SRA76 FEBRUARY 2015 MASONIC MAGAZINE

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Volume 11 Issue 2 No. 84 February 2015

Monthly Newsletter

Contents Cover Story, The North is Dark Saint Barbara Famous Freemason – Rudyard Kipling Holy Order of the Knights Beneficent of the Holy CityLodge Al Moghreb AL Aska No. 670. Rays of Masonry The Unwitting Legacy of Nicolas Poussin Corn, Wine, Oil and Salt. Old Tiler Talks Education by Degrees The Masonic Dictionary Main Website – Masonic Legends

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In this issue:

Page 2, ‘The North is Dark.’ A old age old tradition examined, this excellent article looks at why this might be.

Page 4, ‘Saint Barbara.’ A Patron Saint of Freemasonry.

Page 7, ‘Rudyard Kipling.’ A Famous Freemason.

Page 10, ‘Holy Order of the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City.’ Fraternal Societies throughout the World.

Page 12, ‘Lodge AL Moghreb AL Aksa No. 670.’ Another History of one of our Old Scottish

Lodges.

Page 14, ‘Rays of Masonry.’ “Into the Lives of Others”, our Regular monthly feature.

Page 15, ‘The unwitting Masonic Legacy of Nicolas Poussin.’ An article that looks behind the painting The Shepherds of Arcadia!

Page 17, ‘Did You Know?’ Corn, Wine, Oil and Salt, why are they used in a consecration ceremony?.

Page 19, ‘The Old Tiler Talks.’ “Promotion”, the forty-first in the series from Carl Claudy.

Page 23, ‘Education by Degrees.’

The thoughts of Bro. Rabbi Raymond Apple.

Page 25, ‘The Masonic Dictionary.’ Raised.

In the Lectures website The article for this month is ‘Masonic Legends.’[link] The front cover artwork is a reproduction of the painting ‘Saint Barbara’ by Van Eyck.

The North is Dark

(An age old Tradition Examined) It is one of our old-time traditions that the North side of the Lodge Room has always been termed a place of “Darkness”, in imitation of King Solomon’s Temple “of which every Lodge is a representation” In further explanation, it is stated that the Temple was “situated so far north of the ecliptic that neither the sun nor moon, at meridian height could dart its rays into the north part of the building.” This explanation goes back, at the very least, to a 1762 English Catechism which stated that there were only three gates to King Solomon’s Temple-South, West, and East-but that “at the North there was no Entrance, because the Rays of the Sun never darts from that point.” Hence our present-day Three Lights, showing the Sun rising in the East, ascending to meridian height in the South, and setting in the West, with no corresponding Light in the North. But there is evidence from the Bible itself that the North had always been looked upon as a place of darkness and of desolation, unhallowed and unclean. Thus we learn from Talmudic sources that Zerubbabel’s Second Temple, which replaced Solomon’s after its

destruction by Nebuchadnezzer, had an entrance on the North, only through the “Tadi” gate, “the gate of obscurity or privacy”, “it being used only by those who were ceremonially unclean and by mourners and those under the ban,” as the Jewish Encyclopedia tells us. Hence, perhaps the Traditional feeling that had grown up in England, in much later times, against being buried in the north side of the church. Even such a prosaic and down-to-earth architectural work as The Heritage of the Cathedral, by Sartell Prentice, has occasion to mention in one place “the north side of the church, the side of the cold and the dark where no man would willingly be buried…” And our prolific nineteenth century Masonic writer, Dr. George Oliver, recounts the statement of one commentator who says that “there still exists among the people of England, a strong prejudice against burials on the north side of a church, which they consider unhallowed ground, and only fit for suicides and un-baptized children.” This last sentiment appears to have found expression in at least one of our early Masonic documents, the famous Graham MS., of 1726-a sort of combination Catechism and version of the old Charges-where the question is asked and answered: “How stood your Lodge at your entering-East, West and South-why not North also-in regard we dwell at the

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north part of the world and we bury no dead at the north side of our churches so we carry a Vacancy at the north side of our Lodges…” But the current geographical and Solomonic explanation appears to have soon taken precedence over the Biblical and Talmudic, and so we find the explanation in the 1762 Catechism previously mentioned, and in 1730, the latter of which says: “Q. Why are there no Lights in the North? “A. Because the Sun darts no Rays from thence.” More realistic Masonic historians, however, have sought for a more factual explanation than the dependence on the legendary origin of our Masonic institution from the time of the building of King Solomon’s

Temple which is legend that is no longer taken literally, by serious students, as Dr. Mackey pointed out in his History of Freemasonry. This more factual explanation comes from the practical art of building, with which our operative predecessors were of course primarily concerned. It has accordingly been suggested that, when an edifice was to be erected, a working hut or “lodge” would first be set up, preferably on the side south of the building that was soon to go up, so that it might enjoy the maximum amount of sunlight during the long working day, from sun-up to sun-down. In this position, it would get sunlight from the East, the South, and the West-following the Sun in its apparent motion-but would be shut off from the North as the southern wall of the edifice rose up.

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That this is not entirely an imaginary theory is now brought out by an illustration in an interesting paperback by Jean Gimpel, translated from the French under the title “the Cathedral Builders.” The illustration shows Van Eyck’s Saint Barbara, with the explanatory legend: “At the foot of the edifice, the stonecutter’s lodge.” Here, in fact, we see a lean-to-something like an open-air fruit stand-propped up against the south wall of the church, supported on poles, and completely open to the air and the light on three sides, east, south and west. It is of course just completely blanked off by the south wall of the church itself, which is now on the north side of the “Stonecutter’s Lodge.”

The North is dark! This article was sourced from the website ‘The Educator’ and written by W.Bro. Norman McEvoy to whom SRA76 acknowledges as the author and our thanks go for allowing the editor to reproduce the article here. The website can be found here - http://www.theeducator.ca/ Saint Barbara is probably one of the lesser known Patron Saints of Freemasonry, she has become the Patron Saint of Architects and builders and the following short article explains how this came about. There are in fact a number of Masonic Lodges throughout the World named after the Patroness.

SAINT BARBARA  SAINT BARBARA was the daughter of an Eastern Noble, a pagan who dwelt in Heliopolis. The father, fearing that her beauty would lead to her being sought in marriage, and that so he would lose his only and beloved child, confined her in a high tower. There contemplating the stars of heaven in their courses, the future Saint apprehended the Omnipotence of a Power vastly superior to the idols of the heathen; to her mind so prepared came tidings of the true faith, and her conversion followed. Her directions to the builders to put three instead of two windows in her chamber, brought the knowledge of her conversion to her father. His love changed to fury, which event-ually led him to be himself the instrument of her martyrdom. In association with the Tower and its Builders St Barbara is claimed as the Patroness of Architects and Builders, and more especially in connection with castles, fortifications, and the military arts. Her emblem in this connection is a Tower. The legend seems to have originated in Eastern Christendom and to have been brought by the Crusaders to Western Europe, where the Saint acquired great popularity, in mediaeval times; as the Patroness of the Knight and man-at-arms. Sourced from an article in a Treasury of Masonic Thought, published in Dundee 1924. The full article will appear is the next issue of the SRA76 Magazine. Editor.

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Famous Freemasons

Rudyard Kipling

And his Masonic career.

Preface The Lodge of Hope and Perseverance, No. 782, English Constitution in Lahore, Punjab, India was seeking a Secretary. The year was 1885 and there was a new resident in Lahore, a young man, not yet of legal age, employed as an assistant editor of the provincial newspaper. His father was a Freemason, a notable artist, and Curator of the Lahore Museum. It was suggested that the son was eminently suited for the vacant office, and thus, at twenty years and six months, Rudyard Kipling became a Freemason and Lodge Secretary in a Masonic connection that influenced his life and writings through many years. During those years his fame grew as, in Somerset Maugham’s appraisal, “our greatest storyteller” . To recall something about Kipling’s engagement with Freemasonry is

the purpose of this presentation. To read Kipling with an eye for Masonic references is an interesting enterprise. Others have found it so and have written on the subject. In his “The Life of Rudyard Kipling” , C. E. Carrington makes several references to the Masonic influence. I have drawn on this and other sources in bringing this presentation to you on Kipling, the Man and Mason. Joseph Rudyard Kipling: 1865 - 1936 Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born at Bombay, India on December 30, 1865, the son of John Lockwood Kipling and Alice MacDonald Kipling. His father had gone to India to accept the post of Principal of the newly founded Sir Jamjetjee Jejeebhoy School of Art. His parents were gifted persons; his mother, Alice, sparkling and elegant, established her claim to his ambiguously aimed dedication in Plain Tales from the Hills , “To the wittiest woman in India”. One of her sisters was the mother of Stanley Baldwin, another was Lady Burne-Jones. At five years of age, Rudyard was brought, by his parents, to England and spent five unhappy years with a foster family in Southsea, an experience he later drew on in Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (1888). He then went on to the United Services College, Westward Ho!, near Bideford in North Devon where he remained until his school years were over and he returned to India to become a member of the editorial staff of the “Civil and Military Gazette” in Lahore. Here he rediscovered the land of his birth and developed the flair for writing that had already marked his school years at Westward Ho!. It is recorded that “After the paper had been put to bed in the sultry Indian midnight, he would find his way into the old walled city” to sense the

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mystic atmosphere of that colourful land and its ancient people, and to exercise a talent for absorbing background and for storing in his memory impressions and incidents which provided material for a half-century of literary production. In the bazaars, from all sorts and conditions of natives, from police officers, and from service people, he gathered copy that was to be the basis of many poems and stories. His biographer says that “One of the channels by which he penetrated the underworld was Freemasonry --- he was fascinated by the mysterious bond that over-came class rules. Freemasonry was a cult that transcended caste and sects. It was the only ground in a caste ridden country on which adherents of different religions could meet on the level.” In his twenty-first year he began to produce the verse and stories that were to make him famous and which attracted attention from the outset. His stay in India was terminated in 1889, when he returned to England where he established literary contacts and lasting friendships and where the artistry of his writing won growing recognition. Among his new friends, he was especially drawn to an American publisher from Vermont, Wolcott Balestier, whose sister Caroline he married on January 18, 1892 shortly after Wolcott’s untimely death. Carrie and Rudyard took up residence, from 1892 to 1896, in Brattleboro, Vermont, the home of the Balestier family. The had a large home built to their own specifications on the outskirts of Brattleboro where their two daughters were born and where they made many friends and were noted for their hospitality. Kipling accomplished much writing here, including the Jungle Book and Captains Courageous. Unhappily a family quarrel developed with Carrie’s brother Beatty and the outcome was a return to England in 1896. The Kipling

home still stands in Vermont and has been preserved as a historical landmark. It is not the intent of this presentation to dwell on Kipling’s increasing fame after his re-establishment in England. As his genius was acknowledged, honours were at his command but he refused all except those of a literary nature. He was the first English writer to be awarded a Nobel prize for literature in 1907. It is also of interest that his first honorary degree was from McGill University, for which he visited Montreal in 1907, and on that occasion, Sir William VanHorne, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, placed his private car at Kipling’s disposal for a trip to Vancouver and return. Financial success, public acclaim, and personal sorrows marked the years until death on January 18, 1936 and Kipling’s funereal service in Westminster Abbey. His eldest daughter, Josephine, caught pneumonia in February 1899 during a trip to New York and never recovered, dead at age 6! His only son, John, was killed at the Battle of Loos in Belgium, on September 27, 1915 just six weeks after his eighteenth birthday! Kipling gave unstintingly of his time and effort as a member of the Imperial War Graves Commission and is credited with the authorship of the inscription seen in every cemetery “ Their Name Liveth for Evermore”. Kipling’s Masonic Life: In “Something of Myself” Kipling writes: “In 1885, I was made a Freemason by dispensation (being under age) in The Lodge of Hope and Perseverance 782 E.C. because the Lodge hoped for a good Secretary. They did not get him, but I helped, and got Father to advise me in decorating the bare walls of the Masonic Hall with hangings after the prescription of

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King Solomon’s Temple. Here I met Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, members of the Araya and Brahmo Samaj, and a Jewish Tyler, who was a priest and butcher to his little community in the city. So yet another world was opened to me which I needed.” We get a little more detail in a letter Kipling wrote in the London Times, dated March 28, 1935: “ In reply to your letter I was Secretary for some years of the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782, English Constitution which included Brethren of at least four different creeds. I was entered by a member of the Brahmo Samaj (a Hindu), passed by a Mohammedan, and raised by an Englishman. Our Tyler was an Indian Jew. We met, of course, on the level and the only difference that anyone would notice was that at our banquets some of the Brethren, who were debarred by caste rules from eating food not ceremoniously prepared, sat over empty plates. I had the good fortune to be able to arrange a series of informal lectures by Brethren of various faiths, on baptismal ceremonies of their religions.” Kipling also received the Mark Master degree in a Lahore Mark Lodge and affiliated with a Craft Lodge in Allahabad, Bengal. Later, in England he affiliated as an honorary member of the Motherland Lodge, No. 3861 in London. He was also a member of the Authors’ Lodge, No. 3456, and a founder-member of the Lodge Builders of the Silent Cities, No. 4948, which was connected with the War Graves Commission and which was so named at Kipling’s suggestion. Another Masonic association was formed when he became Poet Laureate of the famous “Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2” in Edinburgh, the Lodge of which Robert Burns is said to have served in the same office. Enquiry of

Brattleboro Lodge, No. 102, in Vermont, discloses no record of Rudyard Kipling having visited during his residence in the community. Years later, however, he accepted a fellowship in the Philalethes Society, an organization of Masonic writers formed in the United States in 1928. The February 1963 issue of “The Philalethes”, a publication of this Society, recalls that, before the original list of forty Fellows was closed in 1932, Kipling was proposed as the fortieth Fellow. When the Secretary wrote to advise him that they wished to honour the author of “My Mother Lodge”, “The Man Who Would Be King”, “Kim” and other Masonic stories, Kipling accepted. There seems to have been some quality deep within his nature to which Freemasonry appealed. The idea of a secret bond, of a sense of community, and of high principles among men sworn to a common purpose, fitted his concept of a social order. To quote his biographer Carrington: “ Freemasonry, with its cult of common action, its masculine self-sufficiency, its language of symbols, and its hierarchy of secret grades, provided him with a natural setting for his social ideals.” On his first trip to America in 1889, he made use of Masonic introductions whereby his visit was enriched. An American novelist, Edward Lucas White, became a life-long friend, and it is said that in their correspondence and association they made continued use of Masonic terminology. Kipling was essentially a Craft Mason, and there is no indication of interest in the extraneous branches of the Institution. The place of his Mother Lodge in his affection is suggested in the article read to the Leicester Lodge of Research on November 25, 1929 in which reference is made to a current press item about Kipling’s sending

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a “Masonic Tool” to his Mother Lodge in Lahore. It is not strange then that these feelings be reflected in his work. We find the reflection of Kipling’s Masonic interest in three areas of his writing. There are wholly Masonic poems, of which “ The Mother Lodge” and “Banquet Night” are largely familiar to Masons; there are the overtly Masonic-based stories such as “The Man Who Would Be King”, “Kim” and those relating to the Lodge of Faith and Works, No. 5837, English Constitution, such as “In the Interests of the Brethren”, “The Janeites” etc.; and there are the numerous Masonic allusions which colour many of his poems and stories. The Man Who Would Be King has been called a masterpiece. It is one of his earlier stories and was written in India, about the strange adventure of two vagabonds, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnegan, with whom the author became acquainted in an unusual way. In a railway carriage, one of the two accosted the author Masonically and persuaded him to take a message to the other “on the square --- for the sake of my Mother, as well as your own”. The two adventurers go off on an unhallowed expedition, and after two years one returns with a fantastic tale of experiences in a kingdom beyond Afghanistan, where they found Masonic practices among the natives, had used Masonry to further designs of power, and had met ultimate disaster from which only one returned --- maimed, disfigured and demented --- carrying the shrunken head of his erstwhile comrade. His story, from ecstatic beginning to gristly end, defies imagination. The unscrupulous pair had found the crude mountain tribesmen knowledgeable of the E.A. and F.C.

degrees but ignorant of the M.M. degree. Dravot’s fertile mind concocted the devious scheme of using the Sublime degree as an instrument for control. So the plan progressed, and a lodge was formed, when, lo, in a dramatic moment, the Master’s symbol was disclosed on the underside of the very stone used by Dravot as the Master’s seat. It corresponded to that on his Master’s Apron. “Luck again”, says Dravot to Peachy, “ they say it’s the missing Mark that no one could understand the why of...” and then Dravot declared himself “Grand Master of all Freemasonry in Karfiristan.... and King of Karfiristan, equally with Peachy!” Then, in Peachy’s words, “We opened the Lodge in most ample form”. But, it was too good to last. Call it human frailty or moral transgression, the sweet wine of success was to much for Dravot, and when he looked for a Queen to share his Kingdom, the god became a man of the earth. Sowing the winds of desire, he and Peachy reaped the whirlwind of horror as the disillusioned natives turned on them and left only the mentally-bereft junior partner to escape back to civilization and death, with the dried and withered head of Daniel Dravot as the relic of the man who would be king. This story was made into a movie and can be found in some video stories. Kim, a picturesque novel of the Indian underworld, has a high measure of artistry and has been compared with E.M. Forster’s Passage to India. Essentially, it is the story of the education of a police spy who counteracted a Russian spying plot in India; but it contains a thread of Freemasonry. Kimball O’Hara was the orphaned son of a wastrel ex-sergeant of the Mavericks, an Irish regiment, who had

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married the nursemaid in a Colonel’s family. With both parents dead, the three year old child was left with a native woman, who strung around his neck a leather amulet-case containing his father’s entire estate: Kim’s birth-certificate, his father’s ‘clearance certificate’ and O’Hara’s Master Mason’s certificate. Growing up in the native environment, the lad meets many interesting characters and eventually finds his father’s old regiment; the Masonic certificate is a talisman and as the story unfolds Kim rises to the challenge of his heritage. Kipling seems ever-ready to insert, often in an incidental manner, Masonic allusions suggested by the ritual, terminology and symbols with which he was so intimately acquainted, and which had become embedded in his mind. The interested reader, who is persistent, will find more of such, often when least expected. Sir George MacMunn wrote: “Kipling uses Masonry in much the same way he uses the Holy Writ, for the beauty of the story, for the force of the reference, and for the dignity, beauty, and assertiveness of the phrase.” There is one more effect that familiarity denies us which is present in the Masonic allusion and that is the almost uncanny hint of something unveiled It is certain that in their search for a good secretary, the Brethren of Hope and Perseverance found one who became an exemplar of the great principles of our Art, in his life, work and influence. Surely his spirit must have been present at the memorable ceremony at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi, India on November 24, 1961, when the new Grand Lodge of India was consecrated, comprising 145 Lodges over whom the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland had relinquished their authority. And at this point, in

conclusion, some lines (non-Masonic) seem appropriate as placed by Kipling at the end of his collected works. If I have given you delight by aught that I have done. Let me lie quiet in that night which shall be yours anon: And for the little, little span the dead are borne in mind, seek not to question other than, the books I leave behind. Sources Canadian Masonic Research Association Kipling and Freemasonry---MWBro. Robert A. Gordon PGM - G.L. P.E.I. Rudyard Kipling: CRAFTSMAN--- Sir George MacMunn Grand Lodge of Scotland Year Book Debits and Credits: Rudyard Kipling The Illustrated Kipling: edited by Neil Philip I do not know who the original author of this learned discourse was as I have cobbled it together from a number of sources, but it is important to me that the reader understand that I am not the author, Eric G. Edgar, P.M., Virgin Lodge No. 3, Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia This article was sourced by the editor from the Internet. The short story of ‘The man Who Would be King,’ is reproduced in the lectures website in February 2005, and can be read at this link. Click here.

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Fraternal Societies

Of the World

‘Holy Order of Knights Beneficent of the Holy

City’

The Knights Beneficent of the Holy City, more commonly referred to as Chevaliers Bienfaisant de la Cité Sainte (CBCS), took its rise following a Convention held at Wilhelmsbad in 1782 and is the oldest order connected with freemasonry which has had a continuous existence. It is derived from the Rite of Strict Observance erected in 1754, the foundation of which was attributed to Baron von Hund; it propounded a theory that freemasonry was developed directly from the Crusading Templars, embodying a belief that the Order was ruled by ‘unknown superiors’. At one time it had many Provinces scattered throughout Europe, but slowly over some 28 years the influence of the Strict Observance waned and it was finally reconstructed to become the Scottish Rectified Rite (CBCS). The degrees of the Order (not fully worked by all Priories) are those practised in the Lodge of St Andrew and The Order of the Interior, operating

under the Great Priory of Helvetia. The grades of the Rite are structured as under: Conferred in a Symbolic Lodge: 1. Entered Apprentice 2. Fellowcraft 3. Master Mason Conferred in a Great Priory 4a. Scottish Master of St Andrew: This grade makes reference to the divine tradition of the Temple of Solomon and the abiding presence of the Holy Shekinah. It also infers that while the first Temple was laid to ruins there still remained within the sacred knowledge of the God of Israel. 4b. Perfect Master of St Andrew: Here the legend of the second Temple is developed, exhorting the true seeker to penetrate the tomb of Hiram in search of the lost word. His labours are rewarded by the allegorical personality of the Master Builder being raised like a veil to reveal the risen Christ and thereby unfolds a Christian interpretation of the letters forming the name of our GM; it also hints at the coming of the New Jerusalem, the mystic Zion. 5. Squire Novice: This grade, like that of a Knight, is conferred in a Commandery and recounts a legend that at the dawn of the Christian era, wise and illuminated sages dwelling within the Holy City were converted to Christianity by St Mark. The secret work of initiation required that their doctrine be transmitted by secret oral tradition, which was done and culminated in the Knights Templar who were reputed to be the latter custodians of this divine knowledge. 6. Knight Beneficent of the Holy City: In the final grade it is revealed to the Novice

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that at the zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation and even with Orpheus, Pythagoras and Pluto a religious dogma existed, which was identical with that of Christianity. It is further explained that the Chivalry of the Holy City was manifested in good works being the perfect path to God and by the diffusion of such works ensuring the greatest good to the human family and the final attainment of the true enlightenment. In addition to Switzerland there are today five other Great Priories in the world, situated in the following countries USA (erected 1934), France (1935), England (1937), Germany (1959) and Belgium (1986). In England the CBCS is controlled by the Great Priory of the United Military, Religious and Masonic Order of the Temple etc, but little is known of its membership as meetings are very infrequent and normally only held when a new member is received.

Did You Know? What is the meaning of the word “cable tow”? What is meant by the reference to its length? Answer: the King The Oxford English Dictionary contains a number of cable combinations, e.g. “cable-rope”, “cable-range”, “cable-stock”, but does not give “cable-tow”. The word “tow” has another significance in addition to pulling or dragging?; it also means the fibre of flax or hemp or jute. A cable might be made of plaited wire, or of metal links, or of man-made fibres, but the

combination “cable-tow”, which seems to be of purely masonic usage, implies almost certainly -- the natural fibre from which the rope is to be made. The cable's length is a unit of marine measurement, 1/10th of a sea mile, or 607.56 feet. Masons use the term "cable's length' in two senses: (1) “a cable's length from the shore” implying that anything buried ,at that distance out at sea, could never be recovered. (2) “if within the length of my cable-tow”: In operative times, attendance at Lodge or 'assembly' was obligatory, and there were penalties for non-attendance. Early regulations on this point varied from 5 to 50 miles, except 'in peril of death'. In effect the length of the cable-tow implies that Masons are obliged to attend, so long as it was humanly possible to do so. Why must the brethren be convinced that the candidate has no metal about him, "or else the ceremony, thus far, must have been repeated"? Answer: The reasons given in the 'Charity Lecture' are adequate and complete. The reason for this deprivation arises from an ancient superstition of 'pollution by metals' as shown in the account of the building of KST.(1 Kings, 6&7) "...there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building. " The proof or test is required, because all other points in the 'preparation' of the candidate are readily visible during the perambulations, but the absence of metals would not be visible, hence the special test. The above answers were given by W. Bro. Harry Carr, a former Secretary of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076.

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Lodge AL Moghreb AL Aksa No. 670.

Shortly before February 1881, a petition was received at the Grand Lodge of Manitoba which was signed by a number of brethren praying to receive a dispensation to open and meet as a Regular Lodge at Gibraltar. Provisions was further requested that the place of meeting should be ultimately removed to 'some city in Morocco'. The petition was accompanied by a letter from RW Bro. Robert Stewart Patterson who had been the first Worshipful Master of Prince Rupert's Lodge and who in this instance was the prime mover of the scheme. At the Annual Communication of Grand Lodge of Manitoba the petition was discussed and it was recommended that the dispensation and upon the terms submitted be granted. In the month of July 1881, the Board of General Purposes made a special report at the communication recommending the granting of a charter to 'AI Moghreb AI Aksa Lodge' to be numbered 16 on the Grand Register of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. This motion was carried and the charter subsequently issued. A few days after the issuing of the charter a copy of the Quarterly Communication (May) of the Grand Lodge of Scotland was received by the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Manitoba in which the following item appeared.

GIBRALTAR - The Grand Lodge of Manitoba, Canada, had granted a Charter to a Lodge in Gibraltar.-, which had opened in May last Holding this to be an encroachment on the rights of the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, which exercise exclusive Masonic jurisdiction in that colony, the Committee have directed the Scotch Lodge at Gibraltar not to recognise the Lodge there, holding of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, and recommend to the Grand Lodge to cooperate with the Grand Lodges of England and Ireland in any resolution they may adopt in vindication of their rights. In August 1881, the Grand Secretary of England addressed a communication to the Grand Master of Manitoba. I am commanded by the M. W. the Grand Master of England to address you on a subject which has Come to His Royal Highness’ knowledge, viz. -the establishment of a lodge in the British Colony of Gibraltar. With reference to this action on the part of you. - Grand Lodge, I am directed to remind you that Gibraltar is a colony belonging to Great Britain and Ireland, and consequently under the exclusive joint jurisdiction of the three Grand Lodges of that Kingdom namely those of England, Ireland and Scotland. I am further directed to point out that the Grand Lodge of Manitoba was established entirely and solely to meet the Masonic wants of that colony, and certainly with a view to ,founding Lodges in other colonies of the British Crown, a prerogative which has not been claimed by any of the British North American Grand Lodges, and which never

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could be considered by the Grand Lodge of England. The M. W. the Grand Master of England further fails to see any good object to be attained by thus seeking to establish the Lodge in question, and which His Royal Highness has felt it is his painful duty to direct the English Lodge in Gibraltar no to -recognise. I am therefore, commanded by the M. W. the Grand Master of England to protest against the recent action of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, and to express a hope that on consideration, will advise your Grand Lodge to withdraw its sanction and warrant ,from the body now needlessly disturbing the Masonic Harmony of the English, Irish and Scotch Lodges in Gibraltar. Shadwell H Clarke, Grand Secretary Although the Grand Master of Manitoba was not happy with the treatment received by the Grand Lodge of Scotland and of England he nevertheless sent a cable to Worshipful Brother Patterson instructing him not to constitute the Lodge nor to install any Officers in AI Moghreb AI Aksa Lodge. This information was passed to several Grand Lodges in Great Britain and Ireland. A recommendation was made in the report by the MW Grand Master of Manitoba and endorsed by the Board of General Purposes to the effect that ' The Worshipful Master of the said Lodge be instructed to hold the warrant in abeyance for six month, whilst it could be moved to Morocco and failure to do this then the Lodge's papers, books etc. should be

returned without further delay to the Grand lodge of Manitoba' As the original intention was to move the Lodge to Morocco the Board of General Purposes felt that they had not overstepped their authority or prerogative as Morocco was an unoccupied territory. Before the resolution had reached W. Bro. Patterson he had already constituted the new Lodge. He had also taken upon himself authority which he did not possess and had convened what he was pleased to designate 'an occasional' Grand Lodge at which he constituted a Territorial Grand Lodge. He conducted the ceremony of installing the officers of AI Moghreb AI Aksa Lodge at that meeting. When this information reached Manitoba the Grand lodge declared the meeting illegal. The W. Bro. was ordered to return all documents including the warrant which had been improperly used. The Grand Master of Manitoba revoked and recalled the special commission which had been issued to W. Bro. Patterson. No communication was sent to the Lodge nor to any other officer of that lodge as this was not recognised, but in turn the decision by the Grand Lodge of Manitoba was communicated to W. Bro. Patterson as all previous correspondence in connection with the Lodge had been made through him. Bro. Patterson paid no heed to the demands nor did he acknowledge receipt of correspondence. Failure to receive any information or explanation the Grand Lodge of Manitoba published a copy of the letter sent to Bro. Patterson in 'The

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Freemason' a Masonic periodical published in London. Inconsequence of the publication of the letter the members of Lodge AI Moghreb AI Aksa replied to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba explaining that they had not been in sympathy with the unconstitutional acts and also that they had discountenanced Bro. Patterson's idea of establishing a Territorial Grand Lodge. The Lodge by that time was domiciled in Tangier and as this created no invasion of territory from other Grand Lodges the original objections were withdrawn. Bro. Patterson appealed against the ruling and decision of the Grand Master and it was considered and decision sustained. He was again ordered to return his commission within three months. Although the Lodge continued on the Register of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba in 1890 the Charter was suspended for failure to submit returns to Grand Lodge. Lodge AI Moghreb AI Aksa caused some unnecessary problems to Grand Lodge of Manitoba and it was decided to concentrate upon their home affairs and leave overseas problems to older jurisdictions. Lodge AI Moghreb AI Aksa was transferred to Gibraltar and commenced working under a new Charter the one that we know today as No 670 of the Grand lodge of Scotland. http://www.gibconnect.com/~lodgealmoghreb/index.htm This History of Lodge Al Moghreb Al Aksa No. 670 was sourced from their website, which can be viewed by clicking the link. Thanks go to the Lodge No .670.

Rays of Masonry “Into the Lives of Others”

"All that we send into the lives of others comes back to our own." In words, symbols, and allegory, Masonry stresses this great truth. Masonry is the science of morality, and through the study of right-living, establishes its high purpose of making men "wiser, better, and consequently happier." But let us forever keep in mind that the sending out works two ways. Good begets good and evil begets evil. The reaping is the direct result of the sowing. There is the choice of materials offered the candidate as he stands in the northeast corner of the lodge and with it he has the right to choose that which disappears as a shadow or that which defies the onslaught of time. The erected edifice is the direct result of the materials that he sent out for the construction of the Temple. Is not Masonry in truth then a Moral Science? "Light-hearted" means free from anxiety- the sending out of those things which will not come back as burdensome regrets and which will bind the heart and conscience. Take it the other way. To send out burdens of hate into the lives of others is to carry around with us the chains of oppression. What do we seek in a "foreign country?" That which is the source of all good, that which will be safe to send out because its reappearance in our own lives will carry it The Blessings of Heaven.

Dewey Wollstein 1953

14

The Unwitting Masonic Legacy

of Nicolas Poussin

I certainly don’t think the famous artist Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) was a Freemason; he was far too early for organized Freemasonry. However, that he might have been acquainted with Craft Masonry during his time, and some of the teachings of the “Craft” is possible. Some scholars date Masonic teachings back to 800. Biblical references, of course, go back to the building of King Solomon’s temple. That being said, Poussin's remarkable painting The Shepherds of Arcadia (1648) can be taken to be highly Masonic in nature, and that Masons in the 1700s and beyond saw this is very likely. The painting, as seen here, shows three men inspecting the inscription on a tomb. The inscription reads: Et in Arcadia ego, which means, “I too here lived in Arcadia.” The youngest of the three men seems to be questioning a rather “symbolic” woman as to what the inscription actually means. I

think that most Masons will immediately see that the three men can be taken as a Master Mason, a Fellow-Craft and an Entered Apprentice. Also that the woman can be taken as Hope, one of the principle rounds on Jacob’s ladder (i.e., Faith, Hope, and Charity). Hope could be telling the Entered Apprentice that death is inevitable and assuring him that if he leads a good life, he can look forward to a rewarding afterlife in heaven— where all good Freemasons hope to arrive.... It is therefore little wonder to me that a mirror image of this painting was used for the 18th century assumed Masonic-related monument in the grounds of Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, England, called The Shepherds’ Monument. I say, “assumed”

because I am going by the inference in the book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln, 1996). I don’t think much in this book is fact, however, from the information I have provided; I think they were right on this point. If you look closely you will see that there is an inscription on the monument showing the following letters: O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V. Then below this inscription, to the left there is a “D” and to the right, an “M.”

15

Since 1996 (publishing of book by Baigent and all) this inscription has brought about mountains of speculation, all naturally related to “Masonic secrets.” We see on Wikipedia that the inscription has never been satisfactorily explained, and has been called one of the world's top un-cracked cipher texts. Some months ago I saw a post on the subject by Shannon Dorey who offered the following explanation, which when coupled with what I have already stated, makes sense to me. If the inscription is turned upside down, the first two letters can be said to form an “M”. The third

forth letters, when combined, form the

ow we come to the last letter, “O”.

O”: The fifteenth letter in the English and

an eye or a circle with a dot in the center.

l

to context ith the sculpture, we have a complete

” and “M”, these letters were ommon on old Roman tombstones and the

ters have nothing to do with the ain inscription. Certainly, from my

estion is, could the inscription ally be so “unsophisticated? The answer

nd eculation on the Shepherds’ Monument

andsquare and compass, which can be taken as an “A”. The next letters “S” and “O” remain as is, and the next letter is now an “N”. Taken together all of these letters result in the word “MASON.” NShannon had no explanation for this letter. However, I believe it could have the significance stated by Mackey in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. He states: “most of the Western alphabets. The corresponding letter in the Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets was called Ayn, that is, eye. The primitive form of the Phoenician letter being the rough picture of

The meaning of a circle with a dot in the center is, of course, well-known to alFreemasons, and given the inscription shows the word “MASON” with an “O” (circle) at the end, then the entire meaning would be: “Mason, keep your passions within due bounds.” There is also an inference to the All-seeing eye. When this “statement” is taken inwmessage based on the entire Masonic philosophy. As to the “Dcpractice of using them carried over into the Christian era. The letters stand for Diis Manibus, or “To the Spirits of the Dead.” The words are also said to mean, "Dedicated to the Shades” (or deities). Even though the word “deities” is plural, I think the intent in later times was, “Dedicated to God” (it’s the thought that counts). These letmstudies Masonic symbolism is not complex. Beyond the “veiling” of meanings, Masons don’t complicate things. Equally certain is that none of this sort of thing has anything to do with “Masonic secrets.” If the qureis, definitely. One has only to look at the symbol for Tubal Cain to prove this. In my opinion, the time, effort, aspinscription (most I believe by non-Masons) has gone far beyond common sense. I believe the person who sculptured the

16

monument, or the person who commissioned him, simply wanted to say what I have stated, and thought of a way to show it so as not to be immediately evident. I am sure Masons at the time were told of the little “secret,” if you will (probably in Lodge), and they kept it to themselves. They would not have written it down or published it.

AM, AASR Mason 32º, and a member of the

han me, in fact, I

have seen Corn, Wine, Oil and Salt

nswer: several instances in the Bible in

alt is also related to sacrifice but it has a

very oblation of thy meat offering shalt

en in his Concordance interprets Salt,

rve from corruption and is itself impervious to

The author is Chris Murphy a Past Master, RSociety of Blue Friars. He has written three books on Masonic Philately. Now there is nobody likes a Masonic

onspiracy Theory better tCgive a lecture on them. (Light-hearted of course) But this is one that takes the biscuit, and that’s why I’ve included it in this month’s Issue. It was believable right up to when he turned the inscription upside down, and came up with the word Mason! It’s bad enough when non-masons write this stuff, never mind a Past Master! This article was sourced from Larry Burden’s magazine, The Watermark’ which sadly is no longer published.

Did You Know? I used in the Consecration of a Masonic Lodge. Why are these items used, especially Salt, and when were they brought into Masonic practice? AThere are which all four `elements' are mentioned together in a single sentence, e.g., Ezra vi, v. 9 `... wheat, salt, wine and oil . . .', and again in Ezra vii, v. 22, and I Esdras vi, 30. In our present�day consecration ceremonies these `elements' owe their introduction, almost certainly, to their use in Biblical times as oblations, offerings, and as bloodless sacrifices, in the Temple. Corn, Wine and Oil are mentioned in Deut. xi, v. 14 among the rewards for those who followed God's commandments. They were deemed the prime necessities of daily life; hence their use among the Hebrews as thank-offerings, (i.e., non-animal) sacrifices. Svariety of symbolic meanings in the Bible. Its use is prescribed in Leviticus ii, 13. Ethou season with salt ... With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Crudin this passage, as a symbol of friendship, and it was a custom in Europe and the Near East in the middle ages, to welcome distinguished visitors to a town or village with Bread and Salt. Because it helps to prese

17

decay, Salt has become a symbol of incorruption. Brewer (Dict. of Phrase and Fable) calls it a symbol of perpetuity and this association of Salt with the idea of permanence appears frequently in the Bible: `It is a covenant of salt for ever before the

ord' (Num. xviii, 19).

eatest among the ebrew commentators, said of this

never decays, so will God's ovenant . . . endure'.

reemasonry,

ngdom . . to David ... by a covenant of salt' (2

idea of permanence is mphasized, and that is undoubtedly one of

our work this salt we shower, mblem of Thy conservant power;

uce the mbolical explanations of the elements, as

ol of Joy & Cheerfulness. il, symbol of Peace and Unanimity.

nd Friendship.

ents in

ifferent times and places. C. C. Hunt in

s to be of modern troduction, probably after 1850. In the

L Rashi, one of the grHpassage, `As salt c On a theme nearer to F `The Lord God of Israel gave the ki. Chron. xiii, v. 5). Here, again, the ethe main reasons for the use of Salt in our Masonic consecration ceremonies. So far as I am aware, the theme of preservation and permanence is not usually mentioned by the Consecrating Officer but, in some of the numerous Consecration mementoes in our Library, the verse that is sung before the Salt is used in the ceremony, runs as follows: Now o'er EAnd may Thy presence, Lord, we pray, Keep this our temple from decay. It may be interesting to reprodsythey are given in the English Consecration ceremony.

Corn, symbol of Plenty. Wine, symbOSalt, symbol of Fidelity a The Masonic symbolism for the elemseems to have varied considerably dhis Masonic Symbolism (Iowa, 1939 pp. 100, 101) quotes the report of an English foundation�stone ceremony in the 1920s when the Provincial Grand Master for Nottinghamshire officiated; on that occasion Oil was `the emblem of charity', and Salt `the emblem of hospitality and friendship'. The same writer notes the curative or purifying powers of Salt, citing ii Kings, II vv. 20 - 21 in which Elisha with a cruse of Salt `healed the waters'. Another reference in similar vein is in Exodus xxx, v. 35, `Thou shalt make it a perfume . . . seasoned with salt, pure and holy'. (In this last instance the customary translation of the words in italics is `tempered together', but the original Hebrew certainly means `salted' or `seasoned with salt'.) The use of Salt in the Consecration of Masonic Lodges seeminlate 1780s, Preston's descriptions of Dedication Ceremonies mention Corn, Wine and Oil - but never Salt. In addition, Bro. T. O. Haunch, the Librarian of Grand Lodge, has checked a number of descriptions of Masonic Consecration and Dedication ceremonies up to the 1840s. None of them makes mention of Salt, and it seems impossible to say, with certainty, when that `element' was brought in. Incidentally, the ceremony of Consecration as practised under the Grand Lodge of Scotland uses Corn, Wine, and Oil, but there is no mention of Salt.

18

Promotion. The New Brot bad case of peeve, and cted it as he

reeted the Old Tyler in the anteroom.

der loud and the Black Hole of Calcutta!"

un-asonic to electioneer for officers. It's bad

t it all out of your system."

does

e? And Smith, who was in line for

the Old yler. "It's a difficult question. By Masonic

swered the New Brother. "It isn't ght."

ed the Old Tyler. "Now that Jones as the job, I'll tell you that I knew Smith

man elected or ppointed to be Junior Steward has a neck-

her's face showed a his voice refle

g "S'matter, son?" inquired the Old Tyler. "You look like a cross between a thunc "Politics!" snapped the New Brother. "I thought it was bad form, undignified, Menough any time, but when they electioneer for one who isn't in line for promotion and to throw out one who has served years in the chairs, I think it's terrible!" "Yes, yes, go on," encouraged the Old Tyler. "Ge "Tonight they elected Bill Jones Junior Warden. He doesn't attend regularly,

hpromotion, was dropped. Smith never missed a night last year and did his best as Senior Deacon. Jones is more popular than Smith, and may make a better officer, but the point is that Smith worked and Jones never has. So I'm peeved!" "Wiser heads than yours have been peeved at politics in a lodge," answeredTusage any electioneering is taboo. The unwritten law and the theory contend for a free choice of officers by unbiased votes. But men are men first and Masons afterwards, and politics always have been played. I know of no way to stop a brother from telling another brother how he ought to vote!" "That doesn't dispose of the injustice of Smith," anri "The majority thought it was right," counterhwouldn't get it. He has been faithful to his work, never missed a night, done his best. But his best just wasn't good enough. You speak of Jones being more popular than Smith. There must be a reason, and if he is better liked he'll make a better officer." "But it is still an injustice." The New Brother was stubborn. "You argue from the standpoint of the man who believes that aahold on the job ahead of him," answered the Old Tyler. "According to your idea any Junior Steward who attends lodge and does his work ought to be elected to the succeeding position each year as a reward

19

of merit. Actually the job, not the man, is important. The good of the lodge is more important than the reward for the man. "You don't realize that Masonry is bigger than the individual, that the lodge is bigger

an its officers, that the positions in line

ble, ttentive to his duties and enthusiastic in

e he could not emonstrate to the satisfaction of his

h and thanked him for his work. His rethren will show him they like him as a

e New Brother. "But I wonder ow you'd like to be supplanted by another

lad to go," answered the Old yler simply. "I try to be a Mason first, and

th we publish in the ewsletter one of these interesting and informative

ow word Specie?

is informed that F.C.s were paid eir wages in specie. Rarely is much

thare greater than the men who fill them. "A Master may make or mar a lodge. If he is a good Master, well-liked, popular, aahis work, the lodge goes forward. If only enthusiasm and faithfulness recommend him and he lacks ability, and the respect and liking of his fellows, and he has not the equipment to rule, the lodge will go backwards. Smith is a nice fellow, faithful, enthusiastic. But he has more from the neck down than from the ears up. Jones hasn't attended lodge much, but he is a brainy man, accustomed to preside, knows men and affairs, and, if he bears out the judgment of the brethren, will carry this lodge to new heights. "Smith was given his chance for four years. In that timdbrethren that he would make a good Master. It was a kindness to drop him now and not let him serve two more years. It is hard to be told 'we don't want you,' but the lodge showed wisdom in choosing as Junior Warden a man in whom it believes, rather than merely rewarding faithful effort. "I am sure the Master made a nice speech to Smitbbrother if not as a Junior Warden. Smith will not be as peevish about it as are you. He has been a Mason long enough to know that the majority rule is the only rule on

which a Masonic lodge can be conducted. He won't understand his own limitations, or believe he couldn't be as good an officer as Jones, but he will bow to the decision of his fellows and keep on doing the best he can. That is Masonry at its best. Politics is often Masonry at its worst, but in the long run the right men get chosen to do the right work. Sometimes it is a bit hard on the man, but the good Mason is willing to suffer for the love he bears his mother lodge." "As a peeve-remover you are a wonder!" smiled thhTyler?" "When the lodge can find a better servant, I shall be gTan Old Tyler afterwards!" This is the forty-first article in this regular feature, ‘The Old Tiler Talks,’ each monnpieces by Carl Claudy.

Did You Know? H do you pronounce the

Answer: In the second degree, the candidatethattention given to this statement, and I submit that in all likelihood it refers to money in the form of coin. What is more to the point is that seldom is the word pronounced correctly. Most dictionaries give it as “in speeshee” and not as “in speesee” as is frequently heard. The “c” has an “sh” sound as in the word “special”.

20

May We All Learn From The Chisel

By Brother Stephen Dafoe

t a recent visit to a sister lodge for their

D.D.G. rtunity see a first degree for probably the 100th

ut yet so tough that through its erseverance it can carve up the solidest of

s or as men pass on n opportunity for fear that the project is

with constant repeated efforts. Why ot use our Brethren as the Common Gavel

and by hipping little pieces from the problem,

persevere until that Rough misshapen

ome members keep their Lodges strong, hile ot

Some dig pride, ome go along, just for the ride.

o. ,

ome

ome

DER, which of these are you?

s m k

f man, and when we think of man it ecomes difficult not to think of ritual.

nesses, high spirations and basic flaws. Rituals arouse

An Observation of the First Degree

AM. visitation, I had the oppo

totime. Likewise I heard the presentation of the working tools to the candidate for probably the 100th time. Yet this time there was a great difference. Perhaps I listened more attentively for a change, perhaps it struck a cord with me, but whatever the situation, I came to realize the value of that implement of labour - the chisel. If I may paraphrase the actual ritual; it is so small bprock and the great cathedrals of Europe are indebted to its efforts. Brethren, isn't this just like life. How many times do we as Masonatoo big for us or the ritual is too difficult to learn? Let us be like the chisel and face that mass of rocknto assist our swipes at the mighty rock, whether it is getting more members out to a meeting or how we are going to raise funds for the latest district project. Let us together act as working tools of the Great Architect of the Universe c

ashler is a smooth one and made perfect by our Fraternal efforts.

Let George Do it. SW hers join and just belong;

right in, some serve with SSome volunteer to do their share, While some lay back and just don't care; On meeting nights some always show While there are those who never gSome always pay their dues aheadSome get behind for months, instead. Some do their best, some build, smake, Some never give, but always take, Some drag, some pull, some don't, sdo. CONSI

RITUALS AND MAN

As we contemplate the word ritual and it

eanings, it becomes difficult not to thinobFrom time immemorial, man and rituals coexisted. Man is, in fact, a ritual being. One would then ask, what are these ceremonial acts and why are they an inherent part of our nature? Stated simply, rituals convey meaningful symbolic and moral lessons, lessons about our strengths and weakathe inner nature of man and afford him opportunities to receive glimpses of his

21

true self. These ceremonial acts, therefore, awaken within us emotions which are usually dormant and insights which are often shrouded. From the very early stages of our realization of ourselves, we become aware that there is something outside of us which

much larger than ourselves. We realize e

being sed. There are rituals for birth, growing

e modes of expression are ffectively applied, man's inner nature is

their development and evolution, are

the use of ritual is universal and morial. There is little doubt, however,

crocosm or reason for all xistence. Ultimately, ritual provides a

ing bout birds without wings or cars without

merely mind us of the opening and closing of

ling us to accomplish e task to which the Great Architect of the

isthat ther is a macrocosmic world of which we are the microcosm and from which we cannot separate ourselves without hazarding great damage to our spiritual selves. In an attempt to connect and understand these two worlds, the macrocosmic and microcosmic, and his relation to it, man from the beginning of his existence has employed rituals. As we look around and observe meaningful incidents, it becomes quite evident that rituals are constantlyuup and assuming adult responsibilities, graduation from schools, marriage, our demise, and many other occasions. Since rituals are such a necessary and paramount part of us, they must be accurately expressed. To accomplish this, we use language, gestures, acts, symbols, and costumes. When thesearoused, and he glimpses the immortal and imperishable parts of his dual nature. He discovers the strengths which enable him to embark on the hero's journey, not as a courageous act, but as self-discovery. Through ritual, man finds within himself the sources of character to meet his destiny. The origins of these ceremonial acts,

difficult to discover and define despite the fact that immethat the earliest rituals evolved around the cycles of nature and man. They sought to explain the existence of the world, the sequence of seasons, the growth of crops, the nature of animals, human society, and man himself. Indeed, every culture, nation, and institution has developed ritual forms to fit its reason for existence, its microcosm, into the larger maefocus, a core, a reason for being, and such is the case with our own Fraternity, the august and noble Order of Freemasons. Therefore, to think of Freemasonry is, forthwith, to contemplate ritual. To think about Freemasonry without at the same time thinking about ritual is like thinkawheels. Wings allow birds to fly; wheels enable cars to move. And so rituals inspire and teach us moral lessons and cause us to fly above, move around, and pass through the stale and negative episodes which confront us each day of our lives. Freemasonry without proper, effective, and emotionally moving rituals is not Freemasonry at all. It is true that rituals can become exoteric and dry. If rituals reLodge or other routine ceremonies, then we have failed to grasp what rituals communicate to us. What rituals rightly performed and executed accomplish is to resuscitate those dormant but divine qualities which are within us, thus enabth

22

Universe has assigned us. For ceremonial acts to be effective, they must evoke within us the utmost we are capable of accomplishing. It therefore behooves us to pay very close attention to rituals and what they teach us. More importantly, we must make a whole-hearted effort to live a life in congruence

ith our Masonic rituals and the lessons

racteristics f the human being is based upon the

ees

business tycoon I knew had received mited schooling. In time he received

rees did not develop at the ame time. First, about 1300, was probably

completed the basic tructure of modern craft Freemasonry. Harry

wthey impart to us. There are many concerns expressed about the future of Freemasonry. My answer to these concerns is: more of us must make a true effort to apply at every opportunity the lessons we are continually taught by Masonic rituals. If and when we do, our non-Masonic friends and other associates will see Masonry's Light shining in us and will ask to share in it. Man is ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgement alike his capacity for reason and the other unique chaoconsciousness which rituals evoke within him. If we practice the lessons of Freemasonry, I assure you our lives will be resplendent and the future of our Fraternity will be secured, for the basic step in achieving inward freedom is to apply the insights imparted to us through our Masonic rituals. Sourced from Julian H. Cambridge.

Education by Degr

Alihonorary degrees from several places. He then told me, “I got my education by degrees”. The Freemason likewise gets an education by degrees, but both the education and the degrees take a quite different form and they cannot be conferred without a course of studies. The three craft degsthe Second or Fellow Craft Degree; the original name was Fellow of Craft – another name was journeyman or day worker (from French “jour”, a day). There was no lower degree, since apprentices were dependent on their masters, living in the master’s house and taking years to learn the trade. There was no higher degree, since a Fellow of Craft was qualified to be a Master. The Entered Apprentice Degree arose around 1500, reflecting the enhanced status of apprentices. The Third Degree arrived after the operative period. It is possibly the creation of the more politically motivated amongst the 18th century speculatives. The Third Degree s

Carr acknowledges in his essays, “The Freemason at Work”, 1977 (page 169) that the last quarter of the 18th century was “the most fruitful period” in the development of Masonic ritual. Whatever the origins of the Third Degree it enabled the aspiring Freemason to move through three levels of thought and avowal – from the dawning interest of an Entered Apprentice through the sober commitment to hard work of the Fellow Craft to the realism of the Master Mason who knows that difficulties can be overcome.

23

Indicating its more recent arrival, the Third Degree ritual seems the most sophisticated in

nguage and philosophy. All three degrees,

ing om India to Egypt had their trade groups. In

lahowever, remained religious, working “to the honour and glory of (God’s) Holy Name”, invoking Divine blessing on their undertakings, and reading the Scriptures. The Scriptural passages varied, and increasingly were limited to the Old Testament (favourite choices were Gen. 4:22, Judges 12:5-6, Ruth 2:19, I Kings 7:21, Amos 7:7, Psalm 133, Eccl. 12 and II Chron. 6; where New Testament readings were retained they were often Matt. 22:39, John 1:1 and II Peter). Masons were part of a tradition of craftsmen’s guilds. Ancient cultures rangfrthe case of the Jews, the different groups had their own synagogues or sections of synagogues: Jerusalem, for instance, had its Synagogue of the Copper Workers. The Muslims may have introduced an intellectual element into the craft guilds, encouraging members to analyse and articulate their occupational knowledge. Masons were more mobile than other groups, since they were not limited to any one area but could take their skills where needed, with special ways to recognise each other. With the industrial and social changes all the guilds declined, but Masons possibly even more than others, for reasons given in a separate chapter. In order to survive, their guilds must have seen the need to accept honorary members who studied and promoted the craft lore without engaging in the operative work. Hence the emergence of Speculative Freemasonry and the non-emergence of what might have been, for example, Speculative Copper-Working. By Rt. Wor. Bro. Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple, AO RFD

ast Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand ,

odge of New South Wales & the Australian Capital

e sons of fair science, impatient to learn :

elind,

s on the level of honour and truth, youth;

s and Square all his frailties move,

aise, by Wisdom, and learning its base;

uty nite,

ortitude blest, he's a stranger to fears,

ill Temperance shows him the port of content,

by his feelings, he'll bounty impart,

oes,

our

; hen members become, let's be Brothers and

a secret remaining will make you

ee blest Masonry; atchless was he who founded thee,

like him, immortal shall be.

s Caldwell first

PLTerritory. Click the name to go to his website.

THE MASON’S PORTRAIT YWhat's meant by a Mason; now prithee discern

strengthens the weak, he gives light to the HbThe naked he clothes — he's a friend to mankind: He walkAnd spurns the trite passions of folly andThe CompasreAnd his ultimate object is Brotherly Love. The temple of knowledge he nobly doth rSupportedWhen reared and adorned, Strength and BeauAnd he views the fair structure with conscious delight. With FAnd governed by Prudence, he cautiously steers; TAnd Justice unmasked gives a sign of consent. InspiredFor charity ranges at large in his heart; And an indigent Brother relieved from his wFeels a pleasure inferior to him who bestows. Thus a Mason I've drawn, and exposed to yview, And truth must acknowledge the portrait is trueTfriends There'samends. Chorus All shall yield to Masonry, Bend to thMAnd thou Original song written by Jameprinted in 1785

24

THE MASONIC DICTIONARY

Raised

When a candidate has received the Third Degree, he is said to have been raised to the sublime Degree of a Master Mason. The ex ssion refers, materially, to a portion of the

on the use of the expression is that obtained by considering the

ches. The ltar from Holyrood at Edinburgh, Scotland, is a good example. Here the First Person of

preceremony of initiation, but symbolically, to the resurrection, which it is the object of the Degree to exemplify. A curious sidelight upword as also meaning the acceptance or adoption of the candidate officially by the Fraternity. There is an ancient and striking parallel for this understanding. Among the Roman customs connected with the birth of children that was the most remarkable which left it to the arbitrary will of the father whether his new-born child should be preserved or left to perish. The midwife always placed the child on the ground. If the father wished to preserve its life he raised it from the ground and this was said to be tollere infantem, the raising of the child. This was an intimation of his purpose to acknowledge and educate it as his own If the father did not choose to do this, he left the child on the ground, and thus expressed his wish to expose or abandon it, exponere. This exposing of a newborn child was an unnatural custom borrowed from the Greeks by which children were left in the streets and abandoned to their fate (see Fiske's Classical Antiquities, page 287). Some highly significant pictorial instances of resurrection are found in old churathe Trinity supports or raises the Son. Usually the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost, is also represented symbolically in such cases, the dove being as a rule selected to indicate the complete threefold unity of the Godhead. The altar symbolism from Holyrood is therefore a typical specimen of the Trinity portrayal and of the resurrection occurrence. Brother J. E. Barton discusses the symbolism of the Trinity Boss in the West Porch of Peterborough Cathedral in England. This porch is from architectural details dated about 1375. Old writers would call the porch a "Galilee," a ritualistic provision for such occasions as Palm Sunday, and for processions generally on the Sabbath. The promise to the disciples, that the risen Christ should go before them into Galilee, is no doubt the origin of the name; for the chief ecclesiastical dignitary, who brought up the rear of the procession, here went first, and entered the porch through the ranks of his subordinates, as a Master in taking his seat in the Lodge.

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Three probabilities are to be taken into account in considering this boss. It is the central

resumably the Masonic Gild, perhaps the chief Gild in Peterborough, was about to vault

ast came the unifying suggestion that by the use Of a Masonic symbol the Resurrection

hat more appropriate than two figures typical of the Elect, redeemed by Christ, and

ornament of a porch having special reference to the feast of the Resurrection. It was designed by a Gild-itself probably dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as at the Newark Parish Church, which would naturally wish the porch dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Its designers were inspired by a desire to connect, in a manner not unnatural to Freemasons with their own grades and ritual, the two ideas of the Holy Trinity and of the Resurrection. Pthe porch it had given, and looked about for a suitable composition for its main boss. The first and inevitable suggestion was a Trinity subject, so common in sculptures stained glass, and on monumental brasses The usual Trinity is a design of God the Father sups porting the Son upon the Cross, with the Holy Spirit added in the form of a Dove. Next it was suggested that the Trinity should here be modified in form, so as to deplete a Risen, not a Crucified Lord, as being suitable to a Galilee Porch. Lof Christ, in the Trinity subject, should be marked at the point where Our Lord is about to be raised to Heaven by the hands of the Father; one hand gripping, and the other blessing. Hence the Second Person in the Trinity, who has already passed from the earthly Incarnation, is here at a singular position. His pierced hands show Him already crucified and rising from the grave, with the attitude common to medieval paintings of the Resurrection and the loin cloths still about Him. He is about to be raised to the sublime Degree, and God the Father, in order more expressly to note the Masonic idea, is figured like the Sun at its meridian. Wraised and crowned with Him? Hence the two crowned figures, one apparently an ecclesiastic with an amice, whose diadems have the Trinity symbol of the trefoil, like the Father's crown in the Chester boss. In this Peterborough boss, indeed, each foil of the trefoil is itself trefoiled, as if to insist on the threefold notion.

Until next month, Keep the faith!

The Editor.

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