The Royal Arch

The Royal Arch is the recovery of a lost wisdom-center, the restoration of sacred knowledge associated with the Temple of Solomon, and the completion of an initiatory structure interrupted or destroyed in earlier ages.

• the restoration of lost sacred knowledge
• the rediscovery of divine presence in a fallen world
• the completion of an initiatory structure
• the inner sanctum where the covenant is renewed
• the transformation of the human being into a living temple

1. Destruction — The outer temple (historical religion, institutions, dogma) collapses.
2. Concealment — Sacred knowledge is hidden in the Vault to preserve it.
3. Descent — Initiates symbolically enter the ruins of the past.
4. Discovery — The hidden Ark, tablets, or Word are rediscovered.
5. Reconstruction — The arch is completed through the keystone.
6. Completion — The initiate becomes the microcosmic Temple, with the recovered principle now internalized.

a partially ruined vaulted chamber, a keystone, checkerboard flooring, columns, and the Ark of the Covenant beneath the arch.

The Arch and Vault

The completed arch represents perfected architecture and the restoration of a lost sacred structure.

The keystone is the final piece inserted at the apex of the arch. It is the recovered Name, Word, or principle that holds the entire system of initiation together.

The semi-ruined state of the arch:

• the destruction of Solomon’s Temple
• the loss of ancient knowledge
• the condition of humanity after the Fall
• the fragmentation of primordial wisdom traditions

The Vault beneath the Temple is the site where hidden knowledge is concealed during times of destruction, to be rediscovered in a later age.

The Ark of the Covenant

• the covenantal relationship between the divine and humanity
• the original deposit of sacred law
• the innermost sanctum of the Temple (the Holy of Holies)
• the lost center of Israelite and early Christian sacred history

The Checkerboard Floor

The black-and-white checkered pattern is a standard Masonic symbol representing the duality inherent in manifested existence.

• the field of human experience
• the polarity of light and darkness
• the arena in which moral, philosophical, and initiatory work occurs

Columns and Architectural Space

The classical columns:

• the architecture of antiquity
• the lineage of sacred building traditions
• the continuity between Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Rosicrucian, and Masonic symbolic systems

The chamber as the interior sanctum of the psyche, the “inner temple,” or the place where reconstruction of the self and its understanding occurs.

The Pentagram

• the microcosm
• the regenerated human
• the harmony of the elements
• the completed philosophical work (in alchemy: quintessence)
• the perfected adept
• the Philosophical Child
• the union of celestial and terrestrial principles

Its position above the Ark indicates that the recovered wisdom leads to the regeneration of the human being.

The Keystone

• the “lost word” or “lost name”
• the final piece of the initiatory puzzle - the rediscovered principle that allows the spiritual edifice to be completed
• the hidden truth known to the original builders