Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

ALTENBERG
AMENDMENT 51
the room, or more properly a little to the East
of the center .
The form of a Masonic altar should be a
cube, about three feet high, and of corresponding
proportions as to length and width, having,
in imitation of the Jewish altar, four horns,
one at each corner . The Holy Bible with the
Square and Compass should be spread open
EAST.
i ~!IiliiVi'llllill~illll
III IIIIIIiil~lllllllllllllll1111111111111119flllllllllllllllllllll'
WEST.
upon it, while around it are to be placed three
lights. These lights are to be in the East,
West, and South, and should be arranged as in
the annexed diagram . The stars show the position
of the light in the East West, and South .
The black dot represents the position North
of the altar where there is no light, because in
Masonry the North is the place of darkness .
Altenburg, Congress of . Altenberg is a
small place in the Grand Dukedom of Weimar,
about two miles from the city of Jena. Here
in the month of June 1764 the notorious
Johnson, or Leucht, who called himself the
Grand Master of the Knights Templar and the
head of the Rite of Strict Observance, assembled
a Masonic congress for the purpose of
establishing this Rite and its system of Templar
Masonry. But he was denounced and
expelled by the Baron de Hund, who having
proved Johnson to be an impostor and' charlatan,
was himself proclaimed Grand Master of
the German Masons by the congress . (See
Johnson and Hund; also Strict Observance,
Rite of.)
Altenburg, Lodge at. One of the oldest
Lodges in Germany is the Lodge of " Archimedes
of the Three Tracing Boards" (Archimedes
zu den drei Reissbreutern) in Altenburg .
It was instituted January 31, 1742, by a deputation
from Leipsic . In 1775 it joined the
Grand Lodge of Berlin, but in 1788 attached
itself to the Eclectic Union at Frankfort-onthe-Main,
which body it left in 1801, and
established a directory of its own, and installed
a Lodge at Gera and another at Schneeberg
. In the year 1803 the Lodge published a
Book of Constitutions in a folio of 244 pages, a
work which is now rare, and which Lenning
says is one of the most valuable contributions
to Masonic literature . Three Masonic journals
were also produced by the Altenburg
school of historians and students, one of which
-theBruderbldtter continued to appear until
1854 . In 1804 the Lodge struck a medal upon
the occasion of erecting a new hall . In 1842
it celebrated its centennial anniversary .
Amal-sagghl. (Great labor.) The name
of the 5th step of the mystic ladder of Kadosh,
A. A . Scottish Rite .
Amaranth . A plant well known to the
ancients, the Greek name of which signifies
" never withering ." It is the Celosia cristata
of the botanists. The dry nature of the
flowers causes them to retain their freshness for
a very long time, and Pliny says, although incorrectly,
that if thrown into water they will
bloom anew . Hence it is a symbol of immortality,
and was used by the ancients in their
funeral rites . It is often placed on coffins at
the present day with a like symbolic meaning,
and is hence one of the decorations of a
Sorrow Lodge.
Amaranth, Order of the . Instituted by
Queen Christina of Sweden in 1653, and numbering
31, composed of 15 knights, 15 ladies,
and the Queen as the Grandmistress . The
insignia consisted of two letters A interlaced
one being inverted, within a laurel crown, and
bearing the motto, Dolce nella memoria. The
annual festival of this equestrian Order was
held at the Epiphany . A society of a similar
name, androgynous in its nature, was instituted
in 1883, under the supervision of Robert
Macoy, of New York, to supplement the Order
of the Eastern Star, having a social and
charitable purpose, the ritual of which, as well
as its constitutional government, has met with
much commendation .
Amax jah . Hebrew M"1TMR, God spake;
a significant word in the high degrees of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite .
Amen . Sometimes used as a response to a
Masonic prayer, though in England the formula
is " so mote it be ." The word Amen signifies
in Hebrew verily, truly, certainly . "Its proper
place," says Gesenius, " is where one person
confirms the words of another, and adds his
wish for success to the other's vows ." It is
evident, then, that it is the brethren of the
Lodge and not the Master or Chaplain, who
should pronounce the word . Yet the custom
in the United States is for the Master or
Chaplain to say "Amen "and the brethren
respond, " So mote it be ." It is a response to
the prayer . The Tahnudists have many
superstitious notions in respect to this word .
Thus, in one treatise (Uber Musar), it is said
that whosoever pronounces it with fixed attention
and devotion, to him the gates of Paradise
will be opened-and : again, whosoever enunciates
the word rapidly, his days shall pass
rapidly away, and whosoever dwells upon it,
pronouncing it distinctly and slowly, his life
shall be prolonged .
Amendment . All amendments to the bylaws
of a Lodge must be submitted to the
Grand or Provincial or District Lodge for its
approval.
An amendment to a motion pending before
a Lodge takes precedence of the original
motion, and the question must be put upon the
amendment first . If the amendment be lost,
then the question will be on the motion ; if the
amendment be adopted, then the question
will be on the original motion as so amended ;