A Brief Introduction

Well if I'm going to be taking the time to write this thing, I figure I'd better lay out some of the basic facts; who I am, what I do, why I'm doing it, what I hope to accomplish. Something of an off-the-cuff mission statement. We'll start with the basics?



Who Are You?
My name is Mark Slayton. I'm a Master Mason and a member of Iowa City Lodge #4 A.F. & A.M.in Iowa City, IA, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Iowa. I received my degrees (yes, all three of them) on May 21, 2011 at the Grand Master's One Day Class in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I'm not a member of the Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shriners, Eastern Star, or any other appendant or concordant body of Ancient Craft Freemasonry. At least, not yet anyway.

I'm also a proud Pagan. While I was born and raised Christian (Baptist and Evangelical to be specific), I've found my faith lies elsewhere, and I have no regrets on that issue. I consider myself a Heathen, and strive to follow the old northern traditions and values.

Why did you decide to become a Mason?
There wasn't just one reason, and I don't know how unique mine are. I know that a great deal of men join because of a family tradition; their fathers were Masons, as were their grandfathers, and so on. While it's true that one of my grandfathers was a Mason many years ago, I don't believe he's currently active, and he and I have never been very close.

A lot of the blame falls on the shoulders of a man named Midian. I met Midian through the local LARP (live-action role play) community. He's loud, blunt, opinionated, and the single best mead brewer I've ever encountered. He's also one of the best men I've ever had the honor to meet. Midian ran one of the local LARP games at the Masonic Temple in Iowa City; we rented space from them a couple times a month. It was mostly through conversations with him that I became interested in Masonry. Midian is a fellow Pagan, and he helped ease a lot of my uncertainties about petitioning for degrees.

Part of my motivation was also an interest in the history and rituals of the fraternity. History is something I've always felt very disconnected from; there are things, and they happened, but it was way back when. That sort of thing. Being a Mason allows me to become a part of that history, to get closer to it and see it from a new angle.

But to be really honest, I think the reason I joined was for the sense of community. There aren't a lot of Pagans in Iowa that I've met, and having grown up in churches, I've missed being a part of a community for a very long time. It's good to have people that you can go when you need a helping hand, or a patient ear, or a shoulder to cry on. And it's nice to be able to offer these things to people in return. Being a Mason gives me the sense of community that I've been missing, as well as giving me opportunities to contribute to the larger community of Iowa City.

Wait... they let Pagans become Masons?
They do indeed. Ancient Craft Freemasonry requires that you be a man, of legal age, and profess faith in a supreme being (whom Masons refer to as the Great Architect of the Universe). In the United States at least, they don't care how you relate with the Great Architect; that's half the reason why they don't just call him/her/it/them "God", as not everyone relates to deity in that fashion. That said, there are some lodges that require specific faiths. I believe that many Scandinavian Grand Lodges require their members to be Christian.

Moreover, there are two subjects which we are forbidden by law to talk about while assembled in Lodge: politics and religion. Once you're in the Lodge, it doesn't matter what you believe, or how you believe.

So what's your goal with this blog?
Again, there are multiple. I think my first is to try and meet other Pagans in the Masonic community. I only know one other Pagan Mason as of now, but I'd like to think there are a few more of us out there.

I'm also looking for a place to document my own Masonic and religious studies. There's still a lot I don't know, both about my own faith and about the fraternity. I wanted to have a place where I could put my thoughts down for posterity, present them to others for evaluation, and get feedback on my conclusions. Part of being a Mason is seeking out knowledge, and I'd like for this to be something of a journal on that quest.

Finally, I wanted to put myself out here as someone to whom questions can be posed. I'd like to think that there are other Pagans out there who have questions about Freemasonry, and I know for a fact that many of my brothers (contrary to popular conspiracy theorizing) don't know much about Pagans or Paganism. If I can help alleviate confusion on both sides, then I think I'll have accomplished something useful.

So... yeah, I think that's about it for now. Until next time!