Esoteric Freemasonry – A Beginner’s Frustrations

By: W.Bro. James Simmons

During the course of this pandemic, I have been reading up on some of the esoteric aspects of our Craft.
This is a subject that can take years of study, so I humbly consider myself a mere beginner in dipping my
toes into this part of the Craft. My hope is to have an open dialogue with the brethren present regarding
your experiences with this subject as I feel I cannot be the only brother out there left scratching my head
during this research.

Esoteric interpretation of our ritual can be frustrating. The individual brother can be left with a puzzling
understanding of these mysteries. Where do they come from? How were they inserted into our ritual?
And why were they inserted? There are two aspects of esoteric interpretation a brother may run into
during his research. One; the esoteric lessons of our Craft can be tied back to various Ancient Mystery
schools. Two, the esoteric lessons of our Craft are considered the secrets of our ritual work.

Let us look at the definition of Esoteric Freemasonry from a few reputable sources. You may find a
conflicting definition between the first two and the third definition seems to encompass the first two.

- Esoteric Freemasonry – The secret part of the ritual, as distinguished from the exoteric or
monitorial part, which is printed and open to the public. The esoteric part, according to classical
doctrine of the Fraternity, is not to be written, printed, or physically represented in any form,
but in many jurisdictions cipher rituals are permitted. (Coil, 1961)
- Esoteric – Greek Esoterikos. That which is secret, revealed only to the initiated. In the secret
societies of the ancients, the doctrines were divided into the esoteric and exoteric; the former
for the initiated, who were permitted to look upon the most sacred mysteries of the arcana; and
the latter for the uninitiated, who remained in the outer court. (Macoy, 1869)
- Esoteric Masonry – That secret portion of Masonry which is known only to the initiates as
distinguished from exoteric Masonry, or monitorial, which is accessible to all those who choose
to read the manuals and published works of the Order. The words are from the Greek,
εσωτερικές, internal, and εξωτερικές, external, and were first used by Pythagoras, whose
philosophy was divided into the exoteric, or that taught to all, and the esoteric, or that taught to
a select few; and thus his disciples were divided into two classes, according to the degree of
initiation to which they had attained, as either being fully admitted into the society, and
invested with all the knowledge that the Master could communicate, or as merely postulants,
enjoying only the public instructions of the school, and awaiting the gradual reception of further
knowledge. This double mode of instruction was borrowed by Pythagoras by the Egyptian
priests, whose theology was of two kinds – the one exoteric and addressed to the people in
general; the other esoteric, and confined to a select number of the priests and to those who
possessed, or were to possess, the regal power. And the mystical nature of this concealed
doctrine was expressed in their symbolic language by the images of sphinxes placed at the
entrance of their temples. Two centuries later, Aristotle adopted the system of Pythagoras, and,
in the Lyceum at Athens, delivered in the morning to his select disciples his subtle and concealed
doctrines concerning God, Nature, and Life, and in the evening lectured on more elementary
subjects to a promiscuous audience. These different lectures he called his Morning and his
Evening Walk. (Mackey, 1914)
Assuming the student is wanting to research into the esoteric aspects of Freemasonry in relation to the
various Ancient Mystery Schools, where does he start?

There are literally thousands of books and articles available, in print and online, to a Mason to start this
journey. Having an analytical mind, I find the information I have read, to date, has given me a few pieces
to a 1000-piece puzzle. These are interesting concepts on their own but difficult to envision it as part of
a complete whole because you’re missing the lid to the puzzle box.

There are some respected authors out there who write in a scholarly fashion. Albert Pike and Albert
Mackey are two examples I can think of. If reading extremely detailed academic type papers interest
you, you could start with these authors. Personally, I prefer a more simple read when researching on
this subject. Authors such as Robert Lund and Walter Wilmshurst fall into this category.

A few examples of some of the esoteric lessons in our ritual can be found below. For the sake of time, I
will try to keep these examples related to the Entered Apprentice degree except for the first one. The
first example is a bit closer to home for us and provides a brief but foundational look back to the Ancient
Mysteries.

R.W.Bro. William John “Jack” Collett, SGW, Grand Lodge of Alberta presented a paper at the 1962
Western Canada Conference entitled Masonic Origin in the Mysteries. In this paper he lays out that the
“[Mystery Religions] were usually connected with some type of belief in fertility and growth.” Belief was
centered around the changing of the seasons; fall to winter symbolized death and decay, spring and
summer; was a return of abundance and growth. There were two Greek versions of this story relating to
Adonis and Ishtar, as well as Adonis and Aphrodite. There was a similar Egyptian version relating to
Osiris and Isis. Jack envisions the connection to the Hiram Abiff legend. While Ancient Mysteries were
focused around death and resurrection of the materialism (abundance of material crop growth for the
winter) this is not evident in the Hiram legend. The raising of Hiram symbolizes the entrance of the
human soul into a new and better stage of existence and points out that all men should prepare
themselves for the transition to the new life by a God-fearing and upright life. (Collett, 2021)

The Masonic Apron:

Entered Apprentice: flap turned up has 5 corners emblematical of 5 human senses used to interact in
the material realm. The triangular portion above; quadrangular portion below. Man’s nature is a
combination of soul and body; of Spiritual realm and Material realm. As an Entered Apprentice you are
aware of this combination, but they are separate. (Lund, 2016)

Fellowcraft: flap turned down symbolizes the understanding that the higher nature of Man is now
permeating his lower nature. Left hand corner turned up forms a pocket to carry the working tools;
square, plumb, level of a Fellowcraft. The apron forms a triangle, an indication that the Mason is to work
on his higher self. (Wilmshurst, 1922)

Master Mason: Rosettes symbolize the higher self has blossomed like a rose. With light blue border it
indicates that a higher than natural light permeates his being and radiates from his person. Two columns
of light descending from above, streaming into the depths of his whole being, and terminating in the 7-
fold tassels which typify the 7-fold prismatic spectrum of supernatural light. (Wilmshurst, 1922)
Northeast Corner Lecture:

When you are born your foundation stone was laid for your spiritual life. You are charged to develop it;
to create a superstructure upon it. Two paths are open to him at this stage: a path of light (East) or a
path of darkness (North). Perpetual light vs spiritual obscurity and ignorance. These are continuous
choices to be made throughout life. (Wilmshurst, 1922)

The Three Lesser Lights:

The sun symbolizes our spiritual consciousness. The moon symbolizes our intellectual faculties, which
should reflect the light coming from the higher spiritual faculty as the moon reflects the sun. The
Worshipful Master represents our will-power or the Master Principle within ourselves.

The three great Cosmic Principles underlying the Universe are present within himself. The universe is the
Macrocosm, he himself is the Microcosm and in him reside the three ‘lights’. This could be thought of as
similar to the Hermetic principle of correspondence; as above, so below, as below, so above. As within,
so without, as without, so within.

The three lesser lights can also represent the dualities of life; sun / moon and the candidate (Master)
finding balance between the two. (Lund, 2016)

The Three Great Lights:

The Holy Bible represents the Cosmic or Divine Law. The compasses represent the Cosmic or Divine
Principle and our link to the manifestation of the Creator. This is the spiritual nature of the candidate.
The Square, although opposite to, is inextricably conjoined with, the Compasses, and represents cosmic
matter, in which the Divine Principle takes form. This is also known as the physical / material being. The
covered points of the Compasses implies the candidate’s spirit is overlain and prevented from full
function by the tendencies of his material body. The Three Great Lights reveal the Cosmic Purpose: of
Spirit and Matter working in unison and according to Cosmic Law. (Lund, 2016)

Cable Tow:

A cable-tow around the neck symbolizes that once a man truly initiated into the Mysteries, he can never
turn back from what he has learned without committing moral suicide. He can never again be the man
he was before gaining a glimpse of the hidden mysteries. (Wilmshurst, 1922)

The Form of a Lodge:

References to the ‘Lodge’ in our ritual is not the building or our Lodge as collective but symbolizes the
internal Lodge or Temple within ourselves. If we interpret our ritual in this light it reveals an entirely
new aspect of the purpose of our Craft.

In the Ancient York Rite, “The Form of a Lodge is oblong. In length, from East to West; in breadth, from
North to South; as high as heaven and as deep as from the surface to the centre.” (Rite, 2013)

The West represents your rational mind; material-oriented common sense. The East; man’s spirituality.
The South is where rational understanding and spiritual intuition meet, where intellectuality can attain
its meridian. The North is our physical sense, lowest perception, a place of darkness and ignorance. The
Depth is the difference between the superficial consciousness of our material mentality (surface of the
earth) and the degree of divine consciousness of man’s spiritual center. The Height of a lodge shows the
range of consciousness available to us is infinite. (Lund, 2016)

To date, I am left scratching my head still trying to understand these esoteric concepts. It is understood
why these mysteries were transmitted orally but it leaves the present student trying to, in reverse order,
connect our ritual back to these mysteries. This, in my mind, is like trying to identify relatively recent
Global events back to the writings of Nostradamus.

In the course of discovering and interpreting these deeper meanings, we engage in educated
speculation. For a single given esoteric element, we may legitimately find several different meanings.
(Burkle, 2021)

There are also the aspects where some authors will try to attach multiple meanings to certain parts of
our ritual. Did the authors of our ritual intend it to be interpreted in this fashion? The student or reader
may interpret these esoteric lessons on an emotional level. E.g., I “feel” this version is correct because I
can relate to it somehow. This is completely acceptable for the individual but is it the Truth or does the
Truth reveal itself to us in a manner that we can individually interpret it?

In the end, I will still read and progress my knowledge in this abstract aspect of our Craft. I have a feeling
that this study of the esoteric aspects of our Craft will end up forming the base of a knowledge tree with
various theoretical branches splitting off that my analytical mind will have to work at comprehending. It
will be interesting to revisit this paper years from now to see where I am at in this area of study.

References
Burkle, B. W. (2021, February 6). A Guide For The New Esoteric Freemason. Retrieved from Pietre-
Stones: Review of Freemasonry:
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/esoteric_freemason.html

Coil, H. W. (1961). Coil's Masonic Encylopedia. New York: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply
Company, Inc.

Collett, R. B. (2021, 01 24). MASONIC ORIGIN IN THE MYSTERIES. Retrieved from Cedar City Lodge
Library: http://www.cedarcitylodge.org/books/Freemasonry%20-%20vol10no09..Masonic
%20Origins%20in%20the%20Mysteries%20(6%20pgs).pdf

Lund, R. V. (2016). The Hidden Code in Freemasonry. Kindle Direct Publishing.

Mackey, A. G. (1914). An Encylopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences. New York: The Masonic
History Company.

Macoy, R. (1869). A Dictionary of Freemasonry. New York: Gramercy Books.

Rite, T. W.-A. (2013). The Work - Ancient York Rite. Grand Lodge of Alberta.

Wilmshurst, W. L. (1922). The Meaning of Masonry.