To most, Friday the 13th is a day for superstition and bad luck. But for those who peer into history’s darker corners — especially within Masonic tradition — it marks a grim, meaningful event.
On Friday, October 13, 1307, under secret orders from King Philip IV of France, the Knights Templar were betrayed. Hundreds of members of the powerful and wealthy military order were arrested, tortured, and executed on fabricated charges of heresy and blasphemy. At the heart of it was greed; Philip was deeply in debt to the Templars and sought to erase his obligations by seizing their assets.
Among those executed was Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Templars. Legend tells us that as he burned at the stake, he summoned both Philip and Pope Clement V to appear before God within the year. Strangely enough, both men died shortly after — a coincidence that only deepened the legend of Friday the 13th as a cursed day.
For Freemasons, this date carries symbolic weight. While there’s no definitive historical link between the Templars and modern Freemasonry, many Masonic rites honor the memory of the Templars as men of principle betrayed by corrupt power. The York Rite’s Order of the Temple, in particular, evokes their legacy.
More than a superstition, Friday the 13th reminds Masons of the perils of tyranny, the importance of brotherhood, and the resilience of truth. It stands as a lesson that darkness may fall, but Light endures.
So, when the next Friday the 13th rolls around, forget the horror films. Reflect instead on a brotherhood’s sacrifice, and the unyielding human struggle against oppression.