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ShaneWenzel Says Who is a Member ?? What govt are…? what MP’S are…. what Prime Ministers are…..?

shanewenzel — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:19:19 +0000

The Order of Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is the most well known of the secret societies based at Yale University. It was founded in 1832 by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft, two students who were not admitted into Phi Beta Kappa at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut.

The first Skull and Bones class, or “cohort”, was in 1833. Skull and Bones is known by many names, including The Order of Death, The Order, The Eulogian Club, and Lodge 322. Initiates are most commonly known as Bonesmen, Knights of Eulogia, and Boodle Boys.

The females who have recently been permitted to become members would be known as Boneswomen, Ladies of Eulogia, and Boodle Girls.In public, its corporate name is the Russell Trust Association. In 1999 it had assets of $4,133,246.

Skull and Bones is the only secret society known to have a summer home and its own private island. This private island, one of the Thousand Islands lying in gray territorial area between the United States and Canada, was given to the Order by one of its early mysterious benefactor families who was associated with the secret society.

Differences between Skull and Bones and other fraternities

Skull and Bones is different from other semi-secretive fraternities and sororities on several points. First, its current membership rosters are a secret to the public, as well as its activities. Second, it is what is called a “senior society,” in that only upcoming seniors are inducted into the secret society only for one year prior to graduation. Third, members have a history of committing crimes to further The Order. Whether these crimes are part of the initiation or simply as a mutual encouragement of peer pressure, is unknown. For instance, grave-robbing has been committed on several occasions.

The Skull and Bones Tomb was rumored to hold Geronimo’s skull, which inspired Native American activist and Apache chief Ned Anderson to try to force a search and a DNA test. He would face many obstacles. As a Yale student in 1918, Prescott Bush, former Connecticut Senator, father of President George H. W. Bush and grandfather to President George W. Bush, had dug up the skull himself with two other students from its federal burial ground at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and presented it as a gift to the fraternity.

The FBI refused to enter the fray unless Anderson removed himself from the investigation and turned over any evidence he had, an offer Anderson refused. Anderson then claimed, with several pieces of evidence, that he had met with Jonathan Bush, the brother of then-Vice-President George H. W. Bush, who presented the infamous skull.

The skull was impossibly small, and is assumed to be of a child. Anderson then publicized the meeting, adding that the skull was not the one of Skull and Bones fame. A bonesman was quoted as saying about the incident, “We still call it Geronimo”.

The New Haven Tomb is rumored in Yale’s own magazine to hold the skulls of Pancho Villa and Che Guevara as well. Fourth, The Order inspires occasionally a fanatical loyalty. Members have been known to stab the Bones insignia into their flesh to keep it on them while showering or swimming.

Both John Kerry and George W. Bush are members of Skull and Bones. Bush refused to talk about their common membership in the Order of Death during his February 9, 2004 appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press.

In another interview, when Kerry was in turn asked what could he reveal about Skull and Bones, Kerry said: “Well not much, because it’s a secret… Sorry, I wish there was something I could manifest…” and then quickly changed the subject. Bush appointed 11 Skull and Bones members to his Administration in his first term.

The U.S. branch of a German secret society

The Order has a private group portrait taken for every new cohort of fifteen. It is always posed in the same manner, showing human bones and a grandfather clock at 8 p.m.

The Order has a private group portrait taken for every new cohort of fifteen. It is always posed in the same manner, showing human bones and a grandfather clock at 8 p.m.Skull and Bones is distinctly an outward-viewing secret society. It has a view outside Yale University because it is a senior society.

It also has an international outlook. Some people say that Skull and Bones is a U.S. chapter of an early 1800s German secret society. Those who have broken into the Bones “Tomb” (or those members who are disaffected from the Bones experience and wanted to report on them), describe many German-language pictures and themes on the walls and in daily use–from pictures of skulls, to swastikas, to the use of Hitler’s silverware and table settings, obviously pilfered out of Germany after WWII.

Co-founder of the order, William Huntingdon Russell spent some time studying in Germany. It has been suggested that while he was there he was initiated into a secret society with a skull and bones for its emblem. Some even claim that he was initiated into a continuation of the Illuminati.Official material from Skull and Bones supports this theory.

First, an invitation to a thirteenth-anniversary describes a Jubilee Commemoration of the History of Our Establishment in New Haven.

Second, an historical address that has found its way from the tomb states The Eulogian Club: An Historical Discourse Pronounced before our Venerable Order on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Foundation of our American Chapter in New Haven July 30th 1863 Thursday evening. By Timothy Dwight of 1849Š

Third, mentioned in the Kris Millegan book on Skull and Bones, according to information acquired from a break-in to the ‘tomb’ (the Skull and Bones meeting hall) in 1876, “Bones is a chapter of a corps in a German University….General Russell, its founder, was in Germany before his Senior Year and formed a warm friendship with a leading member of a German society. He brought back with him to college, authority to found a chapter here.”

Fourth, a 1933 Bones document refers to the ³birth of our Yale chapter.² It is also suggested that when Bonesmen refer to the order as Lodge 322 they are acknowledging that they are but a chapter of a secret society.Another piece of information that implies Skull and Bones is a branch of another secret society is that the techniques used at Yale by Bones are far from unique.

The identitical pattern of techniques are seen in Brown University’s Society of the Pacifica House. Exactly like Yale’s Skull and Bones, Brown University’s ‘version’ is a senior society full of tapped juniors, a cohort of strictly fifteen annually, and it as well employs high secrecy.

Indeed, this pattern of secretive and ritualistic recruitment is also witnessed at other institutions, such as the Sphinx senior society at Dartmouth.

Bonesman socialization: core families of “Knights” versus “Barbarians”

The Skull and Bones tomb

Starting in 1833, each year one of the responsibilities of the cohort of fifteen seniors is to select fifteen new junior members to replace them. This is called being “tapped” (selected) for the society. To be tapped for Skull and Bones is seen by many Yale students as the highest honor that can be attained, though some occasionally refuse.

For a year, Bones members meet at least weekly and conduct long self-analysis of each other and critique. This is aimed at creating a long term bond between them as they leave the university instead of during their stay at the university. Within the Bones ‘tomb’ are rooms which some believe to be used for Satanic worship or other occult practices. Kris Millegan writes that the room is uncannily arranged like a room arranged for an entrance into an higher level of the Bavarian Illuminati.

There are innumerable human skulls and bones in the ‘tomb,’ which of course is illegal under Connecticut law. Bones members are reported to be forced to reveal their innermost secrets and their “sexual biography” to one another. It has been suggested that this may be used for blackmailing.

In the tomb with each other for one year, members dine off Hitler’s china set and silverware consuming expensive gourmet meals cooked for them by their own private chef. Members are given new code names. Plus, the members call themselves “Knights,” and simultaneously call everyone else in the world at large “barbarians.”

The Order encourages members to view the world outside of Skull and Bones in a desensitized and dissimulating fashion. Another dissociation is that clocks in the Bones ‘tomb’ run intentionally five minutes fast from the rest of the world, to give the members an ongoing sense that the Bonesmen’s space is a totally separate world–and a world just a bit ahead of the curve of the rest of the “barbarians” outside.

Partially, “tapping” is a response to visible or anticipated excellence, thus it could be considered meritocratic. However, since a great many members of the membership in this secret society are drawn over and over from the same families as the “core” of the group, it is a typical nested secret society with “porch brethren” on the outside making a power network for those in the inner administrative levels of the secret society.

The top repetitive families in Skull and Bones are known because in 1985 a disgruntled Skull and Bones member leaked rosters to a private researcher, Antony C. Sutton. Many people believe that the membership of Skull and Bones had been totally secret.

However the membership for each year is held in the Yale University archives.The membership rosters cover the years 1833-1985, with some additional years.

This original leaked 1985 data was kept privately for over 15 years, as Sutton feared that the xeroxed pages could somehow identify the member who leaked it. The information was finally reformatted as an appendix in the book Fleshing out Skull and Bones by editor, researcher, and writer Kris Millegan, who published it in 2003.

The data shows that certain families have been well represented, and that these happen to be related to each other as well – such as the Cheney family, Taft family, Whitney family, Walker family, and Adams family. Other subordinate members are often related to these families.

Other core family names are common. However, not all initiates in these families are as interrelated as the above group. This second category of core families covers such names as Smith, Allen, Brown, Clark, White, Day, Johnson, Jones, Miller, Stewart, Thompson, Cheney, Taft, Williams.

For an example of the predilection of certain core families being embedded in Skull and Bones (or vice versa), here are the top 15 families in Skull and Bones with 10+ Members (over 1833-1985, with occasional later years available:

Smith (15)
Walker (15)
Allen (13)
Brown (13)
Clark (12)
White (12)
Day (11)
Johnson (11)
Jones (11)
Miller (11)
Stewart (11)
Thompson (11)
Cheney (10)
Taft (10)
Williams (10)

This is only a list based on instance of names appearing in the index. Further research would have to be done to provide the links between them. However, first, it can be said that even with this cursory glance, for many surnames it is clear from the biographies that they are an ongoing line of Yale/Bones attendees. Second, many of these surnames are actually middle names–a marker?–of many other subordinate lineages, which may be a route for further research.

On an initiate’s first day in Bones they are assigned a name, which they will be known as for the rest of their life. Names that are regularly used are: Magog, which is assigned to the initiate with the most experience with the opposite sex; Gog, which is assigned to the least sexually experienced; Long Devil, for the tallest; Boaz, for varsity American football captains; and Little Devil for the shortest. Bonesmen have often assumed names of mythological and legendary figures.

Deer Island

Aerial view of Deer Island, in the St. Lawrence River between Canada and the United States; the retreat’s facilities today are reportedly dilapidatedDeer Island is a privately owned island retreat owned by Skull and Bones’ Russell Trust Association. It is on the Saint Lawrence River two miles (3 km) north of Alexandria Bay. Among the island’s facilities are two tennis courts, two houses, a bungalow, a boathouse, and an amphitheater. It serves as a getaway for the present members of Skull and Bones, and is often used to host reunions to which family members of Bonesmen are welcome. It can also be hired out for personal use, but membership of Skull and Bones as well as upkeep is required. The island is governed and maintained by the Deer Island Club, membership of which is only available for initiates of Skull and Bones. They say in their articles of association, the purpose of the club is:

…to promote the social intercourse of its members, and to provide for them facilities for recreation and social enjoyment; and to this end, to purchase, hold and convey any property, real or personal, which may be necessary or convenient therefor; to maintain a Club House for the use and benefit of its members; and to adopt by-laws and generally to exercise all the usual powers of corporations not prohibited by said statutes

Cultural References

In 2000, Universal Pictures released The Skulls starring Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker as rising seniors at Yale who were inducted into the secret society. After witnessing a cover-up of a murder, one character tries to defect from the group. The society is portrayed as having intergroup tensions, cover-ups, lavish lifestyles, and corrupt business deals. The film received very poor reviews.Fictional character Charles Montgomery Burns of The Simpsons was supposedly a member of the Skull and Bones before his graduation from Yale in 1914. In “The Canine Mutiny”, an episode from the eighth Simpsons season, Burns identifies Laddie the collie as a potential Boneshound.

The Skull and Bones published membership lists until 1971, which were kept at the Yale Library. References List of Skull and Bones Members

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SHANE WENZEL SAY’S STAND UP FOR SOMETHING OR FALL FOR EVERYTHING!!!

shanewenzel — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:07:21 +0000

Contrails

Contrails or vapor trails are condensation trails and artificial cirrus clouds made by the exhaust of aircraft engines or wingtip vortices which precipitate a stream of tiny ice crystals in moist, frigid upper air. Being composed of water, the visible white streams are not, in and of themselves, air pollution. However, contrails generated by engine exhaust are inevitably linked with typical fuel combustion pollutants. Contrails might also be considered visual pollution.

Condensation from engine exhaust

A vehicle engine’s exhaust increases the amount of moisture in the air, which can push the water content of the air past saturation point. This causes condensation to occur, and the contrail to form. When the fuel is burned, the carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide; the hydrogen also combines with oxygen to form water, which emerges as in the exhaust. For every gallon of fuel burned, approximately one gallon of water is produced, in addition to the water already present as humidity in the air used to burn the fuel.

At high altitudes this water vapour emerges into a cold environment, (as altitude increases, the atmospheric temperature drops) and the local increase in water vapour density condenses into tiny water droplets and/or desublimates into ice. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the contrails. The energy drop (and therefore, time and distance) the vapour needs to condense accounts for the contrail forming some way behind the aircraft’s engines.The majority of the cloud content comes from water trapped in the surrounding air. At high altitudes, supercooled water vapour requires a trigger to encourage desublimation. The exhaust particles in the aircraft’s exhaust act as this trigger, causing the trapped vapor to rapidly turn to ice crystals. Exhaust contrails usually occur at above 26,000 feet. where the temperature is below -40°C (-40°F).

Condensation from wing-tip pressure

The wings of an airplane cause a drop in air pressure in the vicinity of the wing. This brings with it a drop in temperature, which can cause water to condense out of the air and form a contrail but only at higher altitudes. At lower altitudes, this phenomenon is also known as “ectoplasm.” Ectoplasm is more commonly seen during high energy manoeuvers like those of a fighter jet, or on jet liners during takeoff and landing, at areas of very low pressure, including over the wings, and often around turbo-fan intakes on takeoff.

Contrails and climate

Contrails, by affecting cloud formation, can act as a radiative forcing. Studies have found that contrails trap outgoing longwave radiation emitted by the Earth and atmosphere (positive radiative forcing) at a greater rate than they reflect incoming solar radiation (negative radiative forcing). Therefore, the overall effect of contrails is a warming. However, the effect varies daily and annually, and overall the size of the forcing is not well known: globally (for 1992 air traffic conditions). Other studies have determined that night flights are most responsible for the warming effect: while accounting for only 25% of daily air traffic, they contribute 60 to 80% of contrail radiative forcing. Similarly, winter flights account for only 22% of annual air traffic, but contribute half of the annual mean radiative forcing.

September 11, 2001 climate impact study

It had been hypothesized that in regions such as the United States with heavy air traffic, contrails affected the weather, reducing solar heating during the day and radiation of heat during the night by increasing the albedo. The suspension of air travel for three days in the United States after September 11, 2001 provided an opportunity to test this hypothesis. Measurements did show that without contrails the local diurnal temperature range (difference of day and night temperatures) was about 1 degree Celsius higher than immediately before; however, it has also been suggested that this was due to unusually clear weather during the period.[

Contrails Wikipedia

Photo sent by a reader named Christian who wrote ...

"I took this photo on December 21, 2004 in Mazatlan, Mexico. I stood on my balcony and asked for a sign from the universe. Immediately, a vertical cloud formed, spiraling up like a vortex, reminding me of DNA. A few days later, on December 26, 2004, an underwater earthquake and tsunami hit Indonesia. Earth changes have come fast and furious ever since."

The Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory

The Chemtrail conspiracy theory holds that some contrails are the result of chemicals or biological agents being deliberately sprayed at high altitude for a purpose undisclosed to the general public. Versions of the conspiracy theory circulating on the internet and on some radio talk shows theorize that this activity is directed by government officials, and federal agencies have received thousands of complaints from people who have demanded an explanation. The existence of chemtrails has been repeatedly denied by federal agencies and scientists.

The term chemtrail does not refer to common forms of aerial spraying (e.g., crop dusting, cloud seeding or aerial firefighting). The term specifically refers to aerial trails allegedly caused by the systematic high-altitude release of chemical substances not found in ordinary contrails, resulting in the appearance of supposedly uncharacteristic sky tracks. Believers of this theory speculate that the purpose of the chemical release may be global dimming or population control, and claim that these trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.

Overview

The chemtrail conspiracy theory began to circulate in 1996 when the United States Air Force (USAF) was accused of releasing unknown substances from aircraft which were creating unusual contrails.[4] The Air Force characterizes the accusations as a hoax fueled in part by authors citing an Air University strategy paper entitled Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025 to allege the Air Force was currently conducting a secret government program to modify the weather. The paper was presented in response to a military directive to anticipate future developments and strategies for maintaining the United States’ military dominance in the year 2025 and identified as “fictional representations of future situations/scenarios”. The Air Force denies it is actually conducting such experiments or that such experiments are planned, and points to the refutations presented by accredited universities, scientific organizations and major news organizations as further evidence the chemtrails do not exist.

Various versions of chemtrail conspiracy theory have circulated through internet websites and talk radio programs. In some of the accounts, the chemicals are described as barium and aluminum salts, polymer fibers, thorium, or silicon carbide. In other accounts its alleged the skies are being seeded with electrical conductive materials as part of a massive electromagnetic superweapons program based around the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP).

The reasons given by those who believe in the conspiracy vary widely as well between military weapons testing, chemical population control, or measures to mitigate global warming. Federal agencies and scientists have consistently denied these claims, insisting the sky tracks are simple contrails. As the chemtrail conspiracy theory spread, federal officials were flooded with angry calls and letters. A multi-agency response to dispel the rumors was published in a 2000 fact sheet by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a step many chemtrail believers interpeted as further evidence of the existence of a government cover-up.

In 2001, United States Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced legislation that would have permanently prohibited the basing of weapons in space, and chemtrails were listed as one of a number of exotic weapons that would be banned. The bill received an unfavorable evaluation from the United States Department of Defense and died in committee. No mention of chemtrails appeared in the text of any of the three subsequent failed attempts by Kucinich to enact a Space Preservation Act.

Contrails and Chemtrails

Proponents of the chemtrail theories differentiate chemtrails from contrails by describing them as streams that sometimes persist in the sky for hours, and which sometimes trace criss-crossing, grid-like patterns, or parallel stripes which eventually blend to form large clouds. Another feature that proponents say distinguishes a chemtrail from a contrail is the presence of visible color prisms in the streams, unusual concentrations of sky tracks in a single area, or lingering tracks left by unmarked or military airplanes flying in atypical altitudes or locations.

Government agencies and other experts on contrail or atmospheric phenomena deny the existence of chemtrails, insisting that the characteristics attributed to them are simply features of contrails responding differently in diverse conditions in terms of the sunlight, temperature, horizontal and vertical wind shear, and humidity levels present at the aircraft’s altitude.

These experts respond that what appears as patterns such as grids formed by contrails result from increased air traffic traveling through the gridlike United States National Airspace System’s north-south and east-west oriented flight lanes, and that it is difficult for observers to judge the differences in altitudes between these contrails from the ground.

The jointly published fact sheet produced by NASA, the EPA, the FAA, and NOAA in 2000 in response to alarms over chemtrails details the science of contrail formation, and outlines both the known and potential impacts contrails have on temperature and climate.The USAF produced a fact sheet as well that described these contrail phenomena as observed and analyzed since at least 1953. It also rebutted chemtrails theories more directly by characterizing the theories as a hoax and denying the existence of any chemtrails.

Patrick Minnis, an atmospheric scientist with NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is quoted in USA Today as saying that logic is not exactly a real selling point for most chemtrail proponents. “If you try to pin these people down and refute things, it’s, ‘Well, you’re just part of the conspiracy’”, he said.

Proponents reject the explanations that chemtrails are in fact contrails or other, natural, phenomena, and assert that because explicit reference to chemtrails was entered into the congressional record with the first proposed Space Preservation Act submitted in 2001 by Congressman Kucinich, there has been official government acknowledgement of their existence.

MYSTERY SCHOOLS & SECRET SOCIETIES

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ShaneWenzel says Illuminatti – EYE Be aware Very Aware……

shanewenzel — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:05:03 +0000

Illuminatti – EYE

The Illuminati is the name of many groups, modern and historical, real and fictitious, verified and alleged. Most commonly, however, The Illuminati refers specifically to the Bavarian Illuminati, perhaps the least secret of all secret societies in the world, described below. Most use refers to an alleged shadowy conspiratorial organization which controls world affairs behind the scenes, usually a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. Illuminati is sometimes used synonymously with New World Order.

Illuminati is a Greek word meaning Illumination a name given to those who submitted to Christian baptism. Those who were baptized were called Illuminati or Illuminated / Enlightened Ones by the Ante-Nicene clergy, on the assumption that those who were instructed for baptism in the Apostolic faith had an enlightened understanding. The Alumbrados, a mystical 16th-century Spanish sect, were among the societies that subsequently adopted the name Illuminati.

Origins

Since Illuminati literally means ‘enlightened ones’ in Latin, it is natural that several unrelated historical groups have identified themselves as Illuminati. Often, this was due to claims of possessing gnostic texts or other arcane information not generally available.

The designation illuminati was also in use from the 14th century by the Brethren of the Free Spirit, and in the 15th century was assumed by other enthusiasts who claimed that the illuminating light came, not by being communicated from an authoritative but secret source, but from within, the result of exalted consciousness, or “enlightenment”.

Alumbrados of Spain

To the former class belong the alumbrados of Spain. The historian Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo found the name as early as 1492 (in the form iluminados, 1498), but traced them to a Gnostic origin, and thought their views were promoted in Spain through influences from Italy. One of their earliest leaders, born in Salamanca, a labourer’s daughter known as La Beata de Piedrahita, came under the notice of the Inquisition in 1511, as claiming to hold colloquies with Jesus and the Virgin Mary; some high patronage saved her from a rigorous denunciation. (Menéndez Pelayo, Los Heterodoxos Españoles, 1881, vol. V.). Ignatius Loyola, while studying at Salamanca in 1527, was brought before an ecclesiastical commission on a charge of sympathy with the alumbrados, but escaped with an admonition.

Illuminés of France

The movement (under the name of Illuminés) seems to have reached France from Seville in 1623, and attained some following in Picardy when joined (1634) by Pierce Guerin, curé of Saint-Georges de Roye, whose followers, known as Gurinets, were suppressed in 1635. A century later, another, more obscure body of Illuminés came to light in the south of France in 1722, and appears to have lingered till 1794, having affinities with those known contemporaneously in Britain as ‘French Prophets’, an offshoot of the Camisards.

Rosicrucians

A different class were the Rosicrucians, who claimed to originate in 1407, but rose into notice in 1614 when their main text Fama Fraternitatis appeared; a secret society, that claimed to combine the possession of esoteric principles of religion with the mysteries of alchemy. Their positions are embodied in three anonymous treatises of 1614 (mentioned in Richard and Giraud, Dictionnaire universel des sciences ecclésiastiques, Paris 1825), as well as in the Confessio Fraternitatis of 1615. Rosicrucians also claimed heritage from the Knights Templar.

Martinists

Later, the title Illuminati was applied to the French Martinists which had been founded in 1754 by Martinez Pasqualis, and to their imitators the Russian Martinists, headed about 1790 by Professor Schwartz of Moscow; both were occultist cabalists and allegorists, absorbing eclectic ideas from Jakob Boehme and Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Bavarian Illuminati

History

A movement of freethinkers that were the most radical offshoot of The Enlightenment – whose adherents were given the name Illuminati (but who called themselves “Perfectibilists”) – was founded on May 1, 1776 by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830), who was the first lay professor of canon law. The group has also been called the Illuminati Order, the Order of the Illuminati, and the Bavarian Illuminati.In the conservative state of Bavaria, where the progressive and enlightened elector Maximilian III Joseph von Wittelsbach was succeeded (1777) by his conservative heir Karl Theodor, and which was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church and the aristocracy, such an organization did not last long before it was suppressed by the powers of the day.

In 1784, the Bavarian government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati and the Freemasons. The structure of the Illuminati soon collapsed, but while it was in existence many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members.

Its members were supposedly drawn primarily from Masons and former Masons, and although some Masons were known to be members there is no evidence that it was supported by Freemasons. The members pledged obedience to their superiors, and were divided into three main classes: the first, known as the Nursery, encompassed the ascending degrees or offices of Preparation, Novice, Minerval and Illuminatus Minor; the second, known as the Masonry, consisting of the ascending degrees of Illuminatus Major and Illuminatus dirigens, the latter also sometimes called Scotch Knight; the third, designated the Mysteries, was subdivided into the degrees of the Lesser Mysteries (Presbyter and Regent) and those of the Greater Mysteries (Magus and Rex). Relations with Masonic lodges were established at Munich and Freising in 1780.

The order had its branches in most countries of the European continent; its members were reportedly around 3,000-4,000 members in the span of 10 years. The scheme had its attraction for literary men, such as Goethe and Herder, and even for the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar. Internal rupture preceded its downfall, which was effected by an edict of the Bavarian government in 1785.

Cultural Effect

The Bavarian Illuminati have cast a long shadow in popular history thanks to the writings of their opponents; the lurid allegations of conspiracy that have colored the image of the Freemasons have practically opaqued that of the Illuminati. In 1797, Abbe Augustin Barruel published Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism outlining a vivid conspiracy theory involving the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians, the Jacobins and the Illuminati.

A Scottish Mason and professor of natural history named John Robison started to publish Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe in 1798. Robison claimed to present evidence of an Illuminati conspiracy striving to replace all religions with humanism and all nations with a single world government.

More recently, Antony C. Sutton suggested that the secret society Skull and Bones was founded as the American branch of the Illuminati; others think Scroll and Key had Illuminati origins, as well. Writer Robert Gillette claimed that these Illuminati ultimately intend to establish a world government through assassination, bribery, blackmail, the control of banks and other financial powers, the infiltration of governments, mind control, and by causing wars and revolution to move their own people into higher positions in the political hierarchy.

Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, claimed they intended to spread information and the principles of true morality. He attributed the secrecy of the Illuminati to what he called “the tyranny of a despot and priests”.

Both seem to agree that the enemies of the Illuminati were the monarchs of Europe and the Church; Barruél claimed that the French revolution (1789) was engineered and controlled by the Illuminati through the Jacobins, and later conspiracy theorists have also claimed their responsibility for the Russian Revolution (1917), although the order was officially shut down in 1790. Few historians give credence to these views; they regard such claims as the products of over-fertile imaginations.

Several sources suggest that the Bavarian Illuminati survived, and perhaps even exists today. Conspiracy theorists highlight the link between the Illuminati and Freemasonry. It is also suggested that the United States’ founding fathers – some being Freemasons – were rife with corruption from the Illuminati. Often the symbol of the all-seeing pyramid in the Great Seal of the United States is cited as an example of the Illuminati’s ever-present watchful eye over Americans.

Very little reliable evidence can be found to suggest that Weishaupt’s group survived into the 19th century. However, several groups have since used the name Illuminati to found their own rites, claiming to be the Illuminati. Such groups include the Grand Lodge Rockefeller of David Goldman (USA), Orden Illuminati of Gabriel López de Rojas (Spain), and The Illuminati Order of Solomon Tulbure (USA).

In 1995, Gabriel López de Rojas founded Illuminati Order in Barcelona, Spain, elaborating the Operative Rite of The Illuminati of Bavaria. This Rite is based on the Rite of the Illuminati and high degrees of Scottish Rite of 33 degrees.The System of its Illuminati Grand Master, Gabriel López de Rojas, is the Redism. This system is based on the lemma HOMO EST DEUS, or “man is god”.

Groups describing themselves as Illuminati say they have members and chapters (lodges) throughout the world.

About the time that the Illuminati were outlawed in Bavaria, the Roman Catholic Church prohibited its members from joining Masonic lodges, on pain of excommunication. This was done as a general edict, since the Church believed many lodges to have been infiltrated and subverted by the Illuminati, but was not able to accurately ascertain which ones. This rule was relaxed only in the late 20th century.

References and Links: Wikipedia

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ShaneWenzel Say’s Masonic deception…. harvester…

shanewenzel — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:55:28 +0000

Freemasons

Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. Its members are joined together by shared ideals of both a moral and metaphysical nature, and, in most of its branches, by a common belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is an esoteric art, in that certain aspects of its internal work are not generally revealed to the public. Masons give numerous reasons for this, one of which is that Freemasonry uses an initiatory system of degrees to explore ethical and philosophical issues, and this system is less effective if the observer knows beforehand what will happen. It often calls itself “a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.”

History of Freemasonary

Freemasonry has been said to be an institutional outgrowth of the medieval guilds of stonemasons (1), a direct descendant of the “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem” (the Knights Templar) (2), an offshoot of the ancient Mystery schools (1), an administrative arm of the Priory of Sion (3), the Roman Collegia (1), the Comacine masters (1), intellectual descendants of Noah (1), and to have many other various and sundry origins. Others will claim that it dates back only to the late 17th century, and has no real connections at all to earlier organizations.

Much of this is highly speculative, and the precise origins of Freemasonry may be lost in history. It is thought by many that Freemasonry cannot be a straightforward outgrowth of medieval guilds of stonemasons. Amongst the reasons given for this conclusion, well documented in Born in Blood, are the fact that stonemasons’ guilds do not appear to predate reasonable estimates for the time of Freemasonry’s origin, that stonemasons lived near their worksite and thus had no need for secret signs to identify themselves, and that the “Ancient Charges” of Freemasonry are nonsensical when thought of as being rules for a stonemasons’ guild.

Freemasonry is said by some, especially amongst Masons practising the York Rite, to have existed even at the time of King Athelstan of England, in the 10th century C.E. Athelstan is said by some to have been converted to Christianity in York, and to have issued the first Charter to the Masonic Lodges there. This story is not currently substantiated (the dynasty had already been Christian for centuries).

Some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints note similarities between the church’s sacred “Endowments” performed in LDS temples, and masonic rituals. Some Mormons have said this similarity may be because the Masonic rituals are descended from those given by God at the Temple of Solomon, and still contain many of the original truths. It may also be that early Mormon leaders (including Smith) were members of Freemasonry and incorporated its liturgy into the new religion.

A more historically reliable (although still not unassailable) source asserting the antiquity of Freemasonry is the Halliwell Manuscript, or Regius Poem, which is believed to date from ca. 1390, and which makes reference to several concepts and phrases similar to those found in Freemasonry. The manuscript itself refers to an earlier document, of which it seems to be an elaboration.

It seems reasonable to suppose that, whatever its precise origins, Freemasonry provided a haven for the unorthodox and their sympathizers during a time when such activity could result in one’s death, and that this has something to do with the tradition of secret meetings and handshakes. As the Middle Ages gave way to the Modern Age, the need for secrecy subsided, and Freemasons began to openly declare their association with the fraternity, which began to organize itself more formally.

In 1717, four Lodges which met at the “Apple-Tree Tavern, the Crown Ale-House near Drury Lane, the Goose and Gridiron in St. Paul’s Churchyard, and the Rummer and Grapes Tavern in Westminster” in London, Englandcombined together and formed the first public Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of England (GLE). The years following saw Grand Lodges open throughout Europe, as the new Freemasonry spread rapidly. How much of this was the spreading of Freemasonry itself, and how much was the public organization of pre-existing secret Lodges, is not possible to say with certainty. The GLE in the beginning did not have the current three degrees, but only the first two. The third degree appeared, so far as we know, around 1725.

Opinions about the origins, objectives and future of Freemasonry remain controversial from the times of its inception to our times. For example, Shoko Asahara, founder of the controversial Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo, has prophesied in some of his sermons that “in the future, Freemasonry will merge into united stream” with Aum Shinrikyo.

According to Sir Richard Burton, “Sufi-ism [was] the Eastern parent of Freemasonry.” (See, F. Hitchman, Burton, Volume 1, p. 286) The possibility that Burton was correct is examined in detail by Idries Shah in his book entitled The Sufis, beginning on page 205.

Organizational structure

Main article: Grand LodgeThere are many different jurisdictions of governance of Freemasonry, each sovereign and independent of the others, and usually defined according to a geographic territory. There is thus no central Masonic authority, although each jurisdiction maintains a list of other jurisdictions that it formally recognizes. If the other jurisdiction reciprocates the recognition, the two jurisdictions are said to be in amity, which permits the members of the one jurisdiction to attend closed meetings of the other jurisdiction’s Lodges, and vice-versa.

Generally speaking, to be recognized by another jurisdiction, one must (at least) meet that jurisdiction’s requirements for regularity. This generally means that one must have in place, at least, the ancient landmarks of Freemasonry – the essential characteristics considered to be universal to Freemasonry in any culture. In keeping with the decentralized and non-dogmatic nature of Freemasonry, however, there is no universally accepted list of landmarks, and even jurisdictions in amity with each other often have completely different ideas as to what those landmarks are. Many jurisdictions take no official position at all as to what the landmarks are.

Freemasonry is often said to consist of two different branches: the Anglo and the Continental traditions. In reality, there is no tidy way to split jurisdictions into distinct camps like this. For instance, jurisdiction A might recognize B, which recognizes C, which does not recognize A. In addition, the geographical territory of one jurisdiction may overlap with another’s, which may affect their relations, for purely territorial reasons. In other cases, one jurisdiction may overlook irregularities in another due simply to a desire to maintain friendly relations. Also, a jurisdiction may be formally affiliated with one tradition, while maintaining informal ties with the other. For all these reasons, labels like “Anglo” and “Continental” must be taken only as rough indicators, not as any kind of clear designation.

The ruling authority of a Masonic jurisdiction is usually called a Grand Lodge, or sometimes a Grand Orient. These normally correspond to a single country, although their territory can be broader or narrower than that. (In North America, each state and province has its own Grand Lodge.)

The oldest jurisdiction in the Anglo branch of Freemasonry is the Grand Lodge of England (GLE),(the Moderns)founded in 1717. This later became the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) when it joined with another English Grand Lodge (the Antients) in 1813. It is today the largest jurisdiction in England, and generally considered to be the oldest in the world. Its headquarters are at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London.

The oldest in the Continental branch, and the largest jurisdiction in France, is the Grand Orient de France (GOdF), founded in 1728. At one time, the Anglo and Continental branches recognized each other, but most jurisdictions cut off formal relations with the GOdF around the time it started unreservedly admitting atheists, in 1877.

In most Latin countries, and in Belgium, the French style of Freemasonry predominates. The rest of the world, accounting for the bulk of Freemasonry, tends to follow the English lead.

Most jurisdictions allow their members to visit Lodges in recognized jurisdictions without reservation, leaving it to the foreign Lodge to confirm that the two jurisdictions are in amity. The UGLE, on the other hand, requires its members to check with them before visiting lodges abroad to confirm amity – for example visiting American lodges is discouraged.

Lodges

Contrary to popular belief, Freemasons meet as a Lodge and not in a lodge. (This is similar to the distinction made by Christians who meet as a church, with the actual building officially considered no more than a meeting place.)

According to Masonic legend (see below), the operative lodges (the Medieval lodges of actual stonemasons) constructed a lodge building adjacent to their work site where the masons could meet for instruction and social contact. Normally this was on the southern side of the site (in Europe, the side with the sun warming the stones during the day.) The social part of the building was on the southern side, hence the social gathering of the lodge is still called the South.

Early speculative lodges (which included members who were not actual stonemasons) met in taverns and other convenient public meeting places, and employed a Tyler to guard the door from both malicious and simply curious people.

Lodge buildings have for many years been known as Temples. In many countries this term has now been replaced by Masonic Centre. (Shriners and their Temples.)

In North America, Masonic Lodges are typically known as “Blue Lodges”, and are the foundation of a collection of further “appended” Masonic groups or bodies: York Rite, Scottish Rite and The Shrine. To be a member of these other bodies, a man must pay dues to a Blue Lodge. The Blue Lodge and its ceremonies establish the fundamental bond which makes all Masons “brothers”, and is the cement which binds all other appendant Masonic bodies together.

Specialist Lodges

Some specific specialist lodges exist within many Masonic jurisdictions.The most obvious are the specially constituted Lodges of “Research and Instruction” (R&I). These are associated with a world-wide organization of Masonic research, typically specialising in discovering and interpreting historical records and the meanings of Masonic symbolism left unrecorded, and for preserving and developing Masonic ritual. Membership in these many Lodges is typically open to interested members of other, normally-constituted Lodges.There are also Lodges formed by groupings of persons with similar interests or background, such as “old boy” Lodges associated with certain schools, universities, military units, or businesses.

Concordant and appendant bodies

Freemasonry is associated with several appendant bodies, such as the Scottish Rite, which is actually a complete system of Freemasonry, developed on the Continent (particularly in France), and the York Rite, which includes three sovereign and distinct rites, including the Holy Royal Arch, Royal and Select Masters (aka Cryptic Masonry) and Knights Templar.

In regard to the (Masonic) Templars, this particular organization is limited to Royal Arch and Cryptic Masons of the Christian faith and does not in any way impose this requirement on the entire York Rite system, as is commonly and erroneously believed.

Other groups include the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners), the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (Grotto), the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Society of Rosicrucians, and the Ancient and Heroic Order of the Gordian Knot, among numerous others, all of which tend to expand on the teachings of Craft or Blue Lodge Freemasonry – often with additional so-called higher degrees – while improving their members and society as a whole. The Shrine and Grotto tend to emphasise fun and philanthropy and are largely a North American phenomenon.

Different jurisdictions vary in how they define their relationship with such bodies. Some consider them wholly outside of Freemasonry proper. Others may give them some sort of formal recognition (or not). Some of these organizations may have additional religious requirements, compared to Freemasonry proper (or “Craft Masonry”), since they elaborate on Masonic teachings from a particular perspective.

There are also certain youth organizations (mainly North American) which are associated with Freemasonry, but are not necessarily Masonic in their content, such as the Order of DeMolay (for boys aged 1221 who have Masonic sponsorship), Job’s Daughters (for girls aged 10-20 with proper Masonic relationship) and the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls (for girls 1120 who have Masonic sponsorship). The Boy Scouts of America is not a Masonic organization, but was first nationally commissioned by Freemason Daniel Carter Beard. Beard exemplified the Masonic ideals throughout the Scouting program.

Membership

Freemasonry accepts members from almost any religion, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and so forth. In Lodges following in the Continental tradition, atheists and agnostics are also accepted, without qualification. Most other branches currently require a belief in a Supreme Being. But even there, one finds a high degree of non-dogmatism, and the phrase Supreme Being is often given a very broad interpretation, usually allowing Deism and often even allowing naturalistic views of “God/Nature” in the tradition of Spinoza and Goethe (himself a Freemason), or views of The Ultimate or Cosmic Oneness, such as found in some Eastern religions and in Western idealism (or for that matter, in modern cosmology). This leads some to suggest that even Anglo Freemasonry will, in practice, end up accepting certain kinds of atheists‹those willing to adopt a certain brand of spiritual language. Such claims are difficult to evaluate, since many Anglo jurisdictions consider any further enquiry into a prospective member’s religion, beyond the “Supreme Being” question, to be off limits. However, in some Anglo jurisdictions (mostly English-speaking), Freemasonry is actually less tolerant of naturalism than it was in the 18th century, and specific religious requirements with more theistic and orthodox overtones have been added since the early 19th century, including (mostly in North America) belief in the immortality of the soul. The Freemasonry that predominates in Scandinavia, known as the Swedish Rite, accepts only Christians.

Generally, to be a Freemason, one must:

be a man, if joining a masculine jurisdiction (the case for the majority of jurisdictions), or a woman, if joining a feminine jurisdiction (unless joining a co-Masonic jurisdiction with no gender requirement),
believe in a Supreme Being, or, in some jurisdictions, a Creative Principle (unless joining a jurisdiction with no religious requirement, as in the Continental tradition),
be at least the minimum age (1825 years depending on the jurisdiction),
be of sound mind, body and of good morals, and
be free (or “born free”, i.e. not born a slave or bondsman).

Traditionally, membership was limited to men only, and the degree of recognition that should be accorded to feminine and co-Masonic jurisdictions is still a matter of great controversy. The “free born” requirement does not come up in modern Lodges, and there is no indication that it would ever be enforced, but remains there for historical reasons (it is often interpreted as meaning something like “freethinking”). The “sound body” requirement is today generally taken to mean physically capable of taking part in Lodge rituals, and most Lodges today are quite flexible in accommodating disabled candidates.

Freemasonry upholds the principles of “Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth” (or in France: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”). It teaches moral lessons through rituals. Members working through the rituals are taught by “degrees”. Freemasons are also commonly involved in public service and charity work, as well as providing a social outlet for their members. There is considerable variance in the emphasis on these different aspects of Masonry around the world. In Continental Europe, the philosophical side of Freemasonry is more emphasized, while in Britain, North America, and the English-speaking parts of the world, the charity, service and social club aspects are more emphasized.

While Freemasonry as an organization does not directly involve itself in politics, its members have tended over the years to support certain kinds of political causes with which they have become associated: the separation of Church and State, the replacement of religiously-affiliated schools with secular ones, and democratic revolutions (such as the United States and France on a smaller scale, but on a larger scale in other places such as Mexico, Brazil, and repeatedly in Italy). In some places, especially Continental Europe and Mexico, Freemasonry has at times taken on an anti-Catholic and anti-clerical overtone.

Many organizations with various religious and political purposes have been inspired by Freemasonry, and are sometimes confused with it, such as the Protestant Loyal Orange Association and the 19th century Italian Carbonari, which pursued Liberalism and Italian Unity. Many other purely fraternal organizations, too numerous to mention, have also been inspired by Masonry to a greater or lesser extent.

Freemasonry is often called a secret society, and in fact is considered by many to be the very prototype for such societies. Many Masons say that it is more accurately described as a “society with secrets”.

The degree of secrecy varies widely around the world. In English-speaking countries, most Masons are completely public with their affiliation, Masonic buildings are usually clearly marked, and meeting times are generally a matter of public record. In other countries, where Freemasonry has been more recently, or is even currently, suppressed by the government, secrecy may be practised more in earnest.

Even in the English-speaking world, the precise details of the rituals are not made public, and Freemasons have a system of secret modes of recognition, such as the Masonic secret grip (by which Masons can recognize each other “in the dark as well as in the light”); however, Masons acknowledge that these “secrets” have been widely available in printed exposés and anti-Masonic literature for, literally, centuries.

Women in Freemasonry

The position of women within Freemasonry is complex. Traditionally, only men could be made Freemasons. While this has been slowly changing, especially over the past century, there were exceptions to the rule as early as the 18th century. Perhaps the most authoritative account of a woman being admitted to Freemasonry in these early years surrounds Elizabeth Aldworth (nee St. Leger), who is reported to have viewed the proceedings of a Lodge meeting held at Doneraile House, the house of her father, first Viscount Doneraile, a resident of Cork, Ireland. In the early part of the 18th century, it was customary for Lodges to be regularly held in private houses; this Lodge was duly warranted as number 150 on the register of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Apparently, she removed a brick and saw the ceremony in the room beyond. After being discovered, Elizabeth’s situation was discussed by the Lodge, and it was decided that she should be initiated into Freemasonry. The story is supported by other accounts that record how she was a subscriber to the Irish Book of Constitutions of 1744 and that she frequently attended, wearing her Masonic regalia, entertainments that were given under Masonic auspices for the benefit of the poor and distressed. She afterwards married Mr. Richard Aldworth of Newmarket. It is also reported that when she died she was accorded the honour of a Masonic burial.

International Co-Masonry began in France in 1882 with the initiation of Maria Deraismes into the Loge Libre Penseurs (Freethinkers Lodge), a men’s Lodge under the Grande Loge Symbolique de France. Along with activist Georges Martin, in 1893 Maria Deraismes oversaw the initiation of sixteen women into the first Lodge in the world to have both men and women as members, creating the jurisdiction Le Droit Humain (LDH).

In the United Kingdom and France, and most other countries, women still generally join co-Masonic Lodges, such as those under LDH, or they join Lodges under local jurisdictions that admit only women. In North America, it is more common for women not to become Freemasons per se, but to join an associated body with its own, separate traditions, such as the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), which admits only male Freemasons and their female relatives. In the Netherlands, there is a completely separate, although allied, sorority for women, the Order of Weavers (OOW), which uses symbols from weaving rather than stonemasonry.

The GOdF and other Continental jurisdictions give full formal recognition to co-Freemasonry and women’s Freemasonry. The UGLE and other Anglo jurisdictions do not formally recognize any Masonic body that accepts women, although in many countries they have an understanding and a kind of informal acceptance that such bodies are part of Freemasonry in a larger sense. The UGLE, for instance, has recognized (since 1998) two local women’s jurisdictions as regular in practice, except for their inclusion of women, and has indicated that, while not formally recognized, these bodies may be regarded as part of Freemasonry. Thus, the position of women in Freemasonry is rapidly changing in the English-speaking world. While in many cases North America is following England’s lead on the issue of women, the remaining resistance to women in Freemasonry is mostly concentrated there.

Prince Hall Masonry

In 1775, an African American named Prince Hall was initiated into an Irish Constitution Military Lodge, along with fourteen other African Americans, all of whom were free by birth. When the Military Lodge left the area, the African Americans were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, form Processions on the days of the Saints John, and conduct Masonic funerals, but not to confer degrees nor to do other Masonic Work. These individuals applied for, and obtained, a Warrant for Charter from the Grand Lodge of England in 1784 and formed African Lodge #459. Despite being stricken from the rolls (like all American Grand Lodges after the 1813 merger of the Antients and the Moderns) the Lodge restyled itself as the African Lodge #1 (not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges on the Continent of Africa), and separated itself from UGLE-recognised Masonry. This led to a tradition of separate, predominantly African American jurisdictions in North America, known collectively as Prince Hall Freemasonry.

Widespread racism and segregation in North America made it impossible for African Americans to join many so-called “mainstream” Lodges, and many mainstream Grand Lodges in North America refused to recognize as legitimate the Prince Hall Lodges and Prince Hall Masons in their territory.

Presently, Prince Hall Masonry is recognized by some UGLE-recognized Grand Lodges and not by others, and appears to be working its way toward full recognition. It is no longer unusual for traditional lodges to have significant African-American membership.

John Marrant the Huntingdonian minister preached to the Prince Hall Lodge on 24th June 1789. His Nova Scotia congregation was significant in the successful agitation for repatriation by Black Loyalists as well as the subsequent revolt which occurred in Sierra Leone in 1800.

Ritual and symbols

The Freemasons rely heavily on the architectural symbolism of the medieval operative Masons who actually worked in stone. One of their principal symbols is the square and compasses, tools of the trade, so arranged as to form a quadrilateral. The square is sometimes said to represent matter, and the compasses spirit or mind. Alternatively, the square might be said to represent the world of the concrete, or the measure of objective reality, while the compasses represent abstraction, or subjective judgment, and so forth (Freemasonry being non-dogmatic, there is no written-in-stone interpretation for any of these symbols). The compasses straddle the square, representing the interdependence between the two. In the space between the two, there is optionally placed a symbol of metaphysical significance. Sometimes, this is a blazing star or other symbol of Light, representing Truth or knowledge. Alternatively, there is often a letter G placed there, usually said to represent God and/or Geometry.

The square and compasses are displayed at all Masonic meetings, along with the open Volume of the Sacred Law (or Lore) (VSL). In English-speaking countries, this is usually a Holy Bible, but it can be whatever book(s) of inspiration or scripture that the members of a particular Lodge or jurisdiction feel they draw on‹whether the Bible, the Qur’an, or other Volumes. A candidate for a degree will normally be given his choice of VSL, regardless of the Lodge’s usual VSL. In many French Lodges, the Masonic Constitutions are used. In a few cases, a blank book has been used, where the religious makeup of a Lodge was too diverse to permit an easy choice of VSL. In addition to its role as a symbol of written wisdom, inspiration, and spiritual revelation, the VSL is what Masonic obligations are taken upon.

Much of Masonic symbolism is mathematical in nature, and in particular geometrical, which is probably a reason Freemasonry has attracted so many rationalists (such as Voltaire, Fichte, Goethe, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain and many others). No particular metaphysical theory is advanced by Freemasonry, however, although there seems to be some influence from the Pythagoreans, from Neo-Platonism, and from early modern Rationalism.In keeping with the geometrical and architectural theme of Freemasonry, the Supreme Being (or God, or Creative Principle) is sometimes also referred to in Masonic ritual as the Grand Geometer, or the Great Architect of the Universe (GAOTU). Freemasons use a variety of labels for this concept in order to avoid the idea that they are talking about any one religion’s particular God or God-like concept.

Degrees

There are three initial degrees of Freemasonry:

Entered Apprentice
Fellow Craft
Master Mason

As one works through the degrees, one studies the lessons and interprets them for oneself. There are as many ways to interpret the rituals as there are Masons, and no Mason may dictate to any other Mason how he is to interpret them. No particular truths are espoused, but a common structure – speaking symbolically to universal human archetypes – provides for each Mason a means to come to his own answers to life’s important questions. Especially in Europe, Freemasons working through the degrees are asked to prepare papers on related philosophical topics, and present these papers in an open Lodge, where others may judge the suitability of the candidates’ ascension through the higher degrees.

Freemasonry in the Arts

Mozart was a Freemason, and his opera, The Magic Flute, makes extensive use of Masonic symbolism. Two books that give a general feel for the symbolism and its interpretation are:

Freemasonry: A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol by W.K. MacNulty, Thames & Hudson, London, 1991
Symbols of Freemasonry by D. Beresniak and L. Hamani, Assouline, Paris, 2000.

The British author Rudyard Kipling also made use of Masonic symbolism and myth in his story, The Man Who Would Be King, which was later made into a film. Two adventurers are taken to be representatives of Alexander the Great because of their Masonic emblems. Freemasonry in the Language

An expression often used in Masonic circles is to be on the square, meaning to be a reliable sort of person, and this has entered common usage. Another phrase from Freemasonry in common use is meeting on the level (without regard to social, economic, religious or cultural differences). The practice of Freemasonry is referred to amongst its members as the Craft, a term also used to distinguish the basic level of Freemasonry from other Masonic orders. A Mason who has served as Worshipful Master is known as a Past Master, which has passed into common use to indicate an expert in a subject.

Landmarks

Landmarks are the ancient and unchangeable precepts of Masonry, the standards by which the regularity of Lodges and Grand Lodges is judged. However, since each Grand Lodge is self-governing and no single authority exists over Craft Masonry, even these supposedly-inviolable principles can and do vary, leading to controversies and inconsistency of recognition. Some examples of common landmarks include:

A belief in a Supreme Being is required of all candidates for the degrees. The definition of “Supreme Being” is generally left to the candidate’s discretion.
The modes of recognition are to be kept inviolate. They consist of covert gestures made with the hands, called signs; distinctive ways of shaking hands, called grips and tokens; and special identifying passwords, most often based on Hebrew words of the Old Testament. Variations have crept in over time, and often the modes of recognition will mark a Mason as coming from a specific jurisdiction.
The legend of the Third Degree, involving the building of King Solomon’s Temple, is an integral part of Craft Masonry.
The government of Lodges in an area, usually geographic, is in the hands of a Grand Lodge, specifically the Grand Master or Provincial Grand Master. A Grand Master rules autocratically, but is elected democratically. He may attend any meeting, anywhere within his jurisdiction, at any time and may conduct the Lodge at his pleasure.
Each Lodge is governed by a Master, variously styled Worshipful or Right Worshipful Master, and two other officers, called the Senior and Junior Wardens.A Senior and Junior Deacon assist the Master and his Wardens by passing messages and guiding candidates around the Lodge.
The Inner Guard is situated by the door of the lodge to lock and unlock it as the need arises, to admit latecomers and candidates.
All Lodges, when at work, must be tyled, that is, the door is guarded so that non-Masons may not enter or overhear the proceedings. The Tyler or outer guard, as his name implies, is situated outside the door of the Lodge “being armed with a drawn sword to keep off all intruders and cowans to Masonry”.

Research

Freemasonry has a system of Lodges of Research and Instruction. Additionally, most Masonic jurisdictions appoint Lecturers who are empowered to research, develop and/or deliver lectures in Lodges for the purpose of instructing the members.

On 5 March 2001, the University of Sheffield in England established the Centre for Research into Freemasonry, as part of the University’s Humanities Research Institute, that “undertakes and promotes objective scholarly research into the historical, social and cultural impact of freemasonry, particularly in Britain.” The CRF is headed by Professor Andrew Prescott, a medieval historian and expert on humanities computing, who was initially seconded from the British Library to the University of Sheffield for three years to establish the new Centre.

Most Grand Lodges and many regional Masonic Centres/Temples have a library, which is used for research.

One notable collection is the collection at the library of the University of Poznan in Poland. Some 80,000 books are housed at the main library and the Chateau de Ciazen some 80km distant. These were reportedly collected during World War II when Heinrich Himmler’s SS confiscated the books of Masonic libraries in Germany and other occupied countries such as Belgium and stored this archive in Poland.

The two great schisms of Freemasonry (1753 and 1877)

The GLE (Grand Lodge of England), along with those jurisdictions with which it was in amity, later came to be known colloquially as the Moderns, to distinguish them from a newer, rival group of Freemasonry, known as the Antients. The Antients broke away and formed their own Grand Lodge in 1753, prompted by the GLE’s making changes to the secret modes of recognition. Tensions between the two groups were very high at times. The Antients tended to be more working class in membership, and probably more Christian, while the Moderns were more aristocratic and educated, and less religiously orthodox.

Benjamin Franklin was a Modern and a Deist, for instance, but by the time he died, his Lodge had gone Antient, and would no longer recognize him as one of their own, declining even to give him a Masonic funeral (see Revolutionary Brotherhood, by Steven C. Bullock, Univ. N. Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1996). It has been speculated that the Antients desired a more Christian style of Masonry, since they made popular a higher degree, called the “Holy Royal Arch”, which is generally thought of as having a more Christian flavour than the first three degrees.

The schism was healed in the years following 1813, when the competing Grand Lodges were amalgamated into the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), by virtue of a delicately worded compromise which returned the modes of recognition to their pre-1753 form, and kept Freemasonry per se as consisting of three degrees only, but which was ambiguously worded so as to allow the Moderns to think of the Antient Royal Arch degree as an optional higher degree, while still allowing the Antients to view it as the completion of the third degree . This compromise, along with subsequent changes made in 1815 , left English Masonry still clearly not Christian, but at the same time somewhat less comfortable for unorthodox members, such as Deists and Pantheists. The merger also marked a levelling of the Masonic membership, in terms of social class and education.

Because both the Antients and the Moderns had daughter Lodges throughout the world, and because many of those Lodges still exist, there is a great deal of variability in the Ritual used today, even between UGLE-recognized jurisdictions. Most Lodges conduct their Work in accordance with an agreed-upon single Rite, such as the York Rite (which is popular in the United States; not to be confused with York Rite), or the Canadian Rite (which is, in some ways, a concordance between the Rites used by the Antients and Moderns).

The second great schism in Freemasonry occurred in the years following 1877, when the GOdF started accepting atheists unreservedly. While the issue of atheism is probably the greatest single factor in the split with the GOdF, the English also point to the French recognition of women’s Masonry and co-Masonry, as well as the tendency of French Masons to be more willing to discuss religion and politics in Lodge. While the French curtail such discussion, they do not ban it as outright as do the English (see [3]). The schism between the two branches has occasionally been breached for short periods of time, especially during the First World War when American Masons overseas wanted to be able to visit French Lodges.

Concerning religious requirements, the oldest constitution of Freemasonry (that of Anderson, 1723) says only that a Mason “will never be a stupid Atheist nor an irreligious Libertine [Freethinker]” if he “rightly understands the Art”. The only religion required was “that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves”. Masons disagree as to whether “stupid” and “irreligious” are meant as necessary or as accidental modifiers of “atheist” and “libertine”.

It is possible the ambiguity is intentional. In 1815, the newly amalgamated UGLE changed Anderson’s constitutions to include more orthodox overtones: “Let a man’s religion or mode of worship be what it may, he is not excluded from the Order, provided he believes in the glorious Architect of heaven and earth, and practices the sacred duties of morality.” The English enforce this with a requirement for belief in a Supreme Being, and in his revealed will. While these requirements can still be interpreted in a non-theistic manner, they made it more difficult for unorthodox believers to enter the fraternity.

In 1849, the GOdF followed the English lead by adopting the “Supreme Being” requirement, but there was increasing pressure in Latin countries to openly admit atheists. There was an attempt at a compromise in 1875, by allowing the alternative phrase “Creative Principle” (which was less theistic-sounding than “Supreme Being”), but this was ultimately not enough for the GOdF, and in 1877 they went back to having no religious entrance requirements, adopting the original Anderson document of 1723 as their official Constitutions.

They also created a modified ritual that made no direct verbal reference to the G.A.O.T.U. (although, as a symbol, it was arguably still present). This new Rite did not replace the older ones, but was added as an alternative (European jurisdictions in general tend not to restrict themselves to a single Rite, like most North American jurisdictions, but offer a menu of Rites, from which their Lodges can choose.)

Freemasonry and Anticlericalism

Historically, Freemasonry has been identified with 19th-century bourgeois liberalism, and Freemasons have often tended to regard traditional Christianity as allied to reactionary powers defending the status quo against the advance of human freedom. Masonic Lodges of this period were often associated with anticlericalism, and were part of a broader movement, as is pointed out by Ralph Gibson: “The republican enemies of the Church did not simply attack it on the grounds of its political alignment, but also in terms of more positive ideologies: to the old traditions of the Enlightenment were added first positivism, and then scientism.

Science was supposed to be the key to the understanding of the universe, and even to enable men to grasp its essential meaning. Social science was believed to be able to provide the basis for an ethical system. This new faith was ardently preached under the Third Republic in Masonic lodges and circles of libre pensée, in learned journals, and in educated republican society in general” (A Social History of French Catholicism, 1789-1914 [London & New York: Routledge, 1989], pp.237-38).

Controversies over the historical involvements of Freemasonry and anticlericalism reach a peak in attempting to understand the role of Freemasonry in the history of anticlericalism in Portugal, Italy, and Mexico. Freemasons were prominent in the foundation of the modern Mexican state and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the writing of its anticlerical constitution. Under the regime of Plutarco Elías Calles, the enforcement of anticlerical laws provoked the Cristero War. These animosities persist. As recently as 2004, Norberto Cardinal Rivera of Mexico at a conference in Mexico City denounced the influence of Freemasonry.

Criticism, Persecution, and Prosecution

Because of the sometimes secret nature of its rituals and activities, Freemasonry has long been suspected by both church and state of engaging in subversive activities.

In modern democracies, Freemasonry is sometimes accused of being a sort of club, or network, where a lot of influence peddling, and perhaps illegal dealings, take place. In the early 1800s, William Morgan disappeared after threatening to expose Freemasonry’s secrets, causing some to claim that he had been murdered by Masons.

In Italy, in the 1970s, the P2 lodge was investigated in the wake of a financial scandal and a suspicious death. As a result, the Lodge was expelled from Italian Masonry (although it continued to function independently).

In Nice, France, the head prosecutor accused some judges and other judicial personnel of deliberately stalling or refusing to elucidate cases involving Masons.

In the 1990s in Britain, the Labor Party government tried unsuccessfully to pass a law requiring all public officials who were Masons to make their affiliation public.

Religious Tolerance

Opinions about Freemasonry around the world may differ from place to place, but Freemasons always stress non-dogmatism and tolerance (albeit often within certain defined limits). This openness has led to friction between Freemasonry and organizations which hold a negative view of ecumenism, or are themselves intolerant towards other forms of belief and worship. Masons have been opposed throughout history by various religious groups, such as some Protestants and certain Muslims.

In general, there are two doctrinal objections to Freemasonry made by established Christian denominations, Catholic and non-Catholic alike:

The ecumenical nature of Masonic membership, which is at odds with the claims of exclusivity of belief that distinguish the various religious denominations.
The “esoteric” aspect of Masonic ritual, which is seen as synonymous with Gnosticism, declared heretical and suppressed by the early Christian church. (Manifestations of Gnosticism also appeared in the Jewish and Muslim communities, as Kabbalah and Sufism respectively; however, these movements have survived within Judaism and Islam.) Gnosticism is identified with the early Christian churches west of the Red Sea, such as the Egyptian and Ethiopean Coptic churches. The Nag Hammadi scrolls, discovered in Egypt, in 1945, which contain such apocrypha as the Gospel of Thomas, are considered to be Gnostic inspired or influenced. Thus, the possible connection between Gnosticism and the mythical Egyptian roots of Freemasonry is a subject of interest. The Rosicrucians, a modern Gnostic movement, claim such a connection.

The most vigorous opposition to the fraternity has come from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is openly hostile to Freemasonry, deeming it at least partly responsible for the French Revolution and the resulting decline of the church in Europe. The Knights of Columbus and other Catholic fraternal organizations were established to provide alternatives to Freemasonry for observant Catholics. (Ironically, one of these organizations, Opus Dei, has been the target of accusations similar to those leveled against the Freemasons.) Although most Freemasons in the English-speaking world are Protestant, some Protestant churches hold that Freemasonry is incompatible with being a member of a community of Christian faith, based on the scriptural holding that “no man can serve two masters”.

The first papal condemnation of Freemasonry came in 1738 from Pope Clement XII in his papal bull “Eminenti Apostolatus Specula”, repeated by several later popes, notably Pope Leo XIII in the “encyclical Humanum Genus” (1884).

The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declares that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication; the revised Code issued in 1983 does not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies condemned in canon 1374. According to some interpretations of canon law, Roman Catholics are forbidden to become Freemasons by their church, though Freemasons do not bar Roman Catholics and it is not unusual to find Catholic members. The Eastern Orthodox church forbids its members from being Masons. Freemasonry is also discouraged by some denominations of Protestantism.

However, in a letter to the United States Bishops from the Office of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the interpretation was made clear – the prohibition against Catholics joining Masonic orders remains. Many Catholic Masons in the US choose to rely on the letter of the law.

One reason the Free Methodist Church was founded in the 1860s was that its founders believed the Methodist Church was being influenced by Freemasons and members of secret societies. The Free Methodist Church continues to prohibit its members from also joining societies such as the Freemasons. Recently the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest association of Baptists in the United States, also stated that participation in Freemasonry is inconsistent with its beliefs.

This form of criticism has been markedly reduced, since modern nation states like the USA and Europe in general are founded on religious tolerance, and many adherents of the religions that formally opposed Masons now believe in the main Masonic principles.

Political conspiracy theories involving the Masons

Freemasonry has been a long-time target of conspiracy theories, which see it as an occult and evil power – often associated with the New World Order and other “agents,” such as the Pope, the Illuminati and Jews – either bent on world domination, or already secretly in control of world politics.

Nowadays, the main theme of anti-Masonic criticism involves the idea that Masons involve their organization in covert political activities. This assumption has been influenced by the assertion of Masons that many political figures in the past 300 years have been Masons.

Some say the Masons constantly plot to increase their power and wealth, others say the Masonic Brotherhood is engaged in a plot to produce a new world order of a type different (usually more sinister) than the existing world order. These theories would be possible to apply to almost any secret society (since a society with secret meetings allows secret coordination, the very essence of a conspiracy). Nevertheless, Masons have been the largest target because of their size and notable membership.

The historical complaints that the Masons have secretly plotted to create a society based on their ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity, and religious tolerance, are not denied by Masons. In an enlightened age many have now accepted the core Masonic values as stated, and persistent enemies of the society have been forced to come up with more sinister motives as to what Freemasons allegedly conspire to achieve.

Freemasonry is almost universally banned in totalitarian states. In 1925, it was outlawed in Fascist Italy. In Nazi Germany, Freemasons were sent to concentration camps and all Masonic Lodges were ordered shut down. German Masons used the blue forget-me-not as a secret means of recognition and as a substitute for the traditional (and too easily recognized) square and compasses.

Criticisms of Masonic ‘Cronyism’

Another criticism that may or may not have to do with the specific nature of Freemasonry, but may be applied generally to any type of organization or secret society, is the practice of cronyism, or giving favors to fellow members. Anecdotely many have the impression that one increases chances for employment by joining the Masons. This type of cronyism can be seen in the movie “Gypsie”, where the general idea is alluded to, although possibly not in reference to Freemasons, but to fraternities like the Moose Lodge. Unscrupulous Masons have been known to claim they can get out of driving tickets because of Masonic logos on their car. Again, this criticism can be easily applied to almost any fraternity, but the Masons are a big target because they are the largest fraternity, and because they are worldwide, and not simply based in colleges.

Criticisms based on the moral faults of known Masons

Although fraternal organizations with religious overtones can be criticized for the moral faults of some of their members, Freemasonry is especially vulnerable to criticism because amongst its aims is the drive to improve its members’ morality above and beyond whatever religion the individual member might profess his preference for.

A general fault ascribed to the Masons is that a Freemason would be charitable mainly to other Masons, an assumption which is made worse by the accusations of classism and racism sometimes leveled against Masonic Lodges. The phrase “charity begins at home” goes some way towards justifying this natural proclivity.

Critics also attack what they perceive as a preoccupation with ritual minutiae and personal status (ie. degree, a concept critics call similar to the thrill of an RPG level) within the hierarchy of the organization. Some critics also argue that the Freemasons are primarily a social club.

Masons respond to these criticisms by pointing out that they can equally well be applied to Christians (or practically any religion) – the asssumption being that if certain members of a group are bad, the group itself must be bad.

Criticism that Freemasonry is a new religion

In a sectarian age many hold that Freemasonry is a new religion. Externally, to some at least, it has many similarities to a religion: it has its own version of the Bible (the VSL), it has its own way of saying “amen” (“So mote it be,” a literal translation of “Amen”), it has far more developed rituals than most Protestant denominations, some groups of Masons (especially the Scottish Rite) call their Lodges “temples,” and it has a large amount of iconography and symbolism. From the perspective of many religions, which feel that they present the perfect system of morality, any competing system of morality can be considered opposed to them‹and if not stricly another religion, then certainly as competitor.

Many Masons argue in response that the ritual observances of Masons should be seen in the same context as rituals maintained in the military services, in government, and civil authorities. It has been argued that any organized system of morality (which the Masons claim to be) is a religion; the Green Party might thus qualify as such.

Criticism that Freemasonry worships Satan

While the practice of any given magical or mystical system is not specifically associated with Freemasonry (mainstream Masonry has always tended as much to rationalism as to mysticism), there are some groups of Masons, such as Masonic Rosicrucians, that may interpret Masonic ritual magically (or “hermetically”), which is their right as Masons, given the fraternity’s non-dogmatic stance.

However, the very existence of hermetic interpretations within Masonry has lead some Christians to label Freemasonry as “Satanic”. This charge is commonly made about any hermetic society that has ritualistic practices reserved for the initated.

Many Anti-Masonic activists quote Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma to “prove” that Masons worship Lucifer. The oft-quoted section (Chapt. XIX; p.321) reads:

The Apocalypse is, to those who receive the nineteenth Degree, the Apotheosis of that Sublime Faith which aspires to God alone, and despises all the pomps and works of Lucifer. Licoifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darknesss! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls ? Doubt it not! for traditions are full of Divine Revelations and Inspirations: and Inspiration is not of one Age nor of one Creed. Plato and Philo, also, were inspired.

Some Masons counter that the critics who cite this as evidence of Freemasonry’s Satanic leanings ignore the first part of the passage while emphasizing the association of Lucifer with Light. Alternately,the argument is made that because a Pike claims the works of Plato and Philo were as divinely inspired as the The Apocalypse of Saint John, and b that Plato and Philo were pre-Christian pagans, and c that all pagan beliefs are Satanic, and therefore d that Pike (and Freemasonry) practice Satan worship.

Other Masons counter simply by pointing out that Masonry is non-dogmatic, and hence Pike’s opinions about it are his own personal (and now somewhat out-dated) interpretations.

The Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly condemned Freemasonry, and although not claiming that it is directly Satanic, the church has claimed that Freemasonry has “led on or assisted” “partisans of evil” (from Humanum Genus).

Much of the landscape of Washington D.C. is thought by many to be inspired by, or directly designed by, Freemasons, including the layout of national buildings, the mapping of streets and roadways, and the placement of national monuments. This has caused some to speculate that some of the esoteric practices and symbolism in Freemasonry, seen as “occult”, have embedded themselves within the structure of several governments – in this case, the United States.

Criticism of Masonic Blood Oaths

The traditional Masonic obligations, sworn by a candidate during the initiation ritual, are sometimes called “blood oaths”, particularly by those critical of the fraternity. The candidate wishes severe physical punishment upon himself should he ever reveal the secrets of Freemasonry to a non-Mason. While many non-Masons are horrified by this, Masons defend the traditional obligations as no more literal than the commonplace childhood “blood oaths”, like “cross my heart and hope to die”‹a very psychologically powerful way to express a serious bond or promise.

In addition, some Masons argue that the bloody punishments mentioned in the obligations are, historically, references to the punishments that the state used to inflict on defenders of civil liberties and religious freedoms, such as Freemasons. But in spite of repeated attempts to defend them, by the early 1980s, the “blood oaths” had become quite problematic from a public relations standpoint, and many Masonic jurisdictions replaced them with more politically correct “bloodless oaths”.

Some conspiracy theorists look at certain historical killings and deduce that they were done as a fulfillment of the blood oath. In particular, Jack the Ripper is theorized by some to have been a Mason made psychotic for having to carry out a blood oath, and who then killed random people in the same fashion. Masons counter that the Ripper mutilations have no similarity to the symbolic punishments of the Masonic obligations.It should be noted that there are only 3 penalties that Masonry can actually impose on a member: censure, suspension of membership, and expulsion.

Criticisms of the process of becoming a Freemason

It is commonly held that individuals become Freemasons through invitation, patrimony, or other non-democratic means, but officially an individual must ask freely and without persuasion to become a Freemason in order to join the fraternity.This arrangement is said by some to conflict with the Freemasons mission to “make good men better”, on the basis that a hidden society cannot promote itself publicly. If the society is secret, it is argued, how is a good man supposed to be attracted to it?

In practice, Freemasons have been known not to question the motives of anyone seeking membership, but clearly members are going to prefer those individuals who can offer something of value to the group, and will thus indicate to potential members some clue that they may be appropriate candidates; it is then incumbent upon the seeker to make the request.

Many of these myths have taken hold in the imagination of “conspiracy buffs” partly because many Freemasons, like government intelligence agencies and big business, and understanding the value of misinformation, have had a tendency of allowing the uninitiated to argue amongst themselves, so that the truth remains private. Masons have only in recent years attempted to make their organization more open to public view.

U.S. Presidents who were Freemasons

George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln (inducted postmortem by the lodge that he had petitioned for, and was denied, membership in while running for the U.S. Senate), Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Warren Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Gerald Ford.

Famous early Americans who were Freemasons: Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, Stephen Austin, Jim Bowie, David Crockett, and Sam Houston.

Rudyard Kipling used masonic symbols and characters in some of his writings, most notably The Man Who Would Be King.

One of the main characters in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace becomes a Freemason.

The plot of the opera “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”) contains several references to Masonic ideals and ceremonies. Mozart and his librettist Emanuel Schikaneder were brothers in the same Masonic lodge.

Freemasons, along with the Illuminati and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, feature heavily in Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson’s satire, The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

Dan Brown’s bestselling books Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code draw heavily on Masonic lore and symbolism.

Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco also deals with Masonry.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion was a Freemason as were the first five presidents of the Church: Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. When the Mormons first settled Utah, the entire church hierarchy was composed of Freemasons. Many Mormon symbols and rituals bear a striking similarity to Masonic ceremonies.

One of the main characters in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace becomes a Freemason.

- References Wikipedia

In the News …

Masons Among Us

March 11, 2004 – MSNBC

In the wake of an accidental killing, a historian explains who the Freemasons are, what they do and why conspiracy theorists seem drawn toward them.

Induction ceremonies aren’t supposed to go this way. William James, 47, was killed shot in the face’ during his induction at a Masonic lodge in Patchogue, N.Y., Monday. The shooter, a 76-year-old World War II veteran named Albert Eid, was supposed to fire a .22-caliber handgun with blanks at the pledge, but instead grabbed the .32-caliber gun with live rounds he was carrying in his other pocket.

A freak accident, claim the Masons (James’ induction ritual was also to have involved large rat traps, a six-foot replica guillotine and a plank he would have been forced to walk.) But instead of everything proceeding cloaked in the usual secrecy, the Patchogue’s Southside Masonic Lodge No. 493 flung its umbrella organization, the Freemasons, into a very unsecret national spotlight.

The modern incarnation of Freemasons dates back to 1717 with the founding of the first Grand Lodge of England. The organization is rooted in the guilds of medieval stonemasons who would pass their trade secrets on to each other through handshakes and passwords that served as proof of their skill level. Freemasons, frat boys of the post-Bacc set, played a visible role in the American Revolution, the Constitutional Congress and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Ben Franklin, George Washington and Andrew Jackson were all Masons.

So were Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Duke Ellington. Al Gore is a Mason. The symbols on U.S. currency are Masonic allusions – that floating eyeball-pyramid thing, for example, symbolizes Hiram Abiff, the builder of King Solomon’s temple.

It is perhaps little wonder that conspiracy theorists and satirists are drawn to the secret society like bears to honey. “The Simpsons” famously spoofed the fraternal order in its Stonecutters episode, featuring a song that included the lyrics: “Who keeps the metric system down?/We do! We do!/Who leaves Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martians under wraps?/We do! We do!”

But is the group that brought the modern world fez-doffing Shriners really something to fear, or even scorn? Steven C. Bullock, author of “Revolutionary Brotherhood” (University of North Carolina Press 1996) has found historical significance in the group, but little that points to anything sinister.

Bullock, a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, recently spoke with Newsweek’s Brian Braiker about Freemasonry’s role in forming the American democratic system, what Masonry is about today and whether conspiracy theorists might’ just might’ on to something.

Excerpts:

Who are the Freemasons?

They’re a fraternal society. The traditional Masonry is by and large about men; it uses secret rituals and meetings that are closed to outsiders to teach morality, encourage charity, learning to a certain extent and certainly to encourage fellowship.

So why the secrecy?

It comes out of craftsmen organizations [with] the roots in the 1600s and early 1700s, but there are these texts and these traditions get passed along. You didn’t want outsiders in there because you were doing things that were supposed to be secret: Part of it is setting wages, setting prices and things. You want to have a chance to discipline people who were doing bad things that you don’t want to get out. And then later on, the secrecy is part of its appeal to a great extent. The point of the rituals is they are a transformation from one status to another. If this is something which can come in and look at, it’s not going to have the same impact on a person who is going through it.

A lot of our presidents have been Freemasons, all the signers of the Declaration of Independence -

Yeah, there’s a lot of that talk. There’ s a lot of conspiracy theories. A lot of that is really overblown. Compared to the proportion of Masons in the country, they are very disproportionately represented in presidencies and all those Revolutionary meetings.

So why is that?

I think because Masonry tended to attract people who were relatively well-to-do, who were more cosmopolitan than average, who were higher status than others. That began to change maybe since World War II or the 1930s with greater openness. More people had been allowed to join. In the eighteenth century and nineteenth century, they were really a high powered group. To a great extent that there are these theories is that they were pretty powerful people. Then in the 30s really does it really challenge this fraternal model. The Depression makes people less interested in these voluntary association. Masonry is really the only one that comes out of World War II with any kind of success. The Oddfellows still exist, but they’re falling away very rapidly. The Masons actually continued to grow into the 1960s.

Membership rates in civic groups have been declining across the boards for a while now. Has that been the case for the Freemasons as well? Yeah, it’s been a huge decline for the Freemasons as well. I think there were about 4 millions Masons in the 1960s nationwide; now it’s like 1.8 million. So in just 40 years or so, it’s been cut in half.

What kind of feedback have you gotten from them about your book?

They’ve been very pleased. I was pretty nervous about that. They’Äôre sort of like an ethnic group that feels a little embattled. They’re very nervous about somebody coming in and not taking them very seriously and embarrassing them.

Well, in light of what happened on Monday, why on earth should they be taken seriously?

As a historian, I think the point is they have this incredible history going back nearly 300 years and attracting really some of the most important people in American history from Ben Franklin to George Washington to Andrew Jackson to Theodore Roosevelt to Harry Truman to Duke Ellington to Jesse Jackson. An amazing number of people have found that this is something significant for them.

Just going through that list names, it’s no wonder that some people jump to -

There’s sort of a fear there, yeah. I can see the secrecy business is hard for us to understand. It’s been hard for people for 300 years. In a way, it would have been better for me as a historian if they were trying to take over the world. It would have made a better story.

As an outsider, do you think there’s a chunk of the story you might have missed?

I don’t really think so. I think some Masons think there is. I’ve never had the experience of going through the ritual itself, but it’s amazing how much stuff is available. The rituals which are meant to be secret were easily available even in early America.

Rituals such as?

The ‘First Degree’ is you are dressed in an odd sort of way and you are blindfolded and a Mason knocks on the door for you’ you’re outside, so symbolically you are not part of the group. You come in, you are made to repeat some sort of obligation [along the lines of] – I promise not to repeat the secrets of Masonry. I will be a good brother; I’ll do the right things. I think this is still true, but they used to take a compass – the kind you use for drawing circles – and the point is pressed against your breast to suggest that this is really serious. It’s designed to make you feel ill at ease, out of sorts, to feel disoriented. And then at a certain moment they ask, “What do you desire?” You say “More light.” Very symbolic. Then your blindfold is opened up, you see the lodge and your brothers for the first time.

Can you talk a little about the philanthropy of Masons, like the Shriners Hospitals? And what’s with the fez?

A lot of money goes through Masonry and goes out. Every year, more than $80 million a year in charitable giving. There’s a fair amount of volunteering going on as well. There’s a whole series of Masonic organizations. There’s the lodge itself, which people often call the Blue Lodge – that’s the basic three degrees. Then there are further degrees you can take.

Shriners are a group within Masonry. It’s the most popular one; the one we know the most about. They’re a late nineteenth century group founded with the dual purpose of just the enjoyment of hanging around and doing fun things with other men. And the other part of it is the charity. They push that very far too with the whole network of hospitals. [They're] sometimes called the Playground of Masonry wearing fezzes and things. I think you have a little more silliness involved with them.

What was the role that the Masons played in the Revolution?

They didn’t take on the Revolution as their pet cause. Masons were divided on the Revolution as they do in all things. Benedict Arnold was actually a Mason.

Yet a lot of the men you named were big players in the Revolution. A lot these people become the Founding Fathers. [Masonry] spreads to a great extent through the Continental Army, the official army of the Revolution. I think Masonry comes out of the Revolution with this reputation of being this huge part of the Revolution. They come to symbolize the ideas of the Revolution, that we are a country that is based upon equality; that no one is better than anyone else. It doesn’t matter what religious group you belong to, it doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter what political affiliation you have, you’re still a brother.

And then after the Revolution, they seem everywhere in politics. There are some hints that sometimes in the nineteenth century that this was sort of used as people knew you as a Mason and therefore you’re more likely to be elected. Some of these big states in the years after the revolution where there wasn’t this culture of a statehouse yet, Masonry becomes a way of building those ties and figuring out how you make connections with the state. A huge number of the early governors were Masons because you’re building ties at a time when it’s very difficult to make connections if it’s more than a day or two away by horse.

They get so big that even an anti-Masonic political party emerges in the 1830s. After the Revolution it expands enormously. Masons became sort of symbolic figures of the Revolution and are called upon to dedicate all these public buildings. The cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol is dedicated with a Masonic ceremony. Virtually every small town in America has a lodge by the 1820s. Masonry becomes a way for people to establish yourself, to do business, to make connectionswith people. So on the one hand Masonry after the Revolution becomes a way of identifying yourself with the values of the Revolution, on the other hand it’s something you can do for your own benefit. In the 1820s those things are really in tension and it’s all set off by a guy in upstate New York, William Morgan, who tries to publish a book with all the rituals in them.

The Masons around there are driven to distraction by it and a number of them get together and kidnap him, take him to Fort Niagara and, who knows, he’s never seen again. I tend to believe he was murdered. It’s a different world now. It is, although you kind of wonder when you see this stuff at this lodge here. It’s sad. The [shooter] is in his seventies – a World War II vet – because the average age is really very high these days. It’s up in the 60s I think in every state.