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

Formations
Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols 259
The rituals dealt with in Chapter 7. will show that all fraternal orders,
Masonic and non-Masonic alike, use secret formations or constellations. Most of
these consist of the principal geometrical figures - square, circle, and triangle,
because these symbols are regarded as sacred in combination with the
corresponding ritual or degree. Thus, an English Masonic encyclopedia describes
the metaphorical content of the "Triangular Chain," a secret formation of the
Holy Royal Arch Degree (also called the "three times three") as follows: "A
Masonic tradition says, that when the Jews were carried captive from Jerusalem
by Nebuchadnezzar, their chains were formed of triangles, in derision of their
religious reverence for the triangle, or delta, their symbol for the Deity." 734 A
circle is formed in the "Mystic Chain," also named "Chain of Brotherhood," in
French "chaine d'union," and in German "Bruderkette," as a sign of eternity and
never-ending brotherly love. The following strip cartoon taken from the Internet
(from an edition of the Dutch Masonic Magazine, March 2000) shows how the
hands are held in the chain of brotherhood:
734 TRMC, p. 113.
Stood too long in the Chain of Brotherhood