THE SYMBOLS OF FREEMASONRY
CHAPTER VII
part I - the heritage of freemasonry
THE SQUARE AND COMPASSES
W.
M. Don Falconer PM, PDGDC
Signs and symbols have been in use
ever since the first hominids tried to communicate with their
associates, even preceding articulate speech.
Symbolism
is not a modern innovation. Signs and symbols have been in use ever
since the first hominids tried to communicate with their associates,
even preceding articulate speech. Before speech, the only available
means of communication was by signs or gestures, by the use of which
it was sought to convey some physical need or personal desire. Those
making or observing particular gestures gradually developed, as a
natural reaction, the uttering of sounds as the gestures were made.
With the lapse of time, particular sounds came to be associated with
particular gestures, so that they became recognisable as being
representative of the gestures themselves. These sounds eventually
evolved as words, which provided a simpler means of expressing needs
and desires. From that time onwards the roles of sound and gesture
were reversed in communication, so that gestures were primarily used
to give emphasis when required. Variations of these basic words
gradually developed, being used to differentiate between objects and
actions as well as to characterise shades of meaning. A rudimentary
grammar naturally evolved as coherent speech matured, while
symbolism also developed to become an immutable component inherent
in everyday life and language.
Coherent
speech soon fostered a desire to create visual records, which in
turn led to the development of the written word. Writing in its
original form was a series of crude pictograms that represented
individual objects or actions that became words, which again
interchanged the roles of speech and symbols. The use of pictograms
led to the development of cuneiform writing by the Sumerians in
Mesopotamia and pictograms were the basis of the conventionalised
characters used in Chinese and Japanese writing. By comparison, the
very simple pictograms of the American Indians were never developed
into an alphabetical form of writing. Elaborate pictograms also were
the basis of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Until very recently it was
thought that the pictographic script of the Sumerians was the
earliest, but excavations commenced in 1988 at Abydos in Egypt
confirm that hieroglyphs had been in use before the time of King
Narmer, who united his kingdom of Upper Egypt with the delta kingdom
of Lower Egypt in about 3200 BCE. King Narmer is thought to be
the same person as the legendary King Menes, the first pharaoh of
Egypt.
These
latest excavations and discoveries at Abydos are described in a book
entitled Egypt by Vivian Davies and Renée Friedman,
who were assisted by an extensive panel of experts. Their findings
indicate that the Egyptian hieroglyphs did not evolve in stages like
cuneiform writing, as was previously believed, but that they seem to
have been established from the outset as a comprehensive means of
communication. Thus, although many of the characters were used to
represent complete words, most of them also signified sounds or
combinations of sounds and were used in a similar manner to modern
alphabets. Hieratic, which is a cursive form of the Egyptian
hieroglyphs, seems to have evolved for everyday use by about
3000 BCE, when it usually was written in ink on papyrus. A much
later derivative of Hieratic was the Demotic script, which was
developed in about 700 BCE. The Demotic script was popular
throughout the Greco-Roman period and was used by literate Egyptians
for their literary pursuits, as well as for business and private
correspondence.
As
language became more sophisticated, the pictographic form of writing
soon became inadequate, because the embellishments of oral
expression were difficult to record. As a result of this deficiency,
early scripts such as the Canaanite from around 2000 BCE and
the Sinaitic from around 1500 BCE, had developed over many
centuries using an alphabet in which the characters were based on
Egyptian hieroglyphs that originally represented physical objects
and actions. These scripts were followed by the Phoenician around
1000 BCE and its early Hebrew derivatives around 700 BCE,
which used symbols to represent consonants, but left the vowels to
be understood. Symbols gradually became standardized and were
stylised in the final stage of writing, as represented by the Greek
alphabet and its Roman derivative, both of which have symbols for
consonants and vowels, allowing every nuance of oral expression to
be recorded.
Language and writing are two
of the greatest intellectual achievements of the human race, without
which all other achievements would not have been possible. Language
and writing transcend personal intercommunication and the
maintenance of records, because it facilitates both logical thought
and rational evaluation. This complex use of symbols enables the
mortal mind to contemplate the wonders of the creation and the
promise of a spiritual life hereafter, as well as to explore and
progressively solve the mysteries of the universe, clearly
distinguishing humans from all other life on earth.
There
can be no doubt that, in the process of their evolvement through the
ages, speech and writing have established themselves as the most
pervasive of all symbols in the modern world. Writing was derived
from previously acquired abilities to draft other symbols, utilising
a variety of methods. For example, the hieroglyphic writing of Egypt
was painted on papyrus at least from 3250 BCE, using techniques
similar to those first developed by the Magdalenians for their cave
paintings made in about 15000 BCE. Recent excavations at
Abydos, in tombs of a previously unknown dynasty now referred to as
Dynasty 0, have unearthed bone and ivory labels that date from
around 3250 BCE and are engraved with hieroglyphics that use
signs for sounds and are the same as those used in later dynasties.
The slate palette of King Narmer found in 1898 among a collection of
temple offerings buried in the ancient capital of the Kingdom of
Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis, meaning City of the Falcon
in Greek, has now been dated to 3100 BCE. Engraved on both
sides, it graphically illustrates the uniting of the Upper and Lower
Kingdoms. The hieroglyphs proclaim Narmer as King and say that
“Horus, the patron god of kingship, now controls the
delta”. An even earlier palette from Hierakonpolis dates
from around 3200 BCE.
The
cuneiform script of Sumeria was an adaptation of the wedge shaped
imprints made by a stylus upon wet clay tablets, from about
3100 BCE or possibly earlier. A characteristic of the cuneiform
script is that it is composed almost exclusively of straight lines,
because it is difficult to make regular curves with a stylus. The
original cuneiform script was used to prepare lists of commodities
and taxation details, from which the language texts gradually
evolved using around five hundred different symbols. One of the
earliest known clay tablets inscribed with Mesopotamian writing
dates from about 3000 BCE. Texts, such as the Canaanite
inscriptions on Ahiram’s sarcophagus unearthed at the ancient city
of Gebal, now called Byblos, have been carved on stone from as early
as 1100 BCE, using metal chisels and gravers. From the
inception of writing, these and other practical aspects of the arts
and crafts have been interwoven with the techniques of
communication, which has greatly enhanced the evolution of the
symbols.
In
the early stages of the development of articulate speech, symbols
referred almost entirely to those things that were required for
subsistence, augmented by a few symbols reflecting actions of
practical importance in everyday life. As speech became more
sophisticated and writing developed, additional symbols were
introduced to reflect the abstract ideas beginning to formulate in
the human mind. The earliest known recordings of abstract ideas
relate to the concept that, when a human being dies, its spirit will
be transmigrated from the mortal body to a life hereafter. A belief
in the immortality of the human spirit and that it will continue to
live in eternity is illustrated graphically by hieroglyphic
inscriptions in early tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. With the
advent of cursive writing abstract ideas could be expressed even
more vividly, as exemplified in Ecclesiastes, wherein
the preacher portrays the transitory nature and consummate emptiness
of earthly life and the certainty of death, which is counterbalanced
by the hope that the soul will live on in immortality. The sacred
writings of all religions include allegories, or long and elaborate
stories, which illustrate moral principals that frequently are not
stated specifically, but are left for the recipient to discover.
Briefer parables also are used, typically showing the application of
a moral precept in a familiar situation, so that abstract principles
are represented in a concrete and vibrant form.
Egyptian
hieroglyphs confirm that the attributes of implements, tools and
other well known objects were used in ancient times as symbols to
demonstrate the requirements for proper moral conduct. This graphic
use of symbols to convey important religious messages continued
through Biblical times and culminated in the century preceding the
Christian era, when the pesher technique was
introduced into the Hebrew scriptures. Pesher is a
Hebrew word signifying an interpretation or
explanation, derived from peshitta,
another Hebrew word meaning simple, or
plain. The Syrian word peshitta and its
adjectival form, peshito, are used to designate the
versions of the Old and New Testaments that were translated from the
ancient Syriac and are sometimes called the principal versions or
the Syriac Vulgate. In the Old Testament pesher
signifies interpretation of dreams, but in the scrolls
of the Christian era it is used to indicate that a section of text
has a second or special hidden meaning. Many of the Old Testament
texts are used with the pesher technique to convey
special messages, some having been established by tradition over
hundreds of years.
We
know that operative freemasonry has included the design and
construction of ecclesiastical buildings in historical times, but
archaeological investigations prove that freemasonry was already
being influenced by religion when the Egyptian stonemasons began to
construct tombs at Helwan, the necropolis of their ancient capitals
of Saqqara and Memphis. The tombs at Helwan are at least 350 years
older than the Pharaoh Zoser’s stepped pyramid built at Saqqara in
about 2650 BCE. King Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem is the
oldest for which we have detailed records. Completed about
950 BCE after more than seven years under construction, it is a
pre-eminent example of the vision and inspiration required in the
conception and erection of such buildings. Every feature of that
magnificent edifice was of religious and symbolic importance. The
Biblical record leaves no doubt of the comprehensive knowledge that
the masons and their associated artificers must have had of the
symbolism embodied in the structure and its lavish furnishings and
also in the facilities in the surrounding court. Flavius Josephus
(c.37-c.100), the renowned Jewish soldier and historian, was the
governor of Galilee and displayed great valour against the advance
of Vespasian. In his treatise Antiquity of the Jews,
Josephus recorded that when King Herod the Great restored the second
temple erected by Zerubbabel,
he not only carried out the work piecemeal to avoid
interrupting the usual ritual observances, but also trained 1,000
priests to work as masons when building the shrine. The restoration
of the temple was begun in 19 BCE and completed in 64 CE,
but the temple was completely destroyed by the Romans in
70 CE.
After
that time the operative freemasons were engaged continually in
massive construction projects for the Roman Empire, until the fall
of Rome in 410, when captured by the Visigoths. In the meantime
Constantine the Great, who was then Emperor of Byzantium, had
prevailed over the heathen Romans in 330, when Constantinople became
the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantine established
Christianity in the East and carried out the first great wave of
Christian ecclesiastical building, surpassing even the efforts of
the Persian renaissance. This work continued unabated until
Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453. In western Europe,
when the Dark Ages that lasted from the fifth to at least the ninth
century drew to a close, an incredible era of cathedral building was
ushered in and continued unbroken from the late Middle Ages through
the Renaissance. Even in Britain, which was seriously hampered by
the Reformation in the mid-1500s, work on ecclesiastical buildings
continued into the 1700s. During this period many hundreds of
churches, cathedrals, castles and civic buildings were constructed.
The Chartres Cathedral in France is a renowned example of
ecclesiastical structures. It was the first in the Gothic style,
built over a period of some forty years and completed during the
1230s. The York Minster probably is the best known example in
England and is frequently and lovingly called “poetry in
stone”. It was completed in 1474 after several distinct
stages of work over a period of two and a half centuries.
Operative
freemasons worked on religious structures and were immersed in
religious activities for a period of more than five thousand years.
This necessitated the freemasons having an intimate and detailed
knowledge of the doctrines and tenets of the religions in respect of
which they were carrying out the work, so that the religious beliefs
could be reflected in the structures and especially in the details
of their ornamentation. For example, the hieroglyphs that adorn the
chambers of ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs are replete with
symbols that depict the search for and the conceived journey to a
life hereafter. It was inevitable that the fundamental principles of
speculative freemasonry should be moulded by such a long and close
association with religion, with the result that the symbolism of
freemasonry developed in parallel with the operative art. All extant
records of the ceremonials in operative lodges confirm that symbols
played a vital part in their teachings, providing a stimulus for the
development of speculative contemplation. The incorporation of
symbols into the rituals of purely speculative lodges was a natural
extension of this long established practice. Indeed, the principles
actuating those who formed the first purely speculative lodges made
it an inescapable outcome, prompting them to describe freemasonry as
“a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols”, which aptly defines one of its
central tenets.
With
such a close and continuing association with all aspects of
religious thought and practice down through the ages, it is
inevitable that freemasonry should have encompassed all of the
symbolism that derives from the ancient mysteries and the great
religions of the world. This does not imply that every such symbol
is used, nor that the usages are identical, but all important
aspects of symbolism have been incorporated in the teachings and
rituals of freemasonry. Specific aspects adopted and adapted from
the ancient mysteries and religion include preparation in a personal
sense, to establish an appropriate receptiveness for moral
instruction. Parables are included in the rituals to provide ethical
instruction. Exoteric stories are the foundation of the work in many
of the rituals, often being woven around elaborate allegories as a
basis for the communication of fundamental precepts. The esoteric
interpretations of several of these allegories are concealed in a
manner analogous to the pesher technique used in
sacred writings of the early Christian era.
The
first symbol encountered in freemasonry is preparation, as it was in
the ancient mysteries. It combines mental disposition, meditation
and symbolic purification, coupled with the wearing of appropriate
apparel and accoutrements. Darkness is an essential precursor of
light, which light is attained by trial through a symbolic journey.
All of these aspects, including bathing in water, were involved when
initiating an apprentice into a lodge of operative freemasons.
However, in the traditional degrees of speculative freemasonry a
purely symbolic form of ablution is used in only a few of the
ceremonies. In operative freemasonry, bathing was the equivalent of
baptism by immersion which was the final step in admission to the
early Christian church, as it still is in some sects. Nowadays
ablution in speculative freemasonry is akin to the modern form of
baptism of sprinkling with water when clothed in white. A form of
ritual ablution is carried out by Muslims before they enter a mosque
for prayer and during their pilgrimage to Mecca they are clothed in
white when perambulating round the Kaaba, the holy
building into which the Black Stone is built. All
important religions include some form of symbolic preparation,
journey and acquisition of light, which is a procedure that has been
regarded from time immemorial as a spiritual rebirth.
The
various modes of recognition entrusted to candidates are symbols of
importance, most of which are of origin from when trade secrets were
“mysteries” and the knowledge of them had to be
guarded jealously. A wide range of the freemason’s working tools,
materials, gauges and methods are used symbolically to provide moral
instruction which often, though not necessarily, refers to work on
King Solomon’s temple. The temple is a pre-eminent symbol in
freemasonry, signifying that house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. It is an emblem of a glorious futurity, as Ezekiel’s
mystical temple was for the Israelites during their period of
captivity in Babylon. Many aspects of the construction of the temple
by King Solomon, its dedication about 950 BCE, its final
destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE and the construction
of the second temple by Zerubbabel between 537 BCE and
515 BCE after the return of the Israelites from their
captivity, are incorporated in dramatic detail in parables that are
the basis of the traditional degrees in freemasonry. Features of the
temple, such as the two great pillars at the entrance, are also used
as symbols. Many of the symbolic interpretations are sufficiently
well known to have become a part of everyday usage, some early
enough to have been recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Important
mystical themes are hidden beneath the superficial moral themes of
the more important allegories in freemasonry, which are in the
nature of the medieval Passion Plays. One of the
important allegories relates to a late stage in the construction of
King Solomon’s Temple, when several of the workers feared that they
would not be given the modes of recognition and therefore would not
be able to obtain work after the completion of the temple. When the
principal architect was accosted he remained true to his vows and
was slain, so that substitute modes of recognition had to be used
thereafter. The superficial story is that death is preferable to
dishonour and that we must perform our allotted tasks whilst we can,
believing that we will be a justly rewarded at the appropriate time.
The esoteric message is that mortal death is only a gateway for the
resurrection of the spirit to a life hereafter, which can be
achieved by a steadfast faith in the Most High. The theme is
continued in a dramatic allegory in another degree, when we are
assured that the “Word” has been preserved from
vandalism in a place of safety, which signifies esoterically that
the “True Word” transcends mortal delinquency and can
always be found through faith.
The
foregoing allegories are connected by another allegory relating to a
vital stage in the construction of King Solomon’s temple. In its
various forms it relates either to the great cornerstone or to the
keystone required to complete the arch of the secret vault. In the
superficial story, a diligent and faithful craftsman prepares the
beautiful piece of stonework required to complete the structure, but
as it cannot be found on the plans it is rejected and the work comes
to a standstill. When the missing stone is recovered, work continues
and the skilful craftsman receives his just reward. The esoteric
interpretation is that the acceptance or rejection of this life’s
work is not within the province of mortal beings, because the gates
of victory are only opened through the grace of that “Living
Stone” which the builders rejected, but which became the
chief cornerstone, as foretold in Isaiah 28:16 and confirmed in
I Peter 2:6.
Another
allegory relates to the period after the destruction of King
Solomon’s temple, when the captives in Babylon are released by the
Decree of Cyrus and return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. In
the ceremony of passing the veils three sojourners
travel to Jerusalem and present their credentials to the Sanhedrin,
seeking work on the new temple, but in most rituals the scripture
readings refer to the Exodus from Egypt under Moses and the erection
of the Tabernacle. The passing of the veils replicates a ceremonial
carried out every seven weeks by the Therapeutae Essenes at Qumran,
which exhorted obedience to the Covenant until the second coming of
the Lord. The moral is revealed in a continuing allegory, when the
sojourners are put to work to clear away the rubbish in preparation
for the second temple. By their diligence the “Lost
Word” is recovered, which teaches that everyone is equal in
the sight of God and that even the lowest work will receive full and
just reward if properly carried out. The esoteric lesson is that
salvation can be found only through a complete faith in the
“True Word”, which represents the present, future and
eternal “I Am”.
There
are several books of special value to those wishing to acquire a
deeper understanding of the symbols and symbolism of speculative
craft freemasonry. They include three esoteric but very readable
books by George H. Steinmetz, Freemasonry - Its Hidden
Meaning,also The Royal Arch - Its Hidden
meaning and The Lost Word - Its Hidden
Meaning. Two other very informative books about symbolism
and its essential role in freemasonry are one by Colin Dyer entitled
Symbolism in Craft Freemasonry and another by Harry
Carr entitled The Freemason at Work. Finally, A
New Encyclopædia of Freemasonry by Arthur Edward Waite deals
extensively with the comparable instituted mysteries and their
rites, literature and history.
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