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CHAPTER XII
part II - Symbolism and the Teachings of Freemasonry
THE SQUARE AND COMPASSES
W.
M. Don Falconer PM, PDGDC
The
rite is a symbol of the passage of the spiritual self through the
cycle of life.
To
circumambulate means to walk round about, which is
derived from the Latin words circum meaning
around and ambulare/ambulatum meaning
to walk. In its original sense it referred to that
portion of the religious rites in the ancient ceremonies of
initiation, wherein the candidate was conducted in a formal
procession around the altar or some other holy and consecrated
object. To perambulate, in which the Latin word
circum is replaced by the Latin word per
which means through, originally meant to walk through,
up and down or over for the purpose of surveying the land or
patrolling a beat. Nowadays perambulate is often used
in a general sense, meaning to walk about or around. In lodges of
operative freemasonry and also in the formative period of modern
speculative freemasonry, the clear distinction between
circumambulation and perambulation was
always maintained in the ceremonials.
The
rite of circumambulation obviously relates to the
circle, which is a symbol of the all-embracing principle of Divine
manifestation that is without beginning or ending, being complete
and absolute. Attributes of the Divine manifestation are illustrated
in the Wisdom of Solomon, which is an important part
of that compendium of moral and spiritual instruction known as the
Book of Proverbs, much of which repeats earlier
Egyptian exhortations almost word for word. In Proverbs 8:27-29 we
read:
“When he set
the heavens in their place I was there,
when he
girdled the ocean with the horizon,
when he
fixed the canopy of the clouds overhead
and set
the springs of ocean firm in their place,
when he
prescribed its limits for the sea
and knit
together earth’s foundations.”
The
rite of circumambulation is also related to the
circle of existence, which is a symbol of the passage
of the spiritual self through the cycle of life, whence darkness is
dispelled and the long upward course of purification is begun,
leading towards that perfection which can only be achieved in the
life hereafter. This circle is symbolical of and can only be
completed by a rebirth, as described in the words of Jesus when he
cleansed the temple, which is recorded in the following words of
John 3:7-8:
“You ought not to be astonished, then,
when I tell you that you must be born over again. The wind blows
where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where
it comes from, or where it is going. So with everyone who is born
from spirit.”
Originally,
circumambulation was only performed in the lodge in
relation to the specific preparation and examination of the
candidate prior to his obligation, to ensure that he was properly
prepared and a fit and proper person to participate in the ensuing
ceremony. This procedure reflected the combined symbolisms of the
circle and the circle of existence, which was intended to remind the
candidate that his upward course of purification was beginning. All
other movements in the lodge were made by the most direct and
convenient route, which clearly distinguished the rite of
circumambulation from routine movements and emphasised the
importance of the rite. This visible distinction is still maintained
in lodges of operative freemasons and also in those lodges of
speculative freemasons that follow either the Emulation working or
some of the old Scottish workings. Nowadays the word
circumambulation has almost disappeared from use in
speculative craft freemasonry and perambulation is
usually used to describe all movements on the floor of the
lodge.
In
the eighteenth century the development of the rituals of speculative
craft freemasonry was at its peak. At that time the masonic scholars
who prepared the rituals gave clear and conventional explanations of
the ceremonials, which left no doubt of their intention that the
rite of circumambulation should represent the
“toilsome progress of humanity”, advancing from
barbarism to civilisation and from ignorance to enlightenment. This
advancement will ultimately lead us from this profane earthly
existence to a state of perfection in that grand lodge above,
eternal in the heavens. Although they are not identical with the
rituals now worked, some of the very old catechisms and lectures
clearly indicate that the early ritualists visualised the
progression of candidates through the three degrees of speculative
craft freemasonry as a symbolic journey from the profane world to a
spiritual paradise, typified by the progress of the priests through
the several compartments of King Solomon’s temple.
This
progression still has a place in speculative craft freemasonry. The
first degree symbolises rebirth, which is emblematically represented
by the priest stepping between the two great pillars and passing
through the ulam, the porch or entrance at the eastern
end of the temple. The second degree symbolises life, education and
work, which is represented emblematically by the priest entering the
temple proper and making ritual offerings in the
hekhal, the holy place set aside for the celebration
of divine service by the priests. The third degree symbolises a
victorious completion of this earthly existence, culminating in the
perfection that can only be achieved by passing through that mystic
veil which cannot be penetrated by human eyes, which is
emblematically represented by the High Priest entering the
debir or holy of holies at the western
end of the temple. The debir was in the form of a
perfect cube and was considered to be the seat of the
Shekinah, the dwelling place of God in the midst of
his people.
By
the second half of the nineteenth century
circumambulation was no longer regarded as a purely
religious or mystical practice, having acquired a new and more
general usage, simply meaning to walk around or about. During the
same period perambulation had also lost its specific
meaning, because it was being used more and more frequently when
circumambulation previously would have been used to
describe the movement more accurately. Over-enthusiastic ritualists
then introduced the squaring of the lodge room for all movements on
the floor, so that the original purpose of
circumambulation ceased to be understood, or at the
very least it was subjugated to the extent of becoming a mere
routine, seriously detracting from the symbolism of the
ceremonials.
The
explanation of the first tracing board states that the usages and
customs among freemasons have ever born an affinity to those of the
ancient Egyptians, while other statements in the rituals suggest a
direct and continuous link between speculative craft freemasonry and
the workforce that constructed King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem.
When the early speculative ritualists wrote the explanation of the
first tracing board, the word affinity had a more specific meaning
than it has today, indicating a direct descent from one to another.
In fact, modern usage of the word reflects the relationship more
correctly. The ritual and ceremonials that constitute speculative
craft freemasonry were not derived as a unique system from remote
antiquity, whether Egyptian, Hebrew or otherwise. In fact,
speculative freemasonry developed progressively through the ages, as
a natural consequence of the ecclesiastical environment in which
succeeding generations of freemasons worked. The fundamentals of
modern speculative freemasonry evolved directly and indirectly from
the practices and symbolism that had been used in the earlier lodges
of operative freemasons, although the speculative aspects were
expanded. Thus the spiritual doctrines embodied within the masonic
ritual are extremely ancient, having been influenced by the
teachings of many religions from time immemorial. Foremost among
those influences is the ancient religion of Egypt.
The
oldest written records that we have of any of the ancient religions
are those from Egypt that are known as the Pyramid
Texts. These texts are the hieroglyphic inscriptions in the
pyramids of Unas, of Teti and of Pepi I in particular, all of which
are located in the vicinity of Saqqara and date from about
2300 BCE to about 2100 BCE, which was during the
Vth and VIth Dynasties of Egypt. However,
philological studies show that the original composition of these
texts may be conservatively dated at least to the predynastic period
from about 3200 BCE, but probably even earlier, more than two
thousand years before the reign of King Solomon. These earlier texts
include material very similar to that in the Book of the
Dead, which was assembled from later sources, but the older
references are especially significant as they have not been edited
or modified by a series of successive scribes. Even so, there is a
remarkable consistency in all of the known texts until the
XXnd Dynasty, which flourished in about 1100 BCE,
more than a century before King Solomon.
All
of these texts show that the ancient Egyptian religion was founded
on a belief in a circle of existence that commenced
with birth in the spirit and then progressed through a life on
earth. It was believed that the divine spirit Ka
accompanied the earthly body, which also had a soul
Ba. Earthly life was terminated with a physical death,
followed by a descent into the afterworld of the terrestrial
kingdom, where the heart was weighed and the soul was judged. If the
soul was not found wanting, the culminating events in the
circle of existence were resurrection and ascent into
the heavenly Duat, which are referred to in the
following words of the Pyramid Texts of Teti:
“Rise
up thou Teti. Stand up thou mighty one being strong. Sit thou with
the gods, do thou that which Osiris did in the great house of Annu.
Thou has received thy Sahu and thy foot shall not be fettered in
heaven, nor shalt thou be turned back upon earth.”
The
Sahu that must be received before resurrection and
ascent into the heavenly Duat is the spiritual body
that has obtained a sufficient level of knowledge, power and glory
to become everlasting and incorruptible, transcending the divine
spirit Ka and the soul Ba that had
accompanied the body during its earthly life.
This
circle of existence was central to the religion of
ancient Egypt. The final stages of the circle of
existence are represented ritually by progress through the
various chambers in the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The entry of the
soul into the afterworld begins in the Chamber of
Ordeal, a subterranean chamber excavated deep into the
bedrock below the pyramid, where a period of trial and probation
must be completed. If the soul is judged to be acceptable as
determined symbolically by weighing the heart against the feather of
justice, it then ascends to the grotto known as the Well of
Life, just under the base of the pyramid. There the soul
must reflect upon its passage through life on earth, before being
allowed to ascend into the Chamber of Regeneration and
Rebirth, which is called the Queen’s Chamber
in the Great Pyramid. After regeneration and rebirth, the soul must
undergo a final period of purification in the Hall of Truth in
Darkness, which is the Grand Gallery in the
Great Pyramid. After purification the soul enters the Chamber
of Resurrection, which is the King’s Chamber
in the Great Pyramid, whence the Sahu or enlightened
soul returns to God in the heavenly Duat, thus
completing the circle of existence. The ceremonials in
modern speculative freemasonry include the symbolic elements of the
circle of existence.
Ancient
secret systems of teaching are generally called
Mysteries, from the compound Greek word
misthrion, which has a range of associated meanings
including a mystery, a secret and also
an initiate. The Mysteries have existed
in all parts of the world and in all periods of its history. They
taught suitably receptive individuals about human nature and human
destiny, by imparting to their prepared minds what was then known
about human life and divine things, but they were withheld from the
multitude whose lack of education and understanding might profane
those teachings or who might use the esoteric knowledge for perverse
purposes. Such systems existed in Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, India and
China from the most ancient times. They were also used among the
Hebrews, the Greeks, the Druids and the Romans in later times, for
many centuries before the advent of Christianity. Even in more
recent times the Mysteries were practiced, even among
the early Christians and the Muslims.
The
oldest Mysteries of which we have a detailed account
are those of Isis and Osiris in Egypt, which were derived directly
from Egypt’s ancient religion and therefore need no further comment.
The Eleusinian Mysteries of Greece are possibly the
best known, traditionally having been brought into Greece directly
from Egypt, although historically that almost certainly is not true.
In any event they were preceded in Greece by earlier
Mysteries. Saint Epiphanius (c.315-403) was born in
Palestine and became a Christian bishop of Constantia in Cyprus. He
wrote extensively on various cults and heresies, which he had traced
back for about eighteen hundred years before Christ. Saint
Epiphanius found that those earlier Greek Mysteries
were essentially the same as the Mysteries of the
Persian religious leader and prophet, Zarathustra
(c.630-530 BCE), who reformed the ancient Parsee religion,
which was of Egyptian origin. The Muslims persecuted the Parsees in
the eighth century CE, when the Parsees carried the
Mysteries of Zarathustra into India, where they became
known as Zoroastrianism. Although the form of communication has
varied from age to age, the central theme of an initiation in all of
the Mysteries has always been the Rite of
Circumambulation.
Initiation
in the ancient Mysteries represented a spiritual
rebirth, for which the candidate was required to undergo appropriate
preparation and purification. In ancient times preparation of the
candidate for initiation could take many days, even weeks. It
involved fasting, contemplation, stringent trials and many
ablutions. During the ceremony of initiation the candidate was
usually cloaked in white and conducted three times in a clockwise
direction around the altar or other consecrated object. Great care
was taken to follow the apparent clockwise course of the sun, which
in the northern hemisphere was “by the right”, because
the sun was a symbol of the commencement of a new life. The circuits
were always commenced in the east which was regarded as the source
of light, thence passing through the south to the west and returning
through the north to the east, which also was esteemed as the
birthplace of God and hence the logical place to seek a spiritual
rebirth. Many famous persons were initiates of the ancient
Mysteries, including Aristotle the philosopher and
scientist, Euclid the mathematician, Plato the philosopher,
Pythagoras the philosopher and mathematician, Socrates the
philosopher, Saint John, Saint Paul and many other well known
teachers.
The
Druidical Mysteries of the ancient Celts were similar
to the other ancient Mysteries, except that the
initiate’s robe incorporated three colours that they considered to
be sacred. The three colours were white which was the symbol of
light, blue which was the symbol of truth and green which was the
symbol of hope. The tri-coloured robe was changed to green robe
towards the completion of the initiation ceremony, which was
emblematical of the candidate’s expectation of further
enlightenment. In the next stage, which was equivalent to the second
degree in speculative craft freemasonry, the candidate wore a blue
robe emblematical of his search for the truths of life. In the final
stage, which was equivalent to the third degree in speculative craft
freemasonry, the candidate wore a white robe emblematical of the
light of knowledge that was the ultimate object of his quest. When
the candidate had successfully completed the stringent trials
associated with the final stage he was crowned with a red tiara,
which symbolised the purification and regeneration of his soul. At
the beginning of each session of worship the Druids rededicated
themselves, when the priests made three clockwise circuits around
the sacred central cairn, followed by all of the worshippers and
commencing from the east.
Most
modern religions incorporate features of the ancient
Mysteries in their attendant ceremonials. The
Rite of Circumambulation probably is the one most
readily identifiable of those ancient usages and customs because it
is the one most frequently seen. Its use is always associated with
the basic religious element of consecration, as illustrated in the
following examples from several different religions. The
universality of the practice is reflected in the symbolic
ceremonials used by operative freemasons in their lodges and still
used by their successors in lodges of speculative craft freemasons,
which incorporate this outward expression of purification and
consecration derived from the Mysteries and the
religious practices of their day. This highlights the fact that the
squaring of the lodge in modern speculative freemasonry usually is
not associated with the ceremony of purification and consecration,
which therefore conceals and detracts from the symbolism of the
Rite of Circumambulation that is an important part of
the ceremonial, especially during initiation.
Brahmanism
is the comparatively modern religious system practised by the
Hindus. It springs from an ancient and primitive Aryan
religion nearly as old as the ancient religion of Egypt. It did not
have any one founder, but developed gradually over a period of
almost five thousand years, during which time it absorbed and
assimilated all the religious and cultural movements of India.
Superficially, the Hindu religion appears to embrace a variety of
gods, which undoubtedly is the way it is understood by the
uneducated people of India. Nevertheless its philosophy actually
encompasses a belief in one all-embracing, all-pervading and
omnipresent God, with the subsidiary pantheon representing nothing
more than imaginative pictures of the infinite aspects of God for
the enlightenment of the uneducated masses. These aspects are
revealed to the learned Hindus in the hidden or esoteric faith of
their Mysteries. Priests and other devout Brahmans, on
first rising each morning, rededicate themselves by facing the east
and adoring the sun, then walking to the west by way of the south
and back to the east by way of the north. During this
circumambulation they recited, among other
things:
“I
follow the course of the sun, to obtain the benefit arising from a
journey round the earth by way of the south.”
This
appears to be the origin of the rededication ceremony conducted by
the Druids among the Indo-European Celts, who first appeared in
Europe in about 1200 BCE.
Muslims
who undertake the Hadj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, are
required to participate in the Tawuf, which is
considered to be a very sacred part of the ceremonies. The
Tawuf, or circumambulation of the
Kaaba, must be carried out seven times.
Kaaba is an Arabic word signifying a
cube, which is a symbol of completion or perfection. The
Kaaba is the holy building in Mecca into which the
black stone is built. The black stone is reputed to possess many
virtues. The founder of Islam, the Prophet Mohammed (c 570-632), who
was born in Mecca, declared that the black stone was given to
Abraham by the archangel Gabriel. The circumambulation
of sacred places and consecrated objects was a common practice among
the animistic Semites long before the introduction of Islam. The
Rite of Circumambulation was retained by the Prophet,
but given a new significance, possibly as an act of reconciliation
with the people of Mecca.
The
reason given for the circumambulation of the Kaaba is
that the Kaaba represents the celestial throne of
Allah that is constantly being circumambulated by angels. This part
of the pilgrimage relates to the consecration of the mind, body and
soul to Allah, the one God. The belief in the one God is professed
in the religion of Islam by the pronouncement “la ilaha ill’
Allah” which literally translates as “there is no God but
God” and means “there is only one God”. The
origin of this pronouncement is ascribed to the Prophet Mohammed
himself who said that, during his journey from Mecca to Jerusalem,
he had ascended through the seven heavens. Mohammed said that it was
then that he beheld the mystic inscription in Arabic, “la
ilaha ill’ Allah”, above the throne of God. Thenceforth the
green standard of the prophet was adorned with this sentence and
Muslims turned in prayer towards the Kaaba in Mecca,
instead of turning towards Jerusalem. Mohammed’s vision of ascending
through seven heavens is an allusion to purification and perfection,
which is the symbolic reason why Muslims make seven
circumambulations around the Kaaba in
Mecca during their pilgrimage.
The
early Christians readily adapted aspects of the ancient
Mysteries to their own requirements, including the
adoption of pagan festival days as their own festival days and also
the ceremony of baptism. Probably the most obvious adaptation is the
use of the Rite of Circumambulation in association
with dedication and consecration. Two very old ceremonies, those
known as “beating the bounds” in England and
“riding the marches” in Scotland, both derive from the
Roman practice of dedicating the boundary stones of the fields,
which originated in about 700 BCE. There are existing
documents, from as early as 550, recording that bishops and their
clergy accompanied parishioners circumambulating the
boundaries of the fields for this purpose. Gulielmus Durandus
(1237-1296), the French jurist who had studied canon law and became
the Bishop of Mende, describes the ceremony of consecrating a church
in the thirteenth century in one of his books entitled the
Speculum Judicale. He says that the bishop’s
procession made three circuits clockwise around the church, during
which the bishop knocked on the door after each circuit, but was
admitted only on the third occasion. Bishop Durandus said:
“Rightly
. . . doth the bishop strike three times, because that number is the
most known and sacred; . . . without the invocation of the Trinity
there can be no sacrament in the church.”
This
form of ceremonial exists to the present day and is even reflected
in the opening of parliaments, when the Gentleman Usher of the Black
Rod knocks three times on the door of the House of Commons or House
of Representatives to gain entrance for the opening of Parliament.
In consecration ceremonies the chaplain
circumambulates with a censer to disperse incense,
which is an ancient symbol of purification. This practice
perpetuates the usage of the ancient Israelites and also is a
regular practice in Christian churches.
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