Page 90 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

90 Amo Amass A-Muse - Lodge of the Nine Muses

The highest authority in the Craft is a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There
is no international or other supreme authority which our Grand Lodge recognises.
Each Grand Lodge is Sovereign and may or may not recognise other Grand Lodges
as Regular. There are about 100 Grand Lodges in the world today and our Grand
Lodge alone has nearly 8,000 working Lodges under it, so you can appreciate the vast
extent of the system. Our Grand Lodge has decentralised its control into a number
of Provinces by regions at home and District abroad, whilst Lodges in London and
in more remote parts of the World are controlled directly by our Grand Lodge in
London. The Most Worshipful the Grand Master personally appoints a Provincial
or District Grand Master as his representatives in each Province. Only a Lodge can
‘Make’ a Mason and only a Grand Lodge can Warrant a new Lodge.
There are several Irregular Lodges abroad and even some in England, under which,
so called, Masons are Made. You are not permitted on any account to talk masonry
with them or visit their meetings. Some Lodges under an irregular Constitution
admit Women and Atheists and others may be a fence behind which are spy rings,
blackmailers and societies planning to upset Governments or religions. I recommend
you to borrow from our Secretary a copy of our Grand Lodge ‘Masonic Year Book’
or better still purchase one yourself and study it. Amongst the information in it, is
the name, number, dates and places of meeting of every Lodge working under the
Constitution and also what Constitutions were recognised as Regular by our Grand
Lodge that year. It is only Lodges under these Constitutions that you are allowed to
visit. If you intend to visit abroad, there are further Grand Lodge instructions which
you should be aware of, which our Secretary can inform you about.
When you are in London, do go and visit Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen Street,
W.C.2, which is the headquarters of our United Grand Lodge of England. Many
Lodges meet there as well. Ask to be taken to the Library and Museum, where you
sign your name and particulars. You may take your wife or girl friend on most days of
the week, but you must not take a Male who is not a Mason. Periodically, during the
day, conducted tours of this lovely building are made from thence.
By reading, you should form a wider interest in our Craft.
There are some good Masonic Magazines such as ‘The Square’ which you can take,
which tell of interesting happenings in Lodges and contain articles on Masonic Subjects.