Master Yoda: Freemason Or Not?

"Good point that is Brother Senior Warden--
order more pancake mix for our
breakfast fundraiser we will." 

"Do or do not . . . there is no try."

~Yoda

Jedi Grand Master

Is it possible that the Jedi Knights are Freemasons--the evolution of our Craft thousands of years in the future?

I couldn't help but notice as I watched the Star Wars movies again how similar the ancient order of Jedi was to Freemasonry.  I began to wonder if maybe George Lucas hadn't modeled that ancient Jedi order on the Craft. Once I started looking for it, I noticed how often terms like "apprentice" and "Master" and "Knight" had been used in the movies. And of course there's the Jedi Council that meets in the Temple--and they have a Grand Master, Yoda. A source of great wisdom, enlightenment and leadership.

Sure enough, I wasn't the only person that had noticed it--do a Google search if you dare. The stark symbolism of darkness and light. The emphasis of staying on the more difficult enlightened path, and not being seduced by the dark side. The goal of becoming a better man. The idea of old mentors of the Craft helping apprentices learn traits and skills that enable them to be a force of good in the world.  All very strangely Masonic (yes, I know, it could apply to a lot of organizations, but I'm telling this story).

He's still angry over being expelled for
un-Masonic conduct

And then there are the levels, much like in Freemasonry:

The Younglings--  Demolay?  Or perhaps Entered Apprentices?

The Padawan--  Fellowcrafts?

Master Jedi--  well duh, that should be obvious. I'll bet there are rings--and lapel pins!

Jedi Knight-- maybe a title for those who have advanced in the York Rite of the future?

The Jedi Grand Master-- I'll bet Yoda sits in the East!

The movies never show what happens after the regularly stated meetings, but I wonder if there are hot dogs and green beans afterwards?

Sir Knight?

I wonder if they have a big annual Convocation where all the Jedi Masters come together and have a meeting, then enjoy a few nice dinners together at a nice hotel.  There are probably vendors set up in the basement where the Jedi Masters can buy belt buckles, key-chains, and cuff-links with light sabers on them.  Of course they'll have those little round Master and Knights emblems for sale for the back of the family Landspeeder, and maybe a nice sweater for the family dog that says "My Master is a Jedi Master."

So was Yoda a Freemason?  I don't know how to tell you this--you better sit down.  Star Wars isn't real.

No, Yoda is not a Freemason. But try watching those movies again now, and not seeing the similarities.

May the Force be with you.

~Todd E. Creason
The Midnight Freemason

Arlington National Cemetery and Freemasonry

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Greg Knott

There is no more solemn place in our nation than Arlington National Cemetery.  Thousands upon thousands of white granite stones in symmetrical rows mark the final resting place for the heroes of America. 

Here lie those who have protected our freedom through some of the darkest moments in our nation’s history.  Yet their service and sacrifice have provided the opportunity of freedom for countless future generations.  Theirs is legacy of commitment and honor that a grateful nation shall never forget.

Among those laid to rest in Arlington are many members of the Masonic Fraternity.  There are numerous headstones with the square and compass or other Masonic insignia.  This will be the first in an occasional series where we look at the Masonic brethren whose final resting place is at Arlington National Cemetery.

Dr. John Mills Browne, who was Surgeon General of the Navy, was born May 10, 1831 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire.  Dr. Brown was made a Mason on June 3, 1852, in Philesian Lodge No. 40 at Winchester, New Hampshire, where he received all 3 degrees in one day under dispensation from the Grand Master, because he was ordered to sea.  He later affiliated with Naval Lodge No. 87 at Vallejo, California and was Master in 1870.  Dr. Brown served as Grand Master of California Masons from 1875-1879. 

He was exalted in Benicia Chapter No. 7 at Benicia, CA on November 25, 1866 and was Grand High Priest of California Royal Arch Masons in 1878.  He was Knighted in California Commandery No. 1 at San Francisco on December 27, 1867 and received the Cryptic Degrees in California Council No. 2 on September 2, 1871.

Dr. Brown was very active in Scottish Rite as well, the Fourth through the Thirty-Second on February 1, 1870.  He later was Venerable Master of Naval Lodge of Perfection at Vellejo from 1870-1877 and Commander-in-Chief of the California Grand Consistory from 1874-1876 and was coroneted a 33° in 1876. 

He had an impressive naval career, entering the service in 1853 as Assistant Surgeon, having graduated from Harvard University.  He served on several naval ships, including the Kearsarge for 3 years, including when the Alabama was destroyed off Cherbourg in June 1864. 

Brother Brown died in Washington DC December 7, 1894, the funeral serviced being held in St. John’s Episcopal Church, which is near the White House and was interred in Arlington.  His tombstone is marked with the Scottish Rite emblem of a 33° Mason.

~GK

Gregory J. Knott is the Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL). Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

Sources:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Q6iOWM2r8n0C&pg=PA525&lpg=PA525&dq=Dr.+John+Mills+Browne+scottish+rite&source=bl&ots=4VRppAQtjH&sig=hmVDqnPO1AeoUivc46qWZtZLUoo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bfeZT8CmOYSkgweE8rSNDw&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Dr.%20John%20Mills%20Browne%20scottish%20rite&f=false

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0F14FD395515738DDDA10894DA415B8485F0D3

Review of Stephen King's Dark Tower: Wind Through the Keyhole

I know there are a lot of fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series on here--my post about the Dark Tower Series still holds the record for view count.  I ripped through Stephen King's latest installment, The Wind Through the Keyhole recently, and I must say, it's good to be back in Roland's world.  In the chronology, it falls between Wizard and Glass (book 4) and Wolves of the Calla (book 5).

Do I have to read all the Dark Tower books first to enjoy this one?

No--Stephen King answered that question in the introduction, and gives you all the information you need to know to enjoy the story (which isn't much).  It does very well as a stand-alone story, and what a remarkable story it is.  Actually, it's three stories. 

It begins with Roland and his ka-tet where we left them at the end of Wizard and Glass.  Sheltering from a terrible storm, Roland helps to pass the time by telling a story, actually two stories--a story within a story nestled together one inside the other like Russian nesting dolls.  It starts out with Roland's story going back to when he was a young gunslinger and was send to hunt down a skin man--a shapeshifter.  And of course that story falls into another story. 

Many readers weren't very satisfied with the conclusion of The Dark Tower Series. It was fun to jump back in the story and find Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and of course, Oy back along with path of the beam.  

It was a great yarn, and will give fans another look into Roland's mysterious world. And for Stephen King, it was really short, too, at just over 300 pages.  Well worth the price of admission. As Stephen King said in the book "A person's never too old for stories.  Man and boy, girl and woman, we live for them."

I have a feeling this book is going to introduce many new readers to Roland of Gilead.  Read it, and if you enjoy it, the series starts with The Gunslinger and the words "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

~Todd E. Creason
The Midnight Freemason

Freemason Wisdom: Walter Chrysler on Success

 by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Judy Gordon

(and Todd E. Creason)

"The real secret to success is enthusiasm."

~Walter Chrysler

Lodge Unknown

Anyone who has been successful in life will tell you that the secret to success is having a passion for those things you want to accomplish.  You have to truly believe in what you're doing.  Another famous Freemason, the singer Eddie Cantor once said "It takes twenty years to make an overnight success."

If you want to be successful, you have to love what you do, because it doesn't happen overnight--it is usually a long journey to the finish line.  Those that make it arrive there because they were passionate enough about what they wanted to do to see it through the many obstacles that stood in their way.

Are you as successful as you want to be?  Do you love what you do?  If not--what are you passionate about? 

~JG/TEC

Judy Gordon considers herself a York Rite Child. She's very active in Job's Daughters. She's the Past Honored Queen, and Bethel Guardian of Bethel No. 55, Pekin (IL). She received the Cryptic Masons Masonic Youth Leadership Award along with her husband, Ray Gordon in July 2007. She's also Past Matron of the Morton Chapter No. 974 (IL) of the Order of the Eastern Star and Historian of the Emblem Club No. 424 of Pekin (IL) Ray and Judy have two (soon to be three) grandkids, and a very spoiled dog, Reggie (who incidentally volunteers as a Therapy Dog at local hospitals and nursing homes.)