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

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Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology
who carried on their work under averse conditions. Dr. Theodor Vogel, the
Grand Master of the newly-formed UGL, A.F. & A.M., presented such a pin to
each of the representatives of the Grand Jurisdictions with which the UGL
enjoyed Fraternal relations at the Grand Masters Conference in the United States.
According to Pollard, who cites The American-Canadian Trestleboard, in most
lodges of the U.S., the Forget-Me-Not is presented to new Master Masons, who
are briefly told the history of this emblem. 873 Today, there exists an English
speaking lodge named Forget Me Not N°. 896 at Heilbronn, Germany. 874
8. Metal
Prior to the initiation ceremony, the candidates are divested of metal things
before they enter the lodge room. They have to hand over their money, rings, and
other valuables, in order to symbolize that they are all equal, and that they enter
the lodge in a poor state, which is further to remind the candidates that charity is
required of them. This initiatory tradition can be traced back to the Talmud:
In the divestiture of metals as a preliminary to initiation, we are
symbolically taught that Masonry regards no man on account of his
wealth. The Talmudical treatise "Beracoth," with a like spirit of
symbolism, directs in the Temple service that no man shall go into the
mountain of the house, that is, into the Holy Temple, "with money tied
up in his purse." 875
However, a distinction has to be made between "metal" and "metal tools."
The prohibition of "metal" in the sense of money is explicable; as to the
forbidden metal tools, CME can offer no plausible explanation, merely referring
to the old superstition that some metals are considered evil:
There are ideas presented in some Masonic ceremonies calculated to
disparage the use or even the presence of metal in the lodge, so far as
Craft Masonry extends, but the explanation of the reason is rather
puerile. It is possibly the relic of the old superstition that some metals
were evil or had evil influences. Among these were iron. Accordingly,
when we read in I Kings 6:7 that "there was neither hammer, nor axe,
nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was building," we may
interpret the statement as including only iron and not eliminating copper
or bronze. The symbolism has not been very faithfully preserved,
however, for the Grand Lodge of England included among its
873 Cf. Pollard, p. 47. UGL, A.F. & A.M., means "United Grand Lodges of Ancient, Free & Accepted
Masons" of Germany.
874 Cf. CME, p. 423.
875 EOF, p. 482.