The Occult Lodge: Part Eight

The Electronic Lodge

by Midnight Freemason Contributor 

Bro. James E. Frey 32° KT, ROS

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six 

Part Seven

 

In this new century the occult lodge has struggled to remain relevant and re-establish itself. Similar to Masonry the occult lodges have found less and less individuals interested in applying themselves to the practical application of their teachings. Many will attest that for some Masonic lodges it is difficult to find interested prospective members, even more difficult to convince newer members to abandon their comfy couches with cable TV and high speed internet and become active in regular attendance at business meetings and degrees. It is even more difficult yet,  for occult lodges to find interested individuals to proceed through degrees and education materials and to become active in attending ceremonies and meditations. 

In this progressive materialist and secular society balanced by the polar opposite of often misguided fundamentalist evangelicalism, the students of the esoteric mysteries often have no outlet to connect with people of a similar mind. Many young men join the Masonic lodge hoping to find those who are occult minded, but often become discouraged with the planning of pancake breakfasts and the paying of the bills. With the occult in  mind,  with no where to turn, many have turned to the internet. Internet and mail order occult orders have become quite common, with a wide reach they can be a connection for those who are interested in occultism with no active groups in the area.
 

The Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosae Crucis, or AMORC, is one of these more popular orders. This washed down Rosicrucian system has claimed to be founded by Sir. Francis Bacon, but in actuality was formed in 1909 by Harvey Spencer Lewis. Lewis claimed to be initiated into a Rosicrucian Order in France in which he received permission to transport these teachings in an American order. AMORC tends to appreciate the Egyptian motif and has a fantastic foundation in alchemical symbolism in its system, but over the recent years it has become more New Age focused. Still though, AMORC has a plethora of information and education programing available to those who are interested, and for a beginner in esotericism they are an excellent starting point. But if Rosicrucianism isn’t quite your thing maybe Martinism is.

The Traditional Martinist order or the TMO is considered by many Martinist groups to be the bane of

Martinism due to their openness with Martinist teachings and the accessability to its programs. Martinist teachings focus on being an unknown superior and they value their discreteness due to its roots in French Gnosticism. But the TMO is open for all to apply, aiding you with teachings rooted in the works of St. Martin. They offer do it yourself mail order degrees that allow you to make Martinism your own experience. Even many Golden Dawn Groups will offer "astral initiations" on perspective members who are not in travel distance to an active temple.

Another education focused program one could peruse is the Builders Of The Adytum, or BOTA. Founded in 1922 by Freemason and occult writer Paul Foster Case, BOTA has been heavy influenced by both the Golden Dawn and Ancient Craft Masonry. BOTA is organized into regional study groups, which focus on the Outer Porch Work which contains a correspondence program which is rooted in the main aspects of the western mystery school Qabalah, Tarot, Alchemy, and Hermetics. But after completion of this first order the student is presented an option to continue into the second order or porch work. This second order is an initiatic school that uses the Tarot to as a basis for the aspirant to attain spiritual advancement.

Over the years the Occult Lodge has been largely reduced to online study and mail order programs that promise occult secrets but do not provide a community to support one’s practical application of this knowledge. But what can Masonry learn from the Occult Lodge? Are we doomed to the same fate? With online education programs and Scottish Rite degrees on DVD it is hard not to recognize that asonry is following this trend. What can be learned from the occult lodge is that we must also provide an esoterically minded mason with a community open to them using Masonic teaching and symbolism as a spiritual tool. Remember there is nothing stopping masonry from being an individual spiritual path, except the individual’s perception of its symbolism. So if you get an occult minded young man interested in masonry for its ‘mysteries’ embrace him like a brother. Chances are good his interest in the esoteric has made him feel shunned by society or church. This might be why he seeks out masonry, to find that spiritual truth he has not found in any other group. Allow him to make masonry into a system that promotes their own enlightenment. Young men like this need local lodges to fill this void because the Occult Lodge for the most part has faded into obscurity. But still somewhere they will always exist, in the dark corners of our mind, in the back of occult shops or deep in the woods there still are secret groups dedicated to spiritual awakening. Just as always, they have been hidden in plain sight. 

~JEF

James E Frey 32° classifies himself as a gentleman of the old world, which means he is known to stand in the great forests reciting poetry to fair-haired damsels while wrestling bears for sport. He is a District Education Officer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, a Past Sovereign Prince of the of Danville AASR, member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, Quram Council Allied Masonic Degrees and initiate of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He is also a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry for the R.E.B.I.S Research Society 

The Millennial Generation and Freemasonry: Part 1

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Todd E. Creason, 33°

I've heard it over and over again about the Millennial Generation (the generation born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s).  There is a prevailing idea that young people just aren't interested in Freemasonry.  Some believe the Millennials just don't share the kinds of values that Freemasons do.  Some believe they just aren't joiners.  Some believe that in the age of social media, the interests of the Millennial Generation is more introverted--they are more interested in posting selfies and living a fake life in the virtual world than they are about improving themselves and the real world.  But you can't argue with the fact that they aren't exactly beating a path to our door.

But I ran across some interesting facts about the Millennial Generation that might just surprise a few people:

81% donate money, goods and services.

They are givers.  They want to help those in need.  They want to make the world a better place.  They'll volunteer their time for the causes they believe it whether it's feeding the homeless, or helping out at a local animal shelter.  They recycle.  They donate their old clothes.  They'll run in a 5K race to support cancer research. They know that words won't change the world--it's action. 

75% see themselves as authentic and are not willing to compromise their personal values.

They know who they are.  They know what they believe in.  They know what is important to them, and they know what they want in life.  And they remain steadfastly true to themselves and those personal values. 

On track to becoming the most educated generation in American history.

Having grown up in the information age, they are smart.  They have always had easy access to information, and have a desire for knowledge.  Having easy access to information, they are curious to learn about things they don't know, and are likely to look up and learn about things they don't understand.  They have a great desire to improve themselves and know that the key is education and study.  

61% of millennials are worried about the world we live in and feel personally responsible to make a difference.

It's one thing to worry about the world we live in, and it's another to do something about it.  The Millennial Generation isn't willing to leave it to somebody else to fix.  They are willing to roll up their sleeves and participate.  They want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.  They get involved.  They work to correct the things they see as wrong in the world today. They mean to leave this place a better place than the one they found.

More tolerant of race, religion, and other minority groups than older generations.  

Millennial grew up with a strong sense of fairness and equality.  They are more likely than any generation that came before them not to even notice differences in race, religion, age, sexuality, etc.  They believe we're all created equal, and the way they interact with their fellow man demonstrates that belief.  With Millennials, it's not about being politically correct, it's who they are. 

So What Does That Mean For Freemasonry?

To be honest with you, after reading these facts, do you know how I'd describe the Millennial Generation?  I'd describe them as future Freemasons!  Has there ever been a generation that has so much in common with the things that Freemasonry stands for?  This generation was made to order for the Fraternity! 

They desire knowledge!  They want to make the world a better place and are willing to roll up their sleeves and take an active part in doing it!  They believe in character and integrity!  They believe in equality and toleration!  They have a strong desire to improve themselves . . . they're Freemasons and don't even know it yet!

In fact, look at the faces of some of the Midnight Freemasons you enjoy reading so much . . . a surprising number of our writers group here are *gasp* Millennials!  It's true!

So the real question is . . . with so much in common, why haven't more men from this Millennial Generation found their way to our doorstep?  We better figure that out because our future, without a doubt, rests with them.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and continues to be a regular contributor. He is also the author of the From Labor to Refreshment blog, where he posts on a regular schedule on topics relating to Freemasonry.  He is the author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. He is a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and currently serves as Secretary, and is also a member of Homer Lodge No. 199.  He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL), and a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research.  He was recently awarded the 2014 Illinois Secretary of the Year Award by the Illinois Masonic Secretaries Association.  You can contact him at: webmaster@toddcreason.org

The Meeting

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

**Editors Note* This was run in The Working Tools Magazine in May of 2015**

The bar was a magnificent stream of mahogany extending the width of the room. Behind it, a gold-embossed mirror reflected a piano player. He thrashed around the keys, pumping out a new ragtime tune — not so loud as to drown out the constant din and not so well as to make it recognizable.  To his right, six men played poker at a table beneath a picture of a reclining, half naked, painted woman imagined to be of dubious moral character.  Other women, more fully clothed, no less painted and of moral character unknown, circulated through the room encouraging men to order another drink.

There were a few Freemasons in the crowd, even in this obscure saloon in western Missouri... or maybe it was eastern Kansas.  Most in the crowded room hadn't given that much thought and most weren't sober enough to care.  Drunk or sober, however, the Masons, along with everyone else in the crowd, were certainly aware of the presence of a very famous Brother that evening.

In the back of the room, Samuel Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — held court surrounded by several amused patrons.  It was long before the 18^th Amendment ushered in prohibition in the U.S., but even at the turn of the century, the battle lines were drawn and the debate was heated.  Given the setting, Twain had selected that as his topic for the evening.  

"I don't think prohibition is practical," he began. "The Germans, you see, prevent it. Look at them. I am sorry to learn that they have just invented a method of making brandy out of Sawdust. Now, what chance will prohibition have when a man can take a rip saw and go out and get drunk with a fence rail? What is the good of prohibition if a man is able to make brandy smashed out of the shingles of his roof, or if he can get delirium tremens by drinking the legs off his kitchen table?" 

As the crowd roared, Twain stoked the fire, "Temperate temperance is best. Intemperate temperance injures the cause of temperance, while temperate temperance helps it in its fight against intemperate intemperance. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky.  What marriage is to morality, a properly conducted licensed liquor traffic is to sobriety. In fact, the more things are forbidden, the more popular they become.  It is the prohibition that makes anything precious..."

The mirror behind the bar suddenly shattered as if someone had thrown a bomb at it.  The piano playing stopped and the hushed crowd watched in horror as an angry woman smashed bottles, tables and chairs with a small menacing ax.  Ranting about the evils of demon rum, she turned the mahogany bar into splinters.

Furious, Twain stomped to the bar.   The two glared at each other, nearly breathing fire.  For a few seconds each said nothing; they just stood, meeting for the first and only time in their lives, face to face —  Mark Twain and Carrie Nation.

"Madam," hissed Twain, "This is insanity."

She shot back, "Drinking is insanity."

"Women like you drive men to drink as the only way to be sane," he sneered.

"I married a fine man... a doctor," she wailed, "He was a pillar of the community, until he started drinking. It ruined him and led him to an early grave."

Twain asked, "A doctor married you?"

"Yes," she replied.

"He must have been looking for a cadaver."

Their meeting was short, but auspicious.  As usually happened during Carrie Nation's escapades, the authorities came and took her away, screaming about the alcohol-flooded road to ruination.

"And exhibiting," thought Twain, "exactly the same ugly behavior you might expect from some poor sot who was falling down drunk."

Disclaimer: Accounts of Brother Twain's encounter with famed teetotaler Carrie Nation are, at best, sketchy.  All reports of the incident appear to have the same source, making corroboration difficult.  It is likely a meeting of this nature took place.  While Twain's words about prohibition are his own, the remaining details above are... enhanced... under the authority of liberal use of the doctrine of  licentia poetica.

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Worshipful Master. He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. His latest book, Freemasons: Tales From the Craft, is available on amazon.com.