Welcome to the new age Masonic podcast a podcast dedicated to the new age magazine predecessor to the Scottish R journal on this podcast we take a deep dive into the articles of the history people and lessons of Freemasonry as written in the New Age magazine and their pertinence to both everyday
Personal and Masonic life hosted by Brothers Maynard Edwards 32nd degree kcch Matt Bowers 32nd degree and Chris Ry 3 second degree kcch articles from The New Age magazine read by Matt Bowers and brought to you by the Supreme Council of the Scottish right Southern jurisdiction mother Supreme Council of the
World welcome to the new age Masonic podcast a podcast all about the new age magazine the predecessor to our Scottish right Journal I’m mayard Edwards 32nd degree KC along with brother Chris Ry 32nd degree kcch and we can say this now now Chris brother Matt Bower’s 32nd
Degree as he has now become a master of the royal secret so congrats brother Matt thank you congrats Matt thank you thank you I think I actually think you mentioned that in the previous did I podcast but I’ll take the accolades as as often as I can I suppose but I was
Lying then because you were about to be I think you were about to be he mentioned no actually no I think it was just a matter of uh days before yeah so well at this point you actually as we record for sure are a Scottish right 30 second degree mat nevertheless you’ve
Got your black hat congratulations that’s true well I I recommended to them to just paint the Box black that it came into to put on my head because it yeah they had to sew two hats together it was not a exactly yeah my daughter was there
The night he got his black hat and I was on one side of the room and for some reason uh my daughter was sitting with Matt’s wife and they were all sitting together and I in the middle of it I texted my daughter and was like uh see
If Mr Matt’s hat they had to sew two together and she’s like I’m not sending him that like just show your phone yeah she did so the point of our podcast here is we have uh taken issues of the new age magazine which was printed in the 20th
Century as the predecessor to the Scottish right Journal brother Chris ruley he digitized all of the new age Journal so it is available in digital form and what we’re doing is we’re taking an article and then the three of us are discussing it and this one uh
Chris I don’t know whether you knew this when you pulled this article for us to talk about or not but the article is called finger rings a lost art by Jay Oliver nent this comes from 1904 and one of the most popular videos on our YouTube page by far I mean Far
And Away than all the other ones is the video that I did sort of as a throwaway about masonic rings and the proper way to to wear them so I don’t know if you knew that when you pulled this article or not I I did and the only reason I
Selected this because if you remember if for those of you who watched from the beginning we had some interesting topics for the last two and I I really wanted to throw a curveball here and do this and I remember um mayard you mentioned that you know the topic of how to wear
To the ring is it you know is it top bottom how it’s you know set up is is a topic of conversation for Masons and so I thought well let’s take a look and I found this article by Brother nent um and he this is not the this is not your
Typical this is more in the side of what the new age did especially very early on in its publication run where they pulled things that are somewhat tangentially Associated Freemasonry obviously the Masonic ring has a very uh you know Broad and long production or or history
In the United States um I’m not really sure how masonic rings and maybe there’s an expert out there um but how popular Masonic jewelry uh you know Rings all those different other types of jewelry outside of the United States but it certainly is prominant in the United States it’s it’s
A popular thing it’s a way that Masons very much um recognize each other if they may not necessarily know they’re Masons and so I like the article it doesn’t dive into the politics or anything of of masonic rings it really goes back to how did it start goes to
The Greeks references ancient Egyptian culture um and and of course perhaps we can dive into it uh as Matt goes through the article so definitely one of these interesting articles that you know was part of that original publication run not necessarily Masonic but something that the Publishers thought let’s let’s
Add some value to this publication by diving into some interesting history I do love that about some of those old new age journal and I love that that Scottish Wright Journal still carries on that tradition I mean just in in a recent issue um it talked about soft drinks and how many
Were tied into the soft drink industry so right was kind of a neat thing so without further Ado brother Matt Bowers is going to definitely narrate the article for us finger rings a lost art the finger ring of this modern time has lost all characteristic meaning in
Its general form and details the poetic sentiment delicate illusion and playful conceit conveyed by the graceful forms of interwoven flowers and other objects have disappeared the poetic meaning once attached to gems is a forgotten branch of elegant symy and the meaning of the conjunction of various Metals in the
Device is a lost art so completely is the art of ring jewelry forgotten that it is now sought to give a poetic sentiment to the very defects which Mark the gradation of the the art even in the unwrought and unmeaning wedding ring of our day a beauty is sought in its
Absolute want of any characteristic features Whatever by calling it with sentimental unction the plain gold ring before I attempt to show you how a wedding ring might be made or how it has been made let us look into the origin of finger rings in general the earliest kinds of rings seem
To have been merely portable seals in Babylonia and Assyria the first great empires of Central Asia of which we have any record the act of ceiling was most important as it conferred authenticity upon any important document this stood in the place of the present practice of attaching the names of the principal parties
Concerned Royal edicts were promulias of the Assyrian Kings being engraved upon a cylinder a kind of rolling seal of cornelian or metal from which they were impressed upon the requisite number of pieces of prepared clay thus in Assyria and Babylonia the seal was really a printing press which
Multiplied the Royal edicts to any required extent while small seals were worn on the Royal finger attached to a ring of metal such portable signets were used to give authority to Deeds of minor importance the Greeks at the time of Homer did not use Rings or seals but
Shortly afterwards the custom appears to have reached them from the east in the time of Solin seal Rings Opus appear to have become usual and with their use came the art of counterfeiting them this was the case with coined money also As proved by the discovery of ancient
Counterfeits of some of the earliest coins known especially the fame tortoises of aena so-called because of the highly wrought image of a tortoise which was the device of the double drmas of that state to such great extent did counterfeiting of small Rings Prevail in Athens that stringent precautions were
Taken and a law passed by Solin prohibiting any engraver from keeping the form of the seal which he had sold these early seal rings of the Greeks were probably entirely of metal the custom of mounting engrave gems not being in general use at that period superstition which in early
Stages of civilization attaches itself to all things had now become attached to seal Rings the ring of GES king of Lydia which is said to have been found in a grave was believed to convey its own extraordinary powers as that of chaca mentioned by heliodorus and also the famous Iron Ring of
Ecres magic rings become closely interwoven in the later times of Grecian IND dep dependence made of wood bone or some other cheap material they were manufactured in large quantities at Athens and could be purchased endowed with any kind of charm desired for the trifling consideration of a drma the
Simple metal seal ring was superseded by one composed of gems richly mounted in chasings of gold and as luxury increased several were worn at once till at last the fingers of both hands were nearly covered with these ornaments this was at a comparatively early period as we find
The custom alluded to both by Plato and Aristophanes eventually custom took the turn of approving rings of enormous size some exquisites went so far at a later period as we learned from quintilian of having a series of such Rings suited to the successive seasons of the Year thus
There were summer Rings winter Rings Etc many of them were of Highly ingenious device and finished workmanship imagine devices consisting of such features as gracefully rot representations of divinity supposed to preside over different seasons spring for instance was suggested by the head of a swallow an illusion to the sun’s entrance into that
Constellation at the period when the swallow the haringer of spring in Greece first made his annual appearance for the autumn series or bacus was used with Jewel work of wheat or of grapes and other fruits often for the same season they used the zodiacal sign of the
Scales to symbolize the equality of the day and nights at the Equinox the figure being richly wrought in Gold when the sign of the fishes was used often rare gems were introduced cunningly to represent the scales of the fish there were no legal restrictions in Greece against wearing gold rings though
The Spartans always affected simple iron ones and their women scarcely pretended this form of luxury at all wearing only simple annulet of ivory or Amber in romantic Legends both ancient and modern the ring is made the means of transferring power or authority show this ring to the captain of the Guard
Etc is the sort of phrase often found in ancient and medieval Legends the idea being that with the signate the power of the owner might be delegated to any person on whom he chose for a time to bestow it in Rome the custom of wearing Rings was said to have been introduced through
The samnites described by Libby as wearing gold rings enriched in Jewels some however state that the Romans adopted the custom in Imitation of the atrians during the reign of tarquinius priscus the earliest Roman rings however were of iron bearing a stamp or div device intended to be used as a seal to
The end of the Republic the ancient iron ring was still worn by those who affected to condemn Modern Luxury and Innovation Marius as plyy tells us wore an iron ring in his Triumph after the subjugation of jagera eventually however not only patricians wore gold signant rings but other classes soon imitated
Their superiors however legal restrictions were soon promulgated concerning the right to wear a gold signant these regulations were afterwards known as Yus anal Ari the Emperors assumed the power of granting the right of the annulus Ari or privileged to wear a gold ring and this license was much coveted as it was a
Sort of patent of nobility the letter of the law requiring that the father and grandfathers of the lates should have possessed a property of 400,000 cus the devices on Roman signant rings were generally subjects connected with the worship of the gods or portraits of friends and ancestors in many instances
Persons had engraved upon their seal Rings symbolical Illusions to their supposed origin and history of their families Augustus first seal with a sphinx then with a portrait of Alexander the Great and lastly with his own portrait this last custom became very usual a portrait on the exterior of a
Letter at once making known its author just as the car de visit of a modern Parisian Exquisite reveals the photograph Perfections of his person and identifies him at once without the necessity of the name many of the Roman rings were wrought with the greatest skill in the designs of the mounting and
The minute details of the device of such there remain numberless Exquisite examples preserved in the museums of Europe it was in the Middle Ages after a period of comparative barbarism in art however that the greatest degree of intricacy in the Goldsmith’s work began to display itself Rich enamel in Curious
Devices usurped the place of gems for a time and designs in yellow still further heighten the artistic effects of small jewelry toward the close of the 15th century Benvenuto chelini the celebrated Italian sculptor Jeweler architect and painter brought the devices of the Ring the brooch and the earring to a degree
Of elaboration and Perfection never before attained in the whole range of classical art the quaint conceits of the devices the effects produced and the sentiments conveyed by the juxtaposition of various gems and the introduction of MoDOT written on wavy Scrolls produced a pleasing intricacy of design full of meaning and often epigrammatic Point
Such as the Jewelers of recent years never dream of for in this later Day jewelry making has fallen from the glory of art into all the meanness of trade it may be however that people of today will not pay for a careful original design its execution demanding
Such an amount of artistic talent and labor as would leave the value of the Gold and Gems employed quite of a secondary consideration yet a similar feeling prevailed in cheli’s time as Illustrated in a story which he tells of himself he worked in a shop of one luchao a leading
Goldsmith of the day but had permission to get outside work to do on his own account chelini while out studying an antique statue attracted the attention of Donna pora chigi a princess of the wealthy papal family of that name as a first Mark of patronage she engaged him
To make a gold Jewel for her richly wrought with other devices but in the form of a lily luchao dissuaded him assuring him that such minute and delicate work was not profitable he indicated at the same time a large boldly embossed silver vase that he was
Making for Pope Clement it was such a vase as was used at the time as a receptacle for refu from the plate at dinner he assured his pupil that such large plane work paid better the master and pupil ended by making a wager over the matter Pini maintaining that his
Work would prove the more profitable of the two in 12 days Ben venuto had completed his work a lily of gold grouped with miniature fruit masks of comedy and tragedy and a number of little devices which when submitted to Donna pora gave her infinite Delight chelini stimulated her
Admiration by explaining the devices and their difficulties of execution and she paid him more than half as much again as the price agreed upon on the payment was made entirely in gold as a token of extreme satisfaction and accompanied as he tells us by compliments daa deota
Senora Lucho on his part received only the exact payment of his work and in heavy silver dollars losing his wager and becoming as chelini tells us with evident self- congratulation the laughing stock of the whole Goldsmith fraternity returning again to the modern plain gold ring it is probable that the most remarkable
Examples thereof are the Rings which are pictured upon this page the drawing show the general design of the betrothal and marriage rings of Martin Luther they are not rich and fluid in design as many other examples but as monuments of the great reformer and his nun wife they
Have an interest of their own and sufficiently illustrate a characteristic style of Jewel making which appears to have fallen into a state of desuetude that seems beyond the power of all restoration even by societies of Arts or great International exhibitions the betral Ring of Luther which is still
Preserved with the greatest care as a national relic of great interest is composed of an intricate device of gold work set with a ruby the emblem of exalted love the gold devices represent all the symbols of the passion in the center is the crucified savior on one
Side the spear with which the side was pierced and the rod of reads of the flagellation on the other side is a leaf of hisop beneath are the dyes with the soldiers who cast lots for the Garment without seam and below are the three nails at the back may be distinguished
The inside of the ladder and other symbols connected with the last Act of atonement the whole so grouped as to make a large Cross surmounted by the Ruby the most Salient feature of the device on the inside of the Ring the inscript descriptions are still perfect they contain the names of the betroth
Pair and the date of the wedding day in German translated to English June 13th 1525 this was the ring presented to the wife at the betrothal and worn by her after the marriage the marriage ring worn by Luther himself after his marriage is still more intricate in its
Structure it is an ingeniously contrived double ring every intricacy of its structure having its point and meaning in the first place although the double ring can be divided so as to form two complete Rings these cannot be separated from each other as the one passing through the other causes them to remain
Permanently interlaced as an emblem of the marriage vow Inseparable though still forming two perfect Rings they illustrate appropriately The Motto engraved within them translated from German to English what God doth join no man shall part on the hoop is a diamond the emblem of power duration and
Fidelity and on the inside of the raised mounting which when joined to the other hoop can be concealed are the initials of Martin Luther followed by a d denoting his academic title on the corresponding surface of the mounting of the gem of the other hoop are the initials of his wife Catherine vonora
These on the closing of the Rings necessarily lie close to those of Luther the gem in this side of the ring is a ruby the emblem of exalted love so that the ring being close the names of Katherine and Luther are closely United beneath the emblems of love power and
Fidelity there can be but little doubt that these curious and interesting Rings were designed by the celebrated painter Ang gold smith Lucas kranok the close friend of Luther who possibly wrought them with his own own cunning hand the following history of the Essex ring is interesting Charles Knight in his old
England Volume 2 page 14 says that when in 1564 Mary Queen of Scots married darnley she sent her Fair cousin Elizabeth of England a diamond ring in the form of a heart in token of the event and of her own affection this was the ring presented by
Elizabeth 2 Essex as being the most precious it was in her power to give him this ring was afterwards given by James I to Sir Thomas Warner who had been James Lieutenant of the tower this was intended as an exceptional Mark of the royal appreciation for the services of
Sir Thomas Warner for having established several colonies in the West Indies it is today a conspicuous feature in the armorial burying of the Warner Family who placed it upon their shield with the motto I hold from the king the president owner is CW Warner a wedding day wish what is the
Wish that I wish you Joy and freedom from care life that is bright and fair and an absence of pain and Ru what is the joy that I wish you home and you as its star a love no ill can Mar that will last as the heartbeats do what is the
Best that I wish you health and strength and Hope life of widening scope and a heart that is brave and true Frank H sweet once again the article that you just heard from the new age Journal is titled finger rings a lost art by Jay Oliver nent it I’m assuming brother nent
Was a uh a Scottish right Mason although I don’t his his degree is not noted on here but I would guess he was probably a Scottish right Mason um and it’s a it’s a pretty interesting history of finger rings in and of themselves any thoughts
On uh as a history and just right off the bat brother Chris yeah I mean I I like so where brother nent or um you know Jay Oliver nent mentions um it really starts early on with Babylonia and Assyria they were often not necessarily items that were used for
Decorative purposes but they were practical purposes there was a seal right and so this was sort of your seal a family seal you know if you’re thinking from Masonic context if you’re a Royal Arch Mason you know about the M you know Master a mark master degree and
Where you make your own little seal and so or you make your own Mark rather and so this is again you know what were these Rings used for practical purposes and then over time they became more ornamental they were associated with perhaps certain ceremonies right so there’s a there’s references to wedding
Things and there was also a reference I believe and I think on page two or three of in Rome when you’re transferring of power uh if you’ve watched any of those you know movies or about you know when you get a new pope that they destroy the
Old po they smashed the old ring and they they get a new one so there’s a lot of symbolic Association to Rings there’s a lot of um history not necessarily religious but sometimes political sometimes related to the family with weddings so there there’s it’s a it’s a
Very broad article so the ring smashing thing is interesting I I wasn’t aware of that and my knowledge of of Steal Rings came from watching movies like The Ten Commandments or B and her when I was a kid but that the Greeks actually they there was a law that that the engravers
Had to sell the engraving of the the Seal of the Ring after they made it for someone which I found which seems to be a simple Sol seems to be a simple solution for the the counterfeiting issues that they had to deal with because you know how do you go about
Telling which which which one is counterfeit and which one is the real deal when it’s back then it was all hand done you know right very minute detail yeah yeah and and it’s sort of you know now we always see it as very ornamental it’s it’s it’s for it’s just for looks
It’s for something for a special occasion but before when you had you know these old certificates or old Deeds or old documents you needed something not a signature but something that could be pressed and you know on Wax That Could you stand the test of time um and
Anyone could Forge a signature but if you had a unique seal and just like you said Matt if that original die casting is also sold with it then you could prevent um prevent uh you know any nefarious Deeds well the other thing the other thing I wondered about too is if
With with the stink that that some people make as to which direction the Masonic ring is to be worn if it mattered which direction the seal went on on whatever potentially you know on a on a piece of clay or whatever yeah yeah potentially um I can certainly see that
And I think one of the nice things about this article and I wish this was a virtual maybe we can find a way of highlighting some of the pictures that were included in it that they the the author highlights not just the standard you know gold ring there are lots of
Different um seals and tokens and some rings are not even morphed they’re sort of like in a u fashion rather than a circle um some have snakes on it uh there are some that are really ornate with jewels encrusted on it so he really starts from the beginning and then
Watches the evolution over time into Europe and you know uh late 20th century and and does his best to try to connect even his own relationship with his own wife or family uh in it so there’s there’s a lot of interesting stuff here yeah and the Pope ring the it’s called
The Ring of the fisherman or I think the piscatory ring it descends from the idea that you know Peter who was the first pope uh is the was the fisherman the fisher of men and he you know so the the the image is it’s got like the pop the
Current pope’s name and then the um uh then a a guy in a boat I guess it’s supposed to be Peter and not only does he use that to seal official documents in wax but he also um when you greet the pope it is you kiss the ring or kissing
The ring symbolically of St Peter right so so those things still there there are still organizations especially older organizations that attribute power to it I mean we all just watched a few weeks ago uh as uh King Charles ascended to the throne that’s right there’s
Definitely a a seal of the realm that is worn uh sometimes as a ring that they still use to seal official documents so it’s it’s a lesser known custom but it’s not a gone custom but think about when you get something not ized the notary
Has to use their seal on it most lodges the lodge secretary I’m I’m a lodge secretary I have to have a seal if I send an official document to Somewhere Over my signature I pressed the Seal of the lodge onto so you know I I guess the
Practical way to maintain the seal is if you’re always wearing it on your finger somebody can’t swipe it and pretend to be you now mayard one of the things I want to ask you actually Matt you just went through this process so I believe
You got your 14 degree ring I I think I could say perhaps with the de included that the Scottish right is one of the few organizations that has the ring or a ring embedded into the fabric of its degree process its process of maturing from the fourth degree to the 32nd
Degree I can’t think of off the top of my head in this right now any other degree or organization that that confers that but you’ve got a 14th degree ring and and Matt you just started that or I believe you got your 14th degree ring maybe talk a little bit about that uh
Just got it within the last couple of weeks um at the at our at our ringing cap ceremony and you had a ring ceremony yes yeah yeah that’s San specifically yeah okay cool now Maynard is that is that is that true in terms of I I can’t think of any other organization that
Does that but that’s a really big deal with especially with the with the the Scottish right for maybe for individuals who may not necessarily know what that is what is that ring why do we get it so sure and I can speak to this um first of
All I can’t speak to any any non-masonic organizations or anything outside of the ones that I am a direct member of so um I recently became a Easter star member uh I’m a deay dad I’m a and deay has a ring but it’s not officially part of the
There’s not a degree that goes along with it like there is in the scsh right um I can’t think of anything unless I’m missing something and you know as well as I do in the York right includ all the way up to the Templar degrees so I don’t
And as much regalia as there goes along with the Templar degree you would think that if there one of us would remember and it’s just not in there so if somebody wants to correct us podcast at scotus right.org but the 14th degree of the Scottish right uring represents a
Covenant and and inside it’s inscribed in Latin that I cannot pronounce uh basically says what virtue has United death cannot separate and so basically it is a reminder of your covenant not only to the brothers of your Lodge of perfection but with yourself and with
God to be the best version of you you can be on an ongoing basis so it’s that promise and it’s a simple gold band with a triangle and the triangle is used for a very specific purpose it alludes to it in the scatter degrees but the triangle
Itself is one of the earliest signs of divinity and it’s one of the strongest shapes in nature because you know three as we’ve discussed different Arenas the number three is sacred in a lot of societies for a lot of reasons it is you know in Christianity is the Father the
Son the Holy Ghost uh you know in uh Eastern philosophies it’s the mind the body the spirit it’s the smallest unit of a family a mother a father a child so the number three is important that triangle becomes important and then in the center is the Hebrew character for
Yud which is it looks like a little squiggly line uh and it is the first letter of the unpronouncable or in able as we say name of God we you know the real pronunciation is lost to time but we’ve kind of created this substitute pronunciation and that character is the
First letter of it so that’s what this the 14th degree ring is and it really is a a symbol of your Covenant and reminder of all the promises and the obligations that you took from your first to your 14th degrees which all deal with improving yourself as a person and right
That’s what that ring represents but there’s that one and then the 33rd degree ring which I know about and and there you know the statutes are to what it’s supposed to be it’s supposed to be a triple Band of Gold with the triangle and usually there’s some stones and
Things with the number 33 on it but I’m not a 33rd so I’ve not received that degree I I can’t and won’t comment on it other than to say that you know most of the guys that wear the Rings they wear them pretty proudly and and again I I
Have to believe it’s it’s a type of Covenant it right signifies the promise to the organization and and and just as you mentioned that before I think that was what I was alluding to where I’m I think that’s it’s sort of baked into the into the Scottish right you know rules
And regulations about how the ring is supposed to be what’s the what’s the sort of um you know the structure how it’s supposed to look when it’s supposed to be conferred and so that’s that’s certainly unique so I can certainly understand why the editors of the new AG magazine wanted to highlight that
Because M these Scottish Wright Masons would have received a ring or or or they would have been eligible to receive a ring and so the author made sense to talk a little bit about the history the symbolic history of the Ring um I do know and may maybe you can correct me I
I do know that the ring ceremonies are not it’s that’s not codified in these in the Scottish right rules and regulations so I I I’m not sure is it different valleys are doing different things if you come to DC you’re going to see it differently if you go to Baltimore or
New or or California for example you might see something different so that’s a great question and this is a little bit like free parking and Monopoly where there is kind of a guideline but everybody does it different at their own house uh so you know some people put all
The money from the luxury tax on the free parking space and some people put all the jail money there and whatever that is in your house um the actual uh rule is you’re supposed to do something to recognize a brother receiving his 14th degree ring about 20 years ago
Maybe even more than that there was a book that was released and if you a member of the scotus right and you are in our portal you can log in to scatri right.org and and under the uh in the files for uh member exclusive content
You’ll find a PDF of a book in there called forms and traditions and it describes sort of what the Supreme Council envisioned at the time as being an ideal 14th degree ceremony and what that was is uh the brother there would be an explanation of the Ring there
Would be a reading of a poem called my if my Scottish right ring could talk that I’ll be honest I’m not a huge fan of I find it a little silly but and then there’s uh then you are you to walk into the room through something they want you
To pass through a barrier and a lot of valleys have built a large ring for you to pass through and on a red carpet and you’re to come with your lady or other escort and then she is given you a ring and it is presented to to you and so
That’s sort of the basics of the ceremony a lot of valleys do it a little differently they they mix it up they’ll combine it like in Susana Valley our Valley is a little small we do the caps and the Rings all at the same time Baltimore has quite a large production
With uh the way they do it I know a lot of valleys make a big deal of it and I think it’s another way to celebrate a new Scottish Wright Mason and sure you know to really let them know that what they’re doing is something special and something important and specifically the
Promises that you made during that LOD of perfection Journey are important and you should carry them with you do you wear Masonic ring when you’re I wear any r i I don’t wear any rings I I for whatever reason I can barely stand to wear a watch um I just don’t like having
Anything on me yeah it it drives me a little nuts so I I when I go to a formal Scottish right thing or a formal Masonic thing I will occasionally put my rings on on but I’m I think I’m going to get like my Knuckles tattooed I know Bowers
Has his knuckles tattooed so I’m thinking I might do that just so I can have it on there but no I don’t but do you you you wear your wedding band but I do but and I I also wear my I do when I attend Masonic meetings um and and
Actually when I do go into work in my office I I don’t I work remotely for most of my perhaps this is not an evergreen topic but I do work a remote leave um and so when I do go into the office which is usually once or twice a
Week I do try to wear a Masonic ring not because I want to you know you know Market that I’m a Mason to people but once in a while I’ll you know be out I we’ll grab lunch or I’ll go to the post office during a break and I’ll see
Someone or or or maybe you know someone will stop me I did have a brother actually catch and sort of show me his ring while we were while we were at the post office which is why I mentioned it before um which was nice it was just a
Small little thing and it’s just it’s sort of one of these things where it’s a subtle enough way to highlight your association with the fraternity um without having you know now I I I love the brothers who wear the big hat with the big square and compass on it or the
Shirts that’s awesome you do you uh you show how you want to represent the craft I I I find that I like a little bit of the subtleness nature to the ring so I do wear it sometimes in public um but I I do have the wedding ring on that’s
That’s usually the only piece of jewelry I have on Matt are you wearing your ring currently do you wear yours regularly or you you know kind of a formal thing or what uh well actually my 14th degree ring I haven’t worn I think since the night of because it’s actually a little
Small One Masonic ring that I ordered online I actually wear where my wedding band would be on my left hand because for some reason when I sized it when I got it it was too small for my right hand but it’s funny you mentioned that the tattoo thing because I’ve actually I
Was actually thinking about today getting the 14th degree symbol the the the the yod symbol tude on my right hand because I mean especially being a drummer I don’t always play with stuff on I’ll take my my whatever beads I have on or my watch off or whatever when I
When I play it’s just it’s something that gets in the way yeah absolutely makes sense yeah but there’s one question I did have and maybe this is a silly question but was there ever a time maybe during like the anti-masonic period that Rings were were were worn by
Brothers to so because it was they were kind of shunned in a way that they were they used it as more of a distinction was there ever that you know you hear all kinds of stories and tall tales about that and and it’s it’s tough to to
Prove or disprove a lot of it it’s a little bit like the Forget Me Not story out of Germany how the you know Masons would tuck a for M Masons were persecuted in the Holocaust alongside Jews and you know gypsies yeah Witnesses were all basically if you
Were not you know uh you know of the Aryan race however they deemed it they wanted you round it up and and sent away and um there’s a story that was put out many years ago about the Forget Me Not and it’s been widely adopted but I’ve
Been assured by many a masonic scholar that it’s mostly made up that it’s not that now is it possible that someone somewhere did that put a little forget me not in there lapel sure is it possible that someone somewhere wore their ring kind of quietly so people
Would know yeah absolutely it is but I I don’t I don’t think that was ever like a big and I think the reason for that is very simple is that again there’s this prevalent misconception that Freemasons I’m using air quotes here are some big homogeneous group that receive orders
From on high from some mysterious invisible leader we don’t every Lodge is different every Grand Lodge is different I mean even in England where they have the United Grand Lodge of England every Lodge has its own little bit of culture and things like that so there would be
No real way to make a pronouncement from one place to another I mean they don’t agree in some cases on what the degree work should be like and that’s the foundation of our order let alone agree on something like a ring it’s just not gonna happen right right which which
Seems it’s kind of funny that people would make a stink as to which direction to wear it well it’s also you know in Virginia so I’m a I’m a Virginia Mason and a DC Mason and they wear their aprons you know Virginia you wear it
Under the jacket and in DC we wear it over the jacket and you know I there are always conversations about that and you know every every jurisdiction does it a little different or there are little nuances there’s no flag ceremony in DC you know for example um and and for
Masons who when you open up a lodge meeting they might understand what that means means um but again different things and different jurisdictions do different things differently which is nice DC doesn’t doesn’t start with the pledge and all that we have a pledge but there is a flag ceremony in in Virginia
And obviously we’re I’m not trying to you know it’s not secret it’s American flag fair enough fair enough but no no that that is not we just we just do the salute to the flag you know the Pledge of Allegiance that’s it there is no other we’re not moving the flag around
The the LOD room really nope yeah in Maryland and I know in Virginia what happens the flag is at the back of the room they present it to the center of the room we all say the Pledge of Allegiance then they put it at the front
Of the room and that’s not in DC huh I didn’t realize that no and if they if they did then I I have no records of that being written in Lodge minutes or anything you know sometimes they say brother soand so presented the flag probably shaves five minutes off the
Opening I can’t there and there are lodges that read the minutes right you know and and I think there was a Grandmaster in where was it Montana or or one of The Lodges that said you know we don’t you don’t have to stand there and read your minutes verbatim you can
Just pass the minutes out before the meeting vote on it and move on it’s this kind of stuff like if you go to a lodge in Virginia they read the minutes at the end of the meeting they give you a little synopsis it shaves a couple
Minutes if you don’t do it but again we’re diving into different topics right right you you know rabbit rabbit holes many many many rabbit I could certainly say I would prefer the uh the apron under the jacket but that’s just me move on here’s one thing I want to make very
Clear in Maryland only Past Masters do that and they don’t even do it that often because it looks weird but um here’s one thing I want to make very clear and this has been one of the reasons why I think that Facebook or Pardon Me YouTube video that we did on
The Rings has been so popular and has been such a topic of argument is that no Grand Lodge none not one has made any official ruling as to how a Masonic ring should be worn whether it should be the points facing out or the points facing in no Grand Lodge has made
Any determination on that and the United Grand Lodge of England has not done so I am not aware of any Grand Lodge around the world that has made a ruling on that specifically the Scottish right in our statutes regarding the 33rd and the 14th degree Rings each it says it can be worn
On any finger of either hand so they’ve actually gone ahead and said do whatever you want it’s written into the statutes whever the heck you want be done with it having said that most people wear it on the ring finger of their right hand or on the pinky finger of their right hand
One or the other I think a lot of guys start out with it on the ring finger of their right hand and then as they get a little fatter they put it on the pink finger which is probably where my 14th degree ring would end up right about now
Oh no so no one has made a ruling on that in the video my stance on this is if and when I do wear my ring I wear it facing in such a way as to say who needs to know I’m a Mason today am I wanting
To let the whole world know I’m a mason or am I trying to remind myself that I’m a mason so am I in line going to be at the MVA today where I’m I’m gonna have to go fight about you know about my car and I’ll be there all day why might want
To face me to remind me that I’m a Mason and I need to behave as such even when in a situation of of stress was there was there ever a time before say Etsy or Amazon Prime or anything like that that there were authorized specific Jewelers I mean I know deay
Does that but well that and there the especially considering not to interrupt you know the the you talk about the Greeks with that they had with counterfeiting of coins and and that sort of thing and how they you know they made the engravers sell their their engraving the the answer to that is
Probably not I mean Grand lodges I’m sure have had official Jewelers but cannot dictate the square en Compass right because they are symbols that are as old as time itself I mean you know going well back into the 1300s the square in the compass compasses I guess
I should say have been used um as symbols and so you could copyright a specific drawing or engraving of it but just the symbols themselves are like the Christian cross it would be impossible to regulate that so so has interrupt so is a l so has there ever been a lodge
That’s that’s tried to do one specific to to their Valley or or to their or I mean probably but to what end yeah I mean yeah I mean nobody’s getting rich selling Masonic jewelry also also in the in the New Age publication actually um the front of the new age magazine and
The back of the new age magazine had advertisements and so Masonic rings were often advertised and so but they would you know they would be like one it’s sort of like McCoy right right like McCoy is a purveyor of aprons and rings and jewels and all that other stuff so
It was very similar there you know they they purchased in bulk and they were trying to sell these things you know to to a mass audience um and I know I know for sure because I know it’s in DC I’m sure it’s in New York and you know major
Cities in California and Texas wherever that there were local Jewelers or brothers were Mason Jewelers and so they you know as part of their business the lodge said let’s help out the brother of our lodge by getting these set of jewels from so and so brother but to say that there’s like you
Know the the Royal Charter of you know ugle for example has a company that they work with that has been their traditional company that they’ve purchased items and jewels and things to say that that’s the you know DC or grand Lodges of New York California Texas have that
No I think Paul River made a few bucks selling Masonic Jewels that’s right he was a silver smith that’s right I know that Paul Rivier um he he definitely made Jewels for his lodge the morning star was it Morning Star Lodge is that correct maybe that might not be right
Brother Travis Simpkins would know shout out to brother Travis um because he’s a member of that Lodge and uh that Lodge still exists and they still have those original Jewels I think they’re in a museum but those jewels that he exist and I I got to believe that wanting to
Make a profit brother Paul probably made a few sets of different things fing rings and so yeah you know they’ve been around for a long time that reminds me of the story that it’s in the in the National Archives there’s a letter from a brother from I want to say either Phil
I know he’s in Pennsylvania but I want to say he was in Philadelphia and he was looking for a job in the federal government and he reached out to Thomas Jefferson so there’s a correspondence letter from from this brother to Jefferson basically saying you know I’m interested in getting a job I’m a
Jeweler by rep utation and by profession and he actually mailed Jefferson a masonic Jewel so he can exhibit and see the quality of his work now I’m not we’re not sure we assume that it was mailed back to uh the individual but there was a little thank you note from
Jefferson that said you know thank you for you know this this display of your craft and uh you know we we’ll we’ll talk with you later but I’m not sure if that the brother actually ever got a job at the in the in the administration but that’s an example in other words that’s
An example of you know uh where Masonic Jewels you know were shared or displayed with non-masons especially interestingly presidents of the United States and Thomas Jefferson no less well if you I’ll have to share with both of you later some pictures that a brother took
Uh from a a lodge in New Jersey was the mother Lodge for a does the name Robert wadow ring any bells the world’s tallest man ever Ripley Believe it or not he’s in everyone one of those museums and I always because the kids like to go to
Those a lot and say he’s a Mason Thomas Mason yeah his his ring is at a is at a lodge in New Jersey that a brother that that I a hula hoop yeah oh and he places his ring the the brother that who’s who’s article reading I just did for the
Scottish right journaling he has a picture of his ring placed to Robert wadlow’s ring and it’s like it’s it’s like Andre the Giant holding a beer can type it’s just ridiculous wow well the question I have is about this is in terms of Masons and I guess not just in
Rings but in bling let’s say in general why do you think it is that Masons are so big on things like the Rings the lapel pins the you know ornate belt buckles and all those kinds of things um what is it about Masons that they want to show that be because if we’re
Supposed to be having a secret society uh we’re not doing a very good job job we’re all walking around with big rings and and big belt buckles and license tags and all that well I think oh go ahead sorry sorry I I think it’s just
The the nature of that person you know I I I joke with my wife sometimes about her jewelry and I I’ll say to her so you got your Mr T starter kit you know it’s you could have you have the Masonic Mr T starter kits it’s I think it’s just the
Nature of the person they’re wear stuff like that regardless of of what their affiliation is I would say I would say there’s two parts to that question so the first part is I think if you if you’re a new Mason you don’t know better you’re being told that you’re getting a
Ring or I’ve seen your grandpa wear a ring or your father was if you’re they were a Mason they you they saw them with a ring and it’s sort of this tradition of wearing these interesting artifacts um you know and showing them off the the other part to that I would say is
Freemasonry is inherently not a secret society it’s a society in which its initiations are are secret and so if you go back to these old you know you know pre Revolutionary War Masonic lodges in the United States and you know lodges outside the United States people wanted to display their affiliation with ornate
Jewelry as a way of having respect and you know wanting to show off that they are members of The Lodge a past Master’s Jewel a beautifully ornate PM’s jewel is gorgeous it’s it’s it’s it’s sort of like it stops you in your tracks when you see a great Jewel uh of great craft
Work and art on it and by the way it’s really difficult to make these types of things right I mean I’m sure Brothers can go online and or Google on eBay I know uh brother Maynard you have a video on on stuff that people find on eBay
There are jewels that are $5,000 you know 14 karat gold with with little encrusted Jewels rubies or Sapphire on there that are just gorgeous and so you know to me I think it’s an expression a way of expressing your love and interest for the fraternity in a way that you can
Do so that follows a tradition that follows a history whether your parents were involved with the Freemasons or your grandparents or or your forefathers or just because you served as a master of your Lodge or as a Grandmaster past Grandmaster and you want to highlight
That when you you know go out and engage in some type of activity I know for me too the more because I love skulls the more ornate stuff I can find with skulls on it like like my ring I don’t know how well you could see that there it is the
More stuff that I can find I’m happy that works that works for me yeah but it’s also the sentiment of it too yeah I mean as long as you’re not violating any as long as you’re not violating your obligations to me I feel like go and
Find a way that expresses how you want to express Freemasonry or your involvement Freemasonry you could be a brother that has never sat in an officer’s chair or in a lodge chair or maybe ever served as a committee because you’re maybe busy with your personal
Life but if you want to buy a ring and say hey I’m really proud about being a Freemason do I attend meetings all the time not really but you know I pay my dues I I wear this ring because it’s really important it was a really important that initiation or that
Initiatic experience was important to me and so I’m going to wear this ring as a a way of remembering that and sharing that with others but I I think those are both absolutely valid and I think it’s it’s a to each his own type of thing
Right as Matt said um and I agree with I like the way that you said it was a you know we’re not a secret society we’re a society whose initiation process I don’t even call it secret I say it’s private it’s which is different sure I think secret and private have some different
They seem like they might be synonyms but they are not in fact and as a for instance if any one of us goes into the bathroom to use the bathroom what’s happening in there is not necessarily a secret okay we all kind of know but it’s private you know it’s not for everyone
To experience I I was getting anxious about how where you were going with that you’re being if you’re intimate with your with your wife or partner what have you you know that’s not secret but it is private and right I think that there’s a little bit of difference there so I I
But I think it’s I also think that boys will be boys we like to carve our initials on things we like to uh we you know we we do that type of stuff if if we got a piece of chalk and we walk by a sidewalk we’re GNA write our initials or
Something on it we’re gonna do that and it’s it’s part of this and and uh you know my my wife always says it’s a Mars Venus thing and that there are just certain things that we do without realizing why we do it and I think this
Is this you know as as guys there’s this I want to say I was here I want I wantan to I want to be a part of so we we Mark things and we put that that image on things and to associate and and find I I
Guess the rest of our tribe or in our case our fraternity right well and also think of think of it in this context for and I always apply the lens of History For What 100 200 years let’s say minimum of 200 years what was probably the most ornate
Thing if you were Mason what was probably the most ornate thing that you as a man had in your personal collection of things jewelry it would be if you were serving as a past Grandmaster pmas and if your Lodge either conferred the jewel Onto You gifted you this Jewel it
Would most likely be this Jewel so for many Masons many individuals who participated in this fraternity that Masonic Jewel with a little golden crusted or or Sapphire or Ruby whatever was probably one of the most expensive and ornate things they had they didn’t have a lot of stuff but they took the
Time out to purchase or to have or to have that as a Keepsake and to donate it and pass it on to other Brethren because it mattered that much they didn’t have a beautiful mansion they may have not had a car or horses you know at that that
Time but you know at the end of the day they were buried perhaps with the Masonic Jewel this ornate beautiful thing which may have been the most expensive thing they had my Jewel my past master I have two Past Masters Jewel one from uh my Crescent Lodge
Which was where I was first pmas and it’s it’s nice but the one that I have that is um that is worth more monetarily not necessarily int well I guess intrinsically as well um is the uh past Master Jewel I received from my mother Lodge Mount Ararat and the reason is it
Is a it is a uh past Master Jewel that has been uh handed down from brother to brother for many many years and the most recent brother to wear was a dear friend uh brother Pete Hicks who was a charter member of Susan Valley and uh and the
Past master who put me in line he passed away last year very sad it was a very close friend um but that is his Jewel that I’m wearing and so now my name is on it with his and so it is worth quite a bit because it has a real very large
Sapphire in the middle of it it is made of actual gold and all that and it’s it’s a little bit on the heavy side but uh it means a lot to me and I’m pretty certain that it is the most expensive thing I own because the bank still owns
Most of my car I don’t have any horses as Chris mentioned but right um so uh it it is it is absolutely one of the nicest things that I own and uh when I wear it and I don’t I I usually only wear it in
My Lodge or if I’m going to go someplace where it’s important I be known as a past Master then I will put it on but other than that I kind of you know take very good care to make sure it stays where it belongs and it uh right uh you
Know but it is it is quite an ornate piece and very special to me right right and so and I think that’s when people aren’t we don’t really necessarily think about that in the dayto day right it sort of struck me as what would be the most expensive thing you owned if you
Were a pmas if you followed you know if you if you followed that path um and got a really ornate Jewel think of it at the time and it that’s the thing that’s the thing that is the lasting momento your affiliation with a fraternity could have been another fraternity sure there
Obviously different fraternities also have jewels and rings and all these interesting things but at the end of the day if that is one of the few things that you cherish and you make a plan that says you know when I die I want these very ornate and beautiful things
To be passed on to my children or perhaps if you’re fortunate to have a brother or a son who is a brother or a Mason that’s something that’s very important so you know M I’m sure for you passing that on to your son is something that you will cherish or or perhaps uh
You know you made plans to to pass on other things and these are jewels and these are rings and other interesting items absolutely all right brother Matt wrapping up our discussion on rings any closing thoughts well I tend to find the silly in some things that I read
Sometimes you know the first paragraph in this was the the finger ring of this modern time has lost all characteristic meaning in its general form and details the poetic sentiment delicate illusion and playful conceit conveyed by the graceful forms of interwoven flowers and objects have disappeared and all I could
Think of at the time was clearly the brother if he was a brother was never fortunate enough to visit the Maryland Eastern Shore to buy a mood ring they everywhere but uh to I I enjoyed the article one thing it made me think of too how how things have changed um in
I guess in the in like social mores and you talk Chris you were talking about uh elaborate jewels and stuff like that how tattooing if there’s an expensive thing that you could you could do nowadays especially I’ve done it mayard has a couple um a couple other brothers that I
Know have have some pretty ornate masonics related tattoos and uh tattoos ain’t cheap that’s for sure and if there’s one way to permanently you know have that on you that’s tattoos are the way to do it brother Chris I think it’s an interesting article it definitely speaks to this old
First sort of decade of the new ages publication run where you’re not just getting topics on esoteric or perhaps the symbols and degrees you’re getting these other other articles other articles on History other articles that may be tangentially or or closely related to Something in Freemasonry um I
Think there’s a lot more of these types of Articles not necessarily rings but on science and music and art and things that we may not be really necessarily focusing on in our day-to-day Masonic activity and I’m looking forward to finding more of those types of Articles and sharing it with you guys absolutely
And I certainly appreciate the discussion with both of you guys uh I just want to kind of hand out a reminder to brother Masons that life is far too short to argue over stupid things and arguing with each other if you want to argue as like a goof and be like I wear
It this way or I wear that’s fine but there are people who really get mad and they’re very upset if you disagree about how the ring should be like they you’re wearing that incorrectly you should wear it as you received the light or you should wear it this way or you should
Wear it until you’re a past Master you should do this go to Amazon or Walmart or Billy jewelry shop or the pawn shop up the street get a ring if you want one and wear it however the heck you want there’s no rule on it no Grand Lodge has
Made a rule do what you want and don’t let anybody tell you that there’s some rule because i’ I have looked and there is not so do not argue with people about stupid things just say okay brother and leave it alone and move on with your day
But just just even based as a presentation that you made at our blue Lodge the other night that I think that still boils down to the general nature of people because the presentation you made you commented to me over text afterwards a particular brother in there
That just kind of kind of scoffed at you yeah didn’t like I know people don’t believe me that there’s no rule there’s no rule there’s not there’s not I know you want to think there’s oh the grand lods has said this no they haven’t not
One F if if I I will be glad to be wrong if you can provide me with a Grand Lodge edict Andor statute on this I will be glad to say all the grand lodges don’t care except blank Grand Lodge insert Grand Lodge here I but and also to your
Point what you just said was this speaks to the fact that people think we’re all one homogeneous group we are not and so if your Grand Lodge does do that and good for you or congratulations or you know that’s great move on focus on the things that bring us together yeah I
Always say we’re not Hydra from the Marvel Comics that’s not a that’s not a thing if we were we’d be way better organized and we’re not so you know it’s why it’s hard to find a good Masonic fish fry these days but I digress that’s another Rabbit Hole so that’s brother
Chris Ry 32nd degree KC he is the historian for the valley of Washington DC also brother Matt Bowers the dlet voice of the Scottish right Journal podcast and 32nd degree Master of the royal secret now I’m mayor Edwards 32nd degree KC thank you guys for listening if you got questions comments you want
To sign off on this one podcast at Scottish right.org is the way to get that done or if you’re listening on YouTube the comment field is still active so go ahead and drop a comment below we appreciate if you like and share the podcast with your friends and
Brothers and as always we’ll catch you next time
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