Between Earth and Heaven: The Philosophical World of Freemasonry

Good evening and welcome to tonight's presentation from the quarries, an archive of Masonic law.

*Mystic Mason: Masonry* by J. D. Buck is an essential exploration of the profound esoteric principles that underlie the craft, drawing direct connections between modern Freemasonry and the ancient mysteries. Buck delves into the rich symbolism, rituals, and secret doctrine, presenting Freemasonry not merely as a system of ethical instruction, but as a spiritual path leading toward enlightenment and self-mastery. For the Masons seeking deeper knowledge, this work reveals the subenary nature of man, the unity of science and religion, and the significance of the great lodge, offering tools for both personal transformation and the uplift of humanity.

Chapter 1: Principles of Education and Ethics

The struggle for existence dominates modern life, leaving humanity blind to its true purpose and potential. While the human brain has evolved with ever-increasing capacity for higher thought, most of its energy is consumed by the basic demands of survival. Intellectual and spiritual evolution are neglected, and human beings are left ignorant of their latent powers. Mere intellectual activity alone cannot explain the higher faculties of man. The development of the soul remains unapprehended by a civilization focused on competition and material gain.

Present-day society suffers under two great evils: selfishness and false ideals. The solution lies in the recognition of the brotherhood of man, not merely as a religious or sentimental theory, but as an immutable law of nature. All human misery is born of the sin of separateness—the belief that one can act solely in self-interest without consequence to others. The selfish pursuit of wealth and power has entrenched economic inequality, creating systems of competition that encourage strife rather than unity. True progress can only be made when humanity turns to a higher understanding, seeking not individual gain but collective advancement.

Education as it currently exists compounds this problem by fostering competition from an early age. Children are taught to surpass their peers, not to cooperate with them. Knowledge is valued for its utility in securing material success rather than for its capacity to uplift the soul. This limited view of education stifles the natural perceptions of the child and prevents the development of higher faculties. As long as this model prevails, humanity will remain trapped in ignorance, unable to realize the deeper truths of its existence.

At the same time, the modern age boasts of its scientific achievements. Yet science alone cannot lead to the knowledge humanity truly needs. While physical science has given humanity unprecedented control over nature, it has not revealed the purpose of life. The doctrine of survival of the fittest is a distorted application of scientific principles used to justify competition and selfishness. True knowledge must transcend mere physical understanding. It must unite science and religion, material progress and spiritual evolution.

Efforts to reform society through charity and philanthropy, though commendable, often fail to address the root causes of suffering. These endeavors treat only the symptoms of a deeper malaise. True reform must begin with knowledge—knowledge of the soul, of the laws governing human evolution, and of the higher ideals towards which humanity should strive. It is through the pursuit of such knowledge and the service of truth that mankind can be liberated from its present misery.

The wisdom required for this higher knowledge has not been lost but preserved through the ancient mysteries and the teachings of Freemasonry. This wisdom teaches the unity of all humanity and the path to personal and collective enlightenment. Progress, however, cannot be forced or hurried. Centuries of ignorance have entrenched harmful systems, and only through steady, conscientious effort can these be overturned. Humanity must labor to recover the lost knowledge of its true nature and destiny. Only then can it build a just society founded on the principles of universal brotherhood and ethical living.

While the task is monumental, there is hope. Humanitarian efforts, even when incomplete or misguided, reflect an innate recognition of the need for change. The future offers an opportunity for the elevation of human consciousness. If mankind will embrace the ideals of the mysteries and the true purpose of life, the time is ripe for the awakening of the soul, for the realization that humanity is not yet what it could be. With the right ideals, the right education, and the right knowledge, the human race can overcome its present limitations and fulfill its higher destiny.

Chapter 2: The Genius of Freemasonry

Freemasonry, far from being merely a social or charitable institution, holds within it a profound and ancient wisdom. Its essence is not confined to ritual and form, but speaks to the deeper truths of human existence. At its core, Freemasonry is the embodiment of a sublime philosophy, one that strives for the elevation of mankind through the cultivation of moral virtue and spiritual knowledge. The modern world, absorbed in material pursuits, has largely forgotten the greater purpose that Freemasonry embodies. The ethical teachings, symbols, and rituals of the lodge are but outward signs of an inner, concealed wisdom—one that traces its lineage to the ancient mysteries.

These mysteries once guarded the temples of Egypt, Greece, and Persia, preserved the sacred knowledge of the soul's immortality and the divine origin of humanity. Freemasonry continues this tradition, albeit veiled in allegory and symbolism. The genius of Freemasonry lies in its capacity to awaken the inner potential of the individual. It is through the gradual unveiling of truth that the mason is led toward enlightenment. Each degree, each symbol, serves as a step on the path to self-knowledge, guiding the seeker to recognize the divine spark within himself. The true master is not merely a craftsman of stone, but a builder of character, one who constructs the temple of his own soul in accordance with the divine plan.

Central to this philosophy is the principle of brotherhood. The lodge exemplifies the ideal of unity, where distinctions of wealth, rank, and creed are set aside in favor of mutual respect and support. Freemasonry teaches that all men are connected through a shared divine heritage, and it is the duty of each mason to labor for the welfare of all. This principle is not a mere abstract ideal; it is a practical and a moral imperative, one that calls for the active cultivation of charity, justice, and benevolence.

The symbols and allegories of Freemasonry may serve as the keys to understanding its deeper meaning. The uninitiated may view them as mere decoration, but the discerning student recognizes in them a profound philosophy. The Masonic tools—the compass, the square, the plumb—are not just implements of the builder's trade, but moral lessons in themselves, teaching the virtues of moderation, justice, and uprightness. The temple, too, is not just the physical structure of stone, but a metaphor for the soul, which must be shaped and perfected through the labor of life.

Freemasonry, therefore, is not a static institution, nor is it confined to any particular time or place. It is a living tradition rooted in the eternal truths of human nature and the cosmos. Its mission is to guide humanity towards a fuller realization of its divine potential, to uplift and ennoble the individual, and through him, to contribute to the betterment of society. Yet, this higher knowledge is not conferred automatically upon any who enter the lodge. It is the reward of diligent study, moral refinement, and personal devotion. The secrets of masonry are not to be found in the formal rituals alone, but in the heart and mind of the sincere seeker who strives for self-mastery and enlightenment. True initiation is an inward process, a transformation of the soul, whereby the individual becomes attuned to the divine laws governing existence.

Chapter 3: The Genius of Freemasonry Continued

Freemasonry's genius resides not only in its rich symbolism and ethical precepts, but also in its role as a vehicle for the transmission of ancient spiritual truths. It continues the work of the great mystery schools of the past, preserving and disseminating the teachings necessary for human enlightenment. Yet, the full depth of these teachings is often overlooked by those who see Freemasonry as merely a social or charitable organization. The true genius of Freemasonry lies in its capacity to guide the individual towards the realization of higher spiritual realities.

The wisdom of the ancients, embodied in the rites and symbols of the lodge, reveals the essential unity of all things and the divine nature of man. Freemasonry teaches that man is not simply a material being, but a spiritual entity capable of profound moral and intellectual development. The journey of the mason is, therefore, not merely an outward journey through the degrees of the lodge, but an inward journey towards self-mastery and enlightenment.

The ethical framework of Freemasonry is grounded in universal principles which transcend any single culture or religion. The virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice, which the Mason is encouraged to cultivate, are not arbitrary rules of conduct, but reflections of the natural laws that govern the universe. By aligning himself with these laws, the Mason brings his own life into harmony with the greater cosmic order.

At the heart of Masonic philosophy is the belief in the perfectibility of man. Freemasonry teaches that through diligent effort and moral discipline, the individual can rise above the limitations of the material world and achieve a higher state of consciousness. This process of spiritual evolution is mirrored in the allegory of the temple of Solomon, which represents the soul of man. The building of this temple is symbolic of the work that each mason must undertake to perfect himself.

The symbols of the lodge serve as reminders of this inner work. The square teaches us to square our actions by the principles of morality. The compass reminds us to circumscribe our desires and keep them within due bounds. The level symbolizes equality and justice. Each tool has a deeper meaning, pointing to the spiritual labor that the mason must undertake if he is to fully realize his full potential. This labor is not performed in isolation, but in the company of fellow masons who support one another in the pursuit of knowledge and virtue. The lodge represents a microcosm of the universal brotherhood of man, where individuals from all walks of life come together in pursuit of a common goal. Freemasonry thus embodies a practical vision of human fraternity, one that transcends social, religious, and national boundaries.

Freemasonry also imparts the understanding that the true secrets of the lodge are not external but internal. The rituals and ceremonies, though rich in symbolic meaning, are but outward expressions of a deeper spiritual reality. The real secrets of Freemasonry are to be found within the heart and the mind of each mason as he contemplates the mysteries of existence and strives to align himself with the divine will. The progress of the mason is, therefore, measured not by the degrees he has attained, but by the depth of his understanding and the extent of his personal transformation. True initiation is not conferred by ritual alone; it is the result of an ongoing process of spiritual refinement, in which the individual learns to master his lower nature and cultivate his higher faculties. This process leads ultimately to the realization of man's divine origin and destiny.

Freemasonry, in its highest sense, is a school of spiritual and moral development. It seeks to uplift not only its members but all of humanity by promoting the ideals of justice, charity, and truth. It offers a pathway to both personal enlightenment and the advancement of the human race, based on the recognition of our shared divine heritage and the potential for spiritual growth. Thus, the genius of Freemasonry lies in its ability to preserve and transmit the eternal truths of the mysteries while adapting them to the needs of each generation through its symbols, rituals, and teachings. It continues to provide a road map for those who seek to discover the hidden mysteries of nature and science and to align themselves with the divine plan for human evolution.

Chapter 4: The Secret Doctrine

The secret doctrine lies at the heart of Freemasonry, encapsulating the profound metaphysical truths that were once carefully guarded within the ancient mysteries. This hidden knowledge, which concerns the nature of man, the universe, and the divine, has been passed down through the ages, veiled in allegory and symbol. Freemasonry, as a custodian of this ancient wisdom, continues the work of these mysteries by preserving and imparting the principles of the secret doctrine to those who are prepared to receive them.

At its core, the secret doctrine teaches the unity of all existence. The visible world of matter is but a reflection of a deeper spiritual reality. The cosmos is governed by divine laws which are unchanging and eternal. And man, as a microcosm of the universe, contains within himself the same principles that govern the macrocosm. The process of initiation, central to both the ancient mysteries and Freemasonry, is the means by which the individual is gradually brought into harmony with these universal laws.

One of the most fundamental teachings of the secret doctrine is the concept of the dual nature of man. Man is both material and spiritual, composed of body and soul. The physical body, being subject to decay and death, is temporary, while the soul, a spark of the divine, is immortal. The purpose of life, therefore, is to awaken to this higher nature, to rise above the limitations of the flesh, and to fulfill the soul's divine potential.

The ancient sages understood that the path to spiritual enlightenment is not an easy one. It requires the aspirant to pass through trials and challenges, to overcome the lower, selfish impulses, and to cultivate virtues that align him with the divine order. This is the work of the initiate, who through knowledge and discipline becomes a master of his own nature. The degrees of Freemasonry mirror this inner journey, guiding the mason step by step towards a greater understanding and self-mastery.

The secret doctrine also reveals the principle of cycles, which governs the evolution of both the universe and man. All things move in cycles, from birth to death and from death to rebirth. This law of periodicity ensures that nothing in the cosmos is ever lost or destroyed; rather, all things are in a state of continual transformation. Man, too, undergoes this cyclical process, not only in the physical sense but also in the spiritual. The soul, through successive incarnations, grows and evolves, striving towards perfection.

The ancient mysteries preserve this knowledge in symbolic form, often concealing the deeper meanings from the uninitiated. Freemasonry, as the modern successor, continues this tradition. Its rituals and symbols, though seemingly simple, contain within them the keys to unlocking the profound truths of the secret doctrine. The mason who diligently studies these symbols and who seeks to understand their hidden meanings is gradually led to the realization of the unity of all things and his own place within the divine plan.

The secret doctrine does not belong to any single religion or tradition. It transcends the dogmas of sectarian belief, offering a universal philosophy that speaks to the deepest truths of existence. Freemasonry, by its very nature, is open to all who seek light, regardless of their religious or cultural background. Its teachings are universal, rooted in the recognition that all human beings are part of the same divine whole and are subject to the same spiritual laws.

Ultimately, the purpose of the secret doctrine is to provide a framework for the individual's spiritual evolution. It offers the knowledge and guidance necessary to transcend the illusions of the material world and to realize the divine within. Freemasonry, through its symbols and rituals, acts as a guide on this journey, pointing the way to the deeper truths that lie behind the veil of physical existence.

Chapter 5: The Secret Doctrine, Science and Religion

The Secret Doctrine bridges the often-perceived chasm between science and religion, offering a unified understanding of the universe that reconciles these two traditionally opposing fields. Both science and religion, in their highest forms, are paths to truth, though they approach it from different perspectives. The secret doctrine reveals that these paths ultimately converge, as both explore the same universal laws and principles that govern existence.

Religion, in its esoteric form, seeks to explain the purpose of life and the divine origin of the soul. The outer forms of religion—the rituals, doctrines, and ceremonies—are intended to convey deeper spiritual truths. But over time, these forms often become dogmatic, obscuring the original meaning. Science, on the other hand, concerns itself with the material world, seeking to understand the laws of nature through observation and experimentation. Modern science, while advancing human knowledge of the physical world, often dismisses the spiritual dimension of existence, viewing the universe as a mechanical system devoid of inherent meaning.

The secret doctrine, however, asserts that the universe is a living, conscious entity, governed by divine intelligence. Both the spiritual and the material realms are expressions of this intelligence, and the laws that govern them are identical. What science describes as the laws of nature are, in fact, the manifestations of a higher spiritual order. The ancient sages, through their understanding of the secret doctrine, recognized this unity and sought to integrate science and religion into a cohesive system of knowledge.

At the heart of the reconciliation between science and religion is the principle of evolution. Evolution, as understood in the esoteric tradition, is not limited to the physical development of species, as modern science would have it, but extends to the spiritual evolution of the soul. All things in the universe, from the smallest atom to the highest spiritual beings, are in a state of constant growth and transformation, moving towards greater complexity and higher consciousness. This process of evolution is cyclical, governed by the universal laws of periodicity.

Religion, when properly understood, teaches the same principles. The soul, through successive incarnations, evolves towards perfection, gradually shedding the limitations of the material world and realizing its divine nature. The rituals and symbols of religion, particularly in the ancient mysteries, were designed to guide the initiate through this process of spiritual evolution, mirroring the larger cosmic cycle. Freemasonry, as the heir to these mysteries, continues to impart this knowledge through its symbols and degrees, offering a path for the individual to follow in his own evolutionary journey.

The modern conflict between science and religion arises from a misunderstanding of the true nature of each. Religion, when reduced to rigid dogma, loses its connection to the deeper truths it once conveyed. Science, when it denies the existence of anything beyond the material world, becomes a narrow and incomplete system of knowledge. The secret doctrine reveals that both science and religion, when fully understood, are complementary, not contradictory. They are two sides of the same coin, each offering a different perspective on the same underlying reality.

The pursuit of knowledge, whether through science or religion, must be guided by the recognition that truth is one. The apparent divisions between the spiritual and material, the divine and the natural, are illusions born of limited perception. The task of the initiate is to pierce through these illusions and recognize the unity that underlies all existence. This is the true meaning of initiation: the awakening to the realization that all things are interconnected, that the laws governing the physical universe are the same as those that govern the spiritual realm. Freemasonry, through its teachings and symbols, provides a framework for this understanding. The Masonic tools—the square, the compass, the level—are not merely physical instruments but representations of the universal laws that govern both the material and the spiritual worlds. The Mason, in his work of self-improvement, is aligning himself with these laws, bringing his own nature into harmony with the greater cosmic order.

Chapter 6: The Secret Doctrine, The Subenary Nature of Man

The secret doctrine reveals that man, like the universe, is composed of seven distinct but interconnected layers or principles. This subenary nature of man reflects the same laws and structures that govern the cosmos, embodying the principle of "as above, so below." Just as the universe operates on multiple levels—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—so too does the individual human being. Freemasonry, drawing from the ancient mysteries, preserves this understanding in its teachings and symbols, guiding the mason towards a fuller realization of his own nature.

Man's seven-fold nature consists of three higher spiritual principles and four lower material ones. These principles represent the various aspects of human existence, from the physical body to the immortal soul. The lower principles—physical body, life force or prana, astral body, and desires or karma—are concerned with the material world and the forces that govern physical and emotional experience. These lower aspects are transient, bound by the laws of the material plane, and perish with the death of the body.

Above these stand the three higher principles, which correspond to the true, immortal nature of man: the higher mind (manas), the spiritual soul (Buddha), and the divine spirit (Atman). These higher principles are eternal and unchanging, representing man's true self, his divine essence. The purpose of life, according to the secret doctrine, is for the lower nature to be purified and aligned with the higher, leading to the awakening of the soul and the ultimate union with the divine.

Freemasonry, in its symbolic teachings, alludes to this septenary structure through the tools and symbols of the craft. The process of spiritual evolution, of building the inner temple, is a process of mastering the lower nature and raising the consciousness to the higher planes. Each degree of masonry represents a step in this journey, where the mason learns to subdue his base desires and cultivate the virtues that reflect the higher principles. The allegory of the temple of Solomon, which the mason is tasked with building, is a metaphor for this inner work of self-mastery.

The key to understanding the subenary nature lies in the concept of duality. Man is both material and spiritual, a combination of transient and eternal principles. The physical body and the desires associated with it are not evil, but they must be brought under the control of the higher self. The higher mind (manas), when aligned with the spiritual soul (Buddha), becomes the guiding force that directs man's actions in accordance with divine law. It is through the higher mind that the mason connects with the universal intelligence, gaining the wisdom necessary to complete the great work.

The process of spiritual evolution is not a linear one, but cyclical, governed by the laws of periodicity. Each life represents a phase in this cycle, where the soul undergoes experiences that lead to growth and development. The trials and challenges of life are necessary for the purification of the lower nature and the awakening of the higher self. This is the essence of initiation: the transformation of the individual through knowledge, discipline, and experience.

The ancient sages understood that the subenary structures of man mirrored the structure of the universe itself. Just as man is composed of seven principles, so too is the cosmos. With each plane of existence corresponding to one of these principles, the physical world is but the lowest of these planes, and beyond it lie higher, more subtle realms accessible only to those who have awakened their higher faculties. The mason, through his symbolic journey, learns to navigate these planes, gradually ascending from the material to the spiritual.

Freemasonry, as the inheritor of the ancient wisdom, teaches that true enlightenment comes from understanding and aligning oneself with this subenary structure. The symbols of the craft—the compass, square, plumb line—serve as reminders of the work that must be done to harmonize the lower and higher aspects of man. The process is one of continual refinement, where the rough ashlar of the self is gradually shaped into the perfect stone fit for the temple of the Lord.

Chapter 7: The Secret Doctrine, The Sign of the Master

The sign of the master represents one of the most profound symbols in Freemasonry, signifying the realization of spiritual mastery and the attainment of higher knowledge. This sign, derived from the ancient mysteries, is more than an outward gesture; it is a manifestation of the inner transformation that occurs when the mason unites with the higher aspects of his being. It symbolizes the culmination of the spiritual journey—the point at which the initiate transcends the material world and becomes attuned to the divine wisdom that governs the universe.

The master's journey is one of self-conquest and enlightenment. Throughout the degrees of masonry, the initiate learns to subdue his lower nature, purifying his desires and aligning his will with the divine. The sign of the master is not merely a reward or recognition, but a state of being that reflects the mastery of the self. It is the embodiment of what the ancient sages called the great work—the process of perfecting the soul through knowledge, discipline, and moral action.

The symbol itself holds multiple layers of meaning. On one level, it represents the victory over death—not merely physical death, but the death of ignorance and selfishness. The initiate, through his journey, has learned to see beyond the illusions of the material world, understanding that life and death are part of a larger cosmic cycle. He realizes the immortality of the soul and its continuous evolution through successive incarnations. Thus, the sign of the master is a recognition of the soul's triumph over the limitations of the physical plane.

On a deeper level, the sign of the master represents the union of opposites, the reconciliation of the material and spiritual, the human and the divine. The initiate, having passed through the trials of life, has brought into harmony the lower and higher aspects of his nature. He has mastered the passions and desires that bind him to the physical world and awakened the higher faculties of mind and spirit. This union of opposites is the essence of true initiation, and it is reflected in the symbolic tools of Freemasonry, which teach balance, moderation, and moral uprightness.

The sign of the master also points to the concept of atonement, the state of unity with the divine. It is through this state of atonement that the master attains true wisdom, for he becomes a vessel through which divine truth flows. His actions, thoughts, and desires are no longer driven by ego or selfish motives, but are guided by the higher mind, which is aligned with the universal laws. This state of being is the goal of all spiritual traditions, and in Freemasonry, it is symbolized by the master's role as the builder of the temple—a temple not made of stone, but of virtue and wisdom.

Freemasonry, through its rituals and symbols, offers the initiate a road map to this mastery. The degrees are designed to lead the individual through successive stages of spiritual awakening, each one revealing deeper truths about the self and the universe. The tools of the craft—the square, the compass, the trowel—are not just physical objects, but metaphors for the moral and intellectual work that the mason must undertake to reach the level of the master. The lodge, as a microcosm of the universe, becomes the place where this work is carried out and where the initiate learns to shape his life in accordance with the divine plan.

The true master is one who has realized his connection to the greater whole, who understands that his actions affect not just himself but all of humanity. The sign of the master is thus a call to service, for with mastery comes responsibility. The master is not only tasked with perfecting himself but also with uplifting others, helping them to realize their own potential and guiding them on the path of spiritual evolution. This is the ultimate purpose of Freemasonry: to create a brotherhood of enlightened individuals who work together for the betterment of all.

In the ancient mysteries, initiation into the higher degrees was reserved for those who had demonstrated both moral integrity and intellectual understanding. Freemasonry continues this tradition, recognizing that true mastery can only be attained by those who have proven themselves worthy through their thoughts, words, and deeds. The sign of the master is thus both an achievement and a charge, symbolizing the initiate's readiness to assume the responsibilities of spiritual leadership.

Chapter 8: The Great Lodge

The great lodge is the symbolic representation of the spiritual fraternity that transcends time, space, and human distinctions. It is not merely the physical gathering of masons in lodges around the world, but is, in essence, the universal brotherhood of enlightened souls, both visible and invisible, who labor towards the same divine purpose. This spiritual lodge operates on a higher plane of existence, uniting those who have attained a higher understanding of the divine truths governing the universe and human evolution.

The great lodge, unlike the local or grand lodges of masonry, is not limited by geography or culture. It is universal and eternal, embracing all who seek truth, regardless of creed or nationality. Its members include not only living initiates but also the masters, sages, and prophets of antiquity whose wisdom and teachings have guided humanity through the ages. These great teachers from ancient Egypt, Greece, India, and beyond belong to the great lodge, and their knowledge is preserved in the symbolism of Freemasonry.

The concept of the great lodge extends beyond the organizational structure of Freemasonry and points to a deeper spiritual reality. It symbolizes the unity of all things under divine law, the oneness of the cosmos, and the interconnectedness of all souls. Each mason, through his initiation and progression through the degrees, is being prepared for entrance into this spiritual lodge, where the true mysteries of life and the cosmos are revealed. To enter the great lodge is to achieve a profound level of spiritual enlightenment, where the boundaries of individuality dissolve, and one becomes part of the universal brotherhood of souls working for the divine plan.

The journey of the mason through the allegorical building of the temple mirrors the process of spiritual evolution necessary to gain admission to the great lodge. The lodge teaches that the building of Solomon's temple is not merely the construction of a physical edifice, but symbolizes the inner work each person must undertake to perfect his soul. Each tool used in masonry, every degree passed, is part of this journey of self-purification and alignment with divine law. When the initiate completes his work, symbolized by the finished temple, he becomes fit to join the great lodge.

Admission into the great lodge requires more than ritualistic progression. It demands that the individual embody the principles of Freemasonry—charity, justice, truth, and brotherly love—on the deepest level. Only through genuine self-transformation, through living the virtues and overcoming selfish desires, can one become worthy of the title of master and thus gain access to this exalted spiritual fraternity. In this sense, the great lodge is an aspirational goal, one that few may achieve in their lifetime, but one towards which every mason must strive.

The teachings of the great lodge also emphasize the importance of working for the betterment of all humanity. The masters of the great lodge are not content with personal enlightenment alone; their labor is directed towards uplifting others and guiding humanity towards a higher state of consciousness. This is the true purpose of the Masonic fraternity on earth: to serve as a vehicle for the transmission of this ancient wisdom and to inspire individuals to work for the common good. Each mason, by seeking more light, is also charged with spreading that light to others, contributing to the collective evolution of humanity.

The Great Lodge also suggests a vision of a future humanity, one united in purpose and understanding. The divisions that currently exist between people, nations, and religions are temporary, born of ignorance and selfishness. The great lodge represents the ideal state where all distinctions are erased, and humanity recognizes its common divine origin and destiny. Freemasonry, by promoting the ideals of brotherhood, tolerance, and wisdom, is preparing the way for this future state, a time when the great lodge will be manifest on earth.

In the ancient mysteries, initiation into the higher degrees was often a solitary journey taken only by the most worthy individuals. However, the teachings of Freemasonry reflect a more inclusive ideal, where all who seek light and who labor for the good of others are welcome to join the fraternity. The great lodge is thus open to all who are willing to dedicate themselves to the great work, and its teachings are available to those who seek them with pure hearts and minds.

Chapter 9: An Outline of Symbolism

Symbolism forms the very foundation of Freemasonry, offering a means to convey profound truths that transcend the limitations of language. The symbols of Freemasonry are not arbitrary but are drawn from the ancient mysteries, where they served as the primary method for transmitting esoteric knowledge. Through the use of symbols, truths that are universal and eternal can be expressed in a way that speaks directly to the soul, allowing the initiate to grasp meanings that might otherwise remain inaccessible to the rational mind.

Freemasonry's use of symbolism extends beyond its rituals and degrees, permeating every aspect of the craft. Each symbol is designed to reveal not just a moral lesson, but also a spiritual truth about the nature of man, the universe, and the divine. These symbols, when properly understood, provide the keys to unlocking the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry, offering insight into the ultimate purpose of human existence and the path to spiritual enlightenment.

The square and compasses, perhaps the most recognizable symbols of Freemasonry, illustrate the balance between the material and spiritual aspects of life. The square, representing morality and the material world, reminds the mason to live by the principles of justice and virtue. While the compasses symbolize the higher spiritual nature, guiding the mason to circumscribe his desires and live within the bounds of moral law. Together, these tools teach the mason the importance of balance and harmony in both the physical and spiritual realms.

The Masonic apron, another important symbol, serves as a reminder of the purity and innocence required for spiritual growth. Worn during rituals, it represents the mason's dedication to the moral and spiritual work necessary for self-mastery. In this way, the apron is not merely a piece of ceremonial attire, but a symbol of the labor involved in the great work of personal transformation. It reminds the initiate that, like the operative mason who builds with stone, the speculative mason must build his own character in alignment with the divine plan.

The temple of Solomon is perhaps the most profound symbol in Freemasonry, representing not only the physical structure but also the inner temple that each mason is tasked with building. Just as the ancient temple was constructed according to divine specification, so too must the mason shape his life and soul in accordance with the higher laws of the universe. The building of the temple is an allegory for the process of spiritual evolution, where the rough ashlar, symbolizing the unrefined self, is gradually transformed into the perfect ashlar, ready to take its place in the spiritual edifice.

Other symbols, such as the plumb, level, and trowel, serve as reminders of the moral and ethical virtues that must guide the mason's work. The plumb teaches uprightness and rectitude. The level signifies equality and fairness, and the trowel represents the spreading of brotherly love and unity. These tools, while symbolic of operative masonry, are metaphors for the inner work of refining character and contributing to the building of the great temple of humanity.

Freemasonry's use of light as a symbol is particularly significant. Light represents knowledge, truth, and spiritual awakening. The quest for more light is at the heart of Masonic initiation, as each degree is a step towards greater understanding and enlightenment. The initiate's journey from darkness to light is an allegory for the soul's progression from ignorance and materialism to wisdom and spiritual realization. Light, in this sense, is not merely intellectual knowledge, but the inner illumination that comes from direct experience of the divine.

The significance of symbolism in Freemasonry cannot be overstated. Symbols are the language of the soul, providing a means for the initiate to access deeper truths that lie beyond the grasp of ordinary perception. Through meditation on these symbols, the mason is led to an understanding of the hidden mysteries of nature and science, gaining insight into the spiritual laws that govern both the universe and the individual soul. The symbols of Freemasonry, when properly studied, act as gateways to higher consciousness, guiding the initiate towards self-mastery and enlightenment.

Yet, the true meaning of Masonic symbols cannot be fully grasped through intellectual study alone. It is through personal experience and inner reflection that the initiate comes to understand the deeper significance of the symbols. The symbols act as catalysts for spiritual growth, revealing their secrets only to those who are prepared to receive them. Freemasonry, therefore, does not merely instruct through words, but through the lived experience of symbolism, which leads the initiate to a direct encounter with the divine mysteries.

Chapter 10: Conclusion

The ultimate purpose of Freemasonry is to elevate the individual and, through the individual, the whole of humanity. It is far more than a collection of rituals, symbols, and traditions. Freemasonry is a path to enlightenment, rooted in the ancient wisdom of the mysteries, which were designed to guide humanity in its spiritual evolution. The true work of the mason is the perfection of the soul through knowledge, self-discipline, and the cultivation of virtues that align the individual with the divine laws of the universe.

Freemasonry has inherited from the ancient mysteries a profound understanding of the spiritual structure of man and the cosmos. This knowledge, encapsulated in the secret doctrine, teaches the unity of all existence and the eternal nature of the soul. The ultimate goal for each individual is to recognize and realize their divine nature, achieving harmony with both the material and the spiritual worlds.

The journey of the mason from initiation to mastery mirrors the soul's journey toward perfection. The symbols, tools, and allegories of Freemasonry are not to be understood as mere relics of a bygone era, nor as objects of blind veneration. Rather, they are the keys to unlocking deeper truths about life and the universe. Each degree, each symbol, reveals new layers of meaning, pointing to the higher wisdom that lies at the heart of the craft. These symbols and rituals are designed to awaken the individual's inner faculties, leading to a direct experience of the divine.

Freemasonry stands for the principle of brotherhood, which is not simply a moral sentiment, but an expression of the fundamental law of unity that underpins the universe. The brotherhood of man, when truly understood, reveals the interconnectedness of all souls. Freemasonry teaches that through the cultivation of charity, justice, and truth, individuals can contribute to the upliftment of society as a whole. The lodge is a microcosm of the great lodge of the universe, where all distinctions of class, creed, and nationality are erased, and all are united in a shared divine purpose.

The work of the mason does not end with personal enlightenment. Those who attain the light are charged with the responsibility of spreading it to others. The enlightened mason becomes a teacher and a guide, leading others on a path to self-mastery and spiritual awakening. Freemasonry's mission is to contribute to the collective evolution of humanity by inspiring individuals to recognize their higher nature and live in accordance with the divine will.

While the ancient wisdom of Freemasonry remains timeless, its teachings are particularly relevant in the modern world, where materialism and selfishness dominate. The world is in need of the spiritual knowledge that Freemasonry offers—knowledge that teaches the individual how to rise above the limitations of the material world and contribute to the greater good. Freemasonry's principles of brotherhood, charity, and moral rectitude offer a remedy to the challenges of the present age, pointing the way to a future where humanity lives in harmony with both nature and the divine.

Freemasonry thus calls upon its members to take up the work of building the inner temple, not for personal gain alone, but for the betterment of all mankind. The teachings of Freemasonry provide the tools necessary for this great work, offering the individual a road map to spiritual evolution and a means to participate in the divine plan for humanity's progress. The journey is not an easy one, but the rewards, both for the individual and for society, are immeasurable.

Walter Leslie Wilms Hurst was born in June 1867 and died in July 1939. He was an English author and Freemason. He published four books on English Freemasonry and submitted articles to the *Occult Review* magazine. Wilms was initiated as a mason in the Huddersfield Lodge in 1889. In 1927, he founded the Lodge of Living Stones, number 4,957, in Leeds, which was set up purely in order to study the more esoteric meaning behind Masonic ritual and symbolism.

We are to speak of the fundamental philosophic secrets concealed within the Masonic system. These, our system declares, are many and invaluable, and to be kept by Masons in their hearts. They are, therefore, obviously to be distinguished from the merely formal secrets imparted ceremonially, which are kept in the head and are neither many nor of any value, though, as we shall see, they are deeply significant. By these secrets is not meant some definite, precise information that can be imparted to or withheld from another person at will, but the arcane truths inherent in the system itself—truths needing to be extracted from it, like poetry or music from the printed page, by personal effort, and that can be recognized as truths only by the inward responsiveness of the soul itself, after deeply meditating and assimilating them. Hence, we are taught that they are matters of the heart and that they are communicable only to brethren and fellows—that is, to those whose minds have developed a common measure of spirituality—and then not orally, but only by means of signs, tokens, and perfect points of entrance.

By "points of entrance" is meant appropriate faculties of perception and understanding. For just as to enter into perception and understanding of the outer world, we need our five outward-pointing senses, so for perception and appreciation of the inner world, we need a corresponding inward sensorium. The pentagram, or five-pointed star, indicates our five points of entrance into relations with the world of sense and phenomena by the limited, imperfect channels of the senses. And to cognize the secret things of supra-sensual life, we must have developed corresponding, but perfect, points of entrance into it in the form of soul faculty, inward vision, inward audition. Hence, inward truths and mysteries are inevitably and automatically secret from those who have not yet acquired perfect points of entrance to them, not because of any capricious withholding of them by some better-informed person, but because such men are without the appropriate faculty for perceiving them. Their inner vision is as yet hoodwinked, darkened, and prevented from recognizing them.

For all Masons, for all the world, ultimate truth and all the mysteries of being are an ever-open secret. But because all the world isn't yet ripe for knowing that secret, or doesn't want to know it, or imagines either that it isn't knowable, or that it knows it already, or at least as much of it as is needed for present purposes, it continues secret, refusing to be revealed, save on its own terms, and lying, as the old simile tells, at the dark bottom of a well, which well is our own soul depths, from which it can only be drawn by our own industry and effort. Hence, we find secret orders always existing for initiation into these secrets and mysteries. And in these days, when we see our own order so little concerning itself with such things, but preferring to direct its energies rather to social and secular purposes, it is useful to reflect that the sole justification for a secret order is that it is intended to provide specialized instruction and combined fraternal effort for those desirous to draw apart from these activities of the outer world and enter a quiet sanctuary where they may contemplate and, God-helping, per chance attain personal realization of things which, in their nature, must always remain secret to the uninitiated and outside their consciousness.

Before reaching the heart of our subject, I wish to refer to a preliminary matter and to point out that the text of our rituals and lectures discloses a strange combination of two very different and easily distinguishable levels of teaching: a lower and commonplace level, which is simple and intelligible to everyone, and a higher and distinctly esoteric level, relating to matters of advanced philosophic wisdom. To the lower level belong the various charges and counsels to morality and such matters as the simple explanations of the cardinal and other virtues and of the elementary symbolism of building tools. These are matters of no philosophic significance. They have nothing about them distinctive of a secret science or an initiatory order. They inculcate only what might be imparted to non-Masons. The ideals of conduct they proclaim are not higher or other than any uninitiated man of rectitude and good feeling normally acts upon. Whilst their interpretations of symbolism are adapted to a quite puerile order of intelligence. Of themselves, they do not justify the existence of a secret order and an elaborate organization to perpetuate them. And their sole advantage is that they serve as the foothills to the higher peaks of doctrine and provide a common basis of elementary understanding and conduct among the members of a society, the majority of whom do not look for or aspire to anything more than good fellowship and pleasant social relations, which could just as easily be found in the outside world.

To the higher level, however, belong matters of an entirely different order of instructiveness—matters drawn from and linking us directly with an older and advanced system of philosophic and experimental mysticism, beyond the mental horizon of the average brother, who, for want of requisite preparation and instruction (for which he also too often has neither the aptitude nor desire), is not only at a loss to understand the main features of our system, but is precluded from vitally benefiting from it. So he remains an initiate in name only, not in fact, whilst the order, instead of cultivating the secret science and royal art to which, nevertheless, it pays much empty lip service, degenerates into a vast semi-public social and benevolent institution, conducted upon the same lines and in the same spirit as characterized the outside world, against which our doors are theoretically meant to be shut and closely tiled.

How many Masons could say what initiation really is and involves? How many could explain the doctrine of the center, the meaning of the circle and the point within it, and the two grand parallel lines bounding it, or the implications of the structure and contents of a lodge, of the blazing star or glory at the center, or manifest any personal experience of the mystical death dramatized in our third degree? How many could explain all that is meant by the star in the east? Or testify to its rising in actual spiritual experience and not merely in symbolic ceremony, bringing with its rising the peace and salvation to which that degree alludes, and that open vision, cosmic and beatific, which the Royal Arch ceremony attempts faintly to portray? Yet all these matters and many more lie enshrined and embedded within the simpler and more obvious material of our system. And in seeking to disentangle and consider them, the question arises: How is this mixture of elementary exoteric teaching with advanced esoteric references to be accounted for? Was it due to limited knowledge, clumsiness, and muddle-headedness on the part?

Of the compilers of speculative masonry, as has been suggested by some able Masonic exponents? Or was it intentional? The former view is taken, for instance, in the admirable Masonic papers in brother A.E. Weights studies in mysticism, where it is suggested that the 18th century worthies who framed our rituals and lectures possessed little or no esoteric knowledge and a very imperfect conception of the real purpose of an initiary system.

By some means into which we need not now inquire, they had come into their hands from remoter sources the salient features of such a system, obviously and faithfully perpetuating the self-perfecting doctrine taught in the philosophic mysteries of the past and common to all the secret schools of both East and West. A system of whose full significance it is suggested that they were unaware, yet one which they were intuitively moved to preserve, and which they amplified and put forward, clothed with some well-meant but cheap and tordy garnishings of their own. They were moralists rather than mystics. Their ideal seems to have been not the sublime attainments of the perfected initiate who finds and lives from his center, but as their ponderous grandiloquence puts it, merely to become a worthy member of society, to rise in the scale of moral excellence, and to live respected and die regretted. Not spiritual mastership, but smug respectability seems on the surface to have been the limit of their ambition, consistently with which they obsequiously sought the patronage of royalty and aristocracy, to give the order social dignity and attractiveness, and render it free from suspicion of being a cloak for political intrigue.

To this view of the conduct of our 18th century progenitors, there is a possible alternative which in fairness to them may be advanced rather because it is possible than that it now can be proved. It is that in anticipation of speculative masonry proving attractive to numbers of men not yet likely to appreciate the profounder aspects of initiation science, they deliberately diluted the system by weaving into it a body of simple ethical ideals within the compass of everyone's understanding. In this way, they can serve the vital points of the traditional secret doctrine for the benefit of those who could recognize and profit by them, and at the same time, they effectively crypticized and concealed them from those who could not.

To state a personal conviction. I do not believe that speculative masonry was instituted with the intention of becoming the social and money-raising organization into which it has since drifted. Sociability and relief, but not merely financial relief, were obviously side consequences of such an institution. But primarily, it was a movement made from behind the scenes of public history towards perpetuating an ancient secret doctrine for the sake of those who might discern and profit by it in the epoch of spiritual sterility, materialism, and religious disruption into which we had fallen and through which we are still passing. As one of our lectures truly affirms, the world is never left without witness to the ancient traditional science, by following which man may recover that which was lost, the ruined empire of his own soul, and the scrutiny of human events indicates that at all times behind and within humanity there stand watchers, guardians, guides, initiates charged with the task of keeping the witness alive, however faintly, and unobtrusively steering the race towards its destiny of ultimate spiritual perfection.

So closely linked is our Masonic system with other and far more advanced expressions of that science that the conclusion is irresistible that it stands in the chain of direct succession with them and was designed to perpetuate the same doctrine. If this be so, the movement projected some 250 years ago has been justified in that it has familiarized vast numbers of minds with at least an elementary and notional acquaintance with the path of progress which sooner or later we must all realize in vital experience. We may regret, though we need not despair, that of those numbers so few even pass from the foothills of the subject to the heights of its full understanding and personal experiment. But was it not declared thousands of years ago that the candidates are many but the perfected initiates few? And again, still later, that many are called but few are chosen. Yet those few are ever ready and anxious to pass on the torch to others. And it is perhaps from its light that is due the increasing desire of so many in the order today to rise to a fuller appreciation of what its doctrine holds in concealment and will yield up to those who truly seek it.

Leaving behind us now the mere elementary ethics and symbolism of the craft and coming to its fundamental philosophic secrets, we have first to ask ourselves what has always been and still is the grand aim and purpose of initiation. Whether in the East, in Egypt, Greece, or elsewhere, and in all eras, it has been indicated by the formula "Know thyself." It has been to bring a man to conscious realization of that which is the root and basic essence of his being. It is that and nothing else. And our third degree refers to this when it speaks of the chief of all human studies being the knowledge of yourself. Now, to realize a thing is not merely to have notions of it, but to become it, to make it a living reality, to become wholly identified with it. And what is the root and basic essence of our being with which we are to become identified? The self we're advised to get to know.

And here we are at once driven against that which is the root cause of all Masonic silence and secrecy. For this basic essence is something nameless, unspeakable, something beyond all verbal and mental categories. Yet not, thank God, beyond feeling, for the heart can know and feel what the head fails to comprehend. Yet to cast it into verbal coinage for the purpose of exchanging ideas, it passes by several names. The East calls it the Self, the Atman, the self-radiant, self-intelligent unitary root of being and deathless source of all derivative life and multiplicity. The Greek schools called it, the self-contained or self-subsistent, the One or the Good. The Hebrews describe it as the sacred and unpronounceable name of four letters, Tetragrammaton, or as Adonai, while Christians personalize it as God, in so far as He is immanent in the soul as its concealed vitalizing spirit. And Masonry describes it variously as the vital and immortal principle, as the blazing star or glory at our center, as the light of a Master Mason which never goes out, even when all our other lights or faculties fail, because it is eternal and immortal whilst our other faculties are temporal and perishable.

But by whatever name we label it, however shadowy and imperfect our thought of it, that it is with which we are to become consciously identified by a direct act of self-knowledge. For as the teaching uniformly declares, "The secret of all secrets is that thou art that." To realize this, not merely notionally, but in fullness of direct experience, has always been and still is the goal of wisdom and the goal of initiatory science.

If this then be the purpose and goal of initiation, the fundamental hypothesis and philosophic secret of Masonry is the solemn fact that God and the human soul are in essence a unity, not a duality. And the sole intention of our initiary system is, by instruction and discipline, to bring about in each of us the conscious realization of that unity. Is not such an hypothesis of necessity a secret? For if it is to become realized in personal experience, it is an experience which must be prepared for in secret, be realized in secret, and remain secret, incomprehensible, and incommunicable to everyone save those in the silence of his breast, it becomes experimentally achieved.

Moreover, treating initiation science purely from an historical standpoint, it could be shown that this was always the fundamental religious and philosophic arcanum of every initiation system that has existed. One that, under dire penalties for its disclosure, was always rigorously withheld from the uninitiated world with whose less matured religious outlook it was bound to clash. Whence it comes that, following this wise practice, Masonry leaves every man to follow his own religion in the certain knowledge that every religion, however crude or imperfect, leads ultimately to the one center and is a preparation for that which can be realized in its fullness only by initiation. Masonry, therefore, like every initiation system, is not non-religious, but super-sectarian, and directed to secrets and mysteries of being with which popular religion does not deal. It is ontological and philosophic, but not theological. Indeed, it jumps all the theologies and so avoids the endless bickerings and disputations to which in the outer world they have given birth, and it assumes all creedal dogmas save one.

In its constitutions, Masonry posits and exacts acquiescence in but one sole dogma: the being of God. It wisely leaves that dogma unexplained and to be interpreted by each according to his own light. But its acceptance, as you know, is insisted upon as a prerequisite to membership of the order. And the reason for the insistence is that unless God and conscious union with Him as our divine and basic principle be postulated as our object of desire and goal of attainment, there is no merit, no virtue, no purpose in initiation rites.

Now, the science of initiation was and still is to promote the separation and eventual emancipation of the spiritual essence, our true self, from this material thralldom, and the craft degrees are a dramatization of the emancipating process. The misconception widely obtains, even among the craft, that emancipation becomes automatically effected upon the death of the material body. But this is not the teaching of the ancient sciences, which declares that somatic death involves only the disassociation of the lower elements of our nature without ensuring the liberation of the enthralled divine essence, unless that liberation has been previously effected by initiation during physical life. Hence the supreme importance always attached to awakening that essence into self-consciousness whilst we are still in the flesh and the requisite mechanism of all our parts and faculties is present. For the physical body is the tomb of transformation in which the great changeover has to be effected. And the night cometh when no man can work at his task of emancipation. And as the teaching runs, further physical incarnation will be necessary as an opportunity to resume it.

The process of initiation is therefore one of regeneration and bringing forward the inmost essence first to birth and eventually to full growth, and of necessity, it involves a corresponding degeneration, renunciation, and mystical death of all the lower principles that obstruct the transformation. It is outlined for us with utmost clearness in our three degrees, and progress in it is signified by changes and elaborations in the apron. The first stage involves the purification and subdual of the gross sense nature and the killing out of desire for all material attractions and indifference to the allurements of the outer world. The second involves the discipline and clarifying of the mind till it becomes pure and strong enough to respond to a supernatural order of life and wisdom, and the desire to eradicate from the heart all obstacles to complete union with it. The third stage, the last and greatest trial, involves the voluntary dying down of the entire natural selfhood and even the destruction of our sense egoism in separation from the universal life essence until that essence displaces the former limited personal ego and rises into permanent consciousness as a bright morning star. One of those stars or self-radiant beings which it is written sang together in the dawn of creation, and that will once more sing together in eternal union and harmony when the great work of emancipation of our spirits from material bondage has been consummated.

"When thou seest in the pathway a severed head which is bounding towards our field, ask of it, ask of it, the secrets of the heart. For of it thou wilt learn our hidden mystery."

In these reflections, I have tried to dissect some of the deeper, more vital arcana of the craft from the mass of superficial moral teaching amidst which it lies embedded and, as I think, deliberately veiled. There remain for contemplation many other valuable philosophic secrets which would require not one but a series of papers to discuss. Some of these will probably startle and even give offense to the natural mind until it learns to abase and behead itself and to receive hidden wisdom with the unsophisticated vision of a child. Better, therefore, defer their consideration for the present. When, as the result of the discipline and industry prescribed by our system, we become conscious of the blazing star or glory at our center rising and expanding more and more in us, its self-convincing light will itself disclose to us and justify all that now lies secret and unexplained. But as the great Master of the West enjoined, "Until it be risen from the dead in our hearts, we are to tell the vision to no man," whilst following the same instruction, Masonry directs us to lock up our secrets in the heart's safe and sacred repository. Yet what has been said may perhaps suffice to indicate something of the invaluable light and wisdom concealed within our system. And since there is nothing hid which shall not be revealed in due course and to the properly prepared, we may regard the increasing anxiety of so many brethren today to realize more fully the true content and purpose of our order as a sign that at last, after a long period of darkness and perversity, the light of the center is gradually breaking over the craft and restoring to at least the more faithful and zealous of its members the knowledge of the lost but genuine secrets of their being.

The most popular definition of Freemasonry states that it is "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." Many a brother has asked, "Why illustrated by symbols? Why not illustrated by plain statements of truth completely defining the system of morality?" There are many answers. Among them is the truth that definition limits what is defined. Seldom has this been better expressed than by that philosopher who asked, "Do you believe in God?" His answer: "Define what you mean by God." And when you have defined, no matter what your definition, I shall reply, "No, I do not believe in God because a God defined is a God limited, and a limited God is no God."

All mathematics are written in symbols, since our digits are symbols for quantities. Algebra used a symbol for a symbol, expressing quantities by letters instead of by numbers. In the algebraic equation a + b = c, any quantity may be assigned to any one or any two of the letters, and the equation still be true. Thus, a + b = 4 is true if a is equal 1 or b to 3. It is true if a and b are each equal to 2. It is true if a is equal to 3 and b to 1. But note that the replacing of a symbol by a known quantity limits the equation. Go a step further and replace two symbols by two quantities. Write that 2 + b equals 4, and the necessity for B as a symbol disappears. It can only equal two.

If you are so fortunate as to receive a blank check signed, it may immediately become a symbol of almost anything: a new house, a yacht, a trip around the world, a valuable jewel. But if across the face of the blank check is stamped, "Not over $100," your symbol is limited. It can no longer represent any of these things. It can be a symbol of a new radio, a suit of clothes, a watch. If the check is filled in and reads "$10," it becomes symbolic of only those things which can be bought for $10.

There is a pretty story. Its truth is not vouched for, that. But when a certain king came to this country for a difficult eye operation, the physician who operated was nonplussed as to what sort of bill to send. Should he charge $1,000? He had done the operation for nothing, for $100, for $1,000, even for $10,000, depending on the ability of his patient to pay. But a king, a king wealthy, and a king who would have been blind without the operation. So the physician sent a bill reading, "To saving eyesight, the king can do no wrong." To the king, the bill became a symbol, a reminder of kingly wealth, of kingly gratitude, of kingly need to see. It is said that he sent a check for half a million dollars.

It is thus seen that definition of a symbol limits its scope, and Freemasonry, by using symbols which are not closely defined, makes it possible for many men of many minds each to read his own conception of the truth into the symbols. Freemasonry thus becomes as great a system of morality as the mind of him who attempts to understand it may admit.

In his introduction to Hunt's fine volume, "Some Thoughts on Masonic Symbolism," the late Jacob Hugo Tatch, noted student and Masonic historian, wrote: "Freemasonry permits each individual to interpret and apply the lessons of the craft as he sees best. It is this unique spirit of tolerance and freedom which frequently confuses opponents of the fraternity. One Mason places his interpretation upon a certain symbol or attribute of Freemasonry. Another may take an entirely different view and will cite evidence with which a third may be in entire variance. Yet these three men can gather about our altars and labor together in perfect amity."

Long before Tatch, Albert Pike expressed the same thought in different language. "Masonry follows the ancient manner of teaching. Her symbols are the instructions she gives, and the lectures are but often partial and insufficient, one-sided endeavors to interpret those symbols. He who would become an accomplished Mason must not be content merely to hear or even to understand the lectures, but must, aided by them, and they having as it were marked out the way for him, study, interpret, and develop the symbols for himself."

Many years ago, the present writer tried to express the reasons for symbols as illustrations of the system of morality by asking, "Why does Freemasonry veil in allegory and conceal in object or picture a meaning quite different from its name? Why should Freemasonry express immortality with Acacia, brotherly love with a trowel, the world by a lodge, right living by Mason's tools?" That Freemasonry conceals symbols in order to arouse curiosity to know their meaning is often considered the only explanation. But there are many more lofty ideas of why this great system of truth, philosophy, and ethics is hidden in symbols.

Man has a triple nature. He has a body and senses which bring him into contact with and translate the meanings of the physical world of earth, air, fire, and water which is about him. He has a brain and a mind by which he reasons and understands about the matters physical with which he is surrounded. And he has something beyond. Call it soul or heart or spirit or imagination, as you will. It is something which is allied to rather than part of reason and connected with the physical side of life only through its sensory contacts. This soul or spirit comprehends a language which the brain does not understand. The keenest of minds have striven without success to make this mystic language plain to reason. When you hear music which brings tears to your eyes and grief or joy to your heart, you respond to a language your brain does not understand and cannot explain. It is not with your brain that you love your mother, your child, or your wife. It is with the something beyond, and the language with which that love is spoken is not the language of the tongue.

A symbol is a word in that language. Translate that symbol into words which appeal only to the mind, and the spirit of the meaning is lost. Words appeal to the mind. Meanings are expressed in words that appeal to the spirit. All there is in Freemasonry which can be set down in words on a page leaves out completely the spirit of the order. If we depend on words or ideas alone, the fraternity would not make a universal appeal to all men, since no man has it given to him to appeal to the minds of all other men. But Freemasonry expresses truths which are universal. It expresses them in a universal language, universally understood by all men without words. That language is the language of the symbol. And the symbol is universally understood because it is the means of communication between spirits, souls, and hearts.

When we say of Masonry that it is universal, we mean the word literally. It is of the universe, not merely of the world. If it were possible for an inhabitant of Mars to make and use a telescope which would enable him to see plainly a square mile of the surface of the Earth, and if we knew it, and desired by drawing upon that square mile a symbol to communicate with the inhabitants of Mars, we would choose undoubtedly one with as many meanings as possible, one which had a material, a mental, and a spiritual meaning. Such a symbol might be the triangle. He might reply with the 47th problem. If we showed him a circle, he might set down 3.1416, the number by which a diameter multiplied becomes a circumference. We could find a language in symbols with which to begin communication even with the universe.

Naturally, then, Freemasonry employs symbols for heart to speak to heart. Imagination is heart's collection of senses. So, we must appeal to the imagination when speaking a truth which is neither mental nor physical. And the symbol is the means by which one imagination speaks to another. Nothing else will do. No words can be as effective unless they themselves are symbols. No teachings expressed in language can be as easily learned by the heart as those which come via the symbol through the imagination. Take from Freemasonry its symbols, and but the husk remains. The kernel is gone. He who hears but the words of Freemasonry misses their meaning entirely.

Most symbols have many interpretations. These do not contradict but amplify each other. Thus, the square is a symbol of perfection, of rectitude, of conduct, of honor and honesty, of good work. These are all different and yet allied. The square is not a symbol of wrong or evil or meanness or disease. Ten different men may read ten different meanings into a square, and yet each meaning fits with and belongs to the other meanings. Ten men have ten different kinds of hearts. Not all have the same power of imagination, the same ability to comprehend. So each gets from a symbol what he can. He uses his imagination. He translates to his soul as much of the truth as he is able to make a part of him. This the ten cannot do with truths expressed in words. "Twice two is equal to four" is a truth which must be accepted all at once as a complete exposition, or not at all. Here you can understand but the twice, or the equal, or the four. Has no conception of what is being said. But ten men can read ten progressive, different, correct, and beautiful meanings into a square, and each be right as far as he goes. The man who sees it merely as an instrument which helps to bind has a part of its meaning. He who finds it a link with operative masons has another part. The man who sees it as a symbol of man's relationship to deity because with it he spiritually does the master's work has another meaning. All these meanings are right. When all men know all the meanings, the need for Freemasonry will have passed away.

Freemasonry uses symbols because only by them can the craft speak the language of the spirit each to each, and because they form an elastic language which each man reads for himself according to his ability. Symbols form the only language which is thus elastic and the only one by which spirit can be touched. To suggest that Freemasonry use any other would be as revolutionary as to remove the altars, meet in the public square, or elect by a majority vote. Freemasonry without symbols would not be Freemasonry. It would be but dogmatic and not very erudite philosophy, of which the world is full as it is, and none of which ever satisfies the heart.

An undefined and therefore unlimited truth results from the slow growth in meaning of a symbol not tied down by confining words. The first flag was a skin raised on a banner that the savages of one tribe could tell their friends from their enemies. At first, the skin but said, "This is your tribe. Do not slay us who carry it." But as skins gave way to banners and banners to flags, the meaning of the symbol grew. Today, the American flag symbolizes far more than the 13 original colonies or stripes and the states of the Union or stars. It stands for home. It stands for democracy. It stands for liberty, freedom, justice, religious tolerance. To one man it means merely his farm and his children. To another, it means all the farms and all the children. To a third, it means all that life holds which is dear. To others, it gives the hope of the world. Define it. Say that it means only constitutional government, only an association of 48 states under one president, legislature, judiciary, and it loses tremendously in value.

The cross, now the symbol of Christianity the world over, was once a symbol of life. Then it fell to the lower state of being but a means of a tortured death. Now it means love and hope and mercy and the infinite goodness of God. It means church and religion and faith and charity and all good works. It means salvation and heaven and the hereafter. And there will be many to testify that the more organized religion attempts to define it, the less beautiful and the less emphatic are its teachings.

Thus, the reason for illustrating our system of morality by symbols rather than by definitions may be summed up. The symbol is as broad in meaning as the mind and heart which understand. The defined truth is no broader than its words. Freemasonry, universal in meaning and in content, cannot be illustrated with anything less and still remain Freemasonry.

"Seers seek for wisdom's flowers in the mind,

And write of symbols many a learned tome.

Grow roses still, though rooted in black loam.

The mystic searches earth till eyes go blind

For soul of roses. Yet what used to find

A spirit penned within a catacomb?

Nay, all they learn is weightless as seafoam

That drifts from wave to wave upon the wind,

In rush's cap and bells. How very droll

The ways of students and the foolish books!

He finds no secrets of Freemason's art

In mind, nor rose, nor tomb, nor musty scroll.

Where no wit is, where all loves are, he looks,

And reads their hidden meaning in his heart."

Welcome to From the Quarries. Tonight's video is an extract from a fascinating late 19th-century periodical I recently came across, The Esoteric. This magazine features a wonderful array of articles, reviews, and poems, all written in a magnificent high Victorian style. Tonight's extract comes from the July 1895 edition. It's by T.A. Williston and it's entitled "Mind, Mundane and Celestial." I hope you enjoy it.

The faculty of mind, or the process of thought formation, is most wonderful. So wonderful is it that speech is inadequate to express its mystery. There are two minds: the mundane and the celestial. The mundane mind, working through the material structure of men and animals, creates from the elements found in their organism physical bodies without volition on the part of the animal acted upon. When man has developed strong intellectual powers, the mundane mind that works through him is governed by and absolutely obeys the dictates of his mind. The strongly intellectual and spiritual man builds a body according to his needs. The animal man has an organism created for him, and that organism, created from his passions and appetites, can perceive nothing beyond the animal senses and desires. The powers possessed by a highly developed intellectual man make him a conscious, thinking entity, a living, god-like creature, one so far above the present race of men that in comparison to him, our most brainy men are but newborn children.

Mind is the connecting link between man and his Creator. It is the wonderful and almost unknown factor which, when governed by the will, enables man to gain spiritual powers, permitting him to rise above material conditions, freeing him from the limitation of flesh, giving him control of the finer and most potent elements of nature, so changing him from an animal to a son of God. Man, when he has gained an understanding of the hidden laws of his being, begins to work through and by the subtle powers of mind. When he reaches this state, the promise that he will be a creator is fulfilled. No longer need he earn his bread in the sweat of his brow, for by the potency of the mind that he has developed, he is able to create from the seeming void and bring into material manifestation the things needed.

The mundane mind differs from the celestial or universal mind. The celestial mind fills the universe and is a great ocean of unformed thought. The mundane mind is the mind of our planet Earth. This has been separated from the ocean of mind by the will of the Creator, who endowed it with certain powers that will enable it to work with without certain specific ultimates. All thoughts that have ever been formed by man are stored in it. All knowledge that has ever been worked out on our planet is reflected here and can and will eventually be used by the souls that are now making spiritual attainments. Nothing that has ever been on Earth is really lost, but is safely stored, awaiting the advent of those who possess the mind powers to force themselves into the great arcana of God.

Man, as he is found in our age, is as yet unborn into the realm of mind. He does not know how to use the powers with which he is endowed. If man had reached a degree of unfoldment in which he could use the powers that now lie dormant within him, he would be free from all the animal propensities that ally him to the physical world and bind him within the narrow confines of the five senses. If he could use the powers of mind, he would not be the animal that he now is, for by that power he could send forth thoughts endowed with energy to which the materials of Earth would respond. He would be like his Father, a creator, one having the ability to command with a consciousness that his commands would be obeyed.

When man, through soul unfoldment, is capable of penetrating the realm of the celestial mind, he will be able to form thoughts of a character such as to give him power transcending anything that we, in our present state of development, can imagine. Few, if any, upon our Earth today are able to touch this realm. Could we do so, we would think the thoughts that God thinks. If we could think from that wondrous realm, time and space would be annihilated. We would be a conscious part of the whole universe and would know what is transpiring in the most distant sun as readily as we know what is going on around us. We would be familiar with both the past and the future. We would dwell continually in the eternal now.

The most profound thinker at the present time lives and thinks wholly in the mundane mind, which is the mind power governing our Earth and which controls all animal life. All worlds float, as it were, in a sea of mind or thought. Yet the mind that enspheres them is not that of the great ocean of unformed thought, which is the mind of God, but a part of it into which the Creator of the universe has imaged thought. Man, being wholly under the control of this thought, it is most difficult for him to rise above it. And until he does so, he will be continually thinking thoughts that have been formed by others. As long as he thinks thoughts already formed, so long will he remain under the control of the anima mundi.

In the beginning, God formed a thought in the celestial mind and willed it forth to accomplish certain results. This thought becomes the mind that produces a world and is the power that governs all that belongs to that planet. The ruling power implanted in this mind is that of generation. And for this reason, all animal life, being governed by this mind, manifests a desire to reproduce its kind, thereby working out the thought of God expressed to an underdeveloped world: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." It being the desire of all animal life to express the mind that thinks through it. This mind being the mundane, and its chief thought that of generation, it is most difficult for man to rise above it and enter the spiritual state. In fact, none can unless they have developed soul power and a consciousness of that interior will which gives to them the ability to rise above and step outside of the controlling influence of the mundane.

We have said that in the beginning, the Creator expressed from the unformed ocean of mind, which is Himself, a deific thought and formed it for a specific purpose. That purpose was to create a world and people it. The power of that thought is continually present, molding all life in order that nature may work in complete harmony with the expressed purpose of the mind that created it. The ultimate for which men labor and struggle is to develop spiritual powers so that they may rise above the control of the planetary mind and be superior to the thought of generation expressed in it.

As long as the mundane mind thinks through man and thus dominates him absolutely, he is little superior to the animals. He is not a free agent, but is governed by forces over which he has no control. He possesses only animal instinct and is incapable of forming correct, orderly thoughts. For is it possible to be capable of ordinary intellection when one's thoughts have not been created by himself, but have been formed by a mind outside of his organism?

The mundane mind, falsely called the astral, being a vast storehouse of formed thoughts, is accessible to all who are sufficiently sensitive to reach it. We find, therefore, very many animal men and women posing before the world as highly developed and gifted spiritual beings. They, through planetary conditions, are very sensitive and are therefore able to reach into this storehouse and gather the thoughts that are stored there. To hear them on the rostrum, an uninitiate would believe that they are endowed with spiritual gifts, while in fact, they are but empty vessels through which the thoughts of others flow. This is the power of inspiration or recalling, and is much to be desired by all. For by it, we are able to recollect the knowledge that the wise of all ages have gathered and formulated in thought. Being able to gather this knowledge, we can send it forth, strengthened and endowed with added potency drawn from our own life qualities. This, however, is but the beginning of the ultimate for which we struggle. It is not the highest platform upon which the truly spiritual man will stand.

When man has gained true spiritual unfoldment, he will be able to penetrate beyond the mind of the mundane. He will be able to reach out into the heretofore unexplored realm of unformed thought and to form from the qualities of that mind thoughts that only the sons of God can think. And so he will be able to express what has never before found its way to Earth. He will build from these thoughts an organism transcending anything that the Earth has heretofore produced, an organism wholly built to serve the needs of the spiritual man, a body endowed with willpower drawn from Yahweh Himself. This divine will permits man to do and accomplish the designs of his Creator, which is to elevate upon a spiritual platform not only individuals but races.

Oh, Mind, thou mighty divine factor in molding human life! Will Earth's children ever understand thy wonderful power? Thou most unknowable, most powerful, most subtle agent of the Creator, who can fathom thy mysterious workings? Will we ever know from whence thou comest or what thou art? Is there no means whereby we may touch, sense, or handle thee? Is it within the province of thy learning, men of science, to demonstrate that such a thing exists? You who have labored long and patiently in the laboratory, can you not throw some light upon this subject which is of such vital import to the human race? Can you harness it and make it obedient to your desires? Alas, no. For to understand mind, one must have a spiritual perception. To realize it in fullness would be to understand God, to have access to all knowledge and power.

Lightly we speak of intellect and mind and point with pride to our statesmen and scientists and hold in worshipful reverence those who have the power to sway principalities and to rule nations. The greatest statesman who is today on Earth, the most learned scientist, and the most profound thinker is but a babe compared to the souls who rule by and through the power of mind. As yet, our most learned professors and deepest scientific thinkers have not doffed the swaddling clothes of ignorance. They still sleep on Mother Nature's bosom, helpless and unable to grasp intelligently the power of the mind that commands and is obeyed.

No one can comprehend mind or can realize that such a realm exists until he has passed beyond the power of evolution. No one can enter the realm of mind or gain access to the more subtle agencies of nature until he rises to the apex of soul unfoldment where evolution and involution meet. That is to say, evolution carries all creation from a lower to a higher state of existence. Involution carries spirit from a higher to a lower state. It causes spirit to descend through matter, while evolution causes spirit to ascend through matter to spirit.

The involuntary forces can be compared to ever-flowing currents that run through the great ocean of the mundane mind, carrying in their flow germs of spiritual life. Many of these germs have never been limited by being ensphered by thought and are unrestrained only in so far as they obey the universal mind that controls these forces. These evolutionary currents carry these un-ensphered germs along in their onward flow until they find embodiment in the center of a thought, which thought is substance composed of the life essence of the one that sent it forth, willed it into being. When the germ has been ensphered by the creative thought, it becomes limited or separated from the great ocean of unlimited spirit. The power of the creative thought crystallized it, as it were, and builded it for a material covering. This material covering is its physical body, which is thought crystallized. To ensphere does not change the spiritual germ, but when it becomes ensphered, its action is limited, and it at once begins to struggle upward towards the source from which it originally came. It is now controlled wholly by the evolutionary currents which carry it upward until, through generations of rebirth, it lies at the center of a human, spiritually developed soul.

When the spirit germ has become the center of a spiritual man or woman, the forces of evolution and involution meet, forming a circle which is constantly flowing downward and upward. When man reaches the apex of this circle, he is ready for the new birth. He has gained experience and soul powers that enable him to control and use the mind powers that make him like unto his Creator. If he should refuse to do this, he will at once be caught in the descending current and be carried downward until the soul disintegrates, the former experiences all lost, and the ego is once more compelled to find expression through the lowest forms of animal or perhaps vegetable existence.

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." These words were spoken by one who knew whereof he spoke. And therefore, it behooves all who feel that they have developed to where they can use their mind powers and live from the intellect to be no longer animals, but to step from under the control of generation, the animal powers that today rule man. There are many such in the world, men and women who have, through evolutionary development, reached this period of their souls' unfoldment. They find themselves in a world surrounded by friends and acquaintances, yet strangers in a strange land. Their loves and desires are unlike those of their associates, and they feel that there is something higher and nobler to live for than the gratification of the senses. To this class, we appeal, to those strangers in a world of friends. These thoughts are sent forth with a silent prayer that they may have the wisdom to understand what is best for them to do, that they may earnestly try to develop the spirit of true devotion which, if persistently carried on, will bring them very close to God, so close indeed that they will know the Father's will and be in a condition to be led into a haven of rest and sunshine.

If you once start on the road that leads to spiritual consciousness and have determined to follow the leadings of the spirit, having turned your face from the world and determined to find truth, loiter not by the wayside. For if you do, you may perchance be beguiled into playing with the apparently beautiful blossoms that man's idealized, perverted senses have planted in your path to deceive and mislead. Beware of these chimeras. Their colors may appear most beautiful, their fragrance most alluring. Remember this: beautiful that they may appear, cunningly hidden beneath each blossom is a serpent's sting, a sting that has brought into the world untold misery and sorrow. If you should escape this sting, the deadly seductive aroma of these flowers will destroy the growth of the soul and will bring to you death instead of eternal life, the greatest of all boons that God the Father has vouchsafed to man, the Son.

If we would force ourselves through the realm of superstition and materialism and enter the realm of mind, we must put our whole trust in God, confiding, trusting even as little children. We are conscious that before we can enter this wisdom realm, we must, through sorrow and pain, pierce the black, black clouds of ignorance which for ages have been gathering about our Earth, shrouding her in a night of sorrow and sin. But thank God, the night is almost passed. A new cycle of time has come to Earth. Even now, the glad hosannas of the angel world can be heard, and the breaking of the new and brighter day is even now tinging the eastern sky with light, a sure token that the goddess of wisdom is bringing to Earth happiness and peace.

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