"FREEMASONRY: THE KNOCKS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE"

W.BRO. REV. J.R. CLELAND M.A., D.D., P.P.A.G.CH. (KENT)

Until recent years there existed only one active and generally known School
of Masonic Research, namely that which bases its work mainly upon written
records, and is therefore otherwise correctly designated the Historical
School. To the work of this of this School the Craft owes a deep debt of
gratitude. It has been responsible for the formation of such Lodges as
Quatuor Coronati No. 2076 and Manchester Lodge for Masonic Research
No. 5502, while the majority of the so-called Masters' Lodges are also its
legitimate offspring. In the year 1921, however, mainly as the result of
divergent views among the foremost students of that time, other specialised
Schools began to pursue their  investigations along lines not acceptable to
the leading exponents of the Historical School. Of these the first to take
organized form was that known as the Anthropological School, to which the
London Masonic Study Society owed its inception, and the early exponent
of which was Bro. J.S.M. Ward, whose work "Freemasonry and the Ancient
Gods" provided the necessary momentum. Subsequently, other groups of
students inspired by the late W.Bro. W.L. Wilmshurst have brought into
being the Mystical or Metaphysical School, and the leading exponents of
this School are undoubtedly The Lodge of Living Stones No. 4957 and our
own Dormer Masonic Study Circle.

Members of this Circle will be aware that the primary object of the Mystical
School is to delve deeper into the inner meaning of Freemasonry, and to
establish its connection with religious and philosophical systems. From the
point of view of many students the chief difficulty which arises is one which
assails the disciples of all religious teachers and all philosophers - what
proof is offered. Realising, this I am always careful to impress upon
Brethren that until conviction dispenses with the necessity for caution, it is
advisable to follow the dictum of Descartes and accept as a basis "the
more convenient hypothesis." What I have to tell you in this Paper about the
"Knocks" is therefore what appeals to me as the "more convenient
Hypothesis," and I have chosen what appears to be the most ancient, the
most universal, and the most useful system of knocks, upon which to base
my conclusions. It has been pointed out to me that in certain other
jurisdictions the system used differs considerably from that familiar to us,
but, upon analysis, I find that these other systems do not bear close
investigation. For example, there is a system of knocks in use in the U.S.A.,
in which ONE signifies the E.A. Degree, TWO the F.C., and THREE the
M.M., and so on in a series up to SEVEN. This system is unquestionably
a very modern production and, in my opinion, cannot compare with that
used in our Lodges working under the English Masonic Constitution.

Before we proceed with the main subject of my Paper, it is necessary to
draw your attention to the way of approach to the Ancient Wisdom tradition
which forms the philosophical basis of our modern Masonic system and
doctrine. First, let me remind you that there are two main bodies of thinkers
in the realm of religion and philosophy, and that these have been aptly
described as the Comparative Religionists and the Comparative
Mythologists. The latter body claim that the common origin of all religion
and mythology lies in human ignorance; that the beliefs and ideals of
religion are only expressions of the crude guesses and emotional reactions
of primitive man, in a more refined form. According to this point of view the
great Initiates and Teachers are merely higher developments of the early
Medicine Man, and God is but a synthesis of the personified forces of
Nature. The Comparative Religionists, however, working from the same
observed facts, contend that all religions have their origins in Divine
relation, in the teachings of Divine men who, from time to time, deliver to
mankind through some selected nation or group, a statement of such
fundamental truths as the people collectively can be made capable of
receiving. This view sees in primitive religions and rites the remnants of
what was once a Divine revelation, preserved through a period of
decadence in a degenerate form, and postulates that all religions are
branches springing from one common trunk - Divine Wisdom. There has
been much said and written on both sides, but while there appears to be
ample evidence of the working of degenerative processes, it is difficult to
bring forward any definite case in support of the views of the Comparative
Mythologists. I now leave you to make your own investigations, and for our
present purposes, assuming the Comparative Religionists to be correct, the
following are the Key Teachings upon which all religions and religious
teaching must be based:-

1. THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD, implying that from Him all things emanate,
and to Him all must return.

2. THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN, implying his inherent Oneness with all
that lives, and ultimately, with God Himself.

3. The immortality of the spiritual entity in man, and his gradual unfolding
towards knowledge of his Oneness with all that lives, and union with the
Godhead. This by means of repeated descents into matter, or incarnations
in the lower forms of matter, by which he learns to understand and control
matter at all levels.

4. The fact that man, actual or potential, must exist at all levels, and that,
by the study of those levels or planes of being, he may gain a glimpse of
what he has been in the past, of what he is now, and of what his
development of his innate propensities must finally lead him to be.

Let us now, for a few moments, consider the planes or levels into which
Nature is divided, according to this teaching, more particularly with
reference to evolving man, bearing in mind that man is a composite being,
and not merely a physical organism. These may be conveniently expressed
in diagrammatic form as follows:-

1. PHYSICAL PLANE: divided into Dense Physical and Etheric levels.

2. EMOTIONAL PLANE: the seat of the emotions, passions and desires

3. LOWER MENTAL LEVEL: the Analytical Mind, the vehicle of knowledge

4. HIGHER MENTAL LEVEL: the Synthetic Mind, the vehicle of Intelligence
and "door of wisdom" . This is the level of the Casual Body, so called
because, being the lowest portion of the Individuality - the Reincarnating
Ego - it is in this vehicle that the results of past experiences and reactions
are stored for the generating of CAUSES which lead to, and determine, the
environment of the following incarnation. The aim and object of the Craft is
the development of this Casual Body through knowledge and conquest of
the Personality.

The three lower planes of this diagram - Physical, Emotional, and Lower
Mental - taken together, are called the PERSONALITY, a word derived from
the "Persons" or mask worn by minor characters on the Roman stage to
indicate the character represented. The chart could be amplified to show
the planes of Nature in their entirety, in so far as they have been
communicated to the world at large, but I have refrained because the Craft
deals only with the conquest of the Personality, and the preparation for the
unfolding of the Intuitional faculty.
We must seek to elucidate the connection between the planes or levels and
the system of "knocks" in Freemasonry, and for this purpose it is necessary
that we should have some understanding of the significance and effects of
sounds and specialized vibrations in general, when we can link the
conclusions reached with the particular range of vibrations which are
intended to be set up by means of the Craft "knocks." I propose to
demonstrate that the knocks in use in the Craft, and in the intermediate and
higher degrees closely associated with the Craft, have a very real
significance not only in pointing out the stage which the candidate is
deemed to have reached when he presents himself in each degree, but
also in acting as means of tuning-in the candidate to the vibrations of the
plane to be contacted in the degree. Science today tends more and more
to the conclusion that every natural phenomenon depends for its existence
upon vibration. This is nothing new, for in the very first chapter of that great
scientific work which lies open upon our Masonic altars, the V. of the S.L.,
we are told that the world was created by means of the spoken word, by
the vibratory action of sound, while the very existence of a Trinity in Unity,
a concept implied in Freemasonry, as in every religious and philosophic
system, may be demonstrated in the sounding of the simplest of all
sounds, a single vowel. For example, in sounding the vowel sound "A" I first
have to create a vibration of definite form and intensity; next, in order that
this may impinge upon your ears, and set up therein a sympathetic
vibration fro transmission to your brain, I must preserve the vibration for an
appreciable period of time, however short in duration; and, as all that I have
to communicate to you cannot be conveyed in the one sound, I am
compelled to destroy the vibration by transmuting it into that of the next
sound I wish to convey. Students will therefore not fail to note that in the
pronunciation of a single vowel sound, it is necessary to exercise the three
aspects or functions which tradition assigns to the Deity, - CREATION,
PRESERVATION, and DESTRUCTION (or TRANSMUTATION). This vibratory
action, however, is not confined to the physical plane, but extends to all
other planes of Nature, and, in the same manner that when a musical note
is sounded all things tuned to that note within reach of the vibratory action
respond by sounding the same note, the setting up of a certain rhythm or
vibration on the physical plane stirs into activity the corresponding note on
each of the higher planes. In this way communication between the various
planes may be established, and the ringing of bells calling to worship, the
chanting of the Iman from the minaret of the mosque, the beating of the
tom-tom, are all founded upon the tradition of this fact. Originally bells
installed in Churches were tuned to the vibration corresponding to the
particular mood or emotion required in the worshippers at any season.

I will now take the Craft 'knocks' seriatim, and endeavour to give some
indication of the plane to which each Degree refers in its teaching, as well
as the plane of consciousness symbolically reached by the candidate as
he takes each successive step. We first enter a Craft Lodge as a purely
physical man seeking realisation of the greater Self beyond the physical
phenomena of the Universe. Among the Officers of the Lodge the Tyler is
clearly the only one whose duties and activities are confined entirely to the
physical level. When, therefore, he is summoned to carry out his duties
within the Lodge it is by means of two (short) "knocks", intimating that his
work is among those who have not yet co-ordinated their dense physical
and etheric bodies. The Candidate, however, on his arrival at the door of
the Lodge, is announced by means of the "knocks" of the First Degree, for
the work of the E.A., is concerned with the co-ordination of the Personality
and the laying of the Foundation for the Spiritual Temple which is to be the 
"super-structure." Herein, there takes place, symbolically, that re-birth in the
Spirit which welds the Personality into one complete whole, and this is
indicated by the three distinct "knocks" given by the Candidate to signify
that he is functioning upon the three levels, physical, emotional and mental.
The chief study of the First Degree is the lower or analytical portion of the
plane of mind; the Candidate is therefore expected to study and analyze
himself minutely so as to "knock off all superfluous knobs and
excrescences" in character and general make-up, to enable him to gain
complete control on the physical plane by a full understanding of its
component parts. From this it follows that, although ceremonially the
Candidate is allowed to pass on to other Degrees, he remains in fact an
E.A., employing tools and "knocks" appropriate to the First Degree, until the
work allocated to that Degree is in practice completed. In the Second
Degree the physical aspect is deemed to be completed and the unfolding
of the Higher Mental is the subject proper to the work; hence research is
to be extended "into the more hidden mysteries of Nature and Science,"
and the province is synthesis. As the Candidate in the Apprentice Degree
learns of the planes and studies them separately, taking each point of
procedure and each "stone" as a unit in itself, so in the Fellowcraft Degree
he learns to combine them all and to use them for the one great purpose
of building up of sense, feeling, and knowledge into the Personality, that
this may, at some future stage, become a fit vehicle for the Intuition. The
Fellowcraft must therefore conquer his emotions and desires, and to
illustrate this the "knocks" of the Degree signify that the Candidate is
functioning upon the Desire Level and the two divisions (lower and higher)
of the Mental plane. It should be noted that the Candidate for the Second
Degree is announced to the Lodge as an E.A., with the "knocks" of that
Degree. In the Third Degree the emotions are deemed to have been
brought under control and the work has consequently passed beyond the
plane of Desire; the two divisions of the Mentality now work in conjunction
with the awakening Intuition, and the unfolding of the Spiritual man is
commenced. The "knocks" in this Degree therefore indicate that the work
is on the Mental and the Intuitional levels, while the Candidate is a
announced as a Fellowcraft. At this juncture it is necessary to refer to the
position occupied by some of the intermediate and higher Degrees in our
system. The Mark Master Mason Degree is peculiar in that it is the only
Degree in Freemasonry which including it sappendage, the Degree of Royal
Ark Mariner - is capable of standing by itself, and of conveying a complete
picture and message without reference to the other Degrees. The "knocks"
of the Mark Degree show how it links the powers gained in the Second or
Fellowcraft Degree with those of the E.A., on the physical plane. Those of
the R.A.M. are quite distinctive, and I will refer to them later. The Degree of
Installed Master - for it is a Degree notwithstanding certain affirmations to
the contrary which have come from the uninstructed - does for the M.M.
what the Mark Master does for the F.C., linking up the newly unfolded
consciousness with subordinate matter. The "knocks" of an I.M., are
variously given, but I have attended Lodges where they are, in my opinion,
correctly given as 1-2-1. There are two possible forms, but one of them
would entail a slight modification of the position of the H.R.A., in the
scheme of things; this form is given in the printed Ritual published by
W.Bro. J.S.M. Ward some years ago. With regard to the Holy Royal Arch
of Jerusalem, however this may be interpreted, it is, of necessity, the
completion of the Craft system of Degrees, linking the whole in a perfect
unity, fit to be the foundation stone of another and higher system which lies
outside the scope of our study in this Paper. 

Applying the correspondences of the Craft system to religious thought, we
may take the incidents in the Christian Gospel narrative, in its allegorical
sense, as being the system which is best known to the majority of Brethren
under the English Masonic Constitution, and view its parallels in the
Masonic ladder. The corresponding stages are:-

E.A. ................. BIRTH
F.C. ................. BAPTISM
M.M.M. & R.A.M.  ..... TRANSFIGURATION
M.M. ................. CRUCIFIXION
I.M. ................. RESURRECTION
H.R.A. ............... ASCENSION

The whole system of "knocks", as well as that of "signs" and "words" of 
power , belongs to the realm of Ceremonial Magic; it is White Magic which
can be legitimately used, in its proper place, as an aid to the attainment of
Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, and for the purpose of creating harmony
in Service and Worship. We have to remember, moreover, that behind all
outward observance there is the Reality with which it is true, and of which
it is the reflection, and we must avoid confusing Image with Substance (that
which "stands behind") for that way lies Idolatry.

There is a Path, open to all who truly seek to qualify for it's treading, which
leads to Perfection and Oneness in T.G.A.O.T.U., and this Path and its final
Victory is summed up in the M.M.M. and R.A.M. Degrees in Freemasonry,
and in the incident of the Transfiguration in the Christian mythos. It will be
noted that those taking part in the drama of the Transfiguration are Three
Disciples and The Master, and that the "knocks" in the R.A.M. Degree are
in the ratio of 3 and 1; this is no mere co-incidence, but testifies to the
perpetuation of an age-old token of Victory. The first Initiation on the Path
takes place in the Causal Body and awakens the full consciousness on the
plane of Intuition. This Path is marked by definite steps, and in order that
we may the better ourselves to undertake the quest entailed, the steps are
mirrored for us on the lower planes in our Masonic Ceremonies. Thus if we
think deeply on our Words, Signs, Steps, Knocks, and all the other
concomitant parts of our Rituals, we realize that each has its place in
bringing us into tune with our Brethren, in whatsoever Degree the Lodge
may be open. Entering the Lodge let us say, in the Third Degree, we
should, if only inwardly, make al the signs and repeat all the words, pass-
words and knocks in the preceding Degrees, thus leading our
consciousness up through the E.A., and F.C., levels into tune with the
higher vibrations of the M.M., Lodge for in this way only can we carry out
to the full our Masonic profession and gain full harmony with all who
partake with us the work of building. This will lead us to membership of the
Great White Lodge whose Officers are the ever watchful servants and
helpers of their younger Brethren among men. The practice, too often
witnessed, of announcing the arrival of a Candidate with the knocks of the
Degree to which he seeks admission, instead of the knocks of the Degree
to which he belongs, is most reprehensible, practically as well as
symbolically, as is also the vogue of resuming the Lodge from the Third
Degree to the First, or vice versa, without giving in full the intermediate
knocks of the Second. "Let all things be done decently and in order", is an
excellent conjunction for every occupant of the Tpropehis
llustrate this the "knocks" of the Degree signify that the Candiÿly to the
phh:for u me membership of the
Great White Lodge whose Officers are the evernse phye it iÿ by means of two (short) "knocks", intimating that his
work is among those who have not yet co-ordinated their dense physical
ansignify that the Candidate is
functioning upon the Desire Level oor of
the Lodge, is announced by means of the "knocks" of the F for the Spiritual Temple which is to be the 
"super-structure." Herein, there takes place, symbolicallyB vice versa, wÛctor the E.A., is concerned with the co-ordination of the Personalitye." Hcences" in character and general make-up, to enable him to gain
fit which welds the Personality into one complete whole, and this o Perfection and Oneness in T.G.A.O.T.U., and this Path and its f