Symbolism

Free Masonry

The state of mind of a new initiate into Freemasonary was described by Maj. Sanderson as “chaotic” 1. Many, if not most brethren from their own experience would readily attest and vouch to this fact, and that it is indeed very easy for the neophyte freemason to be lost in the masonic forest of symbols and symbolism which he enters, as a fait accompli to initiation. Masonic symbology which uses abstract symbols of illusionary impact, portraying profound and cardinal truths could be denoted the most interpretative and esoteric facet of Freemasonry. As Buck stated “it is in the ancient symbols of Freemasonry that its real secrets lie concealed and these are as densely veiled to the mason as to any other, unless he has studied the science of symbolism in general and masonic symbols in particular” 2.

The understanding of these symbolic connotations calls for quiet and ruminant contemplation, deductive intuition or a scientific type of inductive spiritual research. Even to the ‘thinking mason’, masonic symbols open a Pandora’s box of thoughts to moralise and speculate upon, what then to speak of the novitiate. However the fact remains even today as Steinmetz states 3 : ” the average Mason is lamentably ignorant of the real meaning of masonic symbology and knows as little of its esoteric teaching”. Masonic symbolism and symbols are a cognitive experience that one has to constantly search for in the threshold of one’s own “lodge”. Mackey 4 exhorts every mason: “to study the symbolism of masonry is the only way to investigate its philosophy. This is the true portal of its temple through which alone we can gain access to the sacellum where its aporrheta are concealed”. To the myriad of doubts, often as exuberant as the pomegranate seeds, that linger in the minds, of such a mason, who seeks enlightenment, and for the nucleation of his thoughts, this essay is directed. For convenience it will be considered in two parts – its dialectics and didactics.

Dialectics of Masonic symbolism:

The classical definition of Freemasonry is “A peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated with symbols” 5. A good starting point in understanding the alloying elements cont<;lined in masonic ritual is to distinguish and discriminate between “allegory” and “symbolism”. The definition of allegory is “a figurative representation in which something else is intended to what is actually exhibited”. This is typified by our masonic ceremonies, as they have two distinct and different meanings; an “exoteric” or the immediately obvious, and an “esoteric” or the mystical meaning. As apparent in the definition itself the veil that covers the allegory has to be parted by the masonic student and the hidden meaning of the allegory discovered for himself. A parallel can be readily drawn to lifting the veil of “Maya”, that envelopes, the Atman, as per the Hindu scriptures.

Symbol on the other hand is defined as “something that stands for, represents or recalls something else not by exact resemblance but by suggestions or associations in thought, especially an object that represents something abstract as an idea, quality or condition” 4. Far from its origins, symbolism and symbols has a wide and differentiated usage and application in diverse fields ranging from mathematics, geometry, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, to art, literary criticism, theatre, religion and most importantly in daily life. As Freemasons we ever recognize the profuse, effective and pervasive usage of symbols in our rituals and literature.

Flumini 6, has described a symbol as “any element that refers to another independently of the methods by which the other is represented”. The pre-requisite of a symbol is that “it must render the presence of the represented in an immediately effective manner”, and must not be “conventional”. The distinguishing character of a symbol is that it must instantly “communicate” or immediately strike a chord in the “mind and heart” of the reader, beholder or the perceiver, that the “representative himself takes part in the represented reality” thus endowing it with an exceptional sensitivity. Nowhere but in our Masonic ritual is such symbolical and allegorical application seen in action with such grace, fluidity and felicity.

Masonic symbolism as contained in our rituals, induces in the candidate an instant rapport and develops a magical bond between the reality of our daily life and experience from the represented symbol. Coleridge has described this as the “bond between the representative and the represented”. Goethe 6 has beautifully captured its essence thus: “….the mission of the allegory and of the symbol is to connect the peculiar to the universaL…. a vivid and instantaneous revelation of the inscrutable…” The distinction between allegory and symbolism is subtle, but indeed different; allegory through the concept searches for something outside itself; symbol instead finds it immediately demonstrating nothing more than itself. It is just through its self evident reason of existence that it carries within itself the essence of the universal”.

Symbolism is the very stone on which the edifice of Freemasonry has been built – a superstructure, perfect in its parts and the whole. We, can only marvel at the wisdom, strength and beauty of the symbolical working tools so aptly chosen by our founding fathers to inculcate, the great as well as sundry moral truths through the medium pf symbols and aphorisms. Symbolism then, is what endows Freemasonry its great depth and profundity of meaning that ranges from the surface of the earth to its centre or even as high as the heavens as the mind can sink or soar. Its interpretation like charity should have no bounds save those of prudence.

Symbols have a great virtue, and accounts for their such wide spread and varied usage in Masonry. Symbols are virtually inexhaustible in import and interpretation, in as much as every new recipient finds in it, the meaning most accessible in the horizon of his knowledge, and the compass of his cultural attainment. To the recipient it is never too much or too little, whether he be rich or poor, scholar or laggard, as the radius of the circle of interpretation can be varied to suit the person and the persona. Symbolism always conceals just that much, to maintain the inexplicable mystery it carries. As the centre point of a circle is ever equidistant from its circumference, symbolism transcends the finite in space and time, and elevates those symbolically derived thoughts to a sublime level, endowing them with an ethereal quality and evanescence, so vitally needed in self realization of that divine spark within – “Aham Bhramasmi”!

Masonry traces its history to antiquity. There is a fundamental question that baffles the casual and scholarly student alike – are we to believe that the craftsmen of the medieval guilds most of whom were illiterate, conceived the entire masonic philosophy, crafted its symbols and built the edifice of Freemasonry on it, with such consummate cunning? Or is it that the humble and mundane tool of the mason, was chosen just as a symbol? Why not other symbols? What was the grand object of such extensive sYrJ1bolism? Why not a more direct approach to instruction be adopted as in the religious texts? Such questions are legion, and no one answer can satisfy one and all, if there be one at all. Much like the meaning of the symbols, the answers to these perplexing questions has to be found not from without but from within, by quiet contemplation. It only suffices to say, such, my brother is the nature of masonic symbology; it conceals that teaching from those who do not seek it out, as to reveal it to him, who of his own free will and accord earnestly attempts to pierce that veil of Masonic mystery 6 . Let us supplicate the G.G.O.U that the rays of heaven may shed their influence to enlighten us in the study of masonic symbolism as we now move to its didactics.

The Didactics of Masonic Symbolism:

Masonry symbolically speaks of three greater and three lesser lights and thereby it acknowledges the existence of a hierarchy and relevance in the moral truths it contains. No doubt, they all lead to the grand and the only truth, as the Vedas declare “Ekam Sath, Viprah Bahuda Vadanti” – the truth is only one, but it is spoken of differently and so it is with masonic symbols. It is my speculative thesis that the whole pantheon of masonic symbols can be reduced for an analytical masonic study into three classes of greater symbolisms and three lesser symbolisms. The three greater are the symbolism of death and immortality exemplified by the Hiramic legend, the acceptance of Omnific Supreme being, and the profound injunction – Know Thy Self. The lesser lights are three and oontained in the symbolism of the lodge – in its form, its ornaments, furniture and jewels etc, the symbolism of the rituals – such as in the knocks, the perambulation and the like, the sym~olism of the nobility of labour and refreshment, in constructing our spiritual temple – thus our destiny and that of humanity. These, the lesser lights are easy of comprehension, lie open in the lodge for the brethren to moralise upon, and many excellent treatises are readily available and will not be dealt with in this essay.

Of all the symbols used in masonry, the use of the Hiramic legend as a symbol to teach, conquer and prepare the Masonic mind on the awful subject of death remains supreme. Death it is said, is the only true concomitant of birth. In this great and unsurpassed lesson that the ritual of raising teaches, its import and impact even goes beyond religion, in the lasting physical and spiritual experience it affords, and the transformation it effects in every reflective mind. No contemporary religion provides for such an all encompassing experience.

Mackey 4 has vividly and cogently described the travails and frailities of human existence thus: “… Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward….temptations allure his youth, misfortunes darken the pathway of his manhood, and his old age is encumbered with infirmity and disease”. The sublime symbolism of a resurrection from the grave and a new birth into a future life, is beautifully symbolized in the Hiramic legend of the masters body being transferred from the polluted grave into which it was cast by the murderers (read our mortal existence on this earth), its discovery (read spiritual emancipation) and its sepulchral internment in the precincts of the S.S, (read – soul liberation or moksha) are so figuratively symbolic of the great truth of life, death and the immortality of the soul. It also portrays the universal truth that mystical death must precede mystical rebirth – “know ye not that ye must be born again”.

The Vedas and Upanishads state that the nectarine, or ambrosic knowledge of the Paramatman, is sought not only by humans but even by celestials; such is the divinity of human existence. There is a striking analogy of the masonic raising to the principle of “Jeevanmuktha” propounded by Srisankara as the bedrock of Advaitha philosophy. It states that one who has attained liberation, freedom and immortality while in this human body is verily a true Jeevanmuktha. Many from the West have doubted if this is indeed possible, and contend that only death can liberate the soul.

Kathopanishad declares ( 11-6-4 ):
Cedasad boddhum prah Sarirasya Visrasah
Tatah Sargesu lokeshu Sariratvaya kalpate”

“If one is able to comprehend Him before the death of the body, he will be liberated from the bondage of the world”. Immortality, is the grand object and the final fulfillment of the struggle of evolution, and man is the only being that can hasten his spiritual evolution, and thus attain “Kaivalya mukthi”.

It is my speculative thesis, that Masonry affords us a working tool to attain this objective and its symbolism should be understood in this light. That this was the purpose of ritual is evident from the writings of the great Masonic scholar, Mackey who wrote: “… the whole design of Freemasonry, namely that, when man shall have passed the gates of life and have yielded to the inexorable fiat of death he shall then be raised at the omnific word of the G.M.O.U from time to eternity; from the tomb of corruption to the chambers of hope; from the darkness of death to the celestial beans of life and that his disembodied spirit shall be conveyed as near to the holy of holies of the divine presence as humanity can never approach ~he deity”. The only caveat of this great Masonic symbol, is that it has to be understood fully by the mason and sadly this is exactly what is lacking today.

The second greater light of symbolism in Freemasonry is based on its most important landmark, namely the acceptance of one Supreme being – the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God, the concept of immortality of the

The use of the compasses in Freemasonry also has a great symbolism in this context. One arm of the compasses invariably rests on the centre no matter how far the other leg travels. It symbolizes, that no matter however far we may travel from God the Divine spark within us, the Atman can never really be separated from Him or err from the centre. This centre point was designated a “bindu” – which has neither size nor shape, represents the infinite and the unknown, and is thus symbolic of the Spirit or the Paramatman whence we have all come and whither we shall ultimately return. Thus with the compasses, the centre point symbolically is the spirit, the compass head with which we grasp the instrument is the soul and the circumference it delineates or scribes the body. At the centre of the circle as stated in our ritual, there we shall find the lost secret, the ineffable name of God.

A close’ study of the craft and rituals of the higher degrees reveal’ that it ever exhorts the candidate to foster links with his Creator, living by His divine laws. Subjugation of the senses, morality, truth, charity, temperance, fortitude, prudence and such other finest of human attributes is what Masonic symbolism inculcates. The venerable Albert Pike 8 has written: ” Freemasonry is the subjugation of the human that is in man by the divine; the conquest of the appetites and passions by the moral sense and reason; a continual struggle, effort and warfare of the spiritual against the material and sensual”. We are confronted daily by the same three ruffians who accosted our Master H.A, to extort the secrets. They are symbolic of three great tormentors of the human flesh in our existence on this terrestrial globe – earth i.e. kama , krodha and moha – lust, anger and desire. The Holy Bible ( 1 John, 2:16 ) names them” the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life”. Masonry symbolically teaches us that we can conquer them, and be a way of life by imitating the example of that celebrated artist, we represent, remembering his firm and unshaken demeanor in spite of the blows from the three ruffians that made him reel and sink on his knees.

The third great light of Masonic symbolism in my thesis is the knowledge of the Self, as evidenced by the declaration in the charge after raising 5 : “let the emblems of mortality which lie before you, lead you to contemplate your inevitable destiny and guide your reflections to that most interesting of all human studies, the knowledge of yourself. “Know thyself and thou shalt know the Universe and God” was the injunction commonly seen writ over the ancient temples of initiation, for this knowledge of the Self was the key to all secrets and mysteries. Masonry though fundamentally designed to realize this grand object, in practice does not assure the candidate any such illumination after the candidate’s passage through the craft or higher degrees. As Ward states” Nevertheless to point out that attainment as possible to us as our destiny, to that path of self-perfecting to those who care to dare and follow it, modern speculative masonry was instituted…. And it is upon this inner world and the path to and through it that Masonry promises light…. This is the sole aim and intention of Masonry”.

That we need not search afar, but search for the indweller within us is the great lesson that scriptures teach. Marcus Aurelius 9 said”… it is open to you every hour to retire into yourself. And where can man find a calmer, more restful haven than his soul”. He dilates further’ “dig within yourself. Therein lies the fount of good – a fount whose waters will forever well up, if you but forever dig “.

It is said that one who knows about the Brahman verily becomes it; “Bhramavit Brahmaiva Bhavati”. This is the grand principle’ enunciated in the statement “Tat Twam Asi” – That Thou Art. This my brother is that Light which a mason professes to be the predominant wish of the heart on asking for admission into Freemasonry ! “

Thus the sumum bonum,’ of the subject matter of Freemasonry is the symbolic ‘realization of the relationship between Spirit and Matter, between Heaven and Earth, between God and Man and between the Soul and Body. Acceptance of the Fatherhood of God implies the brotherhood of man and conversely he who devotes himself to the service of his fellow creatures proves through his brotherly relationship, his descent from the Father of All. It further teaches us that even great symbols are shadowed forth in the person of the man himself; that it is in this very Homo-sapien that the true lodge ought to be opened; that it is on this chequered floor that the great truths and hidden mysteries of nature and science are to be discovered, imbibed and applied; that it is in this spiritual temple built invisibly in our hearts, tyled against all malignant passions, that we should labour to discover that vital and immortal principle, whose rising within will bring peace and salvation in this mortal life and immortality thereafter.

And so, through light and darkness,
Raise us, Great Master till we are made,
One with Thee, in the unspeakable
Glory of Thy Presence in the East.
So Mote It Be.

References:
1. Sanderson. M. Maj: An examination of the Masonic ritual – First degree.
2. Buck. J.D: As cited in Steimetz.G in ref. 3
3. Steinmetz. G: Freemasonry: Its hidden meaning.
4. Mackey. A. G.: The symbolism of Freemasonry.
5. Craft Ritual: Published by the Grand Lodge of India .
6. Flumini. M: Theories of allegory & symbolism. (From Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry – Website )
7. Ward. J. S.M: The Master Masons Hand book.
8. Pike. A: Morals & Dogma
9. Zeldis.L: Marcus Aurelius and Vedanta

The Square

The Sacred Volumes lie open upon the Altar of Masonry, and upon them lie the Square and Compasses. They are the three Great Lights of the Lodge, at once its Divine warrant and its chief working tools. They are symbols of Revelation, Righteousness, and Redemption, teaching us that by walking in the light of Truth and obeying the law of Right, the Divine in man wins victory over the earthly.

The Square and Compasses are the oldest, the simplest, and the most universal symbols of Masonry. All the world over, whether as a sign on a building, or a badge worn by a Brother, even the profane know them to be emblems of our ancient Craft. Some Years ago, when a business firm tried to adopt the Square and Compasses as a trademark, the Patent Office refused permission, on the ground, as the decision said, that “there can be no doubt that this device, so commonly worn and employed by Masons, has an established mystic significance, universally recognized as existing; whether comprehended by all or not, is not material to this issue.” They belong to such, alike by the associations of history and the tongue of common report.

Nearly everywhere in our Ritual, as in the public mind, the Square and Compasses are seen together. If not interlocked, they are seldom far apart, and the one suggests the other.

Let us separate the Square from the Compasses and study it alone, the better to see it’s further meaning and use. It is a small, plain Square, unmarked and with legs of equal length, a simple try-square used for testing the accuracy of angles, and the precision with which stones are cut. Since the try-square was used to prove that angles were right, it naturally became an emblem of accuracy, integrity, rightness. As stones are cut to fit into a building, so our acts and thoughts are built together into a structure of Character, badly or firmly, and must be tested by a moral standard of which the simple try-square is a symbol.

So, Among Speculative Masons, the tiny try-square has always been a symbol of mortality, of the basic rightness which must be the test of every act and the foundation of character and society. From the beginning of the Revival in 1717 this was made plain in the teaching of Masonry.

Such has been the meaning of the Square as far back as we can go. Long before our era we find the Square teaching the same lesson, which it teaches us today. In one of the old books of China, called THE GREAT LEARNING, which has been dated in the fifth century before Christ, we read that a man should not do unto others what he would not have them do unto him; and the writer adds, “This is called the principle of acting of the square.” There it is recorded long, long ago. The greatest philosopher has found nothing more profound, and the oldest man in his ripe wisdom has learned nothing more true. Even in our Vedas it is written

“Matruvat pardarani, pardravyasch loshthvat;

Atmanam sarvabhuteshu, yah pashyati, sah pashyati”

How simple and beautiful it is, revealing the oldest wisdom man has learned and the very genius of our Craft. For Masonry is not simply a Ritual; it is a way of living. It offers us a plan, a method, a faith by which we may build our days and years into a character so strong and true that nothing, not even death, can destroy it. Each of us has in his own heart a little try-square called Conscience, by which to test each thought and deed and word, whether it be true or false. By as much as a man honestly applies that test in his own heart, and in his relations with his fellows, by so much will his life be happy, stable, and true.

It Matters not whate’er your lot
or what your task may be
One duty there remains for you
, One duty stands for me.
Be you a doctor skilled and wise,
Or do your work for Wage,
A laborer upon the street,
An artist on the stage;
One glory still awaits for you.
one honor that is fair,
To have men say as you pass by:
“That Fellow’s on the square.”
Ah, here’s a phrase that stands for much,
Tis good old English, too;
It means that men have confidence
In everything you do.
It means that what you have you’ve earned,
And that you’ve done your best
And when you go to sleep at night
Untroubled you may rest.
It means that conscience is your guide,
And honor is your care;
There is no greater praise than this:
“That fellow’s on the square.”
And when I die I would not wish
A lengthy epitaph;
I do not want a headstone large,
Carved with fulsome chaff.
Pick out no single deed of mine,
If such a deed there be,
To ‘grave upon my monument,
For those who come to see.
Just this one phrase of all I choose,
To show my life was fair:
“Here sleepeth now a fellow who
was always on the square.”

The Compasses

In our study of the Square we saw that it is nearly always linked with the Compasses, and these old emblems, joined with the Sacred Volumes, are the Great Lights of the Craft. If the lodge is an “oblong square” and built upon the Square (as the earth was thought to be in olden time), Over it arches the Sky, which is a circle. Thus Earth and Heaven are brought together in the lodge – the earth where man goes forth to his labor, and the heaven to which he aspires. In other words, the light of Revelation and the law of Nature are like to two points of the Compasses within which our life is set under a canopy of Sun and Stars.

No symbolism can be more simple, more profound, more universal, and it becomes more wonderful the longer one ponders it. The principles of Freemasonry are as wide as the world, as high as the sky. Nature and Revelation blend in its teaching; its morality is rooted in the order of the world, and its roof is the blue vault above. The lodge is always open to the sky, whence come those influences, which exalt and ennoble the life of man. Of the heavenly side of Masonry the Compasses are the symbol, and they are perhaps the most spiritual of our working tools.

As has been said, the Square and Compasses are nearly always together, and that is true as far back as we can go. In the sixth book of the philosophy of Mencius, in China , we find these words: “A Master Mason, in teaching Apprentices, makes use of the compasses and the square. Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the compass and the square.” Note the order of the words: the Compass has first place, as it should have to a Master Mason. In the oldest classic of China, THE BOOK OF HISTORY, dating back two thousand years before our era, we find the Compasses employed without the Square: “Ye officers of the Government, apply the Compasses.” Even in that far off time these symbols had the same meaning they have for us today, and they seem to have been interpreted in the same way.

While in the order of the lodge the Square is first, in point of truth it is not the first in order. The Square rests upon the Compasses before the Compasses rest upon the Square. that is to say, just as a perfect square is a figure that can be drawn only within a circle or about a circle, so the earthly life of man moves and is built within the Circle of Divine life and law and love which surrounds, sustains, and explains it.

The Level

The Level, so the newly made Mason is taught, is for the purpose of proving horizontals. An English writer finds a lesson in the structure of the Level, in the fact that we know that a surface is level when the fluid is poised and at rest. From this use of the Level he bids us seek to attain a peaceful, balanced poise of mind, undisturbed by the passions which upset and sway us one way or the other. It is a counsel of perfection, he admits, but he insists that one of the best services of Masonry is to keep before us high ideals, and, what is more, a constantly receding ideal, otherwise we should tire of it.

Of course, the great meaning of the Level is that it teaches equality, and that is a truth that needs to be carefully understood. There is no little confusion of mind about it. We have often heard that all men are “created equal,” but not many have tried to think out what the words really mean.

Anyone who faces the facts knows well enough that all men are not equal, either by nature or by grace. Our humanity resembles the surface of the natural world in its hills and valleys. Men are very unequal in physical power, in mental ability, in moral quality. No two men are equal; no two are alike. Some can do what others can never do. Some have five talents, some two, and some but one. A genius can do with effortless ease what it is futile for others to attempt. When there is inequality of gift it is idle to talk of equality of opportunity, no matter how fine the phrase may sound. It does not exist.

By no glib theory can humanity be reduced to a dead level. The iron wrinkles of fact are stubborn realities. Manifestly it is better to have it so, because it would make a dull world if all men were equal in a literal sense. As it is, wherein one lacks another excels, and men are drawn together by the fact that they are unequal and unlike. The world has different tasks demanding different powers, brains to devise, seers to see, hands to execute, prophets to lead. We need poets to inspire, scientists to teach, pioneers to blaze the path into new lands. No doubt this was what Goethe meant when he said that it takes all men to make one man, and the work of each is the glory of all.

What, then, is the equality of which the Level is the symbol? Clearly it is not identity, or even similarity of gift and endowment. No, it is something better; it is the equal right of each man to the full use and development of such power as he has, whatever it may be, unhindered by injustice or oppression. Or, as a famous slogan summed it up: “Equal right for all; special privileges to none!” That is to say, before the law every man has an equal right to equal justice, as before God, in whose presence all men are one in their littleness, each receives equally and impartially the blessing of the Eternal Love, even as the sun shines and the rain falls on all with equal benediction.

Albert Pike, and with him many others, have gone so far as to say that Masonry was the first apostle of equality in the true sense. It is in the free and friendly air of a lodge of Masons, about an altar of obligation and prayer, that the principle of equality finds its most perfect and beautiful expression. There, upon the Level, the symbol of equality, rich and poor, high and low, prince and plain citizen – men of diverse creeds, parties, interests, and occupations – meet in mutual respect and real regard, forgetting all differences of rank and station, and united for the highest good of all. “We meet upon the Level and part upon the Square”; titles, ranks, riches, do not pass the Inner Guard; and the humblest brother is held in sacred regard equally with the brother who has attained the highest round of the wheel of fortune.

Every man in the lodge is equally concerned in the building of the Temple , and each has his work to do. Because the task demands different gifts and powers, all are equally necessary to the work.

Thus Masonry lifts men to a high level, making each a fellow-worker in a great enterprise, and if it is the best brotherhood it is because it is a brotherhood of the best.

The Plumb

Since Freemasonry is a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and expressed in symbols, it but necessarily follows that all our teachings are through symbolic means. Most symbols selected in educating masons in morality and in being of service to mankind are taken from real Masonic tools. The level and plumb rule too are such symbols.

Like the Square and the Compasses, the Level and the Plumb are nearly always united in our Ritual. They really belong together, as much in moral teaching as in practical building. The one is used to lay horizontals, the other to try perpendiculars, and their use suggests their symbolism. By reason of their use, both are special working tools of the Fellow-craft, along with the Square; and they are also worn as jewels by two of the principal officers of the lodge.

Among the Craft Masons of olden time the actual work of building was done by Fellowcrafts, using materials gathered and rough hewn by Apprentices, all working under the guidance of the Master. In our symbolism, as the Apprentice is youth, so the Fellowcraft is manhood, the time when the actual work of life must be done on the Level, by the Plumb and Square. Next to the Square and Compasses, the Level and Plumb are among the noblest and simplest symbols of the Craft, and their meaning is so plain that it hardly needs to be pointed out. Yet they are so important, in use and meaning, that they might almost be numbered among the Lesser Lights of the lodge.

The Plumb is a symbol so simple that it needs no exposition. As the Level teaches unity in diversity and equality in difference, so the Plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct, integrity of life, and that uprightness of moral character, which makes a good and just man. In the art of building accuracy is integrity, and if a wall be not exactly perpendicular, as tested by the Plumb-line, it is weak and may fall, or else endanger the strength and stability of the whole. Just so, though we meet upon a Level, we must each build an upright character, by the test of the Plumb, or we weaken the Fraternity we seek to serve and imperil its strength and standing in the community.

As a workman dare not deviate by the breadth of a hair to the right or to the left if his wall is to be strong and his arch stable, so Masons must walk erect and live upright lives.

What is true of a man is equally true of a nation. The strength of a nation is its integrity, and no nation is stronger than the moral quality of the men who are its citizens. Always it comes back at last to the individual, who is a living stone in the wall of society and the state, making it strong or weak. By every act of injustice, by every lack of integrity, we weaken society and imperil the security and sanctity of the common life. By every noble act we make all sacred things more sacred and secure for ourselves and for those who come after us. The prophet Amos has a thrilling passage in which he lets us see how God tested the people which were of old by the Plumb-line; and by the same test we are tried:

“Thus He showed me: and, behold the Lord
stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a
plumb-line in His hand. And the Lord said unto
me, ‘Amos, what seest thou? ‘ And I said, ‘A
plumb-line.’ Then said the Lord, ‘Behold, I
will set a plumb-line in the midst of my
people of Israel : I will not again pass them
by any more.”

The Lambskin Apron

In Masonic symbolism the Lambskin Apron holds precedence. It is the initial gift of Freemasonry to a candidate. Above all other symbols, the Lambskin Apron is the distinguishing badge of a Mason. It is celebrated in poetry and prose and has been the subject of much fanciful speculation. Some Masonic writers have contended that initiation is analogous to birth, or our advent from prenatal darkness into the light of human fellowship, moral truth and spiritual faith. Much ancient lore has been adduced in an effort to show that the Lambskin Apron typifies regeneration, or a new life. By many, it has been regarded as a great religious symbol. In our present conception there are three parts of man, body, soul and spirit; what the body is to the soul, the soul is to the spirit, namely, a house or habitation, but in oriental thought there were seven parts of man, four earthly and three heavenly, four physical and three spiritual. The four sides of the square symbolized the four physical and the three sides of the flap, or triangle, symbolized the three spiritual parts of man. The apes of the triangle or point of the flap stood for the seventh part of man which was called Atma and which means the eternal spark, the divine flame, the indestructible spirit of the living God in every human being. In this aspect it means that

God is not a looker on
At the life of anyone;
God is under every man,
God is part of every man.

A badge is either good or bad by reason of that for which it stands. Aside from mysticism, I believe there are five distinct things of which the Lambskin Apron is a badge.

Firstly, in its use, it is a badge of service. By it Speculative Freemasonry seeks to distinguish the builder and place upon the brow of labor the laurel wreath of dignity and honor.

Secondly, made of Lambskin, it is in its fabric a badge of sacrifice. the Lamb in all ages has been not only an emblem of innocence, but also a symbol of sacrifice, and he who wears this Apron with understanding must be prepared for the time when hard things are to be done when trials are to be endured, and fortitude glorified.

Thirdly, in its color it is a badge of purity. White is the clean color that reflects most light.

The Apron when correctly understood is the pledge of a clean life, the testimony that a candidate means to live pure, speak true, right wrong, and reverence conscience as king. When we turn to the Ritual for its interpretation, we find the Apron to be an inheritance from the past, and so, in the forth place, it is a badge of antiquity, ” more ancient than the Golden Fleece and Roman Eagle. ” The most specific way of conveying thought and expressing truth is by comparison. It is difficult to comprehend an idea unless we can correlate and compare it with something already known. the Order of Golden Fleece here referred to was founded in the year 1492 by Philip, Duke of Burgundy; the Roman Eagle became Rome’s ensign of imperial power about one century before the Christian era, while the Apron has come down to us from the very sunrise of time. “Hebrew Prophets often wore Aprons,” they were used in the ancient mysteries of India and Egypt, they were used by early Chinese secret societies, by the Jewish religious sect called Essenes, they were employed as emblems by the Incas of Peru, the Aztecs of Mexico, and the prehistoric races of the American continent.

As a badge of antiquity the Apron exalts the greatness and glory of the past in its present contribution to human good and happiness.

In the fifth place, the Apron is a badge of honor. It is declared to be “More honorable than the Garter.” The Order of the Garter was formed by Edward III of England in 1349. It was composed of the king and twenty-five knights and originated in the false pride and fantastic pomp of medieval manners.

When we consider the messages delivered by these Orders and the Lambskin Apron – one speaking the language of class distinction, special privilege and the divine right of kings; the other telling the story of exact justice, equality of opportunity, and the brotherhood of man – it is not a stilted phrase and an exaggeration of speech to say that the badge of a Mason is more honorable than the Star and Garter.

As a badge of honor, the Lambskin Apron spells out integrity, honesty of purpose, probity of character, and soundness of moral principle.

Masonic Tracing Boards

Masonic Tracing Boards are training devices. In the earliest days of speculative Masonry, the Master would sketch designs on the floor of the Lodge using chalk. Then he would talk about the drawing during the meeting. During the course of the 18th century, the drawings were transferred to “Tracing Boards” which are pictures, one per Degree that encapsulates the symbols of each of the Degrees.

Tracing boards seek not only to educate the members of the teachings of Freemasonry as a system of morality but also explain in part the history and mystery of the craft. While the tracing board for the first degree educates one about the virtues celebrated in Freemasonry, it also explains the various stages attained by masons as they progress in the craft.

The tracing board for the second degree describes the temple and through the same seeks to explain the tenets of the craft.

The third degree tracing board is probably the most profound of all as it deals with that one subject that each one of us is vary of. It deals with the concept of death and coupled with the ritual of third degree describes a concept central to Freemasonry.