I don’t think that we will ever truly know precisely where or how Freemasonry began. I fear that those details are most likely lost to the mists of time.
We do however have no shortage of theories. That we grew out of craft guilds, that we were created by Templars who escaped the violence engineered by the Pope and King of France, some believe that we don’t really have much history prior to a meeting in a London tavern in 1717, or that we came about due to the intense interest garnered by the Rosicrucian Manifestos.
Many believe that we are the current inheritors of the Ancient Mystery religions.
One thing I think we can all agree upon is that everyone has their own theory, and ideas about the birth of Freemasonry. I thought it would be something fun, and perhaps enlightening to discuss, so…
Let’s talk about where we may have come from, when this may have happened, and what we were created to be.
On Thursday, in addition to our regular discussion topic, we will have an open, live, discussion thread for those with a paid subscription to Emeth.
We did this last Thursday, and I for one thought it was great.
The Thread will be opened to paying subscribers at 8:00 AM. It will remain open until 6:00 PM. I’ll be on the entire time, and ready to respond to anything posted as needed. We can discuss anything anyone would like to discuss, and of course if there are any questions, you should feel free to ask me anything.
I think that this will be fun and informative. I hope that you’ll feel free to chime in with anything that is on your mind.
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To me and of course this is my opinion is that this subject is mostly academic.
I will start with these questions.
Did roses exist before someone decided to call them "roses"?
Did rocks exist before someone decided to call them "rocks"?
Did the virtues and lessons Freemasonry teaches exist before someone decided to call it "Masonry" or "Freemasonry"?
To me the answer to these questions is, "Of course they did, of course they did and of course they did".
While the question of when it was called "Freemasonry" is something worth talking about, discussing, and contemplating on I think time is better spent on talking about what it is now and where it is going. The past is something I cannot change but the here and now and what lies ahead is something I can change. There is much work to be done.
Masonic lodges (guilds) were basically the union halls of their day. But as time went on, and the demand for large stone cathedrals and castles waned, work became harder and harder to find. In it, at the same time that Masonry was slowly evolving from operative to speculative, there was also a shift in focus where the masonic lodge started spending more time supporting each other when times got lean. The influx of the gentlemen class was a welcome relief for everyone.
Not only did the speculative masons adopt the working tools, grips, signs and tokens as philosophical representatives, but also the brotherly support amongst each other, which is illustrated all through each of the three degrees.
I'm probably one of the few people on the planet that doesn't necessarily agree with what some perceive as a fundamental part of Masonry - charity. Nothing wrong with charity, mind you. Makes me feel great to have been part of scholarship committees and bikes for books helping our communities. But first and foremost, we are a brotherhood tasked with helping each other.
I think the biggest mistakes we are making today is accepting what Masonry has evolved (devolved) into instead of looking back at the past and finding purpose within that context.
Unfortunately, much of what once was has been lost to the sands of time.
Another take on our Masonic Origins involves the origins of our Concordant bodies. This includes the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, The Order of the Eastern Star, among many others.
Some members might view some of the Masonic organizations as clubs, offshoots, or more negatively, even distractions from Craft Freemasonry. However, many of them go back quite a ways.
The York Rite actually goes back more than 200 years, and in the case of the Royal Arch, even further than that! The schism between the Antients and the Moderns had a lot to do the the Royal Arch degree, and even when they united to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, this is found in their Constitutions: “"...pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz. those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch" The Councils of Royal & Select Masters date back to the early 1800’s. Therefore, it is obvious that these degrees are just as relevant as the well-known Blue Lodge degrees.
The Scottish Rite has long been considered the “University of Freemasonry.” As many of our fellow Brothers know, there is a considerable amount of literature concerning these degrees, including one of the most famous Masonic tomes of all, Morals and Dogma.
The Order of the Eastern Star was originated by Bro. Robert Morris in the early 1860’s, and has quite an interesting history in itself. As do several other concordant and appendant bodies in the Masonic Family.
As has been mentioned in several of the previous posts on Emeth, the changes of the early-to-mid 20th Century have evolved (or as some say, devolved) Freemasonry into what it is today. The same can be said of the Concordant Bodies. However, many of the good ideas mentioned in this forum can also apply to these Bodies as well.
My Brothers, there IS a place in our Fraternity for these key members of the Masonic Family. They are not distractions or superfluous clubs. I invite all of you to do some research and find out what role they have played in Masonic History.
An excerpt from Robert Hewitt Brown's Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy.
"The Antiquity of Masonry
Q. What is the probable antiquity of masonry?
A. There can be but little doubt that the Mysteries, from which, as we have seen, Freemasonry is the direct descendant, were first arranged when Taurus was on the vernal equinox, Leo at the summer solstice, and Scorpio at the autumnal equinox. The solar allegory, as handed down to us, shows this to be the fact. At the rate of the precession of the equinoxes is known, we can calculate when the vernal equinox was in Taurus. Such a calculation will take us back about four thousand two hundred and eighty years. The antiquity of masonry is thus written on the face of the starry heavens—a record which utters no falsehoods.
It is telling that the transition of vernal equinox from Taurus to Aries astronomically corresponds timewise with the biblical transition of worship among the Israelites under Moses from calf to lamb . The arrival of Jesus marks the transition from Aries to Pisces. The dominant religious symbol to the fish. Simon Peter the fisherman to Jesus and Peter the fishers of men, baptism the immersion in water the natural habitat of fish.
Today, Aquarius is transitioning into the dominant position at vernal equinox. The astronomical heritage of freemasonry is Very old.
From Plato's Timaeus;
"All men, Socrates, who have any degree of right feeling, at the beginning of every great enterprise, always call upon the blessings of God".
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
I have the opinion that masonry is the bastard child of pagan mystery schools such as the druids, the Platonic philosphic and mathematic academicians, and lastly the knights Templar who hid from Roman catholic persecutions on the island of Britain among the professional ranks of real operative stone masons guilds.
To me and of course this is my opinion is that this subject is mostly academic.
I will start with these questions.
Did roses exist before someone decided to call them "roses"?
Did rocks exist before someone decided to call them "rocks"?
Did the virtues and lessons Freemasonry teaches exist before someone decided to call it "Masonry" or "Freemasonry"?
To me the answer to these questions is, "Of course they did, of course they did and of course they did".
While the question of when it was called "Freemasonry" is something worth talking about, discussing, and contemplating on I think time is better spent on talking about what it is now and where it is going. The past is something I cannot change but the here and now and what lies ahead is something I can change. There is much work to be done.
Masonic lodges (guilds) were basically the union halls of their day. But as time went on, and the demand for large stone cathedrals and castles waned, work became harder and harder to find. In it, at the same time that Masonry was slowly evolving from operative to speculative, there was also a shift in focus where the masonic lodge started spending more time supporting each other when times got lean. The influx of the gentlemen class was a welcome relief for everyone.
Not only did the speculative masons adopt the working tools, grips, signs and tokens as philosophical representatives, but also the brotherly support amongst each other, which is illustrated all through each of the three degrees.
I'm probably one of the few people on the planet that doesn't necessarily agree with what some perceive as a fundamental part of Masonry - charity. Nothing wrong with charity, mind you. Makes me feel great to have been part of scholarship committees and bikes for books helping our communities. But first and foremost, we are a brotherhood tasked with helping each other.
I think the biggest mistakes we are making today is accepting what Masonry has evolved (devolved) into instead of looking back at the past and finding purpose within that context.
Unfortunately, much of what once was has been lost to the sands of time.
Another take on our Masonic Origins involves the origins of our Concordant bodies. This includes the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, The Order of the Eastern Star, among many others.
Some members might view some of the Masonic organizations as clubs, offshoots, or more negatively, even distractions from Craft Freemasonry. However, many of them go back quite a ways.
The York Rite actually goes back more than 200 years, and in the case of the Royal Arch, even further than that! The schism between the Antients and the Moderns had a lot to do the the Royal Arch degree, and even when they united to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, this is found in their Constitutions: “"...pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz. those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch" The Councils of Royal & Select Masters date back to the early 1800’s. Therefore, it is obvious that these degrees are just as relevant as the well-known Blue Lodge degrees.
The Scottish Rite has long been considered the “University of Freemasonry.” As many of our fellow Brothers know, there is a considerable amount of literature concerning these degrees, including one of the most famous Masonic tomes of all, Morals and Dogma.
The Order of the Eastern Star was originated by Bro. Robert Morris in the early 1860’s, and has quite an interesting history in itself. As do several other concordant and appendant bodies in the Masonic Family.
As has been mentioned in several of the previous posts on Emeth, the changes of the early-to-mid 20th Century have evolved (or as some say, devolved) Freemasonry into what it is today. The same can be said of the Concordant Bodies. However, many of the good ideas mentioned in this forum can also apply to these Bodies as well.
My Brothers, there IS a place in our Fraternity for these key members of the Masonic Family. They are not distractions or superfluous clubs. I invite all of you to do some research and find out what role they have played in Masonic History.
An excerpt from Robert Hewitt Brown's Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy.
"The Antiquity of Masonry
Q. What is the probable antiquity of masonry?
A. There can be but little doubt that the Mysteries, from which, as we have seen, Freemasonry is the direct descendant, were first arranged when Taurus was on the vernal equinox, Leo at the summer solstice, and Scorpio at the autumnal equinox. The solar allegory, as handed down to us, shows this to be the fact. At the rate of the precession of the equinoxes is known, we can calculate when the vernal equinox was in Taurus. Such a calculation will take us back about four thousand two hundred and eighty years. The antiquity of masonry is thus written on the face of the starry heavens—a record which utters no falsehoods.
It is telling that the transition of vernal equinox from Taurus to Aries astronomically corresponds timewise with the biblical transition of worship among the Israelites under Moses from calf to lamb . The arrival of Jesus marks the transition from Aries to Pisces. The dominant religious symbol to the fish. Simon Peter the fisherman to Jesus and Peter the fishers of men, baptism the immersion in water the natural habitat of fish.
Today, Aquarius is transitioning into the dominant position at vernal equinox. The astronomical heritage of freemasonry is Very old.
From Plato's Timaeus;
"All men, Socrates, who have any degree of right feeling, at the beginning of every great enterprise, always call upon the blessings of God".
Sounds familiar doesn't it?
I have the opinion that masonry is the bastard child of pagan mystery schools such as the druids, the Platonic philosphic and mathematic academicians, and lastly the knights Templar who hid from Roman catholic persecutions on the island of Britain among the professional ranks of real operative stone masons guilds.