously, the first one is a eastern star, but I'm not sure if the gavel at the top means anything. The second one I'm not even sure is masonic. I can't tell if it's a level at the top or the triple interwoven rectangle symbol I've seen in the York Rite. Any help would be greatly appreciated!  (QPZIL, thanks for the help with the image size) imac1984 fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 01:31
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"On the other hand, if you actually taught the hand shake to your non-mason friend then we'd have to drive you to the beach and leave you there or something." I love masonry because of stuff like this. It always puts a little grin on my face. edit: god, I'm amazing at the most basic of computer functions like pressing "quote." I can't figure out what I did, so I'm just going to use quotation marks instead imac1984 fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 23:21
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To the couple of guys soon to be initiated, I just want to echo what some of the other brothers in here have been saying about keeping yourself in the dark as much as possible going into it. You'll understand once you go through it and you will be very glad that you did. I know it's been said a bunch in here already, but it's not like there's some huge shock and awe type event that's going to occur, it's just going to be much more special for you and help set you off on the right foot in your masonic journey to stay in the dark.
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Sep 9, 2013 21:47
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DirtyTalk posted:I guess my point being is, would joining Freemasonry for the reason of networking with other successful people a bad reason to join? Or is it a typical reason to join? It is a bad reason to join. In fact, I think I am safe in saying that you would not be accepted into any lodge if you were up front and clear that your goal is use masonry to network for personal gain. I was just on an investigation last night for a new candidate and one of the things we are supposed to determine is if the person's desire to join is prompted by by selfish motives. You're certainly right that there is a network of brothers within masonry (some of whom are more famous or well off than others) who would be willing to help each other out, but special treatment isn't something we EXPECT to happen. I would go to a brother knowing that I will be treated equally and will not be shafted or taken advantage of, not because I expect to get some kind of insider deal or knowledge.
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Sep 12, 2013 20:03
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What in the christ are you guys talking about? I know ritual varies slightly from state to state, but unless we here in Maryland are doing things totally different from the rest of the world, I think something has gone right over my head with this convo.
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Sep 26, 2013 19:31
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Sockington posted:6hours until I head out for my initiation. Been patiently waiting since spring for this date. that's awesome! what a great experience. Have fun and let us know what you think (like that needs to be said). We're actually initiating 2 guys tonight in a nearby lodge, 1 of whom has been waiting since spring too. Seeing the look on a newly initiated brothers face never gets old.
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Sep 26, 2013 22:41
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Sockington posted:There were actually two of us tonight as well. I went first to have the opportunity at the fresh goat. Congrats and welcome, brother!
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Sep 28, 2013 05:27
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I'm leaving for the grand lodge in about 45 minutes where I'm going to be receiving the first two commandery orders tonight. Not a CLUE what to expect, but since the grand commandery (which apparently meets at the grand lodge?) is putting them on, I'm sure they will be spectacular.
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Oct 3, 2013 22:20
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Loomer posted:Hearing grand lodge communications is also neat Please teach me your ways! Grand Lodge communication is one of the worst parts of our meetings. 30 minutes of "next month's meeting menu is going to be steak, chicken, green beans, potatos, red potatos and then for dessert we are going to have..." Makes me want stick pencils in my ears after a while haha
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Oct 7, 2013 22:10
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QPZIL posted:So I earned my black hat today and am a Master of the Royal Secret. After a long time working with the York Rite, it's nice to see how the other half lives congrats brother! I'm glad to hear we could add another Master of the Royal Secret to our ranks. I'm actually in the SR Valley of Washington in DC, we meet a few blocks away from the house of the temple. I feel so blessed an honored to be so close to so many knowledgeable people down here. We just had Art de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris give a talk at one of our last meetings about the latest edition of one of their books. One thing that I've learned from the Scottish Rite is that getting the 32nd degree is juuuuuuust the beginning. I'm still overwhelmed by all the information. At least I know I will always have something to do if I get bored!
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Oct 29, 2013 19:12
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QPZIL posted:It's my dream to visit the HotT sometime in the next year or two - whenever that happens we'll have to meet up for a drink or a bite You've got yourself a deal!
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Oct 29, 2013 22:19
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MB13 posted:My Lodge recently conferred the 1844 version of our Scottish Rite Master Mason Ritual on Br. de Hoyos. He's an awesome guy and love talking "shop" with him. You are going to have to explain what this is 'cause I have absolutely no idea! Well, explain as much as you can in an untiled SA thread haha
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Oct 30, 2013 22:25
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vortmax posted:One of my good friends just became Worshipful Master of the Federal Lodge #1 in DC. Just from what you guys say here, I understand that's a big deal. But what does it really mean? I know your friend and am in the Scottish Rite with him. Great guy. Federal Lodge #1 is a seriously good group of masons.
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Dec 18, 2013 22:51
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Paramemetic posted:I literally saw a TV advertisement for the Grand Lodge of Maryland the other day. I was pretty disappointed by that, I think it is really skating the line of "to be one ask one." Are you a MD mason? If so, isn't our grand lodge the best? Not only do they have those TV commercials running every 2 seconds, but they have radio ads too. IMHO, we cross the boundary of what is acceptable with the "2b1ask1" thing. I'm not sure if other jurisdictions do this too, but we also have required open houses every year too. I wouldn't have a problem with that except we advertise for it in a similar way with tv/radio ads and stuff that again goes far beyond what I think is acceptable. In the end though, what can you do? If that's what the GM wants, that's what the GM gets.
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Jan 21, 2014 04:56
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Paramemetic posted:Yeah, I'm in Maryland. Actually I'll be passing through your neck of the woods in a few hours heading into the District, if I recall correctly. Wow, I don't know how I either missed or forgot you're around here. My bad! Oh wait, are you up in/near Frederick? I think it might be coming back to me now haha. What a great day to be driving. I was just installed as SW this year for our lodge in Rockville and we were supposed to have our first stated communication of the year tonight until mother nature decided otherwise. You aren't headed downtown for the SR, are you? If so, I bet we've seen each other at meetings and didn't even know it. I go every other week on our off-week from blue lodge. You're right about the quality of those ads, they are really well done and professional. Honestly, I'm willing to put up with those ads for a while if it means getting to give up the one-day class. I can't tell you how happy I was hear that the new GM was stopping those for the time being.
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Jan 22, 2014 00:47
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:If you're planning on visiting Iceland be sure to bring both a Masonic passport and something to help un-wedge the stick up the rear end of whoever you're meeting. If you're visiting lodge in Sweden be sure to bring a spare liver. Ironically I was just in Iceland this past week and trying to visit/talk with masons there wasn't much of a success. Your advice is very sound. Also, their grand lodge is essentially useless and impossible to find. I had better luck at a random lodge I passed on the road than actually getting any kind of official greeting/tour/whatever set up. Oh well, the rest of the trip was amazing.
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Jan 22, 2014 20:46
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QPZIL posted:But, the one question you're asked before being initiated, is if you believe in a higher power that rewards good and punishes evil. Our ritual isn't this specific with this part either. Ours is much more vague and generalized. Wording it like this gives the concept a much more anthropomorphic hue, which I don't subscribe to at all. Oh and just to throw my hat in the ring as another person who isn't Christian but is still a Mason... I don't think there is an actual person (God) in an actual place (heaven) judging actions and rewarding/punishing them accordingly. I view that whole idea from a more eastern-thought perspective of an energy force that rewards good and punishes evil through a karma type thing. In the end, it all comes down to you being honest with yourself and with the members of the lodge because as many people in this thread have already said, if you join as a full-fledged atheist or whatever else similar you want to call it, you are going to get bored with our "secrets" and rituals reeeeeeeeeeally quick. So, you're really just doing yourself a disservice at that point.
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Feb 18, 2014 05:28
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QPZIL posted:I've restarted my Masonic blog at http://threeknocks.wordpress.com - once I get enough readers or can justly ask for donations (i.e. when there's enough content), I'll get it its own domain and stuff. This is exciting. I've been a little bummed that this didn't continue initially.
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Feb 27, 2014 17:12
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As of last Thursday I am officially certified in the EA degree! One degree down, 2 more to go in my quest for the East next year! That lecture... man, what a pain... that's all I can say.
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Mar 31, 2014 20:53
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Innerguard posted:Such a shame that over here in Scotland, these degrees are so seldomly taken. Especially considering they are my favorites by far of any of the blue lodge, YR or Scottish Rite degrees.
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Apr 17, 2014 22:52
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Emron posted:The grand lodge thing I hate in my district is this DVD we have to use in lectures Two things: you guys have to use a dvd during your lectures?! I don't even understand necessarily how that would work. We have slides that we can choose to use if we want. secondly, you guys always open in MM and then call off to whatever degree is lowest to allow everyone to participate? That seems like an unnecessary addition of work, especially if no degree work is being done in the higher degrees. Is that a requirement for your jurisdiction? (should I assume you're in the great land of 'bama?)
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Apr 21, 2014 18:51
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