Ahiman: A Review of Masonic Culture
& Tradition, Volume I
Ahiman is an anthology of Masonic writing, offering a serious exploration of the rich initiatic traditions of Freemasonry. Edited by Masonic scholar Shawn Eyer, Ahiman is dedicated to stimulating scholarship, penetrating interpretation and inspiring creative expressions focused upon the history, rituals, symbolism, iconography and philosophy of Freemasonry.
Carefully researched and lavishly produced, each edition of Ahiman offers important material of interest to Freemasons and other students of Western esoteric traditions.
Latest news:
Ahiman has received a very positive review in the pages of Freemasonry’s only peer-reviewed journal, the Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism, written by Dr. Andreas Önnerfors, one of the world’s most highly regarded Masonic scholars.
Dr. Önnerfors says that “If . . . Freemasonry in the USA . . . has witnessed a renaissance, then Ahiman is its intellectual house organ, setting a new tone for the treatment of a masonic history of ideas.” Read the full review here.
Contents of Volume One
| Features | A Spiritual Vision of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Thomas D. Worrel |
| The Memory Lodge: Practicing the Art of Memory Erik L. Arneson |
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| The Allegory of the Cave Plato |
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| Thomas Starr King: Apostle of Liberty, Brother of the Craft Adam G. Kendall |
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| Silence and Solemnity in Craft Freemasonry Shawn Eyer |
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| Lodge Papers | An Angle of Perfect Sincerity Shawn Eyer |
| Masonic Initiation & Plato’s Allegory of the Cave David E. Stafford |
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| Literature & Verse | Jabbok (short story) Erik O’Neal |
| Before Dawn Shawn Eyer |
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| Charge Greg Maier |
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| A Lodge Salutatory Robert G. Davis |
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| A Song of Degrees: The Aspirant W.L. Wilmshurst |
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| First Initiation Mounir Hanafi |
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| Classic Articles | The Vision of Ahiman Lawrence Dermott, 1756 |
| The Geometry of Character Joseph Fort Newton, 1927 |
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| Our Conscious Temple Thomas Starr King, 1863 |
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| Reviews | Tracing Boards of the Three Degrees in Craft Freemasonry Explained by Julian Rees Shawn Eyer |
| Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation by Henrik Bogdan Brian Hodges |
From the Introduction
The format of Ahiman is designed to support the overall mission of the anthology to encourage the integration of Masonic philosophy, research, tradition and practice. Ahiman is the only English-language publication that is exclusively devoted to art, literature, and scholarly articles that reflect this focus.
Research Articles
A primary feature of each volume of Ahiman will be research articles that focus on Masonic ritual, symbolism and philosophy. With a flexible page count, the anthology can accommodate meritorious articles of any length.
Visual Arts, Literature & Verse
Literary endeavors relating to Freemasonry have lacked a natural medium for some time. Ahiman’s format includes poetry and short fiction that is of high quality and that reinforces the mission of the journal. And, Ahiman is printed in color so that the artistic impact of drawings, paintings and photography may be best communicated.
Lodge Talks
In each volume, Ahiman will present some articles of suitable length and style to be read in lodge education programs. In the classical phase of the development of speculative Freemasonry, many lodges were places of learning, where lectures took place on Freemasonry and other subjects. Today, some wish to revive that tradition. Ahiman directly addresses this issue by providing stimulating presentations, and by encouraging more authors to produce them.
Classic Articles
As we engage in Masonic discourse and celebrate the culture of Freemasonry, we strengthen what our ancient brethren liked to call the Mystic Tie. This was understood as more than merely the favorable sentiment one naturally feels in the company of worthy brethren—it is the cultural, experiential and spiritual connection that all regular Masons feel toward one another, completely independent of the constraints of location and time. In the spirit of forging a stronger Masonic culture and a more vivid perception of the Mystic Tie, Ahiman will feature relevant and interesting examples of writing from each century of the Craft’s rich literary history.
Reviews
Ahiman offers high quality, reliable reviews of books (and works in other media) written by careful, qualified reviewers. Our reviews will be in-depth and critical while presented in an accessible style.
About the Name, Ahiman
The publication is named Ahiman in honor of a legendary character in Masonic literature, one of a group of Levites appointed by King David to guard the the Jerusalem sanctuary: The character of Ahiman plays an important and enlightening role in the introduction of Laurence Dermott’s Ahiman Rezon, first published in 1756. In this text, the character Ahiman helps convince Dermott to consider not just the history but more importantly “the whole Mystery” of the Craft. Accordingly, Plumbstone's anthology took the title of Ahiman in order to underscore our commitment to a more inclusive view of Masonic research, writing and the arts.
Copyright © 2007–2011 Plumbstone
Paperback, 148 pages, full color Reviews“I do not say it lightly, but… Ahiman may be the most balanced and philosophically engaging Masonic journal ever published. And it is probably the most handsomely designed as well. I strongly recommend that any Mason, who seeks a deeper understanding of Freemasonry, check out Ahiman immediately.”—Jay Kinney, 33°, author of The Masonic Myth “Every aspect of this publication has been thoughtfully considered... This attention to aesthetics has been a signature of Eyer's work at Philalethes, and it shines in the pages of Ahiman.”—Andrew Hammer, author of Observing the Craft “The greatest achievement of Ahiman is to have placed philosophy and the history of ideas back into the historiography of freemasonry and we hope to see more outputs from this ambitious endeavour both within freemasonry and academia.”—Andreas Önnerfors, Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism “...a noble publication, well produced and well presented.”—James T. Tresner II, The Scottish Rite Journal “Ahiman fulfils an aching need within the Craft. For many years, there has been a tendency to suggest that Masonic scholarship ought to be exercised in historical argument alone. What has long been lacking is an open discourse that includes scholarship that addresses Freemasonry’s spiritual and esoteric elements. To facilitate that wider conversation, Ahiman has now appeared.”—Tobias Churton, author of The Golden Builders and Freemasonry: The Reality, and Course Lecturer in Freemasonry at the University of Exeter’s Centre for the Study of Esotericism |