THE MARK MASTER

THE opening ceremony of the Mark Master degree is reminiscent of the

opening ceremonies of those degrees which precede it and stresses its
relationship thereto. The minimum number necessary to compose a
Lodge of Mark Master Masons has symbolic significance apart from its
"rational explanation" which accounts for the number as being the
minimum number of officers required to properly confer the degree.
Eight will make a double square, symbol of the material. It will also form
an oblong whose length is twice its width. The significance of this fact is
apparent when the "form of a Lodge" is recalled, as described in a
previous degree. The number "eight" is recognized as the first cube (that
of two). The Kabalists claimed the number "eight" symbolized perfection.
It signifies friendship, prudence and justice and is likewise a symbol of
primeval law which REGARDS ALL MEN AS EQUAL.

If "eight" had no other significance, the last mentioned would be ample

justification for its prominence in a degree whose exoteric teaching so
forcefully presents the thesis of the equality of all men. However, this is
but the exoteric teaching and an analysis of all the properties of the
number "eight" will convey an esoteric reason for its inclusion in the
Mark Master Degree; this will be apparent when the symbolic meaning of
"squares" is discussed.

The stations and duties of the three principal officers as recited in the
opening have the same symbolic meaning as in the "Blue" Lodge, and are
therefore necessarily of astrological implication. Broadly defined these
duties are the enlightenment of the Craft, as the duty of the Great
Luminary is to give material light to the universe.

It has been claimed by some Masonic authorities that the Mark Master
degree, at least in part, was at some far off time included in the work of
the Fellow- craft degree. The setting itself would lend colour to this
argument but aside from the setting there is more subtle evidence at hand.

When actual work in the degree is approached the statement is made that
the Lodge is opened "for the purpose of ADVANCING Brother Blank—
etc.—" In the York Chapter "Brother Blank" of necessity is a Master
Mason, having been raised in a legally constituted and duly opened
Lodge of Master Masons. On reflection is it realized that it is NO
ADVANCEMENT for a Master Mason to be made a Mark Master. In
fact of knowledge he is beyond the lessons conveyed in this degree, and
most certainly it is no SYMBOLICAL ADVANCEMENT, for it takes
one who has presumably learned the symbolic meaning of acute angles
back to "Right angles, Horizontals and Perpendiculars" which is a
symbolic retrogression. For a Fellowcraft, however it is an advancement
both from an ethical and symbolic viewpoint, from where he is left at the
close of the Second degree as now conferred in our "Blue" Lodges. There
is still other evidence in favour of this theory.

The candidate, when asked a certain question, answers: "Try me," as does
the Fellowcraft in answer to the same question. Like the Fellowcraft he
stipulates that he be tried by the "tools of his profession." The Mark
Master receives "wages" as does the Fellowcraft with a subtle distinction.
The Mark Master is paid in coin, the Fellowcraft in "Corn, Wine, and
Oil."

"Corn, Wine and Oil are the Masonic elements of consecration," states
Mackey, in his Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, and he further explains:
"The adoption of these symbols is supported by the highest antiquity.
Corn, Wine, and Oil were the most important productions of Eastern
Countries; they constituted the wealth of the people, and were esteemed
as the support of life and the means of refreshment. David enumerates
them as among the great blessings that we enjoy, and speaks of them as
'wine that maketh glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and
bread which strengtheneth man's heart.' Psalms CIV; 14."

In that beautiful twenty-third Psalm, reference is again made to the corn,

or nourishment, oil and wine: "Thou preparest a table before me in the
midst of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth
over." To state that these three symbols denote "Plenty," "Health," and
"Peace" is the crassest kind of material explanation. In fact it might be
considered misleading, were we not accustomed to the Masonic fact that
"within the Lodge" the Great Truths are not revealed, and that we must
seek elsewhere for such light as is not therein revealed.

The ancients who worshipped the sun as a god, or as a symbol of God,

considered all things the yellow, golden colour of the sun as pertaining to
it; hence gold, brass and corn or grain, because of their golden colour
were deemed sacred. Corn was one of their principal foods it was, to the
devout, actually nourishment from God, a reward for obedience to His
laws.

In Oriental Philosophy Francis Grant refers to the ancient symbolical

significance of wine thus: "God was at once the wine of life and the Wine
Bearer." Of the great Sufi poet, Omar Khayyam, he says: "But few
westerners have ever glimmered that Omar's wine was not the wine of
men, but the ecstatic inflow of a religious mystic experience." While the
time of which Grant writes is a much later date than here discussed, the
Sufi poets but borrowed their symbology from the earlier times with
which we are concerned.

In the ancient ceremony of crowning a king, his head was anointed with
oil by the officiating priest. This oil was contained in a flask fashioned
from the horn of a bull or a ram, and carried in the priest's girdle. The
Jew, of course, considered the one anointed as ordained by Jehovah; the
Pagan Priest ordained in the name of Taurus or Aries, depending on the
horn from which the oil was poured.

Here then is the true wage of the Fellowcraft: the corn which nourishes
the physical body, provided by the all-wise beneficence of his Creator,
truly a gift from God. Oil, the refresher of his physical body, that "which
makes his face to shine." Again, for Biblical authority, "It is like the
precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even
Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garment for there the
Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Here again is
encountered that Masonic system of "double meaning" so often present.
The Scripture just quoted is used in the Entered Apprentice degree. It first
mentions "how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity." To the casual observer it is this pleasant association which is
"like the precious ointment" and so it is in the First degree. However, the
second and far more important meaning is that "LIFE FOR
EVERMORE" is the objective. More mystically interpreted it is this
"anointment," this ceremony of pouring the "oil" upon the head which
sets the individual apart from others, which makes him, anointed of God
and as such ordained for that "LIFE FOR EVERMORE." Finally he is
given "wine" as a part of his "Wage." That "wine" which as Grant
explains is "not the wine of men, but the ecstatic inflow of a religious
mystic experience" THE SUMMATION OF HIS LABORS.

Having "passed to the degree of Fellowcraft" previously, the Mark

Master has had this experience of being paid "wages" of "Corn, Wine,
and Oil." Now being ADVANCED he is paid in COIN, which he can
exchange for sustenance OF HIS OWN CHOOSING. The inference is
obvious; being now more ADVANCED he is expected to have that finer
sense of discrimination which accompanies "advanced knowledge" and
instead of being provided for by his superiors (symbolic of an all-wise
providence) without freedom of choice, he is paid with a medium of
exchange which allows him latitude in the selection of the fruits of his
labours.

According to Waite, Time Immemorial Lodge, otherwise known as

Lodge of Hope No.302, under the Grand Lodge of All England at York,
was conferring the Mark Master degree in 1724 and it was evidently
practiced under an old constitution derived from the Grand Lodge of
York. He states it is "thought to have been worked prior to the closing of
the second degree." In the face of all the evidence, both historical and
symbolical there can be little doubt that these two degrees, set in the same
locale, originally were parts of one and the same degree, or at least
worked together with the Mark Master being a continuation of the
Fellowcraft degree. Their very teaching adds weight to the theory, for the
Fellowcraft degree is psychical, devoted to the inculcation of learning.
The Mark Master degree instructs HOW to apply that learning, thereby
making the best use thereof. The distinction of the "Blue" Lodge may
well be made— the Fellowcraft "SPECULATES"—the Mark Master
"OPERATES."

Some Chapters, feeling the need for a modulation into the actual work of
this degree to soften the harshness of the introduction of the candidate to
Capitular Masonry, preface it with what they term a "pro-Logue." This is
in the nature of a playlet, acted out for the benefit of the candidate. It
depicts the workmen in the quarries and shows the "young Fellow- craft"
as finding a beautiful stone already prepared which he is tempted to
present as his own work. There can be no objection to such a "prologue"
as long as it is distinctly kept and understood to be such. The difficulty
with attempts to so explain and preface any ancient degree of
Freemasonry is in the fact that usage might at some future time ADD
some of the "prologue" to the actual work of the degree. One of the
difficulties the modern student of Freemasonry now encounters in his
studies is these additions made in the past. They sometimes distort the
ancient symbology and if the attempt is made to detach them, one is
confronted with the surgical problem of judging "exactly how much to
cut away."

The first section of the actual work in this degree is, in itself, in the nature
of a "prologue" to the initiatory part of the degree, although in a sense IT
IS "initiation." From some viewpoints the Mark Master degree,
particularly this first section, contains contradictions and is even
incongruous with the Masonic method of teaching as elsewhere
encountered. It is not in accordance with the usual Masonic custom to
introduce the candidate in the manner in which he is first brought into the
Lodge room.

That something is lacking is plainly evident. Obviously, we do not have

the ritual of the Mark Master degree in its ancient form. There is evidence
of omissions as well as modern additions. These latter being as apparent
as would be the work of a mediocre sculptor who attempted to fashion
arms for the Venus DeMilo. However, it is not our present problem to
attempt to discover WHAT these changes may be, but rather to explain
the hidden meaning of such of the symbolism as remains to us.

The concept of placing the candidate in the position of being an impostor

and a cheat is not in keeping with Masonic philosophy as we have
encountered it thus far in our journey through Masonic initiation. If the
candidate is astute enough to catch the significance of the phrase, "you
are not entitled to wages," he may disrupt the entire initiation by later
refusing to attempt to gain that to which he is not entitled. No alternative
is possible in the ritual by which such a contingency can be met. Good
Masonic practice would seem to call for an alternative whereby his
honesty is commended and the desired lesson still obtained from the
incident. Undoubtedly, originally, some different treatment was in use but
if so it has been corrupted by time and all trace is lost to us now. '

There is, however, one bright light shining through the gloom of this
feeling of frustration. "OWING TO ITS SINGULAR FORM AND
BEAUTY," the first two who viewed it were loath to discard the
Keystone. Here is recognition of the beauty of the spiritual even by those
who supposedly are ignorant of its value. Passing only on "square work"
symbol of the material, with a material viewpoint which is incapable of
judging anything but the material useableness of the work they inspect,
yet they are impressed with the pure beauty of this emblem of spirituality
and intuitively hesitate to discard it. True, it is finally discarded; else the
allegory could not be carried to its logical completion and the final lesson
driven home. Here is the startling revelation that the most beautiful thing
of life is but fit to be heaved over in the rubbish, by him who has not
reached a level where he can recognize its inherent value and put it to its
intended use.

The next event furnishes the time element of this degree. Logic places it
after the death of our Ancient Grand Master, as the Temple was still
under construction and not completed. It was quite apparent AFTER the
death of the Architect, for the Keystone was his personal work or
fashioned under his personal direction. Had the incident occurred before
his death, we should have no allegory, for its value would have been
recognized and it would not have been discarded.

On first thought one might be inclined to criticize the degree from the
viewpoint that the Right Worshipful Master impersonates King Solomon
who could be expected to recognize the symbol of the spiritual which the
young craftsman presented. On further contemplation the criticism gives
way to admiration of the consistency of the ritual. The actual wording,
when carefully studied, indicates that the Right Worshipful Master is not
aware of the nature of the work in question. The candidate is merely
accused of "attempting to draw wages" not his due, and further of
presenting work which would not pass inspection. Thus it is clear that the
one man who might be expected to know the worth of the Keystone did
not see it. There is also a fine point in favour of the candidate; "as the
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." He
claims no merit for his work, he but presents it in silence. He argues not
about his wages, he but attempts to draw them as he is instructed to do.

When interrogated he claims to be a Fellowcraft and proves his

contention in the prescribed manner to the satisfaction of all concerned.
The penalty for his presumed infraction is conditionally remitted and he
is sent back to the quarries, "there to labour until such time as he can
present work which will pass inspection."

Here is an exposition of the great law of karma and reincarnation.

"Ignorance" sends the young Fellowcraft back to labour, to do over that
which he has not properly done before. Karma sends the individual back
to the quarries of rebirth to learn those lessons he failed to learn on
previous occasions when the opportunity offered. Again and again and
yet again man returns to his labours until he can finally present such work
as will pass the inspection of the Great Overseer and entitle him to
"wages." Universal Law is the same, be it in the ancient stone quarries of
Masonic allegory or on the spiritual plane, the work must be done over
and over again until perfect and then the reward is certain.

In the second section the candidate is back on familiar ground. The need
of a pass, the questions and answers all have a familiar ring. If he counts
the number of rounds in his perambulation he discovers they indicate the
expected progression. The "approach" likewise is "numerically" logical
and the position he is told to assume is one which is familiar to him. The
obligation renews ties under which he is already bound with the
exception of those certain portions pertaining specifically to the Mark
Master degree. Here is no mystery nor hidden meaning. It is what is
plainly on the surface. The use of the cable-tow is the same symbology as
in the Symbolic degrees. Its length is "one more turn" it is an "additional
tie" to the fraternity and he is released because he is "now, bound by a
stronger tie." Likewise the grip is explained "rationally" and there is no
deeper meaning apparent. It is logically accounted for in the ritual.

A lapse of time is indicated between the retiring of the candidate after the
ceremony of obligation and his re-entry into the Lodge room. The second
part of section two finds the "Temple nearly completed" and "the craft at
a stand for the want of a Keystone." Here too, is a rather glaring
inconsistency. If the reply of the Right Worshipful Master to the Senior
Warden is carefully noted it will be observed that the station of the Junior
Warden should be "vacant" in this portion of the Mark degree for the
same obvious reason it is vacant in the Most Excellent Master degree.

Symbolically, it is here for the first time that the Fellowcraft, the worker
on the psychical plane, is introduced to the spiritual. True to universal law
his introduction is through his dire need. Man may be ignorant of the very
existence of a thing until his need and his lack make him cognizant of it.
The shape of the empty space informs him more clearly than any drawing
on the trestle-board the exact form of the missing stone. Thus
simultaneously the NEED and the VALUE of the capstone is brought to
his realization. Once knowing what to seek, the stone which was heaved
over into the rubbish as "neither oblong nor square" is remembered it is
recovered and set in place: "What is this then that is written, the stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
HE THAT HATH AN EAR TO HEAR LET HIM HEAR." The Mark
Master who so desires may place a Christian interpretation on this
passage, but the Mark Master who is not a Christian is not thereby
prevented from participation in this degree for there is a broader
interpretation possible which transcends all mere creeds.

This symbology demonstrates a deeper truth. The True Word is NEVER

LOST. "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart." The
"word" has always been present but man has failed to recognize it. It is
not lost, it is outside his cognition and as each individual reaches that
level in his evolution where the "word" (stone) is essential to further
progress, to the building of HIS TEMPLE, he discovers it through the
imperative need and its obvious fitness to the circumstances of life in
which he finds himself. Just as the vacant space in the arch foreshadows
the Keystone, so the need of the spiritual in man's life directs the way to
that which alone can complete the structure.
The lecture of this degree is unique among so-called Masonic lectures. It
is the only one given in this particular form. There is no proficiency
examination used at this time in the Mark Master degree but there is,
logical grounds to suggest that at one time in the past an examination was
used. The degree was originally worked in the Symbolic Lodge where the
candidate was caused to pass an examination in other degrees. There is no
reason to believe that an exception was made for the Mark Master Mason.
Further "proficiency" in the Mark Master degree is demanded before the
degree of Most Excellent Master can be conferred upon the candidate.
The lecture itself appears as a combination of lecture and examination
and doubtless is, in its present form, the remains of what originally
represented a separate lecture and examination of the candidate.

Much is brought to light in this lecture which would otherwise remain

obscure if left to the action of the degree. In part it is a description of the
working of universal law. Though the "rational explanation" recites the
legendary, "material" reasons are given for the founding of the degree.
Actually it teaches of the law of compensation in the universe; that each
individual inexorably receives his just due; that no one in the end can
profit by taking that which he has not earned and that he cannot hope to
be rewarded for work not properly done.

In the explanation of the "common gavel" of the Entered Apprentice it is

said: are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose
of divesting our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities
of life, thereby fitting our minds as living stones, for that spiritual
building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

The "heart" has long been associated in the mind of man with the
emotions, "conscience" as the arbiter of his ethics. But neither of these is
to be fitted as "living stones in that spiritual building"—IT IS THE MIND
which is being fitted, for without the guidance of the intellect the
emotions betray us and the conscience cannot discriminate.

Again in this degree the lesson is repeated note carefully in the

explanation of the symbology of the "chisel" it is the MIND which is
likened to the "rough ashlar." Truly are the degrees of Fellowcraft and
Mark Master the psychical degrees of Freemasonry.

"The mind, like the rough ashlar, when taken from the quarry, is rude and
unpolished, but as the effects of the chisel in the hands of the skill-full
workman soon outlines and perfects the carved capital, the stately shaft,
and the beautiful statue, so education discovers the latent virtues of the
mind and draws them forth to range the large field of matter and space, to
display the summit of human knowledge, our duty to God and Man."

Were Freemasonry of no other value, were it but a secret society and

fraternal organization, if there were no secret doctrine, no Divine
inspiration behind the veil of allegory, in fact if there were no veil of
allegory, it still would serve a great and useful purpose and be entitled to
perpetuation, so long as it taught man to seek knowledge. For without
knowledge man is no better than the beast of the field.

The "mallet" continues to teach the lessons of the tools of the Fellowcraft.
As the "level" teaches that we are all "travelling upon the LEVEL of
time," so the "Mallet corrects irregularities and reduces man to a proper
LEVEL." As the "plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several
stations before God and Man, squaring our actions by the SQUARE of
virtue," so does the "mallet" admonish us to "curb ambition, depress envy
and moderate anger." True these are material and psychical lessons, not
spiritual, but we have learned that man is a triune being composed of
ALL THREE and unless these first two planes of his being are served
there can be no spiritual progress that which serves an UNDIVIDED
PART of a whole, serves the whole.

The "charge" of this degree as might be expected deals largely with the
material and appeals to the intellect. However, ethics cannot be discussed
without approaching the borders of the spiritual and in some passages of
this charge the implications are apparent. As example: "Your duties,
which become more and more extensive as you advance in Masonry."
This is but another way of informing that "ours is a progressive science."
The only REAL progress the individual can make is in the acquisition of
knowledge. As the "knowing" expands, so does his responsibility become
the greater to live a life in keeping with the higher level he has attained.

The lecture closes with the assurance "that the stone which the builders
rejected (possessing merits to them unknown) became the chief stone of
the corner." Because we, in our ignorance, do not recognize the merits of
the spiritual it does not detract from that value. It but keeps us from
benefiting there from. But as we progress, when we "place ourselves in
that proper position," we eventually learn to also place the spiritual upon
the topmost part of the Arch for it then becomes the only reality to them
who have discovered it.

The payment of wages is another lesson in the working of universal law.

It teaches that no matter how early or late the discovery is made of
spiritual values, all receive the SAME REWARD. It cannot be otherwise,
there are no "degrees" of perfection. "Perfect" is the superlative, there is
no comparative. A thing is either "perfect" or it is not "perfect." Likewise
with the workmen in the parable they either worked or they did not work.
The "householder" was not interested in the number of hours they
laboured but in the fact that they did their assigned tasks.

Some Chapter members, inclined to be critical, remark on the incongruity

of introducing a quotation from the New Testament in a ritual depicting
events which occurred hundreds of years before that period. If the attempt
of this degree were merely to be historically correct the criticism might
well be made. The object of this degree is not to teach history but to bring
to the candidate a far greater lesson. That being the case the beauty and
value of the lesson are ample excuse for the incongruity. In any event,
Jesus taught the Old Philosophy, he said nothing new but merely tried to
explain the ancient teaching. Thus in spite of historical inconsistency the
desired results are obtained if the candidate takes to his "heart and
conscience" the great truths which the degree so forcefully presents.