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Esotericism/Occultism in Regards to the Craft

DaqMan2112

Registered User
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual? Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?
 

Elexir

Registered User
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual? Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?

Heres the thing, esoteric/occult symbols and ideas are in many aspects grounded in deeply religious ideas. Its not just about something sinister or evil.

Alchemy is not just about making physichal gold but also should be seen as pointing out that we should become better then we are. Its about self-transformation.
 

Roy_

Registered User
Many people won't be interested in you talking about such subjects. People who do have these interests are a minority.
 

coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual?
Only when I realize they are forcing their distorted beliefs like a square peg into a non-existent whole - which is most of the time.
Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?
Ignore them for they are more lost than they want to ever imagine.
 

Winter

Premium Member
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual? Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?
Across the Craft you will find Brothers that insist on injecting their own religious beliefs and biases into our order the same way you will find Brothers that are determined to force esoteric concepts into every Masonic discussion. Both practices often serve to smother discourse instead of encouraging it.

The true beauty of Freemasonry is, or should be, that we are each encouraged to find what is true for us as well as respecting the truths our Brothers have discovered for themselves. There is nothing sinister or evil in most occult or esoteric studies. Take anything any Brother (or anyone really) tells you as fact with a grain of salt and a host of skepticism and investigate the topic for yourself.

Transmitted via R5 astromech using Tapatalk Galactic
 

TheThumbPuppy

Registered User
alchemy or occultism

I'm not sure of what you are referring to in particular, but subjects like astrology, magic and alchemy were important areas of study when Freemasonry developed and flourished. It is inevitable for a certain amount of interaction to have occurred.

It would be a pity to categorise as bad or evil whole areas of human intellectual research that were thriving at the same time as Freemasonry because of a dogmatic attitude against them.
 
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Matt Ross

Registered User
Many people won't be interested in you talking about such subjects. People who do have these interests are a minority.
If that were the case, brother I'm not sure that appendant bodies would exist in the capacity they do. The study of esotericism and an interest in the occult and the ancient mysteries draws many to the craft.
 

Pointwithinacircle3

Registered User
The word occult means hidden. Freemasonry dates from a time when tyrants and Hierophants ruled the world. Back then good men were often tortured and murdered if their ideas were different then those in power. Google “Spanish Inquisition” For more info. Also remember that before Adolph Hitler gassed his first human he banned Freemasonry in Germany. In the Wiki article on Suppression of Freemasonry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppression_of_Freemasonry we find some of the groups who suppressed Freemasonry described as Fascist, Nazi, and Papal. It isn’t that hard for me to imagine that if those groups become all powerful again, as they have in the past, I might choose to remain hidden.

Alchemy and chemistry come from the same root word. They are really the same science. In ancient times chemists would claim to be attempting to turn lead into gold, or to be seeking the Elixer of Life. This appeased those in power who expected to be the recipients of gold and long life. In reality they had stumbled onto (or perhaps had been secretly taught) the fact that it is possible to to refine chemicals and elements from the raw elements of the Earth, and that these elements could then be combined to form medicines and other useful concoctions.

My point is that some things are kept secret for the best and most pure of reasons. In my religion we are encouraged not throw precious things to those who will only trample and destroy them. So it is with many occult traditions. They began in times of great fear and superstition when people with education and intellect were not trusted. The first men to offer evidence that the Earth orbited the sun, and that there were other planets, were imprisoned for their heresies. Even those who claimed the Earth was round did not fair well.

A word of caution before I close this post. We live in a time when many people are mesmerized by facts and often will declare that anything that cannot be scientifically proved has no validity. You however have described yourself as a man with a religious background. In my experience religion teaches many things which can not be scientifically proven. This does not mean that they are not true. Fact and Truth are not the same thing.
 

CLewey44

Registered User
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual? Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?

To directly answer your question, brother, no it does not bother me in the least. No more than knowing the brother next to me may have totally different religious beliefs than I do yet we both are held to the same obligations. Freemasonry should never step on the toes of your religious beliefs. If you feel it does, I would suggest demitting your Lodge as a MM, or as an FC just let them know you would not like to proceed within Freemasonry. There will be no ill-will or any consequences for doing so. It's not for everyone and that's ok too.
 

Anattan

Registered User
Before I joined I was told that many of the blue lodge would never explore the deeper meaning of Freemasonry but I have been blessed to have WM and a sponser who have actively encouraged my desire to explore the esoteric side to the craft. We are all initiates, very few are adepts and masters are like the philosophers stone. Your feet are on a path, be sure of every step, sometimes you must travel alone but others may walk a time with you. This journey is the most important one of your existence and you will find others who will help you along the way.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
I'm a Fellowcraft, and I was wondering--is anyone at all bothered/uncomfortable sometimes when someone brings up alchemy or occultism in regards to ritual? Something I heard from someone just didn't really sit right with my personal religious background. Any words of guidance?
One word; Tolerance.

Also, don't be prejudiced. As someone else said, occult just means hidden. That conversation can go lots of ways. Some Freemasons get very enthusiastic about "esoterics", but reject "occult". While they might be the same sort of thing "occult" (hidden) has become charged with negative connotations.. When I hear "Alchemy" I hear "early science"... and approach it that way.. once, Doctors recommended smoking, so things evoked.. but when the speaker gets into his (or her) theories on how to transmute lead into gold, it is time to find a polite excuse to withdraw.
 
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