Lodge
of Perfection Degree Descriptions
The Degree
description below is reprinted with the permission of the
Scottish Rite Journal.
Twelfth Degree
Master
Architect
The Tools Of The Trade
Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand
Cross
Photo: Oil
painting by Bro. Robert H. White, 32°
The Twelfth Degree (right) begins the climb
of the Scottish Rite Mason into the reaches of philosophy, as opposed
to the emphasis on morality typical of the earlier Scottish Rite Degrees. In order
to accomplish this, Pike takes us straight back to Blue Lodge symbolism
with the traditional colors of blue, white, and gold. The blue with
which the apron is lined and bordered, the blue of the cordon, and the
gold of the apron's fringe are colors whose Blue Lodge symbolism is too
well-known to discuss here.
The flap of the apron shows a protractor. The
apron itself shows a plain scale, a sector (two sets of scales, hinged
at one end and used for computations), and the compasses arranged to
form a triangle. The choice of these three to form a triangle is
interesting, remembering that the triangle is a symbol of Deity. The
scale is an instrument of measurement, the sector of computation, and
the compasses of spirituality and creation. They might, therefore, be
considered symbols of the justice (measurement), wisdom (computation)
and creativeness (spirit) of God.
The jewel is seven-sided, with a five-pointed
star, enclosed in a semi-circle, in each vertex. The center shows an
equilateral triangle formed by the arcs of circles. Thus, with the
triangle, the shape of the stars and the shape of the jewel, we have
the numbers 3, 5, and 7. The reverse of the jewel (pictured on the
sheet above the apron on the facing page) shows the five orders of
architecture, the three types of compasses, a plain scale, a parallel,
a ruler, a sector, and a slide rule. It is interesting to note that all
the instruments shown are instruments of calculation and creation. The
instruments of testing which play so large a part in the Blue Lodge
Degrees—the plumb, square, and level—are absent.
This is because we are now moving away from the operative and fully
into the speculative or philosophical aspects of Freemasonry. The
instruments are emblems, of course, of the ethical duties of man and
the duties he owes to himself—to study, to learn, to develop,
and especially to think. Only then can a Freemason be a Master
Architect.
The Scottish Rite Journal
- June 1999
Jim Tresner
is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The
Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and
its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer
writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script
consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the
Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work
at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a
life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of the
popular anecdotal biography Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument,
and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information
Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's
highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial
Session.
