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AN EXPLANATION

OF

THE ROYAL ARCH JEWEL

By

Jack E Leggett PGStdB

exrajwlds2.doc
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Overview

The Royal Arch Jewel is arguably the most important of all Masonic

Jewels, incorporating as it does in a compact symbolic form the very

core of the Masonic credo, covering not only our behaviour towards

our fellow men in this life but, more importantly, our relationship

with and duty to the Most High, our Creator.

After Exaltation, each new Companion is presented with a small

red-covered booklet providing a synoptic account of the Order,

within which is included a brief description of the RA Jewel. For

most the matter ends there and the Jewel becomes just another piece

of Masonic regalia that has the peculiarity of being worn also in

Craft Lodges. To leave it thus is regrettable and what follows is an

endeavour to explain in simple fashion what is in fact a complex

though very interesting story.

In the wide variety of RA Rituals available, there frequently appear

so called ‘explanations’ of the Jewel, the majority of which – apart

from a brief reference and translation of its wording – devote

themselves to an attempt at dubious and sterile mathematical proof

of the relationship between its angles and those of the five Platonic

Bodies. Assuredly ‘dubious’ because it is doubtful whether our

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antecedents would have employed such a convoluted system for

deciding the design of the Jewel, and ‘sterile’ because such

‘explanations’ serve only to obfuscate the issue and, more

importantly, provide nothing that adds to Masonic knowledge. One

might reasonably have expected the Symbolical Lecture to engage in

some form of explanation but, again, this deals solely with angles and

Platonic Bodies instead of conveying some means of unravelling the

deeper implications of the Jewel.

To achieve full understanding, it will be first necessary to go back in

time to before the Union early in the 19th century when Freemasonry

was essentially Christian in nature, a factor that was understandably

reflected in the Royal Arch and its Ritual. And since the Royal Arch

was overtly Christian, it became customary for many Chapters to

meet on Sundays outside the normal hours of Divine Worship. There

is evidence, too, that at the beginning of the 18th century operative

Masons had worked in the Christian tradition. In those days, the

Volume of the Sacred Law was invariably opened at the first verse of

the Gospel according to St John, which begins: “In the beginning was

the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

The crucial and central issue of ‘the Word’ will be returned to later.
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It will help, however, if we first examine briefly the principal features

constituting the basic form of the Jewel. These consist of two

concentric circles, the outer denoting Eternity and the inner the

Deity, within which we find two interlaced equilateral triangles at

whose centre is a further – irradiated – triangle, symbol of the

Creator, and compasses extended over a globe portraying Him as the

Great Architect of the Universe. The interlaced triangles remind us

of the twofold nature of man – spiritual and material. At the bottom

of the Jewel is a scroll having at its centre a further circle within

which is a Triple Tau: at its head is another scroll, this being purely

decorative. The wording on the circle, triangles and scroll will be

explained in due course. If you have been looking at your own Jewel,

you will observe that it is in fact suspended upside down.

The explanation which follows falls into four sections:

1. The Trinitarian legacy

2. The Reverse of the Jewel

3. The Obverse of the Jewel

4. The Key to its meaning

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1. The Trinitarian legacy

The effect of the Trinitarian influence is considerable and reflected in

various ways; as a start, consider the following:

• 3 Greater Lights

• 3 Lesser Lights

• 3 Taus (united to form the Triple Tau)

• 3 Principals

• 3 Sojourners

• 3 Syllables of the Word

According to an old RA manuscript, the six lights and Triple Tau are

explained thus:

• The three Lesser represent the moral and religious light to be

drawn from the Law and the Prophets.

• The three Greater represent the great mystery of the Trinity,

“…which every prudent three will rather make the subject of

his (sic) private meditation than his (sic) public converse…”.

• The three Taus forming the Triple Tau also referred to the

Trinity.

The Greek letter ‘Tau’ is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet

and in special form – the Triple Tau – has acquired a crucial

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centrality within the Royal Arch. This will become apparent as the

exposition proceeds. However, at this stage it will be interesting to

make allusion to the second part of the Mystical Lecture, where we

find a modified quotation from verses 3 and 4, Chapter 9, of the Book

of the Prophet Ezekiel as printed in the King James’s version. The

Biblical words are:

“ ….. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had

the writer’s ink-horn by his side …………….. Go through

the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set

a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry

for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof

……..”

Those who did not bear the ‘mark’ were slain. But, as so often

occurs, Masonry itself seems to have decided upon the use of the

Triple Tau, since the Bible certainly bears no reference to it. This

type of aberration does occur in Ritual, a classic example in the Craft

being when the WM is demonstrating the Secrets of the Second

Degree, because there is no Biblical support for the phrase:

“ ….. for God said, in strength I will establish this Mine house

to stand firm for ever ….”

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However, that the Triple Tau acquired special sanctity in the Royal

Arch is beyond doubt and its numinous character is equally certain.

Without question, operative Masons as far back as the 14th Century

were inspired by it and, after all, these people originated the

working, passing it down by word of mouth until mutated versions

became published many centuries later.

The Triple Tau is present on the Jewel, Sash, and Apron of

Companions – three times three – and has long been regarded as the

badge of a RA Mason: it is to be noted that, whereas before the

Union it was emblematic of the Trinity, it is now an allusion to the

Deity.

All these ‘threes’ are extremely important and will be found to

feature in many ways in the RA Jewel in the form of similar triads.

As an aside, it is further to be noted that it is not just the Royal Arch

that deals in triads for there are many present, too, in Craft

Masonry. You can find these yourselves but the following are worth

mentioning:
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3 Knocks on the Lodge door by the Tyler secured our

admission at Initiation

3 Knocks of the Tyler are repeated on the shoulders of the

JW and SW – another three times three

3 Regular steps in the Craft Degrees, each in the form a Tau

3 Separated Taus feature on a Master’s Apron

One explanation of the Tyler’s knocks is as follows:

“Ask and it shall be given you”

“Seek, and ye shall find”

“Knock, and it shall be opened unto you”

A partially successful attempt was made in the late 18th century to

deny the established symbolism of the Triple Tau by asserting that,

instead of being three Taus in conjunction, it was in fact a letter ‘T’

over the letter ‘H’, signifying ‘Templum Hierosolyema’ or ‘The

Temple at Jerusalem’: it was later claimed merely to be the initials of

the maker of the Jewel – Thomas Harper. The latter aberration was

still current in some quarters at the middle of the 20th century.

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2. The Reverse of the Jewel

Returning to the Jewel, on its reverse, beneath the circle containing

the Triple Tau is a scroll with only one-third engraved. The vacant

spaces after 'Exalted’ are left blank but can be completed by

inserting the date of Exaltation on the lower part, and name or

number of the Chapter on the other. The scroll is rarely completed

and, whilst this is non-essential, the same does not apply to the vacant

space on the material triangle on the obverse of the Jewel, to which

reference will be made later.

Moving on to the remaining inscription on the reverse of the Jewel,

between the two concentric circles there is a double Latin triad:

Deo, Regi, Fratribus – Honor, Fidelitas, Benevolentia

The two triads are to be read conjointly and translate literally as follows:

Deo Honor = To God Honour

Regi Fidelitas = To the King, Fidelity

Fratribus Benevolentia = To the Brethren, Love

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The inscription is a translation from the Regius Poem - the most

cherished Manuscript in the possession of Grand Lodge - for it dates

back to the 14th century. The actual lines of the poem which have been

Latinised on the Jewel are:

(Deo Honor)

"That whoso will con this craft and come to estate

"He must love well God and Holy Church algate1

(Regi Fidelitas)

"And to his liege Lord the King

"To be tru to Him over alle thing

(Fratribus Benevolentia)

"And thy fellows thou love also

”For that the craft will that thou do

The final inscription on the reverse of the Jewel is once more in the

form of a double triad on the interlaced triangles, reading on the one:

Concord, Truth, Peace

and on the other:

Wisdom, Strength, Beauty

The meaning of "Concord, Truth, Peace" is obvious but, in the case of

"Wisdom, Strength, Beauty" it should be noted that this alludes to

1
OE word meaning 'at any rate', ‘by all means'
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neither the Wisdom of King Solomon, nor the Strength of King Hiram,

nor the Beautifying hand of Hiram Abif.

Instead, the reference is to the:

"Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence"

of the True and Living God Most High, those attributes of God recited

at the Opening of every Royal Arch Chapter.

3.The Obverse of the Jewel

On the obverse of the jewel, the wording on the Scroll is complete,

reading:

"'Nil nisi clavis deest”t – "Nothing is wanting but the key"

The inscription between the two concentric circles has similar import:

Si talia jungere possis sit – If thou canst understand what

tibe scire satis follows thou knowest enough

We now come to the crux of the Jewel. On the interlaced triangles there

is again a double triad, but the triad on the second triangle is

incomplete.
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The triangle with its apex pointing upwards is the spiritual triangle

having on its base the inscription "We have found" which is repeated in

Greek and Latin on the sides of the triangle.

On the material triangle - the one with its apex pointing downwards the

base is left blank and on the two sides are, respectively:

"Cultor Dei”t – "Civis Mundi"

Some 'Explanations' have tried to connect "Invenimus” on the spiritual

triangle with "Cultor Dei" and "Civis Mundi" on the material triangle,

translating the sentence thus formed as:

"We have found the worship of God, oh citizen of the world"

The meaning thus ascribed is not acceptable for “Cultor" is nominative

case incorrectly treated as accusative case: furthermore, no Latin

dictionary gives the meaning of "Cultor" as "worship".

Instead we find that it signifies "worshipper" or "reverencer": the

former needs no explanation and the latter is defined in Chambers 20th

Century Dictionary as 'one who venerates'. And even if the word had

been "Cultorem" instead of "Cultor' the translation could not have

accounted for the vacant space on the base of the material triangle.
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4. The Key

When you received your Grand Chapter Certificate there was a vacant

space that you were required to fill with your signature, as you did also

on the Grand Lodge Certificate. Similarly, when you received the Royal

Arch jewel there was this vacant space on the material triangle for your

'name'. When this has been inserted the triad on that triangle will be

complete and read:

"A. B. – Cultor Dei – Civis Mundi”

By this endorsement the holder of the Jewel acknowledges that he is a

"worshipper” (or “reverencer”) of God, a “citizen of the world”, but he

does more than that for at the same time he subscribes to the wording

on the spiritual triangle:

"We have found"

However, the Jewel does not tell us what is found – the Key is still

wanting. Despite their number in Speculative Masonry, by far the most

important of all Masonic allegories is “the search for the Word" –

observe particularly that it is NOT seeking the Sacred and Mysterious

Name of the Most High, but the "WORD" that has come down to us

through countless ages, carrying always the same meaning.

"The Will or Law of God"

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This is the Key, so that the Companion who thinks he has found the Key

in the discovery of the Sacred and Mysterious Name would do well to

remember that, to Christians, the greatest teacher of all warned that it

is not sufficient to say "Lord! Lord!" but rather to do the will of God.

Current Masonic teaching is rather similar to the Keystone concealed

under the rubble because, during the past 150 years, so-called

'improvers' of the ritual have made alterations serving to destroy the

clues to the great allegory of the “Search for the Word”. No longer is the

Volume of the Sacred Law in our Lodges opened at the first verse of the

Gospel according to St John, as was originally the custom.

The phrase “In the beginning was the Word" has disappeared from

modern rituals and catechisms despite the fact that it features

constantly in old Masonic rituals and manuscripts: the same can be said

of the phrase:

"And the light shineth in the darkness

and the darkness comprehended it not”.

As a result – and through no fault of the Brethren or Companions – one

is now bound to say:

"And the light shineth in darkness but

the Brethren comprehend it not"

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A plain clue to the meaning of the search was to be found in the old

prayer for the Candidate at his Exaltation for instead of:

"and may he ever remember that the object of our

institution is the welfare of our fellow creatures"

the actual words used were:

”ever remembering that the object and intent off our

institution is obedience to Thy Sacred Laws"

Herein lies the Key to that allegory which commenced with the second

of the three Knocks by which we first gained admission into a Masonic

Lodge:

"Seek and ye shall find"

Thus, the Companion who has found the Word should certainly have

his name inserted on the jewel in the vacant space on the triangle. He

should also be able to appreciate the meaning of the inscription between

the concentric circles:

`1f thou canst understand this thou knowest enough"

because the WORD, the Will of God, comprises all the tenets, precepts,

and principles of Freemasonry - everything that Masonry teaches.

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Happy is the Mason that finds the ‘Word’ and achieves understanding,

for that ‘Word’, amongst other things, incorporates the grand design of

being happy and communicating happiness.

The foregoing, Companions, is an entirely logical historical explanation

of just why the Royal Arch Jewel has the form that many take for

granted. For, as has been shown, it demonstrates conclusively the true

meaning and profundity of an Order whose roots lie deep in a religious

past.

And where is that depth better expressed than in the conclusion of the

Mystical Lecture when this points out that the Holy Royal Arch ought

to inspire its members with the most exalted ideas of God, leading them

to the exercise of a pure and divine piety and especially to a reverence

for His Sacred Name, for He IS:

“……the Eternal Ruler of the Universe…………….the

primordial source of all its principles, the very spring and

fountain of all its virtues”.

Acknowledgement
Heavily edited and with additional original material, this exposition adheres faithfully to the intellectual and
historical theses promoted by E Comp Shepherd-Jones OBE, PAGSoj as printed in the Aldersgate Ritual.
Jack E Leggett PGStdB October 2001