The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols 117
4.1 Rooms and Furniture
Q: [...] of what is the interior of a Masonic Lodge
composed?
A: Ornaments, Furniture, and Jewels.
Q: Name the Ornaments.
A: The Mosaic Pavement, the Blazing Star, and the Indented or
Tessellated Border. [...]
Q: Name the furniture of the Lodge.
A: The Volume of the Sacred Law, the Compasses, and the
Square.
[...]
Q: Our Brother speaks of Jewels [...]. How many have we [...]?
A: Three movable, and three immovable. 315
Before the language of the Masons can be examined, it is necessary to talk
about the rooms in which they gather and where the ritualistic diction is
employed. These rooms are symbolic, and therefore contain mystic elements.
The above dialogue from a catechism of the Entered Apprentice Degree shows
how important it is to know the various components that constitute a Masonic
lodge. A lodge contains "ornaments," "furniture," and "jewels." Furthermore, it
has a specific geographical orientation ("due East and West"), and an unlimited
"extent," which symbolically alludes to its universality. Administratively, there
has to be the correct number of Masons present, in order to make the lodge "just
and perfect." This number varies in the three degrees.
There is not only one lodge room. The following sections will deal with the
different rooms of a Masonic temple in which Freemasons meet and execute
their ceremonies. There is, for example, the lodge room, where initiations,
ballots, and business sessions take place. There further exists an "Anteroom,"
also called "Chamber of Reflection," in which the candidate is placed before his
initiation, in order to ponder upon his decision. This room has especially dark
and gruesome equipment. Moreover, certain forms of European Freemasonry
make use of a "Hall of the Lost Steps," where the brethren are to forget the outer
world and to meditate upon their mystic vocation. There also is a "Middle
Chamber," figuring in the Second Degree of Masonry. It contains the "winding
stairs" that the candidate has to ascend symbolically. Each of the three degrees
puts on a different carpet, which depicts the symbols of the particular degree.
Furthermore, the lodge is built on a special "ground," that acquires a new name
in each of the three degrees. All this will be explained and illustrated in the
Sections 4.1 through 4.1.5.
315
Anonymous ("Compiled by a member of the Craft."), The Text Book of Freemasonry from 1881,
p. 75; 77; 78.