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The Moorish RiteMARINERThe Official Newsletter of the Ancient Free Moorish RiteVolume 2SECOND RE-ISSUEMay 2008Peace, Love, Blessings And Prosperity ToAll In Summer 2008!In this second re-issue of the Mariner's long awaited return, we glance at Sis EstelleM. Parmer Bey and the Order Of The Moorish Star; the exciting women's componentof the Moorish Rite, Brother Devon Patillo's return home from the front lines inIraq, and the christening of Angelo Soliman Lodge No.3 in Florida. Also, under ourLooking For Articles section, Texas Grand Master Bro. Roger Moore pins thehistorical jewels on Benjamin Banneker, while New Jersey Grand Master Bro. QualityEl issues a timely clarion call for Moorish unity. And as is customary of the Mariner,included also are specific Masonic topics as well as topics of general interest. Enjoy!
THE O.M.S: SOME QUESTIONSANSWEREDBy Sis. Estelle M. Parmar Bey(People have been asking questions, both informedand uninformed, about the Order Of The MoorishStar; we hope to satisfy some of those questions inthis article.)Those who know are not joking when theywillingly tell you: “The O.M.S is no joke!”When Ill. Bro. Clifford E. Hazel Bey said, “Thereare no degrees within the Moorish Rite that are moreprofound, more sacred, and more necessary thanthose which define the OMS.Some of this stuffsoared right over many heads,” he wasn't joking. Notthat he is often inclined to mirth anyway, but hewasn't sparing words nor anyone's feelings. Heinsisted (before the establishment of the O.M.S) thatthe Moorish Rite would only sail properly when thewomen came aboard. Smart man.What was so lofty about the O.M.S that compelledthe Grand Commander to add, “soared over manyheads,” in that bold declamation Well, just take aquick gander at the O.M.S insignia above. Notice thecentered symbol; the word just below (maybe notlegible here but see front page) reads GOBLET. Thisone is a golden goblet.Now regarding the goblet and Bro. Hazel's statement:a gold goblet (or grail), because of its spherical cast,reflects light whichever way it is turned. And itsymbolizes, among other things, woman's natural,uncompromising reflection and essence of theCreator in all her divine aspects. It is a holy grail! Notto be confused with the Holy Grail from the KingArthur legend and recently made more popular byDan Brown's blockbuster book turned blockbustermovie, The Davinci Code. Our goblet or grail, whileit could allude to the same historical similarities , ithas stronger references to elements from Moorishlegends. So, you see; the O.M.S is onto some “deep”stuff!It is called the Complementary Rite. Of course, it isthe women's component of the Ancient Free MoorishRite, predicated on the natural complementaritybetween woman and man. And know this: The Orderof the Moorish Star is absolutely profound! Itsdegrees are predicated and established upon ancientspiritual principles. And sometimes, unfortunately,the spiritual often “spirits” right over the heads ofmany on this material plane on which we toil daily tosurvive.In that sense, the spiritual is akin to birds. Soaring inthe atmosphere above our heads, birds still exist onin our world, and frequently alight in our realm. Butwe have always marveled at their airborne abilitiesand associated flying with spirituality. Birds are alsooften symbols of spirituality associated with woman.Thus, our ancient Goddesses were often depictedwith wings. Isis, was one such Goddess; she isrepresented on the O.M.S star on which ten historicalGoddesses are memorialized. Moreover, we say inthe O.M.S Ritual, Bringing The Sacred Sail, “Youhave the vessel, but we have her wings.” That impliesvolumes about the character of the order whichcannot be covered here.But here are some frequently asked questions—andanswers—about the order. One sunny, mid-winterSaturday morning in the Newark library (NewJersey), I sat for a comfortable interview/question &answer session with a sister from the Urban Timesmagazine. As we sipped warm herb tea and munchedon sliced apples and wheat bread with butter, wetalked about the O.M.S. Here is the gist of thatdiscourse:Q: Is the O.M.S an “Androgynous” rite?A: It is not. It is for women inasmuch as men andwomen naturally experience peculiar rites ofpassage specific to each gender as suchexperiences are not mutually shared. As aComplementary Rite, the O.M.S is not by thatdesignation an androgynous component of theMoorish Rite, but is, in fact, an equal andcomplementary component, but formallyseparate from the Moorish Rite. O.M.S women
do organize with Moorish Rite men, but do notnecessarily hold meetings with them. Forinstance, a married couple may share the samebed, bathroom, bank account, and even the samedreams and aspirations, etc., but they wont sharethe same clothing or undergarments (not tosound trifling), because those things are specific,personal—and formal when you think about it.And it's always been that way in all civilizedsocieties. In fact, that fine, blurred line betweenthe sexes is a veritable definition and truemarker of civilization.Q: Is the O.M.S a secret organization?A: Actually, the “androgyny” question surprisedme because this question is usually the firstquestion people ask; I guess people arebecoming Masonically literate these days. In allcandor though and to answer the question: No,we're not a “secret organization. ”At least not ina “Secret Society” sense, which is a suspicionmost often implied by the question. We do havesecret handshakes and passwords, etc., and Iguess that makes us somewhat “secretive”concerning certain organizational practices. AndI prefer the word 'private to secret. But it'scertainly not a secret that we exist and we do notrequire, nor suggest in any way, that a womanregard her membership as secret. Please! Shecan tell everybody; she should tell everybody!Q: Must an O.M.S candidate be a spouse orrelative of a Moorish Rite Freemason?A: No. Any woman can be a candidate, she neednot be the spouse or relative of a Moorish RiteFreemason, although she can very well be both.Q: Is the O.M.S just like the Moorish ScienceTemples?A:No, it isn't. At least not in a religious sense, asthe temples are religious; but maybe in afraternal sense some similarities betweenorganizations are perhaps discernible to some.But as the Moorish Rite is not to be confusedwith the Moorish Science Temples by simple dintof the mutual word Moorish, neither should theO.M.S be so confused. As the Moorish Ritedoes respect the profound legacy of ProphetNoble Drew Ali, remembering that all such“A Moorish Star is awoman of stellarcharacter and elevatedrepute!”temples today are not necessarily united underhis legacy, the O.M.S maintains the same.So with respect to the M.S.T of America and thegreat work and vitally important legacy ofprophet Noble Drew Ali, the O.M.S is not “justlike” that organization. But some women aremembers of both organizations.Q: Is the O.M.S religious, then?A: Spiritual but not “religious.” The O.M.S is anon sectarian organization and will imposenothing on a woman's individual choice of faithand practice; a woman's religious preference isher own. We are, however, a Creator reveringorganization. While we do recognize religion asa wise choice and necessary aspect of people'slives, we do not espouse any religion or religiouscreed as a primary organization tenant. Butthere is much here that deals with spiritualitythat can help a woman gain added insight intoreligious concepts. Religious discussion is sooften emotional and unsettling, we leave thatactivity to individuals so inclined, to pursue intheir private or religious lives as they please.Q: I've heard that men sit in women'smeetings in Freemasonry, controlling themand telling women what to do.is the O.M.Sthe same?A: While we don't stress ourselves with thegoings on in other Freemasonic rites orfraternal organizations - nor do we criticizethem, and I won't agree that the questionnecessarily applies to them, suffice to say: Mendo not attend O.M.S meetings unless requestedor the Supreme Grand Commander decrees it orrequires an O.M.S audience and visits a meeting.In other words: O.M.S women are self-governedin meetings. We can lead ourselves in our ownaffairs. And there's nothing wrong with that.Everything is right about it, in fact.Q: What exactly is a Moorish Star?A:Big questions demand big answers. Don'tmind if I prelude this one: Now, of course, theexpression is fraternal and symbolic. Aphysical star, we all know, is an elevatedheavenly body which emanates light, light whichis only detected by our eyes three years after itsactual emanation. A shadow of the pastinfluencing the present. Don't get me started!Now I'm going to go in another direction with
this question because of its profoundly simple yetcomplicated implications. The El Dey thinks Ishouldn't; he says that people must pursue theirown study to uncover profound truths. But heasked me write this article, and so, true to O.M.Sform, thus must I be a woman, and thus, bemyself, and so, be a true light for my sisters.That said, I will imply as well a forecast with thisanswer. So here goes: Anciently, stars werealways associated with women, because starsgave birth to the blueprint (or “trestle board,”as my brothers may prefer to say) of the heavens.When the sun descended, the stars ascended, toshow us the way as well as delineate where wewere situated on this earthly terrain. In this way,stars became the invaluable tool of the navigatorat sea. For example, depending on the positionof the Little Dipper relative to the navigator atsea or on land, navigators knew where they werewithin the four cardinal earthly points.“While we dorecognizereligion as a wisechoice andnecessary aspectof people's lives,we do not espouseany religion orreligious creed as aprimaryorganization tenant.”Copious volumes have been written and spokenabout the Giza pyramids and I only echo herethat they were constructed to reflect the stars inthe heavens and to help astronomers detect thesame. The pyramids were originally glass-like,smooth structures and when night fell, they werea truly magnificent star-spangled spectacle. Thecasing stones were designed to reflect andmagnify light. That's why the ancients called thepyramids Ahkket, meaning Light within light,within light, within light! Three magnificentheavenlylights, which also alluded to the ancienttrinitarian teachings surrounding Osiris, Isis,and Horus. And here's my own two cents: Whilehistorians generally regard obelisks as veritablemasculine symbols, I contend that the pyramidsare feminine symbols.The ancient hieroglyphs show the reveredGoddess Nut (pronounced newt) depicted as theheavens enveloping earth as her star-speckedbody stretches across the earthly expanse,associating womanhood with divine andheavenly light—and much more. This necessarilycalls up the zodiac and Zudiakus, which alludesto woman or the feminine reproductive aspect ofthe universe. Anciently, stars were namedaccording to feminine phonetics. Isis was firstthe name of a star before its personification as ahuman Goddess. Now with that said, I will endthis answer adding only this: A Moorish Star is awoman of stellar character and elevated repute!Q: I understand that a male wrote the O.M.Sritual and other Order materials, why so?A: You mean Bro. Aalim Bey El Dey. Well, asthe Supreme Grand Commander of the MoorishRite and one of its Founding Fathers, henecessarily assumed that charge. Moreover, wecould not have been more blessed with a better“Drafter” of the O.M.S ritual than he. While theSGC is certainly “ultra” male in demeanor andpersonality, he is very capable of left brainedwriting. Now as that may be an uncommonconcept for those not acutely familiar with thewriting process, it serves the SGC particularlywell for such literary work requiring a femininetenor. And know this: Bro. Aalim brainstormedthe O.M.S ritual concepts and the literary designof other O.M.S materials with the expresscontribution of women; his literary “ink”followed their spiritual feminine flow. Thus, theO.M.S material is, in essence, reflective ofwomanhood. Bro. El Dey simply “penned” thepalpitations of our pulse. It's like how we saythat the prophets actually penned the scriptures,but it's still the word of God.Q: Why is the O.M.S even necessary?A: Well, our people aren't exactly the picture ofrighteousness these days. And the reputation ofour women is less than desirable. I think wecould use all of the moral teaching we can get.
We women, especially, should clean up our act.Look at the way we dress and carry onsometimes; we've lost all self respect and selfworth. Much of this “cheap” clothing signalsthat we are exactly that, and it is “designed” toaccentuate one thing: our physical “ass-ets!”And even some of us who claim a degree ofsocial sophistication are not inclined to moralityin it's proper applications. We don't respect ourmen and they don't respect us. We are so quick tolead or follow men in sin and fornication, but ifthat same man selects a path of righteousnessand moral excellence, we will not follow or leadif it kills us. We women will sometimes temptmen right through the gates of hell to exert ourcarnal influence over a man's lower passionsand weaknesses, but we won't dare lead the wayto heaven even if we know a shortcut to getthere. We say we want a man of God; but if wefind him, we become Delilahs in haste. Wehurriedly strive to defeat God and then takeGod's place in our men's lives. What we so oftenblame men for, we are ourselves the trueculprits, we should blame ourselves. You can'ttell me otherwise; I am a woman. I know that wepossess a mighty power to influence men, naturegave that to us, but how have we used thatinfluence. You're looking at it today. We are poorexamples for our men and children. That's whymen really have no regard for our mental andintellectual assets, we are merely physicalobjects to satisfy their abusive carnal appetites.I'm not advocating religion when I say
THE O.M.S: SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED By Sis. Estelle M. Parmar Bey (People have been asking questions, both informed and uninformed, about the Order Of The Moorish Star; we hope to satisfy some of those questions in
