What
Does It Mean?
The alarm clock rings, and you reach over and shut
it off. You hop into the bathroom for a shower; twist the knobs
marked "H" and "C" until the water is the temperature
you want. You shower, brush your teeth, dress.
If you’re younger, you put on your letter jacket
and start for school. You use the crosswalk at the corner, and
the traffic stops as the flashing yellow school-crossing light
turns to red. You pass a church on the right-hand side of the street,
the cross on the steeple shining in the early morning sunlight.
On your left is a fast-food restaurant with its golden arches displayed
on a big red sign. The bell rings and school starts. You see the
familiar furnishings of the classroom - the American flag, the
picture of George Washington, the maps on the walls.
If you’re older, you dress for work and climb
into the car. A figure of a person lights up to remind you to fasten
your seat belt. You give a quick look at the fuel gauge, and put
the car into reverse. The backup lights come on as you back out
of the driveway. You flash the turn signal, check traffic, ease
past the YIELD sign on the corner, and drive to the workplace.
You drive past the parking place marked by the stick figure of
a person in a wheelchair, park the car where you can, and head
in to work. Like all Americans, you’ve started a day filled
with symbols and symbolism. Let’s look at them.
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The
dial on your alarm clock is a symbol. The movement of the hour
hand represents the movement of the sun in the sky. That was
even clearer on the first clocks, which were divided into 24
hours rather than 12. But that symbolism is why a clock or
watch looks the way it does. |
The H and C on the knobs of your shower are two-layer
symbols. They stand for the words Hot and Cold, but those words
are symbols themselves which stand for the temperature of the water.
That school letter jacket is a very rich symbol. The letter stands
for the name of the school and, sometimes, for an activity, such
as football, at the school. The colors of the letter jacket also
stand for the school. The fact that it is a letter jacket is a
symbol which shows the wearer has done something outstanding and
merits recognition.
The painted lines of the crosswalk are symbols telling
drivers that this is a safety zone and that they must use extra
caution. The flashing yellow light is a symbol which means the
same thing. Then the light turns red, which is a symbol telling
them to stop.
The cross is a symbol of Christianity, and the steeple
is an architectural symbol telling the people that the building
is a church. The "golden arches" used on the sign are
a symbol of the McDonald’s chain of restaurants. The sound
of the class bell is a symbol, announcing that class is getting
ready to start.
The flag is a symbol of the United States. The picture of George Washington
is a symbol, reminding us of all that he did in the founding of our nation.
The schoolroom's maps are
symbols of various countries.
In the car, the figure of the person with the seat
belt is a symbol, as are the gauges. The backup lights are symbols,
telling others that your car is in reverse. The turn signals are
symbols, indicating the way the car is going to move. The YIELD
sign is a symbol, as is the handicapped parking marker.
What Makes These Things Symbols?
They are symbols because they "stand for" some
thing else, or remind us of something. When we see a flashing yellow
light, we don’t think "flashing yellow light," we
think "DANGER, BE CAREFUL!" That’s why the flashing
yellow light is a symbol - it makes us think of something else.
Symbols can mean more than one thing, and they can mean different
things to different people or in different circumstances.
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You know this symbol. You see it when you’re
driving a car. It means stop the car; then, when it’s your
turn, go carefully. But suppose you were going to take a pre-printed
state test which comes in a sealed envelope. Or, perhaps, you are
looking at the booklet which came with your new microwave. The
envelope might say: "
Do
not open this envelope until your teacher tells you to do so." You
wouldn’t run outside and find a car to stop, even though that’s
what it meant a few minutes ago when you were driving. Now it means "Don’t
go any further." The instruction booklet with the microwave
might print the same symbol and say "Do not use before reading
safety instructions." Again, that symbol doesn’t mean
the same thing as it does when you are driving. So a symbol can
relate to more than one event - driving a car, taking a test, or
operating an appliance, for example.
And the same symbol can mean different things to different people. Look at
this symbol:
Patricia is going through a romantic phase at the
moment. When she writes notes or letters, she signs them with several
Xs. She says they mean "love and kisses." Laura is especially
good in math. She says X means multiplication. But Stan is "into" model
trains. He has tracks and model towns and a full setup. He says
it means "Railroad Crossing." Justin plays football.
For him X means an offensive player on a football diagram. Love
and kisses, multiplication, railroad crossing, football players
- which one is right? They all are!
Symbols mean what the person using them wants them to mean.
Sometimes, people who don’t understand how symbols
work may try to tell you that some symbols ALWAYS mean one thing.
But that just isn’t true. Think about that X. Would it make
sense to say that X always means "love and kisses," and
so Laura, Stan, and Justin are wrong? Of course not. Clearly, they
are not wrong. Symbols mean what you use them to mean. A crosshatch
symbol, #, may mean "number" to you, "pound" to
me, "raise a musical note a half step" (sharp) to Harry,
and "tic tac toe" to Fred. And that’s perfectly
all right.
Why Do People Use Symbols?
Symbols are a sort of shorthand. Think about this
symbol, for example:
If you were to write down everything the symbol
makes you think about, it might take several paragraphs. You might
think of a flame as symbolizing light, or education, or heat, or
the danger of fire. By the time you wrote down everything you thought
about those ideas, it could take a lot of time. It’s much
easier and faster to use the symbol. And you can do something else
with the symbol which ishard to do with words
- you can "add ideas."
| Suppose you wanted to
suggest that knowledge is found by reading and study. You could
draw a book and add the flame, and someone, seeing it, might
know what you meant to say, just by looking at the drawing. |
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| Symbols
-- We Use In The Masonic Family
Many of the symbols we use inside a Masonic
Building are the same as everyone else uses:xon doors to
indicate men’s and women’s restrooms or a red-lighted
sign to show a fire exit, for example. But some are special
to us and are used in special ways, so let’s look
at some of the more common ones in the Masonic Fraternity.
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The young ladies who belong
to the Order of the Rainbow, for example, use the rainbow
as a symbol. Why? Well, like most symbols, it’s too
rich for us to write out all its meanings in a short space.
But we can note a couple of the most important ones. First
of all, it means that God is good and He cares about people.
That comes from the story of the rainbow in the Bible where
God placed a rainbow in the sky to indicate a new covenant
with man.
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Also, virtues are assigned to different colors: Red,
Love; Orange, Religion; Blue, Fidelity; Violet, Service; Green,
Immortality; Indigo, Patriotism; Yellow, Nature. The symbol of
the rainbow reminds the members of the Order that a good life is
built on those virtues.
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Job’s Daughters also uses
the crown as a symbol. To a member of that Order, it symbolizes
leadership, and the rightful authority which comes from being
elected by a group to serve as their leader.
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The
Order of DeMolay uses a different kind of crown. It’s
called the Crown of Youth. Like the rainbow, it stands for
the virtues by which one builds a good life, and each of the
crown's seven jewels stands for a different virtue: Filial
love, love for parents; Reverence,
respect for sacred things; Courtesy; Comradeship; Fidelity; Cleanness
in thought, word, and deed; and Patriotism. |
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The Order of Amaranth uses the
crown to symbolize royalty. But royalty doesn’t mean
just the right of one person to command another. Its more
important meaning is that each person must be sovereign over
his or her own life, feelings, thoughts, and actions. The
crown symbolizes self-control which is necessary for personal
growth.
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The York Rite Masons use the crown to mean
the power and authority to mean the power and authority to
lead or command. When it is combined with a cross, like this,
one of the meanings of the crown is "victory," and
the cross symbolizes Chrisitanity:
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The Order of the Eastern Star uses a crown in combination
with a scepter:
The crown symbolizes Honor, Power and Authority.
The scepter symbolizes that power used to guard and protect others.
The combination teaches that all persons have an obligation to
use whatever resources they have to make sure that no one is denied
justice or exploited.
The Masons use the Square and Compasses as their
most common symbol. The Square stands for Virtue and Morality.
The Compasses stand for the importance of keeping our passions
within bounds. But it is even richer. The Square also stands for
the world and physical reality. The Compasses also stand for spiritual
things. So, one of the meanings of the symbol is that while a person
has a physical or animal nature and a spiritual nature, the spiritual
should be stronger than the physical. The letter "G" in
the compasses stands for God and, also, for geometry since the
ancients believed that the study of geometry led the mind to the
study of God.
The Eastern Star uses the symbol of the five-pointed
star:
Usually, it’s shown with one point down. People
who don’t understand symbols say some very ignorant things
about it. One of the most ignorant is that it stands for some kind
of demon or for a goat. Now of course, if they want to think of
a devil or a goat when they see it, that’s their business.
But that’s not what the Eastern Star uses the symbol to mean.
They use it as a symbol of the star which guided the Wise Men to
Bethlehem. The downward pointing ray represents the light of the
star coming to the earth and also the birth of Jesus when He came
down to earth from heaven.
Masons use the five-pointed star as a symbol, too. For Masons, the star is
a symbol of Man, with the five points representing the head, the hands,
and the feet as seen in this classic drawing.
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And, as in this illustration, Scottish Rite
Masons use the star to represent the blazing glory of God
which fills the entire universe, and also that God reveals
Himself to mankind through nature
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| The Order of the
White Shrine of Jerusalem uses a five-pointed white star in
yet another way, adding to it a cross and a shepherd’s
crook. As with the International Order of the Eastern Star,
the star of the Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem is a
symbol of the star of Bethlehem, the cross is a symbol of faith,
and the shepherd’s crook symbolizes both the ideas of
loving compassion and the Good Shepherd, Who is ready to lead
His flock to the green pastures and still waters. (Psalm 23:2) |
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Another symbol both Masons and the Eastern Star use
is a sheaf of wheat or corn.
(In England, where Masonry came from, "corn" meant
any cereal grain, not what we
think of in the United States as corn.) For the Eastern Star, it teaches
that many small acts of kindness performed, or many small duties well carried
out, add up to important totals - that it is just as important to do small
tasks and acts of kindness as to do large ones. For the Masons, it symbolizes
plenty, and the goodness of God in providing for mankind.
| DeMolay
uses school books as a symbol of the importance of education
and, even more importantly, as a symbol of intellectual freedom
which is the foundation of all other freedoms. |
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For Masons, the triangle is a symbol of God.
For Christian Masons, the three sides represent the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and for Freemasons of all faiths,
it represents the Wisdom, the Power, and the Creativity of
God.
The Eastern Star uses the triangle, with much
the same meanings, as a part of their jewels of office for
the women occupying the "Star Points." They surround
the specific symbol for the particular point the jewel represents.
In this case, the jewel is for "Martha," and the
triangle surrounds a Broken Column. The Broken Column symbolizes
grief and sorrow, especially that caused by the death of
someone we love. The triangle symbolizes God, and so the
two together teach that the deepest sorrow is relieved by
a trustful faith in God.
The York Rite uses the triangle in much the
same way in some of its officer’s jewels. For that matter,
an officer’s jewel is a symbol, too, telling us what
office a person holds in a Masonic organization. The jewel
of the Secretary (left) has two crossed quill pens which
represent writing, obviously an important part of the job
of a Secretary.
Job’s Daughters uses the triangle in
the emblem of the sorority. It’s really a double triangle,
because the Honored Queen and the two Princesses inside the
triangle form a second triangle.
Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters use the two
interlaced triangles or Star of David as a major symbol of
their faith. In the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, the same
symbol stands for the whole universe, the totality of God’s
creation. It also teaches that life is composed of joy and
sorrow, pain and comfort, and other such opposites.
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Scottish Rite Masons and York Rite Masons also use
three triangles, drawn like this, to represent the Power, Wisdom,
and Creative nature of God. In ancient times, one of the bars of
each triangle was sometimes removed to produce a symbol like this.
That makes it look very much like a turning wheel,
and so that symbol was used to represent the movement of God throughout
the universe and, also, the movement of the universe through time.
Later, by the time of the Greeks, the symbol had changed again,
and the three partial triangles turned into three legs.
For the Job’s Daughters, the color purple represents
royalty, not just as an idea of power and authority, but royalty
which comes from nobility of character - virtuous habits and thoughts,
kindness, patience, thoughtfulness, and many other virtues. In
the Scottish Rite, purple traditionally represents the power and
majesty of God.
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In Masonry,
the sword is the symbol of the Tiler or doorkeeper. It symbolizes
Security or protection, and it also teaches that a Mason should
be constantly on guard against unworthy or improper thoughts.
In Scottish Rite Masonry, the sword symbolizes Chivalry and
Justice. And, when it’s drawn with a wavy blade, it symbolizes
lightning, which also symbolizes the power of God. |
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The two swords behind the crown in the DeMolay
emblem symbolize Justice and Fortitude, and the fact that
they are crossed symbolizes Mercy.
For the Eastern Star, the sword is covered with a veil. The
sword symbolizes Right, and the veil symbolizes Revelation.
The two in combination suggest that Right, Honor, Integrity,
and such virtues are revealed to men and women. Rainbow uses
a spear, rather than a sword. The spear is the jewel of the
Marshal, and it symbolizes a life that is directed daily to
better and higher ideals.
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For Masons, the apron symbolizes purity of life
as a goal for which we should all strive. For Rainbows, the apron
stands for the Masonic Fraternity and the ideals of the Fraternity.
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For Job’s Daughters, the Grecian robe,
worn by the officers, and the choir, symbolizes equality.For
Masons and for Job’s Daughters, the pot or urn or censer
of burning incense represents prayer. For Scottish Rite Masons,
it also symbolizes the purity of heart and mind with which
a person should approach prayer.
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Job’s Daughters uses a dove to symbolize purity
- the same idea that Masons symbolize with the Masonic apron. But
the Scottish Rite uses a dove to symbolize Good, Light, and God's
Mercy.
Symbols are special simply because they are such
powerful ways of packing so many meanings and, sometimes, feelings
into such a small package. You only need to feel pride when looking
at a trophy you have won, or feel a deep calm and peace when looking
at a beautiful stained-glass window, or feel something grab in
your chest when you see the American flag flying in the wind to
know just how much meaning a symbol can have.
Symbols not only have powerful meanings, but you can change the meanings
just by changing the way the symbol is drawn. A good example of this is the
cross, one of the best-known symbols in America.
The Christian Cross
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Most of
us think of the Christian Religion when we see a cross. And
that’s what it usually means when we see it now. But the
cross is a very, very old symbol and is used in many forms.
It’s useful to take a look at some of those different
forms and see what people have used the cross to mean, and
how a change in the way a symbol is drawn can add meanings.
This is the most common form of the cross we use in America.
Technically, it’s called the Latin Cross, or Crux Ordinaria
(Crux is the Latin word for "Cross"). |
| The
same style or shape cross drawn upside down has two very different
meanings. Some unfortunate people use it to symbolize evil,
the devil, or the "black mass." But this cross is
more commonly known among Christians as the Cross of St. Peter.
According to legend, St. Peter the Apostle was crucified upside
down. This symbol developed during the Middle Ages. |
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The cross with four equal arms is known as
the Greek Cross or the Crux Immissa Quadrata. Its four equal
arms represent harmony in the universe, or the physical and
the spiritual worlds, as well as the balance found in nature.
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The cross with the crosspiece at the top of
the upright is known as the Cross of St. Anthony or as the
Crux Commissa. This cross is also known as the Tau Cross,
because it looks like the Greek letter tau which is the same
as the T in our alphabet. In this form, the cross symbolizes
the triumph of Man's spiritual nature over his physical nature.
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Related to the Tau Cross or Cross of St. Anthony
is the Ankh, or Crux Ansata (ansate means "having a
loop or handle"). This is a very ancient Egyptian symbol
meaning "life." It derived from posts with cross
pieces which were set up on the banks of the Nile River to
show how high the flood waters were likely to be. Since the
floods brought new soil and "life" to the Egyptians,
this cross became the symbol of that renewed life.
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The cross with two crossbars (the top one represents
the board nailed to the cross on which was written "Jesus
of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Latin) is known as
the Patriarchal Cross. One of its many meanings is that as
a person gets more and more political power, he or she has
an increasing responsibility to use that power wisely and
for the benefit of the people. One becomes, even more, the "Steward
of God" with additional responsibilities and duties.
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The Russian Orthodox
Cross has three crossbars, one of which runs at an angle. The
top two bars represent the same things as in the Patriarchal
Cross shown above. The lower bar represents the footrest nailed
to the cross on which the feet of Jesus rested. No one is exactly
certain why the bottom bar is shown at an angle, but it is
probably so that it forms a Cross of St. Andrew (below). |
| St.
Andrew was credited with bringing Christianity to Russia. It
is known as the Cross of St. Andrew because it is believed
that St. Andrew was crucified on a cross of this design. It’s
also known as the Crux Decussata which simply means "cross
in the shape of an X." It is the ancient emblem of Scotland.
Symbolically, it’s sometimes used to mean renewal or a
new beginning or re-creation. |
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This cross shows flames along the edges, and
is known as a Crux Flamant or Flaming Cross. It is used to
symbolize the passion and zeal of the early martyrs, and
sometimes to symbolize the energy of the Holy Spirit. Like
most of these designs, it developed in the Middle Ages.
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The idea of the Trinity was often
shown by including three lobes or loops at the end of the arms
of the cross. Two forms of this symbol are the Cross Trefle,
shown at the left and the Cross Entrailed shown at the right. |
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These are only a few examples of the way one symbol
is been used to mean many different things (there are more than
100 different "kinds" of crosses). You can see that if
someone says a symbol can only be shown in one way or that it can
only mean one thing, they are clearly wrong.
Cultural Symbols
| But just as it’s true - as with the cross
- that one symbol can be used to mean many things, it is also
true that one idea can by shown by many different symbols.
As an example, take the idea of Justice. In our culture, Justice
is usually symbolized by a drawing or statue of a woman, blindfolded,
and holding a balance, or set of scales. Sometimes, she is
also shown holding a sword. She is actually the Greek goddess
Themis, who symbolized divine Justice to the ancient Greeks. |
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But even earlier, the ancient Egyptians had
symbolized Justice by the goddess Maat or Mayat. She was
usually shown standing, as on the left, but was sometimes
shown kneeling and blindfolded as in the drawing on the right.
Maat represented more than Justice. She represented the whole
idea of right and order in the universe and in the lives
of men and women.
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The Norsemen symbolized Justice by the god
Odin. Odin carried a great spear of ash wood, and on that
spear were engraved all the basic rules of contracts. In
the Middle
Ages, Justice was often symbolized by a mill, either one turned by
water or one turned by wind. It’s from that symbol that we get
the expression you may have heard
people use: "The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind
exceeding fine" which means that sometimes it takes a long time
before bad people get what’s coming to them, but it always happens
in the end.
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Sometimes,
Justice is symbolized by the balance or scales alone. The fact
that the two pans of the balance are equal suggests fairness
and equity. In America, now, Justice is frequently symbolized
by a gavel and block. You see that used on television a lot.
It comes from the gavel used by the judge. And the gavel is
an interesting symbol itself. It came from Masonry. |
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We were the first
ones to use a gavel as a symbol of a presiding officer.
Because so many of America’s first judges and legislators were Masons,
the Congress of the United States started using it to open and close
sessions and to indicate that a bill had passed or to call for order,
just as we do in the Masonic Bodies. Now gavels are commonplace all over
the United States, and the presidents of clubs are often given a gavel
to show that they have served as president. In fact, the gavel has become
a symbol for a presiding officer. But you won’t find gavels used
in most of the rest of the world. |
Symbols are interesting. Working with symbols is
a little like solving a puzzle or working out the solution to a
detective story. There are clues, but you have to think things
out and add things together before you can really make them work
and understand them. That’s what makes them such good ways
to teach and to remember things. It’s the working-out process
which makes them valuable. And you can work backward, too. Knowing
that the ancient Greeks and Egyptians had many ways of symbolizing
Justice and Truth and Honor, we know that those ideas were important
to the people of those cultures. In the same way, the symbols used
by the various branches of the Masonic family show that some ideas
are important there, too. The fact that, in America, every Masonic
Body requires a flag to be present in the room tells us each Order
thinks that patriotism is important. The symbols tell us that each
Order teaches the need for a personal faith and reliance on God.
Each Order regards personal honor and integrity as important. Each
teaches that purity in individual life is significant. Each teaches
the importance of being of service to others and treating others
with respect.
Symbols: The Universal Shorthand
of Language
Symbols have been used for many centuries because
they are excellent shorthand. But, like any shorthand, you have
to study them to know what they mean. The Masonic family, just
like the rest of the world, uses symbols to teach because they
can move and instruct and sum up ideas better than anything else.
But symbols, powerful as they are, have no meaning
at all outside of the mind of the person who sees the symbol
and understands it.
The symbols used by the Masonic family are yours,
to use for your own thinking, experience, insight, and growth.
You will develop deeper and richer meanings for them as you use
them and think about them. That’s what makes them valuable.
That’s what makes them fun!
* * *
This essay is available as a fully illustrated
pamphlet. To obtain copies @ $(US) 0.25 each (PPD); 40% discount
in lots of 50 or more copies, plus shipping and handling, contact:
Masonic Information Center
8120 Fenton Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4785
Tel: (301) 588-4010; Fax (301) 608-3457
