A BASIC HISTORICO-CHRONOLOGICAL MODEL

OF THE

WESTERN HERMETIC TRADITION

by R. Wy. Frater Trevor Stewart, VIII0, SRIA

INTRODUCTION
PART I

The topic which I have been assigned resolves into a question: What part, if any, does speculative Freemasonry have within the western Hermetic tradition? There are two contrasting ways of trying to answer that question:

that which uses a historico-chronological model which represents the present prevailing orthodoxy in Masonic historiography and that which uses a symbolic or thematic model.

Viewed in a chronological sequence, according to Antoine Faivre, the main currents or components in the western Mystery tradition are 1. neo-Alexandrian Hermeticism; 2. Christian Kabbalah; 3. Paracelsianism (or the observation of Nature as a Divinely authored text permeated by decipherable signatures); 4. Philosophia occulta (the magical vision of the cosmos which unifies Nature and religion theurgically); 5. Alchemy; 6. Rosicrucianism; 7. Bohemian theosophy; 8. Martinism and 9. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Since speculative Freemasonry, in the form which would be recognised most widely these days, first became manifest in London in 1717, I suppose that the Masonic phenomenon could be added into that chronological listing perhaps somewhere between, say, 7 and 8. However, I want to reject that approach in the present context not because of anything faulty in its basic rationale but because it leads to the restrictions of a largely unspoken assumption: that there must have been a definite, identifiable time (and perhaps even a precise location) prior to which Freemasonry did not exist and after which it did. That underlying assumption has led Masonic writers to conjure up some remarkable and diverse theories as to Freemasonry's origins. Amongst the more questionable of these (in alphabetical order only) have been:

the Culdees or Colidei or Keledei (the remote religious communities which existed in 7th 12th centuries in Ireland and Scotland; the Comancine builders (located at Como in Lombardy); the Compagnonnage (the medieval French association of workmen); Oliver Cromwell; the Dionysian artificers (c. 1000 BC in Asia Minor); the Druids; the Essenes; the Gnostic teachers of 1st and 2nd century Alexandria; the Jesuits; the Noachidae (legendary descendants of Noah);

the Pythagoreans (at Crotona, southern Italy); the Rosicrucians; the Royal Society; the Socinians (a widespread late 16th century heretical sect from Vicenza, led by Fausto Paolo Sozzini); the medieval operative stonemasons; the Royal House of Stuart and, of course the Knights Templar.

If any one of these were valid then the Masonic phenomenon might be fitted comfortably within Faivres list. However, there are some major obstacles to using that historiographical model. The task of tracing ever earlier origins has been made almost impossible because not only are there huge gaps in the sequences of evidence which mean that whole centuries cannot be accounted for, all of the available earliest evidence is extremely fragmentary and scattered. Consequently, much has been made of very little indeed! The evidence, such as it is, hardly presents a clear, complete or general picture. After more than 110 years of exhaustive investigating Masonic writers are no nearer to finding the missing evidence that would help them to prove clear origins for the Masonic phenomenon and so draw up a continuous narrative. Many have been keen to establish reputations and to sell their books but they may be mistaken in assuming that speculative Freemasonry had only one origin and, crucially, they have tended to ignore its wholly syncretistic nature a nature which is shown clearly in that published evidence(e.g., in Knoop, Jones and Hamers Early Masonic Catechisms and their Early Masonic Pamphlets). More will be said about Freemasonrys characteristic syncretistic borrowing later. This deficiency in the evidence was identified by the indefatigable Rev. Dr. James Anderson DD (1680?-1739) as early as 1723 when he was commissioned by the nascent Premier Grand Lodge in London to compose a book of Constitutions for it. He was not a reliable historian, even within the standards of mere antiquarianism of those credulous times, and he invented most of his Masonic history according to his whim. However, he recognised that there were big gaps in his narrative and explained them by stating that zealous freemasons wanted to protect their secrets. They had declined to surrender their precious MSS to his wellintentioned inquiries and had burned them. He claimed that many of the Fraternitys Records of this [i.e., Charles IIs] reign and former Reigns [my emphasis] were lost in the next [i.e., James IIs] and at the Revolution [1688]; and many of em were too hastily burnt in our Time from a Fear of making Discoveries; so that we have not so ample an account as would be wishd Later in the same history, he expanded that claim thus: This year [1720], at some private Lodges, several very valuable Manuscripts (for they had nothing yet in Print) concerning the Fraternity, their Lodges, Regulations, Charges, Secrets, and Usages were too hastily burnt by some scrupulous Brothers that those Papers might not fall into strange Hands. One of the most important of these missing sources was a MS which had been compiled by Nicholas Stone (1586-1647), the Kings Master Mason during the lifetime of Inigo Jones. He

had been a Master of the famous London Company of [Operative] Masons in 1633 but even he, prestigious as he was among other architects, was not admitted into membership of the more exclusive, hidden inner association, or Acceptioun within that Company until 1639. Anderson knew of the existence of that MS which was generally esteemed. It had been of some significance for speculative freemasons generally so its loss was therefore even more to be regretted. The second quotation from Anderson above would seem to imply that the earliest Lodges had already got some corporate form (a collectivity) and some kind of organisation because it uses the words Fraternity and Regulations. Clearly speculative Freemasonry did not spring into being ex nihilo in June 1717. Only four London Lodges, which had existed from Time Immemorial, bothered to meet then in order, inter alia, to revive the ancient custom of Lodges meeting together in Quarterly Communication. The likelihood is the English freemasons were reacting as Scots did later in Scotland in 1736 when a general invitation was sent out by a few enthusiastic Edinburgh freemasons to all of the 100+ Lodges known to exist in various parts of Scotland then. The idea was for them to establish their own Grand Lodge (to match the London and Dublin ventures?). However, representatives of only 11 of the Lodges bothered to attend so it can be said that the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of England were founded by a minority of the Lodges then existing. In any case, by the time the first Engraved List of Lodges was published by the Premier Grand Lodge in 1723, there were no less than 51 Lodges meeting in London alone. By 1725, when the next such List was published, there were at least 13 more Lodges either near London or in the provinces. The existence of a total of 64 Lodges is confirmed by the Minutes of the Premier Grand Lodge. Only 16 of these did not bother to return lists of their members but, allowing for a few dual memberships, it seems that 48 of the Lodges then had about 730 members between them. The point is that there cannot have been a such a huge expansion of the numbers of Lodges or of their members in only five years (1717-1723). The Masonic phenomenon must have preexisted 1717. This deficiency in the range and number of the earliest primary sources did not deter Anderson nor has it deterred others since. Whistling in the dark, some Masonic historiographers claim that there must be hitherto untapped, hidden MSS which will provide the missing vital evidence of much earlier Masonic activities and thereby help to establish clear connection between the Masonic phenomenon as manifested in London in 1717 and earlier generations, perhaps even with the famed medieval operative stonemasons (the obvious originators in view of the rituals emphases on King Solomons Temple, construction work and Working Tools) or even other, earlier originators. However, these writers tend to ignore the real possibility that the field has been fully ploughed by now. They ignore, for instance, the meticulous work done by two renowned Victorian historiographical projects that

are still on-going; employ armies of professional historians of various specialisms and are independent of any Masonic wishful-thinking and/or prejudices.

The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (HMC) was established in 1869 to enquire and report on collections of MSS of value for the study of British history in private hands: i.e., its job was to locate and catalogue all British historical non-governmental records of all subjects wherever situated and not in deposit in the Public Record Office. Since its inception it has published 239 volumes of its catalogue and created 41,000 unpublished catalogues as well as 150,000 separate minor listings which together form the National Register of Archives.

It also maintains the Manorial Documents Register and ARCHON, the archives register for all UK statutory depositories. The resulting enormous database is now available for on-line searches. An enquiry on Freemasons was made by the present writer to reveal that there are only 11 such deposits registered nationally apart from the annual returns required to be made to the County Clerks of the Peace (under the Secret Societies Act of 1799 until 1967). All of these are small, none are earlier than 1794 and only one, the records of the short-lived Scottish Lodge in Rome in the 1730's, remains in a private collection in Scotland. The Victoria County Histories were started in 1899 and aimed at providing an encyclopaedic, multi-volumed history of every English county and of their constituent cities, towns and parishes. All of these volumes have been characterised by rigorous, original research. This huge project enjoys, therefore, an international reputation as a standard work of reference for English local history. So far 200+ volumes have been published. Each county set has

general volumes, that deal with administrative history, , local history and archaeology; topographical volumes, that deal with geography, geology and the detailed histories of all of the settlements, churches, educational and charitable institutions.

No accumulated index is complied yet However, the present writer has checked each of the county sets published to date and none of them have any references to pre-1717 Freemasonry other than those well-known from elsewhere (e.g., Dr Robert Plots allusion in his Natural History of Staffordshire, 1686). Then there are the other distinguished associations, like the Camden, Dugdale and Surtees Societies, which are dedicated to the authoritative transcription and publication of hitherto unknown MSS of local historical value. Furthermore, almost very English county has at least one society of enthusiastic scholars who publish their own local history transactions. None of this remarkable, if slow, accumulation of original data has any trace of pre-1717 Freemasonry. If there are still any undetected MSS not in Masonic archives then they must be very well hidden. It seems reasonable to say that it is unlikely that any family or county archives in England will yield any more substantial traces of pre-1717 activities. If there had been such MSS then they would have been revealed by now in these national trawls. Perhaps it is time to draw a line under the historico-chronological approach to providing an answer about ever earlier origins of speculative Freemasonry. Obviously, individual researchers will continue to make genuine discoveries in the course of their work in archives, some of them will be non-Masonic archives, but these will be of minor interest. It is probable now that no major archival findings relating generally to the nature of pre-1717 Freemasonry will be made. Of course, one should never discount serendipity entirely but the chances of anything substantial being discovered which would prove a direct, general connection between the Masonic phenomenon and early Hermetic ventures of whatever nature seem to be slim indeed. Consider the theory that speculative Freemasonry originated from the English medieval stonemasons trade guilds. If that were so, then it would be crucial to support that proposition by examining the nature of the earliest available evidence relating to those guilds activities. The most relevant of this would be the so-called Old Charges, 113 of which have survived (though there are hints of 14 others that are now missing). Nearly two-thirds of them are pre1717; 55 are pre-1700; 4 dated from c. 1600; 1 is dated precisely Christmas Day 1583; another is dated c. 1400-140 and the earliest available comes from 1390. These MSS were intended to regulate the operative stonemasons work and 25 of them are entitled

Constitution or Constitutions. Two others are bound in with the printed text of the 1723 book of Constitutions; four others were written out in Lodges Minute Books and another in a Lodges register of members mason marks. Sometimes, as in the records of the Lodge at Stirling, the Old Charges were hand written, mounted and then framed. There the Lodge members believed that their meetings would not be legal unless the precious MS was displayed in the room where they were meeting. Another MS, from Aberdeen, is entitled The Mason Charter. In a Lodge in Bradford the members regarded their copy of the Old Charges as the authority for them to confer the Degrees. Furthermore, as these MSS describe at least some of the procedures that had to be followed when any man was made a mason and even include small extracts of the prescribed ritual, it is clear that they were used in some way at Lodges meetings as guides to the ceremonies. For example, one MS describes a meeting which took place in Scarborough in 1705. Another, dated 1693 and from York, includes a list of the Lodge members. A third was written expressly on 16 October 1646 at Warrington for the Initiation of the alchemist, antiquary, astrologer and Fellow of the Royal Society, Elias Ashmole (1617-1692). Hence, it has been established fairly well that these very old MSS provided the earliest freemasons with their ordinances and their Lodges with their authority, respectability and (partial) ritual). One important feature of them all is the remarkable degree of their uniformity of content and expression. They all say the same things in more or less the same ways. The only possible explanation for this consistency is that they are all related and are descended from an ur-text that is now lost but which was evidently edited and revised many times and recopied hundreds of times in the period 1390-1717 all over England and Scotland. Those that have survived represent only a small proportion of these copies The MSS seem to be prima facie evidence of the descent of the speculative Freemasonry (which began to emerge in the latter half of the 17th century in England) from the medieval operative stonemasons trade guilds with their craft secrets, traditions and doctrines. However, careful examination of their contents for possible Hermetic features has revealed no such characteristics. In summary form the running order of their content is as follows:

An invocation to the Holy Trinity; Announcements as to the purpose and the contents; A brief description of the Seven Liberal Sciences Geometry being regarded as synonymous with Masonry; A proof of the fundamental nature of Geometry; An extended traditional history of Geometry, Masonry and Architecture based wholly on the Bible; The method of taking the masons oath; An admonition to remain true to that oath; Some detailed regulations regarding the masons trade and personal conduct and A concluding obligation to remain true to the oath.

Remember, these are not public documents but were carefully kept from the eyes of nonmasons. The phenomenon exhibited in the Old Charges is patently quite different from that which emerged in London in 1717. For one thing, there were no hermetic doctrines cherished among medieval operative stonemasons. This is confirmed by the overwhelming body of other documentary evidence that has been drawn from other sources by architectural historians. Apart from the analyses of the massive amounts of material on the activities of some 2000+ Gothic architects and stonemasons post-1200 AD (which includes their carefully

drafted building contracts), there are at least 400 medieval architectural compendia, or treatises, on building techniques written by Master Masons. These began as small personal notebooks. Some ended eventually as published booklets and others were annotated and enlarged by later operative stonemasons. Many were reworked entirely by their authors in order to formulate definitive statements of their working practices and the underlying principles which they tried to apply in their daily work. Generally, these are infinitely more personal, tentative and experimental. They are repositories of the then existing practices and theorems and, since we can also detect architectural ideas and stylistic changes as they were formulated, they are also intimate reflections of the actual creative process. As such they served several related purposes:

to accumulate theoretical and practical data; to create a file of designs and techniques to educate younger stonemasons; to establish a base for discussion with peers and patrons; to function as a kind of licence testifying to their compilers knowledge an skill as masons as well as attesting to their range of interests, breadth of travelling and the intensity of their aesthetic vision; to prepare the accumulated wisdom for eventual publication and to systematise the data for use by their successors.

Perhaps the most comprehensive of these useful didactic MSS is that compiled by the famous French Master Mason, Villard de Honnecourt (c.1175-1240) during the period c. 1215-1233. Even though his notebook reveals that he lacked original and creative design talent and that he was probably never given a major architectural commission, nevertheless it shows that his was a lively, versatile mind, delighting in machinery and gadgets. He emerges as a Master Craftsman, an intellectual with a keen sense of observation and a strong sense of his own role in posterity. Yet nowhere in Villards famous notebook nor in any of the extant writings of his European contemporaries (e.g., Jean de Liege, Hugues Libergier and Pierre de Monteuil) is there any Hermetic content. Much has been made, for instance, of the silver-point drawing of an adult clothed male figure (in f. 37) asserting that Villard must have been pondering the human form as a perfect harmonious piece of Gods handiwork a sort of Vitruvian Man thereby revealing himself to have been entertaining some appreciation of Hermetic cosmology. The truth is, however, more prosaic. His figural sketches (of which this was one) display a considerable lack of manual skill in their execution. Thus was why, to assist his making of these drawings, he used the technique of a mixture of solid and dotted lines to ensure that he got the proportions correct. This is confirmed by his own note (in f. 36) which alludes to this well-known and widely practised technique used by apprentice artists and employing the discipline of geometry por legierement ovrer (= to facilitate the work). There are similar geometric schemes imposed in his sketches of anila figures copied from a Bestiary (similar to that in the Bodleian Library ref. Ashmole MS 1511) but even the pentagrams included in his sketch of the heraldic eagle or the one used in his sketch of the two trumpeters seem gratutitous. It is clear from Francois Buchers close analysis of the notebook that, though Villard understood the tenents of Gothic architectural theory which were codified and generalised only after his death, the philosophical basis of the Gothic style of architecture (e.g., the theory of light of Dionysis the Areopagite) did not interest him nor did numerological details hold any fascination for him. What is important, of course, is that Villard was the norm for his profession. A series of academic studies, dating from the late 19th century to the present day, has shown that the socially prominent and wealthy Master Masons were well-educated, powerful men in their

day but they were hardly esoterists involved in any Hermetic enterprise. They were hardheaded businessmen, subject to all of the familiar restrictions imposed by the penalty clauses in their contracts that had been drawn up by demanding patrons. They were far too busy to meet deadlines and to keep down the costs to be preoccupied in trying to incorporate secret designs into their buildings. Some writers (like George Lesser) seek to establish that these medieval Master Masons were magi who designed their cathedrals according to a sacred geometry. They claim that the buildings contain Hermetic patterns in their plans and decorations. However, most reputable architectural historians have examined these claims and dismissed them. Such patterns are mere impositions of complex mathematics and geometry on perfectly logical, practical and self-contained structures derived once again from wishful thinking. Finally, the historico-chronological model can be rejected for the present purpose because it ignores a more theoretical consideration. It focuses on the analysis of the masonic phenomenon as evidenced only by texts or similar artefacts and it neglects the defining characteristic of the Hermetic venture: that it is a lived-through experience. While the history of the western Hermetic tradition can be charted using its own texts, the whole purpose of Hermeticism has not been merely to produce those fascinating documents but to inculcate practices that would generate lived-through esoteric experience. I would suggest that this was precisely the aim of speculative Freemasonry at least in its formative period and has become one that is now largely and unfortunately unfulfilled in the English-speaking Masonic world for reasons which I hope will be made clear later.

AN ALTERNATIVE THEMATIC MODEL OF THE WESTERN HERMETIC TRADITION

PART II

Viewed thematically, as an alternative, the western Hermetic tradition, or philosophia perennis, can be conceptualised alternatively in a useful thematic model with seven fundamental components.

Correspondences Equivalences are assumed to exist and to operate among all of the constituent parts of the universe. This is manifested in the notions of the macrocosm (above) and the microcosm (below) and the associated ideas of a. universal inter-dependence b. inner and outer realms of the cosmos as a Divine ensemble of hieroglyphs and c. Mans mission to decipher them.

Phenomenalism and Magia Nature is conceived as a living entity which can be read as a text that is permeated throughout by an interior, hidden and circulating fire, or magia, which (in turn) is comprised of 1. the overt activities by which we are informed of that knowledge. 2. a knowledge of the subtle network of sympathies and antipathies that unifies it and humanity and

Imagination and Mediations These are inter-connected and complementary concepts. The former, one of Mans range of capabilities, allows him free access to various levels of reality. The latter include rituals, symbols. Images, numbers and mandalas etc., which develop 1. our knowledge of Natures hieroglyphs and 2. our understanding of the inter-active relationship between God, the cosmos and humanity.

Transmutation A sort of alchemical process, this is the modification of Mans being so that an individual, enlightened by gnosis, is changed qualitatively, or given a second birth, moving inexorably towards Mans Divinely ordained fulfilment and thereby ameliorating the destruction engendered by his primeval Fall. Concordance This is manifested by two syncretistic assumptions or tendencies:

1. that there are discernible common denominators between the different religiophilosophical traditions and (b) that there is an underlying primordial tradition that permeates all of those traditions.

Transmission In order to be valid, gnosis must be transmitted from one individual to another in initiatory affiliations that have unimpeachable authenticity or regularity,

enlightenment being seen as something that is bestowed, inherited or handed on in a legitimate and legitimising sequence. Secrecy and Opacity Access to gnosis is seen as something too precious to be disseminated widely, for to do so would debase its potentiality and its potency. Hence, gnosis is restricted to selfselecting, numerically small elites and hidden carefully by contrived obsfucation.

If this model is used to determine whether and how far speculative Freemasonry synchronises into the western Hermetic tradition, we have to begin by examining the content of the current basic Masonic rituals that have been inherited from previous generations. There is prima facie evidence therein that Freemasonry does mesh in quite neatly. As far as the Correspondence component is concerned then there are close parallels drawn between the nature, formation and operation of the Lodge (qua microcosm) and the universe (qua macrocosm). With regard to the second component, Phenomalism and Magia, in the Second Degree, for instance, the basic task for the freemason is to decipher the hidden mysteries of nature and science. The whole of the rituals themselves - and more particularly the repeated emphases therein on the symbolic use to be made of Working Tools by the freemason would seem to be the Mediation element mentioned in the model. As far as the Transmutation component is concerned then there is a potent image in the Lodge rooms that of the spiritual development of the freemason symbolised by the progress from the Rough Ashlar to the Smooth Ashlar. Speculative Freemasonry does not espouse any particular creed but is founded on that religion on which all men do agree and so it parallels the Concordance element of the model. As far as the Transmission component is concerned, then of course Freemasonry is initiatory with the secrets being confided by a Master to newcomers. More details of this will be given later. Finally, the Secrecy and Opacity features are to be found in plentiful supply in Freemasonry. For instance, great stress is placed on the former in the Obligations which all members are required to take at various stages and which they are expected not to violate by betraying secrets to non-members. More will be said about the intentional Opacity of Masonic imagery later. However, Freemasonrys claim to have a legitimate place within the western Hermetic tradition requires much more careful analysis. This paper concentrates first on the English tradition with which the present writer has been acquainted for the past 25 years and then it will refer to other European traditions with he is also familiar.

MASONIC INITIATION IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD

PART III

If you were to ask English-speaking freemasons what they think is meant by Masonic Initiation most of them would reply without much hesitation: Oh, thats the First Degree! However, I want to disabuse you of that mistaken view. It is too limited and too limiting. I want to establish my own position immediately by claiming that Masonic Initiation within the English-speaking tradition, when fully conceptualised as a lived-through experience one that may be Hermetic - is much more than merely going through the First Degree ceremony and I would like to make three basic points which I think are important to grasp before going any further. These points are inter-related and help to set out the claim that speculative Freemasonry does have some Hermetic features. They may not be very obvious, even to the experienced freemasons, for they are hidden quite discretely. On their basis, however, even though they are largely neglected now in the English-speaking Lodges, it may be possible to say that speculative Freemasonry does have a place in the western Hermetic tradition. My three initial points are as follows.

Masonic Initiation involves all of the participants (including the Candidates) in ceremonial, ritualistic, highly stylised behaviour that can hardly be called normal by the standards everyday life and that requires them to perform certain movements, enunciate certain words, perform and listen to long speeches that are couched in language which must seem poetic and/or heightened and even curiously dated all of which is hardly the behaviour that they meet and use in the world outside of the Lodge rooms. Masonic Initiation is designed to have a quickening, vitalising and regenerative effect on initiates. Perhaps more importantly that either of these points, Masonic Initiation is a process, one that is prolonged and possibly unending; a lived-through evolution towards eventual enlightenment that requires sustained effort and commitment on the part of all of its members.

The significance of these three basic points become clearer if we consider one of the crucial responses which a newly-made freemason has to give in response to his Masters question as a test before he can be passed to the Second Degree. Interestingly and significantly, it was one of the first pieces of Craft ritual that freemasons are required to commit to memory. Yet it is one that most Brethren do not take the trouble to understand fully because no one takes the trouble to explain it when they make their first moves into speculative Freemasonry. It is packed with meaning and I want to deconstruct some of that meaning now. The Master enquires of the Candidate for the Second Degree: What is Freemasonry? and the reply he is expected to give is: A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. Each of the component words was intended to have important resonances but what are we to make of them? Peculiar This word immediately gives a potent clue that Freemasonry is something special and, therefore, not of this world. The Candidate is being exposed in the ceremony to something hitherto unknown to him in his ordinary life in the profane world outside of the Lodge room; something which, if he practises it fully and faithfully, will help to separate him (at least partly) from that life, making him peculiar by taking him beyond ordinary concerns and beginning something entirely new for him.

Morality This word should focus attention immediately on the grand intent of Freemasonry the inculcation of ethical principles. I suspect that the original founders in the latter part of the 17th century and the early part of the 18th were aiming at a general reformation of humanity by beginning with the moral reformation/regeneration of individuals who became voluntarily members of the Order. This is why there are scattered throughout the basic Craft rituals a good deal of utopian optimism, universal harmony being seen as something attainable though consistent square conduct, strict morals and upright intentions of individuals.

Freemasons are taught that in order for a man to be received into membership of a Masonic Lodge, he must be a fit and proper person to be even considered for reception. They are taught also that in order for be a fit and proper person, a man must be of mature age, sound judgement and strict morals.

Therefore, since a Candidate for admission must have manifested a high ethical standard already, it follows that the further instruction which he receives at our hands within our Lodges after his admission must be something above and beyond mere ordinary ethical standard which he had acquired already in the profane world. Veiled This word hints at another important idea. The truths contained within speculative Freemasonry are not obvious. It may be that they are obscured deliberately and that Candidates must make strenuous and continuous effort to try to come to a level of understanding that satisfies them. They become involved in a metaphorical pilgrimage through such obscurities in a struggle that educates and, therefore, improves them spiritually. This theme of veiling is brought home dramatically, of course, during the Excellent Masters Degree, the so-called Passing of the Veils. This ceremony is known under various names:

Excellent Master (as now in Scotland, Ireland, Bristol, throughout the USA, parts of Canada and in parts of Australia); Super Excellent Master and High Excellent Master Mason.

In spite of its strong emphasis on the interpretation of Old Testament readings, the ritual was probably of Christian origins and formed an integral part of the Royal Arch Masonic ceremonies from the late 18th century onwards throughout England. After 1817, with the founding of the present Supreme Grand Chapter, the subsequent de-Christianization of that ritual and a drastic revision of it in 1835, this quaint ceremony disappeared. Finally, the Veils ceremony became extinct in England by the end of the 19th century. Even in Bristol, where it is still practised, it is as a recent revival rather than as an idiosyncratic survival. A Lodge of Excellent Masters represents a body of the old stonemasons assembled at Babylon who were the descendants of the exiled Israelites. The rite is referred to throughout as the Degree of Cryus in allusion to the King of Babylon who relented and allowed the captives to return to their native country to rebuild the destroyed Temple of king Solomon. The Lodge is presided over by three principal officers and by three Captains of the Veils. The room is divided into separate compartments by four coloured veils suspended across the rooms breadth and ranged in the following sequence from the west: blue, purple, scarlet and white. The ritual informs the Candidate later that the blue veil is emblematic of friendship; the purple one represents union and the scarlet one is the emblem of fervency and zeal. The white veil,

nearest to the eastern end of the room, is emblematic of purity and it conceals the Grand Sanhedrin, who are seated there in silence. Those qualities (friendship, union, fervency and purity) are presumably all qualities which are to be desired by freemasons. There is a parallelism (unspoken) between those colours of the veils and those of the robes worn by the three presiding officers. In some of the early versions of this ceremony (mostly English ones) there were only three veils but in at least one ancient Jewish source (Josephus Antiquities), the veil of the Temple was composed of four colours: fine white linen (to signify the earth, from which grew the flax that produced it); purple (to signify water because that precious colour was derived from the blood of a rare shellfish); blue (which signified air) and scarlet (which signified fire). The ritual of the Excellent Master Degree, however, gives other interpretations to the Candidate at a later stage. Rather than pursue any such alchemical interpretations, over which a considerable amount of time has been expended by Masonic scholars in the past, I can offer a series of collective interpretations. Viewed together, as an integrated part of the whole ceremony, the passage of the Candidate through the veils can be taken to represent his own gradual enlightenment as he progresses through Freemasonry. Some many even see these veils as metaphors for the veil in the Temple that was torn asunder at the moment of Christs death itself the supreme moment of Mans enlightenment. Others can see the veils as an emblem of Christ Himself as He hung of the Altar of the Cross. Whichever interpretation is preferred, the crucial thing about the veils in this Masonic ceremony is that they are intended to have a profound spiritual meaning for the Candidate as he progresses forward to the sanctuary of enlightenment. Each of the first three veils is guarded by a Captain who carried a standard that is coloured like his veil. Symbolically, these Captains prevent any unqualified person from passing through towards the final white veil and what it conceals. The Captains each reveal a different Sign, Grip or Token and Word in succession. These are entrustings and are preceded by appropriate readings from the Old Testament. After each Scripture reading the respective Captain provides his explanatory gloss which educates the Candidate with the significance of the Sign, Grip and Word of his veil. The Candidate has to remember each set of instructions for when he comes to the next veil, he has to prove himself to that Captain in the competence and knowledge that he has achieved so far. So there are nine items to be remembered in the correct sequence before he can be entrusted by the presiding officer with the final Sign, Grip or Token and Word that will enable him to gain admission into the final part of the ceremony. In a short Lecture that follows he is informed of the following interpretations:

the veils allude to those veils in the Mosaic Tabernacle erected in the desert; his passage through them is emblematic of the Israelites wanderings towards their Promised Land; his passage through the veils is also meant to represent the pilgrimage of a captive Hebrew who eagerly avails himself of the opportunity presented by Cyrus to return to his ancestral homeland in order to complete a sacred task of reconstruction.

Anyway, it is without question that one of the basic features of all Hermetic traditions is this theme of veiling; that secrets are carefully hidden hidden from those who are not initiates and even from those who are members but who, as yet, are not properly qualified to share in them. All Hermetic traditions that I know of are multi-gradal in this sense with their occult insights being revealed slowly to zealous initiates as they progress upwards through a series

of structured ceremonies towards full enlightenment. This theme of veiling is mirrored also in the blindfolding of initiates which occurs, of course, in Freemasonry too though then it may also refer to the Candidates own ignorance being subject to darkness (i.e., absence of light) and the removal of the blindfold is meant to represent to him the emergence into the light of membership, of belonging. Allegories Most people today have not been educated to think allegorically. In the late 17th century and through the 18th century, when the foundations of the ritual that we have inherited were being laid down, young people were schooled then to make them familiar with many of the conventional classical myths and with the imagery, of various levels of complexity, contained therein. The subtleties of this conceptual framework are seen most easily and comprehensively in the visual arts of the period. In the early 18th century the following examples were still in common currency:

the image of a laurel bush would be have been interpreted readily as a reference to the god Apollo or Helios; vines leaves would have been seen as an allusion to the god Bacchus or Dionysius; a lion skin would have meant Hercules or Heracles; the image of a caduceus would have been taken as a reference to the god Mercury or Hermes; porcelain figurines carrying a bunch of flowers, a sheaf of corn, a bunch of grapes or a flaming brazier would have been seen as references to the four seasons respectively Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Now the chief allegory with which speculative Freemasonry is concerned is that of templebuilding and, although many images of actual building operations are borrowed in the rituals, speculative freemasons are really concerned with a life-long task of erecting a spiritual temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Moreover, from an individual members point of view, each is involved and committed to the careful preparation of just one stone for its particular place in that temple and that stone is his personality. Thus the unperfected personality of the new member (when he first enters our Lodge rooms) is represented by the Rough Ashlar taken unworked from the quarry. It has all of the obvious qualities of a rough stone: durability, dependability, permanence, strength etc., but is of little use to be fitted together with the other stones destined for the temple. The individual craftsman has to work, during his Masonic career, in polishing that Rough stone by knocking off the superfluities, very much as an apprentice stonemason would knock off the roughnesses of the ashlars using his primitive working tools on the building site. The resulting smooth ashlar is the same stone, but without all of the obvious defects that would have prevented it being placed exactly against or along side the other stones thus to form the temple wall. From something with mere potential he has become rendered by his own efforts into something that is actually useful. Thus, the initiate is not really a passive recipient of mysteries but is an active agent who is required to interact with the principles and to make something else from them in the secret recesses of his own heart. Symbols Symbols were attractive to the ritual compilers of the early 18th century because of their sheer carrying power. Furthermore, they can operate simultaneously at many levels and are capable of multiple interpretations. This may be a quasi-ambiguity and, if so, certainly is one that would accord with Hermetic traditions where inherent ambiguity smacks of deliberate

obfuscation for, traditionally, Truth must remain hidden to all who are, as yet, not insightful. The universality of symbols must have proved very attractive to the founding fathers of speculative Freemasonry because of the then prevailing aim at pan-humanity amelioration and ethical improvement. It was manifested for them then also in the wide-ranging popular schemes for universal languages at that time. Moreover, there were plenty of symbols which were readily available and which provided them with a ready-made framework of reference. They had no need to re-invent the wheel. Besides, symbols also encrypt meanings and this would certainly have appealed to the prevailing fashion for codes and secrecy which was one of the literary bi-products of the political and religious turmoil of the Carolingian era. Certainly the founders of speculative Freemasonry developed a whole range of symbols and did not hesitate to extrapolate on their possible practical applications in ethics. Most of these symbols have pre-eminently practical applications and that fact is significant in view of the prevailing pragmatism and experimentation of the age. There are several groups of such symbols which they found ideally suited to of their purposes.

They made a great deal of use of mathematical symbols (e.g., circles and numbers) which are, of course, universal and hence present no barriers linguistically. They deal with concepts of quantification, exactitude and measurement, which were then conceived as being applicable to ethics. They hint at a kind of mathematical harmony in the universe and hence to the myth of a Pythagorean origin for speculative Freemasonry. They are also very much in accord with the then prevailing Newtonianism.

One interesting side-light on this structural importance accorded to numbers, with their Kaballistic meanings, is the re-structuring of the Lectures associated with each of the basic Degrees which took place after 1813 under the 30-year rule of HRH The Duke of Sussex (1773-1843) as Grand Master. Sussex was known to have a sustained interest in the Kaballah and owned several books on the subject. Prior to this revision the Lectures had been printed without any subdivisions. It may be significant that in the new versions the Lecture on the First Degree was to have seven sections; that for the Second Degree was to have five and that for the Third Degree had to have three sections. But such refinements pale into insignificance when the general character of English Freemasonry during Sussexs rule became progressively anti-intellectualist and even anti-Hermetic. This was not due wholly to Sussexs influence because there were demographic factors that militated against any development or even continuation of any initial Heremetic tendencies. One of these demographic factors was, of course, that the members came almost totally from the expanding middle and professional classes with their inherent bourgeois mentality and a suspicion of anything that smacked of a philosophical approach to life and particularly to spare time activities.

In connection with the use which they made of mathematical symbols it is worthwhile mentioning the adoption of one geometrical symbol in particular the so-called Pythagoras Theorem which was incorporated into the design of the English PMs jewel. The background to its inclusion is rather involved. The frontispieces in the 1723 and the 1738 editions of the Constitutions both depict a classical arcade. In the foreground stand two noble Grand Masters each accompanied with servants. On the ground between the two principle figures is shown a diagram of the 47th proposition with the Greek word Eureka. Anderson thought at the time that this was a exclamation by Pythagoras when he discovered the Proposition and declared it to be the Foundation of all Masonry, sacred, civil and military. Actually, of course,

Anderson was wrong on two counts. The Proposition is more correctly Euclids and Eureka was Archimedes exclamation in connection with quite a different scientific discovery. Nevertheless, he reinforced the claim about this Proposition by adding the following passage in the greatly augmented 1738 edition: Pythagoras became not only the Head of a new religion of Patch Work but likewise of an Academy or Lodge of good Geoemetricians to whom he communicated a secret, viz. That amazing Proposition which is the Foundation of all Masonry, of whatever Materials or Dimensions, called by Masons his HEUREKA; because They think it was his own Invention. This was an assumption which he was to propose quite explicitly in his Defence of Masonry (1730) when he wrote: I am fully convinced that Freemasonry is very nearly allied to the old Pythagorean Discipline from whence, I am persuaded, it may in some circumstances very justly claim a descent. It is difficult to establish now where Anderson got this curious idea from because, apart from a single reference to Pythagoras in the Cooke MS (one of the oldest surviving Old Charges dating from c. 1490), there are no other references to him in any of the other Old Charges. One can only assume that because ancient Greece was the home of geometry and geometry was obviously the basis of all architecture and freemasons were traditionally assumed then to be the inheritors of the skills and traditions of the medieval operative stonemasons, that speculative Freemasonry was taken to be based on teachings derived from classical mathematicians such as Pythagoras. This was not a very widely held assumption, however. For example, Dr Francis Drake MD, FRS (1695-1770), in his speech to the Grand Lodge of York (1726) only refers to Pythagoras in connection with Euclid and Archimedes as great proficients in geometry and not as a founder of Freemasonry. Martin Clare (d. 1751) does not even mention Pythagoras name in his lecture The Advantages Enjoyed by the Fraternity (1735). The Discourse Upon Masonry (1742) contains no such reference either. Rev. Charles Brockwell published his Lecture on the Connection between Freemasonry and Religion (1747) and that makes no such reference. It was only in the early 1750's that references to Pythagoras as a major figure in the history of Freemasonry began to appear in the various MS editions of the Lectures associated with the three Degrees. The idea of him being a founder gained significance with the publication of the now infamous forgery, the Locke-Lelande MS, in the Gentlemans Magazine in 1753. That spurious medieval document claimed that Peter Gower [i.e., Pythagoras] a Grecian journeyedde ffor kunnynge yn Egypt and in Syria and in everyche Londe wherat the Venetians [i.e., Phoenicians] hadde planntedde Maconrye and wynnynge Entraunce yn al Lodges of Maconnes, he lerned muche, and retournedde and woned [i.e., lived] yn Grecia Magna wachsynge [i.e., growing] and becommyne a myghtye wyseacre [i.e., philosopher] and gratelyche renouned and he framed a grate Lodge at Groton [i.e., Crotona in southern Italy] and maked many Maconnes, some whereoffe dyd journeye yn Fraunce, and maked manye Maconnes wherefromme, yn processe of Tyme, the Arte passed yn Englelonde. The story was accepted unquestioningly by most major Masonic writers thereafter but has since been shown to be an 18th century forgery, the purpose of which may have been to lend some historical respectability (via Pythagoras) and academic respectability (via the John

Locke association) to the Masonic phenomenon. Such general acceptance of the Pythagoras connection within Lodges working practices is shown, for example, by the inclusion of the 47th Proposition design within some of the early 19th century Tracing Boards. It was also a measure of its general acceptance that it was incorporated into the design of the title pages of semi-official publications like Smiths Pocket Companion (from 1735 onwards) and the anonymous Multa Paucis for Lovers of Secrets (c. 1764). As far as Past Masters jewels in the 18th century were concerned, there was no official rule for the design. Indeed, the English exposures of the 1760's specify other designs. Moreover, there are many portraits of famous freemasons then who were Past Masters of Lodges which show them wearing jewels of quite different designs although they did not have any official approval by the Premier Grand Lodge. Even within the newly created UGLE there does not appear to have been any opinion in favour of the use of the symbol. For instance, the Minutes of the Quarterly Communication held on 2 May 1814 laid down that the following Masonic clothing and insignia be worn by the Craft and that no other be permitted in the Grand Lodge or any subordinate Lodge Jewels Past Masters The Square within a Quadrant. And yet within 19 months, on the publication of the 1815 edition of the Book of Constitutions (the first to be issued by the UGLE) things had changed: the Square and Quadrant design had been abandoned and the present 47th Proposition design had been adopted. No reasons were given and Masonic historians have been unable to find any. It is possible, however, that when the Square and Quadrant design became part of the new jewel for the Grand Master and Past Grand Masters (a distinction which has since been extended to other high officers) then something else had to be found to distinguish less important Brethren. Yet why was this geometric Pythagorean symbol adopted by the UGLE for the Past Masters jewel rather than any other? Possibly Andersons assumption was by then almost 100 years old and had acquired sufficient respectability as not to be questioned. But if the old operative stonemasons had used it they did so no more than purely as a pragmatic solution formulated over generations by similar craftsmen who need some quick method of checking the existing angles of their stone buildings rather than as a practical method of setting out right angles on the sites to start the construction of those buildings. There was probably nothing esoteric in their use of the 47th Proposition on the building sites.

Builders tools squares, levels, plumb-rules, compasses were also adopted by the founders of speculative Freemasonry. All of these hint at the other potent myth of the possible origin of Freemasonry in the medieval operative stonemasons yards and hence, for 18th century minds, at its probable antiquity and hence at its respectability. Moreover, the builders tools allude to the manipulation of matter (a traditional alchemical process surely) and, by extension, to ethics - to the structuring of morality on a grand scale. Two kinds of perambulatory symbols were incorporated subtly and the 18th century progressed and the Lodges acquired their own rooms. There are circular movements and movements forward in straight lines.

The movements around the chambers were devised to represent the peregrination motif, or the quest. These circular movements are usually, but not always, made in a clockwise direction. They betoken a Candidates wandering in search of enlightenment. Some of the obvious

examples of these circular movements would be those taken in 1. the Royal Arch Exaltation; 2. the final pilgrimage alone carrying the skull and lighted candle during the Knights Templar Installation; 3. the August Order of Light ceremonies; 4. the opening part of the Admission into Royal Order of Scotland (done, interestingly, widdershins = anti-clockwise) and 5. the Royal Master Degree around the symbolic Ark of the Covenant in the cave below the Temple. The other movements, or steps forward in straight lines in various guises, were adopted to indicate direct or undeviating progress towards of enlightenment. Some of the obvious examples of these are: 1. the steps the steps taken forward towards the Altar by the Candidate in each of the three basic Craft Degrees (as he is taught how to approach the east = source of enlightenment) immediately before taking his Obligations; 2. the steps taken in the Zelator Grade of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia up the line of Ancients who are seated in a straight line facing east and each represents one of the four primary elements - earth, water, air and fire - (the Candidate ascending therefore symbolically through from the basic (earth) to the highest (fire).

One clearly Hermetic symbol is associated with the circular perambulations in the English Royal Arch ceremony which began to feature in the early decades of the 18th century in England. That is the zodiac, an image of remarkable potency. Of course, the zodiac still forms a key component in the Scottish Royal Arch ceremonial (for example around the architraves of the subterranean vaults of which there are at least 12 full-sized ones in use even today; in the design of the two Great Crimson and Green Banners and in the design of the members jewels. Zodiacs are also used in in the ceiling designs in at least 13 English masonic halls. This is very much in accordance with the well-documented European tradition of ceiling decoration in large public and private buildings dating from classical times. Perhaps its widespread use in masonic premises indicates a continuing pre-occupation with the concept of a wellestablished, harmonious cosmic order and the cyclic movement of time. There was also a tendency in the decoration of large public buildings from the Renaissance onwards towards systematic illustration of a compendious order manifested between a persistent inter-relationship between ceilings and floor decorations. Thus, there are many 19th century examples of the zodiacs projected on to the floors of Masonic temples using the design in specially woven carpets.

We can see this transfer from ceiling to floor in the spectacular decoration of the Grand Lodge Hall itself. The first hall was opened in 1776 roughly near the present site in Great Queen Street in London. A contemporary freemason, Capt. George Smith, described it in the following enthusiastic terms: The roof of this magnificent Hall is in all probability the highest finished piece of

workmanship in Europe, having gained universal applause from all beholders, and has raised the character of the architect (Richard Cox) beyond expression. In the center (sic) of this roof a most splendid sun is represented in burnished gold, surrounded by the twelve signs of the Zodiac with their respective characters The emblematic meaning of the sun is well known to the enlightened and inquisitive Freemason the scientific free-mason only knows the reason why the sun is thus placed in the center of this beautiful Hall. The second Hall was designed in 1869 and the zodiacal ceiling was replaced a huge black and white squared carpet with a central circular design depicting the Square and Compasses symbol surrounded by the zodiacal sigils in roundels. The third and present Hall was furbished in the late 1930s and once again the zodiac sigils were placed around the ceiling. This transfer of the zodiacs from ceilings to floors may have been done not just because it was somewhat less expensive. The incorporation of the zodiacs into the carpet design may have helped intentionally to lend essential significance to the Royal Arch ceremony. The Altars are located centrally in that rite and therefore within the circular zodiacal design where those particular carpets are in use. The Candidates are led around the Altars several times throughout the ceremony thus tracing a circular route around the zodiac. If they are engaged symbolically on their quest towards enlightenment then their actual movements could be interpreted as their voyaging across the universe (represented by the zodiacal sigils) towards that light. Certainly, it was this that the mid-19th century devisers of the rituals of the obscure August Order of Light had in mind for the Candidates circular perambulations which form a distinctive part of those ceremonies. The earliest English reference to the zodiacal sigils in relation to Freemasonry is to be found in the Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of the Premier Grand Lodge held on 26 November 1728. On that occasion the Grand Master pro tem proposed the revival of the custom of having Stewards to organise the Annual Festivals. The record states: The Health of the twelve stewards was proposed and drunk with twelve alluding to the twelve Signes of the Zodiack as well to their Number While there is very little English evidence that the zodiacal signs were included specifically in masonic ceremonies, several widely-used publications, dating from the later half of the 18th century do contain direct references to them and the zodiac signs were used in De Lintots Rite of Seven Degrees (by the short-lived Lodge of Perfect Observance under William Prestons schismatic Grand Lodge South of the River Trent in the late 1770's). The final Degree of that series - the Scottish Heredom - used the sigils in a circular configuration. In some of the oldest Lodges in North Carolina take their origins from the Premier Grand Lodge. The zodiacal symbols still appear in their Third Degree ritual which has been preserved since the 1770's. At a certain point in the ceremony a long, broad strip of white canvas cloth is laid on the floor along the north, west and south sides of the room. These strips have the 12 signs painted on them and 12 volunteer Brethren stand on them, one at each of the signs. Each makes learned responses in rotation in answer to catechismical questions addressed by the Master. If the 12 signs collectively represent the universe and each Brother responding to the interrogation represents his zodiacal sign and the Master represents King Solomon, then this ritual could be interpreted as enacting the universe answering Solomons quest for wisdom.

A parallel tradition was preserved within the Wooler ritual which was worked in parts of Northumberland even as late as the 1820's. It contains an extended Zodiacal Lecture in which each sigil is associated with a corresponding legend in classical mythology. Its continued use until the third decade of the 19th century suggests at least a residue of a former pre-occupation with the zodiac signs among northern speculative Freemasons. In France, however, the signs of the zodiac were used in ritual preserved in a MS that forms part of a collection of 81 Degrees of Hermetic Masonry amassed by Jean Eustache Peuvert (d. 1800), a member of the Grand Orient de France. Among the MSS contained in these six quarto volumes are the texts of 12 zodiacal Degrees that had been worked by the Metropolitan Chapter of France in Paris during the latter half of the 18th century before the Revolution.

The founding fathers of speculative Freemasonry used the geometry of Lodge rooms in several symbolic ways. Originally Masonic Lodges met in the upper rooms of taverns and coffee houses. Even the Premier Grand Lodge itself did not own any permanent premises until 1767. It was only when the Lodges began to acquire their own premises in the latter part of the 18th century that they were able to set out their furniture and equipment more or less permanently. These private premises certainly helped to reinforce a key aspect of the Hermetic tradition: separatedness and exclusivity. Furthermore, the rooms became defining spaces in which the members were able to enact their espoused utopianism. In that sense they functioned as working laboratories in which the very architectural layout became a constant symbol.

The rooms were nearly always constructed in the dramatically simple form of a double cube in allusion to the altars that were in the Tabernacle and Temple. The principal officers, Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, were to be seated (as they are now) in the east, west and south respectively. If a straight line were to be drawn from the Master, to the Junior Warden and then extended to the Senior Warden, an exact right angle would be constructed. That figure represented conveniently a stonemasons square, a working implement that was allude repeatedly in the ritual to the ethical dimensions of a freemasons daily conduct (the emphasis being on his practising square conduct in all of his dealings with other folk). The fact that it is the three principal officers of any Lodge which could construct this basic ethical geometrical figure by their actual locations in respect to each other within the Lodge rooms should not be without significance to the ordinary members while watching the performances of the ceremonies. If a line were to be drawn to represent the route of the Candidates circular perambulations around the rooms is added to the square and triangle figures, then the result is surely the traditional Vitruvian figure. Hence, the square Lodge room, the triangular location of the principal officers and the Candidates circular perambulations together compose that wonderful Vitruvian glyph which represents so much of what Renaissance men conceived as Mans place in the universe. But most of this remains hidden to most English speculative freemasons because symbols and emblems are problematic for most modern minds. Most native English-speaking people tend now not to think or be educated in symbolic and emblematic thinking so most initiates find the requirement to conceptualise using abstract symbols somewhat daunting. But that was not the case when the foundations of speculative Freemasonry were being laid in the early years of the 18th century in London. Education people were used to thinking emblematically and symbolically. For instance, it was assumed that by beginning of the 18th century the Renaissance tradition of printing emblem books had begun to decline generally but more recent research has shown that the printing of them did not die out post-1700. There were

about 150-250 editions and re-issues of emblem books with English texts printed from 1680 to 1750 and there were at least 20 different titles in the first two decades of the 18th century. The fact that there were only 30 or so original titles published in England in the previous 50 years would seem to suggest that there was a sustained public appetite for emblems and symbols and for the imaginative interpretation of them. Modern minds may cope very adequately with hosts of symbols very day in the profane world (e.g., when travelling along a road, either as a driver, a passenger or a pedestrian) but in the present Masonic ceremonies there are many visual and verbal symbols which the Candidate will have to understand. He is given some brief instruction during the actual ceremony and since that instruction is quite properly withheld from those who are not members of the Lodge (i.e., from those who might be called the profane), then it might be called esoteric. However, interpretation of symbols is not so much a matter of intellectual study as a matter of life and applied experience. It is quite possible, therefore, that in any Lodge meeting during the enactment of one of the Craft ceremonies, one member has acquired such experience of life that has given him a better understanding of the particular symbols, while another sitting next to him lacks both that depth or intensity of experience and the resultant level of understanding. The former has acquired knowledge that is truly esoteric not that it is withheld from the latter but because it is, as yet, beyond his grasp until he has had comparable experience of life that will eventually bring a similar enlightenment to him. When an initiate is informed that there are several Degrees in Freemasonry, with peculiar secrets restricted to each, this is itself a symbol of a hidden truth: that even among Brethren who have acquired the same Degree, there may be some who have insightful knowledge while others lack it not because it has been withheld from them but simply because it is as yet beyond their present potential to grasp and understand. They have not yet had those life experiences that are necessary to quicken their potential capacity and make it actual. System This word was chosen very carefully by the compilers of the ritual. It hints at the late 17th century origins of speculative Freemasonry, an era when the cultural and intellectual life of the nation was dominated by the all-pervading legacy of Newton. Much has been made of Newtonism, in particular of the possible contribution which the Royal Society in London may have made to the emergence of the Masonic phenomenon. For example, attention has been drawn from time to time to the fact that at any one time during the first half of the 18th century at least 25% of the Fellows of the Royal Society were freemasons. According to the 1723 masonic membership List, 40 Fellows (i.e., 25% of the total membership of the Royal Society) belonged to London Lodges. Of these, 23 were Fellows before their Initiations and 16 were elected to their Fellowships after their Initiations. Of the former sub-group, 13 had been elected before the re-founding of the Grand Lodge in June 1717. Examination of the 1723 List shows that 32 of these 40 Fellows still retained their membership of their Lodges and it also shows that a further 27 had been initiated before them. Of this latter intake, 16 had been elected to their Fellowships before their Initiations and 11 were elected after that. By 1725, 59 Fellows (i.e., still 25% of the Societys total membership!) were freemasons. Examination of the Lists for 1723, 1725 and 1730 shows that nine Fellows continued their membership of their various Lodges throughout the decade. It has also been noted that these Fellows were members of at least 29 different Lodges that worked mostly in or around the central London area. Therefore, it has been assumed that this elite membership was not concentrated in just a few Lodges; nor were they simply responding to the novelty of

belonging to a new institution; nor to the social cachet of belonging (when it may have been perceived that some important noblemen had accepted the titular leadership of it in successive years). The assumption is that there must have been something more than the mere reenactment of medieval builders ceremonies which attracted these distinguished men who contributed to the scientific literature of the nation. However, before too much weight is placed on this remarkable incidence of Fellows of the Royal Society as freemasons, the morphology of Royal Society membership itself. For instance, it is by no means certain what kind of sample the membership of the Society provides. While it may be accepted that the Society did form some kind of English elite in the field of scientific investigation, it remains unclear even to this date what precise relationship its membership bore to the contemporary English scientific community generally and no one has yet been able to answer the following crucial and related questions:

What prompted some scientific enthusiasts to join the Society while others did not accept membership? To what extent could membership be due to motives that had nothing to do with an interest/skill in science?

It is beginning to emerge that less formal and even accidental factors limited recruitment to the Society and these produced thereby both positive and negative distortions in the membership. These distortions are important factors in assessing the relationship between the Societys membership and the general phenomenon of scientific enthusiasm in late Stuart England. It is now clear that in its early days the Royal Society was never central to the scientific activities of those many investigators who were based elsewhere in the provinces. Furthermore, judging from the elaborate genealogical links delineated in the data collected assiduously by William Bullock in the late 1820s, there are many instances when the only apparent reason for someone joining the Royal Society seems to have been the candidates social and/or family connections with those who were already members. Many of its aristocratic recruits were valued as much for the social eminence as for their enthusiasm and the inclusion of those names in the published membership lists gave much-needed testimony to the Societys espousal of the new science as well as lending a certain social eclat. Indeed, there is every reason now to suspect that these printed sheets were used deliberately as proselytising propaganda by the Society and that there may well have been considerable truth in the common contemporary and repeated complaint that the Fellows came to the meetings only as to a play to amuse themselves for an hour or so. While analysis of the Societys membership cannot illustrate fully the social, political or religious affiliations of science, nevertheless it may provide a partial illustration of the social, political or religious affiliations of the supporters of the Royal Society in London which is something quite different. Moreover, the same sort of caveat can be made about not attributing too much significance to the involvement of 25% of the Fellows in Freemasonry. If a quarter of the Societys members became freemasons because they judged that there was something worthwhile pursing in the Lodges activities, what does that say about the remaining 75% who did not become freemasons? That said, the Royal Society did have a sustained interest in Hermeticism in its early decades. Prominent members then were as much exercised by the underlying mystical principles and harmonies of the perceived universe as they were about furthering practical experimentation. In 1667, for example, the Society issued several alchemical and Hermetic questionnaires to foreign correspondents to solicit their views and accumulate records of their experiences.

Lynn Thorndikes analysis of the first 20 volumes of the Societys Philosophical Transactions revealed that there was a persistent preoccupation in Hermeticism over several generations in common with members of other such Societies in Europe and Keith Hutchinson has shown that there were continuing underlying Hermetic qualities in the Scientific Revolution. In the Societys library there are meticulous MSS copies of geometric drawings taken directly from Perspectiva Corporum Regulatium, a book published in 1568 by Wenzel Jamnitzer. He was a distinguished member of a secretive circle of scholars, the Rosenkreizern, which flourished in Nurnberg in the early decades of the 17th century. The same clandestine association had no less a personage than Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), one of the most original scientific thinkers of the age, as its secretary. Another of its prominent members, Johann Wulfer, emigrated to London in the latter part of the same century and became a close associate of four Fellows of the Royal Society: Boyle, Pell, Oldenberg and Haak. Another Rosicrucian group, called Aufrichtige Geselleschaft von der Tanne, flourished in Strasbourg from 1633. One of its leading proponents, Georg Rudolph Weckherlin (15841653), also came to live in London and after 1642 was employed in several key Chancery posts. He became a close friend of Hartlib and Pell. A third such group, the Collegium Philosophicum (or Societas Ereunetica) was founded in Rostock in 1619 by Joachim Junge (1587-1657). He was also a close associate of Hartlib. Likewise, Comenius, who was connected closely with Zesen, the founder of the Drei Rosen group in Hamburg, came to reside is London in 1641 at the express invitation of Hartlib and his Oxford circle. There were several other such sustained connections among English scientific revolutionaries with Continental Rosicrucianism at that time particularly among those various English groups that were not centred on Oxford and London and therefore, those Hermetic doctrines espoused by the Continental sources may have percolated into early speculative Freemasonry via the Royal Society.

SOME EVIDENCE OF EARLY MASONIC INVOLVEMENT IN HERMETICISM PART IV

Something has been said already that there may be Hermetic traces in the masonic rituals but it is when we look for any trace of Hermetic involvement in the earliest days of English speculative Freemasonry that we encounter a familiar difficulty. The Lodges records from the early decades of the 18th century are scrappy to say the least. Their secretaries were not always diligent in keeping the records and even in making the required Annual Returns of their members to the Premier Grand Lodge. There was a sustained, widespread resentment of such interference from London. Generally, those Minute Books that do survive only provide dates, places and rough indications who attended the meetings and what office (if any) hey took during the ceremonies. Even the Premier Grand Lodge itself does not seem to have bothered to keep Minutes of its own proceedings until five years after its founding and although Scotland has splendid sets of Lodge records (some of which date from the late 16th century!), they too very fragmentary in their detail. Even so, much has been made of the experience of the ancient Lodges in Kilwinning, Aberdeen and Edinburgh which were attracting gentlemen as members even in the middle of the 17th century. The point which David Stevenson and others have made recently is that something extraordinary must have been occupying these Lodges to make these busy educated men want to join and what is perhaps more important to retain their memberships over several decades and to celebrate that membership - as does that notable alchemist, Latin scholar and artillery officer Sir Robert Moray FRS for instance. With this in mind perhaps something tentative might be said about what may have been Hermetic features of the work by a few members of some of the earliest English Lodges. There were possibly some esoteric characteristics but they were short-lived and fragmentary. Perhaps they indicated the emergence of a broadly based Hermetic approach but, in the English cultural climate that was severely pragmatic and sceptical in outlook, they did not survive for long. The general nature of those early activities and, by implication, the underlying Hermetic principles seem to have been lost somehow from English-speaking Freemasonry since those formative times. As indicated above, we have to rely mostly on evidence that does not come from the Lodges themselves. For example, the Letter of Verus Commodus (1725), an anti-masonic pamphlet, refers scornfully to the August Title of Kabalists a Knot of whimsical, delirious Wretches who are caballing together, to extirpate all manner of Science, Reason and Religion. One of the better-known pieces of evidence is part of an obscure 1715 publication entitled Long Livers, an English translation of a French book by De Longeville Harcouet. The translator and editor was one Eugenius Philalethes FRS (= the talented Robert Samber, a prolific translator and author). It is his Dedicatory Letter to Long Livers that contains some pertinent references to Hermetic activities that may have been occurring among some early groups of English freemasons. Samber claims that Freemasonry belongs to an uninterrupted Tradition and that individual freemasons are living stones built [into] a spiritual house, a chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood as well as imprisoned exiled Children and Sons of Science who are illuminated with the sublimest Mysteries and profoundest secrets . God is conceptualised as the Centre of all Things, yet [HE] knows no Circumference. There were many hermetic books published in a great variety in European languages in the early decades of the 18th century so Samber was probably well acquainted with at least the vocabulary. This is shown repeatedly, for example, in his Treatise of the Plague (1721) which he also dedicated to the then Grand Master, the Duke of Montague. What is also interesting to note in this Dedicatory Letter is that Samber

mentions that were several levels of masonic understanding and this was within a mere five years of the founding of the Premier Grand Lodge. When he addresses his fellow freemasons, the dedicatees, he draws a clear distinction between
those of you who are not far illuminated, who stand in the outward Place and are not yet worthy to look behind the Veil and those who have greater Light.

There is some evidence of Hermetic involvement in some of the Lodges inventories. English Lodges owned very few books, of course, but one of those titles which features often in these lists is The Voyages of Cyrus by the Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay (1686-1743). Ramsay had probably been initiated in c. 1728 in the Old Horn Lodge (Westminster) shortly after his return to England after a 20-year sojourn in various European cities. His career and his [in]famous Oration (1737) have attracted plenty of attention. Apart from his education connections with the Royal House of Stuart in exile, he was masonically and culturally the equal of many of the FRS who joined that Lodge at about the same time. His first work, however, which dealt in a fictional form with copious learned excursions into ancient theological and philosophical systems, was his very popular Voyages de Cyrus (1727). In this and other writings, Ramsay shows himself to have been the intellectual heir of the Cambridge Platonist, Ralph Cudworth (1616-1688), whose True Intellectual System of the Universe (1st end.,1678) was hugely influential in the cultural life of the nation then. It was after his Initiation that Ramsay had his Voyages de Cyrus translated into English by Bro. Nathaniel Hooke (d. 1763) and he added a long Discourse upon the Theology and Mythology of the Ancients in which he attempted to support his narrative with precise if somewhat obscure references to classical literature, providing extensive quotations in the original languages and including copies extracts from esoteric texts such as the Hermetica, the Oracula Chaldaica and the Orphica. It was an extremely popular venture which went through 30 English editions, and was even translated in German, Italian, Spanish and Greek. The fact that the masonic Lodges purchased copies and loaned them out to members would seem to suggest a taste of such Hermetic exploration then amongst ordinary freemasons. Then there are other clues in the following hitherto unexploited particular sources:

the records of the Old Kings Arms Lodge, now no. 28, which still meets in London; the mysterious collection of Kaballistic drawings known as the Byrom Collection and named after their enigmatic former owner, John Byrom FRS (1691-1763), a Jacobite, inventor of a primitive form of short-hand writing, freemason and spy; the ritual of the Order of Heredom which became transmuted eventually into the present day Royal Order of Scotland and the Royal Arch Ceremony.

The Old Kings Arms Lodge began its long history in 1725. When it began there were only 14 members. The first extant Minute Book covers the years 1733-1756 after the Lodge had moved to the Kings Arms Tavern in the Strand. By then there were 43 new members, none of whom had been among the original founders. A tradition had been acquired somehow of being entertained by lectures on a whole variety of abstruse subjects at the regular meetings. Within just one decade (6 August 1733 to 4 January 1743) there were 36 lectures/demonstrations that can be described broadly as Hermetic in the broadest sense. It is worthwhile recalling the subjects of these lectures:

Topic No. of Lectures (Human) Physiology, including practical dissections (!) 7 Scientific phenomena and techniques 7 Ethical concepts 6

Architecture 5 Industrial processes 3 Mechanical inventions and scientific apparatus 3 Art and aesthetics 2 History (classical) 1 Masonic apparel 1 Mathematics 1
Even though it was only one of about 60 Lodges in and around London at that time, the frequency of these meetings of the Old Kings Arms Lodge and the fact that they were continued over a decade would seem to suggest at least something about the character and intellectual background of the membership of this particular London Lodge. It hints at what they regarded a legitimate or proper working of a masonic Lodge (i.e., that it was not merely a Degree factory or a convivial foregathering in a tavern). The variety of topics is revealing itself. It shows the London Enlightenment gentlemen freemason at his leisure, interested in the practical application of sciences and in the philosophical bases of ethical concepts, his vision rooted firmly in this world though hardly limited or inward-looking. His Freemasonry has not yet become introverted, feeding only on itself. His was a clearly marked fascination with measuring and quantification which not only suggests something of the English Enlightenment mentalite in general but also goes some way to explaining in particular the frequency of the references to geometry and practical measuring apparatus which came to proliferate throughout the English masonic rituals. Sadly, however, the Hermetic exploration by the members of this Lodge declined in the late 1740s. Even by the early years of that decade there is some indication in the Minute Book that the original impetus for papers was abating. On 2 February 1743 there is a reference to fact that
frequent Disappointments had happened by Brethren not performing their Promises of giving Lectures

and by the end of the year (7 December 1743) things had become even more desperate obviously because the Minutes state
The Master called upon several Brethren to oblige the Lodge with a Lecture upon any useful subject which not being compiled with, Sir Robert Lawley was so kind to offer a further continuance of a lecture in Masonry either on the next or the succeeding Lodge night

In case it may be thought that this approach to Freemasonry was unique to only one London Lodge in those days, it may be worthwhile recalling that the practice of having lectures delivered regularly at Lodge meetings was wide-spread. According to Francis Drake of York in 1726
most Lodges in London, and several other Parts of this Kingdom, [my emphasis] a Lecture on some Point of Geometry or Architecture is given at every Meeting

Bro. William Smith of Gateshead, in the Preface to his compilation The Book M (1736), wrote that he recommended to his subscribing readers in their Lodges the Studys (sic) of Geometry and Architecture and that there should never pass a Lodge Night without some Discourse upon those Heads. The anonymous author of the half-exposure/half-apology of Freemasonry, A Word to the Wise

(1795), reported that

from the Minute Books of various lodges in the earliest dates, it would appear that the Members were not content with merely proceeding in the usual form of Masonry, but Lectures were occasionally given by those who were qualified in the branches of the Arts and Sciences.

The same author noted that the members of the Grand Stewards Lodge meeting in London
in particular on their public nights entertained their visitors with a diversity of knowledge Natural Philosophy in general, dissertations on the laws and properties of Nature, the doctrine of fluids etc., were commented upon and explained. These subjects were gratifications to the intelligent and which primarily distinguished this fountain of honour.

There are traces of Hermetic lectures being delivered to meetings elsewhere. For instance, Desaguliers delivered such an oration on 24 June 1721 to the Premier Grand Lodge in Stationers Hall in the City of London. Five years later, referring to an as yet untraced London Lodge of Antediluvian Masons due to meet in the Ship Tavern in Bishopsgate Street on 24 June 1726, a newspaper advertisement mentioned that there would be
several lectures on Ancient Masonry, particularly on the Signification of the Letter G a particular Description of the Temple of Solomon [as well as] an Oration in the Henlean stile (sic).

Martin Clare, a London schoolmaster, entertained the members of the Grand Stewards Lodge on 17 November 1735 with
an excellent Discourse containing some maxims and Advice that concerned the Society in general.

According to the later testimony of Oliver, Clares

grave and quiet method of delivery made a strong impression on the audience and [his] conclusion was received with loud approbation

Certainly his lecture was considered to be so good by those present that they asked the Master of the Lodge, one Sir Robert Lawley a Kabbalistic associate of Byrom (see below) to recommend to the Grand Lodge that they hear it again. This was done on 11 December 1735 to great Attention and Applause. Clare later had the revised text printed in a yet untraced pamphlet and this version was translated thereafter into both French and German (1754). John Byroms life and taste for Hermeticism have been described already by Joy Hancox. His library is revelatory. A catalogue of his 3,300+ titles and 40+ MSS was printed privately in 1848 and fortunately most of the collection came to the Chetham Library in Manchester in 1870. This collection reveals Byroms sustained interest in theology, ecclesiastical history, liturgy, apologetics, mysticism and the occult. For instance, there were 26 titles by his close friend, the non-juror mystic William Law (1636-1761) as well as first editions of Agrippas De Occulta Philosophia (1533) and Portas Natural Magick (1591). There were also books on necromancy and witchcraft together with copies of Reuchlins De Arte Caballistica, The Divine Pymander and Dees Monas Hierogylphica. There were many of the standard mathematical and geometrical texts, works by Descartes, books on trigonometry and a wide selection of alchemical texts, ranging from Bacon to Boyle. There were contemporary scientific works too, including the standard works of Newton and the then latest volumes on electricity and magnetism as well as

books on codes, including a rare, valuable copy of John Falconers early work on codes Cryptomenis Patefacta (1685). Byroms interest in physiology and medicine is reflected in his ownership of texts ranging from Galen and Paracelsus, Elizabethan herbals and pharmocopeias to the latest research in inoculation. In addition, his collection contained Rosicrucian texts by Andrea, Maier and Vaughan. Byroms enthusiasm for Hermetic exploration is also evidenced in his membership of a discussion group known only from many references to it in his journal as the Sun Club. This group of freemasons met weekly at various London taverns from the late 1720s, including the Goose and Gridiron tavern in St Pauls Churchyard. It included some interesting personalities some of whom, such as Martin Folkes, George Graham, James Jurin and Ralph Leycester, were active freemasons. Sadly, there are no surviving clues as to what these enthusiasts discussed at their weekly gatherings but we can glean some impression perhaps by reference to the published records of a comparable provincial group of which some of them were also members: the Spalding Gentlemens Society. The latter group had a permanent home. This enabled them to accumulate their own library and museum, a physics garden and even their own harpsichord (for their frequent musical recitals). Their lectures, demonstrations and discussions covered a wide range of literary and scientific topics, including archaeology, astronomy, biology, engineering, horticulture, mathematics, medicine and ornithology, and the prestige of the group might be indicated by the fact that no less a personage than Newton was a member. These were the fairly conventional enthusiasms of leisured middle-class amateurs. The general features of their interest in literature, history, science and mathematics, as cultural phenomenon have been very well delineated and there is nothing much that might be called classically Hermetic in their discussions. However, Byrom wanted to expand the range of his inquiries with his companion explorers so, on 9 March 1725, he proposed to the members of the Sun Club the formation of an inner group to be called the Caballah Club. This also met regularly but more secretly in London taverns and it is the activities of this smaller group of Hermeticists, some of whom at least were freemasons, that is most interesting. The range of their occult discussions is shown by the unique Byrom Collection which was found (accidentally) in 1969. This collection consists of 516 separate pieces of paper and card, of varying thicknesses, sizes and shapes. The materials range from thick and mottled coarse card to fine paper. Some of them (171) can be dated from the mid- to late-17th century using watermarks which are well-known. They consist of drawings, done very carefully by hand and using geometrical precision instruments. Some are coloured yellow and gold and a few have the telltale press marks which show that they may have been patterns for printing. There is a variety of styles of calligraphy, beautifully styled and executed, displaying a remarkable consistent standard of penmanship over several generations of scribes. Viewed generally, the drawings date from the late 1570s to 1732 but the MS comments in margins are written in English, French, German and Latin in a variety of cursive styles that were common in the mid-17th and early-18th centuries. At least some of these drawings may have been copied from a curious Rosicrucian collection, or scrapbook, in the British Library that had been compiled pseudonymously by a Theophilus Schweighardt and is entitled Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum (1618). There are two crucial considerations to take into account when assessing the importance and relevance of this collection. Firstly, it was a collection, kept secretly in tact among the Byrom family archives. Secondly, there are several signs that these curious pieces of MSS were actually working drawings that were referred to and passed around (perhaps among several people who knew their significance). For instance, many of them have very old coffee stains and candle wax marks. Some others have hastily scrawled notes added. Yet others have pierced holes from the repeated practical use of compasses. Moreover, the whole sequence, as it was discovered, had

been rearranged by someone so that they do not appear in any logical sequence. Still others have larger holes at their top edges hinting probably that they were hung up on string in displays. Others have tiny pencil dots which would imply that at least one user has been engaged in measuring the dimensions of the figures therein. The drawings cover an interesting range of topics. Lots of them display plans of at least five wellknown London theatres dating from Elizabethan and Jacobean times. These are based largely on the plans of Roman theatres based on a French version of Vitruvius and others based on Palladian designs. Several are drawings of complex timber roofing constructions, such as the Rhenish Helm format. The drawings are so accurate that it has been proved possible to reconstruct a threedimensional scale model of the Globe Theatre using some of them. Another group of the drawings are concerned with sacred locations such as Kings College Chapel, Cambridge; the Temple in London and Westminster Abbey. Others depict complex military fortifications from Renaissance Italy. Another group shows miscellaneous symbols that have Hermetic significance: the letter Tau, the Swastika, the Hexalpha and the Hexagon. There is a group of compass cards to be used in navigation. One card depicts the five Platonic Solids; another shows the Tree of Life and several show designs for three-dimensional lectern-shaped sundials and 24-hour clocks such as those at Lamancha and Haddington in Scotland. Of especial interest and relevance in the present connection are the names of men whom the MSS mention and who are known to have strong Rosicrucian and/or Hermetic connections: Colet, Riley, Fludd, Dee, Le Bon, Boehme, Meirer and Khunrath. This is a veritable Whos Who of the western Hermetic tradition. The Order of Heredom originated among Scots freemasons living mostly in or around London. It was formed in the early 1730s to correct the abuses which they perceived to have crept into St Johns Masonry. This so-called Scots (or Ecossais) Masonry was intended to form a superior, more knowledgeable Freemasonry and its members attributed to themselves a sort of supervisory, inspectorial role. It was certainly resented by some of the leading members of the Premier Grand Lodge because its very raison detre was to correct the mistakes which the latter were alleged to have been introducing into Freemasonry by, inter alia, abbreviating the Lectures. Another reason for it being rejected by the London-based masonic authorities then could have been its popularity among freemasons in France, Englands traditional enemy. The ritual contains distinctively Hermetic and Kabbalistic themes. Among the most important of these are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. mystical perambulations representing the souls pilgrimage in search of a Lost Word; an recurring emphasis on numbers (e.g., 9, 7, 5 and 3); references to the Seven Wonders of the World; allusions to men who are said never to have died (e.g., Enoch transported by fire into Heaven); references to the descent and removal of the Divine Shekinah; escape from the imprisoning confines of human physicality; admission into a Cabinet of Wisdom; allusions to Kabbalistic dimensions assigned to the Christian Church and to the generality of the east-west alignment of all sacred buildings; remarkable passages encapsulating an apocalyptic vision of the Last Judgement.

Part of its regalia is a thistle green cordon or baldrick and so the Order of Heredom may have been the so-called green-ribbonned cabal which is referred to several times in some of the

contemporary anti-masonic literature. However, it died out quickly in England probably because of the determined opposition of the Premier Grand Lodge. After c. 1756 it was transported to Edinburgh where it became transformed into what is now called The Royal Order of Scotland. That Order is still very active on a world-wide basis, is much cherished and continues to contribute a distinguished Scottish variety of Hermetic lived-through experience in a masonic context for the Brethren who are privileged to be invited to join its elite ranks. With the departure into Scotland of the Order of Heredom (Heredim = Princes or Rulers), the English masonic landscape became even more impoverished as far is any emergent Hermeticism is concerned. In one way the intensity of the esoteric vision which it represented was replaced by the Royal Arch ceremony with its emphasis on the deliberate burial of a secret Word in an underground vault within the Temple precincts and the accidental discovery of that secret text by stonemasons employed in the reconstruction of the Temple after the return of the remnant of faithful Jews from their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. The esoteric features of the Royal Arch ceremony include the following:

a subterranean cave; concealment of arcaneities (texts and carved inscriptions) in that vault in order to preserve them from the profane; the legend of the accidental discovery of those secrets by ordinary workers who could not understand at first what it was they had found until the significance was explained to them; the rewarding of those discoverers; the revealing of the meaning of that hitherto hidden Word which is taken to refer to the Supreme Deity.

The theme of a subterranean vault containing hidden artefacts and accompanying the discovery of these with Hermetic instruction is echoed also in the Royal Master Degree one of a sequence of four Degrees invented in the mid19th century. In that ceremony, the Neophyte is accompanied by a Magus figure on seven circular perambulations around the precious Ark of the Covenant buried below Solomons Temple. During that journeying, the elder man imparts his accumulated wisdom to his new disciple in a lengthy oration. However, the sequence of Degrees, known collectively as the Royal and select Masters, is not very popular among English-speaking freemasons and only a tiny minority of brethren ever bother to join. Furthermore, what cannot be denied is that the Royal Arch ceremony was not always accepted officially among members of the Premier Grand Lodge as part of pure Freemasonry, even though some of them were active members of what they regarded as a separate masonic Order. Indeed, for several decades in the early 18th century there was active opposition and discouragement of Premier Grand Lodge Brethren from taking part in Royal Arch ceremonies. It found acceptance only slowly and its popularity increased fitfully throughout the 18th century. Its ritual is preserved today (more or less) although some of its zodiacal features were removed in the extensive revisions in the 1830s. However, the presence today of the Royal Arch ceremony does not prove that there are surviving Hermetic elements in speculative Freemasonry that influence the living-through experience of English-speaking freemasons generally. The Royal Arch is still not popular. Only a third of English freemasons ever bother to join it. In Scotland it is still regarded officially by that Grand Lodge as no part of ancient Freemasonry. Officially, the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Royal Arch of Scotland do not recognise each others existence even though, of course, most of the Royal Arch Chapters do meet in premises owned and operated by Craft Lodges and some of the leading office-bearers of the Scottish Craft have also been simultaneously the prominent office-bearers in the Royal Arch Order.

THE GENERAL HERMETIC FEATURES OF THE MASONIC RITUALS PART V

So what can be said of the general philosophical features of the kind of Freemasonry being practised in the English Lodges? The masonic rituals which have been left to us from those years hint at a crucial, underlying concept: that the universe is a piece of divinely regulated mechanism or clockwork and Man forms only a small, though significant part of that machinery. There are several clues about this 18th century Enlightenment weltanschauung. Consider the following nine clues about the basic features of speculative Freemasonry.

The very nomenclature used invariably throughout to refer to the Deity the Great Architect of the Universe and the Grand Geometician of the Universe puts forward a recurring image of the Deity, not as the remote Descartian self-contained First Principle, but as an Sublime Interventionist directing human affairs in accordance with His own laws. There are proliferating images of a celestial mechanism operating eternally according to Divinely ordained principles throughout the perceived cosmos. There are proliferating emphases on measuring and quantification, coupled with what is almost an obsession with numerical symmetry. There is a typically optimistic early 18th century assumption that by observing some simple moral rules freemasons will create internal as well as inter-personal harmony so as to mirror eventually the harmony enjoyed by the remote celestial spheres. Morality is conceptualised as a process for formalising patterns of human existence as idealisations. There is the proliferation throughout of three philosophical assumptions which David Hume, the most important Scottish representative of the northern Enlightenment, and other 18th century writers made popular: the universality, homogeneity and perfectibility of human nature. Morality is conceived, therefore, as a kind of celestial mechanics a state in which human nature is conceptualised as a kind of passive material that can be moulded correctly in a process, or chiselled in much the same way as stones were once carved using templates provided on the medieval building sites from designs conceived by the superintending Master Masons. There is also the unquestioning acceptance of that other early 18th century concepts of universalised beneficence and that of the Good Natured Man as a pursuable ideal. There is, moreover, a typically Augustan utopianism of universal Brotherhood coupled with an equally optimistic assumption that members of Lodges will be enabled to actually live their espoused utopia via the associationalism of their Lodges as on-going institutions.

When all of these and similar internal clues are taken together, the resulting accumulated perspective is that speculative Freemasonry was a creation of that crucial era in the philosophical, scientific and theological life of the English nation when it was dominated by all of those potent forces simultaneously. Some of these trends and the image of the spiritualised Temple of King Solomon may well have featured as part of the intellectual landscape before the latter half of the 17th century (e.g., John Bunyans Solomons Temple Spiritualisd and Samuel Lees Orbis Miraculum) but it was only at that particular period that they co-existed simultaneously. Speculative Freemasonry - as evidenced in the available texts, all of which have been published and well-documented - was very much the synthetic creation of a few Enlightenment English gentlemen probably based in London who borrowed extensively and imaginatively from a wide variety of sources then available. What is more important for the present purposes, however, is that some of these key features are clearly Hermetic in nature. Viewed from a textual point of

view, then, speculative Freemasonry may well have a legitimate claim to a secure part in the western Hermetic tradition as defined above. Since then there have been some notable revisions and emendations of the basic Craft rituals from time to time. For example, in the late 1980s the Gothic, physical penalties associated with the Obligations taken by members in each of the three Degrees were removed by the UGLE because they were now considered to be too blood-thirsty and definitely not in accord with the perceived mentality of the late 20th century. Another notable occasion was when the Royal Arch ceremony came up recently for some amendment again due not to doctrinal persuasion but because some Christian Churches had been criticising the ritual especially with one of the words used therein to refer to the Deity. By any standard these were major changes. The alterations to the Obligations surely presented splendid opportunities for a thorough, systematic and philosophical examination of the possible place that speculative Freemasonry ought to have in the late 20th century because these changes focused on the need for secrecy and the means of ensuring that it was maintained. The change made to the name used to refer to the Deity struck at the very heart of the religious content of the Royal Arch. This too ought to have been taken as a chance to re-examine the underlying theology. On both occasions, however, the debates were very stage-managed and not many voices were heard. Indeed, not many Brethren bothered to attend. Such apathy is hardly to be unexpected when, the important Charge delivered to the initiate, he is encouraged to make his daily advancement in masonic knowledge but only as a last, general recommendation. The Charge goes into elaborate detail about his religious, legal and social responsibilities but does not mention until the very end the need for him to try to come to any deeper understanding of Freemasonry. In spite of such changes the English rituals have remained remarkably the same although the UGLE has studiously avoided, after the initial work done by the short-lived and specially commissioned Lodge of Promulgation (1809-1811) and the similar Lodge of Reconcilation (18131816), any attempt to impose standardisation on the rituals used by its subordinate Lodges. It might be argued, of course, that this is not a deliberate policy of doctrinal diffidence due to a philosophical vacuum. It could be suggested that by being so vague and tentative, this will encourage Brethren to make their own Hermetic explorations. To do otherwise by being too prescriptive would stifle individual initiative. Well, there is not much evidence that the diffidence has actually facilitated the English freemasons to make their daily advancement. This was confirmed for me in recent years when I was responsible for processing the applications from some very distinguished and experienced English freemasons to join a foreign masonic Order. They were asked, in accordance with the constitution of that Order, to produce short essays without plagiarising on the subject of Spiritual Regeneration. Most simply did not have a clue how to start. This was obviously the first time that they had been asked to set out their own thoughts about such a topic and yet their decades of exposure to Freemasonry ought to have prepared them adequately. Clearly it had not!

MASONIC INITIATION OF TODAY VIEWED AS A PROCESS PART VI

If masonic Initiation is examined, not as a matter of textual analysis but rather as a lived-through experience, it becomes clear fairly quickly that it is a process in which there are some Hermetic features. For the individual candidate his Initiation is a process that begins even before he makes his application for admission to membership. The Master and the rest of the Brethren must be assured that he is properly prepared. A clue as to the two-fold nature of this preparation is given in one of the answers which a newly made freemason is required to give to the Master during a short interrogation before he can be passed to the Second Degree: - Where were you first prepared to me made a mason? - In my heart. - Where next? - In a convenient room adjoining the Lodge. His preparation is, therefore spiritual and then physical. The physical preparation of a Candidate for Initiation is made dramatic so that he will always remember it, but few English-speaking freemasons seem to have given much thought to the nature of the previous spiritual preparation which it is assumed the Candidate will have effected in the secrecy of his own heart. That is not surprising because nowhere in any English Craft ritual are Brethren told in so many words what might be the nature of this prior, inner preparation. Nevertheless, there are six clues about it in the interrogation which a Candidate is put through by the Master just after he has managed to cross the threshold.

He declares himself to be a free man and to be of the full age of 21 years (these are, of course, simple matters of fact that are easily verified). He professes a belief in God and declares that he puts his whole trust in Him in all cases of difficulty and danger. He asserts that he has presented himself for Initiation of his own free will and accord. He assures those present that he has not been influenced by any mercenary or other unworthy motive (i.e., that he not come expecting to gain some kind of mundane advantage from membership of the Order). He states that his real reasons for coming forward are that he has

1. a sincere desire for knowledge and 2. an equally sincere wish to make himself more extensively serviceable to others.

He claims that he has already acquired a favourable opinion preconceived of the Order and believes that the order will help him to acquire this deeper knowledge and an ability to render himself more extensively serviceable to other people.

These are the declarations which all freemasons have to give in open Lodge. If they reflect that genuine preparation which was wrought in their hearts even before they came forward to the Masters pedestal, then they were indeed properly prepared to take full advantage of the ceremonials which were only the beginning of the process of their true Initiation. The idea of masonic Initiation being a process can be illustrated in three ways.

Consider the fact that the implements which the newly-made freemason is presented are working tools. Now forget, for a moment, that each of them can be interpreted symbolically and ethically. As symbols they all have meanings that are deeper than those which are

communicated in explicit terms. The crucial fact is that they are instruments of labour. Hence, they are a collective reminder that 1. hard work is the lot of Man on Earth and 2. sustained and patient effort are the defining characteristics of a true and conscientious craftsman in the daily use of his working implements, whatever they might be. As a freemason, however, the new member has left the multitude of workers in the ordinary, profane world. Willingly, he has put his hands to a task that demands not only sustained effort but efforts that are not usually demanded of those still left in that profane realm.

Next consider the idea of process and struggle referred to in that injunction to the Candidate to make a daily advancement in masonic knowledge. Naturally, the first feeble steps in this are becoming familiar with the content of the rituals and committing whole passages of it to memory. This is an ancient method of mental self-improvement (i.e., a form of mental training used to train orators and lawyers ) and has been very ably described by Frances Yates in her books The Art of Memory (1966) and The Theatre of the World (1969). However, mere intellectual assent to the principles inculcated in the rituals is not enough. To fulfil the purposes for which a Candidate is initiated, he must assimilate these instructions and the symbols and allegories into his daily life. And that is not always easy, of course! It is sometimes very difficult to act according to masonic principles in a world in which he may have to deal with other folk who are not actuated by the same principles. Nevertheless, he does have a real responsibility to adhere as faithfully as he can to those principles no matter that may cost. Fortunately, not many are called upon to face the supreme test but in their everyday lives they do come up against many small matters that test. These are the repeated trials and approbations to which the First Degree ritual refers and they do not always come from outside. Sometimes, indeed often, the tests originate internally.

Now this distinction between the objective world outside of ourselves and the subjective world within ourselves is crucial in order to deepen an appreciation of what is meant by masonic Initiation. The apparently simple act of leaving the outside world and entering a Lodge room can be regarded (as can be seen in the French ritual to which I shall refer below) as a symbolic action that represents

a withdrawing from the material realm - a profane world in which we acquire crude, unrefined experience only via our five physical senses and an entering into a subjective realm, an inner world, a world of which we have more immediate, direct and emotional experience.

Actually, in addition to the non-masonic realm of ordinary daily existence, there are three such inner, subjective worlds between which there can be some conflict occasionally.

A man inhabits the world of his emotions and instincts wherein he experiences pleasure, and sorrow, attraction and repulsion. Desire and aversion. This is the realm of passions, appetites and standards. Simultaneously, a man inhabits a world of reason in which he exercises his intelligence and acquires and perfects those manifold skills that are essential for him to master his physical environment. At the same time, however, there is a third realm a spiritual dimension beyond the limitations of the other two in which a mans soul strives with more or less success towards eventual union with the Deity. the ordinary profane world; the world of ethical standards or morality; the intellectual world of arts and sciences and the spiritual dimension in which he communicates with the Deity.

But there are four realms of a freemasons existence through which he must pass:

And all four are alluded to by a curious symbol that appears on some of the First Degree Tracing boards but which is only alluded to in a curious piece of dialogue in the opening moments of the Third Degree. The Master and the two Wardens engage in a short catechismical exchange with the Master asking the questions to which he presumably knows the answers. Q. Brother Junior Warden, whence come you? A. From the East, Worshipful Master. Q. Wither directing your course, Brother Senior Warden? A. Towards the west. Q. Brother Junior Warden, what inducement have you to leave the east and go to the west?

A. To seek for that which was lost which, by your instruction and our own endeavours, we hope to find.
Q. Brother Senior Warden, what is that which was lost? A. The genuine secrets of a Master Mason. Q. Brother Senior Warden, where do you hope to find them. A. Upon the centre. Q. Brother Junior Warden, what is a centre? A. That point within a circle from which every part of the circumference is equally distant. Q. Brother Senior Warden, why upon the centre? A. Because that is the point from which a Master Mason cannot err. You will see this encapsulated in an otherwise neglected symbol illustrated as Fig. 1. I propose to deconstruct this image which is crammed with meaning because most of that meaning is ignored in English-speaking Lodges today. The symbol of a plain circle, with a central dot and two parallel tangents drawn vertically, appeared in the rituals first the middle of the 18th century when the Lodges had begun to furnish their own rooms to reflect developments in the doctrines of the Order much further. By then the Masters had acquired pedestals (sometimes referred to as the Altars) on which open copies of the Bible would be placed. On the front of these pedestals and in full view of the Brethren there would be large pieces of card fixed. On those cards would be drawn simple circles of such dimensions that the circumferences could touch the outer, perpendicular edges of the pedestals, the edges of the surfaces on which the Bibles rested and the floors which had been covered with cloths coloured with back and white squares. In the centre of these circles would be drawn a single dots or points. At a later stage, there were two parallel lines drawn as tangents to the circles to represent the two outer edges, perpendicular edges of the pedestals. What can be made of this? It is an image that has provided almost endless fun for those who have become involved in interpreting masonic symbolism. Here are a few random examples.

Bro. Thomas Smith Webb (1771-1810), writing in his Freemasons Monitor (1797), claimed that

the point represents the individual Brother and the circle the boundary lines of his duty to God and his fellow creatures.

Bro. Rev. Dr. George Oliver DD (1782-1867), writing in his Antiquities of Freemasonry (1823) was of the opinion that

the circle is a primordial symbol, dating from the Paradise of Eden, the Point being that emblem of Divine omnipresence the centre everywhere and the circumference nowhere! The perpendicular parallel lines represent the two trees in the Garden of Eden the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.

Later that same century, Bro. John Fellows, in his Mysteries of Freemasonry (1871), concluded that

the Point in the Circle represents the Supreme Being: the Circle indicates the annual circuit of the Sun; and the parallel lines mark out the solstices within which that circuit is limited. The freemason, by subjecting himself to due bounds, in imitation of that glorious luminary, will not wander from the path of duty.

Bro. J M S Ward, in his Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods (1921), thought that the parallel lines represent the solstices, or day and night, or good and evil, or male and female etc., etc. He seemed to be introducing some extremes into his interpretation but he did make the point which may be significant:

when travelling round the circle, we are compelled to touch both these poles and thereby gain through bitter experience that education of the soul is the chief reason for our birth into this material world. He went on: If we were simply being whirled for ever around the circle of Fate, our outlook would be hopeless but we are ourselves the compasses and the point which rests on the centre is that Divine Spirit with in each of us and is, therefore, that centre from which we cannot err.

According to some of the early versions of William Prestons Lectures the two lines were taken to represent the two Saint Johns: that on the left symbolised St John the Baptist and that on the right symbolised St John the Evangelist the two Patrons of the medieval mason craft. Preston pointed out that, so far as he was concerned:

the two parallels in modern times are applied to exemplify the two St Johns as Patrons of the Order whose festivities are celebrated near the solstices of those times when the Sun, in its zodiacal career, touches these two parallels. These two saints protected the medieval stonemasons Craft and half-yearly Festivals were held to commemorate their Feast Days 24 June and 27 December respectively which were conveniently six months apart. In the early decades of speculative Freemasonry these festivals were retained as occasions on which the Masters of the Lodges could be chaired. In an era when English speculative Freemasonry was still Christian in outlook, these figures of the two saints represented the beginning and the end of the Christian dispensation as boundaries of freemasons experience: the Baptist was the representative of the start of Christs ministry, while the Evangelist, then believed to have been the author of the apocalyptic Revelation at the end of the New Testament, was the representative of the conclusion of Christs work on the final Day of Judgement. Thus the two parallel lines, as minimalist symbols of the two Saint Johns, were representative of the entire Christian dispensation from its beginning in the River Jordan to its conclusion on the glassy plain before the Great White Throne. The neatness with which the zodiac, the sun, the two solstices, the two saints and the half-yearly chairings of Masters of Lodges are all made to inter-lock is typical of the early 18th century mentality. Later, when the ritual became de-Christianised, this Christian interpretation of the two lines was replaced by others. For example, in some detailed MS notes of the Lectures which were being used the mid-18th century, there are the following catechismical exchanges mentioning the dedication of King Solomons Temple: Q. How is this dedication designated in Lodges? A. By a point within a circle within two parallel lines described as tangents to that circle. Q. Why? A. As representing the centre of the Universe, the Divine Architect, Whose goodness we represent by the sun and for the benefits we derive from that great luminary. Q. What does the circle represent? A. The zodiac is here represented as the prescribed path of the suns system to mark the limited nature of the most wonderful creatures we behold. Q. What do the parallels represent?

A. The tropics, to remind us of the Supreme Being Who has set bounds to all creatures and prescribed the limits of planetary systems. There was an alternative interpretation of the two parallel tangents that began to emerge at about the same time (see Fig. 2). The line on the left was now taken to represent Moses, the giver of the moral law, or the realm of morality; that on the right was taken to represent King Solomon, who was not only the presiding Builder of the Holy Temple (itself a metaphor for the freemasons true enterprise) but also a personification of wisdom. Thus the two simple parallel lines came to stand for Moses who represented the realm of ethical conduct and for Solomon who represented the world of intellectual endeavour. The Bible, touched by the circumference of the circle, came to represent the third of those inner worlds inhabited by a freemason referred to above: the realm of the spirit, or mans highest spiritual aspirations and communication with the Word of God. However, the circumference of the circle also touched the black and white squares of the carpet on the floor of the Lodge room. These black and white checks have always been taken, ever since their first appearance in Lodge rooms, to represent the vagaries of the mundane or profane world with its light and dark, its joys and sorrows, its good and bad, its disappointments and triumphs, its certainties and uncertainties. A favourite interpretation in an important, pioneering study of masonic symbology from the later part of the 18th century by Bro. William Hutchinson FSA (1732-1814) is as follows: As the steps of Man are trod in the various and uncertain incidents of Life, as our days are chequered with a strange contrariety of events, as our passage through this existence (though sometimes attended with prosperous circumstances) is often beset by a multitude of evils hence are our Lodges furnished with mosaic work to remind us of the precariousness of our mortal state on this earth Today our feet may stride in prosperity; tomorrow we trotter on the uneven paths of weakness, temptation and adversity. Whilst this emblem is before us, we are instructed to boast of nothing, to have compassion and to give aid to those who are in Adversity Such is this existence that there is no station in which Pride can be stably founded The circle, a traditional symbol for eternity, can be interpreted as that track described by freemasons as they pursue their self-appointed task and pilgrimage while inhabiting the four realms described. It is bounded, like this circle, on four sides: on the left by the line that represents the realm of morality (Moses); on the right by the line that represents the realm of the intellect or wisdom (Solomon); at the top by the Bible representing the world of the spirit and at the bottom by the squared pavement representing the profane, precarious and ordinary world. Clearly the point within the centre of the circle was put there to remind Brethren that a proper, undistorted circle could be drawn to touch equally each of the symbolic representations of the four inhabited worlds but only if the centre was used. Imagine, therefore, that the individual freemason is a pair of compasses. One of his legs is extended on the point and the other is used to describe the circumference of the circle that will just touch each of those four realms in turn. If the freemason deviates from that point (i.e., if he steps away from the designated centre) then the circle which he can describe cannot touch those four realms equally. There will be an inevitable distortion such that one or more of them will be favoured to the exclusion or detriment of the others. In other words, if he does not move away from the central point, the circle which he can describe will touch them all equally. The point from which a freemason cannot err is that in the centre of the circle because the track which he can describe (by living his life truly and constantly in complete accordance with the principles he is taught in his Lodge) will proceed touching all of those four inhabited realms with equanimity and harmony. If he leaves that point, then his track through though four realms will become unbalanced, characterised by excessive attention to one or other of those realms to the neglect of the others. Thus, this simple symbol serves to remind a freemason that excessive mundane activity, excessive dedication to ethical conduct, excessive intellectualism or even excessive concentration of things of the world of the spirit will distort his total existence. A freemasons inhabiting of the four realms should ideally receive due care and cultivation, keeping each realm in true perspective and recognising the proper limits and proportions of each. In this way his life, taken as a whole, will become balanced and symmetrical. In this way he may become a Perfect Ashlar, one that is fitted for its proper place in the spiritual temple.

Frankly, however, not much is made of this Hermetic image or any of the others which have been mentioned already in this paper. The general level of Hermetic exploration on a regular basis in English-speaking Lodges is now minimal. Their present state of philosophical impoverishment has accumulated for more than 150 years since the compromise formulation which defined Freemasonry in minimalist terms at the union of the two rival Grand Lodges in London in 1813. That Union created the present UGLE which has formally shunned making any clear recommendations regarding possible interpretations of symbols or even propounding any syllabus for systematic study. It does not even espouse an official ritual and, to this day, there are several popular rituals in circulation. Their textual differences are, of course, minimal largely because of the explicit doctrinal injunction that it is not possible for any one to introduce any major innovation into the body of Freemasonry without properly seeking and obtaining the express permission from the UGLE. Much is made of avoiding such innovations, thereby preserving the so-called Landmarks of the Order, but the UGLE has made no known effort to define what they might be. This is a policy of avoidance, of what not to do rather than a proactive one that might engender further spiritual growth among its adherents. The UGLE has not propounded any agreed list of these defining Landmarks of the fraternity. A document, adopted in 1949, printed thereafter as part of the Introductory section in each successive edition of the Book of Constitutions and entitled Aims and Relationships of the Craft, might be assumed to set out the fundamental principles but, in summary form (as below) these are simplistic:

Belief in the Supreme Being is a sine qua non to membership; The Volume of the Sacred Law, whatever that might be, must be open when a Lodge is open for its meetings; All candidates must take their Obligations by touching that particular sacred book; All freemasons must be peaceful and law-abiding subjects who obey the laws of whichever country they happen to reside in but without denying their primal allegiance which they owe to their own sovereigns; All freemasons, as ordinary citizens, are entitled to hold their own political opinions but, while in Lodge meetings (i.e., while acting as freemasons) they cannot discuss political or religious topics; Freemasonry is totally impartial as to relations between governments and parties and towards political philosophies.

There is nothing much of Hermeticism here. Indeed, the UGLE expressly refuses to participate in any conferences that are designed to examine the principles and symbols of Freemasonry generally while Clause 11 of its declared Aims states that There is no secret with regard to any of the basic principles of Freemasonry but the UGLE will in no circumstances enter into a[ny] discussion with a view to any new or varied interpretation of them especially when such gatherings are organised by, or which include, [irregular] freemasons who they claim do not adhere to these few basic principles. American freemasons have not been nearly so reticent but they have hardly revealed any thinking that might be called Hermetic. For instance, over 70 years ago Albert G. Mackey (in his Encylopaedia of Freemasonry, 1925 and in his Jurisprudence of Freemasonry, 1927) compiled an interesting analysis of the lists of Landmarks that were being propounded by 24 Grand Lodges in the USA and an authoritative commentary on this compilation was published in The Philalethes Magazine (May, 1946). It is worthwhile quoting this listing in summary form if only to demonstrate the poverty of thinking.

Freemasons must believe in the existence of the Supreme Being, in the certain revelation of His will, the resurrection of the body and the souls immortality. They take solemn Obligations and use traditional means of mutual recognition. Symbols derived from Solomons Temple, the legends of that king and his partners in the temple building, the observed habits and customs of the construction workers so employed and from the instruments and materials used therein - are used ritually to teach moral virtues, goodwill and the doctrines of natural religion.

Freemasons must obey the moral laws and the government of any country in which they reside. The Grand Master is the sovereign of the Order, the Worshipful Master is the presiding officer of the subordinate Lodges and the Grand Lodge is the only governing body within its territorial jurisdiction. Each Lodge is entitled to be represented by its three principle officers at meetings of the respective Grand Lodge. Lodges alone have the power to initiate and are free to administer their own private business. All candidates for initiation must be of majority age, free-born, strong and healthy. They must be voted for openly and in secret by all of the subscribing members of the Lodge and only after careful investigation as to their character and background. All freemasons, as freemasons, are equal and all Lodges and Grand Lodges are equal in status. No member of the Order may be installed as a Master of a Lodge unless he has served at least the office of a steward of that Lodge, unless he obtains a special (prior) dispensation from the Grand Master. The content of the Obligations, the means of mutual recognition and the ceremonies used by the Lodges in the conferment of the Degrees are secret and must be kept as such by all members. No innovation can be made in the body of Freemasonry because the Ancient Landmarks are the supreme law of Freemasonry and they cannot be changed or repealed.

Leaving aside the various criticisms that might be levelled against these fundamental principles, it is clear that even these more elaborate listings do not contain much that could be called Hermetic. Indeed, the distinctly non-Hermetic feature is the explicit refusal to allow any exploration of the symbolism and legends by subjecting them to discussive analysis. That is not how the giants of the western Hermetic tradition behaved in the past! It was perhaps to remedy this perceived doctrinal diffidence that various other institutions have emerged in the English-speaking masonic world. For instance, almost every Province in England has at least one lecture Lodge to which Brethren may belong. These meet usually only three or four times each year when a lecture on some aspect of masonic history (or more rarely symbolism) is delivered by a guest speaker. This is a typical sharman-disciple relationship with the non-interactive bestowal of information, some historico-philosophical insight and interpretations. There are also a few genuine research Lodges. Full membership to these is limited though their annual transactions are published widely. Mostly these bodies are concerned with charting the archaeology of Freemasonry. The most important, and oldest, of these is the famed Quatuor Coronati Lodge. It is worthwhile pointing out in the present context, that one its earliest members was Bro. Dr Wynn Westcott (18481925) and he made several attempts to steer the representatives of the prevailing authentic school of masonic historiography into considering the possibility of Freemasonry having more occult origins. That approach was ridiculed then and anyone who has tried to make similar suggestions since then has received a similar response generally from the members. In contrast to this somewhat narrow orthodoxy the Masonic Study Society was founded in London in 1921 by Alvin L. Coburn, James S. Ward and Walter L. Wilmshurst et alia. Their aim was to encourage the study of masonic symbolism, to chart its origins and possible interpretations along anthropological lines. Avoiding the methodology espoused by the so-called authentic school, this group is still active and studies Freemasonry in light of cultural phenomena that are broadly similar, in the past and present. They use approaches that have been adopted in the fields of comparative religion and folklore studies. They view Freemasonry as a living organism. Their published transactions are circulated world-wide and devote special attention to the symbolic and mystical interpretation of the various masonic Degrees. The Dormer Study circle, founded also in London in 1938, has almost exactly similar objectives though it meets more frequently. Their discussions tend to be rather more free ranging than those of the MSS. But these efforts (and there are many others throughout the English-speaking masonic world) to broaden the methodology of masonic research have never

prevailed widely and the authentic school, preoccupied with its self appointed mission to chart only the archaeology of Freemasonry, still dominates scholastic efforts. Of course, it could be claimed that this official diffidence in propounding an official line in doctrine or the interpretation of symbols is deliberate. It was adopted knowing that the Brethren would be facilitated thereby in formulating their own interpretations. If they were allowed the freedom to do that then they could grow more profoundly in spiritual insight. If that were the reason, then it has failed because, in the English-speaking masonic world, at the individual Lodge level, most Brethren have become preoccupied with rank within an ever-expanding organisational hierarchy, regalia and other externalities. They pay great attention to the correct, meticulous performance of the rituals but seldom are they given opportunities are examine or debate the detail or the underlying principles. Their socalled Lodges of Instruction have become Lodges of rehearsal when the ceremonial skills of serving officers are perfected. It has always been the mark of institutions in terminal decline that they become obsessed with the minutiae of organisation, with procedures, status and the things that they take to represent status. They generate masses of paper in the mistaken supposition that to document problems is to solve them.

SOME EUROPEAN INITIATIONS TODAY

PART VII
Today the same intellectual approach is demonstrated in three rites which are widespread in Europe:

the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite (33 Degrees); the Rectified Scottish Rite (6 Degrees) and the Scandinavian Rite (10 Degrees).

A Candidates advancement through any of these three systems is slow, sometimes occupying him in decades of sustained effort to understand and explain the symbols and doctrines of each successive Degree. Moreover, the Candidates have to prove to the other, more senior members of their Lodges their proficiency and understanding of the symbols before they are allowed to make further progress. In all English-speaking Constitutions, the first three Degrees of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR) are not worked because the ordinary three Craft Degrees are regarded by convention in those constitutions as being their equivalent. Besides, only sovereign Craft bodies in the English-speaking world are allowed historically to initiate newcomers. In fact, in terms of their symbolism the Craft Degrees and the first three of the AASR are far from similar. The same sort of shortening applies to the Rectified Scottish Rite (RER). However, all of the 10 Degrees in the Scandinavian Rite are worked in those countries where it has been adopted. In Europe, in the AASR, the 4th-33rd Degrees are worked fully. In Scotland and Ireland, however, the 4th-13th Degrees and the 19th-28th Degrees are simply conferred on appropriate Candidates by name. The 14th-18th Degrees and the 29th-33rd Degrees are worked in extensio. In America the whole of the series 4th-33rd Degrees can be gone through in a single weekend by Candidates who are properly qualified residentially. In England, the 4th-17th Degrees are conferred by name, the 18th Degree is worked completely. Thereafter, the 19th-29th degrees are also conferred by name for the few appropriately qualified Candidates who are elected to the 30th-33rd Degrees in ever-more exclusive groups. No formal proofs of competence or of doctrinal understanding are ever exacted at any stage. The English-speaking Constitutions tend not to take the proving of a Candidates competence very seriously. Generally, they have no way of knowing his Hermetic preparedness for further enlightenment. This lack of intellectualising and lack of intensity in spirituality in the English-speaking masonic world can be seen even more markedly in the admission ceremonies and procedures as practised on the Continent. The Hermetic themes of the European rites can be illustrated by referring in some detail to current French and Dutch rituals for their First Degrees. The Scandinavian system, superimposed on the basic Craft ritual, is controlled rigorously. It is entirely Christian in symbolism and much more complex but it is almost impossible for outsiders to be accorded the privilege of examining those rituals even for the purposes of academic study. There are at least seven varieties of masonic Initiation practised in France in the three major Obediences: the Grand Orient de France, the Grand Loge de France and the (regular) Grand Loge Nationale de France (the GNLF:

a 18th century Russian ritual; a Ukrainian ritual; two varieties of an 18th century northern French ritual; the Rectified Scottish Rite, referred to generally as the RER (Rite Ecossais Rectifie), which has nothing to do with Scotland I assure you but which can be worked by any Lodge who wish to use it; the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR, the first three Degrees are worked in those Lodges which so chose) and a reasonably new French ritual which differs only slightly from the previous two ceremonies.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that most Lodges in the three Obediences are empowered by the terms of their Charters to work the first three Degrees in any or all of the RER, the AASR or the new standard French rite. So a particular Lodge may decide to work say a First Degree

from the RER at one of its public meetings, and the Brother who is thus initiated must wait until the next open meeting at which a Second Degree in the same series is being worked. Meanwhile, the Lodge may have decided to work a different Degree in one of the other Rites. It sounds complicated and it certainly lends plenty of variety. Some of the crucial differences between English speculative Freemasonry and the main Continental varieties that are current, especially comparing the different qualities of the lived-through Hermetic experience which they provide, might be best understood by using the metaphor of taking a train journey. A freemason who has completed the basic three Degrees may want to make further progress in developing his understanding. In England, to achieve this extra insight he will have to join 14 separate Orders, each with its Grand Master and hierarchy, its administration, headquarters, rituals, traditions, doctrines and secrets. It is as if he were taking a long train journey and he would not only has to change trains but even change lines and directions. On the Continent, however, there are no such branch lines. It is one continuous journey and if he were to get off at one station, to rest up before continuing, then he can wait around. The next train will come along eventually travelling along the same line and, climbing on board, he can proceed further towards his destination at his own rate. Generally speaking, there are no separate Orders and so, within his Lodge, there are opportunities to develop his spiritual quest in a sequence that is more or less continuous. It is this very continuity that assists the practice of Hermetic exploration in European Lodges whereas the disjointed systems in England, which arose largely because of historical decisions taken in 1813, militate against that continuous adventure. When a Candidate, known as a profane [= uninitiated], is to be considered by a French Lodge for Initiation his Proposer and Seconder have to speak separately to the members, at one of the private [= closed or business] meetings, explaining

why they think that he would make a good freemason and why they would like him to be initiated in that particular Lodge.

They can, and usually are, questioned closely by the members about their Candidates qualities. If everything seems to be in order, the Master appoints two other members of the Lodge (who do not know the Candidate already and who are usually Past Masters of the Lodge) to interview him separately in his own home in order to 1. question him as to the reasons why he wants to be made a freemason (note not to just join the particular Lodge); 2. make certain that he has the total support of his wife and the rest of his family in that intention. The two commissioned Brethren report back to the Lodge at the next closed meeting and they can be, and again they often are, questioned closely by the Brethren about their two interviews. It is only then, when the reports are deemed satisfactory by the Lodge, that a vote is taken as to whether Mr A. B. shall be heard under the hoodwink. If that vote is favourable, the Secretary is asked by the Master to write officially to the Candidate inviting him to attend on the evening of the next closed meeting of the Lodge. On that occasion, the Candidate is kept in a completely bare room where he can have no contact with freemasons or sight of anything masonic. In due course, the Master of Ceremonies comes to him, blindfolds him and leads him into the Temple where he is seated on a chair in the centre of the room. The Brethren and the officers are seated in the respective places around him. The Master then asks him any questions he wishes (there is no set pattern) regarding his desire to be made a freemason and then invites any member of the Lodge who wishes to do so to question him. Often there are such unscripted questions put to the Candidates who are expected to answer as fully and as sincerely as possible. When everyone is satisfied, the Master of Ceremonies is commanded by the Master to lead the Candidate out of the Temple, back to the adjacent waiting room, where he removes the hoodwink, thanks him for attending and tells him that in due course he will hear from the Lodge. He is told then that he can leave the building. After the Candidate has left and the Master of Ceremonies has returned to report his leaving, a vote is taken as to whether Mr A. B. should be initiated. If the vote is favourable, he is made a freemason at the next available open meeting of the Lodge.

When an approved Candidate arrives for his Initiation he is left alone, seated in the small adjacent waiting room. It is dimly lit and is known now as the Chamber of Reflection. It is devoid of any decoration and of any furniture apart from a chair and a small table that is covered completely with a black cloth. On the table are placed a skull and cross bones (the traditional emblems of mortality), two sheets of paper and a pen. On one sheet he has been instructed by the Master of Ceremonies to write and date his answers to the four questions that are printed thereon. The questions are intended to stimulate and clarify - for him and for others - the state of his current spiritual preparedness for Initiation. They are quite revealing pieces of evidence of the Hermetic process taken to underlie the whole procedure and its ideational thrust:

What is Mans duty to his Creator? What is Mans duty to himself? What is a mans duty to his fellow mortals? What is a mans duty to his Mother Country?

On the other blank sheet which is blank he has been instructed to write legibly and date his Testament in which he must emphasise the spiritual and philosophical aspects of his life to date. After a suitable interval, someone collects the two sheets, takes all money and other metals from him (metals are thought to be spiritual pollutants and perhaps they hinder or deflect his further progress). He is told to wait there. The two sheets are presented formally to the Master who reads what the Candidate has written aloud to the assembled Brethren. A discussion as to their merits follows and if the Brethren are satisfied the ceremony can continue. I have known of Candidates being rejected at this stage because their present state of spiritual preparedness for Initiation was considered by the Lodges to be lacking. The Candidate is prepared physically in the usual masonic manner in the Chamber of Reflection by of the Master of Ceremonies. He is blindfolded and a long cord is tied around his waist in such a way that it hangs down in front. He learns later that this is a symbol of the umbilical cord that is the last tie with the profane world of darkness that he is about to leave forever. In other words, he has been figuratively entombed in a chamber deep underground and is about to die to the outside world and be reborn into a new life. This theme of rebirth is one of the most crucial in this Degree but it follows a Candidate throughout his masonic career in various guises. Therefore, he must be purified by the four elements: earth, air, water and fire. When he is led into the Temple, he is made to bend almost double as he has supposedly just passed through the Earth on his pilgrimage from the underground Chamber of Reflection. In other words, symbolically he emerges from a hole in the ground and this is the first purification: that by earth. The Candidate is led to stand in the west of the Temple between the Wardens and facing east. After a prayer to The Great Architect of the Universe, the Master tells the Candidate those duties that will be demanded of him as a freemason:

the maintenance of complete silence about anything which he may hear or discern in the Lodge; the vanquishing of all of those passions which dishonour the man who succumbs to them; the obedience to the rules, regulations and constitutions of the Order.

Before he can proceed any further, the Master tells the Candidate that he must take a solemn oath to fulfil these duties using a sacred chalice. If he is sincere, he may drink from it without fear. If he is insincere or unsure, however, then he should put the chalice aside. Not to put it aside at that stage and to continue will have disastrous results for him later. He fears not and so drinks the pure water contained therein. He takes the oath administered by the Master phrase by phrase and then, at the Masters command, he drinks from the chalice again. This time, however, the liquid is bitter because unknown to the Candidate the Master of Ceremonies standing nearby has quietly added strong vinegar. The Master explains to him: the bitter taste that the contents of the cup may have left on your lips proves that in all human intentions, however pure they may be, there is always a particle of curiosity and egoism. The cup is put aside by the Master of Ceremonies and at a single knock from the Master he is led

clockwise around the Temple on the first of three symbolic journeys during which he is purified by the remaining three elements. The first of his journeys is accompanied throughout by loud stamping of feet and the clashing of swords by the Brethren seated in the north and south Columns. This tumult is a symbol of the inherent discord that prevails constantly in the profane world that he is about to leave. He is led over a large wooden board placed flat on the floor. This board has irregularly sized blocks of wood stuck on it at irregular intervals. These will cause him to stumble, thus signifying to him the hard road that he has to travel through the rest of his mortal existence. Further round the Temple, he is led up a sloping wooden board. He falls off the upper end on to the floor thus bringing him to the earth through the air in a rush. This symbolises his purification by air. When the Candidate arrives to stand in his place between the Wardens in the west, the Master explains to him that his first journey is emblematic of

the life of Man generally; the conflict of opposing endeavours and the difficulty of overcoming the many obstacles that are placed (often deliberately) in his path by enemies.

The Candidates second journey is accompanied by the clash of the Brethrens swords (as before). On reaching the pedestal of the Senior Warden, his right hand is grabbed by one of the Deacons and plunged three times into a large metal bowl of water held by the Master of Ceremonies. This is meant to represent to him the purification by water. The bowl is removed and he is positioned to face the east again. The Master then explains to him that the second journey presented much less difficulty as there were no hidden obstacles being placed in front of him and then he tells him: It is thus in life; the obstacles disappear little by little under the steps of him who perseveres in the path of virtue. Nevertheless, he is not yet totally delivered from the battle that he is obliged to fight in order to triumph over his passions and those of his fellow mortals. Those conflicts were symbolised by the clashing of the swords. The third journey is accomplished in complete silence. The Candidate has now quitted the profane world and he is about to penetrate into that realm that only true initiates are allowed to enter. As he is led round the Temple, he passes once again in front of the Junior Wardens pedestal and suddenly a naked flame of fire is shot quickly across his face. That symbolises his final purification, by fire. When the Candidate is repositioned between the Wardens, the Master expresses admiration for the courage he has shown. He tells him, however, that his trials are not yet ended for the day may come when he could even be called upon to shed his blood in defence of the Order to which he seeks admission. The Master demands: Are you prepared to make such a sacrifice and have you the necessary courage to give us proof of this other than by words? If so, you must seal your oath with your own blood shed before us. Brother Surgeon, do your duty! One of the Brethren, equipped with a carving knife and a butchers sharpening steel, comes to stand close to the Candidate and proceeds to sharpen the knife. The rest of the Brethren cry out in unison: Mercy, Venerable Master! The blood of a man is too precious to be wasted! The Master responds: So be it, if the Brethren desire. But remember that if you are called upon to shed your blood, let it be for a just and sacred cause. The Master then informs the Candidate that a painful and indispensable operation must be performed, nevertheless: that of being branded with the red hot seal of the Order burnt into his flesh. When the Candidate gives his consent, his bare left arm is grabbed and held tightly and to it the ice cold seal of the Order is applied quickly and forcibly. It has been brought forward solemnly by the Master of

Ceremonies on a cushion from its place below the Masters pedestal or Altar at the precise moment. The seal and cushion are put aside and the Master of Ceremonies instructs the Candidate soto voce how to approach the Altar in the east by taking three slow equal strides forward. On reaching the dais, he is told soto voce to kneel on both knees, to support in both hands an open copy of the VSL (it is always opened at the first chapter of the Gospel according to St John). In that position he repeats the Obligation phrase by phrase following the Masters careful annunciation. After that and still blindfolded, he is raised and led back to stand between the Wardens in the west facing east again. There is his instructed to keel again on both knees. Meanwhile, one of the Brethren has left his seat on one of the Columns, taken off his sword and regalia, lies down on the steps to the dais and is covered by a blood-stained cloth by the Master of Ceremonies. Two other Brethren then leave their seats and come to stand at the head and feet of the body pointing their swords at it. Meanwhile, the Master of Ceremonies has lit two candles, placed one at the head and the other at the feet while the general lighting in the Temple is lowered to almost complete darkness. The rest of the Brethren have also left their seats quietly and have come to stand near to the Candidate and to point their swords directly at him. The hoodwink is removed quickly from the Candidate so that he can now see the corpse in the east and also the surrounding circle of sharp Swords pointing directly at him. From somewhere in the surrounding gloom he now hears a solemn voice exclaiming: Woe to him who violates his word! Woe to him who seeks to enter where he has not right to go! Woe to him who is unworthy of the confidence placed in him! The Master then stands behind the Altar facing west and the Candidate whom he addresses thus: These pale funereal lights are sombre fires emphasising the retribution that waits each miserable purjurer. These swords, pointed towards your breast, indicate the number of irreconcilable enemies ever ready to pierce your heart should you ever violate your solemn Obligation. In whatever corner of the Earth you may hide yourself, seeking safety, however important a position you may occupy in the outside world, never will you find shelter. The whole world over, the news of your criminal perjury and of your renouncement will forestall you, spreading like lightning and wherever you may be, the hand of vengeance will reach you and right fearful will be your punishment! At a discrete signal from the Master of Ceremonies the Brethren replace their swords and stand aside. There is an even more dramatic variation of this used in Greece where the Brethren, at the appropriate point in the ceremony, have quickly attached balls of cotton wool soaked in methylated spirits to the points of their swords and then ignited them. When his blindfold is taken off the poor Candidate is confronted suddenly with a most disconcerting circle of flaming swords pointing at him! The Candidate is told quietly to stand. The Master of Ceremonies extinguishes the two candles on the steps to the dais, puts them aside and the general lighting in the Temple is raised. The Master the commands that the Candidate can now withdraw in order to regain his personal comforts. He is led out into the Chamber of Reflection where he adjusts his clothing. Once again, however, he is blindfolded and led back into the Temple. Meanwhile, the body on the steps to the dais has been removed and the Brethren (including the Master and the Wardens) have formed a large circle on the floor of the Temple holding hands but with their arms crossed and facing inwards. A space has been left for the Candidate and he is brought to stand in his now usual place in the west. The Master then addresses the Candidate thus: I ask you one last question. You have known many men and perhaps have enemies. If you should find any in this Lodge, or amongst other freemasons, would you be willing to extend the hand of friendship and forget the past? If and only if the Candidate replies in the affirmative without any prompting, the blindfold is removed. The Master then says to him: It is not only face to face that you meet the enemies that are mostly to be feared. Look behind you! The Candidate turns as he is bidden and there he sees his own Proposer and his Seconder have been approaching him silently from behind coming from out of the shadows. They each greet him with the customary fraternal embrace of three kisses and then tell him to join the Chain of Union with them as

a Brother, holding hands with crossed arms. That done, the Master addresses him thus: Our hands unite you to us and to the altar of Truth. The hand-clasps confirm that we shall not forsake you as long as you maintain as sacred Truth, Justice, Discretion and Brotherly Love. Brethren, break the Chain! The Brethren do so and all retake their seats leaving the Candidate standing in the west. He is led to the east where he is told by them to kneel on both knees. The Master leaves his throne and comes forward to stand over the kneeling Candidate, bringing his sword in his left hand and his gavel in his right. He holds the sword at an angle over the Candidates head while he says: To the Glory of TGAOTU and in the name and under the auspices of the Grand Lodge, I hereby make [taps the Candidates right shoulder once with the blade of his sword], create [taps his left shoulder with the sword as before] and constitute you [taps his head as before] an Entered Apprentice in the First Degree of the Rite and as a member of this Worshipful and Worthy Lodge, regularly constituted in the Province of under the number and named Then still touching the Candidates head with the flat blade of his sword, he gives the blade three sharp blows in the rhythm of the First Degree using his gavel, thus: xxx, xxx, xxx. The Master retakes his seat taking his sword and gavel with him. The new-made Brother is raised to his feet and placed in the north-east corner of the Temple where they leave him (to retake their seats in the north and south Columns respectively, their work being done now) and where the Master of Ceremonies awaits him to teach him soto voce how to make the Sign, give the Grip or Token and exchange the Word of the First Degree. The new Brother is made to practice these several times until the Master of Ceremonies, aware that everyone else is watching him tutor his new charge, is satisfied with his performance. There are several features that are different to English practices and they merit some explanation.

By this stage in the ceremony, there has been a more subtle emphasis than in the English basic masonic ceremonies on the fact that the Hermetic exploration starts and ends in the heart of the individual. This has been done systematically using sense impressions thereby stressing a candidates individuality and the ardour and strength that will be required in pursuing that exploration. This is accomplished by philosophy of life;

1. seating him in isolation in the Chamber of Reflection and obliging him to write his own 2. abusing his five senses thus his sight (by blindfolding him); his hearing (with the clashing of the swords; his touch (by having him stumble during one of the perambulations and later to feel the impress of the seal on his skin); his taste (by having his drink water than vinegar) and then his sense of smell (by passing a naked flame near to his nostrils) 3. making the Working Tools which he has to carry during his perambulations quite large and therefore very heavy to carry in one hand.

Another clearly Hermetic feature is the emphasis on the perambulations. This serves to reinforce the concept to the Candidate that, by becoming a freemason, he is starting out on a journey, a pilgrimage, one that requires patience, tenacity, courage, self-reliance and trust. Even though the Sign is the same as in England, the Word is that of the English Second Degree. The reason for this is simple. France acquired its Freemasonry from English immigrants in the very early 1730s at a time when the Premier Grand Lodge in London felt itself driven (by certain circumstances that were largely beyond its control) to reverse the Words of the First and Second Degrees. France merely copied what was then the current English practice. However, England later relented and then changed the Words back to their original order. European Lodges, however, did not make the sudden change back. This means that they are now out of step with the current English practice, though it ought to be remembered that for a time in the mid-18th century in England the present Second Degree Word was adopted temporarily as the First Degree Word and visa versa.

In France, and indeed in most of the rest of Europe, the Words of the Degrees are never given at length, are always lettered and are never spoken aloud. The new Brother is instructed by the Master of Ceremonies that whenever he may be asked for the word of a Degree, he must respond to the inquirer:

I can neither read nor write. Give me the first letter and I will give you the second. And he must wait for that first letter before going any further in the exchange.

The Grip or Token is given more or less as is done now in England except that the thumb is used to give a pressure in the rhythm of the knocks of the Degree.

The detailed instruction complete, the Master of Ceremonies conducts the new Brother to a seat that has been reserved for him at the west end of the south Column near to the Junior Warden. You will have noted that there is no investiture of an apron at this stage. The newly created freemason simply has to purchase his own Apprentice apron from the Secretary of the Lodge in time for the next meeting which he is entitled to attend. There is one final intriguing piece of ritual which completes the ceremony of Initiation. The Master then calls on the Lodge Orator, usually a distinguished Past Master, to address the Lodge and particularly the newly created Brother on the symbols and their meaning. The Orator is regarded as the custodian of the teaching of the Rite. His speech is termed un morceau darchitecture [a little piece of architecture or stonework] and it relates to the interpretation of the symbolism of the Degree that has been worked. The content and length vary considerably. The depth of their understanding displayed therein is often profound. They are not learned nor recited. They are delivered extempore and so are a real test of the Orators skill and understanding. In the 18th and 19th centuries the French Lodges laid great emphasis on these orations and collections of the better ones were printed and sold to raise funds for the Lodges. Fortunately, there is one published edition of these orations which is more easily accessible than most. It is preserved in the Morison Collection (item no. 520) and is a 1807 collection which had been prepared by the members of the Loge des Chevaliers de la Croix de St Jean in the early 1800s. These texts are sometimes quite long and involved, but they make fascinating reading for they show not only how those freemasons conceived of their Freemasonry but also how their interpretations of the symbology developed over the years. That is not the end of the new freemasons ordeals. Before he can be accepted by the whole Lodge for promotion into the Second Degree, he has to learn an extended catechism by heart and write and read aloud to the Lodge members a paper of his own compilation in which he outlines two features:

what the Initiation ceremony has meant to him, particularly what has he learned about its symbols and what differences in his everyday life, in the profane world outside, being a freemason has made to him.

The Brethren will sit in judgement on the manner in which he responds to the set questions. Once again, he can and will be questioned about this essay and I have known some Brethren how have been rejected by their Lodges as not having made sufficient progress in their understand. I knew one member who waited four years before he felt he had acquired sufficient understand to present himself for higher wages. The new standard Dutch Initiation ceremony is broadly similar. There are, however, no swords for the Brethren (though the Master and Wardens retain theirs). There is the heavy emphasis placed on the spirituality of the Candidates progression from profane darkness into enlightenment. There are the three same journeys though they are given slightly different interpretations. The first journey round the Temple is meant to teach to the Candidate about the stumbling blocks that lie in himself, that a Brother will invariably protect him and so give him wisdom. The second journey, which terminates with the hand-washing, is meant to teach him about the battle of life and the need for a determined application of strength and that the cleansing of himself is essential if he is to pursue his way towards the light. In the third journey he symbolically attains beauty but without the assistance of anyone else. He is able to achieve that because he already has acquired both wisdom and strength during the previous journeys.

There is also the Chain of Union and the method using the sword and the gavel by the Master to actually create the new Brother. In Dutch Craft Lodges, however, it is the Master himself who teaches the new member about the sign, token and word. There is also an investiture of an apron and a presentation of two pairs of white gloves: one for himself and the other for she who stands highest in his estimation. At the end of the ceremony and at the Masters command, the new member is taken by the Junior Warden to perform his allotted tasks on the Rough Ashlar, a huge rough hewn stone placed near to the Junior Warden in the south west corner of the Temple.

He has to learn and give the knocks of the First Degree on the Rough Ashlar using in turn the Maul, the Chisel and the Measuring Rule. All of these Working Tools are very large and quite heavy to handle. The knocks have to be done thus: xxx, xxx, xxx each time. Thus the new member is taught how to knock 27 times in all on the Rough Ashlar which is a symbol of his own soul strong, dependable but as yet unfitted for lining up with the Smooth Ashlars (the other Brethren who have progressed before him) to form part of the wall of a spiritual Temple. Hence, symbolically he is at work already on his own personality. The significance of the number of those knocks is explained only later to the new Brother thus: 27 = 2 + 7 = 9 = 3 x 3, a triple trinity! measuring of the exposed length, breadth and height of the Rough Ashlar using the Square, the Compasses and the Ruler. These implements are also huge and, purposely, are quite difficult to handle. That difficulty itself is intended to be instructional. Thus the new Brother is taught how to measure the Rough Ashlar in three directions using each of the three Working Tools. This makes 27 different measurements so the significant number 27 makes yet another appearance.

The last interesting feature of the Dutch ritual is its extended catechism. At the end of his Initiation, the newly made freemason is handed a card on which is printed a catechism of no less than 48 questions and answers! It shows the range and complexity of the symbolism which each new member is expected to cope with in his initial stages. The new Brother is really tested on them all at a closed meeting of the Lodge. He is brought to a chair placed in the centre of the Temple near to a Broken Column, a particularly potent symbol in most Continental Freemasonry which refers to the destruction of King Solomons Temple in antiquity and hence to the urgency and continuing nature of the freemasons task in this world. Surrounded by the silent figures of the listening members of his Lodge, the Entered Apprentice has to give his answers to the Masters questions: confidently, without stumbling and (above all) with sincerity. Then he is asked to leave and the discussion about his merits as a Candidate for the Second Degree are discussed. If everyone is satisfied with the evident progress that he has made, then a vote is taken and if that is favourable he is invited in writing to present himself at the next available open meeting when a Second Degree is to be performed. A similar exhaustive testing has to be completed successfully before he will be allowed to proceed to his Third Degree.

FUTURE PROSPECTS PART VIII

In trying to answer the question What part, if any, does speculative Freemasonry have within the western Hermetic tradition I have suggested that the model preferred by the prevailing orthodoxy of the authentic school of masonic historiography may have to be abandoned now. It simply has not produced the evidence that would connect speculative Freemasonry up generally with any previous esoteric ventures, that evidence may well unavailable. Besides, dealing almost exclusively with texts it regards the masonic experience in a textual way, denies that it might be Hermetic and ignores the fact that the experiences potency lies mainly in its lived-through continuity. It is no longer any use looking to the past to find a viable answer to the question. So I have turned to the present and examined the different Initiation rituals used in England and on the Continent. I have tried to show that though there were and are interesting traces of Hermeticism within the English-speaking masonic tradition, these became neglected gradually. Demographic factors, throughout the 19th century influenced the influx of men with a bourgeois or a military mentality into English-speaking speculative Freemasonry and this brought about a laxity. The emergent British middle classes provided the motivation, the zeal, the opportunities and the personnel for the agrarian and industrial revolutions and the subsequent burgeoning economic prosperity in the 18th century. Once established as the major potent political force within the nation, they even brought about the acquisition and maintenance of the British Empire during the 19th century. These were worthy achievements in their day, of course, but they were centred on this world and not on any kind of Hermetic experience. Those men came to speculative Freemasonry in their droves with all of their cultural expectations, career experiences and training and their social ambitions and expectations. So, while the original potentially Hermetic traces remained as symbols within the texts of their masonic rituals, they became neglected generally as signposts for the lived-through experience within Lodges. Besides this, the minimalist and compromise definition of what is meant by pure and ancient freemasonry by the nascent Union in 1813 meant that the possibility of Hermetic exploration on a continuous basis in a masonic context became severely restricted in the early decades of the 19th century. Those freemasons who wanted to pursue their Hermetic pilgrimages had to seek for or create opportunities outside of the restrictions imposed by their membership of the English-speaking Craft. This was why most of the so-called higher degrees took their rise and flourished only in the latter half of the 19th century as part of that occult revival which was itself part of a general, spiritualised reaction against the incipient and rampant materialism of the post-Darwinian age. Since then, however, most English-speaking freemasons have become pre-occupied with various kinds of mere externalities; the Hermetic enterprise - in terms of individual Lodges corporate experience ground almost to a halt. But that Hermetic impulse is still preserved among European speculative freemasons. Their livedthrough experience is more prolonged, more intense, more cerebral more Hermetic again for historical reasons. So, as far as European Freemasonry is concerned the answer to the question posed is: Yes, in Europe, speculative Freemasonry does have a secure place within the western Hermetic tradition because it still requires its members to engage in sustained reflection on the whole purpose of the phenomenon and the meaning of the symbols it employs. What then of the future? What place, if any, can speculative Freemasonry have in the Hermetic enterprise in the next millennium? I want to answer this, not by trying to guess whether and how Grand Lodges will adjust to the many fierce exigencies of the new age, but by raising some serious questions about the whole nature of the more orthodox varieties of speculative Freemasonry. How can it, as a cultural institution, claim to have any place in the modern world? How can any institution that has secrecy as one of its key notions continue to be valid in the age of the every expanding and developing scientific and electronic communication? I can see the need for preserving secrecy in financial, military and even political matters where peoples lives and livelihoods may be at risk. I can see that the injunction to keep the masonic secrets secret was

simply a convenient psychological ploy, intended to serve as an exaltation and legitimisation of the revelation in Neophytes minds but the insistence now on preserving secrets which are not comparable secrets must seem false in the modern world.

Furthermore, is there not an inherent contradiction between the principles of universal brotherhood and equality and that same notion of secrecy? Besides, how can any institution that professes panhumanic amelioration require absolute secrecy of its members? There is another aspect of this preference for universality. All of the Hermetic groups that I have studied have been small, even tiny in membership. Often, the most important insights have been produced in written form by individual scholars working largely in isolation. This diminutive membership size and this seclusion did not deter the pioneers of the Invisible College in the late 17th century. Perhaps they realised that in order for any Hermetic group to be lastingly successful it would have to be small and exclusive. What then can be made of speculative Freemasonrys claim to bring about a universal brotherhood? How can any institution survive in the modern world when it demands large sums of money from its Initiates but refuses to define its basic aims and objectives. Speculative Freemasonry claims to be involved in the inculcation of ethical principles but it has yet to attempt a clear, systematic and thorough definition of all its fundamental philosophy. It is claimed, among English-speaking speculative freemasons that the basic motivating principles are brotherly love, relief and truth. How can it survive then when at least two of these are no longer operative for it? The idea of a national organisation devoted to providing charity to deserving cases seemed fine in the 18th century when there was no welfare state but now it might be argued that in most modern states at least there is substantial, systematic provision for the poor. As far as devotion to the truth is concerned in the English-speaking masonic world, there seems little evidence now of any searching for truth, especially Hermetic truths, at an organisational level. Brotherly love seems to escape quickly out of the nearest window when the seasons for announcing promotions up the hierarchies come about and jealousy abounds once again. The rituals proclaim equality but the practice of awarding ever better ranks, for instance, proclaims inequality. And that inequality is there for all members to see. How can speculative Freemasonry survive in the modern world as an organisation when it carries a hierarchy of at least 28 grades of officers in the various Grand Lodges in the UK and elsewhere - a hierarchy that is mirrored in detail at every Provincial level. Such structures become selfperpetuating and they militate inevitably against Hermetic exploration. People become obsessed with their place in the structure, with correct and orderly behaviour and decorum - not with their spiritual development. Huge, complex organisations have rarely been sources of profound religious or philosophical insights that accelerate Mans progress towards greater understanding. Besides, in the ordinary, profane world, no manufacturing or commercial organisation would last if it continued to develop along such Byzantine lines. Such hierarchies are not sufficiently flexible in terms of their administrative hygiene to adapt creatively to external pressures for change. And after all, even Heaven itself has only nine orders of angels! How can any institution survive if it refuses to accept the need for continual change? I am not thinking of mere organisational adjustments but of an acceptance of basic change as a part of the culture or social psychology - of the organisation. In particular, how can speculative Freemasonry in the English-speaking world survive when it cannot conceive of the possibility of radical changes being necessary at some stage to its rituals? Speculative Freemasonry, of the so-called regular kind, excludes women from membership though there are no clear, identifiable reasons why this is so. How can any institution be Hermetic, or continue to exist in the modern world, when it arbitrarily excludes half the adult population? If the lived-through masonic experience is concerned (at least in part) with the inculcation of ethical principles and uses the model of the transition from the Rough Ashlar to the Perfect Ashlar to represent the ethical progress brought about in individual members, how can speculative Freemasonry (as an organisation) say by implication that women are not capable of making that transition, of attaining that moral improvement? Such an exclusion is not Hermetic and is not in accord with the modern world and any institution which retains that exclusion in the next millennium will not continue to attract new members in sufficient numbers and so the exclusion of women will assist its inevitable decline.