This is the London headquarters of the Freemasons. A secret society that has existed for hundreds of years. I want to learn more about this mysterious group, so what better way than to try and join?
I decided to knock on the large bronze door at the front. But no answer. The actual entrance was round the side, through a modern set of automatic doors. The Freemasons welcomed random visits from the public. After a quick security check, I was given a yellow lanyard.
I had made it inside and was now free to explore. I began wandering the marble corridors of the Grand Lodge. On the walls hung paintings of former members, including George Washington. Being a Monday morning, the building was relatively quiet. I couldn’t help thinking
That for a secret society, it wasn’t very secretive. Where were the robed monks, or hooded acolytes that were here to drag me away? The Freemasons had kindly signposted their headquarters with directions. After passing through more corridors and a flight of stairs,
I discovered a small meeting room with its distinctive chequered floor. As I ascended the upper levels, I eventually found the room I d been searching for. The Grand Temple, the innermost sanctum of British Freemasonry. This is the room where freemasons gather
Together and engage in sacred ritual. The hall was resplendent, with a golden throne in the centre and lavish mosaics adorning the ceiling. They were decorated with masonic symbols and emblems. Including an all-seeing eye above a pentagram. I was partially hoping to have stumbled in on
A cabal of bloodthirsty Satanists, but quite the contrary. Feeling deflated, I spent the rest of my visit browsing the gift shop, admiring Freemason merchandise and trinkets. With a souvenir mug in hand, I couldn’t help but feel that I had missed something. How had been so easy to enter?
What really goes on behind closed doors? And why does a secret society need a gift shop? There was one thing for it, I had to try and become a Freemason for myself. Who are the Freemasons? What is their history and what do they believe?
Freemasons trace their roots back to medieval Britain, to a guild of stone cutters. Masons were just one of many medieval guilds like the goldsmiths, merchants, and even fishmongers. In every town, a guild would have its own building, known as a lodge, where members would gather to discuss work
And socialise. Each member was to represent their lodge and contribute to its upkeep. In the following centuries, however, the medieval guild system began to decline. But, for some reason, the masons survived. It’s believed that the group began to accept people from outside the stone-cutting profession.
Patrons that just wanted to support the guild, and most importantly help finance it. These new members tended to be from the aristocracy, who had lots of cash at their disposal. The Grand Lodge in London was founded in 1717. By this time, the organisation had evolved into
Something very different from its medieval roots. Instead, it was comprised almost entirely of aristocrats, with new lodges being set up across Britain s burgeoning empire. The Freemasons, as they came to be known, was a place for the rich and powerful to socialise and do business. It was
Rather similar to a private gentleman s club, which was all the rage in London at the time. Whilst they have much in common with an elite gentleman s club, including the fact that they don’t accept women, the Freemasons have various traditions and beliefs that separate them from other societies.
Freemasons adhere to a distinct philosophy of self-improvement and personal growth. Central to this are the various freemason texts, a collection of books and teachings designed to stimulate deeper thought. Members belong to a community of like-minded men who help encourage one s spiritual development. The organisation also places a big emphasis
On philanthropy and is well known for donating vast sums of money to charity. Now, Freemasonry is not a religion per se, but it does advocate the belief in a Higher Power. Freemasons don t like to use the word “God as it s too aligned with Christianity”. Instead,
They prefer “Great Architect of the Universe” another nod to their stonemason origins. Symbols are a big part of Freemasonry. Take their logo for example: the square and compass. The square is said to represent the lodge master, and the compass points represent both senior and junior members.
Others say that the square represents honesty and the compass represents integrity and loyalty. There are hundreds of these symbols, each reflecting a value or doctrine that the group holds. Like the beehive, which reminds members to work together to ensure the fraternity’s
Success. Or the gavel, which stresses the authority held by the lodge s master. Often these symbols are gathered together, creating unique spreads known as tracing boards. These tracing boards are visual aids designed to teach junior members about the beliefs of the group. A bit like a where’s Waldo of esoteric doctrine.
One symbol that struck me was the two stone ashlars. The rough cube represents the mind before Freemasonry, and the smooth cube represents the mind afterwards. I suppose I m the rough cube at the moment. A naive mind that has not yet been indoctrinated
Into the Freemason brotherhood. I had to smoothen my brain, and finally make my application to join. Having acquired a magazine and a beginner s pamphlet, I explored ways to become a Freemason. Traditionally, newcomers must be recommended by an existing member. But sadly, I don’t know anyone who’s a Freemasons (at least
I think) so I went for the second option: nowadays you can apply online. There are four requirements to become a Freemason. Be a man. Check. Be over eighteen. So far so good. Believe in a Higher Power. I m an atheist but I can work on that.
Be of good moral standing. Hmm, I’ll give myself a check. Within five minutes, I had registered to join. All that was left was to wait, a member of the Freemasons would be in touch. Whilst I waited, I thought I d get ahead of the application process,
And do some background reading. Turns out, it takes a lot of work to officially become a Freemason. It’s not really something you can do in a week. Applicants are subjected to a round of interviews. After which, they are given a task of memorising
A masonic ritual. For newcomers, you must learn the “Ritual of the Entered Apprentice”. This text contains the basic precepts of Freemasonry. Here’s an extract of what you might be asked to memorise: Our lodges are supported by three great pillars, which are called Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty;
Wisdom to contrive, Strength to support, and Beauty to adorn; Wisdom to conduct us in all our undertakings, Strength to support us under all our difficulties, and Beauty to adorn the inward man. You’ll be asked to memorise this in a special initiation ceremony. To help,
You’ll be given a tracing board with a bunch of visual clues. Each board is tailored to the specific piece of Ritual you must learn. If you are able to successfully memorise it, then congratulations you’re now a Freemason. Joining the Freemasons requires a lot of effort and dedication. You must put in
Hours of study and learn pages and pages of sacred text. And even if you do join, you’re expected to attend all the society meetings. Fail to do so and you’ll be asked to leave. One reason why it s so hard to join is to deter people from sneaking in
And sharing their secrets. But fortunately, many of their Rituals can be found online. I guess it s difficult to run a secret society when the internet exists. Secrecy is an important tradition in Freemasonry. It s even ingrained in their motto: “audi, vide, tace”. Latin for “hear, see, be silent”. It’s slogans like these
That have made the group so controversial, and why they are often the subject of conspiracy theories. The first group to take issue with the Freemasons was the Catholic church. For one, the Vatican did not approve of them calling their God, “The Architect
Of the Universe”. So in 1738, Pope Clement XII banned all Catholics from becoming a Freemason. But the main wave of distrust began in the late 1700s. At that time, a number of important revolutions were taking place. Both America and France had toppled their monarchies, inspired by the ideals of equality, liberty, and democracy.
These high-minded principles came from the Enlightenment. A philosophical movement that was popular among the aristocracy. People would gather for intellectual debates wherever they could from coffeehouses to universities. But especially in Masonic lodges. Over time, people began to grow suspicious of the Freemasons, and soon connected them with the
Revolutions sweeping the globe. People believed that, somehow, the Freemasons were responsible. One of the first to expound these fears was an Englishman called John Robinson. In his 1797 book, Proof of a Conspiracy, he accused the Freemasons of insighting revolutions to gain power. The
Same book accused a small Bavarian book club known as the Illuminati of the same crimes. It gave birth to one of the world s oldest conspiracy theories: the New World Order, which is the belief that a powerful network of secret elites are controlling world events.
Whether or not the Freemasons are pulling the strings is debatable. But then again, many powerful historical figures have been Freemasons. Most notably George Washington, the first president of the United States. Other members include Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and a whole slew of British monarchs.
This certainly adds the argument that the Freemasons might be behind world politics. But truth is, however, the Freemasons have always been a very large group. Even today, there are around 6 million active members. I don t think it s too surprising to find few famous names on the list.
The Freemasons have since been connected to a wide range of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, faking the moon landings, flat Earth, or that they are a cult of reptilian aliens in disguise. Whilst some of these are ridiculous, they have thrived due to
The organisation s long tradition of secrecy. The Freemasons are not willing to share what goes on behind closed doors. Such secrecy is inevitable to breed scepticism and distrust. So, how do we separate fact from fiction? What are the Freemasons really up to? My pending
Application to become a Freemason was taking a while, I hadn’t heard back from them. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I wanted to see if I could get into a Freemason group without the hassle of actually becoming a Freemason.
It was then when I stumbled across the official Facebook group of the London Freemasons. For some reason, the group s posts were not switched to private. So, I was able to access conversations that were not intended to be read by the public. What I discovered was rather surprising.
It was pages and pages of Freemason cartoons; crudely drawn comics they had made for each other. With badly cropped stock images and comic sans font. Of course, it was more than just these memes. In fact, many posts were links to charity events and blood drives,
And even online meetups for members. The Freemason group was very wholesome, just a bunch of friends who wanted to get together and raise money for charity. I had finally reached the bottom of the Freemason rabbit hole. Unless of course there is a secret,
Secret Facebook group that remembers to switch their posts to private. As my continued with my investigation, I got the feeling that the Freemasons had been a little misunderstood. Maybe I stand against my YouTube brethren here on this one, but I do not
Believe that they are a malicious organisation of Satan-worshiping cultists. Instead, it had more in common with an upper-class gentleman s club. The Freemasons have their secrets for sure, but none that are particularly scandalous. The reality of the Freemasons is that it s
A medieval self-help group, with a bunch of rituals that you need to memorise. Perhaps there are those who insist that they’re still hiding something dark, or that I haven’t gone deep enough with my search. Maybe, but then again,
How far do you need to go until you find that there was nothing there to begin with? This is not to say that every conspiracy or negative opinion about the Freemasons is false, just that a large portion is fantasy. Of course, there are things I personally
Take issue with. For an organisation that preaches tolerance and equality, it seems hypocritical they still don t allow women to join. What s more, these kinds of upper-class institutions represent a wider problem in society. It s one of privilege and gatekeeping.
Just look at how many British prime ministers studied same degree programme at Oxford. As for the Freemasons, I hope this video is a kind of anti-conspiracy theory. There are times when reality is stranger than fiction, but this is not one of those times. The Freemasons, I believe,
Are far less mysterious than they’re made out to be. I realise that my sympathetic approach might make me seem a little suspicious. Maybe I m part of the New World Order and am here promoting Freemason propaganda. I m not, but I might be. Up to you.
Hey, thanks for watching. I had a great time making this one, it s a different style to what I usually do, but I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any ideas on strange groups for me to investigate, let me know in the comments.
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Anyway. I look forward to seeing you next time. Goodbye.
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