Through the Key Hole - RoseCroix.org.au
Through the Key Hole - RoseCroix.org.au
Through the Key Hole - RoseCroix.org.au
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85<br />
90<br />
The Rev. A F A Woodward, Past Grand Chaplain of England, says<br />
that he fails to see how <strong>the</strong> French brethren were to blame or how<br />
<strong>the</strong>y could have done o<strong>the</strong>rwise under <strong>the</strong> circumstances. We who<br />
know <strong>the</strong> heroism of English womanhood, not to speak of o<strong>the</strong>r peoples,<br />
on <strong>the</strong> adjourned war of <strong>the</strong> world, cannot help speculating<br />
humourously what might have been done by himself under similar<br />
circumstances had his gracious presence filled <strong>the</strong> Chair in <strong>the</strong> east<br />
during any of <strong>the</strong>se recent years.<br />
<strong>the</strong>m that in <strong>the</strong> lodge room Boaz is not on <strong>the</strong> left hand side of <strong>the</strong><br />
entrance?<br />
Why should this be? The answer to this puzzle, however, is quite<br />
simple. Our lodge rooms, although we are told <strong>the</strong>y have been<br />
constructed to represent King Solomon’s Temple, actually face in<br />
a direction opposite to that of KST.<br />
King Solomon, due to practical problems with <strong>the</strong> construction<br />
site, built his Temple on <strong>the</strong> extreme western side of <strong>the</strong> site. It<br />
was not possible, or practical even, to put an entrance on that<br />
side as <strong>the</strong> western side consisted of a sheer drop into <strong>the</strong> valley<br />
below, so <strong>the</strong> entrance or porch to <strong>the</strong> building was actually<br />
placed on <strong>the</strong> opposite side, in <strong>the</strong> east. Thus when putting <strong>the</strong><br />
column Boaz at <strong>the</strong> left of <strong>the</strong> entrance, <strong>the</strong> column was in fact in<br />
<strong>the</strong> South.<br />
There have been suggestions over <strong>the</strong> years that <strong>the</strong> Temple actually<br />
had three doors, one in <strong>the</strong> South, <strong>the</strong> east and <strong>the</strong> west.<br />
These suggestions probably arose from assumptions made as a<br />
result of <strong>the</strong> Hiramic legend in Masonic ritual which indicates that<br />
Hiram Abiff <strong>the</strong> architect of <strong>the</strong> building, tried to avoid being ass<strong>au</strong>lted<br />
by exiting through each of three doors situated as stated.<br />
In actual fact <strong>the</strong>re was only one entrance to <strong>the</strong> temple.<br />
The assiduous student of Masonry might consider some personal<br />
research of value as to why our Masonic buildings face in <strong>the</strong> direction<br />
that <strong>the</strong>y do.