This was definitely the high point of our day trip to Philadelphia. We read that the Grand Lodge gives tours, so we showed up, paid our fee, and were led about by the most tedious little man who looked quite a bit like the father on the original Addams family. This lodge is heavily involved in the founding of the United States as most of the founding fathers were freemasons. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and probably Thomas J. performed secret rituals there.
Any time you have a chance to see inside a freemasonic temple you should take it, because even if you know nothing about freemasonry you will see some of the most beautiful imagery ever conceived by the mind of man. If you DO know something about freemasonry it becomes even more interesting to glimpse into this bizarre male religion and to watch your host dodge challenging questions.
A little about freemasonry...on the surface freemasonry is a men's club for socializing and charitable activities. Men are attracted to it for networking and to gain advantages by belonging to “the brotherhood”. 
Members are initiated up through levels or “degrees” by way of rituals, most members never rise higher than the third level, and most freemasons are just as clueless about their organization as any other doofus. Here is one of them undergoing the "hanged man" ritual, for one of the lower degrees.
The fact is, freemasonry derives from ancient roots, dating from at least as far back as the great Egyptian era, and to the high initiates it is a religion where as one rises through the levels one becomes more and more “illuminated”. As one of the most prominent secret societies, freemasonry plays an important role in world history, though the official story maintains this as pure crap. But one can find evidence of freemasonic activity nearly everywhere something important is happening.
Freemasonic symbols are embedded in the layout of the world's great cities. Important and symbolic edifices like the Pentagon are given a freemasonic ceremony at their ground breaking
The Philadelphia lodge is huge, three stories at least, and we were led through six grand halls, each of which had a cultural theme. There was the medieval hall, the Celtic hall, the Greek hall, the Egyptian hall, and I can't remember the others. The geometry of each room was the same with thrones on each end, an altar (the “block”) in the center, and pews on the sides. Many of our common expressions derive from freemasonry, such as “he's a chip off the old block”, or “he's been around the block”, which means he is an initiate of freemasonry and has begun rising through the levels. Maybe he'll give you “a word from the wise”.
Everywhere we looked were symbols with rich historic significance. For example, here's an image of the cross and the crown, a motif that appears a lot on the articles worn by Her F—ing Majesty the Queen.
The purpose of giving tours to the uninitiated (or “profane” as they like to call us) appears to be to disseminate disinfo and to mock us, which is awkward since the only people interested in touring a freemasonic temple are those who know a thing or two about it. Every question put to our host was responded to with the most inane babble, but with a perfectly straight face. For instance, I asked him how many degrees were in freemasonry, and he rapidly responded “three!”. Well, even mainstream newspapers will describe someone as a 32nd or even 33rd degree freemason, and yet this bozo tells us there are only three levels. A courageous young girl asked him why there were so many freemasonic symbols on our currency and he didn't even answer her question. Instead he gave an obvious dodge: “Oh, is that what you are studying on the internet?”, and moved on. What a creepy man! Even our children were becoming frustrated with him.
Our visit was an interesting experience and I highly encourage you to study freemasonry, learn to understand the symbology which surrounds you, and visit a freemasonic temple!
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