The Scottish Key

For those of you that haven’t seen it, there is a production company that claims to reveal the origins of Freemasonary in the French Belgian documentary, The Scottish Key. At first glance I was skeptical and ready to dismiss the movie. Then I when I looked at the contributors, including Robert L.D. Cooper, I am intrigued about the movie, as it looks better than most in the recent history. It is about $36, that doesn’t include shipping, so I would expect it to be around $50 when it is all said and done.

Does anyone know anything else about this movie? Is it legit, or more crackpot Da Vinci stuff?

Missed Another Lodge Meeting

I am in Huntsville, Alabama this week for the Directed Energy Profesional Society, this lined up nicely with a stated meeting being held @ Helion Lodge #1 the first Tuesday of the month. But my cable tow wasn’t going to have any part of it. I was called into a side bar meeting for “a couple of minutes” that turned into an hour and a half of people repeating themselves over and over again. I finally got out @ 1830 which didn’t leave me time to drop off my co-worker and make it back to the lodge. I am disappointed, because this looked like a great lodge to visit, so there goes that opportunity. I have been bad about sitting in lodge lately. My travel schedule isn’t lining up with stated meetings and my own lodge has canceled two practices already. So I haven’t gone to a stated meeting in a month.

In other news I still haven’t decided on a name for the brew that is brewing right now in my guest closet at home. It is a wheat beer, so I was going to make some illusion to the fellowcraft degree, and found how some fringe groups that think along with baphomet and other various gods we supposedly secretly worship we also worship ANNONA the Goddess of the Wheat Harvest, the beer also will be ready for consumption on the 27th of December, so I was thinking something with Saint John’s Day. The name became such an inside joke, that I was the only one to get it, even then it wasn’t that funny.

So I am still lost as to a name, and I need one by the end of the week. I have to bottle it this weekend and I’ve had it happen where if I don’t name a beer before it’s bottle it turns out bad.

I want to thank everyone who gave me good ideas, I like some better than others. Most likely on Friday we will vote on the final name of the beer, brew in the sprit of fraternity and brotherly love.

Blue Lodge Brew?

I just got done making some home brewed beer, and I figured I would dedicate this batch to the Blue Lodge. It's a wheat beer golden and (hopefully) have a nice aftertaste. Still, I am wondering what I should name this batch made in the name of the oldest fraternity?

I am going to make labels and give some to the local brothers, so a name would be nice. Any ideas would be greatly apperciated. :)

The image is taken from The Masonic Shop in case you were looking for a blue lodge stein.

Tired of the “Should the Shrine Split?” Posts Yet?

It seems that most bloggers everywhere are tackling the controversial subject of should the Shrine split, since I started in Masonry a year ago. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone thinks their solution is right.

I’ve read every excuse for people that think the Shrine should split, most of them seem to come from somewhere not so Masonic. For instance, the fact that the Shrine was founded by Masons wanting to have more fun than could be had in the Blue Lodge, then let them leave the Blue Lodge. Well, the same could be said then of the Grotto which was founded 19 years after the Shrine, but has the same basic philosophy. If this is the case, then why am I not seeing a once a week post about how the Grotto needs to split?

Others don’t seem to care for their aggressive recruiting style, going to raising of a members just to shove a Shrine application at them after they are taught the word. Again the same could be said of the York Rite and Scottish Rite in America. It isn’t unheard of a Candidate being given an application to either rite while still learning the FC catechism. This wasn’t the case for me, but it isn’t unheard of. Still, I don’t hear about calling for a split from either rite (well sometimes I hear people talk about the Scottish Rite, but that seems to be more about rivalry than anything).

The Shrine has been accused of lobbying for all the way in one day to serve its membership needs. On the Philalethes mailing list there has been multiple discussions about this, the Shrine isn’t the only lobbyist behind the perceived need to do these classes, and honestly all the way in one day has been going on since the beginning of documented Freemasonry, well before the formation of the Shrine.

Now, to be fair I’m not a Shriner, and I don’t have a desire to be one either. The Shrine aspect of Freemasonry wasn’t why I joined the world’s oldest fraternity. Still, you can’t deny that the Shrine has its roots in Freemasonry and depends on quality members that hold Masonic principles dear to be such a successful organization.

The Shrine, like everyone else in Freemasonry is trying to find answers to the questions facing its organization. The inflated bubble of membership of the 1940s is leaving them to answer some serious questions, just like the blue lodge. I don’t think the answer is as easy as “Split or not to split”.

A Humble Thanks

Due to my honey-do list and travel schedule I haven’t had a chance to thank a brother for his kind words regarding my little Masonic blog. Brother Mark wrote a very nice review (which was a nice surprise), regarding my blog. I am amazed as what started out as a side project to jot down my thoughts on becoming a Mason and having people e-mail me asking me about how they go about being made a Mason.

It’s been an interesting trip thus far, and I look forward to future communication with such fine brothers and Freemason enthusiasts.

A review of my blog!

Denver International Airport – Home of Alien Freemason Nazis

Last week when I was in Denver I flew into DIA (Denver International Airport) for some reason this airport attracts a lot of conspiracy nuts, mainly because the Masonic capstone of the time capsule reads “A New World Airport Commission” and that the Airport is some type of cathedral to the super elite Alien Freemason Nazis, with creepy artwork that foretells the end of the world.

Time permitting I would of stuck around DIA taken pictures and mocked the entire thing, but I arrived late, was tired and hadn’t eaten all day, so my blog had to take a back seat. Truth of the matter was the phrase “New World Airport Commission” was in regards to the committee that was in charge of DIA’s opening festivities, and the name was thought of by Charles Ansbacher a music conductor and trust fund baby, who got the idea from Dvorak’s New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9 in E Minor “From the New World”), which of course was written between 1892 – 1895 after a visit to America. Also, I can’t find anywhere that Ansbacher is a Freemason, but maybe he is a covert brother.

There have been much more researched and thought out arguments against the DIA conspiracy. Growing up in Colorado, I just find the entire thing funny as the history of the Airport marred by cronyism, government inefficiency, and overall bumbling of a public works project. I remember when they opened up the Airport for tours months before it was operational to try to keep local shops who were paying high overhead in business so when the airport was finally operational there would be a McDonalds and a place where you can get a $2 soda and a People magazine. I am sure this was a front as they were completing the tunnel to NORAD (which is now run by the Canadians, BTW).

As they say it takes all types, these people are on another plane of existence. But I guess it is more interesting than the fact it’s just a large airport, that is unique in structure.

Thoughts from the York Rite Fall Festival

With my busy travel schedule and time to just not even think straight, I think it’s time I sit down and formulate my thoughts on the ceremonies and forms there in. I felt that it was about time I actually took sat down and write my thoughts.

For background on the York Rite, take a look at the York Rite home page here it gives you a great deal of information regarding the degrees. Here in South Texas we have the York Rite festival, in which the district gets together and confers all of the degrees in a single day. Part of me wretched at this thought because of the time spent on the blue lodge degrees is essential to understand the fundamentals of Masonry, and I believe that fundamental understanding is somewhat lost in one day classes. While I understand their utility for soldiers being deployed, people who had family medical emergencies, etc. I don’t agree with it being used as a fast track to the Shrine or to cause inflated numbers for brothers that never return again.

The Chapter as a collective is by my favorite of the three (Chapter, Council and Commandery), it really does complete the first three degrees, even though they are considered “supplemental” I would suggest to anyone that is serious about learning more and completing the first three degrees should go through the degrees. I was also fortunate enough to be the candidate of the Royal Arch Degree which was wonderful. Really that degree is one of the best, and I would almost put it on par with the Masters Degree. The Virtual Past Masters degree is really good to, if done properly. It was flawlessly executed for me, but afterwards during lunch I could see how many ways it could of gone wrong, but that is a really fun degree as well. For the Chapter the Most Excellent Master was the most disappointing as the team due to freak issues was unable to confer the degree, so we came in and was given the lecture and took the oath. I guess that makes it legal, but I will have to see the degree in it’s full sometime in the near future. Overall a very good experience, even though the Most Excellent Master never really happened.

The Council degrees are interesting, and the Super Excellent Masters Degree is a powerful degree that I came to find out, was at one point a side degree of the rite. It wasn’t until 1813 that it was permanently fixed as part of the Council, the degree itself forcefully teachers the candidate to walk in faith, promote friendship, and practice fidelity. It has a wonderful message to behold when being played out, that God’s Presence among us and man’s responsibility to worship Him in Sprit and truth. The moral and spiritual values that are taught in the council are so numerous I could create another blog just to discuss them. Still, I found all of the symbolism and allegory wonderful to behold (if not overwhelming).

The last phase of the festival was the Commandery, which confers the three degrees of The Order of the Red Cross, The Order of Malta, and finally Order of the Temple. Apparently the Knights Templar at one time was only invitational, and later became more open. Also apparently the degree was conferred much differently from state to state until the mid 1800s, when it became standardized. The degree is long, not as long as the Royal Arch Degree, but long enough, its strong emphasis on Christian values was odd at first, (because of the previous degrees) but fit and was used very well. I also found the use of the American flag, kind of odd, but I guess it’s trying to emulate a military order so I guess it’s that way for a reason. It was an impressive ceremony, but was over hyped by our instructors in my mind. I found the Royal Arch and Super Excellent Master much more enlightening. This also can be attributed to the fact that we have been doing this all day and we didn’t get out of there till 1900 and we arrived 0630.

Overall I would recommend the York Rite to someone that meets the qualifications. I was already hit up for the Scottish Rite and Shrine, both of which right now will get a pass. I like to take my Masonic education slow and deliberate, I am not into collecting titles or degrees, and I have more then enough to learn in both the Blue Lodge and the Chapter/Council and Commandery.

The degrees where conferred by a core group of 15 individuals, 6 of which were entirely too much for them to be doing them. If Masonry is to survive in all it forms and beauties it is up to us younger Masons to try and learn the parts to the best of our ability. I hear excuses like “I don’t have good memory retention”, but like the saying goes, practice, practice, practice. I will attend the Chapter/Council as the Commandery, the memorization work comes second to the Blue Lodge, as the Blue Lodge is the foundation of all Freemasonry and without its teachings and symbols, there can be no York Rite.

Here I will stop myself before I rant any further. :)

Do You Really Know What A Cowan Is?

Last night I was reading a book, and it described what a cowan was in terms of Operative Masonry. When going through the degrees you hear about cowans, but I never gave them much thought, a bunch of PGMs much more experienced than myself have written short definitions of what cowans were in terms of the craft, some just cite the dictionary still the best definition I have read was from Bro. Harry Carr, who first quotes the Oxford dictionary:

”One who builds dry stone walls (i.e., without mortar); a dry-stone-diker; applied derogatorily to one who does the work of a mason, but who has not been regularly apprenticed or bred to the trade.”

Then expands:

”Cowan is an essentially Scottish trade term, and it belongs to the time when lodges, as trade-controlling bodies, put restrictions against the employment of cowans, in order to protect the fully-trained men of the Craft from competition by unskilled labour. The earliest official ban against cowans appeared in the Schaw Statutes in 1598.”

On the Freemason Information website they quote a short talk bulletin from 1953 which reads:

“… and means to moderns an uninstructed and ignorant person, one not of the Fraternity, just as eavesdropper means to us one who attempts to gain the secrets of Masonry unlawfully.”

So I guess the bulletin is saying that cowan is just an ignorant person. But really, is that what a cowan is in modern 21st century Freemasonry? Or can the term be applied to clandestine members (yeah, I know I will get hate mail), conspiracy nuts, or fundlementalist that believe they know more about our work because they can quote Morals and Dogma? Do we really have men going around from lodge to lodge claiming to be a Mason but really isn’t in today’s society?

So I guess my question is to the Masons that read this, what is a cowan to you?

A New Masonic Blogger

A fairly new Masonic Blogger (new to me at least) e-mailed me, go ahead and check out Brother Robert's Masonic Blog - Military Masons, like most of the Masonic blogs out there it is thoughtful and a great read!

Also, I love the fact that I get e-mailed everytime I bring up the Shrine, man I think I will keep my big mouth shut! Or hands off keyboard, which ever.

My Second Lodge Visit Mt Carmel No. 133

I am back after my trip to Virginia; I know you were all awaiting my report. I think that one of these trips when I go back to Virginia I will have to visit the George Washington Masonic Memorial. I had the opportunity to stay in Alexandria, but didn’t have the schedule to visit the monument. When I first witnessed it, I was struck about how the building stands out so clearly. But this trip I went to a place about an hour and forty-five minutes south of Alexandria, in a small town called Warrenton, Virginia. Warrenton is a picture perfect small east coast town, with a population of 8377. Main street is full of craft shops (or as I like to refer to them as “Old Lady Stores”.) They had small restaurants and a bistro, no major chains like Chili’s, Applebees, etc (at least none that I saw). So really it is a neat quaint little town, and was refreshing when living in one of the top 10 largest cities in America.


The lodge itself is very subdued compared to other lodges in the area; it is a stand alone red brick building that looks like an old school house of sorts. The building was built in 1969, 146 years after the lodge was chartered. The lodge itself boosts a rich history of military heroes from the civil war on up to today. It also adapted the phrase “Bravest of the Brave” in reference to the Black Horse Calvary which many of its early members were apart of. Its current membership seemed slightly older than other lodges I have visited (all three of them), but I think that is expected of a smaller town, mainly full of retirees. The lodge is much like my mother lodge has a banquet hall downstairs and the lodge room upstairs. Another interesting fact is that the brethren bring their wives that sit downstairs during business but then prepare the cake and ice cream after the meeting. Everyone was in dark suits (I always wear a suit to blue lodge meetings, because you never know and I am under the philosophy that it’s better to overdress than underdressed). I quickly realized that this was a much different lodge than the one I visited in New Mexico. The ridgedness of this lodge brought me a sense of comfort, but I have to wonder if its ridgedness may deter new members. They examined me, by examination it was long, not a quick flash of the dues card and my Texas drivers license. It was lots of secret handshakes and signs, more than I expected. It didn’t help that the potentate from the Shrine was there for his quarterly visit. Some members confided in me that there was annoyance as his visit is seen more as a recruiting gimmick than an actual “keeping ties to the blue lodge” as was its stated purpose. At least the guy stayed for the stated meeting and afterwards to talk to the brothers. Our potentate showed up to lodge to drop off a stack of petitions to the shrine and ran out the back door. So really, I think that the potentates visit was a good thing.

The stated meeting was actually interesting as the brethren where discussing a rather controversial topic within the lodge. It reminded me of the conversations we would have in our lodge about the dreaded roof. No degree tonight, unfortunately, still I am one of those sick individuals that enjoys opening and closing of the lodge, and to see how other lodges do it, they didn’t disappoint and did it in true form. After the stated meeting I talked to a few of the brothers, all of which would explain to me their six degrees of separation from Texas (everyone does this, btw).

Was it what I was expecting? Not really, but there were brothers still the same, and it was nice to engage in the work with them. I look forward to having fellowship in the future if it works out.