When I was a little kid I used to sit on my great grandmother’s back stoop and look at the marbles that were inlaid in the concrete of the sidewalk that ran from the house to the shed. The marbles formed a strange shape, and while I was too young to know that they formed a square and compass with a G in the center, I did learn it was a s…
When I was a little kid I used to sit on my great grandmother’s back stoop and look at the marbles that were inlaid in the concrete of the sidewalk that ran from the house to the shed. The marbles formed a strange shape, and while I was too young to know that they formed a square and compass with a G in the center, I did learn it was a symbol for the Masons. My family had several members who were Masons, though I did not know what that meant. Later when I was in my teens, I became interested in various metaphysical and Rosicrucian movements and I learned that many of the people who founded and populated these groups were Masons. Freemasonry kept coming up. So, I approached a colleague of my father who I had noticed wearing a Masonic ring and we started a dialogue, that led to my petition. I guess I expected a group of men, spiritually oriented, and who would provide me a grounding in the mystical traditions for Europe.
What I found was a group of manipulative, myopic, argumentative and prejudiced men who would never have been my friends. I tried for two years to make it work, but then after one fairly straight forward betrayal I went home and stayed home. I let my dues lapse. That was in the late 1980s.
Then, in the early 2000s I began to see documentaries and books produced that highlighted the spiritual side of the Craft. I began to hope that maybe things had turned around, or perhaps the Lodge I had been raised in was a poor example. So, I applied for reinstatement, and was readmitted. As I lived 3000 miles away from my home Lodge, I petitioned a local Lodge for admittance.
Did I find what I am looking for? Yes, I have found brethren working thru Masonry to explore the Western Mystical Tradition, and have formed, for me, profound friendships. I have to say though, that these connections mostly exist in the interstitial spaces of the jurisdiction, between Lodges and even between jurisdictions.
When I was a little kid I used to sit on my great grandmother’s back stoop and look at the marbles that were inlaid in the concrete of the sidewalk that ran from the house to the shed. The marbles formed a strange shape, and while I was too young to know that they formed a square and compass with a G in the center, I did learn it was a symbol for the Masons. My family had several members who were Masons, though I did not know what that meant. Later when I was in my teens, I became interested in various metaphysical and Rosicrucian movements and I learned that many of the people who founded and populated these groups were Masons. Freemasonry kept coming up. So, I approached a colleague of my father who I had noticed wearing a Masonic ring and we started a dialogue, that led to my petition. I guess I expected a group of men, spiritually oriented, and who would provide me a grounding in the mystical traditions for Europe.
What I found was a group of manipulative, myopic, argumentative and prejudiced men who would never have been my friends. I tried for two years to make it work, but then after one fairly straight forward betrayal I went home and stayed home. I let my dues lapse. That was in the late 1980s.
Then, in the early 2000s I began to see documentaries and books produced that highlighted the spiritual side of the Craft. I began to hope that maybe things had turned around, or perhaps the Lodge I had been raised in was a poor example. So, I applied for reinstatement, and was readmitted. As I lived 3000 miles away from my home Lodge, I petitioned a local Lodge for admittance.
Did I find what I am looking for? Yes, I have found brethren working thru Masonry to explore the Western Mystical Tradition, and have formed, for me, profound friendships. I have to say though, that these connections mostly exist in the interstitial spaces of the jurisdiction, between Lodges and even between jurisdictions.