The Symbolism associated with the North
by Harold Meij
Why is it that the North has been associated with a place of
darkness?
We learn from the first degree lecture, that "there are three
lights in a Lodge....There is none in the North”. In
“King Solomon’s Temple....the sun and moon....could
dart no ray of light into the North part thereof. The North, therefore, we
Masonically term a place of darkness”.
The Sun, while progressing through the ecliptic, never reaches
farther than 23 degrees and 28 minutes north of the Equator. Therefore, a
building that is erected further north than this would receive the sun, at its
meridian height, only on its south side.
Similar references to darkness in the North can be found in the
Bible. For example in Jeremiah 1-13/14 we find: “What seest thou? And I said, I see a
seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the Lord said unto
me, out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the
land”. Again, in
Jeremiah 46-20: “destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north”.
As it is said that the Lord will rise again in the East, the
east side of a church is always regarded as the most sacred. Indeed it was
common practice for the dead to be buried with their feet towards to East, so
that they could meet Him. In Wales, for example, a wind coming from the east, is
referred to as "The wind of the dead man's feet". In a Lodge too, the East, the
place of the Worshipful Master, where the Sun rises, is the most important.
Next is the south, then the west, and finally the north - this
from the belief that the dead would rise in this order. Felons, therefore, were
frequently buried in the north side of the churchyard. The east is considered
God's side, where His throne is set; the west, man's side, the Galilee of the
Gentiles; the south, the side of the “spirits made just” and angels, where the sun shines in her
strength; the north, the devil's side, where Satan and his legion lurk to catch
the unwary. Some churches have still a “devil's door” in the north wall, which is opened at
baptisms and communions to let the devil out.
Another passage in the Bible, shows that the North is also
associated with other forms of death, such as sacrifices. In Leviticus 1/11, we
read "He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord, and
Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all
sides".
In ancient Central American cultures, where directions have a
permanent symbolic importance, North is the place the living come from and the
dead return to, a country of cold, hunger, night. The eagle, symbol of war,
resides in the North, because it is the territory of hunting and combat. The
colour of north is black. Ancient Mongols, when making toasts, spilled their
cups to the South to honour Fire, to the East to honour Air, to the West to
honour Water, and to the North to honour the dead.
Perhaps partly based on this Mongol tradition, in the ancient
Japanese sport of Sumo, there are 4 colored tassels hanging above the ring where
the Japanese wrestling takes place. Each represents a direction, and a season. A
black tassel is representative of the North, and winter. The Japanese strongly
believe that sleeping with ones head towards the north is bad luck.
During the Middle Ages, an accused person would stand facing
his judges to the north. According to the book of Bahir (one of the oldest
Kabalistic texts), the north is the abode evil, and Satan comes from the north.
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