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. (''Found with or without the letter G '')]] Freemasonry is a Fraternal Organization . Arising from obscure origins (theorized to be anywhere from the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple to the mid-1600s), it now exists in various forms all over the world, and claims millions of members. All of these various forms share Moral and Metaphysical ideals, which include in most cases a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being . The small blue Forget-me-not flower was first used by the Grand Lodge ''Zur Sonne'', in 1926, as a Masonic emblem at the annual convention in Bremen , Germany. In 1938 the forget-me-not badge – made by the same factory as the Masonic badge – was chosen for the annual Nazi Party '' Winterhilfswerk ''; a Nazi charitable organization, which collected money so that other state funds could be freed up and used for rearmament. This coincidence enabled Freemasons to wear the forget-me-not badge as a secret sign of membership.616263Also in: 64 After World War II , the forget-me-not65 flower was again used as a Masonic emblem at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand Lodges of Germany in 1948. The badge is now worn in the coat lapel by Freemasons around the world to remember all those that have suffered in the name of Freemasonry, especially those during the Nazi era.66 Women and Freemasonry See Also: Women and Freemasonry Co-Freemasonry Freemasonry is sometimes criticized for not admitting women as members. Since the adoption of Anderson's constitution in 1723, it has been accepted as fact by regular Masons that only men can be made Masons. Most Grand Lodges do not admit women because they believe it would violate the ancient Landmarks. While a few women were initiated into speculative lodges prior to 1723, and on the continent after that date, officially regular Freemasonry remains exclusive to men. While women cannot join regular lodges, there are (mainly within the borders of the United States) many female orders associated with regular Freemasonry and its appendant bodies, such as the Order Of The Eastern Star , the Order Of The Amaranth , the White Shrine of Jerusalem, the Social Order of Beauceant and the Daughters of the Nile. These have their own rituals and traditions, but are founded on the Masonic model. In addition, there are many non-mainstream Masonic bodies that do admit both men and women or exclusively women. Co-Freemasonry admits both men and women, but it is held to be irregular because it admits women. The systematic admission of women into International Co-Freemasonry began in France in 1882. In more recent times, women have created and maintained separate Lodges, working the same rituals as the all male regular lodges. These Female Masons have founded lodges around the world, and these Lodges continue to gain membership. SEE ALSO
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