Legere Aude

Famous   Freemasons who Changed the World

When the   original Rosicrucian pamphlets were circulated between 1614 and 1617 they   sent a shockwave across Europe that instigated a flurry of activity and   changed the course of Western Esotericism. That they still resonate 400 years   later is testament to the essential truth in the message of Love, Light and   Healing that they contained. What is it about these manifestos, the   traditions they were influenced by, and the movement that they spawned that   still speaks to us? What does Rosicrucianism look like in the 21st-century   and how can it be practiced by aspirants today? How is the context of the   modern world similar to that of the original, anonymous authors and what new   challenges do we face that speak to the same need for spiritual liberation in   a new era?

With 20 years of experience in a variety of Rosicrucian orders, the author has put forward an authentic vision of how the Rosicrucian tradition speaks directly to the needs of today’s world. Not only in how we understand the works of the   past, but how individual aspirants might be able to incorporate its teachings   and world view into their daily lives as a movement that remains relevant and   meaningful.

Avoiding   doctrine and cosmology in favour of an open and honest portrayal of a modern   life lived in the spirit, this book presents a new way of viewing the   Rosicrucian tradition so that we might each embrace our own living embodiment   of the eternal relationship between humanity and its creator.

Famous   Freemasons who Changed the World

But surely, only important people can join a Masonic lodge? There has certainly been a myth, historically, along these lines. As this book will clearly demonstrate, it is true that many men of ‘rank and importance’ have been Freemasons, including many kings of England, presidents of the United States, and great men of science, the arts, music and letters. However, it needs to be quickly added that, historically, hundreds of thousands of ‘ordinary’ men worldwide have also become Masons. The purpose of this book is set out a selection of those Freemasons who, in their life-long endeavours, have effected change. For some, the change they created was   localised; for others it was profound and widespread – but in every case, the   individuals I deal with are all famous to varying degrees and have made an   outstanding contribution to our human destiny. The extent that applies in   individual cases is for the reader himself to decide.

There are 110   biographical entries in the book. Did you know that Nelson Mandela was a   Freemason? Smokin’ Joe Fraser? Jesse Jackson? Irving Berlin? Simón Bolívar?   Kemal Ataturk? Beethoven? Lord Nelson? Many surprises await you!!

The Masonic   story as a universal fraternity can be encapsulated in its stated core aims   of Brotherly love, Relief and Truth. Many thousands of individuals have, over   time, contributed to the Masonic destiny; the ideals it wishes to share with   the world – of which in this book I have dealt with only a small selection of   the most prominent; bearing in mind that in a Masonic lodge all men are   equal, ‘meeting on the level and parting on the square’. Consider in your   mind, for a moment – what if history had been different? What if Nelson had   lost at Trafalgar; Wellington was defeated by Napoleon at Waterloo;   Washington and La Fayette lost the Battle of Yorktown; Watt had not developed   the Steam Engine; Jenner had not discovered the vaccine for Smallpox and   Fleming not discovered Penicillin; Bolivar had failed in South America; Montesquieu   had never written a sentence – his writings being so influential on the   American Declaration of Independence; Churchill had led Britain to defeat in   World War II, Raffles had not founded Singapore; even if Professor Naismith   had not invented basketball! The list is a long one... Clearly, without these   many individuals, in a myriad of ways, large and small, the world today would   be a very different place and we would be much the poorer as a result. One   would like to muse, and I think we can, that the principles of Freemasonry   made a difference to each of my subjects, personally, as they undoubtedly   have for many, many thousands of men over past centuries... These then, are   indeed the Freemasons who have changed the world!

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting   acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis   Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have   the honor to host Bro.   Kevin L. Gest who is the acclaimed author of 4 books, each of which deals with a   different aspect of Freemasonry. To ensure revelations and conclusions are   factually verifiable, each contains background material and historical notes   that make the books equally appealing to non-masons as well.

Kevin started his working life associated with   design engineering in the aerospace industry, an environment that demanded   accuracy, and tried and tested proofs, before materials could be used. He has   applied those same rigours to his masonic research and investigation. His   later working life was in corporate management, instigating change and   innovation – never afraid to challenge the status quo - which again shows   through in the unexpected conclusions that have materialised by comparison   with the fable and speculation that has pervaded areas of freemasonry over   many decades.

In the Secrets of Solomon’s Temple, Kevin has drawn   on some of the most recent archaeological information, and diagrammatically   illustrates each stage of the investigation to show how the conclusion is   derived.

The Secrets of Solomon's Temple

Discover the hidden secret that lies at the heart of   Freemasonry. The Secrets of Solomon's Temple explores the background of   Freemasonry and presents it in a new and fascinating context as it relates to   our modern world. It also reveals the true identity of King Solomon and shows   his Temple in a way it's never been explored before.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting   acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis   Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have   the honour to host Bro.  Richard Gan who is a senior Freemason and a Grand Officer in all   the major Orders of Freemasonry. He retired in June 2010 as Deputy Grand   Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons. Born in 1950, he was   educated at the Becket School, Nottingham, and is a graduate of London   University where he took an Honours Degree in Geology and subsequently   studied part-time for a Master’s Degree in Education. He is also a graduate   of the Open University, where he took a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management   Studies. Whilst at the Institute of Education he combined winning a double   distinction in the Post Graduate Certificate of Education whilst also serving   as President of the Students' Union. He has enjoyed a number of successful   careers in education, Masonic administration and as the Editor of The Square, an independent magazine   for Freemasons, from which he retired in 2014. He is a full member of Quatuor   Coronati Lodge No. 2076, the premier Lodge of Masonic research, and the   author of a number of books about Freemasonry.

The Full Spectrum of Freemasonry

The book reflects the author’s research interests in   Victorian Freemasonry, and the Orders beyond the Craft. The fact that the   other Orders of Freemasonry in England have a combined membership greater   than that of the United Grand Lodge of England, is perhaps not as well-known   as it should be, nor the fact that the period 1845-1880 saw an unprecedented   expansion in Freemasonry in general and the other Orders of Freemasonry in   particular. In bringing together into one publication a set of six previously   published essays and lectures the author hopes to provide a better   understanding of the importance of the other Orders of Freemasonry. He is of   the firm belief that, within what he terms, the Full Spectrum of Freemasonry,   the Craft is but one facet; and all the various Orders have an equal and   important part to play in Freemasonry as a whole.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting   acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis   Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have   the honor to host Bro.  Mike Lawrence born and raised in Hackney, London   in the early fifties, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the   London Borough of Hackney having studied Municipal Administration and British   Constitution at Tottenham Technical College. He spent much of his work career   in Local Government, pioneering self-help programmes for the long-term   unemployed and those experiencing mental and physical illness, working   alongside central government policies which initiated the employment Training   and Community Action programmes. Again, following in his father’s footsteps,   he was initiated into Freemasonry in 1994. When his contract came to an end,   he spent the next twenty years as the Manager of the Folkestone Masonic   Centre pursuing his hobby of writing. His first Masonic articles were   published in Freemasonry Today in the late 1990s and since that date he has   written and lectured about Freemasonry, in his own unique style, throughout   Southeast England. His lectures have raised over £10,000 for Charity. A PM   and PZ, he has received Provincial appointments and promotions and other   prestigious awards. His non-masonic   writings have also been published in various magazines and periodicals.

English Accepted Masonry Vs Scottish Non-Operative   Masonry

1)     Introduction

2) Evidence     of Scottish Non-Operative admissions

3) Evidence     of English Accepted admissions

4) The     collapse of the Mason’s trade

5) Possible     reasons why Masonry needed a Non-Operative and Accepted membership

6) Reasons     why men might want to join a society

7) The number     of Grades (Degrees) practiced in those early days.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have the honor to host Bro. Jedediah French who is a founding member of Templum Rosae Lodge, N° 863 in Oakland, California. His articles have been published in Masonic books and periodicals, including Philalethes: The Journal of Masonic Research and Letters, The Plumbline, and The Square. He won the Award of Literature for 2016 for his article in Philalethes. He blogs occasionally at “Esoteric Freemasonry and the Western Mystery Tradition".

The Art   and Science of Initiation

Freemasonry is   the largest and most public of the philosophical fraternal orders, and at its   heart lies the process of initiation for instructing new members. What   exactly is the process of initiation? How did it originate? What changes does   it seek to bring about in the candidate? How does it work? More importantly,   why is it so integral to Freemasonry?

The Art and   Science of Initiation illuminates the theory and practice of various   mystical/philosophical traditions and their processes of initiation. This   book takes the reader into the heart of the initiatic experience. The method   by which to enter into communion with spiritual worlds and reach higher   levels of consciousness and soul maturation i.e., initiation remains as   relevant for us today as it was for the people of antiquity.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have the honor to host Bro.  Craig Weightman Masonic Author and Psychologist who is a graduate in Computer Science and Psychology and has been teaching in both the HE and FE sectors for over twenty years, in computer science, programming, and games development. He has also worked on a range of projects involving online application development.

He has always   been particularly interested in how technology can affect and evolve human behavior   and teaches at Staffordshire University.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have the honor to host Bro. Alistair Lees who is a Rosicrucian Freemason, for the last nine years he has been the Director General of Studies of the S.R.I.A. giving talks and encouraging the formation of study groups. He has spent twelve years as the secretary of the M.S.G study group writing and delivering college Rosicrucian papers. His eleven years as the secretary of the Metropolitan College ended in January 2020. He has helped catalog the High Council Library before helping make it more available to all researchers, five days a week at the Museum and Library of Freemasonry at Great Queens Street. He uncovered the lost S.R.I.A archive and then scanned most of its contents and has built a huge resource for its members and researchers alike. His next big project is revealing the source of the cipher manuscript used to create the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

An independent   compliance consultant for many years, helping companies write policies and   procedures, to help their clients see the proofs of their quality management   systems, maintaining the risk management registers, required by the OFT, FCA,   ISO9001:2015 and FORS regulators. Happily married with two children and two   grandchildren.

English   Illuminati

Published for   the very first time, the English Illuminati rituals are revealed in full to   the reader alongside other original source materials. A unique opportunity to   see what really went on behind the scenes, changing perceptions and sharing   the true story of the English branch of the world's most notorious order.

The book starts   with a chance discovery - a secret manuscript locked in a box and hidden away   in a private occult library. Within was found a handwritten notebook by Dr   William Wynn Westcott. It had lain there for over a century, waiting   patiently to be discovered and its contents brought to light.

Building on the   scholarly work of The Secret School of Wisdom, the story of the English   Illuminati starts a hundred years after the original order was banned. In   1880 the order was relaunched by Theodore Reuss in Munich and it is from this   organisation that the secret documents originated, eventually finding   themselves in the hands of W.W. Westcott. Westcott took it upon himself to   have them translated and to introduce the Illuminati to English society at   the turn of the 20th century. Discover   the fascinating men and women who were members of the order and other   characters and mysterious societies active at the time and how they all fit   into the story.

A beautifully   illustrated book throughout, this work sheds a completely new light on the   fraternity. The majority of images have never been seen before. Those who   wish to investigate further will be pleased to know it also includes a   detailed index and bibliography.

Aiming at spreading the Light further around the world and promoting acquisition of Gnosis through dedicated reading, Sapere Aude and Lewis Masonic, under the mutual Initiative “Legere Aude – Dare to Read”, have the honor to host Bro. Stewart Clelland who is a teacher of Philosophy and Religious Studies in and around the North East of Scotland. He holds a Masters Degree in Western Esotericism and a PGDE in Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies, as well as a B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art and Philosophy.

Bro. Clelland’s   research background is centred on esoteric spirituality and the practice of   heterodox religious traditions with a particular interest in marginalised and   persecuted religious communities, both historical and contemporary. His work   engages with religious studies specifically in the so-called “Western   Esoteric Tradition” or Hermetic Tradition within religious, masonic and   philosophical thought. His passion for the advancement of spiritual   diversity, the study of initiatic practices and the pursuit of religious   liberty, has led him to lecture throughout Scotland and beyond.

The Green Book   of the Élus Coëns is the most fascinating insight yet into the secrets and   mysteries of the eighteenth century's most esoteric of masonic societies -   The Order of Knight-Mason Elect-Cohens of the Universe. This pioneering   English translation of the Coën grimoire known as the Manuscript d'Alger   (c.1772) details the inner workings and highest degrees of Europe's   first-ever fully formed magical order. Representing the inner circle of most   Martinist streams of Freemasonry today, the Order of the Élus Coëns teach an   advanced form of ceremonial magic. However, the original system has been lost   and corrupted for centuries.

Presented here   for the first time, these original rites of the Élus Coëns instruct the   initiate in how to enter into relations with angelic entities, which are   sympathetic to Mans fallen state and who can aid him upon the path to   reintegration with the Divine. After the death of the Orders founder in 1774,   the teachings of the Élus Coëns were doomed to fade into the mists of history   - this new volume sheds the most illuminating light so far on this   fascinating hidden aspect of masonic history. Detailing the inner workings   and highest degrees of the Order, this fascinating manuscript enlightens the   reader in the true, very visceral nature of the Order.

Requiring the   utmost commitment, and a decidedly monastic lifestyle, the Order prescribed   everything from hairstyle to diet. Far from the everyday festivities of   mainstream Freemasonry, the Élus Coëns were spiritual warriors engaged in   magical combat with angelic and demonic entities. This new volume allows the   English speaking world a look inside this secret hidden tradition and a peek   behind the curtain of French Enlightenment Occultism. This work gives access   to many brethren and historians, to an obscure but important part of masonic   history created during the age of Enlightenment,and is a significant   contribution for brethren who have a fascination with esoteric rituals of the   past. We think a great many of our brethren will be interested in this   publication.