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 do 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.
