6.20.24

A special Solstice post . . .

Hello everyone—and for new readers, a special Solstice welcome!

I’m intrigued by the historical aspect of this year’s Solstice. So we’ll start off with some notes on George Washington, Freemasonry, and Tarot history. Then wrap up with two Solstice links you will want to visit.

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Three Things about Freemasonry

First: Until my own generation, it would have been unthinkable for a man in my family not to be a Mason. Over time, many reached the 33rd Degree, which is the highest level of study in the most common form of Freemasonry, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. For some, being a Mason was more social than spiritual, and more a matter of custom than of calling. But for others there was in fact a philosophical component.

This personal note will be relevant when we get to Thing Three—but in the meantime, it’s on to a broader historical view.

Second: For those who didn’t know, or have forgotten, George Washington was indeed a Mason. He became an Entered Apprentice in 1752 (at the age of 20), and in 1788 was the first Master of the Lodge in Alexandria, Virginia.

In 1784, the Marquis de Lafayette—Washington’s fellow Mason, and ally in the Revolutionary War—presented him with this beautifully embroidered Apron, which he wore at every Lodge meeting until his death. Every year on Washington’s Birthday, the artifact is on display at Mount Vernon.

Washington became President of the United States in 1789, and served until 1797, two years before his death at the age of 67.

We only need to zoom out a little to recognize an overlap between the French aristocrat Lafayette and two noteworthy figures in Tarot history: gentleman scholar Antoine Court de Gébelin (1725-1784), and the cartomancer known as Etteilla (1738-1791).

Though there’s no record of Etteilla’s Masonic affiliations, if any, Court de Gébelin was initiated into Freemasonry in Paris at the lodge Les Amis Réunis in 1771 and later joined the lodge Les Neuf Sœurs (The Nine Sisters), where he welcomed Benjamin Franklin as a fellow lodge member. Volume VIII of Court de Gébelin’s Le Monde Primitif, in which he discusses Tarot, was published in 1781.

And we mustn’t forget that the various decks we now refer to as “Tarot de Marseilles” were well-known throughout France during the 18th century. Or that Etteila published a book on Tarot cartomancy around 1784, followed five years later by his own deck.

So that’s a look at some snapshots from Tarot history leading up to the last time a Summer Solstice occurred on June 20. And a glimpse of how esoteric ideas may have passed, through Freemasonry, between the salons of Paris and the new nation of America.

For a little more about that period:

The Esoteric Tarot 1: Backgrounds

Third: Now for something I’m delighted to share. I’ve always considered Freemasonry to be a part of my family heritage—although I have no idea what that might mean, apart from a sentimental association! But it’s one reason that, some years ago, I went to visit the Masonic Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

If you live in a state where there are still Elks and Odd Fellows signs on old buildings in small towns, you might have a vague idea that semi-mysterious men’s groups were once a typical part of American life. And there were many thousands of Masonic Lodges operating throughout the country in the late 19th century—a peak time for Masonic membership.

But nothing you might think about when you read the words Masonic Temple will be anything like what you will see if you make your own trip to Guthrie. And if you possibly could, you really (really) should.

Encompassing 400,000 square feet, with an atrium 52 feet wide, 190 feet long and 45 feet tall, the building itself is impressive:

But to fully appreciate the concept of a Masonic Temple, please consider this hastily assembled collage:

These are just a few of the spaces, which have names like the Egyptian Room, the Pompeian Room, the Abyssinian Room, the Rose Room, the Crystal Room, the Writing Room, the Cigar Room, and so on. Plus, of course—the Theater, the Ballroom, and the Library.

So what is this fantasy world doing in a smallish Oklahoma town?

Simplest version: It was built with oil money in the 1920s, meant to be the most impressive building in the state, and a testament to the importance of Freemasonry as a philosophical cornerstone of the American experiment.

The Guthrie Temple is one of a few examples left from the zenith of American Masonry, and it is among the best preserved. By the time it was finished, the Great Depression had changed much in America, and soon enough, World War II would change even more. So Guthrie’s Temple never really fulfilled the grand dream that gave birth to it.

Interest in fraternal societies and esoteric ideas never recovered after the war, and though many Masonic chapters remain today, they occupy a completely different place in American life. But . . . if you visit the Guthrie Temple, you can imagine what it would have been like to participate in rites and rituals handed down over generations, and dramatically staged in spaces designed to be so much larger than ordinary life.

You can also appreciate the many symbolic details built into the spaces, using the philosophical principles of geometry, and depicting the mythologies of ancient civilizations.

These spaces were meant to provide the same sort of immersive experience the Golden Dawn and its offspring attempted to create. And as I roamed around the Guthrie Temple, I could easily imagine laying out a spread of Tarot cards on one of the beautifully carved tables, in one of the perfectly proportioned rooms.

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Flash Forward

I’ve plucked two Solstice posts from today’s many choices!

1. The first came my way through pure synchronicity. I was in a focus hour this morning with several other writers—and one of them used the time to finish up this miniature essay:

2. And from my Inbox (a daily gateway to the unexpected), we have this generous compendium of Solstice lore:

   

   The main post contains an Easter Egg link to a page with even more lore. Be sure to follow it, and discover some fresh thoughts about creative life in this season of our earthly year.

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As always, many thanks for reading! C