Gleanings: Symbolism

Masonry is based on this fact. The people of ancient times were taught that the earth was the centre of the Universal system, that the sun and the planets revolved around the Earth. Learned men, among them operative masons, knew that the sun was the centre of the Universal system, that the Earth and the planets revolved around the Sun, but they dare not teach that knowledge openly.

Symbolism and Cryptic Writing were a living language. Scholars concealed their knowledge that the Sun was the center of the Universal system in cryptic writings. According to the record of St. Mark, the Great Teacher knew that the Sun was the centre of the Universal system and concealed his knowledge of that fact when He fed the multitude. (St. Mark’s gospel 9th chapter 16 to 20th verses.) St. John the Evangelist, who wrote the Book of Revelation, reveals that he also knew that fact, although he tried to conceal the same by writing the Book in cryptic language. (Book of Revelation chapter 13, verse 18.) Operative masons concealed their knowledge of the secrets of the universe in stone, by planning, cutting and building stone so that the edifice, when completed conformed to the Solar system.

The length, breadth and height of a building, how it was situated, the number of steps leading up to the main entrance, the height of each step, the total height of the stairway, the number of pillars supporting the building, two or more, in Grecian architecture, eight pillars stood out prominently, the height of each prominent pillar, diameter, circumference and ornamentation, such as lilies and pomegranates, interior decorations, chiefly made of gold and silver, gold denoting the Sun, silver the moon, the cutting of the sides of a keystone at an angle of 23½ degrees and so on, all alluded to some part of the Solar system, each to its own part, so that the entire structure, when completed contained within itself, in one form or another all the then known secrets of the Universe.

The structures stood, some still stand, for all men to behold, but only those who planned and built them knew what they truly represented.

Both methods used to carry the secrets of the Universe down through the centuries-- cryptic writing and building with stone--can be traced from the present day, through the different eras, to the dawn of civilization by the number thirty-six, which was, and is yet, to an oriental the number denoting the Sun.

The invention of the printing press ushered in a new era. That invention enabled man to print the secrets of the Universe in book form, so that all men who were able to read acquired the knowledge. The membership of the operative guilds or lodges then changed. They admitted men to membership who were not operative masons--men who had acquired the knowledge of the secrets of the Universe by means of the printed word, and when the operative masons membership was opened to such men, speculative masonry was instituted to be developed down through the years until we have the speculative Masonic Lodges today.

The name Solomon is cryptic and is an obstacle which turns many a Masonic student from the right track. The Greek name for the Sun is Sol. The Hindu name is Aum, pronounced Om and the Egyptian name Aun, pronounced On. English speaking people combine the three and coined the name Solomon, signifying the Sun in its three aspects, rising, meridian and setting, symbolized in a Masonic Lodge by the Master, Senior and Junior Wardens.

Continuing the series by Brother Craighead from Aberdeen who joined Thistle Lodge No.900 in NY.

There are just a handful of men in the annals of freemasonry who can genuinely be seen as unique and extraordinary: I speak of men whose influence changed the face of our Craft men such as Elias Ashmole, Thomas Dunckerley and in particular for this lecture, Laurence Dermot. Whilst Dermot’s fame and activities revolved around the Antients Grand Lodge, the Royal Arch, somewhat indirectly, played a very significant part in his life and Masonic activities.

Laurence Dermot was born in Dublin in 1720 and initiated in Lodge 26 in 1740 (Irish lodges did not have names then). Six years later he was the Master and that same year, in 1746, he is recorded as being a Royal Arch Mason. One of the earliest references we have to the Royal Arch. In 1748 he came to England a poor man and as a journeyman painter joining a Moderns Lodge but very soon transferring his allegiance to the Antients.

These were difficult times for Freemasonry in general in England. The Premier Grand Lodge, top heavy with aristocrats and even members of Royalty, was being neglected. Dissatisfaction was wide spread and a minor incident finally broke the camel’s back. As recorded in the minutes of the Grand Lodge of England, on 11th December, 1735 the Master and Wardens from a Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Ireland were refused admittance to the Quarterly communication of Grand Lodge. To the Irish, this incident was a major confrontation especially in the light of Irish Brethren often being denied membership in English Lodges. There were, by 1750, several exclusively Irish Lodges and on Wednesday 17th July, 1751 five of these Lodges finally joined forces as a General Assembly referring to themselves as a Grand Committee with a view to forming the Grand Lodge of England according to the Old Institutions.

They recruited Laurence Dermott who, within a year of the establishment of the new Grand Lodge, replaced John Morgan as Grand Secretary at the meeting on 5th February 1752 at the Griffin in Holborn. All the information and references available on Dermott are based on the minutes he himself kept of Grand Lodge affairs and in the first book of constitutions of the Antients, Ahiman Rezon, which Dermott wrote.

From the start Dermott made his presence felt and took a grip of all aspects of the affairs of the Grand Lodge. There is no question that he was genuinely and totally dedicated to the welfare of the Antients Grand Lodge. The structure of the Antients suited him very nicely in those early days. Whilst awaiting the acceptance of some member of nobility before electing a Grand Master, Grand Lodge worked as a Grand Committee with the Grand Master on a rotating basis selected from one of the Worshipful Masters of the Antients Lodges. This gave Dermott immense power to control all aspects of the affairs of Grand Lodge. It continued until 27th December 1753 when Robert Turner was installed as the First Grand Master. It may be going too far to state that Dermott may have intentionally delayed the appointment of a noble Grand Master. Such action, however, would have allowed him to maintain his hold on the Brethren, fearing that a Grand Master might weaken his own plans for the new born Grand Lodge as well as his standing as Grand Secretary.

The power Dermot exercised was soon in evidence in the minutes of the Communications. In July 1752 two Brethren, now nicknamed by Dermott ‘Leg of Mutton’ masons were expelled from Grand Lodge for