Some thoughts on the history of The Tracing Boards

Presented at the Vancouver Grand Masonic Day, October 16, 1999
Written by: Bro. Mark S. Dwor, Centennial-King George Lodge No. 171, Richmond

Posted by: Daniel Genchi

INTRODUCTION

I first gave a variation of this particular talk in May, 1996. I have given it a number of times since. Every time I’ve given the talk the analysis, although not the facts or the substance, changes slightly. As I have now had time to once again reconsider this and am now obligated to present the talk in written form, I also feel somewhat obligated to explain not so much my research, as meandering as it might have been, but rather the various pieces of Masonic history that are linked to Tracing Boards. The history of Tracing Boards actually is fairly easy to describe, but how it fits into the larger context of Masonry and why it is that we are now required, in the Canadian work, to actually use Tracing Boards is quite a complex story. I must assume that the majority of readers of this paper will be in the same state of darkness that I was when I approached this topic however, for those of you who already know much or most of what I am about to describe, I hope you do not mind a refresher course, and to those to whom some or all of this is new, I trust you will find it as intriguing as I have.

When I refer to the Canadian Ritual that is used in this Province the reference is to the British Columbia Canadian Work as authorized by Grand Lodge on June 23, 1955 and amended to 1983. When I refer to the Antient Ritual it will be to British Columbia Antient Work, approved by Grand Lodge June 2, 1962. When I refer to the transactions of the Quator Coronati, I will use the abbreviation AQC. I’m going to present some conclusions right now, so you can better understand where the topic is going:

1. Much of what needs to be known about Tracing Boards is known. The people who made them and the Lodges that use them are all fairly well documented. This part of Masonic history does not fall into “from time immemorial.”

2. The time frame when the Tracing Boards came into being is roughly at the very end of the Eighteenth Century and the first decades or so of the Nineteenth Century. The contents of them reflects the reality of Masonry at the time, just prior to and through the process of and after the Lodge of Reconciliation.

3. While we think of the rise of the two rival Grand Lodges in the Eighteenth Century as a time of conflict, in actual fact it was a time of the greatest Masonic growth where the Brethren in the Lodges were experimenting with different methods of communicating the Masonic message to each other and perfecting new rituals.

4. The Tracing Boards are teaching aids. They have taken on a life of their own, which has had some startling repercussions in Ritual work.

5. To understand where Tracing Boards came from, you have to understand where Floor Cloths came from, but that does not necessarily mean that Tracing Boards are an evolution from Floor Cloths. Many Lodges that use Tracing Boards still use Floor Cloths, and some Lodges that use Floor Cloths do not use Tracing Boards, &c. While I am discussing primarily the Tracing Boards that are used in our jurisdiction in the Canadian, Emulation, and Australian Lodges, I do not mean to overlook the Degree charts and Floor Cloths used in the Antient Lodges.

6. The Tracing Boards that we use ought not to be called Tracing Boards, and this has been recognized by commentators for the last 80 years, but the chance of renaming them even 80 years ago was zero and is certainly less than that now.

7. The Tracing Boards were originally designed to lie flat on the floor of the Lodge, and the Tracing Boards that we use now have used the same artistic perspective as did the original Tracing Boards.

8. While the Tracing Boards as a teaching aid can also be an adornment of the Lodge, it is generally agreed by the writers on this topic that the ones that are most commonly in use, particularly in British Columbia, are the least artistically interesting.

9. There appears to be no rule in terms of Ritual that requires the Tracing Boards for the Degrees that are not being worked to be hidden–i.e., if you are in Third Degree, First Degree and Second Degree Boards must not be shown, or conversely, that the Third Degree Board must not be shown while you are in the First Degree.

To understand specifically why these issues were of importance to me, you have to understand why I did the research in the first place. Two years prior to giving the talk on Tracing Boards, I had given a talk at my Lodge on art and imagery in Masonry. While I was doing research on that, specifically reviewing the wonderful colour reproductions in Freemasonry A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol by W. Kirk McNulty,¹ two groups of questions arose in my mind..

The first question group was, why the Third Degree Board is almost always on display, and why the First Degree Board, which to me is the most interesting, is only seen briefly during a typical meeting when we are going into the First Degree. Because we are in British Columbia we are obliged to do our business in the Third Degree, but that is really not much of an answer.

The real question is why that Board needs to be tucked away when we were not in the First Degree. The obvious answer, of course, is that in a functional basis there is no place to display all three Boards at the same time. There does not appear to be any particular ritual requirement for the lack of display of one Tracing Board or another. The only requirement is for a Tracing Board of the particular degree to be displayed specifically when the degree is being worked.

In the Canadian Ritual the Senior Deacon displays a Tracing Board and the working tools of each degree separately. First Degree, (pages 6 & 17); Second Degree (pages 15 & 16) and Third Degree (page 13). There is no requirement for the placing of the Tracing Board for the First Degree Tracing Board Lecture, rather the Candidate is taken to the Junior Warden Station and the Junior Warden delivers the lecture on the Tracing Board (page 38). Similarly, in the Second Degree, the Candidate is taken to the West, where the Senior Warden delivers the Tracing Board Lecture (page 70). In the Third Degree the Deacons conduct the Candidate to the Master Mason’s Tracing Board and the Worshipful Master points out its features, which are limited to the ornaments of a Master Mason’s Lodge i.e. the porch, the dormer and the square pavement (page 100).

I will be touching on certain issues regarding ritual, but this talk is not about Tracing Boards and the ritual; that is a somewhat separate topic which has been dealt with by VW Bro. Jim Bennie in a talk he delivered to the Vancouver Lodge of Education and Research about two years ago. I did not include a copy of his paper because it did not necessarily deal with some of the issues that I have raised, nor should I expect anyone else to deal with my singular concerns.

The second question group deals with something on the typical First Degree Tracing Board, that is on the “Jacob’s Ladder,” the images for the three cardinal virtues–that is, Faith, Hope and Charity–typically had a cross for faith. As I looked into the pictures of the early Tracing Boards, I realized that none of them had a cross for Faith; in fact, the cross did not appear in the Tracing Boards until the 1860s.

The question then raised was, if Freemasonry is inclusive not exclusive–that is, if it is designed to include all religions and not exclude any religion–why was the symbol of Faith a cross?

I must admit I pondered this for a long time because I knew that if I had gone to my Brethren and raised this issue the matter would have been resolved very quickly, as it was in fact when I did raise the issue, by simply pasting a large F over the cross. In some of the earliest Tracing Boards, Faith, Hope and Charity were represented with the capital letters “F”, “H” and “C”. But there was an intellectual, not just a religious, problem here, and that was figuring out why it was that Freemasonry was nondenominational, save and except the belief in a Supreme Being.

The Jacob’s Ladder with the symbols being a cross for Faith, an anchor for Hope and a heart for Charity, has taken on a life of its own apart from its Tracing Board significance. It is one of the few pieces of Masonic symbolism, aside from the square and compasses (with or without the G) that is known worldwide. I’ve seen it in publications as far afield as an Argentinian Masonic magazine.

Rough and Perfect Ashlar: Stones which symbolize Man’s moral and spiritual life

Posted by: Daniel Genchi

Excerpt from: www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com

Cutting stone to uniform shapes and sizes requires the skill and experience of a true craftsman with many years of experience.

This is why, historically, only large edifices (buildings) were made of ashlars (rather than brick or wood), due to the necessity (and difficulty) of assembling the many skilled craftsman needed to complete the many subsets of knowledge such as how to build a stone archway, how to lay foundation stone, and how to lay stone, one atop another to great heights…not to mention the artisans who sculpted the stones into ornamental shapes.

In days of old, apprentice masons cut and raised the Rough Ashlars from the stone quarry under the supervision of more experienced craftsman, called Fellowcrafts.

The work was accomplished under the watchful eye of the Master masons of the craft…those who had proved their ability to make their Master’s piece to the satisfaction of their superiors.

In Freemasonry, there are 2 forms of ashlars.

Rough Ashlar

In operative Freemasonry, the rough ashlar represents a rough, unprepared or undressed stone.  In speculative Freemasonry, a rough ashlar is an allegory to the uninitiated Freemason prior to his discovering enlightenment.

Perfect Ashlar

Operatively, the Perfect ashlar represents the dressed stone (after it has been made uniform and smoothed) by use of the working tools, the common gavel, (mallet) and chisel.  (The chisel may be found in English Freemasonry, but is not used in the United States as a Freemason symbol.)

Only after the stone has been dressed by an experienced stonemason, can it be suitable to be placed into the architectural structure or building.

Speculatively, a Perfect Ashlar is an allegory to a Freemason who, through Masonic education, works to achieve an upstanding life and diligently strives to obtain enlightenment.

Rough and Perfect Ashlars

In the Fellowcraft Degree, we see the use of the Rough and Perfect Ashlars.  The lesson to be learned is that by means of education and the acquirement of knowledge, a man improves the state of his spiritual and moral being.

Like man, each Rough Ashlar begins as an imperfect stone.  With education, cultivation and brotherly love, man is shaped into a being which has been tried by the square of virtue and encircled by the compasses of his boundaries, given to us by our Creator.

Rough and Perfect Ashlar: Fitted For The Builder’s Use

In ancient times, quarried stone which could be easily shaped into desired configurations, was called “freestone”.  Typical freestones are limestone and sandstone.

Then, as now, only after refining and smoothing these rough stones into their desired shape, were the stonemasons able to “fit them for the builder’s use”.

Cracking the Masonic Cipher

Published By: Daniel Genchi

It can be said that it is within human nature to protect and conserve things we consider to be of value to us.  Freemasonry not with standing has remained at the forefront of the world’s view. Freemasonry has long been considered to be what those outside the craft would refer to as a “Secret Society”, and when you ask a Brother Mason he will tell you that a better description of the Fraternity would be “A Society of men with Secrets”.  It is important when diving into this question that we necessarily ask ourselves why it is that Freemasonry would feel the need to secure itself behind the veil of symbolism and allegorical teachings, and why would these teachings need to be kept secret?

At the onset of the development of what is today called Speculative Masonry, the times and ideas of the time were not often well received.  It was often necessary for men of an inquisitive mind, to meet in secrecy so as not to catalyze an antagonistic relationship with the governmental or religious institutions of the time.  Ideas and free thinking were often squashed by those in power in attempt to maintain it. It was often under the penalty of persecution or even death that those who discussed such topics as philosophy, politics, religion, geometry (the study of the earth and its precepts) and nature would meet.

It is for these reasons that the craft of Speculative Masonry used symbols and stories to communicate ideas with others.  In order to transport the information in a time before computers and the technological advancements of today, the people of the time developed such methods as encryption, and code as well as ciphers.  It was a practical and effective way to communicate with others in a time when these ideas were overtly oppressed. One of the most common methods of encryption and ciphering is known as The Pigpen Cipher.

The exact origin of the Pigpen Cipher is uncertain,^[5] but records of this system have been found which go back to at least the 18th century. Variations of this cipher were used by both the Rosicrucian brotherhood ^[5] and the Freemasons, though the latter used it so often that the system is frequently called the Freemason’s cipher. They began using it in the early 18th century to keep their records of history and rites private, and for correspondence between lodge leaders.^[3][6][7] Tombstones of Freemasons can also be found, which use the system as part of the engravings. One of the earliest stones in Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City, which opened in 1697, contains a cipher of this type which deciphers to “Remember death”. George Washington‘s army had documentation about the system, with a much more randomized form of the alphabet. And during the American Civil War, the system was used by Union prisoners in Confederate prisons.^[5]

Figure 1: Enciphered Tombstone

Understanding the Cipher

The pigpen cipher (sometimes referred to as the masonic cipher, Freemason’s cipher, or Rosicrucian cipher)^[2][3] is a geometric simple substitution cipher which exchanges letters for symbols which are fragments of a grid. The example key shows one way the letters can be assigned to the grid.

Symbols used in pigpen are created by drawing a grid like the one in Figure 2.

Figure 2: A typical example for a pigpen cipher key

Based on the key (grid) in Figure 2:

A sentence like “FREE WORLD” can be encrypted to be:

The core elements of this system are the grid and dots. Some systems use the X’s, but even these can be rearranged. One commonly used method orders the symbols as shown in the above image, ##XX. Another commonly used system orders the symbols as #X#X. Another is ###, with each cell having a letter of the alphabet, and the last one having an “&” character. Letters from the first “#” have no dot, letters from the second each have one dot, and letters from the third each have two dots. Another variation of this last one is called the Newark Cipher, which instead of dots uses one to three short lines which may be projecting in any length or orientation. This gives the illusion of a larger number of different characters than actually exist.^[8]

Who was Euclid?

Published on this site: Daniel Genchi

Source: www.e271.net

Euclid

Euclid was a professor who taught mathematics, science and geometry in the Greek city of Alexandria in Egypt. Most importantly he was a product of his times and of the great city in which he lived. Alexandria was built between 332 and 321 BCE by the Greek architect Dinocrates. The city like Athens was a center of learning the drew the brightest minds of the time to study and write. The city was the home of the tallest building of the time, which was the lighthouse. The lighthouse had a mirror that cast light 35 miles onto the Mediterranean and guided sailors into the harbor. (12) Alexandria was home to the Greatest Library of the Ancient world, one of the greatest Museums, and temples built by the finest architects. Alexandria thrived as a center of learning from the time it was built until the 5th century when philosophy and learning were seen as a threat to the newly emerging religion of Christianity. Alexandria weathered the conflict between Julius Caesar and Pompey. There are many conflicting accounts of the burning of the library but it was probably during this conflict that the Great Library was destroyed. The Library allegedly contained Aristotle’s private library and many other great texts that are lost to us today. Historians and philosophers have written that the library contained as many as 700,000 texts. Alexandria continued as a center of ancient learning until around the 4th century CE. It’s gradual decline began when it was destroyed by Diocletian in retaliation for an imagined insult. Intolerance of pagan learning by the new Christian rulers of the Mediterranean led to the burning of the Museaum and the Serapaum by Theodosius the Patriarch of Alexandria. One of the saddest incidents in history signaled the death of learning in the West was the murder of Hypatia, the Daughter of the last keeper of the museum at Alexandria. She was one of the last pagan mathematicians and scientists in the west.

During Alexandria’s heyday Eratosthenes had calculated the diameter of the earth to within 1% by measuring the difference in the angle of the noonday sun in distant cities. It would take centuries and the persecution of Galileo before west would again understand that the earth was spherical. All in all Alexandria was a shining light of learning for almost 700 years. It was this city that Euclid called “home”.

Douglass MacArthur; A FREEMASON FOR ALL SEASONS

By Herbert G. Gardiner, PGS

Ballad of East and West “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and sky stand presently at God’s great judgment seat, But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!…” -Rudyard Kipling Unfortunately a great many people are not aware of what  follows the opening fourteen words of Brother Kipling’s “Ballad  of East and West,” and as a result they reach an erroneous conclusion. Not realizing that their understanding is exactly opposite of what Kipling was actually trying to convey, they frequently quote the first lines of the ballad to bolster  their position that the gulf between the people of the East  and those of the West  is so great, that they can never really understand each other nor can they  work together. But Kipling was dead right. Men who hail from opposite sections of the globe of widely diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, of different races and  religious persuasions, can and do work together in harmony. Such men not  only  work together for the common good, but in many instances their efforts result in outstanding accomplishments of a magnitude that commands world-wide recognition. Over  the years some Freemasons  have proved Kipling was right, both within the Masonic fraternity, and also in relationships between Freemasons and non-Masons.  Freemasons like Douglas MacArthur whose close association with the Philippines and post-war Japan, and Clare Lee Channault whose American Volunteer Group,  (The Flying Tigers) who fought  for Nationalist China in early 1942, and outflew  and outfought Imperial Japan’s finest pilots in the skies over China, Burma and India, knew exactly what Kipling meant in 1889, when he wrote “The Ballad of East and West,” they had lived it. (Chennault’s battleground later became  known as the CBI Theater in World War II), For purposes of our story we will focus on  Douglas MacArthur.  Although he served in France, Australia, New Guinea, Korea, Japan and other parts of the world, he is most closely  identified with the Philippines. Before we look at MacArthur the Freemason, we should pause to  note a few highlights  about the amazing  career  of this unusual man who was frequently at the vortex of  controversy. Douglas MacArthur graduated first in his class from the  U.S. Military Academy in 1903, and had a meteoric military career. He served in the Philippines prior to the first World War, was Commander of the famous 42nd Rainbow Division in France during WW I and was  wounded twice. He became the superintendent of West Point in 1919. From 1930-1935 he was the Army Chief of Staff. In 1935 he became military advisor to the government of the Philippines. He retired from active duty in 1937, but was recalled in July 1941, and was appointed Commander of U.S. and Philippine Armed Forces in the Philippines. When Imperial Japan’s Forces attacked the Philippines in 1941, MacArthur’s  American and Filipino troops conducted a stubborn defense, compelling the invaders to pay a high toll for the Bataan peninsula and the Island fortress Corregidor. Regrettably, neither the U.S. nor the Philippine Armed Forces were strong enough, or adequately equipped to repel an invading foe with the experience and of the size of the Imperial Japanese Forces. Unfortunately reinforcements and equipment were not available either. On March 11, 1942, MacArthur was ordered against his wishes to leave the Philippines by President Roosevelt, and was evacuated to Australia. Arriving  there weary from the arduous journey, he was besieged by reporters and casually commented, “The President of the United States ordered me to proceed from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary object of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return.” This last phrase “I shall return” came to symbolize the determination of General MacArthur and the United States, to drive the Imperial Japanese Forces out of the Philippines.

Journeying Eastward

FREEMASONRY IN LIGHT OF VEDANTA

RAVI S. KUDESIA EXPLORES AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CRAFT ACCORDING TO EASTERN WISDOM AND TRADITIONS

Published by: The PHILALETHES Society, Fall 2010 Volume 63, #4

The Craft of Masonry has, as its supreme strength and perhaps greatest inadequacy, a rather paradoxical nature: It is replete with meaning and yet completely devoid of it.  All too often a candidate progresses through the three degrees with a sense of wonder and awe at the spectacle of ritual, yet upon attaining his master mason degree, comes to believe the purpose of his instruction as a simple moral teaching.  The rather mundane understanding of the square and compass as tools to “square one’s actions” and “circumscribe one’s desires” hardly match the sense of wonder that these magnificent instruments evoke as symbols.  So, many Brethren pass through the degrees unable to reconcile the immensity of the experience of the symbols and ritual with the rather straight forward interpretation provided by the institution of Masonry itself.

This is not unexpected as symbols, by their nature, both conceal and reveal.  Unlike words, which are fully arbitrary in form, symbols are capable of containing inherent meaning — yet with out the proper knowledge to unlock their hidden meaning, one may only speculate what the symbol is attempting to teach.  Symbols also contain a unique ability to convey a multiplicity if meanings, depending on the level of knowledge of the ones observing them.  Then same working tools first seen by an Entered Apprentice gain a much deeper meaning by the time one becomes a Master Mason.  That is not to say that the Entered Apprentice is deceived or a false understanding of the symbol, but simply a limited understanding, one which independent study must further build upon and develop.

For this reason, there can be no substantial innovations made to Masonry, as it contains “a minimum, and yet a sufficiency”.[i] The Craft speaks quietly through symbols- yet, according to some, when these symbols and rituals are approached with the right kind of attitude, they can take the initiate beyond simplistic moralizations to communicate a higher, more esoteric knowledge.  Many of our venerable interpreters have insisted upon this point.  For Example, Albert Pike said:

A PROOF OF EUCLID’S 47th PROPOSITION using Circles having the Proportions of 3, 5, and 7.

by Bro. William Steve Burkle KT, 32° Scioto Lodge No. 6, Chillicothe, Ohio.

The numbers 3, 5, and 7 are significant in the Craft, as is evident from the dramatic manner in which these numbers are brought to the attention of a Fellowcraft Mason during the ritual of the Degree. It has always been interesting to me that beyond the literal explanation provided during that Degree, very little is presented thereafter regarding any possible metaphoric or symbolic use of this numerical progression. In fact the only memory I have of further formal reference to, or use of, the numbers 3, 5, and 7 is for certain applause cadences associated with Scottish Rite ritual.

Since much of the symbolism of Freemasonry deals with geometry or geometric construction, it seemed reasonable to me that there may be subtle meaning contained in the numerical sequence 3, 5, and 7 which might only be brought to light by examining the numbers in a Geometrical context. As will be demonstrated, one method for the geometric representation of the numbers 3, 5, and 7 is in the form of intersecting circles . This approach produced an astonishingly simple proof of Euclid’s 47^th Proposition. It would appear that Euclid’s famous theorem pops up with surprising regularity in Freemasonry. This is perhaps no surprise since Euclid’s 47^th Proposition is regarded as foundational to the understanding of the mysteries of Freemasonry.

This paper will present a detailed account of how the numbers 3,5, and 7 when translated into a diagram of intersecting circles resulted in a proof of Euclid’s 47^th Proposition. Interestingly, I developed  this proof, then discovered through additional research that an identical proof has already been established by a 14 year old girl from Iran[i] (Miss Sina Shiehyan from Sabzevar, Iran), using an identical figure or diagram, but developed by methods which did not involve either circles or the numbers 3, 5, and 7 (talk about ego deflation). Consequently I make no claims for having originated the proof, but present it here for the sole reason that it is based upon a numerical progression and unique geometric representation which is of interest to the Craft.

Geometric Representation

During the preparation of this article, a number of different approaches were taken (including arrangements based upon The Lune of Hippocratus, and Three Co-Tangent Circles, neither of which worked), to represent the numerical progression 3, 5, and 7 in geometric form.  Of these approaches, the one which appeared most interesting to me was one in which the numbers in the sequence were made to represent circles having a diameter equal to their numerical value. I felt it was important to arrange the circles in such a manner that the progression of the numbers was maintained (i.e.  3 + 0, then 3 +2, then 5 + 2). In this progression each number increases by two relative to the sum of the two preceding numbers. It’s interesting to note that the number one (1) is not included in this sequence, even though it clearly fits into the pattern (1 + 0 = 1, 1 + 2 = 3, 3 + 2 = 5, 5 + 2 = 7). The fact that the number 1 is absent from our Masonic sequence was puzzling. One possible reason is that in a linear progression of numbers, only three are necessary to establish that the progression is indeed linear. For example, when plotting a graph, if the alignment of any three points on that graph may be connected with a common straight line, then the plotted values represented by these points are linear. The slope of the straight line connecting these points is constant at any point along it’s length. Figure 1 is the representation of the circles having proportions of 3, 5, and 7 which I have described. The progression in the diameter of each circle is represented by the method in which the circles overlap, with the constant increase in each successive diameter depicted by the uniform spacing between the circle centers. This representation also captures the fact that the numbers 3 and 7 when added total 10; and that 5 is the mathematical mean or average of the sum of these two numbers.

Development of the Figure of Proof

Since the relationship between the diameter of these circles is linear, I am able to construct a straight line which is simultaneously tangent to all three circles (Figure 2).  In Figure 2 the tangent line is represented by line AB. Lines have been drawn from the center of each circle (the centers are labeled as points F, G, and H) to points perpendicular to tangent line AB where it intersects each circle. These points of tangency are labeled C, D, and E respectively. Notice that all three lines are parallel to one another and that they pass through their point of tangency at the same angle. Although not shown in the figure, extension of line AB to the left of the first circle would eventually result in the tangent line intersecting the blue dotted line which depicts the common diameter and horizontal centers of the three circles. This would represent the origin or convergence point of the progression. An infinite number of circles, each successively decreasing in size, but maintaining the proportions 3, 5, and 7 (and overlapped exactly like those shown in the figure) would fit perfectly at tangent points between these two converging lines. There are many highly interesting geometric and mathematical properties represented here, however it is beyond both the scope and focus of this article to delve into these.

In Figure 3 we have constructed line DN which is perpendicular to line FH and which is also tangent to both the first circle and center circle at point N.  A right triangle (FHD) has been inscribed in the center circle (based upon the Theorem of Thales[ii] triangle FHD is a right triangle) with the vertex of the right angle at point D (the point at which AB is tangent to the center circle). This divides trapezoid FHEC into three similar right triangles FDC, HED, and FHD.  In addition, line DN divides the larger triangle FHD into two smaller right triangles, FND and HND. Note that triangles HED and HDN are congruent (identical) and that triangles FCD and FND are also congruent.

Figure 3 provides an excellent opportunity for a glimpse of the proof. Notice that triangle FCD and triangle HED may both be “folded” down onto the triangle FHD (along lines FD and HD respectively) so that they exactly coincide with triangles FND and HED, completely filling the area represented by triangle FHD._. This obviously means that the area of the two triangles FCD and HED when added together equal the area of the larger triangle FHD.  Therefore, we can state that two times the area of triangle FHD will equal the area of trapezoid FHEC which is composed of the three triangles. The proof is predicated upon this principle.

Demonstration of Proof

Before beginning the demonstration of proof I would like to offer a short comment concerning the Pythagorean Theorem (aka Euclid’s 47^th Proposition) which may assist some readers in understanding how and why the proof works. The Pythagorean Theorem establishes that in a right triangle the square of the length of the hypotenuse of that triangle will equal the square of the sums of the lengths of the other two sides. We state this mathematically as c² = a² + b² in which c is the hypotenuse and a and b are the other two sides.

Although we identify the Pythagorean Theorem with the calculation of the length of the sides of a right triangle, its basis of proof is actually in the calculation of areas.  The Pythagorean Theorem may be rewritten to state that the sum of the area of the squares enclosing two sides of a right triangle will equal the area of the square forming the hypotenuse of that triangle.  One figure often used to establish the proof of this restated version of the Pythagorean Theorem is provided by Figure 4. Consequently, one method of proof of the Pythagorean Theorem involves demonstrating that the area of side c² in a right triangle is equal to the area of some other polygon (often a trapezoid) in which it is exactly contained. Often, several right triangles which may be summed to equal the area of a polygon are used to the same effect.

The Eye in the Pyramid

By The Grand Lodge of Scottland The truth behind the ‘Masonic’ symbolism on the US $1… Historians must be cautious about many well-known “facts.” George Washington chopped down a cherry tree when a boy and confessed the deed to his father. Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball. Freemasons inserted some of their emblems (chief among them the eye in the pyramid) into the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. These historical “facts” are widely popular, commonly accepted, and equally false.The eye in the pyramid (emblazoned on the dollar bill, no less) is often cited as “evidence” that sinister conspiracies abound which will impose a “New World Order” on an unsuspecting populace. Depending on whom you hear it from, the Masons are planning the takeover themselves, or are working in concert with European bankers, or are leading (or perhaps being led by) the Illuminati (whoever they are). The notion of a world-wide Masonic conspiracy would be laughable, if it weren’t being repeated with such earnest gullibility by conspiracists like Pat Robertson.Sadly, Masons are sometimes counted among the gullible who repeat the tall tale of the eye in the pyramid, often with a touch of pride. They may be guilty of nothing worse than innocently puffing the importance of their fraternity (as well as themselves), but they’re guilty nonetheless. The time has come state the truth plainly and simply. The Great Seal of the United States is not a Masonic emblem, nor does it contain hidden Masonic symbols. The details are there for anyone to check, who’s willing to rely on historical fact rather than hysterical fiction.•  Benjamin Franklin was the only Mason on the first design committee, and his suggestions had no Masonic content.•  None of the final designers of the seal were Masons.•  The interpretation of the eye on the seal is subtly different from the interpretation used by Masons.•  The eye in the pyramid is not nor has been a Masonic symbol. The First CommitteeOn Independence Day, 1776 a committee was created to design a seal for the new American nation. The committee’s members were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, with Pierre Du Simitière as artist and consultant.[1] Of the four men involved, only Benjamin Franklin was a Mason, and he contributed nothing of a Masonic nature to the committee’s proposed design for a seal.Du Simitière, the committee’s consultant and a non-Mason, contributed several major design features that made their way into the ultimate design of the seal: “the shield, E Pluribus Unum, MDCCLXXVI, and the eye of providence in a triangle.”[2]

Ancient Mysteries of Egypt and Greece

By: D. McLaren;  St. John’s Lodge #9 (F&AM); Seattle, Washington

In the explanation of the first T.B. it is stated that ” the usages and customs of Freemasonry correspond in a great degree with the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt,” and there are some Brethren who in their belief in the antiquity of our Order, would derive its origin from these Mysteries.

It is generally believed that Egypt was the home of the Mysteries, and I desire, as far as time will permit, to trace shortly how these Egyptian Mysteries gradually found their way into, and influenced the native religions of the nations with which Egypt came in contact.

Probably, no other nation of that time was better fitted by its mental structure, as revealed by what little we know of its literature, and the comparatively advanced state of its knowledge to become the home of mysteries.

The amount of knowledge acquired by the priestly caste and revealed only to those chosen by them to share in that knowledge was very extensive and, for these times, very accurate. Living in a country where a yearly division of land was necessary owing to the varying amounts of the Nile floods, a knowledge of geometry was gradually attained which included not only the geometry of areas, but also of solids and conic sections.

Dr. Gow says in reference to this subject: “Beyond question, Egyptian geometry such as it was, was the germ from which grew that magnificent science to which every Englishman is indebted for his first lessons in right seeing and thinking.”

The scholars of the Nile Valley also possessed knowledge of the rudiments of Trigonometry, and their approximation of the value of “pi” was not improved for many centuries. Ahmes, a scribe of the Hyksos Dynasty, 1900 B.C., gave the value of pi=1.1605, a remarkably good approximation for the period when geometry was little more than mensuration.

“In matters arithmetical, they possessed a knowledge of the three progressions. Arithmetical, Geometrical, and Harmonic. In astronomy, without the help of accurate instruments of observation at the disposal of modern observers of the heavens, they had measured the obliquity of the ecliptic, had explained the solar and lunar eclipses, and at a very early date were in possession of a knowledge of the precession of the equinoxes.

In arts and manufactures they attained a very high standard of excellence: as potters, they had few rivals, and they knew how to blow glass, they used saws, levers, and balances, and were skilful builders of ships. The gigantic and wonderful Hall of Karnack and the Pillars of Luxor, not to mention the Pyramids, testify that as masons they accomplished feats which could hardly be achieved in our mechanical and scientific age, and it is not too much to assert that the measurements that Greece handed on to Rome and to Europe, in the middle ages, were derived from Egypt.”

After the interesting paper read before the Association last year in ” The Life of Sethos,” by W. Bro. R. E. Wallace James, I do not consider it necessary to deal with any one of the Egyptian Mysteries in particular. In general, a candidate for these mysteries and after purification by washing and a rime spent in darkness, had to give his assent to the rules of the society, and an oath of fidelity was required of him, after which he was restored to light. A password was given to him and signs of recognition, and he was instructed in the names and attributes of the gods, and received instruction in the then known sciences. In some cases the highest honour granted was participation in the election of a king, a belief in the immortality of the soul was, no doubt, communicated to those admitted to their mysteries. On the walls of the Temple of Phylae were recorded the death, resurrection, and ascension and deification of the god to whom it was sacred. Not much is known of these mysteries, and what we do know of them is derived from the writings of the Greeks, and chiefly those oflamblicus. But it may safely be said that they never, in Egypt, developed any centres of orgiastic license, such as made a byword of the Bacchanalia, at Rome, and the Dionysiac ceremonies in Thrace.

All this knowledge was the possessions of the priest-astronomers who selfishly acquired a predominant power by a silence outside their order, even on these purely scientific matters.

As regards their religion, Egypt suffered from a superfluity of Gods and Goddesses. It has been said that an enumeration of them would result ” in compilations resembling census returns.” Herodotus tells us how a pharaoh of the 12th dynasty undertook to build the Labyrinth as a temple to accommodate all the gods and found it necessary to construct no fewer than three thousand apartments.

The first mention of a pharaoh is found in. Genesis xii, 10, where Abraham, the founder of the Hebrew nation, had migrated from Babylonia into the Land of Canaan, from which famine forced him to visit the fertile land of Egypt. This took place when Egypt was ruled over by the Hyksos or Shepherd King, in the reign of the lyth dynasty.

A little more than 200 years after, during the i8th dynasty, that is 100 years before the reign of Tut-Ank-Amen, Jacob and his sons were driven by famine to Egypt, to join Joseph, who had married Asenath, the daughter of a high priest of On, whose name was Potipherah, meaning the Gift of the Sun God, where was granted them some land lying between where Cairo now stands and where the Suez Canal has been constructed – the Land of Goschen. This may truly be termed the cradle of the Jewish race, for when the time came for them to leave the land, their nation had increased from 3 score and 6 to 2,000,000, counting men, women, and children. Moses, the leader of the exodus, under the name Osarsiph (according to some authorities), is said to have held the office of High Priest of On. No one of the Hebrews by training and education could have been better qualified to act as leader, as the laws laid down by him for a guidance in morals and hygiene have not been surpassed. These things became possible to him, no doubt, through his training for the priesthood. The exodus took place in the 5th year of the reign of Menephta, 1486 B.C.

The next point of contact between a Hebrew leader and an Egyptian pharaoh is recorded in I Kings iii, i, when Solomon is stated to have married an Egyptian princess, a daughter of one of the Pharaohs. Some authorities say that it was from this marriage, and his dealings with his wife’s nation, that Solomon obtained his chief ideas of the plan of the Temple at Jerusalem, dedicated •widely in dates prior to 1000 B.C. Mr. Davidson, who recently published an exhaustive research volume on the great Pyramids and Egyptian chronology, appears to refute both schools and to establish a complete synchronism of ancient writers in accord with Archbishop Usher’s bible dates. For my present purpose, namely of tracing the historical points of contact where the influences of Egyptian knowledge and beliefs on the surrounding peoples and more especially on the Jewish and Greek nations, occurred I shall adopt that of Mr. Davidson.

It is generally agreed that Lower and Upper Egypt became united into one kingdom under a powerful and warlike chief who became the first Pharaoh and whose name was Menes, about 3500 B.C. His capital was situated at Memphis. It was also known that during the twelfth dynasty Egypt, which had formerly been entirely agricultural, now became famous in commerce and came into touch with Europe, as a considerable amount of their trade was carried on with the Island of Crete. Since 1894, archaeologists have been carrying on excavations in that island and their discoveries have upset the previous knowledge of historians for they find that, at the time of their trading with the Egyptians, the inhabitants of that island were more advanced in their arts and sciences than were the Babylonians and the Egyptians. Here, however, is the first point of historical contact between Egypt and Europe, probably 2000 B.C., but of more interest to us as Masons is the intercourse of Egyptians and the Jews. In the Bible zoo references are made to Egypt and ten pharaohs are mentioned, although unfortunately their names are not mentioned.

The next point of contact between a Hebrew leader and an Egyptian pharaoh is recorded in I Kings iii, i, when Solomon is stated to have married an Egyptian princess, a daughter of one of the Pharaohs. Some authorities say that it was from this marriage, and his dealings with his wife’s nation, that Solomon obtained his chief ideas of the plan of the Temple at Jerusalem, dedicated entered the Sign of Pisces a little before 200 B.C.

Moreover, at this date {i.e. about 250 B.C.), civilisation began to hide itself in symbolism and secret societies and that is why some of the knowledge enshrined in the Greek mysteria and Roman Collegia passed into the Christian Church and the New Testament, so quietly, and is still so little recognized there. St. Paul says that he was “a Stewart on the Mysteries.” About 50 B.C. Augustus imposed Rome’s Imperium on the fertile province of Cleopatra.

This knowledge acquired in Egypt became the common possession of the pupils who sat at the feet of these doctors of Egyptian philosophy. Facts show clearly a contact between Egypt and Greece lasting some 1500 years.

In addition, Greek tradition fixes the foundation of Tyre and Sidon by Phoenix from Thebes, in Egypt, the foundation of Athens by Cecrops, from Sais, in Egypt, of Thebes in Central Greece by Cadmus, from Egyptian Thebes, and of Argos by Danaus from Libya about 1582 B.C.

St. John the Baptist Patron Saint of Freemasonry

Written by:
Phillip G. “Phil” Elam, Grand Orator (1999-2000)
Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Missouri

By history, custom, tradition and ritualistic requirements, the Craft holds in veneration the Festival Days of St. John the Baptist on June 24th, and St. John the Evangelist on December 27th. Any Blue Lodge that forgets either of these important Festival Days forfeits a precious link with the past and loses an opportunity for the renewal of allegiance to everything in Freemasonry symbolized by these Patron Saints.

No satisfactory explanation has yet been advanced to explain why operative Masons adopted these two particular Christian saints, when, for example, St. Thomas, the patron of architecture and building, was already in wide use.

Regardless, Freemasons agree that the choice of these two ancient Brethren was, indeed, wise. No other two great teachers, wise men, or saints could have been found who better exemplified through their lives and works the sublime doctrine and ageless teachings of Freemasonry.

It was a common custom in the Middle Ages for craftsmen to place themselves under the protection of some saint of the church. All the London trades appear to have ranged themselves under the banner of some saint and if possible they chose one who bore fancied relation to their trades Thus, the fishmongers adopted St. Peter; glove makers chose St. Crispin; guards chose St. Matthew; tilers chose St. Barbara; tailors often chose Eve; lawyers selected St. Mark; lead workers chose St. Sebastian; stone cutters chose the Four Crowned Martyrs; doctors chose St. Luke; astronomers chose St. Dominic; and so on.

Eleven or more medieval trade guilds chose John the Baptist as their Patron Saint. Even after exhaustive research by some of the best Masonic scholars, no one can say with any certainty why Freemasons adopted the two Saints John, or why they continue to celebrate feast days when they once held a far different significance. However, the appropriateness of the two Johns is obvious in our system of Great Moral Teachings, if we consider the spiritual suggestion of their lives.

St. John the Baptist was a stern and just man, intolerant of sham, of pretense, of weakness. He was a man of strength and fire, uncompromising with evil or expediency, and, yet, courageous, humble, sincere, and magnanimous. A character at once heroic and of rugged nobility, the Greatest of Teachers said of the Baptist: “Among them that are born of woman, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.”

What do we know about John the Baptist? John was a Levite. His father Zechariah was a Temple priest of the line of Abijah, and his mother Elizabeth was also descended from Aaron. The Carpenter from Nazareth and John the Baptist were related. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins. John the Baptist was born 6 months before the Nazarene, and he died about 6 months before Jesus. The angel Gabriel separately announced the coming births of the Great Teacher Christ and John the Baptist. Zechariah doubted the prophecy, and was struck dumb until John’s birth. John lived in the mountainous area of Judah, between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

John had a popular ministry. It is generally thought that his ministry started when he was about the age of 27, spreading a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. John’s ministry became so popular that many wondered if he was the Messiah prophesized in the ancient Hebrew teachings. We are also told that John the Baptist baptized Jesus after which he stepped away and told his disciples to follow Jesus. It would seem logical that these two would combine their ministries. Oddly enough, however, they apparently never met again.

Descriptions from various historical sources seem to indicate that John was a strong, handsome, well-formed man, and there is every indication that he was attractive to the opposite sex. However, we know that he never married, and chose to devote his life to his ministry. In addition to being concerned with the spiritual reformation of the people of the Hebrew nation, John was also interested in the affairs of state.

John’s ministry and life ended when he admonished Herod and his wife, Herodias, for their sinful behavior. John was imprisoned and was eventually beheaded. Saint Jerome wrote that Herod kept the head for a long time after, stabbing the tongue with his dagger in a demented attempt to continuously inflict punishment upon John. After he was murdered, John’s disciples came and buried his body, and then went and told the Great Teacher all that had happened. The Carpenter responded to the news of John’s death by saying, “John was a lamp that burned and gave Light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his Light.”

On June 24th, we observe the festival of summer sun and on December 27th, we observe the festival of the winter sun. The June festival commemorates John the Baptist and the December festival honors John the Evangelist.

The Festivals of the Saints John bear the names of Christian Saints, but ages ago, long before the Christian era, they bore other names. Freemasonry adopted these festivals and the Christian names, but has taken away Christian dogma, and made their observance universal for all men of all beliefs.

St. John’s the Baptist’s Day, June 24th, marks the summer solstice, when nature attains the zenith of light and life and joy. St. John’s the Evangelist’s, December 27th, symbolizes the turn of the sun’s farthest journey, which is symbolic of the attainment of wisdom, the rewards of a well-spent life, and goodwill toward men. The Catholic Church observes the birth of the Baptist as a hallowed event. Interestingly, they have no such commemoration for the birth of any of the other Saints.

In addition to being the initial Patron Saint of Freemasons, the Baptist was also considered to be the Patron Saint of the following: Bird dealers, convulsions, cutters, epilepsy, furriers, hailstorms, Knights Hospitaller, Knights of Malta, lambs, Maltese Knights, monastic life, motorways, printers, spasms, and oars.

The first Grand Lodge organized in England in 1717, on the Festival Day of the Baptist. The United Grand Lodge of England was created in 1813 on the Festival Day of the Evangelist. The day of St. John the Baptist is truly symbolic of a day of beginnings, while the day of the Evangelist is symbolic of endings.