Initiation by Light—Review

This is the first of four reviews over the next four months by Bro. Chris Earnshaw—the books are thought provoking and should be part of every masonic library. In the early days of freemasonry not many documents were kept and in fact many were destroyed in 1720. However, with a close scrutiny of the ritual and understanding the social history of the time, we can piece together a credible story. “Freemasonry: Initiation by Light” introduces the early years of the Craft, and paints a picture of early London after the great fire which destroyed the mercantile sector of the city as well as Saint Paul’s cathedral. Operative Masons flocked to London in search of work and at the same time they established lodges where they could meet after work. Some early expose s of Operative Freemasonry are introduced and analyzed to see their connection to Speculative Freemasonry. The beginning of Speculative Masonry had a rocky start with the first three noble Grand Masters, however contributing factors helped the growth of the Premier Grand Lodge [before it came the Grand Lodge of England in the 1730s] that led to such quick growth of the membership and the success of the Grand Lodge. However, there was competition from various quarters, for example the Grand Lodge of the Antients, and the Chinese Order of the Gormogons.

What is unique about this book is that it shows in detail the possibility that Speculative Freemasonry is based on Chinese Daoism. Twenty -six correspondences between both the ritual of Masonry and the Lodge itself are shown to have a similarity with Daoism. One of the important factors was the role of Jesuit priests in disseminating Latin translations of Chinese classics in Europe, and secondly bringing a Chinese mandarin who had been prepared for ordination in the Catholic Church, and who stayed at the University of Oxford and mingled with famous people such as Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton and even King James II. There is evidence to show that the mandarin, Shen FuZong, taught the secrets of the YiJing and Daoism to a scholar at the University of Oxford. Then the book analyzes the chain of transmission of these ideas, which shows that there were many candidates who could have introduced them to the first three Grand Masters.

The analysis of the initiation by light, when seen from a Daoist perspective, suddenly takes on a new spiritual meaning. Freemasons, the Sons of Light, suddenly realize that they are on a quest, and this quest is revealed to them in the Second and Third Degrees. The ritual of Freemasonry then takes on a new meaning for Brethren. As a Brother wrote: “there is not one more eloquent act than the bringing of the candidate to light.”

Christopher J. Earnshaw PhD 33° is a British Citizen living in Tokyo and author of the “Spiritual Freemasonry” books. He is a Past Grand Historian, Grand Lodge of Japan, Past Master of the Research Lodge, Grand Lodge of Japan, Scottish Rite 33° IGH, Past-Chairman of Education Committee, recipient of the Order of Merit, Grand Lodge of Japan, for educational activities and a Past Master of Sinim Lodge, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Social Media Links: Spiritual Freemasonry videos: http://youtube.com/c/spiritualfreemasonry Twitter: @AuthorEarnshaw: https://twitter.com/AuthorEarnshaw Podcasts: Freemasonry in 7 Minutes or Less: https://anchor.fm/earnshaw-christopher Website: http://chris-earnshaw.com