Free Masons

FastTrax

FastTrax

Well-known Member
 

Hubby is a Freemason in Australia and after a long period of not attending he has resumed. When he was a young man he learned all the rituals and was eventually the Master of his lodge. That year was a flurry of social events, balls, ladies nights, fund raisers and children's Christmas party. As his wife, or as his Good Lady as the wives are referred to, I had a hand in organising a lot of these social events. Other than that I have had no connection to Masonry. Before he joined we were visited at home as part of the vetting process and they wanted to be sure that I had no objections. I appreciated that.

Masonry in Australia is a benign organisation but it is, like unions and Friendly Societies, diminishing in membership.
 
Alligatorob said:
Do you know what those privileges and places are?

The kind of thing most of us would want access to?
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In my father's day if you wanted to advance in the public service you either had to be a Catholic or a Mason. Either way you would have sponsors and mentors to help you. My father was nominally Presbyterian and refused to join the Masons. Even as a returned serviceman he received no special favours.

Happily, those days are behind us although having been educated in an elite private school still has advantages.
 
Tish said:
Love this subject, thank you so much for posting it @FastTrax.
I knew it, I knew Prince Phillip was one.

I always thought the Stone Masons were derived from the Knights Templar, but perhaps they predate them.
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I doubt that they predate them. It is true that in the Middle Ages stone masons, like other artisans, formed themselves into guilds and kept secret the important technology of their trade but Free Masonry mythologises its origin all the way back to the building of King Solomon's temple. Modern Free Masonry is nowhere near that old.
 
Warrigal said:
I doubt that they predate them. It is true that stone masons, like other artisans, formed themselves into guilds and kept secret the important technology of their trade but Free Masonry mythologises its origin all the way back to the building of King Solomon's temple. Modern Free Masonry is nowhere near that old.
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Alligatorob said:
Sounds like good reason I am not one. That kind of stuff does not interest me much.

Now the sitting around in a nice bar sipping whiskey and smoking good cigars I could do, is there any of that?
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Not as far as I know. I'm not one of them.
 
The Freemasons did not evolve, develop or descend from the Knights Templar. There is no connection between Freemasonry and the Knights Templar. The Freemasons themselves started this myth in the 18th century.

The Templars were named after the Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem ( Solomonā€™s Temple) as one of the Catholic military orders that fought with the Crusades to take the Holy Land from Muslim Control.

The Knights Templar were an international banking company, whereas Freemasonry originated with actual masons that is, stonemasons.

Not everyone who is a member of the Freemasons is allowed into the inner sanctums.
 
My father was a Freemason all his adult life. What great parties they had, especially during the holidays. Always had to dress to the nines to attend most functions. My father usually wore a Tuxedo to most events. Mom could not join the Eastern Star as she was Catholic.
 
Someone asked whether free masonry is a religion. It isn't but there is a place in the ritual to acknowledge the Architect of the Universe, represented by the letter G suspended from the ceiling. Which god you believe in does not matter. Free masonry is open to christians, jews, muslins and anyone else who does not object to this symbolism. Some churches forbid their members to become masons, in particular catholic churches and evangelical Anglicans. They consider the ritual heresy and/or an alternative to "true" religion.

There are different levels of masonry. The lowest is the Blue Lodge. Hubby attends a blue lodge that adheres to the Scottish Constitution. At a higher level is the Red Lodge known as the Croix Rouge. To join that one you need to have passed through a blue lodge to the level of master and you must be a christian. No idea what goes on there.
 
Lewkat said:
My father was a Freemason all his adult life. What great parties they had, especially during the holidays. Always had to dress to the nines to attend most functions. My father usually wore a Tuxedo to most events. Mom could not join the Eastern Star as she was Catholic.
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I refused to join the Order of the Eastern Star for several reasons. Foremost was if I couldn't join the masons as an equal, I certainly wasn't going to join the ladies auxiliary. Actually, even if I were male, I wouldn't have joined the main game either. Not for me.
 
Shero said:
Not everyone who is a member of the Freemasons is allowed into the inner sanctums
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Is that where they keep the cigars and whiskey?
Warrigal said:
if I couldn't join the masons as an equal, I certainly wasn't going to join the ladies auxiliary
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I believe things are more fair coed, not to mention more fun and interesting.
Lewkat said:
Always had to dress to the nines to attend most functions. My father usually wore a Tuxedo to most events.
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Probably lets me out, unless new jeans and cowboy boots count... They do for most social functions I attend.

On my mother's side of the family there were lots of Free Mason ancestors, one of them actually wrote a book about 100 years ago. One I think some Masons may still use today. Apparently he was of real high degree, or whatever they call it.

None of the family I knew were Masons, I think it all ended for us long ago. Just heard the stories. For some reason my grandfather refused to join.
Shero said:
have some of the most brilliant minds as members
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Thinking about the people I have known who were Masons some did fit this description, one was a US Senator. On the other hand some, were well on the other end of that spectrum, guess it takes all kinds.
 
Alligatorob said:
Thinking about the people I have known who were Masons some did fit this description, one was a US Senator. On the other hand some, were well on the other end of that spectrum, guess it takes all kinds.
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Yes, the brilliant minds hang out in the inner sanctums and you will be pleased to know that is also where they keep the Remy Martin and best cigars šŸ˜‰
 
My father was a Freemason and a lodge master where he once lived, but kind of got away from it when he moved to a different state soon after I was born. He never really talked to me about masonry, or tried to get me into it. On the wall for many years though a picture hung of him in his prime wearing his Masonic ā€œapron.ā€ I had to swear that I wasnā€™t a Mason in order to join one church as they had a problem with the ā€œsecret ritualsā€ aspect of itā€¦
 
Great OP!! So far the posts have mainly been about WHAT the Free Masons are. Can anyone explain WHY they formed? I can think of 100's of secret organizations...from nefarious to charitable. Why did people ( mainly men ) organize the Free Mason way? What purpose did it serve? Was it privilege, power, friendship, status, etc...?
 

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