a tradition
A heritage

Freemasonry claims several legacies:

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A symbolic heritage from initiatory societies who, since the remotest antiquity, have dedicated themselves to collective thinking and to the gradual transmission of Knowledge.

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A more direct heritage, from the cathedral-builders' guilds and the "Lodges" in which they met to prepare the work and to transmit the secrets of the craft to the apprentices.

Marques de passage compagnonniques sur la Vis de Saint Gilles

From these builders, we have retained:

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the name of "Freemason" which these "Masons" bore, as they were no longer tied to fiefdom and consequently "free" from all jurisdictions and taxes,

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an initiatory model of organization and transmission,

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traditions and symbols connected with construction and stonework.

The Masonic tradition

Article 5 of the Declaration of Principles of the Grande Loge Féminine de France states that: "The Grande Loge Féminine de France refers to Masonic tradition, notably for the strict observance of the ritual and the study of symbolism as a means of access to the initiatory content of the Order".

Which tradition is concerned here?

The Tradition which all men and women Masons claim to be theirs must not be considered as inert knowledge, a fossilized fruit of the intelligences of our forebears who knew how to fight prejudices and search for the truth even into martyrdom to overcome dogmas and to revolutionize the science of their time.
The tradition to which we refer is a humanistic tradition, relying on liberty of conscience, reciprocal tolerance, progress, fraternity, a desire for harmony, conciliation and love.

Tradition involves transmission: from the men and women Masons who preceded us we have received a method and tools. We must discover them, learn how to use them, before being able to build in harmony, to enrich the heritage received from them, so that the chain passes on from generation to generation.

This approach is common to all Grand Lodges. Yet, it is implemented in a specific manner in the GLFF, a privileged place where women's discourse can be fully expressed.