Inside the Lodge

A Masonic lodge is a local membership group that meets to work three degrees, and, by extension, the room or hall where it meets.

You will see how a lodge is chartered and governed, how a meeting flows, and which types of lodges carry out study, rehearsal, or online meeting alongside the basic three degrees.

A group first, a building second

When Masons say lodge, they mean the members meeting as a body, not the walls around them. The page uses several names for that unit, including Freemasons' lodge, private lodge, and constituent lodge. You will still hear the word used for premises, and the page describes that use as a misuse.

That distinction explains the names on doors. Premises are also called Temples of Philosophy and the Arts in some places, while in many countries the terms Masonic centre or Masonic hall have replaced temple language to avoid prejudice, suspicion, or confusion with a religious building. Several different lodges or other Masonic organizations often use the same premises at different times, so one hall on the calendar can host more than one lodge.

Why does a new lodge need a warrant?

Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge then directs it only by enforcing the published constitution of the jurisdiction. That rule gives you a practical test. If you wonder where authority comes from, look for the charter and the written constitution behind it.

The page names narrow exceptions. The three surviving lodges that formed the first known grand lodge in London, now merged into the United Grand Lodge of England, have the privilege to operate from time immemorial, which means without such a warrant. Only one other lodge operates without a warrant, the Grand Stewards Lodge in London, although it does not hold time immemorial status. To understand that history in its own terms, read the basic unit of Freemasonry as the page defines it.

Who governs a lodge and how much freedom does it have?

Lodges are governed by national, state, or provincial authorities, usually called Grand Lodges or Grand Orients. Their published constitutions define the structure of Freemasonry under their authority, and they appoint Grand Officers from senior masons. In England, Provincial Grand Lodges, which generally correspond to historic counties, exercise an intermediate authority and appoint Provincial Grand Officers.

Control has limits. Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over member lodges, and where no ritual is prescribed lodges can have considerable freedom of practice. Practice also varies by region. Under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, for example, the Mark Degree is integrated into the Craft as a completion of the second degree, while the United Grand Lodge of England does not recognise it and a separate Mark Grand Lodge exists. Despite those differences, fraternal relations exist between lodges of corresponding degrees under different Grand Lodges. For the titles you will hear in the room, see what each lodge officer does.

What happens when members meet to work degrees?

Masons gather as a lodge to confer the three basic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, an activity the page also calls work. The names, roles, and numbers of lodge officers vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and most lodge offices have an equivalent at Grand Lodge level with Grand added to the title. Some offices form a progressive line through which members move by promotion, while other offices are held longer by experienced members.

You can follow the flow by watching for degree work, instruction, and visiting. A lodge of instruction helps officers and future officers rehearse ritual under the guidance of an experienced brother, and it can include lectures on ritual and symbolism to build understanding. In Great Britain such a body may be associated with a lodge without being constituted separately, while in some jurisdictions in the United States the lodge of instruction is a warranted lodge for candidate instruction beyond rehearsal and can host a speaker on Masonic and non-Masonic topics. For the order of business from opening to closing, see how a lodge meeting runs.

Which type of lodge does what?

A blue lodge, also called a craft lodge or ancient craft lodge, works the first three Masonic degrees rather than appendant orders such as York Rite and Scottish Rite. Craft lodge is the usage in Great Britain. Blue is said to refer to the traditional colour of regalia in lodges derived from English or Irish Freemasonry. The term was once frowned upon but has become widespread in America.

Other types answer other needs. Research lodges exist to further Masonic scholarship. Quatuor Coronati Lodge in London is an example, with strictly limited membership and visitor access, as well as papers from all over the world, and many jurisdictions have research lodges that meet less often than blue lodges and do not confer degrees. A mother lodge can mean the lodge where a man was first made a Mason through the Entered Apprentice degree, or a lodge that sponsors a new daughter lodge to be warranted under the same grand lodge, with procedures that vary by time and place. Lodge Mother Kilwinning No 0 in the Grand Lodge of Scotland is known as the Mother Lodge of Scotland, was referred to in the Schaw Statutes of 1598 and 1599, and itself warranted other lodges at a time when it did not subscribe to a grand lodge.

How does someone join and move through degrees?

In Regular Freemasonry, which follows the Anglo-American style, a candidate is generally a man who comes of his own free will by his own initiative or, in some jurisdictions, by invitation. He believes in a Supreme Being without a prescribed religion, shows good morals and reputation, can support himself and his family, meets the age rule, and receives a favourable vote. The usual age is at least 21, with some jurisdictions allowing candidates as young as 18 or setting the limit as high as 25.

The steps test readiness at several points. Before petitioning, the man passes an initial qualification interview, usually with the Master or another elected officer, and in some areas that can include a legal background check. After petitioning, separate interviews and inquiries by the investigation committee can take up to two years. Some United States Grand Lodges and the United Grand Lodge of England also require residence within the jurisdiction of the lodge. Other points in the page include sound mind and body, which is not universal, and the older idea of a Free Man, meaning not bound by servitude or slavery. The page also describes Continental Freemasonry in Europe and Latin America, Prince Hall Freemasonry, Co-Freemasonry, and Women's Freemasonry, with differences in age, invitation by a member or godfather, recommendation, belief in the immortality of the soul, community service, and admission of women.

What should you expect when you visit another lodge?

A Mason is generally entitled to visit any lodge in any jurisdiction in amity, which means recognition of mutual status, with his own Grand Lodge. In some jurisdictions that privilege is restricted to Master Masons. He is usually required first to verify the lodge's regularity and its relationship with his own Grand Lodge, and to satisfy the lodge that he is a lawful member.

Progress after joining depends on proficiency. The lodge decides whether to confer each degree based on readiness. A Master Mason under the United Grand Lodge of England receives a Grand Lodge certificate, which may be required for visiting. A Master Mason in good standing may join another regular lodge without taking the degrees again, although service in office may be expected, and many Grand Lodges allow plural affiliation in more than one lodge at the same time, although some bar service as an elected officer in several lodges at once. If dues lapse, a Mason dropped from the rolls may be reinstated in good standing by paying current and back dues, with some jurisdictions requiring a ballot. Check a posted trestleboard for degree nights, instruction nights, and stated meetings, then ask the secretary which meetings are open to visitors and which proof of membership to bring.