XXXII FRANC MACONNERIE

La vraie philosophie secrète et traditionnelle ne fut écrite que plus tard sous des voiles encore moins transparents.
Ainsi naquit une seconde Bible inconnue des chrétiens ou plutôt incomprise par eux.


La Franc-maçonnerie est un mouvement essentiellement philanthropique, à vocation universelle. Elle réunit, dans de nombreux pays répartis sur toute la surface du globe, des personnes qui se sont données pour but d'œuvrer à l'amélioration matérielle et morale de l'humanité. Souvent décrite comme un système particulier de morale illustré par des symboles, elle se présente elle-même comme un outil fraternel de formation, avec une méthode particulière permettant à ses membres d'entraîner leurs capacités d'écoute, de réflexion et de dialogue, afin qu'eux-mêmes transmettent ces valeurs à leur entourage.
Apparue en Europe à la fin du XVIIe siècle, la franc-maçonnerie dite spéculative s'inspire de la maçonnerie dite opérative formée par les corporations de bâtisseurs qui édifièrent, entre autres, les cathédrales. Elle s'est structurée au fil des siècles autour d'un grand nombre de rites et de traditions, ce qui a entraîné la création d'une multitude d'obédiences qui ne se reconnaissent pas toutes entre elles. Une discipline de réflexion porte sur elle : la maçonnologie.
A l'heure actuelle, tous les politiciens aux Etats-Unis sont Franc-Maçon, car c'est par ce biais qu'ils ont accès aux milieux politiques. Tous les présidents depuis Wilson, président pendant la Première Guerre mondiale. Il en va de même en Europe et en France ou la société secrete est présente dans la vie politique depuis la révolution.

ORIGINES

L'institution maçonnique doit son existence à une confrérie de maçons constructeurs, qui voyageaient en Europe dès le 8e siècle. Ils se partageaient des secrets reliés à leurs métiers. On ne retrouve la première trace du mot "franc-maçon" qu'en 1376, sous la forme anglaise "freemason". Il faut voir dans le "freemason" un homme libre, (le préfixe free semble l'attester), un ouvrier hors du commun, bénéficiant de franchises accordées par l'église ou par les souverains, libre des obligations d'une corporation ou libre de naissance.
Bien qu'il soit clairement établi qu'elle a été fondée historiquement au XVIIe siècle en Écosse puis en Angleterre, la Franc-Maçonnerie s'est toujours donnée également une origine légendaire et symbolique, support du travail initiatique de ses membres.
Les premiers francs-maçons positionnaient symboliquement cette origine mythique aux origines de la Maçonnerie elle-même (comprendre aux origines de l'art de bâtir). Dans un siècle où les travaux de la paléontologie n'existaient pas encore, il fut tout naturel pour eux de placer cette origine à l'époque d'Adam (le premier homme, selon la conception de l'époque), à celle de Noé (construction de l'Arche et religion "première") ou, beaucoup plus fréquemment, à celle de la construction du temple de Salomon par l'architecte Hiram Abi.
A la fin du XIVe siècle déjà, le manuscrit Régius plaçait emblématiquement la corporation des Maçons sous l'Égide d'Euclide et de Pythagore, pères de la géométrie, et sous la protection du roi Athelstan d'Angleterre. D'autres manuscrits relatifs aux corporations de maçons, tels le manuscrit Halliwell, le Cooke, les statuts de Ratisbonne (1498), les statuts Schaw (1598), le York (1370), le Absolion (1668), le Sloane (1700) présentent des aspects similaires.
En 1736, en France, le chevalier de Ramsay la rattache aux Croisés. D'autres, un peu plus tard, transformeront cette référence en une référence symbolique au Saint Empire romain germanique (en Allemagne surtout) ou à l'Ordre du Temple (en Angleterre et en France). A la fin du même siècle, à l'occasion de la redécouverte de l'Égypte antique par les occidentaux, c'est tout naturellement que certains rituels maçonniques déplacèrent l'origine symbolique à l'époque de la construction des pyramides.
Au milieu du XIXe siècle romantique enfin, à l'occasion de la redécouverte de l'héritage du Moyen Âge, le mythe maçonnique renforça tout aussi naturellement ses références à la construction des cathédrales.
Derrière toutes ces apparentes modifications symboliques se détache clairement une constante: La Franc-maçonnerie s'est toujours placée sous le patronnage symbolique de la longue chaîne de tous ceux qui firent progresser, tout au long de l'histoire, l'art de bâtir et les valeurs dont elle se réclame.
C'est en grande Bretagne et surtout en Écosse, que l'on trouve au début du 17e siècle, les premières traces de la franc-maçonnerie moderne, soit la transition entre une maçonnerie de métier à une maçonnerie de pensée. En 1702, la loge londonienne Saint-Paul édictait que "les privilèges de la maçonnerie ne sont plus désormais réservés seulement aux ouvriers constructeurs mais, ainsi que cela se pratiquait déjà, ils seront étendus aux personnes de tous les états qui voudront y prendre part ". Commence alors l'histoire de la maçonnerie moderne, dite aussi symbolique.
Le 24 juin 1717, jour de la Saint-Jean, les membres de quatre loges londoniennes se réunissent et fondent la Grande Loge de Londres, première fédération de loge maçonnique. En 1721, le grand maître de la loge de Londres demande à James Anderson, pasteur de l'église presbytérienne écossaise, de compiler les Old Charges (Anciens devoirs) des maçons et de rédiger de nouvelles constitutions.
En 1723, James Anderson publie à Londres The Constitutions of Free-Masons. L'implantation par les Anglais des loges maçonniques en France se situerait vers 1725.
En 1738, la première obédience française fédération des Loges voit le jour. C'est la Grande Loge de France. En 1773 apparaît une obédience rivale Le grand Orient de France. Si, en 1738, la Grande Loge de Londres se proclame Grande Loge d'Angleterre, c'est qu'elle compte alors des loges à travers tout le pays, et même dans ses colonies, en Amériques du Nord, au Canada et aux Indes. Les Anglais vont l'exporter jusqu'en Turquie, en Chine et même jusqu'au Nicaragua. Partout en Europe, c'est la contagion avec les pays bas comme le Luxembourg et la Hollande. Sont touchés aussi l'Allemagne, l'Autriche, la Hongrie, la Bulgarie, la Roumanie, la Grèce. La Suisse, tout l'empire de Russie, l'Europe méridionale et notamment, le Portugal.

DESCRIPTION DE LA FRANC-MACONNERIE

La franc-maçonnerie compte différents rites et rituels. Au nombre des rites encore en usage aujourd'hui, on trouve d'abord le rite écossais ancien et accepté, le plus pratiqué au monde. Né en France au début du 18e siècle, ce rite est composé de trente-trois grades. Le rite écossais rectifié remonte aussi au 18e siècle mais il comprend six degrés. Le rite français dit aussi rite moderne a sept degrés définis par le Grand Orient de France en 1786. Il a été plusieurs fois modifié. Il y a aussi le rite émulation et le rite d'York, le rite Misraim et le rite de Memphis. Publiquement, cette société se présente comme une organisation philanthropique, c'est-à-dire, axée sur les bonnes oeuvres et prônant des valeurs justes et morales. Mais, dans les faits, il en est tout autrement.
Dans le livre "The Lost Keys of Freemasonery", Manly Palmer Hall, 33e degré, révèle que: "L'ordre maçonnique n'est pas qu'une simple organisation sociale mais elle est composée de tous ceux qui se sont liés ensemble pour apprendre et appliquer les principes du mysticisme et les rituels occultes". Les Maçons sont les druides contemporains écrit Albert Churchward, maçon du 33e degré.
William Hutchinson nous dit que la franc-maçonnerie a emprunté plus de doctrines et de cérémonies aux druides qu'elle en a pris ailleurs. (Les druides anciens étaient des prêtres occultes qui adoraient plusieurs dieux, pratiquaient l'astrologie et offraient des sacrifices humains).
Le vrai visage de la franc-maçonnerie n'est révélé qu'aux initiés de hauts niveaux. W. Wilmhurst, haut dignitaire des Loges, nous écrit dans The masonic initiation: "Pour ceux qui désirent seulement une organisation sociale agrémentée d'un peu de cérémonial pittoresque et fournissant une occasion de distraction ou de distinction personnelle, la maçonnerie ne sera jamais plus que la formalité qu'elle a toujours été et qu'elle est toujours pour beaucoup. Et, eux-mêmes resteront toujours dans l'ignorance de sa signification, de son but et de ses grandes possibilités".
Selon un article intitulé "Jung and Qabalah": Il est la fondation sur laquelle l'astrologie, le tarot, l'alchimie, la numérologie, la mythologie et la magie se basent. C'est une science occulte qui prétend mettre ses adeptes en communication avec le monde des esprits. Oswald Wirth nous révèle dans Le livre de l'apprenti, page 118, "Quantité de maçons s'imaginent connaître la maçonnerie, alors qu'ils ne soupçonnent même pas l'existence de ses mystères et de son ésotérisme". Albert Mackey nous dit que: "Les rites et les cérémonies, ses modes secrets d'initiation, ses traditions et ses légendes, ses bijoux et ses emblèmes ne sont pas des compositions sans signification arbitrairement adoptées pour plaire au goût et à la fantaisie de ses inventeurs".

CROYANCES RELIGIEUSES

La tolérance fait partie des valeurs affichées par la franc-maçonnerie. La spiritualité étant omniprésente autant dans le symbolisme que dans la démarche philosophique sur laquelle repose l'ensemble de la franc maconnerie, la très grande majorité des loges requiert la croyance en un « Être Suprême » ou « Grand Architecte de l'Univers ». Mais le terme de « Grand Architecte » peut être interprété de façon très diverse d'une loge à l'autre. Il est parfois entendu de manière symbolique, en incluant des visions traditionnelles de « Dieu » ou de la Nature, dans le sens de Baruch Spinoza et Goethe, ou des visions athées de « réalité ultime », ou d'unité cosmique comme on peut en trouver dans certaines religions orientales et dans l'idéalisme occidental. D'autres loges, principalement nord-américaines, récusent les acceptations dérivées des religions naturalistes et humanistes. Depuis le début du XIXe siècle, certaines obédiences ont des exigences religieuses supplémentaires, comme le théisme ou la croyance en l'immortalité de l'âme. La franc-maçonnerie qui prédomine en Scandinavie accepte uniquement les chrétiens.
Dans les branches dérivées de la franc-maçonnerie dite "libérales", cette croyance en un « Être Suprême » est facultative et les agnostiques ou les athées sont acceptés sans problème, ce qui est devenu la principale cause des mésententes entre les obédiences traditionnelles et libérales.

LA SYMBOLIQUE

La franc-maçonnerie « symbolique » ou « bleue », celle des trois premiers degrés de l'initiation, emprunte beaucoup de ses symboles à l'art de bâtir pratiqué par les constructeurs des cathédrales au Moyen Âge qu'elle considère comme ses prédécesseurs et dont elle a hérité la notion même de loge, l'endroit où se réunissent les ouvriers. À ce titre, la franc-maçonnerie ou Art royal a des points communs avec le compagnonnage et partage avec lui des symboles et valeurs. Les franc-maçons se disent spéculatifs (du latin speculare, réfléchir) par rapport aux compagnons-maçons qu'ils qualifient d'opératifs.
L'équerre et le compas, le maillet et le ciseau, le niveau et le fil à plomb, la règle et le levier, la truelle et bien d'autres symboles appartiennent à cette tradition. Quant au personnage d'Hiram et au mythodrame qui le présente comme l' architecte du temple de Salomon, il opère une rupture avec la tradition opérative et amorce une transition avec des thèmes symboliques explorés aux degrés suivants comme l'alchimie, la kabbale et la tradition chevaleresque.
Mozart, lui-même franc-maçon, dans son opéra : La Flûte enchantée, fait usage du symbolisme de la franc-maçonnerie.

AU SERVICE DE BAPHOMET ?

Dans Le Livre du Maître d'Oswald Wirth, nous lisons à la page 22; " Reste à savoir si la franc-maçonnerie est oui ou non une religion. Cesserait-elle d'en être une parce que les autels de ces temples sont consacrés au culte de la liberté, de la fraternité et de l'égalité? Ayons le courage de nous dire religieux et de nous affirmer apôtre d'une religion plus sainte que toutes les autres. C'est ainsi que le premier effet de l'initiation est de purifier l'apprenti de toute mentalité chrétienne, s'il en a une... "
Albert Pike, pontife de la franc-maçonnerie universelle, franc-maçon de 33e degré, grand prêtre de l'église satanique, déclara le 14 juillet 1889: "Ce que nous devons dire à la foule est que nous adorons un dieu mais, c'est le dieu que nous adorons sans superstition. A vous, grands inspecteurs généraux souverains, nous disons ceci pour que vous puissiez le répéter aux frères des 32e, 31e et 30e degré: La religion maçonnique devrait être par nous tous, initiés des hauts degrés, maintenue dans la pureté de la doctrine Luciférienne... Si Lucifer n'était pas dieu, est-ce qu'Adonaï (Jésus, le Dieu des chrétiens), calomnierait, c'est-à-dire, prendraient la peine de répandre des choses fausses et dangereuses sur son compte? Oui, Lucifer est dieu..." Cette déclaration fut faite à l'époque, aux vingt-trois conseils suprêmes du monde.
Albert Pike écrit aussi: "Une partie des symboles sont divulgués a l'initié mais, ce dernier est intentionnellement induit en erreur. On ne veut pas qu'il les comprenne. Leur vraie explication est réservée aux érudits, aux princes de la maçonnerie".
Il nous dit aussi dans ce livre à la page 744 et 745, qui fut préparé pour le suprême conseil du 33e degré de la juridiction sud des États-Unis: "La Bible avec toutes les allégories qu'elle contient, n'exprime que d'une manière incomplète et voilée, la science religieuse des hébreux...
La vraie philosophie secrète et traditionnelle ne fut écrite que plus tard sous des voiles encore moins transparents. Ainsi naquit une seconde Bible inconnue des chrétiens ou plutôt incomprise par eux...
Toutes les vraies religions dogmatiques sont issues de la Kabbale et elles y retournent... Toutes les associations maçonniques lui doivent leurs secrets et leurs symboles... (La Kabbale ou cabale est l'ensemble des traditions juives relatives à l'interprétation mystique de l'ancien testament. Il est un des plus anciens systèmes philosophiques occidentaux)
Dans le Adelphi Quarterly (magazine Nouvel-Age) 3e, 1992, page 7, il est écrit que la franc-maçonnerie a été formée comme une école de la fraternité Luciférienne. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, une sataniste reconnue et fondatrice de la société théosophique, aussi bien que ses successeurs Annie Besant et Alice Bailey étaient toutes impliquées dans la franc-maçonnerie.

LE SECRET MACONNIQUE

Seuls ceux qui en sont au 33éme degré du Rite écossais savent. Les autres ne savent pas!
Il y a obligation contenue dans l'engagement que prend le profane en devenant Maçon de ne révéler à aucun "non-Maçon" tout ce qui a trait à la Franc-Maçonnerie. A chaque franchissement de degré, la même obligation pèse sur le récipiendaire à l'égard de ceux qui n'ont pas encore franchi ce même degré. Cette obligation au secret n'a pas été respectée en fait par un certain nombre de Maçons en raison du caractère pratiquement incontrôlable de la diffusion de tout texte une fois imprimé de sorte que même si l'intention de respecter le secret existait sans doute, la prudence n'était pas à la hauteur des intentions. On peut d'ailleurs en faire faire porter la responsabilité par ceux qui modifièrent les anciens textes du serment qui interdisait de a rien graver sur aucune chose mobile ou immobile. Mais la sémantique étant toujours révélatrice, on peut et doit se demander si, à l'origine de cette dégradation du texte du concret vers l'abstrait, il n'y a pas un doute quant à l'étendue réelle du secret et à son fondement. Il y a trois secrets maçonniques, objectifs qui sont le secret d'appartenance, le secret des Rites et le secret des délibérations:

Le secret des délibérations est prescrit par exemple par le Règlement général du Grand Orient de France qui interdit de rapporter à un Frère ce que l'on dit à une Tenue à laquelle ce dernier n'a pas assisté. Il s'étend donc à tous les Frères absents quels que soient leurs grades ou leurs offices respectifs, hormis ce qui figure sur "la Planche Tracée".
Le secret des Rites ne vaut qu'à l'égard de ceux des Frères qui n'ont atteint pas le degré en cause.
Le seul secret qui ne concerne jamais un autre Maçon est le secret d'appartenance.
Mais à l'égard des profanes, il n'a pas une portée absolue puisqu'un Maçon qui veut faire entrer un candidat en loge est obligé de se dévoiler. Théoriquement, cette faculté est réservée au Maître Maçon puisque, seul, il a le droit de présenter un profane. En. suite, les enquêteurs se dévoileront à leur tour, encore que l'on pourrait imaginer des méthodes qui éviteraient cette mise à découvert. On peut même se demander si les résultats des enquêtes n'en seraient pas améliorés. Cependant, en certains cas précis, les usages font que même le secret d'appartenance d'un Frère vaut à l'égard des autres Frères. En effet, certains Frères placés à des endroits «stratégiques» , en général dans les services publics, doivent être protégés contre les sollicitations abusives ou des indiscrétions, notamment de la part de ceux qui quittent l'Ordre. Le Vénérable de la loge du lieu de résidence ou de travail de l'intéressé connaît seul son appartenance et en fait usage avec prudence.
Il convient en effet de noter que ce serment, lorsqu'il est fait au premier degré, s'opère indépendamment du serment maçonnique proprement dit et avant les épreuves. Ce qui implique que quitter la Maçonnerie n'entraîne pas le dégagement du serment qui a été prêté en tant que profane. Mais on peut toujours craindre le non-respect de la parole ainsi donnée. Il faut néanmoins reconnaître que, compte tenu du grand nombre de Frères devenus irréguliers, c'est à dire démissionnaires, radiés ou exclus, ceux qui ne tiennent pas leur promesse de secret sont finalement peu nombreux. Mais il y en eut qui firent des dégâts. Deux divulgations notamment sont célèbres, l'une dès le XVIIIème siècle et l'autre au début du XXème siècle.

A Freemason's 33rd Degree Initiation

Excerpt from Jim Shaw's book: The Deadly Deception, pp. 99 - 109

INTO THE LIGHT
The hurricane came and went without any harm to us. But the one within me continued to gather force. It seemed strange, from my point of view, for all the people around me seemed calm. Even the doctor was no longer speaking much to me about the Lord, for I wasn't seeing him regularly. Bonnie was quietly supportive, but we really didn't say much about it. Mike and my other friends went on with life. It was "business as usual" around me, but definitely not that way inside of me.

THE HIGHEST MASONIC DEGREE
Easter was approaching and one quiet morning I was at home recuperating from the second operation when the doorbell rang. It was a special delivery letter from the Supreme Council in Washington, notifying me that I had been selected for the 33rd Degree.

I could hardly believe it was true! This honor is one most Masons never even think of receiving. It was too much, too far out of reach, beyond limits of reality. It was unreal to think I had actually been selected. It was an honor just to be considered for this ultimate degree and I had actually been selected, chosen by that small and powerful group, the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree.

I called Bonnie to share the good news with her. In talking with her, I surprised myself by asking her if she thought I should accept it "What a strange thing to ask her," I thought. But before I could contemplate it she said, "Why, sure you should accept it. You have worked so hard for so long to get there - by all means you should accept it."

So I returned my acceptance immediately and began making plans for the trip.

I MADE IT ON MY OWN
With plenty of time to reflect, I thought about my long climb up the mountain of Masonry in search of light. I thought about the odds against anyone's ever making it to the 33rd Degree. I realized that in my case the odds have been even greater. I had made it by hard work and dedication alone. Some men have an edge on selection because of their wealth, political power or prominence. I had none of these.

Like the day I had carried the man all the way to the top of "Shaw Hill" between Camp Butner and Raleigh, I had made it to the top of the Masonic mountain because I was willing to make the effort required and refused to quit. Thinking of this, I felt particularly good about it and wished my mother could know.

I had come a long way since leaving the front gate that terrible day so many years ago. I had come the distance with no help from Uncle Irvin. Who would have thought that the lonely walk, begun so many years ago by that frightened 13-year-old boy, would have led to this point? I had reached the pinnacle - made it all the way to the top.

Some of the most prominent and influential men in the world would undoubtedly be there to participate when I was given this ultimate degree - for me - little Jimmy Shaw, who had gone to work at age five and made it alone since age 13. They would be there to give the 33rd Degree to me. It was really a bit difficult to take it all in.

3 DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN TOP
In order to receive the 33rd Degree it was necessary to go to Washington. D.C. The initiation and related functions were to last three days.

Since Bonnie could participate in practically none of the things I would be doing each day, she decided not to go along. We were both excited as I made preparations to leave. But I was not as excited as I expected to be. The edge was taken off the excitement because, in me, it was mixed with a considerable amount of conviction. Way down deep there was a growing restlessness, an increasing conflict, produced by the things the doctor had been sharing and by all the Scripture I had been reading. Preparing to receive this "ultimate honor" was not as thrilling as it might otherwise have been.

ARRIVING AT THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE
I flew into Washington National Airport and took a taxi to the House of the Temple on Northwest 16th Street. Upon arriving at the Temple I was met by a receptionist who asked if I were there to receive the 33rd Degree. I was surprised to find a women in those sacred Masonic precincts, but said that I was and showed her my letter from the Supreme Council. She then told me that in order to receive the degree, I would be expected to make a "minimum donation" of a very large amount of money (at least it was a "very large" amount for me). This took me completely by surprise for there had not been a word about any such "minimum donation" in the letter sent me by the Supreme Council. I didn't carry that much money with me and had left my checkbook at home but was able to borrow the money from one of the other men and gave it to her. We candidates were all unhappy about this unpleasant surprise and grumbled to one another about it, but were not unhappy enough to forsake the degree over it. We were too close to the "top of the mountain" to turn back at that point.

THE TEMPLE ITSELF
The House of the Temple is quite impressive - a bit awesome, really. Standing large, grey and silent on the east side of Northwest 16th Street, between "R" and "S" Streets, it looms very wide and tall from the curb. There is a huge expanse of granite pavement in front of it, including three levels of narrowing steps as the entrance is approached. Flanking the entrance are two Sphinx-like granite lions with women's heads, the neck of one entwined by a cobra and decorated with the "ankh" (the Egyptian symbol of life and deity).

Adorning the neck and breast of the other is an image of a women, symbolic of fertility and procreation. In the pavement, just in front of the tall bronze doors, are two Egyptian swords with curved, serpentine blades and, between the two swords, brass letters, set into stone, saying, "The Temple of the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third and Last Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite."

Over the tall, bronze doors, cut into the stone, is the statement, "Freemasonry Builds Its Temples in the Hearts of Men and Among Nations." (1)

High above the entrance, partially concealed by stone columns, is an elaborate image of the Egyptian sun god, backed with radiating sun and flanked by six large, golden snakes.

Inside is elegance: polished marble, exotic wood, gold and statuary. There are offices, a library, dining room, kitchen, Council Room, "Temple Room" and a large meeting room. This room is like a luxurious theater, rather elegantly furnished and decorated.

The ceiling is dark blue, with lights set into it to give the appearance of stars. These lights can even be made to "twinkle" like stars in the sky. There is a stage, well-equipped, and it is all very nicely done. But the thing that is most noticeable is the way the walls are decorated with serpents. There are all kinds; some very long and large. Many of the Scottish Rite degrees include the representation of serpents and I recognized them among those decorating the walls.

It was all most impressive and gave me a strange mixture of the sensations of being in a temple and in a tomb - something sacred but threatening. I saw busts of outstanding men of the Rite including two of Albert Pike, who is buried there in the wall.

INTERVIEWED BY THE SUPREME COUNCIL
The first day was devoted to registration, briefings and interviews. We were called into one of the offices, one at a time, and interviewed by three members of the Supreme Council.

When my turn came I was ushered into the office and seated. The very first question I was asked was, "Of what religion are you?" Not long before this I would have answered with something like, "I believe the Ancient Mysteries, the 'Old Religion,' and I believe in reincarnation." However, without thinking at all about how to answer, I found myself saying, "I am a Christian."

Then, to my sup rise and theirs, I asked them, "Are you men born again?" The man in charge quickly stopped me by saying, "We're not here to talk about that - we are here to ask you questions."

After they sent me back out I sat down and thought about it. When the next man came out, I asked him, "Did they ask you if you are a Christian?" He said, "Yes, they did."

"What did you tell them?" I asked, and he replied, "I told them 'Hell no, and I never intend to be!'"

Then he said a strange thing to me, "They said I'm going higher," and he left through a different door, looking pleased.

BECOMING A SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTOR GENERAL
The second day was the day of the actual initiation, held in the theater-like meeting room. Those of us who were receiving the degree were seated and the ceremony was "exemplified" (acted out in full costume) before us, in the same way that we had performed the lesser degrees of the Scottish Rite all those years. The parts in the exemplification were played by men of the 33rd Degree.

The representative candidate was dressed in black trousers, barefooted, bareheaded and draped in a long, black robe that reminded me of a very long, black raincoat. He had a black cable tow around his neck but was not hoodwinked. During the initiation he was led around the stage, conducted by two men with swords, as the degree was performed for us.

Instructions and signs were given. Upon the altar were four "holy books" (the Bible, the Koran, the Book of the Law and the Hindu Scriptures). At one point the "candidate" was told to kiss the book "of your religion" and, representing us all, he leaned forward and did so. I remembered the First Degree initiation, when I was told to kiss the Bible, and at that moment something came full cycle. It was the final such kiss to be a part of my life.

WINE IN A HUMAN SKULL
When it was time for the final obligation we all stood and repeated the oath with the representative candidate, administered by the Sovereign Grand Inspector General. We then swore true allegiance to the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, above all other allegiances, and swore never to recognize any other brother as being a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry unless he also recognizes the Supreme authority of "this Supreme Council".

One of the Conductors then handed the "candidate" a human skull, upside down, with wine in it. "May this wine I now drink become a deadly poison to me, as the Hemlock juice drunk by Socrates, should I ever knowingly or willfully violate the same" (the oath).

He then drank the wine. A skeleton (one of the brothers dressed like one - he looked very convincing) then stepped out of the shadows and threw his arms around the "candidate." Then he (and we) continued the sealing of the obligation by saying, "And may these cold arms forever encircle me should I ever knowingly or willfully violate the same."

The Sovereign Grand Commander closed the meeting of the Supreme Council "with the Mystic Number," striking with his sword five, three, one and then two times. After the closing prayer, we all said "amen, amen, amen," and it was over.

PROMINENT MEN TOOK PART
There were some extremely prominent men there that day, including a Scandinavian King, two former presidents of the United States, an internationally prominent evangelist, two other internationally prominent clergymen, and a very high official of the federal government, the one who actually presented me with the certificate of the 33rd Degree. Some made only brief appearances; others stayed much longer. However, they didn't do much mixing or socializing with us, except for those whom they already knew. Even though these celebrities weren't extremely "brotherly," it was still quite an experience for me just to be associated with them. It was easily the largest gathering of such prominent and influential men of which I have ever been a part.

The third day there was a banquet to celebrate our becoming "Grand Inspectors General. 33rd Degree." The banquet was a little anticlimactic, at least for me, and I was anxious to get it over with so I could return home. It was good to be a 33rd at last. But it wasn't as exciting or fulfilling as I had thought it would be during all those years in the Craft. I guess this was because of the profound changes going on down deep within me.

I returned home as soon as the 33rd Degree award and related social functions were finished, for it was time for my next appointment with the doctor. After he had examined my eyes he said they were healing fine, that he felt good about the way they were looking, and as usual he spoke with me about the Lord. I told him that I planned to come to his church the next Sunday and that I had been reading the Bible.

Obviously pleased, he said, "Good. Keep studying, and your sight will soon be much better." By this time I knew what he meant - he was speaking of my spiritual sight.

MAUNDY THURSDAY
In the Scottish Rite the Thursday before Easter, "Maundy Thursday," is an important day. On this day we always performed a special service of Communion in the local Scottish Rite Temple. At this time I was Wise Master in the Chapter of Rose Croix and it was my job to preside over the exemplification (dramatization) of the ceremony. I had done this many times and was known for my knowledge of the service and for "doing a good job" of putting it on.

THE WORDS HAD MEANING NOW
On Thursday evening we gathered at our home Temple and dressed for the ceremony. It was always a most solemn occasion and seemed a little awesome, even to those of us who had done it many times.

Dressed in long, black, hooded robes, we marched in, single file, with only our faces partly showing, and took our seats.

There was something very tomb-like about the setting. The silence was broken only by the organ, playing mournfully in the background, and there was no light except for the little that came through the windows. After the opening prayer (from which the name of Jesus Christ was conspicuously excluded), I stood and opened the service.

As I had done so many times before, I said, "We meet this day to commemorate the death of our 'Most Wise and Perfect Master,' not as inspired or divine, for this is not for us to decide, but as at least the greatest of the apostles of mankind."

As I spoke these words that I had spoken so many times before, I had a strange and powerful experience. It was as if I were standing apart, listening to myself as I spoke, and the words echoed deep within me, shouting their significance. They were the same words I had spoken so many times before, but had meaning for me now. They made me sick, literally ill, and I stopped.

The realization of what I had just said grew within me like the rising of a crescendo. I had just called Jesus an "apostle of mankind" who was neither inspired nor divine! There was a silent pause that seemed to last a very long time as I struggled with a sick smothering within.

When I was finally able, I continued with the service and we gathered around a large table across the room in marching order. The table was long, shaped like a cross, and covered with a red cloth which was decorated down the center with roses.

A BLACK COMMUNION
Once we were assembled at the table, I elevated (lifted high) the plate of bread, took a piece, put my hand on the shoulder of the man in front of me, gave him the plate and said, "Take, eat, and give to the hungry."

This continued until all had partaken of the bread. Then I lifted up the goblet of wine, took a sip, and said, "Take, drink, and give to the thirsty."

Again, this continued until all had partaken of the wine.

Then I took the bread, walked over to the first row of spectators and served it to the man previously chosen for the honor of representing the rest of the Lodge

As I handed it to him I again said, "Take, eat, and give to the hungry."

In like manner I served the wine to him saying, "Take, drink, and give to the thirsty," and he sat down.

After this we took our places at the table shaped like a cross and sat down. The setting was dark, our long, sweeping robes were solid black, our faces nearly concealed in the hoods, and the mood was one of heavy gloom. The Christ-less prayers and the hymns we sang fit right in. The one word that would describe the entire event would be "black." It was, indeed, a Black Communion - a strange Black Mass.

EXTINGUISHING THE CANDLE
There was a large Menorah (candlestick with seven candle holders) in the center of the room, with seven candles now burning.

Standing again, I said, "This is indeed a sad day, for we have lost our Master. We may never see him again. He is dead! Mourn, weep and cry, for he is gone."

Then I asked the officers to extinguish the candles in the large Menorah. One by one they rose, walked to the center of the room, extinguished a selected candle and left the room.

Finally, with only the center candle still burning, I arose, walked sadly to the Menorah and extinguished the last candle - the candle representing the life of Jesus, our "Most Wise and Perfect Master." We had dramatized and commemorated the snuffing out of the life of Jesus, without once mentioning his name, and the scene ended with the room in deep silent darkness. I walked out of the room, leaving only the darkness and the stillness of death.

Once again, the single word best to describe it would be "black."

All through the service I was shaking and sick. I have never felt so sad. I had stumbled over the words but, somehow, I made it to the completion of the ceremony and went back to the dressing room. I still didn't know much about praying but felt that I had been sustained by the Lord through it all.

THE FINAL PARTING
Back in the dressing room we hung up our black, hooded robes, put our street clothes back on and prepared to leave. Less than two hours had passed since I arrived. But what had happened in that period of time had changed my life forever.

Still sick in my heart, I changed clothes without a word to anyone. The others asked me what was wrong. But I couldn't reply.

They reminded me that I had acted as Wise Master so many times before, that I was known for my smooth performance of it, and they asked what had gone wrong.

I was choking on the awful reality of what we had said and done, the way we had blasphemed the Lord, and the evil, black mockery we had made of His pure and selfless death. With weeping welling up within me. I could only shake my head in silence and walk out.

Mike was waiting for me at the door, expecting to get a ride home, and he asked, "What's the matter, Jim? Are you sick?"

Finally able to speak, I quietly replied, "No, Mike, I'm just sick of all this."

"IT ISN'T RIGHT"
I started down the wide steps in front of the large Scottish Rite Temple, realization and conviction growing within me, reached the bottom step and stopped. Turning around, I looked back at the huge, granite building and slowly studied the words, carved in the stone across the top of the entrance: "ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY."

Something came clearly into focus in my understanding and I made a decision. This crisis point in my life, one which had required so many years for me to reach, passed in seconds. The truth was revealed and the choice was made - a choice that would be the difference between darkness and light, death and life, one that would last for eternity. Looking up at those words I had walked under so many times, words of which I had been so proud, I spoke to myself out loud. It was as if I were the only man in the world as I heard myself say, slowly and deliberately, "It isn't ancient, it isn't Scottish, it isn't free, and it isn't right!"

INTO THE LIGHT
I turned away and walked into the parking lot, knowing that I would never return. As I walked into the deepening darkness of that springtime night, I was walking into the growing light of the living God. As the natural darkness closed around me, the supernatural light welled up within me. With every step I took, as the Temple receded behind me, I was more free.

"I will never return," I thought with each step. "I will never return, I will never return...."

The decision was made, the die was cast. From that night onward I would serve the true and living God, not the Great Architect of the Universe. I would exalt and learn of Him, not Osiris, Krishna or Demeter. I would seek and follow Jesus, not the will--the-wisp of "hidden wisdom."

I was walking, after such a long time, out of the darkness and into the light.

Footnote
1 This statement is an interesting contradiction with the Temple it adorns, as well as with the thousands of other such Masonic temples built around the World at a total cost of many billions of dollars.

A PERSONAL WORD FROM JIM
As this true story is closed, I would be greatly remiss if I did not make it clear that in my pre-Christian life I truly loved Freemasonry. I loved the men with whom I was associated in the Lodge and the men with whom I worked so hard in the degrees and bodies of the Scottish Rite. Most of all, I was so very sure that I was doing what was right and pleasing in the sight of the Great Architect of the Universe.

Never in all my years of dedicated service to Masonry did anyone in the Lodge witness to me about the love and saving grace of Jesus. The Lodge attended a church once each year as a group. Each time the pastor (who was himself a Mason) would introduce us to the congregation and then exalt the Craft, telling them about all our wonderful works. We usually left the church thinking of how wonderful we were and feeling sorry for all those in the church who were not Masons, participating in all our good deeds.

After having been witnessed to by my ophthalmologist for some time I read those simple, wonderful words of Jesus, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life." These words, so short and so sweet, went right through my heart. I looked in the Bible for more and I found blessed assurance everywhere I looked. Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, really loved me as a real Brother! He will do the same for you.

- Jim Shaw

Freemasonry, Conspiracy Within, Initiation and the Brotherhood
by Terry Melanson
 
The majority of Masons today don't have a clue as to the true meaning of their rituals and symbols. And they certainly cannot be called bad people. Misled, yes, and most really are the good natured philanthropists helping their community, that we see outwardly. You see it is not required of initiates to ascend any higher than that of the third degree Master Mason. They know there are another 30 degrees if one wished to continue, but the initiation process is a tedious and drawn out affair (it might take a year to reach the third degree), which the participants, for the most part, are happy it's over with. For them it is good that they not continue. And that's just the way higher initiates, or adepts, like it.
"The Blue Degrees are but the court of portico (porch) of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally mislead by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine that he understands them....their true explication is reserved for the Adept, the Princes of Masonry." (32nd & 33rd degrees)
 
General Albert Pike wrote those words in a work called: Morals and Dogma in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1871. At the time his title was the Grand commander of the Supreme Council, of the Scottish Rite in Washington D.C. This book is revered by occult groups across the globe, and most masons have never read it, let alone understood it. If they did understand it, there's a good possibility they would leave the craft. It deals with the occult origins of the symbols, initiations, and rituals of Freemasonry. It is also a handbook for degree initiation, as it details them all up to the 33rd degree, which was invented by Pike himself, some say in order to have a higher degree than the president, who ceremoniously receives the 32nd degree if elected.
From the first degree, and initiation, the Mason is urged mightily to "seek the light!". The average Mason is continually saying that he is "seeking the light" and will spend his entire life "moving toward the light." Concerning this light that every mason is told to eagerly seek, Pike gives his answer; "Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!"
This is the task of the initiate in all Occult groups. The initiator shows the candidate his latent faculties, his dormant powers, and initiates him into their use. He explains or demonstrates to him how the candidate may awaken the static energy into dynamic power.
To hide these damning truths at the very heart of the mystery Pike said...the initiate is intentionally misled by false interpretations. Another esteemed Mason put it this way:
 
Freemasonry is a fraternity within a fraternity....an outer organization concealing an inner Brotherhood of the elect...it is necessary to establish the existence of these two separate and yet interdependent orders, the one visible the other invisible. The visible society is a splendid camaraderie of 'free and accepted' men enjoined to devote themselves to ethical, educational, fraternal, patriotic, and humanitarian concerns. The invisible society is a secret and most August fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of a mysterious arcannum arcandrum. [defined as 'a secret, a mystery']
~Manly P Hall 33rd degree, Lectures on Ancient, p.433]
 "When a mason learns the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply energy."
[The Lost Key of Freemasonry, Manly P. Hall,33°, p.48]
 
The above quote may be surprising to some, but occultists have a clear concept of what Manly P. Hall was talking about. To them the true definition of occultism is the science of energy flow and energy relationships. Occult meditation is a means of consciously and purposefully directing energy from a recognized source to the creation of some specific effect.
Freemasonry has always, admittedly, held deep occult secrets, which it hides from the "profane" and unworthy. One person who believed this to be true was Alice Ann Bailey. Her praise and admiration — she appeared to be almost in awe of the craft — was evident throughout all her works. A typical flattery can be found on p.511 of The Externalization of the Hierarchy:"...It is a far more occult organization that can be realized, and is intended to be a training school for coming advanced occultists. In its ceremonials lies hid the wielding forces connected with the growth and life of the kingdoms of nature and the divine aspects of man."
On the front cover of Morals and Dogma, Pike writes a phrase in Latin 'DEUS MEUMQUE JUS' The literal meaning is 'God and my right.' The average reader, even if he knew Latin, wouldn't grasp the significance of this statement. However, one look at this phrase would alert any Satanist that the contents within are Satanic. A Satanist would also understand immediately that all of Freemasonry is satanic. Former Illuminist-Satanist Doc Marquis says this statement is a very typical one within Satanism. Marquis says that this phrase is very dangerous within Satanism. The second a Satanist sees this phrase in Latin on Pike's book, he knows the material within is Satanic, without reading a word!
 
"Masonry makes no profession of Christianity.. but looks forward to the time when the labor of our ancient brethren shall be symbolized by the erection of a spiritual temple.. in which there shall be but one altar and one worship; one common altar of Masonry on which the Veda, Shatra, Sade, Zeda-Avesta, Koran and the Holy Bible shall at who's shrine the Hindu, the Persian, the Assyrian, the Chaldean, the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Mohammedan, the Jew and the Christian may kneel."
[ "The Kentucky Monitor" Fellowcraft Degree p. 95 ]
".... the literal meaning (of the Bible) is for the vulgar only."
[Albert Pike "Digest of Morals and Dogma," p. 166 ]
 
"What is True to the philosopher, would not be truth, nor have the effect of truth, to the peasant. The religion of many must necessarily be more incorrect than that of the refined and reflected few.. The truest religion would in many points , not be comprehended by the ignorant.. The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to a rude and ignorant people.. the doctrine."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 14th Degree, p. 224 ]
"The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is that of Yahweh reversed; for Satan is not a black god.. for the initiates this is not a Person, but a force, created for good, but which may serve for evil. It is the instrument of liberty and free will."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," Master Mason / 3rd Degree p. 102 ]
"Masonry is a search for light. That light. That search leads us back, as you see, to the Kabala. In that ancient and little understood (source book) the infinite will find the source of many doctrines; and (he) may in time come to understand the Hermetic philosophers, the Alchemists, all the Anti-papal Thinkers of the Middle Ages, and Emanuel Swedenborg."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 28th Degree p. 741 ]
 
"All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabala and return to it; everything scientific and grand in the religious dreams of the Illuminati, Jacob Boeheme, Swedenborg, Saint Martin, and others is borrowed from the Kabala; all Masonic associations owe to it their secrets and their symbols."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 28th Degree p. 747 ]
"Though Masonry is identical with the ancient Mysteries, it is so only in this qualified sense: that it presents but an imperfect image of their brilliancy, the ruins of their grandeur .."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma Fellowcraft Degree p.22 ]
"Masonry, successor to the Mysteries (Babel, Mythras, Tummuz, Whicka,etc.) still follows the ancient manor of teaching."
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma Fellowcraft Degree p.22 ]
"These two divinities (Sun and Moon, Osiris and Isis, etc) were commonly symbolized by the generative parts of a man and a woman; to which in remote ages no idea of indecency was attached ; the Phallus (penis) and the Cteis (vagina), emblems of generation and production, and which, as such appeared in the Mysteries (I believe Masonry is the revival of these). The Indian Lingam was the union of both, as were the boat and mast and the point within the circle." (key Masonic symbols)
[ Albert Pike "Morals and Dogma," 24th Degree, p. 401 ]
 
"If your wife child, or friend should ask you anything about your invitation - as for instance, if your clothes were taken off, if you were blind folded, if you had a rope tied around you neck, etc, you must conceal.. hence of course you must deliberately lie about it. It is part of your obligation ..
" [ Ibid p. 74 ]
Question: "what makes you a Freemason ? Answer: My obligation."
[question and answer from the Entered Apprentice/First Degree]
".. binding myself under no less penalty that of having throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, a cable length from the shore where the tide.."
[ from the oath of obligation Entered Apprentice/First Degree ]
".. binding myself under no less penalty than having my left Breast torn open, my heart plucked out, and given to the beasts of the field and fowls of the air as prey."
[from the oath of obligation , Fellowcraft/Second Degree]
".. binding myself under no less penalty that of having my body severed in twain, my bowels taken out and burned to ashes, the ashes scattered to the four winds of heaven.."
[ from the oath of obligation, Master Mason / Third Degree ]
" .. in willful violation whereof may I incur the fearful penalty of having my eyeballs pierced to thru center with a three edged blade, my feet flayed and forced to walk the hot sands upon the sterile shores of the red sea until the flaming Sun shall strike with a livid plague, and my Allah the god of Arab, Moslem and Mohammedan, the god of our fathers, support me to the entire fulfillment of the same."
[ from the oath of obligation, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ] ("Shriners")
"You must conceal all the crimes of your brother Masons... and should you be summoned as a witness against a brother Mason be always sure to shield him.. It may be perjury to do this, it is true, but your keeping your obligations."
[ Ronayne, "Handbook of Masonry" p. 183 ]
 
"We shall unleash the Nihilists and atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirit will from that moment be without a compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the pure light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time."
-Albert Pike, on a plan for world conquest, written in a letter to Mazzini dated August 15, 1871.
"..Thirty-third degree Freemason Albert Pike (1809-1891), the man destined to develop the Luciferian Doctrine for the Masonic hierarchy, could not accept the Lucifer and Satan were the same personality. While teaching his beliefs to a select few in the Supreme Council, Pike became the most powerful Mason in the world. Although an obscure general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, he was hardly inconspicuous in Freemasonry. From 1859 until his death in 1891, Pike occupied simultaneously the positions of Grand Master of the Central Directory at Washington, D.C., Grand Commander of the Supreme Council at Charleston, S.C., and Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry. He was an honorary member of almost every Supreme Council in the world, personally receiving 130 Masonic degrees. Pike also was one of the most physically and morally repulsive individuals in American history. Weighing well over three hundred pounds, his sexual proclivity was to sit naked astride a phallic throne in the woods, accompanied by a gang of prostitutes. To these orgies he would bring one or more wagon loads of food and liquor, most of which he would consume over a period of two days until he passed into a stupor. In his adopted state of Arkansas, Pike was well known as a practitioner of Satanism, Portraits of his later years show him wearing a symbol of the Baphomet around his neck."
-Scarlet and the Beast, John Daniel, vol 1
 
"Masonry gives rogues and evil-minded characters an opportunity of visiting upon their devoted victim, all the ills attending combined power, when exerted to accomplish destruction. It works unseen, at all silent hours, and secret times and places; and, like death when summoning his diseases, pounces upon its devoted subject, and lays him prostrate in the dust. Like the great enemy of man, it has shown its cloven foot, and put the public upon its guard against its secret machinations."
-CAPT. WM. MORGAN'S ILLUSTRATIONS OF MASONRY, 1827.
"Membership of secret societies such as freemasonry can raise suspicions of a lack of impartiality or objectivity. It is therefore important the public know the facts. I think it is the case that the freemasons said they are not a secret society but a society with secrets. I think it is widely accepted that one secret they should not be keeping is who their members are in the criminal justice system."
- Home Secretary Jack Straw, 1997 Home Affairs Committee England
"It is generally agreed that the biggest single influence in the modern expansion of ritual magic, and the occult explosion in general, in the Western world, was the Golden Dawn. This magical fraternity, founded by Freemasons at the end of the 19th century, developed a complex ritual system with ten degrees of initiation relating to the Cabalistic Sephiroth." (World renown witches, Janet and Stewart Farrar, authors of A Witches Bible Compleat)

SOURCES ET LIENS

- Janet and Stewart Farrar, The Life and Times of A Modern Witch, Phoenix Publishing Company, p. 121.
Dictature de la maçonnerie
Rite ancien maconnerie d'York

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