Valley of Tampa Scottish Rite

2027 Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida Fundraising Cruise

2026 301st Spring Reunion Honoring Ill Louis H Ortt 33

April 2026 | Valley of Tampa | Consistory Meeting

March 2026 | Valley of Tampa | Feast of Kadosh

Reflecting on our Opportunities:
A message for the New Year from Grand Commander Jim Cole, 33°

A Year Of Opportunities: New Year Thoughts from Grand Commander Jim Cole, 33° Grand Commmander Jim Cole, 33°, on behalf of the The Southern jurisdiction's Supreme Council, brings you some thoughts to celebrate the year that was and we...

Merry Christmas

The Gift You Can Give: A Christmas Wish from Scottish Rite Freemasons! Jim Cole, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander, shares a heartfelt Christmas message from the House of the Temple in Washington, DC. This special address captures ...

Who is your WORST critic?

Brothers,
One of the tasks of the 17° Knight of the East & West is to work, reflect and pray. I work a lot. I think I pray a lot. But how often do I reflect honestly?
Sometimes, I think I get caught in these patterns where I am too negative or too. How honest I am about the number of rough edges I have chipped away from own rough ashlar is largely dependent on my mood. If I am in a bad mood, you can bet that my own self-talk is pretty demeaning. If I am in a good mood, or things are generally going my way, I might well break my own arm patting myself on the back.
As men, I think we all fall into this habit. When one thing goes wrong, we start seeing the sky falling. We are naturally tuned this way. Our lizard brains focus on the negatives, always scanning the proverbial tree-line for the wolves lurking just beyond. So when something goes wrong, we see every shadow as another wolf. Like wise, a small victory at work or at home came leave me thumping my chest like Maximus in the arena.
I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with the occasional victory lap, and we are all our own worst critics. But as Scottish Rite Masons, we need to learn to be our own best critics. A good critic does more than just nit pick or praise. A good critic can help us improve by not only eliminating the negatives in our lives, but helping us capitalize on the positives.
Honest reflection and assessment of who and where we are in life is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. The only way we can do this is by keeping our emotions, or rather our passions, in due bounds and reflecting honestly and often about our lives.
This week, take a little time and turn off the screens and take that honest inventory of yourself. The good, the bad, the ugly and the great. As we start tho consider the close of this year and the start of the next it is an ideal time to give yourself the gift of honest reflection.
Hope you have a great week ahead Brothers and that you and your family are enjoying some of the blessings of the season.

Fraternally,

Maynard Edwards, 33°

17° Knight of the East and West

Important Lessons: Seek the Light of Masonic Philosophy

Summary: The apron is of yellow silk, lined and edged with crimson; the colors are emblematic of the dawn. Its triangular shape is symbolic of the Deity in His first three emanations. In the center is a gold Tetractys formed of 10 Hebrew Yods. They represent the ten Sephiroth (or manifestations of Deity) on the Tree of Life in the Kabalah.
The order is a broad, white watered ribbon, worn from the right to the left. It is crossed by a black one of equal width, worn from left to right. The jewel is suspended from the latter. The two colors are symbolic of the two principles of good and evil as explained in the dualist doctrines of Zoroaster and Manes.

The jewel is a heptagonal (seven-sided) medal, half gold and half silver or mother of pearl. These two colors are emblems of the sun and moon, themselves symbols of the Egyptian deities Osiris and Isis, who represent the generative and productive powers of nature, illustrated in Masonic Symbolism by the columns Jachin and Boaz as the active and passive forces manifested in nature (Morals and Dogma, p. 202). On one side are engraved, at the angles, the same letters as are on the capitals of the columns in the ceremony and possessing the same meaning, that of the last seven of the Sephiroth of the Kabalah. A star is over each. In the center, on the same side, is a lamb, lying on a book with seven seals, on which seals are, respectively, the same letters, though shown in this representation as the Roman equivalents. On the reverse side are two crossed swords, points upward; their hilts rest on an even balance. In the corners are the initials in Greek of the names of the Seven Churches (Revelation 2 and 3).

Duties:
To work, to reflect and to pray
To hope, to trust and to believe
To teach the truths that are hidden in allegories and concealed by the symbols of Freemasonry

Lessons: An Army of martyrs have offered up their lives to prove their faith or benefit mankind

For Reflection:
Can Masonry teach religion without being a religion?
What is the meaning of the vacant chair in the ceremony?
Important Symbols:
The East
The West
John the Baptist
The colors of the rainbow
The candidate
The number seven
The vacant chair