On Opposing Tyranny

Note: thanks to the Widow's Son

The blog Masonic Crusade today reported a situation in West Virginia arising over the confusing actions of the sitting Grand Master Charlie Montgomery. Two brothers, if you are following events there had the "bad sense" to stand up and question the actions of Grand Master Montgomery in setting aside the will of the brethren as expressed by their votes at their 2007 Grand Communication. The Grand Master demanded that the master of M.W. Haas' lodge prefer masonic charges against him, which he refused to do, and as a result, both men were expelled without a trial.

The latest confusing actions reported to have been undertaken by Most Worshipful Montgomery and reported in the Masonic Crusade are that after the recent visit to a West Virginia Lodge by an out-of-state brother, who spoke in support of PGM Haas', a letter was sent out to the Lodge Masters across the state, instructing them on what can, and cannot, be discussed in lodge in regard to these issues.

In this letter, M.W. Montgomery reportedly noted the issue of MW Haas and the legislation as issues not to be discussed. More worrying than this letter even going out (if one can imagine such, seeing as Freemasonry was FOUNDED upon the principles of freedom of thought, speech, religion, etc) Most Worshipful Montgomery reportedly warned the masters of his lodges that they may NOT even reveal the contents or even the existence of this letter.

The following is an excerpt from the Masonic Crusade forum:

“Secret” Tyranny Reigns in West Virginia Masonry!

In my recent travels, I have been told that Grand Master Charlie is at it again. Only this time he is hedging his bets, as he is apparently now sending “secret” letters to some of the Worshipful Masters of Lodges describing an event in the northern part of the state. The letter describes a situation where a member of a non-WV Lodge visited and presented a technical paper, the perspective of which was attributed to Past Grand Master Frank Haas regarding the current situation in Masonry in WV.

In this letter to the Worshipful Masters, Charlie informs them that permitting any such activities or discussion in the future shall be considered unmasonic conduct. He also issues a warning to them, to the effect that the Master is forbidden to read the letter in open Lodge or show it to anyone. This, my brethren, is a tyrannical tactic designed to fracture the Lodge, to keep it in a state of disarray, so that it cannot possibly fight back.

It is frequently employed by terrorism groups, to ensure loss of minimal amount of information should one person be captured. Most WMs I have spoken with have been afraid to tell their own Lodge that they have even received the letter, let alone read it in open Lodge. In WWII, when we were sent behind enemy lines, we were told about the critical aspects of the larger plan for which we were gathering intelligence.

We were also told that we would not be forgotten and to be patient if we were captured. Now, regrettably, I am reminded of those on the other side in Germany, who were simply told to blindly do something (i.e. without daring to question) otherwise be instantly shot by a Luger pistol. I thought my generation had already fought and won that war.

Apparently, like the US Civil War, it too is not over.

As you can imagine, given the support that MW Haas still enjoys among his West Virginia brethren, and the outrage that is simmering to a rolling boil in the lodges, that demand to keep the letter secret has been... ignored by many Masters. Copies of the letter, suitably redacted, are making their way throughout the brethren of West Virginia, and of course, across the blogosphere. There are some edicts of a Grand Master that, when calling for actions that violate the conscious of a good, honorable and true mason, MUST be violated.

One thing that confuses even this mason... what does GM Montgomery think is going to happen the day AFTER he is replaced by the next duly elected Grand Master? Does he seriously think that his actions will be upheld? Does he think for a moment that HE himself, may be subject to summary dismissal from our ranks, the ignominy he has visited upon MS Haas? If not, WHY has he NOT considered it? I am not here to pass judgment on anyone, but the questions have to be asked.

I have not weighed in on this looming crisis in West Virginia for several reasons. The first and foremost reason is: Lack of information. One side of an issue is hardly a justification to set aside an obligation to charity, brotherly love, and to not injure a brother. HOWEVER, over time, I have done my research, talked to West Virginia Masons, and find myself more and more appalled at the state of Freemasonry IN WEST VIRGINIA. The good news here is that its just one Grand Lodge. Out of 101 Regular Grand Lodges in the United States... and if you include the other grand lodges that have similar, though not as egregious, problems, you have about 15 out of 101 lodges, or just over 14%.

Bro. Chris at Freemasons for Dummies noted that situation in his recent blog: West Virginia: The Continuing Crisis

It is difficult to divine the truth from WV Masons at this point, as many feel threatened over any internet communication whatsoever. But it is clear that the standoff between the GM and supporters of Frank Haas has not cooled. In the end, that's bad for Freemasonry in West Virginia. The old school belief that what happens behind a GM's closed office doors stays there is no longer true, and the Internet can send details of such situations around the world in seconds. Likewise, when WV Masons compare their laws to the jurisdictions across the country and seek to make changes, ignoring or threatening them won't work forever.

A vow to the Masons of West Virginia to reintroduce the rule changes of MWBro. Haas individually so proper votes can be taken in October would go a long way to start re-building bridges. Such action would take bravery and the abandonment of some ego for the greater good. Such are the qualities of strong leadership. The Masonic world continues to watch.

To quote "Widow's Son" at the Burning Taper:

If your Grand Master is indeed telling your lodges what they can and cannot discuss, and forbidding Masters to disclose his communications, then Masonic tyranny and terrorism has truly arrived (in West Virginia).

It is my opinion that it is highly unlikely that any other grand lodge will take any kind of official action against the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, and how could we? Any action we take against the Grand Lodge would injure the brethren of that state still more. And yet, Masonic Ritual tells me that there is hope.

To my brothers worldwide: I encourage you to contact your grand lodge, express your brotherly concern, and ask them to take some kind of action in the face of these actions by Grand Master Montgomery, even if its just a letter.

To the brethren of West Virginia: We stand behind you and support you.

May the blessing of heaven rest upon us and all regular masons. May brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue, cement us.

Who is the Widow?

We are taught that everything in Freemasonry is symbolic. Each of the symbols have more than one meaning. Yet, there is one symbol of Freemasonry that we rarely talk about or consider, but it is a sigil of who we all are and represent.

We are all Hiram, on one level of another. We discuss who he is, what he represents, what we are to learn from him and his sacrifice. To some, Hiram represents Jesus, and to others Mithra and to others Osiris and so on. We know that Hiram is an archetype, an exemplar, a teacher… and of course, we are all, symbolically, Hiram Abiff.

The one symbol we only discuss tangentially though, is WHO IS THE WIDOW? We are told that Hiram is a widow's sons, of the tribe of Napthali. That is certainly the biblical reference, but if you carefully read the bible, you will see that he did not die before the temple was completed, and truth to tell, according to the bible he was a worker in metals, dyes, fabric and stonework, not an architect, or master of workmen.

When the first grand lodge was created in London in 1717, it comprised two degrees. The Fellowcraft possessed the “master’s word”. Shortly thereafter, around 1728, the third degree was created, more or less the third degree we have today. The character Hiram Abiff was chosen for a reason, one that, given the deep symbolic nature of the degrees already extent, had to be more than simple representation of an archetype... so, who, or what, is the Widow, why are we all widow's sons, and why do we identify ourselves as Son’s of the Widow?

Now, I was thinking about this the other day, actually, I was responding to a post about Mary, the "mother" of god, and how the cult of Mary arose in the Catholic Church around the 4th Century AD, just about the time the Christian faith was taking off in England. Now, arguably, the existence of the Catholic Church can be pinned on the strength of that faith in England in the first four or five centuries AD, but that is another long and involved monologue.

But, here is the strange thing... the Celtic “faith” if you will, was a worship of the earth mother, the goddess, and her horned consort. The goddess appeared in three incarnations: the Virgin, The Mother, and the Hag. Now, we all know what the Virgin represents, and we all know what the mother represents, but the crone was DEATH... not the mean evil avoid it at all costs death of contemporary culture, but the satisfying, going home, rest has finally come, welcoming grandmother.

Any of this sound familiar? Mary, the mother of god, the eternal virgin who gave birth to god in his incarnation in flesh, and the comforting mother/grandmother that is with us in death. The cult of Mary was created by the Roman Catholic Church around the 4th c AD… in direct response the Celtic Goddess.

The widow may symbolize a separation of the material world to that of the spiritual Father. The widows son, the Hiram of Masonic allegory, therefore, symbolizes our human physical nature bound to the mother (creation/material) after the symbolic 'Fall' of mankind. The Widow reference therefore symbolizes our lost connection to our Divine essence and origin.(1)

But the celtic goddess is just another incarnation of Isis / Ishtar / Anu / Anna, a fertility goddess. Of Isis, it is written:

Isis, the Virgin of the World

IT is especially fitting that a study of Hermetic symbolism should begin with a discussion of the symbols and attributes of the Saitic Isis. This is the Isis of Sais, famous for the inscription concerning her which appeared on the front of her temple in that city: "I, Isis, am all that has been, that is or shall be; no mortal Man hath ever me unveiled."

This Egyptian deity under many names appears as the principle of natural fecundity among nearly all the religions of the ancient world. She was known as the goddess with ten thousand appellations and was metamorphosed by Christianity into the Virgin Mary, for Isis, although she gave birth to all living things--chief among them the Sun--still remained a virgin, according to the legendary accounts.(2)

The term 'widow' denotes a separation from one's husband. In Isis case, she as a symbol of the material world is identified as separated from the spiritual side of existence, symbolized by her brother/husband (the nature of this relationship is meant to emphasize a unity between material and spiritual existence) the vital principle of Nature or creative Force.

Horus himself is the classic archetype and symbol of unifying our spiritual and material aspects. He is the personification of the transcendent nature of humanity, in other words, a
different way to express the same nature of the creative forces symbolized as Isis and Osiris. As above, so below - expressed in Hermetic terms.(3)

"The only reasonable explanation that we had come across regarding the actual name of the Masonic hero was that Hiram meant 'noble' or 'kingly' in Hebrew, while Abif has been identified as old French for 'lost one', giving a literal description of 'the king that was lost'."

"Masonic ritual refers to Hiram Abif as the 'Son of the Widow'... In Egyptian legend the first Horus was uniquely conceived after his father's death and therefore his mother was a widow even before his conception. It seemed logical therefore that all those who thereafter became Horus, i.e. the kings of Egypt, would also describe themselves as 'Son of the Widow'."(4)

So, if the widow is Isis/Mary, then Hiram is Osiris/Jesus. The Widow, of whom we are all symbolic sons, is the archetype for the mother, the earth, the mortal and material world. Hiram is the archetype of the spiritual, arising from the widow. This makes sense when we consider that the goal of the Mason is to transcend the mortal, to rise above the intellect, to become one with the creative principle, the Great Architect of the Universe in the Sanctum Sanctorum, where master masons hold their lodges.

May the blessing of heaven rest upon us and all regular masons, may brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue, cement us.

(1) ptbojim, http://thefreemason.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3193&whichpage=1
(2) http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta10.htm
(3) ptbojim, http://thefreemason.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3193&whichpage=2
(4) Bill McElligott, http://thefreemason.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=3193&whichpage=2