The RA Borders

The Lord gave Moses instruction in the colours to be used in the fabric of the tabernacle. These colours were red, purple and blue, or blue, purple and scarlet depending on which version of the Bible you read.

These colours were said to represent the elements. Red for fire, purple for the sea as the blood of shellfish dyes it and blue for the sky. The Lord chose Bezaliel and Aholiab, other names in our ritual, to prepare and sew the cloth for the tabernacle. Purple: Is a symbol of union, and refers to the intimate connection of ancient Craft and Royal Arch Masonry, hence it is the appropriate colour of the degrees, which must be passed through in the prosecution of the search. The mosaic sign refers to the restoration of the leprous hand back to health.

Scarlet: Is a symbol of fervency and zeal, and was appropriated by the Royal Arch because it is by these qualities that the beginner must expect to be successful in his search.

Blue: Is the symbol of universal friendship and benevolence. It is the appropriate colour of the symbolic degrees, the possession of which is the first-step in the progress for the search for truth to the now initiated. White: Is the symbol of purity and peculiarly appropriate to remind that it is only by purity of his life that he can expect to be found worthy of the reception of truth.

The Sword & The Trowel

The sword and trowel were adopted by Royal Arch Masons to commemorate the valour of those worthy men who assisted at the building of the second temple, who, with trowel in hand and sword by their side were ever ready to defend the city and Holy Sanctuary against the unprovoked attacks of their enemies, thereby leaving an impressive lesson to future ages; that, next to implicit obedience to all lawfully constituted authority,amanlyanddeterminedresist-ancetolawless violence is the first of social duties.

The sword needed to be ever ready to defend the City at the rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem and its introduction into our Order was part of enacting that scriptural situation. The fact that one is made a Prince and ruler when invested in the Royal Arch meant that in the 18th century such an implement would also fit the rank of such a person. The sword even began to replace the trowel in the Craft.

The fact that the sword was presumed to be held in the left hand, as the trowel was in the right, helps to explain why the sash that may once have held a sword is on the right; why the penalty in this Order is given with the left hand, as if holding a sword; and why the toast to our grand originals should be given with the left hand.

The presence of a sword, as that wielded by a worthy defender of the holy places, also explains how easy it was to link the Royal Arch with what was once its immediate partner, the Knight Templar degree. Since all Knights Templar had, in the medieval Order, to be of noble blood the idea of Princes and rulers in this Order made their holders very natural candidates.

The presence of a sword in the chapter room is a constant reminder of the difficulties faced by the rebuilders of the temple in Jerusalem. With broken city walls and surrounded by enemies, the rebuilding of the Temple was carried out in constant danger. The builders and supervisors had to be ready at all times to defend themselves as well as protecting the work already completed.