Presented by R.·.W.·. Richard J Powell, Worshipful Master, Seneca River Lodge No. 160 on Tuesday, September 16, 2014
One of the important components of an Observant Masonic Lodge is that of Masonic Education. Masonic Education can come from a variety of directions and can include history, ritual, symbolism and esoterica. It is my hope that each Stated Communication of Seneca River Lodge will have some presentation within this area. It could be a paper written by one of our own members (this would be the preference), a visual presentation of some sort or even just the reading of a Short Talk Bulletin or some such article that someone finds interesting and is of a Masonic nature.
Since we are in the formative stages of our conversion to Observancy, I thought we could briefly cover the Four Element and how they, esoterically and symbolically, relate to Freemasonry and our Lodge in particular.
There exists, across a variety of ancient beliefs that the universe is made up of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each element is symbolic of a large number of things from directions to color to animal to a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.
We will begin with Fire. Most systems of magick today attribute the symbol of fire to the South while some older material assigns it to the East. The East makes some sense if you consider that the first light of the day comes from the East. Masonically you could say that it is the Worshipful Master in the East whose duty it is “to open & govern the lodge, giving proper instruction for their labor” that is responsible for providing light to the lodge. Typically, though as mentioned, Fire is aligned with the South.
Correspondences for fire include:
Color: Red
Season: Summer
Direction: South
Greek Letter: Pi
Hebrew Letter: Shin
I chose Fire as the first element based on correspondences given in “An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols” by J.C. Cooper (1978).
They include:
Transformation; Purification
Renewal of Life
The means of devouring all created things to return them to original unity
Alchemic: Fire is the central element as unifier and stabilizer
That’s where we, Seneca River Lodge No. 160, Free & Accepted Masons, stand this night. In the South, in the purifying, transforming heat of Fire, here we, as Brethren, will strive to unify, stabilize and renew the life of our Lodge. The flame has been lit, let us fuel that fire and rise like the Phoenix from the ashes.
Since we are in the formative stages of our conversion to Observancy, I thought we could briefly cover the Four Element and how they, esoterically and symbolically, relate to Freemasonry and our Lodge in particular.
There exists, across a variety of ancient beliefs that the universe is made up of the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each element is symbolic of a large number of things from directions to color to animal to a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.
We will begin with Fire. Most systems of magick today attribute the symbol of fire to the South while some older material assigns it to the East. The East makes some sense if you consider that the first light of the day comes from the East. Masonically you could say that it is the Worshipful Master in the East whose duty it is “to open & govern the lodge, giving proper instruction for their labor” that is responsible for providing light to the lodge. Typically, though as mentioned, Fire is aligned with the South.
Correspondences for fire include:
Color: Red
Season: Summer
Direction: South
Greek Letter: Pi
Hebrew Letter: Shin
I chose Fire as the first element based on correspondences given in “An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols” by J.C. Cooper (1978).
They include:
Transformation; Purification
Renewal of Life
The means of devouring all created things to return them to original unity
Alchemic: Fire is the central element as unifier and stabilizer
That’s where we, Seneca River Lodge No. 160, Free & Accepted Masons, stand this night. In the South, in the purifying, transforming heat of Fire, here we, as Brethren, will strive to unify, stabilize and renew the life of our Lodge. The flame has been lit, let us fuel that fire and rise like the Phoenix from the ashes.
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