Rocky Mountain Mason
Episodes
Prince August Frederick (1773-1834) was not your typical Royal. He married without permission (three times), held contrary views to his class (including strongly supporting the abolition of slavery, the emancipation of Catholics, and the repeal of civil laws restricting the freedom of Jews). When he died, he will his body by buried in common ground - a testament, perhaps, that we are all rendered equal in death. He had amassed libr...
The negative confession to Maat; a short bit on Masonic Jurisprudence from the Summer 2019 Research Lodge of Colorado Lucerna; a rebuttal to the naysayers on Reddit in support of Wilmshurst University; and TBOP Chapter XXVII, on those things under the dominion of Mars.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
The light of Masonic charity covers the world. Ben relates an example of it touching a small town in rural Colorado in saving a young boy born with brittle bones. Ben caps the episode with a reading of Chapter XXVI of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy, On What Things Are Under the Power of Jupiter, and Are Called Jovial.... Which, as it happens, includes the Cornerstone Ceremony, as practiced in modern Masonic rites.
The Grand Lodge of S Carolina has been prone to authoritarian inflections in the past. It's done it again. In a travesty of overreach and marked abuse of office, the Grand Master of the M.W. Grand Lodge of S. Carolina has usurped all reasonable Masonic Jurisprudence, convened a unique trail forum rife with conflicts of interest, scuttled due process, simply to expel a rival.
What was the egregious offense? Holding an untiled ZO...
To vouch for someone is to stand in for them and be judged in their place. The legend of Damon and Pythius, the Pythagorean brethren whose loyalty stunned the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius I, is a suitable metaphor for the honor that should bind Masons - that stronger tie. The most important appointment in the Lodge is not the Master's chair. It's the Investigating Committee!
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymo...
An episode commemorating Robert Burns, the poet laureate of Freemasonry (may heaven bless him!). And the Rocky Mountain Mason's notorious toast "to the immortal memory of Robert Burns...", for which attempted Scottish accent the Rocky Mountain Mason must humbly beg forgiveness (but only if you're Scottish).
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
Join the Rocky Mountain Mason for some ideas to make your Lodge meetings more worthwhile. If Lodge meetings are boring, don't expect someone to entertain you - come to Lodge with something to say! Lodge meetings excel with preparation - and most work is done before the meeting. In such a way, the Lodge becomes vibrant and Brothers augment each other in redoubled light.
Patrons, stay tuned for video post of the Debate at the 201...
In this episode Ben discusses the power of that oft overlooked function of the Lodge, the deliberative assembly. Enforcing the majority will while safeguarding the right of the minority opinion to be heard in a self-governing assembly is a profound manner of organizing human endeavor. It also is sacred - in Ancient Rome the deliberation of the Senate was a religious activity, despite its preoccupation with mundane affairs. Ben wrap...
Why do we require proficiency for the degrees? Could there be a purpose beyond the simple test of perseverance it takes to get it done? Ben wraps the episode with chapter XXI, Three Books of Occult Philosophy: "Of the virtues of things which are in them only in their lifetime, and such as remain in them even after their death."
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
A brief history of St. John the Evangelist and Chapters XIX and XX of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Ben also includes the Grand Commander's Christmas Toast for your enjoyment and a short opinion piece on the relevance of Masonry in the 21st Century.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
In this episode Ben provides an overview of the origins of Christmas and opines on the emergence of "Santa Claus" as overarching archetype of consumerism during this time of year. Ben wraps the episode with Chapter XVIII of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy "Of the Inclinations of enmities."
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
In this episode Ben delves into the symbolism of the seven-branched menorah and some of the known health benefits of Frankincense. Ben wraps the episode with Chapter XVII of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy, "How by enmity and friendship the virtues of things are to be tried, and found out."
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
In this episode Ben decodes the "Star of Bethlehem", according to a mediaeval astrological technique concerning the Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn - of all the more significance in light of the upcoming Great Conjunction on the Winter Solstice this year.
Ben wraps the episode with a reading of Chapter XVI of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim and a reading of the d...
In 1901, M.W.Bro. Joseph Milsom, Grand Master of Masons in Colorado, was the keynote speaker at the St John The Baptist's Day Feast at the San Juan Masonic Association, hosted by Telluride Lodge No. 56. His oration, "On Masonry and its Relation to Religion" touches on various Masonic tenets that inform our institution, often misunderstood by the uninitiated, including the importance of secrecy. It demonstrates an amount...
In this episode Ben discusses the etiology of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Ben wraps the episode with a reading of Chapter XIV of the Three Books of Occult Philosophy.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rockymountainmason)
In this episode Ben reads Chief Justice Marshall's opinion in Marbury v. Madison. This case founded the concept of Judicial Review integral to our Separation of Powers; a quote from Marshall is written in stone in the Supreme Court today:
"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is."
Struggling to maintain legitimacy for the new Court (its first Chief Justice, John Jay, ha...
In this episode, recorded during the 2020 Presidential Election, Ben reads an excerpt from a book he was asked to write (but never finished) for the Grand Lodge of Colorado Education Committee regarding political theory and Masonry's role in formative modern society.
In this excerpt Ben provides an overview of political theory (with citations from Plato, Aristotle, Locke, and Adam Smith among others) and details some interestin...
In this episode Ben dispels ten modern myths about the Fraternity often held by Masons! Ben then relates a brief history of Charles Martel, the famous 8th Century Major Domus who features in the Old Charges. Ben then provides a short op ed called "Hermeti-skism" discussing the so-called "unific" attributes of the Hermetica and wraps up the episode with Chapter XII of De Occulta Philosophia Libri Tres by Heinrich Cor...
In this episode Ben presents three shorts for your contemplation: That the Compasses also Inscribe Tolerance to Speak of Heavenly Perfections (and why presentations on theological and religious material - where viewpoint neutral and not proselytizing - should not be discouraged); A Page from the Magical Diary of Theophilus LVX (that the three attributes of Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence are ONE attribute); and Live By t...
In this episode Ben shares a thought experiment wherein the universe is shown to be everlasting and everliving. That is, the modern conceit of a dark empty expanse after the last star has been extinguished is an unnecessary pessimism - it is possible for the universe to constantly remake itself: wherein the end state and the onset are, in fact, the same.
Revealed twenty years ago, this thought experiment yet holds true. Modern scie...