Secrets of the Masons

People ask me quite often, “Are you a secret society?” And, you know, I come up with a rather glib answer, “No, we’re not a secret society. We’re a society with secrets.” With over 5 million members worldwide many believe the Freemasons are secret society that has long ruled the world. But do they? What are the true meanings that lie behind their ancient rituals, strange handshakes and rolled up trouser legs? What influence have they had in the past and what role is there for the Freemasons in the 21st Century? To answer these questions we go back to where the Freemasons started, 16th Century Scotland, to tell the story of the rapid global growth of the Scottish Freemasonry and its centrality to the Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th Centuries. We meet modern masons from across the world as well as the historians and archivists who have studied the origins and development of the Craft across the centuries. And we follow the current Grand Master of Scotland through his own installation and on to Washington DC to witness the installation of a new Grand Master Mason in North America.