"...the Holy Ones of Israel (Kedoshim)."

"The term, taken as another name for the rank and file of the Community and those adhering to this rule, paralleling 'the Many,' also calls to mind Dan. 7:21-2's 'Saints' (Kedoshim) and 'Saints of the Most High God.'" <6>

"The customs which existed in other places seem to have been known in Jerusalem, as we find in I Kings 14:24, 15:12, that Kadeshim were common in Judea, and in II Kings 23:7, we discover that these 'consecrated ones' were located 'by the Temple,' and were associated with women whose business it was ' to make hangings for the grove.'

"The word #dq, Kadesh, which signifies 'pure, bright, young, to be holy, or to be consecrated,' is also the root from which are formed the words Kadeshah and Kadeshim, which are used in the Hebrew writings, and are translated in our authorised version 'whore' and 'sodomite.' See Deut. 23:17."<7>

"The first Talmud, the only really Kabalistic one, the Mischna, was compiled during the second century of the Christian Era, by the last Chief of the Tenaim, Rabbi ha Kadosh- Hanassi, that is to say, 'Yehudah Most Holy and Prince.' The names 'Kadosh' and 'Prince' were given to the Great Initiates of the Kabalah, and have been preserved among the Adepts of occult Masonry and the Rose-Croix."<8>

"#dq, KDSh, once (Dan 11:30), #dwq, KODASH; 'holy, consecrated, Holiness, Sanctity, the Sanctuary.'"<9>

"The mendicant-devotee or mystic, derweesh, soofee, mejzoob, was allowed to make water while walking along the road, without even returning to the side; and every man or youth he signaled was obliged to go behind a bush with him, expose his buttocks, and suffer holy penetration. The respectful way of greeting a soofee in many areas was by kissing him, first upon the mouth, then lifting his shaggy robe, upon the navel, the penis and scrotum, and the podex. This physical manner of devout salutation was also employed in the secret initiation of every proselyte who was made to endure the enervating caresses of the entire company, and, in turn, prove his boundless virility by retaining stiff erection throughout over a dozen climaxes in the revered rites of his brethren. Were a proselyte to go limp before all were justly honored by his intromissions, he was kicked and spat upon and summarily evicted from the venerable fraternity."<10>

At this juncture, we shall devote some space to the discussion of the Johannite Tradition. To start with, we shall present our opinions on sex and theology, on morality, and the state of hypocrisy which is everywhere manifest, especially in the domain of theology. Before we present a composite of the Legend of the Johannites, taken from several sources and edited into one narrative, we shall give a description of the two high degrees in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR), which are the main subject of the present work, namely the 29° and 30°.

As to the Legend of the Johannites, which is often denied, often regarded as pure fantasy, it is possible that it is the likeliest approximation to the truth that may be drawn. This is not said merely because we believe it blindly, but because it reflects the likeliest account, considering the evolution of sects and schools in Europe and the Middle East prior to and concurrent with, the Crusades. Legends and Myths often provide us with more clues as to what actually happened in our collective past.

It is often the easier way out if one assumes that a myth is merely a fiction, or a part of the soul, or a virtue, or a force of nature personified. Analogous to this line of reasoning is the case of Alien Abductees who recall owls or other animals, rather than military personnel masquerading as aliens, due to the trauma they went through.On the other hand, if we take the Bible to be mythical fiction, we are heretics. It is just too predominant a theme, written into the fabric of Masonic and Occult history, to be dismissed as a mere fantasy. It would be better for us all if the Brotherhood were to actually grow up and accept its past, rather than carrying on the customary practice of denying it, being ashamed and/or afraid of it, or excusing the minor opinions of individual Masons in an attempt to marginalize them, as is the case with Albert Pike, thereby consigning them to the closet with the skeletons and all other things to which the closet metaphor applies. These are all things to be proud of, to claim as our legacy, bequeathed to us by our ancestors, who got them from the Most Holy Ancient One, Blessed Be IT.<11>

Until the relatively late period in ancient times, sex and religion were synonymous, and this only condemned by the more fanatical among the prophets and priests associated to the Yahweh cult, which was only one cult among several, including that of Asherah, the Hebrew Goddess. Yet it has really been due to the Orthodox Christians, <12> that sex and religion have been separated.

We are told that to blaspheme the Holy Ghost is the Unpardonable Sin.

Well, then, all Christians who hold Sex-Negative attitudes are guilty of this, since the Fathers condemned the Holy Ghost without recognizing it for what it was. Who says the Cold War began in the post-WWII period? This being done, the sole act which confers Grace was condemned as a sin, unless used to engender offspring (the least important usage of the sexual process), and then only by feeling guilty for doing it. Glorifying and Praising the Holy Ghost being considered evil, then, the only righteousness available to those who consider themselves followers of "Our Lord Jesus Christ", and of the "One, True, Holy and Apostolic Church" and all its variants, offshoots and cousins ~~ is the vilest life-negating blasphemy, and is equal to the selfishness, atheism, and nihilism they accuse Pagans, Gnostics, Buddhists and our kin for practicing.

Building and Sexual Union have similar etymological roots. In that context, the traditional word of the 3°, Mah-Ha-Bone, which is explained away as an exclamation, "What...the Builder!" could actually mean, "What...the conjugation!" according to Ben-Yehudah's Hebrew-English Dictionary. Extending this further, we could exclaim, "What the Fuck!" ~~ and not be disrespectful about it either. The Masons have been gifted with a singular sense of humor, otherwise the legends in the rituals would never have been created.

Baigent and Leigh, in The Temple and the Lodge, have remarkably demonstrated the historical basis for the theory of the Scottish Templars, which is often denied by the orthodox Masons. Indeed, Mackey's Encyclopaedia goes so far as to say that Scottish legends about the Craft are irrelevant and have no place in Masonry. The lies can no longer stand.

This is difficult to write, because we know fully that there are those who read it who will dismiss our legitimate research as pedestrian, or as spurious, or clandestine, irregular, immoral, or blasphemous. Yet, the sources speak for themselves. We are merely editing and interpreting them in the light of contemporary discoveries. And ~~ this work is not merely our own insignificant minor opinion, to be marginalized into non-existence, as today's Masons do with Pike and the other greats like Levi, but it is the opinion of dozens, perhaps hundreds and thousands, over the course of time.

One irony we note is that among the hallowed apologists for Masonry, one of the highest names of the past century has been Arthur Edward Waite. That's a real laugh, since one of the very few things occult writers, magi, and esoteric historians have ever agreed upon, is simply the shared contempt for Arthur Edward Waite. This is not without reason, since Waite has managed to garble just about everything he attempted to preserve for the ostensible magnanimity of prudent posterity!

So, then, our work in this place draws from where we left our account in Book One, the 15°. Pike speaks of the doctrines of John prevailing in the Orient. It is in this context that we find an interesting account ~~ that of the Levitikon, often denounced as a fraud and/or forgery, also noticed briefly in Book One.

or the present, however, we shall give a brief (but detailed) survey of the 29° and 30°, for it is important for the reader to know and to understand the context in which Freemasons place the Qadosh Tradition.

FOOTNOTES: