Masonic Glossary
A concise glossary of core Craft and lodge terms used in speculative Freemasonry: degrees, officers, lodge furniture, moral symbols, and working tools.
0. Core Masonic Symbols and Myth
Hiram Abiff — Legendary master builder of Solomon’s Temple in Craft mythology; his death and raising in the Third Degree dramatize loss and recovery of hidden wisdom.
Jachin and Boaz — The two great pillars at the porch of Solomon’s Temple; in Masonry they mark the threshold of initiation and symbolize establishment and strength.
The Temple of Solomon — Archetypal sacred building and primary symbolic template for the Lodge and the inner Temple of character.
The Great Architect of the Universe — Title for the divine principle that orders cosmos and Temple; source of measure, law, and proportion.
The Lost Word — Hidden name or truth said to have been lost with Hiram’s death and sought throughout the degrees.
The Royal Secret — Phrase used in higher degrees for the inner key of balance, reconciliation of opposites, and right use of power.
1. Degrees and Rites
Entered Apprentice — First Craft degree; youth of the soul, initiation into light, and foundation of moral discipline.
Fellow Craft — Second Craft degree; manhood, knowledge, and the Winding Stair of senses, liberal arts, and architecture.
Master Mason — Third Craft degree; age, wisdom, Hiram Abiff drama, death of the old self, and raising into new life.
Selected Higher Degrees — Secret Master, Knight Rose Croix, Kadosh Knight, Knight of the Sun, Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, and others; degrees elaborating themes of silence, fidelity, Rosicrucian reconciliation, Hermetic light, divine justice, and balanced wisdom.
The Cable Tow — Cord around the initiate; ties and obligations binding one to the fraternity and to destiny.
The Hoodwink — Blindfold on the candidate; spiritual darkness and ignorance before enlightenment.
The Slipshod Heel — Partially removed shoe; humility and recognition of sacred ground.
The Five Points of Fellowship — Traditional postures and sayings symbolizing fraternal support and intimacy.
The Cardinal Virtues — Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice; pillars of moral architecture.
The Theological Virtues — Faith, Hope, Charity; ladder to heaven and completion of virtue.
The Emblems of Mortality — Hourglass, scythe, coffin, and similar symbols; reminders of time’s brevity and death’s certainty.
2. Lodge, Officers, and Lights
The Lodge Room — Sacred space of gathering; cosmos in miniature where labor becomes liturgy.
The Working Lodge — Gathering of builders; human fraternity mirroring the heavenly assembly.
The Master’s Chair — Seat of the presiding officer in the East; wisdom, command, and inner mastery.
The Tyler — Outer guard of the Lodge; vigilance and protection of secrets from the uninitiated.
The Tracing Board — Diagrammatic blueprint of the Lodge, symbolizing the divine plan and archetypal pattern behind material building.
The Working Lodge Lights — Three symbolic lights representing wisdom, reflection, and guidance.
The Three Great Lights — Volume of the Sacred Law, Square, and Compass arranged on the Altar; faith, morality, and boundaries.
The Three Lesser Lights — Lights representing Sun, Moon, and Master Mason; guidance at all times.
The Altar — Central point of sacrifice and offering; human heart as meeting place of heaven and earth.
The Light — Flame on the altar or lodge lamps; illumination of the inner eye and divine wisdom.
The East, West, South, North — Cardinal points of the Lodge; cycles of life, labor, rest, illumination, and regions awaiting light.
The Orient — East of Lodge or Temple; place of rising light and seat of the Master.
The Meridian Sun — Noon position of the sun (South); height of labor and enlightenment in the Fellow Craft degree.
Masons’ Wind — Traditional idea that blessings of philosophy and religion come from the East.
The All‑Seeing Eye — Emblem above the Altar or in the Lodge; divine watchfulness and omniscience.
The Blazing Star — Radiant lodge symbol of divine providence, illumination, and gnosis.
3. Temple Layout and Architecture
The Roof — Sheltering top of the Temple; heavens enclosing and protecting the sacred space.
The Door — Threshold through which the initiate passes; transition, rebirth, and entry into mystery.
The Porch of the Temple — Entrance vestibule; preparatory stage of initiation and readiness.
The Window — Opening to the outer world; illumination and contact with divine light.
The Steps of the Temple — Degrees of ascent; stages of initiation and climb of virtue.
The Middle Chamber — Interior place of the Temple; deeper instruction and inner knowledge.
The Winding Stair — Path of ascent to higher light; gradual progress and mysteries hidden in number and proportion.
The Starry Vault — Ceiling of the Lodge painted with stars; macrocosm mirrored in the microcosm of the Temple.
The Mosaic Pavement — Black and white tiled floor; duality and balance of opposites.
The Tessellated Border — Patterned edge of the pavement; interweaving of heaven and earth at the threshold.
The Indented or Tessellated Tassel — Cord with tassels surrounding the pavement; border of unity and fraternal ties.
The Corner of the Temple — Junction of walls; union between opposites and joining of heaven and earth.
The Sanctum Sanctorum — Holy of Holies emphasized in ritual as place of divine communion.
The Masonic Arch — Curved structure of completion; vault of heaven and perfected work of the initiate.
The Five Orders of Architecture — Classical building styles; refinement, beauty, and harmony of form.
4. Working Tools and Moral Craft
Each tool of the craft (compass, square, level, plumb, trowel, etc.) carries a moral and initiatory lesson.
The Rough Tools — Implements like pick and hammer; raw forces of nature and the unrefined soul.
The Trowel — Builder’s tool for spreading mortar; cement of brotherly love and unity.
The Mallet and Chisel — Tools of refinement; disciplined effort that shapes the rough stone into a perfect ashlar.
The Gavel — Tool of authority and correction, removing the superfluous from the rough stone of the self.
The Plumb Line — Uprightness, truth, and the conscience that aligns the person with the divine axis.
The Level — Ensures evenness; symbol of equality among brethren, moral balance, and impartial justice.
The Compass — Measurement and boundary; spiritual restraint, self‑mastery, and the circle of eternity.
The Square — Tool of right angle; moral integrity, justice, and harmony of spirit and matter.
The Lewis — Tool for lifting stones; support of predecessors in raising the next generation, and leverage of knowledge in elevating the soul.
The Working Apron — Mason’s garment; purity, humility, and consecrated labor.
The Skirret — Tool for drawing straight lines; straight and undeviating path of virtue.
The Pencil — Tool for marking plans; recording of actions and the importance of thoughtful design in life.
The 24‑Inch Gauge — Measuring tool; division of time into work, rest, and service to others/God.
The Common Gavel (or Setting Maul) — Used to break off rough parts; divestment of vices and superfluities.
5. Stones and Building Imagery
The Foundation Stone — Hidden stone beneath the visible; unseen support and stability of the structure and the soul.
The Cornerstone — First stone set; reference point for alignment of the building and image of the chosen or perfected stone.
The Keystone — Central stone in the arch; unity, balance, and the secret that holds the whole together.
The Quarry — Place from which stones are cut; earthly life as field where raw material for the Temple is found.
The Hidden Stone — Stone placed where none can see; virtues and foundations laid in secret.
The Quarry Dust — Fragments cast off in working stone; symbol of purification and shedding of what is no longer needed.
The Copestone — Final stone in a wall; completion of moral edifice and crowning virtue.
The Capstone — Highest stone placed on a structure; fulfillment and crowning of the Great Work.
6. Moral and Symbolic Emblems
The Beehive — Industry, cooperation, and the sweetness of labor in a fraternal society.
The Anchor and Ark — Hope and salvation; steadfastness amid life’s storms.
The Sword Pointing to a Naked Heart — Justice and penetrating conscience.
The Pot of Incense — Pure thoughts ascending to heaven; heart’s devotion.
The Columns of Labor — Hours of work in the Lodge; diligence, perseverance, and rhythm of spiritual practice.
The Seven Liberal Arts — Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, Astronomy; intellectual foundation of the soul’s Temple.
Operative & Speculative Transition — Movement from literal stone‑building to moral and spiritual Temple‑building.
The Builder’s Mark — Signature cut or mark on a stone; soul’s unique imprint on the Great Work.