The Lost Key: An Explanation of Masonic Symbols

Chapter XI. 109humanity are Entered Apprentice Masons. Now let us see what wehave. The candidate has to pass between the two pillars before hecan come into the Temule where he learns his trade. Mankind isworking in the Temple, the world, learning his lessons. Betweenwhat two pillars did he have to pass to enter there? Rememberthat we are examining this from the standpoint of the beliefs heldby the ancient philosophy. The ancients believed, as has alreadybeen stated, in the Rebirth of the soul and in the accompanyingLaw which might be called the Law of Cause and Effect, which ispractically the same thing as the first Law of Physics, that everyaction has an equal and opposite reaction. Under the action orcontrol or government of these twin Laws the ancients held thatthe spirit had to pass before it could enter the arena of the physicalworld. That, the present author believes, was the original ideabehind the two pillars, for these pillars are not of Hebrew origin.Solomon or his architects copied them from other temples insurrounding countries. They were frequently used in the Egyptiantemples.311. When we view the Temple as the arena of human life we havethe key to the meaning. This symbol of the pillars could also beinterpreted as the passing of the spirit into the realm of Polarization,for a correlative belief accompanying that of Rebirth wasthat the spirit incarnated alternately as male and female in order toobtain all the experiences possible to the human race. The Pillars,then, might be taken as holding; both these meanings and if such isthe case this interpretation fits in exactly with all the rest of thesymbolism and there is no discord nor irrelevancy.THE MOSAIC PAVEMENT AND THE BLAZING STAR312. The Mosaic Pavement and the Blazing Star are two otherbeautiful symbols whose deeper meaning cannot be understooduntil we have learned and taken to heart the symbolic lessons of