Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most prestigious fraternity in the world. We’re similar to a civic club, a charitable institution and a fraternity, all rolled into one.

We are like a civic club in that we do a great deal of community and statewide projects. We are like a major charity in that we give almost two million dollars away each and every day. That’s right! This is not a typographical error. We give almost two million dollars away each and every day. But, most importantly, we are a fraternity for men doing good things for each other, and attempting to bring men of good morals and ethics together in our community.

The most important thing we do is take care of each other and our families. We are a fraternity. Masons, treat them in special ways, support them no matter where they live. And we build friendships throughout the world. And, we help others. That’s why we give almost two million dollars a day to charity. But we also teach leadership skills, and help men lead an ethics-based life. We promote good relationships and strong family values. We try to do something to strengthen the family unit every day.

A great deal of pride and a sense of belonging, to an organization, that exists all over the world; Being part of a great heritage. Sharing an identity with the greatest men of the past, and of today.

Sharing a special bond with men from all walks of life; creating life-long friendships with them. Just being a member of an organization that believes in toleration; that lets each man think for himself and express his own opinions, without worrying about being wrong.

You will get a lot more out of Masonry that you put into it.

The mission of Freemasonry is to promote a way of life that binds like-minded men in a worldwide brotherhood that transcends all religious, ethical, cultural, social and educational difference; by teaching the great principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth; and by the outward expression of these through its fellowship, its compassion and its concern, to find ways in which to serve God, family, country, neighbors and self.

The question is not answerable unless Masonry be defined. Some form of organization of builders, according to the oldest Masonic document, the Regius poem, existed as early as A.D. 926. Freemasonry, as distinguished from any other organization of practical builders, probably began among the Cathedral builders of the middle ages—tenth or eleventh century. The first Grand Lodge came into existence in 1717. Freemasonry in the United States dates definitely from 1730 and probably earlier.

No one man, any more than any one man discovered, designed or invented democracy, or philosophy, or science, or any one government. Freemasonry is the result of growth. Many Masons had a part in it; it has taken to itself teachings from many religions, philosophies, systems of knowledge, symbols.

The most generally accepted orthodox belief as to those who "began" Freemasonry is that the Craft is a descendant of Operative Masons. These Operatives inherited from unknown beginnings, of which there may have been several and were probably many, practices and some form of ritual. Speculative Masonry, reaching back through Operative Masonry, touches hands with those who followed unknown religions in which, however, many of the Speculative principles must have been taught by the use of symbols as old as mankind and there-fore universal, and not the product of any one people or time.

There are many theories: a man was a Freemason because his ancestors were not slaves nor was he a slave; he was so called because he was free within his Guild, or free of the Guild's laws and could thus "travel in foreign countries" and work where he would; he was a Freemason because he worked in freestone, which is any stone which can be cut, smoothed, carved in any direction; he was free when he had passed his apprenticeship and became a Fellow of the Craft; he was free when he had left the status of serf or villein and legally became free. Probably at one time or another masons were called Freemasons for any of these reasons or for all of them. The consensus leans to the theory that the Freemason was such because of his skill, knowledge and abilities which set him free of those conditions, laws, rules and customs which circumscribed masons of lesser abilities in the Cathedral building age.

No, to both questions. "A" religion connotes some particular religion. Freemasonry is nonsectarian. Before its Altar Christian, Jew, Mohammedan, Buddhist, Gentile, Confucian, may kneel together. If the question be phrased "Is Freemasonry religious" then the obvious answer is that an institution "erected to God" which begins its ceremonies and ends its meeting with prayer; which has a Holy Book upon its Altar; which preaches the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, of course, has a religious character, although, let it be emphasized again, wholly nonsectarian.

All Grand Lodges require their initiates to express a belief and trust in God. No atheist can be made a Mason.

The word is used in the sense that the Masonry of today is theoretical, not practical, building; that it is a pursuit of knowledge, not of the construction of edifices.

Speculative Masonry began with the practice of admitting to membership in operative lodges men who were not practical builders, stonecutters, architects, etc., but who were interested in the moral, ethical and philosophical teachings of the Fraternity.

Pan is one of the most ancient of mythological gods. Originally he was a gentle, rather whimsical god with a sense of humor, the Arcadian god of the shepherds, chief of the inferior deities, the child of Mercury and Penelope. Pan possessed long ears and horns; the lower half of his body was that of a goat. He invented Pan's Pipes, or syrinx. From him we have the word "panic," the state into which barbarians were thrown on invading ancient Greece and seeing Pan.

When the early Christians drew upon mythology, they modified and changed it; gentle Pan became Satan! To the common mind, Satan, or the devil, was a he-goat. Thus the devil came into possession of horns and a tail and the familiar cloven hoofs. Later, the devil was supposed to appear riding on a goat.

In the early days of Masonry in London, the enemies of the Fraternity employed ridicule; processions of Mock Masons, the Gormogons and other organizations, made fun of the society; they said that Freemasons were accustomed to raise the devil in their lodges—and of course, he appeared riding on his goat! Gradually the belief came into being that Freemasons "rode the goat."

Tales of the Masonic goat carry forward a ridicule of the Order begun more than two hundred years ago. Lodge room goats perpetuate an ignorant superstition and slander the fair fame of the Institution by indicating that its practices are antireligious, blasphemous.

The use of the apron is extremely old, not, as with the operative Masons, as a protector of clothing and body against tools and stone, but as a badge of honor. It was so used by the priests of Israel, by candidates for the mysteries of Mithras in Persia, by the ancient Japanese in religious worship. Ethiopia knew aprons as did Egypt. In all times and climes, it has been a badge of distinction. It is as such that a Mason wears it.

The material of the Masonic apron—lambskin—is a symbol of innocence, as the lamb has always been. Color and material are important in its symbolism but Masonry admits the "symbol of the symbol"—as, for instance, an electric light in place of a candle. Hence a Mason has more than once been "properly clothed" when the lambskin aprons of the lodge were all in use and he came through the tiled door clad in a white handkerchief!

Various Grand Lodges have "adopted" various "lists of Ancient Landmarks" and thus have given the tenets in the list the force of law in those Grand Lodges. But no Grand Lodge can make or unmake a landmark, any more than the Congress of the United States can make or unmake a law of nature. Congress might pass a law saying that the law of gravitation was hereafter to be inoperative, but presumably an apple rolling from a table would still fall to the floor! Grand Lodges which leave landmarks undefined and unrestricted by listing seem to have the better practice, just as those churches which do not list "the moral law" clause by clause seem to have a better grasp of what it is.

The late great Charles C. Hunt, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, put this point of view in a few words: "The Masonic conception of a landmark is fundamental law of Masonry which no body of men or Masons can repeal. Anything that can be adopted can be repealed. If a Grand Lodge has power to adopt, it has power to repeal. It is the very fact that they are unalterable which makes the land-marks similar to scientific laws which cannot be changed or altered by any man or body of men."

It is probable that all English speaking Grand Lodges will agree that at least seven Masonic fundamentals are landmarks. These are:

A Mason must be a freeborn male adult. Every Mason should ascertain what his own Grand Lodge has adopted (or not adopted) as "landmarks" and govern himself accordingly.

The first book of Freemasonry, printed in 1723, is known as Anderson's Constitutions. In it appear six "Old Charges" which are a statement of the old laws of operative Freemasonry concerning a Mason and his conduct. These six Old Charges are titled: Of God and Religion; Of the Civil Magistrate Supreme and Subordinate; Of Lodges; Of Masters, Wardens, Fellows and Apprentices; Of the Management of the Craft in Working; Of Behavior. The last, sixth Old Charge is concerned with behavior: "in the Lodge while constituted; after Lodge is over and the Brethren not gone; when Brethren meet without Strangers, but not in a Lodge; in presence of Strangers not Masons; at Home and in the Neighborhood; towards a strange Brother."

Many "Books of the Law"—Constitutions, Codes, etc.—of Grand Lodges print these Old Charges. They can also be found in Mackey's Encyclopedia and in the Little Masonic Library.

Sometimes called the Halliwell Document, it is, loosely speaking, the oldest of the "Manuscript Constitutions" of Freemasonry. Dated approximately A.D. 1390, it is in old Chaucerian English, difficult to read without a translation. It is preserved in the British Museum.

It is not, accurately speaking, a "Constitution," although it has within it much that is found in manuscripts. It is more a document about Masonry than for Masons. It is discursive, rambling, wordy and parts of it are copies of contemporary documents, notably "Urbanitatis" and "Instructions to a Parish Priest." Within the Regius, thirty-eight lines are devoted to "The Four Crowned Martyrs," who are not referred to in any of the manuscript Constitutions.

The book is approximately four by five and one-half inches, the pages fine vellum, the letters in red and what was probably once black but is now a rather drab greenish brown color. Its most curious feature is that it is written in verse, which is why it is often called the Regius Poem, although it is much more doggerel than poetry.

It is important to Masonic students for many reasons; to the average Mason its most salient feature may be that it ends with what are, so far as is known, the oldest words in the Masonic ritual (see next question).

"So Mote It Be" are the final words in the Regius Poem. "Mote" is old English for "may." Masons have used the phrase since the beginning of the written history of the Craft. Freemasonry includes many other words, now obsolete, which bring the sanctity of age and the continuity of ritual from ancient days to modern times.

One of the fundamental concepts of Freemasonry is that application for membership must be wholly a voluntary act. A man must seek for himself and join "of my own free will and accord." Under no other formula can men unite brethren of a thou-sand religious and political beliefs. Under no more constricting act could Freemasonry accomplish her only end, the building of character among men. Men who become members of a Masonic lodge for any other reason than their own desires can neither receive nor give to others the advantages of a wholly voluntary association. Freemasonry is bigger than any man; the man must seek its blessings; it never seeks the man.

The prohibition goes back to the early history of the Fraternity. It is written in the second paragraph of the sixth "Old Charge" (Behavior after the Lodge is over and the Brethren not goner ; "No private Piques or Quarrels must be brought within the Door of the Lodge, far less any Quarrels about Religion, or Nations, or State policy, we being only, as Masons, of the Catholick Religion above-mentioned; we are also of all Nations, Tongues, Kindreds, and Languages, and are resolved against all Politicks as what never yet conduc'd to the Welfare of the Lodge, nor ever will. This Charge has been always strictly enjoin'd and observ'd, but especially since the Reformation in Britain, or the Dissent and Secession of these Nations from the Communion of Rome."

Freemasons today hold that the Old Charge prohibits lodge discussions of politics in the sense of partisan politics and religion in the sense of sectarian religion.

Freemasonry's practice has followed the ancient belief that the world was created four thousand years before Christ; that when God said "Let there be light" the world began. Therefore Masons date their doings four thousand years plus the current year, "Anno Lucis," or "In the year of Light."

It is but another of Freemasonry's many ties with a day so old no man may name it.

Allegory is from two Greek words and means, "story within a story"—the Masonic story is told as a fact, but it presents the doctrine of immortality. Allegory, parable, fable, myth, legend, tradition, are correlative terms. The myth may be founded on fact; the legend and tradition more probably are founded on fact, but the allegory, parable, fable, are not. Yet they may be "true" if "true" is not taken to mean factual. "In the night of death hope sees a star and love can hear the rustle of a wing" is beautifully true allegory, but not factual. All allegories may contain truth, without being fact.

Masonry is not "a secret society" but "a society with secrets." A secret society is one of which the membership, aims and ideals are unknown. There is no secret about who is, and who is not, a Free-mason. Lodges publish their rosters. Many Grand Lodges publish the names of their members in annual Proceedings. The world at large knows that the aims and ideals of Freemasonry are religious, charitable, friendly, fraternal.

What is secret in Freemasonry is well phrased in the Ninth Landmark as adopted by the Grand Lodge of New Jersey:

The legend of the third degree; the means of recognition; the methods of conferring degrees; the obligations of those degrees and the ballot of every brother are, and must continue to be, inviolably secret.

No; for a woman to become a real Freemason is as impossible as for a man to become a mother, a leopard to change his spots. A female duly elected, properly prepared, initiated and obligated, passed and raised, who signed the bylaws of a regularly constituted lodge, would not be a Freemason, as all which had been done with her would be illegal, and one illegally initiated is not a Freemason. The third of the Old Charges, foundation law of the Craft, states emphatically: "The persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no Bondmen, no Women, or immoral or scandalous Men, but of good Report."

There appear to have been at least two historic instances in which a woman was initiated. Prior to the formation of the first Irish Grand Lodge, an Irish lodge, meeting in the home of Arthur St. Ledger, First Baron Kilmayden and Viscounte Doneraile, had its privacy invaded accidentally by the Honorable Elizabeth St. Ledger, later Mrs. Richard Aldworth. The lodge members decided the only way to preserve secrecy was to obligate her; she was, therefore, duly obligated both as an Apprentice and as a Fellowcraft.

The second instance concerns Helene, Countess Hadik Barkoczy, born 1833, "made a Mason" in Lodge Egyenloseg, warranted by the Grand Orient of Hungary. The last of her race, at her father's death she was permitted by the Hungarian courts to take the place of a son, receiving his full inheritance. In this was an extensive Masonic library in which she became much interested. In 1875 the lodge mentioned admitted her!

The Grand Orient of Hungary took immediate action on this "breach of Masonic vow, unjustifiably conferring Masonic degrees, doing that which degrades a Freemason and Freemasonry, and, for knowingly violating the statutes." The Deputy Master of the lodge was expelled, the officers of the lodge had their names struck from its rolls, and the members were suspended for various periods of time. To the honor of the Grand Orient be it said, its final pronouncement—apart from these merited punishments--was unequivocal. There are a dozen or more stories of other women "made Masons" but none of them withstands critical examination.

"Cowan" is an old Scotch word, meaning an ignorant Mason who put stones together without mortar, or piled rough stones from the field into a wall without working them square and true. He is a Mason without the Word; the Apprentice who tries to masquerade as a Master.

The eavesdropper in ancient times was that would-be thief of secrets who listened under the eaves of houses (there, was often a space between wall and roof, for the purpose of ventilation) . Because to hear he had to get close to the wall under the eaves, he received the droppings from the roof if it rained—hence, eavesdropper. In modern times the eavesdropper is that bold man who forges a good standing card, or finds one and masquerades as its owner; the man who has read a so-called "expose" of Masonry and tries to get into a lodge, in order to ask for charity or help. He is very rare, and few tilers have ever met him! The cowan, however—the Fellowcraft or Entered Apprentice stopped for cause, the one-time member in good standing who is now dropped for one cause or another—these not infrequently try to pass the tiler.

The "oath" is the "So help me, God" at the end of any solemn promise made with hand upon the Book of the Law. The "obligation" is the substance of the preceding promises. "Oath" is thus symbolical of man's fear of God; "obligation" signifies the promises and agreements, made preceding the oath.

The only penalties known to Freemasonry are reprimand; definite suspension from membership; indefinite suspension from membership; expulsion from the Fraternity. To these must be added that intangible penalty which comes to any one who loses all or any part of his reputation. Other penalties suggested in the ritual are wholly symbolic—are not now and never have been enforced. They were legal punishments in the middle ages, designed with special reference to the religious beliefs of the time that an incomplete body could not "rise from the dead"; that a body buried in unconsecrated ground (as between high and low water mark) could not ascend into heaven. Some Grand Lodges offer an interpretation of the ritualistic penalties, in order to be sure the initiate understands the symbolic character of these other-wise difficult phrases. So it is the square way, is never alone, even if out of sight of his lodge and his Brethren. The square is the fundamental tool of the operative Mason; without its use no building would stand. It is the fundamental tool of the Speculative Mason; without square thoughts and actions, no spiritual building can stand.

In Christian lands the holy book of the prevailing faith is the Great Light. In American and English lodges that book is the Holy Bible. A Masonic lodge cannot exist without the V.S.L., the Book of the Law. But in lands where there are other religions, the sacred book of those religions becomes their Great Light. What is important is that some volume containing divine revelation be a part of the furniture of the lodge. Inasmuch as Freemasonry is not concerned with doctrine or dogma or sect or denomination, but only with "that natural religion in which all men agree" (Old Charges), it is only necessary that the V.S.L. be sacred to the members of the lodge. The Bible on American Altars is not to be considered only as a Christian or a Jewish sacred book; it is a symbol of the revealed will and teachings of the Great Architect of the Universe—a name under which any Freemason can worship that Deity in Whom he puts his faith and trust.

Freemasonry came to the United States from several different sources (England, Ireland, Scotland) and its spread westward formed Grand Lodges from lodges which sprang from the thirteen original colonies. These admixtures of rituals produced variations which were occasionally increased by actions of Grand Lodges acting on recommendations of Grand Lecturers and Ritual Committees. In the early days of Freemasonry in the United States many "travelling lecturers" brought their own conceptions of "the true Masonic work" to far areas and taught these.

All rituals are "correct." What a Grand Lodge approves as its ritual is "correct" for its lodges. No rituals in the United States contradict each other; they vary in words and details, not in essentials.

The Monitor, or Manual, published by most Grand Lodges in some form, is usually a pocket size volume which contains the exoteric or written work, as distinct from the esoteric, or secret, or "mouth to ear" work or ritual. It is curious and interesting that what is exoteric in one Grand Lodge is sometimes esoteric in another, but no Monitor discloses any secrets to any reader. Monitors are of more use to officers and others who take parts in the exemplification of degrees than to lodge members who do not. Some Monitors contain also explanations of various parts of Freemasonry and a few are comprehensive in their coverage of the subject.

In Pennsylvania and England, a symbol of strength. Universally, a symbol of the son of a Mason not yet twenty-one years of age; hence the derivation of "strength" since a man's strength is in his son. Washington was under age when initiated. In North Dakota and Arkansas, a Lewis may apply for membership, but he may not be initiated until he is twenty-one. England initiates a Lewis at eighteen by dispensation; Scotland does it without a dispensation.

The governing body of Freemasonry within a certain territory in the United States, the governing body of Masonry in each State in the Union and in the District of Columbia. It is composed of it's officers and it's "permanent members"— usually past officers, and the Masters, or Masters and Wardens, or Masters, Wardens and Past Masters, of the several Lodges. Some Grand Lodges authorize also a special lodge representative. Grand Lodges usually meet once a year, a few meet twice a year, one has three meetings each year and two, five meetings each year. The Grand Lodge has as its presiding officer the Grand Master and the legislation of the Grand Lodge is binding upon all Masons within its territory and upon all Lodges under its jurisdiction.

Few Masonic matters are less understood by the non-Masonic public than this. The word "worchyppe" or "worchyp" is Old English, and means "greatly respected." In the Wycliffe Bible "Honor thy father and thy mother" appears as "Worchyp thy fadir and thy modir." English and Canadian mayors are still addressed, "Your Worship." In some of the Old Constitutions of Masonry is the phrase, "Every Mason shall prefer his elder and put him to worship."

"Worshipful," therefore, in modern Masonry continues an ancient word meaning "greatly respected." A Grand Master is "Most Worshipful," that is, "Most greatly respected." (except in Pennsylvania, where the Grand Master is "Right Worshipful," as are Pennsylvania's and Texas' Past Grand Masters)

A contemporary relic of the ancient custom whereby the King remained covered under all circumstances, while his subjects were obliged to uncover in his presence. Apparently the custom which began in English lodges is not common there now; but in American lodges a Master wears a hat as a sign and symbol of his authority.

The compasses open sixty degrees are in easy position to construct a square. The Master has worn the square while he presided; now, as Past Master, he is supposed to be in possession of the knowledge necessary to make a square, hence the position of the compasses and the quadrant. There are many geometric methods of erecting a square; the Past Master's jewel hints at one of the simplest and most used methods as best for the Past Master to employ in instructing his successor.

These words form the title used in South Carolina and Pennsylvania for their "books of the law." In times gone by it was also used by Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Nova Scotia. No one has yet discovered a meaning of the words not disputed by others; they are variously translated from a supposed Hebrew to mean "Will of Selected Brethren," "Secrets of a Prepared Brother," "Royal Builder," "Brother Secretary," "Intimate Brother Secretary," "A Prepared Brother."

In the early days in this country many lodges met "on or after full moon," or "on or before full moon." Transportation was poor; roads were rough and difficult; getting from home to lodge was often a problem. Having the light of the moon made such journeys safer and easier. Many old lodges refused to change their dates of meeting even when the necessity for lunar meeting limos had passed. But many Grand Lodges have legislated the "moon lodge" out of existence by insisting that their lodges meet upon definite dates, and others of the old moon lodges are gradually giving up that distinction in favor of the more practical settled date. Only a few hundred moon lodges still exist in this country.

Truth may be taught without ritual, but truth taught by ritual is always taught as the original teachers desired and makes a lasting impression upon the mind of the learner.

Man has always devised ceremonies of initiation for his organizations; the Men's House of the Indians had them; savage tribes bring their young men officially to manhood by rites which are some-times rather terrible; ancient religions admitted to the temple only those who could qualify by successfully completing a course of initiation; many modern churches — especially those denominated "high"—have set forms for religious worship; crafts and guilds of all kinds in all ages have had certain preparatory rites.

A ritual which becomes sacrosanct in human belief tends to stabilize truth and to keep it uncontaminated by "modern" ideas. Many a man has thought he could "improve" the ritual of Freemasonry. None has succeeded in making better that which was already "best," since its content was and is living, breathing, sentient truth, conveyed in words, actions and symbols which by their very antiquity prove that they are "best" for the purpose.

Dr. Joseph Fort Newton, beloved teacher of the spiritual aspects of Freemasonry, said:

Ritual is the dramatization of belief, hope and spiritual dream. It assists imagination by giving form to what otherwise would remain formless, presenting vivid mental images which lend a reality—feeling to what is often abstract and unreal. It is picture philosophy, truth visualized, at once expressing and confirming the faiths and visions of the mind.

Schools of thought give different answers. Some authorities think that as blue has from ancient Biblical times been associated with truth, with Deity, with wisdom and hope; that, as Mackey taught, the blue of the Old Testament is a translation of the Hebrew tekelet, which is derived from a root meaning "perfection." Blue came into Masonry as its color by a natural association. Others believe that as our ancient brethren met on hills and in vales, over which the blue vault of heaven is a ceiling; that as Jacob in his vision saw the ladder ascending from earth to heaven; that the covering of a lodge is the clouded canopy or starry decked heaven, these allusions seem to connote that blue, the color of the sky, is that of all celestial attributes for which Masons strive.

Man's earliest god was the sun. The sun rose, traveled, and set in a realm of blue; to associate the color with Deity was inevitable. Blue also is the color of the ocean, of mountain streams, of lakes of good drinking water—that blue should also become emblematic of purity is equally natural.

The Grand Lodge in England in 1731 changed from a previous determination that white was the Masonic color and denominated blue as that hue. A noted English Masonic student, Fred J. W. Crowe wrote:

(1) that the Order of the Garter was the most famous Order of Knighthood in existence; (2) that Freemasons, in adopting the color (Garter blue) attempted to add to their dignity and the growing prestige of Grand Lodge officers; (3) that two Grand Masters prior to the adoption of "Garter blue" were John, Duke of Montagu (Grand Master in 1721) and Charles, Duke of Richmond (Grand Master in 1724) both Knights of the Garter; (4) the Duke of St. Albans and the Earl of Chesterfield were both Craftsmen and Knights of the Garter and (5) Bro. John "Antis" (Anstis) , member of University Lodge, of which Dr. Desaguliers and other Masonic notables belonged, was Register of the Order of the Garter.

The two theories which find the most believers are (1) the adoption of the color by early operative Freemasons because of an age-old association of blue with those virtues which are peculiarly Masonic, (2) the adoption of the color by the early Grand Lodge in imitation of the nobility and the fame of the color of the most famous Order of Knighthood in the world.

If upon the platform, on a level with the Master, at his right, which is to the left of the brethren in the lodge. If the flag is displayed in the East on its staff standing on the floor of the lodge, at the right of the brethren, on the left of the Worshipful Master. The flag is never draped, not even upon the Altar; nothing should be beneath the Great Lights but the Altar; the flag is only draped when it is lovingly laid upon a casket containing the remains of a soldier or sailor. In lodges near the borders of the United States it is a pretty courtesy to display the flag of the neighboring country when visitors from Canada or Mexico are expected.

When two flags are displayed side by side in lodge, the American flag is nearest the right hand of the Master, if displayed on the platform; nearest to the right of the brethren if displayed on the floor of the lodge.

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