The history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement • Examines the letters of Prince Hall, legendary founder of the first black lodge • Reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Nat King Cole • Explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois When the first Masonic lodges opened in Paris in the early 18th century their membership included traders, merchants, musketeers, clergymen, and women--both white and black. This was not the case in the United States where black Freemasons were not eligible for membership in existing lodges. For this reason the first official charter for an exclusively black lodge--the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts--was granted by the Grand Lodge of England rather than any American chapter. Through privileged access to archives kept by Grand Lodges, Masonic libraries, and museums in both the United States and Europe, respected Freemasonry historian Cécile Révauger traces the history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Abolition Movement and the Civil War to the genesis of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1900s up through the 1960s. She opens with a look at Prince Hall, legendary founder and the chosen namesake when black American lodges changed from “African Lodges” to “Prince Hall Lodges” in the early 1800s. She reveals how the Masonic principles of mutual aid and charity were more heavily emphasized in the black lodges and especially during the reconstruction period following the Civil War. She explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, founder of the NAACP, among others. Looking at the deep connections between jazz and Freemasonry, the author reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, and Paul Robeson. Unveiling the deeply social role at the heart of black Freemasonry, Révauger shows how the black lodges were instrumental in helping American blacks transcend the horrors of slavery and prejudice, achieve higher social status, and create their own solid spiritually based social structure, which in some cities arose prior to the establishment of black churches.

"The purpose of this work is not so much to gratify the curiosity of the uninitiated as to furnish a guide for the neophytes of the Order, by means of which their progress from grade to grade may be facilitated. Every statement in the book is authentic, as every proficient Mason will admit to himself, if not to be public, as he turns over its pages. The non-Masonic reader, as he peruses them, will perhaps be puzzled to imagine why matters of so little real importance to society at large should have been so industriously concealed for centuries, and still more surprised that society should have been so extremely inquisitive about them."-From the Preface.

Due to the secrecy of Masonic society, the members heavily relied upon symbols and icons to communicate. This groundbreaking study details the secret society's influence on modern American and European aesthetics. In its own way, this book may be one of the most important contributions to an understanding of Western art, and will be invaluable to architects, artists, and anyone interested in the esoteric ideas and iconography of Freemasonry. Concepts such as death, trial, and descent into the depths are prevalent in Masonic architecture, and have permeated the designs of parks, gardens, and cemeteries for centuries. Architectural history professor James Stevens Curl also looks at the way Masonic ideas have permeated other art forms from literature to the performing arts, where operas like Mozart's The Magic Flute used Masonic elements in everything from the characters' names to the music to the stage designs-the original drawings of which are included here.The 190 exceptional illustrations are accompanied by detailed, informative captions.

At the secret heart of the Western Mystery Tradition lies the angelic wisdom that forms the teachings of true magick. Drawing from a wide range of sources, this book presents a new and unique overview of Western magick and occultism, exploring how this secret tradition has been inherited from Persian, Chaldean, Canaanite, Egyptian, Arabic, Hebrew and Greco-Roman sources. It also records how this tradition was preserved in the symbols and beliefs of Esoteric Christianity, Gnosticism, Hermiticism, alchemy, medieval magick, the Cabbala, the Tarot, the Grail mythos, the Arthurian legends, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and some forms of traditional witchcraft. Topics include the origins of angelology; the gnostic myth of the Grigori or fallen angels; the forgotten civilisations of the giant races; the esoteric symbols within Hermeticism and Masonry that reveal the key to understanding the mythic theme of the Luciferian gnosis; the inner mysteries of the Grail; King Solomon's temple as a Goddess shrine; the real identity of the Queen of Sheba; the truth behind the myth of the Garden of Eden and the Fall; the place of the dark moon goddess Lilith in the Luciferian tradition; the symbolism and meaning of the previously forbidden Luciferian occult tradition concerning the Watchers, or fallen angels, and the so-called Prince of Darkness' - revealed to be really the Lord of Light; arcane lore that illuminates several mysterious figures in the Bible whose real significance and identities have been hidden from us for centuries; the real occult secrets of the sacred bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and the spiritual reality behind the worship of the goat-god Baphomet by the heretical Knights Templar. This is a major work on a subject little known or discussed outside the inner circles of secret societies, occult orders and traditional witch covens. As we enter the 21st century, the information here may prove essential to understanding what is happening in the world today and the future destiny of the human race. It reveals that our modern civilisation is not the product of haphazard cultural phenomena, but its development has been guided and influenced by celestial intelligences who first made contact with humans in prehistory. These teaching angels', as they are called, are still there ready to teach and guide those who recognise their presence. This book contains several appendices that offer ritual practices for those interested in contacting the angelic forces. This is the first book to be written exclusively on the Luciferian gnosis and angelic magick which reveals the real secrets within the Western magical tradition. It provides an important and essential starting point for the reader to delve further into the numinous realm of the angels. The voice of the angels shalt speak unto you and by their signs shall ye know them.