This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Freemasonry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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There has been much has been made of the symbolic significance of the angle, or distance between the points, of the compasses in masonic iconography, both by freemasons looking for deeper meanings, and anti-masons looking for further proof of occult associations.
Unfortunately for both, a review of the earliest depictions of the compasses, demonstrates a lack of conformity, with a wide variety and range of angles. Although a depiction of the compasses with the points over the edges of a five-pointed star can be found on the west face of the altar in the lodge room of Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, Scotland, this usage is rare. Identifying the compasses with the Star of David and fixing the anle at 60 degrees has no historical validity in masonic iconography. In many jurisdictions, the compasses of the Grand Master are set to thirty-six degrees while those of a Past Grand Master are set to twenty-nine degrees.
Within Freemasonry there is a tendency to embellish and add to the simplicity of masonic teachings, ascribing significance where none was intended.
The most common symbol of the freemason is the masonic ring normally worn on the left hand. Examples of these rings can be found at Fox Jewelry. The most common working tools found on the masonic ring are the compass and square as well as the plumb and trowel.
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