Dust off those gloves and get ready to knock one out of the park for your team: The 2018 Masons4Mitts season is now underway!
California Masons are once again stepping up to the plate in support of local kids. Every $20 gift puts a high-quality leather baseball mitt – embossed with the Masons of California logo – into the hands of a child in need.
Welcoming Angels Baseball
The California Masonic Foundation is excited to welcome our newest Masons4Mitts partner team: Angels Baseball. Through a special partnership with the Angels Baseball Foundation, children in the greater Anaheim region can now count on California Masons for a chance to play ball and lead healthier lives.
Mark Your Calendar for Masons Nights!
As in previous years, the team from each region that raises the greatest number of mitts will present their check publicly, along with Grand Master Galloway, at Masons Night in each stadium! All Masons are encouraged to attend these fun-filled evenings of baseball and fellowship to show our support of local communities and kids. There’s never been a more fun opportunity to see yourself and your brothers on the Jumbotron!
Anaheim – New!
August 28, 2018 at 7:07 p.m.
Angels Baseball vs. Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles
September 17, 2018 at 7:10 p.m.
Los Angels Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies
San Diego
September 18, 2018 at 7:10 p.m.
San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants
San Francisco
September 25 at 7:15 p.m.
San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres
Share the fun! Spread the word about Masons4Mitts to your brothers, family, friends and community: masons4mitts.org.
California Freemason is launching a new hashtag campaign – #MasonicDad – to correspond with our July/August issue, which will focus on the theme of “Freemasonry and Fatherhood.”
To participate, show us what Masonic fatherhood means to you! Share a photo of yourself with:
Your father, stepfather, or another childhood role model (Masonic or non) who helped shape you as the Mason you are today
A Mason who has been a role model for you
Someone for whom you feel fraternal affection (your own child, a child or Masonic youth you’ve mentored, or a Mason you’ve mentored)
These photos can be casual or formal, from any stage of life. Please share something that makes you smile! Be sure to include a caption explaining who is pictured.
Once you’ve chosen a photo, please share it with us in one of three ways:
Option 1: Post on Instagram
Post your picture on your public Instagram, tag @masonsofca and use the hashtag #masonicdad
Option 2: Post on Facebook
Post a public picture on Facebook, tag Masons of California, and include the hashtag #masonicdad
Option 3: Email us
Email your photo to communications@freemason.org along with your name, lodge name, and caption.
Thank you for helping us share the stories of California Masonry!
The California Masonic Symposium has been a tradition of our Grand Lodge since 2001, when more than 100 members and ladies attended the inaugural conference – making it one of the largest Masonic education events in recent history. After just one year, attendance rose by 50 percent, and by 2009, registration had grown to 350 participants. The Symposium’s location rotated between Northern and Southern California until 2012, when it was held for the first time in both San Francisco and Pasadena.
Today, the California Masonic Symposium enjoys a prestigious reputation amongst scholars of Freemasonry worldwide. Each year, it presents a topic of historical and philosophical relevance to California Masons.
California’s Masonic Pioneers
The 2018 Symposium – taking place June 9 in San Francisco and June 10 in Long Beach – will explore the fraternity’s whirlwind arrival in California, and the daring brothers who led the way.
Esteemed scholars of California Masonry will explore this fascinating period in our state’s history.
Past Grand Master John L. Cooper III, Ph.D.
Past Grand Master R. Stephen Doan, J.D.
Adam Kendall, past president of the Masonic Library and Museum Association
Brian Bezner, M.A., Masonic Education Committee chairman
Registration is just $20 for this all-day event. For an additional $15, add a catered lunch.
Share this story with your lodge! All freemason.org articles may be repurposed by any Masonic publication with credit to the Grand Lodge of California and the author. Print this article and post it at lodge; include it in your Trestleboard or website; email it to members; or use the buttons at the top of this page to share it on Facebook or Twitter.
The term “sacred geometry” can be somewhat intimidating: How might geometry be sacred, one might wonder. And, how does Masonry fit in?
The core concept of sacred geometry is that geometric order (shapes, curves, and constructs) precedes all physical existence – that geometry was invented by the Great Architect of the Universe as a structure through which to order all of creation. Under this tradition, its symbols take on metaphysical and symbolic meanings. “Geometry, or Masonry, originally synonymous terms, is of a divine and moral nature,” wrote William Preston, a seminal figure in 18th century British Freemasonry. “The contemplation of this science in a moral and comprehensive view, fills the mind with rapture…[and] proves the existence of a first cause.”
For some, all of geometry is sacred. At the other extreme, sacred geometry may be regarded as a system of fixed symbols and their relationships. As a coherent system, the origins of sacred geometry in Western civilization can be traced to the sixth century BCE philosophical school of Pythagoras. The historical Pythagoras is essentially a cipher, as there are no contemporary accounts of his philosophy. His extensive legend, however, along with the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and his other followers, was transmitted through the centuries and had a direct influence on the development of speculative Freemasonry.
“By Geometry we may curiously trace nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses. By it we discover the power, wisdom and goodness of the Great Artificer of the Universe …”
Like Freemasonry, sacred geometry appeals to both the rational and creative mind. While geometric proof is relentlessly logical, the truths it conveys and patterns it reveals within the natural world urge its scholars to contemplate their place in God’s cosmos.
Many sacred geometric applications and symbols are familiar to Masons. First is the circumpoint, the point within a circle: In Masonry, the point represents an individual, and the circle, the limits of his behavior. In sacred geometry, this symbol is called the monad, which represented divinity and the unity of the universe to Pythagoras.
The standalone circle, being without end, symbolizes divinity and heaven. It is created using a compass and defined by three points. These points can be interpreted as the three principal tenets of Freemasonry – brotherly love, relief, and truth (the last of which is often described as “a divine attribute”). As a divine symbol, these points can also be interpreted to correspond with St. Paul’s theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. These virtues are said to originate in God, and they are evoked in the celestial first-degree description of the covering of a lodge as heaven itself.
The circle’s complement is the square. Bound by four finite sides, it represents the limits of the physical world and our mortal existence. In Masonry, the square represents the perfect ashlar – a perfectly shaped square block without faults that is strong and steadfast, capable of supporting the blocks around it. Masons work to emulate this square; to be men of good character who are honest and reliable members of our communities. The square is reflected in the shape of the lodge room. The room’s sides correspond to the four cardinal points of the compass, and thus to a map of the Earth. It contains the four cardinal virtues adapted from Plato’s “Republic” which originate in man – temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice.
A slightly more complex symbol is the Pythagorean tetractys, an equilateral triangle formed by 10 dots, which has a prominent role in the Scottish Rite:
This has many symbolic meanings, but an important one is perfection, or completeness, derived from the symbolic significance of the number 10.
The 3: 4: 5 right triangle, which displays the 47th Problem of Euclid as explained in the third degree, “teaches Masons to be general lovers of the arts and sciences.” Operative masons used a length of rope divided into 12 equal segments (three plus four plus five) to make this triangle. It provided them with a swift and accurate method of creating a right angle, to be used as a template for the Mason’s square.
Sacred geometric symbolism, which can be very complex, is only touched on lightly in the three degrees. Its most prominent place is in the second degree, where the candidate is urged to study the liberal arts and sciences, “especially of the noble science of Geometry.” As with all profound Masonic lessons, the instruction conveyed in the ritual is the beginning of wisdom to be discovered on this subject, not its culmination: There are profound depths ready to be plumbed.
The study of sacred geometry is a means by which “to view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of the Creation,” and to inspire a Mason “with the most exalted ideas of the perfections of his Divine Creator.” Although one understanding of sacred geometry is that its forms are divine manifestations in the natural world, one must take time to scrutinize the natural world in order to deduce them and marvel at their presence.
Preston wrote with lyrical awe on the beautiful geometry in nature, from the most elegant seashell and flower to the vastness of space. As he professed, in words forever enshrined in Masonry,
“By Geometry we may curiously trace nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses. By it we discover the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Great Artificer of the Universe… A survey of nature, and the observation of her beautiful proportions, first determined man to imitate the Divine plan, and to study symmetry and order.”
This is the true objective of sacred geometry and its symbols: Finding further light within Masonry.
Masonic Sacred Geometry: Hidden Mysteries in the Ordinary World
In Masonic philosophy, sacred geometry reveals ephemeral spiritual realities and personal truths through tangible architectural forms. From its roots in classical philosophy to contemporary applications, sacred geometry’s contemplation oftentimes leads to revelation.
Tell us what you think! Share your options on this issue, and let us know what types of content you like best, by completing our five-minute magazine survey!
Executive Message
Deputy Grand Master Stuart A. Wright shares how geometry and the working tools of architecture provide a lens through which to view our lives.
Of a Divine and Moral Nature Sacred geometry imbues the human experience with evidence of the divine. Geometric symbolism reveals its mysteries.
An Analytical Mind
A lifelong passion for knowledge, learning, and exploring the unknown has inspired one brother to give back.
Soul of the Temple
Sacred geometry has been an important element of sacred architecture for centuries. Explore awe-inspiring examples from around the world.
Solomon’s Sacred Geometry
Solomon’s Temple is a premier example of Masonic iconography. Researchers have long theorized that sacred geometry may have been referenced by its layout and design.
The Freemason’s Gambit
Two longtime Masons have found that a lifelong passion for chess provides an enduring sense of challenge, accomplishment, and thrill.
Envisioning Harmony
Twinned interests in Masonic sacred geometry and architecture have brought great meaning and a deep sense of connection to one brother’s life and Masonic experience.
