Print Edition | October 2022

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One of the more wondrous and beautiful passages of our California ritual exclaims: “Numberless worlds are around us, all framed by the same Divine Artist, which roll through the vast expanse, and are all conducted by the same unerring law of nature.”

Surprisingly, this passage in earlier Masonic rituals and commentaries made mention of numberless inhabited worlds, which begs the question: are we alone in this universe? If not, where is everybody else? What did the philosophers and scientists of the past believe; as well as our earliest Masonic brethren for that matter? What implications do such speculations have on modern science, and what impressions did these ideas have on 20th-century esotericism? These and more questions are explored in this issue of Fraternal Review.

It is with great pleasure that I return as Guest Editor for this October issue of the Fraternal Review magazine, on a topic that has captured popular imagination for decades—if not centuries—but has as yet seen only limited Masonic research and writing. It is my hope that this issue will stimulate your imagination and conversations, and also encourage further research into the history, scientific hypotheses, and spiritual implications of extraterrestrial life; as well as the role these subjects may play in our Craft—now and/or in the future.

THIS IS FOR THE PRINT EDITION.

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In this Issue

Cover story

From 1722, references to "numberless worlds" have been made in numerous Masonic texts.

Giordano Bruno & Numberless Worlds

Hermeticist Giordano Bruno believed that there were an infinite number of inhabited worlds. Did he influence the thinkers who laid the intellectual background for Freemasonry?

The Scales of Creation

Bro. Albert Pike suggested that there exists a “retinue of worlds, all people with living beings” in the cosmos. Moreover, he also believed that our universe is “infinite.” We hear what he has to say.

Extraterrestrial Lodges

The doctrine of “cosmic pluralism” suggests that there is life on other planets. Drawing on a range of thinkers, Bro. Daniel Rivera asks whether such life would be like ours, more advanced, or spiritual intelligences.

The Ptolemaic Cosmos in Masonic Ritual

Bro. Jaime Lamb explores creation, cosmology and the classical elements in Masonic ritual and symbolism with some surprising conclusions.

Final Word

Bro. William Finch contemplates the planets, the “plurality of worlds,” and the possibility of alien life.