JHT: You recently published THE KEY TO SOLOMON'S KEY: Secrets of Magic and Masonry. So why do you believe that Solomon is the key?

LMD: Solomon is quite literally the "key" to both Magic and Masonry. It doesn't matter if the wise Hebrew King ever actually existed as an historical character or not. He has become hardwired in the western psyche as the archetype of the spiritually liberated and empowered human being-the mediator between that which is above and that which is below-a pious man of God and a wise conjurer of demons. For many, the terms "man or woman of God" and "conjurer of demons" seem to be concepts at odds with one another. I do my best in the book to demonstrate how the two concepts are not only compatible but cannot exist apart from each other.

JHT: Other than the spike of interest in Freemasonry generated by the success of Dan Brown's DA VINCI CODE, why should anyone, let alone occultists, care about a bunch of crusty old men with funny hats and aprons shaking hands behind closed doors?

LMD: We should care because (whether the vast majority of Masons alive today realize it or not) Masonry is in a very real way the heir to the ancient Mystery Traditions. She is also, in my opinion, the custodian of a profound secret concerning the political and religious history of western civilization. In fact, I believe that since the 12th century it's been the most dangerous secret in the world.

Unlike most of my other books, THE KEY TO SOLOMON'S KEY is not aimed primarily at practicing magicians or occultists. Yes, I write a bit about the magical art form known as Solomonic Magick (Goetia), but I do so only in the context of telling a greater story, a story that should be of vital interest to anyone who wishes to understand the underground ideas and forces that have molded our religious and political world.

JHT: Does this mean that Lon DuQuette has turned conspiracy theorist?

LMD: (Laughing) Well... sort of I guess. Look ... for the better part of two thousand years western civilization has been spiritually asleep-not only asleep, we've been trapped in a nightmare. We didn't just fall asleep. We were pushed. We were pushed by individuals and institutions who, for reasons of greed and crowd control, needed to create a culture of spiritual zombies-a population easily manipulated by fear of living and fear of dying. You can find the weapon these guys used in the end-table of any hotel room.

JHT: Obviously you're talking about the Bible.

LMD: Of course. Look around. Even today in the Middle East. The essence of why the Israelis and the Arabs hate each other and both think they are entitled to that land springs ultimately from their belief that they are descended from one or another brother in a Bible story. Here in America, the leaders of our government believe that catastrophic war in the Middle East is inevitable-actually ordained by God in the Bible. With the future so laid out why conserve oil and natural resources, why prevent pollution? The Bible is a rich source of wisdom and inspiration and enlightenment, but it is also the father of the slave trade and the mother of global warming.

But please don't misunderstand me. I respect the Bible as a spiritual document, and so do Masons. For several years I was Chaplain of my Masonic Lodge and there's no question in my mind that Masons love the Bible. But the Craft never suggests that her members should accept the Bible as an historic document. In fact, the rituals and traditions of Masonry draw the candidate's attention to certain Bible stories, and then oblige him to meditate on sacred truths outside the strict confines of the Bible narratives. Masonry encourages us to ask ourselves questions and dig deeper into the Bible stories that the rituals and lectures refer to. And when we start asking questions about the Bible we better be prepared for some very unsettling answers. I believe that Masonry wants those questions asked.

JHT: Back when I was involved in CoMasonry, it was common and accepted "lore" that Freemasonry-if not the actual Order, at least the structure-could be traced back to Egypt, or to the builders of Solomon's Temple, or at the very least to the Knights Templar. Was this wishful thinking?

LMD: Where Masonry is concerned, there's a profound difference between "traditional" history and "history" history. The degree structure of the Craft, the formulae of the initiation ceremonies, even the requirement that each member memorize the details of the ceremonies and lectures, are echoes of the ancient mystery school practices. But there is no empirical evidence whatsoever that proves that modern Masonry has descended from the Egyptian or Greek Mystery Schools or the Dionysian Artificers, or even the medieval guilds of cathedral builders. Neither is there any evidence that on such-and-such a date the Knights Templar escaped their persecution, went underground and transformed themselves into a men's benevolent club that employs building tools as esoteric symbols and Bible stories as moral lessons.

That being said, we are stuck with what Masonry IS; and like some pre-echo to the philosophy of Thelema, Masonry can ultimately only be understood and defined in the hearts and minds of her individual members. Many influential individual members of the 18th and 19th centuries passionately embraced the 'traditional' identity of the Craft as the continuation of the Egyptian Mystery Schools and the custodian of the secret of the Knights Templar.

JHT: But isn't the coupling of the Mystery School tradition to that of the Knights Templar a weird marriage? After all, the former was a transcendent spiritual experience and the latter was a violent military organization.

LMD: The Mystery School tradition reveals who our 'friends' are and demonstrates the way of personal spiritual illumination; the Templar tradition reveals who our 'enemies' are and demonstrates how they can be vanquished in order to for us to achieve a free and enlightened society. No. I think it's a marriage made in heaven.

JHT: Then you believe Masonry has an agenda?

LMD: It had an agenda, and for those with eyes to see, it still does. We can see that agenda at work in Masonry's antagonism toward temporal tyranny; in her militant stand against ignorance and superstition; in her legendary enmity towards oppressive religion; in her exaltation of the arts and sciences; and most importantly, in her call for a rational homage to the Deity, and her unambiguous affirmation of the inherent goodness of humankind. Masonry's agenda is to raise the consciousness of humanity. One of the most important projects in that agenda was the resurrection of the Greek ideal of Democracy and the creation of the United States of America. This ideal has been all but overturned in the last six years.

JHT: It seems to me that there is generally a bifurcation of intent in any spiritual current, an exoteric and an esoteric approach. The exoteric appears almost always to be fear/guilt-based, while the esoteric approach is one which values internalizing the message (whatever it is), emphasizing Unity and Love, and generally ends up with its followers tied to stakes. Can this conflict be reduced to simple economics, since the Esoteric Path would have no need for a hierarchy of priesthoods and the concept of, say, "tithing" would be absurd? Or is the economic issue only part of a larger one? Why are people so terrified of Freedom?

LMD: You've hit the nail squarely on the head. Except I don't see it even as a choice between exoteric and esoteric. I see it as simply as the former being political (economic/exploitative) and the latter being religious (self-realizing/liberating).

JHT: I'm wondering if you see in all this Solomonic/Freemason interest perhaps, just perhaps, the swing of the pendulum away from the knee-jerk, neocon party line of the Dominionists (who, as you say, have no interest in environmental matters since Armageddon and the Rapture are soon upon us) and back in the direction of the real Mystery? How far will this go? Doesn't the very success of THE DA VINCI CODE and these other materials speak to a deep-seated need by our culture for something deeper more real than the crawl across the bottom of CNN's screen?

LMD: Absolutely, and I believe that the greatest evil on earth is religion used for political ends. For the survival of life on this planet it has got to stop! Look ... this is not just another skirmish of ideologies but the actual birth pangs of a quantum leap in the evolution in human consciousness.

The three "great" religions of the west have ceased to be religions. They've become political parties-political parties with insane, unhealthy, and dangerous platforms-political parties that demand from their constituents a form of mental illness and spiritual bondage-political parties that are not playing well with each other-political parties that are threatening the very existence of life on Earth. And this terrible nightmare all springs from the misuse and misunderstanding of a book. What would happen to those political parties if that book were proven to be the "emperor with no clothes?"

I think the Templars thought they had that proof, and that Masonry quietly and respectfully encourages her members who have eyes to see and ears to hear to make that discovery for themselves. In THE KEY TO SOLOMON'S KEY I share what I've discovered, something that I believe to be the most dangerous secret in the world...

"As it was then, it is today - those who hide and will never be seen, control all that "you and yours" will see, believe, and will die for." - Dr. Oliver I. Spence, W.D.