At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast

Ep. 97: Reflections of the First Degree

• At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast • Season 2026 • Episode 97

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Welcome back to At Refreshment
In this episode: Wes and Eric talk about the First degree in Freemasonry. Reflecting back on our own experience and to performing the degree for the newest candidates. Join us on what we are hoping to be a first in a series of discussions on the degrees of Freemasonry and its appended body degrees.

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The  At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast is a lighthearted and educational series focused on
the world of Freemasonry. The hosts, who are Masons themselves aim to dispel myths about the fraternity while offering a glimpse into their rituals and traditions. They create a casual, fun atmosphere by sharing drinks and humorous discussions about Masonic life, often recorded in laid-back settings like after lodge meetings.
 The podcast blends comedy with education, making it accessible to both Masons and those curious about the fraternity. Episodes feature special guests from Masonic circles often diving into personal experiences and community contributions of members. The podcast highlights that Freemasons are regular people working to improve themselves and their communities.
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SPEAKER_01

We're doing our best. And that is 100% from the Mormon temple ceremony. So I hear this, my my ears perk up like, wait, wait, what? What what's going on? It consists of the monarch, 24 companion knights, and a royal family member honoring outstanding public service.

SPEAKER_03

Its symbol is a blue garter with the motto instead of being, you know, somebody who's in darkness versus a person who's already been established as a brother.

SPEAKER_01

They got to a point, and I'm like, man, should I really be watching this and ruin this surprise? So I was a little conscious of it before, I guess.

SPEAKER_03

It's experienced. We had during the degree we had for Lombard, we had a gentleman who just had like knee surgery within the last like six months.

SPEAKER_00

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the host and guests, and do not represent the views of any lodge, grand lodge, or anybody, or any other person or person to insert.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome everyone to the Every First from the Sonic Video Podcast. Once again, I am your host, Wesley Ruder, and I am here with my other host, Eric Max to say hi. Hey everybody, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_03

We got a good one lined up for you guys today.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I hope everyone has been enjoying the content we've been coming out with. We have gone to weekly releases for the show, so hopefully we can keep that up for you guys and not drive ourselves insane, right? We're doing our best. Yeah, as best as that can be, which is sometimes.

SPEAKER_03

No, we we've been we've been working hard at trying to come up with solutions for everybody's streaming issues, and but it's it's gonna be it's gonna be good. We've got uh new setup we're trying, uh and uh hopefully it works out. Hopefully it works out.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think it'll work out well. Um again, we all have crazy schedules, and we're doing our the best we can for this. Failure on the crazy schedule. Oh yeah, oh yeah, for sure. So uh the idea for this episode, and hopefully going forward, is to make this a series where you're gonna start talking about the degrees in Freemasonry, and of course, we're gonna start off with the first three degrees. So this is gonna be episode one of uh again, hopefully a series that we can continue on through all the degrees in Freemasonry. But this is gonna be the first degree, the very first one, the stepping stone to say in Freemasonry.

SPEAKER_03

Now, of course, we're not gonna let go of any secrets or anything, but uh talk about uh the things you can gain from from these uh experiences.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I know um we at Raven will have uh a couple first degrees coming up, and we're gonna be doing some practices, but you just had a first we did.

SPEAKER_03

So my uh lodge uh did a visit to Lombard Lodge. Uh I thought it was a singular first degree. Uh I didn't realize it was uh two first degrees on the same night. And uh due to some issues that Lombard was having, my lodge uh stepped in to assist. And uh it's a really good feeling when you haven't done I haven't done first degree work as a junior deacon for a couple of years now, and knowing that I just stepped in with no practice and still was able to uh manifest a decent degree experience for the candidates was uh top-notch feeling.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I haven't done junior deacon in a while when you said that. I'm like, oh my gosh. Let me let me think. Uh I'm pretty sure I can do that.

SPEAKER_03

We were we were we were going amongst ourselves trying to figure out uh who knows the lines.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I think I did senior deacon once for a first degree, and then I'm like, I can't do it. I wasn't that prepared for it.

SPEAKER_03

For the brothers who are out there and they they do degree work a little bit more often or not, uh it it's it's it's like riding a bike. It can be uh intimidating when you haven't done it for a while. Uh but when you look at it, if you've done a degree uh from junior deacon up, right, the lines don't change much. You know, there's not much difference between a first, a second, uh, a third, it just matters where you're at in trying to figure out your lines. Like you're trying to, you know, instead of being you know, somebody who's in darkness versus a person who's already been established as a brother, the lines change slightly, but not that much.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Yeah, I I agree with that. So you know, when you first come to a lodge, it's you know, everything's new. So you're seeking out a lodge, excuse me, you find it, you go in, and you meet the guys. What was that experience like for you when you were first joining?

SPEAKER_03

When I was first joining, it was uh it's a very niche experience getting to know the guys. You know, you're you're wandering into a place. Now, mind you, my experience is a little different because I had kind of met and known the guys for like two years before I actually petitioned, not even petitioned, but started coming to like dinners and events trying to get my name out there to try and meet brothers of the lodge. Um I'd I'd known Yoshi, Marty, and and the like for a couple years with you know with Chris, um, who's my best friend who was already a Mason, but get getting that first like experience of kind of meeting everybody was kind of uh intimidating because you're you know you're going into this knowing that you know you're you're meeting a bunch of guys, but you're also trying to impress upon them who you are as a person can affect how you feel when you're like, do I you know talk about this? Do I not talk about this other thing? What's you know the proper way to talk to people about you know certain situations, or maybe you hold that off? Um me personally, I was a little bit less off with that. I I I like I said I'd already known a couple of the guys, so I was already comfortable uh talking with the guys. And uh I think depending on the lodge you go to can also kind of intimidate you. If you're going to a lodge where you're the youngest guy there, right? And all these uh older gentlemen who've been in the craft for years are there, what are you you know, you're trying to impress upon them how you feel um without intimidating them or getting intimidated yourself by what they're saying to you. So I think overall it's uh it's a it's an intimidating experience for a first-time person coming to a lodge. And it's eye-opening when you finally go through that first degree and you witness the brotherhood that's all there for you, it it really alleviates that pressure of uh you know, trying to impress somebody rather than trying to understand that you're also now a brother and you fit in because they felt you fit in before you even did that.

SPEAKER_01

So, you know, I my experience was a little different. I didn't get to know everybody before I went to the lodge. Well, I can't really say that. Well, let me explain. I met the guys, but I didn't meet them at lodge, I met them at a bar. So after a little while petitioning the my buddy, the lodge went dark for summer, so it took a little while to get my petition in. I come meet them at the bar. We all talk, they seem like good guys, and then next thing I know, it's like, oh yeah, well, come for your first degree. And that was my first experience at a lodge was the day I'm getting my degree. Oh wow. Okay, so I didn't uh go in for like dinner and stuff, and I guess that's kind of because maybe I knew one of the guys, he was a baseball teammate of mine, and he was a brother of Azure Lodge at that time. And he didn't explain the ins and outs of like going dark and stuff, not that I would really know, but I'm like, hey, it's the summer, this sounds interesting. Let's yeah, I I want to be I want to be a brother, let's let's do this. And it just took some time, so I was kind of nagging him a little bit, like, hey, hey, what's going on? What's going on?

SPEAKER_03

And you know, thinking back, uh, when I had petitioned, it took a while for my petition to go through because COVID was still going on. Like the logic was in meeting, it took a while for them to get my petition approved and voted on.

SPEAKER_01

You're a COVID. You were raised during COVID.

SPEAKER_03

I was I was slightly after COVID, I was raised.

SPEAKER_01

So did you have to put uh cellophane on the Bible and everything when you went through? Uh yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I they had they had uh uh you had a Bible condom on for that. Yeah, basically something protected. We had when I went through my first degree, we had three first degrees that night. I was one of three guys. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01

So well, how long were you waiting? Because okay, if I remember correctly, Lodge was shut down, I want to say maybe two or three months.

SPEAKER_03

From yeah, so from when I first submitted my petition to when I got Ray uh my first degree, it was probably three, four months. Um just waiting for them. I was waiting for the longest time for guys to contact me about my investigation. Um, and because I already submitted a petition, and Chris is like, oh, you know, uh we have to insign an investigation committee and stuff like that. I'm like, okay, no problem. He's kind of talking me through it. And I'm like, it's been two months and I haven't heard from anybody. Did you guys even vote on me yet? He goes, No, we haven't voted yet. We haven't had a uh a stated meeting because we haven't been we're not able to be tiled. And uh, oh man, all right, well, I guess it's gonna be waiting a while. And then it's like another month or two goes by, and I just get called randomly from Jim, our marshal. And he's like, he's like, Eric, are you Eric? I'm like, yeah. He goes, All right, I got a couple questions for you. And I'm like, this is all the investigation is. Turns out he was meeting because he wasn't able to meet with me directly uh with the other investigation committee uh members. He called me ahead of time to get his questions out of the way, and then I met with um um Mikey Savoya and I can't remember his name. But either way, it was it was uh it was a it was uh interesting time because at that point um I think it was like going on like a year past because it was 2021 maybe because it was like March. I remember being like St. Paddy's Day when I finally met with the guys by the time I it been investigated 2021 was after because it was I remember it being like it was St. Paddy's Day when I met with them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm trying to remember all that.

SPEAKER_03

I just it's only a couple years ago, but it's crazy, it's five years, but it feels like nothing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So yeah, like I said, when you know, I didn't meet anybody at the lodge. My first footsteps into the lodge was for dinner just before the degree. And then they explained what was going on. I'm like, okay, so everything seemed like really quick for me. I mean, it took months to get to this point, right? But it seemed like, man, this just you know, I was just thrown into it. Like now everything's just happening really quick.

SPEAKER_03

Had you done any research into Freemasonry in the meantime before your first degree?

SPEAKER_01

Very, very little, because other than what I seen on the History Channel and what I had learned from some of the stories uh being LDS at the time, uh Mormon. Right. I knew very little of it from that, and then watching some of the History Channel stuff, they got to a point and I'm like, man, should I really be watching this and ruin the surprise? So I was a little conscious of it before, I guess I I knew for sure that I'd like ruin a surprise type thing. And I'm just like, all right, I watched enough history channel stuff, so some things were a surprise, but some things weren't.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I did I did more research into who are the Masons rather than like what am I going to experience? Like I was looking into like who am I really joining? What do they stand for? What do they do, versus what am I gonna be going through? What am I to expect? I wanted the mystery to kind of like like really like hit the palate right as I'm going through it, but it's like going through it blind, pun intended. Um I think I might have appreciated more because the mystery, like the excitement, everything was there. Now I've seen candidates go through and they're like shit and bricks, they're not sure what's gonna happen, they're all afraid, like they're freaking out, and I think the biggest thing I've ever had to do is reassure uh a new candidate in waiting that as like, hey man, listen, it's like what you're going through we've all been through. We've all done this. And if you we didn't think this was worth it, we wouldn't be here. So it's like open open your mind up to understanding what's going on around you, take in everything through your perceived senses, but understand that we're all here for you, you're not here for us, like we're here today for you. Right. So take it easy, take a deep breath. It's gonna be fine. You're gonna go through it, you're gonna be fine, nothing's gonna hurt you, but make sure you open up your senses to understanding what you're feeling as you're going through this process.

SPEAKER_01

So, what was it like for you uh when the secretary comes out? Because you're kind of informed. Stay here. So you're down in the eating area or in the the waiting area, the foyer, whatever. Yeah, we had a yeah, we're we're saying the foyer. You know, something something's going on, and it's like, well, you know, how long does this take? Because you know, they're you don't know they're opening lodge, doing stuff.

SPEAKER_03

Well, and that's things.

SPEAKER_01

So ours and then ever then all of a sudden these guys with these rods come out and along with the secretary. And it's getting more questions. What was that like?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so the the the crazy part about it was is that we didn't go through our interrogatories together, the three guys that I was with. They came out, they brought the one candidate that was up first, and they took him sorry, they took him into the preparation room. So he was separated. And you just see, okay, this guy disappears, and then the next guy comes up, he disappears, he doesn't come back, right? Because at that point they've gone through the interrogatories, the the stewards are starting to prepare the candidate, right? I see the secretary come back, he goes through the door, they do the whole first degree for the first guy. That first degree, that first guy never came back. I was the last one to go. Ah so like the second guy to go, he was really like sweating, like very concerned, very like jittery about things. He was like freaking out almost. And I had with me, a candidate in waiting, is sitting here like, dude, I was like, all these guys have been through this. What are you freaking out about? Chill, it's it's fine, everything's gonna be fine, you're being great. And then he goes and he doesn't come back. It's like, all right, well, now I'm waiting by myself, just twiddling my thumbs out in the lobby. And finally came my turn. It's like these guys come out and the stewards come out, they grab, they take me to and then and the next thing I know, they're like, Hey, take off all your clothes. Like, wait what? They're like, like, you keep your boxers on, keep, keep, keep your underwear on, just take off all your clothes. Like, okay, okay. All right. I this is a this is an interesting party. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I remember getting the questions with another guy because I went through another guy. We went through at the same time. We didn't have separate ceremonies for the beginning part. So I'm just like, okay, uh, more questions. All right. This they sound familiar.

SPEAKER_03

You guys just assigned three people to investigate me. They had plenty of questions. What are these questions now?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so um, but this time they were they were asked, uh how do I say it? I don't want to say somemly, but more more sternly. Like this is like this is this is the this is the final thing. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And it's like, okay, and from what I remember, we we got dressed, we changed, and I I wasn't concerned about it. Uh for one, my buddy told me, hey, you know, these are like some ancient practices. I you know, I don't want you to be freaked out. And he kind of explained that you're gonna have to change into another outfit. And I'm like, dude, don't like I'm Mormon. I'm Mormon. If you knew what I went through in the temple, you wouldn't you wouldn't say this. But if you only knew. If you only knew. So uh, you know, that wasn't a big deal to me. And the guy that I was with, he didn't it didn't seem to bother him either.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I I when they were like there they did like, yeah, take off our clothes. It's like you're gonna put on this. I'm like, oh, oh thank god, oh thank god, there's gonna be clothes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So you get in this outfit and you only have what? What one full leg, a pant leg on, and the other one is short.

SPEAKER_03

You feel weird because it's just like you feel like there's like some type of golf schway going on. Like you're like, all right, put all your keys in your left pocket. Okay, yeah, that's it. Now roll up your right sock. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And they're just like, you know, no metal. And I'm like, well, I didn't have anything metal on me. And like, oh, you know, no big deal. The other guy, I don't know if he was married or not, so but I have heard issues, uh guys have said that people have had issues in not being able to wear their wedding band in the first degree when you're a candidate. And I I guess you can explain to him that the it's an ancient tradition that will be explained.

SPEAKER_03

Here's the thing. You can wear a wedding band.

SPEAKER_01

You can wear one of the rubber ones.

SPEAKER_03

Silicone.

SPEAKER_01

This was before they were doing that.

SPEAKER_03

Silicone band. I mean, I I've now mind you, I wasn't married when I got my first degree. Um, I I wasn't even engaged when I got my first degree. But I've seen more more guys more recently wearing silicone bands because of work reasons. Like I wear silicone bands, I work in retail, but I do a lot of projects at that store. So I wear silicone for safety reasons. Um silicone bands are becoming more prevalent in everyday space because of that reason. But I can understand, like back in the day, like, well, everybody's got a you know, titanium band or a gold band or whatever it might be. Well, sorry, you can't wear it. Nothing, nothing of a of a metallic nature.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it is explained later in the degree, but what's not explained, um, and I read this in the book and doing interviews with uh brother Christopher Earnshaw in his book Um Initiated by Light, he explains that this is an alchemical thing. That when being initiated or coming in or doing the what would be considered the experiments of alchemy, you always had to have metal. You had to start with metal, or metal had something to do with there's a starting property to get to the finishing property, the new initiation as well into alchemy. So and it's been a little while since I read the book, but like okay, that's that's fairly interesting. Now that's not explained like that in at least Illinois ritual.

SPEAKER_03

If you look at the concept of uh ancient alchem al alchemy, right? Everyone was looking for a way to make gold. Uh alchemy was all around making gold or uh the fountain of youth, right? They were looking for the uh water of life, if you will. Or universal solvent, if you will, is what it is. And the closest they've ever come to a universal solvent is. Is water itself. And you can re water dissolves pretty much everything with time.

SPEAKER_01

There was um uh I believe Chinese emperors that drink mercury because they believed that it was uh an elixir of life. Oh, yeah. Oh God bless them.

SPEAKER_03

But if you look at it, it's like to get to gold, uh the common belief back then was to that you had to start with any type of metal, right? Most most commonly because it was the cheapest, typically they started with lead because lead was so commonly used.

SPEAKER_01

Um well, they would use uh something called cinnabar, um lead, mercury, and yeah, anything with water when they needed to, but it wasn't one of the oh I don't know, I don't want to say basically any type of metal that could be liquefied pretty easily was the the typical choice. So maybe I'm jumping a little ahead, but that idea and the being metal withheld on your person in the lodge is stated later, and it is uh technically an alchemical reason because we're trying to change you. We always say make a good man better. Well, you're already a good man. Well, we're trying to refine you, make you a piece of piece of gold, you know, put you through the refiners file fire. And that's I I'm not giving away anything in the degree, but that's kind of a sense of that.

SPEAKER_03

But that is, yeah, no, that makes a good point. It makes a very good point, is that if you have metal, you cannot start on yourself because you are essentially you have something in a replacement of you that could take on the alchemy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Now, another thing um I hear people get worried about, and I didn't think it was a big deal, is uh being blindfolded or what is called hoodwinked. Now we use the actual like sleeping mask, the the blindfold sleeping mask. Same thing. There are some jurisdictions that still use the full headwink uh the full head twist or something that may be more breathable. I I I don't know, but they do use it, and there's a reason for that. And you are in darkness, not that you are in darkness from God or any kind of faith, but you don't know what is expected ahead of you in Freemasonry. So the symbology of that is to be in total darkness, it's just symbology.

SPEAKER_03

It also forces you to uh trust in the person who's leading you because you can't see, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Sensory sensory deprivation, I get I guess you could say a little bit because you have to trust, you have to feel you you you only have one slipper on, and you have pretty much a sensory.

SPEAKER_03

You're basically you're you're given an uneven gait right off the bat, you're not walking properly, right? You're not, you know, but I think my favorite line, and this is just very easy, um, is follow your conductor and fear no danger.

SPEAKER_01

And that brings me to my next thing. What did that mean? Following your conductor, being in that darkness, having your your eyes closed, blindfolded, having to have that trust in somebody else who you really don't know. How did that how did that feel?

SPEAKER_03

It was it was odd at first, uh, because you're you're being led pretty forcefully, you know, uh in some cases, uh, by a person whom you really don't know. Um you're being kind of ushered around to an environment you have no idea what it looks like, you have no idea who's watching, you have no idea how many people are there, you have no idea where you are in the room because of just the total uh you know, sight holds a lot of power. But if you like I said, I keep explaining to the candidates, is like, hey, use your other senses to understand what's going on around you. Because when you take sight away, imagination puts you in a space, right? You could be walking into a dungeon, you could be walking into a courtyard, you could be walking anywhere, you have no idea where you are, but if your other senses are suggesting something, right? You stop, you stop here, you stop there, you stop. Where are you stopping? I have no idea, so my brain is gonna fill in what it thinks I'm I'm going through.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, your your brain's gonna fill in the blanks. Correct. Uh to make you more comfortable. Now, when I went through, I remember, I remember the lodge room being cold. Now the heater just went out, if I remember correctly. So there wasn't the heat wasn't that good, and I think this is like September when I first joined. So it's a little colder. I think I paid attention to my to my footing because I was really really worried about stepping on something, stubbing my toes. Uh obviously I I have leg issues, so that was concerning for me. But what stood out was this going from I'm in darkness and I want to be brought to light. And it was the emphasis of that, I'm not staying in darkness, I want to be brought to light. So the feeling the of the sensory deprivation and the cold feeling that all added to the experience to me, and I was just kind of like, you know, awestruck, especially after after the altar and everything. No just added to the experience.

SPEAKER_03

I I will say this my experience, I it may have differed from a lot of people's experiences. Number one, as a candidate going through my degree for the first time, I never saw the lodge room before going through that experience. I never actually got a tour of the lodge room itself. I never saw what it looked like. I didn't know what it was shaped like, I didn't know any of the features or uh you know aspects of it. So going through it, like I really felt like I was being separated out from you know where I was in a building, and I was going through like a courtyard.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, like you were going through a courtyard. Okay, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03

No, yeah, they have yeah, but what I'm saying is like when I was actually being processioned through the room, right? I my brain shut off like, hey, you're in a room, and my brain turned on like why do these why does this feel like stone that I'm walking on? Like I wasn't feeling a normal floor because of that uneven gait of walking with you know one foot clad, one foot knot, like I felt uneven, like I was walking on a stone pavement. All right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, now excuse me. Now we come up to the altar, and you were put in a certain position, that's that's all I really say. Right. Um and you do have to you you do have to kneel. And that was an excruciating experience for me. Um I um I had all my weight on one one good leg, and that started giving out after a while, and I have to put it on on the bad one, and my leg is shaking, and it to me it seemed like, oh my gosh, when is this when is this gonna be over with? So I didn't I didn't really get a good experience at the altar for for the first time because of that.

SPEAKER_03

So I also have issues with my knees. Um in high school I actually tore my ACL, MCL, and meniscus all in one leg. So I've got a weaker leg, and it just so happens to be the leg that you have to kneel on. And I was shaking, literally legs shaking, trying to stay in one place. It's experienced. We had during the degree we had for Lombard, we had a gentleman who just had like knee surgery within the last like six months. And we have to offer him a chair uh in front of the altar because kneeling was not an option, but they still placed him in the position similar to what he would have been placed to convey that feeling just without putting pressure on his knees.

SPEAKER_01

Right. You there are exceptions, there are emergency situations. Um my buddy just happened to forget. I mean, because at the time, you know, I wasn't using a cane. Um I'm playing baseball. So he wasn't thinking, uh like, oh, he knows I got bad knees. So I'm just like, oh, whatever, he apologized and everyone else apologized. Why don't you say something? Like, well, how do you think I don't know what's coming? You know, I you know, it's just yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, I was gonna tell you, you know, but I completely forgot. You know, you guys are going on and out of the altar. Should I be like, hey, my knees hurt, I I need to stop. You know, I'm I'm trying to get the whole experience here. This is what I've been waiting for for for a while. So yeah. Well, then after the altar, you know, there's one thing, especially for me, that was very familiar. And there's uh there's a back and forth between the worshipful master, the candidate, and and the senior deacon. Um and that is 100% from the Mormon temple ceremony. So I hear this, my my ears perk up like, wait, wait, what? What what's going on? Uh so I that whole rabbit hole went down later. But that was that was pretty interesting. That took me off guard. I didn't really didn't wasn't expecting that at all. So then we we go on, and now there's this apron. We're given we're given an apron, and we're told that this apron it's a badge of honor, and that is held in very high regard to some of these other orders that I never heard of. Uh like uh the order of the garter. The star and garter. Starter and the uh the laurels, right? Is that it? I mean, let me look it up. I I kind of got stuck on that for a little while. Like, what is that?

SPEAKER_03

Is this eastern potentate? I think I think that was the one that got me. Like, I don't even know what that is.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, that's what I was looking for. Uh I don't even know what that is. I'm like, okay, but you know, I'm like, I've I know what laurels are. Yeah, I love them, uh you know, but yeah, it was uh so I didn't really get hung up on that, but uh too much after the degree, but when he said that, that's all I remember. Like, what is that? I don't I don't understand. And of course I didn't have the blue book and everything to go look it up and I forgot about it. And it's one of those things that I isn't given too much anymore. I know it's a uh it's a royals thing, if I remember.

SPEAKER_03

Villa Park does the long form apron lecture, uh, thanks to Brother Bill McCarthy. Uh he does a fantastic job every time he does it. And it's most interesting to see that when he does that particular uh lecture, because that lecture is also used in one other piece of ritual, and that's our funeral ritual.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, the golden fleece, that's what I was thinking of. So there's a couple, and if you do look them up on the internet, these they're still around. Uh one is, or I don't think the golden fleece is given out anymore. They're um Roman Eagle. Well Roman Eagle's older. That's the the Eagle is older than than Rome. Uh everybody's version of that. Uh yeah, and the Star and Garter. So you know what? Let me maybe I should bring it up for everyone to see, right? Yeah, yeah. So the stars and garter is an uh idiomatic exclamation of surprise, astonishment, or dismay, often used as a color for old-fashioned alternative to oh my goodness, or oh my god. Well, that's not it. No, I think it's um the order of the star and garter. Is it the order? Because okay, in our ritual, just the most noble order of the garter, founded by King Edward III in 1348, is the oldest and highest order of chivalry in Britain, symbolizing knightly fellowship. Hmm. It consists of the monarch, 24 companion knights, and a royal family member, honoring outstanding public service. Its symbol is a blue garter with the motto On So quit made la pence. Yeah, I screwed that up. Evil be to him who thinks evil of it. So I guess it was a it was a royal thing.

SPEAKER_03

It's yeah, it's a it's uh basically the whole point of that part is to say, hey, no matter what you get, this this right here, this symbol of purity is higher than all of it. Here are some images of yeah, it's it's um it's an honor. You know, it's like uh uh a medal of honor for um British uh royalty or British uh uh most noble order of the garter. Yeah, but the the the thing is is like there's only allowed to be X amount of people within the order of the Star and Garter. So like noting like you know, it's a very, very high honor to be able to have that um or be in that. So it's what it's referring to more in the ritual of it is that the presentation of your apron is to be remembered and sanctified higher than anything else you could be, like a potentate or the star and garter or anything like that, basically saying this is the highest honor you could get is receiving this apron. And I it's it's if you look at it to receive that apron, you have to be in high regard within the Brotherhood. You have to be able to petition, and to be able to petition, you have to be regarded as somebody worth including into this group.

SPEAKER_01

So these seem to be also uh well the order of the garter, it's where is it outstanding public public service. So these are public things, and you have to be an upstanding person in your community. You're not just any old person, just hey, give me this honor. You've got to show that you're part of the community, you're showing up the things that you should be showing up for the community in support of the community. Correct. At least from the little bit that I'm gathering in that. And within Freemasonry, what do we what do we do? We're always doing charity work. You know, um, after the degrees are you're after you're done receiving your degrees, now it's up to you to perform those degrees for the next person. Now it is up for you to cook for their brethren. Now it is up for you to go out and organize a community service uh uh or not organization, but to go out and organize some sort of community service for the lodge to help out the community.

SPEAKER_03

You know, I'm glad you said that because I was recently doing a Nintendo night with our fellow craft Aaron, uh, whom uh is a huge fan of the show, as we know. Um, but also I was impressing that same sentiment to him, knowing that he's going through his like he's doing his long form catechism for everything. Uh he's already done his uh catechism uh going into the second degree, he's doing his catechism going into his third degree, now he's working on it. But I impressed upon him as like you understand, as like you're learning all these things. And by learning all these things that you're going through, as like because you're doing the long form, it shows that you have great understanding of what you went through. I was like, but I want you to take this knowledge, and I explained it, I was like, and I want you to understand that when you become a master mason, it's not per se your obligation to pass this on to the next guy, because obviously we know it's a volunteer organization, you can't force people to do anything. I was like, but take upon yourself to understand that when you were going through your degrees, you had these people show up for you. I was like, you'll typically see the same guys that showed up for your first degree will be there for your second, they'll be there for your third, typically, right? Within within reason, obviously schedules happen, whatever. Right. But I was like, if you because we recently, when he came with us, um we requested to see if the uh worshipful master would be okay with our fellow craft traveling with me uh as being the worshipful master for the Villa Park Lodge, and the Worshipful Master was fine with it because Aaron had never seen the first degree. He experienced it.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

He experienced it, but he's never seen one. So like I told him I was like, you know how like you saw all the things happening in the background? As like all the things that people are doing in the background that you don't see when you're going through it. It's like all those people were there for you. It's up to you to be there for the next brother coming in. It's like there's two, and I told him I was like, to me personally, there's two of the most important parts of m ritualistic Freemasonry. Okay. And that is performing degrees for the new brothers coming in and performing funeral rites for the brothers going out. It's like that shows the brotherhood there is still alive. And the sad thing I see is that all too often you see people trying to get a degree together, and sometimes it feels like it's pulling teeth trying to get people to show up. And I think it's really getting forgotten about how important it is to have a room full of people when you're going through your degree and you're finally getting your light, right? And seeing how many people are there for you. People you don't even know are there for you. We had a brother from Men in Brotherhood that was there for all three of my degrees, and I formed a very close bond with him. And you know what, to this day, if he called, I'd drop anything I could for him because he was there for me when I was going through what I was going through. You know, if he needed somebody to do uh, you know, JD or senior deacon or something I able to perform, I'll be there. I'm happily there. But it's not even just him. If I get called upon by another lodge, they're short on people. Hey, do you know the junior deacon's work? We have a first degree coming up tomorrow, and I can't my junior deacon's out sick right now. If I'm available, I'll be there. Because it was that important to me to see how many people were there for me, and it's important to show those people that are getting their degrees that showing up for these parts being important is expressly because the brotherhood doesn't exist if you're not there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, there is no brotherhood without you. Right. And you are a brother, you hold the the title. The well, maybe that shouldn't be a title, but I guess it is. But brother means more than just a title. And you should know that when you call someone a brother, what it means, what that really means. Right. Not just like, oh hey, it shouldn't be like that. You're not calling a brother-in-law's brother like some stranger on the street, hey brother, what's going on?

SPEAKER_03

No, no, we're we're expressly proposing it to the point where listen, I trust you. I trust you implicitly because we've taken the same obligations, we've taken the same degrees, we've all been through the same experience. It's like we have a bond. That bond only shows through if you're showing up for the guy behind you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. So at this point, after the apron, you you're brung to the worshipful master, and there's uh one more explanation. What what wouldn't it be without another explanation? And these are your working tools, and you are symbolically, physically and symbolically given these working tools, and it's explained to you what you should be doing with them. Um dividing your day up, uh, making sure that is minus time. Removing your super your your your superficial flaws. So yeah, so this is the start. Now now you're you're measuring, you're not cutting anything, you're you're measuring your time. You're trying to get everything in order. You're doing prep work. Right. And then after this explanation, you're you're the newest guy, and you're taken to the northeast corner and explain that you're there, yeah, and why you're in that position. And then you're led out of the out of the lodge room, back to whence you came, as it is said. And then you come, you go get dressed, everyone says congratulations. You might go to the bathroom, uh, get a drink of water or whatever, and then you come back for some even more lectures, even more talking. And it would be Freemasonry if we didn't explain everything that you just went through.

SPEAKER_03

You know what? And I think that ritual is overlooked upon nowadays because if you think about it, Freemasonry originally existed mouth to ear. There weren't books, there wasn't a manual, there wasn't a Nintendo's book saying this is what you went through. You had to relearn what you just went through to get a full explanation so you fully understood when you started to do your catechism, when you started to do your other things. So that way like that, I think is like the visual aids that you get while those explanations are happening, uh those are timeless. You it's the same, it's the I I've I've literally seen the same slides used at different lodges. They're timeless because they're embodiments, right? They're they're pictures that are all explaining what's going on. But at the same time, you have somebody who's memorized that explanation and is giving it to you, right? And then it's your obligation now to understand what you went through and memorize what he was just told to you so that it can be passed down through the ages.

SPEAKER_01

Um I'll give you the names of these lectures. Uh, there's four of them. The first one is the explanatory lecture, and that should be pretty explanatory. Or just explain things. And by at no point are you talking or giving your two cents or asking questions during this. No. This is just an individual brother up in the east explaining all this uh from memory, unless it's an emergency and somebody doesn't show up, then we're reading it out of something like this, and which is not something typical we wanted we want to do. And our itchy our next lecture is uh forms and supports, and that's another explanation of like how the lodge is uh covered, how it's adorned, and what some of those symbols may may mean and what they are going to mean to you. Then is tenets and cardinal virtues. Um it's the symbolic meanings behind things.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, we are um let's see if there's something in here I can it's the first lesson in how to be a better man, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, here's a small piece, and one sentence isn't uh two sentences isn't gonna kill anybody. Truth, and this is somewhat to give any an idea what might be might might be happening. Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation of every virtue. To be good and true is the first lesson we are taught in Masonry. And that's not anything unfamiliar, anything untypical any Mason would say that we are teaching in our degrees or in our lectures. And this lecture just goes more into something like that. And again, we're not trying to give anything away.

SPEAKER_03

I just want to give you an idea of what the way I described it to Aaron when we were going through because I I revert back to previous degrees to give ideas of you know meaning behind things, and I explained to him, I was like, if you're taking your working tools, right? The the first degree, the way I explained it is let's say the plane crash is happening, the first thing you put on is your own mask, right? And then when you're doing your second degree, now you're putting on someone else's mask, right? Because you're you're bettering yourself. You can't better your community, you can't better your relationships with your neighbors or your friends or your family or anything like that until you've worked on yourself first. Right. So the first working tools are designed to better yourself, the second set of working tools are designed so that you can start uh bringing yourself out from Freemasonry and expanding your influence um thusly, right?

SPEAKER_01

We we'll talk about uh attitudes towards uh brothers, towards people outside of the fraternity, um, your your fortitude towards things, what what is expected of you as a human in the community? Uh just simple things like that. And then the last one, and every degree has a charge. What the large the large, the lodge is charging you with. And these are just simple things in the first place.

SPEAKER_03

What is your duty as an entered apprentice or a fellowcraft or a master mason?

SPEAKER_01

The the simplest thing that is expected of you as an entered apprentice, because you're not a master mason, you're not a fellow craft. So those things are not expected of you, and you don't even know what those are. If you can't figure out how to get up on the first step, how are you going to get up on the other two? So that's all we're giving you is that first level step, and take it easy. We know you're new, we don't expect everything from you.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah. Is it he did he did note so this is going back to that EA uh fellowcraft talk that I had with Aaron. I I it was a very impressive we had a we had our it's two people, like it only me and Aaron showed up that night, and we had a very long and lengthy conversation about what to expect from degrees, what to expect out of them, and what is expected of you, right? And I and it it harkens back to that where as I explained to him, hey man, it's like you are incomplete where you're at. It's like you have lessons in every degree that you're going through, and every single one of those gets longer. There is more requested of you, there is more required of you, as like, and when you go through it, you'll notice that not only is there more requested or more as like your obligation to your lodge and yourself gets longer with it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your obligations get longer, more is expected of you. So we're not gonna we're not gonna give you the world and expect that you're gonna be able to accomplish that. Um you know, no no one is gonna achieve that.

SPEAKER_03

No, it's the same reason why you had entered apprentices in such number in the quarries versus fellowcraft versus master masons. Because not everyone going through that entered apprentice step would make it to fellowcraft. No not everyone making from fellowcraft would make it to Master Mason. You have to refine your skills to move up. You have to refine yourself and you have to refine your um subjective thinking when you're going through speculative masonry.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. These again, these are the first steps. You're gonna you're gonna stumble. You're no one does. I don't even know everyone knows Mason is perfect. Uh and this is not about perfection. Yes, you you want the perfect stone to be uh laid go from the quarry to the temple. Yes, that's the idea. But even the perfect stone will have its flaws because that's how we are, we're very opinionated people. No master goes out and says this is perfect without saying to himself, man, I hope it really is.

SPEAKER_03

Well, and you gotta look at that. The stone will never be perfect, right? It it is stones are inherently flawed, right? But it's how those imperfections and those flaws interweave and interact with the stones next to them. You know, we're a brotherhood. The lodge is not the building, the lodge is the brethren. And how those brethren interact with each other makes a weak or a strong wall of stone.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Yeah, the the integrity of the wall is only as good as the next brick laid next to it or on it or below it. Yeah, so whichever whichever stone you are, whichever brick you are, I you know you gotta have that integrity. You gotta keep your integrity.

SPEAKER_03

I'm an oblong.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, then some of us are shaped oddly, and that's fine. You can still be part of the temple. That's fine.

SPEAKER_03

But no, I honestly like the degree work itself is so deep and intense, you can get super far into it. If you really just can just keep digging and keep scratching the surface, you'll find more below that you may not have realized. Like it took me, I think it took me so long to realize that when you're going in as an entered apprentice, right, you're going to get your first degree. You're stopped in a certain part of the lodge. I mean, you wouldn't know this going into this, but you'll notice it after the fact. Because when you're stopped in a certain part of the lodge, that part of the lodge is known as darkness. You're starting literally where the lodge deems darkness. And then you're proceeded to go to the altar to receive light.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, okay. All right. I never looked at it that way, but okay.

SPEAKER_03

All right, I can see that. You're stopped and you're and you you're you receive a prayer, right? You're stopped and you're kneeling and you're there in darkness without realizing that you are literally in where the lodge deems darkness.

SPEAKER_01

Right. And you know, uh, if we didn't, I don't think we said that, but you know, before all this gets started, when you when you first come in to lodge and you're a hoodwink, uh you take a couple steps, some things are are asked of you, you take a couple more steps, but then you're asked to pray. So uh deity is a is a big thing. We don't tell you what to believe, who to believe, or how to believe. No, but it's just a insist that you do have a belief.

SPEAKER_03

The belief in faith is a great foundation to build anything, really. Um it's where you get more of your moral and your moral subjectiveness is your your individual faith. Um and again, whether you're Jewish or Sikh or Christian or you know, as long as there's a belief in deity, there's a foundation for something better.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And that's you know, we're we're trying to get it across that you know we may not be a complete Christian organization. We're we're an organization of men of different faiths, and we're we're all trying to make it work because what what is a community? A community is people, people, but what about people? People of all different walks of life, all different thoughts, all different beliefs, and that's what we have to work with, and to reject something or to not accept because of a different belief is just not part of the Masonic thinking. And that's is what we want you to focus on, and that's the odd thing, right?

SPEAKER_03

You you look at some of these other podcasts where people are talking about how Freemasons don't they're not, you know, religious, they they believe in the supreme architect of the universe, but God said, let no other be named but me. You know what they they think we're praying to some other deity, but it's not, it's a name for the creator, right? Your creator, my creator, they may be similar, they may be they may be uh different faith, whatever it is, but it's still the creator of the of of your universe.

SPEAKER_01

Right, we we all have different beliefs on what that is.

SPEAKER_03

Correct, but it doesn't matter as long as you have a belief in faith, we all have common ground of that belief in faith. But the thing that gets me is that people they do these podcasts, they say we're satanic because we're worshiping on an eye on an altar or you know, the five-pointed star, or whatever, they have no clue what these symbols actually represent for what we do. And on the top of it, none of them acknowledge the fact that Freemasons are inherently taught to leave out two things from lodge religion and politics. Because those are two of the they can be two of the most divisive things that could draw people apart. When you start speaking upon it, that's when you start getting the disagreements. We leave those out of the lodge. The lodge itself, the building, the lodge itself, we don't we don't talk about those things because that way we are still a cohesive unit, we could still constructively talk.

SPEAKER_01

So it reminds me, I think this is like this should be how a Masonic meeting is is when there's this old commercial, uh, and I can't remember what it was for, but I remember it was like if things worked the way they were supposed to. And it was a bunch of firemen in court or at like the Senate, right? And one guy gets up, he's got the whole New York accent, he's got a stack of paper this high. He's like, What is this? It's just a whole bunch of paperwork to tell us that we need clean water. Guys, we need clean water, yeah. All those in favor, aye, aye, aye, that's done. And you know, that's kind of like how a Masonic meeting is we're not getting into the politics of it. We're not asking about what please. No, we're we're we're discussing what is for the betterment of the lodge, right? And we and we can do that because it's a lodge. We're not municipalities, okay? It's just a lodge. It's like, okay, well, this family needs clean water. Should we get them you know some water or what?

SPEAKER_03

No, no, green beans only.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, okay, yeah. And it's and it's a vote, yeah. It's you know, let's do the right thing.

SPEAKER_03

This light bulb has been out for five months. Can we take a vote to change it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and um the the nice thing as a uh newly initiated fellowcraft is is you don't get to vote on anything until you're a master mason.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, fellowcraft EAs. You get to just listen to it and just experience it before you get to deal with it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, um, it's it's a sight to be seen, that's for sure. Well, that's um pretty much the end of our degree.

SPEAKER_03

Um I I think I think I'm gonna enjoy this series. Um speculating on the degree work has slowly become one of my favorite things to look at and debate on.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I'm gonna enjoy this. We we talk about it a lot on the show, and I'm like, you know, why why don't we just give like a breakdown?

SPEAKER_03

Do an actual do an actual episode on it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. Let's actually have a subject this time. Yeah, right. So we've got you know, Reddit files. We do have another episode of that. I love this if it hasn't out on it.

SPEAKER_03

Series is gonna be one of my favorites, and the Reddit files has quickly become one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so yeah, we'll we'll get those out. Um, so like I said, we'll hopefully we'll be continuing to come out with episodes like this weekly, and part of our series will know because we'll say it's this the degree series, Reddit files, or whatever other kind of gimmicks I come up with.

SPEAKER_03

Uh I it is uh late at night, I have to work early, and I don't have any of the adult beverage, but I would like to shout out uh to all the guys who know the lectures, please encourage your brethren to learn them because we're slowly running out of people that know them. And it's important, it's an important part of the degree work, and I think that'd be a great thing for us to all work on.

SPEAKER_01

Right, great. Oh well, I got a couple. Well, uh, congratulations to all those newly uh initiated entered apprentices if you're seeing this episode. And shout out to two brethren that recently passed away that uh meant a lot to the Masonic fraternity and to my lodges and chapters. Uh, first off, Kurt Simmons, who recently passed away, and brother John Redis, who was the grand illustrious in I believe 1978 or 79. He was our longest living uh past in cryptic masonry. So um shout out for them to them. Um I know they're past, but God bless them, they'll be missed. Yeah, so uh everyone, that is our episode. If uh you haven't figured it out, you're watching us on YouTube, Rumble, all the other fun stuff, please give us a like and subscribe. Leave us a comment below.

SPEAKER_03

Hey, tell us what you want to talk about. We're gonna we're willing to talk about most anything. Bring it up to us, let us know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we're willing to open this up. Hopefully, we're gonna be coming out with some more guests for you guys. And if you are interested in being a guest, if you have something you want to bring to us, please reach out to us on our social medias, Instagram, Facebook, um, or you can reach us at refreshment at gmail.com. Um, that's our episode for tonight, everyone. Thank you for watching, and we will be back with one.