Celestial Brotherhood: District 13

Esoteric concepts have become increasingly popular in media whether it is within a book, movie or even music. Freemasonry teaches a lot about these concepts, but you have to actually pay attention and dig deeper on your own in order to see esotericism outside the Craft. Being that these concepts are esoteric, the great importance taught therein will not be discussed in detail here. The importance is entirely up to you as the reader to draw a connection. What will be discussed are different sources that could have an esoteric meaning if looked at with more detail.

It is imperative for every Freemason interested in the esotericism of the Craft to understand the definition of esoteric. It is a Greek term and if broken down can be spelled out to the exact definition. According to Merriam-Webster esoteric is an adjective “intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.” Another term that encompasses esotericism is exotericism, Merriam-Webster defines exoteric as “ intended for or likely to be understood by the general public." These two terms are extremely important to understand when diving into the deep end of such studies. By its definition, it can be gathered that esotericism deals with “hidden” information. In more modern-day terms it essentially distills a deeper meaning from a common concept.

The first concept every Freemason must be acquainted with is the number 13. Take a look into your ritual; more especially the Master Mason degree. Okay, you won’t actually see it. Like it was said before, this is completely esoteric by the definition. However, it can be gathered from various exoteric sources that surround our Craft.

The number 13 is biblical, How many disciples were at the “Last Supper”? If you say 12 you are correct. There are 12 individuals representing each tribe of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim and Manasseh. However, there are 13 individuals represented in total. It is completely up to you to determine both the meaning and the significance of this.

Next, in Greek/Roman mythology there are 12 gods of Olympia that are represented and worshiped: Zeus/Jupiter, Hera/Juno, Poseidon/Neptune, Hades/Pluto, Hestia/Vesta, Athena/Minerva, Artemis/Diana, Apollo, Aphrodite/Venus, Hephaestus/Vulcan, Ares/Mars and Hermes/Mercury. All descendants of the original god Chaos, Chaos being known as the formless matter that created the cosmos and harmonious order.

More historically, there were 13 original colonies in the United States before the Revolution. Is it significant in knowing the number 13 is hidden within our Craft and some of the most profound fathers of our country were Freemasons? It is not the intent of this a
rticle to make assumptions, it is however to bring forth well-known information (exoteric) in order to gather individual ideas and concepts.

The exoteric number 12 is still shown through out the world in all forms of media. One in particular, “The Hunger Games.” (If you have not read the books or seen the movies yet, they are highly recommended.) There are 12 districts that exist in a post-United States era. These 12 districts are known for their individual characteristics. The protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is from the mining district commonly referred as District 12. The basis behind the story is that a revolution occurred, in which the government won — then dividing the country into 13 different districts. The 13^th district revolted against the new government and its policies, which led to their destruction. The former 13^th district is still in existence physically, but is now rubble. Not to give away the plot, but it is every districts collective wish to be freed from the new government’s grasp and control, making the ideal of freedom the 13^th district (pre-destruction) had into a common wish for the remaining 12.

It is known that Suzanne Collins has a very large interest in Greek mythology. Could she have looked beyond the exoteric information presented in the mythologies on her own and developed another story that follows the same characteristics of the “hidden” information presented in the Bible and within our Craft?