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The Independent Masonic Magazine
Bringing the best information to Mason’s worldwide.
Issue 26, February 2008
Oak Island
1 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 1
Contents
• Masons in the News - Pg.8
• TWT Podcast News — Pg.16
• Young Masons of Vermont — Pg.19
• Masonic Authors, Julian Rees—Pg.20
• Claudy - “Bluff” – Pg.27
• Cover “Oak Island”– Pg.29
• Are you a Turtle?– Pg.39
• Research “Albert Pike: A Trilogy of Thoughts”– Pg.43
• STB– “The Visiting Brother”- Pg.48
• Bro. James Green- “Masonic Status”- Pg.51
• Astronomy with Rod Kennedy — Pg.52
• Bro. Wyndell Ferguson- “Food and Fellowship”– Pg.53
• Random Thoughts with Bro. Lance Ten Eyck– Pg.55
• York Rite of Freemasonry w/ Bro. Bill Price– Pg.57
• You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up- Pg.59
• Editor & Publisher– Cory Sigler
The Working Tools is published monthly by Corsig Publishing & Cory Sigler, It is not affiliated with any Grand
Lodge. Letters or inquiries should be directed to Cory Sigler, Editor, at E-mail: Corsig3@yahoo.com All letters
become the property of the Working Tools. Photographs and articles should be sent to the attention of the Editor.
Every effort will be made to return photographs but this cannot be guaranteed. Please include a self-addressed
stamped envelope. The Editor reserves the right to edit all materials received. The deadline for the next issue is
January 27, 2007.
Sign up to be on the Mailing List @ TWT.com
2 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 2
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• Tons of Groups for all types of hobbies and appendant bodies
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• Oh yeah it’s FREE!!!
http://twtmag.ning.com/
3 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 3
Letter From the Editor
Over 40,000+ downloads
Worldwide
Hello Brothers
Lets see…
Happy Groundhogs Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lincoln’s Birth-
day, Valentines Day, President’s Day and Washington's Birthday. If I
missed any holidays buy me a new calendar mine must be broken.
Last months issue sold like hotcakes. The response was incredible! Not sure if
more people are finding out about us or you just decided to finally tell me your
reading this thing LOL. Either way I love it!!!
The social website is a big hit so far almost 500 brothers from around the world
have signed up. We all welcome you to join us and hang out for a bit at
www.twtmag.ning.com. Special thanks to Bro. Ralph “The Rock” for helping
met greet all the new guests with a warm hello.
I’m toying with some new ideas that I’m cooking up. Shortly I’ll ask you if it’s
something you would like to see happen.
Your Brother– Cory
Cory Sigler
Corsig3@yahoo.com
PS– The beehive Dave???
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TWO NEW FEATURE’S FOR TWT READER’S
The Guest Map
The Lodge Finder Database
With over 2,700 lodges listed
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Letter’s From The Readers
Brother,
I just wanted to send a quick thank you for the work that you do, and TWT. I am still very young in ma-
sonry (just turned in my EA), but very much enjoy reading a magazine that pertains to the craft. I love be-
ing able to learn more about our craft, without reading something that is too revealing. Thanks again for
TWT!!!
Brian Stephens
Greetings Bro. Cory,
As usual been enjoying your magazine.
I have just come across an essay delivered by Bro. Julian Rees entitled Through Ritual to Enlightenment.
I have to say that this is a fantastic article that totally agrees with my own views. To paraphrase his comments,
the view by some ‘ritualists’ that “being word perfect is the key, not trying to understand any hidden spiritual
meaning behind the words”, just doesn’t truck, either with my own feelings or Bro. Julian’s – the ritual is
merely a vehicle to carry the beautiful message of spirituality, of finding the divine within oneself.
After all, doesn’t it say within the ceremonies that we should strive to improve ourselves, seek knowledge,
study the hidden mysteries of Nature and Science?
We’re not instructed to go out and seek divinity but to seek to find it within ourselves. If, as the Christian
church dictates, “we are all created in God’s image”, then surely that is where we ought to look – within our-
selves.
From what I remember of my studies some 20 years ago, most religions claim that we were made by a deity –
God, Gaia, whoever, so by the inference that anything touched by a deity is divine, and also many religions
believing that we only became animate when that deity implanted a spark of divinity, a part of him/her/itself
into that inanimate clay, there again we see that we should look inward as suggested by the ritual.
Mere recitation of the words, with no understanding of the principle, the intent, behind those words, may be a
reason why so many people leave our Fraternity very early on. If you are not inspired by the beauty of a thing,
the thing becomes dull and lifeless, becomes a thing for its own sake and loses the founding principle it was
created for.
Anyway, that’s my little bit of travelling done for the day. You can read Julian's essay on
S&F, Page 19 in this issue!!!
Martin.
www.martins-journey.org.uk
Travelling from West to East
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This Month in History
February
Feb 7 - On this date in 1981, the Grand Lodge of Alaska was organ-
ized.
Feb 9- On this date in 1909, Harry S. Truman re-
ceived his 1st degree in Belton Lodge #450, Missouri.
Feb 11- On this date in 1988, a group of Masonic leaders met with
President Ronald Reagan; the Grand Master of DC presented him with
a certificate, and the Scottish Rite and Shrine made him an honorary
member of those bodies.
Feb 18- On this date in 1909, U.S. President William Howard Taft received his 1st degree in
Kilwinning Lodge #356, Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 19- On this date in 1811, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia was formed in
Washington D.C.
Feb 23- On this date in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle received his 2nd
degree.
Feb 24- On this date in 1853, the Grand Lodge of Minnesota was
formed
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In the News
The Freemasons Enter the Spin Zone
By Jennifer Lee
City Room was a bit surprised to get an e-mail pitch in late December from a public-
relations company promoting the Freemasons in connection with the release of Dis-
ney’s new movie, “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.” How can you help TWT
After all, aren’t the Freemasons a secret all-male society that has been the subject of Send me a page or two
conspiracy theories ranging from possession of the Holy Grail, the founding of Atlan- about your lodge and why
tis and hiding secret symbols in Washington architecture and United States currency? you think it’s special. De-
scribe what you are doing
The Internet is filled with Web sites discussing and debunking the swirl of rumors to make a difference , if
around the Masons, whose members have included George Washington, Benjamin there is any special history
or brothers associated to
Franklin, Mozart, Beethoven and Fiorello H. La Guardia.
it. Include some pictures
and show the whole world
Indeed, the movie, a sequel starring Nicholas Cage as a treasure hunter, features shad-
why you are proud of your
owy Masonic references woven together with the conspiracy behind the Lincoln as-
lodge
sassination and a hidden treasure under Mount Rushmore.
•
But the publicist, Sid Dinsay of Dan Klores Communications and formerly of the Have you recently gone
city’s Health Department, was serious about the pitch: “With ‘Nat’l Treasure 2’ open- through a degree and want
ing Friday, think you might be interested in a primer on buildings and sites in NYC to share your experience?
that have Masonic ties?” •
See an interesting news
O.K., then. story regarding the craft–
send it over.
“We’ve gotten a lot of bad press over the years,” explained Thomas Savini, the librar-
•
ian at the Grand Lodge of New York. “We reached a point we saw ourselves being
Read a new book– send
represented as conspirators or useless old men, neither of which is an accurate repre-
over a review.
sentation of Freemasonry. For a couple of centuries, we sat back and stayed quiet and
let our actions speak for themselves. But we decided to open up our mouths a little bit •
more and draw some attention to the positive role that Masons play in the public Write an original article
about anything you think
world.”
the readers of TWT would
There are few institutions that can talk about their public-relations strategies in the enjoy
scope of centuries. Perhaps the Masons were also slightly spooked by the whomping
that Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic group that is also the subject of conspiracy theories,
took when “The Da Vinci Code” came out.
(Continued on page 9)
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(Continued from page 8)
As much longevity as the Freemasons group seems to have over all, on an individual level it is in a bit of a decline.
Masons, also know as Freemasons, seem to have been dying off at an appreciable clip. Now there are about 54,000
Masons in New York (about one-third of that in the metropolitan New York region). That is down from a high of
346,413 in 1929. Membership also climbed after World War II, rising to 307,323 in 1957 before beginning a slide.
The most innocuous interpretation is that the Masons are just a fraternal organization with some interesting clothes
(you can see a statue of George Washington wearing his Masonic apron in the New York Headquarters) and some
odd rituals (though the initiation ranks have been abbreviated to help people achieve the highest ranks of masonry
more quickly).
Intrigued, City Room decided to assemble a New York City guide to a very old group in a pretty new medium (love
the Google Maps!).
The New York Grand Lodge of Masons was established in 1781. Before that, the masons operated under the aegis
of the Grand Lodge of England. And no matter what legends may exist tying the Masons to the Knights of Templar
or to ancient Egypt, modern Masonry was officially codified in 1717 in Europe, Mr. Saini said.
The New York Masons’ headquarters, known as the New York Grand Lodge, is an imposing building at 71 West
23rd Street (though there are additional Mason buildings in each of the other four boroughs, see below). While the
current building was built in 1910, the Masons had a previous structure on the same site back to 1867. As part of
the Mason’s newfound openness, the building is now open to real and virtual tours. The ornate windowless meeting
rooms with altars and candles in the center certainly do not help dissuade those looking for fodder for conspiracy
theories.
Probably the best known New York City structure with Masonic ties is the Statue of Liberty. The New York Grand
Master, the head mason in the state, laid the cornerstone for the pedestal in 1884 as part of a longstanding tradition
of masons and cornerstone laying.
Fraunces Tavern, at 54 Pearl Street, is the site where arguably the most notable Mason in American history —
George Washington — spent many long hours and gave the emotional farewell to his officers in 1783.
The imposing and cubic Brooklyn Masonic Temple, at 317 Clermont Avenue in Fort Greene, is no longer formally
affiliated with the Masons, though it once served as a Masons headquarters.
Other Masonic temples (“temple” is another word that feeds the conspiracy theories) outside Manhattan include the
Midwood Masonic Temple at 1384 East 64th Street in Brooklyn; the Tottenville Masonic Temple at 236 Main
Street on Staten Island; the Pelham Masonic Historical Society of City Island at 241 City Island Avenue in the
Bronx; and the Advance Temple at 21-14 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens.
Theodore Roosevelt, one of 14 presidents who achieved the highest rank of masonry, was born at 28th East 20th
Street in Manhattan. In addition to Washington and Theodore Roosevelt, the other 12 were James Monroe, Andrew
Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, William How-
ard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Gerald R. Ford.
9 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 9
Fast-Food Incident Gets Wolf Into the World of Golf
Matt Calkins
PALM DESERT - Erik Wolf walked into a Carl's Jr. one day and left thinking he could be a famous star.
No, seriously.
Six years earlier, the Palm Desert resident fired a 59 in the
South Dakota Open to ascend from 12 strokes down and
surge past current PGA Tour player Joe Olgivie for the tour-
nament title.
When he stepped into the fast-food joint, however, he was
bankrupt.
But standing in front of him was fellow Palm Desert resident
Al Geiberger, who was wearing a hat that read "Mr. 59" -- a name he has embraced since becoming the first
PGA Tour player to break 60 just a shade more than 30 years ago.
Subsequently, after Wolf ordered his meal, the cashier handed him his number, which was (drumroll ...) 59.
"I had a spiritual experience that day," said Wolf, 34, a teaching professional at College Golf Center. "I re-
member thinking earlier, 'How could I shoot a 59 and not have any of the things I wanted in life?' I was broke.
It really gave me faith. It made me want to go after my dream."
As a result of his Carl's Jr. experience, Wolf said he's become a Freemason and a student of Pythagorean-based
numerology. This is not a joke. It also begs the question: When's the last time you heard Freemason, Pythago-
rean and Carl's Jr. in the same sentence?
Perhaps more significantly, Wolf has rededicated his life to helping students, improving himself and eventu-
ally making it on the PGA level -- a goal that may never come to fruition but wasn't even conceivable just a
couple years back.
Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten too much closer to the dream this week, at least not based on his, uh, numerol-
ogy at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Through three rounds, Wolf is sitting in last place. He has carded rounds of 78, 77 and 76, good for 15 over
par. Eight strokes separate him from the man in second-to-last, perennial cellar-dweller David Duval.
Wolf doesn't seem to mind.
This is, after all, just the second PGA event he's ever participated in (he also played in the PGA Champion-
ship), wiggling his way into play by winning the Southern California PGA Championship last year.
And just a few years ago he was shagging balls on the driving range at La Quinta Country Club, serving up
Titleists to millionaires like Ogilvie, who he used to beat in his younger days.
"What are you doing?" old friends would ask him.
"I'm broke," Wolf would respond. "I needed a job somewhere."
(Continued on page 11)
10 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 10(Continued from page 10) Wolf's interest in golf essentially came by default. A tumor was discovered in his head as a 13-year-old and its removal basically precluded him from participating in any contact sports. "He really wasn't much of a runner anyway," his father, Daryl, said. Wolf was, however, a big dreamer, and had his sights set on playing at the highest level. His game's development started with his dad, who had a 5 handicap at the time, betting him that the loser of a given round had to mow the lawn. Within a few years, Wolf was playing for New Mexico State and occasionally outscoring Tiger Woods on the college level. Then he went onto mini tours -- and eventually bankruptcy. Confidence is a funny thing on the golf course. Consistency with your woods and irons is an elusive thing. For instance, one time in a Nationwide Tour event, Wolf was outscored by jazz musician Kenny G, who was playing on a sponsorship exemption. Then last year he finished ninth in a club pro national tournament to qual- ify for the PGA Championship. Wolf mentioned that as much fun as he's having, his confidence can be a little shaky at times. He also talked about how different the conditions were on the PGA level, how firm the greens were, how difficult it was to chip -- and that if PGA regulars were to play on the local municipal courses, "they'd be jabbing at their putts all day." Wolf says this honestly, not defensively. He's able to take his wayward strokes in stride, scoring double bogeys on par 3s but still being able to jab with his friend about Will Ferrell sketches on YouTube while walking the cart path. "Hey, at one point in my life, I seriously felt like I had to give up," Wolf said. "The fact that I'm even here, that I'm doing this, is actually kind of remarkable." http://www.pe.com/sports/golf/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_calkins_corner_19.339fae3.html# 11 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 11
The Wait of the World's on Dan Brown
'Da Vinci Code' Author Has Sluggish Publishing Industry In Suspense Over Follow-Up
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Dan Brown's 2003 novel "The Da Vinci Code" was the biggest publishing event in decades, a global best-seller that
spawned dozens of literary knockoffs, a cottage industry of explanatory nonfiction titles, and a vast European tour-
ism business focused on sites mentioned in the book.
Now that Harry Potter -- the only bigger publishing phenomenon of the age -- is retired, no book has been as ea-
gerly awaited as Mr. Brown's next novel, purported to be about freemasonry and the Founding Fathers. The prob-
lem is, it is still awaited...and awaited...and awaited.
The whole industry is impatient. Book sales are generally sluggish, and one explosive,
high-profile title can jump-start sales across the board as customers pour into the stores
and walk out with a bagful of titles. When Bertelsmann AG reports 2007 results in
March, it will be the first time since 2002 that it didn't get a boost from "The Da Vinci
Code."
Meanwhile, the nation's biggest retailers can barely restrain themselves. "We're constantly asking," says Bob
Wietrak, vice president of merchandising at Barnes & Noble Inc.
So where is the new novel? It's a mystery worthy of the deepest secrets of the Knights Templar. Mr. Brown, holed
up in New Hampshire, isn't saying. His agent, Heide Lange, isn't, either.
"When a major author doesn't deliver, you get down on your knees and pray," says Laurence Kirshbaum, a book
agent who heads up LJK Literary Management in New York. "You can't threaten, you can't cajole, you wait."
Back in November 2004, a spokeswoman for Doubleday said the target publishing date for Mr. Brown's next book
was 2005, although she noted that "there are no guarantees."
Now, the publisher is hinting that a manuscript is close. "Dan Brown has a very specific release date for the publi-
cation of his new book, and when the book is published, his readers will see why," says Stephen Rubin, president of
Bertelsmann's Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, whose Doubleday imprint publishes Mr. Brown. Mr. Rubin
declined further comment.
What date could that be? Since some of the leaders of the American Revolution were masons, including George
Washington, an obvious reference point would be July Fourth. In addition to it being Independence Day, the cor-
nerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4, 1848 in a ceremony hosted by the Freemasons.
There are other more obscure dates that could be significant, however: On Sept. 18, 1793, President Washington
led a Masonic parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. It is considered one of
the most important events in Masonic history. A third choice? The cornerstone of the White House was laid on Oct.
13, 1792, during a Masonic celebration. (On that date in 1307, the King of France ordered the arrest of Knights
Templar. There has been speculation connecting the Knights and the origins of the Masons, although the matter is
in question.)
Mr. Brown's publisher said several years ago that the next book is tentatively titled "The Solomon Key." In an un-
dated post on his Web site, Mr. Brown writes that it is "set deep within the oldest fraternity in history...the enig-
matic brotherhood of the Masons." Elsewhere on the site, he notes that Robert Langdon, a fictional Harvard sym-
bologist who first appeared in Mr. Brown's second book "Angels & Demons" and was played by Tom Hanks in the
(Continued on page 13)
12 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 12(Continued from page 12) movie version of "The Da Vinci Code," will "find himself embroiled in a mystery on U.S. soil. This new novel ex- plores the hidden history of our nation's capital." Up until now, Mr. Brown wrote his books in quick succession: the first, "Digital Fortress," was published in 1998; followed by "Angels & Demons" in 2000, "Deception Point" in 2001, and "The Da Vinci Code" in 2003. The first three books sold modestly when first released, but the fourth -- about the search for the real meaning of the Holy Grail and the bloodline of Jesus -- was one of the most remarkable stories in publishing history. There are more than 80 million copies in print world-wide, according to Ms. Lange. It served as the basis of a blockbuster movie of the same name, released in 2006. Mr. Brown's earlier titles subsequently became wildly popu- lar, too, each of them selling millions. "Angels & Demons" has 39 million in print. Mr. Brown's income from all four books, including "The Da Vinci Code" and revenue from the film, has made him a rich man. Forbes magazine estimated Mr. Brown earned $88 million between June 2005 and June 2006, minus management, agent and attorney fees. Dan Burstein, editor of the best-seller "Secrets of the Code: The Unauthor- ized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code," thinks Mr. Brown may have earned as much as $250 mil- lion to $300 million from all related properties. Many writers have struggled. Charles Frazier, whose debut Civil War novel, "Cold Mountain," was published in 1997 and won the National Book Award, needed nearly a decade to deliver "Thirteen Moons," published in 2006. Although "Thirteen Moons" generated some good reviews, the book never caught fire with readers. It's estimated that there are 4 million copies of "Cold Mountain" in print in the U.S. "It's a classic case of an author who has written a phenomenon being reluctant to commit," says David Steinberger, CEO of the Perseus Books Group, a unit of Washington private-equity firm Perseus LLC. "The next book almost always underperforms, because the author is already at his zenith. There is only one way to go." Mr. Brown's timetable was affected by a plagiarism suit brought in the United Kingdom by two of the three authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail." That book, a work of nonfiction published in 1982, explored the possibil- ity that Jesus had not died on the cross but married and fathered a child -- a theme central to "The Da Vinci Code." Although Mr. Brown was exonerated in early 2006, the matter was time-consuming. At one point, Mr. Brown filed a lengthy personal statement which said of his work habits: "For me, writing is a discipline, much like playing a musical instrument; it requires constant practice and honing of skills. For this reason, I write seven days a week. So, my routine begins at around 4:00 AM every morning, when there are no distractions." "The Da Vinci Code" was also criticized for factual miscues; this time, he may be taking particular care. "He has toured a number of Masonic temples to get the historical facts correct," says Akram Elias, grand master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia. The Masons are a fraternal society dedicated to self-improvement and charitable works. Membership is open to all religions and political parties. Although Mr. Brown portrayed the secretive Roman Catholic group Opus Dei in a negative light in "The Da Vinci Code," Mr. Elias says he isn't worried. "Freemasonry will survive Dan Brown," he says. Meanwhile, some publishing veterans say the wait is understandable. "When you have that level of success, you feel an obligation," says Mr. Kirshbaum. "He's climbing Everest times 10. He probably wants to make the next book perfect." 13 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 13
Quiet change at Masonic lodge furthers racial progress
By Scott Sexton
JOURNAL COLUMNIST
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
In the annals of landmarks in race relations, the Jan. 5 installation of Jo-
seph Adegboyega as the new Worshipful Master at an Ancient Free and
Accepted Mason Lodge in Winston-Salem won’t rival Brown vs. The Topeka
Board of Education or President Eisenhower sending the 101st Airborne to
desegregate Central High in Little Rock.
Perhaps that’s a good thing, a sign that nearly 44 years after the Civil
Rights Act, race relations continue to improve and artificial barriers con-
tinue to fall.
That’s the way Adegboyega wants to look at his accomplishment. While
he’s rightfully proud that he is the first black man to hold high office in a
traditionally white AF&AM lodge in North Carolina, he also thinks that it’s
about time.
“Having realized what people in the South went through, I thank God I
wasn’t here for that,” said Adegboyega, a native of Nigeria who came to this country by way of Canada.
“Every time I take a step into a temple, I realize that mine might be the first black face to enter those
temples and I think about the people who went before me who were not privileged to do that.
“If people like Martin Luther King hadn’t done what they did, a lot of clubs would still be closed to us.”
History of segregation
For those like me whose only familiarity with Masonic Lodges comes through such movies as National
Treasure, a little history is in order.
Basically, freemasonry is a fraternal organization with millions of members around the world who focus
on charitable works, brotherhood and a belief in a Supreme Being.
Its origins are somewhat mysterious, but some theorize that its beginnings are rooted in the building of
King Solomon’s Temple. Officially, freemasonry started in London in 1717 and spread to this country
soon after.
What’s not mysterious is that separate Masonic lodges - divided along racial lines - developed in the
United States.
Named for a free black man who was initiated a mason in 1775 along with 14 other free black men into a
British Army lodge in Boston, “Prince Hall” lodges became the norm for blacks, while white men contin-
ued to join the AF&AM lodges.
Separate but theoretically equal lodges continue to be the norm today, one of those things that are ac-
cepted because “it’s always been that way.”
That changed in 2001 when Adegboyega moved to North Carolina from Toronto and moved to join the
Piedmont-Pioneer Lodge #685 on Miller Street. He had been initiated as an AF&AM mason in Canada in
1997, so it seemed natural to join a similar lodge here.
“It did not cross my mind that there were two,” he said. “I went to college in France. There were no
separate things for white and black people.”
(Continued on page 15)
14 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 14(Continued from page 14) ‘The right thing’ Though there are no official guidelines mandating separate lodges for blacks and whites, Adegboyega said that initially he was gently steered toward the local Prince Hall Lodge. But since he was already a life member of his AF&AM lodge in Canada, he saw no reason why he shouldn’t belong to one here. With the support of some members of the Grand Lodge in Raleigh and a good number of those at the lo- cal lodge, he applied and was formally voted in as a member here in September 2002. He steadily moved through the hierarchy before being formally installed as the Worshipful Master - es- sentially the lodge’s president- earlier this month. “It was just time,” said Frank Collins, the secretary of the Piedmont-Pioneer Lodge. “He was like anybody else we vote in. They all have to be good guys that people like.” Perhaps appropriately since he -talked about his path on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Adegboyega offered an analogy in describing his journey. “I had the support of many brothers within the organization,” he said. “Like the Underground Railroad helping blacks escape slavery you had to have the support of whites. “It’s just the right thing to do, you know?” Editor’s Note I want to throw out my congratulations on this long over due election to Worshipful Brother Adegboyega. In the year 2008 I can’t believe having an African American as a WM is breaking news but unfortunately it is in some states. Not wanting to turn this into a diatribe about the last holdouts for mainstream Masonry recognizing Prince Hall Masons and vice versa I will bite my tongue. 15 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 15
TWT Live Podcast
TWT Podcast Call ID # 11669
On Tuesday January 29th at 8pm. Cory Sigler, Tom Accousti (Owner of the Blog “Tao of Masonry”
http://masonictao.blogspot.com) and Christopher Hodapp (author; “Freemason for Dummies”
http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/) hosted the first live interactive radio call in show done by ma-
sons for masons.
The idea and methodology we used was unique to other Masonic podcasts. We went “live without a net”
and didn’t edit anything out in post production. While not as fancy as some of the other great ones out there
I thought the raw energy gave it a nice feel and made it into a conversational format.
Our special guests were the authors of the new book “Morals & Dogma for the 21st century”. Brothers JJ
Miller, Brian Chaput, Bill Goodell and Kevin Main.
We discussed the reasons they re-wrote the book, Albert Pike as a person and of course the infamous word
he used that has caused 200 years of controversy as well as many other topics.
All who participated were extremely impressed with the guests knowledge and understanding of the material.
It was apparent that the authors really knew Pike and his work.
Using the talkshoe website we were able to have 7 people on the phone and over 100 listeners on live at the
same time. Using the built in chat function, brothers who didn’t feel comfortable calling in could ask a ques-
tion or say a comment in real-time. Luckily we were able to get threw some minor bugs and overall we all
had a fantastic time.
Based on the initial feedback we are thinking about doing future shows so vote on this months poll and tell
me your thoughts.
The show can be listened to as streaming audio or downloaded at www.talkshoe.com using call ID # 11669.
Find the search box on the top right hand side type in the caller # and hit enter.
You can learn more about the book and order it online at http://www.morals-and-dogma.com/
16 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 16Monthly Poll
Last month I asked “Do you wear your ring with the S&C facing you or facing
outwards?”
Here’s what some of the TWT readers had to say on the topic.
•
Facing out, it shows to others that I am a Freemason David L.Chapman
•
I am a past master from Indiana and I wear my ring with the points of the compass pointing to the ground and the letter
G in the upright position when my hands are by my side. I know what my ring looks like and I wear it for others to see
also.
Jeff Wright P.M.
P.S. My watch faces me though.
•
In Indiana , the Grand Lodge asks that Masons wear their rings so the emblem faces the wearer. This is also true for 33rd
rings.
Jim Guffey,
Indianapolis IN
•
Dear Bro. Sigler,
I wear my ring with the Square and compass pointed outward so other people can see my affiliation. (As opposed to hav-
ing the compass points toward myself, to remember my obligation)
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17 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 17(Continued from page 17)
I tried to find the proper way to wear the ring when I first joined (2 years ago) and people gave me quite a variety of an-
swers. I think that this is a very good survey question.
Doug Henry
Junior Warden Collins-Spring Valley Lodge #192 Baldwin, Wisconsin
•
Dear Brother,
I am a Mason from the Portage-Brady Lodge #340 at the Kalamazoo County Masonic Center in Schoolcraft, Michigan.
I wear my Masonic ring facing out because I feel that the tip of the compass is ourselves and the points radiate outward
to our community and therefore the tip of the square is the community and it's two points are they reflecting back upon
us.
Take care,
Jim Verburg #340
•
Facing me, because that was the way the S & C was place when I received my obligation.
P. Wayne McKnight
•
I was Raised in what’s now Grafton-Kane lodge in N.H. I did ask one of our long time members who, at that time, was a
P.M., P.G.M. and 33 deg. and lord knows what else, if there was any significance to how you wore your ring.
I was told at that time it was customary to wear your ring with the “points” out to show the world you are a Mason and to
wear them with the “points” in to remind yourself that you are a Mason.
After some consideration I thought that this was a pretty wise bit of advise and came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a
huge priority for me to advertise the fact that I am a Freemason, but it was a priority of mine to keep the lessons I had
learned and are still learning close at hand.
I tend to be a very opinionated person so when I’m in a situation that I should subdue my passions, and listen to what’s
being said, it is a good and handy reminder.
What was it someone said. “Freemasonry: it’s not about me changing them, it’s about me changing me.”
Fraternally
BA
POLL QUESTION FOR FEBRUARY:
Would you participate in a live call-in Masonic talk show?
If “Yes” what topics would you want covered?
If “No” explain what would be the reason
Honesty is appreciated
18 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 18Young Masons of Vermont
On the cold day of December 17th, a day after a major snow-
storm, the young Masons lodge of Vermont met under dis-
pensation from Most Worshipful Grand Master Calvin K Key-
ler. The precept behind the lodge is simple. Give young Ma-
sons a place to go and interact with their peers, making Free-
masonry relevant to today’s young Mason
The following is an excerpt of the actual letter sent out to
the young Masons of Vermont.
“The mission of the Young Masons lodge has threefold im-
portance, the Vermont Masonic ritual, Masonic education and
fellowship. Each of these areas is equally important to a balanced Masonic experience and the same emphasis should be
placed upon each area. The young Mason’s lodge will give the young Vermont Freemason a place to go with other
young Freemasons to spend time with his peers, and share ideas to grown in all of these areas. The Young Masons
lodge will be a traveling lodge. Tying it to any one geographical location would limit the number of brothers able to
attend. By having 6 meeting per year, it is possible to reach every area of the State. Members should wear a dark din-
ner suit or a blazer with tie. Officers should be in a dark dinner suit or tuxedo. Each meeting will consist of a great din-
ner followed by a meeting, including ritual and Masonic education
Because the young Masons lodge is not intended to replace any lodge within the Grand lodge of Vermont, degrees on
new members for the lodge should not be held, but the young Masons lodge should be proficient in all degrees so that
they may travel to lodges and confer degrees for lodges in need.
Who is eligible? While the young Masons lodge is open to all Master Masons in good standing, the officers of the lodge,
with the exception of Treasurer and Secretary shall be under 45 years of age. There can be advisory boards of Broth-
ers over the age of 45 for specific projects.”
So we met. There were a dozen or so of us that night. The snow in Vermont can’t stop us, but might slow us down.
We sat at a great dinner put on by the Eastern Star and talked about our kids, our younger kids actually, our jobs,
spouses, and the list goes on. Our officer’s range from State Troopers to professional brewers, so the conversations
ranged in variety, but most importantly it was fun. Our meeting was short, business according to our bylaws can only
be 15 minutes long, and our speaker for the evening, Brother Sandy Kearsted, talked about the philosophers stone,
Harry Potter, and it’s relevance to today’s Masonry.
The night ended at 9:00 and the brothers headed home, some traveling as much as 2 hours to be at the event. So what
does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Masonry is getting younger, and the time to put different initiative into
place is now. The Young Masons lodge of Vermont was set up to enhance the Young Masons experience in his own
lodge, not to replace it. This is one small step that we have taken to look at our future in Vermont More information
on the Young Masons lodge can be found at www.vtfreemasons.org
Bro Errol Hinton Bio
Worshipful Brother Errol Hinton is the Grand Lecturer for the Grand Lodge of Vermont. He is a Past Master of Island Pond
#44, in Island Pond, and Green Mountain Lodge #68 in Cabot. He has served his Grand Lodge as Right Worshipful District
Deputy Grand Master and RW Grand Junior Deacon. Brother Errol resides in Barre Vermont with his wife Karen and three
children.
19 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 19Masonic Authors
THROUGH RITUAL TO ENLIGHTENMENT
Julian Rees © 2003
Thirteenth Annual Wendell K Walker Memorial Lecture delivered at Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2, New
York, on Thursday 20 March 2003
Worshipful Master and Brethren, I thank you for according me the honour of delivering the Wendell K Walker Memo-
rial Lecture for 2003, the more so in view of MWBro Wendell Walker’s English connections. I note that he was a
graduate of Exeter University in England, and was also from 1982 Grand Representative of the United Grand Lodge
of England at the Grand Lodge of New York. I would like my visit to you today to be some recognition of MW Bro
Wendell Walker’s work in cementing relations between our two countries and our two Masonic jurisdictions.
A paper I wrote some years ago for the English publication Freemasonry Today reminded the readers that the proper
means of instructing young masons was not by repetition of degree ceremonies but by a system of set lectures. I
made this discovery on reading Colin Dyer’s Emulation – A Ritual to Remember. In the late 18th and early 19thC,
lodges of instruction did not teach degree ceremonies, so much more engaged were they in philosophical and moral
debate. My discovery of this fact resonated with my own feelings on the matter, and was one of the stages in a jour-
ney I had undertaken, and still continue to make today, a journey whose name may be expressed as follows: Are we
as Freemasons so bound up in the form of our craft as to have lost sight of the content behind the form? Let me put it
another way. A Christian priest or minister may pronounce the words of the Eucharist from beginning to end in the
belief that by speaking the words he thereby fulfils his obligation, without taking the words into his heart, without feel-
ing them, and without knowing, deep down, what the words are telling him. I do not of course suggest that this is true
of all priests, merely that it can happen. And I have, over many years as a Freemason, come to the conclusion that
some Freemasons intone the words of our beautiful ritual, often with great expressiveness and after having spent
great effort memorizing them, but without having a sense of the words, of how they affect and influence their lives,
without, in short, having a sense of the divine. Many lodges in the world do not suffer from such myopic attitudes, but
sadly the majority do seem to.
It was not always so. In England the history of ritual development provides some intriguing insights, and we may here
digress for a moment to trace a little of the history of Freemasonry in England in the 18thC. In 1717, at the time of the
constitution of the first Grand Lodge in England, Freemasonry consisted of only two degrees, both of which were very
strongly Christian in content. In the 1720s the third degree was added, or more correctly the second degree was split
into two to form the second and third degrees, and at this time the de-christianizing of the ritual had begun. Our sen-
sitivity to the mystical was in question; the Royal Arch degree was removed from its proper place at the heart of craft
Freemasonry. The experience of the English in their empire-building in India and other parts of the world meant that
the influence of religions other than the Christian were brought into play, and in your own country there were in-
stances of Amerindians, who recognized shamanism, embracing Freemasonry.
In 1751 the authority of this first English Grand Lodge was challenged by the establishment of a rival Grand Lodge,
dubbed the ‘Antients’, who wanted to retrieve those elements of our ritual which they perceived to have been unjustly
abandoned. This Grand Lodge, which also went by the name of the ‘Atholl’ Grand Lodge, was largely responsible for
establishing Freemasonry in the New World so that, incidentally, some of the ritual forms today practiced in the
United States are probably older than those practiced in England. In 1813 however the two rival Grand Lodges in
England buried the hatchet and devised ritual forms acceptable to both, which were approved by the new United
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Grand Lodge in 1816. At this time the de-Christianizing of the ritual was completed. It is generally accepted that this
de-Christianizing resulted in the jettisoning of much of the focus on spirituality, leaving in a sense just the husk of the
ritual – the baby was thrown out with the bathwater. Before this union of the two Grand Lodges, an integral part of
this ritual was a system of question-and-answer or catechetical lectures, by means of which young masons were in-
structed. These lectures were split into three distinct degrees, one for each Masonic grade. The proficiency that had
to be displayed in them by the aspiring candidate were the means of his advancement. At this time, most work in
lodges of instruction was dedicated to these lectures, with only occasional practice of the degree ceremonies them-
selves. The catechetical lectures in the ritual practiced in the Grand Lodge of New York are certainly derived from the
same source as the English ritual – the similarities are too marked to suppose otherwise.
All the evidence is that in the eighteenth century the spiritual and philosophical instruction given was on a much more
informal level. The ceremonial and procedure, the attention to dress and to precedence and seniority were to come
much later. Paradoxically, the codifying of these lectures into set forms, which took place at the start of the 19thC,
went a long way to codifying Masonic behavior as a whole, and led to the rigid patterns we know today in Masonic
procedure and ceremonial. Nonetheless what we have inherited, although lacking in flair and spontaneity, does im-
part something of the real hard learning to which a young mason in those days had to submit. As an example, we
may consider that section of the first degree lecture of which copies have been distributed, and which contain much
material well known to New York masons. [fourth section of first lecture] Today, and since the early 19thC, these lec-
tures are grouped to form seven sections in the first degree, five in the second and three in the third. Together with
the three degree ceremonies, they are in England today regulated, under the name ‘Emulation Ritual’, by a body
known as the Emulation Lodge of Improvement, which is the ultimate authority in England in all matters pertaining to
this, the most widely practiced ritual. Yet even in England, the lectures are today known only to a minority, and the
real philosophical and spiritual intent behind them is largely lost.
Yet if we examine the ritual forms which we have inherited, we discover that much of the spiritual content remains.
We discover that all the way through our ceremonies we are encouraged to research our inner selves. Wherever we
look in Masonic ritual, the constant theme is one of knowing who and where I am, and knowing my true relationship
to my fellow-man and to the universe which I inhabit. Even a cursory reading of the degree ceremonies leaves no
place at all for the assertion made by some Freemasons, that our Order is ‘a social and dining club with a few ritual
appendages’, an assertion which betrays a willful ignorance. The decline in spiritual awareness and in the following
of spiritual quests is of course nothing new. The surprise is, that western society does not appear to have noticed
how deprived of spiritual nourishment we have become. We pretend, through an obsession with technology and sci-
ence, that the spiritual is not as important as the air we breathe or the water we drink. All the major western religions
have suffered erosion through the onslaught of materialism. Humankind seems intent on satisfying his sensual appe-
tites, to the detriment of the core of his existence, that spiritual pillar at his centre, whose function is to keep him up-
right, and to connect at all times the physical and spiritual worlds, like Jacob’s ladder.
In a world where humankind has largely dismissed institutional religions, man seems to assert that he needs nothing
of spiritual values. Yet against his rational judgment, he still feels the need for a dimension other than the physical
and material. Social evils and psychological distress are increasingly realized to be the product of the pursuit of
purely material goals. It may not be true to say that western institutional religions have let us down, although many
perceive this to be the case. It is certainly true to say that more effort seems to go into maintaining the institutions
than in nurturing the spiritual message.
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So, if spirituality today is on the wane, should we perhaps trace human history back to that point when it was in the
ascendant? Certainly spirituality is older than organized religion as we understand it today, with its administrative ap-
paratus, ornate buildings and hierarchies. We have only to consider vestiges of ancient spiritual practice, such as the
many clusters of megalithic stones in various countries of the world, or tens of thousands of years earlier, burials of
Neanderthals carried out in a ritualized manner. These testify to the fact that many centuries before institutional relig-
ion there existed a quest for knowledge about human nature and the purpose of human existence.
In the western world, these quests came to belong to a general body of thought referred to as the Mysteries. The
core of the Mysteries rested on one crucial fact – for the Ancients there existed two parallel worlds, both of which we
inhabit at the same time. There was the physical, material, sensual world – a world with edges – and there were the
vast, limitless, eternal, non-material realms, not limited by physical phenomena, and not available to ordinary percep-
tion, but which were still a part of our universe. In these realms, the arenas for the exploits of the gods of mythology,
events occurred which were governed by the same natural laws existing in our world of ordinary experience, events
which had an important influence on the daily activity of human life. As Kirk MacNulty points out,
the closest of these non-material domains exists in our own psyche, since every time we dream, we are participants
in such supernatural events, the boundary of the inaccessible part of that domain being the threshold of our own con-
sciousness, a threshold which we may have created ourselves, an artifact of assumed cult belief, not a biological re-
ality.
The Mysteries were schools which provided the gateway to those non-material realms, and to the knowledge of the
natural laws operating in them. They existed for the satisfaction of those who wished to know more, those who
wished to understand divinity, directly, for themselves. How did they do this? Incorporated in the practice of the an-
cient Mysteries was a process of initiation, a process directly comparable with Masonic initiation.
There is no evidence that speculative Freemasonry arose purely as a social phenomenon. On the contrary – there is
every justification for the view that it arose as a means of initiating men into a way of moral awareness, responsibility
towards society and self knowledge. We may justifiably view it as fulfilling the same function in society as the ancient
Mysteries, for whom initiation was a mystical path to enlightenment, where mankind stood within the holy of holies in
the great temple to come face to face with the Great Architect.
Now, there is some good news for you, and some bad news. The good news is that in our own Masonic system, for
those who have no adherence to an institutional religion – and even for those who have – we have a clear-cut route,
if we choose to follow it, to self-awareness, self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. The bad news is that Free-
masonry has all too often become ossified in the form of its ritual. It seems, in some lodges, that the learning of the
words and actions has become an end in itself, and the enormous effort put into this learning and the concentration
necessary to render the words correctly according to the book have proved so to divert us from the meaning as to
obscure it almost completely. We have forgotten the virtue and the beneficial effects of stillness and silence, of the
attempts to shut out the outer world, so that, for a while at least, we can be at our own centre, the place from which
we cannot err. We cannot find a better place to study the importance of this aspect than the prayer
we say over a candidate on his admission to the temple for his initiation. ‘Grant that this candidate for Masonry may
dedicate and devote his life to Thy service and become a true and faithful brother among us. Endue him with a com-
petency of Thy divine wisdom, that, by the influence of the pure principles of our Fraternity, he may be better enabled
to display the beauties of holiness, to the honor of Thy Holy Name.’ We are in effect praying that Freemasonry may
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22 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 22(Continued from page 22)
help the candidate reveal – ‘display’ – holiness: in other words, to own that Divinity for himself. Note that the ritual
does not charge him to go out and seek the beauties of holiness. And why? Because that holiness already resides
within him and needs only to be displayed; but the ritual will gradually teach him that. It is of passing interest here to
consider the slight variation in the English ritual: ‘ . . . that he may the better be enabled to unfold the beauties of true
godliness, to the honor and glory of Thy Holy Name.’ These are small variations of emphasis, not changing the cen-
tral spirituality at all, and serve to allow each of us to see the essence of our common craft in a different light.
And it is the essence. Were that not so, our mention of ‘holiness’, of ‘godliness’ and therefore of divinity would be
meaningless. Right at the start, we are plunged into the real spiritual matrix of our craft. We are immersed in the
spirit, and our candidate is about to discover, to reveal, some fragment of the eternal divinity within himself. This is
the start of his journey on the Masonic path, and along the way he learns his responsibilities to this our contrasting
material world. There is no room for doubt about what Freemasonry is doing here. It will no longer be enough for us
to concentrate on the form while ignoring the content. We cannot, as some do, claim that there is no deeper mean-
ing, and that as long as we gain promotion to a higher rank in Freemasonry, then that’s all there is to it.
What are the other clues in our ritual indicating that our candidate for initiation is embarked on a journey whose
meaning and purpose are esoteric ones? The chief one is that he is blindfolded: he is put into a state of darkness,
symbolizing the primeval, unenlightened state of man. This practice too links our craft to that of the Ancients, who
began rituals in exactly the same manner. Yet we may ask ourselves whether blindfolding is enough. We may con-
sider that the candidate needs to be placed in a state of sensory deprivation, of disorientation, albeit a benign one, to
enable him to change the focus from the outer, material world, with all its sensory distractions, into his own inner self,
to listen to the still small voice, to find himself at the centre and to start his journey towards the light. We may, with
some historical justification, consider whether a period of prolonged and total silence is required. Our candidate
needs now to meditate, to try to understand his place at the centre of the universe. For this procedure, we have
precedents to follow. In England today, the candidate is prepared in an ante-room separate from, but adjacent to the
temple, analogous in New York to your room for the preparation of the candidate, opening directly onto the temple.
But in the 18thC in England these were called ‘Chambers of Reflection’ and that is their true function. In Germany
even today, the candidate for initiation is shut away in such a room, surrounded by emblems of transistorizes and
mortality – a skull, an hour-glass, a lit candle and a bell. He is left on his own, to reflect on his relationship to the
world, to society and to his own destiny, in near darkness and in total silence. After this, he is blindfolded. In some
present-day French rituals, even more extreme measures are undertaken to attempt to disorientate the candidate.
Now he enters the temple and his symbolic journey towards the light has begun. Here we have the golden opportu-
nity, if we apply the preparation and the ritual carefully, to bring these symbols to life, not only for the candidate, but
also for ourselves. We, who partake in this mystery with the candidate, may regard ourselves as being there to as-
sist him in transforming a symbolic light into a real light. This candidate then is effectively being asked to suspend his
disbelief. We are immersing him in a new world, where the norms in operation in his other life no longer apply. It is a
world where there is more to discover within than without. We ask him to own and embrace a divinity to which, up to
now, he may have only paid a half-unbelieving lip service.
We ask him to consider that the faculty of reason on its own is not enough, and is certainly not paramount. It deals
only with the phenomenal world, and our reality, as we have seen, is much greater than that. Reason alone cannot
comprehend the irrational, the metaphysical, the spiritual. Reason alone cannot penetrate that mysterious veil which
shields us all from the vista of eternity.
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23 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 23(Continued from page 23) From this we can see that initiation, properly understood, is an intimately, intensely personal journey. It is, potentially, no less than the candidate’s own personal, spiritual climbing of Mount Everest. And as we have implied there are no bystanders in the lodge – by joining together with the candidate, we can ensure that his journey from darkness to light is a truly life-changing experience, and we can make of it a collective endeavor. But it is, and remains, as per- sonal as physical birth. It must change him. As such, it is hard to see a justification for initiating more than one candi- date at one time. Many lodges in England, who up to now practiced double initiations in order to ease the flow of can- didates, have re-considered that position in the interests of the proper enlightenment of the individual aspirant for Freemasonry. Whatever may be, we certainly cannot become initiates on the Masonic path by some vicarious proc- ess involving a sample initiation being conducted in front of us, in some way conducted on behalf of a group. It is true that in the First World War there were instances of lodges initiating four or five candidates at one time, on the eve of their leaving for the front – even then, these candidates were not initiated together, but one by one, the ceremonies lasting late into the night; exceptional times in the lives, and in the deaths, of aspirants for Freemasonry. To sum up then: we are equipped with a very beautiful, very strong ritual system as a means of advancing towards self-knowledge. Our candidate is already imbued with divine knowledge and wisdom, which needs only to be re- vealed, to be validated. He is on a journey to discover – to remember – his own spiritual links. His progress may be hindered if we pay attention only to the form of our craft and not the content, or if we are distracted by ideas of ad- vancement, or if we seek the wrong things in our craft. It is possible that we need to search not only in the degree ceremonies themselves for the spirituality in Freemasonry. To address this very aspect, an organization was set up in 1999 in England called The Cornerstone Society. Its aims are to increase the awareness, particularly of Master Ma- sons, of the real meaning and inner spirituality and beauty of our Masonic ritual. The Society seeks to help brethren who are actively interested in developing the crucial aspects of Freemasonry already mentioned above. One of the leading founder members is the Pro Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, MW Bro The Marquess of Northampton, and I would like to quote from a paper he gave at the Cornerstone Society Conference in London last summer: ‘It is important that at the centre [of Freemasonry] there is a core of brethren who do understand the spiritual mes- sage that our rituals contain. I am sure that like me there are many who joined Freemasonry as earnest seekers after light and wisdom, only to find that much of the masonry as practiced in the English Constitution, and indeed in many parts of the world, has forgotten its destiny . . . As a result the learning of ritual has become a drudge and an under- standing of its purpose is almost impossible . . . . Nevertheless, it has survived for nearly 400 years and possibly more – and as far as I am concerned carries the torch for what could loosely be described as the hermetic tradition. It is my fervent hope that through this Society and other similar initiatives it will rediscover its spiritual heritage and be- come an active catalyst for the transformation of Man’s consciousness.’ Wor. Master, Brethren, I thank you for listening to me with such focused attention. I hope not only to have evoked a perception of our Craft as a spiritual path to self-knowledge, which I believe to have been its original purpose, but also to have forged a few transatlantic bonds in that peculiarly Masonic way that bears so much fruit. 24 ON THE WEB AT WWW.TWTMAG.COM 24
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