We’re now on day 25 of our 100 day plan to learn the ritual, that’s a quarter of the way through, and represents quite a significant amount of time. If you’ve spent on average 20 minutes per day on this plan then you already put in over 8 hours of work on this, and in that time you are pretty much ready (bar a couple of rehearsals) for your Installation Ceremony, Opening and Closing; and got a pretty solid foundation for the lion’s share of the the First Degree. Could you have learnt all that in a single 8 hour working day – and keep it retained? Yesterday we had a transition piece that followed the Obligation, leading to the part known as:
Learning Masonic Ritual, Day 25 of 100: The Lesser Lights
Technically the Lesser Lights is only a sentence long, ok, it’s a long sentence, but still quite short piece. Therefore, today we are also including the dangers that awaited the Candidate, and the old penalty (in my book of Emulation Ritual this is on pages 85-86).
One of the first things you’ll notice in this the red ink, which are the “stage directions” in the ritual script. These are quite easy to follow (I remember reading through the Deacon’s work and getting thoroughly confused), but don’t ignore them. Try to ensure that the directions are followed and acted out, especially in Lodge of Instruction and rehearsals. You don’t want to lose your flow when the IPM reminds you of an action that you should have taken, or me worrying about the timings or logistics of an upcoming part. Knowing what and when you need to perform actions ensures that you can continue with a steady flow, letting your hands do what they have practised, whilst your mouth gets on with saying the words it has rehearsed.
In this part, and upcoming parts, there are numerous blank spaces and initials that require substitution, if you are in any doubt as to what they are speak to a Past Master as soon as possible and ensure you learn the correct wording. Don’t guess and get it wrong, as otherwise you’ll be learning the wrong ritual, and you won’t know until the ceremony itself when the IPM interupts you with a correction.
We have now crested the majority of the Master’s work in the First Degree, although there is still a lot of it to do. Due to the lack of perambulations much of the Master’s work is bunched together, meaning this week of the study plan is pretty intense. Stick with it, remember I’m not expecting you to learn all this word for word at the moment, just to get a familiarity we can continue to build on.