The Occult Lodge: Part One Introduction & Defining a Lodge of the Spirit by Midnight Freemason Contributor Bro. James E. Frey 32° KT, ROS Introduction of the Occult Lodge: These Occult Lodges, as I will refer to them, were prevalent ever since the beginning of the Masonic institution. Since the Rosicrucian influence on the Royal Society during the Enlightenment, to the Egyptian influenced the Occult Revival of the late 1800s. Over the course of this series we will address occult connections within freemasonry, the strong spiritual leaders that it produced, and the infamous masters that dwell in the shadows of the craft. As masons it is imperative to show reverence to all spiritual teachings, never to take what may be considered sacred to one in a profane or disrespectful way. Defining a Lodge of the Spirit: Within the Western Esoteric Tradition the Occult lodge can be described as a group of Cabbalists, Magicians, Alchemists or Hermetically minded members that gather in a group, with a common goal of spiritual advancement. These different groups may have a variety of perceptions and beliefs but what connects them together is the common desire to experience the realm of the spiritual first hand without subduing to a specific dogma or faith. The Occult lodge is mythical in both folklore and modern culture. The image of a shadowy cabal of men in black hooded robes in a dark smoky room doing mysterious rituals comes to mind. Mountains of old leather bound books filled with forbidden knowledge line shelves along side jars of strange herbs and large pieces of quartz and crystal. What is interesting about this description is how it strikes an archetypal chord in our imagination, but also how accurate it actually is. In the occult lodge the balance of mystical lore and reality is held only in the mind of the beholder, which makes distinguishing fact and fiction difficult. As with a Masonic Lodge the members often live two lives, in one they are normal members of society with mundane jobs and relationships, but once they are behind closed doors they transform themselves into the mythos of a Master Mason. Occult lodge members similarily escape their day to day lives to focus their consciousness to inherit a symbol of a being that travel between worlds and glimpse behind the veil of reality. These members meet to converse with angels, summon Gods, and transform themselves through ritual to become more than just men through the embracing of Divinity. The Occult Lodge is not a social club, it is not for charity, it is not meant to benefit anyone outside of its Sacred circle. It’s only concern is the advancement of its members spiritually and to allow them to forge their own spiritual path to define their relationship with God. But how did the Occult currents in the Western Tradition adapt a lodge structure? The Occult Lodge at times has very little to do with main stream Western religions and even less to do the social clubs, charities, and fraternal organizations that seem to fit into this lodge structure. So how did these Occult Currents become emerged with the concept of a Lodge? The answer is Freemasonry. It was through the Masonic influence that these Western Esoteric teachings were given the lodge format as they progressed. James E Frey 32° classifies himself as a gentleman of the old world, which means he is known to stand in the great forests reciting poetry to fair-haired damsels while wrestling bears for sport. He is a District Education Officer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, a Past Sovereign Prince of the of Danville AASR, member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, Quram Council Allied Masonic Degrees and initiate of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He is also a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry for the R.E.B.I.S Research Society. The Occult Lodge: Part Two From Operative to Occult by Midnight Freemason Contributor Bro. James E. Frey 32° KT, ROS In the recent climate of the literary outbreak of novels based on the speculation of Masonry, modern culture has begun to accept the doubtful notion that Masonry is the descendent of the Medieval Knights Templar, or that it is the barren of some shadowy conspiracy bent toward world domination. But this is only a modem interpretation of a climate of speculation Masons of the 1800s concocted in order to give the Masonic system a romanticized history. But it should be noted that overzealous Masons creating a myth that the craft is traced to ancient origins was a common trend among fraternal groups of the era. It was thought that an elaborate myth of historical connections gave the fraternal group legitimacy. But in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there was a common theme among Masonic scholars creating a legacy, connecting the craft to a variety of occult groups such as the Rosicrucians, the Essenes, Ancient Egypt, and a variety of other spiritual systems. This was because many of the first members that transformed the Craft from an operative guild into a speculative craft were intellectuals of the Royal Society. These intellectuals were under the influence of classical philosophy, which often incorporated the mystical teachings of the medieval ages. This gave many who were interested in occultism through the age of 18th and 19th centuries the vessel they needed to explore subjective symbolism and determine their own spiritual truths. Because Masonry became an organization accepting many mystical brethren, the occult minded brethren of the time adopted aspects of Masonry into the developing "magical" lodges. Primarily they adopted the lodge structure finding its organization as both a degree based learning system and a democratic formation as ample for developing a harmonious and productive organization. But as speculative masonry sought to define itself in its early decades of development through its progression of High Degrees, so the occult lodges defined itself through these High degrees having discrete and secretive groups in which to practice their spiritual paths. ~JEF James E Frey 32° classifies himself as a gentleman of the old world, which means he is known to stand in the great forests reciting poetry to fair-haired damsels while wrestling bears for sport. He is a District Education Officer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, a Past Sovereign Prince of the of Danville AASR, member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, Quram Council Allied Masonic Degrees and initiate of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He is also a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry for the R.E.B.I.S Research Society. The Occult Lodge: Part Three The Elu Kohen by Midnight Freemason Contributor Bro. James E. Frey 32° KT, ROS Martinez de Pascually As the high degrees developed, one of the first occult orders to develop out of Masonry was the illustrious and secretive Orde Chevelier Macons Elus Cohen de L’Univers or Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe, more commonly referred to as the Elus Cohen. The Elus Cohen is one of the most serious and prominent of occult societies, given its deeply rooted occult practices as being the active role in the redemption of humanity from its fallen state. Usually reserved for Gnostic Clergy, the Elus Cohen is the inner order for most Martinist streams and teaches advanced forms of ceremonial magic. Martinez de Pascually was the founder the Elus Cohen.and was born in Grenoble, France in 1709. His father had received a Masonic patent from Charles Stuart “King of Scotland, Ireland and England, dated 20th May 1738 and granting him as "Deputy Grand Master the power to erect temples to the glory of the Grand Architect”. This gave him powers as a Deputy Grand Master with the power to establish lodges, and this power was transferred to his son upon his death. At the age of 28, Martinez was a Master Mason and upon his Father’s death he received this charter and thus formed the Elus Cohen in 1765. This Order admitted only Freemasons, but practiced mystical medieval rites involving angels and archangels. These heavily esoteric initiations echoed a Catholic form of ritual and prayer, as well as a use of the psalms as mantra meditations. “The higher degrees of the Order taught such practices as the invocation of -of the Qabalah, the so ( שם המפורש) ’various spirits, such as the ‘Shem ha-Mephorash called “divided Name” as derived from Exodus XIV:19-21, celebration of the Equinoxes, and similar highly ritualistic and time-consuming forms of ritual work.” (Kevin Davis, Brothers From Another Mother). Martinez vision was a working of a great spiritualized movement within the higher ranks of Freemasonry. Martinez formed his spiritual group during the period of the creation of the High Degrees which were being introduced into Freemasonry. Due to the often found resentment of the of the High Degrees by Masonic Authorities Martinez chose to create a “side” organization which would have a more spiritual character than Freemasonry traditionally had. To this organization however, he would only admit Master Masons who had taken the additional Masonic degree of “Elect”. The Order of Élus Cohen was rumored to have nine, ten or eleven degrees divided into three main classes, followed by a secret grade. Each class of degrees correlated to different aspects of Solomon’s Temple. The first class contained the traditional Degrees of Symbolic Masonry plus an additional degree of Grand Elect or Particular Master. The second class contained the Porch Degrees of Apprentice-Cohen, Fellow-Cohen and Master-Cohen.