The Arcana of Freemasonry (1915) - The Masonic Trowel

THE ARCANA OF FREEMASONRY
Amongst
the oldest Brotherhood the two double
triangles (Fig. 8) were surrounded by four Uraei
as guardians of the same ; at a later it phase was
three double triangles, surrounded with concentric
circles. At the entrance of their Temples there
were always " two watchers," each armed with a
knife. The one outside the door was called the
Watcher ;
the one inside the door was called the
Herald, as seen in the Veginetta.
The Egyptian initiatory ceremony was conducted
with great secrecy and care. The candidates were
divested of most of their clothing, and a chain, or
rope of some kind, placed around their neck, to
signify their belief in God, their dependence on
Him, and their solemn obligations to submit and
devote themselves to His will and service. The
fact that they were neither naked nor clothed was
an emblem that they were untutored men, children
of nature, unregenerate, and destitute of any
knowledge of the true God, as well as being
destitute of the comforts of life. The chain or
rope was a symbol that the candidate was being
led from darkness to light, from ignorance to a
knowledge of the One True and Living God,
Creator, and Judge of all things in Heaven and
Earth. The candidate was blindfolded, and then
led by a brother (called in Egyptian An-er-f) to
the door of the Temple or Lodge, which appeared
as a blank wall in the form of A, Fig. 9. Arriving
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