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discovered is of far greater significance than most brn. would suspect; in fact,
in these few brief words of the closing ceremony we obtain a summary of the
whole purpose of the degree, and realize why, throughout the whole of it, the sq.
is emphasized. Nor must we forget that when he announces this discovery the
J.W. stands in the correct position to indicate that he represents that fifth
letter, the missing " sh," which changes the name of the Creator into that of the
Preserver-Yeheshue. Moreover, he declares the S...d S...1 is situated in the C...e
of the building. Bearing in mind that in the tracing board we were told that our
ancient brn. discovered this symbol in the M...e Ch., we shall perceive that the
Lodge itself is now the Ch., into which the Cand. has ascended by the W...g
S...c...e of the f....St...s which led him to the E.
The fact that it is in the C...e reminds us of that hidden centre in every man,
where resides the Divine Spark, and brings to our recollection the statement in
the first tracing board that there is a point within a circle around which the
Brn. cannot err.
In lodge in the Provinces which have their own Temples, it is usual to see
depicted on the roof a pentacle, in the middle of which can be seen the letter G.
In this case the pentacle represents man with his five senses, with the G at the
center to remind us of the Divine Spark within. On the floor directly underneath
is inlaid in brass a point within a circle, which circle is bounded on the north
and south side by two grand parallel lines, usually described as the two St.
Johns, but stated in our ritual to represent Moses and K.S.. They also
undoubtedly symbolize many other things, e.g., the two pillars of night and day,
good and evil, male and female, etc. The point I wish to stress, however, is that
the brass point at the c. of the c. is directly underneath the G in the pentacle on
the roof, thus emphasizing the interpretation we have been studying. It is a
thousand pities that in most of our London Lodges both these essential
ornaments of the Lodge are omitted from the decorations, as by so doing their
intimate connection is apt to be overlooked by the brn., and even the words of
the ritual become untrue. Thus the F.C. degree teaches us that we only begin to
recognize the God within us when we have lived a good life. There is also,
probably, a reference to the word "Generation," which is naturally associated
with the life of the fully developed man. The meaning of this is that the power of
begetting is a Godlike gift, for it creates physical life, and we must use it with
respect and for the noblest ends. It is only when we are masters of our passions
in this respect that we are fitted for the last and greatest trial."
It is noteworthy that it is the J.W., representing the Body, who plays the most
important part in the closing of this degree, which is, of course, appropriate, as
we have been dealing throughout with the body and its five senses. This phase
is carried through to the very end, as is shown in the curious doggerel lines
with which the J.W. performs the last act of closing. As given in Emulation they
are only three, but in the Provinces they are four, and form a curious jingling
rhyme, which runs as follows:-
Happy have we met,
Happy have we been,
Happy may we part,
And happy meet again.
Personally I prefer this version to that in Emulation which, for some
unaccountable reason, omits the second line, although it is quite as important
as the first or third. Clearly the Brn. might be happy to part because they had
been unhappy during the ceremony! The inner significance of the lines,
however, is that the body bears testimony that earthly happiness can only be
found by those who know God.
The closing prayer by the W.M. contains one important reference, which seems
to be an ancient landmark carried down in our ritual from a long distant past,
viz., the All-seeing Eye. This Sacred Eye was a divine emblem and an important
talisman among the ancient Egyptians, even as it still is among the Chinese,
who paint it on the bows of their ships to protect them and preserve them from
misfortune. It is essentially an emblem of God the Preserver, and its inclusion
in the closing prayer of the second degree indicates how carefully the
preservative aspect of God is stressed, from the beginning to the very end of the
ceremony.
This concludes all that it is possible to deal with in this little book concerning
the second degree, but those whose interest has been aroused will be well
advised to do two things ; firstly to study the ritual itself, in order to discover
additional inner meanings, which do exist, although they have not been dealt
with here lest we should befog our newly passed Brn.; and secondly, study the
lectures on this degree, which contain a great deal of interesting information,
much of it with an inner meaning seldom appreciated by those who have only
read them through hastily. Finally we would add that in the M.M. s Handbook
will be found an explanation of several points which we have had to omit in this
book, but which show how carefully each of our degrees is linked up with the
one that follows, and how to the attentive student they gradually unfold many
important and illuminating truths.
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