In some of the earliest catechisms the lesser lights were actually windows. The rooms in which the lodges were being held were very far north (I'd have to look back, but I believe this specific catechism was Scottish). As the sun didn't shine directly through windows on the north side of buildings that far north, in many old buildings, windows were omitted on the north side. Windows, after all, were expensive and had almost zero insulative properties, so if it wasn't providing direct sunlight to actually light the room, there wasn't much purpose in having them. So, why was the north dark? Because the north side of the room had no window whereas the other 3 sides did. The original catechism and the section of the lights had more to do with the stages of life than they did the light being provided.
Q Have you any fix’d Lights in your Lodge?
A. Yes.
Q How many?
A. Three.
N.B. These fix’d Lights are Three Windows,suppos’d (tho’ vainly) to be, in every
Room where a Lodge is held, but more properly the four Cardinal Points according
to the antique Rules of Masonry.
Q How are they situated?
A. East, South and West.
Q What are their Uses?
A. To light the Men to, at and from their Work.
Q Why are there no Lights in the North?
A. Because the Sun darts no Rays from thence.