Books on freemasonry to aid with tarot study?

astronautica

I fell in love with the Masonic Tarot a few months ago, but sadly it has been stowed away in my cupboard and is crying out with neglect! I feel like to truly appreciate it I would need a much greater understanding of masonic symbols/ practices, and was just wondering if anyone could recommend any good books to aid my studies? There were a couple listed on this website - Freemason's Guide and Compendium, A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry and The Craft and its Symbols - that look promising, but I really have no idea what I'm looking for. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated! :)
 

Bhavana

ohhh....I loooooovve the Masonic Tarot. Waiting for the angels to send one my way. Sadly, I have no advice for you - but I do know someone who has one and reads with it, maybe she will have an idea. I will let you know if I can find anything out.
 

Richard

Astronautica, you might try sending a private message to jmd (Jean Michel David). He is a member here, a Freemason, and a Tarot scholar. I believe he lives in Australia. His web site is http://www.fourhares.com/
 

Abrac

For finding quick meanings of symbols and abbreviations I think Google is a good source. There's a wealth of information available online. Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasony is pretty good. Also, Sacred Texts has a list of e-books on Masonry as does the Hermetics Resource Site. The standard meanings of the symbols are just the beginning though; they're a jumping off point. It's up to each person to develop their own meanings through meditation.

As far as the books you mentioned, I wouldn't really recommend A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasony. It's a pretty good reference work on Masonry, but I haven't found it that helpful as a companion for the Masonic Tarot. It does give meanings for some of the abbreviations but I don't think it has any that can't easily be found online. I don't know anything about the other two books.

There's one book I've been hearing a lot about lately though I've never read it, A Bridge to Light by Rex R. Hutchens. I've heard it's quickly replacing Pike's Morals and Dogma as the text given to Entered Apprentices upon joining a Lodge. Hopefully someone's read it and will be able to comment.

One hardcopy book I have and refer to quite a bit is A Dictionary of Freemasonry by Robert Macoy. One to watch out for is Lexicon of Freemasonry by Mackey. It's just a condensed version of his Encyclopedia which is availalbe free online. A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett is one I'd recommend. A good chunk of it is devoted to Freemasonry. It's a good overview and should give you some insight into Masonic history and practices.

Here's a link to a website that gives an excellent summary of what the Scottish Rite is all about. :)

http://www.aasrvalleyofjax.org/scottish_rite_degrees.htm
 

astronautica

Bhavana said:
ohhh....I loooooovve the Masonic Tarot. Waiting for the angels to send one my way. Sadly, I have no advice for you - but I do know someone who has one and reads with it, maybe she will have an idea. I will let you know if I can find anything out.
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Thanks Bhavana! It is a beautiful deck indeed, so mysterious! I had to snap one up before it becomes too hard to find... It's not a deck I've really seen mentioned on AT - only once in the identify this deck game thread :)


LRichard said:
Astronautica, you might try sending a private message to jmd (Jean Michel David). He is a member here, a Freemason, and a Tarot scholar. I believe he lives in Australia. His web site is http://www.fourhares.com/
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Thanks LRichard, I'll see if I can get in touch! It would be good to have some input from a freemason who has experience with Tarot as well... my dad's a freemason as well, but he likes to keep very tightlipped about everything! I think I may have just stumbled upon his website before... seems like there's a lot of fascinating information about a lot of different topics on there :)



Abrac said:
For finding quick meanings of symbols and abbreviations I think Google is a good source. There's a wealth of information available online. Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasony is pretty good. Also, Sacred Texts has a list of e-books on Masonry as does the Hermetics Resource Site. The standard meanings of the symbols are just the beginning though; they're a jumping off point. It's up to each person to develop their own meanings through meditation.

As far as the books you mentioned, I wouldn't really recommend A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasony. It's a pretty good reference work on Masonry, but I haven't found it that helpful as a companion for the Masonic Tarot. It does give meanings for some of the abbreviations but I don't think it has any that can't easily be found online. I don't know anything about the other two books.

There's one book I've been hearing a lot about lately though I've never read it, A Bridge to Light by Rex R. Hutchens. I've heard it's quickly replacing Pike's Morals and Dogma as the text given to Entered Apprentices upon joining a Lodge. Hopefully someone's read it and will be able to comment.

One hardcopy book I have and refer to quite a bit is A Dictionary of Freemasonry by Robert Macoy. One to watch out for is Lexicon of Freemasonry by Mackey. It's just a condensed version of his Encyclopedia which is availalbe free online. A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett is one I'd recommend. A good chunk of it is devoted to Freemasonry. It's a good overview and should give you some insight into Masonic history and practices.

Here's a link to a website that gives an excellent summary of what the Scottish Rite is all about. :)

http://www.aasrvalleyofjax.org/scottish_rite_degrees.htm
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Wow, thanks so much for your help Abrac! I'll definitely check out A Dictionary of Freemasonry and A Brief History of Secret Societies. I do prefer having hardcopy books to refer to, I get less distracted and am more inclined to study :) A Bridge to Light sounds like it would definitely be worth checking out as well! (Maybe my dad might have a copy of Morals and Dogma lying around somewhere as well :)) I have seen Mackey's website before, and I think it will be a really good, quick reference to have handy. Sometimes I get so lost looking on the internet, following links on wild goose chases, so it's great to have a clearer direction now - that Scottish Rite website looks great! :)
 

Richard

Over the years I've acquired hard cover editions of Pike's Morals and Dogma, Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, and a large format edition of Hall's Secret Teachings of all Ages. They pretty well cover all I've needed to know about Masonry and such. I would have petitioned to join the organization long ago if I had had time. Now my right hand is somewhat 'challenged' :), so I probably would not be able to do the grips correctly.
 

astronautica

LRichard said:
Over the years I've acquired hard cover editions of Pike's Morals and Dogma, Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, and a large format edition of Hall's Secret Teachings of all Ages. They pretty well cover all I've needed to know about Masonry and such. I would have petitioned to join the organization long ago if I had had time. Now my right hand is somewhat 'challenged' :), so I probably would not be able to do the grips correctly.
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Thanks LRichard, I've ordered Secret Teachings of All Ages, as well as Morals and Dogma and A Dictionary of Freemasonry :) Ohh, I did find some websites that talked about the grips and handshakes! I really know so little about freemasonry, even though I've always been fascinated by it - I grew up going to my father's lodge christmas parties, and all of the masons I've met were such warm, upstanding people... I just haven't felt ready to begin studying it until now. Unfortunately my gender denies me membership to the lodges! I am looking into the Order of the Eastern Star though :)
 

gregory

Improbably, I was told by a freemason I know that the two Dummies books by Christopher Hodapp are reliable and easy to stomach.

Freemasons for Dummies and Freemason Symbols and Ceremonies For Dummies (the latter is a kindle book priced at a whole 99 pence.) I cannot vouch for kindles as I don't have a kindle....
 

astronautica

I was looking at the Freemasons Guide to Dummies! If a freemason's vouched for it, you'd think it would have some credibility :) I imagine it would be fairly straightforward to read, maybe something to have handy if I struggle with the other books I've ordered? Seems like they have a Dummies Guide for everything haha!
 

gregory

Well - I don't want to be held personally responsible for a friend's opinion, even though he is a mason. Any mason here with a view ?
 
Program about playing cards and tarot Tarosophy anyone?