Colloquially referred to as "Blue Lodge", the Symbolic Degrees, or Ancient Craft Masonry, is comprised of three degrees: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason.
In the Entered Apprentice Degree, the candidate is given his first opportunity to prove himself by his ability to fulfill a solemn obligation and to keep secret those things entrusted to him as such, while certain moral lessons are taught to him. The Working Tools of the Entered Apprentice are the Twenty-Four Inch Gauge, and the Common Gavel. The Twenty-Four Inch Gauge was used by operative Masons to measure and lay out their work, but as speculative Masons we are taught to use it to divide the day into twenty four equal parts, where we find eight hours for duty to God and our fellow man, eight hours for our usual vocation, and eight hours for refreshment and sleep. The Common Gavel was used by operative Masons to break off the rough edges of stones and fit them for the builder's use. We use it for the purpose of divesting our minds of the vices and superfluities of life, to prepare ourself to be fit for the Great Architect's use in constructing His spiritual building.
The Fellow Craft Degree places the candidate under an additional solemn obligation concerned primarily with his duties to his Brethren and the Craft. He is encouraged to become educated in the seven liberal arts and sciences: Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music. The working tools of a Fellow Craft Mason are the Square, the Level, and the Plumb, all of which are used to try our work. The candidate is taught many particulars concerning the Building of King Solomon's Temple and is informed of the custom of the men who worked at the building of King Solomon's Temple to gather and receive their wages. The Mason is here taught about the symbolic wages of a Fellow Craft: Corn, Wine, and Oil. If a Mason chooses to proceed on to the Capitular degrees in York Rite, he will at that time learn more about being a Fellow Craft Mason, including their actual wages.
The Master Mason Degree places the candidate under a much more solemn and weighty obligation, which concerns his behaviors and duties towards his Brethren, and also to widows and orphans. The Legend of this Degree is the most characteristic and influential in Masonry: The tragic death of our Grand Master Hiram Abiff, just prior to the completion of the Temple, and the associated loss of The Ancient Master's Word. The working tools of a Master Mason are all the implements of Masonry, but most especially the Trowel. The Trowel was used by operative Masons to spread the mortar which unites the bricks of a building into one single mass. We use the Trowel for spreading the cement of Brotherly Love and Affection. Upon completing the proficiency of the Master Mason degree, a brother is able to hold office in his Lodge, continue his Masonic education by petitioning one of the concordant bodies such as the Royal Arch Chapter of the York Rite or the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, or pursue the philanthropic opportunities available in Masonry through the Shrine Club or other Masonic organizations dedicated to such work.
Masonic Lodges are governed over by a Grand Lodge, and each Grand Lodge is sovereign in its jurisdiction. Each Grand Lodge has a criteria to determine which other Grand Lodges are considered "regular" for the purpose of allowing communication and visitation between jurisdictions.
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was formed in 1717, and all regular Masonry today derives from this "Mother" Grand Lodge.
Jurisdictions in the United States are shared between the "traditional" Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Grand Lodges, which have always been regular in every way except for constitutional separation, and are currently working their way to full recognition.
See below for a list of Masonic Grand Lodges considered regular by the UGLE.
<< What is Masonry | The York Rite >>
This is an attempt to maintain a list of the Masonic Grand Lodges recognized by the UGLE. This list may contain errors, so check with your own Grand Lodge, if you are a Mason, or the United Grand Lodge of England, to check the validity of the information contained in this list.
Wikipedia: Grand Lodge
Wikipedia: Prince Hall Freemasonry
<< What is Masonry | The York Rite >>
7 Comments:
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Comment by Roald Atle Furre — March 17, 2007 @ 8:21 am
"... all regular Masonry today derives from this "Mother" Grand Lodge".
This is not true.
This is what the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons of North America stated in its 2007 report from the Commission on Information for Recognition:-
"It must again be stated that the Commission does not determine the regularity of a Grand Lodge; it only evaluates the facts available to determine if the entity meets the standards for recognition, as adopted by the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, and reports those findings to the member Grand Lodges of this Conference for their use."
This is the statement this year 2008:-
"We must state again that even though a Grand Lodge may practice regular Masonry, we only determine whether the Grand Lodge meets all the standards for recognition, as established by this Conference."
and it is not acceptable for any of their Lodges or members to suggest otherwise,especially as The Grand Lodge of All England is the only legally Chartered Grand Lodge in England.
Comment by Peter Clatworthy — August 27, 2008 @ 12:08 am
Re: "... all regular Masonry today derives from this "Mother" Grand Lodge".
It is correctly stated. While there is evidence that Speculative Freemasonry existed much earlier in England, Scotland, Germany, and other countries, the 1717 organizing was the first Grand Lodge, all other Grand Lodges emanate from it, either directly or indirectly, and no unaffiliated lodges stand apart from the Grand Lodge system. A number of bogus "Grand Lodges" or "Grand Orients" have sprung up (Peter Clatworthy was involved with one of them for a time) which claim ex nihilo creation, but none that I know of are recognized by either of the two primary authorities for recognition, UGLE and COGMINA.
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I agree that doing something well trumps doing the right thing poorly. But if a lodge canât do âtheir thingâ well they should do our thing instead.In which case, they’ll probably do “our thing” poorly as well, in which case, not only has nothing changed for the better, but the GL comes off looking ham-fisted and power-hungry.Instead, maybe we (GL) should approach ritual delivery the way theaters approach a play: have lectures (or lecturers) that show the members how to work on form and delivery, how to be consistent with floor work, and lead discussions on what makes for good overall impressions. I would also suggest that we bring this to the lodge level because at a district or state level, you only get those people showing up who have the free time on that particular day. You need to get *all* the officers involved, especially the younger ones. There might be arguments as to what is essential. Iâve heard the basics are congregating, purging, and tiling as the absolute basics. But I think the essentials are more than that, and if that gets into a standardized ritual, Iâm not sure that isnât a good thing.Well, yes, those *are* basics; all ritual (at least, all the ones that I know about) have those – it’s just that the forms and words are different. Those are “essentials”, but would be so in any well-run lodge.It occurs to me that some guys join because they enjoy the sense of history behind the fraternity; those guys might really get something extra out of visiting (or joining!) a lodge that uses particularly old workings. I would expect that such lodges might be proud of their historic value, and work harder to keep them up, probably more so than many lodges in which the officers are marking time in the chairs. Again, the idea that we need to standardize something suggests to me that we’re looking at the problem wrong, or maybe that we haven’t really *defined* the problem in the first place. pa health insurance
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Comment by lin — April 22, 2012 @ 7:13 pm
7 Comments:
Great description of the first 3 degrees in freemasonry. As a freemason myself (Provo Story Lodge No. 4), I often come across descriptions of the degrees where the writer goes off on personal tangents. I appreciate the "to the point," yet descriptive explanations.
Comment by Tim Gilson — November 21, 2010 @ 9:46 am
Dear Sir,
Both of my Grandfathers were 32Nd Degree Masona, one, also being a Shriner. My one Grandmother was Eastern Star, and dues paying until the day that she died, at age 91.
I am interested in becoming a member of Eastern Star, as I accept and respect the tradition of keeping the Masonic rule of Males only.
How would I go about becoming a member? Do I need to prove my heritage, and if so, how? I do have pictures of my one Grandfather receiving an award at the Lodge, and I have the diamond from his ring, which he had made into my Grandmother's engagement ring, and later was passed to my Mother, who is now deceased. I do have my one Grandfather's other pins.
Thank in advance for your kind help.
Sincerely, Celeste Hathaway
Comment by Celeste Hathaway — July 8, 2011 @ 7:08 pm
P.S. Regarding previous post.
I greatly apologize for not proof reading my original comment. The typographical errors are a mixture of my operator error, and the fact that, at the moment, I am having problems with my computer. Please accept my sincere apology, as I usually do not send a document out with errors in it. Thank you, again.
Sincerely, Celeste Hathaway
Comment by Celeste Hathaway — July 8, 2011 @ 7:14 pm
They say in order to be a Mason you must ask a Mason. If you know someone who is a Mason or in Eastern Star just ask about becoming a member and then they can get you a petition. After you fill out your petition then they will vote on it and let you know. I hope that helps you.
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