The Triple Tau

The Tau Cross is in the form of ‘tau’, the Greek letter T. Tau Cross or Triple Tau (tav means cross), and in ancient times was regarded as the symbol of life. In the visions of Ezekiel, it is the sign etched on the foreheads of priests and initiates. [Ezekiel:9.4] Originally the cross of St Anthony of Egypt (c. 251–356).

The Triple Tau is formed by three such crosses meeting at their bases, resembling the letter T resting on the bar of an H. This compound character, signifies ‘Templum Hierosolyma’, the Temple of Jerusalem.

A lecture tells us that the Tau is a derivation of the Hebrew word ‘tov’, meaning a ‘mark, etching, or scrawl’. It is said to have been the sign placed on the foreheads of the righteous, who were saved from the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

It was later used to mark the foreheads of those acquitted by judges, or those who returned unhurt from the field of battle; a mark of ‘favourable distinction’, or ‘mark of life’. The Mystical Lecture also informs us that union of the three Taus, alludes to the grand triunison, by which the ‘horrific, gloomy, and unshapen chaos was changed into regular form and peaceful existence’. In some Scottish chapters, they also represent the three levels of a past master.

The ritual includes an explanation of the triple tau, but we must remember that to some it is not three taus but rather a combination of ‘T’ and ‘H’, created around 1835 and then ‘retro-fitted’ with symbolism. Indeed, it was known as ‘T over H’ in Scottish Ritual for years and has still not been officially recognised in Irish Ritual, though it is displayed in some Irish Chapters. In the Aldersgate Working, the explanation of the Jewel explains that: ‘T over H was a common misconception of the triple tau’ and that ‘the Triple tau was used in 1701 as the builders’ trinity before T over H became popular’.

The sign was used before 1800 when the RA degree was conferred in lodge before chapters became formal. Many brethren would sign their name with a tau after their name to denote their rank in the same manner brethen write PM after their name.

However, like all masonic symbolism, it represents what is most relevant to the companion even if the meaning is in a modern context. In other words, there is no right or wrong interpretation of the symbol. The Triple Tau is situated in the centre of a Triangle and a Circle, both emblems of Deity. The triangle has great symbolic and spiritual significance, a sacred ‘delta’; referring to the Grand Geometrician of the Universe, and a symbol of divine union. It is also an emblem of the mysterious triune, representing the attributes of God omnipotence (all-powerful); omnipresence (all-pervading); and omniscience (allknowing). The circle is described as the emblem of eternity as it has neither beginning nor ending.