Encyclopedia Masonica

Numerology is to arithmetic what astrology is to astronomy. It is a form of occultism in which magical properties are attributed to the natural numbers; and it is probable that it has been more or less experimented with in Europe since the Thirteenth Century Kabbalists introduced it into some of their most obscure pages it is reported that at the present time the Kabbala and numerology are virtually synonymous among Jewish Kabbalists in the Near East, of whom there are a few but who carry little weight. It was the fashion for generations to father numerology on Pythagoras; and in the small scraps of information about him available in the periods before modern archeology there appeared to be ground for that doctrine; but the theory is now abandoned; it is believed that what Pythagoras discovered (as in harmonics) was the fact that numbers are not mere words, mere subjective devices of men's minds, but are true objectively, and describe properties which belong inherently to material things.

There is no evidence of any infiltration of numerology into Freemasonry. The builders of the cathedrals were too sound and intelligent in their knowledge of geometry, made too much practical use of it, to give countenance to fuzzy, unreal, heterodox occultists about numbers and geometrical figures professing magical powers. They believed in no form of fortune-telling. Nor is there anywhere evidence that Speculative Masons believed in it. The Monitorial Lectures of the Second Degree in which the numbers 3, 5, 7 occur were either written or adopted by William Preston, an orthodox Christian of the latter half of the Eighteenth Century to whom any form of occultism would have been abhorrent. . so would it have been to his predecessors, Drs. Desaguliers and James Anderson. (See article in this Supplement on WAITE, ARTHUR EDWARD; he wrote much on the subject, and out of a very wide knowledge.)

The Encyclopedia Masonica exists to preserve the wealth of information that has been generated over the centuries by numerous Masonic authors. As Freemasonry is now Speculative and not Operative, the work of a Mason is now conducted in the quarries of symbolism, literature, history and scholasticism. Freemasonry encourages intellectual exploration and academic achievement in its members and many Masons over the years have taken up this calling. The result has been that an incredible amount of philosophy, symbolic speculation and academic insights have been created. However, as Freemasonry teaches, human knowledge is frail and fragile. It is easily lost in the turnings of the ages and unforeseen catastrophes can result in great setbacks to human knowledge.

For too long these great works have sat on forgotten shelves, gathering dust and concealing the light that could be shed on the darkness of our ignorance. The Encyclopedia Masonica has been created to act as an ark, sailing through time, to ensure that future generations of Freemasons have access to the same knowledge that inspired the Brethren that came before them. It will contain the works of such Masonic Luminaries as Albert G. Mackey, Manly Palmer Hall, G.S.M. Ward, Albert Pike and many others. The Encyclopedia Masonica is a living work and the volunteers of Universal Co-Masonry will continue to labor until the most comprehensive Masonic reference work the world has ever seen has been created. The Encyclopedia Masonica is open to any who wish to use it and will remain open so that the treasures contained within may increase the wealth of all those who seek its wisdom.