Tag Archives: Biblical

Altar of Sacrifice

Old ‘high degrees’ have all kinds of different altars. It can be hard to tell if they are different names for the same thing, or different symbols. The “Maitre Anglais” (‘English Master’) degree of Cayers Maçonniques even has two altars: an “altar of perfume” and an “altar of sacrifice”. The latter represents: “The sacrifices we have to offer to God.”

Cayers Maçonniques (National Library of Australia, Clifford collection, MS 1097/44)

Altar of Perfume

Old degrees have different altars of which I’m not always sure if they are different names for the same thing. Cayers Maçonniques (“Maitre Anglais”, ‘English Master’) has a “altar of perfume” which represents: “The homage we are to pay to the Great Architect of the Universe”. It may be similar to the “votive altar” or even the “pot of incense“.

Cayers Maçonniques (National Library of Australia, Clifford collection, MS 1097/44)

Votive Altar

in the centre of the Tracing Board is a votive altar dedicated to friendship

And later:

Q. What does the altar signify, that is in the centre?
A. This altar signifies the sacred deposit of the virtues one obliges himself to follow when taking bis oath.

Thus says the Latomia document 175-t-e. This document is a translation of Cayers Maçonniques (National Library of Australia, MS 1097/44), which is the first volume of Maçonnerie des Hommes, the other five volumes are in the Kloss collection in Den Haag in the Netherlands.

The concerning degree is called “Apprentice Mason of Practice” and is the fourth degree presented in this volume (after Entered Apprentis, Fellowcraft and Master Mason).

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Divine Breath

in the East on the line from the East to the West is a radiating triangle, in the centre of which is the Holy Spirit. From its mouth cornes a kind of divine breath;

Thus says the Latomia document 175-t-e. This document is a translation of Cayers Maçonniques (National Library of Australia, MS 1097/44), which is the first volume of Maçonnerie des Hommes, the other five volumes are in the Kloss collection in Den Haag in the Netherlands.

The concerning degree is called “Apprentice Mason of Practice” and is the fourth degree presented in this volume (after Entered Apprentis, Fellowcraft and Master Mason).

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Hiram’s Grave

The Grave stone on which are carved the Hebrew letters (right to left): – Cheth, Vau, Resh, Mem; below these: – Alepth, Beth, Yod. Below this inscription is an equilateral Triangle enclosing the Hebrew letter Yod.

Often on third degree tracing boards, you see the letters H and A in Masonic cipher or M and B. The former refers to Hiram Abiff, the latter to the password of the third degree. Here we have Hebrew letters spelling: CVRM ABY, which -I suppose- stands for “Churam (Hiram) Aby (Abiff).

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Bible with Seals

In the Kloss / von Löwen collection there is a tracing board for the degree of “Philosophe Sublime, ou Cheval. de Occident”. You can see a Bible with seven seals. A Bible with seals of varying number appear in a number of degrees, “craft” or otherwise. The Bible with 7 seals appears to come from Revelation 5:1.

In Les Plus Secret Mysteres (1820) you can see a book with seven seals displayed on the Ark of the Covenant. It says:

The seven seals which belong to this book, signify the seven Degrees of Masonry; & the lamb laying down on it, which is the Shekhinah, shows us that, He alone is worthy to break the seals, it is only the true Rose Croix who enjoys the privilege of reading in the book that contains the complete doctrine of Masons, & of penetrating the most secret mysteries.

The 14th degree (‘Knight of the West’) of the Mirecourt collection explains every separate seal. Each has a symbol with a meaning.

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