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

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Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology
still persisting are Mariposa Lodge No. 24 and Georgetown Lodge No.
25, both of which meet Saturday on or before the Full Moon. 879
Moon Lodges are the opposite of "Day Light Lodges," lodges in England and
America for Masons who work at night and therefore have to go to lodge during
daytime, for example journalists, artists, and typesetters: "Dazu gehören [...] z.B.
die aus Musikern, Schauspielern und Artisten zusammengesetzten St.-Cäcilia-
Logen in New York und Chicago." 880
10. Mount Moriah
According to Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, the Biblical Mount
Moriah which was also venerated by the Jews is sacred to the Freemasons.
Mackey states that the Masons "have given to Mount Moriah the appellation of
the ground floor of the Lodge, and assign it as the place where what are called
'the three grand offerings were made.' " 881 In Masonry also exists the expression
"the Lodge rests on holy ground." 882 Mackey explains the "three grand offerings
of Masonry" 883 thus: the first grand offering is that Abraham was willing to
sacrifice his beloved son Isaac on Mount Moriah; the second grand offering is
the altar built there by David when his people were afflicted with a pestilence;
and the third is the dedication of King Solomon's temple which was erected on
Mount Moriah to the service of Jehovah. 884
A German Masonic encyclopedia underlines that the expression "Mount
Moriah" is typically American and alludes to the high standard of Freemasonry:
[...] in Amerika oft angewendetes Symbol für das 'hohe Niveau des
Maurerbundes'. Jerusalem hat zwei Hügel: Zion und Moriah. Die Stadt
wurde auf ersterem erbaut, Salomons Tempel sowie die Nebengebäude
auf letzterem. Obgleich der M. ein ziemlich niedriger Hügel ist, wird in
amerikanischen Ritualen der Tempelberg als Inbegriff der Höhe
angeführt. 885
879
CME, p. 426.
880
IFL, p. 1553, under the entry "Tageslichtlogen."
881
EOF, p. 492.
882
Ibid, p. 310.
883
Cf. ibid, p. 311.
884
Ibid, p. 311.
885
IFL, p. 1067.