Masters & Past Masters: The Real Role of These Worshipful Men

We often encounter problems when words describing ancient concepts are translated by language of today. The choice and definition of words which were popular a few centuries ago in interpreting ideas or rendering meaning to everyday subjects often seem archaic and/or misleading when used in a contemporary sense. A typical example of this problem in the language of Freemasonry applies to the titles of our principal lodge officers.

For instance, a Master Mason is a brother who has been regularly initiated, passed and raised in a legally constituted lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. But, in the 15th century, a Master Mason was a workman who was qualified by training and experience to teach his trade to a younger, inexperienced worker. He was a man of approved learning; a scholar of authority.

The title of Worshipful Master is the term given today to mean the presiding officer of a Masonic lodge. But in the 1500’s such a title meant honorable and reputable; applying to a person who was distinguished in regard to character or rank; entitled to honor and respect. By the 1700’s, to call a man worshipful was an honorific and often temporary designation; applying to persons or bodies of distinguished rank or importance. When the title worshipful became attached to the word master, the two together denoted a man of great honor, integrity and learning who also had control or authority over something or someone. Justices of the peace, aldermen and mayors, governors and rulers; all carried the title of his worship, or worshipful master.

A Passed (or Past) Master is a Master Mason who is no longer the installed Master of a lodge of Freemasons. He has “passed the chair” as the presiding officer of his lodge. But in the 16th century, a Passed Master was one who had been examined and passed as a Master; and was thereafter considered a highly qualified or accomplished Master of a trade, guild, society or corporation.

Today, the Past Masters, Worshipful Masters and Wardens (the traditional gatekeepers or sentinels of the realm, and later the regents who ruled in the King’s absence—now vice presidents of the lodge), in addition to their hierarchical status within the structure of a lodge, also make up the body of the Grand Lodge, or state assembly of Masons, and are given the authority, on behalf of all members of their lodge, to collectively adopt the rules and regulations which govern all lodges in the state. These titled men represent the voice of the Grand Lodge when the Grand Lodge is not in session. This is the reason lodges can operate independently from Grand Lodges. Each lodge is a microcosm of the whole.

This is the hierarchical nature of the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, and its authority in regard to the function and leadership of each lodge.

However, titles alone do not address the more important function of these offices in regard to the fraternity’s ceremonies of initiation, passing, and raising. There must also be a transmission of knowledge, wisdom and insight in order for the new Mason to be transformed by his experience. The officers of the lodge are the metaphysical agents for this transmission. Thus, the meanings of the ancient titles are carried forth by the honored men who presently carry these titles to those who are undertaking the process of becoming Masons.

The Entered Apprentice (Initiate) must be bathed in the pure and moral motive of the light; the Fellow of the Craft must be passed into an intellectual understanding of light; and the Master Mason must be raised by that light to an insight of truth which transcends rational intellectualism. This spiritual transmission can only occur through an agent who is capable of knowing and honoring the spiritual sanction and sacred lineage of his office.

Herein is a serious caveat of which we, as Masons, must be always vigilant.

The man who ascends to the East in his lodge, professing to know Masonry; yet knowing only the words of the ritual without any understanding of his role as the Initiator for the lodge, is not capable of transmitting the esoteric and metaphysical attributes of the inner work to the psyche of the Initiate. He has neither qualified himself as a Master, a man of scholarly authority in the mysteries; nor as worshipful, a man distinguished by the singularity of his spiritual understanding.

Having offered the above as only a caution, in the traditional sense, I believe the titles of Worshipful Master and Past Master carry much weight when properly understood. They are, and remain, honorable and not temporal in that those who have the titles are styled “Worshipful;” and are therefore invested with the responsibility of being the teachers of Masonry, and carrying the spiritual lineage of the lodge with them for all time.

Therefore, I think these titles were never intended to be given frivolously, but should be earned by work, study, contemplation, and lasting commitment to the ideal of awakening the consciousness of humankind; the unveiling of the mysteries. This is the reason that only the most qualified and capable of the Master Masons should ever hold these offices.

Likewise, only those who are “duly and truly prepared” should strive to become a part of the elect group. To be initiated, passed and raised, one must first be receptive to receive the transmission offered by a Master or Past Master.

For, without transmitting and receiving this sacred gift of spiritual light; nothing much changes for any of us.

Oklahoma Masons Create $2 million Faculty Chair in Gender Studies

Oklahoma State University announced this week that, through a $500,000 gift from the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma, an endowed faculty chair of $2 million for men’s studies has been established. The gift will create the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma Gender Studies Chair, which will be housed within the College of Arts and Sciences.

The total impact of the $2 million chair was created when the Masonic Foundation took advantage of a $100 million match commitment made to the university by OSU alumni and Texas oilman, T. Boone Pickens. Mr. Pickens made a dollar for dollar match available to any organization that endowed a faculty chair at OSU before June 30, 2008. To sweeten the incentive, the Oklahoma Board of Regents for Higher Education, through a commitment made by the Oklahoma legislature, then matched both the Foundation and Mr. Pickens gift dollar for dollar, creating the endowed chair in the name of the Masonic fraternity. You could say we were in the right place with the right vision at the right time.

As a Board member of our Masonic Foundation, I am personally very excited that we have taken on this partnership with academia. We live in a time when fraternal associations are often not understood, where gender differences in communication and behavior are not well known, where the qualities of manhood are discounted in areas as important as fatherhood, male role modeling, social responsibility, family and community leadership. The world little understands the role Freemasonry has played in enhancing and teaching the ideals of manhood; nor its significance in the creation of civil society, or its focus on the self improvement of the individual and the larger society.

Academia has just recently “discovered” the historical importance of Freemasonry through studies by Bullock, Stevenson, and Jacob. Much more can be done in analyzing the role gender-specific organizations have played in enhancing the physical, social and psychological health of men. Much can be learned from studies in inter-generational communication and social interaction among males; and the impact a positive group identity has on the esteem and social honor of being a man. There are presently few studies focused on what Freemasonry teaches, or the importance of ritual and ritualistic models to self and group instruction; the significance of ceremony to social stability; or the nature and purpose of object-centered sociality.

Freemasonry is first and foremost the study of men and manhood. Through its rituals, its inter-generational fraternal associations, and its connectedness across all communities, states, provinces and nations, it raises a global awareness of the importance of men in society.

I’m especially pleased that the Center for Gender Studies exists at OSU. It is a multi-disciplinary center that enables and facilitates academic research in gender across the fields of sociology, psychology, philosophy and history. It is a perfect match for the work of which Freemasonry is engaged.

The Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma Chair in Gender Studies can connect the purpose, heritage, teachings and history of our organization with research aims of professionals and students across every academic discipline in which Freemasonry has a founding.

Perhaps most importantly, it will introduce masculine psychology, fraternal purpose, men’s interests, and social networking to a new generation of young college men and women interested in researching the importance of men and the role men play in enhancing the stability of family and social life, as well as the economic and social progress of society.

I can’t think of a more strategic route for addressing the ideals of manhood and a higher awareness of the importance of men in society. Today, I am really proud to be a Mason—and feel hope for men in our society.

What Come You Here To Do?

My Brothers, this is one of the great questions in all of Freemasonry!

As those of us in the fraternity know, it is actually one of the first questions we ask an Entered Apprentice Mason in his first catechism lecture.

The earliest ritual reference of which we have record is Prichard’s Masonry Dissected, published in 1730. I have read all the early ritual exposures and I can assure you this question and the subsequent answer given to it is not commonly found in the pre-Grand Lodge or early Premier Grand Lodge era ritual workings. In fact the answer appears in no other English ritual exposure from 1696 to 1769. In the single ritual text in which it does appear, the answer is given thus:

Not to do my own proper Will,
But to subdue my passion still;
The Rules of Masonry in hand to take,
And daily Progress therein make.

It is possible this particular catechism was used in early Operative Masonry because it is a didactic memory technique for learning. And this method of learning (using rhyme) dates centuries earlier than even the Regius Poem, (c. 1390),—purported to be the oldest didactic in Masonry. It may have also originated in 18th century continental Masonry, but again, there is no other reference to the question and its follow up answer in any other English ritual exposure from 1696 to 1769.

In a 1738 French translation of Prichard’s exposure, we find it once again. This time the question is worded What do you wish to do here?; and the answer given is; I do not inspire to follow my will, but rather to subdue my passions, while following the precepts of the Masons and making daily advancement in this Profession.

And then there is a 1745 French exposure entitled “The Broken Seal” where we find the question What do you come to do here? With the answer; To conquer my passions, subdue my desires, and to make new progress in Masonry.

It appears the consistent theme in each of these exposures is that the primary task of an Entered Apprentice is to subdue his passions and then, using the lessons of Masonry, to make progress in his life.

Now, the first thing almost every Mason will notice is that the answer given in the old catechisms is not the answer taught today in the ritual workings of our contemporary lodges. In fact, I would suggest that today’s answer has a much deeper meaning. It was developed during the early 19th century; when Masonry was a far more philosophical than moral undertaking. It commonly goes something like this: What come you here to do?

To learn to subdue my passions and improve myself in Masonry.

The interesting question is this: Are there any commas in this sentence? I think that there are. I think if the answer was actually written in most Masonic monitors, it would look like this:

To learn, to subdue my passions, and improve myself; in Masonry.

If I am right, then there was a new admonition added to the task of an Entered Apprentrice as the philosophical integrity of our Craft ritual expanded; namely—that he first learns.

And I think this changes everything!

To learn is to acquire knowledge; to acquire knowledge of a subject or skill as a result of study, of experience, or teaching; to receive instruction; to find out about, or discover; to be informed of, or learn about; to teach or inform a person of something.

We have to learn there is a moral imperative, for instance, before we can subdue our passions; we have to study Masonry before we can understand it. We have to discover there is an allegory before we can interpret it. We have to be informed of its history before we can comprehend its societal relevance. We have to detect its symbolic associations before we can grasp its spiritual nature. We have to contemplate its meanings before we can experience its insights. We have to be informed of its rules and laws before we can act within the due bounds of fraternity. We have to understand the meaning of manhood before we can grasp the unique power of fraternal association.

We have to learn before we can improve ourselves. And we are taught as Entered Apprentices, we cannot improve ourselves without first subduing our passions--without releasing ourselves from our own ego so that we can feel the brotherhood of man. And we learn as Fellowcrafts that we have to overcome and go beyond the human senses, we have to transcend the logic of human education, we have to journey beyond the paradigms of human awareness, we have to surpass even inspiration and insight, go beyond all the powers and properties, the sciences and senses of man to erect our perfect ashlar; to get in touch with divine truth--which is metaphysical—it surpasses human understanding. Then, as Master Masons, we learn that we have to finally overcome ourselves before we can achieve peace and harmony within ourselves, and in our lives.

The bottom line of Masonic teaching is that, through the journey of our degrees, we learn that Divine truth can’t be understood by the human agencies of education, or dogma, or rationale thought, or by the evidence of the senses—it has to be perceived directly. And, my Brothers, it enters into us by the path of initiation.

All of this is pretty heady stuff. Men come into Masonry to learn to improve themselves. If they are coming here for any other reason, then we are failing to represent with honesty what our organizational purpose is. Men come to us to learn. The lodge is the receptacle, the personal space, the sacred environment that will either facilitate their learning, or prevent it.

To me, this brings up another question for all of us: Which kind of facilitator is our lodge?

The Origin of Freemasonry--Does It Really Matter?

In my own Masonic experience, I have heard only a few speeches postulating the source of origin of our fraternity. Most Masons I have met seem comfortable with the rather simple but improbable possibility that we evolved from the operative guilds of the Middle Ages. There is a persistent and attractive attachment to the building trades since so much of our symbolism seems connected to the tools and mathematics of construction.

Yet, the city guild system of 16th century England and Scotland was very different from what survived into the 18th century. It was a system specifically designed to prevent travel and to exclude craftsmen from out of town to break into a closed shop. Our ritual emphasis on travel rights comes from a much earlier era, when craft guilds were tied to religious houses, a tie which gave men the right to travel because they were sponsored by the church. To look into origins, one may well need to look well before the English transition era.

Besides, there are a number of other possibilities which seem equally compelling and deserve our attention.

In addition to those who subscribe to the suggestion that we are a product of the operative guilds of Scotland, which can date us to the 1500’s, and from which our catechisms and obligations seem to derive; there are those who just as firmly believe we descend from the merchants guilds of London through the London Mason’s company—a sort of transitional group that rescued the operatives after the economic breakdown of the English guilds. Sadly, its records were lost in 1621 so we can’t really say for sure.

Then there is the chivalric 13th century Knights Templar theory, which contributed significantly to our hierarchical form and added knightly virtues to our heritage. But a three hundred year gap between the last templar records and early speculative Freemasonry makes a shared adventure seem romantic at best.

Perhaps we shouldn’t totally discount Prince Edwin’s famous Articles of Fraternity. He was the son of the tenth century Saxon king Athelstan, and assembled the first general meeting of Masons. If it is true that his constitutions were approved by the aristocracy as law for lodges from that time hence (and there is not a shred of evidence that it is), we can add another 300 years to our source of origin; making us a whopping 1,000 years old!

Then we have the German College of architects who claim an association with continental lodges as early as 1745. But the historic problem of kingly sanction between Germany and England wields an unlikely provable association. Of course, there is the much older Roman College of architects who supposedly were the original source of all guilds, and in which a lineage can hypothetically be traced up through the speculative Masonry period. The problem with this association is that the organization was forced out of business in the 5th century so it may be difficult to prove an unbroken chain.

Moving into an entirely different arena of origin, we also have the mystical and eccentric esoteric theories which center our beginnings among the alchemists, Rosicrucians, the Illuminati, and the hermeticists; and from which our allegorical forms were undoubtedly sired. But why would groups whose adherents swore to secrecy and who refused to claim any form of organizational structure suddenly align themselves with an organization which was clearly social and civic in nature?

Perhaps our mystical side grew out of the purported Masonic search of perfection; that the ensuing intellectual aspects of our fraternity date no earlier than the Scottish Masonic reformers of the 17th century. Those fellows rather liked the Rosicrucian form of universal education and could well have wanted to duplicate this Renaissance theme in the Mason lodges.

What about the confraternities, such as the Star and Garter, the Golden Buckle, the Hanseatic League of Eagle, all medieval fraternities which can be traced from the 12th to the 17th centuries, providing charitable benefits to their members? And while we’re on the topic of confraternities, it can rather convincingly be suggested we are the product of a monastic order of the Protestant Reformation, organized in secret defiance to established church authority. There is little doubt that many of our Masonic emblems can also be found in early medieval church iconography. All of these pertain to saints who lived prior to 1300. Most Masonic/Biblical historians can show the legend of the third degree itself represents a confluence of two Biblical stories which were well known during the Middle Ages.

However, setting these earlier traditions aside to collect archival dust, and moving forward in time, let us not discount the possibility that we are really not so ancient after all; that we may have derived from the gentlemen’s clubs of London—a group of good ole boys who wanted to secure economic connections through the legal obligations of fraternity. Such an ambition certainly sounds like a useful and practical fraternal idea.

Finally, who’s to say that we really have any origins at all which were not always Masonic? Why can’t we accept the possibility that the fraternal government invented by Drs’ Anderson and Desaguliers in 1723 had a purpose not attached to any prior group. That our connection to the guilds was all myth after all; as these two men just happened to have as their hobby the study of the medieval guilds? If one is authoring a constitution, he can pretty well choose whatever antiquarian interest he dreams up and attach it to his new form of government.

The bottom line is that we may never know from whence we came. And it may not be important.

It is enough to know that we have existed as a fraternity for at least 287 years. That’s long enough to say we have a legacy and a tradition which predates anything American. Our tenacious survivability attests to the truth of our endeavors. And, at least in my judgment, the fact that we have been around to serve more than 20 generations of men proves we have an appeal which transcends all generations.

Besides, every Mason knows that how we were established is not nearly as significant as why we came to be. Maybe this is the real reason there haven’t been many books penned about Masonic origins.

Me and the Grail

I spent last evening reading a small book about the Holy Grail. I've been fascinated by it ever since I saw a movie about King Arthur when I was a young lad. I was totally enamored by the Knights of the Round Table and the chivalry surrounding Arthur's court. Even as a youngster, I knew the story intended to teach me more than just the worshipped devotion of a group of warriers committed to a king. There were just too many supernatural ideas brought out in the story. The whole legend became one of my favorite reads; and when the adventures of knighthood found their way to my dreams, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

It wasn't until I became a Freemason that I made a rather profound connection between the sword, the stone, and the grail. The stone represents the foundation stone symbol we know so well in Masonry. The sword, representing the virile power that is drawn from the foundation stone also represents each of us. Freeing the sword from the stone may have to do with freeing ourselves from the material and mundane so that we can make the spiritual journey toward enlightenment. Of course, the grail represents that which has been lost and must be found again.

I envision the quest for the grail, then, to be my personal search for the God in me. I like to contemplate this profound idea of a God that shares Its Divine essence with, and in, humanity. It seems to be at the root of every esoteric school that I know.

And it's such a grand thing. The idea that there is a divine spark which dwells within me, and that flicker of light alone makes me the heir to immortality.

Thus, it could be that the quest itself is the whole meaning of human evolution--a quest to raise the human consciousness from the level of the mundane to the God-attuned inner self. In Masonry, our task, in the end, is to re-integrate our fallen personality with the Wisdom and Love of That Which is Above Comprehension. This is nothing less than the process of absorbing our duality into the center of pure being. King Arthur certainly represents this duality.

Of course, I must also admit the grail for which I have searched has represented different things at different times in my life. It has been my search for moral purity, for triumphant faith, for soldierly heroism, for unconditional love, even gracious charity; all of these things have been important, depending on my needs and understanding at certain points in my life.
But the quest is ultimately a search for Truth. It is the journey which gives me the conscious link to my spirit; or, on a cosmic scale, a trip that bridges the chasm between earth and heaven. It happens that this journey is articulated within the allegories presented in the thirty two degrees of Masonry; which may well correspond to the 32 paths of the Kabballa. So it is a profoundly spiritual and religious thing we do.

It also occurs to me, if organized religions would have revealed that there is indeed path working to be done in approaching the golden dawn of truth, and the way is not so narrow after all, the Scottish Rite may have never needed to be. But Alas! The problem with orthodoxy is that it almost always abrogates the nature of God to a vehicle for answering the wrong questions.

It is our fault, of course. We, who know nothing about Omnificence and Grace, invented a God to take credit for all the unknown causes of all effects which we either admire or dread, without understanding them. The result is that most all faith systems of our world still seem to insist on making their own God. We are taught to pray to an image man has created to obtain what he wants.

For instance, it seems remarkable that, in this age of information, there are still many who see God as some kind of a super-human person, usually masculine, who has power to bring us either fortune or misery. It would seem that our many philosophies and belief systems have together produced a myriad of complex concepts created to help us understand our relationship with an entity that is unknowable.

In reality, any concept we have of God is not real. It can be only a reflection of one of the many faces or disguises we have invented to make the divine seem compatible with our level of human understanding. I do not yet fully understand my God. But I know that It is not a he.

In the chaos of my own journey, any attempt I make to personalize God to fit into my world is simply a reflection of my own ego. I am therefore content not to understand what God is; but, rather, to contemplate what the Divine may be. In my own duality, it is enough for me to simply know that I myself am a Temple in the process of becoming Holy. If I build well, then perhaps I will at least feel at oneness with the unknowable.

To me, this would seem to be the essence of the esoteric journey.

Two Models of Success in Craft Masonry

A global review of lodge models clearly shows there are two foundational principles of success in sustaining a long term positive growth in membership.

First, we must be committed to the idea that all Masonry is local.

Lodges (individual governing units) may be ruled by a set of codes and laws which are enforced by Grand Lodges (state governing units); but these rules have been enacted by the lodges themselves, acting collectively for the good of the whole. Thus, it has always been the lodge which determines the rules. It is good to recall that lodges existed for more than a century before the first Grand Lodge was formed in 1717. The foundation of Masonry has always been the lodge itself. It either thrives or dies based almost wholly on the vision and attitudes of its own members.

This is the way it has always been.

Second, we must understand that the sovereignty of Masonry is with the lodge. Grand Lodges may have dozens of rules prohibiting this and that in regard to member behavior, rights of entry, lodge procedures, and ritual ceremonies. But again, these rules, whatever they may be, have at one time in the past been authorized by the lodges themselves, acting on behalf of the collective good of the Order. Grand Lodges exist to preserve harmony over the global culture of Masonry; and to serve the constituent and sovereign lodges within the geographic boundaries of their state or province. It is important to note that everything otherwise legal, moral or ethical that is not prohibited in Masonry; is permitted.

These two foundational principles, then, ensure that all lodges have an equal opportunity to succeed. The outcome is left to the virtues of leadership, ability, vision, relationship, and action.

If we can agree the above two principles have validity in Masonry, then a worldwide review of lodge practices calls me to suggest there are also two exemplars of governmental success, at least in the American Masonic culture today.

There are thriving lodges in America who stay focused on delivering Masonry with a well-rounded agenda. These lodges characteristically provide accurate ritual work, measurable charitable activities, visible community services, regular family and social activities, and a meaningful fraternal experience for their members. Successful lodges do this consistently year after year. Such fraternal associations are often well known in the community largely because the lodge is an integral part of it. And in such lodges, many of the members are known in town not only as good community volunteers, but also as Masons. Lodges that are increasing in membership in the United States typically do the things mentioned above better than most. Successful lodges also do these things better than other community organizations which otherwise compete for a man’s time.

The second model of success is the lodge that is focused only on Masonry as a place where personal, fraternal and spiritual growth may occur; one in which meaningful tools for personal improvement and spiritual development are consistently delivered to members in a private sanctuary of brotherhood month after month.

Such lodges are centered on what we call the “inner work,” in which the appeal is wholly fraternal and carried out in privacy, with little public visibility. This is the model which has proven most successful in many foreign jurisdictions. In America, we think of these as “traditional practices” lodges in the sense that the traditions derive from lodges which predate the typical historical American timetable. Many of these lodges have sustained a 3% annual rate of growth over many decades.

We should be fully supporting and encouraging both models of success for the overall American culture. The one brings us public presence, image, and credibility; the other fulfills the expectations of many younger men (those born after 1975) who want to be on the journey of self-development and improvement.

Both models offer the right kind of patriarchy and role modeling which can guide men to mature and manly judgment. Both follow a time-tested path toward truth and authenticity. Both are nurturing and fulfilling to the male psyche.

In the academic studies I’ve read concerning the needs of men in today’s society, the lodge that is centered on education, spiritual development, role modeling and fraternal bonding may be the most powerfully compelling organization to join in America for men who fall with the 19 to 40 age range. When such a venue exists for men in every community, everyone benefits.

Those who seek these things in their own life will always be welcome in our classic “Men’s House”—the manly and sacred space of lodge; where together we lead each other to our own transformation and rebirth.

The Degrees of Freemasonry: Their Purpose

Above the porch at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi were inscribed the words; Know Thyself. This is perhaps the oldest and most succinct description known to man of the purpose of Freemasonry.

It is said the phrase refers to the personal ideal of understanding human behavior, morals and thought, because ultimately to understand oneself is to understand others. But it also means knowing one’s own habits, morals, temperament, ability to control anger, subdue passions, get along, and manage other aspects of our human nature that we, as men, wrestle with on a daily basis.

Masons believe the most significant personal task we will ever undertake as men is to overcome ourselves. This is the very cornerstone of self improvement and personal development. But it is also both an internal and an outward process. We have to learn how to be accountable for our own actions such as bringing responsibility to our work, our relationships, our behavior, and the choices we make in life. Living responsibly means that we must learn to think for ourselves.

But being a good man also implies that we are consciously aware of how we represent ourselves to others. Truthfulness, goodness, honesty, bravery, courage, purity, righteousness—by whatever name we give them, our values define us because they also define for the outside world who we are.

This process of self development and spiritual improvement is what the “degrees” or stages of membership in Freemasonry are all about. It is what distinguishes Masonry from all other organizations. Becoming a Freemason is not an event, but a process.

Freemasonry exists first and foremost to transform men. Our stated purpose is “to make men better” and that commission takes place because one is initiated into a fellowship of men. Freemasonry’s strength lies in the fact that it offers the right model by which men can grow and achieve balance in their human and spiritual lives. It tenders a safe and private medium for meaningful dialogue in the ways of virtue and ethics. It offers the role of patriarchy to younger men. It facilitates the timeless, ethical and spiritual traditions that have always improved the status of men. Just as it has done for every generation of men for 400 years.

Freemasonry is nothing less than a venerated and time-tested rebirth into manhood.

The Degrees of Freemasonry

Masonry conveys its lessons by degrees. There are three such degrees in the Craft Lodge system of fraternal association—the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. These titles were originally derived from the different level of skills and experience earned by the craftsmen who worked within the builder’s guilds during the middle Ages. Masonry adopted the language of the building trade because, as men, we are engaged in building our own human and spiritual edifice. This is a process that requires a lot of tools.

Our degrees are often thought of as stages or levels of membership. But they also represent different stages of life; as well as different levels of understanding and awareness. The degrees are therefore progressive in nature; like our own life journey.

Taken together, the degrees of Masonry provide a path, or way of thinking about what is important; what can add stability and meaning to our life. They represent a map of consciousness which can literally result in our transformation as a more enlightened human and spiritual being. The lessons in Masonry are based on the notion that mankind is made in the image of God and that each of us reflects the structure of the universe. This correspondence between the universe and man; between God and man, is the basis of all Masonic instruction.

The lodge or physical space where the degrees are conferred, then, can be thought of as a receptacle for mental and spiritual health. The men working in such a place are doing inner work together—building their own temple of awareness and wisdom in a private setting where only peace and harmony is known. To its members, a Masonic Lodge is, in a very real sense, a temple erected to God. This makes Masonic work the most important and fulfilling work we ever do.

Entered Apprentice Degree

The admission of each man into the Masonic Order is a symbolic representation of the beginning of his journey toward mature and manly judgment; of vesting himself with those qualities essential for living a responsible and fulfilled life. The first Degree in Masonry is therefore Initiatic in nature, i.e., its intent is to facilitate something new in the individual. The instruction of the Degree focuses on leaving one place in life and arriving at another; leaving one condition, or state of mind, and arriving, through thought and study, at another. It symbolizes the journey we must all make, with all the obstacles and challenges we must overcome.

But it also introduces a path for overcoming our hurdles and problems—a path which can lead us from ignorance to knowledge; from confusion to understanding. We find that since we are all part of the same goodness and love, it is therefore possible to be helped by others, and to help others. This level of understanding and trust forms the basis for true fraternal association.

In the Entered Apprentice degree, the quest is for Masonic light. In Masonry, light symbolizes knowledge, self-development, and insight. The search for light is the search for understanding and growth, both of the personality and the spirit.

This first step on your journey to mature masculinity is centered on asking of yourself: Who and what are you? Whence do you come? Where are you going? What is your duty in the world? Above all else, as men, it is important to know these things.

Fellowcraft Degree

Contemplation and enlightenment are the special subjects of the Fellowcraft, or second Degree of Masonry. It is often called the Middle Chamber Degree.

Its instruction focuses on developing an awareness of the science of the human soul. The secrets of our mental and spiritual nature; and the many principles of our intellectual life and experience are brought into our conscious awareness. We learn that difficulties and obstacles placed in our way are a necessary means of developing the full potential good within us. The only way we can approach perfection is by honest and disciplined effort.

In one of the most profound lectures in all of Masonry, we learn that the quest for self and spiritual improvement is a journey of exploration, education, and discovery. Our goal is to become transformed as better men.

The arrival at the Middle Chamber is a symbol of transformation. One starts his journey in ignorance, and ends as a different person, strong, enlightened, in command of his passions and emotions, truly free for the first time, and ready to take command of his life.

When we are at this unique and sacred place in Masonry, we are prepared to know three kinds of truth: moral truth (to truly know what is right and wrong), intellectual truth (the knowledge of what is accurate and what is false) and, if we develop ourselves far enough, Divine truth, which is beyond human understanding. The Middle Chamber becomes a symbol of the soul, or spirit, for it is only there where we can receive Divine truth.

Master Mason Degree

The entire premise of the Master Mason or the third and last of the ancient Craft Degrees in Masonry, is that there is a great mystery to be solved in every man’s life. All men in this world are in search of something in their own nature which they have lost; but that with proper instruction and by their own patience and industry they may hope to find. The world that is our experience, the world we know is but a transient and temporary thing; full of shadows, images and merely substituted secrets.

This Degree is often called the sublime Degree because its instruction is centered on fitting us with genuine secrets of deep and weighty import—dramatic and intense religious and spiritual processes known by every religious system in the world--the supreme lesson of which is self-sacrifice, a mystical death to what has gone before, and a rebirth and illumination of the ultimate truth and reality of our real self.

Only those with reverent and understanding minds can penetrate into the hidden meaning of the Soul.

The deeper secrets in Masonry, like the deeper secrets of life, are always heavily veiled. They exist beneath a great pyramid of time; and he who knows anything of them knows also that they are many and valuable; disclosed only to those who act upon the clues given in our rituals and lectures:

“Ask and ye shall receive; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”