SYMBOLISM OF THE CENSER
by Harold Meij
The pot of incense plays an important role in the third degree
lecture, where it is explained that it is an emblem of a pure heart - but why is
it? Incense is often used to purify the air. In many religious
ceremonies this is taken a step further, whereby incense purifies the people
attending the religious ceremony (for example the incensing of the priest and
congregation in a Catholic High Mass). When the Israelites wandered the
wilderness for forty years, they build a tabernacle, a tent sanctuary used by
the Israelites during the Exodus, and which they were able to put together and
disassemble quickly as occasion required. Hence the furnishings were simple but
deeply symbolic.
On the altar, offerings of fruit and other items were made, put
next to a pot of incense, so that the proof of one's gratitude through prayers
would rise with the smoke to Him. Hence, the pot of incense is also a central
symbol in the 23rd degree (Chief of the Tabernacle) and is also present in the
24th degree (Prince of the Tabernacle).
The idea of smoke rising to Heaven is also extensively used in
many religions and cultures, especially with funerals (like India). It is also
interesting to note that a lesser known Egyptian God, Dedun (a.k.a. Tatunen) is
the Egyptian God of wealth and incense, and is always portrayed with a censer on
his head (symbol of purity and pure thought) back to top | 
