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Volume of Sacred Lore
This is an interesting element of Freemasonic practice. Apparently at all Masonic meetings, there’s something called the VSL or Volume of Sacred Lore, which varies according to the group:
In English-speaking countries, this is usually a Holy Bible, but it can be whatever book(s) of inspiration or scripture that the members of a particular Lodge or jurisdiction feel they draw on—whether the Bible, the Qur’an, or other Volumes. A candidate for a degree will normally be given his choice of VSL, regardless of the Lodge’s usual VSL. In many French Lodges, the Masonic Constitutions are used. In a few cases, a blank book has been used, where the religious makeup of a Lodge was too diverse to permit an easy choice of VSL. In addition to its role as a symbol of written wisdom, inspiration, and spiritual revelation, the VSL is what Masonic obligations are taken upon.
That comes from Wikipedia’s entry on Freemasonry. I’m curious to find out more about this practice (particularly from a symbolic perspective, etc), but haven’t seen much of anything else about it online. Is this a connection to the idea of the Logos, the word of God or do they “read” this symbol in a different way? I find it really fascinating that they’ve used a blank book on various occasions as well.
It’s funny, I was very much raised in a household where from a young age we were taught to treat books with great care and respect. It still irks me to this day to come across books where people have made notes in the margins or used a highlighter or underlined things. Then again, maybe I’m just slightly neurotic.
September 4th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Well, if you’re neurotic, then I am too. I really hate it when people do that as well. Heck, it even gets me when people fold a corner of the page over as a book mark. That’s just terrible.
I wonder how the blank book works? I mean, if they’re taking it as a symbol of wisdom, inspiration, and spiritual revelation, one would think that a blank book would be a bad choice.
September 4th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
I sort of think there’s a poetic beauty to the blank book. To me, it almost says that all books are blank, that they are just little shapes upon which we cast meaning, and have it reflected back to us.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:08 pm
I went to a lab school for high school. It was run like a college–there was class registration at the beginning of the year, along with buying your own books, the whole nine. And one of the things that wigged me out the most was seeing the writing in the margins of the books and to hear my american lit teacher, a brilliant troll of a man, tell us TO write in the books, that we weren’t children. All through public school there was a ritual at the beginning and end of each school year of having to go through and erase any marks or writing or graffiti in the issued books and to report any permanent damage we found immediately so we wouldn’t be blamed or charged for it. This all changed with high school. Dr. Nieulieb’s point was basically, this is YOUR book and it ain’t some sacred thing, it’s something to engage with and interact with and part of that is literally, to write in the books–underline shit, comment about stuff in the margins, scribble it up, cuz that’s how you’re gonna get the most out of it. To this day I write in the books I own, when I care enough to really think about them and deal with them and deal with myself THROUGH them. And I love to buy a used book that has shit written it it to see how the last person interacted with the book, what stuff they thought of–and even if it’s just little notes for somebody and not necessarily about the text itself, I love that shit. Because I know it’s a book that’s been lived.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
Ooh God! Just hearing about people scribbling in books makes me cringe. Especially with used books. If there’s one thing I don’t want it’s to be bothered with what somebody else thought while they were reading the book. It’s almost like having a little monster trying to distract me from what the actual author is saying. You can live a book without writing in it.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:18 pm
Hmm. I suppose all books are blank, in a way, until you read them.
I guess my earlier comment is just from me having an outsider’s perspective. If I belonged to a group and believed in its ideals and what it stood for, I probably would find meaning in even a blank book.
Come to think of it, in that context, a blank book might actually be the best choice, after all. It leaves it up to you to determine what it stands for, and that could be a better thing than having to adhere to someone else’s ideas. Though any group that would do things this way would have to be open to interpretations. I couldn’t see this working in some groups, where adherence to a central idea is crucial.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:24 pm
Yeah agreed. It seems that most Masonic organizations are highly non-dogmatic. And the “central ideal” which they adhere to seems to have more to do with the group membership and levels of initiation. As far as belief goes, in many Masonic groups you only have to believe in a Supreme Being, which may be interpreted in any number of ways according to the group. And there are many others which don’t even have that as a requirement. It seems that the Masonic ideal is aimed at fitting into any culture and religious tradition without conflicts…
Wikipedia has several good items on this, including:
Seems like a really beautiful approach, as far as I’m concerned.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Heh, put like that it sounds like some side-branch off of gnosticism.
September 4th, 2005 at 4:52 pm
Well, there are those who argue that they all come from the same roots. And if anybody knows of a good book on the subject, I’d like to read it.
September 4th, 2005 at 9:53 pm
Hi. I’m a mason in Wisconsin. We had a fellow go through his EA degree with the Upshinads on the altar, as he claimed to be a buddhist.
Further digging on this individual turned up he had oustanding felony arrests, and so was unable to finish his degrees until he had cleared up that matter. I’m not sure he ever did clear it up.
However, I have seen a Koran, Bible, and Torah on the altar when visiting a mixed jurisdiction.
Now, the observation of the VSL is sometimes seen more often in the breech than the actuality. Southern jurisdictions are sometimes “Christian only”, especially in smaller lodges. They’re shocked when they leave their home lodges, and attend a masonic event in Washington or New York, and see the Torah or Koran on the altar alongside the Bible.
Something to be aware of: There is no central authority on proper Freemasonic practice. Every state has it’s own Grand Lodge, which is a law unto itself. About the only power between Grand Lodges is recognition. Recognition is a strange and sticky subject. http://www.bessel.org/ is a good resource if you’re interested in the Arcana of Freemasonic Jurisprudence.
I quote from the EA Degree (Easily found on any anti-masonic website). This is an older or southern version of the ritual. I believe that ours uses “The Holy Bible” if the candidate is Christian, otherwise “The Volume of Sacred Law” is substituted.
I know that you can read the ritual online, and I know Tim’s commented on the argument that “to understand it you really need to experience it” is bunk, but I have to say: Reading the ritual, and going through it with a bare chest, neither shod nor barefoot, blindfolded, and lead by a man you just met, is a very, very different experience.
I recommend it to any man.
-Bro:. Scott
September 4th, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Well, “The Hiram Key” tries to connect ancient Egypt to Masonic Practice. It’s really entertaining pseudo-historical research. They pass through Jesus the Essene, and argue that there were two Jesuses at the time of the crucifiction. Interesting, but not necessarily true. I’d call it a really neat myth.
“Born in Blood” by John J. Robinson, is one of the best stories linking the Knights Templar to the Masons. Notice, I again say “stories”. It’s presented as historical research, but John admitted himself that he was a better storyteller than historian.
For a diffinitive reference, You’d be hard pressed to do worse than Henry Coil’s “Encyclopedia of Freemasonry”. It’s not fanciful at all, and calls a myth a myth. If there’s no good documentation, he’ll mention it, and call it a fabrication.
September 4th, 2005 at 10:03 pm
Well, I actually think that experiencing it and understanding it from the outside are two very different things - each with their own worth. When I was making that argument it was in a very different circumstance. I’m beginning to understand better the worth and intentions of initiatory traditions. In any event, I really appreciate hearing your personal experienced and a first-hand perspective on the matter.
I think I always used to sort of write off Masonry based on all the negative things I’ve heard about it from its detractors. But the more I read about what it actually really is, as opposed to the myths about it circulating online, it seems more and more compelling.
September 5th, 2005 at 10:17 am
Hi Tim,
I have to say, at the local level, I’ve never met a better bunch of guys. Of course, there are those you like, those you make acquaintance with, and those you avoid. And as you rise in the ranks, politics enter as they do in any organization. And every Mason you meet can give you a different description of the goals, purposes, and techniques of the group.
but that’s part of what makes it so great. Everyone joins for their own reasons, held together by this vague vision of brotherhood, charity, and truth. Each defines it in his own way. You help your brother ‘to the length of your cable-tow’, or as far as you are able or inclined.
And, every once in a while, you’ll meet an esoteric initiate, who’ll help with the barbeque and fundraising, but knows there more to it. It’s hard to describe, but somehow, you just know. There’s a language they speak, a certain aura, for lack of a better word.
Of course, the esoterics are generally not interested in the politics of the Grand Lodge, except maybe Grand Lecturer.
Your comment about understanding from the outside brings to mind John J. Robinson again. He wrote his first couple of books about Freemasonry as a member of the profane (or non-initiated), and then was so impressed by what he learned from the brothers and by the brothers he met, he joined the fraternity. In fact, he may have been raised to Master on his Death Bed. Not sure about that, my biography is fuzzy.
For the sympathetic outsider’s view, I’d check out JJR.
September 5th, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Thanks Scott, that’s just the kind of stuff I like hearing. I’ll definitely check out Robinson.
September 5th, 2005 at 11:18 pm
More than two, surely!