The Secret of the Masonic Handshake. "Okay, I think we'll get the show started now," says Keene Taylor Jr., a local real estate agent and past master of the lodge, who is presiding over the ceremony. Murder!". The life that one is. "Well," he says, "they made it known that they would be happy if I joined.". Best of all were the delightfully gory penalties that initiates called down upon themselves if they should ever reveal these secret ceremonies. Start Your Journey. I decided to check out Freemasonry while it was still around. Because there is no known origin of secret handshakes, it is generally considered they have existed for as long as any other type of greeting. The secret to the Masonic handshake is not in how it is given, but what it represents. For this ceremony, he's wearing white tie and tails, plus a blue Masonic apron. Like the Kramer character, I barge into things to see what they're like.". "If you showed me a secret handshake, would Masons really rip out your heart and feed it to the vultures? There is history and ritual and tradition in everything we do in a ceremony. Supposedly, there are even phrases a Freemason can utter when facing grave "People wear funny hats all the time, whether they have a hat on or not," he says, looking very serious. He says he's been reading Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike, the 19th-century Masonic philosopher and former Sovereign Grand Commander who is buried in the House of the Temple. WebYou can also sign in with your email address. Thousands of Masons donned the Shrine's red fez and gathered to drink, parade, drink some more and kiss any females who wandered within range. Which is precisely the problem for American Freemasonry today. It is, I suppose, an impressive display of Masonic internationalism, but it is also deadly dull. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Morris is 51, a balding, gray-haired man in a gray suit. WebYou can also sign in with your email address. You can almost see the gears churning inside his bald head. It's built on a mountain of stone steps, and more steps rise in a ziggurat on the rooftop. But nearly half of American Masons opt to obtain higher degrees. Here are seven things you may not know about Freemasons. The tradition of fun and fellowship thrives today; as interests have changed through the years, Shriners' approach to fun has evolved as new members bring in fresh perspectives and creative ideas. ", "It's the proclamation of self," he says. ", The computer whirred and chugged and revealed what it found: "35,500 matches. The Shrine's initiation ceremony was a bawdy burlesque of Masonry's solemn ritual. WebFreemasons often say that they "are not a secret society, but rather a society with secrets". Forgot Account? The Sovereign Grand Commander marches into the Charleston Convention Center on a carpet of royal purple, accompanied by the Grand Sword Bearer, who is bearing a grand sword, and by the Grand Standard Bearer, who is bearing the flag of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It was, of course, not ancient nor Arabic nor mystic. They also liked to carry rolls of toilet paper down city streets, yelling like newsboys: "Evening paper!". (3) The geezers who wear funny hats and drive goofy go-carts in Memorial Day parades are Masons. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. He's also a Masonic historian and the Scottish Rite's director of membership development. . President George Washington himself donned a Masonic apron and presided over the dedication of the United States Capitol. Supposedly, there are even phrases a Freemason can utter when facing grave Define Your Path. Toossi asked him a question that Masons hear all the time: Is that pyramid with the eye on top that decorates the dollar some kind of Masonic symbol? He is a Perfect Elu, a Grand Pontiff, a Knight of the Brazen Serpent and a Master of the Royal Secret. The rite has lost a third of its membership since 1979. I went back to the search engine and typed in "Masonic secrets." Fletcher is one of them. Whoops, thought you were your brother, hed say, retreating to the normal, boring, not-your-older-brothers handshake. Mike Kelly, Ziyara ShrinerS (2021 Potentate) . A moment later, he comes up with a suggestion of his own -- Masonic piercing. Past the huge stone sphinxes, past the squatting marble Egyptians, past the two-headed eagles whose chests hold a triangle emblazoned with the mystical Masonic number 33. In this august company is a painting of Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, the president of George Washington University. Experience the Brotherhood. Plus a collection of his Shriner's fezzes. A few minutes later, a man walked up to me and introduced himself as Richards's Masonic "mentor." The Scottish Rite is the group with the otherworldly headquarters on 16th Street. Outraged, the public demanded justice. Shriners are a fraternity of men committed to making an even greater difference in the world through brotherhood, family, fun and philanthropy. There are several different handshakes depending on the level of the mason. The problem with ritual is that it's the same damn thing done over and over again. .". The Chief Executive of the Freemasons has admitted that there is a secret handshake, but anyone caught doing it outside the society would face disciplinary action. Masonry became very sober, very serious, very pious, very prim and proper.". The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He looked at me and said, You probably shouldnt have seenthat.. He joined, became a Master Mason, then went through the 29 degrees of the Scottish Rite. Secret handshakes involve a precise, sometimes complex series of movements and contact between two individuals or even a group. . In a nation of 19 million adult males, fraternal groups that year claimed nearly 6 million members. "When I became president 14 years ago," he says. That's in the book. It regained its membership within a couple decades, but it had lost the status it held in the days when Washington anointed the cornerstone of the Capitol. Printed references to Freemasonry date back to 1390, but it wasn't until 1717, when four London lodges united, that modern Freemasonry was born. The Loyal Order of Buffaloes. The Shrine was a parody of Masonry complete with its own passwords, ceremonial hats and an array of pompous titles. Being a Shriner has 100% made me a better man. WebA secret Masonic hand clasp, handshake or handgrip is used between two Freemasons in order to recognize that they are Brothers of the same Order. Our Connection with Freemasonry. WebA secret Masonic hand clasp, handshake or handgrip is used between two Freemasons in order to recognize that they are Brothers of the same Order. And how did the pyramid and the eyeball fit into the plot? Makes sense. It's a famously dense book and he admits that he found it tough going. Learn more. So he agreed to join. "I've worked my [butt] off to try and save this organization," he says. Two hundred years ago, it was a powerful movement that included many of our Founding Fathers. He is a 33rd-degree Mason, and there is no 34th degree. The place is as hushed as a cathedral, as silent as a sarcophagus. The Masonic Handshake is an important symbol used to represent members of the society of Freemasons. Inside, the lodge looks like hundreds of others across the world: a solitary room on the second floor of a building, with a stage at one end. Also Ty Cobb, Buzz Aldrin and John Wayne. The ceremonies and the secrets that thrilled us in the golden age of fraternity now seem silly, corny, absurd. Fezzes, Sphinxes and Secret Handshakes By Peter Carlson November 25, 2001 Down we go, deeper into the weird wonderland. They stop on the purple carpet, pivot to their left, march a few more steps, stop again, pivot to their right, and march to the spot where the Spanish Sovereign Grand Commander can shake hands with the American Sovereign Grand Commander. How did you like the initiation ceremony and those gruesome oaths? That's as far as most Masons go. Richards became a Mason a few years ago, about the time "Seinfeld" shut down. American men loved the ceremonies, the secrecy, the costumes, the grandiose titles. For over 40 years, the Shrine was devoted solely to bacchanalian revelry. The Improved Order of Red Men. After the Revolution, Freemasons became the quasi-official ceremonial arm of the new American government, providing colorful rituals for the laying of cornerstones for public buildings. ". He told his visitors that he was too busy with his presidential duties to attend any meetings. He heard that it was banned by the shah. "They need to be where the action is," he says, "and it's not in a closed hall doing -- I hate to call it mumbo-jumbo but it is mumbo-jumbo. The compass teaches us to limit our desires in every station . But Freemasonry was also a fraternity and Masons were renowned for their post-meeting forays into taverns, where they offered numerous elaborate toasts, each washed down with a generous belt of hooch. Two: You agree to conform to the laws of the country in which you reside. Web870 views, 35 likes, 9 loves, 6 comments, 7 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from El Riad Shrine: Have you seen the new, not-so-secret, Shriners secret handshake? Then Morgan was arrested on charges of failing to pay a $2 debt. They designed special "firing glasses" with extra-thick bottoms so they could smash them down on the table after each toast in an attempt to approximate the sound of gunfire. But in 1920, American puritanism reasserted itself and the Nobles voted to begin funding hospitals for crippled children. While not all Masons are Shriners, all Shriners are Masons. Richards is the actor who played Kramer, the bug-eyed nut job neighbor on "Seinfeld." Tonight, he's serving as "tiler" -- the Mason who stands outside the meeting keeping non-Masons away -- and he's not happy about it. Secret handshakes mean different things to different people and groups, but all are comprised of signature, sometimes complex movements. And then there's television, the entertainment box that keeps Americans cocooned at home instead of out at community meetings. They're acted out by people in costumes and makeup.". It is dying out. Masonry, said former president John Quincy Adams, "winds itself around every object of its aversion like a boa constrictor around its victim.". Initiates were stripped and blindfolded, they crawled around while Shriners barked like dogs and pretended to pee on them by squirting them with warm water. Usually a secret handshake has underlying meanings that differ from person to person. No luck. They explained all this to Trachtenberg and then, he says, "they invited me to join.". Hall went on to found an African lodge, which later evolved into a parallel Black Masonic organization called the Prince Hall Masons, which still exists today. Mozart was a Mason and he put Masonic imagery in his opera "The Magic Flute. My mind fails to produce a follow-up question. "It's a rare glimpse at the inner chamber," Toossi says. Legend has it that Florence was inspired while attending an Arabian-themed party in Marseilles, France, during a time when the mystique of the near East was fashionable worldwide. There's a lot of laughter going on in there. He says he has low blood sugar. He finishes and hands Toossi the master's gavel and the charter of the lodge. 11 Secret Handshakes You and Your Bestie ShouldLearn, [A secret handshake is] when your partner will not give it up so you wait for them to fall asleep and then use their hand to crankoff., the cooler cousin of the secret handshake, In the NBAs ongoing ongoing effort to promote active parenting, The NBA Guide to Creating the Perfect Handshake, writes Beachboy6294 in the Elitefitness.com forums, Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, Real Italians Put Hot Dogs and French Fries on Their Pizza, The Other Drug War: Inside the World of Counterfeit Viagra, The $65 Million Art Heist That Put Oceans Eleven to Shame. He opens a little round peephole in the lodge door and peeks inside. He spends most of his time on his job as director of membership development for the Scottish Rite. Freemasons raise huge sums for charities -- almost $2 million a day, he says -- but charity is not their main purpose. Secret Handshakes from History. Curious, I frisked my brain for everything it contained about Freemasonry. I asked him for an interview and he agreed. Images used in the fraternitys regalia include camels, pyramids, the Sphinx and other ancient Egyptian and Arabian iconography. As he drones on, the master of ceremonies yawns. Or, to put it more kindly, myths. In an age of religious hatreds, Freemasonry was among the world's first nondenominational organizations. The sites included endless lists of famous Freemasons: George Washington, FDR, Gerald Ford and Warren G. Harding. WebFreemasons often say that they "are not a secret society, but rather a society with secrets". (Please use your .edu address, if applicable.) 10) For their part, the Freemasons deny the practice. There, Taylor reads a long list of promises the Worshipful Master must make. The music stops. WebFind a Local Chapter. The room is dark but when Morris steps into it, lights automatically pop on, revealing walls covered with the folk singer's pictures, and an Ives song begins to play. Yikes! Founded in 1872, the organization now known as Shriners International was established as a Masonic fraternity that showcased fun and fellowship for its members. 6) Generally speaking, Freemasons abound in American politics. My long, strange trip through the world of Freemasonry began, like so many odd adventures, with simple curiosity. ", "I've read some gruesome Masonic oaths," I say. 2) Even the OG handshake, which began in Greece during the 5th century B.C, had a hidden message: Neither of us is carrying aweapon. "When he passed away, his family gave his personal collection to us.". With both spouses working, men spend more time in child rearing and housework. I am speechless. He's a mathematician who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the science of card shuffling. The Knights of Pythias. Helping the fraternity grow has given me such purpose, and seeing the work that our hospitals do will absolutely inspire you and make you want to do your part to make the world a better place.. Immigrants used them to assimilate. For Americans, Harwood wrote, ritual exerted a "strange and powerful attraction. I saw something there that I liked.". Then you know their not lying. (All kinds of sic necessary. But the main appeal, Harwood concluded, was ritual. Shriners International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. 8) Hundreds of Masonic conspiracy theories have circulated since the 18th century. The place was shut tight. Of course, he couldn't reveal it anyway or they'd feed his heart to the vultures. ", He glances at my tape recorder. To wit, 13 signers of the Constitution and 14 presidents (Washington, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson, Garfield, McKinley, both Roosevelts, Taft, Harding, Truman and Ford) were allegedly Freemasons. And some of the new rituals were very bizarre. "How about Dude and Major Dude and Heavy Dude?". For Lubnan Shriners, U.D., based in Lebanon, that story starts halfway around the world, in California and New York. Secret handshakes mean different things to different people and groups, but all are comprised of signature, sometimes complex movements. (2) It's a secret society that conspiracy theorists believe is plotting world domination. They have a secret handshake. To this day, nobody is quite sure which corner of the White House it anchors. I thought Masons didn't recruit and never invited anyone to join. When you become a Shriner, you join a network of nearly 200,000 brothers around the globe who are dedicated to helping and supporting each other personally and professionally. The secret to the Masonic handshake is not in how it is given, but what it represents.
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