     Veiled in Allegory
and Illustrated by Symbols

   AN INVITATION TO A DEEPER
APPRECIATION OF MASONIC TEACHING
by Joe Steve Swick III, MPS


Introduction

I often think about why I choose to be a Freemason. Given the benefit
of hindsight, I would say that one of the things that strongly appeals
to me is the ritual. I am impressed with the power of Masonic symbols
and myth. It is to this issue that I address the following.

From the very beginning The Great Architect of the Universe has used
symbolism to teach important truths, He Himself prepared both the
human heart to receive symbolic teaching, and this world to convey it.
He wrote His secrets upcn the face of nature for the wise alone to
read. Masonry employs this same method in its own instruction:

Our teaching is purposely veiled in allegory and symbol and its
deeper import does not appear upon the surface of the ritual
itself.... The deeper secrets in Masonry, like the deeper secrets of
life, are heavily veiled; are closely hidden. They exist concealed
beneath a great reservation; but whoso knows anything of them knows
also that they are "many and valuable, " and that they are disclosed
only to those who act upon the hint . . . " Seek and ye shall find;
ask and ye shall have, knock and it shall be opened unto you." The
search may be long and difficlllt, but great things are not acquired
without effort and search; but it may be affirmed that to the
candidate who is "properly prepared" . . . there are doors leading
from the Craft that, when knocked, will assuredly open and admit him
to places and to knowledge he at present [knows] little of
(Wilmshurst, A,Ieaning, 50).

What is a symbol?

A symbol is "a representation, visual or conceptual, of that which is
unseen and invisible" (Interpreter's Dict. 4:472), which "stretches
the capacity of both expression and comprehension and becomes the
medium through which some of the most universal, elemental and in-
tangible concepts of man are conveyed. " (Funk and Wagnalls).

Although they may differ in interpretation, yet the same symbols
have often been used by those separated by time, space, language and
culture. How can this be? Is it because there is a "a mystic,
universal order"--i.e., a secret worldwide brotherhood--which
maintains them? On the contrary; such similarity demonstrates that "in
the end all seekers after truth follow a common path, comrades in one
great quest" (Builders, 20). Our understanding of a symbol or myth's
meaning is a relative thing; but these are often used to point to the
same great universals and absolutes of human existence. As Bill Moy-
ers expressed it: "what human beings have in common is revealed in
myths. . . [We need myths because] we need . . . to touch the eternal,
to understand the mysterious, to find out who we are" (Power of Myfh,
5).

Although those who have received degrees in Masonry may have some idea
as to the fundamental meanings of the symbols and allegory associated
with their instruction some are nevertheless uncomfortabie with
certain symbolical aspects of our great institution. Often, their
discomfort may be traced to a lack of understanding of the nature of
symbohsm.

It is important to understand that what a symbol " means " depends in
large measure upon the background of the individual doing the
interpreting. The broader the background, the more the familiarity
with symbols in general, the more complete his knowledge of the
historical use and the range of possible meanings and nuances inherent
in a symbol, the "stronger" his interpretation will be. Further,
although symbols may stand alone, they often occur in groups, and
their meanings may be brought together into a single tapestry for the
purpose of instruction. Such is certainly the case with Masonry, which
has certain historical uses of symbols, which are brought together in
a powerful way, that a strong impression might be left upon the
candidate.

Consequently, I would invite you to improve your Masonic education,
that you may gain a greater appreciation of Masonic allegory and
symbol. May I suggest three steps which may help you to accomplish
this task?

First, begin with such explanations of the Masonic symbolism as may be
discovered within the ritual itself. Although this alone is the
authorized explanation of the symbols, we must understand that it
is but a starting point; remember that symbols in Masonry are meant to
reach toward the ineffable, the transcendent. If words alone could
accomplish this, there would be no need for the instruction of the
Lodge. However, if we master them, the monitorial and ritual
explanations will serve as a fingerboard to point us toward greater
light and understanding.

Secondly, seek out the Masonic interpreters of the ritual whose
style of writing, interpretive insights and Masonic scholarship you
admire. This will broaden your base of understanding, and perhaps
suggest to you a meaningful approach. Three very common approaches
to Masonic symbolism are: 1) the historical approach, represented by
the works of such men as Carl Claudy, Joseph Fort Knox and John J.
Robinson; 2) the anthropological approach, represented by the works
ofJSM Ward; and 3) the mystical approach, characterized by the works
of such men as W. L. Wilmshurst, Manly Hall and even Albert Pike.
Depending upon your particular temperament, each and any of these
avenues may be rich and rewarding to both the careful and casual
researcher.

Finally, you should work to form your own understandings. Ponder
elements of the various degrees; consider the symbols both separately
and together. Write down what they mean to you; formulate your own
statements of truth as revealed to you through the ritual. Recording
your findings is a step that should not be overlooked, for if you are
persistent, your understanding will become fuller and more mellow
with age. Learning the language of symbol in this manner is richly
rewarding, for the better we understand the symbols, the more
transforming they become, and the richer our experiences as Freema-
sons .

The internalizing of Masonic symbols and myth is very important;
however, it lS also important for us to be tolerant and gracious when
others see things differently. For:

Each of us makes such applications to his own faith and creed, of the
symbols and ceremonies . . . as seems to him proper. . . Each [must
interpret] for himself, and [be] offended at the interpretation of
no other. In no other way could Masonry possess its character of
Universality; that character which has ever been peculiar to it. . .
and which enables . . . worshippers of different Deities, to sit
together . . . in the same Lodge as brethren. You have already learned
that these ceremonies have one general significance, to every one, of
every faith, who believes in God, and the soul's immortality (MD
276-277).

Remember that no one besides the Great Architect of the Universe sees
the full pattern as He has drawn it; we should be tolerant of others
who may see in the ritual, lessons we cannot--or may even fail to
understand the ritual the way that we do.

Brethren, I commend these three steps to you. I may state with some
degree of confidence, that as we put forth the significant effort
they require, we will realize rewards for our labors we could not
have imagined, for the Great Architect Himself is the guarantor of the
wage.

          What Wage?

It is fair to ask what we migllt reasonably expect to
gain from such efforts. We are all familiar with the expression
from the CJreat Light that, "as a man thinketh, so is he. " Which is
to say, the objects which we choose to hold in our field of attention,
transform what we are. The longer we hold Masonic symbol and
archetype and Masonic ideals before our conscious minds, the more and
better the opportunity for us to be transformed by them; the more we
contemplate and find beauty in the Myth of Hiram Abiff, the more we
will live the lessons of the myth with OUI lives. Masonry uses symbols
and myth because these have never lost their power to move the heart
of man for good .

For the Master who perceives that "as below, so above, " the
fundamental objects of human existence--birth and death, day and
night, the ocean and the sky, man and woman, the sun, moon and stars,
earth, air, water, fire--point to the great universal truths which un-
derlay that existence. Similarly, for the observant man, the
fundarnental events of human existence, such as birth, or the
relationship between parent and child, human work and activity, accom-
plishments and defeats, marriage, union, old age--in fact, the vvhole
of human experience--may serve to illustrate the operation of
universal laws. Symbols are the language of life, the universal
tongue, derived from the objects of nature. This is why Albert Pike
stated emphatically and repeatedly,

Nature is the great teacher of man; for it is the Revelation of God.
It neither dogmatizes nor atternpts to tyrannize by compelling to a
particular creed or special interpretation. It presents its symbols to
us, and adds nothing by way of explanation. (MD 64)

Similarly, in the Mysteries, few explanations were given to the
spectators, who were left, as in the school of nature, to make
inferences for themselves. No other method could have suited every
degree of cultivation and capacity. To employ nature's universal
symbolism instead of the technicalities of language, rewards the
humblest inquirer, and discloses its secrets to every one in
proportion to his preparatory training and his power to comprellend
them. If their philosophical meaning was above thc comprehension of
some, their moral . . . meanings were within the reach of all." (Ibid.
)

It is the lucky man who realizes early on that there is a way in which
he, himself, is our Grand Master Hiram Abiff. When revelation of
this sublime truth comes to the individual, it may strike him with a
great force, making him dead to all that has gone before. We are the
myth! And the lives of the great ones who have preceded us, are our
lives, if we but choose to have it so! As we seek to walk the path
they have walked, we become Adam, we become Abraham, we become Hiram.
Their stories belong to us -and their lives are our lives; for the
truth of their lives is the truth of human existence.

Joseph Campbell perhaps expressed it best when he said:

People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't
think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're
seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences
on the purely physical plane will have resonances w ithin our own
inmost being and reality, so that we actuallv feel the rapture of
being alive. . . Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of
the human life Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, 5) .

This is the wage for our hours laboring in Masonic quarries: the
divinc alchemy which transforms our base nature to spiritual gold;
the drawing together of the physical and syiritual, and connection
of our inner with our outer selves; the identification of the in-
dividual with the universal archetype; and, the rapture ol being
alive. These are the goals for which every man ancf Mason labors.
These, my Brethren, are Master's wages!

Symbols and the Decline of the Craft

Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for the recent decline in the
Craf,. is that we are living in an increasingly secular and
"demythologized" world. Myths have much to teach us --and the legend
of Hiram Abiff is one of the greatest and most shining of the
Universal Myths. Yet the meanings behind the myths do not come without
significant effort. Many of those living in our demythologized and
secuiar world fail to see the value of symbol and myth, of becoming
and living the archetype. For those who do not understand the
relevance or the benefit, such stuff is not worth the effort. Our
society has become bereft ! Thc legends and stories whicll for
generations have moved the heart of man seem strangely out of place in
a society that has lost its sense of the mysterious, of the sacredness
of the human experience. Something has been lost, and the great
tragedy is that most of us are unaware that this is the case. We have
cut ourselves loose from what Joseph Campbell calls the power of myth,
preferring instant gratification, or the rush of strong emotional
stimuli surrounding us. In fact, we often mistake the emotional for
the spiritual, and allow ourselves to be satisfied therewith,
telling ourselves that we have lost nothing. Those who live in this
way destroy themselves, for myth and archetype are the vivifying
powers of spiritual life. Something has been lost, Brethren--
something which we have individually been tasked to recover. The
emotionalism of our day trivializes the truly spiritual. This is
because emotionalism is passivc, making no real demands on us; we are
only to be swept away in the newest flood of feeling and sensation.
True spirituality is actlve, requiring us to put forth significant
effort. It is less like a play than a journey--a journey from the
darkness of the transitory life in thc West to the brilliant
illumination of the truth which eternally beckons us from the East. I
he myths are like guidebooks or maps, which point out the path, and
warn us through their legends and symbols of pitfalls and dangers.
The journey is arduous, and fraught with perils--perils which have
tried the integrity of better men than any of us. Yet we cannot shun
the perils, for they are an essential ingredient in the journey.
Without them, we would arrive in the East unprepared for that which
we came seeking to recover. Ultimately, our journey is a
personal one; each man must walk the path alone, but he may gain
courage  from those who have walked it before him, and leave courage for
those he may be sure will folloy.  behind. Consequently, each man must
read the signs for himself, must follow the path that God has laid out
for all men, but has in a special way laid out for each man alone.

Age may roll upon age, civilizations may rise and fall like the peaks
and valleys of a feverish night dream; human ambition my take man
beyond the narrow confines of this lonely place, yet through it all,
the hurnan heart remains the engine which drives him toward the
Greater Good. For this end was it constructed by the Great Architect
of the Universe; and, ever guided by the Plans drawn on the
trestleboard of the Human Soul, no matter where he may stand in the
world, he will haply find the effulgent light ever rising in the East.
.
