Welcome to the May 2020 issue of The Square
I hope this finds you well, and coping with lockdown and the uncertain world in which we currently live. Sadly, there have been far too many social media posts informing us of the untimely deaths of brethren worldwide – it is a heavy burden for others to bear. Our sincere condolences go to those who have lost family, friends and Brothers.
With luck you enjoyed the first issue and it whet your appetite for some more Masonic knowledge. This month we have some thought-provoking articles; particularly one on the subject of candidates found via the internet – is this something most lodges would consider? Read Unknown Candidate by Nicholas Broadway and let us know your thoughts.
Women and Freemasonry is next on the agenda – an uneasy combination for some and as all members of UGLE jurisdiction lodges know, the Constitutions state that:
The Persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no Bondmen, no Women, no immoral or scandalous Men, but of good Report.
However, women have been involved in various forms of Continental or Liberal Freemasonry over the past 300 years. In the article Women and Freemasonry we take a brief look at the history and introduce readers to the main Grand Lodges for women Freemasons. The subject of men and women as Co-Masons is expanded upon in Seeing in a Different Light, by well-known Masonic author Julian Rees.
In addition, there is vintage wisdom from the works of well-known Masonic author William Harvey in The North-East Corner, plus contemporary research from James Justin Davis on the subject of Making Good Men, Better.
The wonderful world of Hogarth’s Freemasonry can be explored in Hogarth, Four Times of the Day – Night. Celebrated for his artistic Masonic satire, the painter William Hogarth was the master of ‘hiding things in plain view’ – if you take a visual journey through his paintings, see just how many Masonic references/symbols you can find.
Hogarth was not the only Freemason to do this – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder wrote ‘The Magic Flute’, an opera heavy with Masonic references, and of course authors Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Henry Rider Haggard made use of Masonic reference and symbolism in many of their works.
Which makes me wonder (perhaps playing devil’s advocate here) why we have no equivalent contemporary Masonic artists, authors or musicians who include Masonic symbolism within their work – or am I wrong? ???? Let me know…
New this month is the start of a regular ‘must-read’ series, where we look at some of the most engaging Masonic Blogs and Websites – this month we feature Chris Hodapp’s superb Freemasons for Dummies Masonic News blogspot.
Until next time – keep safe and well
Article by: Philippa Lee. Editor
Philippa Lee (writes as Philippa Faulks) is the author of eight books, an editor and researcher.
Philippa was initiated into the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF) in 2014.
Her specialism is ancient Egypt, Freemasonry, comparative religions and social history. She has several books in progress on the subject of ancient and modern Egypt. Selection of Books Online at Amazon
Books by Philippa
