Freemasonry teaches moral lessons and self-knowledge through participation in a progression of alleg orical two-part plays, which are learnt by heart and performed within each lodge.

Freemasonry offers its members an approach to life which seeks to reinforce thoughtfulness for others, kindness in the community, honesty in business, courtesy in society and fairness in all things. Members are urged to regard the interests of the family as paramount but imp ortantly Freemasonry also teaches and practices concern for people, care for the less fortunate and help for those in need.

Why do people join and remain members?

People become Freemasons for a variety of reasons, some as the result of family tradition, others upon the introduction of a friend or out of a curiosity to know what it is all about.

Those who become active members and who grow in Freemasonry do so principally because they enjoy it. They enjoy the challenges and fellowship that Freemasonry offers. There is more to it, however, than just enjoyment.

Participation in the dramatic presentation of moral lessons and in the working of a lodge provides a member with a unique opp ortunity to learn m ore about himself and encourages him to live in such a way that he will always be in search of becoming a better man, not better than someone else but better than he himself would otherwise be and therefore an exemplary member of society.

Each Freemason is required to learn and show humility through initiation. Then, by progression through a series of degrees he gains insight into increasingly complex moral and philosophical concepts, and accepts a variety of challenges and responsibilities which are both stimulating and rewarding. The structure and working of the lodge and the sequence of ceremonial events, which are usually followed by social gatherings, offer members a framework for companionship, teamwork, character development and enjoyment of shared experiences.

Who can join?

Membership is open to men of all faiths who are law-abiding, of good character and who acknowledge a belief in God. Freemasonry is a multi-racial and multi-cultural organisation. It has attracted men of goodwill from all sect ors of the community into membership. There are similar Masonic organisations for women.

Is Freemasonry a religion?

Freemasonry is not a religion. It has no theology and does not teach any route to salvation. A belief in God, however, is an essential requirement for membership and Freemasonry encourages its members to be active in their own religions as well as in society at large.

Although every lodge meeting is opened and closed with a prayer and its ceremonies reflect the essential truths and m oral teachings common to many of the w orld’s great religions, no discussion of religion is permitted in lodge meetings.

Is Freemasonry a secret society?

Freemasonry is not a secret society, but lodge meetings, like meetings of many other social and professional associations, are private occasions open only to members.

Freemasons are encouraged to speak openly about their membership, while remembering that they undertake not to use it for their own or anyone else’s advancement. As members are sometimes the subject of discrimination which may adversely affect their employment or other aspects of their lives, some Freemasons are understandably reticent about discussing their membership. In common with many other national organisations, Grand Lodge neither maintains n or publishes a list of members and will not disclose names or member’s details without their permission.

In circumstances where a conflict of interest might arise or be perceived to exist or when Freemasonry becomes an issue, a Freemason must declare an interest.

The rules and aims of Freemasonry are available to the public. The Masonic Year Book, also available to the public, contains the names of all national office-holders and lists of all lodges with details of their meeting dates and places.

The meeting places and halls used by Freemasons are readily identifiable, are listed in telephone direct ories and in many areas are used by the local community for activities other than Freemasonry. Freemason’s Hall in London is open to the public and ‘open days’ are held in many provincial centres.

The rituals and ceremonies used by Freemasons to pass on the principles of Freemasonry to new members were first revealed publicly in 1723. They include the traditional forms of recognition used by Freemasons essentially to prove their identity and qualifications when entering a Masonic meeting. These include handshakes which have been much written about and can scarcely be regarded as truly secret today; for medieval Freemasons, they were the equivalent of a ‘pin number’ restricting access only to qualified members.

Many thousands of books have been written on the subject of Freemasonry and are readily available to the general public. Freemasonry offers spokesmen and briefings for the media and provides talks to interested groups on request. Freemasons are proud of their heritage and happy to share it.

Is Freemasonry involved in politics?

Freemasonry is definitely not a political organisation, it has no political agenda, and discussion of politics is not permitted at lodge meetings.

Freemasonry naturally tends to attract those with a concern for people and a sense of social responsibility and purpose. There are members, therefore, who are involved in politics at local, national and international level. Equally there are members who take an active interest in non-Masonic charitable organisations and other community groups.

Is Freemasonry involved in the community?

From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been involved in charitable activities, and since its inception it has provided supp ort for many widows and orphans of Freemasons as well as for others within the community.

All monies raised for charity are drawn from amongst Freemasons, their families and friends, while grants and donations are made to Masonic and non-Masonic charities alike.

Over the past five years alone Freemasonry has raised m ore than £75m for a wide range of charitable purposes including those involved in medical research, community care, education and work with young people.

Freemasonry has an enviable record or providing regular and consistent financial supp ort to individual charities over long periods while at the same time making thousands of grants to local charities, appeals and projects throughout England and Wales each year. for the future, opp ortunities to obtain or provide matched funding are periodically examined with a view to enhancing the impact of the supp ort Freemasonry can give to specific projects. The personal generosity of Freemasons and the collective fundraising efforts of almost 8,000 lodges, however, will continue to determine the contribution Freemasonry makes within the community.

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Marking a decade of successful international conferences, The Canonbury Masonic Research Centre is pleased to announce that its Eleventh International Conference, scheduled for 24-25 October 2009, is now a joint-venture project being co-organised with the Centre for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism (CRFF), Sheffield University.

The theme of this year’s event is “The origins of Freemasonry” and will include keynote addresses delivered by three internationally acclaimed scholars in the field: Dr. Margaret Jacob, Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Professor Dr. José Antonio Ferrer Benimeli, Founder and Director of the Centro de Estudios Históricos de la Masoneria Espanola (CEHME), Zaragoza University, and Dr. David Stevenson, Professor Emeritus of Scottish History at the University of St Andrews.

And the conference weekend will commence with a showing (for speakers and delegates only) of a film called The Scottish Key – a recently made documentary which examines the various theories of masonic origin – during the evening of Friday 23 October at University College London.

Conference tickets are now available priced £99 each (price includes Friday evening film showing and drinks reception, conference attendance and a buffet luncheon on both days). Cheques should be made payable to the ‘CMRC’ and sent to: The Conference Organiser, Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, Canonbury Tower, Canonbury Place, London N1 2NQ. Please be sure to include your full name and contact details (including phone number) with your payment and state if you have any specific dietary requirements. Please also note that the CMRC does not accept credit card payment.

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The sub-title to this book is The History of the Order of Women Freemasons 1908 – 2008 and it’s been published to coincide with the Centenary of the Order. In fact, more than five thousand members and guests, gathered for a special, celebratory meeting at London’s Royal Albert Hall, in June. The author, is the Order’s Grand Registrar and Librarian and she states in her Preface: “This book is not intended to be a critical history of the Order of Women Freemasons but it is hoped that it is as objective as possible.

The Open Door was written for members of the Order and interested outsiders. It therefore assumes some knowledge of Freemasonry, which is readily found in this information age.” The book outlines how it all began, with Freemasonry for women, first entering this country from France in 1902, as mixed lodges of men and women, or Co-Masonry. Six years later, there was a split amongst the Brethren, with some Co-Masons objecting to being controlled by the French, so they went to found a new Order for themselves. Those who remained, formed The Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry, on 20th June 1908, with its first Grand Master, the Rev. Dr William Frederick Cobb. Since 1912 though, the Grand Masters have all been women, the first, from 1912 to 1927, being Marion Lindsay Halsey, who was married to the younger son of Sir Thomas Halsey, Baronet and Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, at that time.

The new Order at first, included both men and women but in the 1920s, the decision was taken to restrict entry to women only and no longer admit men, as visitors. Some men remained in Office but by 1935, the Order had become an exclusively female organisation and remains so. The Order, is the oldest and largest masonic organisation for women in this country, with around six thousand members United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe. There was a split, back in 1913, with a group of women forming themselves into the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasonry. Because of possible confusion, in 1958, the words “Order of Women Freemasons” were added to the title. In 1924, a member gave the freehold of 27 Pembridge Gardens, in London’s Notting Hill, as a permanent home and headquarters for the Order.

Inside this listed building, is a Grand Temple and a smaller Temple. Probably, the most interesting parts of the book, concerns the reaction of United Grand Lodge, to the news that some of their members were attending meetings of the new Order and the subsequent Appeal and Petition, nine years later. In March 1910, UGLE issued a directive to all lodges, forbidding such visits and threatening sanctions, if members disobeyed. A confirmation of the ban was made in 1919, when a Petition was drawn up to be presented to United Grand Lodge. The reply, did not come until February 1921, in a letter from Philip Colville Smith, the then Grand Secretary of UGLE, in which he states that the Board “will continue to exercise its disciplinary powers towards any member working under the English Jurisdiction who violates his obligation by being present at or assisting in assemblies professing to be Masonic, which are attended by women.” So that was that and it remains the same. This book is extremely interesting and later chapters inform of the later developments, since the 1920s.

To compliment this book, there is also an exhibition about the Order, currently on at Freemasons’ Hall, in London, entitled: Women and Freemasonry: The Centenary, which is well worth a visit.

Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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Now, this really is an invaluable book for all Masons. Many go through their initiation, then progress through the other degrees, not really understanding the significance of what they’ve experienced.

But this book looks at all aspects of the three ceremonies in Craft Masonry, including the Tracing Boards, and then moves the reader on to discover in himself, how he can truly make that daily advancement in masonic knowledge.

The fourth Tracing Board, the Centre, is also illustrated and explained. The Mason is also encouraged to think a little deeper about his place within the lodge and to realise that the lodge is a model of human consciousness and how each Office within the lodge typify the sevenfold parts of the human mind, to form balance and harmony. At the end of the book, ways of achieving masonic meditation, is also explained.

A fascinating little book, which is also small enough to slip into your pocket, so it could always be on hand.

Published by Lewis Masonic at £9.99 – Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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Hibiscus Lodge was founded in Miami Beach, Florida in 1948 and so this year, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The name of the lodge was selected because the hibiscus flower in Florida, is the one that most closely resembles the forgetme- not. Created by the Brothers of the lodge, is the Hibiscus Foundation and as part of its continuing masonic education, the Foundation sponsors this publication.

As stated in the front of the book, The Hibiscus Masonic Review (this is Volume 2 / 2008) welcomes papers on masonic history or culture, and in this edition there is a variety of different articles, including The Old Charges Revisited by Andrew Prescott, Freemasonry: A Brief History of its Origins by Margaret Jacob, Elias Ashmole’s Initiation…and Some More Questions by Yasha Beresiner, Prague and Viennese Freemasonry, the Enlightenment, and the Operations of the True Harmony Lodge of Vienna by William Weisberger, (Re)Fashioning Masonry? Freemason Women in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, 1789-1814 by James Smith Allen, The Chevalier D’Eon de Beaumont by Martin Cherry, The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Le Mozart Noir by Peter Millheiser, and Freemasonry and the Digital Revolution by Mark Tabbert. There’s also a very interesting article on Masonic Journals in Mid- Victorian Britain by Aubrey Newman, in which is pointed out that far from being a modern phenomenon, masonic publications have a history rooted in the time of great importance for the growth of the written word.

In fact, there was a magazine for Freemasons published from 1793 to 1798, but as is pointed out, the continuous history of masonic periodicals in Britain does not really begin until the establishment of the Freemasons’ Quarterly Review in 1834. Robert Crucefix was the man behind the journal and his intention was that it would become: an archive where the events most interesting to Brethren may be recorded and regular biographies given of such worthy Masons who, by their zeal and industry “have advanced the interests of their art” Actually, his real agenda was to promote his idea for an Asylum for Aged and Decayed Freemasons, and also to use the periodical to attack those, including the Grand Master, who opposed the scheme. This book is very informative and fulfils its promise of being an international forum on masonic history.

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Allan Armstrong, has devoted his life to the study of Kabbalah, the metaphysical system which is at the heart of Western spirituality. He has written introductions to a series of books on mysticism, and he is the Prior of the Order of Dionysius & Paul, a religious Order dedicated to a life of contemplation and the study of religion, mythology and symbolism. He’s been the Prior since 1991.

Most scholars see the Kabbalah as an esoteric system of spiritual development, which emerged at the time of medieval Judaism. But there are those who say that its roots go back much further than that and that it is the secret doctrine of spiritual development, which was passed on to the people of Israel by the Moses. The fact is that since it emerged in the late 12th century, the teachings of Kabbalah has influenced some of the world’s esoteric movements, including Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. It is rooted though in the Torah, the divine law at the heart of the Jewish faith and central to it is the Tree of Life, an arrangement of 10 spheres, or Sephiroth, and 22 paths connecting them, which as the book points out, appears at the beginning of the Old Testament, in the first book of the Torah, and at the end of the New Testament, in the closing chapter of Revelations.

The earliest description of the Sephiroth and the 22 paths, appear in the Sepher Yetzirah, a text which was the work of Simeon ben Yohai, the great Jewish sage who lived in Palestine in the 2nd century. The book gives the following quotation from the Sepher Yetzirah, which it says is often used as the basis for the Tree of Life: In thirty-two mysterious Paths of Wisdom did Jah the Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, the Living Elohim, the King of ages, the merciful and gracious God, the Exalted One, the Dweller in eternity, most high and holy – engrave his name by the three Sepharim – Numbers, Letters and Sounds. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth. Twenty-two are the Letters, the Foundation of all things; there are Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve Simple letters. The ineffable Sephiroth are ten, as are the Numbers; and as there are in man five fingers over against five, so over them is established a covenant of strength, by word of mouth, and by the circumcision of the flesh. Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand this wisdom, and be wise by the perception. Search out concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and replace Him who formed it upon his throne.

The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have ten vast regions bound unto them; boundless in origin and having no ending; an abyss of good and of ill; measureless height and depth; boundless to the East and the West; boundless to the North and the South; and the Lord the only God, the Faithful King, rules all these from his holy seat, for ever and ever. This book explains that hidden within each one of us is a world of beauty and peace, which is the secret garden of the soul and central to the Kabbalah is how to gain access to that wonderful garden of tranquillity, where the Divine Presence resides, so that we can all live a happier and peaceful life. This is no lightweight book but it is written in an easily understandable form for those who are searching for a more peaceful path, in an ever more complex and confusing world. There is an extensive Foreword to this book, written by R.A. Gilbert, the noted esoteric scholar, who has written many books, including The Treasure of Montsegur, Mysticism, and Casting the First Stone.

Published by Imagier Publishing at £15.99 – Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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This well known and accomplished masonic author takes a look at the ritual and provides an incredibly informative guide to understanding what we all repeat during the various ceremonies. The book explains the meaning behind the ritual and its history, concentrating on the First, Second and Third Degree ceremonies, plus the Charge After Initiation, the Installation Ceremony, as well as the Mark Degree and the Holy Royal Arch.

Those, in particular, who struggle with the Royal Arch, will find the relevant sections invaluable. Such as, why are we called Companions and why do we take seven steps? The author also provides commentary on the Royal Arch Officers, Banners, Ensigns and Implements. This is such a valuable little book, for Masons of all levels. I defy any Brother to say he hadn’t learned something after reading it.

Published by Lewis Masonic at £9.99

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The sub-title to this book is The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and his Egyptian Rite and the Count, a renowned alchemist, healer and Freemason was known throughout Europe during the 18th century. In fact, he was somewhat of a cult figure and was featured in novels by Alexander Dumas, a drama by Goethe and the character of Sorastro in Mozart’s Magic Flute was said to be based on him. Since his death in 1795, clairvoyants have said they’ve been in contact with him and even the author and magician, Aleister Crowley claimed that one of his past lives was Cagliostro. Being somewhat of a celebrity of his day though, did not stop him from being arrested, tortured, tried, convicted and incarcerated in the Inquisition fortress of San Leo in Tuscany, for six years until his death. His crime? Well, the most serious charge was that of being a Freemason. So, who was this man with the noble title?

As we find out in the book, according to his own memoirs, even he didn’t know the name of his parents or the place of his birth, stating: I do not know the place where I was born nor the parents who gave me birth. Different circumstances in my life have aroused in me doubts and suspicions which the reader may share. But I repeat that all my researches in this respect have resulted only in giving me, it is true, great but vague and uncertain ideas as to my birth. My tutor always told that I was left an orphan at the age of three months, and that my parents were noble and Christians, but he kept the most absolute secrecy as to their name and the place of my birth. Some words spoken at random have made me suspect that I was born at Malta, but this is a matter which it has always been impossible to verify. Authors, Philippa and Robert lead us through his life, which began around 1748, and tell us of his extraordinary story and how they rediscovered in the museum and library of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, a forgotten manuscript, his Rite of Egyptian Freemasonry.

Even his initiation into Freemasonry is unknown, with some suggesting he entered the Craft in Malta, while others suggest Germany, or The Hague in the Netherlands. Fascinatingly enough though, we’re informed that there is evidence to suggest that he attended an initiation in the Soho district of London, in 1776. He wrote: For a long time I had known the zeal of the English for Masonry. When I came to this island, my first care was to visit their Lodges. I made inquiries as to the names of those among them where French was spoken. The Loge d’Esperance was indicated to me as one of the most regular. As we learn in the book, the Count spent a lot of time travelling around Europe and attending lodge meetings and at some stage he was initiated into a fringe branch of Masonry. He then, in 1779, decided to establish his own form of Freemasonry, to be known as Maconnerie Egyptienne, or Egyptian Masonry. It began to flourish and can be seen why as extracts of lectures given by Cagliostro can be read in this intriguing book. Part of one lecture was written down by one of Cagliostro’s pupils and in it, Freemasonry is given its mystical place: Moses,

Elijah and Christ are the three chief presiding beings over the earthly globe and the most perfect Freemasons that have existed up until now. Further on it states: Freemasonry is the school in which those who are educated are destined for sacred mysticism, but the lower orders of Freemasons reckon nothing of these matters, and their attention is diverted into various channels in order that their secret superiors can watch them better and can make the worthiest amongst them for higher purposes. It continues: Cagliostro is one of Elijah’s subordinates.

He has already attained the third grade. Elijah’s disciples never die, unless they become perverts to Black Magic, and will, after completing well on their earthly career, be translated to Heaven, as was their lofty teacher. But beforte they reach the number twelve, they are sometimes purged by an apparent death, but, so to speak, always rise again from their own ashes. In this way, the Phoenix represents the allegory of these beneficent Magicians! As the authors state, Cagliostro’s system of Freemasonry, was a gateway to the Hermetic teachings involving the magical schooling of the spirit, soul and physical body leading to extraordinary powers and realization of the immortality of the soul. Cagliostro set up the Mother Lodge in Lyons and became convinced that his form of Freemasonry was superior and through its rituals a Mason could achieve spiritual alchemy or divine perfection. What a truly amazing character Cagliostro was, and what a truly amazing book this is. Although a writer on the occult, this is the first book by Philippa Faulks, while Robert Cooper is a Scottish Freemason and Curator of the Museum and Library of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh and also the author of The Rosslyn Hoax? and Cracking the Freemason’s Code.

Published by Watkins Publishing at £16.99 – Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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This book is full of characters from history including not only Elias Ashmole but also Inigo Jones, Nicholas Stone and Sir Christopher Wren. We can follow Newtonian philosophy, the influence of men like the Duke of Chandos and of course the towering influence of Desaguliers and Anderson, and the ever present Royal Society seeming to make recurrent appearances. All illuminated against the background of the Jacobite-Hannoverian and Whig-Tory tensions of the times that swirled through England. In the mid 18th century, as Harrison says: “the changes in ritual, the reorganisation, and the centralisation led to rebellions, most notably in York and with the creation of the Antients”.

He continues: “The 18th century seemed to have been a period that saw Freemasonry expand and develop, influencing and inspiring many leading public figures. Such people, found within the society, diverse ideals, with each person finding a different sense of meaning and belonging within the Craft. Before the 1720s, there were only two “degrees” but, as we shall see, these were extended into three degrees by the leaders of the “Moderns”.

The rituals of the first three degrees are today of a non- Christian flavour, and are interlaced with mythical legends, which are linked with ancient Egypt and the Old Testament. King Solomon’s Temple features prominently, and the fate of his chief architect, Hiram Abiff, is revealed as the three degrees are passed. Many works were published in the 18th century that revealed different elements of the Masonic Craft ritual, along with other works, that attempted to explain the meaning and history behind Freemasonry. James Anderson’s Constitutions of the Free-masons, in 1723, the first of many editions to be published as “Modern” Freemasonry developed, put forward an ancient “history” of Freemasonry and presented the regulations of the Premier Grand Lodge in London. This was followed by Samuel Prichard’s Masonry Dissected, in 1730, which was seen as one of the earliest “exposé’s” of the Masonic ritual, revealing that Freemasonry by this time had a ritual consisting of three degrees.

The ritual displayed in Prichard’s exposé, discussed the Entered Apprentice as coming from “the Holy Lodge of St. John” and for the first time described the murder of Hiram in Solomon’s Temple, during the Third Degree. In 1756, Lawrence Dermott, the spiritual leader of the “Antient” Grand Lodge, published Ahiman Rezon, otherwise known as A Help to a Brother, which was the “Antients” version of Anderson’s Constitutions, and in it, Dermott actually commented on the dubious credibility of a number of contemporary Masonic exposés.

Later editions of this became quite antagonistic to the “Moderns”, fuelling the fire of hatred between the two English Grand Lodges. The third edition, launched a brutal attack on the “Moderns”, criticising their claims of superiority and what he calls the “ludicrous description of making Modern Masons”. Masonry also attracted the humorists, especially the engravers, such as William Hogarth, who though a Freemason, indulged in various satirical ventures that parodied the pomp and ceremony of the Grand Lodge, and the hypocrisies of certain Freemasons. John Pine, an associate of Hogarth’s, was another engraver who, as a Freemason, became employed by Grand Lodge, engraving the frontispiece of Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 and then illustrating A List of Regular Lodges according to their Seniority & Constitution, in 1735.” This is a three dimensional history of the Craft, not only relating to society but especially the tensions that led to these events. The volume takes us to 1813 and the creation of the United Grand Lodge of England.

It adds fascinating explanations of later rebellions, the Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent and the famous William Preston’s role in it, as well as the later Grand Lodge of Wigan. The author describes how and why it was founded: “Another rebellion within Freemasonry led to the formation of another independent Grand Lodge called The Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent, which was formed on 29th March, 1779. One of the leading figures behind this new Grand Lodge was the Masonic historian and writer William Preston.

Ironically, Preston had written his Illustrations of Masonry a few years previously, which was to become a great influence on the Craft ritual of the future United Grand Lodge of England. The name of The Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent, also echoes the desire for greater localised control, and can be seen as an 18th century statement on a north/south divide, as well as reflecting the schismatic theories on the Masonic ritual. The Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent, was short lived though, conforming, in 1789, after an apology from all of the Brethren who had been expelled 10 years earlier, was accepted by the Premier/Modern Grand Lodge, with Preston and his colleagues becoming reconciled.

Preston, died in 1818, and in his will, he left £500 to the Masonic Fund of Benevolence, and £300 to ensure the annual delivery of the Prestonian Lecture, which is dedicated to the history of the Craft, and still continues today. Preston, was born in Edinburgh in 1742, first working as a printer, before moving to London where he entered journalism, becoming the editor of the London Chronicle. Soon after his arrival in London, in 1762, he joined a lodge under the jurisdiction of the “Antients”. This lodge had been formed by a number of Scottish Freemasons, coming from Edinburgh, who had originally planned to create a London lodge under the jurisdiction of theGrand Lodge of Scotland. But the idea was rejected, as it was thought the lodge may interfere with the Premier/Modern Grand Lodge of England, so the Scottish Grand Lodge recommended the Scottish Masons to the “Antient” Grand Lodge instead, who welcomed the them.

In 1772, Preston instigated the change over of the lodge from the “Antients” to the “Moderns”, and in the same year published his Illustrations of Masonry. He proceeded to deliver a series of lectures on Freemasonry, and joined the Lodge of Antiquity, in 1774, where he instantly became Worshipful Master. Preston’s Masonic career became quite colourful and controversial. He reformed Masonic lectures and attempted to create a Grand Chapter in 1787, otherwise known as the Order of Harodim, which, despite its elaborate title, was merely a Lodge of Instruction, especially created to deliver his revised lectures on Masonic ritual. The Grand Chapter, which seems to have been controversial from the outset, died with its creator, in 1818. Preston, perhaps attracted to the more ancient claims being made at the time, developed a liking for the York Grand Lodge, and in his Illustrations of Masonry he stressed the ancient origins of Freemasonry in York, and its subsequent influence all over Europe. He also suggested that there was antagonism between the Premier/Modern Grand Lodge of London and the York Grand Lodge, in the 1730s, which was a result of the increasing influence of the London based Grand Lodge within the territory of the York.

This claim is rejected by Gould in his History of Freemasonry, though Gould seems to be constantly critical of Preston, almost dismissing him as a mere maverick, and continually sided with the Premier/Modern Grand Lodge. Having been a Freemason under the “Antients”, the “Moderns” and the York Grand Lodges, Preston seemed to have been a figure who was constantly searching for something within Freemasonry, and was certainly interested in the historical and more mystical elements of the ritual. His frequent moves between the various Grand Lodges, seems to reflect personal motives, for example, his move from the “Antients” to the “Moderns”, in 1772, coincided exactly with the publication of his first major Masonic work, gaining instant prestige within the Craft.

His Masonic career also attests to the fact that someone who was interested in Freemasonry at this time, had a choice of a number of Grand Lodges, all seemingly official, and all of which were competing against each other for prospective members. The formation of the Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent, erupted from a group of Freemasons from the Lodge of Antiquity, including William Preston, who decided to follow the Grand Lodge of all England held at York, after a dispute within the lodge, which concerned an incident in which the lodge wore Masonic dress during a procession from the local Church to the lodge room. A small number of brethren took offence at this, as Masonic public processions had been banned by the “Premier/Modern” Grand Lodge since the early 1740s, and complained about Preston, who was then threatened with expulsion, and forced to apologise. Despite this, three of those who had complained were subsequently expelled by the majority of the Brethren at the lodge of Antiquity. The lodge was ordered to reinstate the expelled Brethren, by the “Premier/Modern” Grand Lodge, but it did not, moving instead, to join the York Grand Lodge. These rebel Masons from the Lodge of Antiquity, then stole the lodge jewels and furniture, leaving a small minority from the same lodge to complain about their former Brethren, perhaps in a hope of distancing themselves from the rebels and to confirm beyond doubt their firm allegiance to the “Premier/Modern” Grand Lodge.

After joining the York Grand Lodge, the rebels were officially expelled by the Premier/Modern Grand Lodge, creating a bitter feud that lasted for 10 years. They responded to the expulsion with the publication of a pamphlet written by the new rebel Grand Secretary, Sealy, which protested against the “disrespectful and injurous manner” and “the false, mean, and scandalous designations annexed to them”. The rebels then went forward to create a constitution that turned their original Lodge of Antiquity, into the Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent. This Grand Lodge only had three lodges under its influence; the original being the Lodge of Antiquity, the second , the Lodge of Perseverance and Triumph, which was constituted at the Queen’s Head Tavern in Holborn, on 9th August, 1779, and the third, the Lodge of Perfect Observance, constituted a few months later at the Mitre Tavern in Fleet Street, on 15th November, 1779. The early years of the Grand Lodge seemed to have gathered a popular following, but by 1789, a report to the Grand Lodge of all England held at York, commented that “the decayed state of the two Lodges was taken into consideration”.

After an investigation into the apparent grave situation of the Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent, it was stated that “upon the whole, the prospect before us seems to be less gloomy than that we have had for some time past”. A statement, which seems to suggest that reconciliation was being considered.” Our history might not be as gloriously monolithic as some would like but it has great richness and diversity to relish. This is a volume to sit on your bookshelf next to Gould’s History of Freemasonry and Knoop and Jones’s Freemasons Guide and Companion. I can commend its purchase to any curious and enquiring Brother.

Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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Born out of the pain of war and religious confusion, and allegedly founded by “Knight of the Golden Stone” Christian Rosenkreuz, it is claimed that they possessed the secret of Man and God and that they could turn metal into gold. Also that they have tried to govern Europe in secret, and most amazingly, that they are under the influence of extra terrestrial powers.

Churton informs us of their true philosophy and why such great minds, such as Issac Newton, Robert Boyle, Goethe, Mozart, Elias Ashmole, Rene Descartes, Erasmus Darwin, and Comenius were all attracted to their teachings. The Rosicrucian movement appears to have begun in a similar way to Christianity. Just as the three magi from the east saw the “Christmas Star” so at the beginning of the 17th century a new star appeared in the night sky over Europe.

Out of the debate which followed concerning the importance of the star the Rosicrucian spiritual thinking began. In the opening of the book, Churton reveals to us the importance of revelation in the early 17th century: “It was universally allowed that it was God who revealed (or obscured) his creation to man’s mind. The laws of the universe reflected God’s will. He made it; He wrote the rules. However, beyond the relatively slim volume of known rules lay a dimension of action which men recognised as being miraculous. Men’s expectations could be shattered by miraculous interventions of God’s will. Such occurrences threw man back into a position of awe-struck dependency, mindful of the perils of sin and the need for salvation. In short, whatever Man might discover by himself, the most significant knowledge came from God’s revelation.

Man could measure but only because God had made the archetypes of measurement. He dispensed this knowledge through His Son and through the angels (or messengers) who ruled the stars and the planets beneath His Throne. The universe was rational because it expressed God’s mind; the cosmos had been measured into being. God enlightened the ‘higher reason’ (intellectus) of the wise; Man’s ordinary capacities of reason were not autonomous and were limited, just as Man without God was woefully finite, even damned. The wise relied on wisdom from above. They needed inspiration. Inspiration means the gift of spirit, breath or living divine intelligence coming into the person. God was the ‘stone’ that fell on the fortunate wise, winnowing his mind – separating the wheat from the chaff, the gold from the dross.

If the inner cup was clean, God could pour his new wine into the truly open mind of the savant. This experience gave him dramatically increased powers of perception. Higher knowledge and spiritual experience were thus inseparable. For those blessed with the eyes to see, aspects of the divine mind could be found expressed within nature. As both Genesis and Aristotle taught, without God’s creative hand matter was formless, a void. Real knowledge of the universe was knowledge of God’s creative being and will. This knowledge was invisible to men and women in their ordinary, unlightened condition. Our word ‘rational’ comes from a Latin word meaning ‘calculation’. Our dim calculations were seen as shadows or copies of God’s mighty, pristine calculations. Mathematically speaking, God worked with infinite series. Man being mortal could only really comprehend finite series. God was the Master; we were the pupils with the copy books.

The creation was writ with God’s radiant finger on the blackboard of space. The universe was a manifestation – a projection – of God’s creative nature, his Wisdom. Wisdom was often personified as a female figure and could be discerned throughout the cosmos. The wise were enjoined to seek her. Science was a province of wisdom. That explains why the ‘magi’ (members of a tribe of astronomers) are know to us as ‘the wise men’. They followed the patterns of wisdom, discernible in the stars. The universe was a book; an open codex or mystic scroll; the stars could be read. Reading the celestial text was possible because the planets moved. Roaming from constellation to constellation, the planets could be seen moving in relation to one another. Take Venus, for example. Sometimes she would rise into view just before the Sun rose in the east. Sometimes she appeared as the Sun set in the west. Equipped with four compass points, a background of observable stars – and occasional ‘guest stars’ called comets – and seven moving bodies (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), the ancient astronomers had all the players necessary for an amazing nightly drama series. What is more, everything that happened out there was, in the profoundest sense, reflected in life here on Earth, the apparent centre of it all.

Life was one and its essence was movement. As above, so below. That was the ancient principle. Our lives mirrored the heavens. If you knew how to read the celestial text the truth was, indeed, out there. While for mystics the truth was not only discerned by external observation, the kingdom of the heavens was, at the same time, within you. If you looked hard enough and were graced with divine revelation, you would see how the workings of the stars and planets were reflected in the mind and the body, in the soul and in the spirit. God’s creative Wisdom was all-pervading.” So, it was with this background that formulated 17th century thinking. As Churton points out this followed The Reformation in the previous century, when he states: “16th century Europe had more prophets than all the books of the Hebrew Bible put together.” Following the sighting of the close conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces by Johannes Kepler on 17th December 1603, the phenomenon occurred again as predicted 20 years later in 1623, this time in the sign of Leo.

At the same time, the “Thirty Years War” was raging across Europe and many people were trying to make sense of their lives. Churton explains that it was in this context that the Rosicrucian movement emerged: “As rebellious Protestants were slaughtered in France, with no sign either of the Midnight Lion, or of the Second Coming to save them, an otherwise calm Paris suddenly got into a fluster over the imminent appearance (or disappearance) of groups of people called the ‘Brothers of the Rose Cross’. Only, these were not really people in the ordinary sense at all. These ‘Brothers of the Rose (or Rosy) Cross’ were, when they chose to be, invisible. After ‘Rosicrucian’ leaflets were posted on the recently constructed Pont Neuf (New Bridge) and placards appeared around the city, it was feared that the devilish invisible ones were some kind of protestant supermen on a mission impossible; to plot the overthrow of catholic Europe. What a difference a couple of decades make! The last time Jupiter and Saturn had conjoined, these invisibles had never been heard of.

Perhaps they had been invisible then! On the other hand, could it be that Johannes Kepler was a better predictor than Simon Studion? While Studion’s apocalyptic predictions had been consistently proved wrong, Kepler had modestly suggested that the triple conjunction and supernova of 1604 heralded a significant war, or the appearance of a new sect. In Paris in 1623, it appeared that Kepler’s prediction had come true. There was war alright, and there was as catholic Parisians thought, a new sect – and the war and the sect were connected. And there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Leo, in the fiery trigon – what did it all mean?” It is from this beginning in the book that Churton then explores all aspects of the Rosicrucian movement and the close link with Freemasonry through the ages, up to the 20th century. This book is a must for those interested not only in the Rosicrucians themselves but also in the birth of Freemasonry and other linked fraternal bodies.

Published by Lewis Masonic at £19.99 – Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com

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