Masonic ritual is the scripted words and actions that are spoken or performed during the degree work in a Masonic lodge. Masonic symbolism is that which is used to illustrate the principles which

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

espouses. Masonic ritual has appeared in a number of contexts within literature including in "

The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) is a story by Rudyard Kipling about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan. The story was first published in '' The Phantom Rickshaw and other Ee ...

", by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, and '' War and Peace'', by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

Purpose

is described in its own ritual as a "Beautiful and profound system of morality, veiled in allegories and illustrated by symbols". The

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism of Freemasonry is found throughout the Masonic lodge, and contains many of the working tools of a medieval or renaissance stonemason. The whole system is transmitted to initiates through the medium of Masonic ritual, which consists of lectures and allegorical plays. Common to all of Freemasonry is the three grade system of ''

Craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

'' or '' Blue Lodge'' freemasonry, whose allegory is centred on the building of the Temple of Solomon, and the story of the chief architect,

Hiram Abiff Hiram Abiff (also Hiram Abif or the Widow's son) is the central character of an allegory presented to all candidates during the third degree in Freemasonry. Hiram is presented as the chief architect of King Solomon's Temple. He is murdered ins ...

. Further degrees have different underlying allegories, often linked to the transmission of the story of Hiram. Participation in these is optional, and usually entails joining a separate

Masonic body There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders or appendant bodies (or ...

. The type and availability of the ''Higher Degrees'' also depends on the Masonic jurisdiction of the Craft lodge that first initiated the mason. Broadly stated, two of the most common Masonic rites, which are groupings of rituals are the Scottish Rite and the

York Rite The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...

Lack of standardisation

Freemasons conduct their degree work, often from memory, following a preset script and ritualised format. There are a variety of different

Masonic rites In Freemasonry, a Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In many cases, such as the York Rite, it can be a col ...

for Craft Freemasonry. Each Masonic jurisdiction is free to standardize (or not standardize) its own ritual. However, there are similarities that exist among jurisdictions. For example, all Masonic rituals for the first three degrees use the

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

symbolism of the tools of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

''operative'' stonemason. Freemasons, as ''speculative'' masons (meaning philosophical rather than actual building), use this symbolism to teach moral and ethical lessons, such as the four cardinal virtues of Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice, and the principles of "Brotherly Love, Relief (or Morality), and Truth" (commonly found in English language rituals), or " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" (commonly found in French rituals).

Symbols in ritual

In most jurisdictions, a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

or other appropriate sacred text (known in some rituals as the Volume of the Sacred Law) will always be displayed while the lodge is open (in some French and other Continental lodges, the Masonic Constitutions are used instead). In lodges with a membership of mixed religions it is common to find more than one sacred text displayed. A candidate will be given his choice of religious text for his Obligation, according to his beliefs. The

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron T ...

(UGLE) alludes to similarities to legal practice in the UK, and to a common source with other oath taking processes. In keeping with the geometrical and architectural theme of Freemasonry, the Supreme Being is referred to in Masonic ritual by the titles of the ''

Great Architect of the Universe The Great Architect of the Universe (also Grand Architect of the Universe, or Supreme Architect of the Universe), is a conception of God discussed by many Christian theologians and apologists. As a designation it is used within Freemasonry to re ...

'', ''Grand Geometrician'' or similar, to make clear that the reference is generic, and not tied to a particular religion's conception of God. Some lodges make use of tracing boards: painted or printed illustrations depicting the various symbolic

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

s of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the three degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members.

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

is a central symbol of

which holds that the first three Grand Masters were

King Solomon King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, King Hiram I of Tyre, and

the craftsman/architect who built the temple. Masonic initiation rites include the reenactment of a scene set on the Temple Mount while it was under construction. Every Masonic lodge, therefore, is symbolically the Temple for the duration of the degree and possesses ritual objects representing the architecture of the Temple. These may either be built into the hall or be portable. Among the most prominent are replicas of the pillars Boaz and Jachin through which every initiate has to pass. Historically, Freemasons used various signs (hand gestures), grips or "tokens" (handshakes), and passwords to identify legitimate Masonic visitors from non-Masons who might wish to gain admission to meetings. These signs, grips, and passwords have been exposed multiple times; today Freemasons use dues cards and other forms of written identification.

Overlap with symbolism in the Latter-day Saint Movement

Worship in temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares a commonality of symbols, signs, vocabulary and clothing with Freemasonry, including robes, aprons, handshakes, ritualistic raising of the arms, etc. However, the meanings of each are different for the Freemasons and the Latter-day Saints. Speaking in 1877 at the

St. George Temple The St. George Utah Temple (formerly the St. George Temple) is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in St. George, Utah. Completed in 1877, it was the church's third temple completed, but the first in Utah, f ...

, Brigham Young related LDS temple worship to the story of

and Solomon's Temple, though he believed the ceremony had not been practiced in its fullness.

Perceived secrecy of Masonic ritual

Freemasons often say that they "are not a secret society, but rather a society with secrets". The secrets of Freemasonry are the various modes of recognition – grips (handshakes), words (akin to modern passwords), and signs (hand gestures) that indicate one is a Freemason. While these and the rest of masonic ritual have all been exposed multiple times through the years, Freemasons continue to act as if they were secret, and promise not to discuss them with outsiders more out of tradition than a need for actual secrecy. Indeed, as all of these gestures are readily available for the public to find, the responsibility is on individual masons to memorize and not disclose these secrets, and not necessarily for lodges to prevent their “leakage”. Such is the de facto lack of secrecy that lodges frequently post pictures and documents showing these rituals and gestures on their websites or social media accounts. The secrets are not an end in themselves, but rather a reflection of history, values, and fraternity. Over the years, a variety of exposures have been published which purport to represent Masonic ritual, including Masonry Dissected by Samuel Prichard in 1730, Three Distinct Knocks in 1760, Jachin and Boaz in 1762, and Morgan's Exposure of Freemasonry in 1826. Nonetheless there is a ''perception'' of more extensive secrecy among non-Freemasons. This perception of secrecy has led to the creation of many Masonic conspiracy theories.

The Morgan Affair and its aftermath

The mysterious disappearance of William Morgan in 1826 was said to be due to his threat to publish a book detailing the secret rituals of Freemasonry. An attempt was made to burn down the publishing house, and separately, Morgan was arrested on charges of

petty larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...

. He was seized and taken to Fort Niagara, after which he disappeared. The suspicion behind this led to the creation of the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

, which enjoyed brief popularity but rapidly became defunct after they fielded a former Freemason as their presidential candidate in 1832.Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
“The Morgan Affair aftermath”, retrieved 21 September 2013

References

Sources

External links

Grand Lodge of Michigan

Masonic Lodge Symbols: The Square and Compasses
at AllFreemasonry.com {{Freemasonry footer

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

* Masonic symbolism