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'This page has been approved by the United Grand Lodge of England’
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THE ENTERED APPRENTICE HANDBOOK The next thing that happens is that the C. is prepared by the Tyler. This is a very important matter. There seems little doubt that originally candidates were str..d n..d, and even to-day in the U.S.A. C's are left in their sh-s only. In Burma we changed out of everything into a one-piece pyjama suit, a most convenient arrangement. What we now have is a system by which the parts which have to be b. are made b. We take our ob. on our L.K., therefore that.K. must be B.. Why? So that our flesh may be in contact with Mother Earth. It is possible that there was a practical as well as a symbolical meaning in this , and also in the case of our deprivation of m..s. In some of the ancient mysteries it has been suggested that a charge of electricity was passed through the C. as he knelt at the altar, either from a battery, or by what is now called magnetism. If any question the use of electricity in those days, I would point out that certain statements of Herodotus, to the effect that the Egyptian priests brought down lightning by means of rods, can best be explained by admitting that they had some rudimentary knowledge of electricity. The b.b. is in order that the S.I. can be applied. The Scotch ritual, however, says it is to show your sex, but I am inclined to think this is a modern gloss. Personally, I should not regard this as conclusive proof in itself, for I have seen (when abroad) many well grown girls who had no breasts worth mentioning, while many native men had quite well developed busts. It should always be remembered that this is the degree of birth and we were born n..d.. We are s. s. because we are about to tread on holy ground, just as in the East we wear slippers when entering a mosque. It is probable that the Scotch ritual has preserved a real tradition when it refers to the custom in Israel of removing a shoe, as a witness, when confirming an obligation. Those interested will find the details in Ruth, where Boaz under-takes to marry Ruth. A.C.T. is placed about his n.. This piece of symbolism is old and world wide. On a vase found at Chama, in Mexico, several candidates are depicted going through a ceremony very similar, apparently, to a certain degree in M.,* One is being taught a certain sign, and the others wha stand waiting their turn all have C.T.s with a running noose about their necks. In India this C.T. is the emblem of Yama, the God of Death, with which he snares the souls of men and drags them forth from their bodies. It is carried by - Shiva to indicate his destructive character in relation to human life. There are in masonry meanings within meanings, and I will therefore indicate a few of those associated with the C.T. , but I shall not do so with all the details upon which I shall touch. The C.T. is an emblem of Death. It is fastened round the necks of captives as showing that they are at the absolute mercy of their conqueror. Thus the burghesses of Calais had to come before Edward III. in their shirts-note that-with c.T. 's round their necks. They were only saved by the desperate pleading of good Queen Philippa. But this is the degree of birth. Some come into the world with a caul which may strangle them if not removed, and in any case we are said to be born in original sin and therefore doomed to die. *See "Freemasonry and the Gods" Birth, in the very nature of things, means death, and that is why the Hindoos have made Shiva, the Lord of Death, also the Lord of Birth. We ourselves are captives-souls bound by the chains of the flesh-and offenders against the Law of the King of Kings. Further, we come in bondage to sin, seeking to be freed from our bonds by the word of God. The holding of the C.T. , and the dangers entailed, are sufficiently explained to need no further mention just now, though this does not imply there are not inner meanings. The h.w. is always found in every great initiatory rite. In general, it reminds us that as in the physical world we came out of darkness into light, so in the intellectual, and finally, in the spiritual world. We come into masonry seeking the Light of God's word. In other language, to try and comprehend through the use of symbols what God really is. But as the veil of darkness is slightly lifted as we grow in years and our intellect awakens , so it is in the craft, and the first thing we see there is the V.S.L., itself a symbol of Divine inspiration; for without the Divine spark, which speaks from the inmost recesses of the soul, we shall remain in spiritual darkness all our natural life. The C. is then brought to the door of the L. and challenged, but strange to say, in our ritual there is no p.w.. There was once, I have no doubt, and it is still in use in Scotland, Ireland and U.S.A. Moreover, it is one of the tests there when visiting, and if a man cannot give it he will run a serious risk of being refused admission. Strange to say, we do get it inside the Lodge, though perhaps most brethren do not realise it. It is "The T. of G.R." (sometimes it is "Free and of G.R.," though this is less usual). But before entering we are deprived of M.. Now, among the Dervishes M. = mineral substances, but we interpret it M . . . 1. It is M . . . 1s!-that is important. "Valuables" is a real, but subsidiary, meaning. Let us consider this carefully. There is an explanation of why it is done in the lecture,-now, alas, seldom read in Lodge-and also, of course, in the questions. These lectures were the real instruction; on them were based the tracing board Iectures, which were pictorial summaries, on which were set certain questions. Now the lectures (which can be bought at any Masonic furnishers) tell us that at the building of the Temple no metallic implements were used. Why? Because metals came from below. They were the gifts of the Thonic Gods:-the Gods of the Underworld-useful, no doubt, but being gifts of the Gods of the Underworld they were in their very nature evil, and abhorrent to the Gods of Light, whom the white races worshipped. For this reason the Egyptians continued to use stone knives to open the corpse preparatory to embalming it, long after they used metal knives constantly. The holy dead must not be polluted with the gifts of the evil powers. If there is anything in the theory of an electric or magnetic discharge being made at the time when a metal point is applied to the n. 1. b. at the ob. , this would also be a practical reason; the presence of metal might make such a charge dangerous. But the first reason is no doubt the original one, and probably the only one. The idea that we bring nothing into this world is, of course, likewise obvious; but its full significance is lost in our ritual, although seen in the Irish. There a C. is deprived of metals in the first and in the second degrees. The significance of this will be realised by M.M.'s if they ponder awhile on the meaning of the S.W.'s P.W.- "How hardly shall a rich man enter the kingdom of Heaven." That worldly possessions hamper a man's spiritual progress is proclaimed by every religion in the world which can truly be called great. The Buddhist monk and the mediaeval friar alike agree on this. Why p.w.s. at all? Here we wander into a strange field, no less than that of old world magic, I think. The C. enters an E. A. Lodge from the outside world. Prior to his entry this Lodge has been opened by a peculiar ceremony :- a ceremony which, in the technical language of magic and the occult, raises the vibrations of those present; thus they are , as it were , raised to a higher key, and force is generated. Now those who have studied such matters know that a body of men who are all concentrating on a particular subject do generate a peculiar, subtle, but powerful force, which has not been accurately defined by science , but is loosely called magnetic. In the old days of phenomenal magic certain words, when uttered in the correct tone, were believed to be in consonance with this "power," like a tuning fork is to a violin. Therefore we give this p.w. to the C. to raise him quickly to the same "power" as the Lodge. But I am afraid I may be getting rather deep for our younger readers. All I need say further is that such p.w.s are universal in the great mystery rites, ancient or modern, and it is not surprising, therefore, that in some rituals we find a P.W. leading to the 1 degree. |
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