Initiation into the Fellow Craft.

The candidate is asked a series of questions, the answers to which he may have been required to memorise between initiations a minimum period of around 4 weeks having elapsed.

He declares that his primary motivation for being a member comes from the heart, the initial ceremony taking place in a room adjoining the lodge and being completed at noon, when the sun is in its meridian. The fact that these ceremonies take place at nighttime doesn’t matter because the sun is always at its meridian over the lodge. This last is taken from the actual script.

He promises in advance to proceed with the current initiation and vows himself to secrecy.

He is shown the ‘pass’ grip which applies pressure to the others hand with the thumb between the first and second knuckles. The password associated with this grip is Shibboleth. It is explained that shibboleth denotes plenty and is symbolised by an ear of corn beside a fall of water.

The worshipful master leads the initiate in reiterating his vow of secrecy punishable by having his left breast ripped open and the heart fed to the devouring birds of the air or ravenous beasts of the field as prey. He kisses the Bible twice.

The initiate is then instructed in the secrets of the degree which are a sign a token and a word. The sign is performed by placing the right hand on the left breast and extending the thumb to form a square thereby protecting the heart, the repository of his secrets, from the insidious. This sign is called the Fidelity sign. The next part is called the Hailing or sign of Preservance and is essentially similar to the traditional ‘how’ of the Red Indian with the thumb extended to form a square. The Penal sign reflects the punishment and involves drawing the right hand across the left breast. The grip or handshake is given and involves applying pressure to the second knuckle with the thumb. The word is Jachin

The Worshipful master explains that Jachin is derived from the pillar in the biblical story of Solomon. He explains that it represents establishment and that there was an Assistant High priest called Jachin who officiated at its dedication and that ‘god’ said ‘ In strength I will establish this mine house forever’.

The initiate repeats the word, signs and grip etc repeatedly stating that he was taught to be cautious in this degree as well as the former before carrying out these actions or repeating the above statements.

The Worshipful master then goes on to associate tools with the virtues expected from a fine Freemason.

After this the initiate leaves to dress himself. The initiate returns wearing his apron.

The worshipful master then proceeds to explain the second degree tracing board.

He discusses the pillars Jachin and Boaz and elaborates on the story of the building of the Temple. He mentions two balls which were set up as a memorial to the children of Israel and the story of Exodus and the pillar of fire and cloud. He states how the Israelites were fleeing their Egyptian bondage and that the cloud proved darkness to the pharaoh when the Egyptians attempted to overtake them.

He claims that during the building of the Temple an immense number of masons were employed.

He goes on to explain the origins of the word Shibboleth by recounting a lengthy description concerning a period of warfare which is generally in accordance with Judges 12.6 and it explains that it means an ear of corn. Why it is associated with a fall of water is not explained. The remainder associates Solomon himself as being a master mason and describes the payment of the masons during construction.

These are the essentials of the second degree.

Review of the Initiation to the Second Degree.

There are a number of points to note and the beginnings of the development of the mechanism, which will be discussed throughout the article.

The author of the source from which the initiations are taken states that there is no priest called Jachin in the bible. This is not strictly correct and is mentioned here merely to illustrate the benefits of using search engines in this regard.

Strictly speaking there is not an assistant high priest named Jachin. There is a priest named Jachin in 1 Chronicles 9:10. This verse states that Azarias was the high priest and Jedaia, Jorarib and Jachin ,by implication, could be regarded as assistants. In  24:17 twenty-four priests serve the temple and Jachin is number twenty-one. However the most important point to note is that Solomons Temple had not yet been built because all of these priests served under King David not Solomon. The priests were organised by David in preparation for the building of the temple by his son Solomon. There is no biblical mention of a priest called Jachin officiating at the pillars dedication.

1 Chronicles 28 describes how King David had designed the Temple for it to be built by his son Solomon. This is important when the legend of Hiram Abiff is introduced in the next degree.

The quotation which is used to explain the import of the word Jachin is ‘In strength I will establish this Mine house forever.’ does not appear in biblical text. The closest thing, to which the quotation probably alludes is 1 Kings 9:3

While this verse may not appear to be very significant at the moment it is a fundamental part of the Royal Arch Degree.

The incorrect quotation of ‘gods’ words and of the naming of the assistant high priest together with the growing expansion and poetic elaboration of biblical text represents the beginnings of a subtle exploitation of the initiates biblical ignorance.

In the previous degree the initiate was instructed to study the bible yet at the same time  given other reading material to boot. Knowledge of the bible may take a lifetime. Yet the initiate most likely passes through the second degree a mere four weeks after the first. One Freemason told me he completed the initiations between first and third degrees in a mere six weeks. It is extremely unlikely that he would have researched and found links with the first degree and biblical text during this time. For example, by researching Boaz the significance of the slip shod foot is revealed. It represents the submission of a right to something. This is further developed in the next section which summarises all three degrees.

The description of the password Shibboleth is an ear of corn near a fall of water. This is similar to the description of a just man in biblical text, a tree near a running stream, taken from the first Psalm in the Douay Version.

However the term ‘fall of water’ is only used in one location in biblical text. Biblical search engines are particularly useful in verifying this. It is contained within the Douay Book of Wisdom Chapter 17 verse 17. It describes one of the plagues that befell the ancient Egyptians. Essentially they were scared to death by their own imaginations, hearing and sometimes seeing things that did not exist. It will be shown that this specific chapter is also significant to the third degree. The book of Wisdom is used by the Catholic Church, not the Protestant Church.

It may be considered strange that Freemasonry again describes itself as being similar to the ancient Egyptian religion. In explaining the tracing board it is explained that the Israelites were fleeing bondage by the Egyptians, with which, according to the first degree, Freemasonry has much in common. The Israelites and the Egyptians were deadly enemies.

Incidentally, Shibboleth has found its way into the English language. A dictionary description defines it as being a slogan or catchword, especially that regarded as being outmoded. A custom or linguistic usage which identifies members of a particular group party or class.