New working paper on Japanese freemasonry

The working paper, Miss Pauline Vera Chakmakjian’s The Fiftieth Anniversary of The Grand Lodge of Japan (1957-2007), is now available on the website of the Centre for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism.

Japan is a country about which relatively little is known as regards masonic participation, and this paper provides an overview of the activities of The Grand Lodge of Japan, which was formed in 1957. The paper not only emphasises and expands on key points from an earlier paper by the same author, ‘Seeking Enlightenment: Initiation and Ritual of Oriental Candidates’, delivered at the 2005 Canonbury Conference (printed in The Canonbury Papers: Volume 4. London, 2007), but also brings to light the more recent involvement of Freemasonry with one of the chief aims and objectives of the fraternity – charity.

I had the pleasure of hearing Miss Chakmakjian speak on Japanese indigenisation of Masonic ritual at this years International Conference on the History of Freemasonry in Edinburgh. Her research deals with complex and often challenging issues, and I would strongly suggest to anyone who is interested in masonry to follow her work.

Interview with Dan Brown on The Lost Symbol

As there has been much anticipation and discussion surrounding Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, which was released today, and it will surely spark interest in western esotericism, it seems worthwhile to post this short interview from the BBC.

Dan Brown on new novel release

Esoteric Book Conference, interview with William J. Kiesel

In April I wrote about the Esoteric Book Conference, which will be taking place next weekend (September 19/20) in the Seattle Center. An extensive interview with William J. Kiesel, organizer of the event and publisher at Ouroboros Press is now available online.

Hermes in the Academy

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, the university is hosting a conference on the theme of Hermes in the Academy on 28th August 2009. Full details are available on the chair’s website.

John Dee Quatercentenary Conference

The call for papers for the John Dee Quatercentenary Conference is now available.

CALL FOR PAPERS
St John’s College, Cambridge
21 – 22 September 2009

2009 marks the quatercentary of the death of the great Elizabethan polymath, John Dee (1527–1609). This interdisciplinary conference will commemorate the occasion by bringing together scholars and students from a range of fields, including intellectual and cultural history, history of science and mathematics, literature, and history of the book, to consider the extraordinary range of Dee’s interests and enterprises. The conference is hosted by Dee’s first Cambridge college, St John’s, and provides a unique opportunity to examine some of Dee’s own books in the Old Library under the guidance of Julian Roberts, co-editor of John Dee’s Library Catalogue.

Confirmed speakers include Stephen Clucas (Birkbeck, University of London) and Nicholas Clulee (Frostburg State University).