Unveiling the Layers: William Hogarth a Master of Metaphor and Masonic Imagery
William Hogarth, an artist deeply entrenched in the Masonic tradition, utilized his art to create a secret tapestry of Freemasonry’s rituals, symbols, and…
BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS
The Early Artists of Grand Lodge
In 2017, The United Grand Lodge of England appointed an Artist in Residence, the South African artist Jacques Viljoen, 28, who has a background in both classical painting and contemporary art. There have been many artists who have graced the annals of Freemasonry.
Historical Origins of the Mark Degree
The Mark is a ceremony or degree [sometimes called the ‘friendly’ degree], conferrable today only to Master Masons and forms part of a hierarchical organization. In Craft Masonry it was quite a late innovation making its appearance during the mid-1700s. However we do know that Operative Masons, without any kind of ceremony, were taking marks 150 years before the Mark came into use as part of that particular ceremony.
The Influence of Kings on Craft Freemasonry
‘From time immemorial’ we have been very fortunate in that our Craft has had the support of Royalty. Without that support I doubt that we would be in…
The “Free” In Freemasonry
WHY IS IT THAT OUR Fraternity bears the name “Freemasonry” instead of “Masonry”? Why the “free” in it? Far back in the Middle Ages a freemason was the name of a builder who could design buildings as well as construct them. He was what we should now call an architect.
THE ROOTS OF FREEMASONRY – W.Bro. Trevor Jenkins, PM Nautilus Lodge No. 4259
For centuries Masonic historians have been puzzled by the motives for, and the purpose of, the formation of the craft of freemasonry, both in its operative, and speculative form, and whilst endeavouring to investigate the mysteries surrounding the formation of our order, it seems that the riddle actually forms itself into three distinct questions
Freemasonry and Initiation
The concept of what constitutes a man is time honored and tested. The traditional role of men has been essential to the development and maintenance of society. Learning to think for ourselves, to form our own judgments, to trust our decisions, to comprehend, to expand our knowledge, to choose this course of action over that, to decide between good and bad, have through the millennia been recognized as the attributes that define a man.
A model of King Solomon’s Temple
T is not a little remarkable that the two cardinal epochs in English Freemasonry were associated with the appearance in London of Models of the Temple of Jerusalem. At the first epoch, that of the Revival of Freemasonry, the Model ascribed to Councillor Schott had arrived in London, and was on exhibition in 1723 and 1730
Globes, pillars, columns and candlesticks
Presented November 20, 1998, at the Vancouver Lodge of Education and Research. In mid September, when the Worshipful Master originally asked me to present…