I'm a Freemason AMA

[FreemasonAMA]

I will not go into some details, but I will try to answer as many questions as I can.

Are there links between masonry and Scientology? The secret rituals and levelling-up (for want of a better term) sound similar.

What happens at an initiation?

My Grandad is a freemason however since his term as worshipful master and with age he has stepped back slightly. However due to this I spent a lot of time in lodges as a child, setting up for events etc and as I got older attending ladies nights etc.

As above I also owe my further education to the lodge. Due to family circumstances I would not have afforded university tuition without them.

I've always been amazed at the amount of charity and outreach work that happens in each lodge completely under the radar of the outside world. Is your lodge particularly charitable OP? Do you have a favourite cause that has been supported? Also does your lodge put on a lot of events for family members etc?

DH's dad is a Freemason. a rubbish dad and grandad. Amazingly pleasant in person but clearly apathetic. This seems at odds with what you have described so far. How can the two be reconciled?

Naturally I can't comment on someone I have never met, but I would assume that he was an even more self-centred person before he became a Freemason.

It's not a factory and it doesn't guarantee that all members are great people. I can only say that most Freemasons I have met are interesting and compassionate people. Far more than other people I meet.

I met a man who gave me a really weird handshake. Could that have been a secret mason thing

I doubt it. As I said before, I've never heard of or experienced Freemasons recognising each other from a handshake.

Are you able to answer my question?

Are you all Protestant?

How would you react if a catholic or a Muslim tried to join your lodge

Do you feel your organisation is bigotedor are you just happy to take the advantages from it?

You're served a meal. Who organises this?

Oh another question. Can a man self identify in to your order?

How was your first initiation ceremony? Did it frighten you?

It was interesting. I had a blindfold on for most of it but could see that there was a purpose to it. It was a bit of theatre with us candidates as primary actors, The Initiation ritual is meant to make you think. It is basically theatre, some scenes you walk through as you hear the purpose and symbolism of what you are experiencing. The end is very moving.

Do you feel like you fully know what the Freemasons are about yourself now eg, do you feel you could dispel the things thrown around on strange YouTube documentaries completely? Sure you're not serving Satan etc?

I don't know the rituals of the degrees I have not yet attained, but I know the general direction and that is one that values knowledge, the rational mind, scientific thought, humanity, kindness, and respect.

I don't know what YouTube says on the matter, but I can assure you there is no serving Satan going on

Do you feel it's just another path, a western system or is it something different? Eg in the eastern cultures they might focus on chakras/kundalini raising?

It is not a religion and there is no woo in it. There is a lot of symbolism and history, though. I don't know if that answers your question.

Please be patient. I'm answering questions in order.

Why can’t you become a “cubic stone” by pursuing self development and good works outside of the Masons?

Of course you can do as you please. I have chosen to enter this "school" that has been around for centuries, and I enjoy it very much.

Are you in the Order of the Eastern Star, or the actual Masons?

I'm not in the Eastern Star. I'm an "actual Mason", with a degree above Master Mason.

Can someone apply to join the Masons or can they only join if a Mason invites them?

A Freemason has to propose you as a candidate to his/her lodge.

How many women’s lodges are there?

There are numerous women's lodges, in many countries around the world. I don't know the exact number.

I thought it was just for men.

As I said above, out of the two main obediences (branches) of Freemasonry, Grand Lodge is just for men and Grand Orient accepts women in mixed lodges as well as women-only ones.

The united grand lodge of England website states only men can be freemasons. there is an order of women freemasonry but it's not 'officially recognised' by the grand lodge, but they 'acknowledge the sincerity' of the women's group. Sounds awfully patronising and like they're just humouring the ladies and trying to look a bit more modern and inclusive while the men do the big 'real' stuff. I don't mean to offend at all but this would seriously bother me, what are your thoughts on this?

Yes, Grand Lodge is just men. Grand Orient accepts women as equals.

That would bother me, too. I would not be part of a sidekick organisation for the wives.

Do you have a male partner/husband and is he a freemason too?

No, he is not a Freemason.

In a month how much time do you devote to being a Freemason and how much does it cost you financially.

We regularly meet once a week in the first few years. There are additional meetings in higher degrees.

It doesn't cost much at all. There is a membership fee that takes care of the upkeep of the facilities and pays salaries for 2 staff. The only other cost is whatever you care to give to the collection purse. (You can also take from it, if you need the money. The way it is designed makes this possible.)

Also, do you have a certificate to walk sheep over London Bridge

No

I didn't realise women could join! I work for the RMBI and most of the men are sexist pigs and the women are widows of freemasons.

RMBI is affiliated with Grand Lodge (not Grand Orient, my group) so yes, it's a men's club.

I think we are a more modern and liberal organisation, although very similar in ideas, goals, and symbols.

How often do you meet up & eat together

Meetings are once a week. After each meeting, there is a communal meal.

Is your lodge multicultural at all?

I thought you were required to believe in some sort of religion. Is that not the case?

That is the other major difference between Grand Lodge and Grand Orient: They have the Bible (or a Holy Book, or several Holy Books) on the altar during their meetings. We have an empty book with blank pages.

They must believe in God and follow a recognised religion. We don't.

Do you think it's helped you spiritually?

Why would someone perhaps not be accepted to join? My ex husband wanted to join a lodge at one point and enquired within one but they never contacted him back. I always wondered if his MH diagnosis was the reason why although I don't think he had disclosed that to them so not sure how they would have known if it was that

Do the symbols you talk about hold some sort of power, like the law of attraction type of thing?

No As I said, there is no woo in Freemasonry. It encourages and cultivates scientific and rational thought.

Symbols in Freemasonry are things like white gloves to symbolise clean hands, white apron to symbolise truth and honesty at our "work", etc. They are not witchcraft.

Do Freemasons discuss cosmology/astrophysics/spirituality?

Topics we discuss are more philosophical than spiritual, I would say. We don't discuss religion or politics. All other questions have appeared at one time or another, although they tend to stay around the ideas of a particular degree.

Are there links between masonry and Scientology?

No, not at all. What little I know of Scientology sounds like a ridiculous story that involves aliens, fashioned into a religion as a tax avoidance scheme.

Freemasonry has its roots in the middle ages, with stone masons (who made walls) free to travel between towns to practice their trade, who had trade lodges, kept the secrets of their trade, and recognised each other in secret code like handshakes to be admitted into the masons' guild/lodge in the town they go to for work.

Just how this trade guild transformed into a purely speculative organisation is still debated, but it probably had to do with the fact that being a freethinking, scientific, rational person was quite dangerous for a long time. It was only in an esoteric group that such minds could be encouraged.

What happens at an initiation?

I will not give details, but there is some time for reflection and some (easy) "challenges" to overcome which are there to make you think. It is a bit odd, especially with the blindfold, but not scary. There is a purpose to it all.

DH is a longstanding Mason. Have you been in the chair? I don't like the fact that lady Masons don't meet in the lodge, making them seem secondary to the men.