Work

I was reading The Symbolism of Freemasonry by Albert Makey (available from the Gutenberg Project, http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page). In it, Makey discusses how central work is to the Freemason: "...this doctrine, that labor is worship, is the very doctrine that has been advanced and maintained, from time immemorial, as a leading dogma of the Order of Freemasonry." During lodge meetings, "business" is done, but during rituals, the lodge is "at work". Work is important. Working tools teach us how to be better men.

This has also been a key tenet in my family, and one of the many reasons that Freemasonry appeals to me so strongly.

When my Grandmother passed, we found a letter written by her sister in 1972.

Whoever does not work is not allowed to eat.
The obligation to work is by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are poor – work.
If you are rich continue to work.
If you are burdened with seemingly unfair responsibilities Work
If you are happy – Keep right on working.
Idleness gives room for doubts and fears
If disappointments come – work.
If sorrow threatens you and loved ones seem not true – work.
If health is threatening you -- work
Work as if your life is in peril. It really is.
Work is the greatest material remedy.
Work will cure both mental and physical afflictions.
Pass this on*

I think I have some work to do.

Master Mason

Last Saturday (3-17) I was raised to Master Mason. It was an interesting event with about 25 of us from various lodges (I was the only one from our lodge who was raised). The ceremony was conducted by the Scottish Rite, and I don't know if that made any difference from a "normal" raising.

I was not the exemplar, so the ceremony was observed, not experienced. We sat in the Northeast, and most of the important work was done in the Southwest; I don't hear well, and frankly it was difficult to follow what happened after the candidate was moved to the west. I spent my time at the climax of the degree work straining to hear. Adding to my frustration, I saw microphones hanging from the ceiling, but they didn't pick up anything. The chaplain also had a low voice, and he refused to stand near a microphone: his prayers and his toasts were inaudible even to those with normal hearing.

I had seen a portion of the second section on the Discovery channel, but the important part -- towards the end -- was new to me. I looked it up in Duncan later, but at the time it was like "what's going on?" then everyone in my section was working with a mentor.

After the ceremony was complete -- really complete -- we had a final section with the Master Mason lectures.

This went fairly well, but no one can touch our lodge's Marshall for knowing the lectures back and forth. Although the lecturers stood directly in front of us, they again refused to cooperate with the sound equipment, and again, I strained to hear their words. Half way through the slide show the curtains closed over the screen, making the symbols we're supposed to learn completely unviewable. Thank goodness for Duncan and Mackey.

I do not want to take away from the Grand Rapids lodge and the Valley of Grand Rapids Scottish Rites one iota. The rite was performed superbly, and the production values (costumes, props, etc) were outstanding. The lodge building itself is huge, and we were welcomed warmly. The afternoon was well organized, well paced and all in all, a delight to take part in.

I received my apron, square, compasses and bible. The square has "one day grand master class" written on it, which doesn't make sense to me, but I'll ask about it later in lodge.

Afterwards was the festive board. There was some derogatory comments on the food, but I thought it was fine. I had one tall glass of wine to carry me through all the toasts, and my mentor was expecting me to drink far more (he had, at his raising). However, "true temperance is moderation", and I was moderate. I enjoyed the festive board immensely.

I wish I'd taken more time to socialize with the other candidates, but there wasn't much of an opportunity. One thing I was pleased to see was that several of the candidates were men of color -- and several officers from other lodges were as well. That our area in general does not redirect black men to Prince Hall, as I have heard other lodges do.

Afterwards, the three of us from our lodge went to a local restaurant and ate, drank some more, then went to the lodge to play some cribbage. Our WM was the director of the ceremony and didn't join us afterwards, but the JW and SD suggested I take an officer position, like Steward. I didn't commit at that point because 1) we have a steward; and 2) I may not be able to attend all the meetings due to work; but I'm thinking about it.

Next week I'll sign our lodge's book, get the card that goes with my apron, and hopefully my dues card. And I'll consider doing the Scottish Rites this May, although I don't know how I'll be able to afford it right now.

Bits and Pieces

My wife discovered that the aunt after whom she's named was a Worthy Matron in the Order of the Eastern Star, and that several members of that family were Masons in Three Oaks.

I found out that I needed a suit and tie Saturday. I haven't owned a suit (that fits) in 15 years. I know a man needs a suit, and every now and then I feel underdressed (funerals and weddings mostly), so yesterday I went out and got a suit. Ouch.

It's on St Patrick's day, but I've been banned from wearing a bright green tie.

Sorting things out a little more

Tuesday I had my Fellowcraft lectures, and this time I received a copy to take home. Most of my questions were cleared up; the historical information was interesting and in some ways, quite personal.

Again -- just for me -- almost all the officers came and participated in the lecture reading. The three lectures were each divided in four sections and assigned to a different officer to read.

Interesting bits:
Even though the Papal Bull threatening Masons with ex-communication was issued in 1738, Masonry became popular in Mexico. Don Miguel Hildago was a Mason, and a priest who started the revolution against Spain. My family and I lived in San Miguel de Allende, near Delores Hildago, for about six months in 2005. I was commuting to Houston at the time. Other Mexican heros -- Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz -- were Masons.

A brief discussion of the Morgan affair and its affect on Masonry was reviewed.

A very brief discussion of the Masons and the Mormons -- 1500 Mormon Masons were expelled with Brigham Young. I wonder why... was it polygamy? Several jokes about being ... upright ... come to mind.

Next was some completely unfamiliar information about how the Michigan Grand Lodge works, and the Masonic Home -- a continuing care retirement community.

Finally, symbolism. After the lecture I asked about the columns, steps threes, twos, and told them how this was confusing.

Basically the two pillares are completely separate from the three pillars, which are also separate from the orders of architecture.

The square representing virtue, the plumb representing righteousness I did absorb. I didn't get that the level was equality. duh.

The three-five-seven stairs -- the three and the five in this case correspond to lodge officers also. Three principle officers, five officers to open a lodge in the Fellowcraft Degree.

Five also represents five senses (emphasized in the original lecture), five orders of archetcture (although two were de-emphasized), and Geometry is the fifth science.

Seven represents the liberal arts and sciences. So far.

The winding part of the stairway is to represent that you don't know what's around the next corner nad it takes courage to face the unknown.

Finally, the double meaning of the "G" -- for both Geometry and God -- not necessarily in that order -- was revealed.

My mentor has been Vern, who's our SW and was known to me indirectly through the gun club. While we disagree on many issues, we get along quite well. Saturday I'll have a different mentor, Tim. Tim and I get along quite well, despite having very different political views (he's very conservative; I'm ... well, I'm from Berkeley). He's agreed to be my mentor Saturday, and in fact is driving.

Pillars, Columns... Sorting out the Cylinders

*

I passed my "test" for Fellowcraft last Tuesday, memorizing a small portion of the ritual.

I will get my lectures next Tuesday, unless I have to travel. I don't know what happens if I miss these lectures -- if I have to leave, I'll ask.

There are a lot of columns and pillars thrown at me so far.

Three columns of Masonry -- Beauty, Strength and Wisdom. Three orders of architecture (of the five normally presented, two are considered derivative by Masons) - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. Doric corresponds to Strength, or so I surmise, because the columns are plain and thicker. Corinthian corresponds to Beauty because of its florid capital. Ionic, therefore must corresponds to Wisdom. And the three officers (are they jewels or lights?) correspond to Wisdom (Worshipful Master), Strength (Senior Warden) and Beauty (Junior Warden).

Then there are the Fellowcraft's tools, which are also the Officer's jewels: the Square (Worshipful Master), the level (Senior Warden) and the plumb (Junior Warden).

But there are two pillars of Strength (B) and Creation ("to establish") (J) between which a fellocraft enters the lodge. Where's the third pillar? Is it the Mason himself? Confused, I read as much about these pillars as I could find. The globes on top -- which were not there on the originals -- represent the heaven and the earth.

I think I read too far ahead: I read that despite their phallic shape, they represented the opening of a woman's birth canal, and that the person entering through these gates represented a seed. That part must come later in my Masonic career.

Heaven and Earth, as a pair, are repeated throughout the lodge; the shape of the lodge represents the earth and the ceiling the heavens.

One writer attributed control -- or will --- to the meaning of the second pillar. He suggested that without Strength or Power, nothing could be accomplished; and without will, Strength was destructive, at best; that only by balancing Strength and control could anything important be done. I liked that interpretation, but it does require us to reinterpret the second pillar as "will" or "vision" or "intellect" rather than "He who establishes".

Another theory I have is that if Establishment corresponds to beauty, then the original contents of the pillars -- the wisdom of the ancients stored inside -- is the third pillar, hidden but known.

Do the two connect to the three? Or do they stand alone, distinct and separate, with their own lessons?

Where's the Math?

I have a fairly strong math background, and there is a beauty in numbers that speak to the divine.

Leonardo Da Vinci described the "Golden Ratio", the perfect mathematical proportion for beauty. Prime numbers, the Fibonacci sequence, pi -- all these speak to something more than just numbers, that there is order to the Universe. Ironically named, Chaos Theory describes regular patterns in nature, that the pattern of a leaf reflects the pattern of the tree, that the shape of a pebble reflects the shape of a mountain.
http://www.geocities.com/cyd_conner/nature.html

In my Entered Apprentice lecture I learned that the square represented integrity, rightness. The compasses represent a tool to restrain our passions, to mark our moral boundaries. The simple gavel to perfect a rough ashlar. The 24" rule to apportion our time.

My fellowcraft tools are the plumb, square and level. These tools teach us to walk uprightly, square our actions with virtue, and walk on the level of time.

I was admonished to study Geometry, and at that moment, I thought "done!" because I received a degree in Computer Science 25 years ago, and because the software I work on is CAD, which helps you create and manipulate Geometric shapes.

I have forgotten much of what I studied; I know this helping kids with their math. But I retain the fundamentals, the relationships among circles, triangles and squares; and the way different shapes behave with each other always gives me a chill.

The tools thus far are those which are important to building geometric shapes, but nothing has been said about how to use them for that purpose.

Geometry is what the Operative Masons knew, and almost everyone else didn't. I don't know how learning this can be anything other than spiritual, and I don't know why there isn't more math in Freemasonry.

Maybe it's coming.

Fellowcraft, revisited

My mother-in-law just remarked that I'm standing straighter, walking taller and looking more confident. She attributed this to going to the gym regularly, but part of the answer could be that I've learned my Fellowcraft lessons better than I thought.

What my lodge is doing right

In order to satisfy my thirst for Masonic knowledge without spoiling the experience of hearing it for the first time in my lodge, I have read a variety of papers about masonry in general.

http://www.knightsofthenorth.com/documents/laudablepursuit.pdf

This paper struck home. What was most interesting is that many of the problems they highlight are being addressed by the lodge I'm in.

http://www.masonicdictionary.com/stated.html

It seems some lodges always open on the Master Degree, and Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts are excluded. Our lodge made the effort to open on the EA degree last month, specifically so I could attend and feel welcome. Tomorrow I'll join the meeting as a FC, and take my examination. If there are no EA's present, they will open on the FC degree.

I am not well known in South Haven. My wife is, though: she grew up a mile from where we live now, and her parents taught in the area. Still, she does not know any local Masons either. My ties to the community are weak: my work requires extensive travel most of the time, and most of my colleagues are scattered across the country from Boston to San Diego. My boss is in Texas, and my customers have been all over the US. Lately I've been working from home and traveling infrequently, although that will change soon.

I'll discuss my reasons for joining another day, but it had been a long-term goal of mine. Last summer we saw an announcement that the local Mason lodge (Cornerstone Lodge #158) was having an open house, and I took my son who was visiting from California.

I was impressed with the lodge and how it was built. I loved the symbolism of the lodge. One of the officers sat down with me and answered my questions:
- A mason must be a man of good character and believe in a Supreme being. That's it.
- Jews can join. I'm not sure if there are any in our lodge -- or in fact, if there are any in the area at all. This is important to me for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that my sister has recently converted to Judaism.
- The local lodge would not exclude a black person; however almost all black men interested in Masonry join a local Prince Hall lodge instead of ours.
- Catholics, I was assured, are not only welcome to join, but are presently allowed to join by their church. I've read later that the Catholic Church's position on Masonry is not entirely clear, or consistent.
- Dues are nominal; our lodge dues are $25/year. And each degree costs another $25 (up to Master)

I tendered my application in August, and had my in-house interview in September. One of the interviewers knew my stepson from hunter-safety, so that went well.

I was supposed to become initated in October, but that date was postponed to January because I had to be in Cincinnati. I was chaffing to become part of the lodge, but I waited patiently, and I'm glad I did.

What is my lodge doing right?

• My lodge welcomed me, a relative stranger to the area.
• My lodge provides lectures at least once a month to new Masons
• My lodge opens on whatever degree is necessary so that we can all attend the meetings.
• My lodge does not try to cram three degrees worth of understanding into one day.
• My lodge listens to my questions, and answers them patiently.
• I was invited to play cards last Friday, and I had a great time.

You might wonder if I think the lodge is doing anything wrong. The fact is, I don't know enough about Masonry, the lodge, the rules to hold an informed opinion.

The other night I asked why beer wasn't part of the refreshments, and if it was possible to bring on off nights. The answer wasn't clear, what was clear that while it may not be explicitly forbidden there were members of our lodge who had very strong objections to it. OK, no beer.

But Freemasons used to meet in Taverns. And, based on the scramble to find a designated driver to the Master Mason Degree Conferral (which will be an AASR rite in the Valley of Grand Rapids -- about 60 miles away), it appears that not all Masonic events are alcohol free.

Not to mention that one third of my wages, or so I've been informed, are wine.

The fact is, I'm not joining the Masons so I have a place to go drink, so this is not a big deal.

Fellowcraft

Last Tuesday, I became a Fellowcraft Mason.

This is the second degree of Masonry, and my third degree will be conferred on Saint Patrick's day. It feels rushed to me, so I'm trying to understand the lessons of this degree -- and the last one, Entered Apprentice -- as well as I can before plunging headlong into "Mastery".

My First Degree was conferred on January 9th. The experience was intense and memorable.

I retained a surprisingly large amount of the lecture I received that day. I found Macay's book online (The Masonic Manual), and saw the EA lecture there verbatim. I read, and reread that lecture several times, but I still had questions. I made some notes and asked at the lodge while studying for my examination.

What shocked me -- and still shocks me -- is how little I need to actually learn before moving on to the next degree. It's too easy, and I don't feel as if I "earned" my fellowcraft.

I did not retain my fellowcraft lessons as well. Part of this was recovering from a cold, and part of this was that the position I was in to take my obligation was painful to hold (I was struck by a car when I was a child, and while in most respects my legs are fine, there are some positions which become painful quickly). My throat was dry from the dregs of the cold, and I was covered in sweat by the time I was allowed more light. Much of the ritual, as much as I wanted to drink it in, washed over me instead. I was offered a chance to rest, and water, but I also knew that quite a bit of effort was involved from all the officers, and I did not want to cause them more inconvenience.

I allowed myself to read the fellowcraft chapter of the manual; I had many more questions about the two pillars and the orders of architecture. Part of my confusion was the orders of architecture are represented by columns which are easy to confuse with pillars.

One thing I had read before my fellowcraft was that the meaning of the "G" within the square and compass stood for God and would be more correct with the Hebrew letter Yod. So when I heard that it represented Geometry I wanted to argue.

That's the problem with reading too much, and I want to drink the knowledge as it's meant to be drunk. Unfortunately, the Internet is a vast ocean of information, and it's so tempting to try to drink it all.

Part of the advantage of symbolism and metaphor is to apply layers of meaning to symbols, that symbols are meant to communicate in a way that prose simply can't. I have to improve my intuition, and suppress my literal logical mind.

I can't comfortably write all my questions here, but some of my notes for next Tuesday are:
- the length of my cable tow
- G
- The relationship of the two pillars to the three columns
- Our lodge has a solid blue floor, what's all this about tiled/fringed floors?

Next week I take my examination for Fellowcraft in the full lodge. The February meeting was opened on the EA degree (I was the only EA present) and I took my examination then. The March meeting, unless an EA is present, will open on the FC degree (again drawing attention to my less-than-master status).

I think EA and FC degrees should last longer, and be less inconvenient to manage, and require more work to attain. Mostly, I can't wait to become a Master Mason so that I can feel fully part of the lodge. On the other hand, I want to savor my journey to Master Mason so I can grow into -- and earn -- that degree.