The masonic grand lodge library and museum of texas, located at 715 columbus in waco, texas, is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Later in the lost symbol, robert langdon comes across an unfinished black stone pyramid, with a masonic cipher on it. The masonic hall is a historic commercial and fraternal society building at 3321 water street in downtown augusta, maine. Texas cipher king solomons lone star macoy publishing. This cipher became a frequent tool to be used by the masons in much of their hidden work. This is a rendering of the now widely known masonic cipher, an alphabet used largely used by freemasons in the 18th century. Texas cipher only official ritual book approved by the grand lodge of texas a. Any lodge with a good mentoring program has candidates come through their pipeline cipher, written out or not. It is completely meaningless to anyone outside masonry and thus is a true code book. Duncans masonic ritual and monitor or guide to the three symbolic degrees of the ancient york rite. Escape room prop sale freemasons cipher decoder ships. Florida has instituted a first letter cipher which is available to all master masons.
Maine masonic text book masonic grand lodge of maine. There are two related versions of the masonic cipher. Texas cipher king solomons lone star brown technical. What it sounds like to me is that you have found an old masonic ritual, and your looking to learn what is in it and how to read it. I really do wish that sale of this cipher required a current master mason dues card is really not for eas nor fcs sir we were not given any conditions for the.
The version used here is that explained informally to blue lodge members, and is not an official part of any authentic masonic teachings in the grand lodge of california. The cipher itself has come to be called the pigpen cipher and works by setting up the alphabet into four separate grids. The best way to use this handbook is to read it as soon as possible, but also to continue to use it as a reference source in ones masonic. Inside the front cover, it says to be returned to the lodge incase of loss or the death of the person it was loaned to. Schulzs comic book peanuts reminds us that one of his characters is called pigpen. M district of columbia 1994 wikileaks masonic cipher book grand lodge f. Discussion in the voting booth started by blake bowden, aug 9. Freemasons cipher decoder made of 3mm thick fluorescent acrylic. I found a book from a masonic lodge that is in code, page 1. The grand lodge was formed after the end of wwii to provide soldiers a place to meet and conduct masonic work. This book appears to be a guide for the ceremonies of freemasonry.
Drummond was originally published by the grand lodge of maine in 1877 for the purpose of assisting the lodges in. Masonic organizations are invited to reproduce, extract, copy or reprint the contents of this book. Still i think it should be required for every mason both new and old. The freemasons have long used ciphers to encrypt their ceremonies and messages. It is a constant transformation through the use of masonic symbols, rituals, and teachings on a journey of return to the center of our being. The exact wording of the section pertaining to code cipher books in the rules and regulations.
Pigpen cipher also called masonic cipher or freemasons cipher uses a substitution alphabet made of grid parts and dots. California masonic cipher ritual book cover in faux. If you wish to become a freemason,simply click on the link, below, of the state or. In or we have a code book that is like our code of ethics and actions.
It was listed on the national register of historic places in 1986. Find great deals on ebay for masonic book and masonic bible. A basic masonic education course for entered apprentices with questions prepared by. For over two years myself and my lodge have worked to get the bikes for books program started. Freemasonry or masonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons that from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The decoder is made of fluorescent acrylic, which is a strong material that glows when exposed to uv light. Texas codebooks my freemasonry freemason information. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that exists in a.
A basic masonic education course for entered apprentices. This function makes this escape room prop perfect for giving your uv riddles an extra feature. New book out, knights gold, explains how 5,000 gold coins discovered in 1934 baltimore were actually the property of the knights of the golden circle. Both the ciphers on this page use the classic masonic cipher, which is also known as the pigpen cipher, as the alphabet is written into a series of grids, with some passing resemblance to pigpens. The library and museum is opened to all individuals, including those with physical challenges. Wilmshurst, in his book meaning of masonry, writes, the very essence of the masonic doctrine. Author of the constitutions of the freemasons 1723 and the new book of constitutions of the antient and honourable fraternity. Masonic grand lodge of maine ancient free and accepted. I think it will fit almost any of the blue ciphers. While this book is an excellent aid to the memory for those who desire to be proficient in the masonic ritual work as practiced in texas, please be aware that possession or use of this cypher is a violation of the laws of the grand lodge of texas, a. Grand lodge of texas codebook page 10 my freemasonry. California king solomon and his followers cal, a valuable aid to the memory, 1984. We are an online emasonry community featuring masonic education and one of the largest discussion forums for freemasons.
Its nothing dark or dangerous and a non mason will just never get the big picture of how to read it anyway. How well can you answer these entered apprentice lecture. There are some revisions in trial procedures, including the addition of a burden of proof. Maine masonic text book for use of lodges originally drummonds monitor sixteenth edition copyrighted 1923 maine printing exchange, inc. Discussion in freemasonry in texas started by plustax, nov. The ritual book usually has 3 letter ciphers for each word. Freemasonry the handbook of texas online texas state. Texas code book my freemasonry freemason information. The masonic grand lodge monitor for the state you are in is absolutely the best document to utilize to establish the facts concerning masonic teaching. Pigpen cipher masonic decoder, encoder, solver, translator. The scheme was developed and used by the freemasons in the early 1700s for recordkeeping and correspondence. Exmasons for jesus is a fellowship organization of men and women who have left the masonic lodge and appendant bodies, such as the order of the eastern star, jobs daughters, the order of rainbow for girls and the order of.
The pigpen cipher alternately referred to as the masonic cipher, freemasons cipher, napoleon cipher, and tictactoe cipher is a geometric simple substitution cipher, which exchanges letters for symbols which are fragments of a grid. Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do, yeah, they were all yellow. Lightfoots manual of the lodge ancient ceremonies and commentaries texas 1972. Taylorhamilton monitor of symbolic masonry, grand lodge of texas, 1908. Published by the grand lodge of maine masonic temple, portland 2010 original publication 1948 revisions 1952, 1955, 1959, 1963, 1972, 1982, 2000.
Ive been able to translate some of the book, it is very interesting, but it was accompanied by another book that says almost the same things, but not in code. The pigpen cipher sometimes referred to as the masonic cipher, freemasons cipher, or rosicrucian cipher is a geometric simple substitution cipher which exchanges letters for symbols which are fragments of a grid. This book is indispensable to any texas mason who needs to catch up or keep fresh. Discussion in general freemasonry discussion started by blake bowden, jan 24. Today was the most fulfilling day in my almost 8 yrs of masonry. Austin attempted to organize a masonic lodge in 1828, when he and six. Among the first americans to migrate to texas in the 1820s were a number of masons, including stephen f. A squared version is used for the capitals and a rounded one for the lowercases, extra symbols incluse only punctuation, being comma, exclamation, question, period, collon and semicollon.
This year as master of my lodge was honored to have it started under me. Maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota mississippi. Built in 1894, it is a significant work of boston architect john spofford, and a good local example of restrained renaissance revival architecture. That agreeable to an ancient masonic custom in all regular and well governed lodges,it was then neccessary that i should be reminded to deposit something of a metalic kind, not for its intrisic worth or value, but that it might be laid upon among the relics in the archives of the lodge, as a memorial that i was therein made a mason. Make offer lightfoots manual of the lodge ancient ceremonies and commentaries texas 1972. Some states have a cipher that will teach you what these shorthand words are, other states still use wordofmouth to teach other masons, mostly officers, how to read and understand this masonic shorthand. The masonic fraternity, brought to the american colonies in the mideighteenth century, was well established in all of the united states by 1820. All being based on standard business meetings and then having ritual added. Sam houston, governor of tennessee, president of the republic of texas, governor of. We are able to provide the monitors for most states on cdrom. Masonic education begins with the study of the rituals themselves. The maine masonic college is an educational arm of the grand lodge of masons in maine. By code book do you mean a cipher or the masonic code.
Ritual books freemason books prince hall books antique collectible books. The only restriction is that it cannot be used in open lodge. The cipher can still hold practical use for someone today. A geometric simple substitution cipher, which exchanges letters for symbols which are fragments of a grid. The other is sometimes taught in royal arch masonry, and differs in that the first half of the alphabet am is assigned. The following exposures of masonic ritual are provided in a cooperative effort between exmasons for jesus and ephesians 5. Here is a copy of the masonic cipher used to decode masonic messages. A pocket companion for the initiated containing the rituals of freemasonry by robert macoy. The head of this chaptercastle in 1860s baltimore was also the grand master of the maryland freemasons. Pictured above is a cipher book once owned by arthur a.
The example key shows one way the letters can be assigned to the grid. Use this list of masonic lodge locations around the world to find a masonic lodge in a. I ordered it for a texas blue book and it fits perfectly. Secretary and other frequent user of the blue book familiarize himself with each of the general sections, and thus, a thorough knowledge of masonic jurisprudence in michigan can easily be obtained by continual and careful examination of the blue book itself. M district of columbia 1994 mirror site illustrations of masonry, by capt. Masonic monitors contain portions of masonic ritual and often explanations of. The degrees of freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of apprentice, journeyman or fellow now called. I understood there were some updates that needed to be made before glot would approve its use throughout texas. The pigpen cipher sometimes called the masonic cipher or freemasons cipher is a simple substitution cipher exchanging letters for symbols based on a grid. Despite appearances, these ciphers are all simple substitution.
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