The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Tolkien the freemason/ Priory of Sionist/Gnostic?

Feanor411 · 02-13-2009, 04:38 AM

I've been doing a good spot of research on this--have wondered about it for awhile. There is a story that both Tolkien and CS Lewis were briefly members of the Order of the Golden Dawn, but were kicked out for being inept.

I don't think Tolkien was a Freemason--I'm sure he would have been aware of the Catholic Church's stance, and would have steered clear. However, we know that his work is liberally sprinkled with very old mythical motifs, many of which the Freemasons also used. Btw, one of the articles quoted previously stated that the 7 stars on the door to Moria represented the 7 rings held by the dwarves--it was actually representative of the original 7 dwarf lords. I am reluctant to accept the opinion of someone who clearly doesn't know the source material well.

There also seems to be a bit of a Fundamentalist slant to a lot of the material I've found--a definite attitude that "If he used the same symbols as the Freemasons, he must be one too." I think it's inevitable, the way Tolkien incorporated bits and pieces of old legends and myths, that he would end up using some of the same motifs and images that were used by other groups (such as Freemasons).

02-13-2009, 04:38 AM	#21
Feanor411 Newly Deceased Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Rural Minnesota Posts: 6	Was Tolkien a Freemason? I've been doing a good spot of research on this--have wondered about it for awhile. There is a story that both Tolkien and CS Lewis were briefly members of the Order of the Golden Dawn, but were kicked out for being inept. I don't think Tolkien was a Freemason--I'm sure he would have been aware of the Catholic Church's stance, and would have steered clear. However, we know that his work is liberally sprinkled with very old mythical motifs, many of which the Freemasons also used. Btw, one of the articles quoted previously stated that the 7 stars on the door to Moria represented the 7 rings held by the dwarves--it was actually representative of the original 7 dwarf lords. I am reluctant to accept the opinion of someone who clearly doesn't know the source material well. There also seems to be a bit of a Fundamentalist slant to a lot of the material I've found--a definite attitude that "If he used the same symbols as the Freemasons, he must be one too." I think it's inevitable, the way Tolkien incorporated bits and pieces of old legends and myths, that he would end up using some of the same motifs and images that were used by other groups (such as Freemasons).