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

First Degree
Chapter 7 - Rituals 609
The symbols of the First Degree of Odd Fellowship are the Bow and Arrows,
the Quiver, and the Bundle of Sticks.
The Bow, Arrows, and the Quiver are a reminder of the covenant between
Jonathan and David, the Biblical story enacted in the First Degree. They are to
teach the brethren that they have to put forth every effort to save a brother from
the wrath of an enemy, and that they should always be ready to fight in the cause
of truth and justice (cf. p. 129). These symbols are unknown to Masonry.
Second Degree
The Bundle of Sticks is an emblem of strength in
union, taken from the Bible and not used in Masonry. If
the sticks are separated, the strength of a child may destroy
them, but united they are not easily broken. Thus it is with
man: "Separated, we should be speedily broken and
destroyed by the accumulating tide of worldly selfishness;
but united as brothers we bid defiance to all opposition,
and triumph over the greatest difficulties." (p. 129). This
metaphor would also be appropriate to Freemasonry. It is
the peculiar emblem of the "Covenant Degree" of Odd
Fellowship: "This memento of a dying father, to teach his
children the value of union, speaks no less impressively to
our larger brotherhood." (p. 129).
The symbols of the Second Degree are the Axe, the Heart and Hand, the
Globe, the Ark, and the Serpent.
The Axe as an ancient implement of the artisan is an emblem of pioneering
and progress, standing for the advancement through the forest for the spread of
civilization. This symbol is used in the same context in the Modern Woodmen of
America, for example, but not in Freemasonry. It is intended to remind the Odd
Fellows that ere the sunlight can disperse its gloom to make the land fruitful,
"Divine Truth" has to be applied to every "cumbering tree and poisonous vine,"