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Chamber of Reflection, Alchemy and Christianity

SeeKer.mm

Premium Member
Never seen one before in CT, my Lodge doesn't have one but I sort of wish we did. I have only ever seen them in pictures
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
I know that this is going off on a bit of a tangent, but, here it goes anyway...

The purpose of the CoR (well, main purpose) is to cause the candidate to reflect; to think about not only himself, his life, and his mortality, but also about the serious undertaking that he is about to embark upon. Few of us have ever seen a C0R and VERY few of us ever experienced it firsthand as a candidate in practice. By try to put yourself in those shoes (metaphorically speaking, because once you've been duly and truly...nevermind). This is a new, strange, and mysterious world to you. You've heard all of the rumors, both good and bad, but you know for a fact that you are about to initiated into the world's oldest secretive society. You enter the room and the gravity of your situation grows. Some of my favorite aspects of the CoR are the expressions written cautioning against those not taking it seriously. At this point, alone with one's thoughts, that man must truly face himself and make a hard decision. I won't say that it would be the most defining moment for all men, but it'd be up there.

Now, let's contrast this with the attitude on the other side of the door. Granted, we are all brothers, and we enjoy each other's company, but are we taking away from the solemnity of the event for the candidate? The CoR is designed to instill upon him the seriousness of the endeavor. Perhaps we should put a little more effort into ensuring that we reciprocate.

In my mind, the perfect scenario would be this:

The candidate is informed of the yes vote and given the date of his initiation. He is told that he will be picked up from his home by the brother who will be acting as his guide and that brother brings him to the lodge. Upon his arrival, all the brethren are already inside the lodge and it has been opened. The candidate and his guide essentially walk into an empty building with the exception of the Tyler outside the door. From here, it would vary a bit based on jurisdiction and the use of the CoR. I've also heard that some CoR are essentially connected to the lodge room so that one must pass through the CoR. In other words, you'd enter the CoR through one door, and exit through another door which would be the door to the lodge. In my opinion, this method would make for a wonderful impression as well as avoiding all the joking around prior to the degree that might undermine the seriousness of it.
 

Brother JC

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
When I was initiated I ate dinner with the Brethren, then they excused themselves. A short time later the Tyler called to me, guided me into the CoR, and the rest went pretty much as you've described,
I, for one, am certainly glad my Mother Lodge had a CoR. I can't imagine being Initiated without it.
 
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