“I am a Mason, and nothing that concerns Masonry is uninteresting to me.”
-Albert Pike
I find that I am like Brother Pike in that I just plain find Masonry interesting. It doesn’t really matter what it is, real history, mythic and romantic history, esoterica, spirituality, ritual, fellowship, Lodge experience; I just enjoy reading about it, talking about it, and doing it. All of it I think. Heck, I even enjoy its governance.
But, I could well be nuts.
So let’s chat about it.
Are you like our Brother Pike and find all aspects of Masonry interesting? Or are your interests more in one or two particular areas? If so, what are those things that fascinate you?
Sometimes I think that interests in Masonry find you. Whether we are pushed or trip into a position, like participating in a Degree, attending Memorial service, moving through the chairs, finding a appendendant body and such. You find out that you liked it and want more information or want to participate. We are a large expansive state, there's always something to do and learn. We have speakers around the state, even our Canadian brothers. We've been isolated for two years and it's about time we get out and expand our minds and enrich our souls.
You are certainly right about traveling. That has been the most rewarding part of being involved with the Grand Lodge. I've gotten to see so many Lodges, unique in character, doing tremendous work. In every corner of our State I've sat in Lodges that draw to me, that I certainly want to sit in again.
And of course we learn when we travel. We find something great that we can bring back to our own Lodge.
It was great seeing you yesterday my Brother. I just wish it had been under better circumstances.
It is always good to see you and this format gives me a daily insight to your direction for Masonry in general. With young Brock knocking on the door of Masonry, we may have lost a dear Brother, but for every door that closes, another can open. Masonry is a cycle of life.
Based on looking at the rather eclectic and random nature of my Masonic bookcase I tend to agree with Ill. Bro. Pike, but having said that there are things that are more of an interest to me than others. If you make me pick my top 3….probably history and development of ritual, changes in the “lodge experience” over time, and the history of the grand lodge of Louisiana. Honestly though I’m just happy to talk about anything about Masonry with my Brothers, hahaha.
Just out of curiosity how many books do folks have in their personal Masonic library? I’ll count mine when I get home.
Many I've purchased myself, as many used as new, but I've also been lucky in that many of my Masonic friends know that I'm a voracious reader, so have given me books that they no longer want.
I'm also lucky because my Lodge has a good (although disorganized) library, and our Grand Lodge library is easily accessible to me when I'm up at the office.
I've not done a lot, but I have done some reading about the history of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, and the Scottish Rite in Louisiana. From the little I've done, I can see where that could be truly fascinating, and a subject with tremendous depth.
The history of the first ~100 years of Masonry in Louisiana (not the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge but the first 100 years Masonry existed) is quite possibly the richest and most varied history of Freemasonry in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve got 5 different talks on major events that occurred during that time period, any one of which is a spellbinding 20 minutes. Would be happy to talk about it anytime 😁
History (well, history in general, that includes masonry), and symbolism within the ritual. Not just the symbols themselves, but why they were picked to illustrate a particular thing? Probably the single most neglected thing within the fraternity.
I agree with you that it is neglected, and since this post began with a quote from Bro. Pike, I would argue that he would have said that it is the most important aspect of our Craft.
Sometimes I think that interests in Masonry find you. Whether we are pushed or trip into a position, like participating in a Degree, attending Memorial service, moving through the chairs, finding a appendendant body and such. You find out that you liked it and want more information or want to participate. We are a large expansive state, there's always something to do and learn. We have speakers around the state, even our Canadian brothers. We've been isolated for two years and it's about time we get out and expand our minds and enrich our souls.
You are certainly right about traveling. That has been the most rewarding part of being involved with the Grand Lodge. I've gotten to see so many Lodges, unique in character, doing tremendous work. In every corner of our State I've sat in Lodges that draw to me, that I certainly want to sit in again.
And of course we learn when we travel. We find something great that we can bring back to our own Lodge.
It was great seeing you yesterday my Brother. I just wish it had been under better circumstances.
It is always good to see you and this format gives me a daily insight to your direction for Masonry in general. With young Brock knocking on the door of Masonry, we may have lost a dear Brother, but for every door that closes, another can open. Masonry is a cycle of life.
I certainly look forward to seeing Brock progress through Masonry!
Based on looking at the rather eclectic and random nature of my Masonic bookcase I tend to agree with Ill. Bro. Pike, but having said that there are things that are more of an interest to me than others. If you make me pick my top 3….probably history and development of ritual, changes in the “lodge experience” over time, and the history of the grand lodge of Louisiana. Honestly though I’m just happy to talk about anything about Masonry with my Brothers, hahaha.
Just out of curiosity how many books do folks have in their personal Masonic library? I’ll count mine when I get home.
I've got three good sized bookcases full.
Many I've purchased myself, as many used as new, but I've also been lucky in that many of my Masonic friends know that I'm a voracious reader, so have given me books that they no longer want.
I'm also lucky because my Lodge has a good (although disorganized) library, and our Grand Lodge library is easily accessible to me when I'm up at the office.
That said, I'm still looking for a copy of:
Grand Lodge Recognition
Printed by Macoy Masonic in the mid 1950's
If anyone happens to have one for sale.
I've not done a lot, but I have done some reading about the history of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, and the Scottish Rite in Louisiana. From the little I've done, I can see where that could be truly fascinating, and a subject with tremendous depth.
The history of the first ~100 years of Masonry in Louisiana (not the first 100 years of the Grand Lodge but the first 100 years Masonry existed) is quite possibly the richest and most varied history of Freemasonry in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve got 5 different talks on major events that occurred during that time period, any one of which is a spellbinding 20 minutes. Would be happy to talk about it anytime 😁
That sounds awesome! Would you be willing to provide one of those talks via zoom sometime?
Absolutely!
Thank you Brother! I've shot an email your direction.
History (well, history in general, that includes masonry), and symbolism within the ritual. Not just the symbols themselves, but why they were picked to illustrate a particular thing? Probably the single most neglected thing within the fraternity.
I agree with you that it is neglected, and since this post began with a quote from Bro. Pike, I would argue that he would have said that it is the most important aspect of our Craft.
Bro. Pike’s rant about this topic in Esoterika is still true today. As is Bro. Mackey’s regarding Masons who do not read.