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The most viewed articles arehighlighted Chapter "Understanding": 300th anniversary of the Constitutions of 'Anderson Masonic "work"? Quesaco? Why and how to apply for Join Freemasonry? THE OPINION OF A MALIAN BROTHER - AFRICA: BE AUDIBLE TO BE LISTEN TO! The interest of a collective Masonic approach! Engagement in the city< /a> Understand the world of today, to prepare the world of tomorrow! The Masonic challenge of the 21st century: Achieving multiculturalism in the lodge! What is is Freemasonry? How to know each other? The chains that bind us! Discover Freemasonry Understand the Masonic divisions that promote internal conflicts! SoliTary fraternity, soliDary and universal, What insight approach within the framework of the Masonic approach? History of Freemasonry: key events Chapter "Reform it": How to understand the Masonic approach? Reform Freemasonry? Suggestions! Meditation: a practice that would have its place in Freemasonry! 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The March Backwards The legend of Hiram and the difficult cohesion of the group Masonic Calendar Terrestrial and celestial globes: Two symbols of modernity! For a universal ritual< /p> The Mosaic Pavement The shoulder and its symbolism The symbolism of gloves Masonic dualism: one of the specificities of Masonic thought? Symbolism of the kiss The acacia, symbol Masonic Resilience The deep meaning of steps in Freemasonry The symbolic universe protector The symbolic game Masonic ABC (A to L) Masonic ABC (M to Z) The sign of 1st degree order Death in Freemasonry< /strong> Understanding the philosophical testament prior to Masonic initiation Symbolic thought​ Chapter "Poems": Poetic looks at news Winter Solstice The chain of union The Ritual THE TIME OF DISTRESS The human being and his distress! Masonic Emotions", a collection of Masonic poems Obedience, Impotence! Some poems by Michel l 'Alchemist Winter Solstice - Hope", André, my very dear André", To you, possible future terrorist! And when is the next ? To live is to wait for death! To my brother Arnaud Melancholy The square , that was yesterday!​ What's left? Hiram, where are you ? < strong>How hard it is to be a Freemason Sisters and brothers, don't forget! A beautiful outfit Saint-Jean d 'Summer' Under the starry vault Chapter "Spirituality": The meditation of a freemason Taoism and Freemasonry < strong>Medicine, health and esotericism Happiness according to … words. Man: an empire in an empire? The secret of Freemasons: access to immortality? Love The Freemasonry, an initiation to Well-Being! The experience of a Muslim Freemason practicing Ramadan Letter from an African Christian Freemason to Father Diouf Spirituality: a universal topic of reflection SOLID, SOLID AND UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD What specificity for the Masonic approach today? For a renewal of Republican Morality The Letter of the 2 Ways: Freemasonry and Buddhism Atheism and Freemasonry And if we talked about "Wisdom"? Wisdom, purpose of masonic initiation Freemasonry and Religions The Masonic way, an initiatory spirituality​ Modernity and Freemasonry Freemasonry and Spiritualities Understanding Islam< /p> Chapter "Life in the Lodge": Where is the truth in the lodge? Being happy in the box? How to achieve this? FAQ of those who suffer in the dressing room! Freedom in a lodge, how far? Being under the influence! A risk for all! Masonic humor with YaKaYaKa< /a> Understand the Masonic divisions that promote internal conflicts! Testimony of a sister: Life journey, initiatory journey Freemasonry and Women From Europe to Africa, Woman, what are you becoming? Being a woman and a Freemason, Annie's feelings Testimonies: Violence against women seen by two Freemasons Love in Freemasonry and other esoteric approaches < strong>Femininity and Freemasonry Rise and fall of phallic society? Woman and Freemason< /strong> Testimony of a sister: Life journey, initiatory journey Brotherly immunity< /strong> Testimonies on the experience of a meeting in a Masonic lodge Being free in a free lodge: let's not play with affectivity! Rupture du monde profane, sacred time! The lodge: workshop or temple? Lodges and psychopathies Know yourself Being happy in the box< /p> Psychology and Freemasonry Live Masonically Difficulties in masonic lodge Masonic works The Masonic Journey The Masonic Lodge confronted with perverse temptations Functioning of a Masonic lodge< /strong> The Masonic Lodge Chapter "News End of life and frank -masonry Our editorials A Masonic look at the news The Chinese New Year: tradition, poetry, Taoism! Secularism and Freemasonry HOW TO EXPLAIN THE SECULARITY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC? An exclusive interview with Jean-Louis Bianco President of the Observatory of Secularism Masonic literary reviews Work: from the secular world to the lodge! Chapter "Info": Information on denominations Masonic < strong>GODF info and commentary Information and comments on the Women's Grand Lodge of France < strong>Freemasonry and You? Quizzes to take stock! Detailed summary of the idealmaconnique.com website Why and how to apply for Join Freemasonry The idealmaconnique.com newsletter Freemasonry on the web Directory of Masonic lodge websites (mainly French speaking) Directory of French-speaking Masonic sites Directory of English-speaking Masonic sites Ranking of French Masonic sites with the most audience(December 2022) Fil twitter idealmaconnique.com Videos related to the Masonic approach Engagement in the city< /a> Testimonies: Violence against women seen by two Freemasons Reflections on violence< /a> Africa moving Masonic humor with YaKaYaKa< /a> Historical documents concerning Freemasonry Freemasonry and Women Masonic ABC (A to L) Masonic ABC (M to Z) High Masonic Ranks : A deviation? The Masonic Marianne Freemasonry in Middle East History of Freemasonry: key events

A new Grand Lodge with a new rite to discover on their site Our brother Hervé BODEZ, creator of the Supreme Council of the Mediterranean, offers us to subscribe to the edition of a book that traces his career! 411 pages at the price of 22 €. A new grandmaster at the GLTSO Read more Information and comments on the Grand Orient of France < strong>Read more Information and comments on the Women's Grand Lodge of France Read more Obedience, Impotence! Read more< /strong> On freedom of expression, French Masonic obediences are divided! Read more A new obedience: The Grand Lodge of Europe and the Mediterranean (G.L.E.M) Read the article Various reflections on obediences in Freemasonry Obedience is the name used to designate an association made up of Masonic lodges; each obedience takes on a specific name which once had a meaning: for example, an Orient has a geographical connotation; normally there should only be one grand orient per nation; a lodge has a specificity and therefore a large lodge should correspond to the same specificity for several lodges; but today, all of this is given way behind ambition and competition! The first known obedience was the Grand Lodge of England created in June 1717. ​ It is not insignificant to remember that the term obedience contains a notion of obedience; it is clear that today this notion is "outdated"! The first French obedience was the Grande Loge de France, created in 1738 and which took the name of Grand Orient de France in 1773. The obediential spin-off was mainly done from quarrels secondary to interpersonal conflicts, self-interested ambitions or different practices. Today, the number of French obediences rises to more than forty-five. See the list of worldwide obediences . It is difficult to understand and justify the aberrant number of obediences and the difficulty of relations between Freemasons around the world in a world that is very reactive today. Everything happens as if the pleasure of being "between oneself" prevailed over the implementation of an international functional organization which allows the lodges to work and to implement the training essential to Masonic education. While the European dynamic goes beyond national selfishness, European persuasions remain frozen in their own development. By agreeing to initiate women, Le Grand Orient de France (GODF) has opened up to a new sociological reality full of potential; this obedience which is the most important could very well bring together other obediences by guaranteeing them the freedom to exercise their rites and by accepting a greater "ecumenism". ​ Is the proliferation of obediences not the symptom of a crisis in the functioning of lodges and obediences? ​ ​ If we consider that the minimum that can be required of a lodge and a Masonic obedience is to allow the exercise of freedom of conscience, to apply tolerance and mutual respect and to guarantee the possibility of being free in a free lodge, it is incomprehensible to imagine that the multiplication of obediences has a Masonic justification. ​ Wanting to find themselves in a community of thought, flattering the ego of candidates for the grand master's degree, obeying considerations of international politics and settling accounts in interpersonal conflicts are the profane reasons most often encountered! It is truly distressing to see the recklessness and irresponsibility of all those who thus contribute to harming the credibility of the Masonic order. The Order and the Obediences Text taken from the site Masonic.ch< /a> Freemasonry is not a society of thought, nor more a worldly club, nor a fraternal mutual aid, nor a charitable association. It is an initiatory Order, a manifestation among others of the primordial Tradition. As such, it is anchored in the practice of appropriate rituals based on the carefully orchestrated putting into action of symbolic acts in a sacred space-time. Masonic rituals, contrary to the Tradition they convey, are however rooted in History. They refer to the Royal Art, which is the art of building, and the symbolism of construction naturally occupies a prominent place. To these references are added borrowings from other manifestations of the Tradition, of a hermetic, gnostic and alchemical nature. Freemasonry therefore appears as a mosaic of components of various natures which constitute Rites, each of which carries its own coherence. ​ The initiatory transmission of the Masonic manifestation of the Tradition is based on the dramaturgy of the rituals which the "catechisms" of course, account for with relative precision, but which require, in order to acquire a status of efficiency, the active participation initiates in a sacred space and place and according to perfectly defined rules and customs. ​ The Masonic Order is one thing, the Obedience is another, but the Order can only survive through the Obediences in their role as groups of Lodges. Each Obedience has a specific color through its administrative structure, the Rites it federates, the mix or non-mix of the members, the place it intends to give to absolute freedom of conscience and the principle of recognition. It is a regulatory power, able to issue patents and to constitute an administrative framework, but it can in no way claim to identify with the Masonic Order of which it ultimately constitutes only a simple transmission belt. By definition, and the History of Freemasonry bears ample witness to this, the Obediences are infinitely divisible. Likewise, by definition, and the perpetuity of the initiatory transmission of Freemasonry testifies to this just as widely, the Order is indivisible, whoever grumbles about it. The Obediences in question Can we today in all serenity question the role of obediences? ​ This seems essential to us if we do not want to see the Masonic question confined to an eternal justification of their existence! We all dream of an obediential structure that stands out for the ability to externalize the high moral and philosophical values that drive our lodge work. The desire to be able to make a strong and respected voice heard is also expressed. The temptation is sometimes great for the grand-ess-teachers to participate in political debates in the media without realizing that in doing so they are plunging their heads into an unsavory backwater. Today, our obediential structures seem to me unsuitable: the members of the council of the order are nice but what can they do if not representation. The grand master does not have the means that his function would justify; the administration of the obedience is admirable but is it up to the needs of an association of tens of thousands of members. The lodges are asked to participate in the life of the obedience but most often it comes down, in the best case, to less than five brothers and sisters who manage to "follow the movement" so much it takes time and availability. The very principle of obedience would suppose that it is an aid to the operation of the lodges, but apart from the real estate problem where the real estate companies play their role, for the rest the lodges are very often alone in the treatment of all the problems they have to take on; convents with several hundred members are a masquerade of democracy. This observation should encourage us to try to reform, not to make obedience a lambda association, but to adapt the obediential tool to a need for harmony and coherence with our ideal of perfection. Naturally, this presupposes dispassionate debate and seeking a consensus acceptable to the vast majority of members of the obedience; only a conventual work spread over several years could claim to do so. ​ Of course, the current denominations, as they are, play a significant organizational role. Outside of the Federation of Free and Sovereign Lodges, the vast majority of lodges operate through obedient real estate logistical support; another positive aspect, the inter-obediential agreements facilitate inter-lodge visits. All this also explains why obediences have essentially become management centers where we ensure that the financial results are positive! ​ But today it is clear that they are unable to constitute a moral authority capable of carrying Masonic values outside the field of conflicts of interest! ​ Everything happens as if obedience power became confidential and reserved for a minority of members of a seraglio of "good-thinking" who function according to appearances without putting "their souls" into it!

Franck Fouqueray is unquestionably a prominent figure in the Masonic landscape. Prolific author of popular Masonic works, business manager of a publishing house, creator of the Masonic site 450.fm, his success arouses virulent reactions (see the reactions published on the site hiram.be). An endearing personality, but considered commercial and upstart by some, Franck Fouqueray defends a tolerant, demanding and quality Freemasonry! The title of his latest book announces two novelties: “keys” and a “new” Freemasonry! By looking carefully, and if we understand that the concept of key can concern an "entry", the author invites us to take an interest in several entries: - The creation of new Masonic rituals: it is not prohibited; every time of new rituals appeared! - Rediscover the “royal art” dear to René Guénon and Oswald Wirth - Chinese thought (actually from Taoism although the name is not mentioned) - Martial Arts - Listening to the body and its use - Sacred geometry - Self-transformation abilities - Humor - nutrition needs to be rethought - The meditation worth practicing. Topics dear to the author: - The devaluation of Masonic practice today - Provocation - Without forgetting, the glorification of the Egyptian rite! A melancholic conclusion Despite a very catchy title that promises a “new” Freemasonry, the author becomes realistic and questioning again, leaving the reader without an immediate solution: it is up to him to live in his heart of hearts this “new” Freemasonry! All in all, Franck Fouqueray's book offers a reflection on Masonic practice! It is both an alert and also a lighting that some could qualify as "wokiste"! To go further: An interview with Franck Fouqueray by Jacques Carletto Keys to a New Body-Based Freemasonry - Enter the Mysteries of a Little-Known Practice Author: Franck Fouqueray Editor Numérilivre – May 2023 – 202 pages – 22 € Purchase on the internet Table of Contents Foreword: Preamble Where do we come from? Let's try to define Freemasonry Let's talk about the sacred Let's also talk about the body What is the difference between material and spiritual Initiatory aspects Let's feed on another civilization The Five Chinese Elements Five cardinal points Table of the Five Elements Square and compass, the origins Do you know the alchemical way of martial arts Initiatory path of martial arts Initiatory journey in Freemasonry The comparison trap Pride – Vanity – Pride Let's talk about the body during the initiation Let's break down the initiation ceremony Consecration before initiation Proposed interpretations of Masonic practice The entrance bow The three pillars – Wisdom – Strength – Beauty Chain of Union in Freemasonry The ritual and its different meanings Precedents in FM A bit of history Yorker ritual and the body The 3 Elements The Seven Planets The 12 months of the calendar Element correspondence table Let's break down our work How to enrich Freemasonry Efficacy is not limited to the repetition of rituals An important preamble with epigenetics The energy approach is also very present The four foods of the Freemason How the Freemason eats Solid food Liquid food Water and its memory Humor – freemasonry and liquids Fizzy food Intangible Food The Vipassana Experience The primary meaning of feeding ourselves Conclusion Other reviews of Masonic works

Download the latest issue of "La Lettre des Deux Voies" by clicking on the link below! Others informations : Crossed views on Chinese thought and Freemasonry Shared values between Buddhists and Freemasons The Dhammapada in Masonic Initiation Buddhism and Freemasonry

Une composante essentielle de la pensée humaine ! ​ Dans la démarche maçonnique, il est habituel de dire « Ici tout est symbole ! ». A la vérité, cette assertion pourrait être reprise par tous les adeptes des mouvements ésotériques et religieux et en allant plus loin par tous les êtres vivants. On doit à Jean Piaget d’avoir décrit dans ses études sur le développement psychologique de l’enfant le mode d’apparition de la pensée symbolique. Mais on oublie parfois de garder à l’esprit combien ce mode opératoire est important et le rôle qu’il joue dans les différents processus de la pensée humaine. La représentation matérielle et graphique est un support nécessaire mais l’essentiel se passe au niveau cérébral. La pensée symbolique utilise nos imaginaires qui eux-mêmes utilisent nos représentations mémorisées. C’est par elles que se construisent nos processus de réassurance et aussi nos projections et en particulier nos fantasmes. Tout se passe comme si, le symbolisme maçonnique induisait un langage et un sens qui, dans une compréhension primaire, devaient nous engager à adopter un comportement exemplaire de fraternité et de dévouement. Cet effet recherché s’accompagne souvent de recherches personnelles pour mieux comprendre aussi bien l’histoire des sociétés humaines que la psychologie. Bien que la diversité des pratiques rituéliques complique souvent les approches personnelles, on ne peut qu’être étonné de voir, après près de trois cents ans d’existence, combien la démarche maçonnique est un formidable stimulant intellectuel ! Il y a cependant, à mon avis, une précaution nécessaire : la pensée symbolique n'élude pas la pensée affective ; les deux se complètent. Le symbolisme maçonnique est parfois vécu de façon "éthéré" et certains "spécialistes" du symbolisme ont parfois tendance à rentrer dans un monde sans affect. C'est le mixage de ces deux pensées qui est parfois difficile à faire avec des interférences inconscientes qui perturbent l'une et l'autre. Lorsqu'on vient d'être initié(e) on peut être pris de vertiges devant l'abondance des symboles ; on peut être tenté(e) de se lancer dans une étude livresque avec des interprétations qui peuvent parfois friser le délire. l'important c'est d'abord de comprendre la spécificité de la pensée symbolique. Ensuite vient le temps de la réappropriation personnelle. Le premier travail du nouveau (ou de la nouvelle) initié(e): S’approprier le symbolisme maçonnique ! Il y a ce que l’on lit dans les ouvrages, ce que l’on entend dans les tenues, et il y a ce à quoi on adhère vraiment, et qui provient de ce long travail d’appropriation. De nombreux facteurs entrent en jeu (cf le schéma ci-dessus) qui tiennent à la personnalité de chacun-e. On peut comprendre les symboles mais le plus important c’est de les aimer ; peu importe si certains nous laissent de marbre car on ne peut imaginer se les approprier tous ! A chaque degré, certains symboles marqueront plus que d’autres ; ce sont eux qui pourront devenir nôtres ! Ce travail d’appropriation peut se faire plus ou moins rapidement , qu’importe ! A chacun-e son rythme en fonction de son vécu. Par l’appropriation, le symbole devient vivant et il s’intégrera dans ce que Piaget a défini dans la pensée symbolique, ce mystérieux processus qui nous aide à clarifier nos idées et nos pensées. L’art et le symbolisme ​ L’art peut être envisagé comme le lieu d’une tension qui présente de nombreuses analogies et imbrications avec le symbolisme. ​ L’art pictural, vu comme lieu privilégié de l’imaginaire, pose le problème de cette « folle du logis » comme l’a nommé Blaise Pascal, tant décriée par les rationalistes de tous poils, décriée par Platon lui-même qui n’y voit qu’un processus d’imitation, limité en tant que représentation maladroite, partielle et incomplète, de la réalité du monde « sensible ». ​ Platon se méfie de l’entreprise artistique, de sa prétention, à jouer inconsidérément avec la puissance du symbole. Il lui reproche de stagner au niveau le plus bas de la perception de l’être, et par conséquent d’être une tromperie d’autant plus dangereuse qu’elle est ambitieuse. Illusion, barrière supplémentaire à la perception des idées, le monde des images serait une détournement de la forme idéale au profit de la forme sensible. Si j’aborde d’entrée ce point de vue platonicien c’est pour indiquer où nous mènera une réflexion qui s’efforcera de faire apparaître l’originalité profonde du symbole dans l’Art. A propos du rapport entre l’image et le signifié : Sans doute à cause de la défiance pour ce qui touche à l’imaginaire en Occident, le vocabulaire qui lui correspond est peu clair, voire même dévalué : on parle ainsi indifféremment d’ "image", de «signe», de « symbole » ou d’ "allégorie". ​ Le signe : La première catégorie de signes concerne ceux qui font gagner du temps, qui renvoient à un sensible incontestable ; ils sont par conséquent arbitraires, variables, peuvent se dire par un chiffre, une lettre, un dessin ; ainsi en est-il pour signaler instantanément qu’une rue est en sens unique ou que Mr Martin habite au numéro 3 ; L’allégorie : elle concerne surtout les concepts abstraits ; ainsi la Justice est représentée par une allégorie telle que chacun de ses éléments correspond à une partie du signifié : par exemple un personnage porteur d’une balance. L’allégorie est souvent plaquée sur une pensée préalable qui est la seule condition de son sens. Le symbole : On pourrait définir le symbole comme l’inverse de l’allégorie ; comme l’écrit Paul Godet dans « Sujet symbole dans les arts plastiques », « Si l’allégorie part de l’idée abstraite pour aboutir à une figure, le symbole est d’abord figure et comme telle source, entre autres choses, d’idées ! » De par sa nature, le symbole est par conséquent une apparition de l’indicible, une épiphanie d’une part de la Réalité qui échappe aux organes de la perception ou à l’entendement rationnel. Gilbert Durand, Philosophe et anthropologue de l’imaginaire, précise « Ne pouvant figurer l’infigurable transcendance, l’image symbolique est transfiguration d’une représentation concrète par un sens à jamais abstrait. » Selon Paul Ricoeur, le symbole prend ainsi une triple dimension, cosmique d’abord puisqu’il est un élément du monde qui nous entoure, onirique ensuite dans la mesure où il s’enracine dans les rêves, les souvenirs et la grande mémoire de l’espèce, poétique enfin puisqu’il relève de la parole dans ce qu’elle a de plus augmentique. Autant l’image-idole se referme sur elle-même, autant l’image-symbole instaure un sens et reconduit à un au-delà du sensible. Dans son autobiographie, Goethe explique que « Dans la Nature vivante et sans vie, animée et inanimée, je crus reconnaître quelque chose qui ne se manifestait que par des contradictions, et, par suite, ne pouvait être compris dans aucun concept, moins encore dans un mot. Cela ressemblait au hasard, car nulle conséquence ne s’y manifestait ; cela paraissait voisin de la Providence ; cela laissait entrevoir un rapport. » ​ La connaissance symbolique n’est jamais définitive, jamais close, jamais explicite parce que ne se référant pas à un discours préalablement établi. Elle est porte ouverte, réminiscence, reconduction du sensible aux formes. Acquisition d’un savoir indicible, pressentiment, le symbole définit la liberté de l’être humain dans sa dimension créatrice. ​ Si le symbole est cette tête chercheuse, s’il est investi de cette capacité épiphanique, on peut l’envisager comme un système de virtualités prenant leur source dans les structures archétypiques de l’inconscient et amenant progressivement la pensée consciente à s’orienter et à diriger son regard vers l’au-delà du monde sensible, vers l’Orient éternel. ​ Le symbole est donc trans-réflexif, médiateur entre le microcosme et le macrocosme, réconciliation avec l’univers. ​ Selon le mot de Bachelard, les symboles sont les « hormones » de l’énergie spirituelle. ​ La vie pulsionnelle ne s’épuise pas au contact du monde sensible ; un surplus semble chercher à s’investir. Le programme inscrit dans les gênes reconnaît dans ce qu’il est convenu d’appeler « la réalité » son propre visage, sans toutefois se satisfaire complètement de ce reflet qui laisse imaginer d’autres profondeurs. Ce « reste » qui cherche à se vivre n’est plus de l’ordre de la mesure, résiste à la description, grandit hors des structures du moi ressenties maintenant comme limites, et trouve dans le symbole son moyen d’exprimer ce qui ne peut se dire autrement.