THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

production of materials for the masonic science.
TERMINUS. One of the most ancient of the Roman deities. He was the god
of
boundaries and landmarks, and his statue consisted only of a cubical
stone, without arms or legs, to show that he was immovable.
TETRACTYS. A figure used by Pythagoras, consisting of ten points,
arranged
in a triangular form so as to represent the monad, duad, triad, and
quarterniad. It was considered as very sacred by the Pythagoreans, and
was
to them what the tetragrammaton was to the Jews.
TETRAGRAMMATON. (From the Greek [Greek: tetra\s], _four_,
and [Greek: gra\mma], a letter. The four-lettered name of God in the
Hebrew
language, which consisted of four letters, viz. [Hebrew: yod-heh-vauheh]
commonly, but incorrectly, pronounced _Jehovah_. As a symbol it greatly
pervaded the rites of antiquity, and was perhaps the earliest symbol
corrupted by the Spurious Freemasonry of the pagan Mysteries.
It was held by the Jews in profound veneration, and its origin supposed
to
have been by divine revelation at the burning bush.
The word was never pronounced, but wherever met with _Adonai_ was
substituted for it, which custom was derived from the perverted reading
of
a, passage in the Pentateuch. The true pronunciation consequently was
utterly lost; this is explained by the want of vowels in the Hebrew
alphabet, so that the true vocalization of a word cannot be learned
from
the letters of which it is composed.
The true pronunciation was intrusted to the high priest; but lest the
knowledge of it should be lost by his sudden death, it was also
communicated to his assistant; it was known also, probably, to the
kings
of Israel.
The Cabalists and Talmudists enveloped it in a host of superstitions.
It was also used by the Essenes in their sacred rites, and by the
Egyptians as a pass-word.
Cabalistically read and pronounced, it means the male and female
principle
of nature, the generative and prolific energy of creation.
THAMMUZ. A Syrian god, who was worshipped by those women of the Hebrews
who had fallen into idolatry. The idol was the same as the Phoenician
Adonis, and the Mysteries of the two were identical.
TRAVELLING FREEMASONS. See _Freemasons, Travelling_.