The Arcana of Freemasonry (1915) - The Masonic Trowel

THE ARCANA OF FREEMASONRY 183
reasons. First because our old Brothers used it,
and the Operative Masons still have this Symbol
in their ceremonies ; next because this sign was
at a later period converted into the Cross which
our Brothers of the i8° use (see how this con-
"
version took place in Signs and Symbols of
Primordial Man "), and because the interpreta-
tion given by the Operative Masons for this Sign
is not correct— in fact, quite wrong. The Opera-
tive Masons were originally " The Companions
of the 17th Nome of Upper Egypt,
and were
Stellar Cult people ; probably some later genera-
tions adopted the Solar Cult, and thus mixed the
signs, but retained the true and original Ritual.
Some of the exponents of Operative Masonry say
that the Swastika is a Symbol of Axial Rotation,
and refers to the Pole Star and the rotation of the
Great Bear around it ; that it symbolizes the Great
Ruler of the Universe, who alone was stationary
and stable as the North Star, while all the rest
of the universe revolves around Him !
This Symbol or Sign does not mean anything of
the kind. It is a pure theory without any founda-
tion in fact, except imagination, and I challenge
any Operative Mason to bring forward any facts
to prove and support their theory.
In its original form the Swastika is a symbol
of the Four Quarters of Heaven. It is a typical
figure
of the Heaven that was founded on the
'