A Brother Asks... Who was the Widow?

A Brother Asks: I know who the widow's son is, but who's the widow?

My Response: Like so many other things that are presented to us in Allegorical form, it, "The Widow" to whom the son is connected, is not a who; it is a what.

Brother: Please explain.

Coach: Sure. When you know to what it is that the "Widow" is referring, it also tells you what you need to focus upon to become its offspring.

Brother: To what is "Widow" referring?

Coach: Good question!  Should you want to pursue this in depth, I recommend you look at the intimate connection between the words "Winnow" and "Widow".

Brother: Okay...

Coach: Afterward ask yourself, what widowing are you required to do through your Masonic Journey from Profane to Mastery and what must you actively participate in to achieve that Mastery?

Brother: Does the widow symbolise our separation of the material world to that of the spiritual Father?

Coach: I guess this all depends upon how you desire to see it. In the paradigm I present here and hold to, we have both Wheat and Chaff in our lives - symbolized by the threshing-floor of Ornan. It is through our choices, decisions and subsequent actions that we divest ourselves accordingly. In the case of Freemasonry, we divest ourselves though the Masonic Work that Freemasonic Ritual and Process offers to us. I know of at least 4 fundamental life changing divestitures that it offers. What do you think those divestitures are?

Brother: As widow's son do we symbolise our human physical nature?

Coach: If we are to be called a "Widow's Son", according the Freemasonic paradigm offered through its Ritual and Process, we are the offspring of the separation process! But not before hand.

Brother: Are we bound to the mother (creation / material / earth) after the symbolic 'Fall' of mankind?

Coach: Only if you believe that this paradigm applies to you and you wish to embrace and live it. There are other paradigms one can live that do not include this paradigm. Some actually believe the fall alluded to in your question was not a fall at all and was actually a necessary step toward adulthood.

BTW - Winnowing and Threshing clues can be found upon the threshing-floor.  You might find it enlightening to explore.

Brother: So, can't we take the allegory that is Freemasonry and assign it a name?

Coach: Indeed we can!  Allegory assign personas to their characters.  And just like allegories of old, The Widow is definitely a characterization within our organization.  

Brother: Now you have my head spinning.  Who then is the Widow of Freemasonry.

Coach: That would depend entirely upon which of her members you ask and how astute they are at detecting her allegorical clues.

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy