Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Masonic Handshake: Part 1

Many politicians are Freemasons, and they can be seen in photos and in the media exchanging the Masonic handshake.

Shibboleth Handshake
It begins as a regular handshake, but then one mason presses his thumb against the area between the first and second knuckle joints of the first two fingers of the other person. The second mason reciprocates the gestures by pressing his thumb against the area between the first and second knuckle joints of the first two fingers of the other mason.

Tubalcain Handshake
Begins with one mason pressing his thumb in the space between the second and third knuckles of the right hand. At this point, the other mason moves his thumb to the same spot on the other mason’s hand. They each press their thumbs firmly into the space between the second and third knuckles of their hands.

Mahabone Handshake
This involves interlacing the thumbs of both hands when two masons meet and shake (with their right hands). One mason presses his fingers against the other mason’s wrist. The other mason presses the tops of his fingers against the other mason’s hand in a similar gesture.

Masons Among Us