On Sunday night’s Rummer & Grapes everyone heard me crowing about the awesome success of Centralia Lodge’s participation in our Downtown Association’s Ghost Walk. It was a truly wonderful event, and our Lodge put in the time to make it great, so I have no doubt that we did a great deal of good increasing positive feelings in our community towards our Lodge.
That said, one or more of our approximately 300 guests brought the ‘creeping crud’ into our building, so by Monday I was hopped up on Nyquil, as were other of our Lodge members. All this by way of explanation so you know why I’ve been away from Emeth for the last few days.
Feeling a bit better today, so I’m back with another book review. Two books actually.
At the recent Esotericism In Freemasonry Conference I bought a copy of each of Lon Milo Duquette’s autobiographical books, My Life With Spirits and Homemade Magick. My Life With Spirits is the older of the two books, by about fifteen years.
If you aren’t aware of Brother Duquette, he is a California Freemason, a high ranking member of the OTO, and a truly wonderful teacher for those with an interest in the esoteric aspects of our Ancient Craft. What strikes me about our Brother is that he has a wonderful way of blending humor with his knowledge, bringing otherwise dry subjects to life.
To be clear, neither of these books are about Freemasonry. They are about one man’s dedicated quest towards self understanding and meaning.
Our Brother came of age during a time of great social upheaval in our country, a time much different from that I grew up in, so some of his early experience and choices don’t resonate with me, but I presume that the generations that come after me will find the choices made by me and my peers as we entered adulthood to be equally strange.
Freemasonry offers tremendous lessons for us, if we open our eyes to see them. It offers a path which we can follow to lead a happy life, improve our family and community, and find meaning. If we take the steps that lead down that path.
We can read exhaustively about Masonry. We can learn our ritual, and we can excel in the mechanics of Freemasonry. But if we don’t put Freemasonry into practice within our lives all of the knowledge we gain through study does us no good. It is dead.
In order to experience all of the benefits of our Craft, we must put what it teaches us into practice.
That is, I think, what our Brother’s autobiographical books teach us. To have the courage to live authentic lives. To take that which we learn and believe, and to put it into practice every day.
Through his example, I think our Brother takes our excuses away.
I enjoyed both books, and truly became engrossed while reading them, one right after the other. But if I had to choose just one of them, I think I would select the second, Homemade Magick. It was naturally more focused on the latter portions of our Brother’s life which I found to be more interesting. Although his recounting of his horror of moving from California to the Midwest as a child was certainly entertaining!
If I had to name one item in the books that I found to be most valuable, it is the Chapter: Homemade Consecration Ritual in Homemade Magick. It is a brief discussion of the essential elements of Initiation, important to all Freemasons, and how those elements can be used to create sacredness.
Paraphrasing the words of Brother Duquette:
You don’t have to read these books, but please do buy them, for he has made no other provision for his advancing age.
I will confess that the first time I heard him say that little phrase, it cracked me up. I think you will find much to laugh about in the stories he recounts in these books, and that laughter makes the essential messages within them go down a heck of a lot easier.
My Life With The Spirits: The Adventures Of A Modern Magician
Homemade Magick: The Musings & Mischief Of A Do-It-Yourself Magus
Please don’t forget about our upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! If you can join us, we would love to have you!