what is the historical origin of the candidate's hoodwink in craft masonry

The supplied sources do not record the historical origin or derivation of the candidate's hoodwink. They do, however, document its early ritual usage and symbolic interpretation.

An eighteenth-century French ritual account records that the candidate was blindfolded prior to entering the lodge room and kept in that condition for about an hour, delivered up to his own reflections 1.

Regarding its symbolic meaning, Arthur Edward Waite takes the hoodwink to represent the postulant's internal condition upon seeking initiation 2. On Waite's reading, the candidate is hoodwinked outwardly because he is blind within to secret knowledge; crossing the threshold as a natural man who cannot walk alone, he remains blindfolded until brought into the sanctuary and restored to light 2.