Rene Guénon had a lifelong preoccupation with Freemasonry. In his search for an operative initiatic path in the Western world, he explored many groups-occult, neo-Gnostic, Theosophical-claiming to be initiatory, ultimately rejecting them all, with the single exception of the Craft. His relation to Freemasonry, however, was far from simple; mostly before World War I, for example, he contributed articles to both Masonic and anti-Masonic publications, though he continued to review books on Masonry and refer to Masonic lore in his own works until the end of his life. Recognizing that the symbolism and ritual employed by Masonry was for the most part both traditional and esoteric, he labored to discover, define, or create a Freemasonic initiation that would be compatible with Catholic Christianity, as it supposedly was when the Masonic guilds designed and built the great cathedrals of Europe. However, the thick overgrowth of pseudo-esoterism obscuring that ‘original’ Freemasonry, not to mention the various rationalist, anti-clerical, illuminist, and even revolutionary strands to be found within the Masonic tradition, ultimately forced him to abandon his project. Nonetheless, this record of Guénon’s struggle to come to terms with an initiatory lineage fallen on hard times is of real relevance to all now seeking a spiritual affiliation in the darkness at the end of the age.

Table of Contents

1 Scientific Ideas and the Masonic Ideal
2 The Great Architect of the Universe
3 Lost Word and Substituted Words
4 The Builders of the Middle Ages
5 Masons and Carpenters
6 Masonic Orthodoxy
7 Gnosis and Freemasonry
8 The Masonic High Grades
9 Feminine Initiation and Craft Initiations
10 Pilgrimages
11 The Compagnonnage and the Bohemians
12 Heredom
13 The Monogram of Christ and the Heart in Ancient Trade Marks
14 Corporative Signs and their Original Meaning
15 The Enigma of Martines de Pasqually
16 On the ‘Lyonnais Rose-Croix’
17 A New Book on the Order of the Élus Cöens
18 A Project of Joseph de Maistre for theUnion of Peoples
19 The Strict Observance and the Unknown Superiors
20 Concerning the Unknown Superiors & the Astral
21 Some Unpublished Documents on the Order of the Elus Coëns
22 Cologne or Strasbourg?
23 Review of By-Ways of Freemasonry
24 Reviews

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