Encyclopedia Masonica

There were many theosophists —enthusiasts whom Vaughan calls "noble Specimens of the mystic" but those with whom the history of Freemasonry has most to do were the mystical religious thinkers of the eighteenth century, who supposed that they were possessed of a knowledge of the Divinity and His works by supernatural inspiration, or who regarded the foundation of their mystical tenets as resting on a sort of divine intuition. Such were ,Swedenborg, who, if not himself a Masonic reformer, has supplied the materials of many Degrees; the Moravian Brethren, the original object of Whose association is said to have been the propagation of the Gospel under the Masonic veil; Saint Martin, founder of the Philalethans; Pernettv, to whom we owe the Order of the Illuminati at Avignon; and Chastallier. who was the inventor of the Rite of Illuminated Theosophists.

'The object proposed in all these theosophic Degrees was the regeneration of man, and his reintegration into the primitive innocence from which he had fallen by original sin. Theosophic Freemasonry was, in fact, nothing else than an application of the speculative ideas of Jacob Böhme, of Swedenborg, and other mystical philosophers of the same class.

Vaughan, in his Hours with the Mystics (ii, page 46) thus describes the earlier theosophists of the four-teenth century "They believed devoutly in the genuineness of the Cabala. They were persuaded that, beneath all the floods of change, this oral tradition had perpetuated its life unharmed from the days of Moses downward—even as Jewish fable taught them that the cedars alone, of all trees, had continued to spread the strength of their invulnerable arms below the waters of the deluge. They rejoiced in the hidden lore of that book as in a treasure rich with the germs of all philosophy. They maintained that from its marvelous leaves man might learn the angelic heraldry of the skies, the mysteries of the Divine Nature the means of converse with the potentates of heaven."

Add to this an equal reverence for the unfathomable mysteries contained in the prophecies of Daniel and the vision of the Evangelist, with a proneness to give to everything Divine a symbolic interpretation, and you have the true character of those later theosophists who labored to invent their particular systems of Freemasonry. For more of this subject, see the article on Saint Martin. Nothing now remains of theosophic Freemasonry except the few traces left through the influence of Zinnendorf in the Swedish system, and what we find in the Apocalyptic Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The system of Swedenborg, Pernetty, Paschalis, Saint Martin, and Chastanier have all become obsolete.

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.