Wednesday, March 29, 2017

A Brother Asks: Associating Faith to Ritual




A Brother Asks: Why do so many Freemasons inherently associate the Craft with any one specific religion?

My Response: Their Ignorance, Arrogance, and Wishful thinking are the causes.

He Continues: Would you please expand upon this?

My Response: Sure!  Freemasonic Ritual is symbolic and allegorical; not literal and factual. The organization’s Rituals are "morality plays". They're supposed to be understood and experienced as such and they are to be applied within the context of your own faith and philosophy, even when the veil that is used to convey any one specific story or obligation is that of another’s faith or philosophy. 

Brother: In other words, the veil that is put forth through these plays to convey intended values, meanings and concepts is not the veil you should see or internalize; that would be counterproductive and contrary to Freemasonic intents and ends?

Coach: Exactly!  You must learn to see through veils, no matter how you might be distracted by them, to gain what is truly being offered beneath each.  This same understanding applies to the demands placed upon some candidates within specific appendant bodies that appear to be literal and specific to one faith or another. 

Brother: Can you provide an example?

Coach: Sure.  In some appendant bodies the candidate is asked to defend a specific religion.

Brother: Yes!  I have heard of this occurring and how it excludes some members of different faiths.

Coach: But it truly doesn't do any such thing!

Brother: But how can that be?  Aren't they promising to do just that and over their own faith?

Coach: Only if they are foolish enough to take a symbolic event literally; the very thing they should have trained themselves not to do if they had done what the Blue Lodge Degrees direct them to do.

Brother: I don't understand. Would you expand upon this?

Coach: Sure.  If you are symbolically taking part within a play where the character you are playing is of a specific faith and you are asked to play that part authentically, while participating within that play, you would play that part authentically, within that play!

Brother: Okay.

Coach: Most members going through miss this!

Brother: Miss what?

Coach: These plays, and the manner to which they convey things, are symbolic and allegorical and should apply symbolically and metaphorically to the candidate’s life; not literally. Once they have taken off the mask of that character they portrayed, they are to apply the intent, reason and purpose of that specific portrayal authentically within their own lives and within the context of their own faith! 

Brother: WOW!  That's deep!

Coach: Yes!  When properly prepared, candidates listen to what Freemasonic instruction intends. They'll take what is shared “figuratively” and apply each insight gleaned and each experience conveyed toward their own life, as it fits within their own faith and philosophy; not the faith or philosophy used to convey these lessons and insights.

Brother: So, the plays we call "ritual" are vehicles that convey! 

Coach: Yes!

Brother: If I am promising to defend a specific faith within these plays, these ritual performances, am I supposed to take that concept and employ it toward my faith in the real world?

Coach: Absolutely!  And what's more, take it one step further.

Brother: How's that?

Coach: You defend those who chose to believe as you do and those who don't believe as you do.

Brother: Ah!  Defend the right to believe!

Coach: Yes!

Brother: So, I'm supposed to take the lesson presented and apply the lesson within the context of my life; and not be confined to the way the lesson was conveyed!

Coach: Exactly!  However, when you take any ritual as concrete, historical and factual, you miss the intent of what was shared.  You believe what was shared in a literal way.  You miss the entire reason for the experiences and the lessons are learned superficially.

Brother: And I would miss the intents, the lessons and the purposes!

Coach: Indeed! 

Brother: But how do so many miss this?


Coach: They are not properly prepared.

Brother: I must agree!

Coach: In reality, Ritual will be always be understood to be whatever the individual experiencing it wants it to be and within the limitations of that person’s capacity to understand it. 

Brother: And lack of proper preparation contributes to these limitations.

Coach: Yes.  And because of this limiting factor, men who have the capacity to see past the veils of dogma, both religious and philosophic, will be attacked and eventually driven off by those individuals who, through lack of preparation, insist upon experiencing and interpreting these plays literally.


Brother: Ah!  These improperly prepared members are the ones who shame and guilt those who don't live up to a literal interpretation?

Coach: Yes.  They actually believe that members must defend the faith that was acted out within ritual rather than seeking the intended message, lessons and purposes of the ritual and eventually leading them to defending all those who choose to believe.

Brother: I've see this done countless times!

Coach: As have I!  This is one of the reasons that both the Apprentice and Fellow Work are so crucial to Masonic development.  It prepares both the heart and mind to comprehend things, even when veiled several times over.  The Work is also what prepares a spirit to soar.

Brother: So, back to the original question...

Coach: They do not want to know better, they believe they do know better and they want it to be the way they want it to be, even when they know it will coerce unknowing others into doing things that are disrespectful.


Brother: Hence your original response: Their Ignorance, Arrogance, and Wishful thinking are the causes.

Coach: Yep.

F&S,

Brother John S Nagy



Sunday, March 26, 2017

A Brother Asks: About the Highest Degree Post




A Brother Comments: Coach, a great blog about the highest degree in Masonry.
 
My Response: Thanks!  It sure was a lot of fun researching and putting it together.
 
He Continues: There's a bit of confusion in the Temple though.
 
My Response:  There usually is when Babel's Tower is still being built.
 
He continues: Are you saying that the Master Mason is a rank and not the last & sublime degree of our Craft system?
 
My Response: Yes.  That is exactly what I implied. 
 
He Continues: Please explain this.
 
My Response: If Fellows of the Craft did the Work that they were supposed to do, as spelled out within the dominant Preston-Webb Ritual practiced within the USA , then the Master's degree becomes a celebration and acknowledgement of what each Fellow of the Craft has Achieved and each "proficient" member comes into the Master's degree as "The Master's Word"; not someone still seeking it.
 
As it is now, it is a degree bestowing unearned rank where a Substitute is provided because the candidate is not "The Master's Word" and he hasn't a clue as to what the Ritual is intended to point out. 

He Continues: What's that?

My Response: He is a Ruffian.
 
He Continues: I understand your historical lesson that prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, there's a strong likelihood that there was just a two degree system: The Entered Apprentice & Fellow Craft degrees.
 
My Response: Thanks!  But if you look carefully as to what was shared in the original post, Freemasonry truly was a one degree system when it entered the Grand Lodge Era.  The newly created Fellow Craft Subprime degree was originally part of the Entered Apprentice Prime Degree.  The "Master's Part" was provided to bestow the governing rank of "Fellow of the Craft" upon a member so he could run the lodge; there was nothing required other then to go through the ritual. 

It was when the first degree was split in two that the second part then bestowed the governing rank of "Fellow of the Craft" upon those going through it.  This was an "innovation" to the existing work.
 
He Continues: The Master's degree does appear as an innovation.
 
My Response: I'm glad that you see this too.
 
He Continues: It's sort of gloss or something added to the picture for whatever purposes these men had but never fully explained and understood by future generations.
 
My Response: Yes!  Please refer back to my previous comments about "He is a Ruffian."  It doesn't have to be explained to those who have actually done the Work.
 
He Continues: Our system seems to have been complete with only the 2 degrees.

My Response: Agreed!
 
He Continues: In fact, the Fellow Craft degree meshes well the Mark Master degree's account without the necessity of the Master's degree.
 
My Response: Yep!  The breadcrumb trail is definitely thick with clues!  Unfortunately, very few see it and even fewer follow it.
 
He Continues: However the Master's degree doesn't naturally blend in except maybe with the introduction of the final working tool, the Trowel.  It's explained that only Master Masons are given a trowel.
 
My Response: Yes.  And that is only used in the USA style Ritual.  There are three Working tools used in some MM rituals.  Additionally, this is where I want to scream, "Wake Up!", but I won't and I'll let you just imagine that I did.
 
Apprentices and Fellows of the Craft used/use the Trowel.; they HAD/HAVE TO!  The Master's Degree is "Symbolic".  In practice, ALL levels used ALL the Working Tools.  How else were/are each of our Craftsmen going to Learn the Craft????  Learning requires Explaining, Showing, and Doing!
 
He Continues: I'm understanding where you're coming from historically.
 
My Response: Good!
 
He Continues: But I'm not sure if I can agree with you that after all this time, we should not still consider the Master's degree as the final & highest?
 
My Response: You could agree, but it would require you to 1) step back, 2) remember that these degrees are all "symbolic" and 3) use common sense. 

He Continues: Then you are not advocating changing anything?

My Response: The only thing that I'm advocating here and in the originating post on this subject are opportunities for you to re-evaluation your understandings of the history and basis of the first three degrees. Other than that, it's business as usual, as in, continue to do the Work that makes goods men better!

He Continues: Thanks!  Very doable!

My Response: Good!  Have at it!
 
F&S,
 
Brother John S. Nagy
 
FOR FURTHER LIGHT:


 
 

Monday, March 20, 2017

A Brother Asks: Masonic Maps

 
 
A Brother Asks: Freemasonic Ritual is overwhelming!  I have no idea where to begin my studies.  How can we better come to understand what it communicates? 

My Response: It can best be understood by breaking each of them down into smaller chunks to identify what is actually communicated by each of their symbols, phrases and allusions.  It is only after one does this that one can begin to see the big picture and what Ritual actually offers to all those who experience and use them to better one's self.  Until one takes the time to do this, Ritual remains a blur and one's actions continue unfocused upon what truly needs to be done with each.

He Continues: Can you provide an outline or map?
 
My Response:  I sure can and have already done so many times. 

Let's review them here.
 
The Apprentice Map

The Entered Apprentice Degree Ritual provides a roadmap for Inward Travels. It provides a guide to the inner Terrain that, when Traveled, enables a man to know his true self and true nature -- The Creature that is himself.

The Work it directs him toward is Foundational to his Learning. In this respect, it is a roadmap for Preparation for Learning.

It is focused upon the physical man, and what he must know about the Creature -- The Self!

Sadly, few men follow the map that they are offered.
 
The Fellow Map

The Fellow Craft Degree Ritual provides a roadmap for Outward Travels. It provided... a guide to the outer Terrain that, when Traveled, enables a man to know the Universe -- the Whole of Creation.

The Work it directs him toward is Structural and sets the stage of his Actual True Learning. In this respect, it is a roadmap for Learning How to Learn

It is focused upon the mental man and what he must know about Creation -- The Universe!

Sadly, even fewer men follow the map that they are offered.
 
The Master Map

The Master Mason Degree Ritual provides a roadmap for Eternal Travels. It provided a guide to the spiritual Terrain that, when Traveled, enables a man to know the Word -- the Creator.

The Work it directs him toward is his Actual Learning and Teaching. In this respect, it is a roadmap to Further Cultivation of the Heart and Mind, Inner and Outer Travel and Employment of Cunning Craftsmanship also known as "Beauty!" 

It is focused upon the spiritual man and what he must know about the Creator -- The Word! 
 
Sadly, it is rare men who follows the map that they are offered.

Each map offers opportunity to Perfect one's self.  It is only opportunity though.  One must do the Work to obtain Betterment.

F&S,
 
Brother John S Nagy

PS - For extensive Masonic Map Reading Course Materials, please investigate "The Building Better Builders Series" of Uncommon Books and Videos.  You will not be disappointed.


 

Sunday, March 19, 2017

A Brother Asks: What is the Highest Degree?

 
 
A Brother Asks: What is the highest degree?
 
My Response: It might surprise you to know that it is the Fellow Craft.
 
Let me explain:

Since...
  1. the "Master's Part", was originally the Premier Grand Lodge's Fellow Craft Degree [1], and
  2. the "Master's Part" was an innovation to the original one degree system brought about by the GL era[2], and
  3. the MM degree "legend" was an innovation to this innovative "Master's Part" [3], and
  4. the Craft are known, taken and Accepted as "Brothers and Fellows", and
  5. the original Apprentice Degree was split into two.  This created an abridged EA degree (EA version 2) and a different FC degree (actually the other half of the abridged EA degree)[4], only with a lot less fluff than we have today, and
  6. the original Apprentice Degree was the highest degree necessary to be a full fledged member with all the rights, lights and benefits of "organizational membership", prior to Grand Lodge innovations to membership requirements, and
  7. the splitting of original Apprentice Degree pushed the Apprentice Degree completion to the now new Fellow Craft Degree level, and
  8. the Fellow Craft level (at the time of "Stonecraft") was obtained ONLY after seven years of Apprenticeship, and
  9. the currently practiced Master's Degree, if done properly, is ONLY an acknowledgment and celebration of the skill development that one must cultivate to be proficient as a "Fellow of the Craft", and
  10. the completion of Fellow Craft skill development makes you a Master of the Craft; not some title bestowed upon you by others,
the FC is the highest degree.  The rest is title fluff. ​​
 
Of course, in the USA the title of "Master Mason" bestowed upon members during the Master's Degree is now required to enjoy all the rights, lights and benefits of the Blue Lodge experience. 
 
Sadly, little to no Mastery, as alluded to by Craft Ritual, is required.
 
If you're interested, here's a brotherly discussion on this blog post: https://buildinghiram.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-brother-asks-about-highest-degree-post.html
 
F&S,
 
Brother John S Nagy

PS - If you were paying attention, you might now ask:  Are you talking about the Fellow Craft, as in "the second half of the Apprentice Degree Prime"?
 
[1] A degree where a "Fellow Craft" was made.
[2] The Premier Grand Lodge (PGL) at the time required as Fellow of the Craft to run the lodge and only they, the Premier Grand Lodge, could make a FC.  (This is an innovation!  Becoming a Fellow of the Craft occurred by going through seven years of Apprenticeship under the oversight of a Fellow of the Craft!  It did not occur by some Grand Lodge putting an apprentice through a "degree" so that they could run a lodge!)
[3] The first documented evidence is that it appeared around 1725 CE.
[4] The PGL split the original Apprentice Degree into two degrees, thereby creating the now abridged EA degree and new FC degree, so that the lodges could make FCs to run lodges, rather then the PGL doing the degree.
 
For Further Light:
 

 
 

 
 

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

ASTRONOMY: Beware the Full Moon!



Filed Under: Astronomical Education - Some of ... The Rest of the Story... 

 


Day of Ides
 
Ides was originally the time of the full moon. Because a full moon comes halfway thru each lunation, its day was called Idus in Latin from an Etruscan word meaning "divide."

After Ides, the next new moon was expected to appear in from 15 to 17 days. Variations in the length of time before another new moon can be sighted is due to constantly changing positions of moon and Earth relative to the sun.[1]
 

So...
IF months were originally determined by lunar cycles, "moons",[2]
  • AND in European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon becomes first visible at evening after conjunction with the Sun one or two days before that evening (AKA just after the "NEW" moon")
  • AND the middle of the month (governed by the Moon) is indicated as the Full Moon,
THEN it is safe to say that originally the "Ides" of any one particular month did not occur during the 15th or 13th of any solar calendar month but during each Full Moon itself!
 
THEREFORE, telling anyone to beware of the "ides of any month"[3] is to warn them about "things that may occur during a full moon!"

NOTE:  There's so much more to this than this shared level.  There's at least three more levels and I share them during my Building Better Builders Workshops.  Can you imagine where I take this analysis next?  I can say that if the message were understood by Caesar and heeded, he might well have had an entirely different outcome.
 
F&S,
 
Bro. John S. Nagy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
[2] month (n.) Old English monað, from Proto-Germanic *menoth- (source also of Old Saxon manoth, Old Frisian monath, Middle Dutch manet, Dutch maand, Old High German manod, German Monat, Old Norse manaðr, Gothic menoþs "month"), related to *menon- "moon" (see moon (n.); the month was calculated from lunar phases). Its cognates mean only "month" in the Romance languages, but in Germanic generally continue to do double duty. Phrase a month of Sundays "a very long time" is from 1832 (roughly 7 and a half months, but never used literally).  (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=month)

[3] Soothsayer; "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" - Act I, Scene 2
 

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Building Free Men: Chapter III - Being Frank (About “Freemasonry”)

 

Good Day My Good Brothers and Friends!
 
This is an article I published on April 1, 2014, April Fool's Day. It eventually became a chapter in the book: Building Free Men - Uncommonly Freeing Masonic Education - Volume 8.  Its research, writing and subsequent publication also became the inspiration and foundation for The Craft Unmasked - The Uncommon Origin of Freemasonry and Its Practice

If you wish to know what was the catalyst for both of these books, here it is...

I was told by several critical members of the Fraternity that:

  1. There exists no clear evidence as to the origin of the phrase "Free & Accepted Masons" or that this phrase alluded to "Operative & Speculative Masons" -- these have since been proven wrong,
  2. "Freeborn; Free-Born; Free Born" meant "Born Free; that is, not born a slave" -- this has since been proven wrong,
  3. "Freemason" was from "Free Stone Mason" or "Free from the Guild" or "Free to Travel" -- this has since been proven wrong,
  4. There doesn't exist any clear and historical difference between Freemasonry and Free Masonry -- this has since been proven wrong,
  5. Drawing distinctions was an "innovation" on my part and these distinctions were unsupported by scholars -- these have since been proven wrong.
Obviously these Brothers were mistaken.  Had they done their Work and not merely memorized and repeated Societal Dogma, they would not have been compelled to share these things.

The date of its publication was no coincidence, however the article and the subsequent books were anything but foolish. 

Pleasantly enough, since their publication, critics have tempered their public criticism. 

-- Enjoy! 

Brother John S. Nagy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Take this from this if this be otherwise.
   If circumstances lead me, I will find
    Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed
      Within the center." Polonius[1]
 
It is of no small coincidence that the phrase, “hidden within plain sight” has dwelled so significantly within the hearts of those Craft members who have experienced one revelation after another.  They have lived it and hence this phrase specifically states with no reservation what they have experienced firsthand.  What is special about the phrase is what it most perfectly expresses to those who are Seeking: what is desired can and shall be found once you have trained yourself to See differently.  This phrase hits home.  It does so with those who zealously Seek to find and unravel the mysteries they desire most.  So it is with the mystery behind the word, “Freemason”.  This especially with those who ask themselves: What were this specific word’s origins and its originally intended meaning?
 
---------------------------
 
I’ve referred to what I do as Masonic Forensics, rather than Masonic Archeology, due to the fact that I am not digging up the past most of the time trying to figure it out.  Rather, the work I do is more geared toward solving puzzles, and sometimes this leads to solving some remarkable mysteries.  This is what I have made effort to do in evaluating the assorted sources of speculation as to the origins of the word, “Freemason”.  These speculations usually fall into a few narrow categories but every last one of them could be considered fraudulent once one considers the conjectures supporting their collective conclusions. 
 
Misleading Origins
 
As shared previously, “… it becomes clear that schisms exist in how the word [Freemasonry] was thought to have come about.  Some sources [2] claimed Free-Masons were Masons who worked freestones and the word eventually merged through common use.  Others claimed that these were merely free men who were also Masons.  Still others claimed that it was only through their association with a guild that these Masons were free to travel, work, earn and contribute.  And yet there are some who state just the opposite: that this applied to Masons who are free from the constraints of guilds and lords.”
To say authorities on the subject differ as to origins of the word, “Freemasonry”, would be grossly simplifying things.  However, this is nowhere near the intent of this writing.  The intent is to share a few clear connections that have been hidden in plain sight for over three centuries and that have yet to draw the attention of Craft members or those members who reconnoiter through its cloistered histories.
The quest to uncover this mystery started with Perpending the word “Freestone”.  There are authorities within the ranks of Freemasonry who have insisted that this specific word was the reason behind Masons of old eventually being called, “Freemasons”.  They have collectively claimed in one manner or another that, “the word appears to have contracted from Free-stone-mason to Free-Mason, to Freemason” and freemason “meant one who carved freestone.” 
Unfortunately, it is conjectures like these that have spread as highly contagious thought viruses throughout the un-inoculated Craft world and done so by eagerly trusting and well-meaning Brothers.  Moreover, the conjectures and their carriers actually do the Craft more harm than good by misleading generations into believing unfounded falsehoods.  Furthermore, Brothers are led in directions that do not serve to Cultivate them toward what Freemasonry was originally intended.  How can any such misleading Light be considered anything but counter-productive and unhealthy for the Craft as a whole?
 
Freestone
 
Freestone” is commonly defined in modern usage as, “rock that can be cut easily in any direction without splitting or cracking, in particular a fine-grained sandstone or limestone of uniform texture.”  This description does not cut deep enough into the reason why such a stone is called, “free”.  Not going deep enough is understandable, since most Brothers depend upon others to provide to them the Light that they desire so much.  That Light is often provided incompletely and superficially, and usually without substantial backing.   But, just as applied Bastard Ashlars, the beautiful façade provided by them is backed by inferior workmanship.
The word, “Free” as used within the word, “Freestone”, actually takes its origins from the French word, “Franche[3]”, and is misunderstood to be describing stones that are free from flaws and that are easily worked in any direction.  It is an assumption that the words “Freemason” and “Freestone” are indeed associated based upon the meaning assigned today to the word “Free”.  Unfortunately, associating the name of workers with the type of stone these workers worked upon is an erroneous conjecture. 
It is also not a sound assumption.
Unless you actually investigate the root of the word, “Franche[4]”, you shall never see the significance of its use, especially when it is used in conjunction with words like, “mason”, “stone” or “court”.  Minimal research efforts reveal that the words, “Franche” and “Franc” originally signified, “excellence” and “superiority”.   One can easily see this in other related words like “Frankincense” that contain the “Franc” root.  This example comes from the Old French words, “franc encens”, meaning, “Superior Incences[5].  It was in this vein that “Freestone”, originally “franche pierre[6]” or “superior/excellent stone” was so named. 
 
Freemason
 
Likewise, workers called, “free masons”, were “superior/excellent builders”, no matter what materials with which they used to build.  It is clear that the word “Freemason” did not originally refer to a specific type of stoneworker.  It referred to a specific skill level of a special type of worker overall and especially one who worked with stone in general, not just freestone.  
Direct evidence as to this connection can be seen in literature.  Many Brothers have read phrases like, “mestre mason de franche peer[7]  {as in: pierre or stone}” [master mason of free stone] is the most significant and probable origin of the term “freemason”.[8] They might not realize that both the authors and reporters of such statements have placed their conjecture forth into the world and unfortunately in doing so, they are putting into motion opinions that shall eventually be taken as accepted dogma by Brothers who shall never investigate their opinions any further.  They shall accept their opinions as their own. 
All that needs to occur to prevent this is doing proper work.  When the phrase “mestre mason de franche pierre” is properly translated, it reads, “master mason [as in “masterful builder”] of superior/excellent stone”.  In this case, it is not just about the material the worker works; it is about the skill of the worker doing the work and the superiority of the materials being worked! 
This information is supported by many sources, but one that shall be shared herein is the writing of one Reverend Walter William Skeat[9].  In his book on English Etymology, the author writes quite frankly:

Etymology
 
Freestone. This word occurs in Shakespeare, in the compound freestone-coloured, As You Like It, iv. 3. 25. And much earlier, spelt frestane, in Weber's Met. Rom. iii. 118. I have had some difficulty in tracing its etymology. The dis correct or corrupt; and again, in finding out what is the meaning of free, if it be correct. This difficulty existed long ago, for I remember meeting with the spelling frieze-stone, though I forget where, as if the derivation were from stone suitable for making a frieze. In Johnson's Dictionary, two contradictory reasons for the name are given. The former is, because it can be dug up freely in any direction, which makes no good sense; and the latter, because it can be cut or wrought freely in any direction, which is practically right. The difficulty is entirely solved by observing that the word is a mere translation from the French franche pierre. Cotgrave, as usual, gives us the correct answer. He gives: 'Pierre franche, the (soft white) freestone'; and further explains the F. franc by 'without any fault or ill quality.' Littre" has: 'Pierre franche, pierre parfaite dans son espece, qui n'a ni la mollesse du moellon, ni la durete" du caillou,' i.e. a stone perfect in its kind, having neither the softness of a soft stone, nor the hardness of flint. We may thus understand free to mean of excellent quality, without flaw, easily wrought in any direction.   I may add that the expression fraunche piers [10], meaning 'stones of excellent quality,' occurs in the English Allit. Romance of Alexander, l. 4356: and the expression precious piers, i.e. precious stones, in i.5270 of the same. [85-7; 20.]”[11]
It is clear that the word, “Franche”, that is translated to “Free” and used within conjoined words such as “Freemason” and “Freestonedescribes both the stone and the worker.  What is not clear to most Brothers is that how the word free” as used and understood within these words today is not how it was used and meant originally.  The word “Free” as it was originally understood and used years ago referred solely to the superiority or excellence of both. 
 
Eureka
 
Just as the stone was labeled “Franche” or “Free”, because it was “superior” or “excellent” in its nature, the stone worker obtained his associated label “free” by virtue of the “superior” and “excellent” work that he produced, no matter what materials he worked.  The stone worker did not get his associated name from the fact that he worked upon a specific type of stone or for that matter that he was somehow “free” to do his work, as the word “free” is currently understood by most people today. He was referred to as “free” because the word meant “superior” or “excellent”.  A “Superior Builder”, or “Free Mason”, is called such because that is exactly what he was!
Furthermore, what made possible this excellent worker’s ability to freely travel, work any stone, be free to work and to do so with or without a guild was the simple fact that his work and, more specifically, his skills overall, were “Masterful!”[12]

Furthermore
 
The ramifications of this Light are enormous.  It means that most every guild name and trade in the past that was prefaced with “Franche” or “Freecan no longer be considered referring to anything but “Excellent” or “Superior” workers.  This also indicates that the phrase, “Free & Accepted” Masons could not possibly mean, “Operative & Speculative” Masons.  In this Light, the phrase can only mean “Superior-Excellent & Apprentice[13] Masons.  And that’s fodder for another article.

Points to Perpend
 
1)   How often do you accept what Light Brothers offer you without doing your due diligence on what is shared?
2)  When you do accept what is offered and then find the Light shared was inferior work, how do you feel about your choices or decisions?
3)  What actions can you take into the future to assure that the Light you are offered is accepted in the Light in which it is given?


[1] Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2, Shakespeare
[2] The exact origin of the free- is a subject of dispute. Some [e.g. Klein] see a corruption of French frère "brother," from frèremaçon "brother mason;" others say it was because the masons worked on "free-standing" stones; still others see them as "free" from the control of local guilds or lords. (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=freemason)
[3] And the root, “Franc”.
[4] Sometimes written, “Fraunche”.
[5] Unlike the modern day meaning of the word, “Frank”, which has migrated semantically in meaning toward “candid”.
[6] Sometimes written, “pierre franche” or “pierre fraunche” depending on the era or region.
[7] Act 25 Edw. III. ST. II. C. 3. C.E. 1350
[8] Origin of the Word "Freemason";  The Royal Arch Mason Winter 1964; Bird H. Dolby, PGHP (Maryland) commenting upon statements within a paperback edition of a book by G.G. Coupon of St. Johns College, Cambridge, England, entitled, “Medieval Faith and Symbolism” (published by Harper and Brothers, New York).
[9] Litt.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Ph.D.; Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge
[10] Piers – common Old French form of masc. proper name “Peter”, from Latin Petrus, from Greek Petros, literally "stone, rock,", Old French Pierres, French Pierre, Peer, etc.
[11] Notes on English Etymology – Chiefly Reprinted From The Transactions Of The Philological Society”; published in 1901; Author: Reverend Walter William Skeat, Litt.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Ph.D.
[12] The closest that I have been able to so far ascertain that any scholar, writer, historian or researcher has come to the conclusion that “free” meant “superior” or “excellent” were two  brilliant submissions made to Volume X of the “Transactions of the Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Lodge” by Bro. G. W. Speth, P.A.G.D.C., F.R.Hist.S. in his “Free And Freemasonry; A Tentative Enquiry (pages 10 through 33)  and Dr. W. Begemann in his response to Bro. Speth, “On The Meaning Of Free In Freemason” (pages 155 – 157).  Both writers indicate that they believed from provided documented evidence that “free” workers were special workers endowed with special freedoms, but neither indicated in their writings that the word “free” actually meant “superior” or “excellent”.  If they truly were on the verge of making the historical connection as to the source of the word “Freemason” that is discussed herein, they never reported its connection to the archaic meaning of the words, “frank”, “franc” or “franche”.  Their writings consistently show that they assumed the word “free” was associated only with certain “freedoms” alone rather than the quality of the “skills” required to obtain such freedoms, as do all those who have made reference to their works and the works to which many historians and related authors refer.  Their two submissions are worth reading, especially in Light of this recent revealed connection to the archaic meaning of the word “Franche”.
[13] See “accepted”; Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1917)