Esoterica In Freemasonry Day 2

Why aren't you here?

So, I think I got back to my hotel about 2:00 AM following Day 1, and dashed off my post.

What I didn’t really realize until after I’d posted is that my very odd hotel is surrounded by bars. That means that the street directly outside of my door was filled with drunks hooting and hollering for the rest of the night. It’s OK though, I think they probably all passed out by 4:00 AM or so. But then by 6:00 AM the delivery trucks started.

Tonight I’ve got live music just across the street. It’s not bad though, ‘80’s cover band.

But it isn’t all bad news on the weird hotel front. The good news is, I’m pretty darn sure that this is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in. The sheets must be about a bazzilon thread count, the pillows are great and numerous, the mattress superb!

Tonight we didn’t go out, because we did a Third Degree. But here’s a photo from Olaf’s last night. I figure that no further comment is necessary.

It was fitting though, because one of our presentations today focused pretty heavily on the vesica piscis.

I dragged my butt out of bed super early this morning, because we started with a meditation in the Lodge. It was OK though, because there is good coffee, and a heck of a lot of it in the strange hotel.

Following the meditation, we had a superb presentation by PD Newman, in which he explored his theory of alchemy, specifically the substance sought by the alchemists, and how the Acacia was inserted into our ritual, and became a Masonic symbol. Fascinating.

We had a great lunch near the Lodge. But once again, the damn fake menu with a QR code. It worked out OK though, VW Mike Priddy was with me, and he knows about this fancy technology stuff, so he was able to direct me to a suitable bacon burger!

Following Lunch we had an excellent presentation combining sacred geometry and numerology by Keith Deighton. Wonderful speculation that I’m quite sure I’ll be contemplating for a very long time.

This was followed by a panel discussion about the importance of secrecy in Freemasonry and other initiatory societies. Superb.

A presentation by Scott Kenney followed. He taught about the history of the art of memory, some techniques of memory that have developed over thousands of years, and the benefits of memorizing our Work. There was much in the presentation that I’d not considered before, and actually it helped fill in some gaps in my understanding.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend dinner with the presenters and organizers, so that was a great break before we headed back to the Temple to watch Esoterica Lodge perform one of their superb Third Degrees. As always, their work was beyond compare. It is a truly committed, truly wonderful Lodge of Brothers.

Tomorrow we start at 10:45. Master Masons only. You can buy a ticket at the door, and if you are a Washington Mason, you certainly should. It’s going to be a superb day!

Very cool to me is talking to so many people who regularly read Emeth and participate here. It’s awesome, and I’m gratified that so many enjoy what I put down here.

Extra cool, I got to meet Holly Keahey who participates here on Emeth, and in so doing discovered that she’s in our neck of the woods. Raymond/South Bend. So counting Holly, there’s three of us here from The Fighting 17th Masonic District, she and I and our newest Master Mason at Centralia Lodge, and excellent Brother Troy.

All in all, as with every year, this is a superb event. If you can make it on Sunday you should. If you can’t, you should definitely make plans to be here next year!