Christopher Hodapp - Freemasons For Dummies

Freemasons For Dummies, 3rd Edition

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021946370

ISBN 978-1-119-84342-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-84343-6 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-119-84344-3 (epub)

1. Chapter 11

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 5
4. Chapter 7
5. Chapter 8
6. Chapter 9
7. Chapter 10
8. Chapter 12
9. Chapter 13
10. Chapter 16

Take a look at the symbol on the cover of this book. Whether you know it or not, youve seen this symbol in many places on buildings, car bumpers, jewelry, TV shows, and the Internet. Chances are actually pretty good that every day you drive past a Masonic lodge without even noticing it. Chances are also pretty good that you dont really know what a Freemason is. Thats okay. You arent alone.

A hundred years ago, this book wasnt needed. Back in the early years of the 20th century, 1 out of every 4 adult American men was a member of some kind of fraternal organization, and 1 out of every 25 men was a Freemason. So many secret handshakes, passwords, lapel pins, and funny hats were going around that it was a challenge for a man just to remember all the groups he belonged to. Id be willing to bet that your father, grandfather, uncle, or another man in your family was a Freemason.

The Freemasons were the first, the biggest, and the best-known gentlemens organization in the world. Up until about 1960, if you werent a Mason, you at least knew what one was. As secret societies go, they were a pretty badly hidden one. If you started looking for Freemasons at your office, factory, school, or family reunion picnic back then, you could throw a stick and whack a sizeable cluster of them. Today, if you go looking for Freemasons in those same places, youll more than likely be met with the sort of blank stares and lizardlike slow blinks usually reserved for conversations with a tax attorney.

Literally hundreds of books written by Freemasons for Freemasons have been moldy tomes or sensational speculation, filled with a miasma of mythological and metaphysical mumbo jumbo and a minimum of facts. And non-Masons who seem to have their tinfoil hats screwed on a little too snugly have peddled lots of books, accusing Freemasons of conspiracies and lunatic plots so whacked out that even an ardent Stranger Things fan wouldnt fail to snort uncontrollably at them.

Whats been missing all along is a basic book by someone armed with the facts, the history, the symbolism, and the, well, real secrets. This is your book, and Im your guy. I am a Freemason myself, a Past Master of three Masonic lodges, and Im here to help. Dont get me wrong. As I explain a little later, we do have some secrets that I cant tell you, and Im no stoolie. But the list of what Im leaving out is a whole lot smaller than youre probably thinking.

Freemasonry is a strange topic. Its not a religion, but its religious. Its not a political movement, but its members have been some of the greatest political and social reformers of history. Its not a charity or a service club, yet its various organizations operate outstanding charities. Its language comes from the 18th century, yet its lessons apply to the 21st century. To really understand it, you need to know a little something about history, religion, politics, philosophy, literature, mythology, language, and symbolism. In this book, I touch on all these topics and more.

So if Freemasonry is a secret society, how can I write a book about it if Im supposed to keep it all a big secret? Simple. Most of the word on the street about Masonic secrecy is a big misconception, and I can tell you the history and most of the basics of modern Masonry. But as a Mason, there are a few things Im just not going to tell you. Sorry about that. Thems the rules. Freemasons promise not to write, print, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, hew, mark, or engrave any of the secrets of the fraternity so that non-Masons can discover them. The official secrets of Freemasonry are mostly the methods Freemasons use to identify each other (passwords, gestures, and secret handshakes), and a few of the details of the third and final ceremony ritual of the lodge.