Freemasonry and Reiki

For those of my readers who are not familiar with what Reiki is, a few words of explanation may be in order. Bear with me. Once I've explained what Reiki is, I will turn to discussing the unusual connection it has to Freemasonry. Reiki is what the medical profession calls a CAM. This acronym stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It's a term for those forms of alternative medical treatment that in recent years the allopathic medical establishment has begun to tolerate if not completely embrace. Reiki practitioners call it a system of energetic treatment.

In most states, Reiki has not been regulated by law, and as a result there is no standard certification process for Reiki practitioners. Reiki deals with the energy body, and western medicine has no way of measuring it. While some Reiki practitioners may touch the body during treatments, others do not. Either way, they at most put hands on the body, they do not manipulate the body or muscles as massage  therapists do. Reiki is essentially "healing by the laying on of hands."

Reiki came into this world in the early years of the last century in Japan. Mikio Usui, a follower of the Buddhist and Shinto religions of Japan, developed Reiki originally as a spiritual system but also began using it as a method of energetic, or spiritual healing.  It was eventually brought to the west by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. Mrs. Takata was a Hawaiian native of Japanese heritage. She first encountered Reiki in 1935 while in Japan. She was impressed by the healing she experienced under the Reiki master Chujiro Hayashi and spent a year studying and mastering the techniques. She returned to Hawaii and practiced Reiki there for decades. Virtually all western Reiki traditions ultimately derive from the lineage established in the west by Mrs. Takata.

As recently as 20 years ago anywhere in the west, Reiki meant simply Usui Reiki as taught by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. Not only that, but for decades the number of Reiki masters was kept artificially limited to a small handful due to the way in which Mrs. Takata enforced a rigid system of  initiation with exceedingly high initiation fees of ten thousand dollars. Mrs. Takata died in 1980, and subsequently the tight control over Reiki dissolved, and in addition to a dramatic lowering of prices, information became available demonstrating that Reiki in Japan was somewhat different from what Mrs. Takata had been teaching. In the past dozen years or so, a myriad different forms of Reiki have blossomed. This blossoming has reached the scale of an avalanche, and while nobody has any accurate count, there are today scores of complex Reiki systems and thousands of special focus reiki "attunements" or energetic treatments. Reiki considers that treatments can alter the flow and vibration of the energy of the person and can thereby alter peoples health and spiritual experiences. An entire side of Reiki is more concerned with spiritual issues than with physical therapy.

Over the past year, I have become aware that there are, perhaps not surprising given the dramatic and eclectic nature of the growth of Reiki, several Reiki attunements which have a connection to Freemasonry. Now, admittedly, those who scoff at anything alternative will be quick to dismiss these as simple con artistry, attempting to garner some respect from borrowing some of the aura of Freemasonry.  Let me hasten to note that Reiki has its own following and these systems hardly represent a large share of the focus of Reiki nor do they share a large part of the Reiki market. They are in fact, a perhaps natural development when one realizes that there has been a great deal of interest in Egypt in some schools of Reiki and an entirely separate system of energetic treatment based on ancient Egyptian traditions called Sekhem has been created or rediscovered. Through this, attention was drawn to Hermeticism, and eventually to Freemasonry.

There are a number of Reiki attunements which focus on either historical figures related to Freemasonry, and even to Rosicrucianism and the Templars. Among these are a Reiki attunement associated with John Dee, who although not known to have been a mason, was involved in much the same areas of spiritual and scientific investigation that early Freemasons such as Alias Ashmole were. More concretely in the area of Freemasonry, there is an attunement dedicated to the energetic principles associated with Cagliostro. Among the energies that this attunement maintains it aids, are healing powers, vitality, resilience, purifying the heart, enlightening the mind, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and wisdom.

Another interesting attunement, is called Metatron's Cube Reiki, named after the angel Matatron, this energetic treatment is inspired by sacred geometry. It also claims to provide an attunement and "empowerment" of the Rose Cross. The other attunement directly claiming a connection to Masonic "energies" is one called the Templar Grade Attunement. The description afforded this Reiki energetic treatment says that it represents "a symbol of oneness and the manifestation of...concsciousness into our world." Also, they note that "the Templar Degree is a wonderfully calm and peacefull attunement that is a valuable stepping stone for any Reiki practitioner."

There are other attunements associated with Hermes, and a number of others focusing on Thoth.

While this inevitably will not thrill certain elements of the North American old guard, nor the materialists among us, it should at least afford the skeptics a moment of amusement or bemusement, and the rest may find it of some interest that those engaged in modern forms of spiritual exploration still turn to the craft for inspiration.

Initiation: Deja Vu all over again?

The following are personal ramblings on some subjective experiences. They are not well articulated and they wander in seemingly random ways. I am publishing these, not because I expect any answers, nor really because I feel the need to share them with many who are probably total strangers. Rather, it is the need to speak out loud about what I experience, and some of its incoherence. Doing so with only the cat as a witness didn't seem enough. There are changes in the world and in me that I do not yet fully understand. Perhaps posting this is because of some inchoate sense that others may be experiencing something similar.

Initiation is central to most cultures. Although contemporary society is no different in this regard, the majority in our culture are usually ill informed about the topic if not totally ignorant of it. This is reflected in how the term is used and misused in popular discussions of the subject.

With that in mind, I feel the need to consider a thoughtful definition of the term. Van Gennap in "Rites de passage" creates a definition which recognizes a three-part or three tiered process of ritual transformation. These three steps include, in his order,  the separation of the subject from the current or larger social group; a period in which the individual has no social identity; the initiand belongs neither to the old group nor to the new; and a final stage of initiation which admits the subject into the new society providing a new identity. I not interested in exploring emic and etic distinctions in academic terms. Neither am I going to explore the wider range of esoteric practices outside a generalized conceptualization of initiation and its meaning for the initiate.

Rather, from an emic perspective,  albeit as an individual simultaneously aware of and consciously exploring the etic approach to the subject, I will attempt to very briefly examine my feelings and reactions to a current process of initiation and of multiple initiations. 

I have experienced initiation into a variety of "secret societies" and esoteric traditions over much of my life. This began in the early 1970s including over the years initiations into both modern and more traditional Western Esoteric traditions, as well as African and Afro-diasporic traditions, and which have continued throughout my life. Over the past two years I have begun a renewed sequence of initiations, including concurrently different branches of Freemasonry, increased involvement with various Afro-diasporic traditions, and other modern forms of spiritual energetic systems.

In a traditional context, an individual might become an initiate in one tradition in a lifetime. At most, an individual might initiate into a couple of systems in a culture with some level of spiritual specialization. In the west, most in past centuries might be initiated into a major religion such as Christianity or Judaism, even though those traditions tend not to use such terminology. There were few alternatives until the late twentieth century. If male, the individual might initiate into Freemasonry or a similar society. For women, in a few locations, there was access to Freemasonry, but in many areas that was restricted, most notably in the Anglophone world, which always seems more socially recidivist than many of its neighbors.

In contrast, in today's society there are a myriad of traditions coexisting and many seem eager to sample everything. There is a reluctance, buried deep within my genes, to this approach. Yet, I find myself dealing with it, and am struggling with my own traditionalist preferences. I rationalize this with the recognition that I am being called to engage various disparate avenues of spiritual exploration, and it would seem, by the forces which are associated with some of these pathways. While I continue the good fight, I realize that my narrow, single-path aspirations have long ago given up the ghost. What can I say? Being Irish, I'm stubborn.

I first became aware of and began exploring alternatives to the standard models of Christianity that I was born into, quite early in life. I discovered the magical realm of nature spirits before entering grade school. I briefly examined various forms of Christianity, even briefly wanting to become Amish before I fully examined the theology, and for a few years explored a variety of alternate spiritual approaches. By the 1970s, I branched out and read everything I could find on African derived religions in Cuba, New Orleans, Haiti, and Brazil. By the early 80s, living in Ireland, I met the founders of the Fraternity of Isis and initiated my fascination with Egypt and its spiritual traditions.

Back in the United States and in graduate school, I returned to Afo-diasporic traditions and completed my doctoral dissertation in Folklore and Folklife on Central African religious traditions in the Americas. In the process, I received a number of initiations in Cuba, frequented many Vodou fetes, explored Brazilian traditions such as Umbanda and Quimbanda, and acquired a raft of initiations in (thankfully very irregular) Freemasonry in Europe. Armed with several initiations into different branches of the Congo religions of Cuba, Martinism and Memphis Misraim to name a few of the initiations I had accumulated, I also received attunements in a "new" branch of alternative healing called "Reiki." I was given the attunements for this (as initiation into Reiki is usually called) by a friend, and although I was interested in energy manipulation and healing, I really paid little attention to this latter "initiation" at the time.

A decade and a half later, having ignored Reiki almost altogether, and having become a lapsed Freemason, I found myself moving toward a renewed and intense involvement in both, on a level I had not predicted. Having embarked on gaining mastery in masonic obediences which were new to me, and now beginning an adventure into attuning to a dizzying degree to the mysteries of Reiki, far beyond that of a simple "Reiki Master," it seems to me that I need to investigate the issue of initiation and what it means, as well as what it does to an individual. 

All of this came as a result of my renewed involvement with Haitian Vodou. I discovered that the Loa or Haitian spiritual forces guided me through Afro-Cuban traditions and back to the Haitian which I had flirted with prior to my first trip to Cuba. Interestingly then, I found on a personal level that these same forces were presenting linkages through Egyptian spirituality with Freemasonry and even Reiki. I found that when I tried to untangle this net of associations I was met with a profound cognitive dissonance.

All of this is background and not at all that with which I am grappling. Why is it that I find myself at this point in my life, looking for new experiences and without having consciously sought it at this point, on a path of an excellerating cycle of  initiation, re-initiation, and continual initiation. To be honest, I do not have a clue. I do know that it is exciting to feel such a strong connection to spirit and it strikes me that since I am in several areas of my life, both in Quimbisa (a form of Afro-Cuban religion of Congo origin) and in Freemasonry, I am increasingly responsible for the initiations of others, and I am being led to experience, and re-experience the process from the perspective of the neophyte, as, I suppose, a reminder of the role, to assist me in making it more meaningful for those I assist. Each time I go through another initiation, I find myself experiencing the introduction to new ideas and new life that an initiation, any legitimate initiation provides. I also am becoming more conscious of the importance of making informed choices about where you rest your head, so to speak. I find that I am only being allowed access where it is healthy for me to go. Although I do not yet have a clue to what it looks like, there seems to be a meta-picture here somewhere. All the Afro-diasporic traditions have a connection, often directly to one another (at least between Cuba and Haiti) and from there to Egypt, and that is aligned through Hermeticism to Freemasonry. Beyond that, links appear to have been forged between Reiki, which originated in Japan, and with Egyptian traditions through people whom I met a quarter century ago when I was living in Ireland.

In the process of looking at this subject, at this point at least, I cannot find useful information from my intellectual brain. The etic is of little use in resolving these questions or quieting my own cognitive dissonance. There is no apparent logic behind such an experience. I can assure you they are not at all the choices I would have taken on my own, but I also bow to the logic of understanding that once one places faith in the spirit(s) giving direction to initiatic experience, they will make apparent connections that you may not have recognized, and they don't appear to be concerned with footnotes. Isn't that a relief?

Egypt Revived!

Just when you thought it was safe to leave the Pyramid!

In light of the very serious situation in Egypt currently, and the high stakes with which the Egyptian people are gambling in an effort to achieve liberty and self governance, I thought it might be appropriate to look at the significant role in the development of Western culture in general that Egypt has played, and to remind us that in Egypt and Africa, the roots of our spiritual traditions were born and nurtured.

There have, over the past four centuries been several successive waves of Pharoah Phever, or as it is more respectfully called, Egyptian Revivalism. In all of those revivals, we can see at the very least, the shadows of Freemasons. It is enough to give David Icke apoplexy. The Masons are to blame, of course!

Well, maybe, or maybe the Fraternity was simply as susceptible to the lure of Egyptian art, legend, and mysticism as everyone else. After all, nobody can reasonably deny the great influence that Egyptian culture wielded over Greek and Roman civilization and its art, architecture, religion, and mysticism.

The most significant example of early Egyptian Revival Architecture was most likely Gian Lorenzo Bernini's obelisk in the Piazza Navona in Rome. In the early 1700s we find other examples of Egyptian inspired architecture in Ireland, and a hundred years later, the famous Egyptian Hall in London. By the 20th Century, perhaps the most common examples of Egyptian architecture were movie theatres, mausoleums, and masonic lodges.

Of course, personal adornment was not left out, and in the 19th and early 20th century much lavish and exotic egyptian inspired jewelry was created. Artisans as famous as Tiffany created lavish Egyptian revival pieces in both Art Noveau and Art Deco styles and many cheap rhinestone imitations were made for those who could not afford the rarified prices fine jewelers charged..

In the late 20th Century,(1976 to 1979) a small number of treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb were displayed across the United States in a seven-city tour of Treasures of Tutankhamun, attracting eight million visitors. It was the most popular museum exhibition of all time. The allure of the King Tut exhibition mystified audiences and influenced everything from fashion, to food, to film - creating 'Tut-Mania' everywhere it travelled. Who can forget The Bangle's rendition of "walk like an Egyptian?"

Think we are safe? Well, no, you'd be wrong. The difference is that we have a much quieter and less obvious Egyptian Revival going on all around us. It got its start perhaps even before the Tut exhibit, and continues to quietly grow.

Why is this Egyptian Revival quieter and what is it about? Well, of course I was going to tell you. It is focused on Egyptian mysticism and religion. If Egyptian studies have been a quiet topic among masons in recent years, that only reflects the older generation of masons' lack of interest in masonic esotericism. But don't worry, I suspect we will see plenty of esotericists among the next generation of masons. So, if the masons are not spearheading this esoteric interest in Egyptian mysticism, who is?

In the later 20th century, there have been at least three strands of interest in Egyptian mysticism in the west. The trend toward conservative and fundamentalism in many parts of mainstream Islamic society has tended to temper the nationalist interest which might otherwise have developed in Egypt during this time, but it has not had an impact in the west. There are three major threads in modern Egyptian mystic revivals. These may be traced back to the 19th Century and even before, if one assumes that Cagliostro influenced Waite. In the 19th Century, Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) and Alfred E. Waite probably did more to encourage an interest in Middle Eastern mysticism in the west, including Egyptian religion and magic. This re-infused an interest in the subject among masons, but more significantly gave birth to modern Western Ceremonial Magic, with groups such as the OTO and the Golden Dawn.

There was an entirely different group of people looking to Egypt at this time. Those admirers of Ancient Khemet were the ranks of mostly recently freed people of African heritage living in the Americas. This interest was international in scope. Authors in Haiti, Latin America, and in Anglophone America looked to Egypt to legitimize various efforts at forging a new African mysticism. And in the last half of the 19th Century, at least some of these strands merged momentarily with the creation of new thought, in the works of Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875).

If such enthusiasm appeared to wane in the early years of the 20th century, the cultural revolutions of the 1960s breathed new life into ancient Egypt. The Ausar Auset Society is a Pan-African religious organization founded in 1973 by Ra Un Nefer Amen for the purpose of providing members a societal framework through which the Kemetic spiritual way of life can be lived and to promote Rosicrucian values. It is based in Brooklyn, New York, with chapters in several major cities in the United States as well as international chapters in London, England, Toronto, Canada and Bermuda, West Indies. The organization provides afrocentric-based spiritual training to the African American community in particular and to the African diaspora in general. The religion uses elements of Ancient Egyptian religion such as the Tree of Life (Paut Neteru) as the basis of its cosmogony and philosophical underpinning. Other writers, such as Assata Olugbala Shakur (JoAnne Deborah Byron) who as a result of her involvement with the Black Panthers, sought and gained asylum in Cuba, where she now lives, has written extensively on the subject from a more militant perspective.

Another strand of interest in Egyptian religion does not have much interaction with the Pan-African movement, who view Egyptian mysticism as a Traditional African Religion. This latter group is inspired by New Age and Neopagan spiritualities. We can find modern versions of the 19th Century Ceremonialist groups, such as the Servants of Light, neopagans following kehemtic revivalism and reconstructionist traditions, as well as Neo-Egyptian Shamans. There are groups that seem to bridge the gap such as the Fellowship of Isis, founded by Lord and Lady Durdin-Robertson at Clonegal Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland in 1976, whom I had the pleasure of visiting at the Castle back in 1983.

The Author, Storm Constantine, a member of the fellowship of Isis, has created a modern initiatic system of magic and healing based upon the neteru or Egyptian Deities and Skhm Reiki in her book, Sekhem Heka: A Natural Healing and Self Development System, while Jason Agustus Newcomb and Don Milo Duquette, himself a Freemason, have published The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick for Illumination and Power. Molefi Kente Asante has written The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices from Imhotep to Akhenaten, while Muata Ashby has written several books on the Egyptian origins of Yoga, and a suite of recordings based on traditional Egyptian music. Beyond this, several authors have published books examining the Egyptian roots of and influences upon not only the development of early Christianity, but the role Egypt played in both the old and new testaments of the Christian bible and Jewish history, though doubtlessly Egypt is viewed quite differently by Judaism and Christianity.

Of course, all these groups and more coexist, if not in everyday life, on the shelves of Internet marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Ebay. Check them out. Somewhere, Cagliostro is smiling.