Freemasonry Symbols: A Guide to Their History and Meaning

Freemasonry teaches through symbols. Its lodges use the tools and buildings of the medieval stonemason's craft, and the imagery of King Solomon's Temple, as allegories for moral and spiritual lessons. Most Masonic symbols are therefore best understood not as secret codes but as teaching images, each attached to a lesson in the ceremonies of the degrees.

Where the symbols come from

Modern, or "speculative", Freemasonry grew out of the customs of working stonemasons. In 1717 four London lodges formed the first Grand Lodge, and in 1723 James Anderson's Constitutions set out its history and rules. The United Grand Lodge of England, formed in 1813, is the successor of that first Grand Lodge. Over the eighteenth century the craft's tools, measures and building lore became a shared vocabulary of symbols.

The square and compasses

The best-known Masonic emblem joins the builder's square and the compasses. In Masonic teaching the square stands for morality and fair dealing, and the compasses for self-restraint within due bounds. The two together are used as a general emblem of Freemasonry.

Geometry: the 47th Proposition of Euclid

Geometry holds a special place in Masonic tradition, and Pythagoras's theorem, the 47th Proposition of Euclid, is its emblem. In English Freemasonry its diagram hangs from the square on the jewel of a Past Master.

The Temple: Jachin and Boaz

The two bronze pillars that stood at the porch of Solomon's Temple, Jachin and Boaz, appear in Masonic ritual, lodge furnishings and tracing boards, drawing on the biblical account of the Temple.

Plenty: the sheaf of corn

The sheaf or ear of corn is linked with plenty and with the password story of the Book of Judges, and corn is one of the three elements, with wine and oil, used when a new lodge is consecrated.

Wearing Masonic symbols

Some Masonic emblems are badges of office: the Past Master's jewel, for example, is conferred on those who have served as Master of a lodge. A pendant inspired by a Masonic symbol is a reference to that tradition, not a piece of lodge regalia. AURYN's Masonic designs can be found in the charms collection.