On Saturday, December 13, 2008 I had the honor and privilege of watching my younger son, Lucas, join DeMolay. We journied to Elizabethtown, PA for the degrees. I had not been there in over 20 years and boy has the place changed. Patton Campus hosts the Masonic Conference Center and is the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation. The Patton Campus sports a state of the art multimedia center and facilities that would be jealousy of any other youth organization in America.

The class was named in honor of the current Right Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Pennsylvania, “Dad” Stephen Gardner.

The day’s events brought back many wonderful memories as a young DeMolay in the 1980s. I was surprised that I could recall most of the ritual work from memory, including major parts from both the Initiatory and DeMolay Degrees.

Looks like I’m going to be the new ritual advisor for Tenleytown-Chevy Chase Chapter in the District of Columbia. I’m really looking forward to it because ritual was “my thing” in DeMolay. Hopefully, Lucas will enjoy DeMolay and learn the valuable lessons that helped shape me over the years.

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The Ninth Arch is now optimized for viewing on your mobile device. The best part is that there is nothing special you have to do. Just point your mobile cell phone browser to the URL of this site (http://www.nintharch.com) and the correct edition of The Ninth Arch will be delivered to you automatically.

So take The Ninth Arch with you wherever you go. Bookmark the site on your mobile browser today.

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On Saturday, November 1, 2008 guests from around the Washington, DC Metro area converged on the House of the Temple for the official launch of the Masonic Geocaching Society (MGS).

Geocaching is a new high-tech treasure-hunting sport gaining popularity across America and is now being introduced to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Participants hide containers, known as geocaches. Treasure Hunters then use GPS devices to locate geocaches, exchange gifts, and share their experiences online at www.geocaching.com.

Scottish Rite Valleys across America are participating in the sport by sponsoring caches on their property. You are encouraged to talk with your Scottish Rite leadership to see if your Valley is participating. If not, let them know about it and encourage them to contact Ill. Bro. Dean Alban, 33°, Director of Membership Services at the House of the Temple for more information on how to get started. Be sure to read my article which appeared in the most recent issue of the Scottish Rite Journal to get more familiar with how geocaching fits in with the lore of Freemasonry. You can also see a great photo of my daughter, Marina, right after she found her first cache.

Becoming involved in geocaching is a grea way for your Valley or Masonic Lodge to become involved with Masonic Youth organizations such as DeMolay, Rainbow, or Job’s Daughters. Speaking of youth, the logo which appears above was designed by my older son, Zachary Finnell. Zachary was honored as part of the festivites on November 1st. As you can see, geocaching is a great bridge to the younger generation.

The Masonic Geocaching Society has also commissioned a trackable geocoin that you can activate and place in caches. The coin can be tracked online at geocaching.com. Many of these coins travel the globe and I cannot think of a better way for people to get interested in Freemasonry than running across one of these items in a geocache somewhere.

So what are you waitng for? Join the Masonic Geocaching Society today. Join us on Facebook and through your Scottish Rite Valley.

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Please join me in commemorating the tragic event of the arrest of the Knights Templar by posting the Beauceant on your Facebook profile or website on October 13, 2008. DeMolay and the Templars were arrested by Philip the Fair of France on October 13, 1307 and were accused of false crimes for the sake of human greed and intolerance. Show your support for these heroic warriors by participating in the event.

Visit Facebook and search for Non Nobis Domine, the motto of the Knights Templar, for more information.

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Conspiracy theorists love to speculate about the hidden Masonic symbols within the streets of Washington, DC. There is much disagreement, even among Freemasons, as to the legitimacy of these speculations. I have lived in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for over seven years cumulatively, and have often wondered about the alleged symbolism within our nation’s capital city.

Right Worshipful Brother Akram Elias, Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia, produced a video dealing with this topic called, Unveiling the Masonic Symbolism of Washington, DC.

The video is shot from inside the House of the Temple where Right Worshipful Brother Elias narrates the presentation. You are then taken on a historical adventure encompassing the origins of Washington, DC, its monuments, and the hidden Masonic symbolism. Finally, Right Worshipful Brother Elias describes the often misrepresented symbolism on the dollar bill, including the hidden symbolism within the Great Seal of the United States.

Here’s what you’ll learn in the video:

• Why George Washington stipulated that the boundaries of the District of Columbia be in the shape of a square.
• Why the Statue of Freedom on top of the U.S. Capitol faces East, away from the Mall.
• Why Presidents travel East on Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol on Inauguration Day.
• Why the Washington Monument is 555 feet tall.
• The meaning of the square and compass formed by the U.S. Capitol, The White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.
• The hidden symbols on the dollar bill explained in an enlightening fashion.
• More…

The video is suitable for Lodge programs, educational settings, and for private viewing. It’s also an excellent video for non-Masons who wish to learn more about Freemasonry from a reliable source. Be sure to order a copy before you visit Washington, DC. Better yet, take one of Right Worshipful Brother Elias’ Masonic tours of Washington by clicking here.

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I don’t know about you, but have you ever had this experience? You know, you show up to a meeting at your office or other organization and the meeting is totally nonproductive. What should take 15 minutes ends up taking over an hour, or worse. Then it occurs to you that maybe the person running the meeting just doesn’t know what he or she is doing.

The above experience is the rule rather than the exception and the phenomenon is pervasive. No one seems to know how to run a meeting anymore. Is there anywhere a young man or adult can obtain this experience in a nonthreatening environment? Happily, yes!

DeMolays and Freemasons are great at running meetings. All of our organizational meetings are conducted according to Roberts Rules of Order. I can remember learning basic parliamentary procedure when I was 14 or 15 years old. By the time I was Master Councilor, I had a pretty good handle on how to make and second motions, prepare and deliver a committee report, run a meeting, and deal with secondary and subsidiary motions.

And the skills that I learned as a teenage DeMolay are still with me. I am often complimented at how fast my meetings go, but I really cannot take credit for it. It was through my Masonic youth organization skills that I learned how to do it right.

Parents today are often frustrated at the lack of verbal and communicative skills that their children have. DeMolay, Rainbow, and Job’s Daughters are a great way for your son or daughter to learn these essential skills that will propel them to success in life. It also gets them off the video games and computer chat so that they can interact with human beings on a more personal level.

Adults can also benefit from involvement in the Masonic fraternities. Meetings there are run according to Roberts Rules of Order and you will gain valuable public speaking experience at the same time, which is another dying art in itself.

How about it, does anyone “second the motion” out there? If you do, please comment on your DeMolay or Masonic experience.

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If you are a Scottish Rite Mason, you need to sign up and take the Master Craftsman program sponsored by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (SJ). This six-lesson correspondence course is designed to increase your knowledge about the ritual and lessons contained in the 4th through 32nd degrees of Scottish Rite. The whole course is only $35.

What is absolutely KILLER about the Master Craftsman program is Arturo de Hoyas’ book, The Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. The text is a comprehensive guidebook to the Revised Standard Pike Ritual, the official ritual of the Supreme Council. The book is included in the cost of the program. The only other text needed is A Bridge to Light.

The course comprehensively covers the Scottish Rite and begins with an introduction to the history and organization of the Scottish Rite from its origins in France to its eventual arrival in the United States. The program then moves on to cover the Scottish Rite ritual including the symbolism, moral lessons, and esoteric foundations of the High Degrees of Freemasonry. The last section is a review of Scottish Rite honors, including the KCCH and 33°.

Each lesson consists of about 20 multiple choice questions and a brief essay that requires the student to reflect upon the lessons learned from the reading. There are six lessons, each sent sequentially after the preceding lesson is graded. The turnaround time for grading of the questions is extremely fast from the House of the Temple. Support is available through your Valley and through the Supreme Council should you have questions as you work through each lesson

I am delighted to say that I recently completed the program and found that it significantly enhanced my experience of the Scottish Rite and of Freemasonry in general. By the conclusion of the course, one can see how the Blue Lodge degrees are completed and then expanded upon in Rose Croix, Council of Kadosh, and Consistory.

If Freemasonry is going to continue to have an impact in the United States, then we need to make sure that we understand the organizations to which we belong. The Scottish Rite Master Craftsman program is an excellent tool to start one on the journey to further Light.

Order your program today. You will not be disappointed.

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Brother Stephan Dafoe is set to release his new book on September 4, 2008, The Compasses and the Cross, which details the history of the Masonic Knights Templar. The book explores the legends surrounding the origins of Freemasonry. Did the Knights Templar give rise to Freemasonry or did the Freemasons create the Masonic Knights Templar in honor of the ancient knights?

You can pre-order the book on Amazon.com. Please visit Stephen Dafoe’s book site for more information.

Enjoy the video preview.

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How do Freemasons measure time? What do all those abbreviations mean before those strange looking years that do not match our popular calendar? This post will introduce you to the Masonic measurement of time. When you are finished reading this, you will be able to decipher the hidden meaning in Masonic calendars.

Symbolic Lodge: First, let’s deal with the Symbolic Lodge (Blue Lodge) which covers the first three degrees of Freemasonry and is the foundation upon which everything else is built. On your lodge notice or Trestleboard you will see the current year listed as A.L. 6008. What does the A.L. stand for?

A.L. is a latin abbreviation for Anno Lucis, meaning “in the year of light.” This system of calendar time measures the current year from the creation of the world from the dating used by Archbishop Usher, minus four years. Just add 4000 to the current calendar year to arrive at the correct A.L. year (e.g. 2008+4000=A.L. 6008).¹

Royal Arch Masons: Royal Arch Masons begin their time measurement from the year Zerubbabel began building the Second Temple (530 BC), calling it Anno Inventionis (A.I.), meaning “in the year of the discovery.” Add 530 to the current calendar year to get the A.I. year (e.g. 2008+530=A.I. 2538).²

Royal and Select Masters: This calendar year is calculated from the completion of King Solomon’s Temple and is called Anno Depositionis (A.Dep.), meaning “in the year of the deposit.” Add 1000 years to the current calendar year to get the A. Dep. year (e.g. 2008+1000=A. Dep.3008).³

Knights Templar: The Masonic Knights Templar begin counting time from the creation of their Order in 1118 AD, calling it Anno Ordinis (A.O.) meaning, “in the year of the Order.” Subtract 1118 from the current calendar year to arrive at the A.O. year (e.g. 2008-1118=A.O. 890).⁴

Scottish Rite: The Scottish Rite calendar follows the Hebrew calendar and is known as Anno Mundi, meaning “in the year of the world.” The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and has two annual starting points. The ecclesiastical year beings in the month Nisan (new moon following vernal equinox) while the civil year begins in the month Tishri (new moon after autumnal equinox). To find the Jewish year, just add 3760 to the common calendar in the month of September (e.g. 2008+3760=A.M. 5768). So, Setpember 1, 2008 through August 31, 2009 is A.M. 5768.^5 6

1. de Hoyos. Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. The Supreme Council 33°, Southern Jurisdiction. 2007-2008, p. 895 [↩]
2. Ibid [↩]
3. Ibid [↩]
4. Ibid [↩]
5. ibid, p. 891 [↩]
6. http://www.kinglodge.org/masoniccalendar.htm [↩]

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