U.S. Flag presented to the Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South by Arnie Cade

Arnie Cade, made a formal presentation of the U.S. Flag to the Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South. The PGR is a national nonprofit organization that provides support to the families of fallen U.S. Military and provide a motorcycle escort and provode security during the transport of their body, funeral services and graveside. Arnie, a verteran of the US Army was present during a recent ride with the PGR and afterwards, presented Don McKibben and James Henely, representing the PGR with a US flag to be used in their "Flag Lines" formed as a symbol of honor and respect for the fallen service member.

Sgt. 1st Class Billy A. Sutton, US Army died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, in Afghanistan

Obituaries February 16, 2012

by NEMS Daily Journal Djournal.Com

 

Sgt. 1st Class Billy A. Sutton

MOOREVILLE – Sgt. 1st Class Billy Albert “Bill” Sutton, 42, died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, in Afghanistan while actively serving his country in the U. S. Army National Guard. Sgt. Sutton was born in Milton, Fla., on June 8, l969, to Jerry Lee Sutton and Jo Ann Owens Sutton Starling. He grew up in the Baldwyn area and graduated from Baldwyn High School in 1987. He earned an associate’s degree from Northeast Mississippi Community College and served four years with the U. S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division. By trade, he was an electrical technician and was last employed by Flexible Foam.

Sgt. Sutton continued his patriotic devotion to the service of his nation by joining the Mississippi National Guard on Sept. 5, 2002. At the time of his death, he was fulfilling his third tour of duty, the first two in Iraq and the final tour in Afghanistan. Sgt. Sutton was a platoon leader with the 288th Sapper Company out of Houston. A patriotic American, he was a respected and courageous military leader who always put his men before himself.

In civilian life, he was an avid duck hunter and raised and trained labs for duck hunting. He cherished his special dog of long standing, Jack. He was a music lover and a fan of all things Elvis. He was a master sharpshooter and treasured his many guns. He was a member of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church near Baldwyn. A grateful nation expresses gratitude for his selfless service and joins his family in mourning his death.

A life celebration, with full military honors, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, at the Tupelo Chapel of Holland Funeral Directors with Mississippi Adjutant General Leon Collins and Mississippi Baptist Convention president, Dr. David Hamilton, officiating. Entombment will be in the Hope Mausoleum at Lee Memorial Park in Verona. Holland Funeral Directors is honored to have been entrusted with arrangements.

His loving family includes his wife, Traci Durham Sutton of Mooreville, whom he married Nov. 6, 1998; his son, Tyler Durham of the home; his mother, Jo Ann Owen Sutton Starling (Elvis) of Baldwyn; his in-laws, Dan and Jennifer Loden Durham of Tupelo; his grandfather in law, Homer Loden of Tupelo; a brother, Danny Sutton of Milton, Fla.; two half brothers, Vance Sutton of St. Amant, La., and Aaron Starling of Corinth; three half sisters, Adrian Starling of Baldwyn, Erica Culver of Odenville, Ala., and Cindy Starling of Baldwyn.

Pallbearers will be members of the Honor Guard from the Mississippi Army National Guard. Honorary pallbearers will be the 288th Sapper Company members still serving in Afghanistan.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 Friday, Feb. 17, 2012, at the Tupelo Chapel of Holland Funeral Directors and from 10 a.m. to service time on Saturday.

Memorials may be made to the Tupelo Veterans Park, P.O. Box 3608, Tupelo, MS 38803; or to Pets for Patriots, 218 E. Park Ave., Suite 543, Long Beach, NY. 11561.

Condolences may be emailed to hollandfuneraldirectors@comcast.net.

Read more: djournal.com - Obituaries February 16 2012

Arnie Cade - US Flag - Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South

Arnie Cade made a formal presentation of the U.S. Flag to the Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South.

The PGR is a nonprofit organization, composed of bikers across the U.S. that receive the bodies of U.S. Soldiers and provide a motorcycle Honor Guard Escort from the airport, to the funeral home, and afterwards, the cemetary, where the fallen hero is laid to rest. You can read more on the PGR below... also, local contacts for the Commanders of the PGR in the Mid South (Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisianna, or Florida), are listed if you are interested in obtaining additional information or joining.

Jim (James) Henely, Commander - NE Ms Patriot Guard Riders

Don McKibben, Commander - NW Ms Patriot Guard Riders

Photo L-R: Arnie Cade, Don McKibben

Arnie Cade

Patriot Guard Rider - Honor Guard Mission

Patriot Guard Riders Mission Statement

The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us.

We don’t care what you ride or if you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a hawk or a dove. It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn't matter where you’re from or what your income is; you don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect.

Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives:

1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

To those of you who are currently serving and fighting for the freedoms of others, at home and abroad, please know that we are backing you. We honor and support you with every mission we carry out, and we are praying for a safe return home for all.

Bro Christopher Michael Reid - Named "Mason of the Year" by The Grand Lodge of Mississippi

Originally Posted: 02/14/2012 @ TupeloMason.Blogspot.com

Bro Christopher Michael Reid - Named "Mason of the Year"

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On behalf of Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM, we would like to congratulate Bro Christopher Michael Reid for being named as "Mason of the Year" by the Grand Lodge of Mississippi.

Chris has been instrumental in the success of numerous projects over the years and has dedicated his life to promoting Freemasonry in Mississippi and serving as an example of a true "Mason" to people everywhere.

This honor which has been bestowed upon him symbolizes everything that Freemasonry stands for and a truly deserving brother has now entered into the ranks of all those brethren that were recognized before him.

Thank you Chris for your service, loyalty, and dedication to the fraternity and your passion for the craft.

Bro Christopher Michael Reid - "Mason of the Year"

Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM
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SFC Billy A. Sutton, U.S. Army - 223rd Eng Bn Ms Army National Guard - Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South - Tupelo Masonic Lodge no. 318 F&AM

Originally Posted on: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 @ TupeloMason.Blogspot.com

 Any Motorcyclst in the area that would be interested in participating with the Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South to escourt the body of a local U.S. Army soldier, SFC Billy A. Sutton, from the Tupelo Regional Airport to Holand Funeral home are requested to report to the airport at 0830 tomorrow morning to await the return of his body from overseas. There will also be an organized escourt of his body following the funeral on Saturday to the graveside in Verona, Ms. Members of Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM and Woodmen of the World will be joining the PGR of the Mid South to honor this fallen soldier. Contact information is listed below for those interested.

For more details, please read:

SFC BILLY A. SUTTON, 42, from Mooreville, MS died Monday, February 6th of natural causes while serving in Afghanistan with the 223rd Engineer Battalion of the MS Army National Guard. The family has requested the PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS participate in his services.

STAGING FOR ARRIVAL: Wednesday, February 15th at 8:30 AM, SFC Sutton is scheduled to arrive at TUPELO AVIATION UNLIM...ITED (FBO); 105 Lemons Drive, Tupelo 38801, the PGR will stage on the East side of Lemons Drive, across the street from the FBO and participate in the escort to HOLLAND FUNERAL DIRECTORS, a distance of less than 2 miles. MSG DAVID SPENCER will ride CITIZEN SOLDIER III and lead this escort.

VISITATION: The PGR will provide a US Flag line for visitation Friday, February 17th from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM at HOLLAND FUNERAL DIRECTORS; 5281 Cliff Gookin Blvd.; Tupelo, 38801. Everyone who would like to honor SFC Sutton is invited to participate with us in the flag line.

STAGING FOR FUNERAL SERVICES: Saturday, February 18th at 9:00 AM at the funeral home, the PGR will provide a US Flag line for visitation until the beginning of funeral services at 11:00 AM. Everyone who would like to honor SFC Sutton is invited to participate with us in the flag line.

ESCORT TO CEMETERY: Immediately following the funeral services, the PGR will escort SFC Sutton to LEE MEMORIAL PARK; Hwy 145 South; Verona 38877 and provide a US Flag line for graveside services with full military honors.

Please join us as we STAND FOR ONE WHO STOOD FOR US ! Both escort distances are less than 5 miles, large, US Flags securely on motorcycles are encouraged.

Bill's friend, DENNIS HEAVENER is Honorary RC for this Mission and will be the last motorcycle in both escorts.

Jim Henley, NE MS PRC 662.275.0901
Don McKibben, NW MS PRC 662.509.0500

Jim Henely, Commander - NE Ms Patriot Guard Riders

Don McKibben, Commander - NW Ms Patriot Guard Rides

SFC Billy A. Sutton, US Army - Honor Guard: Patriot Guard Riders of the Mid South

 

Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM
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"Reading Mason and Masons Who Do Not Read" by Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM

Originally posted on: Sunday, February 5, 2012 @ TupeloMason.Blogspot.com

Albert G. Mackey 32°
(published in 1875 and again in The Master Mason - October 1924)

I suppose there are more Masons who are ignorant of all the principles of freemasonry than there are men of any other class who are chargeable with the like ignorance of their own profession. There is not a watchmaker who does not know something about the elements of horology, nor is there a blacksmith who is altogether unacquainted with the properties of red-hot iron. Ascending to the higher walks of science, we would be much astonished to meet with a lawyer who was ignorant of the elements of jurisprudence, or a physician who had never read a treatise on pathology, or a clergyman who knew nothing whatever of theology.

Nevertheless, nothing is more common than to encounter Freemasons who are in utter darkness as to every thing that relates to Freemasonry. They are ignorant of its history - they know not whether it is a mushroom production of today, or whether it goes back to remote ages for its origin. They have no comprehension of the esoteric meaning of its symbols or its ceremonies, and are hardly at home in its modes of recognition. And yet nothing is more common than to find such socialists in the possession of high degrees and sometimes honored with elevated affairs in the Order, present at the meetings of lodges and chapters, intermeddling with the proceedings, taking an active part in all discussions and pertinaciously maintaining heterodox opinions in opposition to the judgment of brethren of far greater knowledge.

Why, it may well be asked, should such things be? Why, in Masonry alone, should there be so much ignorance and so much presumption? If I ask a cobbler to make me a pair of boots, he tells me that he only mends and patches, and that he has not learned the higher branches of his craft, and then he honestly declines the offered job. If I request a watchmaker to construct a mainspring for my chronometer, he answers that he cannot do it, that he has never learned how to make mainsprings, which belongs to a higher branch of the business, but that if I will bring him a spring ready made, he will insert it in my timepiece, because that he knows how to do. If I go to an artist with an order to paint me a historical picture, he will tell me that it is beyond his capacity, that he has never studied nor practiced the compotation of details, but has confined himself to the painting of portraits. Were he dishonest and presumptuous he would take my order and instead of a picture give me a daub. It is the Freemason alone who wants this modesty. He is too apt to think that the obligation not only makes him a Mason, but a learned Mason at the same time. He too often imagines that the mystical ceremonies which induct him into the Order are all that are necessary to make him cognizant of its principles. There are some Christian sects who believe that the water of baptism at once washes away all sin, past and prospective. So there are some Masons who think that the mere act of initiation is at once followed by an influx of all Masonic knowledge. They need no further study or research. All that they require to know has already been received by a sort of intuitive process.

The great body of Masons may be divided into three classes. The first consists of those who made their application for initiation not from a desire for knowledge, but from some accidental motive, not always honorable. Such men have been led to seek reception either because it was likely, in their opinion, to facilitate their business operations, or to advance their political prospects, or in some other way to personally benefit them. In the commencement of a war, hundreds flock to the lodges in the hope of obtaining the "mystic sign," which will be of service in the hour of danger. Their object having been attained, or having failed to attain it, these men become indifferent and, in time, fall into the rank of the non-affiliates. Of such Masons there is no hope. They are dead trees having no promise of fruit. Let them pass as utterly worthless, and incapable of improvement.

There is a second class consisting of men who are the moral and Masonic antipodes of the first. These make their application for admission, being prompted, as the ritual requires, "by a favorable opinion conceived of the Institution, and a desire of knowledge." As soon as they are initiated, they see in the ceremonies through which they have passed a philosophical meaning worthy of the trouble of inquiry. They devote themselves to this inquiry. They obtain Masonic books, they read Masonic periodicals, and they converse with well-informed brethren. They make themselves acquainted with the history of the Association. They investigate its origin and its ultimate design. They explore the hidden sense of its symbols and they acquire the interpretation. Such Masons are always useful and honorable members of the Order, and very frequently they become its shining lights. Their lamp burns for the enlightenment of others, and to them the Institution is indebted for whatever of an elevated position it has attained. For them, this article is not written.

But between these two classes, just described, there is an intermediate one; not as bad as the first, but far below the second, which, unfortunately, comprises the body of the Fraternity.

This third class consists of Masons who joined the Society with unobjectionable motives, and with, perhaps the best intentions. But they have failed to carry these intentions into effect.

They have made a grievous mistake. They have supposed that initiation was all that was requisite to make them Masons, and that any further study was entirely unnecessary. Hence, they never read a Masonic book. Bring to their notice the productions of the most celebrated Masonic authors, and their remark is that they have no time to read-the claims of business are overwhelming. Show them a Masonic journal of recognized reputation, and ask them to subscribe. Their answer is that they cannot afford it, the times are hard and money is scarce.

And yet, there is no want of Masonic ambition in many of these men. But their ambition is not in the right direction. They have no thirst for knowledge, but they have a very great thirst for office or for degrees. They cannot afford money or time for the purchase or perusal of Masonic books, but they have enough of both to expend on the acquisition of Masonic degrees.

It is astonishing with what avidity some Masons who do not understand the simplest rudiments of their art, and who have utterly failed to comprehend the scope and meaning of primary, symbolic Masonry, grasp at the empty honors of the high degrees. The Master Mason who knows very little, if anything, of the Apprentice's degree longs to be a Knight Templar. He knows nothing, and never expects to know anything, of the history of Templarism, or how and why these old crusaders became incorporated with the Masonic brotherhood. The height of his ambition is to wear the Templar cross upon his breast. If he has entered the Scottish Rite, the Lodge of Perfection will not content him, although it supplies material for months of study. He would fain rise higher in the scale of rank, and if by persevering efforts he can attain the summit of the Rite and be invested with the Thirty-third degree, little cares he for any knowledge of the organization of the Rite or the sublime lessons that it teaches. He has reached the height of his ambition and is permitted to wear the double-headed eagle.

Such Masons are distinguished not by the amount of knowledge that they possess, but by the number of the jewels that they wear. They will give fifty dollars for a decoration, but not fifty cents for a book.

These men do great injury to Masonry. They have been called its drones. But they are more than that. They are the wasps, the deadly enemy of the industrious bees. They set a bad example to the younger Masons - they discourage the growth of Masonic literature - they drive intellectual men, who would be willing to cultivate Masonic science, into other fields of labor - they depress the energies of our writers - and they debase the character of Speculative Masonry as a branch of mental and moral philosophy. When outsiders see men holding high rank and office in the Order who are almost as ignorant as themselves of the principles of Freemasonry, and who, if asked, would say they looked upon it only as a social institution, these outsiders very naturally conclude that there cannot be anything of great value in a system whose highest positions are held by men who profess to have no knowledge of its higher development.

It must not be supposed that every Mason is expected to be a learned Mason, or that every man who is initiated is required to devote himself to the study of Masonic science and literature. Such an expectation would be foolish and unreasonable. All men are not equally competent to grasp and retain the same amount of knowledge. Order, says Pope-Order is heaven's first law and this confess, some are, and must be, greater than the rest, richer, wiser.

All that I contend for is that when a candidate enters the fold of Masonry he should feel that there is something in it better than its mere grips and signs, and that he should endeavor with all his ability to attain some knowledge of that better thing. He should not seek advancement to higher degrees until he knew something of the lower, nor grasp at office, unless he had previously fulfilled with some reputation for Masonic knowledge, the duties of a private station. I once knew a brother whose greed for office led him to pass through all the grades from Warden of his lodge to Grand Master of the jurisdiction, and who during that whole period had never read a Masonic book nor attempted to comprehend the meaning of a single symbol. For the year of his Mastership he always found it convenient to have an excuse for absence from the lodge on the nights when degrees were to be conferred. Yet, by his personal and social influences, he had succeeded in elevating himself in rank above all those who were above him in Masonic knowledge. They were really far above him, for they all knew something, and he knew nothing. Had he remained in the background, none could have complained. But, being where he was, and seeking himself the position, he had no right to be ignorant. It was his presumption that constituted his offense.

A more striking example is the following: A few years ago while editing a Masonic periodical; I received a letter from the Grand Lecturer of a certain Grand Lodge who had been a subscriber, but who desired to discontinue his subscription. In assigning his reason, he said (a copy of the letter is now before me), "although the work contains much valuable information, I shall have no time to read, as I shall devote the whole of the present year to teaching." I cannot but imagine what a teacher such a man must have been, and what pupils he must have instructed.

This article is longer than I intended it to be. But I feel the importance of the subject. There are in the United States more than four hundred thousand affiliated Masons. How many of these are readers? One-half - or even one-tenth? If only one-fourth of the men who are in the Order would read a little about it, and not depend for all they know of it on their visits to their lodges, they would entertain more elevated notions of its character. Through their sympathy scholars would be encouraged to discuss its principles and to give to the public the results of their thoughts, and good Masonic magazines would enjoy a prosperous existence.

Now, because there are so few Masons that read, Masonic books hardly do more than pay the publishers the expense of printing, while the authors get nothing; and Masonic journals are being year after year carried off into the literary Academia, where the corpses of defunct periodicals are deposited; and, worst of all, Masonry endures depressing blows.

The Mason, who reads, however little, is it only the pages of the monthly magazine to which he subscribes, will entertain higher views of the Institution and enjoy new delights in the possession of these views. The Masons who do not read will know nothing of the interior beauties of Speculative Masonry, but will be content to suppose it to be something like Odd Fellowship, or the Order of the Knights of Pythias - only, perhaps, a little older. Such a Mason must be an indifferent one. He has laid no foundation for zeal.

If this indifference, instead of being checked, becomes more widely spread, the result is too apparent. Freemasonry must step down from the elevated position which she has been struggling, through the efforts of her scholars, to maintain, and our lodges, instead of becoming resorts for speculative and philosophical thought, will deteriorate into social clubs or mere benefit societies. With so many rivals in that field, her struggle for a prosperous life will be a hard one.

The ultimate success of Masonry depends on the intelligence of her disciples.

Reading Masons and Masons Who Do Not Read

Note: Please read " Blog Participation Requested - Announcement - Education", which explains and describes the purpose of this series of topics. This post does not make a statement "for" the following content and does not make claim that it has a direct relation to Freemasonry.

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The Beehive: A Migration of Myth by Bro. P.D. Newman, 32° - Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM

Originally Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 @ TupeloMason.Blogspot.com

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Bro. P.D. Newman, 32°

Tupelo Lodge, No. 318

Valley of Corinth, Orient of MS

The flies seek filth: the bees seek honey.

I shun the habits of the flies, and follow that of the bees.[1]

Throughout a Mason’s career, he is confronted with a multitude of different symbols and allegories in numerous different Degrees and Rites. Among the many symbols presented to the attention of the Candidate upon his being Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason is that of the beehive. This, he is told, “is an emblem of industry, and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created beings[2]…” But, as we shall see, legends surrounding the symbol of the beehive, as well as its cognates such as honey and the bee itself, are not only numerous throughout history but are also widespread among a number of diverse cultures.

In describing the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, France, during its occupation by the emperor Napoleon, historian Benjamin Winkles observes that “[t]he throne occupied the whole breadth of the nave of the church, and was ascended by twenty-four steps, covered with carpets, the pattern of which was strewn with bees. On the steps were placed benches for the marshals, ministers, and officers of the household, covered with blue velvet, embroidered with golden bees. The emperor’s seat on the throne was elevated under a canopy of crimson velvet, embroidered with golden bees.” Commenting on this fact, Manly P. Hall adds in his The Secret Teachings of All Ages that “[a]t one time the bee was the emblem of the French kings. The rulers of France wore robes embroidered with bees, and the canopies of their thrones were decorated with gigantic figures of these insects.” He tells us further that “[t]he bee was used as a symbol of royalty by the immortal Charlemagne, and it is probable that the fleur-de-lis, or lily of France, is merely a conventionalized bee and not a flower.”[3]

The ancient Greeks called bees the Birds of the Muses and held that Zeus, the King of the Gods, was raised by the nymph Melissa who fed him on a steady diet of honey as opposed to milk. The name Melissa literally means honey bee, and was bestowed upon all of the nymphs who took part in nursing the deity. In other areas surrounding the Mediterranean, it was believed that bees were produced magically and spontaneously from the carcasses of rotting bulls. In his poem Fasti, Ovid recounts the story of Aristaeus from the Geoponica, an ancient book of agricultural folklore, which tells of a young shepherd who, after witnessing the total destruction of his hives, asks of a local wizard how he might recover his loss. “Kill a heifer” the wizard tells him, “and bury its carcass in the earth. The buried heifer will give the thing thou seekest of me.” Ovid goes on to assure his reader that “[t]he shepherd did [the wizard’s] bidding: swarms of bees hive out of the putrid beef...”

A similar motif can be found in the literature of the ancient Hebrews regarding the Biblical Samson. In chapter 14 of The Book of Judges we learn of Samson’s violent run in with a “young lion” which Samson impressively “rent[…]as he would have rent a kid.” Coming across the carcass at a later date, as we are told in verse 8 of the chapter of the same, Samson “turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of [it].” Thus, while the decomposing animal may have changed from a heifer to that of a lion, we see that the curious association of bees and honey with a rotting carcass is by no means unique to the shores of the Mediterranean.

Another example can be found in Angelo de Gubernatis’ exhaustive Zoological Mythology. Quoting from the works of Porphyrios, Gubernatis says that “the moon was also called a bee….[A]s the moon is the culminating point of the constellation of the bull[1], it is believed that bees are born in the bull’s carcass. Hence the name of bougeneis[2] given by the ancients to bees.” Gubernatis goes on to point out that “[s]ometimes, instead of the lunar bull we find the solar lion[3]; and the lion in connection with bees occurred in the mysteries of Mithras.”

In the words of Albert Pike, Mithras is “[t]he Sun, the Archimagus, that noblest and most powerful agent of divine power…” The Mysteries of Mithras were celebrated in Rome from the first to the fourth centuries and entailed, like Masonry, the progressive ascent of a hierarchical ladder of initiation[4]. Archaeologist Franz Valery-Marie Cumont explains in his The Mysteries of Mithra that upon reaching a certain level of attainment, the initiate of the mysteries then came to be known as a ‘Lion,’ at which point, Cumont says, “honey was poured on his hands and applied to his tongue, as was the case with new-born children.”

Thomas D. Worrel, in his talk The Symbolism of the Beehive and the Bee which he delivered to Mill Valley Masonic Lodge in 2000, observed that “[i]n Hindu myth and iconography, the bee surmounting a triangle is a symbol of Shiva. Sometimes we see a blue bee on the forehead of Krishna, as the avatar of Vishnu. Kama, the god of love, like Cupid has a bow and arrows, and the bow string is made up of bees. In the yogic doctrine, where each chakra emits a different sound in meditation, the lowest chakra (muldhahara) emits a hum likened in the writings to a bumblebee. Note that the first chakra represents our strongest bond to the material world and Eros or Cupid in Greek philosophy is the natural impelling force towards sensual objects.” Turning again to the work of Manly P. Hall, we read the following: “In India the god Prana – the personification of the universal life force – is sometimes shown surrounded by a circle of bees.” He later asserts that “[b]ecause of its importance in pollenizing flowers, the bee is the accepted symbol of the generative power.”

The mystique of the honey bee has often led to its description as being an insect of otherworldly virtues. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed that bees originated from a tear in the eye of the sun god. Similarly, the Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen says in her monumental Physica, one of the earliest works on medicine in the West, that “[t]he honey bee is from the heat of the sun.” Manly P. Hall tells us that “[t]he bee is sacred to the goddess Venus [which], according to mystics, it is one of several forms of life which came to earth from the planet Venus millions of years ago,” and to quote once again from Angelo de Gubernatis, ”[t]he souls of the dead were supposed to come down from the moon upon the earth in the form of bees.”

Lastly, in his Curiosities of Literature, Isaac D’Isreali recounts a story from the Jewish Talmud regarding the mysterious Queen Sheba who, “attracted by the splendor of his reputation, visited [Solomon] at his own court; there, one day to exercise the sagacity of the monarch, Sheba presented herself at the foot of the throne; in each hand she held a wreath; the one was composed of natural, and the other of artificial flowers. Art, in the labor if the mimetic wreath, has exquisitely imitated the lively hues of nature; so that at the distance it was held by the queen for the inspection of the king, it was deemed impossible for him to decide, which wreath was the production of nature, and which the work of art.” Following a moment of admitted perplexity, Solomon, “[o]bserving a cluster of bees hovering about a window,[…]commanded that it should be opened: it was opened; the bees rushed into the court, and alighted immediately on one of the wreaths, while not a single one fixed on the other.” Solomon also happens to be the alleged author of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs, wherein we are cryptically told that “wisdom is like honey...”

Thus we see the emphasis that has come to be laid upon the beehive and its cognate symbols, bees and honey, throughout history and across cultures. Given the extraordinary characteristics attributed to these remarkable insects, it is no surprise that the beehive has also been a persistent and integral icon within the symbolism of the Craft. It is hoped that, whether these diligent creatures speak something to us of our own sense of industry, royalty, immortality or wisdom, they will speak nevertheless. For, the buzz of the hive resounds ever within the heart of every Master Mason, and the utterances thereof, if he but lend an ear to its incessant hum, shall be to him as honey from the comb, both rich and sweet.

---

[1] Hindu monastic vow

[2] For a consideration of the concept of the drone as it is understood in Masonry, refer to Bro. Shawn Eyer’s The Beehive & the Stock of Knowledge.

[3] This theory was first popularized by Hargrave Jennings in his enigmatic yet influential The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries.

---

[1] Taurus, the sign in which the moon is exalted according to classical astrology

[2] meaning ‘bull-born’

[3] Leo, which in classical astrology is ruled by the sun

[4] The similarities between Freemasonry and the Mithraic Mysteries were explored by William Wynn Westcott in his paper Resemblances in Freemasonry to Mithra.

REFERENCES

Berube, Conrad. The Bee-Riddled Carcass

Cumont, Franz Valery-Marie. The Mysteries of Mithra

De Gubernatis, Angelo. Zoological Mythology

D’Israeli, Isaac. Curiosities of Literature

Duncan’s Ritual of Freemasonry

Eyer, Shawn. The Beehive & the Stock of Knowledge

Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages

http://beelore.com/

Jennings, Hargrave. The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries

Ovid. Fasti

Pike, Albert. Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition

Prabhavananda, Swami. How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

Ransome, Hilda M. The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore

The Holy Bible: Master Mason Edition

Von Bingen, Hildegard. Physica

Winkles, Benjamin. French Cathedrals

Worrel, Thomas D. The Symbolism of the Beehive and the Bee

 

THE BEEHIVE: A MIGRATION OF MYTH

 

This article can be found in the upcoming Feb 2012 issue of "The Working Tools Masonic Magazine", where this content was originally published.

Note: Please read " Blog Participation Requested - Announcement - Education", which explains and describes the purpose of this series of topics. This post does not make a statement "for" the following content and does not make claim that it has a direct relation to Freemasonry. It is for educational purposes only!

Tupelo Masonic Lodge No. 318 F&AM
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