Today in Masonic History we present Mason Marks.
They're traced in lines on the Parthenon, Inscribed by the subtle Greek; And Roman legions have carved them on Walls, roads and arch antique; Long ere the Goth, with vandal hand, Gave scope to his envy dark, The Mason craft in many a land Has graven its Mason mark. The obelisk old and the pyramids, Around which a mystery clings,- The Hieroglyphs on the coffin lids Of weird Egyptian kings, Syria, Carthage and Pompeii, Buried and strewn and stark, Have marble records that will not die, Their primitive Mason mark. Upon column and frieze and capital, In the eye of the chaste volute, - On Scotia's curve, or an astrogal, Or in triglyp's channel acute,- Cut somewhere on the entablature, And oft, like a sudden spark, Flashing a light on a date obscure, Shines many a Mason mark. These craftsmen old had a genial whim, That nothing could ever destroy, With a love of their art that naught could dim, They toiled with a chronic joy; Nothing was too complex to essay, In aught they dashed to embark; They triumphed on many an Appian Way, Where they'd left their Mason mark. Crossing the Alps like Hannibal, Or skirting the Pyranees, On peak and plain, in crypt and cell, On foot or on bandaged knees; - From Tiber to Danube, from Rhine to Seine, They needed no "letters of marque;" - Their art was their passport in France and Spain, And in Britain their Mason mark. The monolith gray and Druid chair, The pillars and towers of Gael, In Ogharn occult their age they bear, That time can only reveal. Live on, old monuments of the past, Our beacons through ages dark! In primal majesty still you'll last, Endeared by each Mason mark. From a post by Walter Zelaya Alcyone Lodge No.695 The Journey was long, the labors tumultuous, and even at times fraught with peril, but the candidates and officers of Suwassett Chapter #195 rose to the challenges and successfully preformed all 4 capitular degrees in house, a feat not achieved within the Suffolk district in decades..
This is a testimony not only to the chapter officers who stepped up rose to the challenge of learning not only the ritual, but mastering floor work, rebuild ceremonials, and devising music, special effects, costumes and lighting in a period of 5 months, but to the candidates who adjusted there schedules and whose enthusiasm encouraged the chapter to push forward. Congratulations to our Newly exalted Companions: Steve W. Mark S. Richie H. Charles K. Miguel B. Peter B. Colby B. Christopher F. Jr. Steve C. Excelsior Companions, Excelsior.
By history, custom, tradition and ritualistic requirements, the Craft holds dear the days of St. John the Baptist on June 24, and St. John the Evangelist on December 27. A lodge which forgets either forfeits a precious link with the past and loses an opportunity for the renewal of allegiance to everything in Freemasonry symbolized by these Patron Saints. No satisfactory explanation has as yet been advanced to explain why operative Masons adopted two Christian saints, when St. Thomas, the patron of architecture and building, was available..
Today's we look att Sts John Day and ties to yesterday's post. Sts John Day Article: Source Masonic World This Masonic symbol has both a Modern symbolism and an Ancient symbolism. Some depictions show a "B" on the outer left side of the left vertical line for John the Baptist and an "E" on the outer right side of the right vertical line. The V.S.L. (Volume of Sacred Law) resides above the circle. Here is fascinating look article about this important symbol.
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