SYMBOLISM IN CRAFT FREEMASONRY Colin Dyer, Lewis Masonic, 2003. Paperback, 184 pages, £16.99 ISBN 0-85318-233-7

‘More than one meaning lies hidden in our silent emblems, and the ostensible explanation given in the ceremony is usually neither the original, nor the most profound meaning attached to it’ said the masonic writer J.S.M. Ward, in one of the pearls of wisdom which he was prone to uttering. Amen to that. There is a good deal of confusion surrounding the interpretation of masonic symbols. Part of this stems from the lack of absolute dogma in this, as in other spheres of masonic practice, a lack of dogma which is of course welcome But the result is that many and rather diverse attempts have been made over the years to offer satisfactory explanations of masonic symbols and these attempts may sometimes be mutually contradictory. Here however we have a book which is expertly researched, has historical fact on its side, and yet, most surprising of all, is actually readable to the non-historian.
    But we do find, as Dyer points out in several instances, that much of our symbolism stems from the Christianity which pervaded early Freemasonry. The triangle, to take one example, has been from earliest times a symbol of the Christian Trinity. ‘Masonry has survived with these symbols incorporated, while the general practice has fallen into disuse and their general significance is not often remembered’, says Dyer. But the letter ‘G’ is often taken to refer to God, yet the masonic ‘G’ is also found in, for instance, French lodges, where that letter could not have such a connotation. We must therefore look elsewhere, as Dyer does, for the significance of that symbol.
    Dyer sees ‘intellect’ as a process of mind, rather than of ‘heart’. What is perhaps missing is that today the Freemason seeks inner truths, self knowledge amongst them, underlining the fact that Freemasonry uses symbols, not only words, to convey the deeper spiritual truths.
    I particularly like his link to earlier operative trades. ‘The application of a moral principle through the medium of an aspect of [a] trade meant the use of the materials and implements of that trade. In time the implements would come to represent the principle . . .’ Most welcome also are his observations on the purpose of a masonic ceremony; ‘Ceremonies are not a test of merit for the Master, their importance lies in the meaning for the candidate, and not just in the words themselves. If the working is perfunctory, then no true masonry is worked.’
    Thus Dyer makes it possible for us to see the rise and development of symbolism as a codification by our 18th century Brethren of the qualities and virtues necessary to live a good life, and that outside the constraints of institutional religion. As Dyer tells us, it is not necessary that Freemasonry should be a religion, when masonic Temples represent to the mason such a vast area for the worship of God.
    Julian Rees