I’m really sorry to be salty. You’ve got the right attitude. Don’t let me tarnish your view of the craft.
I think my problem boils down to nostalgia. When I joined it was great. There was steady activity at the lodge, a lot of charitable work with the community, real strong Brotherhood, families getting together. It was really communal.
Then most of the Brothers I was close to coincidentally moved within a few years (mostly due to the state economy). At the same time we had several years of bad Masters who ran activities into the ground. Everything kinda went downhill, and I burnt out trying to get the lodge back to that level of energy when I was Master. It was especially maddening to see it get worse after.
Our lodge is probably a pretty rare case. Masonry is very much just like a family - sometimes they’re slightly less than functional. One thing I do know, it won’t take long for my dysfunctional Masonic family to pull itself together and become a thriving lodge again. After your degree you’ll understand why something like that is possible.
I wish you best of luck in your journey towards the East.
That’s the rub. You can go as high as 32, but you have to be invited to become a 33rd.
I’ll check that out, thanks.
No offense taken, I’m an adult. ?
I was raised the complete opposite of anything traditional. My atheist pretend-Jew mom (the Jewish side of the family) sent me to synagogue to make her parents happy, but told me “oh just pretend there’s a God.” Meanwhile I had genuine curiosity about God, spirituality, etc. I probably would’ve (and I’ve attended synagogue a few times as an adult). I even toyed with studying Chabbad.
In the East with a blow to the head if memory serves. I’m a shitty Mason.
I did! I have an old copy that’s never read (It’sa beautiful copy) but I’ve listened to the audiobook 2-3 times.
That’s petty cool, I had no idea. I still have no idea, but now I know it’s a thing.
gives fancy pants handshake chest bump low ear whisper ?
Somewhere between 150 and 250. I don’t want to be specific because I’ll probably be Bro-doxxed and brought up on charges based on my other comments ?
You got me in the Kafka trap. Grats.
I’m not selling anything. If anything I was hoping someone would ask the secret words or handshakes.
EA degree: BOAZ, both men with thumb on each other’s first knuckle. (The subsequent degrees are more complicated.)
I could be deceiving you and everyone though. That could be a sign to a true Mason that it’s an impostor. I guess none of us can trust each other. Ultimately it doesn’t matter I guess.
I saw a secret Mormon ritual (the whole veil thing) once. Yeah, he ripped it off. As for the man himself... my ex is ex Mormon.. She thought he invented the whole religion so he could cheat on his wife. That’s about all I know about him.
To be honest I’ve never seen anyone mention him in or about lodge. I had (might still have) a couple of his books. I read M&D, but sadly it’s pretty lost in memory fog.
As for Zionism... I’d like to know more myself. While I’m Jewish by blood I’m pretty anti-Zionism, and pretty much think Israel is the root of a lot of... things. But I’ve never really looked into the connection between Masonry and Zionism. For what it’s worth, there’s a lodge that’s almost entirely all Jews in New Haven, CT (Cosmopolitan lodge). And founding fathers.. I think they had the right idea. Deism and such, and they didn’t know how to structure a government so they based it loosely on Masonic governance. Let’s put it this way, it’s oddly familiar to hear the oath of office that representatives swear.
Sure. He was killed and then resurrected. It’s a familiar tale.
beaten over the head
I spent some time in a zen monastery. Being beating over the head is almost literal ???
Sorry for being so sour on the Craft. Once you’re in you’ll hear tales of “grumpy past masters.” I’m one. I got burnt out trying to inspire a bunch of men to get off their asses and practice what they preach, rather than just show up for a meeting. I do think the younger guys (I’m in my early 50s for what it’s worth) do seem to have their heads on straight.
I wish you best of luck despite my tantrums. Drop me a private message after your degree if you think of it.
For sure. What do I know, I’m kind of a Buddhist / Hindu anyway. I probably wouldn’t recognize a satanic ritual unless they started shoving black candles up my ass (they don’t do that, at least not that I’ve seen).
What’s funny is, I had a weird idea that there might be mysticism in it before I joined, but dismissed it once I was in and saw everyone just argued over how much to spend on the building. “Hidden mysteries of Masonry” were alluded to in ritual, but the old timers always said “oh the mystery is how to get along with other men.” That may be true, who knows. But years later Masons and non-Masons are started talking about the esoteric side of Masonry online, and even in lodge the subject crept in a little. I did a fair amount of research into it, and came to the conclusion that they either lost the ancient secrets or hid them from their own Brothers.
I’m of two minds. The pro-Mason side of me says they were critical in filling the gaps where theology falls short. More specific obligations to prioritize your family, community, world for example. Other obligations are towards charity. There’s also an aspect I heard over the years: that you are the average of those you surround yourself with. If it’s a group people who are focused on improving their lives (and their families, community, etc), your life would reflect that.
That said, a lot of these might’ve been important back before there were schools, positive role models, literacy, iodine in our food supply... I don’t think they’re effective at helping as much as they used to.
It kinda makes sense.. nothing to mark a transition from boyhood to manhood, like Bar Mitzvahs (“you’re a man now”) or going into the army. Maybe that’s why some adults have trouble adulting. Then again it could just be a convenient argument.
I dunno.. nothing I’ve seen comes close to satanic in the first 32 degrees. Who knows with the 33rd.
Herd mentality.
Nobody I know that’s noteworthy. One CT state rep who died a few years back, Al Adinolfi. If you go here and look at page C 5 you can see mention of a few others I know personally:
https://ctfreemasons.net/wp-content/uploads/ctfm_arch/LatestIssue.pdf
The installing suite consisted of MWB Gary Arseneau, Installing Master; MWB Theodore J. Nelson, Installing Marshall; and WB Burton Turner, Installing Chaplain. All three brothers are also Honorary Members of the Supreme Council, AASR NMJ, 33rd Degree, as is Most Worshipful Brother Bohman.
32nd. No, just a nice catered meal beforehand. I don’t even remember the actual degree (Scottish Rite is weird, degrees 4-32 are all just short plays you watch, they all kinda blur together.)
33rd: who knows. It’s an honorarium degree given by other 33rds. I’ve never seen anything about it other than that. My personal feeling: that’s where the Jesuits got their hooks in. In order to be invited you need to pretty much devote your free time to Masonry, to the point where you get noticed by them, and they know you better than you know them. They could be completely benign, or could be trans-species lizard cock people for all I know.
As for Satan.. nothing I’ve seen in the 32 degrees, but again... who knows with 33rds.
To put it into perspective for people:
A quarter million dollars would be under 8 pounds of gold. It’s not too difficult to move, hide, bury, etc.