Over at the the Wild Hunt I notice that the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Florida has decided that certain named types of pagans – including Wiccans and Odinists – cannot be Freemasons. Here is a scan of the edict:
Now, get this. As far as I understand Freemasonry, the authorities he has cited as part of his edict – the Landmarks, and the charge of a Freemason – are entirely correct. However he seems to have excluded a number of things from his consideration, to wit:
The Volume of the Sacred Law is not necessarily a specific book (e.g. the Bible), but that which constitutes the revelation from heaven which is binding on the conscience of the individual. Hence, it would be the Holy Book of the religion of the candidate being initiated – and indeed, non-Christians are allowed to swear their G.’. and S.’.O.’. on the Holy Book of their choice, e.g. the Tanakh, Koran, Zend Avesta, etc. It is my understanding of Freemasonry, therefore, that one may become a Mason so long as one believes in a God, who is the G.’.A.’.O.’.T’.’.U.’. from one’s own point of view, and one is prepared in all good conscience to swear on a Holy Book of one of the world’s religions.
Furthermore, the GM of Florida has managed to discriminate against pagans, without exercising discrimination! Whilst Agnosticism probably isn’t compatible with the craft, Gnosticism and Paganism are far too general terms to bandy about and there is a lack of explanation as to what is exactly wrong with Wiccan and Odinism. The thing is, religious and political discussions are banned within craft lodges anyway, so once they are in, they cease to be members of different religions and are simply Brothers of one Craft. It is within my personal knowledge that there are many pagans who are Freemasons, though not within Florida in the United States.
Now let me tell you a little story. In my novella, Shall We Kill The President? I described a conversation between a taxi driver and a Vampire in the Deep South of America.
âThe bus-boycott was when, exactly?â Elijah said.
âYou’re from out-of-state, right?â the driver said. âJust cause it’s fifty years gone don’t mean attitudes change much in these parts.â
âTell me about it,â Elijah muttered.
âLike when I joined the Masons,â the driver continued. âWhenever I tried going to a Lodge in this state, immediately they go to ‘refreshment’ soon as I walk in the door. ‘So, Bros,’ I sez to ’em, ‘when we gone from refreshment to labour again? Ain’t you got a ritual today?’ But they just plain ignore me as if I ain’t there. I gets the message real quick, and take mysel’ down to Prince Hall sharpish, if you know what I’m sayin’.â
âHuh!â Elijah snorted. He paused, before adding: âSo how do you join the Masons? The Prince Hall ones, I mean.â
âOh, you just need to believe in God and that you’re goin’ to Heaven when you die,â the driver said. âWhy? Does that sound like something which appeals to you?â
Elijah frowned. âNo,â he said.
The fact of the matter is that although dressed as fiction, the experience described by the taxi-driver is a real-life phenomenon experienced by African-Americans who are either Masons or who want to become Masons in certain parts of America. I know this because it was related to me by an American Mason –Â in the state of Florida.
That’s right: the unpalatable truth is that pagans might feel aggrieved because they can’t become Masons in Lodges warranted by the Grand Lodge of Florida, but black Masons have been discriminated against in the same state for far longer than just November 2012. The problem is far more serious than pagans seem to realise.
Happy St John’s Day! .’.
It is not the anniversary of Freemasonry in England, as Elias Ashmole claimed to have been made a mason during the era of the Civil War in the previous century. The first official Masonic publication, Anderson’s Constitutions (1720), claims that it thrived during the latter part of the 17th century (even including Sir Christopher Wren as one of its prominent members), suffered a lull roundabout the time of the first Jacobite rebellion (1715) – whereupon, the existing lodges in London decided to get their act together and formed a Grand Lodge.
Neither, for that matter, is it the anniversary of Freemasonry itself. There are lodges in Scotland which date back to the mid 16th century. Indeed I once met a Brother who said his mother lodge still had a minute book dating back to 1560 or thereabouts. Unfortunately he later said that his lodge had lent it out to someone who had not returned it. D’oh! đŠ
Anywho, I have therefore decided to bring my astrological powers to bear by casting a chart for the “birth” of the Premier Grand Lodge.
Chart for the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, 24th June 1717, London.
Time approximated to 6pm.
In the above chart I have estimated the time of “birth” to 6pm, given that the aforesaid Anderson’s Constitutions says that the four lodges which met at the Goose & Grid Iron that day were primarily meeting for dinner. I therefore opted for earlier in the evening, as any later a bunch of Freemasons in a pub would have been in no fit state to form anything. đ
By looking at the chart we immediately notice that Premier Grand Lodge is Sun Cancer, Moon Capricorn – its first meeting was the very day after the full moon. Of this combination it is said:
Also:
And even:
By way of comparison, cool people born with this combination include scientists such as Rupert Sheldrake and Stanislav Grof, celebrities such as Julius Caesar, and world leaders such as Liv Tyler.
Liv Tyler. Yes this is relevant to this article!
Moving on, we also notice that there is a T formation in the chart, between a conjunction of Sun / Venus / Jupiter, Caput Draconis, and the Moon. This would be a grand cross if we counted the Cauda Draconis as well. This would indicate that Grand Lodge’s “destiny” is to seek to achieve the “love and harmony which should at all times characterise Freemasons” (Caput Draconis in Libra). However, its fall-back position to which it may feel tempted to revert is that of a brash, power-hungry mentality.
It feels under pressure to achieve this love and harmony by works which increase the self-esteem, pleasure and good fortune of its members. However it feels it needs to balance this against a sense of propriety. This prudishness causes it to act in an authoritarian manner at times, making it want to dictate the enjoyment experienced by it members on its own terms.
So I wish all Brethren well this day, and remember that it is our destiny to succeed in the noble ideals on which the Craft was founded.
In memoriam: Michael Baigent, 1948 – 2013, former editor of Freemasonry Today and tireless campaigner to uphold the traditional standards of Masonry.
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