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

Chapter 6 - Peculiarities of Masonic Language 335
dictionaries created for Freemasons and non-Masons alike. "Secret"
abbreviations are to be found, for example, in the cipher writing of American
rituals (cf. Section 4.4.2); therefore, we will not deal with them here again.
According to the IFL 1030 , abbreviations, i.e. symbolic signs comparable to
stenographic short forms, have been used in Freemasonry since 1774, the first
reported abbreviation appearing in a circular of the Grand Orient de France to its
lodges. The signs used therein were the well-known three points (hence the nick
name "three point brothers"), an oblong square denoting a lodge, two interlaced
oblong squares for the plural (two lodges), etc. With regard to the origin of the
famous three points, CME state that "[i]t is fashionable in some quarters to place,
between and after the letters of an abbreviation, three dots in the form of an
equilateral triangle instead of a period. This is evidently of European origin
[...]." 1031 These points, "deren eigentliche Bedeutung ungeklärt geblieben ist," 1032
surely once had a symbolic meaning that was lost, which gives rise to many
speculations nowadays. Thus, Masonic researchers assume that the three points
allude to either the Holy Trinity, the three Lesser Lights, or the places of the
three principal officers in the lodge:
Masonic abbreviations are commonly indicated by the use of three
points [...], placed after the letter. As to , it would seem to refer to the
officers and their work on all points of the triangle. It has been thought
that they refer to the three lesser lights in the Lodge, or the situation of
the Master and Wardens in Continental Lodges. It more probably refers
to the triune nature of the Deity, thus alluding to the initial name of
God, as represented in the original of the Hebrew forming the triune
circles of eternity; thus,
Ragon says these points were first used on the 12 th of August, 1774, by
the Grand Orient of France, in an address to the subordinate Lodges. 1033
The following evaluation shows some of the most common and important
abbreviations in the English, French, and German Masonic languages, which are
assembled in the following categories: God, Masonic rites and bodies, officers
and titles, legendary characters, and sayings.
1030 Cf. IFL, p. 5.
1031 CME, p. 1.
1032 IFL, p. 5.
1033 TRMC, p. 2/3.