Back to: Protected: Introduction to the Fellow Craft Mason Education Course
THE JEWELS
The attentive ear, the instructive tongue and the faithful breast remind the Craftsman that we must listen carefully if the life and lessons of Freemasonry are to be passed accurately from one generation to another. The secrets of Freemasonry are always taught by the instructive tongue, to be deposited in the hearts of faithful Brethren. These Jewels should signify the necessity to learn to utilize good Masonic instruction and develop a devotion to the teachings of our Craft.
THE WAGES
Corn, Wine and Oil are the symbolic wages which are earned by the Fellowcraft who completes his task and comes to the Middle Chamber. These symbolize wealth in mental and spiritual worlds.
Corn represents nourishment and the sustenance of life. It is also a symbol of plenty, and refers to the opportunity for doing good, to work for the community, and to perform service to mankind. Wine is symbolic of refreshment, health, spirituality and peace. Oil represents joy, gladness and happiness. Taken together, Corn, Wine and Oil represent the rewards of living a good life.
THE PILLARS IN THE PORCH
There are two pillars placed before the entrance to King Solomon’s Temple and which are symbolically represented within every Lodge of Fellowcraft Masonry. No one can determine the origin of this practice, but it has been said that the Pillars of Hercules inspired the columns. These pillars bear the names Boaz and Jachin and are symbols of strength and establishment – and by implication, power and control. One must remember that power and control are placed before you, so you might realize power without control is anarchy, or that control without power is futility. Man must have both if his life is to be successful.
Even in those rituals found prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1717, we find refer to these two great pillars. It is with these pillars that the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire are sometimes associated, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.”(Exodus 13:21)
THE GLOBES ON THE COLUMNS
These are the celestial globe and terrestrial globe and are symbols of universality. The shape of the globes lets us know that this is a modern addition to Masonic Ritual – because our forbearers thought the earth was flat and the heavens a sphere revolving around it.
THE WINDING STAIRS
This represents the progress of an inquiring mind toiling and laboring toward intellectual cultivation and study. This is the road to Divine Truth. The Winding Stairs, by their very shape, are also symbols of courage and faith.
The Winding Stairs lead us to an unknown life. For some, there will be a Middle Chamber filled with the reward of fame and fortune. For others it will be filled with frustration, pain and discouragement. The Angel of Death could stand on the next step for any traveler upon the stairs, yet we climb because we have faith and because we are filled with courage. We believe the winding stairs of life lead to our destiny and that the wages to be earned by the Fellowcraft are worth the risk.
Corn, Wine and Oil are symbolic wages. A Fellowcraft’s wages are truth, or getting as close to the truth as is appropriate for him. While winding through the stairs, the Fellowcraft learns a beautiful lesson and one of the great doctrines of the science of Masonic symbolism-that he is ever to be in search of truth, but may never find it.
For the wise, there is also the lesson that the knowledge of the nature of God and man’s relations to Him is Divine Truth, and can never be fully acquired in this life.
THE SYMBOLISM OF NUMBERS
The symbolism of numbers is first presented to the new Mason in the Winding Stairs lecture. The total number of steps is fifteen which is a significant symbol, and is thus explained:
- The first three steps teach us that we are dependent upon God and that we must harmonize our will with His, building our own Spiritual temple according to the Divine Plan.
- The second group of five steps teaches the use of order in architecture and that this order must be applied to our own spiritual temple.
- The final seven steps symbolize the crowning glory of man — the development of both mind ‘and spirit, and the acquisition of the courage and faith which causes each person who possesses these virtues to climb to the summit and attain the rewards that await those who labor and faint not. These are the symbolic wages of a worthy Fellowcraft.
ADMISSION TO THE MIDDLE CHAMBER
The passage from the outer porch to the Middle Chamber represents man’s journey from ignorance to enlightenment. His wages as a Fellowcraft are received in the Middle Chamber. They are a symbol of the Divine Truth.
The Candidate must also find the doors to knowledge – the outer and inner entrances. To enter one of these, he needs a pass. To go through the other, he must have work. Help is given him in each instance, but such assistance is limited. This signifies that man must acquire knowledge chiefly through his own effort, though he is often dependent upon others for some help.
Emphasis should be placed upon the amount of effort put forth by the Candidate, for without effort, he cannot reap the reward which he seeks.
THE MIDDLE CHAMBER
In modern Freemasonry, the Middle Chamber is the symbolic place of reward. This was thought of as the place where the Fellowcraft met to receive wages for their labors on the Temple of Solomon. They assembled on the evening of the sixth day of the week and those who were entitled to the wages of a Fellowcraft were invested with certain mysterious signs, tokens and a word which enabled them to pass the inner and outer guards and to enter the Middle Chamber. If they did not have the proper identification, they did not get into the Middle Chamber or receive wages.
KING SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
Freemasonry did not originate in this Temple of Jerusalem, but our rituals are enriched by reference to this magnificent structure, together with the energies and efforts put forth by certain individuals during the constructive phase. For a full description of the Temple, you should read the accounts found in the First Book of Kings, Chapters 5 to 8, and the record of another writer found in the First Book of Chronicles, beginning in the second chapter.
THE LETTER G
The letter G is a symbol of Geometry and also of Deity. By the letter G, we are reminded that our every act is done in the sight of God and that Divine Providence is over all of our lives. Man is reminded that God is in all nature and in every man. Our life and all its blessings come from Him in an orderly fashion. These are disrupted only by the vileness of man when he does something contrary to the Divine will.
The letter G is placed in the center of the Masonic emblems worn by everyone here in the U.S., but not by Masons in England or other nations of the British Commonwealth. We don’t know why this occurs.