Some Symbols of Freemasonry Contributed by S.K.A., H.P.M. Square & Compass Symbol of Freemasonry           The Square is to remind Freemasons that they must be "square" in their dealings with all men, that is, to be honest. The Compass, they are taught, is to teach them to "circumscribe their passions," in other words, to control their desires and to be temperate.  "G" is the Masonic symbol representing God, the Deity, and Geometry.  For it is God who is the Great Architect of the Universe, and through the Mason’s Art that utilizes geometry, the individual can realize this. There are "Three Great Lights" of Masonry that combined symbolize Truth:  The Bible, the Square and the Compass. The first degree initiation ritual, that of Entered Apprentice, states: "Here all is symbol."  This statement describes the path to follow: "Here we learn to look at the symbolic nature of everything that exists."  In other 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, recognizable to the members of the same group and nothing more. Daniel Béresniak, Symbols of Freemasonry           The Eye of Providence was part of the common cultural iconography of the 17th and 18th centuries. When placed in a triangle, the eye went beyond a general representation of God to a strongly Trinitarian statement. It was during this period that Masonic ritual and symbolism evolved; and it is not surprising that many symbols common to and understood by the general society made their way into Masonic ceremonies. Masons may have preferred the triangle because of the frequent use of the number 3 in their ceremonies: three degrees, three Original grand masters, three principal officers, and so on. Eventually the all-seeing eye came to be used officially by Masons as a symbol for God, but this happened towards the end of the eighteenth century, after Congress had adopted the Great Seal of the United States.           The Great Seal and Masonic symbolism grew out of the same cultural milieu. While the all seeing eye had been popularized in Masonic designs of the late eighteenth century, it did not achieve any sort of official recognition until Webb's 1797 Monitor. Whatever status the symbol may have had during the design of the Great Seal of the United States, it was not adopted or approved or endorsed by any Grand Lodge. The seal's Eye of Providence and the Mason's All Seeing Eye each express Divine Omnipotence, but they are parallel uses of a shared icon, not a single symbol.           Freemasonry has a large number of symbols.  It borrowed many of them from various forms of metaphysical thought such as Hermeticism, created some, and gave new meaning to others.  Many of the symbols are described to the candidates during the initiation into the three basic degrees.  Though all there is to know about Freemasonry symbolism could easily fill many large volumes, there are a few basic symbols that recur frequently and are important to the teachings of the Craft.  In American Freemasonry, charts were made of all the symbols to ensure that the Lodges were using them correctly.  This chart was sometimes called the Master's Carpet.           The following is just a hint of the symbology in the chart shown.  The text below is excerpted from the actual Lessons and Initiations that Freemasons participate in. THE GLOBES           The globes are two artificial spherical bodies, on the convex surface of which are represented the countries, seas, and various parts of the earth, the face of the heavens, the planetary revolutions, and other particulars.           The sphere, with the parts of the earth delineated on its surface, is called the terrestrial globe; and that with the constellations, and other heavenly bodies, the celestial globe.           Their principal use, beside serving as maps to distinguish the outward parts of the earth, and the situation of the fixed stars, is to illustrate and explain the phenomena arising from the annual revolution, and the diurnal rotation of the earth round its own axis. They are the noblest instruments for improving the mind, and giving it the most distinct idea of any problem or proposition, as well as enabling it to solve the same. Contemplating these bodies, we are inspired with a due reverence for the Deity and the works, and are induced to encourage the studies of astronomy, geography, navigation, and the arts dependent on them, by which society has been so much benefited. THE BEEHIVE           Is an emblem of Industry, and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created beings, from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile of the dust. It teaches us that, as we came into the world rational and intelligent beings, so we should ever he industrious ones; never sitting down contented while our fellow creatures around us are in want, especially when it is in our power to relieve them without inconvenience to ourselves.           When we take a survey of Nature, we view man in his infancy, more helpless and indigent than the brute creation; he lies languishing for days, months, and years, totally incapable of providing sustenance for himself, of guarding against the attacks of the wild beasts of the field, or sheltering himself from the inclemency's of the weather.           It might have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to have made man independent; but, as dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society, mankind were made dependent on each other for protection and security, as they thereby enjoy better opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and friendship. Thus was man formed for social and active life, the noblest part of the work of God; and he that will so demean himself as not to be endeavoring to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding, may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of our protection as Masons. THE LAMBSKIN APRON            In Masonic symbolism, the Lambskin Apron holds precedence. It is the initial gift of Freemasonry to a candidate, and at the end of life's pilgrimage it is reverently placed on his mortal remains and buried with his body in the grave. Above all other symbols, the Lambskin Apron is the distinguishing badge of a Mason. It is celebrated in poetry and prose and has been the subject of much fanciful speculation. Some Masonic writers have contended that initiation is analogous to birth, or our advent from prenatal darkness into the light of human fellowship, moral truth, and spiritual faith. Much ancient lore has been adduced in an effort to show that the Lambskin Apron typifies regeneration, or a new life, and this thought of resurrection may be the cause of its interment with the body of a deceased brother.           The association of the lamb with redemption and being born again is expressed by John, the Apocalyptic Seer, who had a vision on the Isle of Patmos, and beheld the purified and redeemed "of all nations, and kindreds, and people and tongues." Of them it was said, "These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." By many it has been regarded as a great religious symbol.           In our present conception there are three parts of man-- body, soul and spirit.  What the body is to the soul, the soul is to the spirit, namely, a house or habitation; but in oriental thought there were seven parts of man, four earthly and three heavenly, four physical and three spiritual.   This is the symbolism of the shape of the apron: The four sides of the square symbolize the four physical and the three sides of the flap, or triangle, symbolize the three spiritual parts of man. The apex of the triangle or point of the flap stands for the seventh part of man, which is called Atma and which means the eternal spark, the divine flame, the indestructible spirit of the living God in every human being. In this aspect it means that God is not a looker on at the life of anyone; God is under every man, God is part of every man.           In Masonry there are three great religious rites.  One rite is that of investiture or purification; that is, the presentation of the Apron. In a qualified way it bears the relationship to the lodge that baptism does to some churches; it is the external symbol of an inner purification. The Psalmist asked: "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" and answering his own question said, "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart." The Apron, when correctly understood, is the pledge of a clean life, the testimony that a candidate means to live pure, speak true, right wrong, and reverence conscience as king. As a badge of honor, the Lambskin Apron spells out integrity, honesty of purpose, probity of character, and soundness of moral principle. The above was condensed from: "THE SHORT TALK BULLETIN" The Masonic Service Association of the United States Vol. 5 November 1927 No. 11 Masonic Apron with symbols           Masonic aprons are frequently decorated with curious and impressive figures. The apron shown above contains a wealth of symbolism: the beehive, emblematic of the Masonic lodge itself; the trowel, the mallet, and the trestle board; the rough and trued ashlars; the pyramids and hills of Lebanon; the pillars, the Temple, and the checkerboard floor; and the blazing star and tools of the Craft. The center of the apron is occupied by the compass and square, representative of the macrocosm and the microcosm, and the alternately black and white serpent of astral light. Below is an acacia branch with seven sprigs, signifying the life centers of the superior and the inferior man. The skull and crossbones are a continual reminder that the spiritual nature attains liberation only after the philosophical death of man's sensuous personality.           "Conspicuous among the symbols of Freemasonry are the seven liberal arts and sciences. By grammar man is taught to express in noble and adequate language his innermost thoughts and ideals; by rhetoric he is enabled to conceal his ideals under the protecting cover of ambiguous language and figures of speech; by logic he is trained in the organization of the intellectual faculties with which he has been endowed; by arithmetic he not only is instructed in the mystery of universal order but also gains the key to multitude, magnitude, and proportion; by geometry he is inducted into the mathematics of form, the harmony and rhythm of angles, and the philosophy of organization; by music he is reminded that the universe is founded upon the laws of celestial harmonics and that harmony and rhythm are all-pervading; by astronomy he gains an understanding of the immensities of time and space, of the proper relationship between himself and the universe, and of the awesomeness of that Unknown Power which is driving the countless stars of the firmament through illimitable space."  Manly P. Hall The philosophic power of Freemasonry lies in its symbols.           In a letter to Robert Freke Gould, Albert Pike writes:           "It began to shape itself to my intellectual vision into something more imposing and majestic, solemnly mysterious and grand. ... and it seemed to me a spectacle sublime, yet pitiful--the ancient Faith of our ancestors holding out to the world its symbols once so eloquent, and mutely and in vain asking for an interpreter.  And so I came at last to see that the true greatness and majesty of Freemasonry consist in its proprietorship of these and its other symbols; and that its symbolism is its soul."

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