Ok guys heres a description of some of the ceremonies that a new apprentice goes through coming into the lodge.


When a newly elected member arrives at the lodge for his first degree, the members greet him. In most lodges a dinner is served before the degree begins: this is to introduce him informally to the other members and to put him at ease. Next the newly elected man is seated outside of the lodge room, while the members go in for the ceremonial opening.

1. The Tyler sits outside the door, guarding the entrance with a sword.

2. Everyone in the lodge room is examined to be certain he is a Mason, by way of passwords and handshakes, or grips.

3. Each officer stands and recites his duties.

4. the Chaplain prays, and the Three Great Lights are displayed - the bible, or volume of sacred laws is opened, and a square and a compass are laid on it.

5. The Worshipful Master declares the lodge properly opened, and the degree may begin.

The Masonic ritual is all designed around the symbolic story of the building of a great, spiritual temple, as represented by the 'Temple of Solomon'. The Entered Apprentice represents the ground floor of the temple; the fellow craft represents the middle chamber; and the Master Mason degree takes place in the sanctum sanctorum the "holy of holies".

Symbolically, the temple is built by a group of men all working together, on a design that is a mystery to them individually. Only the architect knows the complete plan and the ultimate use of the temple. Each man must do his best to complete the work set before him - his felow men depend on him, as he depends on them. He must constantly study the designs, along with being aware of the proper place of the temple within the world around it. And because the temple is so enormous, he knows the work will take him a lifetime.

To a Freemason, the temple is his own character; the designs are the virtous and moral lessons most sacred to his own religion; and the architecht is the Grand Architect of the Universe.

Entered Apprentice: Initiation and youth

The three Masonic Degrees are designed to represent the 3 stages of life: youth, manhood, and age. The entered apprentice degree represents youth, because it teaches the most basc lessons of belief in God, the necessity of charity to mankind, the importance of truth, and the value of keeping ones word.

To be Initiated, the candidate must have his clothes arranged in a certain symbolic way. In earlier times, he would simply take a shoe off, roll up his pants leg, and open his shirt. Most lodges today provide special clothing - a shirt with one sleeve and a slight opening over the breast, and a pair of pants with only one leg - for this ceremony, so he dosen't feel quite so undressed. Next he has a length of rope, called a cable-tow , draped around his neck. Finally, he is blind folded, or hoodwinked.

Although many other fraternities often take the initiation ceremony as an opportunity to emberass or harass a new candidate, Freemasonry specificly forbids any emberassment or discomfort for the new man. The candidate is blindfolded here for many reasons. Blindness fuels the imagination and heightens the senses. He'll focus on the words instead of becoming distracted by the details of the roomor the face of a friend who might be doing the talking. But more important, he is symboliclly in the darkness, seeking the light of knowledge. until he takes the oath, he can't recieve the knowledge or be allowed to see the lodge room.

After the new member is hoodwinked, he is carefully led to the door of the lodge, where he must knock on the door with his own hand. When he's allowed to ente, the Stewards hand him over to the Senior Decan, who will act as high guide through the rest of the degree.

What follows is a procession through the lodge, stopping at each of the primary officers, where the new member is questioned and examined by each one. At last, he kneels at the altar, places his hand on the bibleand takes the oath of an Entered Apprentice. In nor to write them or print them or in any other way make them known to anyone who is not a Mason.

After taking the oath, the cable-tow is removed for the new members neck and the hoodwink is lifted. For the first time he sees the lodge in candel light and he is welcomed as a Brother. Gradually the lightsw are brightened and he is shown the signs, steps, and handshakes, and given the password of an entered apprentice.

He is next presented with the white leather apron, or lamb skin, and its symbolism is explained, along with the proper ritualistic way to wear it, according to his rank as an apprentice.

Finally he is taught about charity and the importance of aiding his fellow man and fellow Masons. He is taken back to the preperation room to dress back into his own clothes and then returns to the lodge for a series of lectures that explains the symbolism of the ceremony.


Fellow Craft degree: Passing through manhood

The second degree is the Fellow Craft, which represents manhood, the middle period of life. During this degree, the importance of education and work and the awsome power of God are taught to the Mason.

The preperation of the brother is very similar to that of the Entered Apprentice. In fact, the first half of the degree is strinkingly parallel. His clothes are prepared, a cable-tow is applied in a different manner, and he is again hood-winked. He is conducted around the lodge in a similar fashion as before.

The obligation he takes as a Fellow Craft is longer than that of the Entered Apprentice and increases his duties to his breathern. In additionto secrecy, he promises to help his brothers, and to obey the rules and laws of the lodge. After taking the obligation, he is again "brought to light" and shown the step, grip, signs, and password of the Fellow Craft Degree.

The second section of the Fellow Craft Degree is a lengthy lesson, taken from the early 18th century ceremony. The brother symboliclly climbs a winding staircase into the middle of the chanber of the temple, and each step represents an increase in knowledge. The lecture explains the design of Solomon's Temple, the orders of the architecture based on the teachings of the Roman architect Vitruvius, the five senses, and the seven liberal arts and sciences.

Alothough the Entered Apprentice degree is known to Masons as initiation, the Fellow Craft is said to be passing. It is passage through the adult stage of life, when we learn and experience new things every day.


Master Mason: Raising, age and death

The Master Mason degree is the third and last degree ritual of the lodge. Although the first half is almost the same as the other two degrees, the second half is very different. The second portion of the degree is the dramatic presentation of the legend of the death of Hiram Abiff. In the course of the degree the new Master Mason is taught the importance of living a life true to the principles of morality and virtue. Masons refer tol it as raising because the body of Hiram Abiff is raised out of his grave by the use of the grip and the word of the Master Mason.

Some people believe the story of Hiram is parallel to resurrection and could be traced back to the Egyptian legends of Osiris who rose from the dead, but the ritual itself does not say that hiram is brought back to life. His body is simply raised out of its grave, and that event is the point where at which the secret word and the grip of Master Mason is told to the brother.

The Master Mason degree represents age. The brother is encouraged to reflect upon his own deeds and make peace with God, because death is a strong theme during this degree. How a man lives and dies is the most important message the degrees of masonry teach.




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Before moving up to the next degree, a Mason must prove he is profecient. In most lodges, this means he just know the password, signs, grips, and othe modes of recognition for his degree. A Mason is also commenly required to momorize a series of questions and answeres about his degree, called the catechism. To prove his profeciency he must answer the questions from memory in a lodge meeting.

There is no degree in a Masonic Lodge higher than the third degree, the Master Mason. You've probably heard of men who were 32nd or 33rd degree Masons. They exsist but not in the Masonic lodge. Additional degrees are conferred by what are called appendant groups, such as York Rite, and the Scottish Rite. Alothough some degrees have higher numbers, they don't outrank a Master Mason, nor are they in any way more important than a Master Mason.



Thats all for today guys, I know I said I'd type up a complete history of the Masons, ill do that soon. I also have a guide to all the symbols in masonry ill type up for you.

Peace.

I hope you don't mind the picking of one nit...

In the Master Mason degree, the reason behind the raising of the body of Hiram Abif, is solely to rebury his body in a more suitable place of burial... he isn't "alive" by any stretch of the imagination. He also isn't raised by the "Word" of a Master Mason... but by the replacement.

Oh, and one more nit... the dinner may be before or after - it completely depends upon local custom.

Thought I wrote the dinner at the beginning or end...must have thought it and not wrote it