LVX in Tenebris
Padawan Learner
@LVX in Tenebris: Thank you for your attitude and contribution to the forum.
I'd like to share with you what I've learned about Freemasonry's structure, doctrines, and internal variations. Kindly correct me any bias you see. (There is a large one more explanatory in the thread of @MJF about Alton Towers, Sir Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucian, which is based on a few vis-à-vis exchanges with members and “knighted ones” of the Order.)
The initial three degrees (referred to as Blue or symbolic) serve as a superficial initiation, conveying generic or biased information without revealing core Masonic teachings. True doctrinal knowledge is accessible only to a small minority —less than 10 percent of members— who advance to higher branches: the York Rite (described as “left,” with Royal Arch elements, emphasizing secrecy, Gnostic influences, intellectualism, and a pro-British orientation) or the Scottish Rite (described as “right,” with 30 degrees, more published materials, often used for networking, and aligned with pro-French democratic ideals).
Approximately 90 percent of Freemasons remain unaware of the organization's deeper content, functioning primarily as a support base for the elite few. But each Orient, each Grand Lodge, and each Lodge tends to be a world apart, and people can acquire different amounts of knowledge; so, is it correct to speak of “Freemasonries” in the plural? This emphasizes the diversity within Freemasonry, influenced by factors such as location, leadership, and lodge specifics, leading to variations including deistic, secular, Gnostic, Hermetic, speculative, operative, Christian-oriented, anti-ecclesiastical, or Islam-influenced forms.
If you can read Spanish, a few years ago appeared: Una lectura masónica a las enseñanzas de Fulcanelli. And in 2016, appeared the digital edition of “Las Cuatro Alas del Mercurio” from Apiano León de Valiente and Sandra Maitri.
Yes, we agree. In fact, Willy Schrödter's “Geheimkunste de Rosenkreuzer” (1954) was published as “A Rosacrucian Notebook” (1992) in English and was first translated in Brazil as “Escritos Rosacruzes” by the Eleusi publishing house in 1995. Meanwhile, the Spanish edition only appeared in 2022 as “Un Cuaderno Rosacruz” with the addition of the long-lost French work Le Rapport Fulcanelli: ou la fin d’un mythe.
BTW, Jacques Vallée wrote in Confrontations (1990) the deadly activities of the “Chupas,” in Colares (Pará, Bahía de Marajó) which once I translated from the original in English to Spanish (and now again to English, sorry if it isn't exact, but my digital copy of the book isn't OCRed):
And the Cs reinforced it:
Hello again @panoptix,
1) About Freemasonry’s structure and knowledge distribution
To be honest, I wouldn’t say that the first three degrees in Freemasonry (basically Craft Masonry) are superficial or that they do not convey core Masonic doctrine. That said, in Freemasonry we also know that they are relatively “light,” so to speak, in terms of esotericism.
Indeed, the fact that Craft Masonry is relatively basic and straightforward is well known. Some Masons even find the higher degrees a bit confusing or more esoteric. For example, as you can see in this article (which I read a few days ago), the author acknowledges that Masonic appendant bodies like the Holy Royal Arch can be far more confusing than the Craft degrees:
An Esoteric Interpretation of the Holy Royal Arch – The Square Magazine
“Whilst the meaning of Craft Masonry is understood or explained clearly to most brethren as the messages the degrees teach are self-evident, the meaning of the Royal Arch ceremony is not usually discussed in any detail either in or outside of lodge.”
The claim that “true doctrinal knowledge is accessible only to a small minority (<10%)” is somewhat misleading. Yes, it is already known that as you progress further or deeper, you are said to understand the core meaning of Freemasonry better. So while non-Masons often claim that something is hidden even from Masons themselves, this is actually one of the first things a Mason learns when he is initiated.
Therefore, instead of saying that true doctrinal knowledge is limited to 10%, I would say that the deeper meaning of Freemasonry is limited to around 10%—and the remaining ~90% are aware of this as well. I know, for example, that as a Mason who has just completed the Craft, my knowledge of Freemasonry is not the same as that of a Mason who is 30th degree in the AASR or a member of Royal and Select Masters.
Regarding the rites, I wouldn’t say that the AASR and the York Rite are right- or left-oriented. Both are rites that further explore what you have already started in the Craft. You can be a member of both, or neither, and still join other orders (such as the Shriners, Secret Monitor, or SRIA). So describing one as more Gnostic and the other as more French or British is, in my opinion, misleading and subjective.
All I would say is that the AASR (Scottish Rite) is more structured and ordered than the York Rite, which consists of the Craft and three separate independent bodies.
2) About diversity within Freemasonry
Yes, it is true that each Orient or Grand Lodge is slightly different from the others. However, at the core, they are ultimately doing the same thing. So although the meaning does not change from one Grand Lodge to another, the way the message is conveyed and how the ritual is worked differs—not only from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge, but even from Lodge to Lodge, for obvious reasons.
There are also different ritual workings that each Grand Lodge accepts. So even without another Grand Lodge involved, you can still end up with two accepted rituals being worked by two different lodges under the same Grand Lodge.
It is said that around 70% of UGLE lodges use Emulation working
(Emulation Ritual 13th Edition (Pocket) - Regalia Store UK),
but there are also others such as Taylor's, Logic, Universal, Duncan's and so on—and all are valid and accepted by the same Grand Lodge.
So in a sense, you can speak of Freemasonries (plural), but they are still essentially doing the same thing, with slightly different curricula and methods of presentation.
3) About Fulcanelli and related literature
I will have to read those books you mentioned before I can comment properly. So, again I don't know:
- Una lectura masónica a las enseñanzas de Fulcanelli
- Las Cuatro Alas del Mercurio (Apiano León de Valiente & Sandra Maitri)
Please see the PDF I attached (The Five Noble Orders of Architecture), which was given to me by UGLE. It is a short article explaining how the magnificent edifices of Europe were built by operative masons of the past, including those cathedrals and others. You may only need to read the last paragraph to see what I mean.
4) About Latin America as an esoteric hotspot
I mean, Latin and South America certainly have a rich culture and history, with a lot to learn from (I like the work of Don Juan as suggested by Laura). Unfortunately, though, many people there seem to be involved in voodoo-like practices or New Age mumbo jumbo.
Regarding the UFO subject and what Jacques Valle says about South America, I think we can read more about that from the Cassiopaean Substack. Like you mentioned, UFOs (together with the window fallers) are very active South America.
That said, I definitely want to visit South America one day.