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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| What You're Not to Read | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go From Here | |
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| What Is Freemasonry? | |
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| Lodges, Aprons, and Funny Handshakes: Freemasonry 101 | |
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| What Is Freemasonry? | |
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| What Masons Do | |
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| The three degrees | |
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| Lodges, blue lodges, craft lodges, and more | |
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| The public ceremonies of Freemasons | |
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| Real men wear aprons! | |
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| A "secret society" | |
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| So is it a charity? A church? A social club? | |
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| Are [Fill in the Blank] Freemasons, Too? | |
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| From Quarries to Lodge Rooms: A History of the Freemasons | |
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| The Great Builders: Freemasonry before 1700 | |
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| Operative Masons: The great builders | |
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| Speculative Masons and the big change | |
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| The 1700s: Builders of Men | |
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| The first Grand Lodge | |
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| Masonry in America | |
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| The French Revolution and beyond | |
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| The 1800s: Growth, Change, and Branching Out | |
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| Antients and Moderns reunited | |
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| Masonic America | |
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| The 1900s: The World Wars and Beyond | |
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| Social concerns in the early 1900s | |
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| World War II | |
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| Growth again | |
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| The decline of the '60s | |
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| Y2K and Beyond: More Changes on the Way | |
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| The Philosophy of Freemasonry | |
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| What Masons Believe In | |
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| Brotherly love, relief, and truth | |
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| Basic principles | |
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| A New World Order? | |
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| Mystic Masonry | |
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| The mystic tie | |
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| Masonic symbolism | |
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| Politics, Religion, and Freemasons: They Don't Mix | |
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| Religion and the Masons | |
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| Freemasonry and Catholicism | |
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| Freemasonry and Protestants | |
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| Freemasonry and the Jews | |
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| Freemasonry and Islam | |
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| Politics and the Masons | |
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| Political turmoil in 18th-century Europe | |
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| French anarchy | |
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| Revolution! | |
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| Dictators and Freemasonry | |
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| The distrust continues | |
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| Brethren at war | |
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| The Mechanics of Freemasonry: How It Works | |
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| How the Freemasons Are Organized: Who Does What and Why | |
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| What Is a Lodge? | |
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| What Do Masons Do at the Lodge? | |
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| Who's in Charge around Here? | |
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| Officers in the progressive line | |
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| Officers not in the progressive line | |
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| What Makes a Grand Lodge So, Well, Grand? | |
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| The Grand Master | |
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| The rules | |
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| What Is a Regular, Recognized Lodge? | |
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| Multiple Grand Lodges: So who's legit? | |
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| Irregular, unrecognized, and all over the place | |
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| The Ceremonies of Freemasons | |
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| Understanding Where Masonic Ritual Comes From | |
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| The historical medieval guild rituals | |
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| Put it in writing | |
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| The Work of the Modern Lodge | |
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| The Entered Apprentice: Initiation and youth | |
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| The Fellow Craft degree: Passing through manhood | |
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| Master Mason: Raising, age, and death | |
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| Movin' on up! | |
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| The Symbols of Freemasonry | |
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| The Role of Symbolism in Freemasonry | |
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| Masonic Symbols | |
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| The number three | |
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| Tracing boards: 18th-century PowerPoint | |
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| Solomon's Temple | |
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| Square and compass | |
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| More Masonic Symbols | |
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| Scythe and hourglass | |
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| The 47th Problem of Euclid or the Pythagorean theorem | |
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| Jacob's ladder | |
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| Anchor and ark | |
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| Sun, eye, Moon, and stars | |
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| Lamb and lambskin apron | |
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| Slipper | |
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| Point within a circle and parallel lines | |
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| Pot of incense | |
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| Beehive | |
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| Plumb | |
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| Level | |
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| The letter G | |
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| Five-pointed star | |
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| Naked heart and the sword | |
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| Tyler's sword and the Book of Constitutions | |
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| Trowel | |
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| Handshake | |
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| Rough and perfect (or smooth) ashlars | |
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| Pillars | |
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| The coffin, shovel, setting maul, and sprig of acacia | |
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| 24-inch gauge and the common gavel | |
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| Myths and Misconceptions about Masons | |
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| Why Freemasonry Is Misunderstood | |
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| Common Myths about Freemasonry | |
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| The lodge goat | |
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| The All-Seeing Eye and the U.S. $1 bill | |
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| The Masonic bible | |
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| The Freemasons and Satan | |
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| Uncle Albert and Lucifer | |
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| The Freemasons and world takeover | |
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| The Freemasons and breaking the law | |
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| A Few Words about the Rosicrucians | |
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| The ballad of Christian Rosenkreutz | |
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| American Rosicrucians | |
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| Modern Rosicrucianism | |
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| So what about Masonic Rosicrucians? | |
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| Knights, Swords, Fezzes, and Dresses: The Appendant Bodies | |
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| Introducing the Appendant Bodies: Who's Who, and Who Isn't | |
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| What Are Appendant Bodies? | |
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| The-concordant bodies | |
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| The appendant bodies | |
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| So What about These Other Groups? | |
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| The animal lodges | |
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| The service clubs | |
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| Other unrelated fraternal groups | |
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| Masonic-sounding groups | |
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| The York Rite | |
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| The York Rite System | |
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| Why York? | |
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| How it's organized | |
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| Royal Arch Masonry | |
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| Mark Master | |
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| Past Master | |
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| Most Excellent Master | |
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| Royal Arch | |
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| The Cryptic Rite | |
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| Knights Templar | |
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| The chivalric orders | |
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| A crash course in Templar history | |
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| Other York Rite Bodies | |
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| York Rite College | |
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| Knight Masons | |
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| Allied Masonic Degrees | |
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| Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis | |
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| Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests | |
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| Knights of the York Cross of Honour | |
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| Red Cross of Constantine | |
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| York Rite Charities | |
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| The Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite | |
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| The Scottish Rite System | |
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| Presentation: Curtain up, light the lights | |
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| Organization: Crosses, knights, and princes | |
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| France: Freemasonry's Foundry Furnace | |
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| The Scottish Rite in the United States | |
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| Albert Pike: Sage of the Scottish Rite | |
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| Early life | |
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| Pike discovers Freemasonry | |
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| Rituals, morals, and dogma | |
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| Pike and the rest of the Masonic world | |
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| The Degrees of the Scottish Rite | |
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| The Southern Masonic Jurisdiction degrees | |
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| The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction degrees | |
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| The Scottish Rite and Charitable Work | |
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| The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine | |
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| All Shriners Are Freemasons | |
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| The History of the Shriners | |
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| The Knickerbocker boys | |
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| So why the goofy hats? | |
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| The first growth of the Shrine | |
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| Polio and the first Shrine hospital | |
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| Depression and growth | |
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| Greatest philanthropy in the world | |
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| Putting a Little of the Boy Back in the Man | |
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| Hot sands of the desert | |
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| Temples: Domes and minarets | |
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| Units: One to suit every Shriner | |
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| What's with the little cars? | |
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| But Is It Freemasonry? | |
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| The Extended Masonic Family | |
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| Women in the Lodge | |
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| The Order of the Eastern Star | |
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| The Order of the Amaranth | |
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| The White Shrine of Jerusalem | |
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| The Social Order of the Beauceant | |
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| The Youth Groups | |
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| DeMolay International for boys | |
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| The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls | |
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| Job's Daughters | |
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| Lesser-Known Masonic Groups | |
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| The Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm of North America | |
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| The Ancient Egyptian Order of SCIOTS | |
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| The Tall Cedars of Lebanon of North America | |
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| National Sojourners | |
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| High Twelve International | |
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| Masonic Research Societies | |
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| Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 | |
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| Canonbury Masonic Research Centre | |
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| Philalethes Society | |
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| Phylaxis Society | |
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| Scottish Rite Research Society | |
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| Lodges of research | |
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| Freemasonry Today and Tomorrow | |
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| So Is It Still Relevant? | |
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| That Which Was Lost | |
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| Our solitary society | |
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| Disconnected from each other | |
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| Where Freemasonry Fits In | |
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| Making good men better ones | |
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| Good for you, and tastes good, too | |
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| Brotherly love | |
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| Relief | |
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| Truth | |
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| Timelessness | |
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| Freemasons and the Future | |
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| The Future of the Craft | |
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| One-day classes | |
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| Advertising | |
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| Dues | |
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| Back to the Future | |
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| Small is good | |
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| Everything old is new again | |
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| Ancient lessons, new technology | |
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| The Internet: Breaking Down Barriers | |
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| So You Want to Become a Freemason | |
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| Why Men Become Masons | |
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| What's in it for you | |
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| Hearing from Masons themselves | |
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| Why I joined | |
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| To Be One, Ask One | |
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| Finding a Freemason | |
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| Finding a lodge | |
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| Joining a Lodge | |
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| The qualifications for membership | |
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| Petitioning the lodge to join | |
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| Being investigated | |
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| Balloting | |
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| Scheduling your degree ceremonies | |
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| Welcome, Brother | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Groups of Famous Masons | |
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| Founding Fathers | |
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| Explorers and Adventurers | |
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| Science and Medicine | |
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| Actors and Entertainers | |
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| The World of Sports | |
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| Military Leaders | |
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| The World of Business | |
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| The World of Statecraft | |
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| U.S. Civil Rights Leaders | |
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| Arts and Letters | |
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| Ten Amazing Conspiracies, Anti-Masons, and Hoaxes | |
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| Leo Taxil and the Great Hoax! | |
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| The Illuminati! | |
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| Trilats, CFRs, and Bilderbergers, Oh My! | |
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| The Secret 33rd Degree! | |
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| Jack the Ripper: A Freemason?! | |
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| The Italian P2 Lodge Scandal! | |
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| Washington, D.C., Is Satan's Road Map! | |
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| Aleister Crowley, Satanist and Freemason! | |
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| The Nazis Were Founded by Freemasons! | |
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| Masonic Cops! Masonic Judges! | |
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| Ten Cool Masonic Places | |
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| Freemason Hall (London) | |
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| George Washington Masonic Memorial (Alexandria, Virginia) | |
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| House of the Temple (Washington, D.C.) | |
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| Freemason's Hall (Philadelphia) | |
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| Masonic Temple (Detroit) | |
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| Grand Lodge of the State of New York (New York City) | |
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| Templar Church (London) | |
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| Rosslyn Chapel (Roslin, Scotland) | |
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| Grande Loge Nationale Francaise and Other Masonic Buildings (Paris) | |
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| Scottish Rite Cathedral (Indianapolis) | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| The Regius Manuscript | |
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| A Poem of Moral Duties | |
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| Anderson's Constitutions | |
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| The Charges Of A Free Mason | |
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| Concerning God And Religion | |
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| Of The Civil Magistrate Supreme And Subordinate | |
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| Of Lodges | |
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| Of Masters, Wardens, Fellows, And Apprentices | |
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| Of The Management Of The Craft In Working | |
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| Of Behavior | |
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| Finding a Lodge | |
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| Mainstream U.S. Grand Lodges | |
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| Prince Hall Grand Lodges | |
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| Canadian Grand Lodges | |
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| Index | |