Trestleboard_2016_02 - Reading Lodge No. 254

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In
Vol. 23 No. 3
Serving the Masonic Families of Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties
February 2016
together, please contact Uriah McBroome or Kemp
Letts.
Also, Bros Jim Tomasini, Tom Kurth & Pat Cassidy made trips to Mexico to officiate/participate in a
Mexican Wedding and Celebration. The stories surrounding this epic adventure will be flowing at our
February Stated Dinner. I am told that Ulysses’ Odyssey pales in comparison to the adventure of these
three Past Masters. Obstacles are things a person
sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.
Reading #254
Redding, California
Brethren,
Our next Stated Meeting will be on
February 3rd. The Widows Sons will be preparing
a Chili dinner at Western Star’s Stated Meeting on
2/2/2016; the proceeds will be going to the Widows
fund to support upcoming Widows’ functions. Open
your hearts and help us support our Widows. We will be taking the Traveling Gavel to Trinity Lodge on February 8th. We will be leaving from
Reading Lodge at 4:45. Please join us for the trip to
Trinity Lodge.
Our Charter Cable services have been hooked
up, therefore we are planning a Super Bowl Party
on February 7th with festivities to begin at 1pm. The
kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm. We are planning
a wild game stew with bread and salad. Soft drinks
and water will be available. If you want an adult beverage, you are free to bring your own. We will also
have ice cream available at halftime. Please bring
your family and let’s enjoy the day together.
There is also a family get together being planned
for May 7th with a Country Theme. Please contact
Uriah McBroome or Kemp Letts with any suggestions you may have with regard to this party. Please
note that this is the day of the Kentucky Derby and
we will be watching the race on our big screen TV. We are also in the planning stages of a parking
lot sale. We are tentatively scheduling this for June
4th. The proceeds will be going to the Lodge’s Aid &
Assistance Fund and also to our Education Fund. If
you have items you would like to donate to the sale
or if you are interested in helping to put this event
Fraternally, WM Mike Denham
Siskiyou #297
Mt. Shasta, California
Sisters & Brothers,
Hope everyone enjoyed the Installation and
many thanks to all that helped make it such a wonderful event. The Installing Officers did an outstanding job as always, PM Dan Parkin would like to thank
everyone for all of their hard work last year and we
know the new line of Officers will continue with the
same dedication and zeal.
There will be a Valentine’s Party and the Annual
St. Patty’s Day dinner that we will be assisting OES
with so keep your calendars clear.
For those few Brothers that have not paid their
dues, please contact me.
Fraternally,
John Murphy. Secretary
1
THANK YOU DONORS!
Your gifts and sponsorships keep The Temples Trestleboard coming to Masonic families in
Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties.
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Thomason
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IMO “Gene” Trullinger
PLATINUM
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Mike Denham,
IMO all those who lost their lives
fighting for Freedom
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& Evelyn Hoppess
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Howard L. Taylor
Welcome Redding Chapter,
IMO Our Departed Sisters
& Brothers
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DIAMOND
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Petterson
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2
Northern Lights #14
THE TEMPLES
TRESTLEBOARD
Published monthly (ex. July and August)
by the Redding Masonic Association as
the Official Publication of the 206th Masonic District, P.O. Box 494712, Redding,
CA 96049. Subscription price $15 per year
to sojourners. Standard Mail Non-Profit
Postage paid at Redding, CA, 96049, permit number 1.
Business/Circulation Manager
Carolyn Taylor.................................275-5934
Subscriptions, donations and Sponsorship remittances should be made payable
to REDDING MASONIC ASSOCIATION—
TRESTLEBOARD FUND and mailed to
P.O. Box 494712, Redding, CA 960494712.
Address changes may also be mailed to
the address above or to 13693 Kitty Hawk
Ln., Redding, CA 96003, or emailed to
[email protected].
Editor:
Mike Sanders.................................. 226-9366
The 15th of the month preceding date of
issue is the deadline for all news items,
photographs and advertising. Submissions after published deadline will not be
included. All articles and photos for publication should be addressed to: Editor,
356 Franciscan Trail, Redding, CA 96003,
phone 226-9366. You may fax to: 2260725 or email to:
[email protected]
Order of the Eastern Star
Anderson, California
Here it is February already. As the old saying goes “Time sure flies
when you are having fun”.
As this article has to be submitted the day before our dinner for the
Veterans K-9 Connection is held we can’t report the amount of money
we were able to give to this worthwhile program. We do know it will
be a nice sum of money as we have had a huge number of tickets sold.
We want to thank all of the Eastern Star and Masonic members who
purchased tickets and/or donated money for this program. It is a great
feeling to know one belongs to an organization filled with members
who are willing to support our Veterans who have given so much to preserve our freedom.
At our February 5th meeting we will be celebrating our Chapter’s
Birthday, renewing our obligation, and honoring our Past Matrons and
Patrons. We will be serving cherry pie and ice cream after the meeting
so come and enjoy the fun.
On the 19th of February we will be celebrating Brothers Night with
a Sweetheart Dinner at 6:30 pm. We will be having a guest speaker
who will give a Flag talk after dinner. All the brothers are invited and
we hope to see a lot of you at this social night. This year Grand Chapter
is encouraging all Chapters to increase membership so this would be
a good time to invite non-members to come and see what we are all
about.
Hope all of you are enjoying the rain (and in the higher areas, snow).
It is nice to have some good winter weather this year.
Happy Birthday wishes to all who were born in February and Happy Anniversary to all who “tied the knot” in the month that celebrates
love.
May all of you enjoy smooth sailing,
Dina and David
President
Mark Pesut, Master
15344 Main St., Shasta
Involved in our community, WE ARE FAMILY…
Sammy Hanes, 32°
Fort Crook Lodge #250
Stated Meetings
2nd Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
Bob Boyce, Secretary
[email protected]
(530) 335-6023
3
Secretary
Bryant Carter, 32° KCCH
275-3814
Fidelity #131
Intermountain-Modoc
Shrine Club
Order of the Eastern Star
Mt. Shasta, California
Shrine International/
Sisters and Brothers,
The year started out with a new beginning for
us. We had to cancel our meeting due to snow
and boy what a snow storm. Some of the towns
in the district got snow for the first time in years.
I know it was a new beginning for them. We are
hopefully going to get snow to keep our beautiful
mountain with snow on it all through summer and
the lakes filled up with water. You know what I’m
talking about, some of those ‘good old days’, or ‘I
remember when’. Our 1 to 3 inches turned into 11
to 13 inches. The plows where we live were working overtime.
Our February 11th meeting is themed “Hearts
for you” and bring thoughts, stories, and pictures
of loving memories. Lou Stanton, Chairperson
and the brothers are on refreshments.
February 25th is themed “Our Forefathers”
and Virginia Barham and Anne Murphy are on
refreshments.
Greetings fellow Shriners and Masons,
It is our most sincere hope that all of you and
your families are starting off 2016 in good health and
spirits. In the high country, we are enjoying a fresh
blanket of the white stuff, aka SNOW ! On Sunday,
January 10th, we met at the Fall River Hotel for dinner and fellowship with our ladies. Since all of our
officers remained the same from 2015 we dispensed
with a formal installation of officers and concentrated on the great dinners that were prepared for us by
the hotel chef. Those in attendance were President
Don Smith accompanied by Rose Schneider, VicePresident Ed Bosworth Jr and his Lady Cherry, Treasurer Cecil Ray and his Lady Anita, Secretary Charles
Thomason and his Lady Lizz and Brian “buz” Hembling with his Lady Pat. A good time was had by all.
At our first meeting of the New Year, we discussed our budget and operation plan for 2016.
Both will be finalized at our February meeting. We
did set the dates for our Fabulously Famous Gin Fizz
Breakfasts for this year. Dates for the breakfasts will
be March 6, April 10, May 8 and May 22. Come as
often as you can and help Shriners Support Shrine
Hospitals. Hope to see all of you there.
Marlene Facey, Worthy Matron
Chester “Sonny” Facey, Worthy Patron
Charles Thomason, Secretary
Shasta York Rite
Shasta Chapter #9 RAM
Cryptic Council #6
Redding Commandery #50 KT
Loyal C. Taylor,
Secretary/Recorder – 275-5934
Fidelity Chapter 131
629 Alder St.
Mt. Shasta, Ca
Refreshments at 6:00 meeting at 7:00
2nd & 4th Thursdays Dark July & August
4
District Inspector
and visitation support with cards and a nice letter. You
can help here. We are trying to build a widows program to contact our widows with a nice letter. These
letters and contacts can come from anywhere. Reach
out to your lodge and tell them how you can volunteer
from where you live. We will get you supplies And, if
you have a finger and a phone, you can make a call. It
is always good to hear from another brother. We have
a lodge doing just that. They are reaching out to every lodge member to see just how he is doing. What
great fellowship! Your lodge officers are committed to
working with every brother that wants to help or even
needs help. I do not know all of you but please do not
hesitate to contact me or your own lodge if you are in
need. We want to be there for you. It is our promise
and commitment to help and aid brothers withersoever dispersed.
While it is important to build our lodge with new
members, it is time to spend the effort making Masons
of the members we have. We have many lodge programs in iMember that will help you gain more light
in Masonry. You have Officer and Candidate coaches
that stand at the ready to guide you. I have assurances
from Grand Lodge that if you want a program with a
guest speaker, I will have a guest speaker for you. Joining the Masons does not make you a Mason, and going
to lodge does not make you a Mason. True Masons are
evident by their thoughts, words and deeds.
We learn from our first degree lecture about truth.
Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every
virtue. To be good men and true is the first lesson we
are taught in Freemasonry. I start this writing to you
to share some truths that are occurring now in our District and in our fraternity.
We are, and have been in a state of decline. It takes
8 masons to open a lodge. We have a lodge that can’t
get that many masons from their own lodge to show
up so other lodges in the district show up and then we
can open. We do so willingly. They do put on a great
meal but I am sure they wouldn’t mind putting on a
bigger meal. I need you to help rebuild your lodge and
our fraternity. Each and every individual brother can let
the public know that he is a Mason, conducting himself
as a just and upright citizen. We need to start with you.
Other than spreading the word, how about coming to
your lodge or a lodge in the town nearest you? You
know when your lodge meets right? This is a chance
for you to bring a friend, brother, son or grandson back
to the lodge and reestablish our brotherly bonds and
start to set the rebuilding in place. We want you back
in the Lodge and we want you to help revitalize the
fraternity.
You can help from out of state too. We need sick
(continued on page 7)
Welcome-Redding #17, O.E.S.
Susan Sechrist, WM
Norm Pearson, WP 2nd Tues.
7:00 p.m.
Trinity Lodge #27
F. & A.M.
Fraternal best wishes from
the members of Trinity
Lodge #27 in picturesque
Weaverville.
Gerald (Gerry) Knight
Howard Kirkpatrick, PGM
MasterSecretary
Chris Erikson
Worshipful Master
Compliments of
Howard D. Kirkpatrick
Kelly Bickett Pam Severtson
1131 Hilltop Drive, Redding
223-5625 * Fax 223-6523
5
Western Star #2
Here is the upcoming Calendar for February:
February 2nd Stated meeting. 7:30pm, Dinner 6:30pm
February 9th 2nd degree practice (Senior Deacon)
6:30pm
February 18th 2nd Degree Practice all 6:30pm
February 20th AYCS Breakfast
February 23rd Hall Association Meeting 6:30pm
February 23rd 2nd Degree for Br. Backus
March 1st Stated meeting 7:30pm, Dinner 6:30pm
Shasta, California
Greetings from the East,
I would like to start off by congratulating
Brother William Goodson on his being raised to the
sublime degree of a Master Mason on January 26,
2016. Brother Goodson will be a great asset to the
fraternity. I want to also congratulate the members
of Western Star Lodge #2 on giving him a great and
memorable degree. We continue to keep busy in the
lodge which I am happy to say is great. We will be
having a second degree in February for Brother Backus as well as we also have Brother Woodley getting
close to having his second degree also. I am looking
forward to hearing from our other Brothers who still
need to advance and what we can do as a Lodge to
help them make that journey.
Western Star’s next All You Can Stand Breakfast
will be on February 20, 2016 at 7:30am – 11:00am. I
hope everyone can come out and have a nice fresh
home cooked breakfast of pancakes, scrambled
eggs, hash browns, sausage, biscuits and gravy. Take
some time to enjoy the Shasta museum, black smith,
bakery, and the “Oldest Chartered Masonic Lodge
in the State of California” We look forward to seeing
you.
I would again like to encourage our members to
come out to the Lodge on the first Tuesday of every
month for our Stated Dinner that starts at 6:30pm.
It is a great time to sit and visit your Brothers in the
lodge and have a meal and fraternal fellowship.
Families are also welcome to attend the dinner. As
we move into Spring and Summer I will be planning
other opportunity’s as well to meet and enjoy our
Fellowship.
Meet on the Level, act by the Plumb, and always part
upon the Square. “FRATRES AETERNI”.
Fraternally,
Mark Pesut, P.M.
Worshipful Master
Sending our Fraternal Love
Oscar & Linda Fuentes
Northern Lights Chapter #14
Anderson Grange Hall
7:00 p.m.
6
Welcome Redding #17
Trinity Star #650
Order of the Eastern Star
Redding, California
Order of the Eastern Star
Weaverville, California
Welcome Redding Chapter went to the
Veterans Home for its open house. We made 50 doz.
cookies for the Widow Sons to hand out and O.E.S.
served cookies and soda pop. A great time was had
by all, in fact, we are going back in March to call
bingo for them. We are making small bags of candy
and a valentine for the veterans. February 9th we
are having a fund raising dinner of pork loin come
and join in the fun. On the 23rd of February we are
inviting all our Masonic family to game night. Come
and play an old game or learn a new one. Pop corn
and goodies will be served along with many smiles.
Happy February everyone!!
Happy Star Anniversary to sister Rita Hodges!!
Congratulations on your accomplishment!
I hope you’re refreshed after hibernation. Please
join us on the 4th as we go back to Chapter. We will
review signs, passes, and Obligation.
February 8th will be a regular meeting at 7:00
desert to follow.
Happy birthday to our special honorees and
many years of love to those celebrating their special
day.
Fraternally
Susan Sechrist W.M.
Norm Pearson W.P.
Vickie Bellus
(continued from page 5)
Speaking of deeds, we have an opportunity to help
with one of our Youth groups. The Pacific Crest DeMolay that met in Redding has not had a member in over 1
year. A representative is coming from DeMolay to talk
with your pedestal officers on Jan 5 to see how we, as a
District, can revitalize the most northern youth group
in the state. This is our program that we need to support and help it to thrive. I will report after the meeting
what is needed to get this group back on its feet. If you
want to participate, reach out to me. I will get you on
that team. Don’t stand on the sidelines – if we all do
that then this youth group goes away forever.
I am not pretending to know any more about these
subjects than many of you do. Nor do I assume I am a
better man or Mason than any of you. I only offer you
my thoughts and my conclusions, through my experience and study, to make us all think and perhaps try a
little harder, to be a little better. If we do, we will live
it and they will come. I have heard it said that we are
now drinking from wells that we did not dig and eating
the fruit of trees that we did not plant. We are living on
the greatness of Freemasonry created by others and
just trying to coast. When you coast, you slow down,
and eventually stop. Let’s dig some of our own wells,
plant some of our own trees and create some of our
own greatness.
Welcome Redding Chapter has the honor to
present a Reception for our Brother Loyal Taylor,
Past Patron, and Grand Representative of Vermont
in California. This is our opportunity to say “Thank
You!” to our Brother for his many years of service to
our Order.
The date is Saturday, May 21, 2016, to be held
at Burnsini Winery in Cottonwood, and it will be an
informal luncheon event.
Our needs will be for many willing hands to
make this happen. Because of restraints at the venue, much of the behind-the-scenes activity will take
place in our RMFC - mostly food preparation.
We will need strong hands to pack up and transport necessary Chapter paraphernalia and possibly
additional tables and chairs. Likewise, these items
will need to be transported BACK to the RMFC
the same day. We will require ice chests/coolers to
transport the food and condiments.
A committee will also be necessary to provide
decorations, pin-ons, and courtesies.
Mark the date on your calendar and please notify
me of the area in which you can help.
Fraternally,
Sally Sanders, PM
226-9366
email: [email protected]
Don Black, PM
206th District Inspector
7
The Magic Flute
Magick and Masonry
Lon Milo DuQuette
[A pre-performance lecture by Brother DuQuette on opening night of the
Los Angeles Opera’s presentation of Mozart’s DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (The Magic
Flute), March 24, 2002.]
[In Lon’s best movie trailer voice] In a world…where
your mother is a homicidal Moon Goddess… And your
father is a Sun Worshiping Cult Leader, Your only
protection just may be a very confused Prince with
a flute…. And a guy dressed up like a bird…with a
glockenspiel ! I’m Lon DuQuette. I’m very proud to
say I’m a Mason. My father was a Mason. My brother
is a Mason. Many of the men whose lives and works
have inspired, enlightened and encouraged me
throughout my life have been Masons. Masonry is
one of the oldest (if not the oldest) secular fraternities in the world. It traces its modern origin to 1717
when a grand lodge was formed from several existing lodges in London. Just how long those lodges had
been in existence prior to 1717 is unclear. There are
some one hundred and thirty versions of Masonic
documents known as the Old Charges that date from
around 1390 – but Masonic tradition would have us
trace its origins back much farther -- back to the medieval cathedral builder’s trade unions --back to the
Dionysian Artificers who built the great civic monuments of the Roman Empire – back to the builders
of King Solomon’s temple -- even to the craftsmen
who built the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Of course,
there is no real evidence to support the existence
of a prehistoric INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
PYRAMID BUILDERS (LOCAL #327). But, even if none
of the traditional histories of the Craft can stand the
scrutiny of historians, it is clear that Freemasonry,
as an initiatory society, is an incarnation of (if not
the heir to) the great mystery schools of antiquity
-- especially those that flourished in and around the
Mediterranean basin - the Eleusinians, the rites of
Mendes, of Osiris, Isis, Dionysus, Serapis, Mithras,
and the Persian Magi, from whence we get the word
Magic. The Mystery Schools taught that, ultimately,
the true essence of each man and woman is divine …
in fact, if ever we could come to the full realization
of our true natures we would discover we are one
and the same with the supreme consciousness and
life-force of the universe. Among the various Mystery
rites, the name and symbolic character of the deity chosen to represent this supreme consciousness
varied considerably – but they all had one very important thing in common. They all surmised that it is
possible to consciously raise oneself to supreme real-
ization – and they attempted to assist this
evolutionary process
by degrees – by means
of a step-by-step
program of purification and instruction. And by literally mutating the
candidate’s character by putting him or her through
a series of dramatic and artfully choreographed
personal ordeals. In the early years of the Christian
era, Alexandria Egypt was center of the intellectual,
philosophical, and initiatory world. The universal
order and stability of the Roman Empire brought
the world together as never before. For a brief and
brilliant moment in time, knowledge and wisdom
gleaned from scores of cultures from China and India
to Egypt, Israel, Europe and Britain, synthesized
within three great libraries. Here the holy wisdom of
the Hebrew qabalah met the celestial sciences of the
Chaldean Astronomers and the occult wisdom of the
Egyptian priests of Isis. Here the subtleties of Taoist
and Buddhist philosophies touched the mathematical sciences and pragmatic politics of the Greeks.
A catastrophic fire destroyed much of at least one
of Alexandria’s great libraries, and the growth and
often violent zeal of the young Christian movement
for all intents and purposes put an end to the overt
activities of the Mystery schools. Carl Sagan speculated that, had the wealth of information stored in
Alexandria not been destroyed -- the level of technology that placed a man on the moon in the 20th
century would have been reached in the 1500s. Be
that as it may, we know there survived throughout
the suffocating centuries of the Dark Ages, a body
of men who, because of their unique knowledge
and skills, formed a distinct class of world citizen.
Men who could move freely from town to town, city
to city, kingdom to kingdom -- unrestricted by the
limits of feudal servitude. Masters of geometry and
construction, who could make stone rise to heaven.
Master artists who could enshrine the symbolic and
mathematical secrets of creation within the very
dimensions and ornaments of buildings that would
stand for a thousand years. These were Free-masons.
Men who, by virtue of their own talents, wit, and
(continued on page 9)
8
von Born. Von Born was the most idealized example
of the Enlightened man—humanitarian –scientist and
teacher. The next level is more esoteric and Masonic;
and here we ask, does The Magic Flute actually
reveal Masonic “Secrets?” Technically….No. Masonic
secrets concern themselves primarily with the
clap-trap of the fraternity -- the signs of recognition…the hand shakes…passwords…and, of course,
the details of the dramatic ceremonies of initiation.
There are very few aspects of The Magic Flute that
would worry any Mason who actually knows what is
(and what is not) secret in the Craft. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, also a free-mason, said of The
Magic Flute; “It is enough that the crowd would find
pleasure in seeing the spectacle; at the same time,
its high significance will not escape the initiates.” In
the time we have left before we enjoy tonight’s
performance, I’d like to highlight just a few of those
elements of “high significance” that do not escape
initiates. Let’s begin by observing Mozart’s use of the
number 3. The number 3 is, for a number of reasons,
a highly significant number to Masons. The overture
of The Magic Flute exploits quite dramatically three
chords sounded in batteries of three. These same
three chords are sounded in the Temple scenes. As
we will soon see, there are three Temples, three
doors, 3 attendants to the Queen of the Night, three
guiding angels, and three rounds of voting. Brother
Mozart even wrote The Magic Flute in E flat—a key
that contains three flats in the key signature. While
these are interesting tidbits, they are hardly veilrending expositions of Masonic secrets. In the Temple
scenes, however, we will see the suggestions of many
elements of secret Masonic procedure; from the way
the brotherhood admits the candidate and votes
upon his admission, to the various tests of fidelity,
silence and secrecy – most especially, the ordeal of
initiation itself. Peeling back yet another layer of
esoteric secrets, we discover that Brothers Mozart
and Schikaneder incorporated key elements of the
Hebrew Qabalah within the characters and plot of
their opera. We must remember that mystical sciences such as Qabalah, Alchemy, and ceremonial
magic were subjects of intense fascination to many
Masons of the18th century, and it is not at all surprising that these two Masons-with-a-mission would
want to load their masterpiece with the biggest
mystical punch they could. A fundamental concept of
the Qabalah divides creation and the human soul
into four levels. These four levels correspond to the
four letters of the Great Name of God, which in
Hebrew is spelled Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh, (Most of the
non-Jewish world pronounces this Jehovah.) The
dynamics that exist between and among all things
(continued on page 10)
(continued from page 8)
experience, had freed themselves from the tyranny
of Kings and the oppression of the Church. The Freemason was the archetype for the modern, liberated
human being. Freemasons were quite literally … the
coolest guys in the western world. When the great
cathedral projects ended, the fraternity evolved
from being one that applied its mystical principals
upon stone, to one that does so upon the hearts of
human beings. By 1784, when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart became a Mason, the progressive Masonic ideals
of Love, Tolerance, Enlightenment and Universal
Brotherhood were poised to set Europe and America
on fire with revolution. Late in 1790 Mozart learned
Masonry would soon be outlawed in Austria. He conspired with a Brother Mason, librettist and theatre
owner, Emanuel Schikaneder, to enshrine the essence
of Masonic ideals within a lighthearted (and seemingly innocuous) opera. That opera, of course, is The
Magic Flute. And like all of Mozart’s creations, it is
constructed on many levels. The first level is purely
musical. By this point in Mozart’s career he was famous for creating melodies that were not only beautiful to the ear, but memorable to the mind. Mozart
wrote music you could hum and whistle. His musical
logic is so clean and natural that the listener’s ear
anticipates each upcoming phrase as if the music is
gushing spontaneously from our own mind. Mozart’s
audiences frequently became so instantly infected
by these almost deja-vu melodies that they joined
in with the principals on second and subsequent
refrains. The music of The Magic Flute is delightful,
and I’m sure there was no doubt in Mozart’s mind
that once it was heard it would be impossible to
erase it from the musical consciousness of the world.
The next level was that of contemporary comment.
Several of the characters in The Magic Flute were
quite recognizable caricatures of some of the most
important and powerful people of the day.
The darkly passionate and vengeful Queen of the
Night was the perfect image of Empress Maria Theresia whose opposition to the ideals of the Enlightenment and hatred for Masonry was well known. Our
hero, Tamino, was clearly based upon Emperor
Joseph II, the son of Maria Theresia, who was not
only a driving force of the Enlightenment, but also
an early activist for equality between the classes
and the sexes. Tamino’s efforts, early in the opera,
to please the Queen of the Night is a touching comment on the efforts of a royal son, who, in his youth,
naturally made efforts to please his imperious mother. And Sarastro, the Wise and Noble Hierophant of
the Temple of Isis und Osiris, could only have been
Vienna’s most revered Grand Master of Masons, Ignaz
9
more than just a social comment upon the equality
of the sexes. It is a bold and visionary statement
that touches upon the very dynamics of humanity’s
evolving consciousness. At the beginning of the opera
we meet the awesome and beautiful Queen of the
Night enthroned upon the moon. She represents a
time in human history when woman was the supreme
mystery. An innocent but primitive age when life
appeared to spring directly from woman, and was
linked to the cycles of the moon. This was the time
of the great goddess and matriarchal social and
religious institutions. As human consciousness
evolved we began to recognize how important the
sun was to life on earth, and the importance of the
man’s contribution to the procreative process. The
pendulum swung violently in the opposite direction.
Patriarchies supplanted matriarchies, and the Great
Goddess was overthrown and ruthlessly subjugated
by male gods. This is the source of the vengeful
hatred that the Lunar Queen of the Night feels for
Sarastro and his sun-worshipping order. Mozart
envisioned the next step in human consciousness,
when equality and balance between the sexes is
achieved – when the Moon and the Sun are no longer
at war but united to bring a new light to the world.
Initiation means “a beginning.” Pamina and Tamino’s
initiation at the end of The Magic Flute represents
Mozart’s sweetest hope that a new and wonderful
age was at hand. An age in which the Masonic ideals
of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth would manifest
in the hearts of all humanity. An age when, as the 3
Guiding Angels sing; “…All doubts will disappear,
when only the wise will rule… Oh heavenly peace,
return to us, and fill the hearts of all. Then the earth
will a heaven seem… And mortals will have godly
esteem” Well…It’s almost time for the opera to
begin. We are very lucky people. A wonderful – delightful - and magical initiation awaits us just inside
the great doors of the temple of music; an initiation
we can experience simply by seeing, hearing, and
enjoying. The Ritual team is almost ready. Maestro
Foster and Sir Peter Hall will serve tonight as Junior
and Senior Wardens, and the Worshipful Master in
the East will be none other than the immortal spirit
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Thank you very much.
Enjoy your evening. [Copyright © 2002 Lon Milo
DuQuette, All rights reserved.]
(continued from page 9)
represented by these four sacred letters is the focus
of Qabalistic study and meditation. But if we were to
simply personify Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh as family, they
would have the characteristics of a Father, Mother,
Son, & Daughter. If we thought of them as royalty
they would be a King, Queen, Prince, & Princess. The
Qabalistic scenario goes something like this: If each
of us really knew our true spiritual identity we would
realize that we were like a King….a King who is the
most-awake Being of all. But, for some reason, we
have chosen to fall asleep. The King has fallen asleep
and is dreaming he is the Queen of the Universe,
who has fallen asleep and is dreaming she is the
Prince of the Universe, who has fallen asleep and is
dreaming he is a sleeping Princess. Unenlightened
humanity is just like Sleeping Beauty. We are dead to
the greater reality and have completely forgotten
our divine birthright. We are asleep to our true
spiritual nature and are dreaming that we are
trapped in a tomb of matter, and time and space.
(This is just the position Princess Tamina finds herself
in the first Act of the Magic Flute.) There is part of
us, however, that is not so deeply asleep, a part of
us that remembers there is something more. This
more-awake self is our own Prince Charming. If only
he could kiss our Sleeping Beauty and break the spell
of illusion, then the Princess could marry the Prince
and become the even-more-awake Queen, and by
doing so the Prince will automatically be elevated to
become the most-awake King. The great secret to
this Qabalistic soap-opera is, of course, the Zen-like
revelation that each one of us has been the mostawake King all along. I know this sounds hopelessly
mystical and abstract -- because it is hopelessly
mystical and abstract. It is also is the hidden scaffolding that supports and sustains the Western
spiritual tradition --- and, as such, it is naturally the
plot and a sub plot of The Magic Flute. We have King
Sarastro, the Queen of the Night, Prince Tamino, and
Princess Pamina – and on a lower level we have
Papagano and Papagana who in their own more
mundane universe play prince and princess to Tamino
and Pamina. The most esoteric statement made by
The Magic Flute, however, was one that shocked
even the freethinking Masons of Vienna – and proves
Mozart to be a revolutionary even within a revolutionary society, and a visionary mystic among mystics. Despite several charming and (by modern
standards) incredibly incorrect ditties about the
nature of woman in earlier scenes, the opera climaxes with the dual initiation of Tamino and Pamina – a
surprise ending that was very unsettling to many in
the all-male Masonic fraternity. To initiates this is
10
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938-1886
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244-2404
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646-4309
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2016
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223-5510
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223-1118
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223-4818
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242-9094
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223-6478
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241-7065
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547-3662
Welcome-Redding Chapter #17
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241-8579
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244-5699
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246-3270
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226-9366
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221-3124
7082 Hermosa Way, Redding 96002
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241-8579
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244-5836
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365-8751
Meets 2nd Tuesday, 7:00 pm
Inspector, 202nd Masonic Dist:
Mike Murphy, PM,
Ph. 859-1636
59-1636
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Ph. (503) 215-3416
Meets 1st Friday, 7:00 pm
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1st Wednesday, 7:00 pm
www.calodges.org/no297/HRC.htm
Siskiyou Lodge #297
Reading Lodge #254
WM Larry Hawthorne
335-4990
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335-3866
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335-3247
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604-3842
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335-6023
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336-5015
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235-2786
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336-6559
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335-4828
Temple phone: 336-5687
2016
Stated Meeting
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Fort Crook Lodge #250
Northern Lights Chapter #14
Stated Meeting
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623-5032
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739-0850
P.O. Box 381, Weaverville 96093
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2016
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Trinity Lodge #27
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209-5399
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245-2807
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next Trestleboard deadline: MONDAY,
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778-3100
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778-3100
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623-6535
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778-3100
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