Tetrahedron of Freemasonry

A tetrahedral gaming die

I named this blog "The Tetrahedral Freemason" for a reason. Specifically, there are four "faces" of Freemasonry that I see as most important to myself and which, unlike the square for example, are not at right angles to each other. These four areas are:

• Fraternity
• Community
• Esotericism
• History

Each of these aspects or "faces" of Freemasonry, in turn, has three sides:

Fraternity is the relationship that one feels with the Lodge, Freemasons everywhere and the Fraternity as an organization.

Community is the bond of love and charity that one feels toward family and friends, the larger community in which you live and all mankind.

Esotericism is a broad topic, encompassing the symbolic, philosophical and ritualistic aspects of the Craft.

History is the history of the specifically Masonic elements of one's community, the Masonic history of the broader community and the history of the Fraternity itself.

However, like a tetrahedron, these sides are shared, making just 6 true sides in our tetrahedron:

1. Fraternity/Community - Brotherly love and leadership
2. Fraternity/Esotericism - The spiritual bond of brotherhood
3. Fraternity/History - The eternal edifice of the Fraternity
4. Community/Esotericism - Sacred duty to mankind
5. Community/History - Stewardship of the past and present
6. Esotericism/History - The allegories and ritual of Freemasonry and their meanings

Any one of these topics could occupy me for the rest of my brief life, but it is my intent to explore these topics, one at a time, and bring some light to them in my own life and hopefully for others as well.

As a point of clarification, however, this blog is almost entirely focused on Blue Lodge or Craft Freemasonry. That is, it's not about The Shrine, Scottish Rite or York Rite, fascinating though those are.