Freemasonry teaches by means of symbols. It is not alone in this. From the earliest times teachers have sought a means of expressing the ineffable, that for which words prove too limited; symbols allow the expression of a depth of ideas beyond mere words. In all ages buildings have been constructed and guided by symbolic principles; they thus share certain similarities – an incorporation of number symbolism, underground tunnels, stairs up to the light - all are used to serve an initiatory rather than a commercial or residential function.
    In Portugal, at Sintra, between 1890 and 1910, an extraordinary palace, the Quinta da Regaleira, was constructed by a wealthy Brazilian. José Anes, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Portugal was in the Grand Temple, Freemasons’ Hall London, to explain. While the lack of documentation means we cannot know for certain what this edifice was built to serve, all the architectural indications are that it was centred upon initiation. A monumental well descends into the earth, spiralling thirty metres down through nine levels in flights each of fifteen steps. It finally reaches an underground complex of galleries, tunnels and an underground lake: fifteen stepping stones lead out into the water. This is an extremely curious site which deserves much more study.

The Teaching of the Tracing Boards

Kirk McNulty, author of Freemasonry – A Journey through Ritual and Symbol, explained that the Craft can be seen as a particular codification of the philosophical essence of the Renaissance, one which stresses the importance of each person’s interior journey. He pointed to the symbolism of the Tracing Boards as used in the three Craft Degrees:
    The First Degree board shows the chequered pavement, three columns, the masonic tools and Jacob’s Ladder leading upwards from earth to heaven, all bordered by a stylised golden sash. He explained that the black and white chequered pavement symbolises how the Deity is experienced in the physical world, as a duality of good and evil, gathered into a unity by the golden border.
    The Second Degree board shows a staircase leading into the middle chamber of King Solomon’s Temple. We must view this symbol from a different point of view; we are the Temple, we cannot engage in true spiritual work without the appropriate preparation. Only then can we enter the Middle Chamber.
    We get our wages in the middle chamber: that is, we get what we deserve, together with a vision of what might be. In the distance we have a glimpse of the Holy of Holies where the Deity resides. Symbolised in this tracing board, then, is the promise that we will get a glimpse of the divinity within.
    The Third Degree tracing board shows a coffin bearing symbols of death. But this board does not refer to physical death. In the Garden of Eden man was always conscious of the presence of the Divine; after the expulsion from Eden, we can say, we lost that consciousness, that awareness of the eternal proximity of Divinity. Hence the Third Degree board symbolises our normal life – a consciousness which is ‘dead’ to the immanence of the Deity. It depicts the need for a mystical death prior to regeneration; and Kirk McNulty sees Freemasonry very much as a mystical system.
    Afterwards, having travelled to the east in search of instruction, we must leave and travel to the west to share what we have learned.

The Grand Lodge of York

The Revd. Neville Cryer, reminded us that history is not always as it seems. We all know that the first Grand Lodge was formed in London in 1717. Wrong! There was a Lodge in York some years earlier which acted as a ‘Grand’ Lodge.
    In 1663 we have records of a Lodge working in York with members who were not only stone-masons but members of other trade guilds. There was a difference between being ‘made’ a Mason and being ‘accepted’ into a Lodge: Freemen of another trade could be ‘accepted’ into the Freemason’s Lodge. After 1705 this Lodge is seen to be acting as more than just a private Lodge, it claimed the right to allow men to form ‘extensions’ of itself, in other words, it was acting as a Grand Lodge. It had a President, normally drawn from the nobility, and a Deputy who actually worked the Lodge. They used the Old Charges and interpreted them symbolically.
    Finally, in 1725 it openly proclaimed itself as a Grand Lodge, ‘The Grand Lodge of All England’. At this time the Lodges held working stone-masons, free men
    of other trades, and gentlemen thus revealing a mingling of operative and speculative masonry in the one Lodge. York was to retain these ancient traditions up to the 1790s.
    Interestingly, the rival Grand Lodge in London during the eighteenth century, the ‘Antients’, founded by those who wished to keep the old traditions, became known as ‘Old York Masons’. Furthermore, some of these ancient rituals were taken over to the United States where they are worked today – in Philadelphia, for example – and in the United States the Craft and Royal Arch form part of what is termed ‘The York Rite’.
    Neville Cryer ended his talk with a plea: ‘We desperately need more teaching of what we do and why we do it. The ritual is what Freemasonry is about. This is what distinguishes it. The ritual is what makes us unique and so we must not demean the ritual by hurrying through it.’
    Following a rambling and digressive talk by Brother Lightfoote, the esteemed correspondent of Freemasonry Today, the day ended with a demonstration of a New York ritual derived from the ‘Antients’. We were encouraged to view the perambulations around the Lodge by the candidate as a pilgrimage he embarks on in search of the light within himself.
    And that, it must be said, is the whole point.

THE PRO GRAND MASTER, LORD NORTHAMPTON WRITES:
    Our move towards more openness which we have been promoting for the past ten or so years, became necessary because we got out of step with the society from which we draw our members. The public’s perception of Freemasonry changed for the worse, stirred up by a few ignorant people. We have made great efforts to open our doors and explain ourselves in a better light. That is all well and good but ignorance about the relevance of our ritual is also prevalent in the Craft because few masons have bothered to explore the rituals in depth and seek out the great truths that they expound.
    It is for this reason that the Cornerstone Society was formed to give Master Masons a better understanding of their moral and spiritual heritage. This more esoteric approach to the Craft and Royal Arch is not for everyone, but for those who have an enquiring mind it is essential that they have a place to which they can turn to find answers. I fully support this initiative and hope that the good work which is done by the Society will help lead ever more Brethren to the light.

For more information and for full transcripts of the papers given at this conference, look at the website of the Cornerstone Society: www.workingtools.org. The third Northern Cornerstone Conference will be held in Sheffield on Saturday 8 November.