A Three Day Long Meeting with No Minutes

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Robert H. Johnson

July 11th, I pulled into my driveway at 10:30 P.M. I’d been at a Lodge meeting that was meeting for the last time before they merged into another. I was relieved knowing I wouldn’t have to make the 60+ mile drive again. No sooner had I walked in my house, did I have to start packing.

All the necessities packed away neatly, bags set by the front door. “Alexa, set an alarm for 5:10 A.M.” Lights out. The next thing you know I’m at 29K feet on my way to Burbank airport and from there, to South Pasadena Masonic Lodges MasonicCon (SPML). I know you all likely read reviews of the MasonicCon event which has occurred every year at (the only US based lodge I’m a member of that has a charter currently), Ezekiel Bates, in Attleboro, MA.

Two years ago, Dago Rodriguez came out to be a vendor. He was representing the Southern California Research Lodge’s magazine, The Fraternal Review. One of the best out there. Dago went home after that weekend, two years ago and started planning his own MasonicCon. And by God, SPML with Dago as Worshipful Master knocked it out of the park.

I could give you a full rundown of events as I’ve done before, but this time I’ll be brief. We started with a seven course festive board with multiple toasts celebrating pop-culture icons within the craft. That was Friday night. The festive board included our ladies and many guests of honor. It went till midnight and was amazing.

Day two began the speakers. We heard from Angel Millar first, who spoke about art in Freemasonry and pop culture iconography. I personally enjoyed this presentation the most over the weekend. Nothing against my other friends, you know...we just have favorites sometimes 😀

The other speakers included Charlie Fisher, Bryan Simmons, Mike Jarzabek, Adam Kendall, Joseph Wäges and Art de Hoyos. By the way, Art de Hoyos was amazing--speaking on esoteric Masonry. (Not his typical thing, and it was so perfect. Thank you, Art!)

There were screenings as well. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about these MasonicCons, is that each one carries a regional flavor. In Attleboro, it’s the original recipe. It’s Coca-Cola. Refreshing, original and feels like tradition. SPML was distinctly “Hollywood”.

We watched the finale of Sacred Steel Bikes, with Brother Jason Wilson, the star of the show. After was a Q&A with Brother Adrian Fulle of Variety Content Studio. A unique part of the day was a screening of the movie, Fight Club. It’s been 20 years since the movie came out, and it has a distinctly philosophical flavor. Bro. Fulle grilled Dago Rodriguez, myself and Mike Jarzabek in a panel Q&A about the movie and topic of the Duality of Man. I think we did the movie justice, but I may be biased 😉

At 6:00 P.M. we broke for dinner. I took off to King Taco with my Brothers from EB for some amazing Mexican food. After dinner we talked about the benefit of these conferences. Not only to support the research we’re doing, not only to have fun, but to come together and share. To see what works and what doesn’t and to go back home with those nuggets of success. We implement those things, and slowly and incrementally change the fraternity--across the nation, for the better.

Next up? 8:00 P.M. we watched High and Outside: a baseball noir, directed by Bro. Evald Johnson and starring Bro. Phil Donlon. This movie was fantastic. Dark and reflective. Afterward, I conducted the Q&A / Interview with these two Brothers. They shared their personal experiences on the movie, life, struggles and everything else that goes into making a movie of this caliber.

10:00 P.M. we were able to see for the first time, Illuminated, the true story of the Bavarian Illuminati. An incredible documentary written, directed and narrated by Bro. Johnny Royal, whose previous major project was 33 & Beyond: The Royal Art of Freemasonry. Since the movie isn’t out yet, and I think I am among the lucky few to have seen it, all I will say is that it is a must see. After the film, I again interviewed and conducted Q&A with the director, Johnny Royal. He was very candid about the issues he faced while making the documentary but also shared personal thoughts on why it was important to tell the story of Adam Weishaupt. When we asked Johnny what the goal of all this is, he gave an eloquent answer,

“Uplifting consciousness, and making this realm a better place is what we’re trying to do.”

Was that it? No. We made our way back to the hotel and got some rest. Sunday began at 10:30 A.M. with a screening of some “sizzle” reels from Tim Hogan on a couple of new projects he has coming up. I can’t say much about them, but rest assured they look fascinating. Also, I feel compelled to tell you that Tim Hogan bought me a coffee. That, ladies and gentlemen is how you know you made it to the big time. 😎 Thanks Tim!

After this, Bryan Simmons, the architect of the original MasonicCon in Attleboro, MA gave a talk on “Hope”. It was a perfect way to end the day. A talk that told us to get off our butts and do the work instead of hoping for it to transpire. Thank you Bryan.

I could go on about the amazing weekend, I could regale you with the intellectual musings of Joe Wäges and Adam Kendall, I could tell you that Art de Hoyos is an undercover spicy meme lord, I could tell you that I met with the Grand Master of the Women's Masonic Lodge of California, I could tell you that Dago Rodriguez lost it at the end of the weekend with tears of thanks. But some things you just have to experience. This weekend was certainly that. A real experience.

In life we go through the motions, the ordinary. If we’re lucky we have occasions that stand out. The birth of children, graduating, marriage, becoming a Master Mason or adept in your own practice, landing your dream job, parachuting, climbing a trail, and sometimes it’s a weekend with 150 best friends--Thank you all for these memories. I will treasure them always. As for the next iteration? Well, I think I'm just going to plan a Masonic Con for Chicago--2020. Look out, it's gonna be rad.

www.masonicconchicago.com

~RHJ

RWB, Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183 UD. He is a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

Rosicrucianism Within the Royal Arch: Part One - Beginnings of the Invisible College

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

James E. Frey 32°

My Brethren, The philosophy and mythos of the Royal Arch is often considered the climax and heart of Ancient Craft Masonry.The Royal Arch is interesting because it is the first of the High Degrees to complete the Hiramic Legend upon the discovery of the Lost Word. The Royal Arch arose across Europe under mysterious circumstances and the very nature of its teachings caused the division from the Moderns and the Ancients. Where the Master Mason degree invokes death, the Royal Arch invokes resurrection. Its tenants are of a sacred and esoteric quality inspired by the teachings of the shadowy Rosicrucians, while its symbolism and depth bring the whole of the Ancient craft teachings into the apex of understanding. Throughout this presentation I will address the connection of Rosicrucian influence upon the symbolism of the Royal Arch degree, and how its inner esoteric teachings promotes the idea of individual spiritual attainment.

To understand how esoteric thought entered into masonry we have to revisit the period of the Renaissance. During the end of the Medieval period dozens of Ancient manuscripts began coming in from Persia that until that time were unavailable in the West. These manuscripts caught the attention of one of the most wealthy and prominent noblemen in Italy, Carlo Demenatchi. Demenatchi employed a scholar by the name of Marcilio Piccino to transcribe a number of manuscripts into Greek and Latin. Some of these manuscripts famously were treaties on Plato, but two others were the Corpus Hermeticum and the Asclepius of Hermes Trismegistus. These two texts are considered the foundation of Hermeticism, a philosophy that was assembled in Alexandria a century or so after the time of Christ.

At this time Alexandria was the cultural and intellectual center of the ancient world. Hermeticism The Italian Renaissance also saw the largest burst of publishing and printing than ever before these texts became readily available all throughout Europe, and made their way into academic circles in Germany. Even into the 1500s Alchemy, Hermetics, and Kabbalah were practiced and heavily researched by Germans creating a strain of thought that man has direct communication with God instead of through the church. But the developing protestant movement would become very cold toward esoteric ideas and it didn’t approve of the mysticism and ceremony found within the Roman Catholic Church. The reformers would consider Hermes and his teaches as pagan, and the ancient wisdom of the Kabbalah to be unacceptable.

With these new ideals taking popular form in Germany the mystic circles went underground in order to continue practice christianized Hermticism, Alchemy, and Kabbalah in peace. What developed was a Northern European Mystical system that sought to replace Hermes Trismegistus but keep a Christianized archetype of that Symbol, what would develop is known as Rosicrucianism. was presented as Grecco-Egyptian style religion that fascinated the Italian Renaissance. There was a rebirth in the interest of ancient philosophy and classical thought, especially the Hermetic tradition. Also round that time Pincho De Mirandola was translating the sacred texts of Hebrew Kabbalah , and the Alchemical practices began to become more prominent as a part of scientific research. The Reason these Hermetic and Kabbalistic texts were accepted by the largely Roman Catholic population was because of the similarities with Christian Thought. It is because of the Hermetic belief that Man is the reflection of Divinity, that the Church was rather sympathetic to the publishing of Hermetic texts.


~JEF

James E Frey 32° classifies himself as a gentleman of the old world, which means he is known to stand in the great forests reciting poetry to fair-haired damsels while wrestling bears for sport. He is a District Education Officer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, a Past Sovereign Prince of the of Danville AASR, member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, Quram Council Allied Masonic Degrees and initiate of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He is also a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry for the R.E.B.I.S Research Society.