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

Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols 157
4.3.2 Cabletow, Blindfold, Metals
The Cabletow
A tow is a line wherewith to draw. According to the EOF, "[a] cable tow is a
rope or line for drawing or leading. The word is purely Masonic." 449 In the early
18 th century, Masonic writers in English still used the expression "cable rope,"
whereas the term "cable tow" is probably derived from the German "Kabeltau."
In Freemasonry, the cabletow has three different significances: first, it is
depicted on the tracing board of the Entered Apprentice degree as a bond of
affection; second, the candidates are bound with it; and third, it relates to the
band-width of Masonic charity. As explained in Section 4.1.1.2 on the carpet,
"[t]he tracing board of the first [...] degree should always be enclosed with a
cord, technically called a cable tow, having four tassels placed at the four angles,
referring to the four cardinal virtues [...], while the cable tow is emblematic of
the cord or bond of affection which ought to unite the whole fraternity [...]." 450 In
its second function as an equipment for initiation ceremonies, according to
Martens, today the cabletow is only used in America. He conceives it as a sign of
bondage to the nothingness of the worldly existence and human passions.
Spiritually, it can also mean the binding to life after death: "Strick (Kabeltau) =
Hinweis auf das Gebundensein an den Unwert des Lebens, an die
Leidenschaften. Zeichen der Knechtschaft und Hörigkeit. Wird nur noch in
Amerika benutzt. Im höheren Sinne das sich Gebundenwissen an das
übersinnliche Leben (im Johannisorden)." 451
A particular reason is given for the wearing of the cabletow in each of the
three degrees. According to the EOF,
[i]n its first conception, the cable tow seems to have been used only as a
physical means of controlling the candidate, and such an interpretation
is still given in the Entered Apprentice's Degree. But in the Second and
Third degrees a more modern symbolism has been introduced, and the
cable tow is in these grades supposed to symbolize the covenant by
which all Masons are tied, thus reminding us of the passage in Hosea
[xi. 4), 'I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.' 452
When the candidates of the first three degrees are "properly prepared," they
are thus bound with the cabletow: In the First Degree, the candidate wears the
cabletow around his neck for the following reasons: "[...] had I not conformed to
the ceremonies of my initiation, thereby rendering myself unworthy to be taken
by the hand as a mason [sic], I might, by aid of the cabletow, have been led out
449 EOF, p. 126.
450 TRMC, p. 88.
451 Martens, p. 125.
452 EOF, p. 126.