OK, W. Brother. Here I am this morning, drinking my coffee, scratching the dog, and staring at the rare blue sky outside my windows, when you come along and get my mind all fired up!🤠
I imagine that I'll have to write a post about this, but for now a comment will suffice.
In my travels, I see that some Lodges still use candles. Not many, most have switched as you mention to light bulbs. My Lodge at Centralia uses those funny 'Masonic Light Bulbs' which are really cool to look at, if about as far from candles as one can get.
Years ago, at Centralia, we did try to ditch those light bulbs in favor of moving back to candles. We found the big old candlesticks somewhere in the building, and bought a box or two of tapers. It didn't work. The HVAC system and the ceiling fans push a good deal of air around in the Lodge room, and as such the candles wanted to turn into torches.
But, was the adoption of light bulbs for the Lesser Lights in most Lodges an advance?
Or was it an error, made for convenience, that has silently removed power from our Craft?
I was raised Roman Catholic. Here in American Catholic churches that I feel are a bit more rational and a bit less spiritual, candles serve many functions. One of their most striking functions, to me, is that they serve as prayers for the dead. Every Catholic church has a large bank of candles for this purpose, thinking of someone who has passed, one can light one of these candles as an offering of prayer for that person, and it is allowed to burn until it is fully consumed. As a child I sensed power in this practice, and I still do today even though I haven't attended a Catholic Mass since I was a kid.
In Latin American Catholic practice, which is my view is rather more spiritual and esoteric, One can purchase specific candles and burn those candles as a way of asking Saints to intercede on the person's behalf, a request for the departed Saint to pray for the person. When I encounter this I sense power in it as well.
These are just a couple of examples.
Candles are fire, and as such are used in all sorts of Spiritual traditions. Everything from Catholicism mentioned above, to practitioners of magick burning sigils in the flame of a candle in order to release those symbols into the universe where they are thought to go to work on behalf of the person who created them.
Freemasonry is supposed to transmute a man from a rough state to a more perfect state. That can be seen as a practical transformation, but it can also be seen as a spiritual transformation.
Given that, when Lodges when so many Lodges stopped using candles as the Lesser Lights, and started using light bulbs instead, I have to wonder if we removed a powerful, and extremely ancient tool of transformation from our toolbox?
I love knives. I still have the first “Kamp King” scout knife my parents gave me when I was 7. One of the things I miss about not being on Twitter was that there was a group of us that used to post our “knife porn”… Just knives we liked or sometimes knives that people made. I was tempted to buy an Opinel because the handle fits my big hand so well… but its a bit bulgy for the pocket…Great blade though… Getting knife catalogs…I miss those too…
I too have owned some really great knives through the years, but I'm afraid that I've misplaced most of them. I doubt if they are actually lost, just all off somewhere in the house, garage, basement, wherever I might have thought to stash them and then completely forgotten. 🤠
The handle thickness of the Opinel doesn't bother me in the pocket, but I know that it does bother a lot of guys. I know that some sand the handles to be thinner. What does bother me in the pocket is weight, and for that the Opinel is perfect, so light I don't even know it's there.
I used to get a few and now even they’ve stopped. I don’t think these retailers realize how a physical catalog encourages “roaming”…. Going to a website to buy X is a pain in the keester… There’s no fun, there’s no, “Hmm maybe I ought to get that.” You can’t make money on stuff people don’t see…
Yeah, I was a super slow adopter of online shopping too. But, one thing, it is quicker to get the stuff now. I think Amazon forced most retailers to ship fast, and that's cool. The new Opinel for example shipped the same day I ordered it. I remember back in the days when mail order companies used to say 'please allow six to eight weeks for delivery.'
Its been 30 years ago but I bought a fixed knife from a catalog with a spine that has to be about an 1/8th of an inch across. The blade is about 6-7” long and its got a correspondingly ergonomically friendly handle on it. I showed it to me brother who said, “My land! What will you ever do with a knife that thick?” I told him,”If I ever need to field dress a Buick, I want to have the right tool for the job…” :-)))
Right now I’m trying to contact Case about getting replacement derlin grips for my Dad’s old fishing/pocket knife. It laid in his fishing box for 25 years after he died and I found it after Mom went Home with him. Its all eaten up on the one side from contact with the metal in the box. He probably bought it in the late 40’s when he went fishing in Canada with my Grandpa…
MWPGM Bailey, this note reminded me of Masonic Lodge advances from actual lit candles to tiny light bulbs that appear to flicker like candles?
OK, W. Brother. Here I am this morning, drinking my coffee, scratching the dog, and staring at the rare blue sky outside my windows, when you come along and get my mind all fired up!🤠
I imagine that I'll have to write a post about this, but for now a comment will suffice.
In my travels, I see that some Lodges still use candles. Not many, most have switched as you mention to light bulbs. My Lodge at Centralia uses those funny 'Masonic Light Bulbs' which are really cool to look at, if about as far from candles as one can get.
Years ago, at Centralia, we did try to ditch those light bulbs in favor of moving back to candles. We found the big old candlesticks somewhere in the building, and bought a box or two of tapers. It didn't work. The HVAC system and the ceiling fans push a good deal of air around in the Lodge room, and as such the candles wanted to turn into torches.
But, was the adoption of light bulbs for the Lesser Lights in most Lodges an advance?
Or was it an error, made for convenience, that has silently removed power from our Craft?
I was raised Roman Catholic. Here in American Catholic churches that I feel are a bit more rational and a bit less spiritual, candles serve many functions. One of their most striking functions, to me, is that they serve as prayers for the dead. Every Catholic church has a large bank of candles for this purpose, thinking of someone who has passed, one can light one of these candles as an offering of prayer for that person, and it is allowed to burn until it is fully consumed. As a child I sensed power in this practice, and I still do today even though I haven't attended a Catholic Mass since I was a kid.
In Latin American Catholic practice, which is my view is rather more spiritual and esoteric, One can purchase specific candles and burn those candles as a way of asking Saints to intercede on the person's behalf, a request for the departed Saint to pray for the person. When I encounter this I sense power in it as well.
These are just a couple of examples.
Candles are fire, and as such are used in all sorts of Spiritual traditions. Everything from Catholicism mentioned above, to practitioners of magick burning sigils in the flame of a candle in order to release those symbols into the universe where they are thought to go to work on behalf of the person who created them.
Freemasonry is supposed to transmute a man from a rough state to a more perfect state. That can be seen as a practical transformation, but it can also be seen as a spiritual transformation.
Given that, when Lodges when so many Lodges stopped using candles as the Lesser Lights, and started using light bulbs instead, I have to wonder if we removed a powerful, and extremely ancient tool of transformation from our toolbox?
I love knives. I still have the first “Kamp King” scout knife my parents gave me when I was 7. One of the things I miss about not being on Twitter was that there was a group of us that used to post our “knife porn”… Just knives we liked or sometimes knives that people made. I was tempted to buy an Opinel because the handle fits my big hand so well… but its a bit bulgy for the pocket…Great blade though… Getting knife catalogs…I miss those too…
I too have owned some really great knives through the years, but I'm afraid that I've misplaced most of them. I doubt if they are actually lost, just all off somewhere in the house, garage, basement, wherever I might have thought to stash them and then completely forgotten. 🤠
The handle thickness of the Opinel doesn't bother me in the pocket, but I know that it does bother a lot of guys. I know that some sand the handles to be thinner. What does bother me in the pocket is weight, and for that the Opinel is perfect, so light I don't even know it's there.
I'm with you, I miss all kinds of catalogs!
I used to get a few and now even they’ve stopped. I don’t think these retailers realize how a physical catalog encourages “roaming”…. Going to a website to buy X is a pain in the keester… There’s no fun, there’s no, “Hmm maybe I ought to get that.” You can’t make money on stuff people don’t see…
Yeah, I was a super slow adopter of online shopping too. But, one thing, it is quicker to get the stuff now. I think Amazon forced most retailers to ship fast, and that's cool. The new Opinel for example shipped the same day I ordered it. I remember back in the days when mail order companies used to say 'please allow six to eight weeks for delivery.'
LOL…Yes, I remember when a 10-15 day delivery was consider “fast”…
Its been 30 years ago but I bought a fixed knife from a catalog with a spine that has to be about an 1/8th of an inch across. The blade is about 6-7” long and its got a correspondingly ergonomically friendly handle on it. I showed it to me brother who said, “My land! What will you ever do with a knife that thick?” I told him,”If I ever need to field dress a Buick, I want to have the right tool for the job…” :-)))
Right now I’m trying to contact Case about getting replacement derlin grips for my Dad’s old fishing/pocket knife. It laid in his fishing box for 25 years after he died and I found it after Mom went Home with him. Its all eaten up on the one side from contact with the metal in the box. He probably bought it in the late 40’s when he went fishing in Canada with my Grandpa…
Old Case knives are really great. I hope that you are able to get some replacement scales for it! A wonderful heirloom.