Casey Jane P.

Aguilar
HIST 11.1 EA2

February 21, 2012

Reaction Paper: Mysteries of the Freemasons

Freemasonry, this has been part of my interests since high school. My curiosity started
when I see their logo everywhere. Then I became more interested when I reach high school as I
listen to my guy friends talking about it. They were talking about the perks of being a freemason.
One said that when youre a freemason and youre having problems, your brothers will help you
no matter what. They also have hospitals for sick freemasons and insurance for freemasons in
case a family member dies. They also have different charities in which they help non-freemasons
as well. These perks kept me interested until now.
On the other hand, besides this secret society, Ive been wondering why the logo is a
compass and a square. As I researched about this, I found out 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." This may be the cause why squares and compasses are
their symbol. The letter G on the middle of the square and compass means God. They also have
principles like brotherly love, relief and truth. They have also these secret signs, grips and words
which have different and significant meanings into a freemasons life. They also have the
obligation that they must keep the secrets of the society, which Im very curious of, and also
abide the rules of the fraternity.
The thing that put me into shock is a sorority just like the freemasons. It was just now, in
this semester, that I knew about the freemasonry for women. I thought that men can only be
masons. This made me recall the things about the perks of being a mason. I was thinking if the
benefits that we, women may receive is the same of the freemasons who were men. There were
also fraternity and sorority for the youth also. Upon knowing this information, it made me want
to know the general requirements on joining the sorority.
Joining the fraternity allows you an opportunity for your personal growth through
meeting different people with different walks of life. Learning in dealing with life. Through this
developing self-esteem, gaining the societys principles, charity and goodwill will make you a
fellow man. Status is also not a problem in the society since they practice equality. This
development of self helps you come up with our own answers to lifes philosophical questions.
This enables you to interpret yourself.
Overall, being a mason is awesome. All the perks and the benefits that you might get, the
values and principles that you may learn, and how to deal with life. These things may be
considered upon joining the secret society. But the question is, Are you ready? This may be hard
to decide on and pondering a lot may be needed to make the right decision. With this information
that I have read and watched, I am still speculative about freemasonry. It seems that my
knowledge is way far and little compared to the masons, so I wanted to know more and continue
to be curious because understanding further will lead us to great fulfillment.