(NOTE: This post has been edited to remove offending and inaccuate material) I would like to join the Freemasons but I am apprehensive about the initiation ritual. Somebody said that they maintain decorum and won’t humiliate the candidate, but I see pictures on the ‘net like this: (website removed per the Administrator. See Post below for clarification.) Is that an accurate portrayal? That looks humiliating to me.
I am a heavyset guy and I’d prefer to keep my shirt on if possible. Also, how big do the aprons come?
I have attended many Masonic degree ceremonies. I promise you, that the candidate is, at all times, treated with decorum and respect. There is no hazing, no “Animal House”, no humiliation of any kind. The photo that you see, is grossly out of date, and inaccurate. I am on the chubby side myself, so have no fear in this regard.
Normally, a lodge keeps a supply of aprons on hand, for the members to wear. You may wish to purchase your own apron from a Masonic supply store.
If you decide that Masonry is right for you (remember, you will not be asked to join), you will have to put your trust and confidence in an institution that has existed for many centuries. Presidents, Movie stars, Kings, and many other men, from all walks of life, have worn the Mason’s apron. (My favorite is the late Mel Blanc, the voice of the cartoons, I enjoy).
I encourage you to make your decision to join our Craft “prayerfully and carefully”. You will be traveling in “undiscovered country”, and if you put your faith in God, you can trust that no danger will ensue.
The reason I asked about that picture is that it jibes with the book I am reading. The book is called “Freemason: inside the world’s oldest secret society”. (ADMIN NOTE: The link to this book has been deleted. We do not wish to provide links to inaccuate books with a hidden agenda. See Post below for clarification)
It says that the candidate “is provided special garments by the lodge”. “He is not to bring into the lodge his worldly clothing”. “Suitably attired, the candidate is blindfolded or hooded”. “The hooded and leashed candidate makes a journey around an alter that enables the brethren to observe that he is properly prepared”.
The book makes it sound like Abu Ghraib.
It seems like that would be “grossly out of date”, but the copyright of the book is fairly recent (2005). If you say that the book is wrong then I believe you. But can any other Masons weigh in on that?
Also, I don’t really like that book for several reasons. I’d like to get a different book. What is a good book about Freemasonry?
Bro. Martin’s response was a true and honest one and probably brothers on this site will not be able to elaborate on it much more than that. I received some sound advice early on in the process of petitioning that I now wish I had listened to. It was suggested to me that I should immediately stop searching the Internet and reading books that talked about our degrees so as not to lessen their impact. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked a little…not enough to give the whole thing away but enough to know at least a little of what to expect. The experience was still awesome and I now often think of how much more so it could have been if I had heeded the advice of experience. It is true that a candidate is prepared a certain way in each of the degrees, although the image you posted is far more extreme than what I experienced. What these exposes don’t do very well is explain the wonderful symbolism and deep meaning that goes into everything you experience in the degrees…everything. I can understand that you may be self conscious because you are heavy set. It would be the greatest shame to allow that to rob you of the experience of a life time. That is truthfully what it is… the experience of a lifetime..most especially the Master Mason degree. I was treated with the utmost respect and courtesy at all times…from the moment I walked through the door to the moment I was raised a Master Mason and every moment since then. Freemasonry is not a college fraternity.
At one time there was such workings as what we call today hazing. That is in the past, what my brothers wrote is true, each candidate is treated fairly, with respect and caution. Caution meaning, we take the time to find out about glasses, health, able to walk around, standing and kneeling, we do not want any harm to come to a candidate, we take precautions. There are some clothing that one must wear and other minor things, but this all has to do with the ritual and the process of becoming a Mason, which will be explained to you, in your degrees. ALso there are what we MS and PH masons call, Clandestine Masons or Illregular Masons, Masonic Lodges that are not under our GL, they may charge huge fees, and it is more of a club than a Masonic Lodge. I have seen videos of these so called Lodge or Shrines conducting hazing, this is not what we do. So you may see on the net. such videos and hear and read about such groups, but not in recognized Grand Lodges and their subornate Lodge.
Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s good that you run this forum. There are definitely some misconceptions about Masonry out there. Thanks for setting me straight, and please know that I meant no disrespect.
I definitely don’t want to lessen the impact of the degrees by over-researching Freemasonry. But Masonry is a paradox in that you don’t really know what it is until you join. So I can’t field questions from family and friends because I don’t understand it myself. That leads to the temptation to research, but I will take your advice and put Google in park.
I did check with my pastor, who I have a lot of respect for, and he had no problem with Masonry from a religious standpoint - in fact his father was a Mason.
It’s funny that you mentioned “books about Freemasonry written by non-Masons”, Mike. One of the reason I wanted to get a different book is that I was troubled by something the author said in the introduction. He admits that he “is not and has never been a Freemason” - you were right about that. He said “consequently, when I was asked if I would be interested in writing a book on the Masons, I knew nothing about them. I was aware of ‘Shriners’ wearing quaint, colorful outfits”, he said, “I’ve passed by the Masonic lodge in my hometown”. He said “deciding to launch a quick exploration of the subject before committing myself to the project, I learned that Freemasonry is an international fraternity”.
I read a lot of nonfiction and I’ve never seen an introduction quite like that. I have never seen an author admit that not only isn’t he an expert in the topic of the book, but he “knew nothing about it” until he started writing the book.
I’ll get one of those books you recommended and leave it at that. Sometimes those “For Dummies” and “Complete Idiots” books can be silly, but in this case it sounds like they are the best bet.
I think you are approaching this in the right way. Take your time and make sure you are comfortable with the decision to petition or not to. I wish you all the best in your search. Keep us posted on your progress.
All the brothers have given honest and true answers here, but I’d like to add something to be clear.
The garments that are given to an initiate to wear during the ritual ARE very similar to those pictured in your post. There is a required outfit that is comprised of all the components you see there.
However, I can speak for my own lodge when I say that we do our very best to make sure that the garments are all well fitted, clean, and maintain modesty.
I just wanted to be clear about that so that when you are handed items to put on beforehand, you will not have been under the illusion that you would not have to wear something similar.
Still, that photo is a gross exaggeration of the actual initiation outfit. The exposure of the candidate’s belly and nipple are very inappropriate and I’ve never actually seen a candidate have that happen.
We’ve all had to wear it, and it fits some guys better than it does others, but I know that in my years as a lodge officer, we’ve always kept larger garments on hand for larger guys and made sure that they are decently covered. The garments should not be humiliating, but at the same time, as is explained to all initiates, have a specific purpose for all of their unique qualities.
I use this statement when trying to ease men’s concerns about the initiation ritual:
There is nothing that you will do or experience during the process that you would be embarassed to do in front of your own mother.
I’m not sure that you can. I just did a quick search and couldn’t find an accurate one, but if you’re still concerned about seeing a picture of a candidate, you may be missing the point. As you can read above, there is nothing to worry about.
I wore it when I was initiated and found nothing uncomfortable about it.
I think the best advice is to ask yourself why you want to be a Mason. If it is because you have a respect and appreciation for the institution, then ask yourself if an organization you respect and want to be a part of would in any way degrade another man. If you really think we would, then perhaps you don’t understand Masonry well enough yet to really know if you want to become a member.
If I had a photo of what the initiation garments looked like, I would show you. Since I don’t (simply because we don’t photograph our intitiations), I can’t show you, but if you can’t take the word of the brothers on this site, they why would you want to become one?
Sorry I can’t help more, but it really is just a simple outfit that you wear for about 3 hours of your life. You wear far less on a hot day in the summer!
Thanks Dan. I know they wouldn’t purposely degrade another man, but there are definitely some things that would embarrass one man but not embarrass another.
Believe me, I understand. I don’t have six-pack abs either!
Like I said, most lodges keep plus sized garments for larger initiates. Hopefully the one you choose to join does.
Tell you what….anytime you want, you can send me a private message with the name and location of the lodge you are thinking of joining, and I’ll call and make sure that they can accomodate you.
Dan….your offer is EXACTLY why I sought to become a Freemason…reaching out and helping another man! Your actions speak volumes and to that point I am glad I finally “asked”! 6 days and counting until my EA at the Washington Lodge #61 at Manchester, NH and frankly I am excited and not the least bit afraid. As you said, the institution that I sought out would do nothing to degrade or harm me…they have my trust and I have theirs! Thousands have walked this glorious path before me and I choose to follow them to greatness that lies ahead! Thanks for your words or encouragement to the feller that has concerns…it shows me what it really means to be a Mason! JC
First, as the Forum Administrator, I want to thank you for posting on this Forum. I hope the information helps.
I also want to thank all the brothers who have participated. And Dan, thank you especially for offering to help through a private call.
I hope you don’t mind RCKSLV, but I am going to remove the links you provided for your discussion: the photo and the Website link for the book. There are hundreds of thoughtful books and photos about Freemasonry by non-masons, but I would prefer not to highlight those that are deliberately misleading. Depending on one’s purpose, you can make anything look different from its intended purpose. One could show a steak dinner on a beautiful china plate or all chewed up and thrown up on the floor. They are both the same thing, right? The image you showed is the latter, and it actually gives me the creeps, so I don’t want to have it on the page
The language used is also something to look at. To use the term “leash” is, in this case, not only deliberately inaccurate, its implications are misleading and wrong. No Mason ever pulls on the symbolic articles a candidate wears. To use the same analogy, people who want to keep people from eating meat describe it as rotting flesh as opposed to an aged sirloin. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Finally, I want to relay a story about “embarrassment” in Freemasonry.
I participated in an officer’s installation last week west of Boston. The new Master of the Lodge has a physical impairment, and has to walk by dragging one leg behind him in an awkward movement. The new Tyler weighs about 450 pounds. I know for a fact that both of these men have had their share of “embarrassment” for much of their lives outside of Freemasonry. But I can assure you there is no embarrassment for them in Lodge. In fact, the larger man has told me that his Lodge is the one place where he feels the utmost respect and honor – and that he has never felt even a twinge of embarrassment – even during his initiation. And I could feel the obvious pride he felt when his jewel—and the implement of his new office—were bestowed upon him that night. And the new Master, although it takes him longer to get there, brought a powerful new energy to his East that night—the likes of which I haven’t seen in years.
As Brother Dan said, the garments you will wear as a Masonic initiate are designed with very specific purposes in mind (as are most things in a Lodge) that you will understand before your initiation is over. You will learn that nothing in a Lodge is just for beauty or looks.
Because the ceremony is private, the garments are not usually seen outside a Lodge room unless someone is trying to make the ceremony look bad. Old drawings from hundreds of years ago can be found that show something of the look, but if you need an “image” to take with you, think of the garments as more of something you would see at a Karate or Judo match, with a few purposeful embellishments. It’s not designed to be comfortable, it’s designed to teach important lessons and welcome you to the Fraternity.
This is the problem that occurs when people buy and read books about Freemasonry written by non-Masons. A non-Mason is basically interpreting (guessing) usually wrongly based on information that he or she has borrowed from some one else. There is rough rule of thumb to guess if an author is a Mason, if they call Freemasonry a “secret society” usually (8 times out 10) they are not members.
I actually have the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry and am reading it now. It’s pretty good and easy to understand. I prefer the CIG series over the Dummies since the Dummies seem to get a bit pedantic and technical. I would recommend the CIG for Freemasonry to anyone that wants to know about the organization.
