As I said, it was to Kabbalah
or, to be more specific, that symbol of Kabbalah known as the Tree
of Life, which I felt certain of the symbols in the pertinent section of
the lecture were referring. On the other hand, also present within the lecture
are references to other symbols which I felt were less likely to be directly
indicative of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, including the Furniture,
Ornaments, and Jewels of a Lodge, etc. Additionally, some of the symbols which
I felt did relate were ordered quite differently than one would expect when treating
of the Tree of Life. As I did not want to be guilty of picking and choosing the
symbols which I felt did refer to the Tree of Life, while rejecting those that
to my knowledge did not, and thus run the risk of misinterpreting the work as a
whole by missing the forest for the Tree, so to speak, I decided to look
back to the work of William Preston, from whom I understand our lectures as we
know them ultimately came, to see if his version of the lecture in question
might be ordered differently than that which we receive in Mississippi. To my
surprise, in Preston’s version, every single symbol which I confidently felt
referred directly to the Tree of Life was grouped into the same section, while
all of the other symbols present in the third section of Mississippi’s version of the lecture are
found under completely different headings. Not only that, but in Preston’s version they appeared in the order which seemed
to me most appropriate based on what limited knowledge of the subject I do
possess.
Before getting into the
particulars of the lecture in question, it will be helpful to provide a small
background on Kabbalah and the Tree of Life for those of my readers who
may be unfamiliar with this most engaging topic. According to Jewish tradition,
Kabbalah was received by Moses alongside the Torah while on Mount Sinai, but where the Torah is said to be the
revealed aspect of the Law of the Jewish deity, Kabbalah is said to be
its concealed aspect. As a means of gaining a glimpse into the concealed truths
of the Torah, the Kabbalists make use of a number of mystical
techniques and diagrams, chief among the latter being a schematic termed the Tree
of Life. The Tree of Life is an arrangement of ten spheres or lights, known
as sephirot or emanations, which are indicative of the ten
creative utterances of Deity. These ten sephirot are connected by
twenty-two netivot or paths which correlate to the twenty-two
letters of the aleph-bet. It is by these ten sephirot and
twenty-two letters that the Kabbalists believe the universe was by Deity
created. By extension, the Tree of Life is also viewed by many Kabbalists as
a symbolic representation of the physical and spiritual planes, providing a map
or schematic of sorts whereby one might maneuver the various worlds and
heavens. In addition to being viewed as a series of ten spheres, the Tree of
Life may also be approached from a number of different angles which are equally
useful in understanding its various functions. The other applications of this
arrangement include a set of three triads with an additional pendant or fruit
(the fruit being the final, tenth sephirah), four olamot or worlds
which are constituted by various clusters of sephirot at ascending levels,
and most notably, a group of three columns or pillars, on each of which are
distributed and supported certain of the various sephirot. More will be
offered on this later.
I explained above that all of
the symbols which I felt confident related directly to Kabbalah generally
and to the Tree of Life specifically were grouped by Preston into a single
section; namely, Section IV in The Lecture in the First Degree,
the same of which consists of six Clauses, including the Inner
Chamber, the Form of a Lodge, the Foundation, the Situation,
the Roof, and the Ladder. The remaining symbols which appear in
the third section of the Entered Apprentice lecture as the same is given under
the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi are grouped by Preston into
the fifth and sixth sections of the lecture, thereby indicating that all of the
symbols lumped into the fourth and pertinent section refer to one specific
topic, while those symbols and emblems which are grouped together in the
remaining sections refer to others. This is not to say that the symbols are not
related, only that they have been separated by Preston
into categories of relevance. In the case of the fourth section, the relevant
subject would appear to be Kabbalah.
In the first clause of the
fourth section in The Lecture in the First Degree, after informing the
candidate that “[e]very mark, character, and emblem portrayed in the Lodge had
a moral tendency,” and that “it was a duty incumbent on every Mason to make
daily progress in the art,” Preston explains that the Master is able to
illustrate and explain the various emblems and figures which are delineated in
the Lodge before the Brethren by the assistance of “three great lights.” Today,
what most Masons know as the Three Great Lights in Masonry, The Holy
Bible, Square and Compasses, were known in the earliest days
of the organized Craft as simply the Furniture of a Lodge. At the time
of the formation of the first Grand Lodge however, the three great lights referred
instead to the lights found in the east, south, and west of the Lodge. On the
Tree of Life, the three upper sephirot, the same of which rule and
govern the remaining sephirot below, are known as the supernal triad.
The supernal triad consists of the sephirot keter, hokmah, and binah,
translated respectively as the crown, wisdom, and understanding
of Deity. If the Tree of Life is viewed as a ladder of lights, which the
diagram is oftentimes called, then it is easy to see how the supernal triad
might be referred to as three great lights. While all of the sephirot
are individual and have their own unique functions, the three sephirot which
comprise the supernal triad are said to work as a unit insofar as they
represent the tri-fold aspect of the one Deity. This would explain the
situation of these three great lights being in the east, south, and west of the
Lodge. For, just as those directions allude to the three principal periods or
phases of the sun in its diurnal course, so too is there but one Great Luminary
which in His course is revealed in and by those principal phases. Preston also added that “these three great lights
represent…[t]he sun, the moon, and the Master of the Lodge.” Where keter is
indicative of the un-manifest point of the Deity’s pure creative potential, hokmah
signifies the great light of creation which actualizes the pure potential
of keter. This light of hokmah is transmitted to the passive and
receptive sephirah binah, the third in the supernal triad, where it (the
light) is then passed down to the seven sephirot below, thereby
sustaining and illuminating the inferior spheres beneath the supernal triad,
much like the silver face of the moon reflects the golden light of the sun to
the darkened earth beneath them. The functions of hokmah and binah may
therefore be compared to those of the great luminaries, sol and luna,
respectively, while keter may be safely compared to the Master of the
Lodge, the same of whom rules and governs those functions. As one early Kabbalistic
text phrased it, “[t]he singular Master, God faithful king, dominates over
them all from his Holy dwelling until eternity of eternities.”
The second clause of the fourth
section in Preston’s Lecture in the First
Degree goes on to discuss the Form of a Lodge. “Its length,” the
candidate learns, “extends from East to West. Its breadth…fills up the whole
space between North and South. Its depth [is to t]he centre of the earth. Its
height [is to t]he heavens,” an arrangement which comprises the three spatial
dimensions of height, width, and depth. Significantly, in the Sepher
Yetzirah, one of the earliest Kabbalistic texts known, the six sephirot
immediately below the supernal triad are referred to as “[a] depth of
east,” “[a] depth of west,” “[a] depth of north,” “[a] depth of south,” “[a]
depth of below,” and “[a] depth of above,” in effect covering those same three
dimensions of space which, as we just saw, constitute the Form of a Lodge.
Insofar as both the Masonic Lodge and the Kabbalah Tree of Life are said
to be symbolic representations of the created universe, it is no wonder that
references to the three dimensions of space have found their way into the
classic descriptions of each.
Preston’s third clause concerns the Foundation of a
Lodge. After learning that, in the art of building, the first objective of the
architect is to determine the nature of the soil on which he intends to build,
the candidate finds that the architect’s next objective is then to “take care
that the foundation of the building corresponds with the nature of the soil.”
In this instance, soil is very likely an allusion to the tenth and final
sephirah malkut, the kingdom, the same of which signifies the
material plane or earth. Above this soil, we read, is the foundation.
Conveniently, immediately above malkut is the sephirah yesod,
literally meaning foundation. If there was any question or concern as to
the correspondence of the foundation and soil of a Lodge to the
two final sephirot, yesod and malkut, these remarkable
consistencies should help to set the same to rest. Preston’s
third clause also mentions that the ground on which the “masonic mansion” is
raised is “holy ground” because the name of God has been thereon impressed. As malkut
is the sephirah wherein the descending light of the supernal triad
(our three great lights) reaches its culmination, it takes little
stretch of the imagination to see how this sephirah, whereon the name or
essence of Deity has been veritably impressed, might constitute holy
ground.
The fourth clause in the fourth
section of Preston’s Lecture in the First
Degree has been slightly more difficult to link up with Kabbalah and
the structure of the Tree of Life. However, a quick reference to Brother Colin
Dyer’s Symbolism in Craft Freemasonry has gone a long way in clearing
this up. Preston’s fourth clause treats of the
Situation of a Lodge. This situation, the candidate learns, is “[d]ue
East and West.” As Dyer explains,
“[t]here
is again a possibility that [the situation of a Lodge] was influenced (as some
other points have been shown to be) by the Cabala; in the Jewish
Encyclopedia there is a reference to an essential doctrine of one
particular school: His [majesty]…sits on a throne in the east, as the actual
representative of God. His throne is separated by [curtains]…from the world of
angels; the side on the west being uncovered.”1
The same clause goes on to teach
the candidate that the tabernacle which Moses erected in the wilderness was, by
especial command, situated due east and west in conformity to the plan which
Moses is said to have received from Deity on Mount Sinai.
If the reader will recall, as explained in the short paragraph provided above
on the background of Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, it was on Mount
Sinai that Moses was said to have received the Torah and, more
especially relevant to our present purposes, Kabbalah.
Preston’s penultimate clause in
the fourth section of the lecture in question concerns the Roof of a
Lodge, the proper covering of which is said to be a “clouded canopy of divers
colours” that it may represent “the heavens which are clouded and never to be
screened from the view of the contemplative mason.” This canopy, we are told,
is supported by “three great pillars,” the same of which have been denominated wisdom,
strength, and beauty. It was explained above that an arrangement
of three columns or pillars is one of the most common applications
of the structural design of the Tree of Life, and the denominations given these
pillars in Masonic ritual provides us with a further proof of their Kabbalistic
correlation. As regards the Tree of Life, the nature of each pillar is
largely determined by the influence of the sephirah which most properly
defines it. The defining sephirah of the pillar located on the right
hand of the viewer is hokmah or wisdom. The defining sephirah of
the pillar located on the left hand of the viewer is gevurah or severity,
indicative of strength, while that of the middle pillar is tipharet or
beauty. This remarkable consistency between these two fantastic symbols
seems to this author to be far beyond pure coincidence. Indeed, Kabbalah would
appear to be part of this lecture’s intrinsic design, for Preston
seems to be literally constructing the Tree of Life before the candidate.
The focus of the sixth and
final clause in Preston’s fourth section of
the Lecture in the First Degree is the Ladder, by the means of
which it is said that we as Masons may arrive at the summit or covering of the
building; that is, arrive at the heavens. The present clause tells us
that this ladder, while consisting of many rungs or rounds, “is strengthened by
three principal steps,” the same of which are situated “at the bottom, in the
middle, and at the top of the ladder.” Conveniently, the Tree of Life also is
possessive of many rounds or paths, of which only three might rightly be
called principal and are similarly positioned at the bottom, middle, and
top of the diagram. If the reader will recall, the Tree of Life consists of ten
sephirot or emanations and twenty-two netivot or paths.
Traditionally, three of these paths are arranged horizontally, seven of them
vertically, and the remaining twelve are situated diagonally. To these
twenty-two paths are allotted the twenty-two letters of the aleph-bet,
the same of which are divided into three principal or mother letters,
seven double letters, and twelve simple or elemental letters.
As one may have gathered, to the three horizontal paths are attributed the
three principal letters. To the seven
vertical paths are attributed the seven double letters, and to the twelve
diagonal paths are attributed the twelve single letters. Without going into too
much detail and thereby potentially confusing and losing the reader, it will
suffice to say that the only three paths on the Tree of Life which, like the
rungs of a ladder, are horizontal, are the same three paths which correspond to
the principal or mother letters of the aleph-bet. Not unlike the ladder
of a Lodge, the Tree of Life “is strengthened by three principal steps [which
are positioned] at the bottom, in the middle, and at the top” of the Tree.
It has been repeatedly asserted
that Kabbalah played a vital role in the development of our rituals and
lectures. However, until now no explicit evidence of the same has to my
knowledge been provided.2 It is my sincerest hope that this small contribution
to the literature of the Craft may serve to tie up some loose ends, and more
especially, to motivate and pique the interests of the contemplative Masons of
our future generations. For, it is only by their labor and ingenuity that we
may ever hope to rediscover those precious and elusive lost secrets, in
search of which we as Free and Accepted Masons are endlessly traveling.
END NOTES
1Dyer, p. 66 2 Since the time of writing this paper I was exposed to
and had the pleasure of reading several remarkable and pertinent articles by W.
Kirk MacNulty. While less explicit than the Kabbalistic references in the third
section of the Entered Apprentice degree that have been outlined above,
MacNulty has done an absolutely exquisite job of explaining the furniture,
ornaments, and jewels of a Lodge (and more) in terms of Kabbalistic philosophy.
His outstanding papers Kabbalah and Freemasonry, Masonic Tracing
Boards and the Western Metaphysical Tradition, and The Secret Identity
of Freemasons cannot be by me recommended more highly to the contemplative
Mason.
REFERENCES
De Hoyos, Arturo Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide Dyer, Colin Symbolism in the Craft Freemasonry Dyer,
Collin William Preston and His Work
Gilbert, R.A. The Magical Mason
Kaplan, Aryeh Sephrt Yetzirah Levi,
Eliphas The Book of Splendours Levi,
Eliphas Transcendental Magic Mathers,
S.L. MacGregor The Kabbalah Unveiled
Mississippi Blue Lodge Text Book The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, Vol 1
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