A New Cerneau

Joaquim Villalta Mata

Apuntes sobre Joseph Cerneau y su Supremo Consejo del Rito Escocés Antiguo y Aceptado: El otro legado de Étienne Morin

A fascinating new book on a major figure in Masonic history has just been released. Joseph Cerneau has long deserved a fair deal. He has, for millions in the United States, been unjustly positioned as a villain as a result of power struggles which took place after he no longer was a part of North American Masonry.

Yet, for most of Latin America, he remains a major figure and highly regarded. Through this work, Joaquim Villalta brings us closer to the image of this determining and prominent Freemason of the 19th century, restoring his image to the place it deserves within Masonic History, initially in the Rite of Perfection and in its legitimate evolution as the other line of what would come to called the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, derived from the Morin - Francken - Hays affiliation. It should be noted the closeness and permanent collaboration of Cerneau with the Grand Consistories of Rites of the Grand Orient of France, whose Supreme Council was chaired by his friend Germain Hacquet since its foundation.

To purchase click here!

Albert Pike has died for your sins!

Following a day of peaceful protests celebrating Juneteenth, protesters pulled down the statue of Albert Pike in Judiciary Square in Northwest D.C. and set it on fire.

So much for keeping discussions of politics out of the lodge. The pidgeons have come home to roost. Now, I have dear friends who will be having an emotional moment, so I am far from insensitive about the matter. I will state that I am sorry for the distress that I am certain they are feeling at this moment.

That being said, American Masons have been largely disingenuous when it comes to dealing with this symbolic matter, just as they have been with the entrenched racism within North American Freemasonry. It's time to get honest, brothers.

We need to use this moment to deal with the skeletons in our closets, and there are many. Let's get real.

A Persistant Fiction: The A-Political Freemason!

John Wesley Dobbs

Freemasons Are Political and they need to be more so in the fight for Civil Rights today!




There is this persistant myth in the US that Freemasons are a-political. Nothing could be further from the truth. Again and again over the past centuries masons in numerous countries have acted as masons rather than as private citizens to change the course of history.

Freemasons in Ireland consistantly supported uprisings against the English occupation as late as the 19th century.  Indeed, it was such activity and those very masons whose nickname is enshrined in the name of this blog.

There were masons in the US War of Inbependence, and as masons, they helped arrange and carry out the Boston Tea Party, under the name of "Th Sons of Liberty."

Masons were also actively involved in the Haitian Revolution, and subsequently the Bolivarian Revolution which freed Latin America. Masons were active in the Mexican Revolution.

Many masons are proud of these past political activities, until the subject of contemporary civil discord comes up. Teen they all deny it.

In relation to Civil Rights, a particular American Mason stands out. John Wesley Dobbs used the power of African American Freemasons to fight for human dignity. Read his amazing story by following the link below, and be inspired to actually walk the walk like he did!

https://blackartblog.blackartdepot.com/organizations/freemasonry-organizations/john-wesley-dobbs-using-the-power-of-freemasonry-in-the-struggle-for-civil-rights.html

Dreaming and Espiritismo

Long before I knew what Espiritismo was, or had any interest in it, I was a dreamer. I still am. I can in fact recall the time when my dreams decided to initiate me into another world in earnest. That marked my first glimmer of awareness of something more.

I was about 9 years old, and had gone through several days of illness. It wasn't the first time, nor the last. It was however the occasion in which my dreams were carried to a new level. 

At that time, largely bedridden, and with a touch of fever which at least seemed to spike the intensity of the dreams, I embarked on a series of dreams that took me from familiar places to underground worlds and Oz-like scenes of wonder and adventure. It was then that I first experienced solo flight (without any mechanical assistance) and serial dreams which resumed night after night.

Dreams have, a half century later never deserted me. They remain the method by which, despite initiations into various religious and magical traditions, and study of various forms of divination, spirit communicates with me in ways I find most satisfying. 

In dreams, both at night and while awake, the spirits that walk with me communicate, often at length. Spirits have come to teach as well. There was an old Congo who taught me in front of his nkisi on the floor, a class I attended on literal shape shifting (which still requires discipline at the dinner table in waking life) and a woman in a business suit who came to teach me how to throw bones. Dreaming is for me, and for many who practice Espiritismo and Bantu religions, the most consistant means of communion with spirit. 

As one of my spirits remarked once, "When we descend in possession, we visit your world, but when you dream, you visit ours."

TODAY ONLY: To schedule a reading to find out which spirits walk with you in Espiritismo Cruzado, pm Eoghan Craig Ballard on Facebook Messenger to get the particulars. If you pay today (Sun. July 28, 2019) I will extend a $25 discount off my regular fee for a one hour reading.

IN IT TO WIN IT: Olga Ballard's Cancer Fundraiser

Help Olga Ballard fight Stage III Breast Cancer

Olga has lived in the United States for 20 years, having moved here from Cuba to marry her husband Eoghan, an Irish-American whom she met when he was doing research for his degree in Cuba in the 1990s. Over the years they covered the expenses for her parent’s health care during their final illnessses back in Cuba, including her mother’s cancer. As a result, when Olga was diagnosed with Stage III ductal carcinoma, we were not in the financial condition that we were previously.

Having had a lumpectomy for a benign tumor several years earlier, when Olga felt a soreness in her breast again, she did not wait to be examined. The initial results indicated there was no sign of cancer, but the soreness returned. Yet another test showed nothing. However, this spring, suddenly her breast developed a persistent red swelling. This time testing indicated stage III invasive ductal carcinoma.

The Challenges and Changes of Breast Cancer

 Olga has had to put her school on hold while she gets treatment, and is grateful that the medical office in which she works has been incredibly supportive, otherwise she could not manage. Eoghan is working part time so he can be available to support Olga during her chemo sections and doctor’s visits. The insurance that covers her treatments is dependent upon her ability to continue working. Having moved on with Cuban family, has helped to make costs a little more manageable.

While the initial news is extremely encouraging, more funds than we have hope of earning at this time will be needed. Between costly chemotherapy and related treatment, expected radical mastectomy for both breasts and reconstructive surgery, also a total hysterectomy, there will be no savings to turn to for any reason, expected or otherwise. For all these reasons, a Go Fund Me campaign seemed the only choice, and all recommended this course of action.

Our Appeal

We are asking for the generosity of friends and strangers alike. This is something that can happen to anyone, and it doesn’t take into consideration your ability to pay for it, and medical bills aren’t prorated.

Please contribute financially what you can whether small or large. All funds are going toward Olga’s treatment, recovery, and related costs. Olga and Eoghan thank you in advance for any help you offer. We assure you that without you, we will find it more challenging. All the encouragement and support have helped, and we are touched. However, we reluctantly ask for this help.

Click Here To Contribute To Olga Ballard's Fundraiser

Afro-Masonry of the Primitive Rite of Umbanda

Afro-Freemasonry

Sovereign Sanctuary of Brazilian Afro-Masonry

The Afro-Masonry of the Primitive Rite of Umbanda can be defined as an Occult, Real and Living Spiritually Operative Initiation.

It should be Understood that the term Hidden Order is meant to describe a discreet Order, one that does not practice proselytism;

The term occultism refers to the study of the Occult sciences, especially African traditions.

The real and living spiritual operative initiation is the first objective of the order, which focuses on the quality of its members over quantity. We do not propagate honors, merits or ostentatious titles. On the contrary, we promote the spirit of humility that opposes the exaltation of the ego and human vanity. 

The first work of the initiate in the Order is the polishing of the Rough Ashlar, transmuting the Seven Vices or Sins into their corresponding Seven Virtues.

The Primitivo Rito Umbandista is a helio-lunar rite, that is, we accept in our ranks men and women who are noble, of good manners and who yearn for true and real initiation, which brings tangible results in their lives and enables their reintegration into the spiritual world - the heart of the omnipresent.

Afro-Freemasonry was drafted in the 1980s by Umbandistas, who were initiated in Western Traditions, such as Freemasonry, Rosa + Cruz, Martinism, the Gnostic Church, OKRC, Elus Cohen, etc. However, due to the prejudice at the time regarding Afro-Brazilian traditions, especially Umbanda and Candomblé, this project did not advance, remaining guarded and preserved until the best moment to return to light and be implanted in Brazilian lands, under order and direct guardianship of the astral.

It was on September 9, 2017, at Senzala, in the East of Guarulhos, SP, at 3:30 p.m., that NOVE brothers performed the installation of the Brazilian Afro-Masonry of the Rito Primitivo Umbandista, where under the direct supervision of the Astral, the Caboclo Ventania and Vovo Benedito da Calunga made manifest in the center of the temple, under the steadfastness of the seven Orixás, the marked point of strength and protection of the Lodge, which was named after its patron, protector and august spiritual mentor, the Respectable Masonic Lodge "CABOCLO VENTANIA" nº 01.

Not coincidentally that same day, month, year and hour, as well as number of brothers demonstrates the harmony and synchronicity of the astral in this memorable event.

Day Nine - (9)

Month September - (9)

Nine Brothers - (9)

Fifteen hours and thirty minutes - (15:30 = 1 + 5 + 3 + 0 = 9)

Year of Two Thousand and Seventeen - (2017 = 2 + 0 + 1 + 7 = 10 or 1)

The Nine is the number of true initiation, it is the Hermit of the Tarot which guides with the lamp of his wisdom;

The number TEN or UM represents the beginning, it is the IOD, it is the Tarot Magician that connects the top to the bottom. Because the theosophical sum results in the number DEZ, this represents the beginning of a second cycle, since the beginning of the first cycle is represented by the number ONE. Therefore it is a new cycle, which in the Tarot is represented by the blade 10, the Wheel.

Further explanations on Tarot, Kabbalistic numerology and other occult sciences, which explain the advent of Afro-Freemasonry, will be taught and developed within the Order.

Soberano Santuário da Afro-Maçonaria Brasileira

Brother Karen tells it like it is!

It is so rare that someone comes along and writes something refreshing about Freemasonry. It is even more rare that someone is willing to actually speak the truth. That is of course what has always appealed to me about Brother Karen Kidd. She's not only smarter than your average mason, but when she gets some foolishness in her sight, she speaks the truth.

One aspect of Freemasonry that is stressed in all the literature on the Craft is that Freemasons are supposed to maintain the highest standards of behavior and character. None of that seems to apply to any Freemason who is a member of a Masonic Obedience that is not recognized by their own, however.

I have yet to see any "irregular" who took his or her Masonic vows seriously, who didn't show respect toward the overwhelming majority of different obediences. So, it is continuously tiring not to mention disappointing that so many who have initiated into the fraternity are so immature in this matter.

What a breath of fresh air then, when Brother Karen speaks what many of us in the rest of Freemasonry are thinking.

So, without further ado:

Shite the Malecraft say and how I answer when I'm bothered about it.

That pretty much sums it all up! Thank you Karen for telling it like it is, and I'm sorry it took me a couple of months to post this.