
freemason
freemason (frê´mâ´sen)
noun
1. Freemason. A member
of the Free and Accepted Masons, an international fraternal and charitable
organization with secret rites and signs.
2. A member of a guild of
skilled itinerant masons during the Middle Ages.
Freemasonry
Freemasonry, largest and most widely established fraternal order in the world. The masons' guilds were originally restricted to stonecutters, but when the building of the cathedrals was completed in the 17th century, they admitted men of wealth or social status. The guilds thus became societies devoted to general ideals, such as fraternity, equality, and peace, and their meetings became social rather than business occasions.
Four or more such guilds, called lodges, united in London on June 24, 1717, and by 1723 this became the Grand Lodge of England. This body is the "mother" grand lodge of Freemasons in the world, and from it all recognized grand lodges have been derived.
Functions
The Masonic fraternity differs radically from other private benevolent societies in that charity extended among members is purely voluntary, depending on the need in each individual case. In most English-speaking countries, the fraternity has established Masonic homes for the care of dependent aged Masons and their widows, and orphanages and schools for the children of members.
Freemasons in America
The earliest of American
lodges were the First Lodge of Boston, established in 1733, and one in
Philadelphia, established about the same time. By the
time
of the American Revolution (1775-1783), about 150 lodges existed in colonial
America. American Freemasons today make up about three-fourths of the total
number of members throughout the world.
Opposition
The Roman Catholic Church
has opposed Freemasonry on the grounds that with its binding principles
and religious nature, it has usurped the prerogatives of the church. As
a result, the Freemasons have never been permitted in some strictly Roman
Catholic countries, such as Spain. Freemasonry does not bar Catholics,
however, and a great many belong to lodges in Latin America and the Philippines.
Freemasonry has also experienced
political opposition. In 1821 William Morgan, a Freemason who had threatened
to publish Masonic secrets, was abducted in Batavia, New York. The kidnapping,
commonly attributed to Masons, produced an outcry against Freemasonry throughout
the eastern and middle United States. In the northern states the Anti-Masonic
Party was formed. The party survived until about 1834.
Theater and Film, 1561
Theater: Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex by English playwrights Thomas Norton, 29, and Thomas Sackville, 25, first earl of Dorset and grandmaster of England's Freemasons. The earliest known English tragedy, it marks the first use of blank verse in English drama (all action occurs offstage).
Human Rights and Social Justice, 1826
Batavia, N.Y., freemason William Morgan, 52, is arrested on trumped-up charges of theft and indebtedness after conspiring with a local printer to publish a book revealing the secrets of the Masonic order that has existed since ancient times. Committed to the Canandaigua jail in September, Morgan is kidnapped from the jail, spirited off to Canada, and disappears. The case brings accusations that the Masonic order has obstructed justice and murdered Morgan, charges that begin press assaults on Freemasonry.
freemasonry
freemasonry (frê´mâ´sen-rê)
noun
1. Freemasonry. The
institutions, precepts, and rites of the Freemasons.
2. Spontaneous fellowship
and sympathy among a number of people.
Anti-Masonic Party
Anti-Masonic Party, American political organization founded in 1827 and 1828, chiefly as a result of the disappearance of William Morgan of Batavia, New York, a Freemason, who was planning to publish the secrets of the order. Morgan was arrested in 1826 for stealing and indebtedness. Convicted and jailed, he was reportedly kidnapped shortly afterward and was believed to have been abducted and murdered by Masons. This incident touched off a wave of anti-Masonic sentiment. In 1827, 15 anti-Masonic candidates were elected to the New York State Assembly, and an Anti-Masonic Party was formed. National conventions were held in 1830 and 1831. The party survived until about 1834, when prominent leaders founded the Whig Party or shifted to the Democratic Party.
Political Events, 1981
Italy's cabinet resigns May 26 after revelations linking 953 cabinet officers, legislators, judges, and bankers to a secret Masonic organization.
Masonic Relief Assn. of U.S. and Canada (1889),
3827 Canal St., New Orleans, LA 70119.
Masons, Royal Arch, General Grand Chapter (1798),
PO Box 589, 451 Main St., Danville, KY 40422; 250,000.
Masons, Supreme Council 33°, Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (1813), PO Box 519, 33 Marrett
Rd., Lexington, MA 02173; 345,257; Southern Jurisdiction (1801), PO Box
3467, 1733 16th St. NW, Wash., DC 20009; 478,747.
member:
astronaut
Buzz Aldrin
Original NASA/Masonic musings from
Hoagland's website: "The most striking aspect of this completely unexpected
historical '
Sirius
link' was the discovery that ... 33 minutes after Apollo 11's famous landing
... Buzz Aldrin (who is an acknowledged "Freemason"), celebrated a quiet ceremony
to the goddess '
Isis'
-- even as Isis (Sirius) stood at a precise, meticulously pre-planned, ceremonial
19.5 degrees above the eastern 'Tranquility Base' lunar horizon."
The Secret Handshake:
It's a regular handshake, except that you press your foreginger hard into the other's palm. the thumb presses agains the base joints of the second and third fingrs. It looks pretty much like any other handshake; only the persons shaking hands can feel the difference.
The Secret Password:
"Tubal-Cain" is the secret
password of a Master Mason. But some lodges have their own passwords.
The Secret Word:
Not to be confused with the password.
The Word (always capitalized) is so secret that initiates are taught it one
letter at a time. First they learn A, then O, then M, and finally I.
The Word is IA
OM
.
You never get a straight
story as to what it means. As best as anyone can figure, it is the
ineffable name of god, or some approximation thereof. The Word (or
Name) is a
tongue-
twister.
It takes some practice to get it right. The following pronunciation
guide is from _Masonry and Its Symbols in the Light of Thinking and Destiny_
by Harold Waldwin Percival:
The Name is pronounced as follows: It is started by opening the lips with an "ee" sound graduating into a broad "a" as the mouth opens wider with lips forming an oval shape and then graduating the sound to "o" as the lips form a circle, and again modulating to an "m" sound as the lips close to a point. This point resolves itself to a point within the head. Expressed phonetically the Name is "EE-Ah-Oh-Mmm" and is pronounced with one continuous out-breathing with a slight nasal tone in the manner described above. it can be correctly and properly expressed with its full power only by one who has brought his physical body to a state of perfection...
Initiations:
(all initiations stunts
with cadidate blindfolded)
"Oriental Dance"
Lodge members strip a candidate
and put a skirt on him. As Oriental music is played, he is forced
to
dance
on the
electric
carpet. This is one of several uses of the carpet, all of which are
deemed more effective if the candidate does not know about the carpet.
The electric-shock sensation is not
immediately
identifiable as such, or so the semiwarped reasoning goes. Members
may warn the blnidfolded candidate to "step high" to avoid burning desert
sands, barbed wire, or snakebites.
"A Trip To The
Moon"
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A member raps his gavel and orders all to be seated. A second member replies that there is no seat for himself and one of the candidates. They are told to sit on the floor. They sit on a spread blanket. As soon as the candidate is seated, the second member steps off the blanket. The candidate is told to sing a song. The lodge members protest his singing and demand that he be punished. All quietly grab the ends of the blanket and toss the candidate in the air.
"The Thirst"
"This neophyte has asked
for a drink of water," a member says. Another member replies that
there is no water. "Then we must make water," says the first.
Several members urinate in a bowl, making sure that the candidate hears.
"It is ready," says a member. "Drink, and quench the thirst."
The candidate is handed a bowlful of warm water and forced to drink it.
from: _Big Secrets_
by
William
Poundstone
track _Party For Your Right To Fight_ MP3
by
Public
Enemy off of _It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back_ 12" on Def
Jam 1988
i own a two sided pendant that
has 2 simple designs on either side. only when you give it a
spin,
can you make out the faint outlines of the masonic symbol. i found this
at swap meet at around 1990. it was on a keychain some guy was selling
for a quarter. - @Om* 1/24/01
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Extensive use by NASA
of the ancient
Egyptian
"ritual calendar" for many of their launches, dockings etc. Also much use
of Masonic numbers and themes. John Glenn (the most recent astronaut) is
apparently a 33 degree Mason (a high post) and almost all the launch site
numbers in the US and Russia are number 33 or 333. A great deal of recent
NASA and Russian space activity has been
timed
to link in with specific star system "movements" around the Earth's
equator or horizon. As an example, many launch and other specific procedures
have been timed so that the
Orion
star system was exactly 33 degrees above the horizon. NASA and the RussianSpace
Agency put great importance in the position of the stars and the "ritual
calendar". What is their real agenda?
It appears that the new STS-88 joint space station is involved in the big
picture.
Some examples of NASA and Masonic symbols:-
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