September 2026
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William Harvey’s The Altar of Freemasonry, first published in 1919, is a compact but remarkably rich exploration of the symbolism of the First Degree. Beginning with the altar at which the Initiate kneels, Harvey gradually expands his attention across the whole symbolic landscape of the Lodge: the Volume of the Sacred Law, Square and Compasses,…
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This Saturday, From the Quarries returns to the First Degree with William Harvey’s The Altar of Freemasonry. First published in 1919, Harvey’s lecture begins with the altar and gradually opens out into a wider meditation on the Great Lights, the form of the Lodge, Jacob’s Ladder, the Mosaic Pavement, the pillars, the Ashlars and the…
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An underground passage, a guiding star, chambers of strange inscriptions, and a journey through the elements: The Most Holy Trinosophia presents initiation as a sequence of extraordinary symbolic encounters. Traditionally attributed to the Comte de Saint-Germain, though its authorship remains uncertain, this enigmatic work brings together alchemical transformation, sacred imagery and the pursuit of wisdom.…
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Freemasonry has long claimed that it makes good men better. But what, in practical terms, might that actually mean? In From Good Men to Great Men: The Lodge as a Flywheel, we examine the Lodge as a developmental institution: a place in which character, discipline, mentorship, fellowship, responsibility and service accumulate over time. Drawing on…
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In The Mystical Basis of Masonry, W. L. Wilmshurst argues that Freemasonry is far more than a social, charitable or moral institution. Beneath its ceremonies and architectural symbolism, he sees an initiatory system concerned with the transformation of the individual and the reconstruction of the human soul. Drawing upon the work of A. E. Waite…
From the Quarries 