Find out exactly what Freemasonry is, without secrets!
The secrets in Freemasonry are the traditional modes of recognition which are not used indiscriminately, but solely as a test of membership, e.g. when visiting a Lodge where you are not known.
Esoteric Masonry is the personal exploration to some of the less mainstream areas of the fraternal society. Some of these aspects include personal development, spiritualism, mysticism, and so on. It can include aspects of its history not commonly looked at by mainstream historians or participants. Also, it investigates lines of religious thought that exists on the fringes of mainstream doctrine. Investigation does not mean they work to prove (or disprove) one aspect or another, to the contrary, the esoteric side of masonry seeks find additional sources of wisdom and understanding.
These three virtues, "Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth", are the foundations upon which Freemasonry is built.
Brotherly love, as directed towards all mankind, especially to other Masons. Relief, in that every Mason is obligated to relieve the suffering of any Master Mason they encounter who is in dire need and if in their power to do so, to the best of their ability, also to act charitably towards society, giving of ourselves economically, physically, and mentally. And truth, which is represented by the Divine, in its multiplicity and diversity as understood by all men.
Absolutely not. That would be a misuse of membership and subject to Masonic discipline. On his entry into Freemasonry each candidate states unequivocally that he expects no material gain from his membership. At various stages during the ceremonies of his admission and when he is presented with a certificate from Grand Lodge that the admission ceremonies have been completed, he is forcefully reminded that attempts to gain preferment or material gain for himself or others is a misuse of membership which will not be tolerated.
They no longer do. When Masonic ritual was developing in the late 1600s and 1700s it was quite common for legal and civil oaths to include physical penalties and Freemasonry simply followed the practice of the times.
In Freemasonry, however, the physical penalties were always symbolic and were never carried out. After long discussion, they were removed from the promises in 1986.
New members make solemn promises concerning their conduct in Lodge and in society. Each member also promises to keep confidential the traditional methods of proving that he is a Freemason which he would use when visiting a lodge where he is not known.
Freemasons do not swear allegiances to each other or to Freemasonry. Freemasons promise to support others in times of need, but only if that support does not conflict with their duties to God, the law, their family or with their responsibilities as a Citizen.
It is true that candidates have to roll up their trouser legs during the ceremonies when they are being admitted to membership. Taken out of context, this can seem amusing, but like many other aspects of Freemasonry, it has a symbolic meaning.
No. The ritual is a shared experience which binds the members together. Its use of drama, allegory and symbolism impresses the principles and teachings more firmly in the mind of each candidate than if they were simply passed on to him in matter-of-fact modern language.
The use of the word ritual is in describing the rhythmic practice of the same ceremony at each occasion. Often there is a connotation of something sinister or counter to popular practice, but to the contrary, it is meant to imply that the degrees are an established or prescribed procedure to convey the knowledge of the Fraternity in a repetition.
What this means is that the same ceremony is practiced with each aspirant into the fraternal fold so that each man undergoes the same experience creating a unifying shared experience.
Traditionally, Freemasonry has been restricted to men. The early stonemasons were all male, and when Freemasonry was organizing, the position of women in society was different from today. If women wish to join Freemasonry, there are separate Grand Lodges restricted to women only.