Fiat Lux!: Let there be light.

Rediscovering Masonic Light

The York Rite includes the famous and evocative statement, "I beg you to observe that the Light of a Master Mason is Darkness Visible." Recently I have had a number of thought provoking discussions with a mason whose goal in life is to emulate the legendary Dutch boy who put his finger in the dyke to save his town from being inundated by the sea.

This brother seems to think no innovation has occurred in the fraternity since the Pharoah Narmer created the whole kit and kaboodle in two days; we mustn't have any talk of one day events, here! We must keep everything pure and unadulterated, no innovation, and God forbid, no change. Also, there is only one form of Freemasonry and even the smallest variation is a sin. And oh, we never advertise. I daresay, he'd rather the entire fraternity disappear than be one iota different than it is in his imagination.

Well, fortunately for us, this has not always been the view held by our brethren. In 1923, a Packard auto dealership in L.A. purchased the first commercial neon signs from Georges Claude. We don't know when or where the first use of neon signs by a Masonic Lodge occurred, but we know that for decades they were extremely popular. Neon signs have made darkness visible in front of lodges across the nation for more than half a century, shamelessly! Dare we say it, they advertised the presence of the fraternity for all to see, even in darkness.

Here are just a small handful that I found. In an effort to share the light, I offer them to you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. More than that, I hope they serve to remind all Masons, whatever obedience they may belong to, that we must not ask whether we are allowed to share our light in innovative ways, but that if we fail to do so, we will indeed make our darkness visible for all to see.

Fiat Lux!

Conference: The Source of Masonic Symbols: The Western Esoteric Tradition.

Aux sources des symboles maçonniques : la tradition ésotérique occidentale

A Conference to be delivered by Jan Snoek this Tuesday, February 28 as part of Gremme will be devoted to exploring the sources of Masonic symbols, shedding new light on specific elements of the symbolic construction of and naming of different degrees.

Conference Summary: The study of "Western esotericism" as a scientific discipline, including astrology, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, alchemy, Kabbalah, hermeticism, the cult of Astrea, Rosicrucianism, or the occult in the nineteenth century. Freemasonry is also included. Although all these currents are distinct, their founders were still scholars familiar with the literature produced by earlier movements. Thus, we find many traces in Freemasonry. In this lecture, Professor. Snoek will give examples of symbols and methods characteristic of Freemasonry, whose sources are probably to be found in the movements discussed above as the perfection of oneself (Neoplatonism), the cubic stone (alchemy), the how to spell sacred words (Christian Cabala), or the revival of the golden age under the reign of Astraea (Astraea worship).

Dr. Jan Snoek, Ph.D. (1987) in the Sciences of Religions, University of Leiden (The Netherlands), is attached to the Institute for the Sciences of Religions at the University of Heidelberg (Germany), and published widely about the development of masonic rituals. With Jens Kreinath and Michael Stausberg he published Theorizing Rituals (two volumes), Brill 2006 & 2007, and with Alexandra Heidle Women’s Agency and Rituals in Mixed and Female Masonic Orders, Brill 2008.

When: Tuesday, February 28 at 18h
Where: at CIERL, 17 av. F. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels
Admission: Free admission, no reservations
Information: Anna Maria Vileno avileno@ulb.ac.be

Jan Snoek studied Religious Studies at Leiden (Netherlands). After his PhD he was devoted to the history and development of Masonic rituals. It is in this context that he published some eighty articles. In 1996, the ULB conferred on Prof. Snoek The Chair of Théodore Verhaegen. Since 2000 he is professor at the Institute of Religious Sciences at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). In 2009 he was appointed Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Recently, he published: Einführung in die Westliche Esoterik, für Freimaurer (Introduction to Western Esotericism, for Freemasons), Zürich 2001. Soon appear on his book "Rite of Adoption" (in English by Brill in January 2012 and French in Dervy in September 2012).

http://gremmenews.blogspot.com/

The Story of the Scottish Rite Lodge of New Orleans

The Story of the Scottish Rite Lodge of New Orleans
Edited by Gerry L. Prinsen
Introduction by Michael R. Poll
http://cornerstonepublishers.com/lodgeno.html

For many years in the mid to late 1800's, and in all of the classic Louisiana Masonic history books of the time, it was believed and written that no Freemasonry existed in New Orleans before the creation of Perfect Union Lodge #1 and Etoile Polaire Lodge #1 in the 1790's. Then came a startling discovery in an old lodge in France. Records of an unknown Freemasonry in New Orleans much earlier than the 1790's changed the known history of Freemasonry in Louisiana. This is The Story of the Ecossais Lodge of New Orleans.

Unlike other editions, this edition contains a photographic reproduction of the original handwritten French text, a French transcription and an English translation. Published in association with the Louisiana Lodge of Research.

Part of the Cornerstone Scottish Rite Education Series

Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers under the dedicated eye of Bro. Michael R. Poll.

A sample chapter can be viewed at http://www.cornerstonepublishers.com/lodgeno.pdf

The Hedge Mason believes in giving recognition where it is due, and I believe few have done more to advance the publication of thought provoking and worthy Masonic titles in the US in the 21st Century than has Bro. Michael Poll. Let it be duly noted that the Hedge Mason gets no favors nor remuneration for highlighting any title or work. I haven't even gotten a free copy of any book I mention here, and I have bought most of them.

Mystères Vaudou: Divinities Loas

Mystères Vaudou: Divinities Loas
A Photographic Exhibition

For the tenth anniversary of its opening, La Cantada II is placing itself under the sign of Vodou. The start of the festivities will be marked by an exceptional group show entitled "Vodou Mysteries," which brings together the work of twenty photographers. They will present the core interpretation of the Loas(spirits, angels, entities) of the Voodou pantheon or Haitian Creole religion and you will discover the many facets of the beautiful and sometimes dangerous Erzulie, spirit of love, the disturbing Dantor Ti Jean, fierce spirit, Gran Bwa, the spirit of the forest or Labalenn, Nibo Guede, the Marassa Twins, Baron Samedi ... With photographers: Isaure Anska, Nico Arach, Phylida Dolohov, Elizabeth, Roman Fournier, Christophe Guerin, Soizic Hess, Severine Jambot, Klomoh, Olivier Lelong, Chloe Lynn Dah, Caz In The Machine, Sandrine Mercier, Nicolas Meunier, may Rohrer, Stephane Roy, Lizzie St. in September, Julie Salvain, THN Thierry, Lily Von Venus, and Dorianne Wotton The exhibition (which will last two months) will begin with an opening designed as a Vodou service, with a special Vodou playlist of performances throughout the evening. You can enjoy the vévés (symbolic drawings) of each Spirit represented, painted on the floor of the Cantada. A booklet showing the different deities photographed will also be published and distributed. Opening January 13 at 7:30 pm.

Cantada II
13 Rue Moret , 75011 Paris, France

Initiating Women in Freemasonry: The Adoption Rite

Initiating Women in Freemasonry: The Adoption Rite
By Jan A.M. Snoek

Freemasonry is generally regarded a male phenomenon. Yet, both before 1723 and since 1744, women were initiated as well. This book is about the rituals, used for the initiation of women in the Adoption Lodges, since the middle of the 18th century. It describes their contents, roots and creation before reviewing and conceptualising their development in the past three centuries. It analyses the different families of rituals within the Adoption Rite, and gives an overview of specific developments, showing how the rituals were adapted to their changing contexts. Apart from its relevance for the history of Freemasonry in general and the Adoption Rite in particular, the book also writes a hitherto unknown chapter of women’s history. Of particular interest for the history of feminism is the chapter about the 20th century, which could only be written now that the documents concerning it, which had been moved to Moscow in 1945, had been returned in 2000.

Dr. Jan Snoek, Ph.D. (1987) in the Sciences of Religions, University of Leiden (The Netherlands), is attached to the Institute for the Sciences of Religions at the University of Heidelberg (Germany), and has published widely about the development of masonic rituals. With Jens Kreinath and Michael Stausberg he published Theorizing Rituals (two volumes), Brill 2006 & 2007, and with Alexandra Heidle Women’s Agency and Rituals in Mixed and Female Masonic Orders, Brill 2008.

What can we say about Brill as a publisher? They amaze us constantly for the unique subjects of the material they select, the quality of their authors, and their outrageously steep prices, even for academic publishers. The SRP for this title is $237.00, a bargain at $2.30 per page.

A Real Valentine's Day Story

Now, this is a true love story, and one which everyone should stand in awe of.

Mildred Jeter was of African American and Native American descent, and Richard Loving was a white man. The couple met when she was 11 and he was 17. He was a family friend and years later they began dating. They lived in Virginia, where interracial marriage was banned by the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. When Mildred was 18 she became pregnant, and the couple decided to marry in June 1958. They traveled to Washington, DC to do so.


The Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924 criminalized marriages between white and non-white persons. After the Lovings' return home to the tiny town of Central Point in Caroline County, they were arrested at night by the county sheriff, who had received an anonymous tip. The Lovings were charged under Virginia's anti-miscegenation law with "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth."

The Lovings pled guilty and were convicted by the Caroline County Circuit Court on January 6, 1959. They were sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for 25 years on the condition that they leave the state. They moved to the District of Columbia. In 1964,frustrated by their inability to travel together to visit their families in Virginia, Mildred Loving wrote in protest to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy referred her to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU filed a motion on the Lovings' behalf to vacate the judgment and set aside the sentence, on the grounds that the statutes violated the Fourteenth Amendment. This began a series of lawsuits which ultimately reached the United States Supreme Court. On October 28, 1964, when their motion still had not been decided, the Lovings began a class action suit in United States district court. On January 22, 1965, the district court allowed the Lovings to present their constitutional claims to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Virginia Supreme Court Justice Harry L. Carrico wrote the court's opinion upholding the constitutionality of the anti-miscegenation statutes and affirmed the criminal convictions. (He was later Chief Justice of the Virginia Court.)

The Lovings and ACLU then appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, Loving v. Virginia, was decided unanimously in the Lovings' favor on June 12, 1967. The Court overturned their convictions, dismissing Virginia's argument that the law was not discriminatory because it applied equally to and provided identical penalties for both white and black persons. The Supreme Court ruled that the anti-miscegenation statute violated both the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Lovings returned to Virginia after the Supreme Court decision.

Mildred Loving said she considered her marriage and the court decision to be God's work. She supported everyone's right to marry whomever he or she wished. In 1965, while the case was pending, she told the Washington Evening Star, "We loved each other and got married. We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants."

Many thanks to this remarkable couple!


http://tv.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/arts/television/the-loving-story-an-hbo-documentary.html

Where is Saint Valentine?

For those who might be curious about the real Saint Valentine, here's the dirt on where he lies in rest today, and for nearly two hundred years. The information can be found on
the website for the Irish Carmelites. I have lifted a few pertinent comments from their site.

Throughout the centuries since Valentine received martyrdom there have been various basilicas, churches and monasteries built over the site of his grave. Many restorations and reconstructions took place at the site, therefore over the years. In the early 1800s such work was taking place and the remains of Valentine were discovered along with a small vessel tinged with his blood and some other artefacts.

In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt was visiting Rome. He was well known in Ireland for his skills as a preacher and also for his work among the poor and destitute in Dublin’s Liberties area. He was also responsible for the building of the new church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street. While he was in Rome he was asked to preach at the famous Jesuit Church in the city, the Gesu. Apparently his fame as a preacher had gone before him, no doubt brought by some Jesuits who had been in Dublin. The elite of Rome flocked to hear him and he received many tokens of esteem from the doyens of the Church. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) and were the remains of Saint Valentine.

On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where they were received by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage. During a major renovation in the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them and enable them to be venerated. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand.

The Shrine to St Valentine is found on the right hand side of the church as one enters the main body of the church. The casket sits beneath the marble altar in a niche which is protected by an ornate iron and glass gate. Above the altar stands the life-sized statue of the saint set into a marble mosaic alcove. The saint is also barefoot. The casket is wooden and on top bears the papal coat of arms of Gregory XVI along with two large gold plates which have the letter of Cardinal Odescalchi inscribed in English upon them. Between these to plates and beneath the papal crest is a smaller plate with the inscription: This shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.

The Shrine to St Valentine is found on the right hand side of the church as one enters the main body of the church. The casket sits beneath the marble altar in a niche which is protected by an ornate iron and glass gate. Above the altar stands the life-sized statue of the saint set into a marble mosaic alcove. The saint is also barefoot. The casket is wooden and on top bears the papal coat of arms of Gregory XVI along with two large gold plates which have the letter of Cardinal Odescalchi inscribed in English upon them. Between these to plates and beneath the papal crest is a smaller plate with the inscription: This shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.

http://carmelites.ie/ireland/whitefriar%20st/valentine.htm