Category Archives: Other

Interlaced A’s

This appears to be an old emblem of the Order of the Amaranth. It can be found in MacKenzie’s Royal Masonic Cyclopedia (1877) with as description:

AMARANTH, ORDER OF THE, OR IMMORTALS.-An Equestrian Order, instituted by Queen Christina of Sweden, in 1653. Badge, two AA interlaced – in a laurel crown, surrounded by a label bearing the motto, Dolce nella memoria. Ribbons, white and crimson, shot or shaded blue. Jewel set with gold and diamonds. Knights 15-in number; ladies 15 in number; grandmistress, the Queen-altogether 31. The Knights, if on investiture, still bachelors, could not marry, and married Knights took an oath not to marry a second time. Sir Bulstrode Whitelock, Cromwell’s ambassador, was one of the first of this Order. The annual festival was held at the Epiphany.

Royal Masonic Cyclopedia (1877) Kenneth MacKenzie

Cedar

The Tall Cedars of Lebanon International is a side degree of Freemasonry in certain Grand Jurisdictions, open to Master Masons in good standing in a regular Masonic Lodge. Its motto, “Fun, Frolic, & Fellowship,” is indicative of this social bent. Its members are distinguished by the pyramid-shaped hats they wear at their functions. The name is derived from the cedars of Lebanon that King Solomon used to build his Temple. (Wikipedia)

Of course cedars also refer to the trees that were gifted to build the Temple of King Solomon. Here we see them on a 22nd degree AASR tracing board.

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Square, Compasses, UC

Square, Compasses and the letters UC, which stand for Union Compagnonnique. An emblem of the Compagnonnage. This is a French (and German) ‘operative Masonry’ type organisation.

The Artisans and Guilds of France (2000) by François Icher (edited)

Compasses and Crown?

The letters C.M.D.D. stand for Compagnons Menuisiers du Devoir which means something like ‘members of the guild’. The Compagnonnage is a French (and German) ‘operative Masonic’ like organisation.

The Artisans and Guilds of France (2000) by François Icher (edited)

Chain

The chain with three links is the embled of the International Order of Odd Fellows. Not Freemasonry, but a similar organisation.

common Odd Fellows symbol

Scimitar

The Ancient Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also known as Shriners, is not Freemasonry, but an aligned order.

emblem of the Ancient Order of the Mystic Shrine

Inverted Pentagram

The inverted pentagram is often food for conspiracy nuts, but what you see above is simply the logo of the Order of the Eastern Star (and the plan of their “chapter room”, see below), an appendent body for Freemasons and their female relatives. They have a different ritual and symbolism from Freemasonry. There exist a whole range of variations to this pentagram in the OES. In this basic form, the symbols refer to the positions and symbols of the officers. The jewels of the officers have their own specific emblem in the middle.

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