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The Masonic paradox: Freemasonry, a feminine universe!
A paradox is, by definition, a statement that is contrary to the commonly held view. It is commonplace to hear it said that Freemasonry is reserved for men, that it emphasizes construction values specific to the male world and that it celebrates strength. Furthermore, Freemasonry uses many phallic symbols which, through the erect male sex, could appear as a desire to enhance a claim to see male authority as a model of wisdom and harmony.
And yet are these elements not appearances of a very different reality?
Without wanting to go into all the details of the functioning of a Masonic lodge, it is possible to note at least eight observations:
First of all, we operate as a lodge in a closed and protected universe!
The layman comes out of the reflection chamber, symbol of the cave, maternal womb to become a widow's child.
The obsessive nature of the ritual accentuates our search for security.
We celebrate strength but we refuse to use it!
The essential value we emphasize is Brotherhood.
Our hero, Hiram, does not defend himself against the aggression he has suffered and lets himself die without complaining!
Our two reasons for being are charitable help and personal self-effacement to reach perfection.
We have a real difficulty to exteriorize ourselves and to organize our obediential structures.
These eight particularities, which constitute us, all belong to the feminine polarity of human expression as opposed to the so-called masculine values of violence, reason, exteriorization and power.
We could also add that male Freemasons have always loved to militarize the Masonic ritual by adding elements of protocol, hierarchy and aristocratic solemnity that have nothing to do with our approach. This "militarization" of the ritual has always ended in failure.
Everything happens as if there were an existential evil between a content rich in feminine values and actors wanting to assert a masculine appearance!
One could not think that the history of Freemasonry and its experience today, in all continents, contains this constitutional ambiguity between :
An initiatory, progressive, intuitive, sensitive and therefore eminently feminine approach,
And uncomfortable male actors to take ownership of this approach in order to make it lively and exemplary!
This paradox has an important consequence: we can deduce that the future of freemasonry will be feminine and that if there is any reluctance to do so, it will not carry much weight when we see, in the context of a renewed gender mix, the excellence of female "management" taking on obediential responsibilities.
This feminine polarity of Freemasonry can also be a real chance for the development and the durability of our order because in this endangered world, it is clear that it is feminine values that have all the potential to give meaning to the restoration of a harmony destabilized by the perverse masculine.
As the assumption of feminine responsibility cannot be done by force, it is therefore dependent on the "masculine" good will to agree to entrust the reins to him; today, we are, in this expectation, dependent on a historical opportunity. Who will live, will see ...
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