Freemason Ritual has nothing to do with Magick
After some amount of study I have come to the conclusion that Freemason ritual has nothing to do with what we think of as ritual Magic.
Even though there are surface similarities between the two practices the defining distinction has to do with the purpose and intent of these ceremonies.
Magic ritual attempts to affect change in the material world through will.
Freemason ritual attempts to affect change on an individual Mason and, in turn, affect change on society as a whole.
W.L. Wilmhurst appears to be the foremost authority on the esoteric meaning behind Freemason ritual. His first book 'The Meaning of Masonry' is fairly enlightening but his follow up on 'Masonic Initiation' lays things out very clearly.
While reading 'Masonic Initiation' last night I came across a section where Wilmhurst explained the purpose behind our ceremonies most clearly.
In Wilmhurst's view Freemasonry is a continuation of the ancient mystery schools of initiation. Written in the early part of the past century he decries the fact that Freemasonry has devolved from its high purpose into little more than a social club.
In short, Wilmhurst says that the purpose of Freemason ritual is to achieve enlightenment in the individual man. This process should take at least 12 years until the spirit of the individual man has been polished to achieve a perfect ashlar form.
Once such a man has achieved enlightenment his great work is to help advance the spiritual evolution of the human race as a whole.
There's a whole lot more in the book, but that is pretty much the crux of the matter.
Meanwhile, conventional ritual magick is about affecting change in material reality in conformance with your own will. This might mean trying to find a new job, a new love, wealth, or some other material gain.
So, even if the practices bear a striking similarity at times, the goals are pointed in two clearly different directions.
From my personal perspective I view my original question sufficiently answered. I do not feel that Freemason ritual has anything to do with ritual Magic and trying to corrupt it to that form would be a disservice to the Fraternity.
Comments
The magic, so I am finding, is not some hocus pocus or potions with eyes of newt. I believe that Crowley, and the builders of OTO confused the building of the individual with shaping of the external.
––A Bird’s Eye View of Masonic History by H.L. Haywood
Life is also too short to keep it boring.
I would also ask Brother Hodapp, if he had considered that some good Masons may have some form of magick as their religion, indeed as the supporting religious structure for their belief in God and their morality? And that their personal Volume of Sacred Law may be a corresponding book or set of books?
Imagine a Mason saying "Life is too short to tramp through the the endless realm of church and the Bible. Masonry has enough truth to equip any of us for all time to come." and you might realize how that perspective would look from such a Brother's Point of View.
You are correct on this point, it is now just a matter of semantics.
That is why I would just as well prefer that so called 'high-magic' (the pursuit in advancement of the human spirit) simply be called something else.
So called 'low-magic', ritual which is designed to affect the material world and provide personal gain, has also called 'sorcery.' When I say Freemasonry has nothing to do with 'magic' I suppose what I am really trying to suggest is that it has nothing to do with this more base form.
We are going to very quickly be muddled in a jumble of semantics here.
John