Esoteric
A question
Tonight my Lodge hosted one of our regular philosophical/educational discussions, and a question came up from a Brother that I think we all struggled to answer:
What does esotericism mean, in a Masonic context?
Going around the table, I think we all had answers unique to ourselves. Based on the unique lenses that each of us views Freemasonry through, and our own unique interests under the broad canopy of esotericism.
It almost felt a touch like, at points: If everything not mainstream is esoteric, then can anything truly be considered esoteric.
But, I think we eventually, after quite a lot of discussion, managed to find an answer or two that we could all agree on.
The trouble is, I don’t know if that answer would actually make sense to someone new to Freemasonry, or unversed in at least some strains of esotericism.
So, I’m hopeful that we can discuss that here today.
To perhaps find a good answer that both provides enough information, and that can be understood by someone new to Masonry.
What does esotericism mean, in a Masonic context?
I do think this is an important question to be able to answer given that Masonic esoteric conferences and the like are growing more popular. We have two that I know of each year in my own Jurisdiction now.
So, how can we best define the term, within a Masonic context?
Let’s chat about it…
Looking for some more of my scribbling? I’ve got a few of my recent favorites gathered together over on LinkTree.
As my usual activity, I seek out the definition of a term before I contemplate it and offer an opinion. Merriam-Webster offer up the following:
: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone
: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group
broadly : difficult to understand
: limited to a small circle
: private, confidential
: of special, rare, or unusual interest
Would we agree that all these options describe the institution of Freemasonry in some way?
Sure, the internet is full of the symbolism and ritual of our degrees, and some have tried to actually explain what these symbols mean. So technically, none of it is a secret or restricted anymore. At the same time, there is a difference in reading about the ritual and the symbols, and experiencing them in a lodge among Masons.
Certainly, in the early days of Masonry, we can see that the knowledge was understood by the initiated. We were a small group. The meaning of the symbols was likely difficult to understand to the new EA, and it was private and confidential.
Let's consider an example of how we might apply esotericism to an open installation of officers. The general public will hear the installing Master tell the WM elect, "The compasses teach us to limit our desires at every station, that rising to eminence by merit, we may live respected and die regretted."
Will they truly understand what is meant by that statement? Limit our desires? Sure, they can understand that. Rising to eminence by merit? Ok. And more than likely they will understand "live respected and die regretted".
What they will likely not comprehend is how the compasses play a part in that.
I found a statement online, from a reddit forum, that I can actually agree with.
"Most modern scholars and practitioners view esotericism not merely as superstition, but as a discipline. It provides symbolic frameworks to make sense of complex human experiences, offering repeatable practices for psychological integration, resilience, and personal transformation."
Does that not sound like our beliefs in what Masonry is all about? Freemasonry consists of a course of symbolic and moral instruction.
To summarize, esotericism in a Masonic context, is about helping our brothers, and ourselves, to study and comprehend the meaning of our symbols and how we can apply them to ourselves. As I have heard many times before, a symbol can have different meaning to each of us, and it is up to us to interpret it as it applies to our own inner thoughts and feelings. Yes, some symbols are rather blatant in their meanings. A stop sign, for example. The shape and color means the same thing whether the word STOP is in English, Spanish, French, etc.
However, the level, the compasses, the square, the trowel, can be explained in our degrees, as to their meaning for Masons, but we have to internalize them as to how we apply that to our own thoughts, desires, and behaviors. The point and circle are also great examples of a symbol that Masons are told about in the EA lecture. But who sets the boundaries of that circle? Not the lodge. It is the individual brother who applies the understanding of that symbol's relevance, and decides where his limits exist.
The word esoteric means or refers to specialized knowledge possessed by a few people. So, brain surgery qualifies as does sky diving and stage magic. Obviously, we are talking about a very specific kind of esoterica.
Masonry, is at its core, is a transformative organization; making good men better. In our three blue lodge degrees we are shown a progression, a journey, from being a good man to being better. Those degrees take us from membership in a society, to instruction in the intellectual arena and finally we experience a spiritual transformation. Body, mind, spirit.
Some Masons find themselves focused on the ‘body’ working for the good of society and the Craft thru charity, public service and the wellness of the Lodge. Some men focus on the Enlightenment philosophies that spawned the modern Craft. For centuries a small number of men who have received the sublime degree of a Master Mason are compelled to delve deeply into the spiritual elements of the Craft. These men become specialist in Masonic esoterica.
Specifically, Freemasonry being a product of Western Civilization, has been influenced by the Western Mystical Tradition (WMT). The foundations of the WMT can be found in Hermeticism, Alchemy, Gnosticism, Astrology and Kabbalah. Elements of the systems exist in our degrees and symbols.
It is my opinion the Freemasonry is NOT specifically an esoteric order, but rather is a ‘gateway’ to the esoteric. Further I believe that the method of initiation in the WMT are encoded in our degrees, preserved there for any who look. As a gateway organization Masonry has become the starting point for many of the modern esoteric orders.
So, what does ‘esoteric’ mean in a Masonic context. I would define it as: That specialized spiritual knowledge, encoded in our degrees, that connects the Craft to the Western Mystical Tradition.”