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

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
The Rough Ashlar is a stone in its rude and natural state, as taken from
the quarry. The Perfect Ashlar is a stone prepared by the workmen, to
be adjusted by the working tools of the Fellow-Craft. [...] By the Rough
Ashlar we are reminded of our rude and imperfect state of perfection at
which we hope to arrive by a virtuous education, our own endeavors,
and the blessing of God [...]. 357
The columns Jachin and Boaz carry the celestial and terrestrial orbs. The
tools of the First Degree are depicted, as well as the sun, moon, and stars. The
"indented tessel," or "tessellated border," is emblematic of "the manifold
blessings and comforts which constantly surround us, and which we hope to
enjoy by a firm reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglyphically
represented by the Blazing Star." 358 On the top of the photo of the carpet there is
the "tessellated border," with two tassels hanging down on each side. It is a
symbol of the bond of love, having two "love's knots." The EOF explains the
"tasselated border [sic]" as a "cord, decorated with tassels, which surrounds the
tracing-board of an Entered Apprentice, the said tracing-board being a
representation of the Lodge, and it symbolizes the bond of love - the mystic tie -
which binds the Craft wheresoever dispersed into one band of brotherhood." 359
This is the first possibility of representing the "tessellated border."
The second possibility consists in an ornamental border going around the
whole carpet and looking like alternating black and white triangles (see
illustration on the right; cf. also the first illustration of an Entered Apprentice's
carpet earlier in this section). This kind of "tessellated border" is explained in
Sickels' The General Ahiman Rezon from 1885 as being "a border of stones, of
various colors, placed around the pavement, cut or notched into inequalities
resembling teeth." 360 According to Sickels, the "Indented Tessel" is emblematic
357 Simons, p. 39.
358 Simons, p. 36.
359 EOF, p. 778.
360 Sickels, p. 81.