What is the Masonic initiation ceremony?
Masonic initiation rites include the reenactment of a scene set on the Temple Mount while it was under construction. Every Masonic lodge, therefore, is symbolically the Temple for the duration of the degree and possesses ritual objects representing the architecture of the Temple.
How do you greet a Mason?
Several, Actually. Freemasons greet one another with a variety of handshakes, all based on one’s rank within the organization. “There is a handshake for each degree: Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master, i.e., the first three degrees and also in the higher degrees,” says Révauger.
What is the purpose of Masonic ritual?
To unite us around a guiding set of principles and awaken our spirits. Our ritual is performed in Consecrated Temples which are meant to be sacred and separate from the everyday world.
What are the two rites of Masonry?
In the United States there are two main Masonic appendant bodies: The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
What does riding the goat mean to Masons?
The lodge goat It’s a joke, perpetrated often by Masons themselves on nervous initiates. Since at least the Middle Ages, the goat has been symbolic of the devil, and stories were circulated then of witches who called forth Satan, who came riding into town on a goat to take part in their blasphemous orgies.
What goes on in a mason meeting?
In addition to such business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree or receive a lecture, which is usually on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge may hold a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song.
What do Masons say at the end of a prayer?
“So mote it be” is a ritual phrase used by the Freemasons, in Rosicrucianism, and more recently by Neopagans, meaning “so may it be”, “so it is required”, or “so must it be”, and may be said after the person giving the prayer says ‘Amen’. amen! …
What is Masonic handshake?
BBC Scotland/Matchlight. The infamous Masonic handshake arose with a practical purpose, according to Mr Cooper. He says: “The handshake is a way of identifying one to another, especially when they had to move around Scotland looking for work.
What do Masons do at meetings?
What are the core beliefs of masons?
To become a Freemason, the applicant has to be an adult male and must believe in the existence of a supreme being and in the immortality of the soul. The teachings of Freemasonry enjoin morality, charity, and obedience to the law of the land.
What is a 33 degree Mason?
The thirty-third degree is an honorary award bestowed upon Scottish Rite Freemasons who have made major contributions to society or Freemasonry. Freemasonry has its origins in King Solomon’s Temple as the modern-day Labor Union, and in later times transformed into a philosophical brotherhood.
What is the son of a mason called?
In Speculative Masonic language, the son of an English Mason is called a Lewis, but in our country the use of this term in not as well known in modern times.
Which is the largest Dutch Order of Freemasonry?
The largest Dutch order, the Grootoosten (Grand Orient) threatened with legal procedures in order to try to have ritual texts removed from an internet site. Since the beginning of Freemasonry there have been publications with (parts of) the used rituals.
How are Masonic rituals controlled by the Grand Lodge?
Freemasons are usually unwilling to reveal the contents of ritual to non-Masons. The words in Masonic ritual are controlled very closely by the Grand Lodge in whose jurisdiction the ritual is performed. Masonic ritual is always performed behind closed doors, with a guard called a tyler, standing on the outside of the lodge room.
Where can I find a copy of the Masonic rite?
A copy of the Ritual of that Rite (dated 1890), in the Archives of the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States of America, shows a very weak and insignificant Ritual-ceremony, hardly worthy of consideration. The Ritual used by the Grand Council in this country was an original text, which was used here in 1896.
Are there any Dutch lodges in the Grand Orient?
In the Netherlands the Grand Orient has allowed two lodges to use their own rituals, one Dutch lodge works in the English Emulation ritual, all the others have to use the Dutch standard ritual.