Freemasons For Dummies

Christopher Hodapp 33° has spent most of his adult life as a member of the Freemasons, rising to the status of 33rd degree in the Scottish Rite. His long list of authoring credits includes several books on Freemasonry as well as RVs & Campers For Dummies. He has appeared as an expert on Freemasonry on several shows on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, TruTV, and American Heroes Channel.

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 4

Icons Used in This Book 5

Beyond the Book 6

Where to Go from Here 6

Part 1: What is Freemasonry? 7

Chapter 1: Lodges, Aprons, and Funny Handshakes: Freemasonry 101 9

What Is Freemasonry? 11

What Do Masons Do? 12

Conferring the three degrees 12

Meeting in lodges, blue lodges, craft lodges, and more 13

Wearing aprons (Real men do it!) 14

Keeping “secrets” 15

Performing public ceremonies 16

Providing something for everyone 17

Are [Fill in the Blank] Freemasons, Too? 17

Chapter 2: From Cathedrals to Lodge Rooms: A History of the Freemasons 21

Turning Stonecutters into Gentlemen: Freemasonry before 1700 22

Operative Masons: The great builders 22

Speculative Masons and the big change 29

Building Men: The 1700s 32

Founding the first Grand Lodge 32

Establishing Masonry in America 39

Finding favor and persecution during and after the French Revolution 44

Growing, Changing, and Branching Out: The 1800s 45

Reuniting Antients and Moderns 46

Spreading throughout America 46

Surviving and Surging: The 1900s 52

Relieving social concerns in the early 1900s 53

Being cast as villains and heroes in World War II 53

Growing again post-war 54

Declining in the ’60s 54

Experiencing the 21st Century: More Changes on the Way 55

The Internet 56

Masonic podcasts 56

Popular culture 57

Changes in Masonic practices 57

Traditional Observance lodges 58

University lodges 58

What’s next? 59

Chapter 3: The Philosophy of Freemasonry 61

Defining What Masons Believe In 62

Promoting brotherly love, relief, and truth 62

Adhering to basic principles 64

Establishing a New World Order? 67

Experiencing Mystic Masonry 68

Connecting members through a mystic tie 69

Expressing concepts through symbolism 69

Chapter 4: Politics, Religion, and Freemasons: They Don’t Mix 71

Exploring the History of Religion and the Masons 72

Bringing limited religion into the lodge 73

Examining the history of Freemasonry and Catholicism 75

Pairing Freemasons and Protestants peacefully (mostly) 79

Bridging great divides: Freemasonry and Judaism 81

Finding conflict between Freemasonry and Islam (where none exists) 84

Refusing to Play Politics 86

Placing Freemasonry amid the political turmoil of 18th-century Europe 87

Sparking anarchy in French lodges 87

Surviving the revolution 89

Enduring the rule of dictators 92

Continuing to weather distrust 95

Maintaining brotherhood during war 96

Part 2: The Inner Workings of Freemasonry 99

Chapter 5: How the Freemasons Are Organized: Who Does What and Why 101

What’s Inside the Lodge? 102

Examining the lodge room 103

Meeting and eating at the lodge 104

Who’s in Charge around Here? 105

Officers in the progressive line 106

Officers not in the progressive line 111

What Makes a Grand Lodge So, Well, Grand? 116

The Grand Master 117

The rules 118

What Is a Regular, Recognized Lodge? 119

Which one’s legit? Sorting through multiple Grand Lodges 120

Irregular, unrecognized, and all over the place: Lodges out of the mainstream 123

Chapter 6: The Ceremonies of Freemasons 131

Understanding Where Masonic Ritual Comes From 132

The historical medieval guild rituals 133

The written account 137

Performing the Rituals of the Modern Lodge 139

Setting the stage for the ritual 139

Entered Apprentice: Initiation and youth 141

Fellow Craft: Passing through manhood 143

Master Mason: Raising, age, and death 144

Movin’ on up! 145

Chapter 7: The Symbols of Freemasonry 147

Symbolizing the Lessons of Freemasonry 148

Deciphering the Key Masonic Ideas 149

The number three 150

Tracing boards: 18th-century PowerPoint 150

Solomon’s Temple 151

Square and compass(es) 155

Explaining More Masonic Symbols 156

Scythe and hourglass 156

The 47th Problem of Euclid or the Pythagorean theorem 156

Jacob’s ladder 157

Anchor and ark 157

Sun, eye, Moon, and stars 157

Lamb and lambskin apron 158

Slipper 158

Point within a circle and parallel lines 159

Pot of incense 160

Beehive 160

Plumb 161

Level 161

Letter G 162

Five-pointed star 163

Naked heart and sword 164

Tyler’s sword and the Book of Constitutions 165

Trowel 165

Handshake 165

Rough and perfect (or smooth) ashlars 165

Pillars 166

24-inch gauge and the common gavel 167

The shovel, setting maul, coffin, and sprig of acacia 167

Chapter 8: Myths and Misconceptions about Masons 169

Digging to the Root of Freemasonry Misunderstandings 170

Debunking Common Myths about Freemasonry 171

Riding the lodge goat 171

Keeping an eye on you with the all-seeing eye and the U.S $1 bill 172

Reading a Masonic bible 173

Worshipping strange gods 174

Pairing up Pike and Lucifer 178

Taking over the world 180

Breaking the law 181

Part 3: When One Lodge isn’t Enough: The Appendant Bodies 183

Chapter 9: Introducing the Appendant Bodies: Who’s Who, and Who Isn’t 185

What Are Appendant Bodies? 187

Concordant bodies 187

Appendant bodies 190

What About These Other Groups? 192

Animal lodges 193

Service clubs 194

Other unrelated fraternal groups 196

Masonic-sounding groups 199

Chapter 10: The York Rite 203

The York Rite System 204

Why York? 205

How it’s organized 205

Royal Arch Masonry 207

Mark Master 208

Past Master 208

Most Excellent Master 210

Royal Arch 210

The Cryptic Rite 210

Chivalric Masonry and the Knights Templar 212

The chivalric orders 213

A crash course in Templar history 215

Other York Rite Bodies 222

York Rite College 222

Knight Masons 222

Allied Masonic Degrees 223

Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF) 223

Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests 225

Knights of the York Cross of Honour 225

Red Cross of Constantine 225

St Thomas of Acon 225

The Operatives 226

The Masonic Order of Athelstan in England, Wales, and Its Provinces Overseas 226

York Rite Charities 227

Chapter 11: The Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite 229

Surveying the Scottish Rite System 231

Organization: Meeting the departments that confer degrees 231

Membership: Earning degrees in the Scottish Rite 232

Presentation: Raising the curtain and lighting the lights 234

Tracing the Scottish Rite’s Origins 236

France: Freemasonry’s foundry furnace 236

The Americas: The Scottish Rite’s real home 237

Introducing Albert Pike: Sage of the Scottish Rite 238

Pike’s life outside of Masonry 239

Discovering Freemasonry 239

Writing and revising rituals, morals, and dogma 242

Putting Pike in perspective 242

Listing the Degrees of the Scottish Rite 244

The Southern Jurisdiction degrees 244

The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction degrees 246

Serving Communities through Charitable Work 247

Chapter 12: Shriners International 249

Getting to Know the Shriners 250

Tracing the History from Partiers to Philanthropists 250

The Knickerbocker boys start the fun 251

So why the goofy hats? 251

The first growth of the Shrine 252

Polio and the first Shrine hospital 252

Depression and growth 253

Greatest philanthropy in the world 253

Putting a Little of the Boy Back in the Man 255

Getting initiated 255

Gathering at the oasis 255

Forming units to suit every Shriner 256

Having fun in little cars 257

Considering the Shrine’s Place in Freemasonry 258

Chapter 13: The Extended Masonic Family 261

Bringing Women into the Lodge 262

The Order of the Eastern Star 262

The Order of the Amaranth 267

The White Shrine of Jerusalem 268

The Social Order of the Beauceant 269

Not Just Kidding Around: The Youth Groups 270

DeMolay International for boys 270

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls 271

Job’s Daughters 273

Checking Out Lesser-Known Masonic Groups 274

The Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm of North America 274

The Ancient Egyptian Order of SCIOTS 275

The Tall Cedars of Lebanon of North America 275

National Sojourners 276

High Twelve International 277

Widows Sons 277

Investigating Masonic Research Societies 278

Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2076 278

Philalethes Society 279

Phylaxis Society 279

Scottish Rite Research Society 279

The Masonic Society 280

Lodges of research 280

Part 4: Freemasonry Today and Tomorrow 281

Chapter 14: Why Freemasonry is Still Relevant 283

A Breakdown in Community 284

Isolating individuals 285

Disconnecting from each other 285

Getting shortchanged in social capital 286

Where Freemasonry Fits In 287

Making good men better ones 288

Providing something for everybody 289

Supporting brotherly love 289

Involving people in charitable work 291

Practicing religious tolerance 291

Giving comfort through constancy 292

Chapter 15: Freemasons and the Future 295

Speculating on the Future of the Craft 297

One-day classes 297

Advertising and Masonry’s public image 298

Paying your dues 299

Going Back to the Future 300

Reducing Masonic real estate 301

Growing the Observant-style lodge movement 302

Returning to old ways 303

Exploring ancient lessons with new technology 303

“Masoning” on the Internet 304

Freemasonry online 304

Blurring the concepts of recognition 305

Contending with anti-social social media 305

Chapter 16: So You Want to Become a Freemason 307

Examining Why Men Become Masons 308

What’s in it for you 308

Hearing from Masons themselves 309

Why I joined 310

To Be One, Ask One 312

Finding a Freemason 312

Finding a lodge 313

Joining a Lodge 314

Qualifying for membership 314

Petitioning to join the lodge 315

Being investigated 316

Balloting 316

Scheduling your degree ceremonies 318

Being welcomed as a Brother 318

Part 5: The Part of Tens 321

Chapter 17: Ten Groups of Famous Masons 323

Founding Fathers 323

Explorers and Adventurers 325

Pioneers of Science and Medicine 326

Actors and Entertainers 326

Incredible Athletes 327

Military Leaders 328

Significant Businessmen 329

Players in the World of Statecraft 329

U.S Civil Rights Leaders 330

Men of Arts and Letters 331

Chapter 18: Ten Amazing Conspiracies, Anti-Masons, and Hoaxes 333

Leo Taxil and the Great Hoax! 333

The Illuminati! 335

Trilats, CFRs, and Bilderbergers, Oh My! 336

The Secret 33rd Degree! 338

Jack the Ripper: A Freemason! 338

The Italian P2 Lodge Scandal! 340

Washington, D.C., Is Satan’s Road Map! 341

Aleister Crowley, Satanist and Freemason! 342

Freemasons Founded the Nazis! 343

Masonic Cops! Masonic Judges! 344

Chapter 19: Ten Cool Masonic Places 347

George Washington Masonic National Memorial (Alexandria, Virginia) 348

House of the Temple (Washington, D.C.) 348

Freemason’s Hall (Philadelphia) 349

Masonic Temple (Detroit) 349

Grand Lodge of New York Masonic Hall (New York City) 350

Scottish Rite Cathedral (Indianapolis) 350

Freemason Hall (London) 350

Templar Church (London) 351

Rosslyn Chapel (Roslin, Scotland) 351

Musée de la Francmaçonnerie and other Masonic sites (Paris) 351

Part 6: Appendixes 353

Appendix A: The Regius Manuscript 355

A Poem of Moral Duties 356

Appendix B: Anderson’s Constitutions 379

The Charges Of A Free Mason 379

i Concerning God And Religion 380

ii Of The Civil Magistrate Supreme And Subordinate 380

iii Of Lodges 381

iv Of Masters, Wardens, Fellows, And Apprentices 381

v Of The Management Of The Craft In Working 382

vi Of Behavior 383

Appendix C: Finding a Lodge 387

Mainstream U.S Grand Lodges 387

Prince Hall Grand Lodges 391

Canadian Grand Lodges 394

Index 397