A Brother Asks: Orders of Architecture

A Brother Asks: Coach, Would you tell me how the columns figure into our Masonic journey?

Coach: I sure can.

Brother: Great!  Please do!

Coach: The first thing you must realize is what each column actually denotes allegorically.

Brother: Allegorically?  You mean the columns are standing in symbolically for a quality that a Brother must embrace Masonicly?

Coach: Exactly!

Brother: Wow!  I had never considered that approach before.

Coach: Many don’t.  Yet, they first are presented in a symbolic lodge and you’d think that most members would. I mean, it is a symbolic lodge.

Brother: True enough. Let’s start with the Tuscan.

Coach: No.  Let’s start with the Doric.

Brother: Why the Doric?                                                                 

Coach: Great question. What do you know about the symbolism of the Doric as it relates to the officers of the lodge?

Brother: I know that the three principle officers are denoted by the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns.

Coach: Meaning?

Brother: The Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens respectively.

Coach: Great! So which officer is the Doric?

Brother: The Senior Warden.

Coach: Correct.  And what quality does the Senior Warden represent?

Brother: Strength.

Coach: Agreed. Using this understanding, what do the Ionic and Corinthian columns represent?

Brother: The remaining officers respectively, and by default, the qualities of Wisdom and Beauty too.

Coach: Yes.  So, you’re telling me that the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns represent Wisdom, Strength and Beauty?

Brother: No. Ritual is telling us this through our ritual lectures.

Coach: Indeed! 

Brother: How does this play into our Masonic journey?

Coach: Let’s overlay these qualities.

Brother: Okay.

Coach: The Doric column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has worked sufficiently upon his Strength.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the apprentice ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his heart?

Coach: Precisely!

Brother: That makes perfect sense.  What about the Ionic column?

Coach: The Ionic column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Wisdom.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the fellow craft ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his mind?

Coach: Yes. 

Brother: I like that! What about the Corinthian column?

Coach:  The Corinthian column represents any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Beauty?

Brother: Beauty?  How is that possible?  How do we work upon our appearance?

Coach: It’s symbolic my Brother.  And it means that a Brother has applied what he has learned within the first two degrees to create a recognizable masterpiece of Beauty.

Brother: You mean sufficiently doing the Work pointed toward by the master ritual to bring Order to the Chaos of his spirit?

Coach: Indeed!  You’re getting the hang of this symbolic stuff.

Brother: Thanks… your coaching helps a lot.

Coach: So does your ability to grasp the allegorical elements and apply them.

Brother:  Thanks... so, what about the Tuscan?  What does it represent?

Coach: The Tuscan is the plainest and simplest of all the columns presented to them within the staircase lecture. 

Brother: Okay…

Coach: When this is to symbolize any quality assigned to a member, it is to denote any Brother who demonstrates that he has yet to Work upon any aspect of his Wisdom, Strength or Beauty.

Brother: So, they have yet to do any of the Work pointed toward by the first three degrees?

Coach: Exactly!  They may have done the memorization work, but they have not applied anything that they have memorized toward their lives.

Brother: So, they are rough ashlars?

Coach: Yes, they have yet to even take up their Working Tools and applied them toward their Ashlars.

Brother: So, they are members, but they have yet to truly to anything other than fit in.

Coach: Sadly, I have to say yes.

Brother: What about the Composite column?  How does that apply to our Masonic journey?

Coach: The Composite column is any Masterful Mason.

Brother: As in?

Coach: As in any Brother who demonstrates that he has Worked sufficiently upon his Wisdom, Strength and Beauty to create a masterpiece, most especially of himself.

Brother: You mean the Work that is pointed toward by the three symbolic degrees?

Coach:  Yes! Furthermore, he has integrated this Work fully and suitably into his being and everyday manner such that they all are present and they all agree.

Brother: Wow!  That’s a lot to take in?

Coach: Yes, and the sad aspect of this whole thing is that its hidden within plain sight and most members do not see it.