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‘And God said, let there be Light;
and there was light.’
Genesis 1, Chapter 3
Despite the ritual, only a very ill-informed
man can imagine that the hoodwink is for
the purpose of concealing the Lodge room
and the Brethren from the Initiate until
he is obligated.
Yet these thoughts do pass before the
minds of the Brethren as they wait with
keen anticipation to watch the effect that
the ceremony has upon the candidate.
There is nothing secret about the inside
of a Masonic temple. The architect who
designed the building, the contractors who
completed the contract, and all his workmen,
down to the charwoman who regularly
sweeps and dusts and maintains the place,
have all seen the inside of the Lodge room.
The United Grand Lodge of England has
held conducted tours on a daily basis around
the temple at Great Queen Street for many
years. In many Lodges, it has always been the
custom to invite the Ladies and non-Masons
who attended ladies evening festivals to
“have a look around the Lodge room”.
This is to say nothing about the recent
policy of “openness” and the resulting
implications of “Freemasonry in the
Community” So what is the meaning,
and the purpose behind the hoodwink?
What is its symbolism?
Many different rituals required that
the eye should not see until the heart has
conceived the mysteries of the Order.
It was, therefore, commonplace for the
aspirant to membership to be always
shrouded in darkness as a preparatory
step to the reception of the full light
of knowledge (whatever that may be!)
The time for the confinement of a
candidate into darkness and solitude varied
dramatically across the different mysteries.
Among the Druids of Britain the period
was nine days and nine nights! Some of the
Grecian mysteries required three times nine
days! In the select Persian Orders the period
of time was extended to the incredible period
of 50 days of darkness, solitude and fasting.
So, upon reflection, we have all had
a relatively comfortable ride during our
admission into the Craft! Taking our minds
back to the creation of the world, darkness
is thought of existing before light was
created.In the Old Testament, as well
as many other ancient religions and
philosophies, darkness is symbolic not only
of ignorance, but of sin, evil and wrong.
This is not so with regards to Masonic
darkness of the hoodwink. The reason for
this is because evil, sin and wrong are matters
of a voluntary nature. They are the result
of going against knowledge. There is no
thought in any Masonic degree that the
candidate is or does evil.
The hoodwink is not voluntary.
The candidate submits to the hoodwink
because the degree requires him to do so.
It is a requirement to emphasize ignorance
now and knowledge to come. Not sin now
and redemption to come.
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“We’re ALL in darkness – a fuse has blown!”
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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