While there is much to expose regarding Freemasonry, here we are going to focus specifically on its occult aspect. At first glance, Freemasonry appears completely harmless, but when you dig a little deeper—if you have spiritual discernment—it becomes astonishingly clear just how dark and diabolical it truly is. Concealing its true nature behind a benign facade is a classic tactic of the enemy.

Freemasonry is deeply demonic. In fact, based on my years of observation in deliverance ministry, I would say it is one of the single biggest demonic door openers there is. It opens doors to spiritual bondage not only for the individual directly involved, but for their descendants as well.

If you have ancestors who were involved in Freemasonry and you feel like your life has been cursed or you have symptoms of demonization, evil spirits that your ancestors opened the door to can very well be the culprit.

A key reason Freemasonry serves as such a massive doorway to the enemy is that, at its core, it is essentially the occult. As I frequently emphasize, getting involved in any form of occult practice leaves a person wide open and vulnerable to demonization.

The following excerpt is from the book Encyclopedia of Cults and New Age Religions by John Ankerberg and John Weldon (pp. 242-247) [bold mine]:

---

THE OCCULT

“It is one of your great duties as a Most Excellent Master to dispense light to the uninformed Mason.”

—Charge to the Most Excellent Master upon his initiation

Most Masons scoff at the idea that Masonry is occult. They claim that Masonry has nothing to do with the occult. Coil asserts, “Freemasonry is no more occult than the Golden Rule; no more mysterious than Morality.” Of course, many people would say something similar about astrology, the Ouija board and other occult activities. Coil’s statement is true only at one level of Masonry and then at best a half truth.

Most Masons who participate in the rituals do not understand their occult significance. If they pursue Masonry no further than this, it may be true for them that Masonry is not something occult. If so, this is only because these Masons are unaware of the occult meaning of the Masonic symbols or ritual and have chosen not to pursue the issue further. The fact that most Masons choose not to pursue the hidden meaning of Masonry is why Steinmetz laments, “Most of the truly great Masonic writers have deplored the lack of esoteric Masonic knowledge among the craft in general. Mackey speaks of the Parrot Mason, describing him as: ‘One who commits to memory questions and answers of the catechetical lectures, and the formulas of the ritual, but pays no attention to the history and philosophy of the institution; [he is] called a Parrot Mason because he repeats what he has learned without any conception of its true meaning.’”

For those with eyes to see, Masonry is full of the occult. One researcher concludes, “Behind all Masonic symbolism there is an undisclosed occult interpretation of which most Freemasons are ignorant.” One spiritist confesses of the Scottish Rite, “From the Nineteenth to the Twenty-eighth [degree] the work is most deeply occult . . . .” One official inquiry into Masonry concluded, “The whole complex of ideas inherent in Masonry bears close similarities to occultism . . . .”

In this section we will document four different ways in which Masonry may encourage the pursuit of the occult.

New Age and Parapsychological Premise Masonry accepts the premise of the New Age and modern parapsychology: “unlimited” power within man. The modern New Age movement teaches that man is invariably divine, a god in the making. Its adherents see in the modern discipline of parapsychology (the scientific study of the occult) the confirmation of the idea that man has latent psychic powers. All people need to do is to learn to unleash these “divine” powers. A number of prominent Masons share similar beliefs. Sovereign Grand Commander Henry C. Clausen refers to achieving “a true New Age” and asserts that potentially, “We have within us an infinite, unlimited source of power. . . Perhaps the stars in transition have a message for us, as the world plunges through space into the Age of Aquarius. . . Our altar is in the East. . . We know that the new division we are entering will bring new energies. These may have tremendous effects upon us, our civilization and our earth. . . .” Consider also Clausen’s commentary on the 28th degree of the Scottish Rite: “This is a Kabalistic and Hermetic Degree of the greatest antiquity, dealing with the primal matter of all things. . . There are seven stations representing planets that anciently explained the passage of souls between heaven and earth. . . What we see in this life are reflections of things that exist in the invisible spiritual world. . . Faith is taught as the miraculous lever that can move humanity . . . [and] senses an underlying divinity in all things.” In his discussion of the 32nd degree he reveals the secret nature of Masonry, which promises occult knowledge and power by revealing the true laws of nature:

As we progress toward the end of this Degree and seek seriously the Royal Secret which is concealed like the occult science of the ancients, we remember, ‘Faith begins where reason sinks exhausted.’ Magic, after all, is but the absolute science of nature and its laws. . . You will seek the Holy Doctrine—the Blazing Star of Truth, the Royal Secret—of creation. So do we slowly climb toward the final goal, the state of perfection . . .? Some modern scientists concede that that in the search for enlightenment, recourse must be made to the mystic. . . William James . . . harmonized religion and mysticism, concluding that ‘personal religious experience has its roots and center in mystical states of consciousness.’ . . Telepathy and esoteric psychology can work within us and release energy, insight and imagination. . . The Holy Doctrine—the Royal Secret—heretofore has been concealed. . . But the veil now has been lifted for you. . . The Scottish Rite symbology and teachings and studies have made the creative law of the universe susceptible of discovery. . . Nature’s secrets are those of the supernatural [occult] sciences. . . Man has an immortal soul, imprisoned for a time within a mortal body, which is capable of improvement and of spiritual development. It is released when death occurs, thus mingling the divine with the human. . . So, if you will seek and discover, you can travel beyond the material, you can grasp the supersensual, you can touch the Divine. You will be carried toward total truth and to that rare and ultimate mystic understanding of self and the universe. You then will know why we are here, what we are doing, and where we are going.

These teachings are in a number of important respects indistinguishable from the teachings of the New Age movement and human potential parapsychology.

Relation to Occult Practices Masonry is an introduction to the occult because in symbolism and philosophy it is similar to many occult practices. That Masonry is related to other occult arts is acknowledged by Masonic authorities.

A. Kabalism. Kabalism* is a complex, symbolical occult art that began among the Jewish people in the first century A.D., flowered in the Middle Ages and is experiencing a revival today, in part a consequence of widespread interest in an alleged Kabalistic-based “Bible Code” hidden in the Torah. (See John Weldon’s Decoding the Bible Code, Harvest House, 1998.) Albert Pike confesses that “the Kabalah is the key of the occult sciences. . . .” He also sees Kabalism in Masonry at every turn, which is why he encourages the Mason to familiarize himself with Kabalistic doctrine. He claims, “All the Masonic associations owe to it [Kabalisim] their Secrets and their Symbols.” And, “Masonry is a search after Light. That search leads us directly back, as you see, to the Kabalah. . . [there] the Initiate will find the source of many [Masonic] doctrines; and may in time come to understand the Hermetic philosophers, the Alchemists . . . and [spiritist] Emanuel Swedenborg.” The Liturgy of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite describes the 13th degree as follows: “There are profounder meanings concealed in the symbols of this degree, connected with the philosophical system of the Hebrew Kabalists which you will learn hereafter, if you should be so fortunate as to advance. They are unfolded in the higher degrees.”

*Also spelled Kabbalism, Cabalism, Qabbalism

.

Any study of Kabalism will quickly reveal that Kabalism was and is used today for all types of occult practice—black and white magic, conjuring spirits, divination, developing psychic powers, etc. Is it truly wise, let alone Christian, to partake in rites and be a member of a religion that is based upon Kabalistic philosophy or that encourages the study of such philosophy?

B. Rosicrucianism. The connection between Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry is also clear. Even a review of W. B. Crow’s book Witchcraft, Magic and Occultism in the March 1975 issue of Masonic Square admitted the connection between English Masons and Rosicrucianism. Although many authorities could be given recognizing this connection, space only permits our citing one here, Manly Hall:

Many of those connected with development of Freemasonry were suspected of being Rosicrucians. . . Frank C. Higgins, a modern Masonic symbolist, writes: “Dr. Ashmole, a member of this fraternity [Rosicrucianism], is revered by Masons as one of the founders of the first Grand Lodge in London.” . . Elias Ashmole is but one of many intellectual links connecting Rosicrucianism with the genesis of Freemasonry. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that Elias Ashmole was initiated into the Freemasonic order in 1646. . . Speculators have gone so far as to state that, in their opinion, modern Freemasonry has completely absorbed Rosicrucianism and succeeded it as the world’s greatest secret society. Other minds of equal learning declare that the Rosicrucian brotherhood still exist, preserving its individuality as a result of having withdrawn from the Masonic Order. . . One thing is certain: with the rise of Freemasonry, the Rosicrucian Order in Europe practically disappeared, and notwithstanding existing statements to the contrary, it is certain that the Eighteenth degree (commonly known as the Rose-Croix) perpetuates many of the symbols of the Rosicrucian Fire Alchemist.

C. Hermetic Philosophy. Hermetic philosophy (also known as “alchemy”) is a pillar of ancient and modern occultism. The Greek god Hermes (the Roman Mercury and Egyptian Thoth) was held to be the originator of many occult arts. According to Mackey, “In all the old manuscript records which contain the legend of the Craft, mention is made of Hermes as one of the founders of Freemasonry.” Coil, who seems somewhat embarrassed by the Masonic connection to the occult, objects to any association in the following terms:

There has been a tendency for two centuries among imaginative and sensational writers to corrupt Freemasonry by coating it with all sorts of mystical and occult veneers, of which Alchemy is but one. So successful have they been that many within and many without the Society assume that there is some affiliation of Freemasonry with theosophy, astrology, spiritualism, occultism, magism, or even fortune telling and sleight of hand. There has never been any association between Freemasonry and the mystical arts, especially alchemy, though, doubtless, the formulators of the numerous hauts grades and other higher degrees around the middle of the Eighteenth Century resorted to many such sources for interesting and impressive material, which was as valuable in promotion as it was supernatural. Accordingly, the twenty-eighth degree of the Scottish Rite, called knight of the sun is partly Hermetic, just as the twenty-first or Prussian knight furnishes an example of sorcery.

But Albert Mackey simply confesses, “There is a very great similarity between their doctrines and those of the Freemasons; so much so that the two associations have sometimes been confused.”

In conclusion, these connections of Masonry to various occult arts is one reason why many Masons are also occultists and why many occultists have chosen to pursue the path of esoteric Masonry.

Mysticism Masonry is an introduction to the occult because Masonry is a system of mysticism which accepts the development of altered states of consciousness. Dozens of books have been published on the mystical side of Masonry, such as Arthur Ward’s Masonic Symbolism and the Mystic Way and J. D. Buck’s Mystic Masonry. Many of these Masonic writers have inspired other Masons to look to Eastern or Western mysticism and the occult as a means of spiritual development. For these authors the real meaning of Masonry is hidden in the mystical quest. This is why Carl H. Claudy refers to Masonic authority and scholar Albert Pike as the “greatest of Masons as he was greatest of mystics”—because he did as much as anyone to promote the mystical side of Masonry. (See Appendix 2.) Masonic authorities H. L. Haywood and A. E. Waite both agree that, “There is a class of religious practices (or experiences) called mysticism; Freemasonry is a religious mysticism; whatever may be the place belonging to religious mysticism in the world is the place belonging to Freemasonry.”

Anyone who studies mysticism will realize that a large part of that “place belonging to religious mysticism” deals with altered states of consciousness. This is why mystical Masons stress the importance of developing altered states. For example, 32nd degree Mason Foster Bailey refers to “the necessity . . . for complete self mastery and expansion of consciousness before the achieving of the degree of Master [Mason].”

Masonic authority Wilmshurst and other mystic Masons allege that each degree of the Blue Lodge is able to open one’s consciousness to progressively higher levels of being. For instance, the second degree of Masonry, Fellowcraft, involves “the use of the psychic and higher intellectual nature,” and the third degree, Master Mason, may involve “an opening up of consciousness to the very center and depths of one’s being,” that is, to the divinity within. In noting the connection between the initiations of the ancient pagans and modern Masonry, Wilmshurst observes that both had a common goal: “Initiation, therefore, meant a process whereby natural man became transformed into spiritual or ultra-natural man, and to effect this it was necessary to change his consciousness, to gear it to a new and higher principle, and so, as it were, make of him a new man in the sense of attaining a new method of life and a new outlook upon the universe.

Why is the cultivation of occult and mystical altered states of consciousness of concern? It is of great concern because a psychic altered consciousness is a characteristic door to establishing contact with the spirit (demon) world. (We documented this in detail in our Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs.) Cambridge educated John Ferguson goes so far as to assert that a state of voluntary spirit possession is “the core of mystical experience.”

Occult Masonry Masonry is an introduction to the occult because many Masons are working for an awakening of occult Masonry. Because the occult is now socially out of the closet, many Masons are recognizing that the time is “ripe” to return Masonry to its occult heritage. The curator and librarian of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of New York points out, “In this new Aquarian age, when many individuals and groups are working in various ways for the eventual restoration of the [ancient] mysteries, an increasing number of aspirants are beginning to recognize that Freemasonry may well be the vehicle for this achievement.” Hall argues that there is more than sufficient precedent within the domains of Masonic scholarship for the modern Mason to return to the ancient meanings of the Craft. Wilmshurst sees that “a higher Masonic consciousness is awakening in the Craft. Members of the Order are gradually, and here and there, becoming alive to the fact that much more than meets the eye and ear lies beneath the surface of Masonic doctrine and symbols.” Should Masonry as a whole ever return to its ancient roots, it could become a significant power for the expansion of the occult in the Western World.

These four considerations reveal that Masonry has both the means and the motivation to encourage its members to pursue the world of the occult. Masonry therefore encourages Masons to pursue its esoteric side and to pursue altered states of consciousness and the development of “higher” (psychic) powers. Thus Masonry is related to other occult practices, and many Masons are actively working for the revival of occult Masonry.

All of this is why we find many examples where the search for “Masonic light” leads to the dead end of the occult. Indeed, it is also the reason that we find the spirit world promotes Masonry, as was documented in our chapter on Masonry and spiritism in Secret Teachings. For example, Djwhal Khul was one of the principal spirit guides of occultist Alice Bailey. Of Masonry this spirit teaches, “The Masonic movement . . . is the home of the Mysteries and the seat of initiation. . . . It is a far more occult organization than can be realized, and is intended to be the training school for the coming advanced occultists.”

Keep in mind that a spirit is speaking these words through a possessed medium. This entity also revealed that the spirit Hierarchy directs specific persons within each field to perform the will of the spirits: “In all these bodies there are to be found esoteric groups. . . These inner groups consist of occult students and of those who are in direct or occasional touch with the Masters [spirits] and of those whose souls are in sufficient control so that the will of the Hierarchy [the governing spirit hierarchy] may be communicated and gradually filtered down to the channel of the physical brain.” In other words, this spirit claims that such individuals are under the guidance and control of the spirit world.

Masonic Lynn F. Perkins wrote Masonry in the New Age, in which he thoroughly integrated Masonry with occult and New Age philosophy. Yet he too claims his ideas were inspired by the spirits. Another illustration of the spirits’ interests in Masonry is the writings of Harold Walden Percival, a mystic and spiritist. While he was functioning as a channel for the spirits, they generated through him an influential occult text called Thinking and Destiny. What was later published separately as Masonry and Its Symbols in the Light of “Thinking and Destiny” was originally part of the manuscript of Thinking and Destiny. In other words, the material on Masonry was the result of the spirits’ inspiration through Percival. According to Percival it was later published separately with the approval of Masons. The goal of this text is to awaken Masons to “true Masonry” and to show how the spirits, or “intelligences in the earth’s sphere,” work through Masonry behind the scenes. The spirits reveal:

the Brotherhood of Freemasons is the largest of the bodies in the world which are outposts to prepare possible candidates for an inward [mystical] life. . . Intelligences in the earth’s sphere [spirits] are behind Masonry, though the lodges are not aware of this in the present age. The spirit [philosophy] that runs through the system of the Masonic teachings connects these Intelligences with every Mason, from the greatest to the least, who practices them.

So again we see that the spirits claim their involvement with Masonry. Manly P. Hall also notes the interest of the spirit world in Masonry. He teaches that this spirit world (“celestial intelligences”) operates invisibly and imperceptibly behind the man who becomes a Mason and recognizes its true meaning.

Foster Bailey was a 32nd degree Mason and husband of Alice Bailey, a prominent late-nineteenth-century occultist and founder of Lucius Trust. Foster Bailey believed that Masonry “was created by the Most High as an instrument in His hands by which to raise humanity.” “Masonry is not man-made; it is God-made. . . Masonry has survived the ages because in truth and fact we have been guided by inspiration and by intuition, by [spirits of the] Grand Lodge on High, whose members are not dead Masons, but a living Society of Illumined Minds, the Knowers of God’s Plan.” In other words, Bailey is teaching that Masonry has been guided by the spirits of the dead who are in tune with God and able to use the Society to fulfill God’s will. (Mediums by all such standards teach the same belief concerning their own philosophy and practices, yet all such activity is condemned by God in Deuteronomy 18:9–12.) Bailey calls such spirits “the Builders of the occult tradition,” the “Illuminati,” and other names. Step by step these spirits guide the Masonic candidate:

They prepare the candidate for those great revelations and expansions of consciousness. . . Step by step They guide the candidate until he has gained the right to stand in the East before the Presence. . . Stage by stage They assist at the unfolding of the consciousness of the candidate until the time comes when he can “enter into light” and, in his turn become a light-bearer, one of the Illuminati who can assist the Lodge on High in bringing humanity to light.

---

On a side note, I saw these pictures on my Facebook feed.

In the Bible, those who repented of sorcery burned all of their associated items (Acts 19:19). That is what the person in these pictures is doing.

Some claim that a strange figure manifests in the fire, though it could simply be a case of pareidolia—the tendency to see recognizable shapes, faces, or animals in random or ambiguous visual patterns.

Regardless, given the views connecting Freemasonry and Eastern Star to occult practices, it is best to destroy items like Masonic Bibles, rings, and aprons, while seeking repentance to break spiritual ties associated with these organizations. Indeed, evil spirits can be attached to such items.

---

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart, and He can deliver you from darkness and sin and have your name written in His Book of Life.

If you are sincere, you can say this simple prayer to the Father (it doesn’t have to be word for word):

“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself, and that is wrong. Please forgive me for all of my sins just as I forgive others. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for me on the cross. I believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead, and I long to receive the forgiveness You have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in the Lord and GOD Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”