Scottish Rite Freemasonry

"Indeed, we might find echoes of the 'Heliand'’s values in Freemasonry itself, where our Masonic jewelry and regalia, no matter how 'bright and shiny,' are not valued for material reasons, but rather signify foundational virtues such as fidelity, honesty, charity, and compassion­—virtues which bring us closer to the Divine."— M. Dreisonstok

Learn more about how a 9th-century, Old Saxon epic poem depicts Light and wealth in “A Treasure Hoard in the Second Temple: Light from the ‘Heliand,’ a ‘Bright Book'” in the March/April 2026 Scottish Rite Journal

In the digital edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=860555&p=12&view=issueViewer

On the podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-treasure-hoard-in-the-second-temple-light-from-the-heliand-a-bright-book--71494622

Illustration: As Christ calms the waters of the sea in Matthew 8:23–27, the "Heliand" audience imagined this scene as occurring on a Viking-style longship. Watercolor by C. Dreisonstok, inspired by Carl Rasmussen’s 1875 painting "A Summer Night Near Greenland around the Year 1000."

"Henrik Ibsen’s drama is not a 'Masonic play,' but it is a builder’s tragedy, a study of ambition, duty, legacy, and the peril of reaching higher than one’s inner foundation can bear." — C. E. A. Lincoln

Learn more in "Metaphors of Toil, Towers, & Castles in the Air: Ibsen’s 'The Master Builder' as a Masonic Meditation" in the March/April 2026 Scottish Rite Journal:

In the Online Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=860555&p=30&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/ibsen-s-the-master-builder-as-a-masonic-meditation--71162399

Illustration: Classic Masonic image of a master builder in this detail of a glass slide entitled "Jewels of the Lodge." Source: Patmos-Solomon’s Lodge No. 70, Savage, Md.

Celebrating the Semiquincentennial of the United States of America 🇺🇸 —

Check out “‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness:’ The Declaration of Independence at 250” in the January/February 2026 Scottish Rite Journal.

In the Digital Edition:
https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=858335&p=10&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-declaration-of-independence-at-250--69743175

Image: Independence Hall (formerly Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House), where the U.S. Declaration of Independence was ratified (Photography: M. Dreisonstok)

"By restoring our original lotus flower in place of the crown on the Eagle of Lagash, we honor our Persian roots and weave a new thread into the global Scottish Rite tradition, one that speaks to resilience, hope, and the enduring light of Masonic wisdom." —M. Youssefiani

Learn more about this significant symbol in "The Persian Lotus: A New Symbol for the Scottish Rite" in the November/December 2025 Scottish Rite Journal:

In the Online Edition—
📖 https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=854383&p=24&view=issueViewer

On the Podcast—
🔊 https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-persian-lotus-a-new-symbol-for-the-scottish-rite--69308294

Image: Illustration of lotus flower