ghostdriver
Well-Known Member
HOW TO CRASH THE FREEMASONS
Masonry swears its members to secrecy with grisly,
anatomically explicit oaths. A Master Freemason must "promise and
swear, that I will not write, print, stamp, stain, hew, cut,
carve, indent, paint, or engrave" the mysteries of his order
"under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my
tongue torn out by the roots, and my body buried in the rough
sands of the sea," according to one version of the oath. Tenth-
degree Masons "consent to have my body opened perpendicularly, and
to be exposed for eight hours in the open air, that the venomous
flies may eat my entrails" if they talk. Even the Shriners, a
"fun" order, may incur "the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs
pierced to the center with a three-edged blade."
Be that as it may, the secrets of the Masons are preserved in
certain arcane tracts, pamphlets, and books. These are sold only
by Masonic supply houses -- the firms that sell fezzes, banners,
plaques, jewels, and other regalia to lodges. The supply houses
take the secrecy seriously. Most will not sell booklets containing
club secrets to anyone who cannot show a Masonic ID. BIG SECRETS
came across a Chicago firm, however, that works by mail order. The
Geo. Lauterer Corporation publishes an illustrated catalog of
lodge gear. It offers over a hundred Masonic and other fraternal
manuscripts. We obtained a sampling of titles.
American Masonry differs in certain particulars from British
or Continental Masonry. Rituals may vary from lodge to lodge.
Masonic tracts do not always agree. Except where noted, the
information below is taken from two of Lauterer's titles,
RICHARDSON'S MONITOR OF FREEMASONRY by a pseudonymous Benjamin
Henry Day, and INITIATION STUNTS by Lieutenant Beale Cormack.
The Secret Handshake
It's a regular handshake, except that you press your forefinger
hard into the other's palm. The thumb presses against the base
joints of the second and third fingers. It looks pretty much like
any other handshake; only the person shaking hands can feel the
difference.
The Secret Password
"Tubal-Cain" is the secret password of a Master Mason. But some
lodges have their own passwords.
The Secret Word
Not to be confused with the password. The Word (always
capitalized) is so secret that initiates are taught it one letter
at a time. First they learn A, then O, then M, and finally I. The
Word is IAOM.
You never get a straight story as to what it means. As best
as anyone can figure, it is the ineffable name of God, or some
approximation thereof. The Word (or Name) is a tongue-twister. It
takes some practice to get it right. The following pronunciation
guide is from MASONRY AND ITS SYMBOLS IN THE LIGHT OF THINKING AND
DESTINY by Harold Waldwin Percival:
The Name is pronounced as follows: It is started by
opening the lips with an "ee" sound graduating into
a broad "a" as the mouth opens wider with lips
forming an oval shape and then graduating the sound
to "o" as the lips form a circle, and again
modulating to an "m" sound as the lips close to a
point. This point resolves itself to a point within
the head.
Expressed phonetically the Name is "EE-Ah-Oh-
Mmm" and is pronounced with one continuous out-
breathing with a slight nasal tone in the manner
described above. It can be correct and properly
expressed with its full power only by one who has
brought his physical body to a state of
perfection...
The Shriners' Recognition Test
According to a Lauterer manuscript, this is how two Shriners
recognize each other:
Q: Then I presume you are a Noble?
A: I am so accepted by all men of noble birth.
Q: Have you traveled any?
A: I have.
Q: From where to what place have you traveled?
A: Traveled east over the hot burning sands of the desert.
Q: Where were you stopped at?
A: At the devil's pass.
Q: What were you requested to do?
A: I was requested to contribute a few drops of urine.
Q: Why were you requested to do this?
A: As a token of my renouncing the wiles and evils of the world
and granted permission to worship at the Shrine.
Q: At what Shrine did you worship?
A: At the Shrine of Islam.
Q: Did you ride?
A: Yes, I rode a camel until I paused to dismount.
Q: Then what did you do with your camel?
A: I tied him.
Q: Where did you tie him?
A: I tied him to a date tree, where all True Shriners should do
so.
BOTH: Yes, I pulled the Cord, rode the hump, I have traversed
the hot arid sands of the desert to find Peace and rest in
the quiet shades of the Oasis.
Initiation
There are two sides to Freemason initiations -- one a
standardized, sedate ritual; the other a highly variable set of
hazing stunts.
Prospective Masons must apply of their own free will.
Masons may not recruit friends at least not in theory. Proposed
members are investigated by a committee of lodge members. This
is often just a formality but may include, for instance, a
credit report. The committee reports on the candidate at a
lodge meeting. Members then vote.
The ballot box is the Lauterer catalog uses white balls and
black cubes. (Losers are blackcubed, not blackballed.) If there
is a single negative vote, the ballot is declared foul. The
lodgemaster (who sees how each member voted) may try to
convince dissenting members to reconsider. A negative verdict
on the second ballot is final.
Successful candidates are invited to the lodge for
initiation. There are three basic degrees: Entered Apprentice,
Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. Each has its own ritual.
Entered Apprentice candidates begin by taking off their
clothes to prove their gender (women may not become Masons). In
practice, this means taking off the pants and any jacket.
Underwear and shirt are kept on, but the shirt is unbuttoned
and pulled down to bare the left arm, shoulder, and breast.
The candidate is hoodwinked (blindfolded). A cabletow
(rope) is placed around the neck. (The Lauterer catalog's
hoodwink is simply a standard, black satin half-face mask --
without eyeholes -- secured with an elastic string. The
cabletow is a heavy blue rayon cord with tassels at both ends.)
Ideally, the cabletow is supposed to have four strands to
symbolize the four senses (they don't count touch). The
candidate is escorted to a room where three candles are
burning. One of the lodge members takes a mason's compass or
other sharp instrument and pricks the candidate's bared skin.
The candidate is instructed to recite a formula to the effect
that what he desires most is light. The other lodge members
remove his hoodwink and cabletow. Before the candidate are
three candles. He is told that the candles represent the sun,
the moon, and the master of the lodge.
The candidate gets a lecture on the symbolism of Masonry.
Visual aids are used (Lauterer sells a set of three lecture
charts and a set of 188 35-millimeter slides). He is given a
"lambskin," a white apron. Lauterer's lambskins are indeed
genuine lambskin, lined with cotton. They measure 13 inches by
15 inches or 14 inches by 16 inches. A triangular flap folds
down like the flap of an envelope. The lambskin is worn in
front, and a tie (tape or cord with tassels) fastens behind the
back.
A member of the lodge pretends to be a collector for a
needy cause and asks the candidate to donate. Lacking his
wallet, the candidate must refuse. The moral: Help the less
fortunate. Then the candidate is allowed to put his clothes
back on. He is taken before the master of the lodge. The master
tells him that he is now a Mason. The candidate is given the
working tools of the Apprentice, a twenty-four-inch gauge and a
gavel.
Masonry swears its members to secrecy with grisly,
anatomically explicit oaths. A Master Freemason must "promise and
swear, that I will not write, print, stamp, stain, hew, cut,
carve, indent, paint, or engrave" the mysteries of his order
"under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my
tongue torn out by the roots, and my body buried in the rough
sands of the sea," according to one version of the oath. Tenth-
degree Masons "consent to have my body opened perpendicularly, and
to be exposed for eight hours in the open air, that the venomous
flies may eat my entrails" if they talk. Even the Shriners, a
"fun" order, may incur "the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs
pierced to the center with a three-edged blade."
Be that as it may, the secrets of the Masons are preserved in
certain arcane tracts, pamphlets, and books. These are sold only
by Masonic supply houses -- the firms that sell fezzes, banners,
plaques, jewels, and other regalia to lodges. The supply houses
take the secrecy seriously. Most will not sell booklets containing
club secrets to anyone who cannot show a Masonic ID. BIG SECRETS
came across a Chicago firm, however, that works by mail order. The
Geo. Lauterer Corporation publishes an illustrated catalog of
lodge gear. It offers over a hundred Masonic and other fraternal
manuscripts. We obtained a sampling of titles.
American Masonry differs in certain particulars from British
or Continental Masonry. Rituals may vary from lodge to lodge.
Masonic tracts do not always agree. Except where noted, the
information below is taken from two of Lauterer's titles,
RICHARDSON'S MONITOR OF FREEMASONRY by a pseudonymous Benjamin
Henry Day, and INITIATION STUNTS by Lieutenant Beale Cormack.
The Secret Handshake
It's a regular handshake, except that you press your forefinger
hard into the other's palm. The thumb presses against the base
joints of the second and third fingers. It looks pretty much like
any other handshake; only the person shaking hands can feel the
difference.
The Secret Password
"Tubal-Cain" is the secret password of a Master Mason. But some
lodges have their own passwords.
The Secret Word
Not to be confused with the password. The Word (always
capitalized) is so secret that initiates are taught it one letter
at a time. First they learn A, then O, then M, and finally I. The
Word is IAOM.
You never get a straight story as to what it means. As best
as anyone can figure, it is the ineffable name of God, or some
approximation thereof. The Word (or Name) is a tongue-twister. It
takes some practice to get it right. The following pronunciation
guide is from MASONRY AND ITS SYMBOLS IN THE LIGHT OF THINKING AND
DESTINY by Harold Waldwin Percival:
The Name is pronounced as follows: It is started by
opening the lips with an "ee" sound graduating into
a broad "a" as the mouth opens wider with lips
forming an oval shape and then graduating the sound
to "o" as the lips form a circle, and again
modulating to an "m" sound as the lips close to a
point. This point resolves itself to a point within
the head.
Expressed phonetically the Name is "EE-Ah-Oh-
Mmm" and is pronounced with one continuous out-
breathing with a slight nasal tone in the manner
described above. It can be correct and properly
expressed with its full power only by one who has
brought his physical body to a state of
perfection...
The Shriners' Recognition Test
According to a Lauterer manuscript, this is how two Shriners
recognize each other:
Q: Then I presume you are a Noble?
A: I am so accepted by all men of noble birth.
Q: Have you traveled any?
A: I have.
Q: From where to what place have you traveled?
A: Traveled east over the hot burning sands of the desert.
Q: Where were you stopped at?
A: At the devil's pass.
Q: What were you requested to do?
A: I was requested to contribute a few drops of urine.
Q: Why were you requested to do this?
A: As a token of my renouncing the wiles and evils of the world
and granted permission to worship at the Shrine.
Q: At what Shrine did you worship?
A: At the Shrine of Islam.
Q: Did you ride?
A: Yes, I rode a camel until I paused to dismount.
Q: Then what did you do with your camel?
A: I tied him.
Q: Where did you tie him?
A: I tied him to a date tree, where all True Shriners should do
so.
BOTH: Yes, I pulled the Cord, rode the hump, I have traversed
the hot arid sands of the desert to find Peace and rest in
the quiet shades of the Oasis.
Initiation
There are two sides to Freemason initiations -- one a
standardized, sedate ritual; the other a highly variable set of
hazing stunts.
Prospective Masons must apply of their own free will.
Masons may not recruit friends at least not in theory. Proposed
members are investigated by a committee of lodge members. This
is often just a formality but may include, for instance, a
credit report. The committee reports on the candidate at a
lodge meeting. Members then vote.
The ballot box is the Lauterer catalog uses white balls and
black cubes. (Losers are blackcubed, not blackballed.) If there
is a single negative vote, the ballot is declared foul. The
lodgemaster (who sees how each member voted) may try to
convince dissenting members to reconsider. A negative verdict
on the second ballot is final.
Successful candidates are invited to the lodge for
initiation. There are three basic degrees: Entered Apprentice,
Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. Each has its own ritual.
Entered Apprentice candidates begin by taking off their
clothes to prove their gender (women may not become Masons). In
practice, this means taking off the pants and any jacket.
Underwear and shirt are kept on, but the shirt is unbuttoned
and pulled down to bare the left arm, shoulder, and breast.
The candidate is hoodwinked (blindfolded). A cabletow
(rope) is placed around the neck. (The Lauterer catalog's
hoodwink is simply a standard, black satin half-face mask --
without eyeholes -- secured with an elastic string. The
cabletow is a heavy blue rayon cord with tassels at both ends.)
Ideally, the cabletow is supposed to have four strands to
symbolize the four senses (they don't count touch). The
candidate is escorted to a room where three candles are
burning. One of the lodge members takes a mason's compass or
other sharp instrument and pricks the candidate's bared skin.
The candidate is instructed to recite a formula to the effect
that what he desires most is light. The other lodge members
remove his hoodwink and cabletow. Before the candidate are
three candles. He is told that the candles represent the sun,
the moon, and the master of the lodge.
The candidate gets a lecture on the symbolism of Masonry.
Visual aids are used (Lauterer sells a set of three lecture
charts and a set of 188 35-millimeter slides). He is given a
"lambskin," a white apron. Lauterer's lambskins are indeed
genuine lambskin, lined with cotton. They measure 13 inches by
15 inches or 14 inches by 16 inches. A triangular flap folds
down like the flap of an envelope. The lambskin is worn in
front, and a tie (tape or cord with tassels) fastens behind the
back.
A member of the lodge pretends to be a collector for a
needy cause and asks the candidate to donate. Lacking his
wallet, the candidate must refuse. The moral: Help the less
fortunate. Then the candidate is allowed to put his clothes
back on. He is taken before the master of the lodge. The master
tells him that he is now a Mason. The candidate is given the
working tools of the Apprentice, a twenty-four-inch gauge and a
gavel.