Masonic Central

The song bring out the clowns starts to ring in my head when ever I start to think about the Shrine in a large way.  Not out of any misanthropy but because of their excellent work and commitment to the happiness and well being of so many children. To say the name of the Shrine International and instantly the image of charity, children’s hospitals,... [Read more of this review]

What makes a lodge successful? Is it the energy behind the lodge, the people that create it? And, does that energy come at a cost? Is there a social capital that is bartered in an invisible exchange that at times reflects a huge value where at others it challenges its very existence. Missed the LIVE Show?  Listen NOW!   AudioPlayer.embed("pod_audio_2",... [Read more of this review]

In the wake of the most turbulent period of American History stories about the intersection of Freemasonry and the Civil War have been many and profound – fact and fiction have become impossibly merged until now.  In an eloquent narrative story telling,  Michael Halleran‘s new book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry in the American... [Read more of this review]

Reviews

Occult America by Mitch Horowitz I just had the pleasure of finishing Mitch Horowitz’s book Occult America and am a bit surprised at the story it tells, and some of what it doesn’t. Only recently did I come across the 2010 Bantum Books edition, (the first edition published in hardback in 2009) and it was the sub headline of the books title... [Read more of this review]

If Manly P. Hall’s Secret Teachings had a companion book, I think that Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney’s Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions would be it. Every bit as dense as Hall’s Secret Teachings but much more down to earth and embedded in the “real” rather than the idealized reality – which is... [Read more of this review]

Looking for something to read, I went back into my library and pulled out a copy of “The Autobiography of Mark Twain” which I have had since High School. I’ve always been an admirer of Samuel Clemens’ work, but I have to admit I balked at taking his autobiography seriously years ago. This time though, I was in the proper frame... [Read more of this review]

Sojourners

The following comes from a very bright young woman who is very involved with the Masonic Youth Orders that I had the pleasure to meet on Twitter. You can read her full bio below the article.  I wanted to say that she offers a fresh and interesting perspective on the fraternity from a unique perspective of both being within and without the regular goings... [Read more of this review]

by Br. Asahel W. Gage from The Builder Magazine October 1915 – Volume I – Number 10 Joseph Fort Newton This jewel comes from The Builder Magazine, a masonic publication  published between 1915 and 1930, edited by Joseph Fort Newton. It was then (and likely still is) the best American Masonic periodical ever published. The work below is... [Read more of this review]

Whether in business or a nonprofit organization there will be instances where you will inevitably be warned to “play by the rules.” I have heard this in just about every company I’ve consulted with, as well as the many different nonprofit organizations I have participated in over the years. Basically, it is a thinly veiled warning... [Read more of this review]

By Bro. C.G. 32nd Scottish Rite Mason, Valley of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA I have often wondered the reasons why the Scottish Rite, one of the most complex, complete and fascinating initiatic systems of the Western tradition, is often compressed in a single two- or three day-Reunion in all, or most, to the best of my knowledge, Valleys in the United... [Read more of this review]

by Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN “A foot soldier for Freemasonry” A common lament in our society today is that our youth have developed a sense of entitlement whereby they believe they are entitled to a cell phone, a computer, an education, a car, or whatever.  For some reason, they believe they have a God-given right to such things as opposed... [Read more of this review]