A regular participant here at Emeth, suggested the following question for us to discuss:
Does Myth serve a good purpose or does it mislead?
So, let’s chat about it…
In my view, Freemasonry is filled with myth. From the Hiramic Legend, to many of the ‘stories’ told in the Scottish Rite Degrees. In my view claims that Freemasonry was founded in London in 1717 is a myth, and it is a myth that Freemasonry grew out of Operative Mason’s Lodges.
That said, I do know for I have talked with them, that some Freemasons believe the story of Hiram to be factual as presented in our Degree. I must therefore presume that some Freemasons also believe that all the stories contained within the Scottish Rite Degrees are factual. I’ve encountered a widely respected Freemason who actually believes that Freemasonry did not exist prior to 1717, and of course the theory that Freemasonry grew out of Operative Lodges is very widely accepted.
I don’t believe that I could ever change someone’s mind who truly believes these things to be factual. But I also don’t believe that it matters a bit. Because I believe that there is power in myth, and I believe that Freemasonry uses myth for the good.
If some believe the myth to be factual, I honestly can’t see where that does any harm.
But, I am willing to admit that I might be mistaken.
This topic is closely linked to the Nut topic. People who take myths as facts tend to be the types of zealots who think it's ok to kill people who don't.
Just about everything you are taught in the lectures is a combination of myth, allegory and symbolic. There is one part in the second degree that does relate to an event told in the Old Testament, so you could say that part is not a myth, if factual. The two johns weren’t patrons of masonry, as another example.
It’s an interesting topic of exploration, but one has to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. The legend of Hiram Abiff is obviously a myth and parable for several important points. You don’t dismiss the lessons because of that.
My only point of contention in your list of myths is the origin of speculative masonry. The fact that we use the working tools as symbols means it did grow out of operative masonry. The only part you can debate is how, either as theft, or evolution. Or maybe a combination of both. Hard to say really. But obviously speculative masonry came well before the Age of Enlightenment, so it is a little hard to deny that there may have been more of an evolution, in my opinion. Certainly debatable.
An Anglican minister came in to my high school chemistry class to talk about Genesis (what a great idea, don’t think they’d get away with it now).
He said he thought Adam and Eve was the truest story in the Bible.
Something in the way he said that unlocked my dim teenage brain and I understood it was true *because* it was an allegory.
My 3rd Degree was a wonder, partly because of the lessons in that true, allegorical story, and partly because so much work went into putting it on for just one man, me.
This topic is related to several we have discussed. History as we think of it, a factual almost scientific system of thought and facts, I believe began in the West in Ancient Greece. (I'm not a historian, but that seems to be a dim memory) Before that the stories that were told about the past were meant to communicate important social, moral, spiritual information to younger generations, not necessarily record factual information and events. In short mythology. Human consciousness functions best with stories, and telling stories with important information nested in it is a good way to pass that information on. Now, in the ancient times people may well have believed those stories were true, but as they lived in isolated communities often that did not matter so much, as long as the info passed on was transmitted. Today, we live in a different world, and as humans we have evolved a different way of thinking that includes both myth and history. Most people are developmentally sophisticated enough to manage mythology and history simultaneously. Others can not. This is best illustrated in the flourishing of conspiracy theories today, a form of modern and perhaps pathological mythology. I think that mythology and history should be thought of like this, history is a map for the land, and mythology is the beautiful paintings of the same landscape. If you can handle both history and mythology, then the world can become a beautiful three dimensional world, filled with meaning and information. Maybe its better put this way, history tells us "what" happened and mythology tells us "why" it happened. We need both, BUT we need to guard against confusing the two.
The first thing an Entered Apprentice Mason learns is the craft is "a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."
To say that we are living a lie through myth and allegory misses the point in that the power of icons such as the legend of Hiram is a fundamental touchpoint in learning about the values and propositions of freemasonry.
Joseph Campbell, one of the 20th Century’s literati on the power of myth wrote, “Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth--penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words. Beyond images, beyond that bounding rim of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told.”
Campbell argues there are four functions of mythology:
• The Metaphysical
• The Cosmological
• Sociological
• Pedagogical
The Metaphysical function serves to awaken the consciousness of its consumers to a reality lying just beyond the veil of normal perception.
The Cosmological function provides the boundary conditions of the universe, explaining the origins, shape, size, location, and birth and death dates of things such as time, space, matter, energy, biological organisms, and the universe as a whole. Humanity’s mythology and philosophy in this respect is incredibly sophisticated. Each culture contains its own creation story. A majority of religions seek to provide a framework in which this universe resides and includes many other realms of existence.
Myth can provide a model of social behavior that, when adhered to, makes for a not-so-squeeky cog in the great machine. Parables and fables guide morality.
By establishing rites of passage into critical stages of life, from dependency to maturity, old age, and finally death, myth provides guideposts and beacons to serve as a reminder that there is a purpose. This is to allow a sense of comfort in the entire process, as the individual remembers that he is not the first and certaintly not the last to embark upon this Hero’s Journey, regardless how far along he arrives.
Masonry follows Campbell’s guideposts.
Or rather, Campbell’s thesis follows Masonry’s guideposts.
The legend of Hiram, for example, teaches significant human values of morality, fidelity and the concept of justice.
Mackey wrote in 1869, “To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to investigate its philosophy. This is the portal of its temple, through which alone we can gain access to the sacellum where its aporrheta are concealed. Its philosophy is engaged in the consideration of propositions relating to God and man, to the present and the future life. Its science is the symbolism by which these propositions are presented to the mind.”
Modern Masonry has borrowed from many diverse traditions, such as those of the Knights Templar, the Roman Collegia of Artificers, the Jewish Kabbalists, the mystery cults, the Rosicrucians, and the operative masons of the Middle Ages. The stories, symbols and allegory are instruments of teaching. True or not, they serve a purpose in the instruction and education of a worthy life.
Masonic literature states that the words "veiled in allegory" imply that some of the truths of Masonry are concealed from the uninitiated, but that they can be discovered by those of us who are privileged to join. This is the importance of Masonic education the starts in the Blue Lodge and grows beyond to affiliated organizations such as the Scottish Rite and York Rite. It is here that a Mason learns of the “aha!” moments in understanding the meaning of things learned in the first three degrees.
It takes study and dedication to learn how to recognize and appreciate symbol and allegory. Only through sincere, intelligent, and sustained effort, reinforced by imaginative and emotional sensitivity, can the reward be reaped.
There is nothing wrong with mythology, we all grew up listening to, and reading Greek mythology. Were the Greek and Roman gods angels, or off spring of angels? Were they just stories, made up to teach morals and ethics, or to keep the population in fear and under control. Much of religion is myth, yet we don’t question it. We know that the Templar Knights were real and commissioned many large cathedrals to be built, by operative masons. Did the Templars, watching the masons, gain an understanding of the “secrets” of geometry that were necessary to erect the cathedrals. We know that some structures took more than a lifetime to finish so the knights would have watched as a mason started as a young entered apprentice and as he aged and grew in knowledge, moved up through the guild, becoming a Fellow and finally a Master. I have nothing factual to support my belief that Masonry was developed by the Templars who went into hiding and exile as a way to identify and greet one another so as to not be captured. But we do know as fact that the Templars were real, did commission the construction of cathedrals and other large buildings, and went into hiding when they fell out of favor with King Phillip and Pope Clemente. Facts, intermingled with myth, is what keeps stories alive and passed down from generation to generation. The same holds true with the myths within Freemasonry, they are allegories, stories, sprinkled with facts, that keep are Fraternity alive.
Other responders have already made the points I was going to express, so I shan't belabor them. Since there are few records available for study, we are forced to go with popular "myths." In many, if not most myths, there are grains of truth (a matter of perception) and fact (immutable). There is hard evidence that Freemasonry, as a fraternal organization existed well before the formation of UGLE in 1717. But did it exist during the construction of the Temple of Solomon? I don't think so, but it's hard to say.
My personal theory, based on readings and connect-the-dots study is that Freemasonry grew out of the suppression and diaspora of the Knights Templar. If Freemasonry is simply a social/charitable organization, why are the penalties for unlawful revelation so dire? A Templar on the run needed to know how far to trust someone he contacted. Modes of recognition provided indicators of levels of trust. Revelation of those modes could result in the capture, torture, and death of a Templar Knight.
Since the Templar story is cycling thru this thread, I guess I'll add my two cents. The modern image of the Templars focuses entirely on the Martial element of the order. Big strong knights defending the pilgrims and winning the Holy Land, wearing white mantels and shining armor. Very romantic. OK, thats fun. Like all military groups, religious or otherwise, the fighters are not the only element of the order or army. Our modern army has in addition to fighters, cooks, medics, accountants, signal men, and engineers, etc. The Templars, as an organization were exactly the same. Each Bailey, Templar headquarters, would have had some number of non-combatants specialist to support the order, and stone masons were certainly part of this. It is my 'theory' that some Templar imagery and myth might have been transferred to local stone masons when after the suppression in 1307 they found themselves with out a job and sold their skills to the local guilds. Templar Masons, in rebellious Scotland, might have been seen as rock stars and eagerly snatched up by the guilds. As evidence, there was a Templar Bailey in Temple Scotland, formally named Ballentrodoch (the name changed to note the Templar presence), and the Roslyn Chapel is within the Bailiwick, (area controlled by the Bailey). Now the order was suppressed in 1307 and the Chapel built in 1450, by local Masons. On the outside wall of the Chapel is a panel carved with two men, wearing Templar robes. One is kneeling with a rope (cable tow) around his neck, he is also blindfolded. I have seen this panel in person, touched it in fact. It is my theory that this panel MIGHT commemorate the Templar history of some of the Templar masons, and might be the only proof that Masons in the employ of the order integrated into the local stonemason guilds and contributed some of their ritual, myth and symbols. Its a tenuous link and not very glamorous but at the same time has a tiny bit of evidence and makes sense form a human point of view. Over time those elements donated by the Templar's merged with other medieval guild elements, like the passion plays that the guild performed publicly as part of religious life as well as signs of recognition to prove guild membership and the study of geometry to create the foundation of speculative Masonry.
Many thoughtful ad interesting responses. Well done brothers. Since I suggested this topic, I suppose I should comment, although most of my thoughts have already been eloquently expressed. I suppose the one statement that impacted me the most was Brother Cameron's comment, "If some believe the myth to be factual, I honestly can’t see where that does any harm." I am not sure I concur with this assessment. As has been pointed out, Myths teach valuable lessons, both in Masonry and in history. But when they are taken as historical fact, I believe they are somewhat harmful. My concerns here are two-fold.
First, taking myth as actual fact have led to many disagreements among those in different camps. Some of these differences have even led to war in historical contexts. This is not good for humanity historically speaking nor for the Craft of Masonry. We have enough dissention and distractions to keep us challenged already.
Second, believing a myth to be actual fact closes the individual's mind to alternatives. When one ceases to question and evaluate, again leading to possible disagreement and conflict. In order to effectively practice the arts we are to learn (Logic and Rhetoric), it is important to keep an open mind and evaluate all sides of a situation. Much of the lack of civility and division we see in our society today is a result of believing things without question and not relying on available arguments on all sides to allow us to formulate a solid course of belief.
I love Myths. I have collections in my library of all types. But, take from them the value they offer...life lessons, morals, guidance...and do not rely on them as historical evidence of any kind.
Thanks again, my brothers, for making life more enjoyable and instructive through these discussions.
This topic is closely linked to the Nut topic. People who take myths as facts tend to be the types of zealots who think it's ok to kill people who don't.
There's a ton of mythos around freemasonry depending on the degree system you look at its all beautiful examples of morality plays. Ample evidence it existed before the formation of UGLE in Scotland and Ireland. Mother lodge in Scotland. has minutes dating back to the 1500s. Elias ashmole was made a mason in 1646, they know because there are minutes from the meeting. We was a Fellow, not a operative mason. https://freemasonrymatters.co.uk/famous-freemasons/elias-ashmole-a-celebrated-english-antiquary-and-freemason/#:~:text=Ashmole%20depicted%20with%20reference%20to%20his%20Royal%20appointment,initiation%20took%20place%20at%204.30%20in%20the%20afternoon.
Just about everything you are taught in the lectures is a combination of myth, allegory and symbolic. There is one part in the second degree that does relate to an event told in the Old Testament, so you could say that part is not a myth, if factual. The two johns weren’t patrons of masonry, as another example.
It’s an interesting topic of exploration, but one has to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. The legend of Hiram Abiff is obviously a myth and parable for several important points. You don’t dismiss the lessons because of that.
My only point of contention in your list of myths is the origin of speculative masonry. The fact that we use the working tools as symbols means it did grow out of operative masonry. The only part you can debate is how, either as theft, or evolution. Or maybe a combination of both. Hard to say really. But obviously speculative masonry came well before the Age of Enlightenment, so it is a little hard to deny that there may have been more of an evolution, in my opinion. Certainly debatable.
An Anglican minister came in to my high school chemistry class to talk about Genesis (what a great idea, don’t think they’d get away with it now).
He said he thought Adam and Eve was the truest story in the Bible.
Something in the way he said that unlocked my dim teenage brain and I understood it was true *because* it was an allegory.
My 3rd Degree was a wonder, partly because of the lessons in that true, allegorical story, and partly because so much work went into putting it on for just one man, me.
This topic is related to several we have discussed. History as we think of it, a factual almost scientific system of thought and facts, I believe began in the West in Ancient Greece. (I'm not a historian, but that seems to be a dim memory) Before that the stories that were told about the past were meant to communicate important social, moral, spiritual information to younger generations, not necessarily record factual information and events. In short mythology. Human consciousness functions best with stories, and telling stories with important information nested in it is a good way to pass that information on. Now, in the ancient times people may well have believed those stories were true, but as they lived in isolated communities often that did not matter so much, as long as the info passed on was transmitted. Today, we live in a different world, and as humans we have evolved a different way of thinking that includes both myth and history. Most people are developmentally sophisticated enough to manage mythology and history simultaneously. Others can not. This is best illustrated in the flourishing of conspiracy theories today, a form of modern and perhaps pathological mythology. I think that mythology and history should be thought of like this, history is a map for the land, and mythology is the beautiful paintings of the same landscape. If you can handle both history and mythology, then the world can become a beautiful three dimensional world, filled with meaning and information. Maybe its better put this way, history tells us "what" happened and mythology tells us "why" it happened. We need both, BUT we need to guard against confusing the two.
The first thing an Entered Apprentice Mason learns is the craft is "a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."
To say that we are living a lie through myth and allegory misses the point in that the power of icons such as the legend of Hiram is a fundamental touchpoint in learning about the values and propositions of freemasonry.
Joseph Campbell, one of the 20th Century’s literati on the power of myth wrote, “Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth--penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words. Beyond images, beyond that bounding rim of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told.”
Campbell argues there are four functions of mythology:
• The Metaphysical
• The Cosmological
• Sociological
• Pedagogical
The Metaphysical function serves to awaken the consciousness of its consumers to a reality lying just beyond the veil of normal perception.
The Cosmological function provides the boundary conditions of the universe, explaining the origins, shape, size, location, and birth and death dates of things such as time, space, matter, energy, biological organisms, and the universe as a whole. Humanity’s mythology and philosophy in this respect is incredibly sophisticated. Each culture contains its own creation story. A majority of religions seek to provide a framework in which this universe resides and includes many other realms of existence.
Myth can provide a model of social behavior that, when adhered to, makes for a not-so-squeeky cog in the great machine. Parables and fables guide morality.
By establishing rites of passage into critical stages of life, from dependency to maturity, old age, and finally death, myth provides guideposts and beacons to serve as a reminder that there is a purpose. This is to allow a sense of comfort in the entire process, as the individual remembers that he is not the first and certaintly not the last to embark upon this Hero’s Journey, regardless how far along he arrives.
Masonry follows Campbell’s guideposts.
Or rather, Campbell’s thesis follows Masonry’s guideposts.
The legend of Hiram, for example, teaches significant human values of morality, fidelity and the concept of justice.
Mackey wrote in 1869, “To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to investigate its philosophy. This is the portal of its temple, through which alone we can gain access to the sacellum where its aporrheta are concealed. Its philosophy is engaged in the consideration of propositions relating to God and man, to the present and the future life. Its science is the symbolism by which these propositions are presented to the mind.”
Modern Masonry has borrowed from many diverse traditions, such as those of the Knights Templar, the Roman Collegia of Artificers, the Jewish Kabbalists, the mystery cults, the Rosicrucians, and the operative masons of the Middle Ages. The stories, symbols and allegory are instruments of teaching. True or not, they serve a purpose in the instruction and education of a worthy life.
Masonic literature states that the words "veiled in allegory" imply that some of the truths of Masonry are concealed from the uninitiated, but that they can be discovered by those of us who are privileged to join. This is the importance of Masonic education the starts in the Blue Lodge and grows beyond to affiliated organizations such as the Scottish Rite and York Rite. It is here that a Mason learns of the “aha!” moments in understanding the meaning of things learned in the first three degrees.
It takes study and dedication to learn how to recognize and appreciate symbol and allegory. Only through sincere, intelligent, and sustained effort, reinforced by imaginative and emotional sensitivity, can the reward be reaped.
There is nothing wrong with mythology, we all grew up listening to, and reading Greek mythology. Were the Greek and Roman gods angels, or off spring of angels? Were they just stories, made up to teach morals and ethics, or to keep the population in fear and under control. Much of religion is myth, yet we don’t question it. We know that the Templar Knights were real and commissioned many large cathedrals to be built, by operative masons. Did the Templars, watching the masons, gain an understanding of the “secrets” of geometry that were necessary to erect the cathedrals. We know that some structures took more than a lifetime to finish so the knights would have watched as a mason started as a young entered apprentice and as he aged and grew in knowledge, moved up through the guild, becoming a Fellow and finally a Master. I have nothing factual to support my belief that Masonry was developed by the Templars who went into hiding and exile as a way to identify and greet one another so as to not be captured. But we do know as fact that the Templars were real, did commission the construction of cathedrals and other large buildings, and went into hiding when they fell out of favor with King Phillip and Pope Clemente. Facts, intermingled with myth, is what keeps stories alive and passed down from generation to generation. The same holds true with the myths within Freemasonry, they are allegories, stories, sprinkled with facts, that keep are Fraternity alive.
Other responders have already made the points I was going to express, so I shan't belabor them. Since there are few records available for study, we are forced to go with popular "myths." In many, if not most myths, there are grains of truth (a matter of perception) and fact (immutable). There is hard evidence that Freemasonry, as a fraternal organization existed well before the formation of UGLE in 1717. But did it exist during the construction of the Temple of Solomon? I don't think so, but it's hard to say.
My personal theory, based on readings and connect-the-dots study is that Freemasonry grew out of the suppression and diaspora of the Knights Templar. If Freemasonry is simply a social/charitable organization, why are the penalties for unlawful revelation so dire? A Templar on the run needed to know how far to trust someone he contacted. Modes of recognition provided indicators of levels of trust. Revelation of those modes could result in the capture, torture, and death of a Templar Knight.
Just my two cents...
Since the Templar story is cycling thru this thread, I guess I'll add my two cents. The modern image of the Templars focuses entirely on the Martial element of the order. Big strong knights defending the pilgrims and winning the Holy Land, wearing white mantels and shining armor. Very romantic. OK, thats fun. Like all military groups, religious or otherwise, the fighters are not the only element of the order or army. Our modern army has in addition to fighters, cooks, medics, accountants, signal men, and engineers, etc. The Templars, as an organization were exactly the same. Each Bailey, Templar headquarters, would have had some number of non-combatants specialist to support the order, and stone masons were certainly part of this. It is my 'theory' that some Templar imagery and myth might have been transferred to local stone masons when after the suppression in 1307 they found themselves with out a job and sold their skills to the local guilds. Templar Masons, in rebellious Scotland, might have been seen as rock stars and eagerly snatched up by the guilds. As evidence, there was a Templar Bailey in Temple Scotland, formally named Ballentrodoch (the name changed to note the Templar presence), and the Roslyn Chapel is within the Bailiwick, (area controlled by the Bailey). Now the order was suppressed in 1307 and the Chapel built in 1450, by local Masons. On the outside wall of the Chapel is a panel carved with two men, wearing Templar robes. One is kneeling with a rope (cable tow) around his neck, he is also blindfolded. I have seen this panel in person, touched it in fact. It is my theory that this panel MIGHT commemorate the Templar history of some of the Templar masons, and might be the only proof that Masons in the employ of the order integrated into the local stonemason guilds and contributed some of their ritual, myth and symbols. Its a tenuous link and not very glamorous but at the same time has a tiny bit of evidence and makes sense form a human point of view. Over time those elements donated by the Templar's merged with other medieval guild elements, like the passion plays that the guild performed publicly as part of religious life as well as signs of recognition to prove guild membership and the study of geometry to create the foundation of speculative Masonry.
Many thoughtful ad interesting responses. Well done brothers. Since I suggested this topic, I suppose I should comment, although most of my thoughts have already been eloquently expressed. I suppose the one statement that impacted me the most was Brother Cameron's comment, "If some believe the myth to be factual, I honestly can’t see where that does any harm." I am not sure I concur with this assessment. As has been pointed out, Myths teach valuable lessons, both in Masonry and in history. But when they are taken as historical fact, I believe they are somewhat harmful. My concerns here are two-fold.
First, taking myth as actual fact have led to many disagreements among those in different camps. Some of these differences have even led to war in historical contexts. This is not good for humanity historically speaking nor for the Craft of Masonry. We have enough dissention and distractions to keep us challenged already.
Second, believing a myth to be actual fact closes the individual's mind to alternatives. When one ceases to question and evaluate, again leading to possible disagreement and conflict. In order to effectively practice the arts we are to learn (Logic and Rhetoric), it is important to keep an open mind and evaluate all sides of a situation. Much of the lack of civility and division we see in our society today is a result of believing things without question and not relying on available arguments on all sides to allow us to formulate a solid course of belief.
I love Myths. I have collections in my library of all types. But, take from them the value they offer...life lessons, morals, guidance...and do not rely on them as historical evidence of any kind.
Thanks again, my brothers, for making life more enjoyable and instructive through these discussions.