New MasterÂ
Making one’s very first toast to the Provincial Grand Master at Installation can be something of an ordeal.
As you would imagine I was very nervous, so the DC wrote down a few words on the back of an old Summons: the trouble was, he was a doctor and I took one look at the scrawl and said to him: Am I supposed to read this or take it three times a day?’
Veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols
Allegory of true and false wisdom. Etching by J.G. Bergmüller
IMAGE LINKED:Â Wellcome Collection Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Allegory – A subject which recalls another by reason of its analogous context.
For instance, a bunch of grapes, because of the time of the year in which it is harvested, is symbolic or allegorical of Autumn.
Allegorical subjects were very popular during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The gods of classical mythology all had objects sacred to them.
The laurel was sacred to Apollo (Helios); the vine to Bacchus (Dionysius); the lightning bolt and the eagle to Jupiter (Zeus); the lionskin and club to Hercules (Hercules); and the caduceus to Mercury (Hermes), the names in brackets being the Greek equivalents of the Roman names first given.
These attributes, standing by themselves, were symbolic of the gods who bore them.
In Christian art both the lamb and the fish symbolized Jesus Christ.
Groups of this kind were termed trophies, Symbolism was carried to great lengths, especially in the eighteenth century, when sets of porcelain and bronze figures represented the Seasons, Continents, Elements (Earth, Fire Air and Water), and so on, the meaning of which could only be deduced from the symbols they carried.
Thus, flowers represented Spring; a sheaf of corn, Summer; grapes, Autumn; and a brazier, Winter. Everyone was expected to be sufficiently well acquainted with this kind of symbolism to be able to identify the meaning.
[George Savage, Dictionary of Antiques, as quoted in Symbolism in Craft Freemasonry by Bro Colin Dyer. In considering the need for symbolism and allegory, we should remember that literacy was far from universal in past times.]
Emasculation!
Whilst visiting a Lodge in April 2012, the Master asked why it was taking so long to prepare a ballot. The ADC replied:
‘We seem to have lost our balls’.
Whereupon the Master said: ‘There’s no answer to that!’
The Lodge erupted!
A ballot box
IMAGE LINKED:Â wikimedia Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
*These ‘Chippings’ were featured in previous issues of The Square and are reproduced with permission of the author.
Article by: Hugh O'Neill
Past Master of Craft lodges under the constitution of the United Grand Lodge of England.
Member (Senior Warden 2021-2022) of Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076,  the world’s premier Masonic research lodge.
Masonic historian and orator on Masonic topics.
Recent Articles: Ashlar Chippings
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Lewies and the Tenue Blanche in New York and
2) Penalties - worth it?
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Veiled in Allegory and Illustrated by Symbols
2) Intriguing Coincidence?
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Lord Carnarvon's 'recuperation'
2) "Freemasonry" in Naples in the Eighteenth Century
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Take care for whom you vouch!
2) Perilous Time
3) On asking for a Certificate of Good Standing and
4) The Wrong Frequency!
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Some words and phrases and
2) Rudyard Kipling
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Multiple ceremonies and
2) A horseman revealed!
more....
Ashlar chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: - Emblems on an Installed Master’s Apron.
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) The Stiff Upper Lip - Keep Calm and Carry On – Masonic Style and
2) Ladies’ Freemasonry
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Understanding Freemasonry,
2) Where was the Foundry? and
3) Answer this and answer true
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) How to get your Knighthood,
2) The Cowan,
3) Keeping the Tankards topped up! and
4) Installation of a Lodge Master (1723)
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Whence Came the Rosettes,
2) The Freemasons' Motto and
3) On the carpet - Hundred of Elloe Lodge No. 469
more....
Ashlar chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) New Master,
2) Veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols and
3) Emasculation!
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Masonic Symbolism
more....
Ashlar chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) The well qualified Master Elect,
2) An Irish Obligation,
3) A chair going spare?,
4) Hirsute Masons and
5) Nature’s Bounty
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) A ‘Masonic’ Dodo!,
2) Public ‘Open Nights’ and
3) Fraternity or Corporation?
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Tercentenary of United Grand Lodge of England - 1721-2021 season 2
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Our charitable visitors,
2) Speculation?,
3) The Recovery of that which was Lost and
4) Showing the flag
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) The Future of Masonry,
2) Why is the apron flap sometimes up and sometimes down? and
3) The scandalous William Preston
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) That ‘H’ word,
2) Lesser Lights - what are they?,
3) The darkness comprehended it not!,
4) Interpretations of Symbols and
5) Tailpiece
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Neville Barker Cryer personal view of Freemasonry
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Equality,
2) The Faithful Few,
3) What’s the Attraction? and
4) Slap on the wrist for a Past Grand Master
more....
Fifty Shades of Blue
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Fifty Shades of Blue! - The discussion of Provincial Honours amongst UGLE members appears to be ever contentious
more....
Masonic Sea Chest
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Masonic Sea Chest from the Orlop Deck of HMS Victory
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Symbolic Masonic Penalties,
2) Eligibility? – It depends and
3) Provincial AGMs During COVID-19 Suspension
more....
Ashlar Chippings
Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar:
1) We are where we are, because… and
2) Ornaments to the Society
more....
masonic knowledge
to be a better citizen of the world
share the square with two brothers
click image to open email app on mobile device
Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle
The Correspondence Circle exists so that as wide an audience as possible may enjoy and benefit from the research efforts of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, the premier Masonic research Lodge in the world.
Join or Renew
Membership
