The Lost Keys of Freemasonry - RoseCroix.org.au

ADDENDATHE ROBE OF BLUE AND GOLDHidden in the depths of the unknown, three silent beings weave the endless threadof human fate. They are called the Sisters, known to mythology as the Norns orFates who incessantly twist between their fingers a tiny cord, which one day is to bewoven into a living garment - the coronation robe of the priest-king.To the mystics and philosophers of the world this garment is known under manynames. To some it is the simple yellow robe of Buddhahood. By the ancient Jews itwas symbolized as the robe of the high priest, the Garment of Glory unto the Lord.To the Masonic brethren, it is the robe of Blue and Gold - the Star of Bethlehem - theWedding Garment of the Spirit.Three Fates weave the threads of this living garment, and man himself is the creatorof his Fates. The triple thread of thought, action, and desire binds him when heenters the sacred place or seeks admittance into the tiled lodge, but later this samecord is woven into a splendid garment whose purified folds clothe the sacred spark ofhis being.We all like to be well dressed. Robes of velvet and ermine stand for symbols of rankand glory; but too many ermine capes have covered empty hearts, too many crownshave rested on the brows of tyrants. These are symbols of earthly things and in theworld of matter are too often misplaced. The true coronation robe - the garmentmolded after the pattern of heaven, the robe of glory of the Master Mason - is not ofthe earth; for it tells of his spiritual growth, his deeper understanding, and hisconsecrated life. The garments of the high priest of the tabernacle were but symbolsof his own body, which, purified and transfigured, glorified the life within. The notesof the tiny silver bells that tinkled with never-ending music from the fringe of hisvestments told of a life harmonious, while the breastplate which rested amid thefolds of the ephod reflected the gleams of heavenly truth from the facets of its gems.There is another garment without a seam which we are told was often worn by theancient brethren in the days of the Essenes, when the monastery of the lowlyNazarenes rose in silent grandeur from the steep sides of Mt. Tabor, to be reflectedin the inscrutable waters of the Dead Sea. This one-piece garment is the spiralthread of human life which, when purified by right motive and right living, becomes atiny thread of golden light, eternally weaving the purified garment of regeneratedbodies. Like the white of the lambskin apron, it stands for the simple, the pure, andthe harmless. These are the requirements of the Master Mason, who must renounceforever this world's pomp and vanity and seek to weave that simple one-piece robeof the soul which marks the Master, consecrated and consummated.With the eye of the mind we still can see the lowly Nazarene in his spotless robe ofwhite - a garment no king's ransom could buy. This robe is woven out of the actionsof our daily lives, each deed weaving into the endless pattern a thread, black orwhite, according to the motives which inspired our actions. As the Master Masonlabors in accordance with his vows, he slowly weaves this spotless robe out of thetransmuted energy of his efforts. It is this white robe which must be worn under thevestments of state, and whose spotless surface sanctifies him for the robes of glory,which can be worn only over the stainless, seamless garment of his purified life.