Craft Masonry
-
A new Video! A commentary on and analysis of the 25 “ancient, universal and immutable” landmarks published by Albert Mackey in the American Quarterly Review of Freemasonry in 1858. Although clearly dated, error strewn and contentious to the modern reader, Mackey’s “landmarks” form a fascinating side-road in the histoy of the Craft. The paper “The…
-
A new Video! This is a very early address given by De Witt Clinton in 1793 upon the occasion of his Installation. In it he outlines the fundamental tenets of the Craft, which have remained unchanged to this day. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
-
A new Video! Next year is the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter. I had intended to save this video for that anniversary, but I’m going though a bit af an Ancient Egyptian phase at the moment, so here it is. This anonymous lecture was first presented in January…
-
A new Video! An interesting little undated and anonymous presentation from some time in the 1940’s or 50’s I believe, which details the ‘12 Original Points‘ of antient freemasonry. I’m not too sure of it’s historical veracity, but it will be of particular interest to Royal Arch masons. I wasn’t aware that any such details…
-
The Great Masonic Conspiracy. This video is a response to the viewers of this channel who believe that Freemasonry is a vast, world encompassing and ominous conspiracy (Hint: it’s not). Watch out though – this video is exactly 13 minutes long. Surely that can’t just be a coincidence?
-
This week’s video is an anonymous talk from August 1953, Curious Masonic Words looks at some of the strange terms used in our ceremonials and identifies their origin, meaning and provenance. The talk is clearly American, but my copy has no authorial attribution beyond the date.
-
A new Video! This week’s presentation, Why Symbolism?, is taken from the book “The Old Past Master” by Charles H. Claudy which was first published in 1924. It takes the form of a conversation between a new Mason and an ‘old past master’, who shares his wisdom by explaining why Freemasonry is so concerned with…
-
From the William Harvey collection. The Wages of an Entered Apprentice is a meditation on the significance of Corn, Wine and Oil in Masonic Ceremonial. It was originally published in 1944.
-
A new Video! There are literally dozens of interpretations of the ‘Point within a Circle‘ in the Masonic corpus. This enigmatic figure, universal in its use, is capable of seemingly infinite explanation. In this anonymous 1931 paper a simple and straightforward interpretation is provided, eschewing the esoteric and instead looking back to the Operative Masons…
-
This is the 50th video from the quarries and it is a special one. More than double the length of the usual lectures at over 50 minutes long, ‘Our affinity with the Ancient Egyptians‘ is a deep, thoughtful and moving address by W. Bro. R. W. Harwood, first presented in October 1977. The address looks…
-
A new Video! The Art of Memory and Masonry is a fascinating and expertly researched talk was written by Clarence A. Anderson. I have tried my best to find a date for the text, but have been unsuccessful. My researches have found that there is a Clarence A. Anderson Jr. currently a member of St…
-
I just stumbled across this article today. It was published by the BBC a couple of years ago, Thought it may be of interest. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41804543
-
A new Video! The True Masonic Student is a short presentation by Brother A.T. Hinchcliffe given to the Toowoomba Lodge of Instruction on 2 September 1954. Brother Hinchcliffe examines the meaning of the seven liberal arts and sciences to Freemasonry and identifies the ‘true’ calling for the student of Masonry.
-
A new Video! 21 Masonic Aphorisms is a selection of Aphorisms for the instruction and benefit of all Freemasons, excerpted from The Book of the Lodge (1849) by Dr. George Oliver.
-
A new Video! The Old Charges of Freemasonry is a detailed presentation, first published by Brother H L Haywood, describing the ‘Old Charges’ of Freemasonry, the foundation documents of Masonic practice – their origin and relevance to the Craft today.
-
After my chastening brush with copywrite law I have re-edited the Leo Taxil video to remove the offending video content. The new (and presumably legal) version is now available here. The old version has been consigned to the pit, along with Taxil’s works and legacy!
-
A new Video! The Masonic Goat is an interesting account of the origins, and corrosive effects of the legend of ‘Goat Riding’ in Masonic initiation ceremonies. Dating from 1936, I have been unable to determine its author or provenance.
From the Quarries 