George Washington's Lodge Mystery Cache
George Washington's Lodge
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Congrats to rickrich for the FTS!
Congrats to Spooko13 for the FTF!
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that traces its origins to the loose organization of medieval Stone masonry. Early organizational forms included “lodges”, incorporations and craft guilds. Early Freemasonry based on craft labor is known as Operative Freemasonry, while the modern, more philosophical form of Freemasonry is known as Speculative Freemasonry.
In 1717, Freemasonry members created a formal organization in England when the first Grand Lodge was formed. A Grand Lodge is the administrative body in charge of Freemasonry in some geographical area. In the United States, there is a Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in each state and the District of Columbia. In Canada, there is a Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in each province. Local organizations of Freemasonry are called lodges. There are freemasonry lodges in most towns, and large cities usually have several. There are about 13,200 lodges in the United States.
The word “lodge” means both a group of Freemasonry members meeting in some place and the room or building in which they meet. Freemasonry or Masonic buildings are also sometimes called “temples” because much of the symbolism Freemasonry uses to teach its lessons comes from the building of King Solomon’s Temple in the Holy Land. The term “lodge” comes from the structures which the stonemasons built against the sides of the cathedrals during construction. In winter, when building had to stop, they lived in these lodges and worked at carving stone.
If you've ever watched C-SPAN’s coverage of the House of Commons in London, you’ll notice that the layout is about the same. Since Freemasonry came to America from England, we still use the English floorplan and English titles for the officers. The Worshipful Master of the Lodge sits in the East. “Worshipful” is an English term of respect which means the same thing as “Honorable.” He is called the Master of the lodge for the same reason that the leader of an orchestra is called the “Concert Master.” It’s simply an older term for “Leader.” In other organizations, he would be called “President.” The Senior and Junior Wardens are the First and Second Vice-Presidents. The Deacons are messengers, and the Stewards have charge of refreshments. Every lodge has an altar holding a “Volume of the Sacred Law.” In the United States and Canada, that is almost always a Bible.
Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated by the United Grand Lodge of England at around six million worldwide. The fraternity is administratively organized into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with a membership estimated at around a quarter million). The Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland (taken together) have approximately 150,000 members. In the United States total membership is just under two million.
Masons conduct their meetings using a ritualized format. There is no single Masonic ritual, and each jurisdiction is free to set (or not set) its own ritual. However, there are similarities that exist among jurisdictions. For example, all Masonic ritual makes use of the architectural symbolism of the tools of the medieval operative stonemason. Freemasons, as speculative masons (meaning philosophical building rather than actual building), use this symbolism to teach moral and ethical lessons of the principles of “Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth;” or as related in France, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” Two of the principal symbolic tools always found in a Lodge are the square and compasses. Some Lodges and rituals explain these tools as lessons in conduct: for example, that Masons should “square their actions by the square of virtue” and to learn to “circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within due bounds toward all mankind.” However, as Freemasonry is non-dogmatic, there is no general interpretation for these tools (or any Masonic emblem) that is used by Freemasonry as a whole.
Freemasons and aiding a distressed voice:
When no voice of distress reaches their ears in vain, and no hand seeks their aid without response.
Faith:
When they find good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.
Masons and fellow man:
When they can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.
Hope:
When they know how to pray, how to love, how to hope.
Masons and their God:
When they have kept faith with themselves, with their fellowman, and with their God; in their hand a sword for evil, in their heart a bit of a song — glad to live, but not afraid to die! – Masons.
Masons and Secrets:
Such men have found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world. These are the Masons.
Info sourced from Age of Truth, <AgeofTruth.dk>
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Now comes your voluntary training. A Mason can not coerce you into joining, like some other organizations, you have to want to learn it of your own free will. Much like the masons, I can not force you to do my puzzle cache but, I hope that you’ll want to of your own free will.
1st degree: Entered apprentice
HZUWQNXBIFDYROSMKETVLCJAPG <=GTYYCGO##JJ <=ERUUGEW
2nd Degree: Fellowcraft
Now get a new Grip on things and bring forward what you have learned to your second degree being careful not to Shift your focus.
3rd Degree: Master Mason
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
A special thanks to DeltaDelta1.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvag nqqrq 5/8/15: Nsgre n srj svaqref svaqvatf, V'yy nqq gur pyhr sbe gur svany bs "Guvax abfr oyrrqf abg 50 lneq yvar" naq xrrc va zvaq guvf vf bayl n 2 greenva.
6/8/15: Abgvpr gur onpxtebhaq vf n CAT svyr.
Treasures
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