20-Years in Freemasonry

Today marks 20 years since I was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. As I look back on that evening in 2006 and the journey that has followed, I find myself filled with gratitude...gratitude for the Brethren who guided me, the friendships forged across countless miles, the lessons learned through service, and the opportunities afforded to me by the Craft and the many concordant bodies of Freemasonry.

When I first petitioned Oriental Lodge No. 60 in Boise, Idaho, I could not have imagined where this path would lead. What began as a simple curiosity sparked by a glimpse of a Masonic cemetery in New Orleans while preparing for deployment to Iraq eventually grew into a lifelong vocation of service to Freemasonry. During my deployment, I read every book on the fraternity that I could find. Upon returning home, a chance conversation with two coworkers led me to my first Lodge visit. I immediately found something that resonated deeply within me.

I was initiated on May 19, 2006, passed on June 16, and raised on June 23. I progressed through the degrees and then the officer line, eventually serving as Worshipful Master of Oriental Lodge No. 60 in 2009. Those early years taught me one of the most important lessons of Masonry: that no man advances alone. Every success I enjoyed was built upon the encouragement, mentorship, and example of dedicated Brothers who invested their time and wisdom in a young Mason eager to learn.

What followed over the next two decades was a journey far beyond anything I could have anticipated.

Through the York Rite, I found additional opportunities for growth and service. From serving as High Priest of Boise Chapter No. 3, Illustrious Master of Idaho Council No. 1, and Eminent Commander of Idaho Commandery No. 1, to later serving as Most Excellent Grand High Priest of Idaho and Most Illustrious Grand Master of Cryptic Masons in Idaho, I was privileged to work alongside some of the finest men I have ever known.

In 2016, I was elected Worshipful Master of Idaho City Historic Lodge No. 1863. That same year, I joined fellow Fratres in Montana to help establish Montana College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis, presiding over the conferral of the Zelator Grade. It was also that year I completed my Master of Arts in Political Science at Boise State University, an achievement that reflected another lifelong pursuit encouraged by Freemasonry: the pursuit of knowledge.

The years that followed brought increasing responsibilities in Masonic, Templar, and Rosicrucian circles. In 2018, I was elected Most Excellent Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons of Idaho and Pre-Eminent Governor of Tri-Valley College No. 178, York Rite Sovereign College. Yet that same year reminded me that life is not measured solely in accomplishments. My father was diagnosed with cancer, and later that summer I left the Grand Encampment Triennial early to be with him during his final days. His passing was one of the most difficult moments of my life. The support of my family, friends, and Brothers during that period demonstrated the true strength of fraternal bonds.

In March 2019, Idaho College SRICF was formally established, and I was honored to be elected its first Celebrant. Later that year, I was advanced to the Third Order and received the VIII° and IX° of the Society. For a Rosicrucian student, these honors represented not merely advancement, but a reminder that the pursuit of wisdom is a lifelong endeavor and that every attainment carries with it greater responsibilities.

The COVID pandemic brought challenges that none of us anticipated. Lodges closed, meetings were canceled, and many cherished traditions were temporarily interrupted. Yet even amid uncertainty, Freemasonry endured. In April 2020, I was virtually installed as Most Illustrious Grand Master of Cryptic Masons in Idaho and continued serving the Craft in whatever manner circumstances allowed. Later that year, I was appointed Deputy General Grand High Priest for the Northwest Region of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International, an office that provided opportunities to travel throughout the region and assist Companion Masons across multiple jurisdictions.

As restrictions eased, the years from 2021 onward became some of the busiest of my Masonic career. I presided over numerous bodies, attended conferences and triennials throughout the United States, participated in the conferral of degrees and grades in multiple jurisdictions, and continued my service within the SRICF, Allied Masonic Degrees, Red Cross of Constantine, Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, and many other organizations. Over the years, I've been privileged to receive honors including the Ephraim A. Kirby Award, Order of the Secret Vault, the Knight Commander of the Temple, the Order of the Purple Cross, and appointment as a Kentucky Colonel. 

My Masonic travels expanded far beyond Idaho. I attended meetings and ceremonies across the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, and Israel. Among the most memorable experiences was my initiation into the Mysteries of Mithras in London in 2024. These experiences reinforced a lesson I have observed repeatedly throughout my travels: while customs, jurisdictions, and traditions may differ, the principles of brotherhood remain universal.

Not all of the significant moments of the past decade were joyful. In addition to losing my father in 2018, I lost my grandfather in 2024 and my grandmother in 2025. Those losses served as poignant reminders of the lessons taught in our ritual regarding mortality, memory, and the enduring influence of those who have gone before us. As Masons, we are constantly reminded that our lives are finite and that our true legacy rests not in titles or honors, but in the lives we touch and the work we leave behind.

The past several years have brought new service opportunities. I have served as Grand Commander of Knights Templar in Idaho, Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Idaho, Grand Recorder of the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Idaho, Grand Recorder of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Idaho, Grand Registrar for the Commemorative Order of St. Thomas of Acon USA, and Grand Superintendent of the Pacific Northwest for the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States.

As I look back over two decades, what stands out most are not the offices held, the honors received, or even the miles traveled. Rather, it is the people. The mentors who challenged me to improve myself. The Brothers who stood beside me during difficult times. Those who have passed. The Companions, Sir Knights, Fratres, and friends whose fellowship enriched my life in countless ways. Freemasonry has given me opportunities to serve, to learn, and to grow, but above all it has introduced me to remarkable men whose friendship I treasure.

Twenty years ago, I knelt at an altar. Today, I remain a student of the Craft. There is still much to learn, much to accomplish, and much work yet to be done. If the past twenty years have taught me anything, it is that the journey itself is among life's greatest blessings.

For that journey, and for every Brother who has walked a portion of it beside me, I am profoundly grateful.

Chymical Wedding Artwork

On my 8.5-hour flight home from Europe last month, I decided to play around with AI and recreate the artwork I've seen popularly used with the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. I'm going to post the old pictures, if any, with the version I created.

DAY 1

The Invitation to the Wedding

 

Escaping the Pit

 

The Travel Penny

 

DAY 2

The Three Cedars

 

The Dove and Raven

The Three Temples

 

The Lanterns

 

Mocked in the Hall of Judgment

 

The Dream

 

DAY 3

The Virgin

 

The Weighing

DAY 4

The Royal Hall

 

The Play

  

The Ships on the Lake

 

DAY 5

Venus in her Chamber

Travel to the Island

 

Atop the Tower

 

DAY 6

Climbing the Tower

The Third Chamber

The Alchemical Bird Freeing Itself

The King and Queen Reborn

The King and Queen Awaken

DAY 7

The New Habit

Riding with the King

Knight of the Golden Stone

Confession to the King

Becoming a Porter

Memorial Day

As Americans gather this Memorial Day to visit cemeteries, place flags upon graves, attend parades, and spend time with loved ones, we pause to remember something greater than ourselves: the immense cost of liberty. Memorial Day is not merely the unofficial beginning of summer. It is a sacred moment of national reflection - a day set aside to honor those who gave their lives in defense of the United States of America.

This year’s observance carries an even deeper significance as our nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding. Two and a half centuries ago, a bold experiment in liberty was born upon the conviction that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That experiment has endured not because freedom is easy, but because generation after generation of Americans have been willing to defend it often at the expense of their own lives.

Among those generations have been countless Freemasons.

From the earliest days of the American Revolution, Freemasons played a profound role in the Founding of the United States. Many of the men who helped shape the nation were members of the Craft, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and numerous officers, statesmen, and patriots who believed deeply in the principles of liberty, equality, morality, and human dignity. Masonic Lodges became places where men of different backgrounds could meet “upon the level,” setting aside class and status in pursuit of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

The ideals that shaped American democracy were not created by Freemasonry, but Freemasonry helped cultivate and reinforce many of the virtues necessary for a free republic to survive: civic responsibility, moral discipline, charity, tolerance, and devotion to something greater than self-interest.

Those ideals did not end with the Founding Fathers.

Throughout every major conflict in American history, Freemasons have stood among those who answered the call to serve. Masons fought at Lexington and Concord, endured the brutal winter at Valley Forge, and helped secure independence during the Revolutionary War. They later fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War, defended freedom in the trenches of World War I, stormed the beaches of Normandy during World War II, and served with courage in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless other places around the globe.

Many never returned home.

Memorial Day reminds us that freedom is never inherited permanently. Every generation must decide whether it is willing to preserve the principles handed down to it. The men and women we honor today answered that question not merely with words, but with sacrifice.

For Freemasons, remembrance carries a particularly solemn meaning. Our fraternity teaches reverence for duty, fidelity to obligations, and the immortality of noble deeds. We are taught that a person’s life is measured not simply by wealth or achievement, but by character, service, and the good left behind for future generations. The fallen exemplified those virtues in their highest form.

As America approaches its Semiquincentennial, we should reflect not only upon our triumphs, but on the sacrifices that made those triumphs possible. The freedoms we often take for granted were purchased dearly by soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and guardians who stood watch over the Republic across generations.

This Memorial Day, may we remember them with gratitude.

May we honor them not only with ceremonies and flags, but by striving to be citizens worthy of their sacrifice.

And may we never forget that the American experiment in liberty has endured for 250 years because brave men and women were willing to defend it with their lives.

Among the Mithraea

A few weeks ago, I embarked on a journey that I had wanted to make for some time: a pilgrimage across the ancient Roman world in search of the remnants of the Mysteries of Mithras. Over the course of nearly two weeks, I traveled from Rome to northern Italy, into Slovenia, and across Austria into Switzerland, tracing the paths once walked by Roman soldiers, merchants, initiates, and priests of one of antiquity’s most fascinating mystery religions.

The journey reminded me that the Cult of Mithras was an international mystery school. It spread wherever Rome spread. From military frontiers to bustling ports, from underground shrines hidden beneath modern churches to isolated sanctuaries preserved in alpine valleys, Mithraism left its imprint across the empire.

Entering the Underworld

On May 4, I landed in Rome and spent the day simply walking the city and absorbing its atmosphere. Rome is overwhelming in the best possible way. Ancient ruins stand beside Renaissance churches, medieval alleys open into imperial forums, and every stone seems layered with history. Before diving into my research, I wanted time to simply orient myself and reconnect with the Eternal City.

The following day, I descended beneath the Basilica of San Clemente to visit one of the most famous Mithraea in the world. Standing underground beneath a medieval basilica, which itself was built atop earlier Roman structures, one experiences the literal layers of Roman history. The Mithraeum of San Clemente is one of the clearest surviving examples of how the cult operated within the hidden spaces of the Roman world.

The sanctuary itself preserves the familiar imagery associated with Mithras: the tauroctony, or bull-slaying scene, benches lining the ritual chamber, and the intimate cave-like setting symbolic of the cosmos itself. Unlike large public temples dedicated to Jupiter or Mars, Mithraea were intentionally enclosed and mysterious, meant to separate initiates from the outside world and immerse them within a sacred space.

Later that day, I visited the Roman National Museum collections housing Mithraic artifacts and reliefs. Seeing these objects in person rather than in photographs was invaluable. The details of the iconography, the craftsmanship, and the regional artistic variations all provide insight into how widely the cult spread and how adaptable it became throughout the empire.

On May 6, I explored Rome further before traveling to the Parco della Caffarella to visit Il Labirinto di Roma, which contains a replica Mithraeum and preserves part of the ancient subterranean environment that once existed around the city.

One of the most fascinating aspects of ancient Rome is that much of it existed below ground. Beneath the bustling imperial capital stretched a vast network of tunnels, quarries, cisterns, catacombs, and passageways. The Romans quarried enormous quantities of volcanic tufa and pozzolana from beneath the city to construct temples, baths, aqueducts, roads, and walls. Over centuries, these excavated spaces formed labyrinthine underground systems.

Some of these tunnels were later reused for religious purposes. Early Christians created catacombs within them. Storage chambers and water systems were carved into them. Some Mithraic sanctuaries may also have utilized these naturally cave-like environments, which aligned perfectly with the cult’s symbolism of the cosmic cave. For initiates descending into these shrines, the journey underground itself became part of the ritual experience - a symbolic movement away from the ordinary world and into the sacred mysteries.

The Gateway to Rome

On May 7, I traveled to Ostia Antica, the ancient port city of Rome. With a guide, I explored multiple Mithraic ruins scattered throughout the site.

Ostia was critically important to ancient Rome. As the empire’s primary harbor city, it served as the commercial lifeline of the capital. Grain from Egypt, olive oil from Hispania, wine, marble, spices, and other goods from across the Mediterranean flowed through Ostia before reaching Rome. Due to this constant movement of merchants, sailors, dockworkers, and soldiers, Ostia became one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the empire.

That cosmopolitan character made it fertile ground for mystery cults like Mithraism. Ostia contains one of the largest concentrations of Mithraea discovered anywhere in the Roman world. The cult thrived particularly among merchants, administrators, and military personnel connected to trade and transportation. Walking through these sanctuaries provided a powerful glimpse into how embedded Mithraism had become within the everyday life of Roman society.

Unlike isolated archaeological fragments in museums, Ostia preserves an entire urban environment. Streets, apartment buildings, baths, taverns, warehouses, and temples still stand in remarkable condition. As I walked those ancient roads, it became easier to envision the world in which Mithraic initiates once lived and worshiped.

The Crossroads of the Empire

On May 8, I traveled north to Aquileia, one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire that many people today have never heard of.

Founded in 181 BC, Aquileia became a major military and commercial center strategically positioned at the head of the Adriatic Sea. It served as a gateway between Italy and the Danubian frontier regions. Troops, merchants, diplomats, and travelers passed constantly through the city, making it one of the empire’s great crossroads.

Aquileia grew immensely wealthy and influential. At its height, it rivaled some of the largest cities in the Roman world. The city played a crucial role in defending northern Italy against invasions from the Balkans and Central Europe while simultaneously facilitating trade into the provinces.

This environment helped Mithraism flourish. The cult spread rapidly along military and trade networks, and Aquileia’s location made it an ideal center for the transmission of eastern religious traditions into the western empire.

The next day, I visited the museum housing Mithraic relics as well as the Basilica and surrounding ruins. Aquileia’s archaeological remains are extraordinary. Mosaics, columns, roads, foundations, and artifacts still reveal the immense importance the city once possessed. The juxtaposition of Christian basilicas rising amid older Roman remains also reflects the broader religious transformation of the empire during late antiquity.

Mithras on the Frontier

On May 10, I traveled onward to Ptuj, Slovenia (the ancient Roman city of Poetovio). Reaching the city required two buses and three trains, a reminder that even modern travel across Europe can sometimes feel like an expedition.

Ptuj is the oldest town in Slovenia and possesses deep Roman roots. Under the Romans, Poetovio became a major military settlement and administrative center along the Drava River. Legions were stationed there, trade flourished, and the city became an important strategic outpost on the empire’s frontier.

The area also became one of the strongest centers of Mithraic worship in the region. Numerous Mithraea have been discovered in and around Ptuj, reflecting the heavy military presence and the movement of eastern religious traditions through frontier zones.

After arriving, I visited Ptuj Castle and the archaeological park containing Roman ruins. The city carries an atmosphere unlike Rome. Whereas Rome overwhelms with imperial grandeur, Ptuj feels quieter and more intimate; a frontier town shaped by centuries of overlapping civilizations.

On May 11, I visited the preserved Mithraeum at Spodnja Hajdina across the river from Ptuj, where I was fortunate enough to receive a tour from an archaeologist. Experiences like this are invaluable. Speaking directly with specialists working to preserve and interpret these sites provides layers of understanding that books alone cannot offer.

Standing within an actual Mithraic sanctuary, one begins to appreciate the lived reality of the cult. These were not abstract symbols confined to academic discussions. They were active religious spaces where initiates gathered, performed rituals, shared sacred meals, and participated in a spiritual brotherhood that stretched across the Roman world.

That evening, I began the long overnight journey north through Graz and Zurich before finally reaching southwest Switzerland.

Mithras in the Alps

I arrived in Martigny on May 12. Nestled within the Swiss Alps, the town occupies another strategically significant Roman location. Ancient Martigny, known as Forum Claudii Vallensium, sat along important alpine trade and military routes connecting Italy to Gaul and Germania.

On May 13, I explored the museum, amphitheater, baths, domus, and Mithraeum preserved there. The Mithraeum of Martigny is particularly important because it demonstrates the extraordinary geographic spread of the cult. From the heart of Rome to the frontiers of Slovenia and the valleys of Switzerland, Mithraism followed the arteries of the empire.

The Roman remains throughout Martigny are beautifully preserved and offer another reminder that the Roman world was deeply interconnected. Ideas, religions, goods, and people moved constantly across enormous distances. 

Later that day, I returned to Zurich to prepare for my flight home, and on May 14, I departed for the United States.

Returning Home

Research trips are often romanticized, but they can also be exhausting. Long train rides, navigating unfamiliar cities, and operating on limited sleep become part of the experience. Yet every moment was worth it.

This journey gave me something that books and articles alone never could: context. Seeing the geography of the Roman world firsthand changes one’s understanding of how Mithraism spread and why it resonated with so many people. The cult was not isolated. It was woven into the military, commercial, and social fabric of the empire itself.

Now, after following the footprints of Mithras across Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland, it is time to put my nose to the grindstone and finish my book on the Mysteries of Mithras. The journey may be over, but the work continues.

Grand York Rite of Idaho 2026

Over the past few days, I had the privilege of attending the 2026 Sessions of the Grand York Rite of Idaho. 

On Thursday, I attended the annual meeting of Syringa Order No. 121 of the Order of the Sword of Bunker Hill, where we initiated the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Idaho. I was also elected as the Honorable Grand Commander-in-Chief for the ensuing year. I then presided over the Idaho Chapter of the Sovereign Order of Knights Preceptor as Eminent Preceptor, initiating two candidates into that Order. 

I later attended Tri-Valley College No. 178 of the York Rite Sovereign College of North America, where we elected and installed a new corps of officers. From there, I attended the annual stated meeting of Idaho Priory No. 13 of the Knights of the York Cross of Honor, where we initiated a new member, and I had the honor of delivering the Chapter Lecture. The day concluded with the Templar Honors Dinner, where two Sir Knights were created Knight Commanders of the Temple. 

Friday morning opened with the Public Opening, where I served as Distinguished Guest Chairman and introduced the dignitaries. I then took my place as Grand Secretary for the 22nd Joint Business Session of the Grand York Rite Bodies of Idaho. Following the Joint Session, we exemplified the Order of the High Priesthood. 

After lunch, I served as Right Excellent Grand Secretary for the 118th Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Idaho, where I was re-elected to that position. After the Memorial Service that evening, I called it an early night and went to bed. Concluding my first year as Grand Secretary/Recorder has been both rewarding and instructive, and I have learned a great deal. I want to sincerely thank everyone who supported and assisted me throughout the year. 

This morning, I attended a short (but hopefully productive) meeting of Intermountain Chapel No. 27 of the Commemorative Order of St. Thomas of Acon. I have since returned home and am preparing for my next adventure.