Scottish Rite Freemasonry

09/18/2025

"I clutched the document box more tightly, knowing full-well that my usual nature as a bull in a China shop was incongruous with having a box of such importance in my hands. In this box was a 209-year-old lodge minutes book that could very well contain the answers to several key questions about the early history of the Supreme Council." —M. Edwards

Learn more about this book and the birthplace of the Scottish Rite—Charleston, South Carolina—in "Illuminating Our History—The La Candeur Lodge Minutes Book. Pt. 1: Finding the Eleven Gentlemen of Charleston" in the September/October 2025 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Digital Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=850793&p=24&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-la-candeur-lodge-minutes-book-pt-1-finding-the-eleven-gentlemen-of-charleston--67768369

Photo: Detail of a page from the La Candeur Lodge Minutes Book featuring various signatures

08/27/2025

"American visitors to the country town of Guildford—not least of all Masons—likely will want to spend some time at this most modern of English cathedrals." — J.R. Corbett

Learn more in "Eternal Dwelling Space: A Modern Example of Cathedral Building Tradition in Guildford" in the January/February 2024 Scottish Rite Journal

In the Digital Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=810065&p=16&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/eternal-dwelling-space-a-modern-example-of-cathedral-building-tradition-in-guildford--67508040

Photography: (Left) Guildford Cathedral, Surrey, England; (Right) The Freemasons of Surrey donated this screen for the entrance to the sanctuary.

08/25/2025

Scottish Rite Grand Commander James D. Cole gives his closing remarks during the 2025 Biennial Session!

Scottish Rite Grand Commander James D. Cole, 33°, give his final remarks during the 2025 Biennial Session.Make sure to like and subscribe to the channel! Fr...

08/20/2025

The transition from Rough to Perfect Ashlar requires introspection, effort, and the application of moral tools, as we learn in Morals and Dogma.

Check out "Applying the Teachings of the First Degree Lecture from Morals and Dogma to Personal Growth" in the July/August 2025 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Digital Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=23&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/applying-the-teachings-of-the-first-degree-lecture-from-morals-and-dogma-to-personal-growth--67357526

Illustration: One stonemason stands with a rough ashlar while a second kneels beside a perfect ashlar. Source: Robert Macoy, The Book of the Lodge (New York: 1855). Detail

08/17/2025

Join us tomorrow, Monday August, 18 2025 beginning at 8am Eastern time.

LIVE from The Washington Hilton! The Scottish Rite Biennial Session is the official gathering of the Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, held every ...

08/07/2025

"The hissing lasted for several seconds, and my un-indicted co-conspirators stared with raised eyebrows. I could almost hear them thinking: ‘No way this thing works.’ As the hissing continued, I was about to agree with their unspoken doubt. But then there was a short crackle in the speakers, quickly followed by a clear, baritone voice ..." —M. Edwards

Find out what happened next in "The 'Basement' Tapes: Exploring and Preserving the House of the Temple Lost Media Archive" in the July/August 2025 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Online Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=14&view=issueViewer

On the SRJ Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-basement-tapes-exploring-and-preserving-the-house-of-the-temple-lost-media-archive--67251482

Image: A vintage 8mm Ansco Memo 80 Film Strip Projector behind reel-to-reel tapes from the Temple archives

07/31/2025

“Br. Gettings, the author of an engaging “Friends of the Library” article from a quarter century ago, argues that [the] beast fable [of Reynard the Fox], while a witty children’s story on the surface, has deeper, more refined meanings for those interested in the esoteric to contemplate.” — M. Dreisonstok

Learn more about this tale in “Finding That Which Was Lost: ‘Reynard The Fox’ at The House of the Temple Library” from the July/August 2025 Scottish Rite Journal

In the Online Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=26&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://sms.scottishrite.org/reynard-the-fox

Illustration: Renart [sic] the fox, drawn by Ernest Henri Griset, from a children’s book published in 1869

07/23/2025

"The Masonic oath does not bind the soul to tyranny. Rather, it pledges the initiate to a principle of ordered liberty, a civic virtue illuminated not by the will of kings but by the light of reason, fraternity, and moral discernment." —C. Lincoln IV, A. Antonescu, & A. Uhlman

Learn more about "The Paradox of Loyalty and Rebellion," in the July/August 2025 Scottish Rite Journal.

Via the Digital Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=5&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-paradox-of-loyalty-and-rebellion--67056740

Illustration: Top portion of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

07/16/2025

"Joseph Fort Newton’s observations are a poignant appreciation of the wisdom accumulated with age, the ability afforded by age to appreciate life differently in light of the nuances time casts upon it." —A. Hammer

Learn more in "The Patriarchs: Joseph Fort Newton and the Contemplation of Wisdom in a 'New Age'" in the September/October 2023 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Online Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=801044&p=24&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-patriarchs-joseph-fort-newton-and-the-contemplation-of-wisdom-in-a-new-age--66978783

Illustration: Historic glass slide depicting the hour-glass, a Masonic emblem of human life. Source: Patmos-Solomon’s Lodge No. 70, Savage, Maryland

07/09/2025

"The True and Upright Mason must work towards self-improvement, but he also must look to the 24-inch gauge and learn the patience to rest after a day’s labor." —J. Reiswig

Learn more in “Lessons from the 19th Degree: Work, Wait, and Be Patient: Leave the Rest to History and Fate” in the July/August 2025 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Digital Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=12&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://sms.scottishrite.org/lessons-from-the-19th-degree

Illustration: Stylized image of King Solomon’s Temple. The author applies the notion of the slow and steady building of King Solomon’s Temple to the contemporary relevance of patience as an active process within the individual. Source: Heilige Schrift. Historic Bible of Arminius Lodge, Washington, D.C.: Edward W. Koch, 1882 (color added)

07/08/2025

"Freemason Stonemasons and Their Role in the Construction of the U.S. Capitol" is now playing on the Scottish Rite Journal Podcast:

🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/freemason-stonemasons-and-their-role-in-the-construction-of-the-u-s-capitol--66796563

Prefer to read the article?
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=847897&p=10&view=issueViewer

Image: Photograph of the U.S. Capitol by J. Mongardini

07/08/2025

A good friend of the Scottish Rite Always! Can't wait to learn the Secret of Secrets on September 9th!!