The One Small Blessing surrounding the Current Scandal involving the Grand Lodges of Georgia & Tennessee

In looking at the past few days turmoil over the Grand Lodges of Georgia and Tennessee, after the latest twist in which the Grand Lodge of California has decided to suspend recognition, showing at least the minimum ethical response one might have hoped for, which has apparently made DC feel forced to do likewise, there is one small and very slight positive element, a minor blessing, in all this mess.

No, that' is not that these two Grand Lodges have felt obliged to act; they should have done so within 24 hours of the original events. In any case, these same Grand Lodges are always looking for ways to be an embarrassment to anyone not still living in the 19th century. They should have been stripped of recognition permanently ages ago if recognition really meant anything. Of course, we know it doesn't. It's a matter of convenience.

What we should view as a great blessing is the fact that nobody much pays any attention to what happens in Freemasonry anymore. Because, that anybody, anywhere, would be willing to call such institutions as the GL of Georgia or Tennessee "brethren" is absolutely shameful.

It is events such as these that make me eternally grateful that I am not associated with UGLE derived Freemasonry. Vivez la différence!

Brothers Across the Sea: Freemasonry's Spread to Africa and the Middle East (5th Internat'l Conference at UCLA)

The 5th International Conference at UCLA

In the years that followed Freemasonry’s 18th century rise, explorers, merchants, and adventurers brought the fraternity with them as they sought new lands far beyond European borders. Some brothers used the foundational tenets of Masonry to birth the world’s first democracies; yet, the craft endured in unequal societies as well, established by conquerors engaged in exploitive colonization.
Since then, the Masonic contribution to society has endured and expanded, even in societies where cultural values are at odds with Masonic teachings. And, contemporary brothers often find that their fraternity offers a respite from cultural, religious, and economic divides; in some cases even serving as a conduit to political power.
On March 5, join the Institute for Masonic Studies and the UCLA Freemasonry and Civil Society Program for a fascinating exploration of African and Middle Eastern Freemasonry. Learn more about the tensions and permissions that Western social culture has brought to these regions; hear first-person insights on what the fraternity is like there today; learn about contemporary cultural conflicts; and gain a deeper understanding of how Masonic experiences have varied between continents.
This year’s conference will be held in the Grand Horizon Ballroom. This new location features enhanced visibility and acoustics, as well as panoramic views of the UCLA campus.

Registration Fees
International Conference guests may register for the conference only, or may opt to also purchase a catered lunch.

$15     Conference registration
$30     Optional catered lunch

The catered lunch will be served buffet-style, and will feature a hot entrée. Guests may choose to bring their own lunch for consumption at the conference instead. Purchasing or bringing a lunch is recommended, as there are no nearby dining facilities. All conference guests will receive a complimentary continental breakfast and afternoon refreshments.
If you would like to buy a catered lunch, you must pre-register through this website by February 26. Advance credit card payment is required.

Saturday, March 5, 2016
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Pacific Time

University of California, Los Angeles
200 De Neve Drive
Covell Commons, Grand Horizon Ballroom
Los Angeles, California 90095
USA

Saturday, March 5
8:00-8:45 a.m.      
On-Site Registration Opens
8:45-9:00 a.m.          
Welcome by John L. Cooper III, Ph.D., Past Grand Master, Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of California              
9:00-9:50 a.m.          
Presentation by Alain Roger Pierre Coefe, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chairman of the Board, Airtel in Burkina Faso
Question and Answer Session Follows
9:50-10:10 a.m.        
Coffee Break
10:10-11:00 a.m.    
Presentation by Teko Foly, M.B.A., Past Grand Master, Grand Lodge F.A.A.M. of the District of Columbia
Question and Answer Session Follows                                                                    
11:00-11:50 a.m.    
Presentation by Said Chaaya, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research
Question and Answer Session Follows                                                                    
11:50 a.m. -1:00 p.m.          
Lunch
1:00-1:50 p.m.          
Presentation by Michelle Campos, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Florida
Question and Answer Session Follows
1:50-2:20 p.m.          
Discussion Panel
2:20-2:45 p.m.          
Final Remarks
3:00 p.m.                  
Conference Adjourns

5th International Conference on Freemasonry

Alchemical Outlets: The New Business of an Old Science

It occurred to me recently, having seen yet another notice come across my desktop that I had yet to write anything about a specific aspect of Alchemy that is extremely current - that of the Alchemical business.

I have known a few people who dabble in Alchemy and even admit that I fall into that most famous condition, the source of urban legend - knowing someone who knows someone who does it. Thanks to the internet of course, you can encounter everything, even those things which do not really exist. In this case however, I assure, they really do exist.

A new generation has taken it upon themselves to create businesses around their experiments in alchemy. Today, without passing judgement on any of them - for the simple reason that I have not purchased any of their products - I will present a brief notice of several such businesses. I find them all of sufficient interest to be worth sharing with you all. I do hope that some will find them interesting enough to try out their products. They certainly all are interesting and while they are quite different, they all offer captivating presentations of their products.

Without doubt, one of the most interesting of these purveyors of Alchemical substances is a business calling itself Kymia Arts. Of its origins it says, it is

Plant Stone of Artemisia tridentata

"a foundation for alchemical studies and practices. It provides a platform that educates the public on matters of alchemy, truth, consciousness, and nature. The laboratory work of Kymia Arts focuses mainly on metallic alchemy and animal alchemy, but also incorporates small amounts of mineral and herbal alchemy. Kymia Arts was established in 2013 by Avery Hopkins after a decade’s worth of travel, study, and practice in the alchemical arts. Avery makes his intimately crafted alchemical works available to the world through his writings, Laboratory preparations, and personal mentorships."

One of the most interesting items they have posted about on their Facebook page is a plant stone made from Artemisia tridentata.  According to Avery, plant stones have the ability of extracting all three principles of an herb - sulfur, Mercury, and salt - free of heat in just a few minutes. This serves as part of their working shop, but their products include a range of oils and spagyrics, including oils of mercury, silver, and gold as well as a fearsome sounding Coyote Spagyric,  I urge you to visit their site and learn about all their products.


Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab describe themselves as Purveyors of fine esoteric goods, perfumes and potions, and state that their


"scents are unique to Black Phoenix, are all created in-house by Elizabeth Barrial or Brian Constantine, and every single one is hand-blended. We have over fifteen years of experience in the field, and specialize in integrating mythology, archetypes, folklore, poetry, and visual artwork with scent."

Their oils bear names such as Palmyra, Diable en Bôite, and my favorite, Krampus. All are
followed by lengthy quotes from appropriate literary sources and much briefer, but more useful descriptions which assist in determining what they actually consist of and how they smell. Krampus, for example, is described as smelling like "Sinister red musk, black leather, dusty rags, and wooden switches."

Alchemy Lab Supply does not perhaps cloak its website in quite as much art as the previous two, but it is after all, primarily a lab supply company. Of course, it's equipment is geared toward alchemists rather than the average medical of chemistry lab. Still, there is plenty to entertain the imagination to be had in simply looking at the photographs of their products.  I will have to follow up now pretty soon with some information on recent books on the same theme.

Mystery and Benevolence: Masons and Odd Fellows at the American Folk Art Museum

A fascinating and beautiful exhibition of Folk Art related to Fraternal Organizations will be on view at the American Museum of Folk Art in New York from January 21st- May 8th, 2016.

The majority of the art in this exhibit represents works related to both the various Masonic orders and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a religiously and politically independent fraternal order of odd fellows founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

The website of the American Museum of Folk Art describes the exhibit in these words:

Enigmatic, evocative, and often simply strange, fraternal references are a rich part of contemporary American popular culture. But the seductive mystique of secret societies, with their cryptic signs, gestures, and arcane rituals, has been inculcated in our American experience since the early eighteenth century. Before the age of mass production, the artist who painted a portrait or embellished a piece of furniture might have also decorated a parade banner, an apron, symbols on a chart, or a backdrop for a fraternal lodge. More important, he or she encoded the ideals of fellowship, labor, charity, passage, and wisdom—the core of fraternal teachings—into the many forms associated with fraternal practice. The iconic art and objects showcased in Mystery and Benevolence relate the tenets of fraternal belief through a potent combination of highly charged imagery, form, and meaning. The exhibition explores the fascinating visual landscape of fraternal culture through almost two hundred works of art comprising a major gift to the American Folk Art Museum from Kendra and Allan Daniel.

Since the American Folk Art Museum opened in 1961, it has focused on the remarkable traditions of art by the self-taught , commonly referred to as Folk Art. It has been a center of scholarship which has sought to educate the public about the creativity of artists with unique talents that have been forged through personal experience rather than one or another form of structured artistic training. The museum considers folk art to reflect the true values of American culture. Its collection includes more than seven thousand artworks dating from the eighteenth century to the present, from portraits and quilts to works by living folk artists in a variety of mediums.

Co-curators: Stacy C. Hollander, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Chief Curator, and Director of Exhibitions, American Folk Art Museum, and Aimee E. Newell, Director of Collections, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. An exhibition catalog will be available.

American Folk Art Museum

2 Lincoln Square

(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets)

New York, NY 10023

212. 595. 9533

info@folkartmuseum.org

Admission is free

Black Freemasonry: From Prince Hall to the Giants of Jazz

Black Freemasonry: From Prince Hall to the Giants of Jazz
By Cécile Révauger

Cécile Révauger traces the history of black Freemasonry from the late 1700s through the 1960s. Black lodges were instrumental in helping American blacks transcend the horrors of slavery and prejudice, achieve higher social status, and create their own spiritually-based social structure, which in some cities arose prior to the establishment of black churches.

Pages : 320
Book Size : 6.00 x 9.00
ISBN-13 : 9781620554876
Imprint : Inner Traditions
Release Date : January 02, 2016
Format : Hardcover Book & Kindle
Illustrations : 29 b&w photographs

The history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement

• Examines the letters of Prince Hall, legendary founder of the first black lodge

• Reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Nat King Cole

• Explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois

When the first Masonic lodges opened in Paris in the early 18th century their membership included traders, merchants, musketeers, clergymen, and women--both white and black. This was not the case in the United States where black Freemasons were not eligible for membership in existing lodges. For this reason the first official charter for an exclusively black lodge--the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts--was granted by the Grand Lodge of England rather than any American chapter.

Through privileged access to archives kept by Grand Lodges, Masonic libraries, and museums in both the United States and Europe, respected Freemasonry historian Cécile Révauger traces the history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Abolition Movement and the Civil War to the genesis of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1900s up through the 1960s. She opens with a look at Prince Hall, legendary founder and the chosen namesake when black American lodges changed from “African Lodges” to “Prince Hall Lodges” in the early 1800s. She reveals how the Masonic principles of mutual aid and charity were more heavily emphasized in the black lodges and especially during the reconstruction period following the Civil War. She explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, founder of the NAACP, among others.

Looking at the deep connections between jazz and Freemasonry, the author reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, and Paul Robeson. Unveiling the deeply social role at the heart of black Freemasonry, Révauger shows how the black lodges were instrumental in helping American blacks transcend the horrors of slavery and prejudice, achieve higher social status, and create their own solid spiritually based social structure, which in some cities arose prior to the establishment of black churches.


http://www.innertraditions.com/black-freemasonry.html

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Freemasonry

Holiday Wishes

The Hedge Mason wants to offer the very best wishes to all in this holiday season, no matter how you celebrate them, or not! Most of all, we hope to see much more peace in the coming year.

Mainstream US Freemasonry should Follow Scotland's Example

A little holiday cheer. If all the mainstream Grand Lodges in the US would follow Scotland's example and provide the equivalent at all lodge meetings, membership would quadruple overnight.

Grand Master Mason's CHOICE whisky. Produced exclusively for The Grand Lodge of Antient Free & Accepted Masons of Scotland by the Isle of Arran Distilleries this robust 46% proof Single Scotch Malt Whisky is a reflection of the character of Arran Malt Whisky but of Scottish Freemasonry itself! 

http://www.grandlodgescotland.com/