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BACK NEXT Summer 2001 Issue 17 Letter from the Editor News Briefing Obituary News and Views On The Level International News Julian Rees The First Rosicrucians Mystery Set in Stone The Rose Croix David Williamson, Assistant Grand Master Forbidden Technology The Journey of the Initiate The Art of Regalia The Cornerstone Conference Pursuing a Love of Research Brother Lightfoote's Journal Letters to the Editor Review: The Garden at Highgrove Review: From Poimandres to Jacob Böhme Review: The Crystal Sun Review: The Way of Hermes Masonic Newspapers, Periodicals, and Journals Canon Richard Tydeman Copyright 1997-2008 FREEMASONRY TODAY Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited

FREEMASONRY TODAY Summer 2001 - Issue 17 - Index Michael Baigent - Letter from the Editor At the beginning of April I began my new post as editor of Freemasonry Today. Building upon the impressive work of my predecessors, Tobias Churton and John Jackson, I hope to further their aim of expanding our readership amongst all Freemasons. But I wish to move beyond this: my plan is to broaden the appeal of our magazine; to make it required reading, not only for all Freemasons, but also for non-masons who are interested in what Freemasonry is, and what it means. And along the way, I hope to introduce Freemasons to intriguing, curious or inspiring events and ideas from beyond the boundaries of the Craft, such as Robert Temple’s discovery of hundreds of ancient optical lenses ... News Briefing A New District Grand Master for Cyprus — Demand for a Register of Freemasons in the Lake District — Refusal of Donation by Pentecostal Church OBITUARY: MW Bro. Rt. Hon. Lord Farnham, 1931-2001 It was with considerable sadness that the news was received that, after a long illness, MW Bro., the Rt. Hon. Lord Farnham, Past Pro Grand Master, had died on 22 March. In Grand Lodge on 14 March, the MW. The Grand Master referred to him as ‘my trusty and much loved Pro Grand Master’ who ‘has served the Craft with great distinction, at home and abroad’, sentiments with which all who knew Lord Farnham would heartily agree. Born in 1931, after education at Eton and Harvard, and service as a Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues), he entered the City as a merchant banker with Brown Shipley; he served as Chairman 1984-91. He was later to be Chairman of the ... News and Views New Public Relations Company Hired by Grand Lodge — Sir Malcolm and Sir Donald Campbell — Friends of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry — The Specialised Medical Team at Grand Lodge — Donation of Ambulance by Mark Degree Members — W.Bro. Capt. Paul Bootherstone — New London First Principals Chapter of Royal Arch Masons On The Level Salisbury Electric Wheelchair — Burns Night — Motor Cyclists Lodge — Fight Against Meningitis — Help For Limbs — Canonbury Masonic Research Centre — Masonic Fire Screen ... International News Scottish Conference at Kirkcaldy — History of the Craft — New Portuguese Grand Master — First British Grand Lodge for Men and Women — Indian Masons Aid Victims of Earthquake — Ice-Challenger Expedition ... Vision With The Song As if you needed reminding, we have been subject to serial mishaps in the past twelve months. A supersonic airliner hits a piece of metal shed by another airliner and is destroyed. The weather-shift causes flooding with disastrous consequences. Our computers are invaded by more and deadlier viruses. As if BSE hasn’t been enough, we are hit by foot and mouth disease. More miscarriages of justice are uncovered. Railway lines begin to show cracks, leading to fatal disasters. And in one of the cruellest twists of coincidence, a vehicle accidentally leaves the motorway causing a collision with two trains. Technology is complex, and we only notice how complex it is when it fails ... The First Rosicrucians An innocent trip from Heilegenkreuz in the Tyrol to Innsbruck in the autumn of 1612 brought a shock to Adam Haslmayr, musician, theosopher, medical celebrity and notary public to the Archduke Maximilian. On the orders of the Jesuit inquisitor Guarinoni, Haslmayr was arrested and sentenced to slavery on the Mediterranean galleys. Why? In March Haslmayr had published his answer to the Fama Fraternitatis – the Fame of the Fraternity – an extraordinary ... Mystery Set in Stone On the edge of the village of Rushton, in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside stands a mysterious stone edifice. Three stories high and illuminated by three windows on each side of each story, the building forms a perfect equilateral triangle. Each face has three gables rising to three pinnacles constructed from three stone triangles, and the roof is crowned with a three-sided chimneystack: the whole building is based around ... The Rose Croix Of all the many orders and degrees outside the Craft and the Royal Arch, there is no doubt that for many the pinnacle of their Freemasonry is membership of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. The 18º is the one 'beyond' the Craft that they would be most reluctant to lose. It is very rare to hear any member speak lightly about the Rose Croix. They are right to value it so highly. The degrees beyond the Craft are many and varied. Whilst there are ways of classifying ... David Williamson, Assistant Grand Master Our new Assistant Grand Master, RW Bro. David Williamson, cares deeply about Freemasonry and one of his major tasks is to help plan its role in 21st century society: it cannot simply roll into the future without change. But that change must emerge from Freemasonry itself, for many of the challenges facing the Craft today derive from within: the lack of commitment, for example, demonstrated by many modern masons. It is important, he believes, for Freemasonry to be so revitalised in the future that it again plays a significant part in every mason’s life. But how might this sense ... Forbidden Technology Technology is forbidden when it is not allowed to exist. It is easy to forbid technology to exist in the past because all you have to do is to deny it. Enforcing the ban then becomes a simple matter of remaining deaf, dumb, and blind. And most of us have no trouble in doing that when necessary. I have discovered an avalanche of evidence proving the existence of a very remarkable ancient technology, one which is well and truly forbidden because ... The Journey of the Initiate Freemasonry is a journey of initiation and that remains the basic reason for its being. But what inspires anyone to seek initiation? The answer is put by the Sufi poet, Rumi: "Jars of spring-water are not enough anymore. Take us down to the river". And we must swim in this river. To be initiated, we need to be part of the process itself, for initiatory ritual needs our involvement. The ancients knew this path very well, Seneca wrote of: "…initiatory rites, by means of which are revealed, not the mysteries of a municipal temple, but of the world itself, the vast temple of all the gods ..." The Art of Regalia Opposite Freemason’s Hall in Great Queen street, London, are the shops of two masonic regalia manufacturers and retailers: Toye, Kenning & Spencer, run by the Toye family for over 300 years, and Central Regalia, a newcomer, having been founded by Freemasons Chris Beach and Clive Kingsley-Smith just five years ago. Both directors though know the business, having worked for twenty-five years or more with other regalia companies. They report that personal service is important in the regalia business because many customers need help with their requirements. Even those who have been in Freemasonry for many years often need advice when promoted to higher rank ... The Cornerstone Conference On Saturday, 13 May 2001, No.10 Temple at Freemasons' Hall, London, hosted the second conference of The Cornerstone Society. The Society was founded in 1999 for the benefit of all Master Masons with the encouragement of the then Assistant Grand Master, Lord Northampton. The Society aimed at encouraging an understanding of the meaning and purpose of Freemasonry. Following a highly successful first conference in May 2000, the theme of this year's event was "That Mysterious Veil". The conference was opened by Lord Northampton, the new Pro Grand Master ... Pursuing a Love of Research "Research is a delight," enthused Professor Andrew Prescott, Director of the Centre for Masonic Research at the University of Sheffield, " it was one of the attractions of taking the job; a major attraction. And," he added, "the Great Queen Street library is so beguiling that I could disappear into it for several years." Most academics had no idea that the largely untapped resources of the library of United Grand Lodge of England in Great Queen Street was available to them, let alone the treasures contained in provincial masonic libraries. Worse, they had little idea of the influence ... Brother Lightfoote's Journal St. Robert of Newminster, I read, was accused of "excessive familiarity with a pious woman." A perfect example of ecclesiastical hypocrisy if ever there was one: either he wasn’t that familiar or she wasn’t that pious but one simply cannot, as the actress said to the bishop, have it both ways. I regret the recent lacuna in the hitherto uninterrupted flow of this journal. It is due to my taking a tour of the north country from which I am newly returned. Scotland proved to be most stimulating, perhaps a little too stimulating, and I refer not only to the effect of the local produce ... Letters to the Editor Registration of Freemasons — Honours in Freemasonry — Freemasonry and the Armed Forces — The Essex Police — Gratitude to a cab driver — The excellent apprentices of Rosslyn and Rothenburg — James Sketchley — What defines a Freemason? — The Festive Board — Where have all our young initiates gone? Review: The Garden at Highgrove Review: From Poimandres to Jacob Böhme Review: The Crystal Sun Review: The Way of Hermes Masonic Newspapers, Periodicals, and Journals The earliest records we have of Masonic activities in the 18th Century, are to be found in newspaper reports of the day. Many of these were purely news items: the installation of the new Grand Master, Masonic persecutions in Russia and Portugal, George Washington laying the Corner stone for the Capitol building. Freemasonry itself made good use of the media, with official and private announcements and various advertisements. It served Grand Lodge’s purpose for the general public to be informed in the Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer, for instance, of the admission ... Who Was Joshua? “If Joshua was Zerubbabel’s High Priest, how could he also have fought the battles of the Lord?" This was a question I was asked recently. The answer, of course, is quite simple: there were two different Joshuas; well, actually there are at least half a dozen Joshuas in the Bible, but only two who are mentioned in our ritual: Joshua, the son of Nun, and Joshua, the son of Josedech, and they are separated by about a thousand years. Joshua, the son of Nun, is well documented. He was born in captivity in Egypt, witnessed the ten plagues, and shared in the hurried departure of the Exodus. Moses soon realised this young man’s potential and appointed Joshua captain of his army ...   Issue 17, Summer 2001 © FreemasonryToday 1997-2008