THE OPENING OF THE LODGE
by Bro. Arthur E. Powell
The Master
Mason - October 1926
The following excerpts from a chapter of
a most interesting little book, The Magic of Freemasonry, by
Brother Powell, to which reference has already been made by Tim
BOOKMAN, is a fine example of a method of interpreting Masonry
which might be called psychological allegory. It does make
Masonry, in its slightest detail, a magical thing, full of
useful meaning, so that no, matter how often we see the ritual,
it is always new and helpful. In America we have very little of
this kind of interpretation, and it is a pity that it is so. The
names of some of the officers of the lodge show that the writer
is following the English ritual. TO THE thoughtful and
imaginative, one of the most striking features of Masonic ritual
is the magical way in which phrases which are so simple and
direct as to be almost homely, conjure up ideas in the mind and
stir the latter to feel its way gropingly through the words, as
though these were doors of wonder, mystery and
reality. There has, perhaps, been more ingenuity devoted to
devising interpretations of the sentences of the opening
ceremony than to any other portion of the ritual. The impression
conveyed by these questions and answers - an impression - which
familiarity serves only to deepen - is that great things are
afoot, that powerful forces are being called into being, that
hidden secrets are to be unlocked, momentous action undertaken.
The very first phrase - consisting, curiously enough, of seven
words - instantly arrests the attention, as might a trumpet
call, revealing even in its outermost structure an introductory
outline of the fundamentals of Freemasonry: "Brethren, assist me
to open the lodge." It is the call of the Master, the chosen
and accepted leader, the representative of the highest: it
affirms brotherhood: it invites cooperation: it announces that
action is intended, that an opening or unfolding of the lodge is
to be made, of that body of which every brother is a
part. Of the many ways in which interpretations of the
opening have been sought, we propose to select one only, that of
the "microcosm," of the individual man or Mason. We shall
endeavor to relate every officer and brother to some clearly
defined element in the psychological structure of man, and to
invest each phrase of the opening ceremony with a meaning
appropriate to the marshalling of each man's powers and
faculties, that he may prepare himself to undertake any
action. In some lodges certain preliminary ceremonies are
observed, such as entering the temple in procession, and
lighting the candles. We may regard these as a withdrawal of
ourselves from the claims of the outer world-a setting of each
faculty in its proper place, and an entering into a spiritual
atmosphere or attitude, from which the common air of worldly
occupations is excluded. FOR the more complete presentation
of our thesis, we are compelled to draw on Eastern science, for
in it we find a far fuller and more complete analysis of the
make-up of man's being. If we avail ourselves of the Buddhist
and Hindu analysis, which has now been made fairly familiar in
the West, we may tabulate our correspondent as
follows:
Worshipful Master - Wisdom. Senior Warden -
Strength of Will. Junior Warden - Beauty of Creative Mind.
Senior Deacon - Reason or Intelligence. Junior Deacon -
Desire or Feeling. Inner Guard - Physical Vitality or Brain.
Outer Guard - Physical Body. Immediate Past Master - Matured
Wisdom derived from past acts and built into the
nature.
IT is important to note that the essential difference
between the Immediate Past Master and the other officers of the
lodge is that the former represents actuality, completed and
realized, the latter potentiality. He stands for what man has
done, the other officers for what he can do. Let us now
take up and examine in turn each question and response of the
opening ceremony. We have already seen that the opening words of
the Worshipful Master - "Brethren, assist me to open the lodge"
- constitute a summons by the Master, Wisdom, to all the powers
and faculties that man possesses, to assist him in the task that
is before him. The Master then turns to the Mind, that creates,
that devises ways and means, and asks what is the First Care,
the reply coming that the First Care is Close Tyling. The Master
instructs the Mind to have this duty performed: the Mind passes
the order to the Brain, and the latter, having ascertained that
the Physical Body is in "his proper place," reports
accordingly. Volumes might be written on the work of the
Tiler, which is described as the first, as well as the constant
care of every lodge throughout Craft Masonry. One aspect of this
work is that of secrecy, but for the present we shall leave this
on one side, and confine ourselves to the function of the Outer
Guard as representing the Physical Body. At the outset
let us enumerate the external factors of the duties of the
Tiler. First, he sands outside the door of the lodge; second, he
is armed with a drawn sword; third, he has to keep off cowans
and intruders; fourth, he has to see that candidates come
properly prepared. As the Tiler represents the physical
body, the outermost element of the personality, it is not
difficult to see the reason for his being outside the lodge. For
nothing which pertains to the mere personality, to the appetites
or desires of the body, must be allowed within the precincts of
the temple itself. It has been usefully said that just as outer
coats and hats are removed and hung up outside the lodge, so
should every brother leave his personal feelings, interests,
etc., outside the temple. BUT we must not be content merely
with excluding undesirable influences from the temple: the Outer
Guard stands for something far more positive than this. We must
ever bear in mind that the Tiler is a Brother Mason, and an
officer of the lodge. Although he is in a state of exile from
his brethren within the temple itself, yet no lodge is complete
without him: it is the first and constant duty of the whole
lodge to see that he is, at his post: if he fails in his duty,
the work of the lodge ceases to be effective. The Tiler must
never relax for an instant: he must be alert every moment, wide
awake, ready for prompt action. His sword is never sheathed, and
for effective use thereof sterling qualities are needed:
vigilance, quickness, strength, skill, instant decision,
courage, tirelessness. In our analysis, the meaning of all
this is clear. In whatever work we undertake, our first care
must be to see to the physical conditions pertaining to the work
in hand. Good intentions, lofty motives, noble resolves: all
these are useless unless there is also present the material
means of giving effect to them. It is ever on the physical plane
that the acid test of life is applied. Masonry is not only high
philosophy and exalted ethics: it is essentially practical, and
the spiritual foundations of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth,
must have their physical counterparts on the material
plane. Applied to the individual, the care of the
physical body is an important aspect of the Tiler's work.
Physical ill-health may be the means, not only of undesirable
influences finding their way into the lodge, but of rendering
the work of all the other faculties ineffective. Bodily,
weakness, carelessness, sloth, unreadiness, cowardice, lack of
skill - any of these defects may render the tiling inoperative
and lower the efficiency of the work. Truly was it said by a
great Eastern teacher that "the first step on the road to Nirvana
is perfect physical health." We may perceive, then, that
the Tiler represents physical activity, which depends largely on
physical health. Like the Tiler himself, the physical body must
not interfere or intrude itself, and this condition is best
fulfilled when the physical health is in perfect order. The
body, as a faithful servant of its master, the Mind, works the
more perfectly the less the man is conscious of it. BUT we
may take the matter still further, and consider that the Tiler
represents all the physical aspects of our undertakings. In any
piece of work, the first and constant care is that of the actual
physical materials and appliances. The craftsman needs both the
materials for his trade and the tools wherewith to work, and
there is no better test of a good workman than the care with
which he keeps in order his tools, the most important of which
is his own body. The true Mason will thus take pains to
see that all the physical implements, systems, devices,
apparatus and so forth, which he uses are as perfect as he can
make them, and are well cared for. Only when this condition is
fulfilled will he be able to employ his faculties to full
advantage in his Masonic work. Leaving for a while the Tiler,
we learn that the next care is to see that only Freemasons are
present, and the brethren are tested accordingly. The
application is clear. In every undertaking it is necessary at
the outset to probe and test all our feelings, motives and
thoughts, in order to see that they are worthy of a Mason;
upright, on the square, pure and unsullied as the Freemason's
Badge. The Worshipful Master next, as though he were
calling his forces into being, elicits the information that
there are three Principal Officers. Will to furnish driving
force: Mind to conceive plans of action : Wisdom to guide. These
three, occupying Chairs, represent the static principles in man,
the sources of power, not the vehicles for the transmission of
the power into action. For the latter purpose, each has his
assistant officer, who is mobile or dynamic, free to move about
the floor of the lodge, obedient to the behests of the Chairs.
Wisdom directs the Reason (Senior Deacon); Will energizes Desire
(Junior Deacon) the Mind stimulates the Brain (Inner Guard) to
action. RETURNING yet again to the Tiler, and having already
dealt with the first portion of his duty, we may profitably
consider his function of seeing "that candidates come properly
prepared." Whilst ever keeping at bay intruders, that is,
undesirable thoughts or influences, the Tiler or physical body
has also the task of keeping the avenues of sense alert, so that
new impressions, new knowledge or experience may enter, when
'properly prepared." In this connection it is interesting to
note that we may apply every detail of the preparation of the
candidate to the manner in which we should receive new factors
or considerations, after due examination and test, and apply
them to our Masonic work. Thus, we must divest them of all
idea of personal gain: we must make them blind, on their own
account, so that instead of their leading or swaying us we
direct and control them as we will. With all hampering or
clogging encumbrances removed, we shall be prepared to use them
in forceful action: with bared heart, we shall be ready to apply
them in the service of those in need of sympathy or help, even
at the risk of our efforts being received with ingratitude,
pierced by the sword of hostility and misunderstanding. We shall
be willing to offer all we have, bending the knee freely in
reverence or in humble service, and all the time keeping in
touch with mother earth, the hard bed-rock of practical fact:
and we shall be ready to apply all our powers to the end we have
in view, braving all dangers, even to our last breath. The
next step in the opening, dealing with the Inner Guard, is to
describe the function of the life of the body, the Brain. This
is to admit principles which are known and which can pass the
test, as well as to welcome, after suitable precautions, new
ideas and fresh knowledge. The Inner Guard, or Brain, is further
described as being the servant of the Mind (Junior Warden): a
lesson simple enough to understand, though not always easy to
apply. It is not every Mason who can make his brain the obedient
servant of his mind, for sometimes the brain gets out of hand
and runs its own course, carrying the mind with it. We may note,
in passing, that in the Eastern system, the Higher Mind controls
the flow of Prana, or Vitality, indicating, as many schools of
thought today are re-proclaiming, perhaps in rather blundering
fashion, that the control of bodily health is vested in the
Mind. THE duties of the Senior Deacon and Junior Deacon, as
described in their rather puzzling responses, which incidentally
we may note do not appear to find fulfillment in the actual
ceremonies themselves, are of great psychological interest, and
we shall find it convenient to consider them together as a
pair. The Senior Deacon, representing the active, reasoning
intellect, the normal waking consciousness, has to bear messages
and commands from Wisdom to Will. The latter, represented by the
Senior Warden, who provides the driving force to carry out the
work, energizes his servant or messenger, the Junior Deacon, or
Desire, who in his turn carries the command of the Junior
Warden, the Creative Mind, who conceives plans for performing
the task. The statement that the Junior Deacon has to see
that the commands are "punctually obeyed," refers to the fact
that Desire is insistent and remains active, we might almost say
aggressive, until the Mind has accepted the command and
formulated plans for its execution. Similarly, the Lower
Mind, the Reason, represented by the Senior Deacon, "awaits the
return of the Junior Deacon"; that is to say, the normal waking
consciousness remains in a state of expectancy until Desire,
having achieved its purpose, is satisfied and ceases to be
active. The lower, dynamic or active factors having thus been
defined, there is a marked change in phraseology, as the
Worshipful Master turns to the higher, static elements,
represented by the Wardens, and demands their
rationale. The place of the junior Warden, the Creative Mind,
is described as marking the sun at its meridian, the highest
point it reaches in the heavens. This appears to indicate that,
at any rate in the First Degree, the highest level of
consciousness to which, normally, man can attain, is that of the
Higher Mind. Further, as the sun rules the day, so should the
highest intelligence rule the man. And as the movements of the
sun serve to call men from labor to refreshment and from
refreshment to labor again, so should the highest intelligence
determine when men should act and when they should cease from
action, when they should work and when they may play. It is only
when Intelligence - not, be it noted, Desire or Will rules and
directs that both profit and pleasure can result; that is, that
man can be both efficient and happy. PASSING the Senior
Warden, the Will, who represents the. end of the day, the
setting sun, we perceive that when the Master, or Wisdom, the
reigning ego of the whole consciousness, commands, the Will
withdraws its driving or motive force from the lodge, and thus
closes the undertaking. But this only takes place after every
brother "has had his due"; in other words, after every faculty
and power have been exercised to the fullest extent and
everything that it is possible to do has been
done. Finally, the ritual tells us that the Master, or
Wisdom, represents the rising sun, the source of light, the
origin of consciousness. Whether we are normally conscious of it
or not, there is within each one of us a Master, the ego of
consciousness, the ruler, the true source of our life and
actions. It is this supreme ego who opens the lodge, setting us
to work, "employing and instructing the brethren in
Freemasonry"; that is, directing and employing our faculties in
the Craft of life. The Master, or Wisdom, has now called into
being all his subordinate faculties, and the task of each has
been defined; but before the labors are actually commenced, the
whole consciousness is turned upwards and inwards to the Supreme
Architect, recognizing that from Him alone comes all Wisdom, all
Strength, and all Beauty. And so the prayer goes forth that the
work we are to undertake, having been begun methodically and in
order, may be harmoniously conducted to a peaceful conclusion.
In the well-known formula, all the faculties endorse this
prayer, and determine that it shall be so. IN the name of
God, the Master now declares the lodge duly open, implying that
all his faculties and powers are alert, and ready for action,
their readiness being indicated by the movements which all the
brethren make at this moment. The descent of the Immediate
Past Master, and the opening of the V.S.L., signify that all
past knowledge and experience are brought into the field for
future use; the accumulated wisdom of the ages, as recorded in
the written word, is laid ready for reference, and the eternal
symbols of square and circle are before our eyes to regulate our
actions and to keep us within due bounds with all men. We are
also reminded that from God alone, the one Source of light and
life, proceeds all that we are and that action is but the Word
of God made manifest. Such is one interpretation, and
that quite a simple and elementary one, of the Opening of a
Lodge of Freemasons in the First Degree, conducted in that due
and ancient form which no repetition can stale or familiarity
ever rob of its stateliness, its dignity, its appeal to the
highest and best there is in us, its urge to pierce through the
outer veil of words and forms to that secret, inner world of
causes, of which all these elements of our outer life are but
fleeting efforts. In conclusion, it will be fitting briefly
to summarize the whole of the opening in terms of the present
psychological interpretation. Before approaching any task, no
matter how large or small, the Mason gathers his forces
together, and places himself in the right attitude and
atmosphere, reminding himself of the infinite Beauty, Power and
Wisdom upon which he may draw for his needs, if he
will. Then, making as perfect as possible all the
physical conditions necessary for the undertaking, he examines
and proves his motives, seeing that they are pure and
unpolluted. Carefully eliminating all undesirable and unworthy
influences, he opens his nature to receive and welcome, after
due preparation and examination, all new knowledge or material
which may be of service in his work. The supreme ego issues its
command, which is transmitted through the normal waking
consciousness to the Will which, in turn, gives it its impetus,
whereupon it becomes a pressing Desire: the imagining Mind then
conceives a plan, which should be a plan of beauty, and passes
the same to the Brain and Body for execution. ALL his actions
are thus ruled by his Intelligence, derive their impetus from
the Will, but emanate from the supreme ego, or Wisdom.
Nevertheless, he must ever remember that from God alone, whose
servant he is, proceeds all that he is, for, as the Christian
Scripture, quoted in the ritual, states in words which can
scarcely be paraphrased without destroying their beauty, in God
is the sole inspiration; His is the first and last word, and the
meaning and end of all action is with God, is the action of God
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