Printed in the Fall 2024 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Digitalis, Raven, "Exploring the Craft of Freemasonry" Quest 112:4, pg 20-22
By Raven Digitalis
Freemasonry, or Masonry for short, is a fraternal order that is often considered to be shrouded in secrecy. Actually it is not a secret society, but is better described as a society that happens to have a few secrets. Masonry is a global spiritual brotherhood with long-held traditions and solid codes of ethics. It has had a lasting influence on both Western history and a wide array of esoteric systems.
It is said that to become a Mason, one must know a Mason. That individual can vouch for the applicant’s character, which is followed by a meeting with members of the lodge. The Craft of the Masons consists of three primary degrees (called the Blue Lodge). Additionally, there are a number of optional “addenda” degrees expressed in the branches of the York Rite and Scottish Rite.
Masonry makes use of symbolism derived from ancient Egypt, Hermetic philosophy, alchemical principles, stories of the Knights Templar, the legend of King Solomon’s Temple, select stories from the Bible, and numerous other ancient milieus.
Freemasonry in its present form originated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as a development of the late medieval stonemasons’ guilds of Scotland and England. The organization is officially styled the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (AFAM). The “Free and Accepted” portion of the name is derived from around 1640, when ordinary men were permitted to join operative Masonic clubs, which had up to that point consisted of men working in building trades. These nonoperative Masons were called accepted Masons because they were allowed to join the Masonic fraternities without necessarily holding careers in “operative” building trades. In modern times, only a handful of initiated Masons work as actual stonemasons or architects. The United Grand Lodge of England was established in 1717, a date generally taken to mark the modern history of the Craft.
A well-known phrase used by Masons to describe the Craft is, Making good men better.” Masonry’s goal is to help men alchemize their minds and emotions through lesson, discourse, and brotherhood, helping refine their characters into spiritual gold.
Craft Symbolism
The Craft of the Freemasons makes use of countless esoteric symbols and philosophies. While we don’t have room for great detail here, readers are invited to research the numerous books and articles that examine Masonic symbolism in depth. Just be sure to keep away from the articles that discuss Satanic or Illuminati conspiracies: Masonic lodges are much more concerned with raising money for charity than with raising demons! In her monumental Isis Unveiled, H.P. Blavatsky professes, “The accusations against Masons have been mostly half guess-work, half-unquenchable malice and predetermined vilification. Nothing conclusive and certain of a criminal character has been directly proven against them.”
As far as Masonic secrets are concerned, don’t believe the hype. Virtually anything about the organization, including its secret words, grips, and gestures, can be researched on the Internet. Like many other initiated Masons, I personally don’t see much of a problem with this, because regardless of how many “secrets” are exposed online, they remain theoretical, empty of meaning. Perhaps these “exposed” secrets can be understood intellectually on some level, but this is hardly comparable to the actual practice of learning these codes within the paradigm of a loving, fraternal brotherhood. Masonry is experiential, not merely theoretical.
Some esoteric symbols within Freemasonry are strictly initiatory, while others are quite common. The square and compass is easily the best-known Masonic symbol and is found in all Masonic lodges around the world. The emblem is also common on virtually all “brotherly bling,” such as rings, necklaces, pocket watches, compasses, pocket knives, coins, and bumper stickers, and so on. It is also a popular tattoo!
The simple symbolism of the architectural square is to “square” our actions with virtuous conduct. The compass represents keeping our actions within “due bounds” (meaning the restraint of immoral behaviors). During initiation, a Mason is given various meanings of the divine letter “G,” which graces the interior of the symbol.
Another highly popular Masonic symbol is the Eye of Providence. In simplest terms, the Eye of Providence represents the eye of God. Identifying the “God” in this equation is up to individual practitioners themselves. This symbol takes a multitude of forms and is commonly depicted atop a pyramid. Freemasonry utilizes a hefty amount of ancient Egyptian symbolism, and the pyramid is no exception; after all, could there be a better symbol of humankind’s architectural genius? The Eye of Providence and pyramid are famously depicted on the back of the American dollar bill. This certainly seems appropriate considering that many of the nation’s Founding Fathers were Freemasons, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Monroe.
Masonic Evolution
Masonry and its offshoots are social clubs: nonprofit organizations that perform a wide variety of civic and social work to raise funding and awareness for individuals in need, whether they be school kids, the elderly, or those with disabilities, and so on. Just look at the work of the Shriners, whose hospitals provide treatment to children with illnesses and injuries. (Although being a Freemason is a prerequisite for becoming a Shriner, the organizations are separate.)
Freemasonry is historically a masculine brotherhood, though a number of Masonic appendant bodies (allied organizations) are predominantly female, such as the Order of the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, and Job’s Daughters International. Others are male-oriented, such as the Shriners and the Order of DeMolay (the latter being a character-building organization for young men between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one).
Traditional Freemasonry prohibits women from being initiated, and modern Masonry upholds this principle chiefly for the sake of tradition. Nonetheless, something called Adoptive Masonry exists exclusively for women, while Co-Masonry welcomes all gender identities. But these branches are often considered clandestine and have challenging relationships with traditional brotherhoods because they utilize traditional (male) Masonic lessons and initiations rather than independent structures.
Masonry also prohibits the initiation of atheists, since the organization requires members to be believe in a “supreme being” or higher power, although, again, the nature of this higher power is up to individual interpretation. Regardless of Masonry’s emphasis on certain Judeo-Christian and biblical allegories within their initiations, the Craft is open to a wide variety of spiritually minded individuals who embrace positive spiritual paths.
One of the “Old Charges” of Freemasonry, which has its origin at least as far back as 1723, is called Concerning God and Religion, and has long been read by many lodges at the Entered Apprentice (first) degree ritual for new brothers of the Craft. This charge asserts that all good men are candidates for Masonry regardless of one’s religious preference. A section of it reads as follows :
[In] ancient Times Masons were charg’d in every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet ’tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, to be good Men and true, or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguish’d; whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must have remain’d at a perpetual Distance.
Masonry distinctly celebrates religious and spiritual diversity, recognizing the forces of honor and honesty as the center of union. Virtually every modern metaphysical school of thought has ties with Freemasonry in some manner.
Masonry in the New Age
Although the term “New Age” did not become widely used until the 1960s and ’70s, many ideas and outlooks prevalent in Freemasonry have become integrated with New Age thought and its innumerable derivations. The New Age movement includes a massively expansive and evolving collection of ancient wisdom, Indigenous practice, and century-spanning philosophical approaches. Of these, ancient ideas expressed in Freemasonry are aplenty.
Masonic philosophical threads are present in H.P. Blavatsky’s presentation of the Ageless Wisdom teachings, which sought to encompass spiritual, moral, and scientific achievements across numerous world religions, cultures, and orders. This is also in line with the evolution of New Age thought, which itself is considered an “approach” rather than a system or religion. The same can be said for Freemasonry.
According to the Universal Co-Masonry website, “Blavatsky was a Russian aristocrat whose childhood was heavily influenced by Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. She spent her formative years in the vast library of her great-grandfather, a well-known Mason. It is very likely she came to know of the Masonic teachings of the Fraternity and that of Rosicrucianism during this time.”
To conclude this article on an interesting note, one of Masonry’s distinct phrases is “so mote it be,” which has been utilized since at least the fifteenth century. This is an archaic form of “so it shall be.” During the time as chaplain in my own Masonic lodge, Sentinel Lodge 155 in Missoula, Montana, it was my duty to conclude the opening prayers with “Amen,” which was followed by all other brothers stating, “So mote it be.” This is part of the standard Masonic procedure for opening a lodge as a sacred meeting ground, and is one of the steps performed for every stated meeting around the world.
In its current incarnation, particularly considering its plentiful offshoots and associated organizations, Freemasonry is here to stay as an evolving brotherhood aimed at self-improvement and the betterment of communities and the world at large. To that, I say, Amen! So mote it be.
Sources
Blavatsky, H.P. Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology. New York: J.W. Bouton, 1877.
Greer, John Michael. The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 2003.
Hughan, William James. Constitutions of the Freemasons. London: R. Spencer, 1869.
Kinney, Jay, ed. The Inner West: An Introduction to the Hidden Wisdom of the West. New York: Penguin, 2004.
“Theosophy and Freemasonry: The Influence of Blavatsky on Universal Co-Masonry.” Universal Co-Masonry website: https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/masonic-theosophy-freemasonry.
Raven Digitalis is the author of the Empath’s Trilogy, consisting of The Empath’s Oracle, Esoteric Empathy, and The Everyday Empath, as well as the Shadow Trilogy of A Gothic Witch’s Oracle, A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium, and Goth Craft. Raven has been an earth-based practitioner since 1999, a priest since 2003, a Freemason since 2012, and an empath all of his life. He holds a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Montana, jointly operated a nonprofit Pagan temple for sixteen years, and is a professional Tarot reader, editor, card-carrying magician, and animal rights advocate: www.ravendigitalis.com; www.facebook.com/ravendigitalis; www.instagram.com/ravendigitalis.
PHOTO CREDIT:
Forrest Hardin Photography