In the Play, You Get to Play the Part of Hiram

Updated 4/14/12

With Dan Brown's latest book on bookstore shelves, Freemasonry is really in the public's eye now. How is a Freemasonry ritual really constructed? Does it really teach any ancient mysteries? Did Freemasonry rise up because of the Catholic Church's inquisition in Europe? Did the KKK infiltrate the Lodge at some point? A few books written by Mason authors include The Masonic Myth by Jay Kinney, Freemasonry: Rituals Symbols & History of the Secret Society by Mark Stavish, and Cracking the Freemason's Code: The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood by Robert L.D. Cooper. I have read a number of the older writings about Freemasonry. What Albert Pike might have revised may still be in the Lodges at this point. Now, the old saying might be "no man speaks for Freemasonry", but I'll say something about Albert Pike. While many men may have made modifications to Freemasonry I believe Albert Pike probably made the greatest contributions and revisions to it. Pike may have been gifted, but I don't know if he had a real good understanding of the mystery religion. It may differ with many Freemasons, but some of Pike's ideas I find to be profane. I don't like Albert Pike.

I remember going to a gas station in the last year and an advertisement caught my eye while I was refuelling my car. The ad said, "Share the Secret" with a reference to Freemasonry. A number of men's images are shown on the ad as well. I know something about the Lodge because I used to be a member to another type of Lodge not related to Freemasonry. I'm not here to discuss handgrips or passwords. Much has been proved already by numerous Freemason authors. I do want to point out the significance of the Master Mason degree. It's really no secret because the ritual has been discussed in a variety of books available to the public. The Freeemasonry ritual has even been shown on the History Channel. One should still become a Freemason and go through the 3 degrees because it is something that must be experienced which cannot be expressed through writing. The third degree has the initiate blind folded while he experiences a dramatic play put on for his benefit. This particular element of Freemason initiation is significant. This mythic play may not be real but the initiate experiences the character of Hiram from first person point of view in the real sense. This concept of Freemasonry as well as my previous concept of a Meme and a Me now make it possible to write the rites for the alchemist section of this book. Many of you will know where I am going with this.

I think that Freemasonry needs a overhaul, a makeover rather. Today, I would revise it to call it the Free Journey. The tools mentioned in the 3 degrees should be updated with that of the journeyman today. Although, there is a lot of white collar people out there that don't need to know all the old tools. As of July 2010, I've read a lot about the old rituals. I have about 20-50 books more to go to get some idea of the old rituals before Pike got to them. I want to rewrite the rituals and work with others to experiment with what I believe to be the lost pieces of the original rituals. While only the Supreme Architect is used, I want to invoke the Egyptian trinity through the first 3 rituals - symbolic death, rebirth and marriage. I will touch on this more in my next blog.