Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance

by W. Kirk MacNulty

The ultimate book on Freemasonry, with a rich collection of symbols and lore that illuminate the famous fraternal society. "The Craft," with an estimated four million Freemasons worldwide, remains the largest fraternal organization in the world. Written by an active Freemason, this book comprehensively explains Freemasonry through its fascinating visual culture, rich in mysterious and arcane symbols of life, death, and morality that have evolved over centuries of secrecy and that have profound philosophical meaning.

Ceremonial regalia, paintings, manuscripts, tracing boards, ritual swords, furniture, prints, ephemera, and the book is copiously illustrated with many specially researched items from Freemasonry archives. This unrivaled compendium will appeal both to Freemasons wishing to learn the full story of their order and to a general audience that is intensely curious about this traditionally secretive and closed movement.

The coverage includes 300 illustrations, 200 in color

Genres: Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Cedric · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is interested in Freemasonry but is not a Freemason myself, this was almost exactly the sort of book I was looking for.

What fascinates me about Freemasonry is not the conspiracy theories surrounding it, but its history, symbolism and the ideas behind the symbols. This book approaches the subject from that direction.
The illustrations are a major part of the experience. Rather than simply reading descriptions of Masonic symbols, you can actually look at tracing boards, lodge furnishings, regalia, architecture and historical objects and begin to understand how the different elements fit together. I particularly enjoyed the explanations of familiar Masonic symbols.

Popular culture so often presents the Freemasons as a sinister secret organisation whose members are hiding some enormous truth. Here the emphasis is much more on symbolism, morality, fraternity and personal development. The supposed "secrets" are considerably less interesting to me than the question of why generations of men have found meaning in these traditions.

I also appreciated that this is a book you can browse. You don't necessarily need to sit down and read it from beginning to end.
Someone already deeply involved in Freemasonry may approach this book differently, and I cannot judge how a Mason would regard every interpretation. I can only judge it as an interested outsider. From that perspective, I found it an excellent introduction to the visual and symbolic world of Freemasonry.

[Jiwon Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strangest books I have read at one of the most unusual places I visited - the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. I think the more bizarre place I had ever been to was the Scientology church in LA. The book was very informative and descriptive. It complimented my learning from the museum. For instance, I wasn't aware of the tradition's influence from Hermetica (Egyptian philosophy with a heavy Hellenistic and Christian influence and Cabbala - the mystical tradition of Judaism). I also appreciated the history of women participation since women were historically dismissed in many societal environments. I read this book inside the museum's Van Gorden-Williams Library, which contains 60,000 books about Freemasons. The museum is also one of the largest dedicated to Freemasons specifically in the US, so I got "lucky" accidentally finding it because I had no idea.

[Brett Folkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved the most about this book is all of the pictures, it's a quick high level overview, don't expect diving deep into Masonry, but the number of color photo's was amazing! Great introduction into the craft, didn't agree with all of the interpretations, but that is what I enjoy about studying anything that has potential mystical meaning - it can mean something different to each individual based upon where they are in the path of enlightenment and their world view.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of nice and interesting pictures and details about freemasonry. Too bad towards the end book starts to have an weird attitude problem and starts to defend accusations made against the freemasons. To me it seems that the writer of this book has to be "one of the brothers" and he tries his best to diminish deserved critique against this mystical organization.

[Markus Lustig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaunis kirja, hyvin kirjoitettu. Tähän kirjaan voi palata myöhemmin jo ihan pelkän kuvituksen vuoksi. Useampia kirjoittajan tulkintoja, mutta neutraalisti kirjoitettu.

[Alanis · Rating 2 out of 5]

not that interesting

[Morthen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lainasin kirjastosta, oli ihan mielenkiintoinen kirja, jossa oli otsikossa mainitun järjestön historiaa, myyttejä ja uskomuksia aukikirjoitettuna ja kuvitettuna.

[Katariina Jõks]

ei no see oligi rohkem nalja pärast, emotisiooni laenutus. seal on välja toodud erinevate maailma riikide loožide asukohad v.a. eesti (mis muidugi ei tähenda et ma ei teaks kus see on tallinnas 😏)

[Chuck Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freemasonry is based in ritual and symbolism in the hopes of making good men better. While the forms and beauties thereof are elaborate. There is tremendous use of symbols, which can be overwhelming. These are used to represent or teach complex idea. Theses ideas emphasize moral and ethical lessons, through allegories. Sometimes it can be easy to confuse a symbol and an emblem. I found this book to aid with that differentiation. It continues to bring to mind the "story" behind the symbol. This book contains some amazing illustrations and photography. The Illustrations found in this book are incredibly comprehensive. I found this book to be a great addition to my masonic library.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful book collects photographs of Masonic regalia from around the world, with an emphasis on Europe. It's very lovely to look at and hopefully made a great gift for my father, a Past Master.

Unfortunately, the text was limited to brief essays and extensive captions. While it provided much food for thought and a way to frame my continuing questions, it was not the final illumination of Freemasonry I was hoping to find. My search continues.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author calls this his "picture book" about freemasonry and that accurately reflects its rich visual content with thought-provoking and insightful commentaries on freemasonry's history and potential meanings.

[Nicholas Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

A visually stimulating book, and a great primer. I re-read it, if just to look at the fantastic images.

[Nader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, full of pictures and great examples! Rich in information!

[Kairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raamat ei eelda eelnevaid teadmisi, on rohkete piltidega ja annab teemast hea ülevaate.