It's official! I am now a Freemason. Last night, I received my Entered Apprentice degree in a very beautiful, moving ceremony. It was not quite what I expected, and I believe it was a very effective ritual. I am very excited about further studies and travels along the Masonic path. The longer parts of the ritual were performed by a man from Warren Lodge #10 in Jacksonville, Oregon. He was an excellent speaker, and seemed to really be enjoying himself. None of the Lodges around here have much of a web presence. Perhaps I can use my computer skills to give them a hand!

I found an excellent Swedish web page dedicated to debunking anti-Masonry. It was written by a pastor who is also a Mason, and is definitely recommended reading. Another page by the same author discusses some of the details of Swedish Freemasonry, which has some interesting differences from American Freemasonry. I remember reading in other places about the effects King Karl XIII has had on the fraternity over there. This is all interesting reading!

The official homepage of Swedish Freemasonry (or in English) contains even more information on the Swedish Rite, which is practiced in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. They keep pretty busy! Any Swedish Rite Freemasons who stop by this page are encouraged to send me e-mail! I'd love to hear from you.