~

~
..!
"

CONTENTS
7.
PREFACE INTRODUCTION I. THE CALENDAR Dating the creation of the universe 2. THE
CHAMBER OF REFLECTION Prepararion for a journey THE VOLUME OF THE SACRED LAW The
' first grearer lighr
14. THE WORLD AND NATURE Nature is the other great book 15. GREAT BANQUETS Eatin
g and drinking tOgether 16. THE MOST COMMON RITES Exploring behaviour through ri
tual 17. LODGES OF ADOPTION Brothers and sisters 18. IDEAS AND THE ARTISAN Thoug
ht is the raw material 19. BECOMING A FREEMASON Reaching further
8. THE TWO PILLARS A symbolof duality
9. THE BUILDER'S TOOLS Increasing the power of the hands 10. THE MASON'S CLOTHIN
G Dressed for work II. THE BLADES The cut and thrust of clear thinking 12. THE V
EGETABLE WORLD Food, signs and attributes 13, THE ANIMAL WORLD Images for humank
ind
3. KING SOLOMON'STEMPLE A community of brothers 4. THE MOSAICPAVEMENT Opposires
united 5. KING SOLOMON'STHRONE The Master's chair 6. LIGHT A metaphor for the wo
rd
CONCLUSION

PREFACE
Freemasons and wherever victimised
prosper in all free countries in all states governed ruler or a single
whenever imposed sharing involve
the pressure to conform is so heavily that dissenters and spreading veiling them
are threatened their with
there is law and order. They are
and persecuted
death, free spirits have always found the means of ideas. This may or wrapping i
n allegory
by the whims of an autocratic
party, and in places where all truth is considered to be found in a single book
which is raised on a pedestal, a fixed monument. In the city, that teeming mass
of isolated people together inhabiting today's urban sprawls, the Masonic lodge
is a place where people can come in a spirit of fraternal joy. The Rule, rites a
nd symbols, allow every person to become themselves: of meaning; while flames te
aching which to discover that they are all makers to recognise themselves that a
nd others single
them up in thick layers of lies and absurdity. The second aspect, which leads on
from the first, places the Royal Art firmly within the history of ideas. Even t
oday, all the metap,hors which allude to the act of becoming, and which we still
now use to describe reality, derive from the vocabulary of alchemy. The act of
becoming is a metamorphosis. Masonic thought. A metamorphosis journey through di
fferent takes place during landscapes, among a This concept underscores
as sources of light adding to the general light, accepting no one of these every
where. can shed light Masonic Many
forms and colours, during which each of us is transformed. intentionally But, in
this context, been trivialised the term has into the act of
is known as "The Royal Art", a term used to be applied to alchemy.
books exist on this subject, but they are generally so strange and difficult to
understand as to infuriate any reader who is unused to going beyond the literal
meaning of things. However, there are two aspects of the Royal Art-the tradition
from it more an allwhich Freemasons draw most of their symbolswhich should enco
urage us to examine Whenever closely. The first reveals its central history of h
uman behaviour. embracing orthodoxy role in the
putting on a costume and playing a role. Those who undertake this adventure come
out of it with varying rewards, depending on the landscape they visit, their approach, what they make of it and how much of it they s
ee. A journey of initiation is not. a package tour. There are no sign-posts. The
risk of becoming lost, of sliding back when attempting danger and promise to go
forwards, is what The intertwining the possibility of of creates gives life to
the unexpected. understanding
has the power to exclude

or kill those who have doubts or ask questions,

and allows the idea of freedom to
6

PREFACE
be considered
a moral value. What Freemasons of a society created
Freemasons understand view to becoming journeys,
delve into myths in order to free people, which is to say,
have to offer is the notion union of conformity.
how the human mind works, with a
around the union of diversity; the opposite of a This book is a collection image
s which Freemasons journeys of transformation.! of the symbolic on their
people who act rather than react. During their they cast aside their layman's ra
gs in encounter order ro don their costume of light and live out different roles
. In this way Freemasons are able to experience a reality which is often denied
to or simply ignored by those people bound by the prejudices and certitudes of c
urrent, fashionable philosophies. Imagination and reason feed off each other eve
n, and perhaps especially, when they are opposed. Freemasonry's symbols are a pa
rt of our culture and of our lives, in the spiritual, intellectual and ethical r
ealms as well as in our ordinary daily routines.
The texts and illustrations form an intimate dialogue whose subject is Freemasonry, and which casts
light on the relationship intuition between dreams and reality, Anyone reason,
and imagination. who delves
into the history ideologies
of ideas must ask themselves between current timeless representato
questions about the connections and traditional,
tions of the world. Such questions inevitably lead to a study of the symbols of
Freemasonry, watching Freemasons live with these symbols not to all have the is
vital to a culture.
and myths, and to listening to them debate the subject. They are delighted same
opinions, for debate
Freemasonry is indeed a culture and, like all cultures, is a living fire where a
nswers fuel new questions. The way in which Freemasonry uses symbolism gives us
an insight into the word itself. Masonic building: oneself". symbolism building,
is based on the notion becoming and making. as "to make so'mething forges a rel
ationship
L Editor's nore This work is a translation of a text written by a French Mason,
Some of the content is peculiar to France and will not be known to other Masons,
Neverrheless, rhe basic principles described and explained are common to Freema
sonry wherever it is practiced throughout the world,
of "To of
make" is undersrood
This approach

between the physical roads we walk along in the city on our way home and the spi
ritual paths which in each of us lead between our desires and our thoughts,
7

INTRODUCTION
1. THE MASON'S PATH AND THE FUNCTION OF SYMBOLS Symbolism looks at the wodd as i
f it wete a text. It involves thinking about thought and speaking about language
. As its etymology suggests, a symbol is an image made up of various elements in
such a way that the whole represents ~ore than the sum of its parts. The first
degree initiation Entered Apprentice, This statement describes ritual, that of t
o follow: states: "Here, all is symbo1." the path
spirits will become
diminished
and alienated
instead of being enriched. The same remedy can either kill or cure us. The diffe
rence is a matter of quantity: it depends on the dosage and the situation. Symbo
lism opens the doors of perception when it explores the links between desires an
d ideas, imagination and reason, the mind which generalises and the mind which d
issects, but only if it guarantees both elements their share and doesn't lose it
self in comfortable prejudices. Working with symbolism can have a practical appl
ication when it helps us undermine automatic our responses and link words to the
ir ori"Here, we learn to look at the symbolic nature of everything that exists." In ot
her words, everything should be seen as a metaphor. This point must be stressed,
because symbolism is so often looked upon as merely a codified language, recogn
isable to members of the same group and nothing more. In fact, the use of symbol
ism destroys fossilised definitions which no longer fi~ a changing reality. It c
auses us to accept the! transitory nature of being, constantly in the process of
to recognise that separate what is becoming something nise reality's the porous
ness else. The point is to recoggin. It corrects the formation of prejudices which in turn generate aberrant beh
aviour. Symbolism is immune from .the drift towards the occult which often accom
panies esoteric study. It does not confuse devotion with mysticism, faith with t
rust or servility with good will. It teaches us to think cleady and behave bette
r. The Masons' viewpoint can be defined by two ideas which are repeated and "to
gather what again and again It is by
/
true, living nature, of the boundaries
during all the Masonic rites: "to reach further" is scattered". responding to th
ese exhortations that progress is
categories, in other scattered" .
words to "gather
made towards objective knowledge. For the mental processes which are needed to d
evelop these theories and their practical applications these which are vital for
the completion Mason's project. involve of the acts of synthesis, association a
nd application. It is reactions, only in so
Of course, symbolism can free us from preconceptions and knee-jerk far as it is
not dogmatic. If it becomes merely a set of memorised responses to a litany of s
implistic equations, such as "this means that", then our
The square and compasses mind and mat"'r

are indissolubly
linked. They indicate the in"'raction
between
and stand for the progression from the ma",rial to the spiritual.
8
"""'"
--=--"'-.

INTRODUCTION
Symbolism introspection individual laws governing
emphasises
subjective
knowllinking postulate
first of all in the context of biology. They are actually techniques for increas
ing the efficiency of communication (or signalling) and serve to create a netWor
k of ties betWeen different members of a group. In animals, ritualisation is see
n to decrease the use of violence. It exists before language. As for human being
s, it enables us to look at ourselves from the outside and view ourselves as obj
ects of study. To a biologist, therefore, rites and rituals perform a vital func
tion. From an anthropological point of view, they are seen to become more and mo
re diversified and complicated, as they evolve from the simple to the complex. F
reemasons are interested in rites because they want to understand society operat
e, how human beings and the sociand
edge. The use of symbolism encourages a form of through free association, and co
llective history, as well as the
all things. Symbolists
that objective knowledge can only be approached through subjective knowledge, as
in the Socratic aphorism, "Know thyself and thou shalt know the world and the g
ods". Recognising this, Masons even such the task explore the relationship betWe
en desires and ideas and pick apart all dogmatic statements, different layers of
meaning, performing dogmas as are based on proof. They explore the urged upon u
s by Spinoza, when he said, "You say that you have chosen an idea because it is
right. Know that you believe it is right precisely because you have chosen it."
Jacob ben Sheshet, a cabbalist of the Gerona School, invited us to perform a sim
ilar experiment: "When you say 'God created man in his image' and when you say '
Man created God in his image', you believe that you are saying the opposite and,
in a literal (pshatt) sense, that is true. It is up to you to study and meditat
e you understand Thanks same thing in different ways." to their familiarity reco
gnise What with symbolbetter proof is ism, Freemasons the mythological until why
and how you are saying the
with a view to "preparing
coming of a better and more enlightened ety". This sentence ritual. Masons explo
re how rites function every nation, and life-styles.
is an extract from a Masonic
how traditional and religious rites are observed in according to specific social
codes All Masons are asked to contribute to the study of this subject. Masonic rituals set down the order of rite
s and the way in which they are carried out. There are many of them and they hav
e evolved over time. As for the rites themselves, they are extremely completely
similar and any Mason who travels lost. The degrees-Entered Apprentices Apprenaspect of any discourse.
there that the use of symbolism gathers what is scattered? II. RITES AND RITUALS
A rite is a formal act, and a ritual is a set order for the carrying out of rit

es. Ler us look at them

may come in for a surprise, but will never feel tice, Fellow and Master-are rite
. Entered must confront the same in every are always initiated
after three symbolic journeys, during which they the elements of earth, water, a
ir
10

\
INTRODUCTION
and fire. Fellows
undertake
five journeys,
at the
Chair
and standing until
"to attention"
must not
be the
end of which they contemplate
As for the Masters, of Hiram, the murdered architect. observed
the Blazing Star. the passion
interrupted
they close their speech with
they must telive
words "I have spoken". Evidence of the great diversity of rites is to the temIn all the rituals world Entered work
throughout
the
be seen in the different
ways in which
Apprentices, symbolic with
Fellows
and Mastets of Jachin axis. or
ples are laid out, in the texts of the. rituals which describe the initiation ce
remonies and the runfor
in lodges, Temple
representations its two pillars,
Solomon's

ning of meetings, appointing difference officers

as well as in the regulations of the lodge.
and Boaz. The temple To the east sits the
lies on the east-west Master in the Chair,
But the major
lies in the degrees
of advancement
Worshipful
Master, who presides over the assemor Inner Guard
after that of Master. The two pillars, Boaz, which door stand at eithet
Jachin
and
bly. To the west sits the Tyler who watches sit the Entered remain Masters Enter
ed tively Senior noon" silent. over the threshold.
side of the temple depending on
To the north to
are positioned the Ancient
differently
Apprentices To the
who are required sit they the Fellows.
whether Rite
and Accepted Rite is being
Scottish In has a
south
or the French Working,
practiced.
may sit
wherever
choose. work
The
Emulation

each of the Wardens table, which raises

Apprentices under the
and Fellows direction of the
respecand "at
small column lowers Rectified the when
on their the
one Watden In the
Junior begins
other
theirs. column
Wardens. and stops
Everywhere, "at the stroke
work
Scottish
Rite, a broken
bearing
of midnight". and serve as this
inscription
adhuc stat (in Latin, it is still
inside officers rota, while Worshipful the Mastet the temple. In by are appointe
d in the other Master, Treasurer, the
These times are, of course, symbolic a reminder period their that in this place
standing) Emulation
is positioned Working,
and during
of time each person must step away from daily existence a moment and make outsid
e the effort of
means of a yearly these officers the the (the
rites
two the
experiencing
of time.

In every with
Wardens, Orator,
Secretary, the
lodge the vault
of the ceiling
is decorated
Almoner,
of Ceremonies
stars, to show that the temple between Everyone and works Mason: human enters be
ings wearing
acts as a mediator the universe. and gloves, tools of a
and the Tyler or Inner
Guard)
may all be elected.
and
Sometimes the Worshipful Master may be elected and then allowed Master to choose
is appointed officers, or else the Worshipful by a commitan apron with the
symbolically compasses,
square,
gauge, lever, plumb
tee. Co- and female Masonry practice rites as male do not Masonry, accept althou
gh any "sisters"
the same
male some and
rule, plumb line and trowel. Last but not least, the brother ter) who speaks add
resses the (or the sisin the
some
lodges female
Master
ones do not accept
any "brothers".

11

"1""
INTRODUCTION
\.
The main difference between the rites lies in the degrees of advancement, or "Hi
gh Grades". in the and There are seven of them in the French Rite, six in the Re
ctified Scottish Rite, thirty-three Ancient between and Accepted Scottish Rite,
ninety and ninety-nine (1684-1739), a pastor in the Scottish
Ptesbyterian Church. He was commissioned to edit it and his work was then submit
ted to a committee approved of fourteen "learned" brethren, who and it after mak
ing some corrections
in the rites of
changes. This text was intended to be read out in the lodges each time a new mem
ber joined. The first article of the Constitutions states that people must be ju
dged according conduct, and not their teligious opinion: "A Mason is oblig'd, by
his Tenure,1 to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly nor an irreligious ancien
t Nation, Religion particular Honesty, Persuasions Libertine. underin to their
Memphis, Mizraim and Memphis-Mizraim. ProtOcols betWeen the rites in France have
established a system of equivalences in order to enable
Freemasons to visit lodges which practice a different rite from their own. Reade
rs wishing to learn more about this subject have many books at their disposaL Al
though Freemasons work in lodges that are said to be "duly tiled", that is to sa
y isolated ftOm other people and from exterior disturbances, Freemasonry is not
a secret society, but one manifestation of cultural and social life. The outside
world influences it and is in turn influenced by it. It reflects and radiates.
One final important fact needs to be made clear: Freemasonry is not a religion.
Yet, each ceremony ends, in the manner of religious ceremonies, with a collectio
n in which everyone is asked to give alms for charitable purposes. Freemasons ca
ll the almsbox the "broken column". Since the eighteenth together century, Mason
ic lodges have grouped ern Freemasonry". The Freemasonry most important text of
modern authors in 1723, of the Freewas compiled by various in federations.
stands the Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, But though Times Masons whate
ver were charg'd in every
Country to be of the Religion of that Country or it was, yet 'tis now thought on
ly to oblige them to that more expedient
in which all Men agree, leaving their Opinions to themselves; that is, to be
good Men and true, or Men of Honour by whatever Denominations they may be distin
guish'd; true Friendship
and
or
whereby among
Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of conciliating Persons that
must have remain'd Distance." at a perpetual
These federations make up what is tenned "modThe idea that a person may be wotthy of respect, no matter what their religion,

falls within an ancient tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness, but it ran a

gainst the dominant cenof ideology of the beginning of the eighteenth tury. Afte
r about one and a half centuries
and is entitled
The Constitutions
masons. It was published anonymously but is always associated
with James Anderson
Religious Wars, a fragile peace had been estabA tracing board showing the first apartment and Accepted
of the Rose-Croix (Belgium),
grade (Ancient
Scottish rite) . Lodge of Mons
eightenth century.
12
.

1
INTRODUCTION
i I.
i
lished based on the division of nations between the opposing currents of Christi
anity. According to the principle of cuius regio, cuiusreligio At the time of An
derson's fanaticism. In England, Catholics those who supporred them risked the d
eath penalty and only Catholics could hold public office. At this time, intolera
nce was a guiding principle: birth and religion were seen as reliable ways of ju
dging people. Both the persecutors and the persecuted, the dominators and the do
minated, were convinced that they belonged to a group of chosen people who were
up against the Devil's minions. maintain they Only by despising others could the
y their self-esteem. The persecutors were a role model manifestation to be emula
ted. of power and of the fully selfobsession with purity and
~veryone had to accept the religion of their ruler. Constitutions, were persecutEngla
nd and France were prey to intolerance
ed; in France it was the Protestants. The English Civil War had been a Protestan
t revolution which had led to the deposition and death of the Catholic King Char
les L After the death of but Cromwell, the royal family reinstated the Protestan
t Catholicism Parliament itself with
more than just the enemies of the persecuted, offered Cruelty-the
Charles II, who professed to being Anglican,
greatly feared that and before declaring
pleasure of wielding power-became justified in this fanatical and faith! sen and
the damned,
would regain" power under James II.
In 1688 he was deposed eigns, Parliament
William of Orange and his wife Mary joint soverinsisted on them adopting the Bil
l of Rights which stopped anyone who was Catholic, or married to a Catholic, fro
m ascending to the throne. During this difficult period, Catholics, who were pej
oratively called papists, were not allowed to live in London, their taxes were d
oubled and they were not permitted to own a weapon or a horse of any value. They
also lost the right to buy or inherit land. In 1713, after the death of William
, "Queen Mary strengthened away the Catholics' right to teach. In France, after
rhe repeal of the Edict of N antes in 1685, Protesrants no longer had the right
to pracrice their religion. After the declaration of 1724, all religious gatheri
ngs except Catholic ones were forbidden. Protestanrs and the old 1605 Test Act a
nd the following year took
Talk of the pure and the impure, the choor the struggle between light and darkne
ss, are examples of the ways in which thought can be made the lackey of automati
c responses, and ideology be made to support gut instinct. Above all, such divis
ions deny the truth that reality is grey, contradictory and paraand doxical; tha
t Life evolves, diversifies and becomes more complex thanks to these contradicti
ons to those forces which generate because they are opposed. People have always
known this and have been saying it for ever. Generation of the individual member
ship after generation they have affirmed the absolute superiority over the group

. They have argued that it is impossible to reduce identity to of a group and th

ey have valiantly defended the freedom of opinion. energy precisely
14

INTRODUCTION
Sixty years before Anderson's the Protection
C.onstituhad been tried (February
1633). Thirty
years
tions for example, in 1662, the Royal Society for of Natural Knowledge was found
Desaguliers (1683-1739), coed. Jean Theophile
before that, Giordano Bruno had been burned at the stake in Rome. Between of thi
rty-five Socrates' those two dates, Vanino Vanini had been burned alive at the a
ge for having dared to mock religion and its dogmas (1619). Like endless echoes
of trial, voices have been raised in arguThere are those revealed and a ment and
counter-argument.
author of the Masonic Constitutions and, in 1719, Grand Master of the Lodge of E
ngiand, was one of its most active members. The Royal Society's founding Charter
was to be an inspiration ro the authors of the 1723 Constitutions who said of i
t: "As for the members who make up the ranks of the Society, let it be noted tha
t they include people of a variety of different and ways of thinking. religions,
countries saw itself The Society
who want to stop history, freezing it into an eternal present defined by an unch
anging take pleasure in searching truth, and those who recognise movement truth
which is constantly changing. The partisans of an already defined truth impose t
heir dogmas by force, in order to enjoy the power of ruling others. They. speak
of love and yet they kill in its name, promoting the ideal of a golden tomorrow.
-Such truths may be religious, political, philosophic or even scientific. Bur t
hey are always monolithic, tarian, maintained be they clergymen, all-embracing m
andarins and totaliby a chorus of official voices, or apparatchiks.
out and defining
obliged to extend its franchise in this way in order to fulfil the breadth of it
s own declared ambitions. "They openly profess to want to lay the foundations no
t for an English, Scottish, Irish, Papist or Protestant philosophy, bur for a ph
ilosthe whole of human
ophy which encompasses
kind. By gathering together men of all countries they are creating a favourable
basis for the future continuous exchange of ideas between all nations, which wil
l make the Royal Society the central bank and repository of world knowledge." In
passing, it must be stressed that love of knowledge has always been associated
with a love of life. Those who continue to learn free themselves from old-fashio
ned responses and
Submission is all that is required from their voluntary or enforced followers, w
ho may be collectively termed the "faithful" or even "militants". This dogmatic
way of thinking comes from a denial of reality as ever-changing, be considered t
o be pathological. son has its antidote dangers of realiry. Looking back through
across the Rosicrucians, history, we come Francis In Florence, Comenius, and th
us can But every poi-

and other voices rise up in

come to respect humanity
in general. Those who
answer, to remind us of the promise as well as the
claim that a person's birth is a mark of their quality are either ignorant, or e
lse are taking advantage of other people's ignorance. Thirty years before the Ro
yal Society was founded, Galileo
Bacon and Tommaso Campanella.
15

III II
!I II
i
I
il
INTRODUCTION
we meet an ancient Greek called Plethon, whom Marsilio Ficino described as'being
"almost a second Plato". This man was involved in setting-up Florence'sPlatonic
Academy which, two centuries before the Royal Society, brought together men of
intelligence and learning, artists, poets, doctors, astronomers and those learne
d in the ancient tongues, to discuss mankind and the city, and to discuss major
issues from an interdisciplinary point of view. Plethon spoke the following I 1'
1 words in public: "Each religion, my brethren, but a shard of Aphrodite's broke
n mirror."2 is
III. OPERATIVE FREEMASONRY AND SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY Contrary now in to an old
belief, a position (meaning to which has been that from
defended by many historians Speculative Operative enteenth
in' the past, we are demonstrate or philosophitheoretical
cal) Freemasonry
did not derive directly centuries,
(or working) Freemasonry. In the sevand eighteenth Freemasons from the rites and
customs organisation and symbols origins and
took their inspiration work the structure, gather together
of the Guild of Masons in order to give their necessary to fulfil a specific pur
pose. This was to people of different different opinions and enable them to work
on a common project: the creation of a temple for the whole of humanity. Rather
than saying that Freemasonry was born out of the Guild of Masons, it might be m
ore helpful to say that learned men who wished to work together and exchange ide
as adopted the symbolism and structures used by working masons. For indeed, the
symbolism of the Mason's tools does enable a variety of different kinds of knowl
edge to be linked.
This tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness can be traced back even further.
It is epitomised by true mystics, that is to say by men who temain open to self
doubt and self-criticism. In the Christian Rhineland world they are exemplified
by the mystics, in the Muslim world by the
Sufis and in the Jewish world by the cabbalists. All of these mystics were disli
ked by the establishment and by the clergy-be or Jewish-which it Chtistian, Isla
mic claimed to represent them. For
institutions tequire devoted followets not mystical seers, because what they see
k is power, not truth. This is why the cteation of an institution marks the deat
h of truth. In the same tradition are the Biblical prophets who spoke out agains
t their kings and high priests, shattering the certainties of the ordinary peopl

e who were sunk into a rut of accepted belief. It is within this tradition that
Freemasonry takes its place and within
Iii
whose literature exist,
the
1. In Feudal Law this meant "the act or fact of holding a tenement". By extensio
n it hete means a person's rights and duties. 2. D. Beresniak, us Premiers Medic
is et ['Academie platonicienne de Flarenee. Detrad, Paris, 1985.
essential
Masonic
texts
from the Old
III
II I
Charges to Anderson's Constitutions.
I
I
I
I
Crossed square and compasses surrounding the lett<r "0" , for geometry.
II II
I
Iii
16
:1

CHAPTER
.THE CALENDAR
DATING THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
THE TEMPLE IS AN IMA.GEOFTHE WORLD AND THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD ESTABLISHES TI
ME. THE MASONIC WORLD IS SYMBOLICALLY coeval moment with the universe and refers
to the of creation as the anno lucis, Year of
in France. For example, April 10, 1996 is "the tenth day of the second month of
the year 5996 of Light". In the past, the Hebrew names of the months were used,
but this practice has now been abandoned, Scottish Rite. The masons except in~so
me lodges of the
Light, or Year of Masonry. English masons took their dates from James Ussher, an
Anglican priest born in Dublin in 1580, who published his in Annals of the Old
and the New Testaments around 1650. 4,004 B.C. is the date of the Creation. star
t of the eighteenth basic text of modern
This calendar is not accepted everywhere. of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish R
ite, and in particular those at the grade of Knight Kadosh, use the Hebrew month
s and a calendar based on Jewish chronology, in mid-September or anno hebraico,
also known as anno mundi. This calender begins and adds 3,760 years onto the Gre
gorian calendar. At the grade of Royal Arch, the date of Creation is 530 B.C., t
he date when building was started on the second temple by Zerubbabel. This year
is called the anno inventionis. At the degree of Royal and Select Master, which
is used mostly temple, in England and in the United States, time begins with the
dedication of Solomon's that is to say in 1,000 B.C., degrees which derive from
a rite practiced and states in the eighteenth known as the anno depositionnis.
The templar in the Germanic nineteenth the Strict Templar Observance,
- . According to Ussher's reading of the Bible, Generally accepted by the variou
s English churches at the century, this chronology Constitutions, the which date
s Freemasonry was also adopted by Anderson's
from the same period. The Masonic date adds four thousand years to the currently
Christian calendar accepted origins of the era, or Year of Our Lord. It is less
than which, in .its present form, dates from of the world according year genera
lly to its own begins in
three centuries off the date given by the Jewish the fourth century B.C. and cou
nts the years since the creation reading of the Bible. The Masonic March, a trad
ition which is observed particularly
centuries, count from the date of the
This transcript of a Masonic
meering from the year of the French Revolurion cakndars,
is dated
according to both the Chrisrian and Masonic
1789 and 5789.
18

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THE
CALENDAR
founding of the Order of the Temple in A.D. 1118. This is the anno ordinis. Famo
us German Freemasons, such as Goethe, Lessing, Herder and Wieland, practiced thi
s rite. During the French Revolution, those French lodges that were still active
in 1793
.
foundation,
which the Jewish calendar represents
both allegorically and symbolically. This explains why the most common practice
among Masons, from the first degree of Apprenticeship onwards, is to add four th
ousand years to the Christian date, thus symbolically associating themselves wit
h the Light which was shed on the foundations of a work that is still to be comp
leted. This very notion of dating the Creation has meaning and provides food for
thought only if it is seen as being symbolic, that is to say if it is seen as f
orging a link between a realiry which is still to be determined, and our natural
desire to experience that reality as if it were already fully derermined.
adopted invented
the revolutionary by a Freemason,
calendar, Charles
which was Gilbert
Romme (1750-95). During the course of their symbolic journeys, Freemasons cast a
side their layman's clothes and allow historical and legendary characters to dress them in robes of light. At each place they visit, there exists a
time, or dimension, of the temple, whose beginning corresponds to a specific pr
oject. Book of Genesis The Old Testament tradition defines man as a partner of t
he Creator. The (Bereschit 2,3) states that the day after all Eternal blessed th
e seventh day and sanctified it because "he rested on the seventh the work he ha
d been doing" (acher bam Elohim la'asoth). Later on, the text of Genesis points
out that man was created to cultivate the earth and, once created, 2,15). In the
JudGeo-Christian culture, Masons accept the Biblical image of a constantly chan
ging creation and define their mission as a continuation of the work started by
the Great Architect of the Universe. Given the fact that they see themselves as
heirs to a world in the process of being constructed' themselves it is natural t
hat they should place of its in it from the very beginning was "settled... in th
e garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it" (Bereschit
20

~
~c
IUA:~ONNIQ11E'\~~. . ~JjJJI\. LE .. fOe , :I. i.! SmCLE.
i
';. KNN:ES
~
SOLAIlms.
--.....
.,.
1820 *. 11339' r858. ~ 1877' 1896.*.
dfl\lars. . . j~ 1'4 Avril, :2~!li.
""
U ru.in.
~.i~Jplllct.

CHAPTER
THE CHAMBER OF
REFLECTION
ill
PREPARATION
FOR A JOURNEY
II
THE CHAMBER OF REFLECTION,PRESENT ONLY IN CERTAIN MASONIC RITES, IS A SMALLROOM
IN WHICH THE CANDIDATES ARE LEFTON THEIR own for a period before the initiation
ceremony
which is the ancient command to examine oneself-visita interiora terrae, rectifi
cando invenies you shall find the hidden occultam lapidem: (visit the centre of
the earth and by rectifying stone). These symbols derive from alchemy, a traditi
on which has provided us with all of the sym:I
H
'I
i1i
begins.! Seated at a table, they write their Philosophical Will, which is later
to be read out in the lodge. Isolation in a hut or cave begins a ritual is exped
uring which a symbolic metamorphosis
rienced; like a chrysalis hatching out of its cocoon the initiate comes our of t
he darkness a
bols we use today to descri~e metamorphosis. Salt, which is extracted from sea w
ater by evaporation, is fire delivered from water. As for sulphur, alchemists be
lieved that it is. to the body of life one in the what the sun is to the earth.
The coupling of salt and sulphur is an image of ambivalence, another. For Masons
, the sojourn and death, of light and darkness nourishing
'II
I
new person. Such a custom is usual amongst all peoples and in all places where i
nitiation rites are traditional. sider the notions It serves to separate of deat
h the neoThe phytes from their family and to make them conand rupture. Chamber o
f Reflection is a modern, form of the ancient cave of initiation. updated
:~
Chamber of Reflection is the "trial and proof of earth". The first lesson to be
learnt is that nothing is intrinsically good or bad. Only people, like builders,
depending understand can make something good or bad, on how they use it. We may
already this idea intellectually, but intellectu.~ ,~
The initiate is alone with a sheet of paper and a pencil. The Chamber of Reflect

ion is lit only by a candle which casts its feeble light on a number of orname;t
s: a human skull, some cona
II
al knowledge is not enough. Ritual ceremonies, myths and symbols are used to fac
ilitate the shift from knowledge to experience, that is to say, to what has to r
eflect on from what has been conceptualised been lived our. The hourglass is an
invitation
bones, a lump of bread, a flask of water, an hourII
H
glass, a saucer containing
salt and another
taining sulphur. On the wall, are murals painted in white on a black background:
scythe, and the word VITRIOL a cockerel, or VITROLUM
,i II
Befare being admitted.
candidates
are led into the Chamber "Vitriol.
of Reflection,
where they mkditate and write their Philosophical There is still time."
Wills. The notice on the wall warns:
~
If curiosity brings you here then LEAVE!
22 3
II

THE
CHAMBER
0
F
REFLECTION
the teversibility of time; the bread denotes the vital transformation to be reex
amined, from the raw to the cooked; not to increase its ontological as Montaigne
put it. This the appearand water represents fertility. So knowledge has
alchemy and is now used in Freemasonry, is precisely that: the art of finding th
e happy medium. The exhortation tered",-which Masonic experience then to "gather
what is scatuttered during by contradictions is frequently
~i
Iii
~II
l
'
qualities, but to alter them; "not to fiU up a vase, but to light afire", quotat
ion to the cockerel, ance of light. Hermes from the author of the Essays leads u
s which announces It is associated with Mercury/
rituals,-reconciles
seeing them as complementary to be exceptional; another;
opposites. We aU
the desire to conform atld the desire the desire to be one thing, and to move on
; to to remain
who sets limits and helps us to cross between them is proof of the passage
believe and to doubt. By replacing "or" by "and" we give contradictions legitima
cy as the linchpin turbulence between chaos and order, between and stiUness. Con
flicts
,Ii
them. The ability to associate things by distinguishing from knowledge to experi
ence. As for the scythe, the tool used for reaping, it is only since the fifteen
th sent death, century that it has been put in the hands of a skeleton to repret
he great leveller. This image confinns and iUustrates the teaching revealed in t
he
between people may be seen as
the echo of the interior conflicts we aU experience. And if reality is to be per
ceived as shadowy and in the process of changing, from its simplest manifestatio
ns to its most complex and diverse, only by words. It is is a then it can be app
roached

III I[ I I~ ru
other symbols: death in the vegetable world is a source of life for the animal w
orld. These symbols focus the neophytes' to free themselves trial and proof from
those phantoms of earth attenwhich of
only what we can say about it. Symbolism how these images become imaginary tales
which elements
way of showing how words create images and of myths, have the ring of truth
tion on the need to recognise reality as it is, and set light and darkness in op
position. This initial
!i
in the Chamber
because they run on the winding paths that lead from desires to ideas. The Chamb
er where the exploration of Reflection is the place begins. and scythe
Reflection shows the way forward: to replace the
I I I
word "or", and its resulting attitudes, by the word
, "and".
of these paths
The bread, salt, hourglass, cockerel For energy is, in fact, the ftuit of contra
forces which resist each other. In the er, raise these vital 'questions.
II
!II !
are images which, when they are brought togethi I I
I'
I~
dictory
body, energy is caUed tension. If it is excessive, then it can be lethal. But so
can a lack of it. Only between these two extremes is life possible. The Royal A
rt, which used to be a term for
1. The Chamber exists in rhe Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite and C6ntinental
European lodges but not in the Emulation rite.
III
~
A skull and various alchemical symbols accompany
the candidates
during the trial and proof of earth.

I
I
I I.
24
--.'
==

CHAPTER
KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
A COMMUNITY OF BROTHERS
)
IN THE COOKE MANUSCRIPT (1410), ONE OF THE OLDEST KNOWN TEXTS WHICH DEALS WITH F
REEMASONRY, WE READ THAT: "AT the time of the construction of the Temple of
'"
Masonic text known as the Thistle manuscript, of 1756, says that Nemrod "created
the Masons" and "gave them their signs and terms so that they could distinguish
themselves from other people ... it was the first time that the Masons were org
anised as a craft." It was during the early years of the eighteenth century that
Freemasonry stopped seeing its origins in the Tower of Babel and that Solomon a
lone was considered "the first Grand Master". The eighteenth-century of the shif
t from Operative Masonic Masonry texts to shed light on the ideas and attitudes
at the time Speculative Masonry. These texts are called the and were inspired by
both
Solomon, begun by Kiflg David
emplbyed 24,000 Masons and... bestowed traditions upon the Masons. firmed the ri
ghts which his father taught them their methods ferent from those of today."
Solomon
David had himself
Solomon conSolomon
(that is to say their
and practices) which are not very difOperative masons who read this text saw it is a historical truth. They believed
that they were plying a craft which dated back to the time of King Solomon, and
which he had codified. However, the date of the construction King Solomon's of t
emple has not always been the
"early catechisms"
Samuel Lee's Orbis-Miraculum and John Bunyan's Solomon's Temple Spiritualiz'd, w
hich appeared at abour the same time. Speculative no desire to threaten rejected
structed Masons, who finally were concerned with social respectability and had
the establishment, the "Legend of the Craft" which honin open defiance to heaven
. Instead of or Faustian Nemrod, they prekey date in the Freemasons' cosmology. This central role was once given to the T
ower of Babel. The Regius manuscript, which predates Cooke by twenty years, cite
s King Nemrod, the builder of that famous tower, as "the first and most excellen
t master". He it was, and not King Solomon, who gave the Masons their first "cha
rge", rules of conduct and professional code. For a long time both King Solomon
King Nemrod played apart in the tradition. and A their
oured the Tower of Babel, a pagan edifice conthe Promethean
ferred "our wise King Solomon", or as A Mason's Examination of 1723 puts it: "Gr
and Master in his time of Masonry and Architecture."

Tracing
board slwwing a scene from the legend in which King Hiram and Solomon are overhe
ard by an eavesdropper. Eighteenth century.
26

K,!
N G
SOLOMON'S
TEMPLE
This break with tradition trated in a 1725 catechism, Institutions following Bab
ylonians of Free-Masons', who thought
is clearly illusThe Whole
tions, first version 1723), was an extremely active member of the Society. As Gr
and Master of the Grand Lodgr'f England, he declared himself for a "natural rfli
gion" which was above revealed beliefs. The\ son of a pastor from La Rochelle, w
ho emigrated to England after the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, his own
family history had proved to him the disastrous effects of a single imposed way
of thinking. which was destroyed, rebuilt, Solomon's temple, then destroyed
entitled
Opened, where the to build up to the
passage occurs: "We are not like the
heavens, but we pray the Holy Trinity to enable us to built the True, the All Mi
ghty and the Just, in praise of Him to whom all praise is due." The 1726 Graham
manuscript, "authentic
,:
which is often quoted this idea, using
today by Freemasons who claim to be part of an tradition", repeats almost exactl
y the same words. Howevet, it was in Solomon's Temple that the murder of Hiram t
he architect took place. A It mystical tale has arisen around this incident. sec
rets, much which was substituted because
again, is the scene of a story which synthesises and symbolises all of history a
nd each of our personal histories. This is why thoughts it provides and the abou
t Freemasons illustrations, possibility intertwine. with so many useful pointers
stimulating reigns,
speaks of a Lost Word, the word of life, key to all at that time, as such a As f
or "wise King it was lost, as because
future of human mankind, for it is a place where where promise and danger
word could not be spoken.
The first temple, which is described in the Bible (1 Kings 6,2), is the setting
for the degree of Master, or that of Secret-Master (fourrh in the
Solomon", it was he who inspired Francis Bacon's New Atlantis which in turn infl
uenced the founders of the Royal Society in 1662. This
institution shares the Masons' "faith", as expressed in two essential ideas: - a
ll men are brothers and mUst be judged according to their good works, and not th
e religion they belong to; ignorance is the cause of all vice' and of the evil m
en do to one another. The human species can be redeemed only through

Ancient and Accepte~ Scottish Rite), of Intimate Secretary (the sixth degree), o
f Provost and Judge (the eighth degree), of Intendant the Buildingsithe eighth d
egtee), of and of the
Grand Elect of the Sacred Vault (the fourreenth degree). The Royal Arch (in the
English Rite) and the thirreenth degree of the Scottish Rite tefer to it indirec
tly. The legend, which is specifically linked to these teachings, tells of how t
he three architects discovered the traces of an ancient temple attributed to Eno
ch while digging the foundations for the temple, and in these ruins found a bril
liantly shining Triangle.
knowledge. Jean Theophile Oesaguliers (1683-1739), a friend of Newton and co-aut
hor with Anderson of the charrer of modern Freemasonry (ConstituThe temple of the Dimophiles
Lodge in Tours, France, which dates
from the reign of Napoleon
III (1852-70),
28

KING
SOLOMON'S
TEMPLE
J
The second temple, after his captivity the capitulary teenth degree
built by Zerubbabel is the setting of
sides are the length of the diameter of the circle inscribed within a ring. This
construction represents the squaring-' after the of the circle. The properties
work of Cassini (1625-1712), of the lemniscate the first director of
in Babylon,
degrees. The first of these is the or of the Sword (the fifand Accepted of the A
ncient
Knight of the Orient Scottish Rite).
were studied by Bemouilli (1654-1705)
In each of these legendary locations, searchers act out different roles and inte
malise them, by testing themselves against the experithe Paris Observatory who discovered two of Saturn's satellites. The lemniscate
matches the apparent orbit of the planets around the sun, as orbit of a planet w
hose of the links between observed from the Earth. The real orbit is elliptical,
and the apparent orbit is elliptical traces a lemniscate. This exploration appe
arance and realiry is part of the passage from knowledge to experience.
ences of historical or mythical characters, I. THE UNION CHAIN AND THE INDENTED
TASSEL, THE KNOTTED ROPE AND THE LEMNISCATE The Apprentices' knotted although tr
acing board is encircled by a
rope, as are the walls of the temple, the rope does not reach right round it,
At the rwo ends, near the pillars, there is a tassel. Rope is used by builders t
o trace out angles and straight lines, while the spaces berween the knots repres
ent units of measurement. It is important to distinguish the knotted rope from t
he indented tassel, a frieze of black and white triangles which runs around the
lodge's tracing board. The knots in the rope are not pulled tight, and form a si
deways number 8, like the mathematical symbol for infinity. This sideways 8 is a
geometric figure, called the lemniscate Greek lemniscatas, adorned formed by tw
o joined slightly (from the and rings, with ribbons) elliptical
One of its symbolic properties, termed "squarabil~ ity", raises a number of ques
tions. lemniscate Squarability means that the area of one of the rings of the is
equal to the area of a square whose
The three columns topped with Ionic, Doric and Corinthian capiwls symbolising Wi
sdom, Strength and Beauty.
30

I
Il
CHAPTER
~
III
THE MOSAIC
PAVEMENT
OPPOSITES UNITED
1
I
II
III
I!
lil1
I
THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT, OR CHECKERED chalk when work began. The modern nacing board
is a painted carpet. temple: canvas, and since it is rolled out onto the floor,
it is often referred to as the It shows all the Masonic objects in the two pill
ars topped with pomegranates the Moon and the a plumb line; a rope: FLOOR, HAS B
LACK AND WHITE SQUARES, LIKE A CHESSBOARD. IT CAN BE SEEN ON THE floor in the ce
ntre of the lodge whete its role is to make us think about opposites, how they c
ontradict and complement texts of the eighteenth saic pavement each other. Appre
ntices century refer to the mopavement" or "the are generally asked to study thi
s subject. Masonic as "Moses'
11111
I!~
I
Iii:
~I
IllIt
~I illt
framing a piece of rough stone, called ashlar; a square stone with a point: Sun:
a square and compasses;
plumb rule: a gavel and chisel: and the trestle board. Around these symbols is a
knotted This is what the tracing boards of Apprentices would generally look lik
e, but they vary according to the different degrees and rites.
j
I
III'
lodge's marvellous floor". In Pritchard's Masonry Dissected (1730), the mosaic s
quare is considered to be both the floor of the lodge and the paving stones of t
he temple. Other texts claim: "It is the tiling on which the high priest walked
in Solomon's temple." However, this allusion can be disputed, for the mosaic pav

ement does not have Hebraic origins. ' It.first appeared in the first century B.
C. in Rome. At that time, the term was used for mosaics decorating natural or ar
tificial caves, and fountains. Dedicated to the Muses, the nine god:Ia I
,p
1II'
THE TRESTLE-BOARD The trestle board (shown below) shows the symbols which make u
p the letters of the Masonic alphabet. Letters are inscribed in geometrical figu
res, which in the past were used for writing inscriptions but today generally pl
aya decorative role.
Ii
I
i
desses of the arts, such places of rest and relaxation were called musaea. The d
ecorations found here were known as musium opus, abbreviated to mussinum. This i
s where the word mosaic comes from, not to be confused with Moses. In the past,
a tracing board would be drawn on the floor with
I,
ab cd ef Sh iI mn op 9r .st
*
.,J-flY~1,
If :;lill:;Jli:II;:
t:::"1~nflrF>V<A
.-. . . ' . . . . . .
I
~t
Each degyee has its own tracing board, which shows the symbols of that gyade.
32

CHAPTER
KING SOLOMON'S THRONE
THE MASTER'S CHAIR
"EAST OF EDEN" IS WHERE CAIN WAS MARRIED, BUILT A TOWN AND FOUNDED A DYNASTYOF C
REATORS (GENESIS4,16). IN THE EAST, WHERE the sun rises,.the first murderer beca
me the first builder. This distutbing fact merits some consideration. The questi
ons it raises lie ~t the very foundations Qf history. Light disturbs the order d
reamt of in the darkness of oblivion. That is its function. The expression Conti
nental lux ex tenebris is current among
not flooded with sunlight, understanding
which would be as
blinding as darkness. True knowledge involves an of measurements and doses, what
is enough and what is too much. The lodge is a place of light and shade so that
everyone can catch a glimpse of the stars. This brings to mind a poem by Goethe
, who was both a poet and a Freemason. Gloom-embraced will lie no more,
Freemasons.
The darkness is pregBy the flickering shades obscured, But are seized by new desire, To a higher uni
on lured. Then no distance holds you fast; Winged, enchanted, on you fly, Light
your longing, and at last, Moth, you meet the flame and die. Never prompted to t
hat quest: Die and dare rebirth! You remain a dreary guest On our gloomy earth.!
1. Extract from "Blessed Longing", Goethe, Roman Elegies and Other Poems, transl
ated by Michael Hamburger. Anvil Press Poetry, London, 1996.
nant with light and the builder is the midwife. The last descendant of Cain was
Tubal-Cain, whose name means "the blacksmith of the Universe". The blacksmith is
a man of knowledge who masters the four elements of earth, water, fire and air.
He has
askill which
can accomplish what
knowledge only promises, ripping open the belly of the earth, extracting metals,
forging rools and of everything else he might want and need in order to become
a king. He is, in effect, a practitioner the "Royal Art", that is to say the art
of becoming a free man, able to choose his destiny and become increasingly self
-sufficient. Work begins in the lodge with the lighting of candles, or lights. T
he lodge is thus lit up, but
The chair of the Worshipful
Master.
who presiocs over the work of the lodge.
34

KING
SOLOMON'S
THRONE
The East, or the Orient,
is also used to
become
perfect.
Anderson's
Masonic
text
express the lodge's position. Thus each town which is to the east of the one whe
re Freemasons are working is associated with the east of Eden. It was here that,
according to the Bible, the first city was built. In France, for example, the t
erm "Grand Orient" is used for a federation of lodges. Lodges lie on a west-east
axis. The entrance is in the west and, in the east, facing the door, sits the M
aster in the Chair, also known as the Lodge Master or Worshipful Master. Since a
lodge symbolically represents Solomon's temple, the Lodge Mastet sits on "King
Solomon's throne". The Mason's project is to create a "more just and mote enligh
tened point to ignorance society" and discussing this Masonic texts subject many
eighteenth-century
Constitutions (1723), for example, suggests uniting people in a religion "in whi
ch all Men agree ... that is, to be good Men and true". This implies the idea of
a "natural" morality linked to a vision of Nature as good and reassuring. Enlig
htenment humanism incorporated and developed this image of a kind and benevolent
Nature, like a mother who feeds her child. Painters such as Fragonard (1732-180
6) depicted Nature as good for what is natural than feelings and and beautiful.
The characters in his pictures frolic with voluptuous innocence, were considered
less important cannot be pervetse or evil. In the same way, ideas it was held t
hat people should be judged according to their behaviour and not according to th
eir beliefs or to what social, Enlightenment ethical or religious groups they be
longed to. humanism sets the "sweetness" of Nature against the rigidity of despo
tism and barbarity. Nature was idealised as the "bountiful mother", a term remin
iscent tiation tites and of Demeter, of ancient iniand Greek goddess of
as the principal root of evil. or distributing books.
Spreading the light therefore was often expressed in the form of teaching Alexan
der Pushkin, the poet, and his brethren of the Ovid lodge, for example, used to
go out after each meeting soul-to to hand out books-food for the the pootest hom
es in their city. The eighteenth century was known as the
fertility. She was set against the hierarchies
Enlightenment, and during this period the overall vision of the world was humani
stic: all men have the tight to be happy and to choose their own destinies, what
ever their births. Although in Europe, it is all ways of the word humanism itsel
f only became current
the authority of the father. This association of Nature and the mother is intere

sting also in connection with the Masonic myth of Hiram, the architect of Solomo
n's temple. The Bible presents this hero as being a widow's son, which is why ma
sons call themselves fathers are "widow's children". Many founding
from the time of the Renaissance During thinking, the Enlightenment, mystical
actually part of an extremely ancient tradition. whether or philosophical,
called sons of widows or of virgins for this reason, and the implication is that
the absence of a father sets them apart from or qualifies them as Creators.
the gavel and the sword symbolise temporal and sPiritual power. the cosmogony to
light.
revolved around the .idea that human beings can
Opposite;
Following double page; the Moon and the Sun represent
of the lodge and the passing fTOm darkness
36

'iii
..

I
.
J
~

CHAPTER
LIGHT
A METAPHOR FOR THE WORD
THE WORD LIGHT HAS A NUMBER OF SEPA. RATE MEANINGS FOR FREEMASONS, WHICH TOGETHE
R FORM A NETWORK OF MEANING which expresses the breadth and depth of its
recognised as being of great spiritual worth, thus reflecting the fact that Free
masonry is open to people of many religions, united by their belief in a Supreme
Being. Such diversity is reassuring. For a library must constantly be added to
and the last book remains to be written. If having no books is hardly a good
importance
to their thinking.
I. MASONIC LIGHT When a new member becomes a Freemason he is "given the light" d
uring the ceremony of initiation to .the degree of Entered Apprentice. The shock
of initiation comes when the blindfold is removed from his eyes. II. THE THREE
LESSERLIGHTS These are the Sun, the Moon and the Lodge in these terms: "The Mast
er, and are described over the night direct his lodge." III. THE THREE GREATER L
IGHTS These ate "the volume of the sacred law, the The volume of the
thing, what is worse is to have only one book and to set it up as a fixed and un
changing monument. IV. THE LIGHTS OF THE WORKSHOP In the French and Scottish Rit
es, the Worshipful Master (or Lodge Master), the two Wardens, the Orator and the
Secretary are called "the Lights of the Workshop". Sometimes the term "the thre
e great lights" is used for the Worshipful Master and the tWo Wardens. The symbo
lism of light and its relationship with Enlightenment humanism has already been
dealt with in the chapter concerning the Orient and the throne of King Solomon.
In the Memphis Rite, the temple is "lit with the degree of the Ancient Rite (tha
t of Grand and Elect light of Egypt". The "light of freedom" is referred to at t
he thirtieth Accepted Scottish
Sun to rule over the day, the Moon to preside and the Master to govern and
square and the compasses".
sacred law is the Bible, open either at the Book of Kings or at the first page o
f the Gospel According to Saint John which reads: "In the beginning was the Word
." It can be any other book which is
Knight Kadosh). In Belgium, the Sun. the Moon, the Blazing Star and the Starry V
ault are called the "astral lights".
The three.branched
candlestick,
used in Continental
practice,
is brought out when the lodge starts its work.
40

CHAPTER
THE VOLUME OF THE SACRED LAW
THE FIRST GREATER LIGHT
"THE VOLUME OF THE SACRED LAW", AS DESCRIBED IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, MAY BE ANY
BOOK OF IMPORTANCE TO THE individual or the lodge. It is generally the Bible, t
o Saint was the on the precious scroll that he has been given. He returns to his
masters and expresses his surprise. They answer: "We thought you were more adva
nced than that. Here, then, is a text containing signs. We have many of them, bu
t generally give them only to beginners." The ultimate book remains still to be
written. He who becomes himself, and so.lives a real life, needs blank pages in
order to produce meaning, and not reproduce it. Books are to be read as a stimul
us for conversation. Listening is a sterile acrivity if it does not lead to some
thing previously unsaid. That is why the notion of the sacred is a
open at the' relevant chapter of Kings, or else at the first page of the Gospel
According John which reads: "In the beginning
Word." It can be the holy book of the new members' religion, so that they can sw
ear their oath on it: the Qur' an, the Veda, the Bhagavad Gita, the Zend-Avesta,
the Too Te King, or the Constitutions of Freemasonry. A brief story helps our u
nderstanding A "searcher" enlightenment When here. goes out in quest of a place
of where he can attain true wisdom. suits his nature, he
he finds one that
matter for study and debate for the Freemasons. Books considered to be sacred ar
e there to be read. The act of reading entails not only receiving message, but a
lso understanding metaphors a
remains there, following the masters' teachings and adhering to their strict dis
cipline. He stays for several years. When he has grown old, he decides to return
home in order to teach what he has learnt to his family. He takes leave of his
masters and asks them to give him a text containing the essence of their teachin
gs, perhaps even in a hidden form, so that he can use it to refresh his memory a
ccepted whenever necessary. His request is and he leaves satisfied. On the way
it, deciphering its
and allegories, finding out where this
version came from and wondering: "Who wrote this version and where is the origin
al? Where do the copies come from?" Reading involves not only checking what the
text says, but also what the have said about it. The use of geoand guides the re
ader. commentators
metric analysis enlightens
Each book, sacred or not, adds its own flame, and light is made up of countless
different flames.
J In this case,
home, he discovers that there is nothing written
In most Masonic
lodges a sacred volume
is plnced on the pedestal.

it is the Bible, open at the beginning of the Gospel according to Saint John.
42

CHAPTER
THE TWO PILLARS
A SYMBOL OF DUALITY
THE TWO PILLARS MARK THE PASSAGE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER QUITE DIFFERENT ONE.
THEY REPRESENT THE MYTHOLOGICAL Pillars of Hercules which were thought to stand
at Gibraltar. They announce the departure from a familiar world to an unknown on
e. The pillars at the door of the temple are purely ornamental Ancient and do no
t support the roof. of the temchosen temples often had two pillars. For examThe
pillars are described in three Biblical passages: 1 Kings 7, 15-21 and 2 Chronic
les 15-17
hand
3,
and 4, 11-13. markedly
pillar
All three
the
descriptions,
one Boaz.
although What
different,
and
name the rightwhat is still
Jachin
left-hand
must be determined-and
questioned today-is whether right and left should be taken from the inside or ou
tside of the
building. In the Masonic rites,
Jachin
is translatple, the two obelisks at the entrance Solomon's
ed as "may it establish" Boaz as "with strength". letters
or "may it affirm" and The Hebrew word for
ple of Karnak are far older than the two pillars of temple. Hiram, the architect
by King Solomon, came from Tyre where, according to Herodotus, two pillars stoo
d in front of the "one of gold, the other of temple of Hercules, emerald".
pillar is amoud (plural amoudim), from the root ayin, mem and daleth which means
"to stand, to be upright, to be situated there". As for the symbolism of the le
tters, to which the cabbalists attached a great importance because they give lif
e to the meaning of the words (a cabbalistic adage says: "let the letters in the
words come alive"), it goes as follows: ayin is the eye, mem is the origin, wat

er and mother, and daleth is the door. Emulation Working, which is a commonly ob
served English system of Freemasonry, says of the pillars: "They were built to b
e hollow, so that they could hold the archives of Masonry and indeed the scrolls
of the constitution were laid within them."
aprons were richly decorated with symbols. pavement, These included
Their symbolic nature is essentially binary: each of them represents one pole of
reality. They are aesthetically similar, but each has its own temple serve as p
articular character. The pillars of Solomon's ing the northern signposts for Fre
emasons. The Apprentices sit facpillar, while the Fellows sit facing the souther
n one. Masters can sit wherever they like. Each pillar has its warden. The north
ern pillar has the Junior or New Warden, while the southern pillar has the Senio
r or Old Warden.
Eighteenth
and nineteenth-century
Solomon's
temple, the two pillars, the Masonic
the delta, 'the Moon and the
Sun, as well as other tools appropriate
to the grade of the apron's wearer.
44

THE
TWO
PILLARS
Othet which
rituals,
notably observed
the Yotk Rite, in the United
she was seduced against her will: "He cunningly placed sweet sugared food in my
hand, a pomegranate seed, and forced me to eat it despite myself' (Homeric Hymn
to Demeter). Is this a forbidden fruit then, like the one eaten by Eve? In the t
ext of Genesis the fruit is not actually named. The word used is peri, which jus
t means fruit. This has become apple in translation, but many commentators now a
ssociate In fact, the fruit the apple with the pomegranate.
is commonly
States, affirm that: "They were built to be hollow in order to preserve the arch
ives of Freemasonry from earthquakes and floods". In the Constitusays this of th
em: tions of 1738, James Anderson masons attributed above.
"Some call them the pillars of Seth, but the old always refer to them as the pil
lars of to Enoch and mentioned in chapter 3 Enoch." This remark is an allusion t
o the temple
J
I. THE THREE COLUMNS
in Genesis could well be a fig or a pomegranate, which are more common in the Mi
ddle East than apples. As for the lilies, Masonic Biblical description
chana, which
In many rites, three columns topped with candles, or three tall candlesticks ext
inguished Beauty. are placed in the lodge. Lights are lit at the beginning of wo
rk and at the end. These columns, or pilis necessary for invention, lars, stand
for the trinity of Wisdom-StrengthWisdom strength to accomplish ornament. a task
and beauty is for
symbolism
is, The
here too, based on an arbitrary translation.
can be translated as rose.
of the pillars talks of choJohannis
Buxtorfi's Hebrew-Latin Amsterdam
dictionary, published in
in 1654, translates chochana as !ilium,

the lily, as does the Vulgate, Saint Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible. Th
e pillars are also decorated with two spheres, one representing the earth and th
e other
II. THE POMEGRANATES, LILIESAND SPHERES The pillars are topped by capitals decor
ated with pomegranates, them there lilies and spheres. How many of are and how t
hey are distributed
the sky. In Emulation Working, these spheres are placed on top of the small pill
ars, similar to those of the temple, placed on the Wardens' tables. upright. Whe
n the lodge begins its work, the earth colonnette is laid flat and the sky colon
nette At the end of the work, it is necessary to "come back down to earth", so t
he order is reversed.
depends on which of the Biblical passages mentioned above is referred to. This g
ives a creative license to modern artists. Commentators are joined Greece, toget
her on rituals have compared to the Masons, who by their souls. In ancient seeds
were linked to the tells her mother how.
Opposite:
the seeds of the pomegranate pomegranate
idea of error. Persephone
ornament
111lUkby a press-ganged
sailor showing a tracing board.
Following double page: letter standing for the ]achin pillar. Letter standing fo
r the Boaz pillar.
46

.i,
,., .
~
,
;
,~I
., ,,
I
"
lil .1 ,
,. [I"" \' ", ii'
,,
;1'I ' I "'I' , ,~ '. 'I ".ho 'J, " \ . .'11\" II " ~l ' .td, \'"
.
.
.\'
'.'
:
~ " "!flR
'\',
l
!/~I\
," ',<' 1\'1\ 'J "JI~' [I
,
'I ~~\' ~ " It '<~, ' '. ~r.\,. ,h " IJ!II' ,I' , " w \1<'~ ~ "'" .\ .I, ~
'I ,f ,~ , 1\ ~ i J1,~ , ,I .4'. ' \. ~
"
'1

CHAPTER
THE BUILDER'S TOOLS
INCREASING THE POWER OF THE HANDS
THE SQUARE AND COMPASSES ARE INSTRUMENTS OF GEOMETRY. THE FIRST KNOWN TEXTS WHIC
H TALK OF FREEMASONRY ARE the Regius and Cooke manuscripts "The Old Charges". ge
ometry: known of 1390 and 1425. These are the oldest of the texts known as They
Classify the different is geometry, also areas of knowledge and equate Freemason
ry with "The fifth science as Masonry. It is the art of measuring arts expressio
ns Magister dixit (The Master has said it) and Roma locuta, causa finita (Rome h
as spoken, the case is closed) were meant to put a stop to any debate and elimin
ate doubt or the need for proof. Only one kind of knowledge could not be taught
in this way: geometry. A theory about the properties of a shape can only be acce
pted when it has been verified using reason, and a square and compasses. The tea
ching fore the recognition of geometry of students implies thereas people who
everything on Earth and in Heaven." After the list of the seven liberal comes th
e following observation:
"No science,
are able to think rationally and find meaning on their own. Such teaching critic
al faculties importantly, creates and structures analysis. Most and objective
not even grammar or rhetoric, can operate without geometry.'" This implies that
geometry, the art of measuring as its etymology indicates, is far more than just
the art of tracing figures, and of comparing their lengths, surfaces and volume
s. in fact entails proof, and by means of its tools, The art of measuring
it develops the desire to prove the Thus, the square and the
truth of a proposition.
compasses are essentially tools for verifying the truth of the marter. The empha
sises oldest definition of Freemasonry and role in the
progress in this art teaches how to demonstrate the truth of a proposition the s
et square and compasses. In the Middle Ages, the teaching of geometry cleared th
e way for objective thought. Until that time, all knowledge had been handed down
from an authority: an affirmation was considered to be true because it had been
declared by priests who were recognised by the establishment. The
its central function
city: a Mason is someone who proves by verificatiO!~, that is to say someone who
listens attensaying it. The geometrician-builder words with the yard-stick tive
ly to "what" is being said and not to "who" is me ures of meaning an
according to the social status of the speake. ) The square and compasses, theref
ore,
f
not are
Emblems
of ,Iu: lodge.
50

THE
BUILDER'S
TOOLS
the tools of a free man. They are the tools of a way of thinking which recognise
s the possibility about reality, understandit in order to better of making state
ments
not be content
just to memorise
this point.
Working with symbolism begins with the q~tion "why?". It is necessary to analyse
the mea\ing behind the relationship between spirit and circle, between square a
nd matter. The search for this meaning casts light on how mental structures work
. In the context of this exploration,
ing its laws and modifying
the human condition. They take the place of amulets and talismans in the wake of
the development of a higher consciousness. The square and compasses have no int
rinsic power. They are tools invented exercise by human beings to help them the
power they know they possess to
psychology is more useful than metaphysics. The latter is, in fact, a construct,
and hence an effect. Psychology can explore the elements of the construct, and
hence its causes. When beginning work as an Apprentice, to by matter. the square
is laid on top of the compasses show that the spirit is still dominated
shape reality. Symbolism makes the meaning of these tools clearer by depicting t
hem as images of the mind that conceived and created them. The square and compas
ses are symbolic to the extent that they represent in a material form the shape
and skill of the human souL The square and compasses are also used to represent
rational thought. This is, however, not understood imagination. hand, merely as
the ability to deduce and or it is induce, without any assistance from intuition
To recognise one's faculties necessary to distinguish separating and unrealisti
c.
At the second degree, that of Fellow, the square and compasses are interlaced. T
here is balance. At the degree of master, the compasses are laid over the square
. I. THE GAVEL AND THE CHISEL These tWo tools are used to impose the worker's wi
ll on a piece of stone. Masons strike their chisel with the gavel to create the
shape that they have imagined. The gavel is thus associated with the active wilL
This explains why it is given to the Worshipful Master and the two Wardens. Dur
ing a ritual, it is used to announce the beginning and the end of the work, and
to request leave to speak. During the initiation ceremony, the Worshipful Master
places the sword on the new member's shoulder then hits its blade with the gave
L The gavel, derived from the Teutonic root geb, meaning "to give", is a doubleheaded wooden hammer.
them. But, on the other
them off would be disastrous Euclid's series of propositions and imagination mat
ter must
offers a rational progression, in the strict sense of the term, but intuition th

e next is not a simple play their part. The step from one proposition to of dedu
ctive logic, it is also an intuitive and imaginative leap. In almost every tradi
tion, the set square is associated with the geometric square, the Earth and matt
er; the compasses are linked to the circle, Heaven and the spirit. Those who jou
rney in search of truth must
A hand holding the stone-cutter's
chisel symbolising
the work which must be done on the self.
52

THE
BUILDER'S
TOOLS
/
The chisel, from the Latin eisellus, the substantive fonn of the verb G"dere, "t
o cut", is a small piece of hardened steel, sharpened at one end, The fact that
the gavel and chisel are useless for cutting complementary stone individually, m
akes the nature of the active and the pasbrought out by
The study of these two tools suggests various metaphors which clarify how we loc
ate ourselves on a vertical plane by determining dimensions, height and length.
III. THE GAUGE AND THE LEVER The gauge and the lever are both straight lines. Th
e gauge is a measuring tool, divided into twentyfour sections, like the division
of the day into twenty-four hours, and allows us to check that the finished bui
lding conforms to the original plan. The number of sections on the gauge is divi
sible by two and by three, and is the product of the first four natural numbers
(1 x 2 x 3 x 4). It is thus the ideal for checking if proportions are correct. T
he lever is a tool which increases worker's physical strength. its two
sive quite clear. This is futther
the symbolic meanings associated with these two tools. The gavel is, of course,
the active element because it hits the chisel, thus giving it a force which the
passive chisel directs, II. THE PLUMBLINE AND THE PLUMBRULE The plumb line is a
piece -of lead on a string
attached to a ring, while the pl~mb rule is a piece of lead on a line attached t
o the summit of a triangle, The former is used to find a vertical axis and the l
atter the horizontal axis, Both of these twO tools give the vertical axis, while
the plumb rule is used to obtain the horizontal axis indirectly. The line of th
e plumb and is such that the triangle rule has to cross the base of the triangle
form a perpendicular, divided into two identical right-angled The vertical axis
is obtained
Everyone knows the
challenge: "Give me but one firm spot on which to stand, and I will move the ear
th." It allows us to overcome divided the force of gravity. The lever is and it
to the in proportion into two parts by its fulcrum,
increases a man's strength
length of the part he presses down on. This part is called "the power". The othe
r, which is shorter and lies under the object to be lifted, is called "the resis
tance". IV. THE TROWEL This tool represents the final stage of a job, the moment
when mortar or plastet is applied over the walls, thus obscuring the difference
s between the stones. It is also associated with creative power, which is illust
rated by the fact that in the Middle Ages the Creator was sometimes depicted
a hand hoMing the hammer symbolising a stone-cutter at work. showing.
triangles.
by simply looking
at the line when it is completely still. The horizontal axis can then be derived
from it. A right angle must be created adjusted so that by adjusting the base o

f the triangle to the vertical line. The triangle is its base (the side facing t
he angle from which the line is suspended) forms a cross with the line. Gravity
allows us to determine the vertical axis and, from that, determine the horizonta
l axis.
Opposite:
Following double page: the ikcoradonat
the centre of a lodge's banner,
the tools of a building site where masons work.
54

THE
BUILDER'S
TOOLS
holding
a trowel. The symbolism of this tool is blade and its jagged
Cutting stone is seen as a "becoming". It is an act which recognises the need fo
r change. The uninitiated are full of metals that speak for them. When rid of th
ese metals, the initiated can speak for themselves. The square of a square, the
cube, dimensions elements. has the same symbolism in three ( as the square does
in two. It is an Its appearance is identical no matter
also based on its triangular
edge which looks like a bolt of lightning. V. THE ROUGH ASHLAR, THE CUBICAL STON
E AND THE POINTED CUBICAL STONE Rough ashlar, or unhewn stone, is the raw materi
al to be worked on. Stone symbolises human beings in their natural state, before
they work on themselves humanity. "to make" oneself". through introspection. Al
l writers agree on this view of rough ashlar as imperfect The symbolism of build
ers, guildsmen refers to "making something the activity of of and Freemasons dev
elops around the notion that We need to consider stands
intrinsic part of the material world and the four which face it stands on, which
is why it is associated with stability. On the other hand, the pointed cubical
stone is a cube topped with a pyramid; it can be set down only on the face oppos
ite the pyramid. Oswald Wirth says of it: "This tool, from carpenters, which mas
ons have borrowed
working "on" unhewn sion which improvement.
stone, a Masonic expresand selfpattern, so
for introspection
clearly shows that a stone must be split open so that its inner
be discovered." The ancient English texts refer to "freestone",
ck which builders used for carving figures. The hard stone used
ork was called "rough-stone". to certain authors, the etymology
word

esotericism can
a soft chalky ro
for largescale w
According of the

Is it a question of forming identical and form a

stones, according to a pre-established that they will fit perfectly together vid
ualisation, "metals", have Masonic during
pyramid? Or is it not rather a question of indiwhich process everyone self, gett
ing rid of base the prejudices world? A reading we of discovers their particular
which about the outside
represent
Freemason is "free-stone Mason". For others, the word was first used to describe
a serf who was "freed" due to his skills as a Mason, and thus was allowed to tr
avel as he pleased. Perhaps it comes from the association between the softness o
f freestone and the ideal of personal freedom, Free-stone encourages the freedom
of the Mason because it is easy to carve. It puts up no resistance, but readily

adopts the form which the person working it desires, The softness of the stone
sets the Mason free.
texts shows that role models are prethat they be copied.
sented with the invitation
The models masons are asked to identify themselves with are the sages and, to ac
hieve mastership, the architect Hiram. But, these same texts to differentiate a
new rather also contain countless injunctions self, to enrich
oneself rather than conform, to construct the group qualitatively than quantitat
ively.
A painted lambskin apron of English origin (early ninetenth represendng
century),
the three holy virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity.
58
.....

CHAPTER
1 0
THE MASON'S CLOTHING
DRESSED FOR WORK
FREEMASONS DRESS TO TAKE PART IN THE WORK OF THE LODGE. WITH AN APRON OVER THEIR
EVERYDAY CLOTHES, AND GLOVES ON their hands, they are ready for the opening cer
emony. Depending on their degree and rite, they may also wear a sash or collar.
At the beginning dress was simple, thus conforming to the philoso, phy of the Cr
aft, which required that its members put all superficialiry behind them. But the
eighteenth luxury, fraternise century witnessed a burgeoning as princes and com
moners taste for started to II. THE SASH The sash (worn by Continental and Scott
ish Masons) and collar are the only decorative items to be worn above the belt.
Their origin lies in the desire to show that all masons are equal. In pre-revolu
tionary Masonic I. THE APRON The apron, the Masons' most distinctive item of lod
ge became France, The the sash was worn only by the nobility. and lined with bla
ck. As a piece of protective clothing, because splinters the apron it is necessa
ry symbolises to protect hard work oneself from
of rough ashlar. At the same time it the bond of belonging
helps create and maintain to the same fraterniry.
in the lodges. A whole industry grew
up, providing an enormous range of articles of all kinds.
the first place where
everyone, whatever their social status or origins, wore a sash, showing equaliry
from "on high". A privilege had been shared, rather than. suppressed. The colla
r is a ribbon indicating an official position or a degree of initiation. A colla
r cannot be worn at the same time as a sash. III. THE GLOVES Gloves are generall
y white but, in the higher of Speculative Freegrades, may be red, black or white
edged with red. At the beginning masonry, masons used to wear a sheet of vellum
A pair of gloves given to an apprendce Following doubk Voltaire, page: aprons (e
ighreenth century), during iniciacion. and
clothing, is considered a tool. It goes back to the days of working Masonry, whe
n masons wore a long apron of thick leather to protect themselves against splint
er; of rock and blows from their aprons are made of a lambskin. The trianguthe b
ib turned down. tools. Entered Apprentices' white hide, traditionally same apron
, but with
lar bib or flap is raised up. The Fellows wear the Masters' aprons are made of h
ide or satin, edged with red, green or blue depending on the rite,
belonging to He/vedus
iUustradng th symbols and kgends associated with different Masonic
degrees.
60
--

THE
MASON'S
CLOTHING
decorated mony,
with
Masonic
symbols
instead two paits
of of
V. ROBESANOCHASUBLES The dinner jacket is common in England, where it is used to
establish symbolises conducted equality. a sense of harmony In Germany, meeting
s and aregloves. In the past, following the initiation an Apprentice received gloves: one
for himself and another "the lady he esteemed
ceteto give to
most highly". Nowadays,
in tail coats and top hats.
the second pair of gloves which was meant as a gift, has generally been replaced
by a rose. In 1780, having "been given the light" at the Amalia with Three Rose
s Lodge in Weimar, Goethe sent a pair of gloves to Madame de Stein with a letter
containing the following words: "Here is a rather modest present, but it is one
The sisters of the Grand Female Lodge put a long black robe over their clothes a
t the beg~ning of the work. In the body of Memphis and the Swiss lodges of the F
ederation Rite wear orange robes. of Human Duty it is white. Female lodges in th
e Memphis In some lodges that Rite, the men observe the Rectified wear a blue ch
asuble. Scottish
that a man can give only once in his life." IV. THE HAT In the eighteenth ninete
enth, century, and for much of the
the Worshipful Master wore a hat in among some Masters when
the lodge, as did the Masters sometimes. This custom is still current they meet
alone together in the Middle Chamber. The hat, like the crown, is an emblem of r
oyalty and is associated with the Kether sephira in the cabbalistic Tree of Life
. It is there as a reminder to the masters that their task is to rule, and not t
o wield power for their own purposes. This is a collective ideal, the shining di
adem, and must of the Worshipful have once been reminiscent
Master's tricorn. This figure is not a leader, in the sense in which the term is
used in the outside world. The Worshipful passes them. In Germany, Masters tran
smit what work they receive and take part in a project which surall the brethren
with hats on, but uncover their heads whenever the Great Architect is referred

to.
Opposite: Master Masons wear sashes and Wardens wear collars decorated with the
symbols of their offices. (1797-1881) Queen , dressed as Grand Master. of Naples
(1782,..1839).
Fol/awing double page: portrait of Prince Frederick of Holland "Lodge of Adopdon
"
sash worn by Caroline Murat,
64

CHAPTER
I
I
THE BLADES
THE CUT AND THRUST OF CLEAR THINKING
THE INTRODUCTION OF SWORDS AND KNIVES INTO FREEMASONRYCAME ABOUT THROUGH SEVERAL
DIFFERENT TRADITIONS: ANCIENT chivalry, example, with its legendary Excalibur);
magic swords (for in the the Bible which,
first time at the first degree, called "Vengeance"; and then at the ninth degree
of the Ancient Accepted and Scottish Rite, called the Master Elect Daggers have
existed since
of Nine. The history of the dagger sheds light on its symbolism. neolithic times
right through to the present day. weapons, designed for stabBook of Genesis, talks of
in the eighteenth century
show that they were equal
itth. The straight-bladed

a "flaming sword"; and the Freemasons themselves who,

when swords were a sign of nobility, all wore them to
and that nobility was a question of deeds and not of b
sword has two cutting

They are thrusting

bing, and have a double-edged blade. In neolithic times the shott blades, betwee
n 8 and 16 inches long, were made of stOne and had already been so perfected tha
t the metal blades that art and of were later made of copper, bronze or iron, fo
llowed the same pattern. made longer became blades The blacksmith's possible, an
d so daggers
edges and a handle in the shape of a cross. All the members of a lodge have a sw
ord, which they use during ceremonies. The curve-edged sword is known as "the fl
aming sword" due to its shape. This is an allusion to Genesis 3, 23-24: "He bani
shed the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted of life." Worshipful
during the great winged creatures The flaming sword is held and the by the fiery
flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree Master (the president of the lodge
)
swords which are both thrusting the symbolic it is, then, connotations
cutting weapons, allowing up and down blows. To understand these weapons clearly
between between vital to distinguish slicing or splitting
the sword and the dagger,
the act of cutting,
and the act of piercing. The dagger can be seen as a symbol of that which pierce
s a mystery, a secret, words and enigmas, allowing meaning to gush fotth. In thi
s way a weapon becomes a rool for thought. Polemus and Epistemes showed each oth
er their reflections... and discovered that they were twin brothers.
initiations
to the grade of Apprentice, the Word, thought and crethrough the ranks: for the
and is laid on his tracing board while the lodge works. It represents Mason's pr

ogression ation. The dagger appears various times during a

Opposite
hunting dagger with Masonic
symbo~,
engraved by Joan Van dEr Nany
in 1771
Following doubk page: lodge swords, used in all ceremonies.
68

CHAPTER
1 2
THE VEGETABLE WORLD
FOOD, SIGNS AND ATTRIBUTES
THE SYMBOLISMOF THE VEGETABLEKINGDOM HARKS BACK TO THE BEGINNINGS OF SPEECH AND
THOUGHT. EARLY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT Nature used the imagery of the human body: Moth
er Nature is fertilised by the rain, the seed 'of the Sky-Father, and lives an e
ndless return through the cycles of the seasons. This created a
..
. wood with its own appropriate
tools, in particular
the axe. Forest rituals were practiced by guilds of carpenters, some of which ha
ve been retained by the stone Freemasons during their celebration Midsummer Nigh
t. The following exposition of vegetable symbolism occurs in the light of rites
practiced by stone Freemasons. I. THE CORN SEED It is at the second degree, as a
Fellow, that of
set of metaphors which helped us place ourselves
within the world. Soon after this type of metaphor came into existence, human be
ings began observing natural developed sentations. phenomena, in opposition and
this study soon to mythological repreFreemasons discover the symbolism of the com seed. This is introduced in a set o
f teachings related to the five senses, which we use to communicate. antiquity,
Egyptians, The death and rebirth of a seed is a to most of the mystery cults of
that of Eleusis. For the of particularly theme common
Logos and Mythos then became conThe most ancient this was a way of in a human Ma
sonic
ceptualised as two distinct categories which were opposed but complementary. rec
tion. In every civilisation the important rites of all dwell on the cycle of dea
th and resurstructuring moments
the ear of corn was the emblem
life: birth, maturity and transformation.
Osiris and symbolised his death and resurrection. It is important Freemasons to
remember in this context that call themselves "children of the who
symbolism emphasises change and metamorphosis, and makes its own use of vegetabl
e symbols. Freemasonry takes the essential part of its symbolic references from
the world of minerals. Stone is both the medium and the raw material to be worke
d on, which is the task that builders' tools were designed for. But, in the eigh
teenth century, there also existed a Freemasonry of
widow", an allusion to Hiram the architect
was "the son of a widow". The oldest known reference to "the son of the widow" o
ccurs in an inscription on a tablet found in the pyramid of Cheops and refers to
Horus, Osiris's posthumous child. A study of both sacred and secular ancient
Com

is part of the symbolism

associated with the grade of Fellow.
72

.. :-r-rjI 'f' "

c,
.t.
,'
'\
/'\
,"1\ ,.
"
''
,~
(
7,
"
,
,,,
\ I(
'!
,
\"
~
~'\
,,',
..
;'
,..-\
.t
~,
,
, \ .;: ..
if.
~!~
~'
~
"

THE
VEGETABLE
WORLD
texts reveals that a fatherless child, the son of a widow or of a virgin, always
stands for a fou.nder or creator. II. THE ACACIA The acacia appears at the thir
d degree, that of Master, in the tale of the murder of Hiram the architect by hi
s three impatient companions. In Masonry Dissected (1730), Samuel Pritchard comp
ares details of the story of the murder of Hiram with Aeneas's search for his fa
ther Aeneid. Aeneas consulted the Sibyl to find out if he could go down among th
e shadows and talk with his father. The Pythoness gave him the necessary encoura
gement, ancestor Golden Golden but told him that he would succeed in finding his
father Anchises, the of the Trojans, only if he plucked the Bough and kept it i
n his hand. Hiram is discovered This a Bough could be pulled off its tree with u
nder Anchises in the Sixth Book of Virgil's
suggests that it had been uprooted elsewhere and replanted in the place where th
e dead man had may be linked been buried. This transplantation
to a funeral rite, a basic rite which would have been provided even for a corpse
that had been buried in secret. The acacia grows in the desert and has extremel
y hard wood and dense thorns on its .branches. Irs name in Hebrew is shita (sin,
thh, he). There are three references to it in the Bible: once as a tree in Isai
ah 41,19; as wood in Exodus 26, 26; and in the plural in Exodus 25, 5-37 which d
eals with the construction of the tabernacle. III. THE TREE AND THE FOREST When
initiated into the twenty-second degree of
the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the candidate becomes the Prince of the
Lebanon or Royal Axe. The legend ofrhis degree derives cycles. from the Bible an
d from the Arthurian
ease. Similarly,
The theme of building with wood comes from the Bible: Noah's ark and the Ark of
the Covenant are the first and second temples. As for cycle of stories, it contr
ibutes the the Arthurian
branch:' of acacia, which comes away easily from the recently disturbed earth. V
irgil also tells a story which repeats some of the elements of Hiram's. Priam, t
he King of Troy, sent his son Polydorus to rake a large sum of money to the King
of Thrace. The Thracians killed Polydorus chance, Aeneas and buried him in secr
et. By was travelling through that
Round Table, whk:h King Arthur made in order to stop his knights arguing about p
recedence. This is what Paul Naudon and Edmond GIoton have to say about the subj
ect: "The legend of this grade teaches us that the Sidonians cut down the cedars
of Mount Lebanon for the construction of Noah's ark. Their des<:endants did the
same to make the Ark of the Covenant. This explains why they were also employed
to supply the wood needed for the
country and pulled up the branch of a bush, so discovering the remains of Polydo
rus. There is a common element in these stories: the efforrless tearing up of a
branch, which
Acacia, used far locating the tomb of Hiram the Master, and for building Solomon
's temp"'.
75

THE
VEGETABLE
WORLD
building of Solomon's temple. Later, Zerubbabel was to use them again for the co
nstruction teaching of this grade is the apotheosis of the of work a progresseco
nd temple. The extremely hermetic, esoteric carried out to make the Philosopher'
s Stone."l This describes a metamorphosis, sive birth, the fruit of work perform
ed on wood, on that vegetable matter which drinks the water kept in the earth, w
hich grows and produces leaves and fruit that are edible for human beings, which
burns in the fire and renews itself. The Ark of the Covenant, which was made of
wood, sheltered the stone tablets of the Law. The temple was made of wood and s
tone. Work is an apprenticeship vegetable in rhe mastery of rhe mineral and on w
orlds. Such work on an object,
the bark, symbolising appearances or clorhing. It is important to rediscover the
true discourse which asks us to look at its flowers and fruit instead. The jour
ney from the forest to the stately hall containing abolishes century the Round T
able (whose shape any rank and around which sit only ritual of the "Brethren of
Charcoal"peers") is clearly alluded to in the eighteenthBurners" as recounted by Jacques
Brengues: "Where do you come from? From a forest.
-To rhe room
- Overcome
- Where are you going, good brother? of state. - What will you do there? my pass
ions, submit my will and
"exterior" nature, is analogous to work on a subject, on "interior" nature. The
tree communicates. of becoming stemming It is full of elolearn the respectable trade of the charcoal-burners. - What have you brought? Some wood, some leaves, some earth; to build, to strike, to cook in the furnace.
also brought faith, hope and charity for all the brethren in rhe room of state.
- Who is that person you are leading? ,Have you brought nothing else?
quent symbols for those who wish to put rhe act into words: the many branches fr
om a single trunk; the roars whose
depth is proportional to the height of the trunk and to the extent and richness
of its crown. It is .a central metaphor for many cultures: the tree of the knowl
edge of good and evil, the tree of life, the axis of the world, the link between
heaven and earth... But all that is well known and often
-I have
-A
man whom
I found
lost in the forest.
to learn the duties of a respectable charcoal-burner and to become a member of o

ur order. "2 The teaching of work is defined by a project: rhe making of rhe Phi
losopher's Stone. The of charjourneymen of France, rhe brotherhood
-What does - He wishes
he want?
repeated. What is important
is to recognise a tree
from its flowers and fruit, and not from its bark. This work is connected with t
he re-establishment of the living word, where conventional misunderstandings emp
hasise the importance of
A TOse. the alchemical s,mbol
of Ufe.
77

THE
VEGETABLE
WORLD
coal-burners
and the Freemasons
all live with will be the rewas protected.
Anybody
who damaged an olive
this desire. And the conclusion
tree was taken to courr. It was given divine status in the Homeric Hymn to Demet
er, which introduced initiates in to the mysteries of Eleusis.3 In the Judreo-Ch
ristian tradition the olive tree is a symbol of peace. The dove brings an olive'
branch to Noah at the end of the flood and some legends relate that the Cross w
as made of olive and cedar wood. In the language of the Middle Ages it was a sym
bol of gold and of love. "If I can see gilded olive wood at your door, I shall t
hen call you the temple of God", wrote Angelus Silesius, taking his inspiration
tion of Solomon's temple. Olive trees are found everywhere along the shores of t
he Mediterranean. Harvesting olives and making them into oil goes back to ancien
t times. The symbolism of the olive tree is thus rich in archaic experiences. Si
nce olive oil was is called the used to feed lamps, the tree is associated. with
light and, in the Islamic tradition, "Blessed Tree", or the "Central Tree", mea
ning the axis of the world. It is useful to consider how the laurel and the oliv
e tree are brought together in two ways. On the one had, the symbolic meaning of
each may be added to that of the other in the belief that they then offer the s
um of their symbolic content. On the other hand, they join to form a "symbolic c
ouple", with a life of its own-nurtured, each separate tence, especially of cour
se, by the symbolism of element-but whose very exisin view of their Telationship
, from the descripbuilding of the temple and the arrival of a better, more enlightened society, sy
mbolised by the Round Table, which abolishes places of honour. Initiates are exp
erienced people and do not need leaders. If the assembly does have a president,
that president is still an equal. IV. THE LAUREL AND THE OLIVE These two trees a
ppear at the degree of Secret Master, the fourth in the Ancient Scottish Rite. A
beautiful from him. This and Accepted
youth pursues a nymph who is the story of Apollo and
turns herself into a laurel tree in order to escape Daphne, one of western ate's
favourite subjects. Sacred to Apollo, the laurel tree symbolises victory in a l
iterary competition victorious or in a war. A wreath of its leaves was placed on
the brows of Roman generals, and later of empercomes from the fact that, It has
a similar meaning in one ors. This association ism of immortaliry. China,
like all evergreens, laurel is linked to the symbolwhere the moon is said to con
tain
laurel tree and one immortal. As Apollo's tree, it brings together the wise man
and the hero. In Greece, the Pythoness and her priests chewed or burned laurel l

eaves which, being sacred to Apollo, had divinatory favourable powers. Those who
received returned It grew a answer from the Pythoness
home wearing laurel wreaths. The olive tree is sacred to Athena. in abundance on
the plain of Eleusis, where it
forces us to choose, separate and develop. Before going any further, it should a
lso be pointed out
Symbol of the Rose-Croix
grade. embroidered
on an eighreenth-century
apron.
78

THE
VEGETABLE
WORLD
I'
that the olive tree, like the laurel, is associated with victory. This is a comm
on factor in their respective symbolism. The Greeks offered crowns of olive leav
es to winners in the Olympic Games. If these together two trees have been brough
t thing to show that the most important
the rose tree is a symbol of regeneration. In sacred texts, preceding interpreta
tion. the rose is often found We read, for example, together with the olive tree
, which confirms the in Ecclesiasticus the plain." The rose is also associated w
ith knowledge and is thought to be the treasure of wisdom. Jean de Meung's Ranum
de ILlRose is our first encyclopedia, the sum of thirteenth-century knowledge.
The "alchemical" personified in Christianity also be understood mediaeval or "my
stic rose", (24,14): "I have grown tall
...
as the rose bushes of Jericho; as a fine olive in
is their similarity, then the Secret Master must now meditate on the reward whic
h follows effort. Without rejecting that possibility, the laurelBy
olive nexus also links Apollo and Athena. studying the Apollo-Athena tect)
couple, we can penleads us to an between effort
etrate into the "beginning" of thought (its archiand find the road which of the
relationship understanding and reward. , V. THE ROSE The rose and its worship is
central to European culture'. It holds the same symbolic value as the lotus in
the East. In the West, the rose is sacred to Aphrodite (Venus). It was born from
Cupid's smiles, or fell from Aurora's hair as it was being combed. The' first r
ose bush is supposed to have shot up from the ground as Venus emerged from the w
aves. A drop of nectar, According the drink of the gods, fell on it and gave bir
th to the rose flower. to legend, roses were originally white who was by jealous
Mars, a thorn stuck but, when Venus ran to help Adonis, being threatened
by the Virgin, should at the
as a symbol of knowledge.
The mystic rose is the final illumination last stage of a spiritual quest. The r
ose represents regeneration. metamorphosis.
wisdom, beauty and are
Love transforms us by a process of But these transformations and in this sense t
he transforms Ulysses's their clearriot necessarily beneficial This dangerous companions sorceress
myth of Circe can be read as a clear allegory. into swine because, unlike
leader, they are incapable

of remaining
headed and wise during their orgy of drinking.
in her foot and the blood from the wound poured over the rose's white petals, dy
eing them red. The Ass of Apuleius regains his human form by eating a garland of
vermillion roses given to him by the High Priest of Isis. Thus, according to Ap
uleius,
1. P. Naudon, Histoire et Rituels des Haws Grades ma,onniques, Paris, 1967. E. G
imon, Memento des grades capitulaires. Paris, 1946. 2. J. Brengues, La Fmnc-Maqo
nnerie du Bois. Paris, 1973. 3, D. Beresniak, "Ce que nous savons des mysteres d
'Eleusis". 1 Maii1Jn,nO48,Nov. 1994.
Laurel stnnds for victories over oneself.
80

CHAPTER
1 3
THE ANIMAL WORLD
IMAGES FOR HUMANKIND
THE MASONIC RITES SET ASIDE SPECIAL traveller degrees is decked of the rite, in
white. During the final eagle PLACES IN THE CITY FOR MASTER MASONS WHO, HAVING L
IVED THROUGH THE PASSION of Hiram, now work on other legends. In such places cha
racters from the Bible encounter characters. In this II. THE BRAZENSERPENT AND T
HE TRUE WORD The brazen serpent appears at the twenty-fifth degree of the Ancien
t To understand and Accepted Scottish Rite, the so-called Knight of the Brazen S
erpent. these words, it is enough to listen to their sound. The root letters nun
, kaph, SIn give the word nahash, meaning serpent, and also nahash, meaning omen
. But these two words are to Frazer) was not true homophones, because although t
he root omen) is a letters are the same, their vowel sounds are different. The "
a" of nahash (divination, pathah, a shorter sound than the qame, which vocalises
the "a" of nahash (serpent). The same root gives the verb nahoch, which means t
o practice the art of divination. The omen sense of these root letters is found
in the Book of Numbers 23, 23 and 24, 1. Nahash vocalised as a serpent is also a
proper noun, name of a king of the Ammonites David (1 Samuel ter, Abigail, and
contemporary of Saul and 17, 25). 11, 1 and 2 Samuel Olympians, Egyptians, Knigh
ts, temple builders the double-headed
becomes more and more a symbol of power.
and Faustian, or Promethean
collection of remembered images we discover our shared memory, the roots which g
ive our experiences meaning. Real and imaginary animals take, naturally, their p
lace these images. I. THE TWO-HEADED EAGLE This Hittite symbol (according
i
II
adopted by the Seleucid Turks during the Middle Ages. The crusaders learnt of it
and adopted it in their turn. This symbol is, therefore, an example of what the
West takes from the East. Having Austrian headed first served as a symbol for t
he every supreme
and Russian h:nperial armies, the twoeagle now represents
council in the world. This is because it represents the dual nature of Unity. On
ce the traveller has reached the camp of the Kadosh, the bicephalous eagle will
always remain with him. At this degree, it is black and white. At the thirty-thi
rd degree, it becomes completely black, while the
We are told that he was the father of David's siswhich implies, given that David
's
Collar of the Prince of the Royal Secret, the thirty-second of the Ancient
degree
and Accepred Scotrish Rite,
82
J

ill
III
THE
ANIMAL
WORLD
',father
was Jesse, that David and his sister had in common, their mother.
III. THE PELICAN AND THE PHOENIX These two animals are associated in Masonic fee
ding its
only one parent spelling
Derived from this root is nahoshet, with the same plus the feminising taw suffix
, which is copper. The legan means copper, as well as brass and bronze, two allo
ys whose main ingredient (Numbers Nehushtan It was then descendant endary serpen
t of brass is called Nahash nahoshet 21, 9) and, was later to become object of w
orship by the Israelites, who called it and made offerings of incense to it. des
troyed by King Hezekiah, a of David (2 Kings 18,3-5). nun, kaph, Sin, vocalised
36, to mean menof a serpent, or of
symbolism. The former is represented
young with its own flesh and blood; the latter rising from its own ashes. Love w
hich is capable of self-sacrifice transference is connected and the renewal with
knowledge,of generations.
Blood is seen as the tonic of life. The pelican and rhe phoenix are depicted on
the aprons and ornaments of the eighteenth degree, called the Rose-Croix Knight
or Rose-Croix Prince, depending on the rite IV. THE LAMB The Iamb is the origina
l sacrificial victim in the world's three monotheistic Catholicism, the Dionysia
n religions (] udaism, Islam) and, even further back, in mystery cults. It also
appears in Arjuna, who rides on
It should be noted that, w.ithout the suffix, the same letters nahash, are used
in Ezekial16, whore. snake The first appearance
strual blood in the passage where he curses the in the Bible is in the third cha
pter
Genesis. He predicts what will,happen when Adam and Eve have tasted the fruit fr
om the forbidden tree. It should be remembered first verse of this chapter that
the
the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, where it is associated with Krishna's interlocutor the
back of a ram, and with the light at the centre oflife. In the Masonic and Accep
ted Scottish rites, the Iamb is repredegree of the Ancient Rite (the Knight of t
he At the
I
says "Now, the snake the word
was the most naked of all the wild animals", and that in nearly every official t
ranslation naked (aroum) is wrongly translated as shrewd or subtle. Its nakednes

s hides nothing, represents the fact that it that it shows its true nature, that
sented at the seventeenth East and West), the eighteenth yearly banquet
lying on the scroll of seven degree (the Rose Croix),
seals, an image from Saint John's Revelation.
it does not lie. As for the serpent of brass, called Nehushtan, it was kept by t
he Israelites after the' first temple had been, built. It was placed in the cour
tyard of the temple and the people, believing that it could heal the sick, sacri
ficed animals to it.
Opposite:
includes a lamb, whose flesh is burned. Scottish Iamb and
eaten while its bones are ceremoniously At the fourth degree of the Rectified tr
acing board shows the slaughtered the celestial city of Jerusalem.
i
.
Rite (the Scottish Master of Saint Andrew), the
I
the pelican feeding its young with its own entrails is an alchemical symbol of t
he Rose-Croix FoUowing double page: the hive and itS bees symbolize
grade,
the work of the lodge.
The serpent which encircles the world is often depicted as Uroburos
(the snake which bites itS own tail).
84

,
. .. -t:.
..
~ , "." j
, ;" ,/l
.~ .... -.. ..' .."-, """" - 'I.
... '. ~J ..... ..
. ..- .
..

THE
ANIMAL
WORLD
V. THE NORY KEY The ivory key, the emblem of the Secret Master, has its place am
ong the animal symbols since it is made of organic matter and is therefore diffe
rent from the Masons' tools. Tools are made from minerals and vegetable matter,
but the ivory key is not a tool. It is a sign. It represents its bearer's intent
ion of opening his or her own interior locks to discover the future initiate in
the depths where the master's body lies rotting. A key in Hebrew is ma{teash, fr
om the root letters pe (or phe), taw and kaph. This etymology leads back to the
Egyptian god Ptah, god of associations, exchange and creation. Ptah, the potter
god, who was later associated by the Greeks with Hermes, was seen as being the m
aster of artisans and scribes. He is the god of knowledge and creation. Pythagor
as and many other Greeks went to Egypt to follow the teaching of the priests of
Ptah. The name Pythagoras is itself a mystical name of Egyptian origin which pho
netically
Greek the first words of the prayer
worms. This text could well go back to the earliest dynasties: "I t is Ptah who
is called by the ... he who fathered Atum, of nine neteT."2 the company great na
me Tatenen he who created
This text continues with the story of the death of Osiris and describes Ptah as
the creator: "The great Ptah is the heart and tongue of the nine neteT". It so h
appens the ennead that the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite teaches the symbol
ism of (the group of nine) at the fourth degree, whose emblem is the ivory key.
reproduces in
to Ptah, P
-Tas
Fh-Gh-R means
(Egyptian without "Ptah
hieroglyphs, or "the
like Hebrew, greatest",
were written
vowels). This inscription
is great"
Gardiner points out in his famous grammar.I The Pythagorism which of Ptah's ivor
y key is also connected and the "white known with walls" text of
1. Sir Alan Gardiner, Egyptian grammar, beingan inrroduction to the stud, of hie
rogl,phs, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, 1973. 2. The Hebtew root ntT has
a set of different nuances, such as "to undo", "to untie", "to release" and "to
withdraw". Vocalised as neter it means narron. the native sesquicarbonate of so
da which occurs in solution or as a deposit, mixed with other substances. As a m
eraphor, it srands for whar is produced by dissolving.
Crowned with a Masonic alphabet. compasses plaad over the arc of a circle, inscr
ibed s,mbol of rebirth.

and the sources of Pythagorism, The oldest

lie in Memphis temple.
Memphite teachings is a copy which the Egyptian king Shabaka which made on black
granite of a text by had, so it was said, been destroyed
and Unked b, a rose on a cross and the phrenix, Rose-Croix
jewelry , eighteenth century.
88

CHAPTER
1 4
THE WORLD AND NATURE
NATURE IS THE OTHER GREAT BOOK
IN ALL TRADITIONS, THE TEMPLEIS THE MEDIA TOR BETWEEN THE UNIVERSE AS MACROCOSM
AND HUMAN BEINGS AS MICROCOSM. That is why the Masonic temple depicts the Sun an
d Moon on its east wall, the blazing star on its west wall and the "starry vault
" on its ceiling. The Freemason passes through a number of specific natural loca
tions during his journey of initiation. , 1. THE CAVE The cave's fitst appearanc
e is at the ninth degree of the Ancient murderer. and Accepted Scottish Rite (th
e the Ma.;ter Elect of Nine) as the hiding place of the The Hebrew language asso
ciates cave with a hole and with the eye socket of a skull. The Hebrew root lett
ers which contain these meanings are kaph and res, and the word meaning cave, ho
le and eye socket is pronounced khor or khour, the root being vocalised either w
ith an "0" or an "ou". Khor is also the Hebrew form of the Egyptian god Horus, I
sis and Osiris's posthumous the legend widow". son who, in the pyramid versions
of of Isis, is called "the child between of the II. FIELDS,MOUNTAINS AND FORESTS
There is a degree at which the Freemason works with nature. The walls of the te
mple are decorated with fields, mountains waterfalls. and forests, rivers and ar
e At this degree, fresh questions including English. Perhaps it is universal? It
s symbolism must then be approached through this association.
asked concerning everything that has been learnt. about Masonic symbols, and the
aim of this work is, as the ritual puts it, "to search for the ttuth". This is
the twenry-eighth the Sun or the Prince degree of the Ancient Adept. The great w
as and Accepted Scottish Rite, called the Knight of American particularly longes
t Mason, Albert Pike (1809-91), about
fond of this degree. He wrote the the rite,
book ever published
Morals and Dogma, which is known as the "Bible of the Scottish Rite". Of the boo
k's eight hundred pages, two hundred and twenty of them are consecrated to the K
night of the Sun. To understand why Albert Pike attached it is life. such a grea
t importance ney through to this teaching,
necessary to know about his own initiatory jourcave and cavity the course of an
adventurous For a long time he lived among the Native
The association
(as a hole or eye socket) exists in many languages,
The acacia is one of the vegetable symbols which accompanies
aMason's
Ufe as an initiate.
90

THE
WORLD
AND
NATURE
il: Iii
I
Americans
Ii
II
of Arkansas
and Oklahoma.
He
ments, and living creatures are linked together by their breathing, eating, expe
riences, actions and by the Universe itself. Human beings are not superior being
s, nor images of God at the summit of evolution. We must, therefore, live in har
mony with nature and not attempt Each thing, living or inanimate, to dominate it
. is unique and of the Hence because
learnt
the languages
of the Creek,
Crow and becoming Grand a and
Cherokee
and taught in a school hidden away in of the woods, before
III
the middle
lawyer, fighting alongside the Confederates rising as a Mason to be the Sovereig
n Commander of the Ancient
and Accepted
Scottish Rite. The thinking of Native Americans is very close to the teaching of
the Knight of the Sun. Albert Pike added a Native American element to it, and s
o enriched
I,
must be seen as a specific creation Universe.. Each existence is absolute. Nativ
e What Americans is more, do not fear death,
the Masonic tradiof
they live from the death of planrs and animals. evil does not exist in itself. J
ustice, like medicine, is there to re-establish trust and as a form of reconcili

ation with others or with nature. Land does not belong to anyone, not even to a
clan or a tribe. When the first Europeans They arrived, the Native hostile Ameri
cans weltion. This is justified by the Masons' notion "gathering
I
what is scattered" and also because a
tradition is a form of memory which allows us to
II
innovate. ~ative American rituals are not part of an organised religion, but tak
e the form of "encounters". Thus, they do not transmit any dogmatic teachings, d
o not have any claims to an eternal truth, but allow an exchange of ideas and im
pressions. That is why the Native Americans gave a friendly welcome respected fi
t, without realised religious to Christian Everyone missioncould aries. They saw
all cultures as being relative, and freedom. choose their beliefs, and change th
em if they saw judgment, criticism or hindrance. only when they guard of They re
sisted the missionaries
comed them and helped them to set up homes. only became when the Whites began to
behave as if they were dominant, exclusive landlords. For the Native Americans,
a tribe is a meeting of individuals and not the sum of the individuals that com
pose it. When they hold counsel, they try to reach a consensus but pay no attent
ion then Albert each to any principle person of leadership they or of majority v
iews. If a consensus cannot be reached, does what see fit. It was with such peop
le that the great Mason, Pike, lived his years of apprenticeship. This backgroun
d made him a wonderfully charismatic Mason. When he reached rhe teaching of the
Knight of the Sun, Chief of Masonry, he realised how vital it was and gave it th
e importance it deserved.
that they were an advance
white plunderers, with the backing of a powerful army. Native American around ca
nnot it rhe elements be imagined philosophy can be sumwhich exists finds for its
exisEverything necessary marised as follows: everything
tence, the Universe is a form of solidarity and life in isolation. which exisrs
is influenced by the cycle of eleDetail of an engTaving depicring the legend of the discovery of one of Hiram's m
urderers. Eightenth century.
92

CHAPTER II' !,fll

1 5
GREAT BANQUETS
EATING AND DRINKING TOGETHER
THE QUANTITY OF TABLEWARE DECORATED WITH THE ARMS OF LODGES OR MASONIC SYMBOLS,
SHOWS HOW IMPORTANT CONVIVIality is for Freemasons. The banquet is one of the ol
dest and most solid of Masonic traditions. Anderson's 1723 Constitutions, the ch
arter of modem Freemasonry, contains numerous descriptions and references to the
m. The tradition rise to the opinion the eighteenth of the banquet explains the
amongst many people in was large number of meetings in restaurants and gave cent
ury that Freemasonry
lodges in France. In these "works of mastication" or "works of t~le", powder", w
ine "strong water is called "weak powder", cq.ampagne powforks the cen"sparkling powder" and spirits "thundering glasses are "cannons", napkins "flags
",
der". The bread is the "mortar" or "rough ashlar", "picks", knives "swords", foo
d "equipment", to fill a glass is "to load". In the eighteenth tury, Freemasons
met in the banqueting restaurateurs on the floor with chalk,
salt "sand" and the pepper "yellow sand". Finally, rooms of
or innkeepers. They traced symbols then wiped them off
another Bacchic sect, many of which thrived at that time. In Emulation Working,
each meeting is
after the ceremony and sat down to have dinner. The names of the lodges were oft
en the same as the inns where they met and Freemasons queting. were frequently t
he burr of jibes because of their banIn 1738, a song about the Freemasons Freema
sons are fine pretty went round Paris: "Let's sing the merit and the glory of Fr
eemasons. lads, who meet together just ro drink, that's what their hocus pocus i
s all about." 1 But, apart from the pleasure conviviality it gives us, also has
an important part to play in
followed by an obligatory banquet, or "fraternal repast". In other rites, this c
ustom is not obligatory. Each year, the French and Scottish and the Apprentices
Rites have an "Order Banquet". The table is circular, serve. Lodges also organis
e solstice festivals which end with a banquet, to which their families and non-M
ason friends are sometimes invited. The ritual of the Order Banquet is taken fro
m the traditions of pre-revolutionary military
the history of ideas and customs, and hence of History itself, in the broadest s
ense of the term.
Glasses engraved with symbols used during banquets or repasts. TIury are called
"cannons" or "chalices".
94

Iii!
GREAT
BANQUETS
; II
I~
The importance
of the philosophers' washed
dinners durin so many contemporary
.
Masonic texts.
'"
:1
ing the Enlightenment tasty "equipment"
is well known. At table, down with "strong
Greek opposes agape to eros. Eros is a posto the inflamed evolved
sessive love, while agape is a kind, considerate. love. The former is appropriat
e love of lovers. Over time the meaning
,I
..
.
powder" first set tongues wagging, before finally weighing down on the stomach a
nd extinguishing the flames of wit. News is exchanged; are told which can be rac
y or humourous. stories Witty
1 "I
until sexual passion became a metaphor for mystical transport and spiritUal ferv
our. This change in meaning is already apparent in Plato's to Phaedrus and Sympo
sium. Agape is appropriate
remarks are sometimes made which go all around town the next day, and disturb th
e powers that be. Ideas are exchanged and events are discussed. delight, people
There are surprises, indignation,
brotherly love, to a calm peaceful love, to love of one's. neighbour. The agap~s
a sharing of food, of the body, of the heart and of the spirit. And this must b
e done for pleasure if it is to be profitable. Companions who, as the etymology
of the word suggests, share their bread, know that pleasure and happiness are le
gitimate aims.
moan and people laugh. People who "would otherwise never have met", as the chart
ers of modem Freemasonry put it, philosophers, artists, aris-

II
tocrats, tradesmen and artisans, often of a modest station, share a meal in a fr
iendly, relaxed atmosphere. Everyone can make their voice heard and everyone is
listened to. Let us examine carefully the tableware decorated with the arms of l
odges. It honours the banquet, a social event which allows the serious work that
was carried out in the workshop, to be continued to be renewed the following da
y,
and give life to the city. The
peace, calm and the quality of the work are guaranteed because a time has been s
et aside for intoxication accomplished, and regression. For the project to be Ap
ollo and Dionysus must take
turns in the seat of honour. A repast can also be called an agape, a Greek word
which means tenderness. The word tenderness affection, love and devotion. contai
ns notions of
The Latin equivaby
L Translared from Des fre ma,ons, ms. f 12635, 1738. Bibliotheque nationale de F
rance.
lent of agape is caritas, which we translate
charity. It is not correct to translate it as love, as
Porcelain made in the Choisy and Creil pottery (France) AU of the great European
pattery-works produced dinner services for the Masans'
in 1810. tables.
96

II
CHAPTER
1 6
Ir
"I
I
THE MOST COMMON RITES
EXPLORING BEHAVIOUR THROUGH RITUAL
JEAN-MARIE RAGON DE BETTIGNIES (1781which uses the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
the of by Loge 1866), WHO WROTE A NUMBER OF STUDIES OF CEREMONIES AND RITUALS A
ND EDITED the first French Masonic review, called Hermes, drew up a list of fift
y-two rites which were practiced by Freemasons. Each involves the progression fr
om one degree (or grade) to another during Rite. France's Grande Loge Feminine,
founded in 1952, also works with this rite. exclusively the Grande masculine bod
ies Among (federations the Grande
II
II
II
ij
lodges) in France, the same rite is practiced Loge de France,
l~
I
the course of which symbols are revealed and legendary or Iiistorical stories ar
e told. All of them begin with the first three degrees: Apprentice, Fellow and M
aster. The word "Scottish" stands for a rite, or
Nationale Fran<;:aiseand by some of the lodges in the Grand Orient de France. Th
e Rectified Scottish set up between Rite (or rule) was 1778 and 1787 and contain
s six
degrees, while Emulation Working, which rejects the word rite, is the fruit of a
n 1813 reconciliation between Masons who had been divided since 1753 over that v
ety question of rite and ritual. Those are the rites which are most commonly pra
cticed the Memphis throughout the world. But the
!I
rule as they called it in the eighteenth century, which is found all over the wo
rld. In 1730, there is a mention in England of a Scottish Masonic grade and, in
1733, there were Scotch Masons' Lodges in London. But it was only on June 25, 18
01 that the Ancient contains thirty-three and Accepted Scottish Rite was founded
in Philadelphia spread across the planet. turned patriarchal national in the US
A. It
list would be incomplete
if we did not mention it can be is organRite. It has only a few thousand Its teaching

adepts, but the lodges which practice found on evety continent. ised into ninety
-five Egypt of the Pharaohs. (Egypt in Hebrew). The Memphis-Mizralm
degrees. Since then, it has In France, one of this du Pecq, overdegrees and refers to the It dates from 1899 with and Mizralm
rite's lodges, Les Libres-Penseurs
thinking in 1882 by admitting
the merger of two rites, Memphis
a woman, Maria Deraisme. She founded an interbody of co-Masonry in 1893, called
the of Human Duty, which is still growing in many countries today and Federation
Freemasons are not The best proof
dreamers who spend their lives squeezing drops of sublime truth from hieroglyphi
cs.
in importance
The square aM compasses are laid on top of Andersen's Constitutions when usedfor
taking an oath. 98

III
I~II
THE
MOST
COMMON
RITES
j
II I
of this is to note that the fitst ad vitam Grand General Master of the old Memph
is Rite (one of the parts Giuseppe architect
!I
unknowable
and of the act of becoming. Its Book
of Sacred Law is the Gospel According to Saint John, opened at the first page, w
hich reads: "In the beginning was the Word". In the centre of at the lodge, thre
e columns carry candles, which are lit at the start of the work and extinguished
the end. They stand for the crinity of WisdomStrength- Beaury. The Rectified Sc
ottish Rite (or rule) also uses Saint John's Gospel and places a broken pillar i
n the lodge which bears the Latin inscription adhw: stat (it is still standing).
This rite is unusual in the following way: the fourth symbolcomposing Gatibaldi,
the present the freedom
rite) fighter
was and
of the Italian republic. He was one of
the most remarkable men in history and the fight he led fits well into the Mason
s' grand project for raising human digniry. The ideals he fought for remain a su
bject fat debate and are still an issue today. WHAT 00 THE MASONIC RITES SAY? Ma
sonic rituals, organised into specific rites, create an atmosphere which is cond
ucive to the in exchange brother of ideas. One of the characters Goethe's
III II
III ,I
I
ic degree, the Scottish Master of Saint Andrew, !s\ complementary to the degree
of Master. Emulation Working's distinguishing feature is the way the rituals are
recited by heart. What is also exceptional is the fact that offices are rotated
. A fixed order determines the officers of the lodges each year. Thus, the Junio
r Warden
\

tale Das Mdrchen says: "What

shines more brilliantly than gold? Light. What is more dazzling than light? An e
xchange of ideas." In the temple, dressed in apron and gloves, everyone listens,
watches and participates, in a social group whose aim is to "gather what is sca
ttered and to reach further". This phrase occurs in all the rites and in all com
mentaries on the rites. It has different levels of meaning: on a social level, i
t unites persons who would otherwise never have met; on the level of the search
for reality, it means advancing into understanding by bringing together differen
t areas of knowledge, by comprehending (from comprehendere meaning to grasp). Th
is is common to all the rites. But each rite also has its own specific tradition
s The Ancient and Accepted Scottish upon the "Great Architect and style. Rite ca
lls
becomes the Senior Warden next year, and the Worshipful Master the year after th
at. The Rite of Memphis focuses more on Egyptian esoteric we do not mean a teach
ing. One point needs to be clarified. When we use the word "teaching", series of
lessons given by a master. The term should be understood in the sense that Aris
totle used it when describing Eleusis conformed experience". All the different l
ifestyles inspired by the intellectual constitute and spiritual currents of thou
ght that our Grreco-Roman, Judreo-Christian by Freemasons as how the mysteries o
f
to the adage "Do not learn,
of the Universe", who
civilisation live on in these rites, ahd are brought to life again and experienc
ed
can be seen as God, or else as a symbol of the
A naive drawing from 1849 depicring a meering of the Dhnophiles Ladge, with the
names of the parridpants.
100

"
ct!i!
.,

THE 'I
MOST
COMMON
RITES
F
they pass from one grade to the next. Thete are numerous Old Testament in the An
cient references, particularly Scottish Rite. The and Accepted
Masons. Why is this? Just imagine a wine expert who has read everything about wi
ne, but has never tasted any, and who then tries to preach to real connoisseurs.
This takes us back to Aristotle's "Do not learn, experience". adage:
tradition of chivalty--drawn from the cycle of the Round Table and the adventure
of the Templats, end~lives the Scottish Testament including Jacques de Molay's
tragic
on, especially in the higher grades of rites. Several rites depend on New refere
nces, particularly to Saint John's as part of which surrounds the passage from
Gospel and the Book of Revelations, the teaching certain grades to others.
Finally, the murder of Hiram, the architect of Solomon's temple, who was killed
by three of his fellows, is the central legend of Freemasonry and is taught in a
ll the rites. It is the legend of mastership. Freemason At the grade through of
Master, the passion the of has lived
Hiram. This legend, which does not figure in the Bible, is extremely ancient sha
red cultural inheritance. and is part of our It has been made
accessible to everyone by Gerard de Nerval in his text Les nuits du Ramazan, one
of the chapters of his Voyage en Orient. Freemason. And Nerval was not a of thi
s
This brings us to the conclusion
chapter. Freemasons do not have a special secret, or indeed any secrets. Readers
who want to know about the various rites and rituals can turn to books availabl
e in shops or libraries throughout the world. Everything has been revealed. But
if then they will quickly they memorise the books and try to pass themselves off
as Freemasons, be found out, at least by more experienced
Detail from a 1745 engraving by Uonard
the inidadon
Gabanon
depicang
ro the grade of master102

CHAPTER
II
1 7
II
i~ II
I~ II
LODGES OF ADOPTION
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
"ADOPTIVE MASONRY" WAS A FORM OF FEMALE MASONRY PARTICULARLY COMMON IN EIGHTEENT
H-CENTURY FRANCE, BUT WHICH HAS since disappeared. According to the historian wa
s Marcy, the oldest known Lodge of Adoption brought it to life again and, on 16
March 1822, the scientist and socialist politician Raspail made a speech at the
Lodge of Adoption Amis Bienfaisants. the Grande Adoptive Loge de France tried ca
lled the century,
'I
At the beginning of the twentieth
rhe Loge de la Felicite in Dieppe, which existed between 1766_and 1773. It was r
eformed in 1782 and consisted of Masons' wives, daughters, sisters and orher clo
se relations. There are traces of four similar lodges in Paris: rhe Fidelite, th
e Candeur, the Neufs Seeurs and Saint Contrat Jean d'Ecosse du to Social. These
lodges were attached
to revive in
Masonry and, from 1901 to 1935, set with rhis in mind. Then,
up ten workshops
1935, rhe convent of rhe Grande Loge de France decided to give the female lodges
their independence and, in 1945, the Union Ma~onnique Feminine was founded, whi
ch has since become the Grande Loge Feminine de France. Outside of France rhere
were no female or mixed lodges until rhe late eighteenrh alrhough exceprional ma
le lodges twentieth Adoption circumsrances-been over the centuries. century, in
a handful of women haw-usually
male lodges. The Rite of Adoption
had norhing
to do with rhe symbolism of tools and referred above all to the Bible. Its main
themes were Eve's apple, Noah's. ark and rhe tower of Babel. There were four deg
rees in rhis rite: Apprentice, Fellow, Mistress and perfect Mistress, or perfect
Masoness. The Candeur lodge also had a fifth in degree of Sublime Scotswoman. P
rior to 1789, the lodges of adoption France were mostly frequented by aristocrat
ic
accepted into In the early
century, however, female and "joint" and the French tradition, developed
Masonry, linked closely to the French lodges of in England and rhe States. Today
, rhe practice of mixed lodges, known as "co-Masonry", continues to develop arou

nd the world, though the all-male lodges of rhe English-speaking United world, s
uch as rhe absolutely do Grand Lodge of England,
ladies, such as rhe Duchesse de Lamballe and rhe Duchesse de Bourbon. These ladi
es above all undertook The Revolution. charitable works wirh great generosity. o
f Adoption survived the In 1805, the Empress
Opposite: an eighteenth-century
Masonry
Josephine
not recognise co-Masonic lodges.
a Lodge of Adoption warercolour with the symbols of the higher grades. showing t
he initiation of a candida., I, /ry a man and a woman.
tracing board representing
Following double page: a nineteenth-century inro a lodge of adoption.
The offices of the lodge are being held simultaneous
104

CHAPTER
I 8
IDEAS AND THE ARTISAN
THOUGHT IS THE RAW MATERIAL
WE HAVE NOW TRACED THE TRADITION IN WHICH MODERN FREEMASONRYEXISTS. THIS TRADITI
ON SERVES AS A MEMORY, WHICH IS vital for creativity, and illustrates the why an
d wherefore Freemasons of Freemasonry. There have been all over the world since
the eighby every sort of pressure group. To understand how Freemasonry reason, i
ntuition, logic all participate metaphors. intelligence works, intellectual it i
s necessary to explore different modes of thought: imagination, logic and dream
in the creation of practical
The symbolism of tools is basically of the brain and the intelligence of Picino,
who helped establish had or
teenth centuty, but they do not all have the same objectives. They do not all ne
cessarily recognise one another and their different notions of what Freemasonry
is, may cause them to reject one another. Sometimes, in the same country even, s
ome are in prison while others are in power! In terms of religion, there are Mas
ons who are believers and others who are not. The latter may be indifferent to r
eligion, well-disposed to it, or hostile. In politics they may be anarchists, de
mocrats or conservatives, advocates of a free economy thought, or of a planned e
xcept one, nationalists or internationalists. They represent every current of fo
r extremists and religious
about the act of becoming. In this context, the the heart feed each other. By th
e fifteenth century, Marsilio sory institutions true friendship, Florence's Plat
onic Academy, one of the precurof modern Freemasonry, already pointed to the fac
t that brotherhood, who share a desire to learn, whether
can exist only between those it be for
pleasure, or to gain a better understanding of the world. The working model for
the learned is a logical one, for ideas are the philosopher's raw material. Arti
sans, on the other hand, transform their raw materials, look after their tools a
nd make new ones, acquire know-how and transmit it. This means there is no depen
dency or relative order of importance between artisans and and philosophers. com
plementary. They are simply analagous
fanatics. If Freemasonry does influence the life of a city, then the city's acti
ve life also influences the lodges. The history of Freemasonry is a history of t
he attempts to annex or manipulate it by evety sort of political or religious or
thodoxy, by every sort of party that preaches an ideology, and
Opposite pageo a stone-cutter Mason's evo/urion.
by Fm11fo;, Sicard showing the working origins of the Masonic order.
Following double page: a young Mason must learn how to cut stone and is often co
mpared to unhewn rock. Cut stone swnds for a Masons are described as adding thei
r cut stone to the ediJU;eof humanity.
108

CHAPTER
1 9
BECOMING A FREEMASON
REACHING FURTHER
PEOPLE GENERALLY BECOME FREEMASONS BY RECOMMENDATION. ALL CANDIDATES HAVE A SPON
SOR. WHEN A LODGE HAS BEEN it votes to them. The accepting informed that it has
a new candidate, see if it will consider FAMOUS FREEMASONS The following list is
not exhaustive. Its purpose is to show how varied the different ways of thinkin
g are in lodges. A large number Napoleon as Joseph Bolivar, Garibaldi, himself P
roudhon, San Martin, of Napoleon's Marshals and members of the Bonaparte (despit
e Bakunin, rumour to the contrary); family, but not a long-standing such and Kro
potkin
Worshipful Master then appoints three investigators, who work in ignorance of on
e another. Each investigator candidate's meets the candidate and drafts a report
which is read out in the lodge. Then the photo, with name, address and proin a
place frefession are put up on a noticeboard that brethren from other
many anarchists,
Francisco Ferrer; freedom fighters such as Simon Benito Juarez, Giuseppe Benjami
n La Fayette, Rochambeau,
quented by all the members of the obedience, so lodges can examine in the them.
After that, the blindfolded candidate must undergo questioning. They are receive
d lodge with their eyes blindfolded and are quesFranklin and Washington; various kings, .princes and royalists, the Duke of Brun
swick (who was a Grand Master), certain kings of England (Edward VII, George VI)
, Frederick the Great, who was also a musician and the author of an important Ma
sonic text, the Anti-Machiavel, some kings of Sweden, Duke Decaze the Prime Mini
ster of Louis XVIII, Prince Murat, who was also a Grand Master under the reign o
f Napoleon III, and Emir Abd el-Kader. Among the leaders of modern democracies i
t will be sufficient to mention no less than fourteen American ing Theodore Roos
evelt, Gerald Ford, and high-ranking Presidents, includand and Harry Truman poli
ticians
tioned by the brethren jP6-have already listened to the investigarors' reports.
Finally, after this questioning, they vote to admit or reject the canelection, m
ajorin the didate. A simple majority is not enough, however. Some lodges insist
on a unanimous while most demand at least three-quarters ity. This procedure ant
echamber Some lodges receive their candidates
is not followed everywhere. or in an adjacent them. In this case,
of the temple,
office, and do not question
the investigators have a greater responsibility.
ministers such as Jules Ferry, Winston Churchill
.J'
Detail of 0 bronze statue depicting Voltaire initiare in the Neufs ( 1694-1778)
S",urs Lodge. ,
112

BECOMING
A
FREEMASON
and Cecil J. Rhodes. We should also mention here one of rhe most eminent Freemas
ons of rhis centUry, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1886-1948), the founder of rhe Repu
blic of Czechoslovakia. This remarkable man also wrote a number of richly varied
influential books, such as On
Suicide, Pascal, The Foundations of Concrete Logic, The Social Question (1898) w
hich is an analysis and refutation of Marxism, and Modem Man and Religion (1934)
which argues for freedom of religious belief. He also wrote several fascinating
stUdies on rhe work of Goerhe, Zola, Maupassant, Byron, Musset, Shelley, Poe an
d Baudelaire. Voltaire, Montesquieu, Herder, Wieland, Mark Twain, Sir Robert Bur
ns, Duke
Many writers, artists and intellectUals can also be cited: Helvetius, Condorcet,
Pushkin, Walter varied Carducci, Scott, Lessing, Goerhe, Kipling, Wilde, Oscar
Mozart, Haydn and Gluck. Not forgetting such characters as Davy Crockett, Elling
ton, Louis Armstrong, and Kurt Tucholski. Freemason, Kossuth's human Kossuth's F
reemasons Martin, Pierre Dac, Houdini
Hungary owes its freedom to a remarkable Lajos Kossurh (1802-1894). lifetime, ri
ghts, nationalist feelings During were liberty. of other and a
closely linked wirh fundamental justice nationalism, entailed a defence like
values such as that
and individual
such as Garibaldi,
Bolivar or San
of freedom
rejection of feudal society. Finally, in Russia rhere were a number of Freemason
s in Kerenski's government prior to rhe Revolution, foremost Kerenski himself. f
irsr and
Opposite: in a detail from a pain~ng Couronnee
Wolfgang
Amadeus
Mozart
at a Masonic
mee~ng,
(overkaf)
showing Mozart /790.

in rk Esperance Museum
Nouvellement der Stadt Wien.
Lodge, around
Historisches
114

1
CONCLUSION
I
1
The legends told in Masonic rites mix historical facts with written and oral tra
ditions of often obscure origins, with a view to giving memories and actions a f
ield of reference. Rituals create meaning which, as it gradually solidifies, for
ms first a backbone then a solid set of foundations. The community these marvell
ous beings, haunted of Freemasons, which visits
truth, nor such a truth tUrned imo an orthodoxy! Our own dialogue is enlightenin
g. That is its aim, but it does not enlighten everything. "To do
that, it must necessarily be linked to all the other various and opposed approac
hes that exi~t. The new pattern the divisions in nature of thinking recognises a
s being a functional
these strange landscapes, tesrs itself by means of tales of a real and imagined
human by the desire to master their desvaried rituals allow the past. How and wh
y do contemporary
necessity and a historical fact. At the same time it waits for them to multiply
and be obliterated. Hermes, the god who sets limits, also teaches us how to cros
s them. The myth of Hermes shows us how boundaries (hermeion) are there to be he
crossed. Thus, as a young smiling god-child, herd to give to mankind.
tiny, tUrn to such Masonic folklore? It is partly because Freemasonry's voices o
f past generations to be heard above the chatter of fashionable current ideas. A
ll over the world, we lay aside our layman's rags and allow historical and legen
dary characters to dress us in clothes of light. To reach further is, after all,
to gather together. The ancient symbol of the circle, with its radii meeting in
the centre, symbolises this idea. Traditionalists approach. beginning, They wan
t are united against this of the to be witnesses
cheekily steals a number of his brother Apollo's Now men and gods ... And have t
o negotiate and reach an agreement if they want their herds of cattle to multipl
y. Hermes both guides travellers the theft is pardoned because it made Zeus laug
h. and leads them Dionysus astray. The three brothers-Apollo, and Hermes-who com
plementary, of the Mothers,
are often opposed and always are the princes of the Kingdom which it is up to us
to explore,
guardians of permanence,
or militants
using the builder's tools: the square, compasses, lever, chisel, gauge and all t
he other instruments of measurement.
for a retUrn. If we truly want to "reach further" then we may consider them as c
arriers of flames, but not bearers of the Light. The old opposition between cons
ervatives and progressionists, or spiritualists mysand tics and the enlightened,
materialists
has now been surpassed.

But, we
have to be careful! The approach taken here should never be raised to the level
of absolute
An eighreenth-century
tracing board showing the fourreenth and Accepred Scottish Rire.
degree of the Ancient
118

GLOSSARY
Like every crafr, Freemasonry has its jargon. It uses familiar words but gives t
hem a special meaning, suited to its art and customs. Symbols are universal, bu
t Freemasons link them, organise them and comment on them in their own particula
r way. Discussions of symbols often contain terms whose meanings also need to be
explained. This glossary explains some commonly used terms and provides informa
tion which will come in useful when reading or listening to discussions on the s
ubject of Freemasonry. APRON: an essential item of Masonic dress, consisting of
a rectangle _and a triangular bib. An Apprentice's apron is white. A Fellow's is
sometimes white with blue edging. At the degree of Master and beyond, the colou
r and ornamentation of the apron varies. Aprons are generally lined in black, wi
th silver stripes. FREEMASON: etymology of this the term has long been disputed.
There are three possibilitiesto choose from: - Free-swne Mason: a term applied
to Ii Mason who sculpted soft stone; as opposed to a Rough-stone Mason who worke
d on hard stone. With his gavel and chisel, a softstone Mason could sculpt more
elaborate figures in high or low relief. - "Free" meaning the opposite of enslav
ed. According to feudal law people belonged to the overlord of a particular area
. Emancipation
exempted them from certain obligations towards their lord, such as the duty to s
tay in one place and serve him. "Free" masons, therefore had the right to travel
and work wherever they chose. - "Free" being the status of the trade, rather th
an the person, Masonry being a francmestier or "emancipated trade". According to
Etienne Boileau's admirable Uvre des metiers (I 268), stone-cutters were given
their freedom, but not masons, carpenters or plasterers. GRAND LoDGE: In Great B
ritiain this term describes a federation of lodges which observe the same rite o
r the supreme governing body of the Masons. GRAND ORIENT: In France and Europe g
enerally, this term is used for a federation of lodges. GRAND EAST: In the Unite
d States, the place where the Grand Lodge meets, thus the seat of Masonic author
iry. INITIATION: ceremony which consecrates the admission of a candidate into a
lodge. Masonic initiation has kept some of the characteristics of the initiation
into the trade which it originated from. In general terms, the initiation rite
is a rite of passage. LODGE: the lodge is the physical place where Freemasons me
et. This may be a building or location which is specially set aside and
arranged for Masonic meetings, but not necessarily so. Originally working Masons
would have had a lodge on every building site to keep their tools in and to mee
t for meals with their colleagues. Seven Freemasons can "hold a lodge meeting" w
herever they wish, at someone's house, in an inn, or in the open air. During the
war, Freemasons founded lodges in the concentration camps and initiated new mem
bers there. The "lodge" is also the term used for a group of Freemasons who work
together under a "distinctive tide" or group"name, for example Mozart's lodge w
as called A la Bienfaisance (loosely translated as the Lodge of Good Works), and
Jules Ferry's was La Clemence Amitie (Merciful Friendship). MEETING: a Masonic
assembly. Masons are described as "holding lodge meetings". OmCES ANDOFHCERS:the
se are the posts within a lodge and the brethren who fill them: rhe Worshipful M
asters preside over the lodge with their teams, the College of Officers. The Sen
ior Wardens are in charge of the south pillar, where the Fellows sit, and the Ju
nior Wardens are in charge of the north pillar, where rhe Apprentices sit. The S
ecretaries are the lodges' memory: taking minutes at meetings, keeping the archi
ves and looking after any correspondence. The Orators make sure that the law and
rules are respecred. It is
120

GLOSSARY
/0
the Orators who decide whether a vote would be appropriate and, when necessary,
give their opinions concerning a debate. They can contest the Worshipful Master
if they think that officer has made a mistake. In addition, they give the speech
of welcome to new initiates. The Hospitalers, or Almoners, collect and manage t
he charity fund. The Treasurers look after the lodges' finances. They collect su
bscriptions and approve expenditure. The Deacons and the Masters of Ceremonies e
nsure that the rituals and ceremonies are correctly observed. The Tylers or Inne
r Guards watch the entrance and make certain that the "lodge is duly tiled" befo
re work begins, ensuring that no member of the lodge or visitor from another lod
ge is still waiting outside in the antechamber. ORDER or CRAFT: these terms stan
d for the brotherhood of Masonry in general, the Masonic Order is also known as
The Craft. Some Grand Lodges, however, have adopted the term order for themselve
s, but only when they have an international jurisdiction, for example the Co-Mas
onic Federation of Human Duty and the Order of Memphis. The term "craft" was the
corporate term used by the medieval guilds and is current in England. In France
, the term "order" is more usual: it has been carried over ftom religious orders
and royal preferments such as the Order of the Holy Ghost.
ORIENT: light, and therefore power, comes from the East, where the sun rises. Mo
st civilizations of the northern hemishpere have revered the East as the most im
portant point on the compass. The Orient is the parr of the lodge where the Wors
hipful Master sits. RITE: the etymology of this term leads us to think of arrang
ement, succession, of number and of order (Greek arithmos, number; Sanskrit rtam
order or conformity). A rite is a set of ceremonies observed in a certain order
. By extension, a rite is also a moment in a ceremony, for example the rite of e
ntering the lodge, the rite of establishing the officers, and so on. A Masonic r
ite consists of a set of rituals made up of a varying number of degrees (or grad
es) of advancement, the first three of which are always Apprentice, Fellow and M
aster. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite includes thirty-three degrees, the
French Rite seven, and the Memphis Rite ninety-five. Emulation Working uses onl
y the first three grades and prefers the term Working to Rite. The Rectified Sco
ttish System (synonymous with Rite) appeared in France in 1778 and rejected the
term Rite, replacing it with Regime. Rites vary according to their style and the
ir teachings. The most commonly observed rites in Europe are the Ancient and Acc
epted Scottish Rite, the French Rite, the Rectified Scottish Rite, Emulation Wor
king and the Memphis Rite. A Grand
Lodge or Grand Orient can bring together lodges which observe different rites.
TEMPLE: meanings this
where
word
the
has
lodge
several
meets;
- the
in Freemasonry:
-

place
the temple ofJerusalem;
a sacred place. This is the original Latin meaning of the word.
WARDEN: OFFICERS. see OFFICES AND
WORKSHOP: term given to any organisation of Freemasons. There are no lone Freema
sons. According to the degrees (or grades), workshops have different names. In t
he first three grades, which are used in all the rites (see above), it is a lodg
e (see above). At highergrades,there are numerous other terms: lodge of perfecti
on, chapter, council, archilodge, college, Areopagus, consistory, encampment, su
preme council. Other names also exist, such as court, Court of Sinai, hierarchy
or Third Heaven. Each term is linked to a particular ritual. The workshop is arr
anged according to the ritual being enacted, and the brethren wear the appropria
te aprons, sashes and collars.
121

BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. ANDERSEN, he T
Constitutions of the Free-Masons, (facsimile edition). Quatuor Coronati Lodge, L
ondon, 1976.
W. KIRK MAcNULTY, Freemasonry. A Journey through Ritual and Symbol. Thames and H
udson, London, 1991.
D. BERESNIAK, Les Premiers Medicis et l'Academie pfaroniciennede Florence.D~trad
, Paris,. 1985. D. BERESNIAK, et Symboles de fa franc-l11lIfonnerie, Rites tl "L
oges bleues", tii "Haurs Grades". Detrad, Paris, 1994. D. BERESNIAK, Franc-Mafon
nerie. J. Grancher, La Paris, 1988.
D. KNoop, The Genesis of Freemasonry. Manchester University Press, 1949.
D. LIGOU, Dictionnaire universe! de fa franc-l11lIfonnerie. PUF, Paris, 1974. A.
G. MACKEY, The History of Freemasonry. Books, New York, 1996. Gramercy
A. POZARNIK, Mysreres et Actions du ri!Ue1 d' ouverture en loge l11lIfonnique. D
ervy, Paris, 1993. J. TRESCASES, 'Etoile j/amboyante. T redaniel, Paris, 1989. L
J. FONTAINE, L'Eveil,
Paris, 1995
de I'initiation au maflre. Detrad,
A. HORNE, King Solomon's Temple in the Masonic Tradition. HarperCollins, New Yor
k, 1989.
B. JONES, Freemason', London, 1950. Guide and Compendium. Harrap,
A. E. WAITE, A New encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Wings Books, New York, 1996. O.
WIRTH,La Franc-Mafonnerierendue intelligible ,es d adepte" .t I "I'apprenti", t
II "Ie compagnon", t III "Ie maitre". Dervy, Paris, 1945.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS AU photographs @ Laziz Hamani/Editions AssouUne. The photog
raphs were taken on the occasion of the exhibition FrancMal'nnerie, Avenir d'une t
radition, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Tours, 1997. The editor woulLJW<to thank the fol
lowing institutions for giving permission to photograph objects on loan from the
ir cOUeCtiOnsi oge de fa Parfai!e Union, Mons (p. 13, L 27,105,119); Musee de fa
Loge Us Demophiles, Tours (pp. 33, 48-49, 51, 70-1, 85,101,123); Musee des Beau
x-Arts de Tours (pp. 53, 55, 109); Musee de fa Grande Loge de France, Paris (fro
nt cover, endpapers, pp. 38-9, 44, 46, 59, 62, 67,69, 78,86-7,89,93,94,96, 103,
106-7, 110-1, 113, 126-7, back cover); Musee du Grand Orient de France, Paris (p
. 63, 83); Collection Delrad-Avs, Paris (p. 65); Prins Frederik Museum, The Hagu
e (pp. 66, 124-5); Historisches Museum der Stadt Wim (pp. 115-7).
Opposi!e:
carved rough ashlar from the Demophiles
Lodge. Nineteenth
centUry. centUry. 1745.
Following double page: diorama showing the role of the arts and sciences in a lo
dge. Eighteenth PagesI26-127: initiation to the grade of apprentice. Engraving b
y Gabonon,
122

.",

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;. "", .f'url1lallart#~ ~ Il ,,(,:..n.dniT'l!!i,~

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all I wish to thank Ever-attentive
Claudine,
my wife.
the librarian,
for their invaluable
help.
Paul
to my well-being, she has created a
home atmosphere conducive to my work. What is more, she is the first to read wha
t I have written and her criticism is ofren helpful. My thanks also go to my son
, Ariel, who despite his busy life has been teaching Claudine and me how to use
a computer. This book could never have been assembled were it not for the help o
f certain friends, who gave us access to rare documents, photograph Jean-Philipp
e Marcovici, president allowed us to of the 5997 objects and helped us in our ch
oices.
Gordot is the Keeper of the Museum of the Grand Orient de France. He trUSted us
with the treasures he so carefully conserves and beaurifully displays for the mu
seum's many visitors. My thanks to him. My thanks go also to Daniel Ribes, who e
ntrusted aprons and other items he had made to Laziz Hamani. As director of the
Editions Detrad-Avs and maker of Masonic regalia, Daniel is always helpful in hi
s efforts to aid researchers and creators. Laziz Hamani, who took the photograph
s published in this book, is my co-author together was an enjoyable experience.
because What the text and images reflect each other. Our work words can express
his artistry? His skill and love of beauty create a nobility of colour which is
an honour to us all. My thanks to him for this. Finally, my gratitude to Marc-Al
ain Ouakriin, for introducing me to Martine and Prosper Assou"line, the publishe
rs of this remarkable series of books. Laziz Hamani would like to thank Jonathan
Kluger for his invaluable help in producing these images, and Philippe Sebirot
for rhe direction to Daniel which he gave to this book. Thanks Jean-Pierre Rolla
nd
Association, who organised the Freemasonry exhibition at Tours (1997), allowed u
s to photograph rare items from European kind assistance. opened Demophiles coun
try's What collections which we would never have gained access to without his is
more, Jean-Philippe the doors to us of the lodge where the meet. This temple, w
here I had the history and one of the to the Thank you, Jeanhonour of taking the floot, is a vital part of our contemporary most beautiful b
uildings ever consecrated work of the Freemasons.
Philippe. Philippe Morbach is the Keeper of the Museum of the Grande Loge de Fra
nce. His expertize and erudition are recognised and appreciated throughout Europ
e. To these qualities must be added his kindness and generosity. We are indebted
to him for letting us see many extremely beautiful and interesting helping also
documents and objects and us make a selection. All our gratitude to to thank Jo
nathan Maurice Bonnefoy, the
Delisle of the Studio Prumelle, to Paulette and of Tours and to Daniel Beresniak
for his incomparable way of explaining things with simplicity and warmth. Final

ly, documentation the editor would like to thank of the Peter Bloch for his kind
assistance in providing for this English adaptation original French publication
, and John Hamill of
him. At the Grande Loge de France, we should like archivist, Gine and Fran\;ois
Rognon,
the United Grand Lodge, London, for his invaluable advice and for so generously
sparing his time to read through the English manuscript.
128