The Influence of Freemasonry on Wicca and Paganism

The Square and the Circle: The Influences of Freemasonry on Wicca and Paganism by Payam Nabarz.

I am not in the habit of posting about a book I have not read cover to cover. Further, I am doing so admitting that I have some issues with it thus far. In total fairness and in the desire to meet the demands of full and fair disclosure, this has much more to do with the issues I have with the religious movement(s) of Neopaganism and Wicca. These go back to the time in my youth, from my teens through my 30s, when I was involved in those religions.

While I grew beyond those movements and into others, I fully acknowledge that that is a matter of my own path and not a critique of those religions.

Having said all this, and noting there are approaches in this text that I disagree with, I have to say that I am very pleased to see this text and want to encourage anyone remotely interested in this subject to read this title. I cannot excuse myself for allowing this to go unnoticed by me for nearly a decade. My only excuse is that it has been a hectic decade.

My objections are mostly subjective and will most likely evaporate by the time I finish the book. So, why mention them at all? In part because I have seen masonic authorities behave in very unmasonic ways toward pagans in their midst. This is inexcusable. I want to point out that even when we may have differences, they do not outweigh our need for tolerance and acceptance.

The author clearly has close familiarity with both camps and delves into a detailed and informed comparison of the structural and ritual similarities of the two rites as well as a thoughtful history of their interaction.

While I believe there is room for more work relating to this, I am pleased that Payam Nabarz has offered such a careful introduction to a topic which deserves better understanding. I am certain this book will advance that cause. If I can draw even a couple of new readers to the book or encourage further research, I will be pleased.

A book on the Saints John

I realize it has become traditional to raise the subject of the two Saints John on their feast days, but as much as I love tradition, I also enjoy flaunting it. That may make me a bad mason in some people's eyes, but if it also makes me an interesting one, I'll be content. Regardless, I recently came across this fascinating title and wanted to share a few words about it.

I know it may be trying to push a boulder uphill, but even though they may not be in English, I hope that by exposing an Anglophone Masonic audience to at least a notice about publications in other languages, a taste for exploration may be encouraged.

In any case, here goes.

The Initiatory Festivals of the Two Saint Johns: The ritual doors of the Masonic year

By Jean-Patrick Dubrun

The Masonic tradition has fortunately preserved the commemoration of the festivals of the two Saint Johns. Celebrated during the winter and summer solstices, they punctuate the year and the ritual work of the lodges. The reference to two Christian saints, the Baptist and the Evangelist, should not make us forget what these two festivals owe to the older initiatory traditions, marked by the transmission of the Light and the formulation of the Word. To understand why and how these two special moments of the year that are the two solstices must be ritualized, it is necessary to go back to the thread of the initiatory tradition, which leads in particular to the Roman god Janus, the astrological signs of Cancer and Capricorn, and the principle of the sacralization of time by the rite. The  possession of these traditional keys sheds light on the symbolic figure of the two Johns and makes it clear why their feast consecrates the opening of the ritual doors of the Masonic year. 

The Ku Klux Klan and Freemasonry in 1920s America

It is rare that I post on books that address troubling aspects of Freemasonry's role in society. There are several reasons for this, none of which include a desire to avoid controversy or to avoid critiquing Freemasonry. The fraternity is a human institution ana as such it is no more above reproach than any other sphere of human experience. Beyond that, no small number of books critical of Freemasonry have historically been of questionable accuracy and of more questionable intent.

This book however, deserves a read. Now more than ever. It must be remembered that even an institution that historically strove to scrutinize its applicants thorough is likely to not always do so well. One that emphasizes familiarity and presumes a level of character can sometimes be blinded. We all know that in the Southern United States, many though not all masons had been involved in the Confederacy, including some of the most influential. 

Not all who enter Freemasonry truly embody Freemasonry's aspirations and values. Unfortunately, some have not only misrepresented themselves to the fraternity but to themselves as well. This book, without intending to besmirch Freemasonry, applies its own standards of honesty and self-reflection to understand and make clear one of Freemasonry's more troubling  moment. It also demonstrates how the fraternity was able to remain faithful in the longue dure to its true principles.

From the publisher's site:

The Second Ku Klux Klan’s success in the 1920s remains one of the order’s most enduring mysteries. Emerging first as a brotherhood dedicated to paying tribute to the original Southern organization of the Reconstruction period, the Second Invisible Empire developed into a mass movement with millions of members that influenced politics and culture throughout the early 1920s. This study explores the nature of fraternities, especially the overlap between the Klan and Freemasonry. Drawing on many previously untouched archival resources, it presents a detailed and nuanced analysis of the development and later decline of the Klan and the complex nature of its relationship with the traditions of American fraternalism.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Klanishness: Brotherhood in the Invisible Empire

Chapter 2 – Freemasonry’s Fighting Brother: Militancy, Fraternalism and the Ku Klux Klan, 

Chapter 3 – Kluxing America: The Use and Abuse of the Masonic Reputation

Chapter 4 – Hate At $10 a Package: Selling the Invisible Empire

Chapter 5 – Hooded Freemasons: Dual Membership and Conflict in Local Lodges

Chapter 6 – Dallas Klan No.66 and Anaheim Lodge No.207: A Case Study of Two Communities 

Chapter 7 – Friend or Foe? Grand Masters’ Responses to the Ku Klux Klan

Chapter 8 – The Collapse of the Second K.K.K.

Conclusion - An "Invisible" Empire?

This book may disturb some Freemasons, perhaps it should. The instution of Freemasonry in all its varieties needs be reminded that we are not perfect, but hopefully in the process of becoming better. Part of that work is committing to writing a more accurate and probing history of our craft. And reading it.

See Routledge's page on this book

Bantu Religious Traditions in Africa and the Americas: a course

Many do not have a clear idea of the roots and character of Bantu spirituality nor the extent of its influence in the Americas. Indeed, many view the terms Bantu and Congo (or Kongo) as synonymous. While they are related, synonymous they are not.

There are many Bantu ethnicities each with their own languages and religions across most of subsaharan Africa. The BaKongo with an important historical kingdom was one of these, and happens to be the one that left a significant mark on African derived religious traditions in the Americas.

While Bantu religions in Africa shared many similarities, they also had significant differences, and thus should not be considered interchangable. Few actually had any significant impact on New World practices.

There are also many speculative attempts to classify their practices. For better or worse, modern attempts claim a scientific character to them, or to Khemeticize them.

After having received requests to do so, I am planning a course to explore many of these themes.

"The King of Congo and the Bantu Roots of Afro-diasporic traditions" will look broadly at the diverse Bantu practices in Africa, from initiations to divination. It will also explore the Congo influences in the Americas from carnivals to spiritual practices. Along the way we will touch on the reasons for C or K in Congo/Kongo, and what that difference is not.

Cost for the course is $250. Email  to register. As with all my classes all lectures and written/graphic materials are delivered asynchronously so that you can participate on your schedule and can review materials often.

A New Raprochement: The Church and Masonry

Cardinal Calls for Permanent Dialogue with Freemasons

Following a closed-door meeting in Milan, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmiero reportedly said he believed ‘an evolution in mutual understanding’ had taken place between masonry and the Church over the past 50 years.

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/pentin-cardinal-calls-for-permanent-dialogue-with-freemasons?amp

 

Gender and Transgender in Masonry: Evolution in Advanced Societies

Género y Transgénero en la Masonería: Evolución en sociadades avanzadas.

Gender and transgender in Freemasonry seem to be unrelatable concepts. However, Freemasonry as a social movement that has crossed the barrier of centuries of existence, is not impermeable to changes in society.

It has been able to adapt very well to them, although for archaic mentalities such ideas represent a taboo or red line that should not be crossed much less talked about. LGTBIQ+ groups and feminism have been interrelated with each other, and they have also done so within Freemasonry.

That is what this work is concerned with, demystifying, making visible and self-criticizing the institution from within from a microsociological, constructivist and, why not, deconstructivist perspective of sex and gender relations. It makes visible, through a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative that includes statistical analysis and four case studies: France, Spain, Portugal and Ecuador as advanced societies understood as democratic) the formation of behaviors, prejudices, stigmas by which masculinity prevent the humanization and total incorporation of everything feminine, even in the case of trans women.

Género y transgénero en la Masonería parecen conceptos que no se pueden relacionar. Sin embargo, la Masonería como movimiento social que ha traspasado la barrera de los siglos de existencia, no es impermeable a los cambios de la sociedad.

Ha sabido adaptarse muy bien a ellos, aunque para las mentalidades arcaicas sea una especie de tabú o de línea roja de la que no hay que hablar. Los colectivos LGTBIQ+ y el feminismo se han interrelacionado entre sí, y también lo han hecho dentro de la Masonería.

Es de eso que se encarga esta obra, de desmitificar, visibilizar y autocriticar la institución desde adentro bajo una perspectiva microsociológica, constructivista y por qué no, deconstructivista de las relaciones sexo y género. Visibiliza, a través de una metodología mixta (cuantitativa y cualitativa que incluye la estadística prospectiva y cuatro casos de estudio: Francia, España, Portugal y Ecuador como sociedades avanzadas entendidas como delocraticas) la formación de los comportamientos, los prejuicios, los estigmas que desde la masculinidad impiden la humanización y total incorporación de todo lo femenino, inclusive en el caso de las mujeres trans.

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The French Rite & The Knights of the Rosicruz in Brazil

Translated from Racó de la Llum: Les·ilusionades passes d'un Francmaçó del Ritu Modern o Francès

O Soberano Grande Capítulo dos Cavaleiros Rosacruzes. Grande Capítulo Geral do Rito Francês de Portugal ~ The Sovereign Grand Chapter of the Rosicrucian Knights. Grand General Chapter of the French Rite of Portugal

This entry is a brief historical exposition about a significant Masonic Power in the practice of the Orders of Wisdom at the world level, and in which I have the immense pleasure of being an Honorary Member: Soberano Grande Capítulo de Cavaleiros Rosa-Cruz / Grande Capítulo Geral do Rito Francês de Portugal.

The constitution of Masonic Lodges in Portugal seems to date back to 1727 , and it was the result of English and Scottish military and merchants as well as French ones also dedicated to trade in these countries. Hipólito Costa played an important role in the development of Portuguese masonry at the beginning of the 19th century is fundamental because of the intense persecution by the well-known Inquisition throughout the peninsula. The adventures and journeys of this historical personage as well as other details of the historical context that we will not discuss in this article, although we assume that he was responsible for the French Rite, whose rituals were published and printed in 1801, becoming the official rite of the first Gran Oriente Lusitano.

The foundation of the Gran Oriente Lusitano dates from 1802. Two years later, on April 25, 1804 , a Treaty of Friendship was signed with the Grand Orient of France (where the grade of Caballero Rosa-Cruz appeared among the Portuguese masons who signed it, showing its pre-existence on that date, probably since 1802).

Through this Treaty between the GOL and the GODF, the existence and functioning of the Orders of Wisdom of the French Rite in Portugal has been accredited, at least since 1804, the year in which an official patent will be issued. On the other hand, the Constitución del Gran Oriente Lusitano de 1806 refers explicitly to the different orders and chapters of the French Rite, in its chapter III and article XIII , which presupposes the existence of a "Sovereign Grand Chapter of Caballeros Rosa Cruz" , among other chapters.

While in France for other reasons, the Orders of Wisdom ceased to be practiced for about 170 years (approximately from 1830 to 1999) in Portugal , fortunately the work of the Sovereign Grand Chapter of Caballeros Rosa-Cruz , continued during this long period, despite the numerous persecutions and prohibitions of those who were the target of Freemasonry. It was worked uninterruptedly from 1804 to 1939 , that is, around 140 years . After Salazar banned Freemasonry in 1935, in a totally underground manner, the last survivors of the "Sovereign Grand Chapter of Caballeros Rosa-Cruz" were incorporated into the Supreme Council of Grand Inspectors Generals of the 33rd Degree of the Ancient Scottish Rite and Accepted for Portugal. its jurisdiction, through the Agreement of 1939 and, as of this date, the French Rite or Moderno is no longer practiced in Portugal.

Only in 1991, after the Claves Revolution of April 25, 1974, with the foundation of the "Delta" Symbolic Lodge, the French Rite was reintroduced in the Grande Oriente Lusitano, which was practiced for 10 years exclusively by this Lodge. Since 2001, an important group of freemasons from the Lusitano Grand Oriente, belonging to the Respectable Lodge "Delta" and the Spanish brothers of the Iberian Grande Oriente (GOI) were raised in France, under the auspices of the Latin American Grand Oriente (GOLA) in a gradual manner and successively in the different Orders of Wisdom of the French Rite, with the support of the Brothers of the Grand General Chapter of the Great East of France .

This initial spark finally resulted in the creation of the "Grand General Chapter of the French Rite of Portugal" with a patent granted by the GOLA who in turn had received it from the Godf on December 20, 2000.

The Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , depositary since the Agreement of 1939, of the Patent and of all the powers of the jurisdiction and the administration of the French Rite for Portugal, reactivated in 2003, the Sovereign Grand Chapter of Caballeros Rosa - Cruz , with raised masons in France, as well as with others, especially MM II II HH Fernando Valle and Emídio Guerreiro, initiated in the French Rite 80 years ago , the last survivors from 1939 at the age of 103 and 104 respectively in 2003 , transferring to This Sovereign Grand Chapter the Patent and all its prerogatives, thus allowing the restoration of the Chain of Union of the French Rite in Portugal, in all its fullness, without interruption, and that its reactivation in 2003, with the presence of the Venerable Brothers Fernando Valle and Emídio Guerreiro, aged 103 and 104, implied that the Chain of Initiatic Union of the French Rite and its Orders of Wisdom since 1804 until 2003 has been practiced for at least 200 years. These masons, convened by brother Fernando Valle on August 27, 2003 , decided by unanimity in the Assembly on September 5, 2003, in the Masonic Palace of Lisbon, the integration of these two organisms into a unique Masonic Power, Free and Sovereign, with the aim of preserving the historical legacy and tradition of the French Rite in Portugal, thus constituting the Sovereign Grand Chapter of Caballeros Rosa-Cruz - Grand General Chapter of the French Rite of Portugal.

Joaquim Villalta, Vª Orden, Gr.·. 9, 33º

Director of the  International Academy of the Vª Order - UMURM

Grand Orator of the  Sublime Council of the Modern Rite for Ecuador

Honorary Member of the Sovereign Grande Chapter of Cavaleiros Rosa-Cruz de Portugal 

Honorary member of the R. L.·. Estrela do Norte nº 553 of the Grand Oriente Lusitano

Grand Chancellor for Europe of the Grand Oriente Nacional Colombiano

Honorary Member of the Grand Oriente Tradicional de Bolivia

Honorary Member of the  Supreme Council of the 33º and Ultimo Grado del RSAA per l'Italia e sue Dipendenze

President of the International Confederation of Supreme Councils of the 33º Degree of R.·. E.·. A. A.

Muy Poderoso Soberano Gran Comendador del  Supremo Consejo del Grado 33º para España del Rito Antiguo y Aceptado (Rite de Cerneau / Thompson-Folger Supreme Council for The United States of America, their Territories and Dependencies)