MASONRY AND ITS SYMBOLS

Harold W. Percival

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LEGENDS TO SYMBOLS

THE OBLONG SQUARE (illustration)

SECTION 1

The Brotherhood of Freemasons. Compass. Membership. Age. Temples. Intelligences behind Masonry. Purpose and plan. Masonry and religions. The essential and the temporary teachings. The fundamental principles of the three degrees. Offshoots. Great truths locked up in trivial forms. The secret language. Passive and active thinking. Lines on the breath-form. Discipline of desires and of mental operations. The ancient landmarks. Masons should see the importance of their Order

SECTION 2

Meaning of the preliminaries. A free man. Recommendation. Preparations in the heart and for initiation. The divestment. The hoodwink. The fourfold cable-tow. The candidate is the conscious self in the body. Travels. The sharp instrument. Instructions. The pledge. The three great lights and the lesser lights. What the candidate learns about these symbols. Signs, grips and words. The symbol of the lambskin. The scene of poverty. The Mason as an upright man. His working tools. Declaration of the Apprentice. The signs and their meanings. The Word. The four virtues. The six jewels. The Ground Floor of King Solomon’s Temple. Purpose of the symbols and ceremonies

SECTION 3

The degree of Fellow Craft. How the candidate is received and the meaning of it. Being brought to light. What he receives. The tools of a Fellow Craft. Their meaning. The two Columns. Building the bridge from Boaz to Jachin. The three, five and seven steps. The Middle Chamber. Meaning of the steps. The wages and the jewels. Meaning of the letter G. The point and the circle. The four and the three degrees. The twelve points on the circle. The Zodiacal signs. Expression of universal truths. Geometry. The achievements of the Fellow Craft. The Thinker. The Master Mason. Preparation. Reception. Being brought to light. The pass, the grip, the apron and the tools of a Master Mason

SECTION 4

Life, death and resurrection of Hiram Abiff. The great lesson of Masonry. What Hiram symbolizes. The two triangles. The designs on the trestle-board. The South gate. The workmen. Hiram is restrained from going out. He is slain at the East gate. The immortal body. Jubela, Jubelo, Jubelum. Meanings of these three symbols. The three assaults. The Masonic drama. The fifteen workmen. The Great Twelve. The pairs of triangles forming six-pointed stars. Hiram as the power that makes the round. The finding of the three ruffians. The three burials of Hiram. The raising by King Solomon. The monument at the place of burial. Raising of the candidate. The three columns. The forty-seventh problem of Euclid

SECTION 5

Meaning of the lodge as a room and as the brothers. The officers, their stations and duties. The three degrees as the foundation of Masonry. The work. A Mason’s own lodge

SECTION 6

The cable-tow. The Royal Arch. The candidate as the keystone. Realization of the great Masonic symbol. The fifth degree. The fourth degree. The keystone with the mark of Hiram. The sixth degree. Another aspect of the keystone symbol. The union of Boaz and Jachin. The Glory of the Lord fills the Lord’s house. The seventh degree. The Tabernacle. The Master’s jewels and the Ark of the Covenant. The Name and the Word

SECTION 7

Summary of the teachings of Masonry. They center around “Light.” The symbols, acts and words of the ritual. Ritualists and their workings. The permanent forms of Masonry and twisted teachings. Scriptural passages. Geometrical symbols. Their value. Masonry has in trust certain geometrical symbols which, coordinated in a system for the Masonic work, are thus preserved

APPENDIX A: SYMBOLS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

APPENDIX B: DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

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Copyright 1980 by The Word Foundation, Inc.