The Masonic Handbook Series: The Craft Degrees Handbooks

The Masonic Handbook Series
Studies in the meaning of

our Ritual
The E.A.’s Handbook

The F.C.’s Handbook
The M.M.’s Book
BY
J. S. M. WARD
Celephaïs Press
Ulthar - Sarkomand - Inquanok – Leeds
2019
First published London: Baskerville, n.d. (ca. 1923).
This electronic edition prepared by Celephaïs
Press, somewhere beyond the Tanarian
Hills, and manifested in the waking
word in the year 2008 of the
common error.
Revison 1.04 – 2019.10.11

(Fixed more textual errors, adjusted a few footnotes)
Introduction to the Celephaïs Press Edition.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
The texts compiled in the present volume were originally published in
1923 or thereabouts by the Baskerville Press, London as nos. 1-3 in the
‚Masonic Handbook Series,‛ which ran to five 16mo volumes, around 100
pages apiece (no. 4, An Outline History of Freemasonry and no. 5, The Higher
Degrees Handbook are here omitted as I do not have suitable copy-texts; the
latter is doing the rounds of the Internet as plaintext). No attempt has
been made to retain pagination, layout or style of that edition. The
advertisements (for publishers, a supplier of Masonic regalia, a
tobacconist and the Masonic Study Society) which appeared in the print
editions are not reproduced. All other text, introductory matter and
illustrations have been retained. The tracing-board designs did not
appear in the print edition, they are lifted from another work as they are
referenced in Ward’s text.
I should explain that I have done something that could be regarded as
be tampering with the author’s text. This was purely in the hopes of
making it comprehensible, thus: Ward, in common with many other
Freemasons writing books which might fall into the hands of cowans and
eavesdroppers, seems to have had almost a mania for abbreviating words
or replacing letters by dots (‚sn.‛ for ‚sign,‛ ‚sq.‛ for ‚square,‛ ‚c.f..n‛ for
‚coffin,‛ ‚p<rs‛ for ‚pillars,‛ &c.); where it was reasonably clear what
was meant this has been silently undone, the main exception being in
respect of the titles of the officers of a Lodge (these are given after the table
of contents).
It may be objected that for any Freemason this would be unnecessary,
and this book is of no possible interest to anyone else. The first may be
true; the second is not . . . quite. The rituals of Freemasonry have had a
great influence on the development of those of other initiatory societies,
and even in the absence of characteristic symbols such as the square and
compasses, the legend of the building of Solomon’s Temple, &c., the
structural and thematic parallels are in some cases quite marked to those
who compare the rituals; so insights into the signification of one set of
rituals may carry validity for others.
Ward’s commentaries primarily follow the popular English
‚Emulation‛ working, though he frequently notices variations, both in
other English workings (specifically mentioned are some worked here in
Leeds) and in Irish, Scottish and US rituals. Emulation, as worked ca. 1950,
was printed in a volume called Darkness Visible by a Romanist anti-
Masonic writer called Walton Hannah, which probably remains the most
iv INTRODUCTION .
accessible way for non-Masons to study it, if you can ignore Hannah’s
polemics which occupy the first third of the book and intrude occasionally
in footnotes to the ritual texts (since Hannah’s exposé, rituals under the
United Grand Lodge of England have been further changed by the
removal of the traditional penalty clauses from the Obligations). Hannah,
however, omitted the question-and-answer ‚lectures‛ explanatory of the
ritual, to which Ward makes reference. Some versions of these (early 19th
century) may be found in Richard Carlile’s Manual of Freemasonry.
In case there is any doubt, I will state here: I am not, and have never
been, a Freemason. I was, at the time of first preparing this text, affiliated
to a society (the Ordo Templi Orientis) which originally emerged from
nineteenth-century ‚fringe‛ Freemasonry and might in its early years
have been characterized as ‚irregular Freemasonry‛ but has not been any
kind of Freemasonry at all for a century or so; and, as hinted above, it was in
part for the possible interest of others involved in said society that the
present volume was prepared.
All my footnotes are in square brackets. Some are on points of
information, many are simply flippant, sarcastic or hostile.
The Wikipedia article on Ward, citing a study ‚The Scholar the
Builders Rejected‛ by A. R. Baker (published in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum
vol. 116, 2003)1 notes that in 1987 the United Grand Lodge of England felt
the need to publicly state that Ward’s handbooks have no official standing
in English Freemasonry. This in any case should have been clear from the
author’s prefaces; the statement was probably not primarily aimed at
members of the fraternity who might have assumed the contrary, rather
meant as a response to anti-Masonic writers who sought to use statements
taken out of context from Ward’s writings to ‚prove‛ Freemasonry to be ‚a
religion,‛ and / or ‚occult‛ (it is a commonplace with such folks to treat
any writer whose words can be twisted to suit their case as a Masonic
‚authority‛ whose opinions somehow constitute an official dogma of the
craft).
Need it be said that the present editor does not agree with more than a
small fraction of what Ward says, either?
Love is the law, love under will.

T.S
Leeds, England
1 To complicate things, an opportunistic publisher used this ca. 2011 as the title for a one-
volume re-set reprint of Ward’s ‚Handbooks‛ (omitting no. 4 but including his 1926 tract
The Moral Teachings of Freemasonry).
Contents
PAGE
General introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
The Entered Apprentice’s Handbook.

Author’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction by John Cockburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 1: The Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2: The Tyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 3: Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 4: Admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 5: The Obligation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 6: The Sign, Token and Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 7: The Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chapter 8: The Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
The Fellow Craft’s Handbook

Author’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 1: Preparation, Pass Word and Opening . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 2: Preliminary Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 3: The Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Chapter 4: Conclusion of the Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter 5: The Tracing Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter 6: Closing Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
The Master Mason’s Book

Author’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Chapter 1: Questions and Pass Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 2: The Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Chapter 3: The Symbolical Journeys, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 4: The Exhortation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Chapter 5: The Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Chapter 6: The Badge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Chapter 7: The Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter 8: The Tracing Board, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Chapter 9: The Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Chapter 10: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Common abbreviations used in this volume .
(Officers in a Craft Lodge)
W.M. Worshipful Master.
S.W. Senior Warden
J.W. Junior Warden.
S.D. Senior Deacon.
J.D. Junior Deacon.
I.G. Inner Guard.
Can. Candidate.
V.S.L. Volume of Sacred Law.
E.A. Entered Apprentice (the Masonic 1°).
F.C. Fellow Craft (the Masonic 2°).
M.M. Master Mason (the Masonic 3°).
No. 1
The Entered Apprentice’s Handbook
Q. As a Mason, whence come you?
A. The West.
Q. Whither directing your course?
A. The East.
Q. What inducement have you to leave the
West and go to the East?
A. To seek a Master, and from him to gain
instruction.
(1st Section of First Lecture.)
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
IT should be understood that the explanations which I
now submit for your consideration are, in the main, my
own views. Many brethren may disagree with me and
are perfectly entitled so to do, but in coming to the
conclusions I do, I hare compared the meaning of similar
symbols and initiatory rites, both ancient and modern,
and applied the recognised rules followed in the study of
comparative religion and folklore. In particular, the
interpretation placed on their symbols by the most
educated Hindoos has often supplied me with valuable
indications, as has the Kabala. At the same time, I should
like to place on record at the very beginning a clear
statement that I make no claim to give any authoritative
explanation, and that no such explanation exists. It is
clear that the original meaning has in many cases been
lost, like the genuine secrets of a Master Mason, and can
only be recovered by the diligent search and hearty co-
operation of all students, amongst whom I take my place,
not as an inspired teacher, but rather as a humble seeker
after the truth, and just as fallible as any other honest
investigator.
Let us start by considering in rotation the opening
incidents of the first degree, for one should start at the
very beginning.
J.S.M.W.
June, 1923.
3
INTRODUCTION
BY THE HON. SIR J OHN A. COCKBURN
M.D., K.C.M.G., P.G.D. Eng., P. Dept. G.M.S. Australia.
W. BRO. Ward is one of the most able and earnest of Ma-

sonic students. He brings to bear on the task of research
the mind of a scholar, enriched by extensive reading,
much travel and a wide experience of men and affairs. In
addition to being a well known author of Masonic Works,
he was the Founder of the Masonic Study Society, whose
first President was the late Sir Richard Vassar Trassar-
Smith, 33°, and in whose ranks are to be found many
eminent Masonic writers. Brother Ward has by precept
and example led others to become eager explorers in the
realms of Masonic truth. The present volume is No. 1 in
a series of studies as to the meaning of our Ritual. It
deals with the degree of an Entered Apprentice and is
calculated to inspire the younger brethren with the
resolve not to content themselves with the outward form
of our ceremonies, beautiful though it be, but to gain a
knowledge of the indwelling soul of Masonry and to
comprehend the deep meaning of the ritual with which
they are step by step becoming familiar. Hence they will
learn to regard the Craft not only as a world spread,
civilising medium, nor yet only as the most benevolent of
all Institutions, but also as a mine of surpassing wealth in
which the Wisdom of the Ages has become embedded
and preserved. Bro. Ward at the outset disarms anything
like hostile criticism by admitting that many brethren
may not find themselves in complete accord with all his
conclusions. Indeed, it would be surprising if this were
the case. Like Holy Writ, the Ritual is capable of many
interpretations. It is a gradual accretion in which
4
INTRODUCTION . 5
succeeding epochs have left their mark. Evolution takes

place under, the alternation of forces that make for
difference and agreement. The process demands a con-
tinual adjustment between these apparently contrary, but
in reality complementary factors. Each age sets out to
balance any deficiency in the preceding period. When
materialism has been pushed to excess, the tendency is
rectified by a spiritual revival. On the other hand, an age
in which zeal for the gifts of the spirit has caused neglect
of temporal welfare is naturally followed by a renais-
sance of the just claims of the flesh. The subject matter of
Masonry is the relationship between Spirit and Matter,
between Heaven and Earth, between God and Man,
between the Soul and the Body. Emphasis is everywhere
laid on the necessity of their reconciliation. Consequent-
ly to attain the juste milieu emphasis has sometimes to be
laid on one side and sometimes on the other. For
example, the Cross and the Square, which have now such
deeply spiritual significance, were originally signs of
Earth, and became respectively , the essential symbols of
Christianity and Masonry, because it was necessary to
proclaim the fact that professions of piety towards God
were idle, unless they bore fruit in kindly relationship
between man and man. Bro. Ward regards the J .W. as
representing the body, and the S .W. the soul, although
the emblems and jewel of the former are celestial and of
the latter terrestrial. The fact is that things divine and
human are so interwoven in Masonry as to be insepar-
able. Duty towards God and towards our neighbour are
but different aspects of the same truth. For the Father-
hood of God implies the Brotherhood of Man, and,
conversely, he who devotes himself to the service of his
fellow creatures proves, through his brotherly
relationship, his descent from the Father of All. The issue
6 THE ENTERED APPRENTICE’ S HANDBOOK .
of Bro. Ward’s series of handbooks cannot fail to

accomplish its main object, which is to lead not only
juniors, but also those well versed in the ritual, to mark,
learn and inwardly digest the significance of the
ceremonies, which when properly understood, causes
our jewels and emblems to glow with an inner light
which infinitely enhances their beauty. The ready
reception which Bro. Ward’s books have already received
at the hands of the Craft, prove that they meet a
recognised requirement as expositions of the character of
a ritual with whose external features we are familiar, and
in which we take our daily delight.
J.A.C.
The Mysteries
————
In every race and every clime,
Since the earliest days of Time,
Men have taught the Mystic Quest
Shown the Way to Peace and rest.
Bacchus died, and rose again,
On the golden Asian Plain:
Osiris rose from out the grave,
And thereby mankind did save:
Adonis likewise shed his blood
By the yellow Syrian flood,
Zoroaster brought to birth
Mithra from His Cave of Earth.
And to-day in Christian Lands
We with them can join hands.
J.W.
CHAPTER I
THE OPENING OF THE FIRST DEGREE.
THE W.M. calls the brethren together with one knock so
as to remind them that the body must be prepared to
obey the higher faculties, for if it is not, no spiritual
progress is possible. The first question and answer of the
J.W. indicate this quite clearly, for the J.W. represents the
body and so he satisfies himself that man’s body is on
guard against outside influences.
The S.W., representing the Soul, next proves that all
present have made some progress towards the light. It is
only when this has been achieved that any real advance-
ment becomes possible, and only those who have started
can help those who still remain in spiritual darkness.
The next series of questions indicates that Man has a
seven-fold nature.
The Ancient Egyptians held this view, and it is
endorsed in Masonry by the fact that it takes seven to
make a perfect lodge. There is also, no doubt, an astro-
logical reference to the seven planets and a connection
with stellar worship, but as our system is mainly solar, it
is almost impossible to give a logical planetary interpre-
tation to the seven who form a lodge, or to the seven
officers. In short, the planetary symbolism has become
disorganised by the stress laid on the solar aspect of the
three principal officers who rule a lodge. Moreover, the
predominance of the solar aspect has emphasised the
triune nature of man, and symbolises it in these officers.
Thus it will be seen that too much stress must not be
laid on the planets, as represented by the seven officers,
and a passing reference to the fact that it is still remem-
7
bered in the number seven is all that can be logically

maintained.
Similarly there is merely a hint of the sevenfold nature
of man. If ours were a stellar system, then clearly the
Tyler would represent the body, the divine spark would
be represented by the W.M., the various officers between
would symbolise the various subdivisions of the non-
material parts of man, such as his astral body, his
intellectual faculties, and so forth.
Since, however, our system is solar in the main, we
should continue to interpret our symbols from that
aspect, making but passing reference to stellar influences
when they occur.
The duties of the Tyler are considered elsewhere, so
we will pass to the I.G. Although in some popular work-
ings he and the other two subordinate officers are not
allowed to speak for themselves, the Wardens doing this
work, in many other rituals they are allowed to answer
the W.M. direct. The I.G. stands for the power which
permits the Soul to enter flesh at any given moment. The
Soul may desire to become incarnate, but unless its time
has come it is turned back at the threshold, and even if it
forces itself into birth it is cut short. Entry into life is not
an accident, but ordained of God, Who works through
His spiritual as well as through His human agents.
Those who saw Maeterlinck's play, ‚The Blue Bird,‛
will remember that the same idea is dealt with in one of
the scenes.
Spiritually, the I.G. represents the Warning which
must be given to those who attempt, without due
caution, to probe into the Mysteries of God. They must
neither rush forward hastily, nor, having once started,
withdraw suddenly; for, if they do, dire evil will befall.
This warning all the Mysteries gave, and it is certain
THE OPENING OF THE FIRST DEGREE . 9
that those who dabble in the so-called occult run grave

risks unless they use the utmost caution. Hence it is
absolutely essential that the candidate should be
properly prepared before he starts on his quest.
The J.D. represents the physical means by which the
Soul, represented by the S.W., passes on the inspirations
received from the Spirit, the W.M., to the material world.
In this sense therefore he represents intelligence, and the
five senses of man, whereas the S .D. stands for intuition,
whereby the Soul obtains its inspiration from the Divine.
In the ancient operative days these officers no doubt
had a practical use, the S.D. being the personal mess-
enger of the Master, who took messages to the S .W., not
merely when in Lodge, but when he was at a distance,
employed on his task, or possibly when he was resting
from his labours. In like manner the S.W.’s deacon was
sent by him to find the J .W.
The J.W. describes his position in Lodge and indicates
quite clearly that he represents the Sun at noon.
From the operative point of view it must be
remembered that Noon has always been, and still is, a
working man’s dinner hour, hence the special duty of the
J.W.; but in the spiritual sense, since he stands for the
body, it is natural that he should have charge over the
body’s needs. As he also represents the preservative side
of God, his interest in the physical well being of man is
appropriate. With this in mind the F.C. will realise the
significance of the Pass Word, and its connection with C.
and W.,1 which are the emblems of the God of Vegetation
in the more primitive rites. When men evolved, and the
solar system of religion developed, the God of Vegetation
became the Preserver. This characteristic of the J.W. is
1*At first I read this ‚corn and wine‛ (Ceres and Bacchus in classic lan-
guage) but the context suggests ‘W’ here means ‚Water.‛ — T.S.]
emphasised by the upright lines of his plumb, which

reminds us of water which falls from heaven, and of the
caste marks of Vishnu in India.
This aspect of the J.W. as representing the Preserver is
carefully maintained throughout the whole of the three
degrees and must never be forgotten. In like manner, the
fact that he stands for the body is also maintained
throughout. Bearing this in mind, we shall perceive the
significance of the fact that the Architect of King
Solomon’s Temple was the J.W.
Finally, bread and water represent the bare necessities,
without which mortal life cannot be preserved. Luxuries,
which are obtained when we have acquired worldly
possessions,2 i.e., wealth, lead to death of the soul, and
even of the body, unless employed with the greatest
caution.
Some masons claim that the J.W. originally sat in the
North to mark the Sun at noon, meaning to see, or point
out, that it had reached the mid-heavens. Honestly, I can
find no real evidence in support of this view, which
likewise places the W.M. in the West and the S.W. in the
East.
It is due, in my opinion, to a complete misunderstand-
ing of the use of the words ‚to mark.‛ This phrase im-
plies that the J.W. is placed on a certain spot to mark the
position of the Sun at noon, and not that he may see it. In
a closed-in building, as such a lodge room was, it would
be desirable to mark the three positions of the Sun, for
the candidate has to pass through each point in turn, and
these three officers, who represent the Sun in its three
aspects, would naturally sit in the positions in use in a
speculative lodge.
2 [Refers to the gloss on the Pass Word leading from F.C. to M.M. — T.S.]
Any arguments adduced from the rituals of the

modern Operative Lodges are vitiated by two facts—(1)
we have no evidence that this peculiarity is really old (it
may be due to Stretton’s inventive mind). and (2) the
operatives, if old, would be descended from the Guild
Masons and not from the Freemasons;3 and this might be
a peculiarity of theirs, or deliberately adopted so as to
differentiate them from the Freemasons.
That the Guild Masons and Freemasons were quite
distinct has been proved as far back as 1913, and the fact
is gone into in my other book, ‚Freemasonry and the
Ancient Gods.‛ That the Operatives are not descended
direct from the Mediæval Freemasons is shown by the
fact that they have entirely different signs from our own.
Thus we need not discuss further the question as to
whether the J.W. should be in the North or South.
The S.W., as he indicates in his reply to the W .M.,
represents the Sun in its setting, and so the Destructive
Side of the Deity, or Shiva. He also stands for the Soul.
Shiva shall close not only our mortal life, but Time itself.
But I have dealt with this side of the S .W. very fully
elsewhere.
It should be noted, however, that the S.W. is asso-
ciated with level and horizontal lines, and not with
perpendiculars, and here again he follows the Hindoo
system, for Shiva’s caste mark is two or more parallel
lines. As the Great Leveller this is most natural, and it
reminds us that in the sight of God all souls are equal,
even if in mortal life their stations may appear to differ.
Shiva is associated with the element of Fire, whereas
Vishnu is associated with Water, and as we see that great
care has been taken to maintain the connection between
the J.W. and Water, so we find that with us the S.W. is
3 [This distinction is explained in the next chapter. — T.S.]
similarly associated with Fire, though perhaps less ob-

viously. Firstly, his level is of a triangular form with the
point upward, the world-wide symbol for Fire. Again,
the S.W.’s Pass Word has hidden within it the same idea.
A smith who works in metals can only do so by the help
of fire, and in one ritual this fact is stressed. Thus metals
come out from the dark earth, and the Sun sinks in the
West into darkness and the grave, as does man.
But, by means of fire, man obtains wealth from the
metals hidden in the earth, and in like manner the Soul of
Man rises refined and purified from the grave by means
of the divine fire within. Moreover, one cannot ignore
the fact that there is here a hint of the necessity of the
purging fire of Remorse to cleanse away our sins.
The S.W. is the Soul, the link between mortal life and
the Divine Spark, but he acts on instructions from the
Spirit; in other words it is only when God decrees our
death that the Soul departs from the body.
The W.M. represents, as his words indicate, the
creative side of God and the Divine Spirit in Man. He
sets us to work on earth, but delegates to another the task
of calling us back whence we came. He represents the
male aspect of the Deity, as is shown by the tau crosses,
called levels, on his apron, and by his use of the gavel,
which represents the same emblem. The Tau Cross is, of
course, a phallic symbol and stands for the male and
creative aspect in Man.
As the three principal officers represent the Sun (a
masculine planet) in various phases, it is natural that they
should all wield the gavel, but the two wardens are less
essentially male than the W.M., as is indicated by the fact
that they do not have the tau cross or Master’s level on
their aprons. The Spirit, being active, is male; whereas
both soul and body, being more or less passive, are
female. The feminine side of the S.W. or Soul is

deliberately emphasised later,—in the first degree,—by a
reference to the Moon, a feminine planet, the emblem of
the Soul and of the psychic nature in man. Nor can we
ignore the fact that the West is known as the feminine
quarter of the heavens, whereas the East is the masculine,
it is also worth noticing that Shiva is often depicted with
the moon.
Finally, before declaring the Lodge open, the W.M.
offers up a prayer, thereby reminding us that the Divine
Spark in Man, or the Spirit, must turn to the Source of All
for aid, if it would control body and soul.
The three knocks, as distinct from the one knock with
which the proceedings started, indicate that the members
are about to work for the union and advancement of
body, soul and spirit, and not for the body only. But the
way in which the three knocks are given show that, as
yet, there is no unity between the three elements which
constitute Man.
CHAPTER II
THE TYLER.
THE first thing that greets the eyes of the aspirant to our
Order is a man, whom he soon discovers is called the
Tyler, standing in front of the door with a drawn sword
in his hand. He naturally wants an answer to the
question which actually occurs in a certain famous old
ritual, ‚Why does the Tyler wear a sword?‛—and the
answer is, ‚To guard the brethren and to hele the Word.‛'
Let us consider this answer;—
‚To guard the brethren.‛ In certain old rituals of the
18th century we are told that Masons’ Lodges formerly
met in the open—‚on the highest hill or lowest valley,
where never dog barked nor cock crew.‛ Brethren will
no doubt have read the interesting article in the ‚Masonic
Record‛ relating to this state of affairs, but I am bound to
say that I do not think that the ordinary mediæval lodge
met in such places. The reference to the cock, together
with certain details we possess with regard to those
lodges which did meet in the open, (they were mostly in
Scotland) indicate that they were not ordinary Craft
lodges, but much more probably Templar Lodges. The
Templars in the 18th century claimed to be descended
from a body which had been suppressed in the years 1307
to 1314, and actually proscribed. There was every reason
therefore why they should meet in out of the way places,
but no such reason existed in the case of a lodge of
ordinary Freemasons. That such a phrase should have
wandered into a craft ritual from Templary is perfectly
natural, but it is not safe to argue from this that all
masonic lodges met under the canopy of heaven. In
14
THE TYLER . 15
those early days, many higher degrees were worked in

ordinary Craft Lodges, in a way not permitted to-day;
and this may easily account for phrases more appropriate
to a Templar Preceptory being found in a Craft working.
I might add that until the middle of the 19th century
Templar meetings were always called ‚Encampments,‛
indicating that they were camps held in the open fields.
But in mediæval times we know that the Freemasons had
Lodge buildings, and if they went to a new place to build
a church or castle, the first thing they did was to erect a
temporary Lodge room, which they attended before
starting the day’s work. Those interested will find
abundant details in Fort Newton’s admirable little book,
‚The Builders.‛ There also it is clearly shown that there
were two kinds of masons in those days, and the man
who conclusively proved this was not a modern Specu-
lative Freemason.
The two groups were the Freemasons and the Guild
Masons.
The former were lineal descendants of the Comacine
Masons—who, incidentally, knew a certain Masonic Sign
—and these men were skilled architects free to go
anywhere. They had a monopoly of ecclesiastical building
and of work outside the towns, e.g., castles.
The Guild Masons were humbler folk. They were not
allowed to build outside their particular city, but had a
monopoly of all building inside that city, with one
important and significant exception:—they were not
allowed to build ecclesiastical buildings. In return for
their charter they had to maintain the fortifications.
When a church had to be built the Freemasons were
sent for, and apparently they called on the Guild Masons
to help them with the rough work, e.g., to square the
stones, etc.
I suggest that Speculative Freemasonry is mainly

descended from the Freemasons, whereas the few Opera-
tive lodges that survive are probably descended from the
Guild masons.
This theory is borne out by the fact that while the
Operatives have our grips, they have not got our signs,
yet these signs are unquestionably old.
They would all have the same grip for convenience in
proving to the Freemasons that they were really masons,
but they would keep their signs to themselves, as did the
Freemasons, since they did not want the other group to
have access to their private meetings.
Further, we find that the Master Masons of the Free-
masons were entitled to maintenance as ‚gentlemen,‛
clearly indicating that they were different from ordinary
craftsmen (See Fort Newton). After the Reformation no
doubt Freemasons and Guild masons tended to amal-
gamate and this explains much.
Now if the Freemasons erected a lodge before they
started to build a church or castle, we shall see that their
meeting in the open would be merely occasional, e.g.,
while the temporary lodge was being built, and not a
regular custom; but the very fact that it was a temporary
building, and open to approach by all and sundry who
came to the site of the new building, is quite sufficient to
explain why they had someone on guard.
Why, however, is he called a Tyler, instead of Sentinel,
or some similar name?
There are three explanations, and you can adopt
which you please:—
1. To tile is to cover in; hence the Tyler is one who
covers or conceals what is going on in the Lodge.
2. In the old mediæval Templar ceremony there were
three sentinels; one inside the door, one outside, and one
THE TYLER . 17
on the roof or tiles, who could see if anyone was

approaching the building. It will be remembered that the
old Templar Churches were round, so that a man
perched on the roof was able to see in every direction.
3. That the tilers were inferior craftsmen as compared
with the genuine freemasons, poor brethren, as it were,
and not admitted to full membership, although one or
two were chosen to act as Outer Guards.
I am not greatly impressed with the latter theory, and
my personal predilection is in favour of No. 1; but there
is a good deal to be said for No. 2. The tyler guarded the
brethren from ‚cowans‛ or eavesdroppers.
The former word is still used in the country districts of
Lancashire and Westmorland for a dry-dyker, that is, a
man who build, rough walls between the different fields,
of rough, uncut, and unmortared stones. When I was
living in Yorkshire I had a number of fields so surround-
ed; the stones for which were picked from the hillside,
and piled one upon another. No particular skill was
needed to build such a wall; I repaired several myself.
In other words, a ‚cowan‛ is one who pretends to be a
mason because he works in stone, but is not one. Some
fanciful derivations have been suggested from ‚Cohen,‛
the Jewish priest. I disagree entirely from this view.
Why should the Jewish cohens be more likely to pretend
to be freemasons than any other priests? As the other
word is spelt as we spell ours, and means what I have
stated, I see no reason to invent this suggestion regarding
the Jewish priests, who were always few in number, and
in the Middle Ages hardly existed;—the Jews were
driven out of England by Edward I, and not re-admitted
until the time of Cromwell.
‚Eavesdroppers‛ means men who listen under the
eaves. The eaves of a primitive or of a mediæval cottage
overhung a considerable distance beyond the walls, and

between the roof and the wall was an open space.
Through this space the smoke of the fire escaped; the
general arrangement was very similar to that found in
the tropics. The walls of such a cottage were often only
five to six feet high, and thus a man could stand under
the eaves in the shadow, hidden from the light of sun or
moon, and both see and hear what was going on inside,
without those who were in the lodge knowing he was
there.
But the Tyler was on guard outside the door of the
Lodge; he was armed with a drawn sword, and woe
betide any eavesdropper he discovered, for our medi-
æval brethren undoubtedly interpreted their obligations
literally.
Incidentally, I understand that nominally the duty of
carrying out the penalty still rests on the shoulders of the
Tyler.
With regard to the use of temporary buildings on or
near the site of the building, it should be noted that
during the building of Westminster Abbey there was at
least one, if not two, such lodges, and they are mentioned
in the records of the Abbey, and referred to by W. Bro. J.
Walter Hobbs in his interesting articles on that venerable
pile.
Thus we can see that it was essential that there should
be an Outer Guard to keep off intruders, owing to the
fact that Lodges were usually held in temporary build-
ings, often with overhanging eaves and an open space
between the top of the walls and the beams which sup-
ported the roof.
The word ‚hele‛ should, in my opinion, be pro-
nounced ‚heal,‛ not ‚hale.‛ The use of ‚hale‛ is owing
to the fact that the words ‚conceal,‛ and ‚reveal,‛ were
THE TYLER . 19
pronounced in the 18th century, ‚concale‛ and ‚revale.‛

Since the words1 obviously were a jingle, I consider it is
more correct to-day to pronounce it ‚heal.‛
Moreover, the word ‚hele‛ means to cover over. You
still hear the phrase used ‚to hele a cottage,‛ or even a
haystack, and the word ‚Hell‛ implies the place that is
covered over, e.g., in the centre of the earth. ‚Hele‛ is
connected with ‚heal‛—to cover up, or to close up, a
wound,—and the meaning therefore is tautological, viz.
to cover up the word. (The Masonic s—t.2)
The use of the pronunciation ‚Hale‛ is to-day most
misleading, and is apt to cause a newly initiated Bro. to
think he has to ‚Hail‛ something, or ‚proclaim it aloud.‛
The C. is taken in hand by the Tyler who makes him
sign a form to the effect that he is free and of the full age
of 21 years.
Why ‚free?‛ Well, in mediæval days he had to bind
himself to serve as an apprentice for seven years. Unless
he was a free man, his owner might come along and take
him away, before he had completed his apprenticeship
and, worse still, might extort from him such secrets as he
had learnt from the masons. Thus the master might be
enabled to set himself up as a free lance, not under the
control of the fraternity.
The twenty-one years is, I believe, an 18th century Spe-
culative innovation aiming at a similar object. I think
there is no doubt that usually in the Middle Ages an
apprentice was a boy who placed himself under the
control of a Master with his parents’ consent. The Master
was henceforth ‚in loco parentis.‛
In the 18th century without some such safeguard (as 21
years) some precocious youth might have joined the
1 [i.e. the phrase ‚hele, conceal and never reveal‛ in the Obligation. — T.S.]
2 *‚Secret,‛ probably. — T.S.]
fraternity without his father’s consent. The father might

have been one who disapproved of Freemasonry, and in
such a case would probably not hesitate to exercise his
parental authority in the drastic manner at that time in
vogue, and so extort the secrets, which he could then
have ‚exposed.‛
To-day it is still a very reasonable clause, for it pre-
supposes that a man has reached years of discretion and
knows what he is about. Any real hardship is removed
by the fact that Grand Lodge has power to dispense,
which power it constantly uses in the case of the Univer-
sity Lodges at Oxford and Cambridge. I myself was one
of those who thus benefited. It is, I believe, still the
custom in England that a Lewis, the son of a mason, may
be admitted at 18, though the right is seldom claimed; but
in some countries, I understand, it is a privilege highly
valued, and regularly used by those entitled to it. In
masonry a lewis is a cramp of metal, by which one stone
is fastened to another. It is usually some form of a cross,
and a whole paper could be written on its significance,
but this casual reference must suffice.
CHAPTER III
PREPARATION.
THE next thing that happens is that the Can. is prepared
by the Tyler.
This is a very important matter. There seems little doubt
that originally candidates were stripped naked, and even
to-day in the U.S.A. C.’s are left in their sh-s1 only.
In Burma we changed out of everything into a one-
piece pyjama suit, a most convenient arrangement.
What we now have is a system by which the parts
which have to be bare are made bare.
We take our obligation on our left knee, therefore that
knee must be bare. Why? So that our flesh may be in
contact with Mother Earth. It is possible that there was a
practical as well as a symbolical meaning in this, and also
in the case of our deprivation of metals. In some of the
ancient mysteries it has been suggested that a charge of
electricity was passed through the Can. as he knelt at the
altar, either from a battery, or by what is now called
magnetism. If any question the use of electricity in those
days, I would point out that certain statements of Hero-
dotus, to the effect that the Egyptian priests brought
down lightning by means of rods, can best be explained
by admitting that they had some rudimentary knowledge
of electricity.
The bare breast is in order that the sharp instrument
can be applied. The Scotch ritual, however, says it is to
show your sex, but I am inclined to think this is a modern
gloss. Personally, I should not regard this as conclusive
1[Shorts? Shirts? Shoes? The American working in Duncans (late 19th
century) is unhelpful on this point. — T.S.]
21
proof in itself, for I have seen (when abroad) many well

grown girls who had nothing worth mentioning, while
many native men had quite well developed busts. It
should always be remembered that this is the degree of
birth and we were born naked.
We are slipshod because we are about to tread on holy
ground, just as in the East we wear slippers when
entering a mosque. It is probable that the Scotch ritual
has preserved a real tradition when it refers to the custom
in Israel of removing a shoe, as a witness, when con-
firming an obligation. Those interested will find the
details in Ruth, where Boaz undertakes to marry Ruth.
A cable tow is placed about his neck.
This piece of symbolism is old and world wide. On a
vase found at Chama in Mexico, several candidates are
going through a ceremony very similar, apparently, to a
certain degree in Masonry.2 One is being taught a certain
sign, and the others who stand waiting their turn all have
cable tows with a running noose about their necks. In
India this cable tow is the emblem of Yama, the God of
Death, with which he snares the souls of men and drags
them forth from their bodies. It is carried by Shiva to indi-
cate his destructive character in relation to human life.
There are in masonry meanings within meanings, and
I will therefore indicate a few of those associated with the
cable tow, but I shall not do so with all the details I shall
touch upon.
The cable tow is an emblem of Death. It is fastened
round the necks of captives as showing that they are at
the absolute mercy of their conqueror. Thus the burg-
hesses of Calais had to come before Edward III. in their
shirts—note that—with cable tows round their necks.
2 See ‚Freemasonry and the Gods.‛

PREPARATION. 23
They were only saved by the desperate pleading of good

Queen Philippa.
But this is the degree of birth. Some come into the
world with a caul which may strangle them if not re-
moved, and in any case we are said to be born in original
sin and therefore doomed to die. Birth, in the very nature
of things, means death, and that is why the Hindoos have
made Shiva, the Lord of Death, also the Lord of Birth.
We ourselves are captives—souls bound by the chains of
the flesh, and offenders against the Law of the King of
Kings. Further, we come in bondage to sin, seeking to be
freed from our bonds by the word of God. The holding
of the cable tow, and the dangers entailed, are sufficiently
explained to need no further mention just now, though
this does not imply there are not inner meanings.
The hoodwink is always found in every great ini-
tiatory rite. In general, it reminds us that as in the phys-
ical world we came out of darkness into light, so in the
intellectual, and finally, in the spiritual world. We come
into masonry seeking the Light of God’s word. In other
language, to try and comprehend through the use of
symbols what God really is.
But as the veil of darkness is slightly lifted as one
grows in years and our intellect awakens, so it is in the
Craft, and the first thing we see there is the V.S.L., itself a
symbol of Divine inspiration; for without the Divine
spark, which speaks from the inmost recesses of the soul,
we shall remain in spiritual darkness all our natural life.
The Can. is then brought to the door of the Lodge and
challenged, but, strange to say, in our ritual there is no
pass word. There was once, I have no doubt, and it is
still in use in Scotland, Ireland and U.S.A. Moreover, it is
one of the tests there when visiting, and if a man cannot
give it he will run a serious risk of being refused
admission. Strange to say, we do get it inside the Lodge,

though perhaps most brethren do not realise it. It is ‚The
Tongue of Good Report‛ (sometimes it is ‚Free and of
Good Report‛ though this is less usual).
But before entering we are deprived of metals. Now,
among the Dervishes M. = mineral substances, but we
interpret it Metal. It is Metals!—that is important.
‚Valuables‛ is a real, but subsidiary, meaning.
Let us consider this carefully. There is an explanation
of why it is done in the lectures,—now, alas, seldom read
in Lodge,—and also, of course, in the questions. These
lectures were the real instruction; on them were based
the tracing board lectures, which mere pictorial
summaries, on which were set certain questions.
Now the lectures (which can be bought at any Masonic
furnishers) tell us that at the building of the Temple no
metallic implements were used. Why? Because metals
came from below. They were the gifts of the Chthonic
Gods—the Gods of the Underworld—useful , no doubt,
but being gifts of the Gods of the Underworld they were
in their very nature evil, and abhorrent to the Gods of
Light, whom the white races worshipped. For this reason
the Egyptians continued to use stone knives to open up
the corpse preparatory to embalming it, long after they
used metal knives constantly. The holy dead must not be
polluted with the gifts of the evil powers. If there is any-
thing in the theory of an electric or magnetic discharge
being made at the time when a metal point is applied to
naked left breast at the obligation, this would also be a
practical reason; the presence of metal might make such a
charge dangerous. But the first reason is no doubt the
original one, and probably the only one.
The idea that we bring nothing into this world is, of
course, likewise obvious; but its full significance is lost in
PREPARATION. 25
our ritual, although seen in the Irish. There a Can. is

deprived of metals in the first and in the second degrees.
The significance of this will be realised by M.M.’s if they
ponder awhile on the meaning of the S.W.’s Pass Word—
‚How hardly shall a rich man enter the kingdom of
Heaven.‛—That worldly possessions hamper a man’s
spiritual progress is proclaimed by every religion in the
world which can truly be called great. The Buddhist
monk and the mediaeval friar alike agree on this.
Why pass words at all? Here we wander into a
strange field, no less than that of old world magic, I
think. The Can. enters an E.A. Lodge from the outside
world. Prior to his entry this Lodge has been opened by
a peculiar ceremony:—a ceremony which, in the the
technical language of magic and the occult, raises the
vibrations of those present; thus they are, as it were,
raised to a higher key, and force is generated. Now those
who have studied such matters know that a body of men
who are all concentrating on a particular subject do
generate a peculiar, subtle, but powerful force, which has
not been accurately defined by science, but is loosely
called magnetic. In the old days of phenomenal magic
certain words, when uttered in the correct tone, were
believed to be in consonance with this ‚power,‛ like a
tuning fork is to a violin. Therefore we give this pass
word to the Can. to raise him quickly to the same
‚power‛ as the Lodge. But I am afraid I may be getting
rather deep for our younger readers. All I need say
further is that such pass words are universal in the great
mystery rites, ancient or modern, and it is not surprising,
therefore, that in some rituals we find a pass word
leading to the 1°.
CHAPTER IV
ADMISSION.
NOW our Can. enters and is received on a sharp instru-
ment. This signifies many things, one idea lying within
the other. It reminds us of the pain we, as distinct from
our mothers, suffered when we entered this physical
world. It is a test of our courage and obedience.
Probably in olden days blood was drawn as a sacrifice.
The Can. comes seeking for knowledge; self restraint and
quiet confidence should mark his bearing.
In all primitive initiatory rites most painful tests are
applied, and if the candidate does not bear them with
courage he is rejected, and told that henceforth he is to
dress as a woman and will be treated with contempt by
the men of the tribe.
We note that the instrument is a Latin cross, the age
old symbol of suffering, and this is the only place in the
Lodge where the Can. sees this cross, (e.g. when it is
shown him later) though M.M.’s may realise that there
does come a time when he treads the Way of the Cross of
Suffering.
The use of a Latin Cross as the sharp instrument is
peculiarly significant, for it is associated with pain and
the danger of death, and tells us, in symbolic language,
that the way of life is the path of suffering, and begins
with the threat of death and ends in death itself; but by
this hard road we draw nearer to the object of our quest.
Next the Can. kneels while the blessing of Heaven is
invoked. This needs no explanation, for he is about to
start on The Quest and needs the divine help. But the
phrase ‚Relying on such sure support, you may safely
26
ADMISSION. 27
rise and follow your leader, . . . , for where the name of

God is invoked we trust no danger can ensue‛ seems
pointless in Emulation working, for the danger was at the
door and is passed. But at Leeds they have a working
which is, they say, derived from the Old York ritual, and
it does explain this passage.
I saw this ceremony at Alfred 306, Leeds. The Can.
was brought in hoodwinked and bidden to kneel, and
after the prayer, the W .M. said:—
‚Mr Brown, it is but fair to tell you of the perilous
position in which you are now placed. Before you stands
one with a drawn sword in his hand, pointed at your
naked left breast, and behind you one holds the end of
the cable tow which is about your neck; in this position of
difficulty and danger, in whom do you put your trust?‛
Answer:—‚In God.‛
W.M.:—‚Right glad am I to see your faith is so well
founded; relying etc.‛
Here you see the Can. is in danger.
Next the Can. is taken round with the Sun, for this is
the road of life. And in all ancient religions on entering a
temple a man had to follow this path. In Burma to this
day you are expected to pass round the pagoda in this
manner. The words are—‚Brethren in the North, East,
South and West will take notice.‛ It is clear therefore that
emphasis is laid on the fact that the candidate is
following the path of the Sun, for otherwise why not
employ the more usual phrase, ‚North, South, East and
West?‛ Now the Swastika, which may be regarded as the
‚lost sign‛ in Freemasonry,1 indicates the path of the Sun
and is the emblem of life, whereas the Suwastika2 is the
emblem of the life beyond the grave, for, according to
1 First suggested by Wor. Bro. Sir John Cockburn.
2 i.e., the reversed Swastika.
ancient symbolism and eschatology, the departed soul

went through the underworld the reverse way, just as the
Sun was supposed to do, e.g., W. S. E. N. This, then is the
road of the Spirits.
Thus the candidate starts on the symbolic journey of
life, and in some of the eighteenth century rituals there is
evidence that the way was made hard and difficult, to
symbolise the trials and tribulations we meet with in life,
particularly if we strive to attain to the Light. This lesson
is still taught in certain foreign rituals.
In ‚Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods‛ I have dis-
cussed the probability of the theory that the Swastika3
was once used in our Lodges to represent God, as it still
is in the operative lodges, and have shown that a
square = a gamma, the Greek ‚G,‛ and therefore that the
fourfold gamma represents the four letters of the Hebrew
alphabet which denote the sacred name of God. I refer
again to this point later, and so will content myself with
saying that in an operative lodge the Swastika, is formed
of four gallow-squares, one of which always rests on the
open volume of the Bible, while the other three belong to
the three Grand Master Masons, and are placed by them
on the Bible before opening the Lodge, in such a way as
to form a Swastika.
Thus even to-day in the manner of our progress round
the Lodge we are reminded of that age-old symbol,
which is found all over the world representing Life and
the Sun, the latter being itself an emblem for God.
The Can. is then told to step off with the left foot first.
Why? Because the Preserver in ancient mythology is
always depicted as trampling with his left foot on the
Serpent of Evil. This is so, alike in ancient Egypt, in India
and elsewhere.
3 First suggested by Wor. Bro. Sir John Cockburn.
ADMISSION. 29
But some may ask ‚Why should Horus or Krishna

plant his left foot on the serpent of Evil? Major Sander-
son, who has spent many years in Nyasaland as Medical
Officer of Health, and has been initiated into many native
rites, tells me that among many primitive races there is a
superstition that when entering a shed where rice is
stored one must enter right foot first, ‚so as not to hurt
the Spirit who rules over the rice store.‛ The same idea
prevails among these people wherever food is stored,
and we here get an explanation of ‚left foot first.‛
When fighting against the Spirit of Evil you do desire
to hurt him, and so reverse the superstition, and step off
left foot first. This is Major Sanderson’s view, and I
consider it is probably the correct one.
It may also be well to point out that our ceremonies
have come in contact, at various periods, with many
different religious beliefs, and this fact explains why
there are often several meanings attached to certain
points in the ritual, all of which may be correct.
The great serpent, Apepi, in Egypt, represents the
powers of spiritual evil, e.g. the Devil. But it also speci-
fically refers to ignorance, according to the Indian legend
in which Krishna tramples on the five-headed cobra. The
five heads, moreover, also have a reference to our five
senses, which in that allegory must be cleansed of every
evil thought.
Thus we may consider that the World is represented
by the Cable Tow and hoodwink, and the brotherhood
helps us to free ourselves from them. The Flesh is repre-
sented by the first regular step in which we ‚trample‛ on
the Tau Cross,4 while the Devil is represented by the
snake, of whose existence we are reminded by the warn-
ing to ‚step off with the left foot first.‛
4 [The only Tau cross is that made by the feet in taking the step. — T.S.]
Strictly, the Can. should enter the Lodge in the North,

not in the West. The North is the place of darkness, and
at birth we come out of darkness into physical light, and
so in the spiritual journey. This is done at Leeds.
Out of the darkness, Light. But the Light shineth in
the darkness and the candidate comprehends it not, for
the darkness of gross materialism is upon him until he
kneels before the emblem of the divine light, the V .S .L.
The Can is then challenged by the J.W. and the S .W.
The J .D. gives the pass word ‚Free and of G.R.,‛ and the
Wardens acknowledge its potency and bid him enter
(Note ‚enter‛) as if he were outside a door on which he
had knocked for admission. This brings to our mind the
three regular knocks.
For reasons which cannot be stated here, but which I will
deal with more fully later, I suggest that the E.A. knocks
remind us that man is Body, Soul and Spirit, and as in
this stage of ignorance the Body is as important as the
other two, the three knocks are all of equal duration. Lest
any misunderstand this, I would argue that in the process
of creation first the Spirit comes from God; secondly,
clothes itself with a Soul, and finally enters flesh. Thus,
the first knock represents the Spirit, seeking God whence
it came, the second, the Soul, and the third, the Body.
To understand the full meaning of this passing by the
Wardens one needs to consider why the Can is being led
round the Lodge. There are two reasons given—
(1) To show that he is properly prepared.
(2) To show that he is a fit and proper person to be
made a mason.
Being made a mason symbolises the birth of the Christ
within, and before anyone can attain to this mystical
rebirth he must have progressed some way along the
road of evolution, have gained certain experiences, and
ADMISSION. 31
learnt certain lessons. Think again of the Pass Word, Free

and of Good Report! In the earlier stages man is bound
in materialism—earthly things satisfy, and he is ruled by
his physical passions. The Can. for masonry has begun
to desire more than the material: he has felt the desire for
spiritual growth and knowledge. and so has become
‚free.‛ This is recognised as he passes the J.W.—who
represents the Material Nature. Next he approaches the
S .W.—the representative of the Soul—and with the aid
of the Pass Word is again bidden to enter. Notice, having
passed the material stage, when the Body reigns
supreme, the Soul immediately takes control, and
presents the Can. to the W.M.—i .e., the Soul calls upon
the Divine Spirit of God to give Light to the Can.
The reply is significant, but is almost incomprehensible
unless one understands the symbolical journey which the
Can has just taken, and one is apt to wonder why the
questions which follow were not asked at the very begin-
ning of the ceremony. Really they are most important!
They constitute the final testing of the C. before he is
bidden to advance towards the E. to receive the Light,
and enter on the pathway which begins with initiation
and ends with God Himself. Also they are very searching:
the Can. being required to declare solemnly that he
comes seeking knowledge, not because others deaire hiin
to do so, nor yet for unworthy motives of personal gain,
but because he is prompted from within by a genuine
desire to help Humanity. Then follows a hint that the
journey upwards is by no means easy, and patience,
perseverance, caution and courage are essential if we are
to achieve our goal. The Can. having replied satisfac-
torily, the S .W. is given permission to direct the guide to
instruct him in the proper method of advancing towards
the Light.
This is by three squares which symbolise, not only

uprightness of life, but also the three letters of the Great
Name, Yod, He, Vau; Male, Female, and Variable. In other
words, God the Father, Mother, and Child; and the fourth
square is on the altar, which gives us the final He, or the
complete name of Him we seek,—Jehovah, or J.H.V.H.
But the letter HE (pronounced Hay) is female, and its
female aspect is emphasised by the position of the Square
and Compasses, which form a lozenge, itself a well
known symbol for the Vesica Piscis, as all who study
heraldry know; for in heraldry a woman’s arms are
placed, not on a shield, as are a man’s, but on a lozenge.
A great truth is here taught,—that each soul is part of
the Divine whole and cannot be separated from the God
we seek. The Can. is only just about to emerge from the
darkness of gross materialism, yet the God he seeks is
within him. True He is so veiled that many do not realise
His presence, just as hundreds of Candidates tread out
the proper steps without ever realising their full signi-
ficance, but those who rise above the material start on the
path of return to God, and each stage that they pass, as
they progress along the path, reveals more fully His
Nature and Being.
Notice, the C. only treads three squares—Yod, He,
Vau; Male, Female, Variable; the fourth square needed to
complete the whole is on the Pedastal. This is particu-
larly significant—never whilst in the flesh shall we be
able fully to comprehend His nature. No finite mind can
comprehend the Infinite Deity. It is only after we have
left the first initiation long behind, and travelled far, that
we can hope to obtain that transcendent knowledge
which enables us to understand, fully, the Nature and
Being of Him Who is the beginning and end of all.
Again comes the reminder that Masonry is free;
ADMISSION. 33
entrance to the path can only be gained by those who

hear the call from within. No-one is coerced;—even at
this late stage the Can. is given an opportunity to retire.
Thus he is asked if he is willing to take a serious
Obligation, and on his agreeing to do so, the W.M. directs
him to kneel on his left knee, etc. It should be noted that
the left side of an individual is usually said to be
‘Feminine,’ and it is not surprising, therefore, that in this,
the first and femine degree, the C. is told to kneel on his
left knee. Notice the exact position! On the left knee,
kepeing the right foot in the form of square. Now when
you kneel on the left knee you must of necessity form a
square at that knee, and, if you try it, you will find that
you cannot keep the right foot in the form of a square
without keeping the right knee in the form of a square
also; so once again we get three squares, with the fourth
on the Pedestal. Thus we get another glimpse of the
truth already hinted at, that each soul is part of the
Divine whole, and cannot be separated from God. The
Can. is only just about to emerge from the darkness of
ignorance and, yet he is instructed so to kneel that by his
very attitude.—i.e. by forming three squares with his
body (the fourth being on the Pedestal)—he shows
symbolically that the God he seeks is within. Possibly
the Can. is not conscious of His presence, any more than
he realizes thc significance of the steps by which he
approached the Pedestal, or of the posture he assumes as
he kneels thereat, yet verily God is with him, and within
him, and, be the journey short or long, back to God he
must return. Once a Mason, ever a Mason; there is no
such thing as straying permanently from the path.
CHAPTER V
THE OBLIGATION.
WHY should there be any Obligation? In all the ancient
mysteries an obligation was exacted for this reason:—The
secret teachings in these mysteries disclosed an inner
meaning, often of a most exalted kind, unsuitable for the
general public, who were lacking in education. In the
ancient world the external religion, with its worship of
many gods, suited the ordinary man of the world, who
was incapable of comprehending more advanced spiritual
truths. It would have been dangerous, alike to the
populace and to the preacher, to have shouted aloud
such a doctrine as the essential unity of God, and still
more fatal to have attempted to describe His Nature. The
danger to the populace would be that the preacher might
destroy their belief in the religious system in which they
had been reared, while failing to convert them properly
to the new doctrine. For the preacher, the fate of
Socrates, and the failure of the so-called heretic King of
Egypt—who tried to popularise the worship of the one
God, under the symbol of the Aten-disk, or disk of the
Sun—are sufficient evidence of the risks which would be
encountered.1
Moreover, these mysteries all purported to teach cer-
tain occult secrets, whose diffusion among vicious, or
ignorant, men would have been dangerous. Even in the
Middle Ages these dangers were still very real. Any de-
1*Akhenaten’s failure was largely due to the entrenched power of the

Theban priesthood who where themselves heading towards monotheism
by assimilating all the gods to Amun-Rē. Atenism tended rather towards
exclusion. — T.S.]
34
THE OBLIGATION . 35
viation from orthodoxy might have endangered the

social fabric of the community, and such an attempt was
certain to involve the advocate of new doctrines in a
struggle with Church and State which could only end at
the stake.
Within an oath bound Society men felt free to specu-
late and compare their personal standpoints, while to the
outside world they continued to conform to orthodoxy.
The fate of the Templars must have been an ever present
warning to the speculative mind, in the Middle Ages.
In addition, there is little doubt that the building
trades, like other Guilds, had important trade secrets,
and wished to safeguard these from interlopers. A medi-
æval Guild, on the one hand protected the interests of its
members, while on the other it trained those members,
and inspected and passed their work; thus protecting the
community from deliberate fraud or careless work. Nor
must it be forgotten that in a building bad work might
involve actual danger to the users of that building. For
all these reasons it was right and proper that no one who
was not a member of the fraternity should be in posses-
sion of its trade secrets.
The obligation is undoubtedly ancient, but its full
significance is realised by few.
The penalty is death, and in the Middle Ages I do not
doubt that it would have been enforced, though to-day it
is purely symbolical.2
Studying it carefully, we note in passing the word
‚hele,‛—whose meaning has already been explained,—
and also that every printed ritual in existence is a clear
breach of our Obligation. The strict interpretation of this
2[The traditional penalty clauses were excised from the oaths by the
United Grand Lodge of England in the 1980s or 1990s and are now only
mentioned in the lectures and the explanation of the signs. — T.S.]
clause is one of the reasons why we cannot expect to find

any mediæval rituals, although the fact that the bulk of
the members in those days could not read or write would
lessen the temptation to make them.
From a practical point of view, however, the essential
object to-day is to prevent anyone who has not been
regularly initiated from entering our Lodges and the
printed ritual usually does this, for signs, words, and
grips are missing, and a careful cross-questioning would
undoubtedly lead to the discovery of an imposter, even if
he could produce a stolen Grand Lodge certificate.
In the altered conditions of the present era our secrecy
is more of the nature of privacy, unlike that which
prevails in a political secret society, which usually has
revolutionary tendencies.
The old penalty has many striking points. It means
that the culprit will be slain, and his body buried in
unconsecrated ground. More than that, the ground can
never be consecrated, and, according to the beliefs of the
middle ages, and also of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries,
the soul of a man so buried could not rest in peace, but
would wander up and down in misery till the Judgment
Day. Suicides, for a similar reason, were buried at the
cross roads, and to prevent their bodies being used by
vampires a stake was driven through the middle of the
body to keep it nailed down. (It should be noted that
even in England the penalties vary in different localities).
Thus the culprit is not only doomed to death, but to be
a wandering outcast spirit till the day when the Great
Judge consigns it to Hell. It is not perhaps a very chari-
table, or Christian idea, but that is what is meant, all the
same.
The tongue is removed so that he cannot speak on his
own behalf at the Judgment Day.
THE OBLIGATION . 37
The more effective punishment is, of course, a later

‚gloss‛ inserted at a time when, owing to better police
supervision, it would have been dangerous to the
members of the Order to enforce the ancient penalty. To-
day, in England, it is the only effective penalty, but in
some foreign countries death is still enforced under
certain circumstances. Un such cases, however, the
Lodges are usually strongly political, and revolutionary
in tendency. But with us it still retains an obvious
symbolical meaning.
Immediately after the Obligation the W .M. says,
‚Having been kept . . .‛ etc. We have seen that the Can.
has already been asked several questions, these have
gradually led up to this, the greatest and most important!
Now the climax is reached. It is as if the W.M. says, you
have declared that you are here of your own free will, not
for unworthy motives, but led by an earnest desire for
knowledge. Your humility and obedience have been
tested, and you are therefore entitled to request the
fulfilment of the greatest desire of your heart. The ques-
tion put at this moment can be answered by no one but
the C., 3 for it is meant to teach him that essential lesson
that no appeal for Light is ever made in vain. His answer
given, the W.M. says, ‚Then let . .‛ etc. Notice the word
‚restored.‛ Mystical rebirth marks the beginning of our
journey towards the Light, of our ascent towards God,
but it is a restoration—a journey back to Him from
Whom we came.
Exactly the same procedure is followed in the initia-
tory rites of the Turkish Dervishes. Among them, how-
3[Even in the absence of a direct prompt the question—‚Having been kept
for a considerable time in a state of darkness, what < is the predominant
wish of your heart?‛ is fairly leading; on the other hand ‚in whom do you
put your trust?‛ requires some thought, and one suspects Can.s generally
are prompted on that one.— T.S.]
ever, the incident is followed by a beautiful exposition of

the mystical meaning of Light. It is the Divine Light,
emblem of God Himself, and of Divine inspiration. It is,
moreover, present, not only in the sacred writings, but in
every true believer’s heart. The light of the sun itself is
but a faint similitude of the Divine Light of God’s love,
through which, and in which, we have our being.
Though not expressed in our ritual, this act has the
same inner meaning, as I have explained.
So to the Can. Light is restored, and he sees, what?
The V.S.L., the Square and the Compasses. The V.S .L. is
in a place of honour, because without its divine standard
and authority the Square and Compasses placed thereon
would be practically meaningless. These latter form a
lozenge, which as I have already said, is a well known
symbol for the Vesica Piscis, which represents the female
or preservative principle of the Deity, without which we
could not exist for a single day, or hope to be preserved
from the powers of darkness which threaten us upon our
spiritual journey.
Thus the W.M.'s words teach the aspirant that we
have a duty to God, ourselves, and our brother men.
The Can. is raised with the proper grip, but this is not
explained at once. Rather his attention is directed to the
three lesser lights, which we are told represent the Sun,
Moon and the Master.
As our Lodges are at present arranged the W.M.
should point to the South for the Sun, and to the West for
the Moon, but it must be admitted that the lesson to be
derived from these three luminaries is not very clear,
Indeed, the Moon plays no real part in our mysteries,
which are essentially solar in character, while the implied
contrast between Sun, Moon, and Master is in no way
helpful.
THE OBLIGATION . 39
In reality the three lesser lights are the W .M, and his
two wardens with their respective candles, and these
officers have a real symbolic meaning of great impor-
tance, which symbolic characters they maintain
consistently throughout all three degrees.
My personal view is that it was to the lights on the
pedestals, and their respective officers, that this phrase
originally applied, and that the Sun and Moon are 18th
century interpretations.
THE THREE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS.
In any case this makes a convenient place in which to
consider the symbolic meaning of the three principal
officers in a lodge. The W.M. represents the rising Sun,
and in this sense he covers two distinct meanings: the
first in connection with the nature of God, and the other
with regard to the nature of man. And a similar dual
character exists in the case of S.W. and J.W.
The W.M. represents God the Creator—He who calls
the Lodge into being—He who created the World out of
Chaos. In India this aspect of God, the Incomprehensible,
has been individualised as Brahma, so that the devotee
may be able to comprehend Him, at least in part.
It is the Master who opens the Lodge, who calls it out
of nothing. He sits in the East, the place of light; but
though he opens, he does not close the lodge.
That is the work of another aspect of the Divine Being.
In the nature of man the W .M, represents the Spirit,
the Divine Spark within us, ever striving for the light,
never truly separated from the divine source of its being.
This dual aspect of the W.M. and his principal officers
must be borne in mind, if we are to delve down into the
inner, or esoteric, meaning of our wonderful rituals.
The S .W. represents the Setting Sun, and hence the

destructive, or transformative, aspects of the Deity.
Among the Hindoos this aspect is called Śiva. He shall
one day close the Grand Lodge of this World, when time
shall be swallowed up into Eternity. The S .W. closes the
Lodge. As the Destroyer he reminds us that Death, the
great leveller, will bring all men low, and his symbol is
the Level.
This in itself reminds us of the caste mark of Śiva,
which is a horizontal line. But in the nature of Man he
represents the Soul, which alone enables the Spirit to
raise the body towards divine things.
Without the medium of the Soul, the Spirit would be
unable to influence the body. It is for this reason that the
Can. is invested in craft masonry by the S.W. or Soul, and
not by the W.M., representing the Divine Spark. Thus we
learn that we must raise ourselves, step by step, towards
the Divine Light. Śiva is, above all, the great M.M.
The J.W. represents the Sun in its Meridian. He stands
for the Way of Life, the balance between birth and death.
His is the sunny side of life. He calls us from labour to
refreshment and refreshment to labour. In the divine
aspect he represents the Preserver, called Viṣ nu in India,
of whom it it stated that as Rama he sent the skilful
craftsman, Hanuman, to build the bridge for Him, by
means of which He crossed the straits to fight against the
powers of evil, in ancient Ceylon.
Viṣ nu is associated with the element of water, and
with corn, and his caste mark is a perpendicular straight
line, referring to the rain which falls from heaven. This
symbol is remembered in our lodges by the plumb rule.
In the nature of man he stands for the body, which
perishes. He is Hiram Abiff in the Grand Lodge at
Jerusalem. He represents the life and sufferings of the
THE OBLIGATION . 41
body, only terminated by death, the body which in every

man dies before its divine work is accomplished. Our
divine temple is not finished at death: all that we can
hope is that the foundations have been well and truly
laid. In short, in this life we cannot hope to ‚see God face
to face,‛ nor, being finite, can we truly comprehend the
Infinite, but we can hope to make such progress that,
when called hence, we shall be able to continue, and
complete, the work of our own salvation on the founda-
tions of a good, and spiritual, earthly life.
Finally, it is to be noted that in every degree these
three officers co-operate to advance the Can., and so it is
in the spiritual life, for body, soul and spirit must co-
operate, if real progress is to Be attained.
Next, the Can. is informed of the three great dangers—
note the triplicity again—and the few sentences devoted
to them must he considered in the light of what has
already been written by me on the Sharp Instrument, the
Cable Tow, and the Obligation.
At the door of the Lodge the Can. was in great danger,
because entrance thereat marked the beginning of the
ceremony of initiation into Masonry, and initiation sym-
bolizes the mystical re-birth—the end of the descent into
matter and the beginning of the ascent to God—and there
can be no more critical time than that. The Sharp Instru-
ment warns us of the dangers of rushing unprepared
into the field of occultism, while the Cable Tow indicates
the danger that the Divine Spark may be quenched;
strangled by materialism, if we do not continue stead-
fastly. But even when these dangers are passed, through-
out the whole of our mystic journey there remains that
last danger of our obligation, namely, that of infidelity to
the vows which marked our entrance, or of abandoning
our further quest for light;—knowing the right, but deli-
berately choosing the wrong. This means death; not

primarily physical death, but that greater death, referred
to by our Hindoo Brethren as ‚Being born again at the
bottom of the ladder of evolution up which we have for
so long been ascending.‛
We next come to the moment, so long expected, when
the secrets are disclosed. No doubt many Brethren could
not suppress a slight feeling of disappointment at their
comparative insignificance. Was such a tremendous
Obligation necessary to safeguard a Sign, Word, and
Grip, which appear to be purely arbitrary?
This question is a fair one, and the answer is that the
Obligation safeguards, not so much the Grip, etc., which
are but the outward and visible signs, as the inner eso-
teric meaning, hidden in our ritual, and never properly
explained.
Firstly, the W.M. instructs the Can. in the first regular
step which on investigation proves to be the tau cross.
The tau cross was originally the phallus, and has many
inner meanings. It is the emblem of generation, and
creation, but since these powers may be prostituted they
must be brought under control. As the first regular step,
it represents our natural and animal passions, which
must be trampled underfoot and brought under complete
control, otherwise we cannot make any advancement in
Freemasonry. In plain language, unless we bring our
passions into complete subjection, we cannot hope to
advance towards a true knowledge of God. For that, I
consider, is the real search or quest in Freemasonry.
Therefore in every one of the Craft degrees, we
trample on the tau cross.4 It will be remembered that one
4 [This interpretation is absurd, as already noted. One can hardly be said

to ‚trample on‛ a figure which is only formed by the position of one’s feet.
If not a blind, it demonstrates the writer’s hylophobic bias. — T.S.]
THE OBLIGATION . 43
of the charges against the Templars in 1307, was that they

trampled on the cross, and this charge seems to be
correct. Yet these same men adored the Cross three times
a year in their ceremonies, and moreover fought and died
for it on many a corpse strewn field in Palestine.
I have no doubt this act of theirs was a symbolic act,
associated more with the cross as an emblem of our
passion, than with the Christian cross of suffering.
Yet symbols merge by imperceptible degrees into each
other, and so it is that we can truly say that Christ was
crucified on the Cross or our passions. In mediæval
pictures you will usually find that while Christ hangs on
a Latin, or four-armed cross, the two thieves are hung on
the Tau, or three-armed crosses. This indicates that they
died for their own sins, but Christ who hangs on the
cross of sacrifice died for the sins of others.
Thus, my brothers, the first regular step is full of inner
meaning, nor is this the only place in which we meet
with the tau cross in the craft. Its higher and holier
aspect when associated with the W.M. I shall discuss
later.
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION OF THE CEREMONY.
HAVING taken the regular step the Can. is given the Sign.
This he is told refers to the Penalty of his Obligation, and
no doubt it does, but it also seems to refer to something
much more startling. The part of the body indicated has
always been regarded as an important occult centre. In
some strange way, the laws of which are but little under-
stood, it has always been associated with the phenomena
known amongst psychic students as Materialisations. As,
however, this subject lies somewhat outside our theme,
we will discuss the point no further.
But all our penalties have a striking analogy to the
legend of the creation of man as given by the Hindoo
sages. From Brahma sprang all four castes. From His
head came the Brahmins, from His Breast the Kshatra , or
fighting caste, from His Belly the peasants, and from His
feet the Sudras. The latter were not true Arians, and
were not twice born men; in other words, only the first
three castes were regarded as really and truly admissible
to the Temple of the High Gods, and free to participate in
Their worship.
It will be noted that in this degree the Sign suggests
the cutting off of the first caste from those below. This
Sign, Bro. Major Sanderson suggests, was originally a
mantra, or magic prayer, which must be most carefully
guarded from the profane.
The Token appears to be an arbitrary one, although it
may possibly refer to a certain pillar. Explanations of
this, together with the meaning, derivation, and signifi-
cance of the Word, are reserved for the next volume, for
44
CONCLUSION OF THE CEREMONY . 45
reasons which will be obvious to those entitled to know

them.
No doubt, however, the basic idea of both pillar and
word is phallic, and other interpretations have evolved
later.
Having received sign, word and token, the Can. is
warned to be cautious and told how to receive a chal-
lenge, then, having been given strength to help him on his
way, he is sent forth in order that the important lesson of
caution may be implanted in his mind.
The testing by J.W. and S.W. are obviously of practical
use, but I think that here also there is an inner meaning.
The Body and Soul test the Cand. to see that the lessons
have been well and truly learnt; also there seems to be a
definite astrological reference.
Having satisfied these important officers, the S.W.
asks for some special mark of favour. That is, the Soul
calls on the Spirit, but is told that it is the Soul which
must invest the regenerate man with the outward signs
of the change he has undergone. This point has already
been mentioned, but its deep significance must not be
forgotten. It may truly be said that it is the S .W. who
sets the seal on the candidate’s initiation. and proclaims
him as at length a member of the Order.
The address of the S.W. and the subsequent one by the
Master, are fairly self-explanatory. But one or two points
deserve stressing.
The reference to the antiquity of the apron refers
mainly, of course, to its use among the Operatives, and
implies the dignity of honest labour. The present form of
our apron is comparatively modern, but there is evidence
that our predecessors, the Comacine Masons, wore
aprons when they met in Lodge, and aprons have had a
special significance among many religious systems. Thus
some of the Chinese gods wear aprons, and I have a

photo of one (the original of which belongs to Bro. Vince,
of 10, Duke Street) and this ‚God‛ is making a certain
high degree sign. Among the ancient races of America
the apron was also evidently used with a religious
significance (see picture of the Toltec Preserver in
‚Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods.‛)
The address of the W .M. lays stress on the importance
of not entering the Lodge if a brother is at variance with
another. At first sight this may seem a somewhat un-
necessary charge. Normal, well conducted gentlemen are
not likely to start an unseemly wrangle in Lodge, even if
they are at enmity;1 and should two men so far forget the
common decencies of life as to do so, the W.M. has ample
power to deal with the situation.
The real significance of the injunction, however, is that
it implies that the mere presence of two brethren who are
at variance will disturb the harmonious atmosphere of
the meeting. This is a purely spiritual atmosphere, and
the belief that such disturbance would occur without any
open disagreement, is correct.
In short, such differences disturb the spiritual atmo-
sphere, prevent concentration, and can be detected by
sensitive individuals.
Every Lodge has an ‚atmosphere of its own,‛ and any
sensitive man who comes to it can detect it. I have
myself noticed the different ‚atmospheres‛ of various
lodges, and also variations in that of my own.
Too much regard therefore cannot be paid to this rule,
and if ignored the Lodge will certainly suffer.
The Can. is placed in the Northeast corner of the
Lodge for the reason given in the ritual, but it is impor-
1 [It is perhaps, though, being optimistic to assume your membership con-
sists entirely of ‚normal, well conducted gentlemen.‛ — T.S.]
tant to remember that he himself is building his own

temple—a spiritual temple to the glory of God.
Why should the cornerstone be laid in the Northeast?
This was for a very practical reason: namely, that the
Operatives could work round with the Sun , and thus
obtain the maximum amount of light. Symbolically, it
refers, of course, to the journey of the soul, which begins
in the North, enters life at the East, at birth, and so
proceeds to the West, where death ends our day.
The position in which the Can. stands is not only a
square, the emblem of rectitude, and of God, but at the
particular point he makes a ‚lewis,‛ or angle clamp,
which binds, together the life which has been, (in the
North) and his future life (in the East). In physical life
the North is pre-natal, but in the spiritual it is before we
turned to better things. Above all, such a clamp gives
rigidity and strength to the corners, and assures stability.
It will be noted that this position in like manner makes a
‚footing stone.‛
The testing of the candidate is explained, but perhaps
I ought once more to remind my reader that it is abso-
lutely essential that we should leave behind us the
baleful gifts of the underworld, and the canker of wealth,
which destroy spirituality.
The lecture on the working tools explains itself. It
appears to be mainly 18th century work.
CHAPTER VII
THE CHARGE.
WHEN the Can. has been restored to his personal comfort
he receives the charge. The first significant point is the
phrase ‚Ancient, no doubt it is, as having subsisted from
time immemorial.‛ In ‚Freemasonry and the Ancient
Gods‛ I have endeavoured to show that this phrase is
literally true, and a strong claim can be made that
modern Freemasonry is the lineal descendant of the An-
cient Mysteries, via the Roman Colleges of Architects, the
Comacine Masons, and the Mediaeval Freemasons.
The other significant phrase is that relating to ‚'The
Ancient Landmarks.‛ Much learned discussion has
taken place concerning what these are. Common sense
indicates the following points as obviously falling within
this heading, whereas many others may be matters of
opinion, on which brethren are entitled to differ.
1.—The signs, words and tokens. If these were changed
it would shatter the universality of Freemasonry, and
prevent old masons recognising new ones, or members of
various jurisdictions doing so. It must be acknowledged
that the charge made by the Ancients against the
Moderns, that they had removed the Ancient Landmarks,
was largely justified, for they appear to have transposed
the words in the first and second degrees. Still, apparent-
ly, they did not entirely change them.
2 & 3.—Belief in God and a Future Life. If these are
removed, then the object and purpose of masonry is
destroyed, since it is the ‚quest of knowledge of, and
union with, God.‛ Again, the elimination of the idea of a
future life would destroy the teaching of one of the most
48
THE CHARGE . 49
important craft degrees.1 If these landmarks were re-

moved, Freemasonry would either perish, or else have to
substitute a new object, as the Grand Orient of France has
done. This having become atheistical, had to turn ma-
sonry into a secret political society, with disastrous
results. Hence it is that the Grand Lodge of England felt
compelled to break off fraternal relations with that body.
4.—The Order of the Degrees. If these were reversed or
changed it would reduce the whole system to nonsense.
The remainder of this address is fairly clear as it
stands. It contains excellent teaching, the meaning of
which lies on the surface, and so we need spend no
further space on it here.
The first tracing board contains a great deal of useful
instruction, but it is so seldom given in most lodges that
we will pass it by, hoping at some future date to give it
the attention it deserves.
The purpose of these tracing boards will be explained
in the book dealing with the second degree, and we can
therefore take leave of the Entered Apprentice. There is
no pretence that we have exhausted the subject, much
more could be written, but in a small book like this the
author must restrict himself to giving an outline
explanation, and suggestions for study, in the hope that
his readers will follow the hints given, and discover
further meanings for themselves.
1[Maybe . . . but it should be remembered that H.A. died, was buried, and
stayed dead, and (after a couple of re-interrals) buried. — T.S.]
CHAPTER VIII
THE CLOSING OF THE FIRST DEGREE.
THE first degree closing is remarkably short, and its mean-
ing is fairly clear. The candidate has not yet advanced
sufficiently far to be able to appreciate any more esoteric
teaching. He is therefore given one brief and tremendous
lesson. The Destructive side of the Deity is invoked, and
the same officer, it must be remembered, is also the Soul.
Thus, at the very beginning of his symbolical career,
the novice is warned of the inevitable end. During the
ceremony of his initiation the fact has been impressed
upon him that his spiritual advancement is by means of
his soul, i.e. when the S.W. invests him with his apron.
Now he is warned that the same soul which may help
him to rise, may also cause his spiritual destruction. But
even more this fact should show him that, when he has
learned all that life can teach him, the Soul, acting on the
instructions of God, calls him to other fields of
usefulness.
It should also be noted that the S.W. closes in the
name of the Great Architect, and by command of the
W.M., thus reminding us of Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End.
50
CONCLUSION . 51
CONCLUSION
This then concludes our consideration of the meaning of
the first degree. The author has not tried to be ex-
haustive, and would stress the point that usually he has
only attempted to give one esoteric meaning, although
often there are other inner meanings, each within the
other. But he trusts he will have helped his brethren to
perceive that there are indeed deep and invaluable
meanings hidden within our ritual, and that his readers,
having once started on this line of study, will not rest
content until they themselves have discovered further
inner meanings. If this be so, then this little book will not
have been in vain.
No. 2
The Fellow Craft’s Handbook
PULPIT AT RAVELLO CATHERDAL, SORRENTO.
COMACINE WORK. A.D. c. 1280.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
THOSE who have read the first volume of this series,
which deals with the E.A. Degree, will realize that our
ceremonies have a deep inner meaning and teach pro-
found spiritual lessons seldom realised by the average
Mason.
In the second volume we are dealing with the degree
of Life, in its broadest sense, just as in the first degree we
were dealing with the degree of birth, and as life in
reality is educational for the Soul, we are not surprised to
find that throughout the whole degree the subject of
education is more or less stressed.
We should, however, realize that each of the degrees
builds on the one which has gone before, and the
ingenuity with which the lessons inculcated in the first
degree are carried forward and developed in the suc-
ceeding degrees is one of the most striking characteristics
of our Masonic ritual.
This is true not only of the obvious exoteric moral
instruction conveyed in the ceremonies, but even more of
the deep mystical and spiritual lessons which lie hidden
beneath the surface. For example, in the first degree we
perceived that the steps which led the initiate to the
Pedestal when combined with that which we found
thereon symbolically produced the Name of God, and in
the second degree the main lesson is that the Brethren
discover the name of God in the Middle Chamber, while
the manner of approaching the Pedestal gives us the
Divine name, written with the five letters which denote
that the Creator has become Messias, the King. Thus we
learn among other lessons that the second person of the
55
56 THE FELLOW CRAFT ’ S HANDBOOK .
Trinity comes forth from the first.1 When we come to the

book which deals with the M.M. we shall perceive that
that degree likewise builds on what has gone before.
In the first few years of my Masonic career I utterly
failed to realize the tremendous importance of the second
degree, and used glibly to say that, while the first and
third degrees impressed me greatly, and had valuable
lessons to impart, the second disappointed me by its lack
of depth and mystical teaching. Many brethren have said
practically the same thing to me, but I have come to the
conclusion that those of us who think this are mistaken.
The truth is that the real inner teaching of the second
degree is less obvious than that of the first and third, but
every whit as important, and until one has grasped its
full significance one has no conception of the wonderful
symmetry of our Craft rituals. In short, the interpretation
of the second degree forms the key to the full inter-
pretation of the third.
It is to impress this fact on my Brethren that I have
written this book, and in particular have laid so much
stress on the manner of approaching the Middle Chamber,
and the full Kabalistic meaning of the Name there
discovered.
It must never be forgotten that while there are mean-
ings within meanings in the Craft ritual, all of which are
important, the great lesson of our system is the Mystic
Quest after God, and the journey of the Soul towards
union with its Creator.
With these brief words of introduction I venture to
place in the hands of my Brethren this little volume,
which, while not attempting to be exhaustive, will, I
1[This is an allusion to the Kabbalistic mis-spelling of Jesus or Joshua as

hwchy, the letter shin in the middle of the Tetragrammaton or Jewish Name
of God. — T.S.]
PREFACE . 57
hope, be of some help to those who, amid the turmoil of

mundane affairs, have little time to devote to an
extensive study of the inner meaning of those cere-
monies, which they have nevertheless grown to love and
venerate.
As one or two Brethren who have read this manu-
script have asked me to refer them to a copy of the
Kabala, where they can themselves read what those
ancient sages wrote concerning the descent of the letter
‚Shin,‛ I would refer them to ‚Kabala Denudata,‛ trans-
lated by Mathers,2 where they will find that, and many
other points of peculiar interest to Masons.
J.S.M.W.
Sept., 1928.
2 [The Kabbalah Unveiled, trans. and ed. by S. L. ‚MacGregor‛ Mathers,

London: Redway, 1887, many reprints. This comprises three relatively
minor tracts from the Zohar, done into English from the Latin of Knorr von
Rosenroth’s Kabala Denudata. It does not contain any references to the
doctrine to which Ward alludes. The letter Shin is explained (intro. para.
11) as being symbolic of the spirit of Elohim according to the numerical
value of the letters; and in intro., para. 12 the correct Hebrew spelling of
Yeshua or Jesus is given, namely ovcy, not hwchy; the latter was an inven-
tion of Christian Cabalists. — T.S.]
INTRODUCTION
BY THE HON. SIR J OHN A. COCKBURN
IN this little volume W. Bro. Ward justly emphasises the

importance of the 2°. In former times it was no mere
passing stage of a Mason’s career.1 In the Fellowship of
the Craft lay the whole body of Masonry. An Apprentice
was regarded as a brother but not as a member of the
Lodge; while a Master Mason was merely, as we still
state in the ritual, an experienced Craftsman selected to
preside over the Lodge in the capacity of Master.
The ceremony of Admission to the Fellowship of the
Craft has been abbreviated and shorn of some of its cha-
racteristic features; for example a ‚Mark,‛ which placed
on the stones wrought by a Craftsman entitled him to his
wages, is now no longer allotted to him. Nevertheless it
is in the 2° that the essential elements of the Craft are
revealed. The degree is founded on that symbol which is
the basis of Masonry, and is regarded as the test of
rectangularity in the material, as well as of rectitude in
the moral, world. The candidate is now enlightened as to
the meaning of the ‚Hieroglyphic bright which none but
Craftsmen ever saw.‛ He learns that it represents the
ineffable name of the Grand Geometrician. as written in
the four letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, to which
attention was specially directed in the Middle Chamber.
It is as a craftsman that he becomes cognisant of the
second Pillar placed at the porchway of the Temple, and
he is taught that stability can only be attained by the
significance of both Pillars being conjoined. Herein is
contained the Mystery not only of Masonry but of all the
1 *Likely a pun on ‚passing‛ was intended — T.S.]
58
INTRODUCTION. 59
religions; viz., the Union of Heaven and Earth, and the

Mediation between God and man. As an Apprentice he
has been taught to walk uprightly in the sight of God: his
mind has become imbued with moral principles: he now
has to address himself to the much more difficult task of
applying these principles in his everyday relationship
with his fellows. The lesson of the J.W.’s plumb has now
to be blended with that of the S.W.’s level. Spirit and
Matter, theory and practice, with their innumerable ana-
logies, have to be reconciled in solving the problems
which are constantly encountered in life.
In the tables of the law one column contains the com-
mandments relating to our duty to God, the other our
duty to our fellow men. The Fatherhood of God involves
as a corollary the Brotherhood of man. Therefore it is
manifest that a stage in the progress of a Mason that lays
stress on applied religion demands close attention.
Although on the surface the ceremony of passing may
appear less attractive than that which precedes and that
which follows it, a close study will convince the reader
that the 2° contains many lessons of priceless value which
will well repay the labour of investigation.
J.A.C.
CHAPTER I
PREPARATION, PASS WORD AND
OPENING CEREMONY.
THE questions which are put to the Can., are really a test
of the lectures, which to-day, unfortunately, are hardly
ever given in open Lodge. The system as codified at the
beginning of the 19th Century was really a most efficient
method of educating the Can., and had been carefully
arranged so as to make sure that only when he was pro-
perly prepared should he come forward to be passed to
the second degree. After having passed through the cere-
mony of initiation a summary of its main tenets, illus-
trated as it were on the blackboard, was given to him in
the form of a lecture on the Tracing Board.
The tracing boards were originally drawn in sand on
the floor of the Lodge, and therefore correspond closely
with the pictures and diagrams still used among primi-
tive savages in the initiatory rites of a boy into manhood.
These primitive tracing boards are still drawn on the
earth by means of specially prepared and consecrated
flour, and they are an essential part of the ceremony. To-
day the masonic tracing board has degenerated into a
somewhat crude painting on canvas stretched on a
wooden frame, and its original purpose is therefore apt
to be overlooked by the Can. This is peculiarly so in the
case of the first degree tracing board, since the lecture on
it is very seldom given. In the second degree, as will be
shown later, the tracing board still plays a very important
part, and we shall have occasion presently to consider it
in full, but the connection of the tracing board with the
questions must be grasped,—hence this short preamble.
60
PREPARATION , PASS WORD AND OPENING CEREMONY . 61
Under the old system, at the next meeting of the Lodge

the W.M. went through the lecture proper. He asked the
S.W. a sort of catechism, which the latter had to answer.
This would take well over. an hour, or, in other words, as
long as the ceremony of initiation. This catechism did
give the exoteric meaning of most of the ceremony,
together with a good deal of traditional history of real
interest. Undoubtedly much of it was allegorical, and
although the bulk of it was 18th Century work, never-
theless it contained several very striking reminiscences of
the Ancient Wisdom. For example, the question ‚Whence
come you?‛ A.—‚From the West,‛ . . . Q.—‚Whither
directing your feet?‛ A.—‚To the E. . . . . in search of a
Master.‛ Here we have something of deep symbolical
meaning, and of peculiar significance in view of a slightly
different, though cognate, phrase in a later degree.1
As, however, we are not attempting to interpret the
meaning of these lectures in this book, we must pass the
matter by, with the hope that our readers will make a
point of obtaining a copy of these lectures (purchasable at
any Masonic furnishers) and study them at their leisure.
But the point which must be realised is that, while the
tracing board is a summary of the first degree lecture, the
questions asked of a Can. are on that lecture itself. In
short, the Can. has to pass an oral examination, and the
last question, namely, ‚These are the usual questions, I
will put others, etc.,‛ although to-day practically mean-
ingless, had originally an excellent object. It indicates
that the Can., and also the other members of the Lodge,
had heard the full lecture and that the former must be
prepared to answer any question on it.
In the North of England it is very usual, in addition to
these questions, to ask the Can. to repeat the whole of his
1 [i.e., in the opening of M.M.]
Obligation, and if he is unable to do so his passing is

deferred until he can.
Turning to the questions themselves, it will be noticed
that great stress is laid on the fact that the Can. must be
properly prepared. A fact that is little known to most
brethren, but well worth bearing in mind, is that the
Ancient Kabalists had a secret interpretation of the Old
Testament, and one of the keys was to read backwards
the Proper Names contained in those books. Now, if the
words dedicated to the first and second degrees are read
backwards, instead of the official interpretation given
they produce the phrase ‚Being fortified by the practice
of every moral virtue, we are properly prepared.‛ The
significance of this in relation to what has gone before,
and also to what will follow after, is self-evident.
The inner meaning of the manner of preparation
having been given in the E.A.’s Handbook, it is unneces-
sary to write further on the subject, but of course if any of
our readers have not seen that book they should certainly
get it, as otherwise they will fail to understand the
importance of these early questions.
We now come to the question which is rightly termed
a paradox.2 The explanation thereof, though ingenious,
is obviously somewhat Jesuitical. The truth of the matter
is that in Operative days lodges were held at mid-day,
and probably on a Saturday, which has always been the
time when the workmen receive their wages. The Specu-
latives, for their own convenience, changed the time to
the evening, a fact which was resented by the old
operative members. In the first quarter of the 18th Cen-
tury, at York, Operative Lodges continued to meet at
mid-day, while the Speculatives met in the evening. To-
2*The allusion being to the ‘symbolic’ rather than straightforwardly true
response to the question as to when the Can. was initiated. — T.S.]
day, with the disappearance of the Operatives, a Bro.

may well wonder why this untrue statement is still left in
the ritual.
The fact that it is there warns the careful student that
some deep symbolical meaning must be attached to the
time. The full significance of the phrase is only revealed
towards the end of a Brother’s symbolical career in the
Craft, and a detailed discussion must therefore be post-
poned to another book, but it is permissible to point out
the following facts:—The sun is at its full strength at
Noon; in his open pomp and glory; vested, as it were,
with his full regal powers. What more suitable time then
for a solar cult to hold its meetings? and we must remem-
ber that Freemasonry is distinctly solar in its symbolism.3
Again, we were told that the J.W. marks the Sun at its
meridian, and we have seen that this officer represents
the body.
Hence our meetings are held while the body is at its
full strength, and in possession of all its faculties. Thus it
is peculiarly significant that this question is put to the
Can. in the first degree, which degree deals with the
‚Natural‛ man. If the ‚Natural‛ man cannot protect
himself at high noon against possible dangers, he is cer-
tainly helpless at any other hour of the day. We may
therefore say that one meaning of this phrase is that the
Can. enters Freemasonry at the time of his greatest
strength and physical well being. That this is not a fanci-
ful interpretation is proved by the insistence that a Can.
must be perfect in all his parts. In the old days no man
who was blind, maimed, halt, etc., could be made a
Mason, and in Scotland a Master of a Lodge still has to
take an Obligation not to admit such a man. The reasons
3[Since however the E.A. degree represents birth, this is not necessarily
the most appropriate symbolic time for initiation in that degree. — T.S.]
for this are both practical and symbolical. As an Opera-

tive Society Masonry was like a modern benefit society,
and had to maintain sick Brethren, and the widows of
those who died. It is obvious, therefore, that they were
justified in refusing to admit a man, not yet a Mason,
who might easily become a burden to the society. Also,
symbolically, every Mason is a sacrifice, and the old
Jewish regulations laid down explicitly that the ram
offered for sacrifice must be without blemish, and per-
fect.4 These points must suffice for the moment, except
that it is well to bear in mind that Christ was hung on the
Cross at 12 noon, and our readers would be well advised
to ponder over that fact and correlate it with Masonic
tradition.5
The next question and answer have misled many
thoughtful Brethren as to the true meaning of Free-
masonry. It should be remembered that it is addressed to
an E.A., who as yet has had hardly any indication that
Masonry is anything else than a system of morality. The
first degree, for the most part, aims at teaching its
members simply to be good men and true, and strictly to
obey the moral laws, but subsequent degrees teach much
more than this. Until a man has grasped these elemen-
tary lessons it is not only useless, but dangerous, to try
and develop his intellectual faculties, which is the main
exoteric purpose of the second degree. For a Mason who
has taken his third degree to give this answer as an expla-
nation of what Freemasonry is shows that he has failed to
grasp the inner meaning of even the second degree,
much less of the third. In short, this explanation by itself
is only true when restricted to the first degree, for Free-
4[See also Deut. xxiii, 1. — T.S.]

5[The allusion is of course to the M.M. legend in which Hiram Abiff is
struck down at high noon. — T.S.]
masonry is much more than a mere system of morality,

whilst even in the first degree the veil is very thin.
The Grand Principles, in modern language, may be
interpreted as true comradeship, charity, and the search
after truth, the latter phrase being better explained by the
term the Mystic Quest after God.
The remaining questions are of a practical nature,
except that the phrase ‚Perfect Points of my Entrance‛ is
often somewhat a mystery to the newly made Brother.
Two interpretations of this phrase are sometimes given.
Firstly, that it refers to the Step, which is a tau cross, and
means that we will trample under foot our animal
passions. This is the manner in which we enter the
Lodge when once it is properly opened. But from the
point of view of the Can. it cannot refer to this, for at his
initiation he did not know the Step, and so the other
interpretation is the only one possible, namely, ‚of, at
and on.‛ This is interpreted as meaning that the Can.
entered Freemasonry of his own free will and accord, at
the door of the Lodge, on the point of a sharp instrument
(See lecture).6 Having satisfactorily answered these ques-
tions the Can. is led to the W.M., representing the Spirit
or Wisdom, and receives from him a Pass Word, which
will enable him to enter the Lodge when it has been
raised to the higher degree. We have already in our first
book explained briefly why Pass Words are necessary,
but we will repeat our explanation for the convenience of
any who have not yet read that book. They are a relic of
old world magic. The Can. goes out from a Lodge in the
first degree, and re-enters it in the second degree. In his
absence the Lodge is raised by a ceremony which, in the
technical language of magic and the occult, ‚raises the
vibrations‛ of those present to a higher key, and in
6 [The lecture printed by Carlile gives these somewhat differently. — T.S.]
consequence force is generated. Those who have studied

such matters know that a body of men who are all con-
centrating on a particular subject do generate a peculiar,
subtle, but powerful force, which has not been actually
defined by science, but is loosely called magnetic. In the
old days of phenomenal magic certain words, when
uttered in the correct tone, were believed to be in
consonance with this ‚Power,‛ like a tuning fork is to a
violin. Therefore we give a Pass Word to the Can. to
raise him quickly to the same ‚Power,‛ as the Lodge.
Such Pass Words were usual in all great mystery rites,
ancient or modern, and it is therefore not surprising to
find them in Masonry. It is worth noting that the
Ancients were right when they charged the so-called
Moderns, in the 18th Century, with having altered the
Words and Pass Words. As a matter of fact they reversed
them, and the Word now given to an E .A. was originally
given to an F .C., and vice versa, and the same fate befell
the Pass Words. Those foreign Grand Lodges who derive
from England before about 1745 (for example, the French
and the Dutch), still have the Words and Pass Words in
the old order, and in South Africa E.A.s and F.C.s of the
Dutch Lodges are for this reason forbidden to visit the
English Lodges until they have been made M.M.s.
The interpretation of this Pass Word will be given at a
later point in the book; all we need do now is to stress the
fact that, as it is represented in our Lord by Corn and
Water, it is clearly associated with the J.W. In the last
book I pointed out that the J.W. represents in man, the
body. This therefore indicates that the simplest neces-
sities of life, to the spiritually minded man, are plenty.
All he requires, as the Buddha taught, is sufficient to
keep his body in health, whereas luxuries clog the soul
and retard its upward progress.
I also pointed out in the last book that the J.W. repre-
sents God the Preserver, whose emblems in India,
Mexico, etc., are Corn and Water. From the anthropo-
logical point of view, it is worth remembering that
among primitive peoples God the Preserver is also the
God of Vegetation, and the Rain God. He who makes the
corn to grow and provides food for his worshippers.
Thus we perceive that Freemasonry is perfectly logical in
its use of this Word.7 Another fact of interest is that
Quetzacoatl, the Mexican Preserver, wears ears of corn in
his hair when he is wounded by the giant of evil near to a
Fall of Water, and at that very instant makes the Sign of
an F.C.
The Can. then departs to be prepared, and in the
interval the Lodge is raised to the second degree. We
will, however, consider the manner of his preparation
before going on to the raising of the Lodge. This varies in
several details. Most English workings are the same, but
the Scotch and Irish have certain variations which are
worthy of mention. According to the Scotch rituals he
brings into the Lodge a square supported in his left hand,
but, as with us, the I .G. presents the angle of a Square to
his naked breast, although to the right breast instead of to
the left breast. In the Irish Lodges the same breast is
made bare as with us, but he is still divested of all metals
as he was in the first degree, and a cable to is would twice
around his neck. Thus it will be noted that everything
save the breast is reversed. The Scotch, more logical,
reverse even this. In American rituals the Irish arrange-
ment of the cable tow in the second degree is also found.
The reason for the deprivation of Metals in the Irish ritual
is because, as with us, the Pass Words have been re-
7[tl)B;`! , used variously to mean ‚an ear of corn‛ and ‚a stream,‛ from the
root lb* `/ , ‚to go; to go up, to grow; to flow plentifully.‛ (Gesenius, s.v.).]
versed. It has a deep symbolical meaning, and is logi-

cally correct, but I must defer the explanation to the next
book.
Reverting to the English method of preparation, we
must realise that the right side is the masculine side; it is
also the stronger side. It therefore implies, firstly, that we
symbolically have passed out of the control of the women
of the household and have gone on, as it were, to school.
In the first degree we were symbolically ‚Babies‛ or
children, under the care of women. In the second degree
we are youths sent to be educated at school, and the
whole exoteric meaning of the second degree is the
training of the intelligence. This corresponds to a boy’s
training when he goes to a public school and is sur-
rounded entirely by men. At home, under his mother’s
influence, he learnt only the simple lessons of morality;
the lessons of the first degree.
The second meaning, i.e., the stronger side, is stressed
in the Scotch rituals, where the Can. is afterwards told
that he knelt on his right knee to take his obligation
because the F.C. obligation is even more binding than the
E .A.’s obligation. This latter fact is also accentuated by
the nature of the penalty, but this we will deal with later.
The Can. is not hoodwinked, because clearly he is no
longer in that state of absolute darkness which en-
shrouded him when he first entered Masonry. He has
seen the Light., and can never again return to the same
darkness, although he may not as yet fully understand all
that the Light means, and it is to teach him the true
nature of that Light, which is really the Light of God, that
he takes his second degree.
In view of what has been written concerning the
preparation in the first degree, no further explanation is
necessary.
THE OPENING OF THE SECOND DEGREE.

The W.M. asks the J.W., representing the body, whether
he is a F.C., to which the J.W. replies that he is, indicating
the test to be applied. Now, what does the Square mean
in this case? It is not, be it noted, the W.M.’s square or
tau cross, but it is an emblem of rectitude of conduct.
The right-angled square has always had this signifi-
cance, and in many an Egyptian papyrus the Gods, when
sitting in judgment on a soul, are depicted as seated on
squares, implying that they are just judges.
So the J.W.’s answer implies that he must be proved
by his moral conduct in the physical world.
The F.C. degree indicates that the soul and body are
now working in union, as is shown by the knocks,
although, as yet, the purely spiritual faculties have little
influence. So it naturally follows that in this stage of
man’s development we have a right to expect that he will
conform to all the moral laws, and to the higher dictates
of his nature. For example, he should have a kindly and
charitable disposition. If he has these, he is a fellow craft,
but as yet we must not look for great spiritual insight. It
is through his body that a man is able to perform the
moral duties of his station.
The S.W., or Soul, has little work to do at this stage,
for it is through the body that we prove ourselves, and so
it is the J.W. who is bidden to satisfy himself that all
present are F.C. This being done, he confirms their testi-
mony in his own person, and the fact that he literally is
proved on the square must not be overlooked.
It should be noted that it is no longer the Creative
Aspect of God Whom we call on, but the Preservative.
He Who places limitations on us for our preservation, for,
unless we conform to the rules of the Great Geometrician

we cannot hope to be preserved.
It should be remembered that by these ceremonies the
Lodge has been raised to a higher plane of spirituality.
Its spiritual and psychic vibrations are much higher, and
to help the candidate to reach the same plane a Pass
Word has been given him.
CHAPTER II
PRELIMINARY STEPS.
THE Tyler gives the knocks of an E.A. for the Can. there-
by emphasising the fact that it is an E.A., a stranger to a
F.C. Lodge, who seeks admission. The I.G. should there-
fore say, "‚here is an alarm,‛ as is done in most old pro-
vincial workings, instead of ‚a report,‛ a word suitable
for announcing that there is a F.C. outside. Symbolically
the difference between the knocks of an E.A. and a F.C. is
most significant. The three separate knocks indicate that
the body, soul and spirit are all equal and at variance,
whereas the one and twopence show that the two lower,
namely, soul and body, are now united. This means that
the soul of the F.C. dominates the body, and in view of
the fact that spiritual progress while on earth is
dependent on this, the arrangement of the knocks is most
important.
The Can., having been properly announced, is ad-
mitted on the Square, implying that he has been proved
to be a man of rectitude, and has therefore learnt tho-
roughly the lesson of the first degree, which is good
morals. Throughout the whole of this degree stress is
laid on the fact that only a man of good moral standing
can be permitted to extend his researches into the intel-
lectual spheres.
The other important point which is early impressed on
the Can. is the fact that God is called by a new title. He is
no longer spoken of as the Great Architect, but as the
Grand Geometrician. We shall revert to this point later,
but even at this early stage it is desirable to point out that
the aspect of God emphasised in the first degree was the
71
creative aspect (Brahma of the Hindoos), this is most

appropriate for a degree dealing with birth, both physical
and spiritual. The second degree deals with the preser-
vative side of God: it is essentially the degree of life,
which is educational for the soul. After invoking a
blessing the Can. is led round the Lodge with the sun and
tested. Note, it is the body, or J.W., which now does the
testing, but when the Can. is led round the second time,
to show that he is properly prepared and in possession of
the Pass Word which will make him in tune with the rest
of those present, it is the S .W., or Soul, which tests him.
Moreover, the Soul first satisfies itself that the Body has
done its work properly, therefore the Can. advances with
Step and Sign, before giving the Pass Word.
Having satisfied himself on this point the S.W. calls on
the Divine Spirit, represented by the W .M., for help, but
is told, as in the former degree, that it is the Soul that
must instruct the Can. to advance towards God. The
Soul therefore tells the S.D., representing intelligence, to
instruct the Can. how to advance.
This method of advancing is exceedingly interesting,
and worthy of detailed consideration. The Five Spiral
Steps undoubtedly have reference to the five senses,
which represent the physical man, whilst their spiral
nature recalls the Point within a Circle hinted at in the
tracing board of the first degree, and remind us that
round it the Brethren cannot err. This clearly teaches us
that we advance spiritually from, within, by bringing
under control all five senses and directing them towards
that Middle Chamber, where dwells the Divine Spark, or
God. As this subject will be treated at greater length
when we come to the tracing board we will merely point
out that this manner of approach brings the Can. to the
V.S.L., which is God’s revealed word. It should also be
PRELIMINARY STEPS . 73
compared with the manner of approach in the first

degree, which in the last book we saw disclosed the fact
that the God we sought was within us, while His triple
nature, and likewise that of man, is also hinted at. Here
we are taught the same idea, but from a slightly different
angle, and are reminded that we are approaching Him by
means of our five physical faculties. But as we arrive at
the same place we perceive He is the same God, although
during our obligation we learn of another aspect of His
nature.
One other fact is worthy of our attention. Whereas in
the first degree the Can. was instructed to advance
towards the Pedestal, in this he is told to advance to the
East. What is the reason for this difference? It will be
remembered that in the first degree he is hoodwinked,
and therefore unable to tell which is East and which
West; by the time he reaches the second degree not only
can he see, but his previous experience tells him exactly
where it is he will take his Obligation. Esoterically, in the
first degree he had no clear idea where to go for light, he
was merely groping blindly, although led by a friendly
hand : but in the second degree, having learnt that the
true light comes from the East, there is no reason why
this phrase should not be employed.
The position in which he takes his Obligation again
makes the three Squares, but the instrument which he
has to hold, and the manner in which he holds it,
produce two more, making five in all—corresponding to
the five senses, this irrespective of the sixth on the Altar
or Pedestal. To begin with, these five squares indicate
that all our senses must be dedicated to, and ruled by, the
strictest moral conduct, e.g., ‚Speak no evil, see no evil,‛
etc., but when we recollect that in the first degree we got
by means of the Squares a suggestion of the Divine
Name, we shall not be surprised to find that here again

the Divine Name is indicated, but with two profound
differences. Firstly, the Name is complete within our-
selves, that is, without needing to utilise the Square on
the Pedestal, and secondly, it is no longer the four
lettered Name of the Creator, Yod-He-Vau-He, but the five
lettered Name of the Preserver, Yod-He-Shin-Vau-He, or,
Yeheshuhe, which we call Jesue or Jesus. As we learn
from the Kabala, the Shin has descended to earth, and by
combining with the other four letters has made the
Divine Name masculine instead of feminine, for Shin is
masculine. Secondly, it is the name of the Messiah. Now
it has already been pointed out that the manner in which
the Can. Kneels, and also his preparation, emphasise the
masculine aspect of this degree. Likewise the Name by
which God is spoken of emphasises His Preservative
character, in contradistinction to the fist degree where
God is spoken of in his Creative aspect and the feminine
side is stressed. Finally, the fact that the whole Name is
made by the man himself must be considered in con-
junction with what has been said about the manner of
advancing by the Winding Staircase, and the Middle
Chamber. The Kabala teaches us that Messias is made
flesh, and this implies more than the fact that on a certain
historic occasion God became manifest in a human body.
It indicates rather that God is always being made mani-
fest in every human being, and so the Can., though he
knows it not, is a manifestation of God on earth. Thus in
a sense he himself represents the missing letter Shin, and
so, when our ancient Brethren entered the Middle
Chamber to receive their wages and saw the mystic name
Yod-He-Vau-He, they themselves represented that fifth
letter, which turned the name of the Creator into the
name of the Preserver and Saviour of mankind. Perhaps
PRELIMINARY STEPS . 75
I should point out that this is not strictly orthodox

Christianity, but Kabalism, although its similarity to
much that is taught to us as Christians is clear.
Before leaving this subject I should like to remind any
M.M.s who read this book of the manner in which they
approach the Pedestal in the next degree, for if correlated
with what has gone before, the full significance of that
manner of approach will be evident to them.
The Square on the Pedestal indicates that there is stiII
another aspect of God about which as yet the Can. learns
nothing, and its combination with the Compasses to
make a lozenge should remind him that, though this
degree is essentially masculine, God the Preserver has
also His feminine aspect. The variation in the position of
one of the points is explained at the time, but there is also
a deeper meaning. One symbolical meaning of the
Square is the material world, and, therefore, the body of
man. In the first degree the body is dominant, and over-
shadows the spiritual side of the Candidate’s nature. In
this degree the body is dominated by the soul, but as yet
the spirit has not gained control over the latter. The
Compasses, representing the higher or more spiritual
side of man, reveal this fact by disclosing one point only.
The Obligation explains itself, and the Penalty will be
dealt with in the next chapter, as it can be more
appropriately considered in conjunction with the Signs.
As in the former degree, the Can. is raised with the
proper grip, which is subsequently explained to him.
CHAPTER III
THE SECRETS.
AS before the Can. is taught by making the tau cross to
trample under foot his animal passions, thereby remind-
ing him that spiritual progress always entails increased
moral rectitude. The first difference the Can. notes is that
the Sign is of a three-fold nature. This no doubt has a
reference to the triple nature of man, but to the Can. the
most important fact is that, whereas in the first degree
the Sign refers only to the Penalty, in this degree two
other lessons are taught him. The first part is the Sign of
Fidelity, and implies not merely fidelity to his Obligation,
but obedience to the rules of the Grand Geometrician of
the Universe. We can only hope to be preserved if we
conform to those rules laid down by Him for our preser-
vation.1 The second part of the Sign, or Hailing Sign, is
said in our rituals to be the sign of Prayer, or Persever-
ance, but in its essence it is the sign of preservation, the
sign associated with God the Preserver, under
whatsoever name He is called, throughout the world. In
my former book, ‚Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods,‛ I
have adduced abundant evidence of this, and here it is
only necessary briefly to summarise that evidence. In
ancient Egypt it is associated with Horus;2 in India with
Hanuman, the skilful craftsman who built the bridge of
1 *These ‚rules‛ are simply the likes of the law of gravitation, of Inverse
Squares, &c., not commandments which one can ‚obey‛ or ‚break.‛
‚Give due regard to‛ might be a better way of putting it, which fits with
the notion of the natural sciences as the proper study of the F.C. — T.S.]
2 [There is a posture appearing in Egyptian inscriptions which resembles
the combination of the second and third signs (r.h. raised, l.h. on breast), it
is believed to signify ‘jubilation’ or praise of a god. — T.S.]
76
THE SECRETS . 77
Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu the Preserver. It

was in this position that he brought the fruit of the tree of
life to the dead and dying in the battle which Rama
waged against Ravena the Demon King. In Mexico
Quetzacoatl makes this sign when he is wounded by the
evil giant. The Roman College of Architects at Pompeii
painted it in a fresco depicting the preservation of
Œdipus. The lineal descendants of the Roman Collegia,
the Comacine Masons, in the 13th Century made a marble
pulpit for the church of Ravello near Sorrento, not very
far from the buried city of Pompeii. This pulpit they
adorned with mosaics depicting Jonah coming up alive
out of the whale’s mouth, and as he does so he makes
this Sign—Hailing Sign and Sign of Fidelity complete.3
Now we are told that Jonah persevered in prayer for three
days while he was in the belly of the whale, and was
therefore preserved. Furthermore, we must recollect that
the early Christians, their medieval successors, and even
the modern clergymen, have always regarded Jonah as
the prototype of the Christ, for just as Jonah lay for three
days in the belly of the whale and came forth alive, so
Christ lay for three days in the tomb,4 and then rose from
the dead. It is therefore not surprising to find that in
England a 13th Century carving at Peterborough of the
Holy Trinity depicts Christ making this Sign, for, to us
Christians, Christ is the Preserver, since by His death we
are saved. Thus it will be seen, firstly, that the Sign is of
great and genuine antiquity, and has been passed down
3[See frontispiece illustration.]

4*Not according to any of the canonical Gospels he didn’t. All of them
have him buried somewhat hurriedly at evening just before the Sabbath,
and the tomb being found empty in the early morning ‚just after sunrise‛
(Mark xvi. 2) or ‚while it was still dark‛ (John xx. 1) on the day after the
Sabbath. Given this was a month or less after the Spring Equinox, this
means, about 36 hours. — T.S.]
by a regular line of successors from the days of the an-

cient mysteries; and secondly, that it is clearly associated
with God the Preserver and the idea of preservation.
This fact emphatically shows that when we speak of the
Grand Geometrician of the Universe we are speaking of
the Preservative aspect of God.5 It is also worth noting
that except in London and those parts of England where
the influence of London workings has spread, the left
arm is always held in a line with the shoulder, and not at
right angles. In the ancient representations of it both the
London and the Provincial forms are shown,—a fact of
considerable interest. Among the various initiatory rites
of the savages, as, for example among the Yaos, in
Nyasaland, this Sign is also used with the inner meaning
of preservation, and two pillars form an integral part of
their ceremonies.
The Penal Sign is also old. For example, it is shown on
numerous Egyptian frescoes, and referred to in the Book
of the Dead. The significance of the Penalty itself lies in
the fact that among the ancient Egyptians the Heart was
regarded as symbolising the good and bad in man. It
was weighed at the judgment against the feather, the
symbol of truth, and if a man’s life had been evil the
Heart and the Feather failed to balance, and he was
rejected. If therefore the Heart could not be produced,
clearly the man was doomed to destruction. This point
should be compared with the Tongue in the first degree,
and just as in that degree the Throat was indicated
5 [If a sign is regularly depicted in religious art which is displayed where it

may be seen by those who are not initiates of a Mystery-Cult in which it is
used as a token of initiation, this obviates any need to assume a
continuous transmission within such a cult . . . in fact, it makes it
implausible that it was a secret token of a Mystery-cult in those places and
times where it was thus displayed more or less publicly. — T.S.]
THE SECRETS . 79
because it is an important occult centre, so here the Heart

is considered to have a similar significance.
The part pressed in the Grip has always been regarded
by palmists as masculine, just as in the previous degree it
was feminine.
The meaning of the Word will be revealed in the
chapter dealing with the tracing board, for obvious rea-
sons, and those entitled to know will recognise where it
occurs.
As before, the Can. is instructed how to give and
accept challenges, and then is sent round the Lodge to be
tested by the officers, who represent the Body and Soul
respectively. This part of the procedure having been
adequately dealt with in our first book need not detain us
now, for those parts which are peculiar to the second
degree also arise in the tracing board. It is however
worth noting that the phrase about the house standing
firm for ever is not found in any passage of Scripture. It
suggests the existence of an ancient masonic tradition
whose full history it is difficult to discover, but which is
in closer analogy with certain phrases in the Book of the
Dead associated with, the Pillars, Tat and Tattu, which do
convey the meaning thus indicated.6 It therefore looks as
if we have here a genuine old tradition, now disguised
under a Biblical form, but not derived direct from the
Bible.
Once again the S.W., representing the Soul, calls on
the Divine Spirit for some outward mark of his favour,
6[The Djed-pillar (jd earlier transliterated Tat, Tet or Tyet) does indeed
have the signification of ‚stability‛ (possibly it represents a stylised back-
bone); ‚Tattu‛ (ddw) was the name of a town (called Busiris by the
Greeks), the hieroglyphic form of which had the Djed-pillar duplicated.
There are references in the Book of the Dead to the Djed-pillar being set up
there, possibly indicating some kind of religious festival. The Djed pillar
was single. — T.S.]
and is told that he himself must invest him with the

distinguishing badge. To-day this badge has on it two
rosettes, symbolising the rose, and made of light blue.
Light blue was the colour of Isis, and later became the
colour of the Virgin Mary. The Rose is her emblem, and
these two facts imply that all below the M’s. chair are
regarded as passive or feminine, whereas only those who
have actually ruled the Craft, and represented the
Creative Spirit, are masculine. Thus on the P.M.’s apron
we get the Tau Cross, instead of the rosette, an emblem of
the masculine and creative power. The shape of our
modern apron is undoubtedly of comparatively recent
date. Our ancient Operative Brethren had large aprons,
unadorned, and members of the different degrees were
distinguished by the manner in which the apron was
worn. Thus in the E.A. degree the triangular flap was
worn with the point upward,—the triangle of course
represents the spiritual, while the Square part of the
apron represents the material. It was worn up to indicate
that the spiritual had not yet entered into control of the
material man. It was usually turned down in the second
degree, but, to distinguish between the second and third
degrees, one or other of the corners was turned up. The
apron was suspended by strings round the waist, and
these are still used on the aprons of the first and second
degree, although in a M.M.’s apron these strings have
been replaced by a band of webbing. There are still
however aprons in the higher degrees which are kept in
place by cords, and we shall consider the whole matter
more fully when we come to discuss the M.M.’s apron
which is full of both historical and symbolical interest.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION OF THE CEREMONY.
WHEN the S.W. has completed his task of investing the
new F.C., the W .M. further points out that the purpose of
the degree is to indicate that a Brother must polish his
mind by a study of the libera1 arts and sciences. This
reminds us that whereas the E.A. is likened to the rough
ashlar, which rests on the J.W.’s pedestal, the F.C. is
likened to the perfect ashlar of the S.W. The two ashlars
are respectively therefore associated with the J.W. as
representing the body, and the S.W. as representing the
soul. Thus once again we are reminded that although the
E.A., as indicated by the knocks, has not yet subor-
dinated the body to the Soul, the F.C. degree teaches the
important lesson that the soul must dominate the body,
and that the intellectual faculties must be educated so
that the F.C. may the better discharge his duties to his
fellow men, and appreciate the wonderful works of the
Almighty.
In the few operative lodges which still E.A. are, of
course, torn up on his being made a F.C. Another
important incident which takes place there is his formal
testing to prove that he is a ‚square‛ man. This is done
by passing a foursided square, the four arms of which are
extended, over his head and down to his feet, whilst to
see that he is straight a five foot board, called the ‚straight
edge,‛ is placed against the front of his body. The prin-
cipal interest to us speculatives of this peculiarly shaped
square is that by means of it half the secret masonic
cypher was produced. The rest of the cypher was made
up out of the St. Andrew’s cross, used in the sixth degree
81
of the operatives.1
After this brief admonition the Can. is placed at the
S.E. corner of the Lodge and instructed to stand in a
position which forms a lewis, as in the former degree.
(See E.A.’s Handbook). Having explained the reason for
this, which symbolically denotes that he is an adept, but
not yet a master, the W.M. closes his brief peroration
with the peculiar phrase ‚< that as in the previous
degree you made yourself acquainted with the principles
of moral truth and virtue, you are now permitted to
extend your researches into the hidden mysteries of
nature and science.‛ Now this is a very pregnant phrase
and often puzzles the Brethren. Only a few minutes
before the new F.C. is told by the W .M. that he is expected
to do this. Now he is told that he is permitted to do it. So
puzzling is this to many Brethren, that in one London
ritual at least, the word permitted has been changed to the
word expected. This change, however, in my opinion, is a
grave mistake, for the word permitted is there for a very
special reason. In the Ancient Mysteries it was believed
that the masters of the higher grades held certain
important secrets of nature, or, in plain English, had
certain occult powers, such as second sight, hypnotism,
and power to heal, and therefore, naturally, its reverse,
the power to make men ill. To this day in India the
higher Yogis claim the same powers. They claim also the
power to communicate with beings not of this world.
1 *The ‚square‛ described is thus in the form of a ‚noughts-and-crosses‛

grid, or # sign. The cipher is an adaptation to the English (specifically, as
having 26 letters) alphabet of the ‚Kabbalistic‛ AIQ-BKR cipher which
involved writing the Hebrew alphabet in the square grid with three letters
in each space. There are some minor variants, but at bottom it’s a simple
letter-substitution cipher and thus easily breakable if used for a text of any
significant length. This Masonic cipher is more normally associated with
the Royal Arch, although it is used on the 3° tracing-board. — T.S.]
Now the ancient Masters of Wisdom declared that if

these powers were obtained by a man of low moral
character, on the one hand his very life might be
endangered, by his attempting to get into touch with
possibly hostile spiritual forces, while, on the other, he
might use these powers for evil, and so become a danger
to the community. Therefore, only those who had given
unmistakeable proof, through many years, that they were
men of the most exalted moral character, were permitted
to obtain that degree which entitled them to extend their
researches into the hidden mysteries of occult science.
Whether or not we to-day believe in such powers is a
matter of personal opinion, although the hypnotic power
is generally acknowledged by men of science. But, even
if we restrict the meaning of the phrase to modern
scientific knowledge, we shall perceive that there is here
a most important lesson.
Every thinking man who has lived through the great
war must realise that during it science has been used for
the vilest, as well as the best, purpose. Poison gas, and
the aeroplane which drops bombs on defenceless women
and children, are but two of many examples which make
us realise the dangers which threaten the human race if
the hidden secrets of nature and science are discovered,
and used for evil purposes. Indeed, it is not too much to
say that if we continue to make further scientific dis-
coveries, and use them irrespective of our duties to our
fellow men, we may utterly destroy civilization. There-
fore this word ‚permitted‛ conveys a most profound
message. It warns us that knowledge without morality
may be a curse, and not a blessing. Thus we can see that
the ancient Masters of Wisdom were wise in their genera-
tion when they refused to permit a man to delve into the
hidden mysteries of nature and science until he had
given proofs that his morality was such that he could be

safely entrusted with these secrets. And so this little
word permitted is one of the most important words in the
whole ceremony, and in no way conflicts with the earlier
phrase that the Can. is expected. He is expected to study
these secrets, and is told why: it is because he has made
himself acquainted with the principles of moral truth and
virtue in the former degree, and it is assumed that being
acquainted with them, and having passed the tests which
qualify him for admission into the second degree, he will
in the future act up to these principles.
The explanation of the working tools is 18th century
work, apparently, and requires no further explanation,
whether we take the short form usually given in
Emulation working, or the longer explanation sometimes
given in some of the Lodges. Perhaps, however, the
word ‘enthusiast’ used in this connection needs a little
explanation. It meant in the 18th century language, a
‘bigot’ or an extremist,2 just as the words ‘zeal’ and
‘zealot’ did. In the course of years the exact meaning of
many words in the English language alters, and some
acquire a sinister meaning, while others become more
kindly. To-day, the words ‚enthusiast‛ and ‚zealot‛ are
generally used in commendation, whereas in the 18th
century they were phrases of censure.
THE CHARGE.
The charge after passing is not given in Emulation work-
ing, but as it occurs in some other workings it is
deserving of a short mention.3 For the most part it is
2 [More than that, it has the connotation of (specifically religious) insanity,
from Grk. œnqeoj, lit. ‚full of a god,‛ hence ‘inspired’ or ‘possessed.’ The
18th century in England saw something of a reaction against religious
‚enthusiasm‛ following various events of the century preceding. — T.S.]
3 [A version may be studied in Carlile. — T.S.]
ordinary 18th century work, without any very deep

meaning, but we may point out that a craftsman is told
plainly that though he may offer his opinion on such
subjects as are introduced into the lecture,—i.e., the
lecture of the second degree, now seldom given,—he
must only do so under the superintendence of an
experienced master. In brief, he is not yet a fully
qualified Freemason.
The other important point in the charge is the
emphasis laid on the necessity for studying geometry. In
the operative days a sound knowledge of geometry was
important in the laying out of the ground plans, and a
careful study of the ground plans of Glastonbury, and
other great medieval churches, shows that not only was
geometry of practical use, but that the main axial lines of
the building were so drawn as to produce various
geometrical figures of a symbolical nature. Many of
these were of a most complex kind, and would require
elaborate drawings to explain their meaning, we will
therefore only mention the constant use of the equilateral
triangle—the emblem of the Trinity—its duplication to
form the lozenge, the circle, and the ellipse, or the vesica
piscis .
In general, Geometry symbolises the laws of the
Grand Geometrician of the Universe, more especially
those to be found in nature and science. Laws, be it
remembered, which cannot be violated without jeopard-
ising our moral and spiritual well-being, thus endan-
gering our preservation, for which purpose they exist.4
4*They cannot be ‚violated,‛ period. See note p. 76. Possibly, ‚ignored‛

or ‚disregarded‛ would be a better way of putting it, but ‚moral and
spiritual‛ would still be redundant. Someone who steps over the edge of
a high cliff does not ‚violate‛ the law of Gravitation. — T.S.]
CHAPTER V
THE TRACING BOARD.
THE main teaching of the second degree is contained in
the picture of the tracing board, and with regard to at any
rate some of the incidents and facts an allegorical
meaning is evident.
The first important architectural feature mentioned is
a pair of columns stated to have been set up at the porch-
way or entrance of the Temple. These pillars seem
always to have had a peculiar fascination for our masonic
ancestors, and even in the early days of the Comacines
we find them setting up Boaz and Jachin in the porch of
the medieval church at Wurzburg, but their symbolical
history runs back very much further even than the days
of King Solomon's Temple. The two pillars Tat and Tattu
are found in the early papyri of the Book of the Dead in
Egypt, and appear to have had the meaning of ‚In
Strength‛ and ‚To establish firmly,‛1 but even among the
primitive initiatory sites of the Yaos in Nyasaland the
boys, after various adventures, have to pass between two
pillars. The original meaning of these pillars was un-
1[The casual nature of this reference makes it difficult to work out exactly
what Ward is referring to. The djed pillar (dd, Ö) certainly seems to have
been a symbol of ‚stability‛ and there are related words written with the
same glyph denoting ‚stable, enduring‛ and ‚stability, duration‛ (see
Faulkner’s dictionary); the only thing I can find for Tattu is Ddw, Djedu
(Busiris), a town in the Delta important in the cult of Osiris and frequently
mentioned in Middle Kingdom ‚Coffin Texts‛ (Budge, Book of the Dead,
also uses the reading ‚Tattu‛ for Ddwt, Mendes). The name was written
with a duplication of the Djed-pillar glyph and there are references to the
setting-up of a djed-pillar in Djedu, apparently some kind of festival in the
Osiris-cult (e.g. BD cap. 18). Ward’s analogy falls down because (outside
of the hieroglyphic writing) the djed-pillar is depicted as single. — T.S.]
86
THE TRACING BOARD . 87
doubtedly phallic, and in rites dealing with whence we

come are obviously appropriate. The use of the word s.2
in a ceremony which, like these Yao rites, aims at increas-
ing the procreative powers of the members of the tribe by
a magical ritual, is obvious, but at a later date more
ethical meanings were naturally grafted on to the basic
one. That this original idea was not forgotten when the
twin columns were set up by King Solomon is clear from
the description of the chapiters. The net work, denoting
union, combined with the lily work, denoting virginity,
and the subsequent reference to the pomegranates with
their abundant seeds convey the same lesson, as do
certain other adornments of the columns, but already
other more evolved ideas had been grafted on to the age
old symbols. Thus, the fact that they were formed
hollow in order to serve as archives for Freemasonry, for
therein were deposited, etc., seems to refer to the doctrine
of re-incarnation. The constitutional rolls in this case are
the effects of his past lives which are already latent in the
child. It is clear at any rate that there must be an allegory
here, for the statement if intended to be accepted literally
is absurd. No sensible person would really put the con-
stitutional rolls inside a hollow pillar, they would be
placed in the muniments room of the Temple.
The reverence paid to pillars or to monolithic stones is
well known to every anthropologist, and undoubtedly
was Phallic in origin. In the Bible, for example, we find
constant denunciations by the prophets against the
worship of stocks and stones;3 the stock being a pillar of
wood corresponding to the stone monolith, to which the
2*Probably ‚strength‛ again, but I am not totally sure on this. — T.S.]
3[And yet the mythical ancestor of the Israelites is represented as setting
up a stone pillar, and anointing it with oil as a symbol of his God (Gen.
xxviii, 18 sqq.), and elsewhere as setting up pillars and cairns as memorials
of pacts with his in-laws (ib. xxxi, 45). — T.S.]
worshippers were in the habit of addressing prayers con-

taining the phrase ‚Thou hast begotten me.‛
The use of the two pillars also reminds us of the gate-
way of birth through which we enter physical life, and so
by analogy we get the idea that we must enter the
mystical temple of Divine Life between similar pillars.
From such ideas would naturally evolve the suggestion
that of the two pillars one was black, the other white; one
of fire, the other of cloud.4 Thus we get the opposition
between light and darkness, day and night, good and
evil, male and female. Moreover, we do know that in
many of the ancient mysteries, and in the savage ini-
tiatory rites of a boy into manhood, it was very usual for
the Can. to be obliged to pass between two pillars.
The opposition between light and darkness is also
taught by the checkered pavement of our lodges. This
pavement is a symbol used in many religions, and the
Persian poet Omar Khayyam writes as follows:—
‚ Life is a checker board of nights and days,
Where Destiny with men for pieces plays,
Hither and thither moves and mates and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays.‛
Certainly this is one of the meanings of the mosaic pave-
ment, although in addition, as Sir John Cockburn has
pointed out, the word ‚mosaic‛ may be connected with
the same root as the word Moses, which means ‚Saved
from the flood.‛ If this be so the checkered pavement
would be derived from the mosaic effect produced by the
receding flood of the Nile as it left the land on either side
dry after the floods. Let us now consider the names
given to these two pillars by the Jews. If we turn to the
4 [This seems a complete non sequitur, since the external human anatomy
alluded to does not display such marked asymmetry. — T.S.]
Hebrew words themselves we shall find that they had a

secret inner meaning among the Kabalists. These Jewish
sages had a special and secret interpretation of the Old
Testament, and one part of this secret was to read certain
significant names backwards. If this is done in the case of
the two words under consideration we find that their
conjoint and full signification is ‚Being fortified‛ by the
practice of every moral virtue we are now ‚Properly
prepared‛ to undergo that last and greatest trial.5 The
official interpretation given is not without significance, so
far as the first word is concerned, for God said that He
would establish the House of David for ever, but while
we can perceive the importance of the ancestor of King
Solomon6 what of the Assistant High Priest? Firstly, it
must be recognised that the first column was considered
to be the Royal column, and the other was the Priestly,
and the explanation may refer to this. In that case we
obtain a declaration as to the necessity for Church and
State as the foundation for civilization. It is interesting,
however, to note that those who look for a Christian
interpretation of our rituals are able to point out that
while the first name refers to the founder of the House of
Jesse, the other name is that of the last male ancestor of
Christ, namely, the husband of St. Anne, and the Father
5 *The phrase ‚last and greatest trial‛ is from the 3° initiation. I am still at
a loss as to where Ward gets these Kabbalastic glosses from since neither
of my Hebrew dictionaries has any entry at all for boz or ykyn, nor does the
Kabbalistic lexicon in tom. I of Kabala denudata. — T.S.]
6 [i.e., the Boaz of the Book of Ruth, the male-line great-grandfather of
David. The genealogy at the end of that book has a tacked-on look to it, of
a kind with the way the compilers of the Jataka declared characters in the
Indian folk-tales they adapted to be previous incarnations of Gautama the
Buddha. The assistant high priest called Jachin is likely an invention of an
author or reviser of the degree; the only biblical personage of that name
was one of the sons of Simeon, mentioned in passing in the books of
Genesis and Numbers. — T.S.]
of the Virgin Mary.7 Thus the names of these two pillars

represent the beginning and the end of the House of
Jesse, from whom was drawn the body of the Saviour of
Mankind.
As there is a school of symbologists who consider that
the whole of the Craft degrees can be interpreted in the
Christian sense, these facts cannot be ignored. If their
interpretation is correct the apparently casual reference
to Hiram Abiff, the son of a widow, takes on a new
significance in association with these pillars. In any case
this is the first mention in his progress through masonry
that the Can. hears of the famous Architect. Hiram Abiff
is regarded as a prototype of the Great Master, and there
does certainly seem to be a striking similarity between
the chief incidents in the lives of both of them.8 But this
fact will become more evident when the F.C. has taken
his M.M. degree.
7 *The genealogies in Matthew and Luke trace Joseph’s ancestry through
David to Abraham, &c. (and thus include Boaz) but make no mention of
the ancestors of Jesus on the mother’s side. Likely someone noticed the
absurdity of tracing the male-line descent to David and Jesse in order to fit
various supposed Messianic prophecies while denying that Joseph was
anything other than an adoptive father, and so fabricated a further gene-
alogy on the mother’s side; in any case the Protoevangelion of James (the
earliest known ‚infancy gospel‛) called Mary’s parents Joachim ('Iwakeˆm)
and Anna, and made a miracle out of Mary’s birth. The story was further
elaborated by the Infancy Gospel of pseudo-Matthew which makes both
parents of the tribe of Judah and family of David. In any case the
Protoevangelion is generally regarded as a piece of pseudoepigraphy of the
mid-second century C.E. — T.S.]
8 [In the first book of Kings (vii, 13-47), Huram (Hiram) from Tyre is a
craftsman in bronze who only turns up after the shell of the temple is com-
pleted, and makes the pillars and their ornaments, the brazen sea and
various other bronze furnishings, then after finishing his work drops out
of the narrative. In 2 Chronicles ii. 13 sqq., Huram-Abi (his mother is there
from the tribe of Dan rather than Napthali) comes with a recommendation
from the King of Tyre extolling his skill in ‚gold and silver, bronze and
iron, stone and wood < yarn and fine linen‛ despite which he is only
credited with the same bronze-work as in I Kings. — T.S.]
Before leaving the subject of these two pillars it is of

interest to point out that pillars are regarded as emblems
of stability among many races, and on a ‚chop,‛ or certi-
ficate, used by one of the great Chinese secret societies
the character KEH, meaning a pillar, is used, which has
among the Chinese the further meaning of Stability.9
Sir John Cockburn recently pointed to a most pregnant
fact. It is well-known that in the course of oral transmis-
sion foreign words become so corrupt in form that there
comes a time when they cease to be intelligible, and in
consequence attempts are made to replace them by a word
whose meaning is known, and whose shape is similar to
that of the corrupt word. Many masonic students suspect
that this has occurred in our ceremonies, and Sir John
suggested that the Greek words Iacchus and Boue were
the original names attached to these pillars. Iacchus or
Bacchus was the God of Youth and of the procreative
powers, who in some of the Grecian mysteries was slain
and rose again, while Boue10 means the primeval chaos,
the dark womb of time, and so the womb.
This interpretation cannot be rejected lightly. Firstly,
the appropriateness of such words to these two degrees
is self-evident, but even more striking is the fact that the
Supreme Council 33° of France gives to its members an
esoteric interpretation of all the important words used in
Freemasonry, and it interprets J. as the phallus, and B.as
the womb.11 Spiritually interpreted this would mean that
9 *My knowledge of Chinese being nil, I can’t identify this character. —
T.S.]
10 *I can’t find this in Middle Liddell, but cf. the French word for ‘mud’
and Heb. whB in Gen. i. 2. The B£au mentioned in the cosmogony of

Sanchoniathon (there glossed ‚night‛) may be related. — T.S.]
11 [This though is simply a gloss on the initial letters, y and b. In this
whole line of argument, Ward forgets a fact which he previously alluded
to, that the 1° and 2° words were swapped round by the ‚Moderns‛ in the
18th century following exposures of the ritual. — T.S.]
the God of Life and Light, Iacchus, descended into the

womb of chaos and brought forth Life.
The tracing board having at considerable length, and
in great detail, described these pillars, goes on to give a
certain amount of information about the men who
actually built the Temple, and a very clear distinction is
drawn between the reward received for their labours by
the E.A.’s and the F.C.’s. The E.A.’s, representing those
who as yet are not very spiritually evolved, obtain mere-
ly simple maintenance, whereas it is specifically stated
that the F.C.’s were paid their wages in specie, which
however they could only receive in the Middle Chamber.
In other words, their wages were of a spiritual nature
suitable to their more evolved spirituality, and that this
was so is proved by the fact that they received them in
the Middle Chamber, which is an allegory for the secret
chamber of the Heart where dwells the Divine Spark. In
all mystical language, and all descriptions of mystical
experience, this hidden chamber of the Heart is spoken of
as the place where dwells the God in man. It is in reality
a state of mystical experience, where the soul realizes,
and for a brief moment of time becomes one with, the
Divine Source of all. That this is so intended is clearly
indicated by the statement that, when our ancient
Brethren entered the Middle Chamber their attention was
peculiarly directed to certain Hebrew characters, usually
depicted in our Lodges by the letter G. denoting God, the
Grand Geometrician of the Universe. Now the Hebrew
characters stood for Yod-He-Vau-He, or Jehovah, the Great
Architect of the Universe, but since, as has already been
explained, each F.C. in himself stands for ‚Shin,‛ in com-
bination with himself he finds in the Middle Chamber the
name of the Messiah, Yeheshue, (Jesus) Who is the Grand
Geometrician of the Universe or God made Flesh, Who
dwells among us. Bearing this fact in mind we shall the

better understand the ceremony of closing, wherein the
J.W., representing the Body, declares that in this degree
they have discovered a sacred symbol, representing God.
The fact that it is the J.W. who makes this announcement,
and not the S.W., is explained by the correct inter-
pretation of the Winding Staircase. This Staircase is our
own body, as we shall explain later.
The ancient Brethren were not permitted to ascend
this Staircase until they had satisfied the J.W. that they
were truly F.C.’s, but he does not ask of them the F.C.’s
Word as one might expect, but the Pass Word leading to
that degree. This is of course right, for he deals with the
simple necessities of life which the E.A. receives, and
which to the truly spiritual man, such as the F.C. claims
to be, are plenty, whereas the true W., with its priestly
meaning, belongs to the S .W. or Soul. The J.W. has no
part or lot in that, but it is his task to see that the Body is
in good condition, for a diseased body may easily
hamper the Soul in its progress. Masonry deprecates
those foolish ascetics who torture and illtreat the body, as
much as it does gross and luxurious livers, who over
indulge the physical and thus hinder the soul’s advance.
The explanation of the origin of the Word,12 although
taken from the Bible, no doubt has an inner meaning. In
one version we are told that Jephtha, like Joseph, and
before him Ishmael, was rejected by his relations, and
went out from his father’s house to a strange country.
When, however, Gilead was threatened by the Ammon-
12 [The context indicates it is the Pass Word Shibboleth being referred to.
See Judges xi, 1 – xii, 8 for the story of Jephtha, in particular xii, 6. The
whole episode can scarcely be called edifying, it describes one of the
nastier tribal wars preceding the establishment of the Israelite monarchy,
and has the ‘hero’ killing his daughter as a human sacrifice to Yahveh
following one of his victories. — T.S.]
ites and sent a deputation to him begging him to come to

their help and organise armed resistance, he forgave the
unkindness he had suffered and saved his native city.
Thus we can see that, like One who came after him, he
was ‚The stone which the Builders rejected which
became the headstone of the corner.‛ So here again we
get a reference to the Saviour of men and to Preservation.
The Winding Staircase with its three, five, seven or
more steps, must have puzzled many thoughtful
Brethren, who have no doubt wondered why it was that
those who codified our rituals could not make up their
minds concerning the exact number of steps the Staircase
had. This very fact warns us that it is an allegory, for the
thing disguised under this name can be considered to
consist of three parts, five parts, seven parts, and possibly
more. The three who rule a Lodge represent the Body,
Soul, and Spirit which constitute Man. The five who
form a Lodge are the five senses of the physical man. But
the physical man has both soul and spirit, each of which
has its own peculiar sense, the Soul having psychic
faculties, and the spirit the mystical and inspirational.
There have been in the past, as the Bible indicates, men
who had second sight, and there were the prophets who
spoke by Divine inspiration. Although the ordinary man
while on earth only functions through the five physical
senses, those who are approaching perfection, such as the
great Masters and religious teachers of the world, func-
tion through all seven. The reference to the five noble
orders of architecture is certainly an 18th century addi-
tion, for our medieval Brethren cared nothing about
them, while the reference to the seven liberal arts and
sciences is probably a Post-Reformation gloss. They are
good enough for an exoteric interpretation, but obviously
disguise something more profound. The five noble
orders of architecture when applied to the Temple of

King Solomon, are of course an absurd anachronism.
Perhaps at this point one should explain that the Temple
at Jerusalem, masonically, is an allegory for the Temple
of Humanity raised to the glory of God, or, to use a
Christian simile, the Church of Christ on earth, into
whose fabric every true mason is built, dedicating his
body and soul as a perfect ashlar in its construction. This
Winding Staircase spiralled round a central column, so
that when the Brethren reached the top they had ad-
vanced neither to the East not to the West, but were still
revolving around the centre. To an Eastern Brother this
Winding Staircase will certainly recall the ladder of re-
incarnation, by the gradual ascent of which the Soul in
time returns to God, from Whom it came, travelling
upwards in a spiral.
But to the Western mind this Staircase is our own
body, subdued, brought under control, and dedicated to
the glory of God. This done we receive our wages, which
are knowledge of God in that hidden chamber which is
within us. No other man and no external organisation
can really give us knowledge of God, that is an experi-
ence which each must discover for himself, and in him-
self, as every mystic has taught, no matter to what
external religion he conformed. Mysticism is not an
organised religion, in rivalry with any of the established
faiths, but is the real truth enshrined in every religion,
and the force which gives that religion vitality.
Therefore it is that we find among Mahommedans,
Buddhists, Jews, Hindoos, and Christians men who, while
they often employ different symbols, use them to de-
scribe precisely the same spiritual experiences.
Finally, let us note that the last guardian who has to be
passed is the Soul, which itself passes the man who is a
true F.C. into that hidden Chamber. When he has thus

proved himself a true priest in the spiritual sense, the
Soul enables him to discover the God Who is within him,
and that this Divine Spark is ever linked to the Source of
All. It should, however, be clearly understood that this
discovery of God within ourselves is not the end of the
Mystic Quest, for the evolving Soul has other experiences
to go through, some of a most painful spiritual nature,
before he achieves final and complete union with the
Source of his being. But until he has had this first
experience, this first realisation of the Divine Spark
within him, he cannot start on the real quest; for he is not
yet properly prepared. He may, and will, come out from
that secret Chamber again and again, to take his part in
the ordinary life of the world, but having once glimpsed
the splendour of the Divine he will realise the glorious
heritage to which he is the heir, and will not be content
until he has completed his journey. Nevertheless, it may
truly be said that these occasional experiences, brief and
passing though they be, are the just reward of his
labours. This then is the great lesson of the second de-
gree, that by ourselves, and in ourselves, we can discover
and realize God, more especially in His Preservative
aspect. This discovery means more than an acquiescence
in the statement of others that there is such a Being as
God, it is the realisation by oneself of this stupendous
fact, a thing almost impossible to describe in words
except to those who have experienced it, while to them it
needs no description.
CHAPTER VI
CLOSING CEREMONY.
AS in the first degree the Spirit calls the Body and Soul to
show that they are on guard against this world. The
Spirit then asks the Body what it has discovered now that
it has conformed to the laws of rectitude, as a true F.C.,
and the Body replies that it has discovered a Sacred
Symbol. This sacred symbol, of course, is that same letter
G mentioned in the tracing board, which corresponds
with the Hebrew characters for the Name of God. As we
have already explained the full significance of these four
letters we will not now discuss them further, but a few
brief lines dealing with the valuable suggestion of Sir
John Cockburn, that the letter G was originally depicted
in the medieval lodges by a square, calls for some con-
sideration. Sir John has pointed out on many occasions
that the square, more particularly the gallows square, was
always regarded with very great veneration by the Mason;
because not only was it an important working tool, with
a symbolical meaning attached to it, but it was also the
shape of the gamma, or G, in the Greek alphabet, as well
as in the ecclesiastical script used in mediæval Europe.
Thus the letter G and the gallows square were the same
shape, and stood alike for God and His great character-
istic ‚Justice.‛ Indeed, the square is often found embroi-
dered on the vestments of the disciples in mediæval
paintings, and when depicted separately these are called
‚gammadias,‛ that is, ‚gammas,‛ but when combined to
form the Swastica it is called the ‚gammadion.‛
References to this identification of the square and the G.
are found in several old rituals, as Sir John points out,—
97
Q.—Why did you get to be made an F.C.?

A.—On account of the letter G.—
and an old masonic legend found in one of these rituals,
describing a murderous assault made by some of the
workmen on one of the chief overseers of the work,
relates that one of the wretches struck the overseer a
blow over the heart with a square. When the victim was
subsequently discovered those who found him noticed a
faint trace of the letter G on his breast, and they under-
stood it as symbolising the whole hearted devotion
which the victim had always displayed towards God, the
Grand Geometrician of the Universe.
Another interesting point about the square is that if
four right angles are joined together with the angles
inward, an equal-armed cross, or cross of the cardinal
points, is formed. This cross of course has many inner
meanings, but one at least is that it represents the earth
and matter, just as does the four-sided square, which also
can be formed out of four gallows squares. Finally the
Swastica, which later symbolised the sun, is also com-
posed of four right angles: hence the vital fluid permea-
ting matter makes of it a living soul. In this last aspect
the Swastica becomes an emblem for God Himself, and
thus the square in itself represents not only God, but also
the universe which He preserves by His Divine Spirit.
So it will be seen that the sacred symbol which the
F.C .’s declare that they have discovered is of far greater
significance than most brethren would suspect; in fact, in
these few brief words of the closing ceremony we obtain
a summary of the whole purpose of the degree, and
realise why, throughout the whole of it, the square is
emphasised. Nor must we forget that the J.W. when he
announces this discovery stands in the correct position to
indicate that he represents that fifth letter, the missing
‚sh,‛ which changes the name of the Creator into that of

the Preserver—Yeheshue. Moreover, he declares the
sacred symbol is situated in the centre of the building.
Bearing in mind that in the tracing board we were told
that our ancient brethren discovered this symbol in the
Middle Chamber we shall perceive that the Lodge itself is
now the Chamber into which the Can. has ascended by
the winding staircase of the five steps which led him to
the E.
The fact that it is in the Centre reminds us of that
hidden centre in every man, where resides the Divine
Spark, and brings to our recollect ion the statement in the
first tracing board that there is a point within a circle
around which the Brethren cannot err.
In lodges in the Provinces, which have their own Tem-
ples, it is usual to see depicted on the roof a pentacle, in
the middle of which can be seen the letter G. In this case
the pentacle represents man with his five senses, with the
G at the centre to remind us of the Divine Spark within.
On the floor directly underneath is inlaid in brass a point
within a circle, which circle is bounded on the north and
south side by two grand parallel lines, usually described
as the two St. Johns, but stated in our ritual to represent
Moses and King Solomon. They also undoubtedly sym-
bolize many other things, e.g., the two pillars of night and
day, good and evil, male and female, etc. The point I
wish to stress, however, is that the brass point at the
centre of the circle is directly underneath the G in the
pentacle on the roof, thus emphasising the interpretation
we have been studying. It is a thousand pities that in
most of our London Lodges both these essential orna-
ments of the Lodge are omitted from the decorations, as
by so doing their intimate connection is apt to be over-
looked by the brethren, and even the words of the ritual
become untrue. Thus the F.C. degree teaches us that we

only begin to recognize the God within us when we have
lived a good life. There is also, probably, a reference to
the word ‚Generation,‛ which is naturally associated
with the life of the fully developed man. The meaning of
this is that, while the power of begetting is a Godlike gift,
for it creates physical life, yet we must use it with respect,
and for the noblest ends. It is only when we are masters
of our passions in this respect that we are fitted for the
last and greatest trial.
It is noteworthy that it is the J.W., representing the
Body, who plays the most important part in the closing of
this degree; which is of course appropriate, as we have
been dealing throughout with the body and its five
senses. This phase is carried through to the very end, as
is shown in the curious doggerel lines with which the
J.W. performs the last act of closing. As given in Emu-
lation they are only three, but in the Provinces they are
four, and form a curious jingling rhyme which runs as
follows—
Happy have we met,
Happy have we been,
Happy may we part,
And happy meet again,
Personally I prefer this version to that in Emulation
which, for some unaccountable reason, omits the second
line, although it is quite as important as the first or third.
Clearly the Brethren might be happy to part because they
had been unhappy during the ceremony! The inner
significance of the lines, however, is that the body bears
testimony that earthly happiness can only be found by
those who know God.
The closing prayer by the W.M. contains one impor-
tant phrase, which seems to be an ancient landmark
carried down in our ritual from a long distant past, viz.,

the All-seeing eye. This Sacred Eye was a divine
emblem, and an important talisman among the ancient
Egyptians, even as it still is among the Chinese, who
paint it on the bows of their ships to protect them and
preserve them from misfortune. It is essentially an
emblem of God the Preserver, and its inclusion in the
closing prayer of the second degree indicates how care-
fully the preservative aspect of God is stressed, from the
beginning to the very end of the ceremony.
This concludes all that it is possible to deal with in this
little book concerning the second degree, but those
whose interest has been aroused will be well advised to
do two things; firstly, to study the ritual itself, in order to
discover additional inner meanings, which do exist,
although they have not been dealt with here, lest we
should befog our newly passed Brethren; and secondly,
study the lectures on this degree, which contain a great
deal of interesting information, much of it with an inner
meaning seldom appreciated by those who have only
read them through hastily. Finally we will add that in
the M.M.’s Handbook will be found an explanation of
several points which we have had to omit in this book,
but which show how carefully each of our degrees is
linked up with the one that follows, and how they
gradually unfold to the attentive student many important
and illuminating truths.
No. 3
The Master Mason’s Book
OLD IRISH APRON. DATED 1790.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
THE third degree in Freemasonry is termed the Sublime
Degree, and the title is truly justified. Even in its exoteric
aspect its simple, yet dramatic, power must leave a
lasting impression on the mind of every Candidate. But
its esoteric meaning contains some of the most profound
spiritual instruction which it is possible to obtain to-day.
Even the average man, who entered Freemasonry with
little realisation of its real antiquity and elaborate symbo-
lism, cannot fail to be impressed with the solemnity of
this, its greatest degree. In its directness and apparent
simplicity rests its tremendous power. The exoteric and
esoteric are interwoven in such a wonderful way that it is
almost impossible to separate the one from the other, and
the longer it is studied the more we realise the profound
and ancient wisdom concealed therein. Indeed, it is
probable that we shall never master all that lies hidden in
this degree till we in very truth pass through that reality
of which it is an allegory.
The two degrees which have gone before, great and
beautiful though they be, are but the training and prepa-
ration for the message which the third degree holds in
almost every line of the ritual. Here at length we learn
the true purpose of Freemasonry. It is not merely a
system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by
symbols, but a great adventure, a search after that which
was lost; in other words, the Mystic Quest, the craving of
the Soul to comprehend the nature of God and to achieve
union with Him.
Different men vary greatly; to some the most pro-
found teachings appeal, while to others simpler and
105
106 THE MASTER MASON ’ S BOOK .
more direct instruction is all they crave. But there is

hardly a man who has not, at some time or other, amid
the turmoil and distraction of this material world, felt a
strange and unaccountable longing for knowledge as to
why he was ever sent here, whence he came, and whither
he is wending. At such times he feels like a wanderer in
a strange land, who has almost forgotten his native
country, because he left it so long ago, but yet vaguely
realises that he is an exile, and dimly craves for some
message from that home which he knew of yore.
This is the voice of the Divine Spark in man calling out
for union with the Source of its being, and at such times
the third degree carries with it a message which till then,
perhaps, the brother had not realised. The true Secrets
are lost, but we are told how and where we shall find
them. The gateway of death opens the way to the point
within the circle, where the longing spirit will find peace
in the arms of the Father of All.
Thus it will be seen that the third degree strikes a
more solemn note than even that of death itself, and I
have endeavoured in this little book to convey in outline
some part at least of this sublime message.
As in my previous books, I freely confess that I have
not covered the whole ground. Not only would it be im-
possible to do so in a book of this size, but in so doing I
should have defeated one of my principal objects in
writing it, namely, to inspire others to study for them-
selves, and endeavour to find in our ceremonies further
and deeper meanings.
The success of the earlier books shows clearly that my
efforts have not been in vain, and that the brethren are
more than anxious to fathom the inner meaning of the
ceremonies we all love so well. This book completes the
series dealing with the meaning of the three craft de-
PREFACE . 107
grees, but their popularity has convinced me that the

experiment of producing a small and inexpensive hand-
book has been completely justified. I have therefore been
encouraged to write further volumes, and since the value
of our teachings depends largely on the antiquity of our
Order, the next volume of the series will be an outline
history in which I shall endeavour to prove that Free-
masonry is, as it claims to be, ‚from time Immemorial.‛1
In conclusion I would add that the title of this work
has been changed from ‚The M.M.’s Handbook‛ to ‚The
M.M.’s Book,‛ as I find there already exists a book
published by Messrs. Geo. Kenning entitled ‚The Master
Mason’s Handbook,‛ which gives useful, practical infor-
mation to members of our Order. Though the subject
matter of the two books differs completely, yet it would
obviously be unfair and misleading if, in view of their
previous use of the title, I also employed it.
J.S.M.W.
The Sun is like a spark of fire,

A transient meteor in the sky;
The Soul, immortal as its Sire,
Shall never die !
Shall never die !
1 [Nos. 4 & 5 in this series were ‚An Outline History of Freemasonry‛

(a.k.a. ‚The History Handbook‛) and ‚The Higher Degrees Handbook.‛
They are not included in the present volume. The latter was a brief survey
of various appendant degrees including ‚Mark and Ark,‛ Royal Arch, the
Cryptic Degrees, the Allied Degrees, Rose-Croix and Kadosch, the Royal
Order of Scotland and various chivalric bodies. I have not so far had a
chance to examine the former, which appears to be rare. — T.S.]
INTRODUCTION
BY SIR JOHN A. COCKBURN
W. BRO Ward has lost no time in supplying his large

circle of readers with this little book on the 3°. With be-
coming reverence he touches on the last great lesson
which Masonry presents to the mind of the Craftsman.
Among the manifold blessings that Freemasonry has con-
ferred on mankind none is greater than that of taking the
sting from death and robbing the grave of victory. No
man can be called Free who lives in dread of the only
event that is certain in his life. Until emancipated from
the fear of death he is all his life long subject to bondage.
Yet how miserably weak is this phantom king of Terrors
who enslaves so many of the uninitiated. As Francis
Bacon remarked there is no passion in the mind of man
that does not master the dread of death. Revenge
triumphs over it; love slights it; honour aspireth to it;
grief flieth to it. Death has always been regarded as the
elucidation of the Great Mystery. It was only at the
promise of dissolution that the seeker after the Elixir of
Life exclaimed Eureka. Masonry regards death but as the
gate of life, and the Master Mason learns to look forward
with firm but humble confidence to the moment when he
will receive his summons to ascend to the Grand Lodge
above.
Brother Ward very properly attaches much signifi-
cance to the Pass Words leading to the 2° and 3°. In the
Elusinian Mysteries an ear of corn was presented to the
Epoptai. This, as an emblem of Ceres, represented by the
S. W., is appropriate to the F.C.’s who are under the
guidance of that officer; while the name of the first
108
INTRODUCTION . 109
artificer in metals, which is reminiscent of Vulcan the

Celestial Blacksmith, seems specially befitting to the attri-
butes of the J.W., as it was in the days before 1740. The
author sees in the lozenge formed by two of the great
lights a representation of the Vesica Piscis. This symbol,
whose literal meaning is ‚the bladder of the fish,‛ is of
deep significance. Some see in it the essential scheme of
ecclesiastical architecture. But as the spiritually blind are
unable to discern similitudes, so those who are gifted
with deep insight are apt to over-estimate analogies. The
Vesica Piscis being, as Brother Ward rightly states, a
feminine emblem, and therefore one sided, can hardly
represent the equilibrium attained by the conjunction of
the square and compasses. These respectively stand for
the contrasted correlatives which pervade Creation, and,
like the pillars, are typical when conjoined of new
stability resulting from their due proportion in the
various stages of Evolution. The progressive disclosures
of the points of the compasses seems to indicate the
ultimate realisation of the spirituality of matter; the at-
onement and reconciliation at which Freemasonry and all
true religions aim.
Brother Ward repeatedly points out the similarity that
exists between the lessons of Christianity and of Free-
masonry. It is indeed difficult to distinguish between
them. The Ancient Mysteries undoubtedly possessed in
secret many of the truths proclaimed in the gospel. St.
Augustine affirms that Christianity, although not pre-
viously known by that name, had always existed. But
whereas the hope of immortality was formerly in the
Mysteries confined to a favoured few, the new Covenant
opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Incidentally this little volume clears up many passages
which are obscure in the Ritual. For example, there could
be no object in directing that the F. C.’s, who, on account

of their trustworthiness, were selected by the King to
search for the Master, should be clothed in white to prove
their innocence. That was already beyond question. The
order was evidently meant for the repentant twelve who
took no actual part in the crime. This and similar incon-
sistencies in the Ritual may be accepted as evidence of its
antiquity. Had it been a modern compilation such con-
tradictions would have been studiously avoided.
It is probable that many earnest Masons may not agree
with all of Brother Ward’s interpretations. Nor can such
unanimity reasonably be expected. Freemasonry, as a
gradual accretion of the Wisdom of Ages Immemorial,
bears traces of many successive schools of thought. But
all its messages are fraught with hope for the regener-
ation of humanity. The author intimated his desire in
this series of handbooks to lead others to prosecute the
study of Masonry for themselves; and indeed he has
abundantly proved that in its unfathomable depths there
are many gems of priceless ray serene which will well
repay the search. Brother Ward is heartily to be con-
gratulated on having attained the object he had in view.
JOHN A. COCKBURN.
CHAPTER I
QUESTIONS AND PASS WORD.
THOSE of our Brethren who have read the previous two
books of this series will not need much help in under-
standing the significance of the questions which are put
to the Can. before being raised. Practically every
question has been dealt with in detail in the previous
book; the majority of them are taken from incidents in the
Lectures and Tracing Board, and since the latter was
explained at some length we shall not now detain our
readers long.
The manner of preparation for the second degree
stressed the masculine side, which is characteristic of it.
The admission on a Square indicated that the Can. had
profited by the moral training received in the First
degree, and that his conduct has always been on the
Square.
There is, however, a deep esoteric meaning in the
apparent platitude that it is the fourth part of a circle.
The circle among all the ancient nations is a symbol of
God the Infinite, Whose name we discovered in the
second degree in the Middle Chamber, where we learnt
that it consisted of four letters. Thus the Can. was admit-
ted on one letter of the Mystic Name, and if the four
Squares are united with the circle in a peculiar way they
form the cosmic cross, emblem of matter, within the
circle of the Infinite.
We have in the last book considered at such length
what is implied by the words ‚Hidden mysteries of nature
and science,‛ that we need here only refer our readers to
that section wherein we saw that in former times these
111
hidden mysteries undoubtedly referred to certain occult

powers, which would be dangerous if acquired by a man
who had not proved himself to be of the highest moral
character.
The ‚wages‛ we receive consist of the power to com-
prehend the nature of God, Who resides in the Middle
Chamber of the Soul of every Mason. The F.C. receives
his wages without scruple or diffidence because the
Spiritual benefit he receives from Freemasonry is in exact
proportion to his desire, and ability, to comprehend its
inner meaning.
He cannot receive either more or less than he has
earned, for if he has not understood the profound lesson
of the Divinity within him, naturally he cannot benefit by
this fact.
His employers are the Divine Trinity, of Whom Justice
is one of the outstanding attributes. God could not be
unjust and remain God. This conception is almost a
platitude, but the average man, while realising that God
will not withhold any reward earned, is at times apt to
assume that because God is love He will reward us more
than we deserve. This is clearly a mistake, for God could
not be partial without ceasing to be God, therefore the
F.C. receives exactly the Spiritual wages he has earned,
and neither more nor less, but some F.C.’s will never-
theless obtain a greater reward than others, because
spiritually they have earned it.
The significance of the names of the Pillars was ex-
plained in the last book, but in view of the nature of the
third degree it seems advisable to point out once more
that their secret Kabalistic meaning is (1) Being fortified
by every moral virtue, (2) you are now properly pre-
pared, (3) to undergo that last and greatest trial which fits
you to become a M.M. Thus we see that even the Words
QUESTIONS AND PASS WORD . 113
of the preceding degrees lead up to this, the last and

greatest.
The remark of the W.M. that he will put other ques-
tions if desired, as in the former case, indicates the
possibility of members of the Lodge asking questions
based on the Lectures of the Second Degree, or even on
the Tracing Board. It is, indeed, a pity that this right is
practically never exercised. For example, a particularly
appropriate question would be ‚What was the Name of
the man who cast the two great pillars?‛ As it is, the
Can. in a dramatic way represents the closing incidents in
the life of this great man, whose importance till then he
had hardly had any opportunity of realising.
Having answered these test questions, the candidate is
again entrusted with a Pass Word, etc., to enable him to
enter the Lodge after it has been raised to the Third
degree during his temporary absence. We have in the
previous book explained that the raising of a Lodge
should alter the vibrations of those present by a process
well recognised in the ceremonies of Magic, and, to
enable the Can. quickly to become in tune with these
higher spiritual vibrations, a word of ‚power‛ is given
him, which in a moment places him on the same plane as
the other members of the Lodge. This word he has to
give, not only outside the door of the Lodge, but also
immediately before his presentation by the S.W. as
‚Properly prepared to be raised to the Third Degree.‛ It
is only after this has been done that the real ceremony of
the Third Degree, so far as the Can. is concerned, begins,
and therefore that the full force of the vibrations of the
M.M.’s come into play.
The Pass Word itself is of the greatest significance,
more especially when combined with the Pass Word
leading from the First to the Second degree. At one time
the Pass Words were reversed. Tubal Cain being the

Word leading to the Second, and Shibboleth the Word
leading to the Third. This is still the case in those foreign
Grand Lodges, such as the Dutch and the French, which
derive from us before 1740, when the Words were altered
owing to certain unauthorised revelations.
This alteration was one of the just grievances which
brought about the secession of the so-called ‚Ancients‛
who charged Grand Lodge with altering the Ancient
Landmarks. When the Irish followed our example they
continued the prohibition of the introduction of metals
until the Third degree, which is a logical procedure, for
clearly you have no right to bring them into a Lodge until
you have been symbolically introduced to the first
artificer in that material. As the Words now stand they
convey the following spiritual lesson:—The F.C. is one
who finds the simple necessities of life, such as Corn and
Water, sufficient for his requirements. They are plenty to
the spiritually minded man, whose soul becomes clogged
and hampered by the acquisition of worldly possessions,
and since it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom
of Heaven, immediately the Can. has symbolically
received worldly possessions he is slain.
Tubal Cain conveys the lesson that worldly posses-
sions in themselves bring death to the soul, and prevent
its upward progress. To-day, the river of death con-
nected with the Pass Word leading to the Second degree
has largely lost its significance, whereas, when it was a
Pass Word leading to the Third, it was in itself a fine
allegory.
We must remember that Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
was well known and widely read at the beginning of the
18th Century, and those who were re-organising our
rituals at that time could not have been blind to the
similarity of the allegory hidden in the Word Shibboleth,

and the account by Bunyan of Christian’s fording the
river of death on the way to the Holy City. The change of
about 1740 destroyed this allegory, and its survival in the
Tracing Board is now merely one of those numerous
footmarks which to the careful student are invaluable
indications of the various transformations through which
our ritual has passed during the course of years. Never-
theless, I do not regret the change, as I think the present
spiritual lesson is even finer than the former one, but the
other arrangement was more logical. Firstly, from the
practical point of view the F. C. required the use of metal
tools to perform his operative tasks, and in the process of
his work acquired wordly possessions, in contradiction
to the E.A., who did only rough work and received only
maintenance: i.e., corn, wine, and oil. Secondly, from the
symbolical standpoint the sequence was also more
logical, for the F.C., having acquired wealth by means of
his skill, was brought to the river of death and passed
through it in the Third Degree.
According to Bro. Sanderson, in his ‚Examination of
the Masonic Ritual,‛ the actual translation of the Hebrew
word Shibboleth. is an ‚ear of corn, or a f.1 of water,‛—
hence the manner in which it is depicted in a F.C.'s
Lodge—while the word Tubal-Cain in Hebrew means
only a ‚blacksmith,‛ though another word similarly pro-
nounced means ‚acquisition.‛ Hence, as he points out,
"an allegorical title has, in translating the Old Testament,
been mistaken for the name of an actual person, for the
name itself means ‚A worker in metals.‛ Therefore the
1*Probably ‚fall,‛ but ‚flow‛ would be more accurate. A modern Hebrew-
English dictionary has ‚current (of river)‛ and records an idiom equi-
valent to the English ‚a drowning man will clutch at a straw‛ involving a
play on the double meaning of the word. The root signifying ‚plenty‛ is
rather ub*C, with related verbs and adjectives. — T.S.]
connection with Hiram Abiff is obvious. Bro. Sanderson,

quoting from the ‚Secret Discipline,‛ by S. L. Knapp,
says, ‚'In a work on ancient ecclesiastical history the
following occurs, ‘By a singular plasus linguæ the mo-
derns have substituted Tubal-Cain in the Third Degree
for tymboxein—to be entombed.’ ‛ While I am unable to
say whether Knapp is justified in this statement, it is
quite probable that this Pass Word, and indeed all the
Pass Words, are comparatively modern substitutes taken
from the Bible to replace ancient Words of power whose
full meaning was lost, and whose form in consequence
had become corrupt and unintelligible. The Greek word
tymboxein would be peculiarly suitable for a Pass Word
leading to the Third Degree, in view of its meaning, and
mediæval magical ceremonies are full of corrupt Greek
words indiscriminately mingled with equally corrupt
Hebrew and Arabic. There is, therefore, nothing
intrinsically improbable in the suggestion that this
ancient Greek word was the original from which Tubal-
Cain has been evolved. We know as a fact that large
pieces of Biblical history were imported wholesale into
our rituals in the 18th Century, and what more likely than
that an unintelligible word, already so corrupt as not
even to be recognisable as Greek, should be amended
into a well known Biblical character? However, the word
as it stands, because of its Hebrew meaning of acquisi-
tion, can correctly be translated as worldy possessions,
while as meaning an artificer in metals it clearly refers to
Hiram Abiff, who made the two pillars, and whom the
Can. is to represent. Thus, following this line of
interpretation we perceive that the Can. really represents
Hiram Abiff when he enters the Lodge, although under
the disguised title conveyed by the Pass Word.
In dealing with these Pass Words I have endeavoured
to show that there are meanings within meanings, and

the same is true of practically every important incident in
the whole ceremony. In a book of this size it is obviously
impossible to attempt to give all of these meanings, and
even if one did the result would be to befog the young
reader and so prevent him from getting a clear and con-
nected interpretation of the ceremony. It is for this reason
that, in the main, I am concentrating on one line of inter-
pretation, but I have thought it desirable in this section to
give a hint to more advanced students, so that they can
follow up similar lines of investigation for themselves.
PREPARATION.
In English and Scotch working there is no cable tow
around the Can. in preparation for the Third Degree, but
in the Irish working it is wound once around his neck, in
the Second degree twice, and in the First three times. If
we regard the cable tow as symbolising those things
which hamper a man’s spiritual progress, the gradual
unwinding of it as used in Irish workings becomes of
great significance. This interpretation implies that the
Can. is hampered in Body, Soul and Spirit in the First
Degree, whereas by the time he has reached this point in
the Third Degree Body and Soul have triumphed over
the sins which peculiarly assail them, and in that stage
symbolised by the Degree itself the Spirit has only to
triumph over Spiritual sins, such as Spiritual Pride. With
this exception the manner of preparation is the same in
all three British workings, and indicates that the Can. is
now about to consecrate both sides of his nature, active
and passive, creative and preservative, etc., to the service
of the Most High.
The explanation already given in the previous books
of the various details, such as being slip-shod, holds here,
and a brief glance at the other volumes will render it

unnecessary for me to take up valuable space in this third
book. The Can. is then brought to the Lodge door and
gives the knocks of a F.C. These Knocks indicate that
Soul and Body are in union, but the Spirit is still out of
contact, whereas the proper Knocks of a M.M. (2/1) indi-
cate that the Spirit dominates the Soul and is in union
with it, the body having fallen away into insignificance.
It will be remembered that in the first book of this series I
pointed out that the three separate knocks of an E.A.
symbolise that in the uninitiated man, Body, Soul and
Spirit are all at variance. Meanwhile the Lodge has been
raised to the Third Degree, by a ceremony whose pro-
found significance demands consideration in a separate
chapter.
CHAPTER II
THE OPENING.
HAVING satisfied himself that all present are symbolically
upright and moral men, the W.M. asks the J.W. if his
spiritual nature has evolved sufficiently to control both
soul and body. The J.W. suggests that he should be
tested, not only by the emblem of upright conduct, but
also by the Compasses. Now these combined with the
Square form a lozenge, which is itself a symbol for the
Vesica Piscis, emblem of the female principle. The
Compasses, moreover, are the instruments with which
geometrical figures are created, and more especially the
Circle. By means of circles the triangle, emblem of the
triune nature of God, is produced, while the Circle itself
is the emblem of Eternity and therefore of Spirit. A point
within the circle forms the symbol for the Hindoo
conception of the Supreme Being, Paramatma, whence
we have come and whither we shall all ultimately return.
At the centre of the Circle rests all knowledge; there shall
we find every lost secret. Now such a figure can only be
drawn with the help of the Compasses, and in drawing it
the following significant symbolical act takes place.
One point of the Compass rests at the centre, and the
other makes the circle of the Infinite. No matter how far
the legs of the Compass be extended, or how large the
Circle, the fact remains that one leg is always at the
centre. Thus the Compasses, while they travel through
infinity, are at the same time never separated from the
centre, and from that point cannot err.
This instrument may therefore be considered as
standing for the Divine Spark in Man, in all its manifes-
119
tations. One of these is conscience; but the Divine Spark

has many attributes and names.
So the J.W.’s reply indicates that he is prepared to be
tested both by the moral code and by the spiritual laws of
our being.
But after these preliminaries the proceedings become
of an even more exalted nature. All that has gone before
has been but preparation for the Great Quest on which
we must now set forth. It is the quest of the Soul for real-
isation of God, and at-one-ment with Him. This is the
Mystic Quest of all ages, and, true to the ancient sym-
bolism, it starts from the East, the place of Light, and
goes towards the West, the place of darkness and death.
The East represents God Who is our home. It indi-
cates that each soul comes out from the place of Light,
from Light itself—that is, from the very substance of
God. It descends through the Gateways of the Dawn and
becomes incarnate in Matter. But it brings with it a sense
of loss and separation, for it has come out from God, and
the Divine Spark within it longs to return whence it
came. Having lost the secret of its true nature and the
way of return, it wanders in darkness—seeking—and for
most men the way of return is through the Western
portal, the gateway of Death, for so long as we are finite
beings we cannot hope to comprehend the Infinite.
Yet there are some few exceptions to the general rule,
who, while still in the flesh, have a vision of the Divine
splendour, are caught up in it, and become one with God.
To such men the return to ordinary mundane existence
seems unreal and shadowy. Where others believe in God
they know Him, but it is almost impossible for them to
convey to others the experience through which they have
gone. Yet that such experiences are real, as real as any
other fact in life, is attested by a long line of witnesses
THE OPENING . 121
right throughout the ages.

To the average man, however, the first real step
towards the realisation of what constitutes God is
through the portal of physical death;—but even then the
end is still far off.
Hence the answer explaining how the true secrets
came to be lost indicates, not the cause of the loss, but the
first step towards the recovery, and this fact is borne out
by the subsequent events in the ceremony itself.
Note, it is the body only that dies, and by its death
enables the Soul and Spirit to re-discover in part the
secrets which were lost. Yet this death of the Body effec-
tually debars the communication of these secrets to the
sorrowing F.C.’s left behind. It is the passing through
that veil which separates life and death which starts us
on that road which ends with God.
It must never be forgotten, however, that the genuine
secrets are never recovered in the Craft, although sym-
bolically we rise from the grave, for that secret can only
be discovered at or with the Centre—i.e., with God. To
that exalted position we can only attain after long
journeys through the planes of existence beyond the
grave. In our symbolism there is nothing which indicates
that immediately after death man is fit to pass into the
presence of the King of Kings.
But the Divine Spark within us is never really separ-
ated from the Great and All-Pervading Spirit. It is still
part of it, though its glory is dimmed by the veil of flesh.
Therefore, just as one arm of the compasses ever rests on
the centre, no matter how far the other leg travels, so
however far we may travel from God, and however long
and hard the journey, the Divine Spark within us can
never be truly separated from Him, or err from that
Centre. Thus the point of the Compasses at the centre of
the circle may be considered to be the Spirit, the head of

the Compasses the Soul, and the point on the
circumference the body.1
So the task is set and the brethren go forth on the
quest, that quest which must lead through the darkness
of death, as the ceremony that follows tells in allegory. It
is not correct to say that the search hinted at in the
Opening ceremony is suddenly abandoned, and those
who think this misinterpret the whole meaning of the
legend. Never in earthly life shall we find the answer we
seek, nay, even death itself will not give it; but, having
passed beyond the grave, through the four veils of the
Scottish rite,2 and so into the Holy Royal Arch, we find an
excellent answer in allegorical and symbolical language,
whilst the jewel of the degree emphasises what the end of
the quest is.
Nor must it be forgotten that the body alone cannot
realise the nature of God, and that is why without the
help of the other two, Hiram Abiff neither could, nor
would, disclose the Secret.
The W.M.’s promise to help indicates that the Spirit
will render assistance, but though the Spirit subsequently
raises man from the grave it is not sufficiently evolved to
give him the true secret. This can only come about when
the Spirit has raised the Soul to a far higher stage of
spirituality.
1 [In considering this analogy the student may wish to meditate on the fact
that the centre is in this instance only such because one point of the
Compasses has been put there; and that wherever that point is put thus
becomes the Centre. In whom do you put your trust? — T.S.]
2 [This appears to refer, not to the 33° Scottish Rite so called, but to a
Scottish version of the Ceremony of Passing the Veils (a preliminary to

Royal Arch) which forms the basis for the degree of ‚Excellent Master,‛ an
intermediate degree between the Craft and Royal Arch in Scotland. A
‚monitor‛ for that degree was one of the books in the publishers’ adverts
in the original print editions of Ward’s handbooks. — T.S.]
THE OPENING . 123
Though this is the degree of Destruction that form of

the Trinity is not invoked, and the title used corresponds
more closely to the Hindoo name for the All-Embracing
than to their form of the Destroyer. This no doubt is
deliberate, for the symbol of this degree is the same
emblem which among the Hindoos denotes the Most
High, namely the Circle with a Point within in it.
In some Scotch rituals after the Lodge has been
opened in the first degree the Immediate Past Master, or
the D.C.,3 opens the V.S.L., and, strange to say, does so
with the words, ‚In the beginning was the Word.‛ Simi-
larly, when the Lodge is closed in the first degree the
book is closed with the words, ‚And the Word was with
God.‛ Here then we get two striking features: (1) The use
of words from the first chapter of the Gospel according to
St. John, and (2) Their correlation with the phrase in the
Third Degree, ‚At, or with the Centre.‛ This procedure
suggests that the lost Word is the Logos, or Christ, and
remembering what we have previously pointed out in
the earlier books, i.e., that there is a perfectly logical
Christian interpretation of the whole of the Craft cere-
monies, this fact becomes of increasing significance.
Before closing this chapter, I would like to add that
the Third Degree lends itself to a Christian interpretation
even more markedly than the former ones, and several of
the higher degrees in Freemasonry adopt and expand
this line of teaching.
In view of the fact that in the Middle Ages Free-
masonry was undoubtedly Christian, we cannot lightly
reject this view of the inner meaning of the ceremonies,
but as the frame work of our ceremonies apparently goes
back before Christian times, a non-Christian interpre-
tation is equally permissible.
3 [Director of Ceremonies?]
CHAPTER III
THE SYMBOLICAL JOURNEYS, ETC.
THE Can. is admitted on the Compasses, and this fact is
of far greater significance than most brethren probably
realise. Firstly, as has been noted, one arm of the
Compasses is always at the Centre, no matter how far the
other may travel. But from the point of view of the Can.,
though he knows it not, this act in a sense indicates that
his heart, and therefore he himself, is at or on the Centre.
Secondly, the Compasses in this degree link up with the
Square used in the former degree on a similar occasion.
We have seen in the previous books that the Square and
Compasses are united on the Pedestal in such a way as to
symbolise the vesica piscis, the emblem of the female
principle, and symbol of birth and rebirth. Hence sym-
bolically the Can. passes through the vesica piscis. Also
after entering the Lodge in this, as in the previous
degrees, he kneels while the blessing of Heaven is
invoked, and as he does so the wands of the deacons are
crossed above his head. He thus kneels in a triangle,
emblem of Spirit, and itself connected with the lozenge.
Two equilateral triangles make a lozenge, which is
produced from the vesica piscis—formed by two circles,
as shown by the first proposition in Euclid. In view of
the great stress laid upon Geometry throughout the
whole of our rituals these facts cannot be ignored. Our
Operative Brethren must have realised that the whole
science of Geometry arises out of this first proposition,
which shows how to make a triangle (the emblem of the
Trinity and the Spirit) by means of two circles whose
circumferences pass through the centre of each other. In
124
THE SYMBOLICAL JOURNEYS, ETC. 125
doing so they form the vesica piscis, which gives birth first
of all to the triangle, and secondly, to the double triangle,
in the form of a lozenge. This last emblem is symbolised
by the square, denoting matter, and the Compasses, de-
noting spirit. The above facts throw a flood of light upon
the interplay between these Masonic emblems.
Before leaving this subject it is worth while pointing
out that the Can. likewise takes every Obligation in Craft
masonry within this triangle, aid that the same method is
employed in other ancient rites, including those of the
Society of Heaven and Earth in China, where the Can.
kneels on one sword, while two others are held over his
head so as to form a triangle of steel.
The Can. now starts on his three symbolical journeys.
He first satisfies the J.W., representing the Body, that he
is an E.A., i.e., a man of good moral character. He next
satisfies the S. W., representing the Soul, that he has
benefited by the lessons of life and acquired intellectual
knowledge. Then comes the third journey when he is
once more challenged by the Soul, who demands the Pass
Word, the full significance of which has already been
explained. Let us combine these meanings! He comes
laden with worldly possessions, which in themselves
carry the seeds of death, unconsciously representing in
his person the worker in metals who made the twin
columns, and is about to be entombed (tymboxein).
Therefore the Soul presents him to the Spirit as one
properly prepared to carry out the part of his great
predecessor. There is a point here which we need to
realize, for it is one which is often overlooked. In the
previous degrees only one Deacon was instructed to lead
the Can. by the proper steps to the East, but here both are
needed. From the practical point of view there is no
obvious reason why the help of the J.D. should be
invoked at all, and as the ceremony is usually carried out

he does nothing but look on. I believe, however, the S.D.
should first go through the steps and the J.D. should
assist the Can. to copy his example. If this were so we
should get an almost exact repetition of the analogous
ceremony in the Royal Arch where the Principal
Sojourner, corresponding to the S.D., is helped by an
assistant. Thus, with the Can., in both cases we get a
Trinity, only one of whom actually descends into the
grave, or in the other case the vault.
As Major Sanderson has pointed out in his book, ‚An
Examination of the Masonic Ritual,‛ any man among the
primitive races who actually stepped over an open grave
would be considered to have committed sacrilege, and
almost certainly would be slain. But on the other hand
we do know that in many initiatory rites either the Can.,
or someone else for him, steps down into a grave, and is
subsequently symbolically slain therein. If this be the
true interpretation of this part of the ceremony, the
reason for the presence of the two deacons in addition to
the Can. becomes clear. It is only the Body that descends
into the grave, the Soul and the Spirit have no part
therein. Thus, for the moment, though only temporarily,
these three represent the triune nature of man, while the
three principal officers represent the triune nature of
God. The fact that this is undoubtedly true in the case of
the Royal Arch, makes it almost certain that the same
idea underlies this apparently unimportant difference
between the arrangements in the third degree, and those
followed in the first and second.
Again and again when one comes to study carefully
the details of our ritual, one finds little points, such as
these, which would certainly not have survived the
drastic revision of 1816 if there had not been present some
men who really did understand the inner meaning of our

ceremonies, and refused to allow important lessons to be
lost by the removal of what, at first sight, appear to be
unnecessary details.
Therefore, those of us who value the inner meaning of
our ceremonies owe a deep debt of gratitude to these
men, even though their actual names be unknown to us,
and on our part a duty is imposed on us that we shall not
hastily tamper with the rituals, merely because we do not
ourselves see the full significance of a phrase, or think
that by revising it we can make the wording run more
smoothly.
The next factor we must consider most carefully is the
actual steps themselves. These make the Latin cross of
suffering and sacrifice.
Sometimes the steps1 are not done quite correctly, for
the Can. should be careful to face due North, due South,
and due East respectively. This procedure undoubtedly
refers to the three entrances of the Temple through which
Hiram Abiff endeavoured to escape. Hence it is we see
that the Master himself trod out the cross of Calvary
during the tragedy, and in a sense made the Consecration
Cross of the Temple.
In a mediæval church, and even to-day at the conse-
cration of a church according to the Anglican ordinance,
there should be a dedication cross marked on the
building. In the Middle Ages these were usually marked
on the pillars, and apparently corresponded to the mark
made by an illiterate person when witnessing a deed.
The Consecrating Bishop sometimes drew this cross on
the pillar or wall, or sometimes merely traced over a
1*Here and in the previous paragraph the print edition had ‚Sp . . s‛ but
correlating this passage with the version of the Emulation M.M. in
Hannah suggests that ‚Steps‛ was what was meant. — T.S.]
cross already painted there for the purpose. Any new

piece of work in a church, even if only a new fresco, had
its dedication cross. For example:—At Chaldon Church,
Surrey, the dedication cross is marked on the margin of a
fresco depicting the ‚Brig of Dread,‛ described at length
in ‚Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods.‛
Bearing these facts in mind, we shall perceive that,
even from the Operative point of view, the manner of
advancing in this degree, and the manner in which
Hiram Abiff met his end, had a peculiar significance.
The Great Architect of the Temple must have traced the
dedication cross the whole length and breadth of the
Temple in his own blood. Moreover, such dedication
crosses as have actually survived are nearly always
found to be painted in red. Thus, Hiram Abiff’s last work
was, as it were, to commence the consecration of the
Temple which was completed by King Solomon, for until
that cross had been marked either on the wall or pave-
ment, according to mediæval Operative ideas the build-
ing could not be consecrated. Therefore, the Can., who is
re-enacting the same drama, must obviously do likewise,
and in so doing dedicates the Temple of his body.
But there is still more hidden within this ceremonial
act. The ancient Knights Templar were accused of tram-
pling on the cross, and a careful examination of the
evidence taken at the trial shows that in reality they took
a ritual step, somewhat similar to those taken by the Can.
in this degree.
One of the esoteric meanings indicated is the Way of
the Cross which leads to Calvary. Furthermore, having
thus traced out a cross he is subsequently laid on it, and
this fact is emphasised by the position in which his legs
or feet are placed. The foot of this cross reaches to the
Pedestal on which rests the O.T. If, therefore, this sym-
bolical cross were raised as it was on Calvary it would

rest on the O.T., and the Can. would face the East, and
would be, as it were, on a mountain. This fact should be
born in mind by those who seek a Christian inter-
pretation of our Craft ceremonies. Mystically inter-
preted, it indicates that every aspirant for union with the
Divine must tread the Way of the Cross, and suffer and
die thereon, in order that he may rise to a new life, a
realisation of his union with the Infinite.
Even those who are disinclined to admit the possibil-
ity of a Christian interpretation of the Craft degrees, must
recognise the fact that this cross is the cross of sacrifice,
and means that the true aspirant must be prepared to
sacrifice everything in his search after Truth.
The number of the steps is the combination of the
Trinity and of the four elements, representing matter. It
is the same number as forms the perfect lodge, and also
the seven elements which form man, whether we inter-
pret it according to the ancient Egyptian system, or in the
more modern form of the five physical senses, the Soul
and the Spirit. In the latter case it indicates that the man
must be prepared to sacrifice—or shall we say dedicate to
God, Body, Soul and Spirit.
There are yet other profound meanings in this one
ritual act, but enough has been written to set my readers
pondering for themselves, and we will therefore proceed
to consider the next point in the ceremony.
The Obligation itself contains one or two interesting
points. Thus it indicates that a M.M.’s Lodge must
always be open on the Centre. This shows us at once that
we are dealing with a ceremony with a mystical meaning,
for the Centre means the same as the Middle Chamber in
the second degree—the secret chamber of the heart,
where dwells the Divine Spark—and so tells us in veiled
language that all that happens thereafter is a spiritual

experience which sooner or later comes to every mystic.
The special moral obligations which the Can. undertakes
should be noted, but require no explanation. It is, how-
ever, difficult to understand why they should be deferred
until this stage. In the ancient charges similar obligations
are imposed apparently on the E.A., and this seems more
logical.
The Penalty varies even in different parts of England,
but in essentials is always the same. You are slain at the
Centre, and the manner of disposal is very reminiscent of
the way in which the dead are cremated in India in
honour of Shiva. There the corpse is burnt near running
water, preferably near the Ganges, and the ashes are
thrown into the air over the river to the four cardinal
points, that the winds may scatter them. It must be
remembered that Shiva represents the destructive
attribute of the Deity, and he makes the Penal Sigh of a
M.M. on his statues. His is the element of fire, and all
these facts must be born in mind when considering our
own Penalty.
The position of the Square and Compasses, in addition
to the explanation given, indicates that the spirit,
represented by the Compasses, now dominates the body,
typified by the Square.
CHAPTER IV
THE EXHORTATION.
THE opening part of the exhortation give convenient
summary of the previous degrees,1 and quite clearly indi-
cates that the first inner meaning of the series is Birth,
Life, which is of course educational and preparatory for
its sequel, Death. The phrase relating to the second
degree ‚And to trace it, from its development, through
the paths of Heavenly Science, even to the throne of God
Himself,‛ shows plainly its real significance. As pointed
out in the F.C. Handbook, the F.C. in the Middle
Chamber discovers, not only the name of God, but that
he himself is the fifth letter ‚Shin‛ which transforms the
name Jehovah into the name Jeheshue, or Messias, the
King.
But according to the old2 Kabala Jeheshue must be
raised on the cross of Tipareth, and the significance of
this fact is impressed on our Can. by the incidents now to
take place. The average Christian need not trouble about
the subtleties of the Kabala, for the story in the New
Testament supplies him with a very similar inter-
pretation. The W. M. having, almost casually, given him
this key to the inner meaning of what is about the follow,
1 [Before the retrospective of the degrees, the W.M. informs the Can. ‚you
are now entitled to demand that last and greatest trial &c.‛ although it is
not clear in how many workings he is expected to actively and verbally
‚demand‛ it before the ceremony proceeds. — T.S.]
2 [sic – all this is Renaissance or later Christian Cabala, which was largely
an exercise in religious propaganda conducted with the aim of ‚proving‛

that Jesus was the Messiah (see e.g. the various acrostics from tycarb, the
first word of the Torah, expressing Christian doctrines in Mathers,
Kabbalah Unveiled, introduction §12) and thus converting Kabbalistically
inclined Jews to Christianity — T.S.]
131
proceeds at once to the most dramatic part of the cere-

mony. Up to this point almost all forms of our ritual are
practically the same, but henceforward there are many
marked differences. ‚Emulation‛ ritual may be regarded
as containing the bare minimum, but the additional
details found in many Provincial workings in England,
and in Scotland, Ireland, America, and many of the Con-
tinental Lodges, are too important to be ignored. There is
no reason to assume that they are innovations; on the
contrary all the evidence points to the fact that they are
integral parts of the ceremony which, for various reasons,
were omitted by the revisers of our ritual who met in the
Lodge of Reconciliation. I shall therefore proceed to note
and explain them where necessary.
Whereas in Emulation as soon as the Wardens. are
called on the Deacons retire, in most other workings in
the Provinces etc., they fall back to the head of the grave.
Thus wirh the W.M. the Wardens form the triangle of
Spirit, and with the Deacons the Square of matter, on
which the triangle rests, for the Master descends from his
chair and stands in front of the Pedestal. As a practical
piece of advice I would recommend that the J.W. should
not direct the Can. to cross his feet until after the S.W. has
dealt with him, for it is impossible for him to drop on his
respective knees if his feet are crossed, whereas by
carrying out these instructions before the last attack he
will fall the more readily.
In most of the old Scotch rituals the Can. journeys
round the Lodge, is attacked by the J.W. in the South, by
the S.W. in the West (note that), and returns to the Master
in the East, where the final incident takes place. I think,
however, our English system of having the attack in the
North instead of in the West is much preferable, and is
probably the correct form. In the Scotch ritual the three
THE EXHORTATION . 133
villains have names, and the same is the case in America.

They are Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum. The word itself
clearly comes from the Latin word meaning ‚To com-
mand,‛ and refers to the fact that they commanded him
to give up the Secrets. But the terminations of the three
names appear to have a curious esoteric reference to
India. It can hardly be by accident that these three names
form the mystic word AUM. The U in India in this case
is pronounced almost like O, and when this word is
disguised as it usually is, it is written OMM.3 If this be so
we have the Creative, Preservative, and Annihilative
aspects of the Deity emphasised in the Third Degree, and
it is the Destructive aspect, symbolised by the letter M,
which deals the final stroke.
This variation is therefore of importance, but I must
warn my readers that not all Scotch workings have it.
Some of them being much more akin to our own, even
having the attack in the North. Practically all of them,
however, have the perambulations, during which solemn
music is played. The usual procedure is for the brethren
to pass round the grave once making the Penal Sigh of an
E.A. When this is done the J.W. makes his abortive
attempt. The second round is made with the Hailing
Sign of an F.C., after which the S.W. tries and fails. The
third round is made with the Sign of Grief and Distress of
a M.M., on the conclusion of which the Can. is raised by
the lion’s grip. It is a great pity that the use of this name
for the W.M.’s grip is falling into disuse in London, for it
has in itself important symbolical references, to which we
shall refer later in the chapter.
3[Symbolically the word is considered as having three letters, A, U, M, but

in writing it the A and U are elided into O according to the rules of sandhi
and the M represented by the anuswara or candrabindu, i.e., ̣ nasalising the
end of the vowel sound, thus Aae< or Aae ~, in Roman letters, om. — T.S.]
In many parts of England it is still customary to place

the Can. either in a coffin or in a grave made in the floor,
and the same method is found in most other parts of the
world. Indeed, in the Dutch ritual the Can. is first of all
shown a coffin in which is a human skeleton. This is sub-
sequently removed, though he does not know it, and he
thinks when he is laid therein he will find himself in its
bony clutches. Even as near London as Windsor there is
a Masonic Temple which has a special chamber of death
with a grave actually in the floor, and until recently it
was still used, although whether it is to-day I cannot say.
Let us now turn to consider the meanings of the main
incidents. The first meaning of the degree is obvious; it
prepares a man for his final end and hints of a possibility
of life beyond the grave, but it must be admitted that the
lesson is not driven home with the same force as it is in
most of the ancient mysteries. Osiris Himself rose from
the dead and became the Judge of all who followed after
Him, and because of this fact His worshippers believed
that they too would rise. In our legend, however, it is
only the dead body of Hiram Abiff which is lifted out of
the grave in a peculiar manner, and in the legend there is
not even a hint as to what befell his Soul. The question is
often asked why they should have raised a carcass and
placed it on its feet, and I have never heard any answer.
One explanation probably is by analogy with the Greek
story of the manner in which Hercules recovered Alcestis
and ransomed her from the bondage of Thanatos—Death
himself. We are told that Hercules wrestled with Thana-
tos and would not let him go until he had agreed to allow
Hercules to bring her back from the realm of the Shades
to the land of living men. It may be that the corpse here
represents Death. It is also worth noting that Isis joined
together the fragments of the body of Osiris, and the
‚Setting up‛ of the backbone of the God was a ceremony

carried out every year by the ancient Egyptian Priests. 4
The body of Osiris apparently was raised from the bier
by Anubis in precisely the same way as the M.M. is
raised. When it was set on its feet life returned to it. One
fact is certain, that in every rite which has as its central
theme symbolic death the Can. is raise by the same grip,
and in precisely the same manner, and this manner
becomes a method of greeting and of recognition among
all who have passed through this type of ceremony. For
example:—it is known and used in the Dervish rite,
among West African Negroes, among the Red Indians of
Central America, and was apparently known to the
ancient Druids, for it is carved on a stone found at Iona.
In the ancient rites of Mithra it also appears to have been
the method used upon a similar occasion. These facts
show that it is an ancient landmark and one to be most
carefully guarded.
The use of the phrase the lion grip is peculiarly signifi-
cant, as Major Sanderson shows in his new work ‚An
Examination of the Masonic Ritual.‛ Therein he points
out that in the Book of the Dead the Supreme God, whe-
ther Ra or Osiris, is appealcd to as the ‚God in the Lion
form,‛ and in all such cases the prayer of the Soul is that
he may be permitted to ‚Come forth'‛ in the East, rising
with the sun from the darkness of the grave. The lion, in
Egypt, was the personification of strength and power, but
it is usually associated with the idea of the regeneration
of the Sun, and therefore with the resurrection. Maj.
Sanderson goes on to point out as follows. ‚Shu (Anheru,
‘the Lifter’) who as the light of the Dawn was said to lift
up the sky-goddess from the arms of the sleeping Earth,
4[The ceremony of setting up the Djed pillar, previously alluded to in my
notes. — T.S.]
is often represented as a lion, for only through him was

the rebirth of the Sun made possible. Osiris is called the
lion of yesterday, and Ra the Lion of to-morrow:5 The
bier of Osiris is always represented as having the head
and legs of a lion.‛ Thus as Major Sanderson indicates,
the expression ‚the lion grip‛ is a survival from the Solar
cult, and therefore a landmark which should be carefully
preserved.
The Bright Morning Star whose rising brings peace
and Salvation was, almost certainly, originally Sirius, but
to Englishmen it must seem strange that Sirius should be
said to bring peace and Salvation. The association of
these ideas with the Dog Star is undoubtedly a fragment
which has come down from Ancient Egypt, for the rising
of Sirius marked the beginning of the inundation of the
Nile, which literally brought salvation to the people of
Egypt by irrigating the land, and enabling it to produce
food. That Sirius was an object of veneration to the
philosophers of the ancient world is well known to all
archæologists, and many of the Temples in Egypt have
been proved to have been oriented on Sirius. There is
also a good deal of evidence showing that some of the
stone circles in Great Britain were similarly oriented on
Sirius by the Druids. It is therefore not surprising that
this star is still remembered in our rituals. Naturally it
has acquired a deeper spiritual meaning in the course of
years, and may be regarded as representing the First
Fruits of the Resurrection, the sure hope of our Redemp-
5[One of the standard vignettes to cap. xvii of the Book of the Dead depicts
two lions facing away from each other with a sun-disk supported on their
backs, the one on the right captioned ‚Yesterday,‛ that on the left
captioned ‚Tomorrow.‛ The corresponding text reads ‚To me belongs
yesterday: I know tomorrow‛ with the gloss: ‚As for yesterday, that is
Osiris. As for tomorrow, that is Rē on the day in which the foes of the
Lord of All were destroyed <‛ (Faulkner trans.). — T.S.]
tion. This aspect is set forth in the lectures drawn up by

Dunckerley, who regarded it as the star of Bethlehem,
and as typifying Christ. See Rev. xxii, 16.
At this point the Can., who has been carefully put in
the N., the place of darkness, is moved round by the right
to the South. From the practical point of view this is to
enable the Master to re-enter his chair from the proper
side, but there is also an inner meaning. Immediately
after death the Soul is said to find itself on the earth plane
amid murk and darkness. Lacking mortal eyes it cannot
perceive the sun, and, on the other hand, is still so
immersed in matter that it cannot yet see clearly with its
spirit eyes, but this stage rapidly passes away, and the
Soul is received into a higher plane of existence, being
brought thither by messengers of Light. The position in
the North represents this period of darkness on the earth
plane, and that this is not accidental is shown by the fact
that in most rituals the lights are not turned up until the
phrase ‚That bright morning star, etc.‛ has been uttered.
Then the Master, representing one of these spirit messen-
gers, leads the Can. gently round to the South, thereby
symbolising his entry into the place of light. And who is
this messenger? Every installed master who has received
the Pass Word leading to that degree6 should realise that,
no matter how unworthy, he represents the risen Christ.
Thus we see the peculiarly appropriate nature of the act
coming after the reference to the bright morning star,
which also in another sense represents the risen Christ.
6 *According to Hannah’s account of the ceremony of installation of a

W.M., besides the Installed Master’s word, some workings have a full
opening for a ‚Board of Installed Masters‛ with a pass word, which is
RABBONI, apparently an Aramaic word, glossed didaskaloj (‘teacher, mas-
ter’) in John XX, 16 where Mary of Magdala addresses Jesus thus. — T.S.]
CHAPTER V
THE SECRETS.
HAVING thus been brought into the place of light, the
Can. is given not the Genuine Secrets, but only substi-
tuted ones. This fact must often have puzzled the Can.
The practical reason given in the ritual, though perfectly
intelligible to a Royal Arch mason, cannot be the real one.
In view of the unexpected calamity no-one could have
thought King Solomon was breaking his obligation by
nominating a successor to Hiram Abiff and giving him
the full Secrets. Actually, according to the Royal Arch
story, he did something much worse, for he wrote them
down and placed them somewhere, in the hopes that
they would be subsequently rediscovered, and he had no
assurance that their discoverers would even be masons,
much less that they would keep their discovery secret.
Of course this is also an allegory, and from this stand-
point perfectly correct. The lost Secrets are the nature
and attributes of God, which must be realised by each
man for himself, and no other man can really communi-
cate them. Moreover, this complete realisation of the
nature of God, and the union of the Divine Spark within
us with the Source of All, can never be achieved during
mortal life. Even after death we shall need to leave the
world long behind and traverse far, before we can hope
to attain that state of spiritual evolution which will
enable us to approach the Holy of Holies, and gaze with
unveiled eyes upon Him, Who is the beginning and the
end of all.
With regard to these substituted secrets, let us note
that they grow out of those used by the F.C. Having
138
THE SECRETS . 139
already shown in the last book that the signs of the F.C.,
and in fact the real secret of that degree, is the trans-
formation of Jehovah into Jeheshue, we see that this is
most appropriate. To use modern language, the second
degree teaches of the birth of the Christ Spirit within us,
while the third indicates that mystically we, like the great
Master, must die and rise again. As St. Paul says, ‚Die
daily in Christ.‛
The signs given are probably all of great antiquity. Of
some we have evidence which shows that they were
venerated in ancient Egypt and Mexico, are still em-
ployed in the primitive initiatory rites of the savages, and
are associated with the Gods in India. For example, the
Penal Sign is used by Shiva, the Great Destroyer, Who
when He makes it holds in His hand the lariet of death.
The sign of grief and distress is found all round the
world, as I have shown in full detail in ‚Freemasonry
and the Ancient Gods.‛ Ancient Mexico, where Quet-
zacoatl makes it, can be matched with Easter Island in the
far Pacific, Peru, West Africa, East Africa, New Guinea,
Malaya and many other places.
Major Sanderson points out that the second Casual
Sign is depicted in Egyptian pictures as being used by
those who are saluting Osiris in his coffin. Those who
desire will find it in Papyrus 9,908 in the British Museum.
The English sign of grief and distress (for up till now
we have been speaking of the Scotch form) is almost
certainly not the correct one. Its general appearance
would incline one to believe that it is a penal sign,
though whence derived it is difficult to say. A little
thought will indicate the nature of the penalty as being
somewhat similar to that of one of the higher degrees. So
far as I can find it is not recognised as a sign of grief and
distress anywhere, except among masons who are de-
scended masonically from the Grand Lodge of England.

That is to say, while every mason throughout the world
would recognise the Scotch form of the sign, also many
primitive people who are not masons at all, only English
masons would recognise our form.
The so-called Continental form undoubtedly comes
from a well known high degree, where it is much more
appropriate. Nor is it correct to say that it is used on the
Continent. It is apparently restricted to the Latin coun-
tries, whereas even in Germany it is the Scotch form that
is employed.
The sign of Exaltation is a form used to this day in
most parts of Asia to indicate worship, and was similarly
employed in Ancient Egypt. Major Sanderson suggests
that it was copied from the position in which Shu upheld
the sky.
Thus we see that five out of the so called seven signs
can be shown to be of ancient origin, and it is quite
probable that further research will enable us to prove that
the other two are equally old.
Such signs as these had originally a magical signi-
ficance, and the explanation given in the ritual as to their
origin is no doubt of a much later date than the signs
themselves. Indeed, a careful study of certain of the
signs will show that they are not the natural signs which
would have been used to indicate the feelings they are
said to express. For example, in the sign of horror the left
hand would not naturally be placed in the position we
are taught to put it in, if this sign had originated as
related in the story. So obvious is this that some modern
preceptors of Lodges of Instruction have to my know-
ledge altered the position of the left hand in order to
make it conform to the story, but I venture to think that
in so doing they are committing a very serious mistake,
THE SECRETS . 141
nothing less than the removal of an ancient landmark.

Some day we shall probably discover the real origin of
this sign, but if it is altered that will of course become
impossible.
The lion’s grip and the actual position of raising are
equally old, and, so far as we can find, this manner of
raising is employed in every rite, whether ancient or
primitive, which deals with the dramatic representation
of death. As a manner of greeting it is employed by the
initiated men in many Red Indian tribes, in West Africa,
among the Senussi in North Africa, and in the Dervish
rites.
The parts of the body brought in contact with each
other are all parts presided over by some sign of the
Zodiac, and there would appear to be some old astro-
logical meaning which has now become lost. It may
possibly have been connected with Gemini, the Twins,
and this fact is made the more probable by the survival of
the name ‚The Lion’s Grip.‛ The explanation given,
although possibly of fairly recent origin, nevertheless
contains a valuable inner meaning, for it shows that we
cannot hope to advance towards God unless we do our
duty to our fellow men. Thus in dramatic form is shown
that the brotherhood of man necessitates the Fatherhood
of God.
It hardly seems necessary in this book to point out
again that the regular step is a tau cross, and teaches us
that we must trample under foot our animal passions, if
we desire to approach near to God.
We note, however, that the Can., in advancing to
obtain the secrets, has perforce to make three tau crosses,
and the Christian Mystic will doubtless perceive in this a
hidden reference to the three crosses on Calvary.
Finally, as has already been pointed out, the penalties
of the first and second degrees draw attention to two

important occult centres, so also in this degree the Solar
Plexus, the most important occult centre of all, is
indicated, and since the object of every Mystic is to
achieve the Beatific vision, the fact that the monks of Mt.
Athos, near Salonica, do so by fixing their eyes on this
part, shows that there is a very special reason for the
present form of the penal sign of the third degree.
CHAPTER VI
THE BADGE.
ON his re-entering the Lodge the Can. is presented, and
in due course invested by the S.W., as in the previous
degrees, thereby indicating that even after death man’s
spiritual advancement is registered by the Soul. The
Badge itself, however, is full of symbolic meaning, and
though in its present form it is of comparatively recent
date, it is evident that those who designed it had a much
deeper knowledge of symbolism than some modern
critics are apt to believe.
Firstly the colour, which is that of Cambridge Univer-
sity, and likewise that used by Parliament when fighting
King Charles, has a much deeper significance than is
generally known. It is closely related to the colour of the
Virgin Mary, which itself had been brought forward from
Isis, and the other Mother Goddesses of the ancient world.
It is possible that the designers were also influenced by
the existence of certain Orders of Knighthood which had
their appropriate colours, for the aprons of Grand Lodge
Officers have Garter blue, but this blue is also the colour of
Oxford, and the colour associated with the Royalist cause
at the time of the Civil War. At any rate, it is appropriate
that our aprons should thus employ the colours of the
two great Universities of England. There is, of course, an
exception in the case of the red aprons allocated to Grand
Stewards, for which there are historical reasons into which
we need not now enter. We may, however, point out that
the dark blue aprons of Grand Lodge are often, though
erroneously, spoken of as the Purple, indicating a Royal
colour, and thereby implying no doubt that Brethren
143
entitled to wear this colour are rulers in the Craft, and

represent the masculine element. Light blue, on the other
hand, represents the feminine or passive aspect, and is
most appropriate for the ordinary M.M., whose duty it is
to obey, and not to command. Indeed, the M.M.’s apron
contains other emblems which indicate this feminine
aspect. These are the three rosettes, which symbolise the
rose, itself a substitute for the Vesica Piscis, and they are
arranged so as to form a triangle with the point upwards,
interpenetrating the triangle formed by the flap of the
apron. The two triangles only interpenetrate half way,
therein differing from the double triangles seen on the
jewels worn by Royal Arch Masons, which completely
overlap. These two triangles deserve a little careful study.
The lower triangle with its point upwards is the triangle of
fire, the emblem of Shiva, and the symbol of the Divine
Spark. The triangle made by the flap of the apron, which
has its point directed downwards, is the triangle of water,
and is thus to some extent representative of the Soul.
These two triangles are within a square, the emblem of
matter, and therefore of the body, and so we see that the
M.M.’s apron symbolically represents the triune nature of
man, whereas the Royal Arch jewel, (the only high degree
jewel which may be worn in a Craft Lodge) has these two
triangles within a circle, which is the emblem of the
Infinite. In this case the triangle of water presents the
preservative aspect, the triangle of fire the destructive
aspect, the point or eye at the centre the creative aspect,
and the circle the everlasting nature of the Supreme
Being. There is therefore a curious correspondence, and
also a marked difference, between the jewel of the Royal
Arch Mason, and the apron of the M.M.
Viewed from another standpoint the apron has ano-
ther set of meanings. The triangle represents Spirit, and
THE BADGE. 145
the square, matter. The flap forms a triangle entering

into the square, and so depicts the entry of Spirit into
matter, and therefore man. The E.A.’s apron should have
the flap pointing upward, indicating that the Divine Wis-
dom has not yet truly penetrated the gross matter of our
bodies. This custom is unfortunately going out of use in
modern Masonry, which is a great pity, as undoubtedly a
valuable lesson is thus lost. The F.C. has the flap point-
ing downward for several reasons. Firstly, to indicate
that wisdom has begun to enter and therefore to control
matter; secondly, to represent the triangle of water and
thus indicate that Soul and Body are acting in unison;
thirdly, because this triangle is the emblem of Vishnu the
Preserver, and so emphasises the fact that the aspect of
God taught in this degree is the preservative aspect,
whereas the addition of the three rosettes in the third
degree shows, not only the union of Body, Soul and
Spirit, but also that the great lesson of this degree is the
importance of the Destructive side of the Deity, or, as we
may prefer it call it, the Transformative side.
What, however, of the two rosettes worn by the F.C.?
Firstly, they stress the dual nature of man, and have a
very clear reference to the two pillars. Similarly, no
doubt, they indicate that the F.C. is not yet a complete
and united being; Body and Soul are in union, but unlike
the M.M., these two are not in complete accord with the
Spirit. Thus we obtain correspondence between the
knocks of the F.C. and the two rosettes. Furthermore, the
triangle is incomplete, showing that the F.C. is not yet a
complete Freemason, and this correlates with the position
of the Compasses when taking the obligation in the F.C.
degree.
Two other features of the apron must also be con-
sidered. Firstly, the tassels, which appear originally to
have been the ends of the string with which the apron
was bound round the waist. There is little doubt that in
the 18th century the aprons had not the present symbolic
tassels, but were fastened round the body in a very
similar way to that in which the E.A. and F.C. aprons are
to this day. It is interesting to note in this connection that
the actual aprons worn by the officers of Grand Lodge for
the year, as distinct from the Past Grand Officers aprons,
have no tassels at all.
In the course of years, no doubt, the ends of the strings
were ornamented by tassels, and to this day the aprons of
the Royal Order of Scotland are bound round the body
by an ornamental cord with tassels, which are tied in
front in such a way that the two tassels stick out from
underneath the flap. These tassels, when the final form
of our aprons was fixed, were separated from the bands
which fasten the apron, and attached to the apron itself,
becoming as we now see simply strips of ribbon on
which are fastened seven chains. When this change took
place it is clear that those who made the alternation deli-
berately chose the number 7, and intended thereby to
convey a symbolic meaning. We have already explained
the numerous symbolic meanings of the number 7, for
example, it represents God and Man, Spirit and Matter,
etc.
Naturally they had to have two tassels to balance, and
it would have been very inartistic to have had four chains
on one tassel and three on the other, and so it would be
unwise to lay too much stress on the number 14, which is
the sum total. We may regard it merely as a curious and
interesting coincidence that the body of Osiris was stated
to have been divided by Set into 14 pieces. But in addition
to these details as to the historical development of the
tassels, we must not forget that in many of the 18th Cen-
THE BADGE. 147
tury aprons the two pillars are depicted. These aprons

were usually decorated by paintings on the leather, and
varied considerably from Lodge to Lodge, but one of the
most usual kinds of decoration included the two pillars,
and the remembrance of these may very probably have
influenced those who designed our present apron.
The modern arrangement by which the apron is
fastened, namely, a piece of webbing with a hook and eye
attachment, gave a fine opportunity for some really
profound symbolism, and I feel certain that it was not
accident which led to the universal adoption of the snake
to serve this purpose.
There are two kinds of symbolism attached to the
snake in all ancient religions. Firstly, the snake as the
enemy of man, and therefore as the representative of the
powers of evil; and secondly, the snake as emblem of the
Divine Wisdom. ‚Be ye wise as serpents‛ does not refer
to the craftiness of the Devil, but to the Divine Wisdom
itself. In Ancient Egypt the Soul as he passed through
the underworld met with serpents of evil, and also with
serpents of good. In India, legend tells us of a whole
order of beings, the Serpent Folk, who were of a Spiritual
nature different from man, possessed their own rulers,
and were endowed with superhuman wisdom. Some of
these are considered to be friendly to man, while others
are hostile. The Sacred Cobra is well known to every
student of Hindoo religions, and is essentially good.
Actual worship is paid to the Serpent throughout the
whole of India, and in many other parts of the world, and
in the Kabala we get clear traces of the fact that under
certain circumstances the serpent is regarded as ‚The
Shining One‛—the Holy Wisdom Itself. Thus we see that
the serpent on our apron denotes that we are encircled by
the Holy Wisdom.
Finally, the serpent biting its tail, and thus forming a

circle, has always been regarded as the emblem of
eternity, and more especially of the Eternal Wisdom of
God. Nor must we forget that the snake is peculiarly
associated with Shiva, whose close symbolic association
with the third degree has already been clearly shown.
Much more might be written on the meaning of the
apron, but we cannot devote any more space to this
subject, interesting though it may be, although before
considering our next point it will perhaps be well to
recall what has already been mentioned in the E.A.
Handbook, viz., that aprons, in addition to their Opera-
tive significance, have right through the ages been em-
ployed in connection with religious ceremonial. On the
monuments of Egypt a garment, which can best be de-
scribed as a triangular apron with the point upward, is
depicted on the monuments, in circumstances indicating
that the wearer is taking part in some kind of ceremony
of initiation. In ancient Mexico the Gods are depicted
wearing aprons, and it is not without interest to note that
the modern Anglican bishop wears an apron, although it
appears to have developed from a long flowing robe
somewhat the shape of a cassock.
CHAPTER VII
THE LEGEND.
AFTER the ceremonial investiture of the Can. the W.M.
continues the narrative of the traditional history. At least
this is the case in most English workings, but in some
Scotch workings the whole story is told first, and sub-
sequently the Can. and the other Brethren act the chief
parts. Perhaps one of the most important points to
realise is the correct meaning of the name H.A.B.1 Major
Sanderson in ‚An Examination of the Masonry Ritual‛
gives the following interesting interpretations, which we
will proceed to expand further:—‚The title H.A.B. is
taken direct from the Hebrew of 2 Chron., Chapter 4,
Verse 16, and means, ‘Huram his father.’2 H. means
‘Exaltation of light, their liberty or whiteness, he that
destroys’;3 It is of interest to note that abib in Hebrew
1 [The usual Romanisation used in Masonic ritual is Hiram Abiff. The name
of the artificer is spelt \r/yj!, Hiram, in Kings, the same as Solomon’s patron
the King of Tyre. In the second book of Chronicles both the king and the
bronze-worker are rendered \r/Wj, Huram or Churam, though in the king of
Tyre’s letter to Solomon (ii. 13) where he extols the skills of his craftsman,
the latter has the surname or epithet yb! a/ , abi, which at iv. 16 becomes wyb! a/ .
The additional vau is possibly just a grammatical particle, either that or the
text is corrupt. Abi pointed thus means ‚my father.‛ — T.S.]
2 [Translated thus in the KJV, loc cit. NIV seems to treat ‚Abi‛ as a proper
name and leaves it untranslated. — T.S.]

3 [Gesenius (Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, s.v.) suggests that Churam may be
derived from rj;, ‚noble, free-born‛ (also ‚a hole‛); we also find rw*j/, ‚to be
white,‛ hr/yj!, ‚nobility‛ (proper name in Gen. xxxviii), rr*j/, a root mean-
ing ‚to burn‛; \r*j/, ‚to shut in, contract; to prohibit to common use, conse-
crate to God‛; a related verb has the transferred meaning ‚to destroy
utterly‛ from the genocidal wars between the Israelites and other Canaan-
ite tribes where defeated villages were ‚devoted‛ to Yahveh by killing the
people and livestock, burning the buildings to the ground and sowing the
fields with salt. I’ve no idea where he gets ‚Exaltation of Light.‛ — T.S.]
149
means ‘Ears of corn,’ or ‘Green fruits,’4 and there is just a

possibility that this is the correct title of H.‛
Bearing these translations in mind we at once perceive
a whole series of inner meanings hidden in the name of
the principal Architect.5 Taking the Christian interpre-
tation of our rituals:—firstly, we shall remember that
Christ said ‚If I am raised up (or exalted) I shall draw all
men unto me.‛ Secondly, Christ died to make us free,
that is, to give us liberty from the bonds of death and
hell. Thirdly, mediæval divines were never tired of
referring to Christ’s whiteness and purity, and relate
many beautiful legends and allegories to drive home this
lesson. One phrase alone will suffice to bring this aspect
of the Christ to our minds, i.e., that He is constantly
spoken of as ‚the lily of the valley.‛ Fourthly, He came
to destroy the bonds of death and hell, nor must we
forget the old prophecy spoken concerning the coming
Christ and the serpent, representing Satan, ‚It (Christ)
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel,‛
Gen. 3. v. 15. It is of interest to note that Quetzacoatl, the
Mexican Preserver, who fought and overthrew the great
4 [byb! a/ , ‚an ear of corn, a green ear,‛ from the root bb! a/ , ‚to be verdant,
to germinate; putting forth, protruding, germinating with impetus,
shooting forth‛; possibly connected with the roots hb/ a/ and bh*a/ (whence
hb/ h^a*, ‚love‛). Gesenius, s.v. I should probably stop this line of specula-
tion before it lands in Thomas Inman territory, since as noted the terminal
vau only appears at 2 Chron. iv. 16, and is probably as noted either a
grammatical particle or textual corruption and in any case the Book of
Chronicles was one of the latest parts of the Tanakh to be written down;
the epithet was likely just stuck in there to distinguish the craftsman from
his liege. — T.S.]
5 [As indicated in previous notes, making this personage the principal
architect of the temple was a conceit of an author or reviser of Masonic

rituals, in I Kings he doesn’t even appear in Jerusalem until after the shell
of the temple is completed (assuming of course that the narrative is in
some vague semblance of chronological order); the works he did are enu-
merated at 1 Kings viii 41-45 and 2 Chron. iv 12-16. — T.S.]
THE LEGEND . 151
giant of evil, was himself smitten in the foot, near to a fall

of water, subsequently died from the wound, and ulti-
mately rose again from the grave. Krishna in India
similarly died from an arrow wound in the heel. More-
over, in mediæval frescoes Christ is constantly repre-
sented as crushing the head of the great dragon under
His left foot, while in His right hand He upraises a staff
on which is a cross. Such scenes are usually described as
‚The Harrowing of Hell.‛
Fifthly, if the word abib is the correct rendering for the
second half of the name in question, we get a clear
reference to the Sacramental bread. The ears of corn are
obviously synonymous with the wafer, or consecrated
bread, which alone was given in medieval days to the
laity: while the alternative translation, ‚Green fruits,‛
brings to our mind the Biblical saying that Christ is ‚the
first fruits of them that slept‛ (1 Corin. 15. 20).6 Bearing
this possible Christian interpretation in mind, installed
masters will perceive the deep significance of the Pass
Word which leads from the degree of M.M. to that of I.M.
But in addition to these Christian interpretations of
H.A.B. there is yet another, which in some senses may be
regarded as older, and the key to which is supplied by
India. In this sense H.A.B. takes on the characteristics of
Śiva, the Destroyer.7
Firstly, ‚Exaltation of life‛ reminds us of the legend
6 [A far simpler reading would be that H.A.B. is, by a one-place Cæsar
shift, I.B.C., John Barleycorn, the Frazeran vegetation-spirit – Abiff being a
corruption of byb! a/ as already noted (Robert Burns, while not the original
author of the song, gave it something of a working over which influenced
many subsequent versions, and is known to have been a Freemason). The
objection in my note, p. 49, is just as damaging to this, though, as it is to
the notion of Huram-Abi as a type of Christ, Osiris, &c. — T.S.]
7 [Except that only the most incredible torturing of symbolic interpretation
can assign any of the characteristics of Śiva to Huram-Abi either as de-

picted in the Tanakh or the Masonic legends. — T.S.]
that Śiva on a certain day increased in stature until He

over topped the universe, and, as a result, overthrew
Brahma, the Creator, and was acknowledged by Viṣ nu as
His superior. On that great day He gathered unto Him-
self the beginning and the end of all things, Alpha and
Omega, and henceforth birth and death alike were in His
hands.
Secondly, ‚Their liberty‛ refers to the fact that, to the
pious Hindoo, Shiva by death grants liberty from the toil
and anguish of this world, and sets the soul free to mount
to greater heights of spirituality.
Thirdly, Shiva is always spoken of as the ‚Great White
God, white with the ashes of the dead who are ever
burned in His honour.‛ Nor must we forget that these
ashes are always scattered to the four cardinal points of
Heaven.
Fourthly, He is in His very essence ‚The Great
Destroyer. ‚
The ‚Ears of corn‛ are symbols of Vishnu the Pre-
server, Who Himself, according to numerous Hindoo
legends, was slain, and rose from the dead, thereby He
paid allegiance the Lord of Death; and so
Fifthly, we obtain the idea of the resurrection as sym-
bolised by the ears of corn, which are planted in the earth
and bring forth an abundant harvest, the ‚Green fruits‛
of the fields. In this connection it is as well to remember
that the central theme of the Eleusinian mysteries was the
ear of corn which was shown to the Candidate at the
most solemn point of the whole ceremony, and similarly
taught the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead.
The next point that strikes us in the legend is the
number of craftsmen who ‚went in search.‛ The Irish
version is of peculiar interest, for it relates that it was the
twelve who relented who afterwards ‚went in search,‛
THE LEGEND . 153
and not a new company of fifteen. In many ways this is

more logical, and certainly has a deep symbolic meaning.
It is logical in that it shows that the penitent twelve did
their best to make amends for ever having allowed
themselves to listen to the wicked schemes of the other
three, and the subsequent decree of King Solomon,
ordering them to wear white gloves and white aprons as
a mark of their innocence, is most appropriate. It was a
public announcement that King Solomon forgave them
their indiscretion and acquitted them of responsibility for
the crime.
On the other hand, in our version there seems no
logical reason why King Solomon should order an
entirely new batch of F.C.s to wear these emblems of
their innocence, since they clearly had nothing to do with
the crime, and moreover, all the others, except the peni-
tent twelve, were equally innocent, and should therefore
likewise have been instructed to wear white gloves and
aprons. It must be remembered that these white gloves,
etc., were not bestowed as a reward for having taken part
in the search, but are specifically stated to have been
ordered to be worn to denote innocence.
The Irish account goes on to state that the twelve set
out from the Temple and went together in one company
until they came to a place where four roads met, and
formed a cross; then they divided into four companies,
and three went North, three East, three South, and three
West. Thus they trod the Way of the Cross. In some old
Irish workings we are told that the three who went North
never returned. This symbolically implies that they went
into the Place of Darkness. As the tendency in modern
Irish masonry appears to be to adjust its ritual in main
essentials to our English workings, it is but fair that I
should say that I have a tangible proof of this form of the
legend, in the shape of an old Irish apron dated 1790,

which, unlike modern Irish aprons, has a number of
paintings on it depicting incidents in the ritual. One of
the paintings shows the twelve F.C.s separating at the
four cross roads. (See frontispiece).
It is clear from all accounts, whether English, Irish,
Scotch or American, that the scoundrels, the agents of
death, were found by those who went in the direction of
Joppa, that is in the West, but we are left in considerable
doubt as to whether the body was found in the East or in
the South. Symbolically, however, it would clearly be in
the South, for H.A.B., like the Christ, was struck down at
High Twelve, when the sun is in the South. From a
practical point of view it is fairly obvious that the scoun-
drels who were carrying away the body could never have
reached Joppa if they had once gone East, for they would
have had to fetch half a circle round Jerusalem, a proce-
dure which would have rendered their chance of escape
almost hopeless. By going South they might hope to
throw their pursuers off the track, and then turn back at an
angle, reach Joppa, and escape by boat. That this was their
intention is clear from many old forms of the legend, and
especially in those worked in America. King Solomon,
however, foresaw this possibility and prevented their
escape by forbidding any ships to sail. In the American
working one of the officers of the Lodge enacts the part
of a sea captain, and even wears a yachtsman’s cap. The
villains come to him and beg him to take them aboard,
but he refuses because of the embargo ordered by King
Solomon. That the same incident was known in the old
Irish working is shown by the little picture on the same
Irish apron depicting the arrest of the villains on the sea
shore, for in the background there is a ship.
Let us interpret the meaning of the Irish working first.
THE LEGEND . 155
From the Christian standpoint the twelve F.C.’s represent

the twelve apostles, Matthias replacing the traitor Judas.8
But in the non-Christian, and possibly earlier interpre-
tation, these twelve would of course be the twelve signs
of the Zodiac, searching for the sun which had been
eclipsed.9 We must never forget that in addition to the
deep spiritual meaning hidden in our ritual there is also a
Solar Myth embedded, which has in the course of years
become allegorized and filled with deeper spiritual
truths.
But being English masons we must be prepared to find
an explanation of the fifteen. In ancient Egyptian times
the month consisted of 80 days, and the year of twelve
such months, plus five extra days. Now the first fifteen,
of whom twelve recanted, presumably represent the first
half of that month, while the second half of the month is
represented by the fifteen who went in search. But
spiritually the meaning of the fifteen is fairly clear. Man
has five senses and is triune in nature, and this implies
that Body, Soul and Spirit must co-operate in trying to
find God, and employ on that quest their five senses.
Lest there be any misapprehension here I would ex-
plain that man is considered to have not only the five
physical senses, but also corresponding senses of Soul
and Spirit. The phrase ‚To see with the eyes of the
Spirit‛ is perfectly well known, and similarly we can
speak of the eyes of the Soul. To give concrete examples:
Students of psychic science constantly speak of clair-
8 [Once one goes into details, this is of course impossible to reconcile with
the actual legend. Note that later in this chapter, Judas is not included in
the ‚Christian‛ gloss on the three treacherous Fellow-Crafts. — T.S.]
9 [Again, this ignores the detail of the twelve having been originally part of
a group of 15. Some versions of the M.M. legend, possibly deliberately

worked over to fit astronomical symbolism, have the murderers as three
out of twelve, representing the winter signs. — T.S.]
audience and clairvoyance. While it is not necessary to

accept this type of phenomena, it is clearly obvious that if
man survives death at all his Soul must have a means of
communicating with other Souls, and that these corres-
pond in some way to our physical senses. In like manner
how are we to describe the visions of the great seers and
prophets, related in the Bible, except by the possession of
spiritual sight?
Bearing this in mind we obtain the following inter-
pretation of the fate which befell the three F.C. Lodges
into which the fifteen formed themselves. Those who
found nothing represent the physical senses of man,
which are useless beyond the grave: the next company
must therefore represent the Soul, for it is the Soul which
realises, despite the logic of the physical world, that
death does not end all, and so it was one of these who
raised the Master. But the power which tells us what is
right and wrong, and which ultimately punishes us for
our offences, is what we call conscience, and this ass-
uredly is the Divine Spark within us—the Spirit.
Let us now turn to consider the details connected with
the discovery of the body. The incident of the shrub is
such a striking analogy with a similar one found in the
Æneid, wherein Æneas finds the body of the murdered
Polydorus by plucking up a shrub which was near him
on the side of a hill, that one is led to suspect that in the
revision of our ritual this incident was copied from
Virgil. But, on the other hand, it is quite possible that
both refer back to an ancient source and have an
allegorical meaning. One is the more inclined to think
this explanation is the true one, because the Acacia has
from time immemorial been more or less sacred in the
near East. In ancient Egypt the earliest forms of the
legend of Osiris relate that it was an acacia which grew
THE LEGEND . 157
up round the coffin of Osiris, and not a tamarisk as in the

later versions. (See ‚An Examination of the Masonic
Ritual,‛ by Major Sanderson). In like manner this tree is
sacred in Arabia, India, and many parts of Africa, while it
is the Shittim wood of the Old Testament, from which the
ark was made. No doubt in this reverence for the acacia
we have a survival of the primitive veneration for trees,
usually spoken of as ‚tree and serpent worship.‛ In
India the assouata tree is stated to be a symbol of Tri-
murti, the Three in One. Its roots represent Brahma, its
trunk Viṣ nu, and its branches Śiva, the Destroyer.
At any rate we can regard the acacia tree as in itself an
emblem of the resurrection, for the tiny seed which is
buried brings forth a mighty tree covered with fragrant
blossoms.10
The account of the manner in which the Casual Signs
came into existence, though ingenious, can hardly be
taken as historic.11 As we have already dealt with this
point previously, we shall only say that every folk-lore
student is well aware that: in the vast majority of cases,
legends purporting to explain the origin of a certain
custom do not give the real origin at all, but merely
indicate that the origin of the custom has been lost,
owing to its great antiquity. The very manner in which
some of the signs are given is sufficient to indicate that
they did not originate in the way suggested, while, on the
other hand, we find these same signs all round the world,
with entirely different explanations as to their origin.
They are indeed ancient landmarks, and the utmost care
should be taken not to alter them in any way.
10 [But this could be applied to any one of a number of plants; in any case,
the notion that the seed planted in the ground ‚dies‛ is a pernicious lie of
the Osirian vegetation cults based on ignorance of biological facts. — T.S.]
11 [This is true, but trivially true, since the entire legend in its present form
is clearly a modern (probably 18th century) invention. — T.S.]

The next incident in the legend is the capture of the

scoundrels. In some rituals it is given with much inter-
esting detail of a picturesque nature. All agree that they
were apprehended in a cavern, and many say explicitly
that it was near the sea shore. Some of the rituals state
that the fugitives were overheard lamenting as follows:—
‚One said, ‘Oh, that my throat had been cut across, rather
than I should have done it,’ while another more sorrow-
fully exclaimed ‘Oh, that my heart had been torn out
rather than that I should have struck him,’ and a third
voice brokenly said, ‘Oh, that my body had been severed
in two, rather than that I should have smitten him.’ ‛
This last version is of interest as explaining the legendary
origin of the penalties of the three degrees, and inciden-
tally it shows how legend incorporates facts into a story,
in order to explain something whose original meaning is
lost.12 It would also appear from this version as if the
scoundrels had not intended to actually kill their victim
but merely to terrorise him, and in the excitement of the
moment lost their heads. Symbolically this contains a
valuable piece of teaching. According to one interpre-
tation the three scoundrels represent ‚The lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life‛ (1
John, 2. 16). In other words, the sins of the flesh, the sins
of the Soul, such as covetousness, and spiritual pride, the
most deadly of all.
These sins assuredly destroy man both physically and
spiritually, yet it can truly be said that in giving way to
them no man intends to destroy himself. From the more
strictly Christian standpoint the three scoundrels are
12[Uh . . . facts? where? Certainly it seems as if the reviser or author of

that working was trying to provide an ætiological myth for the penalty
clauses, but it seems just as laboured as the origins given to the sign of
Horror, &c., and the ‚substituted‛ word in the legend. — T.S.]
THE LEGEND . 159
Herod, Caiaphas, and Pontius Pilate, and it is perfectly

clear that Pilate and Herod, at any rate, did not wish to
kill our Lord, but were caught in a position from which
they found it impossible to escape.
Returning to the deeper mystical interpretation we
notice that the scoundrels were found in the West, the
region of Death, which teaches us that the just retribution
for all our sins, whether of body, soul, or spirit, will over-
take us after death, and that though in one sense it is
God, here shadowed forth by King Solomon, who pun-
ishes, yet in another sense it is our five spiritual faculties
which themselves rise up in judgment against us. We
ourselves, doom ourselves, and therefore we can obtain
nothing but strict justice.
Without pretending that we have exhausted this sub-
ject, this brief explanation of the true character of the
scoundrels and their captors must suffice, and we will
only mention in passing that here also there appears to be
a half forgotten astrological reference to the three winter
months which oppress the sun.
CHAPTER VIII
THE TRACING BOARD, ETC.
THE next part of the narrative is incorporated in most
English workings with the tracing board. The most inter-
esting feature is the description of the grave. It is
obvious that peculiar stress is laid on the centre, even in
the present form of our ritual, because of the way in
which the measurements are given. Why should it not
have been said that it was six feet long? In some old
rituals the grave, or rather the monument, is described as
a dome, which made a complete circle at its base, and
was three feet from the centre every way. If so it must
have been like a small replica of the earliest form of the
Buddhist Pagoda, and the Master was thus buried at the
centre. In that case the top of the dome would have been
five feet from the surface of the ground, and we should
thus get the correct symbolic use of 5 as representing the
body, and 3 as representing the spirit, while enabling the
human body to be decorously interred. It seems
probable that when the grave was made to conform to
the type familiar in England, a desperate effort was made
to retain the 3 and 5. It is worth noting that there is no
mention of the use of any coffin, despite the picture on
the tracing board, and if a coffin had been used at the
supposed date of the incident it certainly would not be of
the European shape depicted, but much more like an
Egyptian Sarcophagus. Nevertheless, though the ritual
does not justify the existence of any coffin on the tracing
board, it was an integral part of the ancient mysteries of
Osiris, and its retention in our ritual is almost certainly
an ancient landmark. On the same tracing board may be
160
THE TRACING BOARD , ETC. 161
seen certain letters in the Masonic cypher, which are

practically never explained.1 Very often when
transliterated, among other things, they will be found to
give the Pass Word leading to the third degree. This fact
is of interest, for the true meaning of that word, as
already explained, is a worker in metals, the correct
description of Hiram-Abi. The fact that he was buried as
near the Sanctum Sanctorum as possible, symbolically
denotes that he had reached the centre, and was in union
with the Source of All.
The Dormer window historically is the hypostyle, the
method by which Egyptian and classical temples ob-
tained light. The pillars of the central nave of such
temples rose considerably higher than the roofs of the
aisles, thus leaving openings through which the light
could enter the building. These, however, were many in
number, and it is difficult to justify the apparent state-
ment that there was only one such opening. Symbolically
it is intended to represent the means by which the Divine
Light penetrates into the deepest recesses of every man’s
nature.
The squared pavement has already been explained
under the section dealing with the mosaic pavement, in
the first degree, and our readers are therefore referred to
it. Briefly, it indicates that man’s progress towards the
centre is through alternate experiences of good and evil,
darkness and light, mercy and severity, life and death.
The Porch which is the entrance to the Sanctum
Sanctorum is the gateway of death.
The working tools, as in other cases, contain much
1[The writing on the version in Hannah (reproduced at the end of this
volume; Hannah’s engraver possibly copied it from the version in the 1870
Text Book of Freemasonry) appears to have been flipped left-right, perhaps
due to an engraver’s error; but the letters read ‚H.A.B. A.L. 3000‛ flanked
by ‚T. C.‛ with ‚M. B.‛ (for the ‚substituted‛ M.M. word) below. — T.S.]
sound moral teaching of typical 18th Century work, but

there is one implement which deserves rather more than
passing attention. For what follows I must express my
indebtedness to W. Bro. Sir John Cockburn, P.G.D. The
skirret does not appear to be much in use among
Operative masons. It is used by gardeners, but the Oper-
ative mason has other means for marking out the ground
for the foundations. This implement has more than a
superficial resemblance to the Caducus2 of Mercury, and
Sir John Cockburn suggests that it has been employed to
replace this ‚Heathen‛ emblem. For my part, I think this
is most probable, for it is clear that a deliberate attempt
was made at the beginning of the 19th century to elimi-
nate this emblem from our ceremonies. The jewel of the
Deacons in the 18th century was not a dove, but a figure
of Mercury, bearing the Caducus. A number of these old
jewels can be seen in the library of Grand Lodge, and
there are still a few old Lodges which continue to use
them, instead of the modern jewel. Now this jewel is far
more appropriate to the Deacons than is a dove. A dove
is the emblem of peace, and a carrier pigeon bears
messages, but neither of these birds do all the work of the
Deacons. Mercury, however, was the messenger of the
Gods, and carried the instructions of Jupiter, thus
fulfilling one set of the duties of a deacon. He was also
the conductor of souls through the underworld; taking
the dead by one hand, and uplifting the Caducus in the
other, he led the Shade from the grave, through the perils
of the underworld, to the Elysian Fields; before his
Caducus the powers of evil fled. In mediaeval escha-
tology it is Christ who leads the Souls on a similar
journey, uplifting in His Hand the Cross of Salvation.
Even to-day the jewels of the Deacons in a Mark Lodge
2 [Thus in print edition. The spelling ‚Caduceus‛ is more usual. — T.S.]
bear the Caducus, a mute but convincing witness to the

use of this emblem in Freemasonry.
We can thus see that on the one hand a deliberate
effort was made to delete from our ceremonies the
Caducus, probably because it was considered to be
Pagan, while on the other hand it was clearly quite easy
for ignorant masonic furnishers, in the course of years, to
make the Caducus approximate more and more to a
masonic tool, so as to fit it in with other avowedly
masonic implements. As a masonic tool it has very little
significance, even to a Speculative, and is of no practical
value to an Operative, but the Caducus would be
peculiarly appropriate to the third degree. In short, it is
an ancient landmark, an emblem of the dead and
forgotten mysteries, and symbolical of Him who leads
the soul from the darkness of the grave to the light of the
resurrection.
Before leaving the M.M. degree let me say to all in-
stalled masters that if they have received the Pass Word,
not the Word of an Installed master, but the pass word
leading from the M .M. to that further degree, they will
find in it evidence not of a mere hint of the resurrection,
but of the Resurrection itself, and a close association with
the version of that doctrine set forth in the life of the
Perfect Master.
CHAPTER IX
THE CLOSING.
HERE we are reminded that we are working in symbol-
ism, for we come back from the West, i.e., the grave, to
this material world. But we have only obtained substi-
tutes, and we offer them as some consolation to the spirit,
i.e., the W.M. The advance to the centre of the room is an
obvious reference to the other centre. The secrets are
communicated by the body to the soul, which passes
them on to the spirit. The meaning of these secrets is
dealt with in the ceremony, but it is worth noting that the
word shows clearly that the secret is to be found only
through the death of the body. The actual Hebrew word
whose corrupt form we use really means ‚My son is
slain.‛1 It is also well to remember that the penal sign
and the sign of grief & distress (Scottish form) are old
signs which come down from the ancient mysteries, and
1 [There are many different corrupt forms of the M.M. word, most of
which contain the letters M, B, N in that order; hence Waite for instance
used ‚MBN‛ as a cipher for the word. The Heb. root hn/ B/ is con-
nected with the idea of building and has many derivatives, including hn/ b&m!.
‚Builder‛ is hn)w;B, bōneh (also means ‚beaver‛ in modern Hebrew); the
vowel sound after the N in some forms of the word is just as likely to
represent the terminal of that as the possessive particle (a postfixed yod) in
‚my son.‛ Interpretations involving ‚slain,‛ ‚dead,‛ ‚death‛ mostly seem
to assume that the M is from some cognate of the root tWm, ‚to die,‛ most
likely tm(, ‚dying,‛ ‚dead,‛ which would require the tau to have been
completely elided in every version. ‚The death of the builder‛ and ‚The
builder is smitten‛ (from aj/m,/ to smite or strike) are glosses given in the
modern Emulation ritual (where two different corruptions of the word are
communicated). A compound of something else with }b) a), eben, ‚a stone‛
is also possible. All this assumes that the word is of Hebrew etymology;
see the paper ‚Marrow in the Bone‛ by C. B. Hunter, AQC 113 (2000) for an
examination of the subject which questions this assumption. — T.S.]
164
are still found throughout the world. A brief summary of

what has already been said may be helpful. The penal
sign is often associated with Shiva, the Destroyer, and is
also found appropriately used at Burobudor in Java; it
refers to that occult centre, the solar plexus. In view of
what the lost secret is, this sign is therefore most signifi-
cant. In other words, it is a hint to those who deserve to
know while it conceals from those who do not.
The Scottish sign of grief and distress is found all round
the world, and always has the same meaning of an appeal
for help. It is used in the most primitive initiatory rites of
a boy into manhood, and in Kenya the boy makes this
sign to indicate that he is ready for the operation of
circumcision to begin. In Nyasaland, among the Yaos, it
is associated with a grave, and in Mexico the Preserver is
shown making it. He was slain and rose from the dead,
and it is constantly found in Mexico in the form of a
carving, consisting of a skeleton cut in half at the centre
and making this sign, as, for example, at the Temple at
Uxmal.
The manner of communicating the secrets and the grip
are equally old. Indeed, the lion’s grip appears to be the
grip of all the Mysteries. It was the Grip of Mithra, and
by this grip Osiris was raised. Among the Druids it was
also known, as is shown by a carving at Iona. I have,
however, gone into the evidence for the antiquity of our
signs so fully that I will not take up further space here.
We may as well add, however, that the number ‚5‛ no
doubt refers to the five senses of man, just as the seven
steps remind us of the Egyptian subdivision of every
mortal.
Having received the substituted secrets the W.M., or
Spirit, confirms their use till the true ones are discovered.
This last remark indicates that the quest is not ended or
abandoned, in reality it has just begun; the first stage

only has been passed, which stage is death. It also tells
every Craft mason that he cannot be a good craftsman till
he has at least taken the Royal Arch.2
Thus the spirit acknowledges that death is a step for-
ward. It has freed the soul of the trammels imposed on it
by the body, and so our life’s work on earth, as sym-
bolised in the Lodge, is closed. The knocks indicate that
the spirit now dominates the soul and body, and before
we leave these heights it is well to point out that almost
all the great religious teachers have taught that in some
mysterious way this physical body will be transformed,
and still be used after death. In short, that matter, as well
as spirit, is part of God. Science has shown that matter is
indestructible,3 though its form may be changed com-
pletely, and so even after the symbolical death and
resurrection, three knocks are still required.
2 [In English Freemasonry, as a result of the political compromise which

enabled the ‚Ancients‛ and ‚Moderns‛ to patch up their differences and
unite in the early 19th century, the Holy Royal Arch is regarded as the
completion and perfection of the Master Mason degree rather than a
fourth degree in its own right. English R.A. chapters are under the control
of a Grand Chapter closely allied with United Grand Lodge. As Ward
notes elsewhere, in other systems (such as Scottish workings and the US
‚York Rite‛) there are further intermediate degrees between M.M. and
Royal Arch. The legend of the H.R.A. has it that the King of Tyre and his
protegé felt bound by their agreement between themselves and their
murdered builder not to communicate the ‚genuine secrets‛ to even those
among the workmen who proved themselves worthy, so instead sealed
them up in a vault under the temple where they could subsequently be
discovered. The motif common to all (well, most) Royal Arch versions
(including the Irish one based around the supposed ‚discovery‛ of the
‚Law of Yahveh‛ during the reign of Josiah, and the Ninth Arch or Royal
Arch of Enoch of the Rite of Perfection and Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite), is that of lost knowledge being rediscovered through a descent into
the depths of the earth. Vista interora terræ, rectificando invenies occultum
lapidem. — T.S.]
3 [In one sense, it has shown the complete opposite. E = m  c2. — T.S.]
CHAPTER X
CONCLUSION.
THIS then concludes the third degree. More than any
other degree in Craft Masonry it has embedded in it
ancient landmarks, brought down from a long distant
past. Under the surface lie hidden, meanings within
meanings, which I make no pretence to have exhausted.
Already this book has exceeded in length either of the
two previous ones, but to do full justice to the sublime
degree one would require a volume four times as large as
this. I trust, however, that I have given some help, more
especially to younger brethren, which will aid them to
glimpse the deeper side of Freemasonry. If they too will
strive to discover further and alternative meanings, I
shall feel this labour of mine has been well repaid.
Let me again warn them that just because Masonry is
so old, its rituals, in the course of years, have been again
and again revised, and newer meanings have continually
been grafted on to the old stock. We are not entitled to
say one meaning is right and another wrong. Both may
be right. Christianity itself has taken over a vast mass of
pre-Christian ceremonies and symbols, and the student is
perfectly entitled to consider that both the Christian and
the pre-Christian interpretations of these symbols are
equally deserving of respect.
There is also another point which should be born in
mind. Again and again we find that incidents and phrases
which appear to have come from the Bible, on close
investigation are found not to correspond exactly with
the Biblical narrative. At one time there was a tendency
to say that in these cases it was our duty to substitute the
167
Biblical version for the ‚inaccurate‛ traditional form.

With all due respect I venture to say that such action is
totally unjustifiable. Masonry is not the Bible. It is a
traditional ritual into which 18th century revisers inserted
fragments from the Bible, because that was the only book
dealing with the period of the masonic incidents, which
was then available to them. To-day, we know a great
deal more about this period than did our 18th century
predecessors, and the modern investigator has just cause
to lament the well meaning, but misdirected, zeal of these
worthy masons, who thereby have probably destroyed
for ever valuable landmarks, which would have helped
us to discover the historical growth, and the symbolic
meaning, of many parts of our ceremonies.
Such apparent contradictions, and even mistakes, as
appear to exist, should be carefully retained, for they are
sure indications to the conscientious student of a con-
nection with a long distant past, which modem methods
of research may enable us finally to trace to its origin. If,
however, they are revised out of existence, future genera-
tions will have nothing to help them in the task of un-
ravelling the true history and meaning of Freemasonry.
If a sign does not correspond with the explanation of
the manner in which it is said to have originated, don’t
alter the way of giving the sign, for it is an ancient land-
mark. Rather try and discover if anywhere in the world
that sign is still used in some old ceremony which may
throw light on its true origin. If H.A.B. was not buried in
a coffin, don't eliminate the coffin from the tracing board,
but rather bear in mind that his great prototype, Osiris,
was so buried and that the coffin played a peculiarly
important part in the legend which recounts his death:
which legend was hoary with antiquity before King
Solomon was born.
CONCLUSION . 169
Finally, let me say that even if a man can never fathom

the full meaning of the third degree, yet there is no man
worthy of the name who has passed through that third
degree but will certainly have learnt one important
lesson, namely, how to die, and thereby will be the better
man.

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The Masonic Handbook Series

Studies in the meaning of

The E.A.’s Handbook

Revison 1.04 – 2019.10.11

Love is the law, love under will.

The Entered Apprentice’s Handbook.

The Fellow Craft’s Handbook

The Master Mason’s Book

W. BRO. Ward is one of the most able and earnest of Ma-

succeeding epochs have left their mark. Evolution takes

of Bro. Ward’s series of handbooks cannot fail to

bered in the number seven is all that can be logically

that those who dabble in the so-called occult run grave

emphasised by the upright lines of his plumb, which

Any arguments adduced from the rituals of the

similarly associated with Fire, though perhaps less ob-

female. The feminine side of the S.W. or Soul is

those early days, many higher degrees were worked in

I suggest that Speculative Freemasonry is mainly

on the roof or tiles, who could see if anyone was

overhung a considerable distance beyond the walls, and

pronounced in the 18th century, ‚concale‛ and ‚revale.‛

fraternity without his father’s consent. The father might

proof in itself, for I have seen (when abroad) many well

2 See ‚Freemasonry and the Gods.‛

They were only saved by the desperate pleading of good

admission. Strange to say, we do get it inside the Lodge,

our ritual, although seen in the Irish. There a Can. is

rise and follow your leader, . . . , for where the name of

ancient symbolism and eschatology, the departed soul

But some may ask ‚Why should Horus or Krishna

Strictly, the Can. should enter the Lodge in the North,

learnt certain lessons. Think again of the Pass Word, Free

This is by three squares which symbolise, not only

entrance to the path can only be gained by those who

1*Akhenaten’s failure was largely due to the entrenched power of the

viation from orthodoxy might have endangered the

clause is one of the reasons why we cannot expect to find

The more effective punishment is, of course, a later

ever, the incident is followed by a beautiful exposition of

The S .W. represents the Setting Sun, and hence the

body, only terminated by death, the body which in every

berately choosing the wrong. This means death; not

4 [This interpretation is absurd, as already noted. One can hardly be said

of the charges against the Templars in 1307, was that they

reasons which will be obvious to those entitled to know

some of the Chinese gods wear aprons, and I have a

tant to remember that he himself is building his own

important craft degrees.1 If these landmarks were re-

Trinity comes forth from the first.1 When we come to the

1[This is an allusion to the Kabbalistic mis-spelling of Jesus or Joshua as

hope, be of some help to those who, amid the turmoil of

2 [The Kabbalah Unveiled, trans. and ed. by S. L. ‚MacGregor‛ Mathers,

IN this little volume W. Bro. Ward justly emphasises the

religions; viz., the Union of Heaven and Earth, and the

Under the old system, at the next meeting of the Lodge

Obligation, and if he is unable to do so his passing is

day, with the disappearance of the Operatives, a Bro.

for this are both practical and symbolical. As an Opera-

4[See also Deut. xxiii, 1. — T.S.]