History is one of my passions; and (as evident of my druid path), ritual. My OCD also fuels desires such as process, procedure and organisation. This all contributes to my finding of a prominent and active pasttime which I have found in the past couple of years.... Freemasonry.
There is obviously much speculation, assumption and opinion on this ancient "secret society" and I've only known a couple of Masons in my life, who never really revealed much or spoke of it. I always believed it was by invitation only and never had a chance to join, but this has changed in latter years and I thus looked more into this fraternity before ultimately contacting United Grand Lodge of England to express my interest and desire to join.
A couple of months later, I was interviewed, vetted, interviewed again, signed in blood (joke), balloted and approved to join. Again, a few months later I was initiated into Vulcan Lodge, No.4382 in the Province of Derbyshire, and what an amazing experience it was!
Since my initiation, I have been very devoted and actively attending the lodge meetings and other visits, as well as social events. I've met some genuine, friendly, welcoming and generous people during this time and made some good new friends. In November 2018 I was Raised to the third degree, a Mason Mason, and soon placed into the position of acting Inner Guard.
Being part of the Lodge has been very interesting, enlightening and often been in awe and amazed at learning some of the history and symbolic aspects of Freemasonry. I've found many advantages: building confidence, expanding social circles, gaining knowledge, improving memory and reading etc. Having to recall from memory, passages of text in front of an audience is quite daunting at first, but is so rewarding to be a part of a ritual or ceremony. I'm truly loving every moment spent in Freemasonry so far. For this year, I'm looking to move into an assistant officer position of Junior Deacon and join the Royal Arch Chapter.
No comments:
Post a Comment