FREEMASONRY: SOMEONE PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHT

FREEMASONRY: SOMEONE PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHT

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I am of the belief that most Freemasons after they were raised, still remained engulfed in darkness and this often leads to a un-fulfillment in the journey that they have embarked upon, because many of them never understood what the journey was really about. They became victims of stagnation and the quest for enlightenment dimmed and the lodge becomes a revolving door (brothers enter and exit at an alarming rate) where brother's membership is reduced to the status of inactive dues card carrying members (Jesus said faith without works is dead). But their interest in Masonry immediately begin to wan relative to the duties, charges and obligations they swore to uphold; moreover, our inability to retain them, is a direct correlation to the limited amount of emphasis placed on knowledge and study (most Masonic jurisdictions are overly consumed with the social aspect--drinking liquor and partying, but I have always been one of the serious minded brothers who had a low tolerance level for ignorance).  

How can you wear the Muslim Islamic Holy Fez in the Shrine temple and chant Allah and Muhammad (turn to the East towards Mecca and Medina and offer up prayer as all righteous Muslims do)? And open up with the Holy Qur'an on the alter (quoting Al-Fatiha or the Opening)  and yet advocate drinking alcohol and committing all types of un-Islamic acts downstairs in the Shrine Club moments after closing the Temple in the name of Allah—I find this blasphemous and a contradiction to the righteous teachings of Islam. Here is my challenge to my Prince Hall Masonic brothers, as well as to other black non-Prince Hall Masonic Orders every lodge should have a library and an Afro-Centric study group where the knowledge of self is being taught and discussed—we have Shrine Clubs and bars, but no libraries. This will possibly assist in keeping brothers interest in the craft and its work.

However, the greatest challenge to Freemasonry across the United States is that the membership has gotten old and are dying off (say what you may about the old timers, it is their foundation that we are standing on) and most of the young members joined the order for all the wrong reasons (Masonry is no social club and it's not about being able to throw a sign and/or being able to give a word or token to manipulate society). It is not enough just to place an emblem on the back of our automobiles and or purchase a Masonic ring—these things are superficial and they do not make us Masons (I should have taken many Brothers Masonic rings off their hand because they could not defend the square and compass). These things only let the outside world know that we are part of the fraternity and they do not demonstrate that we are true Masons. But it is important to know and accept that you were first made a Mason in your HEART. And next on the ground floor of King Solomon's Temple. We call another Mason Traveling Man because we are on a personal and spiritual journey. It is about mastering all the principles The Grand Architect of the Universe has laid out on the Trestle Board.

When you wear the Masonic ring on your finger, it openly symbolizes that you are a Masons and it invites other Masons to acknowledge another brother in peace and fellowship. However, if they so please to conduct a Masonic trial of your knowledge to determine, if you are truly a Mason—it is their right to do so. You openly confessed in the Third Degree that you had been 'tried, never denied and was ready to be tried again'. So if I pose a set of Masonic catechism questions to you and you cannot give the proper responses to those questions, I am suppose to take that ring off your finger and give it to your Worshipful Master or if you are illegally wearing a Masonic ring, it is my duty to destroy it. How may I know you to be a Mason? By certain signs, token, a word or by lawful Masonic information (we are taught how to identify a brother in darkness or light). This is why I tell every newly made Masons to be patient and do not rush to put a Masonic emblem on your finger or car that you cannot yet defend. In some Masonic jurisdictions they will try you on sight and they are serious about protecting the fraternity.

We are taught that true knowledge is equated to a circle in which every end of the knowledge is connected and a circle represents 360 degrees (completeness) and those of us who really study knows that water freezes at the temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and yet the so-called honorary degree of 33rd ends the Masonic travel and quest of knowledge—meaning he is just thawing out (this is actually referencing Caucasian Freemasons). The wise White men and powerbrokers who were the masterminds in establishing our Republic were touched by this enlightenment (but today they only use Freemasonry as a Front and they are now hidden in powerful secret societies such as the Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, etc.). Moreover, throughout the history of the United States of America from our first President George Washington, as well as many of the Founding Fathers (and the signers of the Declaration of Independence) of this nation was Freemasons and many of the historical and recent U.S. Presidents and other Elitist political officeholders have always used Freemasonry as a system of empowerment to create the present day political, economic and social dominance over the globe.

History has proven that 33rd degrees of knowledge served as being more than sufficient in shaping this new nation and establishing our democracy on Freemasonic principles (unknowing to those who are in darkness)—it was this knowledge that distinguished themselves from those common men and it allowed them to confound the ignorant and establish a prosperous nation. He did all this with 1/3^rd degree of the knowledge and the present day rulership still operates off pristine Masonic principles. Our original knowledge was always taught in 360 degrees and they took just a portion of that, which has allowed them to extend their 6,000 year rule over the original man and humanity. So, the Moors, Five Percenters, Nation of Islam, etc., they will tell you quickly that their knowledge is based on 360 degrees and is very critical of us stopping at 33rd degrees.

I think it is always a good thing to be exposed to all the universal knowledge. The CIPHER will always lead to us seeing the interconnections and interrelations with Freemasonry, in particular when you learn how to decode the symbolism—the knowledge is astonishing and self-empowering. The Black Hebrews, Moors, Afrocentrist, Nation of Islam, Ausar Auset, Pan-Africanism, Black Nationalism, etc., all of it is rooted in teaching us the knowledge of self, as a despised and rejected people. This is the greatest knowledge that one can attain.

Furthermore, the Founding Fathers saw power in the esoteric, occult and Gnostic teachings that was preserved in the Vedas, the Book of Coming Forth By Day, Torah, Gospel, Kybalion, Qur'an and mainly in the teachings of the Rosicrucians—many of our politicians today are members of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and they practice Islam (360 degrees) in secrecy and most of all they know the truth, but they desire to give you the false impression that Islam is this great enemy against the West and these same politicians have a Qur'an hidden in their office and house, and sneak in the Shrine Temple and recite the same Islamic and Muslim prayers that Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qadaffi, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bashar Al-Assad, Anwar Awlaki. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, etc; recite, but in public they desire for you to believe how much they detest Islam by putting on this anti-terrorism persona. How hypocritical were those reactionary Congresspersons who were critical of Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison, an African-American Sunni Muslim that won a congressional seat in the 2007 in the House of Representatives from Minnesota’s 5th District (with a heavy Jewish population and a heavy Somalian immigrant population), but was condemned by some 'Negroes' and Whites for daring to be sworn into office on the Qur'an (Reference: Keith Ellison; "My Country ‘Tis of Thee: My Faith, My Family, Our Future"). Yet, many of the same congresspersons are Freemasons and some of them even belong to the Mystic Shrine where the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that they are called "Moslem Sons" and practice Islam in secrecy.

But to the new Masonic brothers be careful of what you intellectually consume in your new Masonic travels—we give every entered apprentice a new name upon being initiated, which is caution. Now, to all my newly made brother Masons and even those seasoned Masons, It is important to take time to study and master all the book materials, as well as lessons you have received from the Blue Lodge and those given by the Worshipful Master (if you did not know this there is no degree higher than the third degree of Master Mason). When I first joined the lodge, it was so much information and knowledge coming my way, but the more you stay involved in the work of your lodge, it allows for many things to unfold and manifest itself in due time and due season. Understanding that the ritual is what gives life to Masonic theory and builds the intellectual foundation that allows Speculative Masonry to rest upon.

There is so much to be revealed to you in your ritual book (learn it by re-reading and taking notes) the knowledge becomes applicable and useful when you see it’s given in a redundant fashion over and over again (it even lives more as you attend raising ceremonies). I also would recommend for any newly made Brother Mason to read Robert Lomas book titled, "Turning the Hiram Key: Rituals of Freemasonry Revealed", he does in my opinion, an excellent job of explaining the three Blue Lodge degrees without revealing the oaths and obligations and/or rituals in which he systematically walks us through the first three Blue Lodge degrees in this book. I still reference this book quite often. It is written in the first person tense and you as a Master Mason will be able to identify with what you experienced by hearing and reading it in a narrative sense from a third party; it will even give you the impression that you are there again and it is you who are going through this but in a literary interpretation. So be patient, take your time and become a skillful Master Mason. I will always advise those that are in quest and search for knowledge, wisdom and understanding to be patient and take your time because Freemasonry is a huge philosophical body of information. This is why you were slowly brought from darkness to light (imbue patience) and as we search for knowledge, we must continue to accept that knowledge and wisdom is infinite and we will always be the poor blind candidate. 

The more you delve in to and study the more the knowledge will reveal itself. One of the great spiritual books, which is the Qur’an it says knowledge is revealed in degrees. You will start to see how your study will begin to connect the dots and the knowledge and Masonic wisdom will come to life (and you will proudly yell out "let there be light") if you allow yourself to be patient. The more you study, the Masonic world will continue to open up to and your comprehension of the vast body of symbolism will only expand. Start by working the Masonic chairs in the lodge and learning the value of all the offices including the three principle offices (Worshipful Master, Senior Warden and Junior Warden) because it is the ritual that lays the foundation of Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is like jigsaw puzzle (i.e. nothing is going to fit perfectly but each part of your study will eventually quantify and validate the science of being plumb, level and square); you have to search, look, discover, uncover and must have a keen awareness of symbolism, metaphor, similes, allegory, etc. One must be willing to entertain the science of epistemology and etymology these are the pieces that we must know in order to go to the depth of some of the ancient wisdom and knowledge that is associated with our Craft. The square and compass are symbolic tools (which possess a duality in meaning and interpretation), but look at how these instruments are used in every day life as tools of building trades (Operative Masonry shrouded in both the physical and spiritual). The symbolism is telling us that we are on a journey in search and in quest for knowledge (the compass symbolize direction), wisdom and understanding (this is why in the Masonic catechism language we refer to each other as 'Traveling Man').

The compass is a tool design to identify how to find and locate direction where you are physically in space and time, which give us celestial, meaning relative to the positioning of the sun, moon, and star—this is why you are taught to be traveling from east to west in search of Light and/or more Light in Masonry. I authored a piece titled, "The Square and Compass: Masonic Tools, How Many Know How to Use Them? The title was intentionally given to be provocative and insightful designed to challenge those of us who are Freemasons to remember how the Guild workers of old used these tools in Operative Masonry (they were building masters), but remember we were taught that we should use the working tools for a more noble and glorious purpose and view them as being emblematic of  the great work that the square and compass were used relative to building erect physical foundations, which were rooted in the science of being plumb, level and square. It was to teach us that our personal lives and conduct should always be erect and depict some moral purpose.

Our striving as a Mason is to build character and enhance self-improvement, if we knew how to properly use our working tools, it would reflect better in how we are viewed by humanity (and most of all our Masonic lodges would be overflowing with new candidates seeking to be balloted on). The Bible is given to us as one of the working tools (rule and guide), but only to serve as a moral guide for us to structure ourselves which to better serve Deity. Speculative Masons rest on the principles of morality, friendship and brotherly love as our mantra and standard bearer. A good skilled craftsmen know how use their operative working tools better that us who have been raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the square. 

My Brothers, it has taken me many years and a lot of twist and turns to get to where I am in my Masonic knowledge; I had to learn to humble myself and I do not see myself as a Sage, Guru or Master teacher, but I am humbled by the universal order of things—the universe is upheld by energy in which every thing happens in its own space and time. The knowledge will forever reveal itself to you, if you are a good receptacle of the knowledge by always practicing patience and allowing your study to scientifically and mathematically verify due diligence and create balance (the universe will open up to you, if you allow yourself to work in harmony). Freemasonry has so many links and it easy to get excited because the more you delve into this ancient wisdom the "Light" gets brighter and often it naturally points you to another direction, but all of it is interconnected and interrelated. It took me years to revisited some concepts that I may have come across years prior (however the Supreme Being knew that I was not prepared to receive those lessons at that time) and I was not ready to properly assess and evaluate the intricate of the wisdom; which would have been of little value to my spiritual growth and development.

Thus, in old British Masonic customs an entered apprentice had to study three (3) years, a Fellow Craft had to study five (5) years and Master Mason had to study for seven (7) years—there you have it 357 (the level of proficiency was high). This is just my opinion, in American Freemasonry we are allowing candidates to Enter, Pass and be Raised without the proper benefit of study and I know in some jurisdiction they give all three degrees in one night. This is ludicrous and it serves to the detriment of Masonry and the candidate. The glue that holds the sum parts together is the knowledge, it isn't the Masonic emblem on your ring or your car, but if you are properly rooted in the knowledge, this will secure you and give you a solid foundation to ward off negative energy while remaining true to the principles of Freemasonry. Look at is as though you are running a marathon race and you are taught as a distance runner of how to preserve your energy by pacing yourself.

The journey will ultimately take you in many directions. For example, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and all the eastern base philosophical schools of thought in order that you may continue to connecting the dots. If you are serious about becoming a student of Speculative Masonry, it will require and openness to research conventional and some unconventional information; some Masonic lodges try to make Masonry a Christian fraternity, it is not because it bigger than Christian dogma. Dr. Malachi Z. York-El's works gave me the most serious understanding of King Solomon's Temple because he had a serious Biblical and Quranic interpretation of King David and King Solomon; thus, it was me studying some of his scrolls that prepared me historically to connect Masonry in particular, decoding the ritual. I do not necessarily agree with everything that York-El has written, but he was a wise philosophical thinker.

I think Malachi Z. York-El is one of the most enigmatic and controversial Black Nationalist leaders that you will ever read on this side of the early part of the 21st Century and in some of the conscious brothers and sisters minds; he will always stand as one of the most wisest and enlightened minds (York's critics have always viewed him as a fraud, conman and a manipulative cult leader).

People often ask me, where do I fall when it comes to Dr. Malachi Z. York-El?  Perhaps squarely in the middle of the controversy and I know some of Dr. York’s scholars have been critical of me in a book written by Michael Berkley and Kedar Griffo titled, “Religion, Politics, and Freemasonry: A Violent Attack Against Ancient Africa”. Some of what his critics have written and said about York I too find valid. However, I can appreciate that Dr. York has been a student of ancient history, religion and symbolism for a very long time and was a knowledgeable man. He was a master teacher and there are not many Masons who have committed the level of research and study to Freemasonry as Dr. York. He knows the Bible and Qur'an (and is well versed in Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic, and other ancient languages) he has knowledge in Egyptology, Anthropology, ancient religions, Archeology, etc. His linguist skills allow him to uncover primary information for himself.

His research resembled a lot of some of the things that Manly P. Hall (33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and perhaps one of the most well respected modern Masonic scholars of the 20th century) has written about. Hall authored the book titled, "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" in which it took me over 10 years to read this book, it is not a book that you read, but a book that you study. This book takes us behind the ancient symbols and symbolism and ties the continuity of pagan culture and ancient societies to modern religious practices. Dr. York established what we, perhaps would call a 'clandestine' Masonic Order because he traces his Masonic elevation to the Masonic lineage of John G. Jones who was a formal excommunicated Prince Hall Mason that in the early 1900s was suspended by a PHA Grand Lodge in Illinois, in which his departure led to a historical rift between the Prince Hall Order and black Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry in the United States (AF&AM). So Dr. York's Masonic credibility in many Prince Hall Mason's circles is questionable and very few would have Masonic intercourse with his perceived 'clandestine' order, but his knowledge is irrefutable. I am a student of the truths that he has taught and not many Masons in the United States can match Dr. York's works and knowledge. 

I do not think the question of 'irregular or 'clandestine' is ever going to get solved or resolved unless Prince Hall Masonry (they are the big elephant in the room) exercise a willingness to show forth leniency and perhaps overlook the Masonic lineage of how some of these three, four and five lettered Masonic organizations received charters. And how do we contain these pop up renegade Masonic organizations who are without a doubt operate as 'clandestine' (bogus) organizations (the value of Prince Hall Masonry is that we do not give them credibility and this in turns benefit all of Black Freemasonry in the United States of America). Prince Hall is perhaps the most single outstanding Black personality in all of American Freemasonry. His Warrant/Charter has proving to be legitimate. No other Black Masonic order in this country has that type of credibility. So when I was seeking to join Masonry, I wanted to be connected to a regular body of Black Freemasons. So Prince Hall's history stood out as being credible. It is this history that separates us from clandestine Masonic orders. However, I do think that our dependency on the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) for affirmation depicts a slave mentality because I have traced Freemasonry back to ancient Kush and ancient Kemet (lands established by black African Nubians) and this takes us much further back than Greece, Rome and England. Why do we need them to sanction our Masonic legitimacy?  But here is the ultimate question, how do we as Black Masons breakdown these artificial barriers and at least establish some aspect of operational unity amongst ourselves and recognition with those Masonic organizations that have been long standing and has demonstrated goodwill towards humanity by carrying out Brotherly love, Friendship and Morality?

 

Thus, when you rob a people for 310 years of the knowledge of self and strip them of their land, culture, families, names, religion and imbue in them self-hatred, it is these variables that have left us as survivals of one of the greatest challenges (or crimes against humanity) to overcome, which is the psychology of self-hatred that has been taught to people of African descent.

This is an atypical problem that exist inside of Black Freemasonry (meaning the brainwashed mindset), it is the lack of knowledge of self that has created this social and psychological dilemma. How can you negate the great Nubian history associated with Kemet (Egypt) and Freemasonry? The historical evidence allows us to see the symbolic linkages to all the ancient mysteries and this knowledge enhances our THIRD EYE (the eye of Heru). The study and knowledge seeking should serve as a vehicle of empowerment for the true knowledge seekers. I was in Los Angles, California some years ago and a friend invited me to the Shrine Auditorium and I was shocked to see all the ancient Kemetic artifacts, art and symbols associated with the history of people of African descent; this visual reaffirmed and validated for me the contribution the Nubians made to the Nile Valley Civilizations.

The key to resolving the greatest crime ever committed in human history, is to bring our people into the knowledge of self (we have to be taught see ourselves outside of being just 'Negroes'); thus, most of the great Pyramids in Egypt (Kemet) were built by original people in which each neophyte who entered the Egyptian Mystery Schools had to embrace the bold inscription etched in stone on the walls of the sacred temples, which read "Man Know Thy Self"; this was, perhaps the most important lesson giving by the ancient Sages to those neophytes who desired to enter into the Esoteric, Gnostic and the Occult schools of thought. The Greeks according to George G.M. James in book a titled, "Stolen Legacy" published in 1954, stole this Egyptian Philosophy and called it Greek Mythology. All Freemasonry goes back to Kemet and it did not begin in 1717 when the United Grand Lodge of England formulated. It was Nubians (Black Africans) who built the Operative scaled Pyramids. The Kaballah is the mystic teachings captivated by the ancient Jews in which these scrolls were first taught in Kemet. Sufi Islam  is the mystical teachings of Islam and Muslims. There is a lot of wisdom in the Kybalion.

I am a student of knowledge--look at what it says in "The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy", Chapter 1 has always laid out where all the world's knowledge originated: "From old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations and peoples, for several thousands years. Egypt, the home of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, was the birthplace of the Hidden Wisdom and Mystic Teachings. From the Secret Doctrine all nations have borrowed. India, Persia, Chaldea, Medea, China, Japan, Assyria, ancient Greece and Rome, and other ancient countries partook liberally at the feast of knowledge which the Hierophants and Masters of the land of Isis so freely provided for those who came prepared to partake of the great store of Mystic and Occult Lore which the masterminds of that ancient land had gathered together." (Kybalion pp. 15-16).

I do know there is overwhelmingly solid historical evidence, which validates and proves that the Nubians of Kemet practiced Sacred Geometry (Freemasonry is a derivative of this science). And there is little doubt that before the European Guild workers there was a sophisticated and high science being practiced in Kemet that was rooted in architecture, astronomy, geometry, physics and engineering. It's perhaps the only loose evidence that links modern Freemasonry to the ancient craft, which was mastered by the so-called ancient Egyptians. These crafts and building sciences were being performed (worked and mastered), perhaps thousands of years before the Europeans had knowledge of such. 

The post Medieval Europeans (those that were brought out of the hills and cave sides of Europe in which Musa had the first mission to civilize them) and became learned based on their early relations with the Moors of North Africa who took a high tech civilization all the way from North Africa to the borders of Southern France led by General Tarik Ibn Zaid. Dr. John Henrik Clarke maintained in his writings that it was the Blackmoors who in the 8th century that brought Europe out of the Dark Ages into an age of enlightenment and these people are un-doubtable in debt to our ancestors.

The Europeans galvanized themselves around skilled labor that evolved into these labor guilds whereas they began to organize their tradesmen and skill labor into a systematic process based on levels of initiation and workmanship (apprentice, fellow craft and master mason); moreover, this allowed them to determine merit (skill-set, quality of work and experience were just some of the factors involved in this equation in order to demonstrate proficiency) which also allowed them to determine the suitability of wages.

This practice evolved into the science of Operative Masonry (this included: metal workers, stone workers, wood workers, brick and mortar workers, etc., and this practice ultimately led to the makings of the first westernized labor unions). Early European Freemasonry mimicked these practices in establishing a fraternal brotherhood that used the building tools and trades as a symbolic gesture to teach morality, which gave life to Speculative Freemasonry. Some of the early European explorers and expeditionary figures were exposed to secret societies via the legacy left behind by the Jesuits and Knights Templar and of course there were older orders such as the Essenes.

Now, I to have embraced this worldview because I truly believe in the overall mythology of Kemet, Freemasonry and how the Nubian race fits into this historical paradigm that allows us to reclaim some historical dignity as a dispossessed people of African descent. 

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El