An Initiatory Order

Freemasonry is an initiatory order.  Initiation is a term used for a phenomenon found in every society. It is thousands of years old and its field of study has been far too vast to be summarised here. Nonetheless, unless we want to leave one of Freemasonry’s major objectives entirely untouched, we have to attempt some account of the aim of initiation in terms of how Freemasonry practises it. The term ‘initiation’ obviously has several complementary meanings. In the first instance it means setting onto a path, embarking anew: initium novae vitae, the beginning of a new life. As has been said, strictly speaking Masonic initiation is not simply the conveying of knowledge. Its aim is more to urge the initiate to work on himself. Freemasonry’s rite of initiation, like those of many traditional cultures of which it is just one variation, aims to have the initiate “die to himself” as the saying goes, in order to lead him towards a new life. The rite thus encourages the candidate to liberate himself from psychological, ideological and other obstructions and in this way offers him the hope of spiritual fulfilment.

This is a spiritual approach, fairly obviously, offering by means of rites and symbols to evoke the latent forces in each of us. In this sense, then, to initiate is to offer a man a spiritual adventure, to make him discover his own potential and bring it to fruition through an extensive personal effort that the rite of Freemasonry brings out in him. The initiate has a long journey ahead of him: no Mason thinks that the rite of initiation, despite its wealth of symbols and insight, will instantly transform anyone by conferring new virtues and powers at a stroke, as if by magic. Initiation spans an entire lifetime, its ritual and symbolism continuing to inspire each initiate as long as he retains within him the wish to excel himself. All forms of ritual unite the communities that practise them, but above all ritual nurtures in each of us a burst of affection that, by its emotive strength, brings the resources of the subconscious into play.

On top of this, symbolism plays a crucial part in the initiation process. With its many facets (the symbolism of building from the stonemasons’ tradition, of liberation, of the quest for the sacred and of moral progress)  it is not so much a form of teaching as an incentive to meditate and find one’s own interpretation of symbols. Yet it is neither arbitrary nor disorderly; the slow unravelling of meaning leads the Mason to see mankind and the world as an image of himself. Progress towards the Light, the building of the Temple, are indefinable concepts that raise questions and offer guidance along the same path; each Mason seeks their richest meaning and the one closest to his inner self in his own private thoughts.  Suffice it to say that Masonic symbolism urges each of us to try to construct,  not deny, the inner man; to go towards the Light and not towards the void; and always to work both as architect and upright, persevering craftsman. The message of this symbolism – and this is the choice it offers in terms of  spirituality – is that the Light simply is and that there is no higher calling for man than to seek it along the path of initiation.

In other words, initiatory Freemasonry, pursuing such lofty aims, is unable to assume any cultural, political or social objectives. The initiatory Order belongs on a quite different plane and points the way to a quite different course of action.

Doubtless for many today, driven by the spirit of the times or the demands of professional life to favour accuracy, precision and output, such an approach might appear obsolete, futile or even meaningless; but, as many Masons who are neither dreamers, nor mystics, nor naive can testify, Freemasonry, by its spirituality and initiation, offers more than they could ever have imagined. Far from cutting them off from reality, it allows them to come to terms with it, as men who are more clear-sighted, free-spirited, self-aware and more conscious of their inner strengths.