ur Friendly Society constitutes of both men and women of various ages, who unite together,

study, and specialize in a philosophy of spiritual life. We cultivate certain basal truths of human nature
and human destiny, in accord with the noble orders of architecture. While the religions of the world
express these truths in different forms, Mechanism underlines and illustrates the foundational principles
common to them all, in unity of thought.

From time immemorial and through all ages and lands, there has existed a fundamental belief that an inner or
divine degree of knowledge may be acquired or revealed to human beings under certain conditions. This
knowledge is invariably related to the nature and destiny of the soul of an individual and its relationship to a
Deity. This is a fundamental principle from which all modern religions sprung, but Mechanism, not being a
religion, concerns itself with the nature of the Belief and not its form.

    The secrets of the inner being of an individual and the Divine knowledge that leads to the discovery of our
relationship with the Deity are imbued in the "center" or the core of our soul, which is the spirit. The discovery
and joyful utilization of this knowledge constitutes "Christ Consciousness." Mechanism strives to teach the
attainment of this knowledge and the application of its principles and tenets in our daily lives.

    It is recognized however, that these inner values being of a spiritual nature are incommunicable. They
transcend communication by word of mouth or hand, but are capable of manifestation through our way of life,
and therefore can be felt and assimilated through the right light radiations, but in the main, can only be attained
through personal endeavor.  

The Entered Apprentice is privileged to gather the stones which he or she wishes to true during his or her
progress through the Lodge or Chapter. At this point, you symbolize the youth who is choosing his or her
life work. The stones that you may find are rough and broken; they will not fit into anything, however, those
who have not gathered them can never true them.
     
     As Free Mechanics, the start of our journey begins in personal darkness when we are blindfolded. This
blindfold is an allegory of two things: that our attention might be focused inwards rather than outwards, and
also to underline our spiritual poverty. We have come here to seek improvement, in solicitation of being
admitted to the mysteries and privileges of Mechanism.
     
     Thousands of years ago, a physical journey might have lasted many, many years and might have been
accompanied by many real dangers and life-threatening difficulties. Our Mechanic ritual attempts to
represent this in an allegorical way.
     
     Under the auspice of The Divine, it is our hope that our journey lead us away from worldly pursuits
towards the abandonment of selfish, ego-driven goals, in order to uplift ourselves closer to our Higher Self.
A journey away from darkness towards light, for ignorance is the darkness of chaos, and knowledge is the
light of the Cosmos.
 
SO MOTE IT BE
The Two Pillars
     The two pillars can be found in the symbolic traditions of many religious traditions and esoteric Orders.
Their meaning relates to the duty of the Initiate to bring Harmony into both his own personality and in the
world, and relates to the manifestation of universal consciousness in a myriad of material forms. In about
969 BC, Solomon, King of Judeah, decided to build a Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. At this time
the Hebrews were nomads living in tents, while neighboring Tyre had been a rich and prosperous city for
over two centuries. Recognizing the Tyrians' advancement in architecture and the other arts, Solomon
appealed to their greater talents to build his temple.
     
     When the temple was built, the Hebrews ceased their wanderings and became permanently established.
As a memorial of this fact, they included in the design of the temple, the two pillars, a symbol used by the
Tyrians and many other nations descended from ancient Aryan stock, to represent the Divine leadership that
led them out of enslavement in Egypt and to their new and permanent home.
     
     Hiram, the architect sent by King Hiram of Tyre, cast a pair of hollow bronze pillars that stood on the
outer portico of Solomon's temple, one finished in silver and the other in gold and studded with emeralds.
     
     Standing in the north, the pillar of silver represented the pillar of smoke and was called Boaz, which
signifies strength. Standing in the south, the pillar of gold and emeralds represented the pillar of fire and was
called Jachin, which signifies establishment. The manifestation of the Deity as a pillar of clouds and a pillar
of fire points to the origin of the two pillars in the earliest recorded Aryan conceptions of the Divine
presence.
     
     According to biblical account (Exodus 13:21-22), "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of
cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He
took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." The two
pillars are often depicted in esoteric symbolism as an entry to hidden knowledge that permits the balance
between opposite forces. Between the columns is a veil covering the hidden world of wisdom. The veil is
usually decorated with palms (the male element) and pomegranates (the female element), which represent
the reproductive force in the subconscious that allows ideas to be made manifest.
     
     In Mechanic symbolism, the pillars stand on either side of the entrance to the Mechanic lodge and
represent the pillars of Solomon's Temple.The pillar of Jachin represents the solar, masculine, active,
positive, expansive principle of light; the pillar of Boaz represents the lunar, female, passive, negative,
containing principle of darkness.
     
     The idea of duality is also represented by the different architectural styles of the pillars, the pillar
representing Jachin being Doric, and the pillar representing Boaz being Corinthian. The pillars were
completed and named before the temple was dedicated although it has often been said that the names of the
pillars were to enshrine the memory of David's ancestry.
     
     In seeking to endow the Davidic dynasty with power and also to express King Solomon's gratitude to the
Almighty for his support, the oracles would have used invocations such as: "Yahweh will establish (Jachin)
thy throne forever" and "The king's strength (Boaz) is in Yahweh".
     
     "And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and
called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz." (II Chron. 17.) These
strange names are not without a purpose. They contain the key to the entire Bible and to the whole order of
Nature, and as emblems of the two great principles that are the pillars of the universe; they fitly stood at the
threshold of that temple which was designed to symbolize all the mysteries of being.
     
     To walk the middle path between the pillars is to transcend the illusions of duality and to identify oneself
not with the material body, but with the consciousness and the impulse of life for which the body is only a
vehicle. Along with the identification of oneself with consciousness, or spirit, comes the understanding that
the true nature of all other beings is also spirit, and that every individual is but a seemingly separate material
manifestation of a single universal consciousness that pervades the universe.
     
     This realization is the basis of the concept of Fraternity, the doctrine that all individuals can be likened to
cells comprising the one body of humanity.
     
     When one realizes that he and the other are one, and that the apparent separateness is but an effect of the
way man experiences forms under the conditions of space and time, acts of selfless charity become second
nature, for by serving one's brother, one serves the highest part of himself: spirit.
     
     The Initiate must see through the illusion of opposites to understand their inherent unity and must apply
this understanding to the mastery of his own being.
     
     Like Nature, Man is made of a number of instincts and qualities that are seemingly opposite. Since
ancient times it has been recognized that the seven pairs wisdom/foolishness; wealth/poverty;
fruitfulness/childlessness; life/death; dominion/dependence; peace/war; beauty/ugliness are the ones which
most affect man's successful progress through life.
     
     The Initiate should repeatedly check the actions of his life against these seven pairs and take the
reconciling middle position by maintaining a balanced integrity.
     
     The Initiate who can affirm, "I come from between the pillars" has walked the middle path through the
turmoil and troubles of life and has preserved his composure. As an agent of Omneity he is commissioned to
a life of activity in a world of seeming contradiction and confusion, from which he must work to bring his
own individual pattern of harmony.
     
Researched and Prepared by:

Ricardo R. Hernandez, P.I.G., H.P.

Alpha District P.I.G. Conclave
Under the Grand Jurisdiction of:
Alpha District Grand Lodge #1 Inc., New York
Independent United Order of Mechanics F.S. W.H. Inc.

THE MOORISH DIVINE AND NATIONAL

MOVEMENT

We are trying to uplift fallen humanity and to teach

those things neccessary to make men and women
become better American citizens.

Come and link yourselves with the family of nations.

We honor all true and divine prophets. Jesus,

Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, etc.
___________________

Thoughts on Enlightened Citizenship –

the Prophet's Program
Uplifting Fallen Humanity – an expression that
suggests that as individuals raise their consciousness
and attune to high levels of spirit and vibration, they
become channels for the Divine Force and become co-
creative partners with God-Allah in bringing spirit into
the earth.

Collective enlightened citizenship naturally forms a

bedrock for organizations to grow in their communities
and evolve into thriving and meaningful national
organizations. The Prophet's Program establishes such a
foundation intended for the spiritual teachings of
Moorish Science to be thoroughly understood and
applied to day-to-day living. This is the critical
importance of learning about our “American
citizenship” and, more importantly, becoming “better
citizens”. Through proactive “enlightened” citizenship,
we can make changes in our living conditions and
enable our ancient spiritual teachings to grow and
impact our lives, individually and collectively.

Citizenship involves the capacity to respond to the

problems and urges of fellow-citizens. This capacity to
respond is what makes the citizen a spiritually
expansive person. We are not separated from the root
causes of the problems in our local communities and
we are not separated from the possibility of their
solutions. We are the channels for the expression of the
Higher Self.
 “... I am hereby calling on all true citizens that stand for a
national free government, and the enforcement of the
American Constitution to help me in my great missionary work
because I need all support from all true American citizens of
the United States of America. Help me to save my people who
have fallen from the constitutional laws of government. I am
depending on your support to get them back into the
constitutional fold ...” - Prophet Noble Drew Ali

Key Principles of Moorish-American

Nationality

1. Moorish-American citizens freely submit to the

jurisdiction of, and pledge allegiance to, the Republic
of the United States of America, and agree to abide by
any and all laws and rules of the federal government
and constituent states.

2. Moorish-American citizens wholeheartedly

recognize and embrace all civic duties, obligations,
and responsibilities for managing all cultural, political
and economic operations in their local communities.

For more information, please inquire at:

Moorish Science Temple of America

c/o Maryland Public Service Committee
 2923 Rockrose Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland    21215

Moorish Science Temple of America - An Illinois

Corporation

PAST MASTER'S LABOR

          A principle of the Past Master's Degree – one should be a Past Master of the Art if he
or she is to advance in the Mechanic's art. The relationship of those who have received the
advanced degrees – and understand them - to their less informed brethren is that of an elder
brother or sister, whose duty it is to encourage them to advance to a better understanding of
 the underlying principles and teachings.

          A Past Master has a responsibility to both learn Mechanism and to assist others to
learn. Let us know Mechanism first. When the candidate of this degree is handed the gavel,
it is a reminder that he or she has been elevated in station above the common level. This
advancement implies enhanced knowledge and ability. To be a Past Master in name one
should strive to be a Past Master in fact. The requirements of this degree presume a skill and
knowledge of the art commensurate with the title.

          The “labor” to which one is now called as a Past Master is “the Self”. The idea behind
the Past Master receiving the gavel is not that he or she wields authority so much over the
Lodge or Chapter, but that he or she has achieved authority over “the Self”. The expression
of this principle is found in the explanation given for the gavel in the Entered Apprentice
degree.

          To be a Past Master of the Art is a worthy distinction, but one is not a Past Master in
fact unless he or she endeavors to measure up to the responsibilities implied by the title; a
Master of Self, a Master of his or her own passions and prejudices, a Master in leadership of
those less informed, submissive only to the Will of God and the laws of civil society, and
therefore a Master in their own destiny.

          In this light, to be a Past Master in name, one should strive to be a Past Master in fact.
One who would assume to govern others must first learn to govern themselves!

SO MOTE IT BE