Chapter Four:
The Symbolism of Freemasonry

The Deceptive Nature of Blue Lodge Symbolism

       In order to fully comprehend Freemasonry it is important to become familiar with its many symbols, as well as the esoteric meanings behind them. Indeed, this is precisely where the mystery religion of the Masonic Order finds full explanation. In the words of Masonic authority, Allen E. Roberts, "...Symbolism is the lifeblood of the Craft.... It is the principal vehicle by which [we are taught] Masonic philosophy and moral lessons."⁽¹⁾ Likewise, Albert Mackey stated, "Freemasonry is... a system of doctrines which [are] taught by allegories and symbols."⁽²⁾ Again, "In Freemasonry, all the instructions in its mysteries are communicated in the form of symbols."⁽³⁾
       It should be noted, however, that the true interpretation of the various symbols of Freemasonry is not to be found in the lowest three degrees of the Blue Lodge — Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. In fact, there is deliberate deception in the Lodge with regards to Masonic symbolism as it appears in these lower degrees which is not discovered by the initiate until he advances into the higher degrees of either the York Rite or Scottish Rite. Albert Pike, former Grand Commander and respected authority on the symbolism of Freemasonry, made the following admission:

       The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them. Their true explication is reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry.... It is well enough for the mass of so-called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees; and whoso attempts to undeceive them will labor in vain, and without any true reward violate his obligations as an Adept....
       The symbols of the wise are the idols of the vulgar, or else as meaningless as the hieroglyphics of Egypt to the nomadic Arabs. There must always be a commonplace interpretation for the mass of Initiates, of the symbols that are eloquent to the Adepts.⁽⁴⁾

       Likewise, Henry C. Clausen admitted, "It must be apparent that the Blue Lodge... degrees cannot explain the whole of Masonry. They are the foundation.... An initiate may imagine he understands the ethics, symbols and enigmas, whereas the true explanation of these is reserved for the more adept."⁽⁵⁾
       In the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert Mackey rightly traced such esotericism back to the mystery cults of the past, particularly those of Egypt:

       The priesthood of Egypt constituted a sacred caste.... Their doctrines were of two kinds — exoteric or public, which were communicated to the multitude, and esoteric or secret, which were revealed only to a select few....
       That secret portion of Masonry which is known only to the initiates is distinguished from exoteric Masonry... which is accessible to all who choose to read the manuals and published works of the Order....
       [Masons are] divided into two classes, according to the degree of initiation to which they had attained, as being either fully admitted into the society, and invested with all the knowledge that the Master could communicate, or as merely postulants, enjoying only the public instructions of the school, and awaiting the gradual reception of further knowledge. This double mode of instruction was borrowed... from the Egyptian priests, whose theology was of two kinds — the one exoteric, and addressed to the people in general; the other esoteric, and confined to a select number of the priests.⁽⁶⁾

The Sexual Meanings of Masonic Symbols

       Along with the Bible, or whichever "holy book" is employed in each particular Lodge, are two other "Great Lights" — the Square and the Compass. Together, these three comprise the "Furniture" of the Lodge.⁽⁷⁾ Blue Lodge Masons are taught that the significance of the Square is to remind them of honesty in their dealings with other men as well as the necessity of defending the honor of the teachings and ceremonies of the Lodge.⁽⁸⁾ The Compass, on the other hand, designates the "circumscription of the heart," and serves to teach Masons to exercise temperance and the control of their desires.⁽⁹⁾
       These are, however, deliberate misrepresentations of these two symbols which are intended to conceal their true meaning from the lower degrees. Former Thirty-Third Degree Mason James D. Shaw gave the proper explanation as it is known to Royal Arch initiates:

       The real meaning of these "great lights"... is sexual. The Square represents the female (passive) generative principle, the earth, and the baser, sensual nature; and the Compass represents the male (active) generative principle, the sun/heavens, and the higher, spiritual nature. The Compass, arranged above the Square, symbolizes the (male) Sun, impregnating the passive (female) Earth with its life-producing rays. The true meanings, then are two fold: the earthly (human) representations are of the man and his phallus, and the woman with her receptive eteis (vagina). The cosmic meaning is that of the active Sun (deity, the Sun-god) from above, imparting life into the passive Earth (deity, the earth/fertility goddess) below and producing new life.⁽¹⁰⁾

       Thus, from these two symbols alone, we see Freemasonry's undeniable relationship to the fertility cults of ancient paganism. The symbols of the sun and the moon, which are also associated with the compass and the square, have likewise played a vital role in the architecture of Masonic temples. These are representations of the pagan god Baal, and his female consort, Astaroth (Asherah or Easter), who is referred to in the Old Testament as the "queen of heaven" (Jeremiah 44:17-19), and was worshipped by the ancients as the patron goddess of fertility and motherhood.⁽¹¹⁾ According to the Babylonian tradition of the Kabalah, the moon is symbolic of the feminine, or the shekinah aspect of deity. Initiates into the Eleusyian Mysteries, as well as those of Ceres, were referred to as regenerated "children of the moon," and believed themselves to be the spiritual offspring of the metaphysical union of the solar and lunar principles of nature. It was for this reason that the moon was often depicted with an open door in its side, which was symbolic of a productive womb.⁽¹²⁾
       Counterparts of these two deities can also be found in countless other occult-based world religions and traditions as well, all represented by the sun and the moon (and/or the earth).⁽¹³⁾ These include Osiris and Isis in Egyptian mythology; Mahadeva, or Shiva, and Bhavani, or Kali in India; Dionysis and Rhea in Greek mythology; and Lucifer and Lilith in the more modern Theosophical and New Age philosophies advanced by the writings of Alice Bailey, Helena Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, and other practitioners of white and black magic. Several occult traditions, such as the "Jewel in the Lotus" of Tantric Yoga, also venerate sexuality, and view coitus as the highest expression of spiritual union with the combined male and female aspects of the Absolute. This is precisely the reason that sexual immorality has been so consistently rampant in the various branches of paganism, for it is the direct result of mankind's universal rejection of the knowledge of the True and Living God and his consequential degeneration into worship of the creation (Numbers 25:1-3; Romans 1:18-27).

The Occult Meaning of the Five-Pointed Star

       Another Masonic symbol with occult origins, is the five-pointed star, otherwise known as the pentacle. In its upright position, with one point up and two points down, this symbol represents the "morning star," or Lucifer, as well as goodness and light, and beckons man to discover his inherent or potential divinity.⁽¹⁴⁾ However, in its inverted position, with two points up and one point down, it represents evil and darkness, and ultimately symbolizes the sensual temptations of man's baser nature which hinders the spiritual development and evolution of the esoteric initiate.⁽¹⁵⁾ In this latter form it is most often seen in connection with Satanism and black magic.⁽¹⁶⁾
       There is also a deeper, sexual meaning of the symbol of the pentacle in occult philosophy. According to researcher Martin Wagner, the five-pointed star is a symbol of creation, or the male/female generative principle of nature.⁽¹⁷⁾ The points of the upright star represent the figure of a man with outstretched arms and legs,⁽¹⁸⁾ and the pentagon thus formed in the center of the star by the intersection of the five lines, is therefore symbolic of the male reproductive organ.⁽¹⁹⁾
       Consistent with the dualism so prevalent in the occult, the five-pointed star in its inverted position represents the female aspect of nature, with the pentagon formed in the center symbolizing the reproductive organs of the woman. This particular esoteric meaning explains why the inverted pentacle, enclosed in a circle (the pentagram) is often used in the "Black Mass" of Satanism and black magic. Here, the "altar," significantly situated in the west of the ritual site beneath the inverted star, normally consists of the prostrate body of a nude woman, who supposedly fulfills the role of the "passive receptor," or the "earth mother."⁽²⁰⁾
       The pentacle in its inverted form is also used as the official motif of the Order of the Eastern Star, which is an organization designed primarily for the female relatives of Masons in good standing. These women are falsely led to believe that the inverted pentacle is symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem and that the five points correspond to the five virtues of womanhood: integrity, industry, fidelity, faith, and patience.⁽²¹⁾ In reality, however, it is a vulgar symbol of the moon goddess of fertility, as she lies prostrate, awaiting impregnation by her celestial mate, the sun-god. It is perhaps also important to mention here that the rituals of the Order of the Eastern Star are presided over by a "Worthy Patron" and a "Worthy Matron," who sit side by side against the eastern wall of the lodge,⁽²²⁾ thus representing the heathen deities of the sun and the moon.
       Of equal significance in Masonic symbolism is the hexagram, or the six-pointed star, which J.D. Buck admitted in his book Mystic Masonry is merely another form of the compass and square.⁽²³⁾ Again, sexual intercourse is here depicted by the upright triangle, representative of the male phallus, or the "active principle," placed over the inverted triangle, representative of the female vagina, or the "passive principle."⁽²⁴⁾ Often misidentified as the "Star of David," this occult symbol is instead known by Masonic and other esoteric authorities as the "Seal of Solomon."⁽²⁵⁾ However, that this "Solomon" is not to be confused with the Israelite king spoken of in the Bible, is made quite clear in Masonic literature:

       All true Masons have come into the realization that there is but one Lodge and that is the Universe. There is but one Brotherhood and this is composed of everything that moves or exists in any of the planes of Nature. He realizes that the Temple of Solomon is really the Temple of the Solar Man, Sol Om On, the King of the Universe manifesting through his three primordial builders.⁽²⁶⁾

       This name is a composite, Sol-Om-On, the names of the sun in Latin, Indian [Hindu], and Egyptian, and is designed to show the unity of several god-ideas in the ancient religions, as well as those of Freemasonry. It is a glyph which indicates the unity of the god-ideas of these various cults, a co-ordination of their deities and expresses the Masonic idea of the "unity of God" as it was conceived of in these religions.⁽²⁷⁾

The Male/Female Dualism of the Masonic Deity

       In 1868, the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Lusanne revealed the true identity of the Masonic god: "Freemasonry proclaims as it has ever proclaimed from its origin, the existence of a Creative Principle, under the name of Great Architect of the Universe."⁽²⁸⁾ Albert Pike further explained, "Our adversaries numerous and formidable as they are, will say and will have a right to say that our Creative Principle is identical with the Generative Principle of the Indian and Egyptian, and may be symbolized as it was symbolized anciently by the linga [penis]. To accept this in lieu of a personal God is to abandon Christianity and the worship of Jehovah, and to return to wallow in the styles of Paganism."⁽²⁹⁾
       Albert Pike was certainly not alone in tracing the theology of Freemasonry back to the phallic worship of the pagan cults of the past. In his book Symbolism of Freemasonry, Albert Mackey also observed, "Phallus representation of the virile member [the male sex organ]... was venerated as a religious symbol very universally by the ancients. It was one of the modifications of sun-worship, and was a symbol of the fecundating [impregnating] power of that luminary."⁽³⁰⁾ Elsewhere, he wrote, "The Phallus was in imitation of the male generative organ. It was represented usually by a column which was surmounted by a circle at its base, intended for the eteis or female generative organ. This union of the phallus and the eteis... was intended by the ancients as a type of the prolific powers of nature which they worshipped under the united form of the active or male principle and the passive or female principle."⁽³¹⁾
       Phallic symbols were found everywhere in the ancient pagan cultures, most often in the form of the obelisk. It is noteworthy that God specifically prohibited His people in Israel from imitating the heathen nations around them in this regard (Exodus 23:24, 34:13; Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 7:5, 12:3-4). Today, the Washington Monument in the District of Columbia, an unmistakable phallic symbol, stands as a testimony to the paganism which has permeated this country for over two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, generations of American Christians have been misled by Freemasonry's call to religious devotion to God into believing that the United States was ever intended by its mainly Masonic founders to be a "Christian nation."
       In conclusion, Martin Wagner observed:

       This creative or generative principle is that mysterious force or energy which renews the earth in springtime, and quickens all animated nature; that energy, force, or power which perpetually dying, renews itself in new, similar yet different forms.... This dynamic, procreative, productive power or energy in nature and especially in man maintaining a perpetual self-identity, Freemasonry conceives of as the divine nature, as the deity immanent in nature, and it is this life force or energy that it deifies, venerates and worships under the name of Great Architect of the Universe. This is the God of Freemasonry....
       In the Christian view, the creative principle of the reproductive power in nature through sex agencies, is a product of God's power implanted there, and not God Himself, nor a part of God. It is the result, or rather it obtains throughout all time by virtue of the word of God, "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:22), and will remain operative until He shall recall it. The perpetual self-identification in the successive generations of offspring is due to and involved in the divine fiat, "after his kind," beyond which the generative forces in animate nature cannot go. That word is the expression of His will and by the perpetual life generating entities. To deify this power, and adore and worship it, instead of Him who implanted it, is to worship the creature instead of the creator.⁽³²⁾

Endnotes

1. Allen E. Roberts, The Craft and Its Symbols: Opening of the Door to Masonic Symbolism (Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, 1974), page ix.

2. Mackey, The Symbolism of Freemasonry: Its Science, Philosophy, Legends, Myths, and Symbolism (Chicago, Illinois: Charles T. Powner Company, 1975), page 10.

3. Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume II, page 752.

4. Pike, Morals and Dogmas, page 819.

5. Clausen, Commentaries on Morals and Dogma, page 148.

6. Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume I, pages 232, 249.

7. Mackey, ibid., page 287.

8. Duncan, Masonic Ritual, page 36; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume I, page 174.

9. Duncan, Masonic Ritual, page 36; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume I, page 174.

10. James Shaw and Tom McKenney, Deadly Deception (Lafayette, Louisiana: Huntington House, 1988), pages 143-144; Pike, Morals and Dogma, pages 850-851.

11. Mackey, Encylopedia of Freemasonry, Volume I, page 88; ibid., Volume II, pages 491, 560.

12. Arthur E. Waite, A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (New York: Weather Vane, 1970), page 111.

13. Pike, Morals and Dogma, page 377.

14. Hall, Lost Keys of Masonry, page 122; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume II, page 553.

15. Pike, Morals and Dogma, page 305.

16. Richard Cavendish, The Black Arts (New York: Perigee Books, 1967), page 242; Anton S. LaVey, The Satanic Bible (New York: Avon Books, 1967), page 136.

17. Wagner, Freemasonry: An Interpretation, page 114.

18. Cavendish, Black Arts, page 242; Blavatsky, Secret Doctrine, Volume I, page 219.

19. Wagner, Freemasonry: An Interpretation, page 109; Buck, Symbolism of the Lodge, page 40.

20. LaVey, Satanic Bible, page 135.

21. Robert Macoy, Adoptive Rite Ritual (Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, 1928), page 17; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume II, page 910.

22. Macoy, Adoptive Rite Ritual, page 27.

23. Buck, Symbolism of the Lodge, page 40; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume I, page 351.

24. Mackey, ibid., Volume II, page 801.

25. Cavendish, Black Arts, pages 242-243.

26. Hall, Lost Keys of Masonry, page 93.

27. Wagner, Freemasonry: An Interpretation, page 97.

28. Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Lusanne, quoted by Wagner, ibid., page 84.

29. Pike, quoted by Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1960), Volume II, page 377.

30. Mackey, Symbolism of the Lodge, page 352.

31. Mackey, Manual of the Lodge, page 56; Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Volume II, page 560.

32. Wagner, Freemasonry: An Interpretation, pages 85, 89-90.