Fiji Masons Arrested for Sorcery

There are certain parts of the world where it's a lot more difficult to be a Mason than it is in the United States. One of the things you learn when you get involved with Masonry is the extent to which the founding fathers tried to build our nation on Masonic ideals. In the early days of the United States Masonry took on many of the functions that had been performed by state churches in Europe, such as the consecration of buildings and other public works projects. Many other countries don't have this sort of history, however, and in some of those places being a Mason can get you into trouble with both your neighbors and the local authorities.

Apparently, one of those places is the island nation of Fiji, where 14 members of a Masonic Lodge were recently arrested on suspicion of practicing sorcery.

A New Zealand man spent a "wretched" night in a Fiji jail after police raided his Freemasons meeting when frightened residents suspected witchcraft, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The man, who did not wish to be identified, blamed "dopey village people" for the raid on the island of Denerau in which 14 members of the Freemasons Lodge of Lautoka were herded into police cars and jailed for the night.

Police also seized lodge paraphernalia, including wands, compasses and a skull.

The man told the Herald that Tuesday night's meeting was "interrupted by a banging on the door and there were these village people and the police demanding to be let in".

One of the hazards of being involved in a tradition with elements that are kept secret is that people outside the group are left to wonder what you are up to and why you have to keep your activity secret. I once knew someone who got involved in Masonry and after finding out what we actually did went around trying to find out how he could get involved in the "secret higher degree rituals" that he was convinced had to be going on. He eventually wound up quitting the fraternity because it wasn't nearly as exciting as those Jack Chick pamphlets implied. I think that since I and a number of my friends were members of the lodge and also practiced magick, he was of the opinion that there had to be more explicit magical work going on there. That was what the local police were thinking as well.

Police director of operations Waisea Tabakau told Legend FM News in Fiji that the group were being investigated for "allegedly practicing sorcery", the Fiji Village website reported.

The 14 Masons were released the next day by order of the Prime Minister, but nonetheless had to spend the night in in a Fiji jail, which sounds other than fun. It just goes to show that superstition can be a powerful and dangerous motivator, though in this case the Masons escaped criminal charges and further injury. Many people accused of sorcery or witchcraft in that part of the world have not been so lucky.

Naturally, I think the story would be a lot more interesting if it turned out that they actually were practicing sorcery. Many of the elements of the Masonic initiation rituals have practical magical applications and when done properly I find those initiations to be quite magical, though they are more works of illumination than works of sorcery. If somebody really was out there practicing Masonic sorcery, I would be very interested in finding out what exactly they did and how well it worked.