masonic matters
Northeast Corner
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
“The Masonic ritual is a commentary on the Bible, and like any commentary is
meaningless alone. Therefore, it is necessary for the Mason to study the Bible
along with his Masonry or he cannot understand the latter.” Brother C.C. Hunt
“We find all the morals, ethics, and truths for which Masonry stands in the
Bible.” Brother C.C. Hunt
Each man who has been initiated into Freemasonry will remember the time when he
was placed in the northeast corner of the Lodge, and was told he then stood as a
just and upright Mason. The symbolism of this, it seems to me, is that the
Master of the Lodge knew for certain that he had not had the opportunity to
violate any vow, make a decision contrary to a true Mason, or to make a mistake
of any kind. Because as a candidate he had followed all the orders; answered all
the questions; and had been under the supervision of an officer of the Lodge[i]
continually from the first part of the degree up until that very moment. So that
moment was the one and only time the Master of the Lodge would be able to say
that his new Brother then stood as a “just and upright Mason”, because he was
not yet given the opportunity to be on his own and thus has not had the chance
to make an error or to debase the dignity of his profession. The Master then
admonishes him to always walk and act as a just and upright mason and each and
every Mason whether at the initiation or not hopes that he will.
The new Mason soon learns that he was placed in the northeast corner of the
Lodge because he is a cornerstone of the craft, and it is from there he is
expected to build his moral and Masonic edifice.
In the book Masonry Defined our Brother Albert Mackey is quoted as saying that
it was Brother William Preston who put this point about being a just and upright
Mason into the ritual, which is used here in Minnesota at least.
Brother Mackey tells us that the upright posture refers to the fact that God
created man to be upright.[ii]
“This is the peculiar prerogative of man.” Man’s upright posture also reminds
him “of his relationship to the celestial powers, and that he is endowed with
some of the attributes of the divinity, and with a life that will endure
forever, he is admonished thereby that he should live in a manner worthy of so
illustrious an origin, and so glorious a destiny.” One of the joys of man is to
live and stand in an upright manner. Uprightness is symbolic of the love of
righteousness which brings happiness, and that is why the “Oil of Joy” is
associated with uprightness.[iii]
It is also in the first Degree that a Mason learns what an oblong square is. The
form of a Lodge is an oblong square; an oblong square is constructed of two
squares set together in such way that would make its length double its breadth[iv].
A traditional map of the world at the time of Moses, and up through the days of
King’s David and Solomon, would indicate that the world was in the shape of an
oblong square. The traditional belief at that time was that civilization arose
in the northeast corner of the world, and from there people spread over the then
known world.[v]
To the people of this time the northeast corner was the place where the light of
civilization first dawned, and because of this the northeast corner was sacred,
so to place the first stone of a temple of God in the northeast corner was not
only the right thing to do it was the sacred thing to do.
“There was a legend among operative Masons that King Solomon laid the corner
stone at the northeast corner early in the morning, because at that time the
sunlight was at the outside of that corner. When the stone was proved square,
level, and plumb, true and trusty, and properly laid, he proceeded to the
southeast corner where, about the middle of the forenoon, he laid the
cornerstone at that point. Then at the corresponding time in the afternoon he
performed the same task at the southwest corner and ended the day by laying the
cornerstone at the northwest corner by the light of the setting sun. In each
case the stone was laid when the sun was shining on both the outer sides of the
stone.”[vi]
We know and understand that this is only a legend, a story, but legends,
allegories and stories, fables and parables, many times have a reason for being
and this is true here.
Building operations even today require good light. The ancients, who did not
have the advantage of artificial lighting, had to make the best use of daylight
while it lasted. To lay a corner stone properly required, along with the skill,
the best light available which was available at certain times of the day when
the sun would shine on both outer walls of the stone and permit accurate placing
by sunlight.
The legend mentioned above is explained to us as: “The northeast corner
represents dawn of light into the soul. It is the symbol of a youth emerging
from the darkness of ignorance into the light of knowledge. The southeast corner
represents the time when the sun becomes strong and symbolizes the youth
graduating school and entering upon the active duties of life. The southwest
corner denotes the beginning of the sun’s decline and symbolizes that man has
passed his prime and his strength is failing. The northwest corner represents
the setting sun and symbolizes the setting of man’s mortal life.”
“Each of the cornerstones traditionally laid by King Solomon represents a
turning point in the life of a man: 1. his emergence from darkness to light; 2.
his passing from youth to maturity; 3. from maturity to failing faculties; 4.
and finally from this earthly life to his heavenly home.”[vii]
In the legend of the third degree there are some Fellow Craft Masons who desire
some information so that they may travel into foreign countries and be able to
receive the wages of a Master Mason. As Brother Mackey says many Masons have
heard in the third degree about traveling into foreign countries without
dreaming for a moment of the hidden meaning, or thinking only that it referred
to the actual travels of Masons, after the completion of the Temple, into the
surrounding countries in search of employment as Master Masons. “But the true
symbolic meaning of the foreign country into which the Master Mason travels in
search of wages is far different.” “The symbolism of this life terminates with
the Master’s degree. The completion of that degree is the lesson of death and
the resurrection to a future life, where the true word, or Divine truth, not
given in this, is to be received as the reward of a life worthily spent in its
search. Heaven, the future life, the higher state of existence after death, is
the foreign country in which the Master Mason is to enter, and there he is to
receive his wages in the reception of that truth which can be imparted only in
that better land.”[viii]
“The English Bible [is] a book which, if everything else in our language should
perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.”
Macaulay
From the Great light of Masonry = “You love what is right and hate what is
wrong. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you pouring out the oil of joy on
you more than on anyone else.” Psalm 45:7 NLT
Political Freedom, Religious Tolerance, Personal Integrity; Freemasonry – it’s
not for everyone.
[i] In the control of the Senior and Junior Steward to the Senior Deacon to
the Worshipful Master with no gaps in supervision.
[ii] Stand erect
[iii] Masonic Concordance of the Holy Bible #2234C3
[iv] This is best illustrated as a superficies, which has length and breadth
only for dimensions.
[v] Masonic Concordance of the Holy Bible #988I
[vi] ibid #988L
[vii] ibid #988N&Q
[viii] Masonry Defined January 11, 1930 edition #370
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