Freemasonry: Spiritual Alchemy

by Christopher Earnshaw 33°

In 1716 four Lodges of Operative Masons met at the Apple Tree Tavern in London and decided to create a “Grand Lodge” to reorganize Freemasonry, which was slowly dying out. After the establishment of the Premier Grand Lodge the next year, 1717, one of the Lodges, the Rummer and Grapes, took a decidedly new direction that resulted in the creation of what would later become known as Speculative Freemasonry, the basis of modern Freemasonry. However, as there is very little documentation from this period, many questions are left unanswered:
•Why three educated and busy men decided to rewrite the ritual of a stonemasons’ guild, when they were neither stonemasons nor manual workers.
•Why the first three Grand Masters gave eight years of their lives to this cause. Not only that, but why they thought it necessary to add a third degree to the ritual.
•Why the literati and aristocracy of Europe were motivated to join these three men, an antiquarian, a Huguenot priest and a possible alchemist, in a room above a tavern to study the new degrees.
•Why there is a “key to the rituals” that Desaguliers referred to in the Constitutions of 1723.
•Why the first three Grand Masters were interested in “making good men better,” when they were also not philanthropists.
•Why the first three Grand Masters used steganography to hide secrets in the rituals, making them a puzzle for Freemasons to discover.
•Lastly, and probably most importantly, why the English nobility (and later royalty) believed so strongly in what these three men had conceived that they lent their names to the enterprise by becoming its figurehead, Grand Masters.
This book answers these questions, and more!

262 pages, Paperback

Published August 9, 2019

About the author

Thirty years in Japan, in banking and pharmaceuticals.

BA Japanese and Chinese
MA Transpersonal psychology
PhD Neuroscience

Hobbies: Aikido, 'cello, cooking and writing

I tend to study a subject in detail, then summarize my opinions/ideas/experiences in a book. I only write non-fiction. To date I have written a dozen books on subjects as diverse as Japanese calligraphy, Tarot and Asthma. I have also written a University-level EFL book, and a pharmaceutical industry manual.

Future projects include books on cooking, theology and spiritualism.

My most recent project is a quadriliogy: "Spiritual Freemasonry."

Spiritual Freemasonry

Reviews

[Michael Greco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Distinctive Perspective on Spiritual Freemasonry

I went into Earnshaw's book on Freemasonry skeptical as what the layman might glean about the world of the mysterious Free Masons—something we all hear passing reference to in popular culture but get no answers of any substance. Here is substance. The book is packed with information accessible to beginners about how it all began in London and then developed over the centuries, with biographical accounts of the early leaders in Freemasonry.

I was pariculary drawn to the middle of book, where Earnshaw's research into the trans-national Chinese connection to Freemasonry is fascinating, citing the possible linkage of philosophical and religious thought in the Orient to that of the Freemasons in Europe (and has stirred a desire to rekindle what little I know about Confucinism, Daoism (the Daoist Light), and the forces of Yin-Yang.

"Initiation by Light" has surpassed my expectations and I recommend it to anyone—from master Masons to those with just a passing interest in Freemasonry. There is no doubt something in "Freemasonry: Initiation by Light" for everyone.

[Gordon Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freemasonry: Spiritual Alchemy is a must-read for lovers of history, Asian philosophy, and those interested in Freemasonry.

The questions asked are intriguing and the exploration leading to answers is compelling.

Dr. Earnshaw pulls together countless hours of research to cast a light on topics and events relevant to our modern-day affairs.

It's stimulating literature and will supercharge discussions around the coffee table.