Masonic Philosophy

By Joseph Fort Newton

Dr. Joseph Fort Newton was a clergyman and Masonic author. He lived from 1880 until 1950. Bro. Newton was raised in Friendship Lodge #7, Dixon, Illinois later affiliating with Mt. Herman Lodge #263, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is the author of one of Freemasonry’s classics, The Builders, on which this excerpt from a Short Talk Bulletin, published by the Masonic Service Association, was based.

Because the human soul is akin to God, and is endowed with powers to which no one may set a limit, it is and of right ought to be free. Thus, by the logic of its philosophy, not less than the inspiration of its faith, Masonry has been impelled to make its historic demand for liberty of conscience, for the freedom of the intellect, and for the right of all men to stand erect, unfettered and unafraid, equal before God and the law, each respecting the rights of his fellows.

Some day, when the cloud of prejudice has been dispelled by the searchlight of truth, the world will honor Masonry for its service to freedom of thought and the liberty of faith. No part of its history has been more noble, no principle of its teaching has been more precious than its age-long demand for the right and duty of every soul to seek that light by which no man was ever injured, and that truth which makes man free.

Down through the centuries -- often in times when the highest crime was not murder, but thinking, and the human conscience was a captive dragged at the wheel of the ecclesiastical chariot -- always and everywhere Masonry has stood for the right of the
soul to know the truth, and to look up unhindered from the lap of earth into the face of God. Not freedom from faith, but freedom of faith, has been its watchword.

The real question, after all, is not as to the quantity of life, but its quality – its depth, its purity, its fortitude, its fineness of spirit and gesture of soul. Hence the insistent emphasis of Masonry upon the building of character and the practice of righteousness; upon that moral culture without which man is rudimentary, and that spiritual vision without which intellect is the slave of greed or passion. What makes a man great and free of soul, here or anywhere, is loyalty to the laws of right, of truth, of purity, of love, and the lofty will of God.

How to live is the one matter; and the oldest man in his ripe age has yet to seek a wiser way than to build, year by year, upon a foundation of faith in God, using the Square of justice, the Plumb-line of rectitude, the Compass to restrain the passions, and the Rule by which to divide our time into labor, rest, and service to our fellows.

The Invisible Lodge

http://www.invisiblelodge.org/

This Short Talk Bulletin was prepared by Worshipful Brother Walter J. Harmon, Past Master of Richmond Lodge No. 10, Richmond, Virginia, a magician for more than 28 years, and an active member of “The Invisible Lodge.”

The expression, “the magic of Free-masonry,” takes on a different meaning when one realizes the great number of professional and amateur magicians who are and have been members of the Ancient Craft. It was only natural that these skilled performers of the art of producing baffling effects and illusions should band together to share their interests with the Fraternity.

In the strictest sense of the word, Lodge, “the Invisible Lodge” is not a Lodge. It is an international organization of Freemasons who also have as their vocation or avocation - MAGIC. The Invisible Lodge was formed in 1953 by Sir Felix Korim of England, who served as the organization’s first President. Member-ship in The Invisible Lodge has been accorded to more than 800 selected Masons throughout the world, including such notable and well-known figures in the world of magic as Black-stone, Okito, Ballentine, Levanto, McDonald Hirch and Jack Gwynne.

Joined by the common bond of magic, these Brethren who may be or have been professional entertainers, hobbyists, collectors or students of both magic and Freemasonry, combine those interests to produce the organization known as “The Invisible Lodge.”

Just as the roots of Freemasonry are entrenched in antiquity, so are those of Magic. Magic is a word referring to the craft of the magi. The magi were the priests of the ancient Medes and Persians. After the rise of Zoroaster, they became the priests of the Zoroastrian religion. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews knew them as Astrologers, Interpreters of Dreams, and givers of Omens. The reign of the priests was more than eight thousand years ago. Zoroaster is believed to have lived about five thousand years before our era. He is said to have been an unusual child who was gifted to have visions at an early age. Born in Azerbaijan in Northern Persia, he taught a belief in one God, the existence of the devil, and the doctrine of immortality. It is alleged that these priests (the magi) predicted the birth of the Christ Child and were the ones who brought him the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As ruling monarchs, the priests were referred to as “Kings of the Orient” and “the wise men.”

There are certain similarities between the order of the Magi and Freemasonry which should be noted. The word, “Dao” is Persian in origin. It signifies Light and Wisdom and is the forerunner of the word Deity (Bright One). Fire or light was used in the rituals of the magi to symbolize intelligence, knowledge and wisdom. It is recorded that during the initiation, the Arch Magus sat upon a throne of gold in the East.

The established dates of the reign of the Magi was five thousand years before the Trojan War, which took place in 1200 B.C. King Solomon began his temple in 966 B.C. This gives room for interesting speculation.

The Magi were Kings, Priests, Lawyers, Engineers, etc. In essence, they embodied most of the knowledge of their time, earning the respect of the people. It is the hypothesis of some historians that the Magi even possessed knowledge that has since been lost to man and that they possessed powers that would seem awesome to us even today.

Always in history there have been those who sought knowledge for knowledge’s sake and those who sought to use it to manipulate and enslave the less informed. As the knowledge of those ancient wise ones became the specializations of medicine, law, astronomy, and philosophy, there were those who specialized in those little known principles of the miracle worker and became just that. These individuals, whether in quest for power or riches, formed a special priesthood that manipulated the ignorant and robbed the credulous.

Magic has passed through many forms and many lands until today it is deception for the purpose of entertainment with the trappings and refinements of those lands.

Masonry, in its language and ritual, retains much of the various sects and institutions it passed through before arriving at its present state.

In Masonry, as in Magic, we meet with Chaldean, Indian, Egyptian, Jewish, and Christian symbols and ideas.

It is little wonder then that at some time in history a group of men with an interest in both Magic and Masonry would form an organization that would embody the two as its focus.

Many Masons are surprised to find that many of the Great Magicians, whose names are familiar, and many others were active Masons and active in the various appendant bodies. Many could and did tell interesting anecdotes about their Masonic experiences. One of those deals with Brother Harry Keller, famous for the floating lady illusion which he introduced in this country. Brother Keller was shipwrecked in the Bay of Biscay and his Blue Lodge diploma went to the bottom of the sea. It was later recovered by divers who brought up baggage from the sunken steamer. He later remarked it had been viewed by Grand Master Neptune and returned.

Membership in the Invisible Lodge is limited to those persons interested in Magic, who have been raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. The publication of the Invisible Lodge is called the “Trestle Board” and is pub-lished quarterly, giving information on the Masonic and Magical activities of the members.

The annual stated meeting of the Invisible Lodge is held in conjunction with the Colum-bus, Ohio Magic Fest. The date and time are announced annually. Additional meetings are held at the National Conventions of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and The Society of American Magicians as well as recognized Regional Conventions.

The Invisible Lodge publishes Bert Douglas’ book, “Masonic Magic,” which is the sole work devoted to presentation of Magic with a Masonic interpretation.

Members are encouraged to participate in Masonic education programs by using their Magic abilities and skills to illustrate the under-lying principles of Masonic philosophy, as well as providing entertainment within the Fraternity. They are further urged to labor in the non-magical areas by the Invisible Lodge’s award system.

The first of these, the ZB Award, so named after the second president of the Invisible Lodge, Dr. Zina Bennett, is a certificate presented to any member who gives a total of five certified gratis performances for the residents of a Masonic Orphanage, Masonic Home for the Aged, or the patients of a Shrine Hospital. Another award of the Invisible Lodge is the Masters Award, consisting of a certificate and wand presented to a Brother who has received the coveted 33x of the Scottish Rite. Another award is presented annually, known as the Harvey Award, based on the traditional invisible rabbit, to a Brother who has served the Invisible Lodge or Masonry with distinction.

Membership in the Invisible Lodge is not necessary to be a recipient.

The meetings of the Invisible Lodge are held at midnight, with a special ritual prepared for it that combine the elements of Masonry and Magic. At these meetings, honors are given to both the oldest and youngest members present.

Probably the most singular important lesson to be learned by the average Mason from the Invisible Lodge is that all of the great Magicians saw fit to give a certain amount of their time to Masonry and with their travel and exposure to the blandishments of the world felt that this brotherhood was of value.

Another lesson lies in the origins of both Masonry and Magic. Rooted and entwined in antiquity as both are, the mystical qualities of both manifest themselves in our inner feelings and convince us of the lasting value of both.

In our hurried view of the history, we made mention of knowledge that was lost. Of course this came about as the result of persecution of both the thinking individual and the organizations to which they belonged, by those who would bend mankind to a life of superstitious slavery. The individual Mason cannot and should not lose sight of the sacrifices of our predecessors and our debt to them to preserve our ways and customs in their entirety and guard them against exploitation by the politically ambitious.

2008 Annual Inspection and Dinner

We held our annual inspection and dinner on Monday, February 25th. Many dignitaries were present including 2 Past Grand Masters of Ohio, All current District Deputy Grand Masters and the Current Grand Master of Masons in Ohio , Ronald L. Winnett.

First light was brought to Brother Brad Goldman. The officers performed an excellent open, close and ritual. Both the lecture (Brother Noel) and charge (Brother Posey) were followed by ovations from the brethren assembled. We can be proud of the officer’s contributions to Blendon’s long standing reputation of setting the bar high for ritual work and inspections.

We would like to send a special thanks to all those that assisted with the dinner preparations and service. Including, but not limited to, the family Habegger, WB Cochenour and Brother Davis; Many thanks to all who attended and shared the evening with us… either in person, or in spirit.

2008 Inspection Season, Support for Sunrise #783 and Others –

We have a great opportunity to show support to our lodge building brothers in Sunrise Lodge #783. Sunrise came out in great numbers to support our inspection. We would like to return the favor and ask that as many of you that can make it please come out to support the Sunrise inspection scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th.

We have covered all inspections to date, but would like to ensure that we end the inspection season strong. We have posted the 2008 Inspection schedule for the 14th district, along with current attendance sign-ups, at the following web address: http://blendon339.com/inspections.html

This year, the 14th district will be presenting a new inspection banner to all lodges that achieve 100% inspection attendance. If you can, please help us reach that goal by reviewing the list of dates and contacting Brother Bernardin (Email: mark@freemason.com) to sign-up and represent Blendon at one or more of the 14th district inspections.

Passing of the ‘Light of Freemasonry’ Lantern to Hiram Lodge –

We received the Lantern representing the spread of the Light of Freemasonry across Ohio at our stated meeting on February 18th and have presented it to Hiram Lodge for their safekeeping and presentation to subsequent lodges through out the remainder of the year.

Other Upcoming Events – Please see the online Calendar for more!

March 2008

March 1st: Monthly Breakfast (Public Welcome)

March 1st: Grand Master’s Reception

March 3rd: Stated Meeting – EA conferral expected

March 4th: Sunrise #783 Inspection

March 8th: Adopt a Highway Cleanup; please contact Bro. Davis to signup

March 17th: Stated Meeting

March 29th: FC Special (Planned)



April 2008

April 5th: Monthly Breakfast (Public Welcome)

April 7th: Stated Meeting

April 18th: Special Olympics Spaghetti Dinner

April 21st: Stated Meeting

April 28th: Masonic Night at the Shrine