Arcana Trestleboard September 1998

Arcana Lodge #187
Ancient Free & Accepted Masons

Worshipful Master
Douglas Roswold

Arcana Masonic Hall
920 Lowry Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418

Index of this issue:

I trust that everyone enjoyed his or her summer. It's a busy time of year and was especially so for our Junior Deacon, brother Matt Feiock and his family who we congratulate on the birth of their new son. Another member has also been very busy, and will be getting even busier as election day approaches. Brother Stan Leino who was just raised in Arcana Lodge on June 20th, is running for the United States Congress House of Representatives for Minnesota’s 3rd District. Brother Stan and his campaign manager brother Brian Falldin who was also raised on the 20th have both attended every lodge meeting and were both present, along with about 18 other people, at the All Temple Picnic held at DeMolay Camp on Lake Minnetonka. The weather cleared up by the time the picnic started and all the Jobs Daughters, Eastern Star, Masons and their families enjoyed a wonderful afternoon, and we all look forward to doing it again next year.

Looking forward to fall we have scheduled another set of degrees. Since we do not yet have any candidates I have rescheduled the Entered Apprentice Degree for Monday, October 5th. Rescheduling our degree dates is better than canceling them altogether. Please consider the future of our Lodge and turn-in the petition of a friend, family member or co-worker soon. Remember, we require at least two stated meetings to read a petition, investigate and ballot on the candidate before he can receive the first degree (this also holds true for candidates who wish to pursue the One-Day-to-Masonry). Therefore, for a candidate to be eligible for this set of degrees his petition must be read by the first meeting in September on Monday the 14th .

We have also scheduled October 26th as our Awards night to honor our 25 and 50-year members. This year the awards night is going to be extra special as it will also be Past Masters night. We are asking the Past Masters of the Arcana Lodge to join the officers and sit in their chairs for opening and closing of the Lodge. There will be a dinner before the meeting, and since a large group is expected we are asking the members to make reservations for dinner early (the sign-up sheet is on 2nd floor.)

A Booya Dinner is another Arcana Lodge tradition that is being rekindled on Saturday, December 5th. Further details on this event will be available as the date approaches.

Until next time, may the blessing of Heaven rest upon us and all regular Masons. May brotherly love prevail and every moral and social virtue cement us.

Further Masonic Light - The Moon in Masonic History

There is no more spectacular reminder of our Masonic historical and ritualistic heritage than the moon at its height of fullness. While astronomers view the moon with the analytical eye of science, the moon has been a focal point for cultures around the world throughout history and has inspired music, poetry and religion alike. However, for Masons, and particularly Vermont Masons, the moon has not just been a symbolic light in our ritualistic teaching but also a literal light to our brethren of long ago. It thus behooves us to take a moment to remember the moon and its long association with the Craft and its origins. Our direct Masonic tradition regarding the moon begins with the ancient Hebrews. In Genesis 1:14-19, we are told that on the fourth day of creation, "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night." Despite the specific prohibitions against lunar worship in Deuteronomy and the Book of Kings, the moon was still regarded as a strong symbol of permanence and regularity associated with its usage to measure the passage of time. In fact, the monthly offerings to the moon found in Numbers 28: 11-15 are still read in some Jewish synagogues.

It is from the medieval European science of Alchemy that the first uses of the moon in the graphic and ritualistic manner that Masons are accustomed to derive their meaning. The Alchemists were a group of mystics who first appeared in the 12th century and were the forerunners of our modern chemists. They believed that with the proper mixture of chemicals and methods base metals such as iron and lead could be turned into gold and silver. Beyond this however, the Alchemists were true philosophers who used symbols and drawings extensively in their teachings and who insisted on strict secrecy from their initiates. Much of the graphic symbolism used in Masonry, such as images of the plumb, square, level, rough ashlar and perfect ashlar, was taken from Alchemical texts.

To the Alchemists, the moon was a symbol of the metal silver and was used to depict that substance in the obscure writings which transmitted their secret formulae. One of the most prevalent images used by the Alchemists was the stylized drawing of the sun and the moon with human faces. These images are now associated with the Masonic tracing boards of England and monitors of such American Masonic ritualists as Jeremy Cross, who lectured in the lodges of Vermont in 1815.

It is in the Craft Ritual and the structure of the Masonic lodge itself that we must bring together all of the foregoing elements to give a true picture of the use of the moon in Masonry. In modern American ritual the primary reference to the moon is as the second of the "Lesser lights," of Masonry. This modem usage follows from the early 18th century English ritual reference to the Three lights of the Lodge being the "Sun, Moon and Master Mason." In addition to these "moveable lights," there were also in these early English Lodge rooms three "fixed lights," which are described by some Masonic historians as three windows in the lodge room "to light men to, at and from their work." These three windows were later replaced with three candles located at the East, South and West corners of the lodge and situated before the Master, Junior Warden and Senior Warden, respectively. The reference to the Sun, Moon and Master of the Lodge as the three lesser lights of Masonry and their particular association with these tree burning tapers and the associated officers was developed by the so-called Antient Grand Lodge which was active in England from the mid to late 18th century. The Antients, who apparently consisted of Masons hailing from Scotland and Ireland, were at odds with another faction of Masons in England, the so-called "Premier Grand Lodge." The ritual of the Premier Grand Lodge only referred to three "great" lights without the Antients' reference to the "lesser" lights. The fact that the Antients held to the above interpretation of the three lesser lights was particularly significant for American Masonry as was their use of deacons in their degree work, as we shall see.

In the modern American Webb work ritual, the moon is referred to in the First Degree as one of the three lesser or moveable lights and is identified as the biblical ruler of the night and as a reference of regularity for the conduct of the Master of the Lodge. In the higher symbolism of the lodge, the moon has always been particularly identified with the Senior Warden in the West, thus following the Egyptian tradition associating the moon with this direction. This reference also corresponds to the recitation of the Senior Warden's duties in the lodge (A t s i i t W a t c o t d...). Some Masonic philosophers have found this to be a fitting parallel for as the light of the moon is a mere reflection of the greater light of the sun, so the Senior Warden, the officer associated with the Doric pillar of Strength, is intended to be a reflection of the "light" of the Worshipful Master who is associated with the Ionic pillar of Wisdom. It is thus particularly significant that the messenger of the Senior Warden within the lodge is the Junior Deacon who, as his jewel, wears the square and compasses enclosing the moon.

There is one other strong association of the moon with Masonry which in many ways is more meaningful than all of the above. In the early eighteen hundreds when Masonry in Vermont was still a new venture, the Green Mountain State was a wild and unsettled place. It is difficult for us to imagine the thoughts and feelings of a nineteenth century Vermont Mason stepping into the bitter cold of a winter night after a lodge meeting to pursue his travel homeward. For him, a trip of several miles at night after a lodge meeting was a major undertaking where even the task of finding one's way was formidable. For this reason many of these early lodges in Vermont and other jurisdictions adopted the custom of holding their meetings during the week of the full moon. Hence, these lodges became referred to as "Moon Lodges."

Following the phases of the moon was no trouble at all for the agrarian folk of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the brilliant "lesser light," provided a beacon that guided our elder brethren homeward along the dirt roads and beaten pathways of early Vermont. Thus, in 1817, 26 of the 40 lodges in Vermont were "Moon Lodges." By 1901, 62 of the 105 lodges in Vermont were "Moon Lodges," with the bulk of the others being located in areas of higher population and presumably better lighting. But alas, as with so many customs of old the advent of modern society and its technology has slowly driven the Moon Lodge to the status of a quaint anachronism. The invention of the automobile and street lighting together with the general decline of agriculture made the setting of lodge meetings by the phases of the moon, rather than on a fixed day, a nuisance without purpose. Thus, by 1979 of the 98 lodges working in the State of Vermont only 8 still set their meetings by the phase of the moon. Hopefully, the few Moon Lodges left in Vermont will not surrender this old custom to base convenience. They serve as a reminder to modern Masons travelling home by the light of the moon that they are in essence following in the footsteps of their elder brethren for whom the moon was a real as well as a symbolic light.

Arcana Lodge is proud to acknowledge the outstanding Mason of the month for September, Harold Boetcher. His illustrious past started in 1939 as Master Councilor of Lincoln Chapter DeMolay. He became a Master Mason at Arcana Lodge on September 19, 1947. He later became a member of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Minneapolis, Orient of Minnesota, and member of Zuhrah Temple, the Gun Club, a member of Northeast Shrine, their past president in 1992, and is still active working all parades. He is on the circus committee and has been one of the top six Shriner's for ten years in obtaining advertising monies. His Christian Masonic attitude is manifested in his activities as past president of St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Lowry and Quincy, and currently serving on the Mt. Carmel Church Foundation. His attitude, bubbly personality, and the encouragement to Brother Masons to not only attend the coffee club, but to take part in the friendly discourse, magnifies what freemasonry is all about.

Special Announcements

Bring your family, friends, something to put on the grill and something to share with the rest.

Show your support and vote for Arcana Lodge Brother Stan Leino!

Attention Master Masons who are Senior DeMolay and Past/Present DeMolay Advisors

Arcana Lodge #187 will be hosting a DeMolay/Masonic Reunion on Monday, November 9th, 1998, following our stated meeting at 7:30 p.m. All Master Masons who are Senior DeMolays or Past/Present DeMolay Advisors are invited to join us for refreshments and a friendly get together in Memory of the founder of the Order of DeMolay, Dad Frank S. Land who was called upon by the Great Architect of the Universe on November 8th, 1959.

Arcana Lodge is located at 920 Lowry Avenue NE (on the corner of Lowry and Central Avenues), Minneapolis, MN 55418.

This publication is issued with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M of Minnesota.