Rythym of the Knocks

[staffs]

As many are well aware the number three occurs many times in Masonry but i have been pondering on the maening and understanding of the knocks that we get to know and hear regualrly at a meeting.

One explanation from reasons of preparation is ;

These words are "seek and ye shall find; ask and ye shall have; knock and it
shall be opened unto you."

These words we moralise thus; you sought in your heart, you asked of a friend, you knocked and the door of Masonry was opened unto you.


Now this last one aint just about opening the door to let you in for the ceremony ..or is it ?

Maybe once again i look beyond the real meaning but the rythym of the knock in the degrees keeps re occurring to me.

Are they symbolising the Trinity possibly and the rythym of the knocks is meant to bring together the body ,mind and soul . by way they are done??

I have a bit more swirling around in my head but i cant quite work it out to post just yet.

I hope this post encourages those who want to... to do so in all ways

[hollandr]

Staffs

There are 3s all over the place. But as far as I can tell, the 3 knocks in blue lodge refer to the presence of the 3 brethren to rule the lodge - Master and 2 Wardens. Thus when the brother wishes to enter, he or she uses a knock for each of the senior officers.

But I have no proof of this. And there is endless room for moralising upon the threeness.

The question of the rhythm is a matter I will need to contemplate

Cheers

Russell

[maat]

Are they symbolising the Trinity possibly and the rhythm of the knocks is meant to bring together the body ,mind and soul . by way they are done?? - Staffs

Yes!

What is separated at first is integrated as we evolve and purify ourselves physically, intellectually and spiritually.

So while the emotions and undisciplined mind rule us at lower levels, as we reach towards perfection, the Inner Guide (our Higher Mind, which should be emotionless) and Spirit rule our personal Lodge.

The first steps in this process of evolution and purification are long and slow but as we progress the whole process speeds up.

One can liken it to when you start upon an exercise program, slow and painful at the start, but if you maintain the discipline everything strengthens and you take off in leaps and bounds, no longer restricted by your previous inadequacies.

Maat

[maat]

A symbol which might be appropriate for understanding the rhythm might be found in the Star of David.

We have the template points for the triangle - the base triangle reaching up and then the top triangle reaching down. Whilst the five pointed star is the symbol of Man - so the six sided star is the symbol of the Perfection of Man.

Maat

[ruffashlar]

Not all traditions have the knocks as rhythm-varied threes: some lodges in Scotland build the number of them cumulatively through the Degrees.

[maat]

ruffashlar said:

Not all traditions have the knocks as rhythm-varied threes: some lodges in Scotland build the number of them cumulatively through the Degrees.

Not being familiar with these I can only comment that you will probably find an explanation for why this is so if you contemplate the Knocks in 'higher' degrees, which start to repeat themselves. The symbol of the spiral might be helpful.

Even at the Craft level I can see that the knocks could be increased if you took the principles behind them cumulatively rather that integrate them within the next level.

This is how 1 can be also seen to be 3, 4, 7, 72 etc etc etc

[taylorsman]

Of course in many of the Higher Degrees there are more knocks than the Three in Craft and the Rhythm also varies. So far I have found the various explanations of great interest and wonder if the Three Fates could also be involved. Some cultures believe that when a death in near three distinct knocks will be heard, my late maternal grandmother, a Scot of Highland extraction who was "fey" (had the Second Sight), called them "tha deid knoaks" . I have inherited some of her Psychic capabilities.

[billmcelligott]

Three knocks I would suggest is more historical than anything.

You will note that 'Black Rod' knocks three times on the door of Parliament. This practice now being exported to Canada, Australia, I'm not sure of New Zealand but I believe parts of India.

Initiation has a threefold ring to it. In fairy tales everywhere this Initation fact is uttered in Three Wishes, three knocks etc.
Act Two, Scene Three, in which three knocks are continually repeated until the porter allows entrance to Macduff, the future murderer of the "unworthy" Macbeth.

If you do a Google search on three knocks you will find it a common factor in novels and stories from all around the globe.

"Knock three times on the ceiling" as the song goes.

[giovanni]

In Italy we have the so called "drums". We clap hands with different rhythm.

It's interesting the "joy drums" in 3rd degree: once, pause, then twice swiftly, repeated 3 times

clap (pause) clap-clap; clap (pause) clap-clap; clap (pause) clap-clap

It is like making a leap upward: the reference to the spiral is clear, at least IMO.

[maat]

giovanni said:

It is like making a leap upward:

...as in the base triangle of the Star of David

[a]

admin said:

These words are "seek and ye shall find; ask and ye shall have; knock and it
shall be opened unto you."

These words we moralise thus; you sought in your heart, you asked of a friend, you knocked and the door of Masonry was opened unto you.


Now this last one aint just about opening the door to let you in for the ceremony ..or is it ?

Yes and no.

Yes it is in a way - for if you have properly prepared yourself in your heart - it will open the door to yourself - so that you do start to know what "know yourself" really means. But no it has nothing to do with a physical man performed ceremony undertaken by those who view it as a bit amateur dramatics. Those who can feel the light and have alreay travelled sufficiently far may, or may not, be a different matter.

From the little that I have read on this it seems aparent to me that an unmutilated Masonic ritual is a reflection of the evolution of humanity. As well as being a guide book to help you get there.

But for it to work you have to do the inner work. There is no escaping it. Which is why you can tell an illuminati from a great distance. Or even a true Past Master as he/she illuminates the way for those who follow.

What you quote Staffs is very true, but how many Freemasons today really feel these words (as opposed to recite or view them purely in their physical Lodge sense). Privately most Freemasons that I talk to about this tell me that the answer is very very few. Which is very very sad. A bit like gold diggers finding a nugget of fools gold but seeing the sparkle truly believing it to be the real thing and then they stop searching for more. And the real nugget being burried within arms reach.

[taylorsman]

Same as over here Gio. Yes, Three Knocks are very common in many legends and rituals with no overt connection to Freemasonry. When a new Bishop comes to his Cathedral for the first time the door is closed in his face and he knocks three times with his Crozier to be admitted, a bit like Black Rod with his staff on the door of the House of Commons. I also believe that in some Oxford and Cambridge Colleges a new Chancellor does likewise to gain admission from the Senate. I think however these are three regularly spaced knocks "Thud! Thud! Thud!" and do not have any other Rythym whereas the knocks of the Tyler or of the WM, Wardens and IG signify the Degree in which a Lodge is working. I also read that when a Pope dies the Cardinal Camerlengo who arranges the funeral and the Conclave to elect his successor uses a small silver hammer and knocks his head three times calling his birth name, so in the case of the past Pope "Karol" , to show to all the World that he is truly deceased.

Does anyone else know of organisations which make use of Three Knocks in a symbolical manner?

[phil]

Hello Maat,

At the risk of digressing from the original thread, did you realise the significance of the Star of David as a two-dimensional representative of the Merkaba, the basis of a meditation symbol also figured in a representation of the god Thot.

Equally, the two triangles which make up the SoD are one pointing upwards and one pointing downwards. So above, so below. The material ascending to the heavens and the spiritual descending to the Material.

[maat]

phil said:

At the risk of digressing from the original thread, did you realise the significance of the Star of David as a two-dimensional representative of the Merkaba, the basis of a meditation symbol also figured in a representation of the god Thot.

Equally, the two triangles which make up the SoD are one pointing upwards and one pointing downwards. So above, so below. The material ascending to the heavens and the spiritual descending to the Material.

Yes - it's truly wonderful isn't it ! ! !

the two triangles which make up the SoD are one pointing upwards and one pointing downwards.

...here you may find a reason for the manner of the knocks for 2nd and 3rd degree... think about it...

Rose Croix Brn may find this information of interest also.

Maat

[sid]

Greetings,

phil said:

Hello Maat,

At the risk of digressing from the original thread, did you realise the significance of the Star of David as a two-dimensional representative of the Merkaba, the basis of a meditation symbol also figured in a representation of the god Thot.

Equally, the two triangles which make up the SoD are one pointing upwards and one pointing downwards. So above, so below. The material ascending to the heavens and the spiritual descending to the Material.

Regarding the triangle: The triangle 'moves' in a clockwise direction. It is its influence that is important be it above/point up or below/point down, or other. The 'law of the triangle' IS the 'movement' of the triangle from the centre to its completion as a triangle i.e., point, turning, spiral, action of polarity, to the completion of the triangle within a circle. All manifestation is the 3rd and final point of the triangle and its movement. I believe this is also linked to the 'opening' & the 'closing' of the tetrahedron, but that is another matter, which has to do with the 4 elements and their 16 forms of manifestation.

The so often mentioned "As above so below" (micro/macro) quote is a mistranslation from the original text, and if my information is correct it originated in Egypt. The correct text is about the joining of the above with the below only i.e., the joining of the two parts of the lion front & back. The front half of the lion is the 'above' & the back half of the lion is the 'below'.

[maat]

taylorsman said:

Three Knocks are very common in many legends and rituals with no overt connection to Freemasonry. When a new Bishop comes to his Cathedral for the first time the door is closed in his face and he knocks three times with his Crozier to be admitted

The Crozier can be thought of as representing the spinal column around and thru which the Three Energies ascend. At its summit these energies, when raised in frequency, will cause the higher chakras to become illuminated/enlightened. The pineal is situated deep in the centre of our brain.

From this we can deduce that one should be barred from positions of leading others (the church) until they can prove they are sufficiently integrated physically, mentally and spiritually, and thus somewhat enlightened, so as to perform this responsibility in a beneficial manner. Thus the crozier which resembles the crook indicates to all that the Shepherd is qualified to care for his Flock.

But that is just the symbology of the crozier...
See link herewith for the practical purpose of the crozier....

www.global.org/Pub/GH_Crozier.asp

Maat

[maat]

Idle thought...

If the Bishop has indeed bought his 'triangles' into full alignment - maybe he should be addressed as Your Immanence rather that Your Eminence ;D

Maat

[ruffashlar]

I used to be a bishop. But I just couldn't cope.

[ruffashlar]

Actually, no: I was never a bishop, actually. But I mitre been.