Ask a Freemason

No hazing, although there is that thing with the goat that I can't tell you about. The initiation ceremony requires you to do certain things and answer certain questions, but I doubt that could be considered hazing. They're more tests of character. It's like nothing else I've ever done so I couldn't even give you a comparison. It's nerve wracking, but only because of the unknown factor.

 

How do you apply?

My father in law is a mason, but in another province. Can I go through him? He's hinted that I should look into it. Should I ask him, or should I just go knock on the local chapter's door?

You have meetings once per month right? How much time, on average, do you spend on mason activities during a month?

 

Emphasis mine.

Are gay men allowed to join if they are of upstanding moral character/meet all of the other requirements? Are they "technically" allowed to join but are actually black-balled in order to prevent this? Or is there an outright ban on gay men? Just curious.

Do you have snacks at your meetings? If so, what kind?

How do Masons feel about Boy Scouts--like, if an Eagle Scout were to apply for membership, would that give him a boost over another dude with no Scout affliliations?

 

Is there a big financial aspect to the Masons? Are you required to pay monthly fees or donate 10% of your salary or something similar?

 

That's the Mason Lodge that was across the street from my college campus. In four years, I never saw anyone come in or out. For a building that huge--not to mention gorgeous-- without any visible activity, why do they need so much space? Is it just meeting rooms and offices? Or do people live/stay there? The sign on the side says "space available" so obviously some of it is rented out.

It just peaks my interest about what goes on inside, because I have seen other lodges that were so much smaller.

 

On the topic of prominent Masonic temples, here's the (former) one in Toronto, as it currently stands:



Well played, MTV.

 

You ask a Mason, it's as simple as that. They'll take care of the rest for you, tell you where to be and when. But you have to ask. I would say if you're interested say to your father-in-law something along the lines of, "I'd like to join Masonry, can you help me find a good Lodge in my area?". If not, go find someone at a Lodge and ask. It would help to tell them that your father-in-law is a Mason in whatever area he's in.

Our Lodge meets once a month, and I'm lead to believe most do. It could meet more, there's no set maximum. It just needs to meet a certain number of times a year (at least quarterly I think) and must have a quorum. Meetings would usually start at 7 and go to anywhere up to 11pm or midnight, including the supper. The supper isn't compulsory, but encouraged. It all depends on the work for the night.

If you just want to go to meetings, that's all you need to invest so far as time. Officers and others who take part in the work are expected to attend practice meetings too. We had two of those a month. Added to that, there's private study to memorise the pages and pages of information you need for each meeting. Before I became a Master of the Lodge, I thought that learning seven pages off by heart that I had to recite for one part of an evening was bad. Becoming Master of the Lodge really paled that into insignificance.

Really, if you want to put the work in, there's a ton you can do. If you don't, then you don't have to. It will eventually be encouraged as there's no better way to learn the stuff than to actually do it. And there's no pressure to be good at it. I've spent many meetings where a guy has stammered, stuttered and gotten muddled over some of the simplest stuff; and he's still congratulated for putting his time and effort in.

I just made the mistake of being good at it.

 

There's no bar to gay men, and I've never seen any form of prejudice towards them. Individual Lodges and members may have their own prejudices of course. They may be blackballed. The ballot is secret and does not need to be explained, so it's very possible. But I've also never heard of any Mason enquiring about someone's sexual orientation.

We have snacks in the South. There's no food during Lodge meetings. Traditionally, at least in our Lodge, the Junior Warden is responsible for the provision of food for the South and will be reimbursed for the cost. The Stewards of the Lodge retire early to serve it up. So, basically, whatever the Junior Warden wants to make. That job was a bitch at times as I would have to rush home from work and whip stuff together before getting to Lodge at 7 as I was living by myself. Usually it's sandwiches and so on. A Masonic hall ordering pizza is always fun in trying to convince them to deliver.

I've never seen any positive or negative regard given to a Scout, but I would imagine that it wouldn't hurt an application. Really though, they look at who the applicant is a person. Who you know or what groups you've been a part of are a secondary consideration.

 

There's no need. There's a want. One could easily just be a good man with high character. Masonry has no monopoly on good men, and doesn't claim to be. Every Mason must be a good man, but not every good man must be a Mason. It's not for everyone, and that's no indictment on their nature.

It just appeals to some people. There's tons of reasons. Some people like the sense of belonging, some the fellowship, some are predominantly interested in the history and symbolism. I guess there's even some guys who like getting dressed up and singing with a bunch of guys.

For me, it was mainly the history and symbolism.

 

There's a lot of emphasis placed on financial contribution, but it's not hugely expensive. Every area is different, but for example my yearly dues are $190 this year (which I must send a cheque off for).

At each meeting, we must put some coins (a dollar or two) into the charity box. Often we'll have a raffle for charity. That's pretty much it. It's more symbolic.

Aside from that, we're encouraged to take part in any going charity drives but that's not usually a dollar contribution but more in terms of time and effort.

 

I'd almost say looking at that building that it's a Grand Lodge or equivalent. They don't get used as often as normal Lodges. I've seen massive buildings, and I've seen tiny huts. There's even Lodges formed in a room in Afghanistan for armed forces brethren. It's not the building that's important, it's the people.

Inside you'll most likely find a very large Masonic meeting room. There'll be an antechamber. And there'll be a banquet hall. Apart from that there'll be a ton of offices, meeting rooms and so on. I seriously doubt anyone would live there, except maybe a live in caretaker for such a large Lodge.

Most Lodges rent space, and usually at very good rates. It allows community involvement and generates income for the Lodge to cover expenses and keep dues down.

Most Lodges meet at night which may account for not seeing anyone. Everyone is in quickly by a certain time and they all tend to leave in one hit. Outside those times, you might not see anyone. A lot of Lodges will post their meeting times on the front door; it encourages Masonic visitors so they know when to turn up.

 

As someone so utterly disconnected from any sort of such society, and inspired by this post, I took a few minutes to try to find some more information online. For a group of people who have been classified as secret for so long, can it really be so easy to find a member list as a simple Google search? The local Lodge's website has a list of a number of officers and masters. Perhaps I missed this question earlier in the thread, but is it common for members to announce themselves in an open access way like this? I wasn't expecting secrecy until death or anything, but the ease of finding the information was a little surprising all the same.

Based on your experience traveling around to different Lodges, assuming you have such experience, what sort of people typically constitute the membership? Of course this would depend on the region, but is it typical to find a good mix of people (in terms of occupation, age, education, wealth, etc) or do you typically see an over-representation from a specific demographic?

Aside from differences in regional demographics, do Lodges in different areas have their own flavour of ceremony, or is it largely standardized? You mentioned that you don't think your region is governed by a larger, multinational body; how do you ensure that you Australian Masons are doing it the same as the Canadian Masons here?

Lastly, how would one go about getting a ring with the Masonic insignia? Is it associated with reaching a certain level within the Lodge, more something that all members would get during their orientation, or something purely optional with no real requirements?

I find this whole thing really fascinating, so I'll be keeping an eye on this topic and coming back with more questions as they arise.

 

Does the organization have any sort of Ladies Auxilliary?

 

The secrecy aspect is a bit of a misconception these days. Freemasonry used to be the archetypical secret society because being identified as a Freemason could lead to anything from public derision to execution. This is still the case in totalitarian societies. Today, in most countries, Freemasonry is more a "society with secrets" than a secret society. Our Grand Lodge even markets hats and licence plates to raise public awareness. Our Grand Lodge has an "apply to join" section on its website. There's recognition that without more public awareness, we won't attract new members.

Personally, I don't hide that I'm a Mason but I don't announce it. If I'm asked, I won't deny. But I would say that, for example, at least half or more of my ex-girlfriends would have no idea I'm a Mason. A couple of my friends know, but only because the topic has come up. One reason I don't broadcast is that I have, in the past, got some bad reactions from people I've known for a long time because of their perceptions of Freemasonry. I was no different to the person they'd known for years, but their treatment of me changed.

It's really all over the place. Some Lodges are full of old guys, some are young and dynamic, and some are mixed. It often depends if they have a strong family core where multi-generations are members. As for their individual background, it's varied. No one cares what you do in your outside life and no judgments are made. For example, in my lodge we had accountants, builders, truck drivers, waiters, mechanics, unemployed, cab drivers and ex-armed forces (including a few guys who had been prisoners of war in WWII - listening to their stories broke your heart).

Every Lodge has their own little personal way of doing things, where allowed under their particular Grand Lodge. The rites (York and Scottish) are very different in some respects. The further away you get from home you find some things are different and some are the same. What doesn't change is the underlying principles and reasons for doing something; it's just the execution. A common phrase between Masons is, "oh, so that's how you do that". So things are just stylistic. For example, our Masonic aprons are bordered and decorated in light blue and silver (Grand Lodge is dark blue and gold). Irish Masons (at least the ones I've seen) have green aprons.

It's not important to do things the same, but that we do things for the same reasons. If it makes sense, is appropriate in context and they're consistent in what they do; there's rarely an issue.

This can make going someplace different a little difficult. I mentioned in an earlier post about letters of introduction and examinations. If I were to have the time to get a letter of introduction, I would check that the Lodges in the area are recognised. If my Grand Lodge recognises them, it's fine. If I have to rely on an examination, I'll find out as much about them as they will about me. If I think something is fishy, I'll excuse myself and leave. I've never had that happen.

I don't have a Masonic ring. I have a tie pin that was gifted to me by the Grandmaster who oversaw my second degree. Generally, things like Masonic rings that I've seen are gifted by a loved one and generally only after receiving the third degree (which makes you a Master Mason and able to participate in almost all Lodge working - before that time, the lesser degrees get kicked out of Lodge from time to time to wait while higher degree things are done). It's purely optional.

More important are what's called Masonic jewels which look like military medals (closest comparison) and are worn in Lodge. These are conferred upon attaining certain special positions, or for having made contributions to Masonry and society. They're not given out lightly. For example, you get jewels for being a Mason for 50 years and 60 years. I've got two jewels; one is my Past Masters jewel and the other is my Aged Masons, Widows and Orphans jewel both of which are to signify that I've been a Master of my Lodge and have made contributions to Masonic charity in that capacity.

There are special Masonic jewelers that make the rings and other regalia, just the same as for the aprons. These are usually family owned businesses with a long relationship with Masonry, usually Masons themselves. I've never heard of anyone asking, but I would expect most normal jewelers would baulk at being commissioned to produce a Masonic item. It's rare that a non-Mason would get their hands on Masonic jewelery, but it does happen. In such a case, it is not unusual for a Mason to ask where you got it and offer to buy it off you to keep it in the Masonic community if it's clear you have no direct connection to Masonry (such as a father whose ring it is).

Several years ago, our Lodge was broken into and a number of jewels were stolen from a display case. These were jewels of deceased Masons that were on display for remembrance of their contributions. They're gilded, so they looked expensive. We almost immediately started getting calls from local jewelers and pawnbrokers telling us they'd bought them off people coming in and they were holding them for us.

 

Not as such. Most Masonic wives and girlfriends actively support their men. I was lucky when I joined in that my girlfriend at the time already had connections to Masonry; her father had been a Mason and her step-father was as well (he gifted me his Master Mason apron when I attained my third degree).

There is an associated order called the Order of the Eastern Star which is for women. They also have Job's Daughters which is for girls aged 10 to 20. Think of it as similar to the scouting movement. As you get older, you can work your way up to the next order.

Freemasonry has a junior male order, called the Order of DeMolay. I'd never heard of it before becoming a Mason.

Not being a member of any of these, I have no idea on their internal workings.

There is also what's called Co-Freemasonry, which is an organisation that admits both men and women. At this time, it's not recognised by traditional Freemasonry as being legitimate.

 

I remember watching From Hell and groaning all the way through it. I don't recall any specifics, but some things were just so obviously wrong as to be a complete hack. If I didn't like Alan Moore so much, I might have been pissed off.

 

Thanks a lot for the answers. Really well-written and thorough. I had a few others come to mind:

1) My local Lodge's website says that in order to become a Mason, a candidate has to be recommended by two Masons of the Lodge. Would this mean that I would have to know these two Masons beforehand, or would their recommendation be based on getting to know about me through the application process? Again, I understand that Lodges may handle these things differently, but how would you expect it to work?

2) What kind of rejection rate do you see at your Lodge for applicants? Assuming the applicant has no criminal record and their family doesn't object to them joining, how many people get turned away?

3) Hypothetically, if I were to become a Mason at my local Lodge, how easy would it be to move between Lodges? Assuming that both Lodges recognize each other, would it look bad to go to another Lodge's meetings (either once to sample what kind of membership the Lodge has, or permanently if you move to a new area)? I know you mentioned bringing a letter of introduction and the potential examinations, but other than those, is this kind of behaviour looked down upon?

I'll stop with the questions now, I'm sure it's not as interesting to other people as it is to me. If I have any more, I'll be sure to PM you. Thanks again for the information.

 

A few years back I toured the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. The tour started at the bottom level and went to the topmost level, where we were all herded into a small room with a curtained-off area at one end. The lights dimmed, the curtains slowly opened, revealing something that looked like the Ark of the Covenant, then the curtains slowly closed, and we were ushered back into the elevator. No one ever explained what it was we were looking at or why we were shown it. One person asked and got a cryptic answer, and I've always wondered what the point of that display was.



Are replicas like the one above kept in all lodges? Why would they show it to us? Above you indicate that belief in a higher power is necessary, but not a specific religion. However the importance of the Ark at least indicates a leaning towards western religions. Is it more important to some orders than others?

 

Isn't masonic lure somehow intertwined with Solomon's Temple? If so, does that explain the Ark?

If I understand the history behind the masons, they seem like the "everyman's secret society," yet their members consistently wind up in extremely powerful positions (POTUS, for example). Is there an archetype for a mason?

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