THE ORNAMENTS OF A LODGE
by Joel H. Springer, III
Assistant Grand Secretary of California
In the traditional Master’s Lecture of the Entered Apprentice Degree, we
learn that the ornaments of a Lodge are the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel,
and the Blazing Star. In examining this motif, we must first explain why these
features are called the "ornaments" of a Lodge. An ornament is a
decoration that beautifies and adorns the object or structure on which it is
placed. So it is that the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel and the Blazing
Star in the center of the pavement beautify and adorn not only our Masonic Lodge
rooms, but also Freemasonry as a universal institution.
The Mosaic Pavement and the Indented Tessel may be considered together. The
Mosaic Pavement is said to be "a representation of the ground floor of King
Solomon’s Temple, and is emblematic of human life, checkered with good and
evil. The Indented Tessel is a representation of the beautiful tessellated
border or skirting which surrounded the pavement, and is emblematic of the
manifold blessings and comforts which surround us."
Mosaics are works of art of surface decoration, composed of variously colored
small pieces of glass, stone, ceramics, and other materials formed into patterns
ranging from simple geometric designs to detailed realistic renditions of
naturalistic scenes with human figures, animals, plants, and landscapes. Mosaics
made with water-polished pebbles were created in Bronze Age Greece and the
Middle East (1600 – 1000 BCE). Before the end of the 3rd Century
BCE, the pebbles were replaced with cut or shaped pieces of marble, hard stone,
glass, mother-of-pearl and enamels. The shaped pieces, cut in the form of small
cubes, are called tesserae or tesselae—hence, the conception of the
Tessellated Border surrounding the Mosaic Pavement.
The floors of many Lodge Rooms today purport to reproduce the Mosaic Pavement
and the Tessellated Border, as they appeared in King Solomon’s Temple. The
Mosaic Pavement is laid out as black and white squares or tiles like a
checkerboard, and indeed is surrounded by a border of smaller shapes in a
contrasting and distinctive pattern. Such flooring is much more in the style of
a 19th century English or American clubroom or entry hall, than it is
of the ground floor of King Solomon’s Temple. King Solomon constructed the
Temple in Jerusalem sometime after 1000 BCE, when the materials and techniques
for creating a Mosaic Pavement would not have lent themselves to creating the
design we see in today’s Lodge rooms.
On another level, the Mosaic Pavement and the Indented Tessel, whether
actually part of King Solomon’s Temple or not, do convey a philosophical,
moral and ethical view of the world. The late 18th century redactors
of our ritual viewed human life as starkly white and black, "checkered with
good and evil." They worked during a time whose thought was influenced by
the two Great Awakenings in the United States, and immediately following the
American and French Revolutions. Moral and religious fervor was high in
people’s minds, and it was politically important "to chose sides" in
the great debates of the day. And human life was precarious; life expectancy was
half what it is today, infant mortality was high, and the concept of leisure
time did not exist for the ordinary citizen.
I would suggest that for 21st century Freemasonry, that we re-cast
the appearance of Mosaic Pavement and the Indented Tessel. Because of advances
in artistic skill and technology, contemporary mosaics can be made of many small
bits of an almost unlimited range of materials. I recently saw a reproduction of
the Mona Lisa, which on close examination had been computer-generated from the
artist’s photographic collection, miniaturized and arranged to create a larger
impression of light and shadow. The whole was greater than the sum of its parts,
yet each part was important because it was the photograph of one human being.
This is the meaning of the Mosaic Pavement and the Indented Tessel for
Freemasonry in the 21st century. In its true and noblest form,
Freemasonry is the only men’s institution in the world based on universal
eligibility for membership. There are no tests for political affiliation,
religious belief, race, nationality, ethnic origin, or language. We ask only
that the prospective members profess a belief in a supreme being and a future
existence beyond physical death, and we respect the individual’s own
conceptions of the substance of those beliefs. Freemasonry therefore has for its
fundamental basis the great Mosaic Pavement of humankind, with all its glories,
noble ideas, passions, prejudices, adversities, and tragedies, each tile in the
Mosaic representing an individual brother whose very life is a contribution to
the richness of the Fraternity. Masonry teaches not tolerance for individual
differences, nor does it teach toleration—Freemasonry rightfully conceived
teaches us to accept and respect the unique character and role of each member in
creating the living Mosaic Pavement.
While the "manifold blessings and comforts which surround us"
(represented by the Indented Tessel) have grown exponentially since the 18th
century, we face now not so much human lives checkered with good and evil, but
rather textured with the availability of many good things on the one hand, which
should be tempered on the other by the knowledge that unforgiving adversity can
still enter our lives at a moment’s notice. Time has not expanded, yet the
number of careers, interests, and entertainments which we and our families can
or might wish to enjoy has increased, and in our desire to "have it
all," there is the danger of seeing only the light and shadow and not the
details of our lives and the lives of our fellowmen and women in the great
Mosaic of human life. As Masons we are under the moral imperative to "aid,
support and protect each other," and duty-bound "to relieve the
distressed." We must not forget, in the living of our 21st
century lives, to soothe the troubled minds of the unhappy and actively
sympathize and ameliorate their misfortunes. In the last six months, how many
times have you visited a sick Brother, spoken to a Masonic widow or driven her
to the store, or spoken kind words to a troubled friend?
The Master’s Lecture states that we hope to enjoy the blessings and
comforts which surround us by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence,
represented by the Blazing Star in the center of the Mosaic Pavement. Each Mason
conceives of Divine Providence in his own way. Acknowledging the existence of
Divine Providence is Freemasonry’s way of recognizing and reminding us that we
still do live in a world of "blessings and adversities," no matter how
intellectually, morally, or technologically sophisticated we think we are on the
threshold of the 21st century.
The Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tessel, and the Blazing Star beautify and
adorn our Lodges, and they grace the Fraternity. Think of the power to create
positive change in one person at a time, held by an institution ornamented with
these universal and compassionate symbols, whose members by their actions live
these ideas in their everyday lives
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