Masonic Ritual – “Apron Change”

Nov 14, 2023 | Masonic Etiquette, Masonic Ritual

MASONIC RITUAL

The Ritual – Changing The Apron

MASONIC RITUAL EXPLAINED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CUSTODIANS OF THE WORK

How should a Brother change his Apron when he is in a tiled Lodge at labor?

A Brother may need to change his Apron during a Lodge Communication when, for example, officers exchange stations or places for Degree work, or a late-arriving officer takes his seat, or a Brother is presented with an Apron different from the one he is wearing, such as a Past Master’s Apron or 50-Year Apron. In such an occurrence, the Brother should simply remove the Apron he is wearing and clothe himself with the other Apron within a reasonably short interval. It is not necessary to double-up on Aprons or perform some gratuitous contortion in order to avoid even an instant during which he is unclothed. Our symbolic requirements are not meant to be burdensome, and can survive a Brother’s lack of an Apron for a brief moment. Moreover, such an ostentatious display of “Masonic Orthodoxy” does more to disturb the decorum of the Communication than a simple exchange of one Apron for another.

Response provided by RW Samuel Lloyd Kinsey
Chairman, Custodians of the Work, Grand Lodge of New York

Note: This site is an excellent source of information about Freemasonry. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and up-to-date information about Masonic Ritual, please remember that a website is not a substitute for your jurisdiction’s Standard Work or Approved Ritual.

Masonic Ritual – “pillar officers”

Oct 31, 2023 | Masonic Etiquette, Masonic Ritual

MASONIC RITUAL

The Ritual – The “Pillar Officers”

MASONIC RITUAL EXPLAINED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CUSTODIANS OF THE WORK

Who are the “pillar officers” of a Lodge?

This is a terminology that is not formally a part of our system of Masonry in the Grand Lodge of New York, but is used in other jurisdictions and may be heard from time to time. They are the same as our “principal officers” of the Lodge, namely the Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, and Junior Warden. They can be called “pillar officers” due to the section of the First Degree Historical Lecture on the Supports of a Lodge, which explains that the three great pillars that support a Lodge are represented by the three principal officers: the pillar Wisdom by the Master, the pillar Strength by the Senior Warden, and the pillar Beauty by the Junior Warden.

Response provided by RW Samuel Lloyd Kinsey
Chairman, Custodians of the Work, Grand Lodge of New York

Note: This site is an excellent source of information about Freemasonry. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and up-to-date information about Masonic Ritual, please remember that a website is not a substitute for your jurisdiction’s Standard Work or Approved Ritual.

George Washington’s letters to the Jews of Newport

Oct 29, 2023 | Magpie Mason, Masonic Education

MASONIC RESEARCH

WASHINGTON’S LETTERS TO THE JEWS OF NEWPORT

Two Freemasons’ agreement on religious liberty

On August 17, 1790, President George Washington visited Newport, Rhode Island during a nationwide public relations tour of the new country to confirm the bonds among the newly united states, and to show off its first president who, for all his exploits as commanding general during the Revolution, really had not seen much of the country. The visit is memorialized in ways that include two exchanges of letters with Washington. The first was between the small congregation of Jewish residents of Newport; the second was between the Freemasons of the town. Both pairs of letters communicated messages of good will and brotherhood, and both would be remembered by posterity for their significance to the new nation’s fledgling commitment to guaranteeing religious liberty. Mr. Moses Seixas, one of the leaders of the synagogue, representing approximately 300 Jews in Newport, writes:

Sir: Permit the children of the stock of Abraham to approach you with the most cordial affection and esteem for your person and merits, and to join with our fellow citizens in welcoming you to NewPort. With pleasure we reflect on those days—those days of difficulty, and danger, when the God of Israel, who delivered David from the peril of the sword—shielded Your head in the day of battle, and we rejoice to think, that the same Spirit, who rested in the Bosom of the greatly beloved Daniel enabling him to preside over the Provinces of the Babylonish Empire, rests and ever will rest, upon you, enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of Chief Magistrate in these States. Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People—a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance, but generously affording to all Liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship—deeming every one, of whatever Nation, tongue, or language equal parts of the great governmental Machine. This so ample and extensive Federal Union whose basis is Philanthropy, Mutual confidence and Public Virtue, we cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the Great God, who ruleth in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, doing whatever seemeth him good. For all these Blessings of civil and religious liberty which we enjoy under an equal benign administration, we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient of Days, the great preserver of Men, beseeching him, that the Angel who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness into the promised Land, may graciously conduct you through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life. And, when, like Joshua full of days and full of honour, you are gathered to your Fathers, may you be admitted into the Heavenly Paradise to partake of the water of life, and the tree of immortality. Done and Signed by order of the Hebrew Congregation in NewPort, Rhode Island, August 17th 1790. Moses Seixas, Warden

President Washington replies:

Gentlemen, While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address replete with expressions of affection and esteem; I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of Citizens. The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good Government, to become a great and happy people. The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess a like liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my Administration, and fervent wishes for my felicity. May the children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy. G. Washington

George Washington Portrait - Masonic Museum

It is “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance” that is most remembered from these letters, partially because it is communicated by both writers, but I think mostly because it powerfully summarizes what is at stake. The Jews of Newport were denied citizenship. The First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty still was in its embryonic stage in the summer of 1790, as the Bill of Rights would not be ratified for another sixteen months. But what is more significant is what Washington writes additionally: “It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.” Again, before the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the first president assures a tiny and disenfranchised religious minority that the right of conscience is not a political option to be elected or rejected by a majority, but is part of what makes the new United States distinct among nations. And I believe there is within it an echo of the first Masonic grand lodge’s book of jurisprudence—Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723—that enjoins Freemasons from concerning themselves with each others’ religious convictions, instead urging all Masons to build on the common ground of a shared faith in deity, regardless of how various specific theologies can differ beyond that primary spark of belief.

(Thomas Jefferson’s letter of January 1, 1802 to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut arguably is the more famous presidential assurance to a religious congregation of their right to worship. It is here that Jefferson writes of “building a wall of separation between Church and State”—an idea that goes beyond the First Amendment’s prohibitions of a U.S. government-founded church and government interference with religious practices, and that colors many citizens’ understanding of religious freedom to this day.)

Returning to Freemasonry, it was on August 17, 1790 that King David’s Lodge—originally a lodge of Jewish Masons founded in New York City on February 17, 1769—sent a welcoming note to President Washington, the fraternity’s most famous and beloved brother. Moses Seixas, Warden of the Hebrew Congregation in NewPort, was Worshipful Master of King David’s Lodge also, and it is he from whom we hear again:

We the Master, Wardens, and Brethren, of King David’s Lodge, in Newport, Rhode Island with Joyful hearts embrace this Opportunity, to greet you as a Brother and to hail you welcome to Rhode Island. We exult in the thought that as Masonry has always been patronised by the wise, the good, and the great; so hath it stood and ever will stand as its fixtures are on the immutable pillars of faith, hope, and Charity. With unspeakable pleasure we Gratulate you as filling the Presidential Chair with the applause of a numerous and enlightened people, whilst, at the same time, we felicitate ourselves in the honour done the Brotherhood by your many exemplary Virtues and emanations of Goodness proceeding from a heart worthy of possessing the Antient Mysteries of our craft; being persuaded that the wisdom and Grace with which heaven has endowed you, will ever square all your thoughts, words, and actions by the eternal Laws of honour, equity, and truth, so as to promote the advancement of all good works; your own happiness, and that of mankind. Permit us then Illustrious Brother cordially to Salute you with Three times Three and to add your fervent supplications that the Sovereign Architect of the Universe may always encompass you with his holy protection.

Mentions of Masonic thought and practice abound in this brief note, which should surprise no one, but what catches my eye is the writer’s seamless blending of Masonic phrasing with concern for civic integrity. Washington was not the president of Freemasonry; he was chief executive of the new federal government. (An attempt years earlier to elect him Grand Master of Masons for the entire country was unsuccessful, Masonic governance thought best to be kept local, not unlike the Federal system of civil government formed later by the U.S. Constitution.) Again:

Virtues and emanations of Goodness proceeding from a heart worthy of possessing the Antient Mysteries of our craft; being persuaded that the wisdom and Grace with which heaven has endowed you, will ever square all your thoughts, words, and actions by the eternal Laws of honour, equity, and truth, so as to promote the advancement of all good works; your own happiness, and that of mankind.

Reading this, in October 2023, the heart pines. The Masonic Brother’s reply to the lodge bears the same date, suggesting the two notes were delivered by messenger:

Gentlemen, I receive the welcome which you give me to Rhode-Island with pleasure—and I acknowledge my obligations for the flattering expressions of regard contained in your address with grateful sincerity. Being persuaded that a just application of the principles, on which the masonic fraternity is founded, must be promotive of private virtue and public prosperity, I shall always be happy to advance the interests of the Society, and to be considered by them a deserving Brother. My best wishes, Gentlemen, are offered for your individual happiness. Go. Washington

Written by W. Bro. Jay Hochberg WB Hochberg is Tiler and Historian of Publicity Lodge 1000 and Senior Warden of The American Lodge of Research, both in New York City. He is also a Masonic journalist for The Magpie Mason.

The Double-Headed Eagle: “The Great Work”

Oct 26, 2023 | Masonic Education, Masonic History

MASONIC EDUCATION

The double-headed eagle: “the great work”

“The Sun is its father, the Moon is its mother, the Wind has carried it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth.”

The Double-Headed Eagle is a symbol dating back to ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, etc. The oldest such motif ever discovered was found in Jiroft, Iran and dates back to 3000 B.C. The symbol is known to have esoteric and alchemical connotations. The image on the right is from an old manuscript called “Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th Centuries” and, as you can see, it also displays three alchemical glyphs for “Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury”. This symbol relates to the alchemical regeneration and transmutation of the “soul personality” in the individual: a spiritual alchemical awakening process that can only be integrated by upright living. The double-headed eagle is also known as the “phoenix, the bird of resurrection”. This mythical bird was said to live up to 500 or 1000 years. The phoenix was known as the Swan of the Greeks and the Eagle to the Romans. According to the ancient mystics, this bird was the symbol of the immortality of the Soul, one side Feminine (Left) relating to the Moon, the other Masculine (Right) relating to the Sun, representing the duality of the Spirit and the Soul, the Ba and the Ka of the Egyptian, and Eros and Psyche of the Greeks. In the words of Hermes Trismegistus:

“The Sun is its father, the Moon is its mother, the Wind has carried it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth.”

The union between these two dualities produces a spiritual awakening and an alchemical reaction within the soul personality of the individual. In the 16th century Rosicrucian manifestos, this is referred to as the “Alchemical Wedding” which is the alchemical Magnum Opus or the Great Work. The Rebis image from the book “Theoria Philosophiae Hermeticae” by Heinrick Nollius explains this union of opposites. You will find familiar Masonic emblems being held by the “Great Hermaphrodite”. In Freemasonry, the symbol of the 18th degree of the Scottish Rite is the pelican or the eagle. The Hebrew masculine noun “רחם” means “a kind of vulture or Pelican”. In fact, the name Abraham contains this very reference: “Ab” meaning “Father” and “Raham” meaning ”Pelican”. The name of Abraham correlates to an alchemical implication where Abram means “exalted father or sublime”. The major character of the Blue Lodge Degree Hiram in Hebrew means “Exalted Brother or Sublime”. These symbols and rituals, as well as the characters, are allegorical. They held that initiation elevated the soul from a material, sensual and purely human life, to a communion and celestial intercourse with the gods. The Three alchemical symbols “Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury” pertain to the three Degrees of the Blue Lodge.

In the words of one of the Church Fathers of Christianity Clement of Alexandria:

“Let us consider the strange sign which takes place in the East, that is in the districts near Arabia. There is a bird which is called the Phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives 500 years; and when the time of its dissolution in death is at hand, it makes itself a sepulcher of frankincense and myrrh and other spices, and when the time is fulfilled, it enters it and dies. Now, from the corruption of its flesh, there springs a worm, which is nourished by the juices of the dead bird and puts forth wings. Then, when it has become strong, it takes up that sepulcher, in which are the bones of its predecessor, and carries them from the country of Arabia as far as Egypt until it reaches the city called Heliopolis, and in the daylight in the sight of all it flies to the altar of the Sun, places them there, and then starts back to its former home. Then the priests inspect the registers of dates, and they find that it has come at the fulfillment of the 500th year.”

It is said that the Pyramid of Giza stems from the word phoenix. This bird is said to derive from the name of the biblical character Enoch. The Pyramid is reputedly known as the “House of Enoch”. The word “pyramid” comes from the Greek “Pyramis” and “Pyramidos”. Pyramis may relate to the shape of the Pyramid whereas Pyramidos has been translated to “Fire in the Middle”. In Egypt, the Pyramid is called “Mer”. Some scholars believe it was called Per-Neter or “House of Nature or House of the Gods”. In Phoenician, it is Purimiddoh which means “light measures” and even in Hebrew the word “Midah” means “measure”. Moreover, the Greek word Pyramis is related to the pointy topped wheat cakes of the Egyptians because of its cone-like shape and its similarities to the Benben capstone that was once located on top of the pyramid. Curiously, the Egyptian word for Phoenix is “Bennu”.

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Written by:

Bro. Rene Perez, 32°

Masonic Ritual – DDGM About To enter

Oct 24, 2023 | Masonic Etiquette, Masonic Ritual

MASONIC RITUAL

The Ritual – DDGM Is About To Enter

MASONIC RITUAL EXPLAINED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CUSTODIANS OF THE WORK

The District Deputy Grand Master is always announced as “about to enter” for his official visits. Does this mean he seeks admittance on other occasions in his District?

Three Grand Lodge officers have an absolute right to enter a tiled Lodge Communication: The Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master, and the District Deputy Grand Master in his District. As a result of the foregoing, none of these three are required to seek admittance and will be “about to enter” any time they visit a Lodge after it has opened. Whether or not they enter with pomp and circumstance every time they attend a Lodge Communications on “unofficial” occasions is largely a matter of style, personal preference and local tradition. It is fairly common, for example, for a Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master or District Deputy Grand Master to attend his Mother Lodge as “just a Brother” by sitting on the sidelines for the Ritual of Opening, and some District Deputy Grand Masters do the same when making friendly visits within their Districts. Others always make an entrance. To paraphrase a familiar piece of Ritual, their own good judgment must teach them when and where to make an entrance.

Response provided by RW Samuel Lloyd Kinsey
Chairman, Custodians of the Work, Grand Lodge of New York

Note: This site is an excellent source of information about Freemasonry. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and up-to-date information about Masonic Ritual, please remember that a website is not a substitute for your jurisdiction’s Standard Work or Approved Ritual.