INTERNAL MASONRY

Talk No.61

Peter Taylor is a Past Master of Lodge Albert No.448 and Discovery No.1789

Genuine and powerful inner work can be done with the Four Cardinal Virtues and Three Theological Virtues; they have an ancient and interreligious presence in the Western world, along with traditional forms that can be built up in the imagination.
Each of the Cardinal Virtues can easily be assigned to one of the four quarters and a philosophic element, as well as one of the primary working tools and an element of consecration for the Craft (corn, wine and oil, plus incense).

Internal Masonry

Genuine and powerful inner work can be done with the Four Cardinal Virtues and Three Theological Virtues; they have an ancient and interreligious presence in the Western world, along with traditional forms that can be built up in the imagination. Each of the Cardinal Virtues can easily be assigned to one of the four quarters and a philosophic element, as well as one of the primary working tools and an element of consecration for the Craft, (corn, wine, and oil, plus incense). While there is room for deviation from these associations, every effort has here been made to maintain congruence among all the relevant factors. Ancient sources on the virtues include Plato's The Republic, while for the elements one may begin with Empedocles’ Tetrasomia. Traditional Masonic instructions on the virtues are quoted in the following paragraphs.

Prudence - East - Air - Master's Square - Incense

The Greek name of Prudence is Sophia (pronounced so-FEE-ah), and she can be visualized as an elder dark-haired woman in a pale green gown with a pink shawl, gazing at a mirror in her right hand, and with a caduceus in her left. She is surrounded by an aura of yellow rays. Sophia is the calculative virtue that sees the whole. In Masonry we learn that Sophia “…teaches us to regulate our lives and actions agreeably to the dictates of reason, and is that habit by which we wisely judge, and prudentially determine, on all things relative to our present, as well as to our future happiness. (Plate 1)

This virtue should be the peculiar characteristic of every Mason, not only for the government of his conduct while in the Lodge, but also when abroad in the world.”
As in all sacred societies, Masonry uses incense in its lodges and temples to create an atmosphere conducive to solemn and reverent purposes. The fragrant smoke of incense is naturally associated with the element of air. It aids in attaining a calm soul and focused attention, which are the requisite conditions for the exercise of Prudence. Prudence and incense are associated with the Master’s square because they characterize the contemplative and worshipful state of mind that is ideal for the government of all great and noble undertakings.

Fortutude - South - Fire - Plumb - Oil

Andreía (pronounced ahn-DRAY-ya) is the Greek name for Fortitude, and she is seen as a mature red-haired and helmeted woman wearing a red toga over a yellow robe, and standing next to a broken column. Her aura shines with red rays. Masonry teaches us that Andreía “…bestows that noble and steady purpose of the mind, whereby we are enabled to undergo any pain, peril or danger, when prudentially deemed expedient. This virtue is equally distant from rashness or cowardice; and should be deeply impressed upon the mind of every Mason….” Andreía is the spirited virtue that preserves the whole.(Plate 2)

For Masons, oil is traditionally recognized as one of the wages of the Craft. It is referred to as an emblem of joy, the meaning of which becomes clearer when we consider that oil is the ancient medium of anointing. Oil is also a preservative, a cleanser, a medicine, and a fuel for lamps. It is in these respects that oil is esoterically associated with the virtue of Fortitude and the element of fire. The Junior Warden’s plumb is assigned to the South and fire because it always tends to point toward the great flame of the Sun at its zenith, and because Fortitude is the strength of any edifice to remain upright and true.

Temperance - West - Water - Level _ Wine

The Greek name of Temperance is Sophrosúne (pronounced so-fro-SOO-nay), imagined as a blond-haired woman wearing a golden toga wrapped around a blue robe, pouring water from a pitcher into a cup. She glows with blue rays of light. Sophrosúne is the appetitive virtue that serves the whole. For the Mason, Sophrosúne “…embodies due restraint upon affections and passions, which renders the body tame and governable, and frees the mind from the allurements of vice. This virtue should be the constant practice of every Mason; as he is thereby taught to avoid excess or contracting any licentious or vicious habit….” (Plate 3)

Wine is another of the wages of Masonry, and is considered an emblem of refreshment, especially the inner sense of refreshment that arises from a clear conscience. Yet wine’s power to relax the body and mind, and thereby elevate the spirits, also makes it challenging to consume in moderation. The moral associations with wine and its fluid nature make it a natural representative of Temperance and the element of water. As the surface of water always seeks to conform to a level plane, so is the Senior Warden’s level placed in the West to represent the evenness and stability of character that is Temperance.

Justice - North - Earth - Gavel - Corn

Dikaiosúne (pronounced dih-kie-o-SOO-nay) is the Greek name for Justice, a young dark-haired maiden wearing a gown that is burnt orange in color, and upon it a violet shawl. She holds a sword in her right hand and scales in her left. Her aura shines with rays in all the colors of the rainbow. Dikaiosúne “…sets the standard, or boundary of right, which enables us to render unto every man his just due, without distinction. This virtue is not only consistent with divine and human laws, but is the very cement and support of civil society; and as Justice in a great measure constitutes the really good man, so should it be the invariable practice of every Mason never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof.” Dikaiosúne is the foundational virtue that establishes and sustains the whole. (Plate 4).

As a wage of the Craft, corn, or grain, represents nourishment. An ear of grain has long been allegorically, if not literally, regarded as the staff of life. It represents the material sustenance required to maintain life and labor in this world, drawing its vitality from the good earth and then passing that vitality on to the human bodies that consume it. Corn is also tied to the virtue of Justice in its role as a payment in due measure for one’s productivity. The gavel is located in the North because if its common role in the execution of Justice, and because it is the instrument by which Masons transform crude stones of the earth into ashlars for the builder’s use.

The Working Tool

Among Speculative Masons, the trowel is an instrument of brotherly love and affection. It is reserved for Master Masons because of the knowledge, skill and care demanded by that work; indeed, the mortarwork of human relationships is a demanding art. It is therefore fitting that a more esoteric grasp of the trowel is as an instrument of creativity and of will. (Plate 5 )

The highest expression of human creativity is a reflection of the Divine Will, of which nothing truer can be said than it is for us to love God with all that we are, and others as ourselves. Proper colors for the trowel are silver for the blade and gold for the handle. Where a trowel is not available, the right hand can be closed with the thumb pointing forward as though resting on the top of a trowel’s handle.

Opening and Closing Operations

The Fiat Lux

All operations begin and end with a short exercise called the Fiat Lux. The purpose of this exercise is to clearly mark the beginning and ending of a session by reminding us of the Eternal Author of Masonic Light, the importance of that Light in any act of transformation, and of our personal connection with it.
Start by facing east, with arms crossed right over left upon the breast. You should be wearing a plain white Masonic apron, or at least imagining one on your body. Speak the following lines, performing the noted movements:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens…”
Extend the right arm to point upward.
“…and the earth.”
Extend the left arm to point downward.
“And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, 'Let there be Light.'
Imagine a brilliant ball of white light above the head, and cone of white light streaming down, around and through the body and onto the surface of the Earth.
"And there was Light.”
Imagine another ball of light forming beneath your feet and a cone of light emanating upward from that ball. The effect is to place the body in the midst of two intersecting cones of light. Cross your arms back upon your breast and bow.

Parting the Veil

After the Fiat Lux, imagine that you stand upon a checkered pavement, feeling its cool tiles beneath your feet. An indigo veil is before you, reaching from ceiling to floor in the east. Place your hands together and, stepping forward with the right foot, thrust the hands forward as you bow your head. Imagine the hands penetrating the veil, and then stretch them out to the sides as you imagine it opening to blackness. The parting of the veil represents your receptiveness to more direct contact and cooperation with the creativity, intelligence and energy outside your conscious awareness and control. In psychological terms, this movement is an opening to greater integration between the conscious and unconscious, while in spiritual terms it welcomes the presence of the Master Builder.
This is therefore a fitting time to speak or sing a prayer of invocation and praise to Deity. This prayer can be either spontaneous, or a traditional prayer from Masonry or your preferred Volume of Sacred Law. To close the veil after your work, simply perform the steps in reverse order before the final Fiat Lux. A prayer of thanks and benediction is appropriately delivered just before the closing.

Tyling and Raising your Personal Lodge

As in actual lodges, Tyling your personal lodge clears the space for further work, ensuring that it is set aside for that purpose and that purpose only. It relies upon specific archetypal principles in sweeping away unwanted thoughts and feelings, erecting psychospiritual boundaries that help prevent intrusion and distraction, and establishing an atmosphere of balance and harmony.
Raising invites the same principles into a more direct and active rapport with the practitioner. Both tyling and raising focus the mind and emotions and engage the imagination in coordinated effort with the body. As a rule, tyling should always precede and eventually follow every raising.

Tyling

After the Fiat Lux and Parting the Veil, employ the trowel by tracing the rectangle outline of the floor with blue flame, starting in the northeast corner. As you progress from one corner to another, see the flames gradually rise to the full height of each wall. Upon the blue light of each wall, beginning in the east, inscribe a large square and compass in gold light, and then the corresponding tool in the center. After inscribing the tool, intone the name of the element. (Plate 6)

These Hebrew words are not exact translations for the elements but are words that have a traditional place within Masonic lore as referring to the elements. In using it as name for the element, each Hebrew word is given the suffix -El (God) to denote that it refers to an archetypal and divine principle:

East -       Ruchael   (Breath of God)
South -     Nurael      (Lamp of God)
West -      Yamael    (Sea of God)
North –    Yavashel (Dryness of God)

For tyling, the compass is drawn first and then the sqaure, resulting in the square resting over the compass as in the EA Degree. The beginning point for tyling is the bottom right point of the compass. Trace the right leg with an inhalation, and then the left leg as you exhale. Once the compass is traced, the starting point for the square is on the left, so that the overall pattern is counterclockwise. Again, inhale while tracing the left arm of the square, and exhale with the right.
The tools within the squares and compasses are drawn from left to right and from the bottom up. Thus the Master’s Square is started on the left with an inhalation, and finished in the right with and exhalation. The plumb is drawn from bottom to top with an exhalation. The horizontal base of the level is drawn from left to right with an inhalation, and then the vertical line is drawn from bottom to top with an exhalation. The handle of the gavel is drawn from bottom to top with and inhalation, and then the vertical line of the head is from left to right with an exhalation. Note that all tyling movements end with exhalation.
After completing the work in all four quarters for tyling, move to the center and establish all the imagery. Then stand with arms outstretched to the sides and announce the presence of the Four Virtues by their Greek names, like so: "To the east, Sophia; to the south, Andreía; to the west, Sophrosúne; to the north, Dikaiosúne; for I stand upon the checkered pavement, amid the Builder's tools and beneath the Blazing Star." See a large, brilliant, white star at the ceiling of the room.

Raising

To draw the tools for raising, it is necessary to trace the lines in the opposite order, so that the compass is above the square as in the Master's Degree. The beginning point for raising is the right end of the square, exhaling as you trace the right arm and inhaling with on the left. Then the compass is traced from the bottom left with an exhalation, and then the right leg as you inhale. The overall pattern is thus clockwise. (Plate 7)

The tools within the squares and compasses are drawn from right to left and from the top down. Thus the Master’s Square is started on the right with an exhalation, and finished with inhaling on the left. The plumb is drawn from top to bottom with an inhalation. The vertical line of the level is drawn from top to bottom while exhaling, and then the horizontal base is drawn from right to left while inhaling. The head of the gavel is drawn from right to left with and exhale, and then the handle is drawn from top to bottom with an inhalation. All raising movements end with inhalation.
When raising, the name of the virtue is intoned after intoning the name of the element, at which point the image of the corresponding virtue is imagined to materialise in that quarter. It is also helpful to imagine the influence of each virtue flowing into your personal lodge: Sophia emanates a gentle breeze; Andreía radiates a gentle heat; you hear the trickling water as Sophrosúne continually fills her cup; and Dikaiosúne brings a pleasant chill. Once all four virtues are in place, return to the center and announce them in a slightly different manner from Tyling: “From the east, Sophia; from the south, Andreía…” etc.

Illuminating the Plumbline

Illuminating the Plumbline is an exercise designed to focus, amplify, and circulate your psycho-physiological energies. The Four Cardinal Virtues, the working tools, and their correspondences are each associated with a particular location in the body: Justice and the common gavel at the base of the spine; Temperance and the level in the belly; Fortitude and the plumb at the solar plexus; Prudence and the Master’s square at the heart; and the trowel in the head and neck represents the Three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. (Plate 8).

To begin, perform the Fiat Lux and the Parting of the Veil. The tyling and raising rituals are also recommended but not necessary when time is a premium. Once you have begun, then, standing or sitting, get settled and relaxed. When you are quiet and still, attend to the tempo of your pulse. You can feel for your pulse in your wrist or neck, but once you have the tempo, place your hands back in position for meditation. Next, in time with your pulse, begin rhythmic breathing with the fourfold breath: inhale through four beats, pause through four beats, exhale through four beats, pause through four beats, and then repeat the previous steps through ten complete cycles.
Continuing the rhythmic breathing without counting the tempo, imagine that you are standing or sitting on a perfect ashlar in the midst of the checkered pavement and between two immense bronze columns. With an inhalation, see and feel a brilliant strand of white light descending from the heavens down through the top of your head and the center of your body. It extends as a plumbline of energy through the ashlar into the depths of the Earth.
With your next inhalation, imagine a pulse of energy coming down the plumbline to form a common gavel within your lower abdomen.

As you exhale, slowly intone the word Yavashel (pronounced ya-va-shel) in a low pitch, drawing out its sounds across the entire exhalation. The word should be intoned in such a manner that you clearly feel the vibrations in your body. You especially attend to the vibrations where the gavel’s handle touches the stone, and you imagine an aura around the gavel glowing with all the colors of the rainbow. Repeat this intonation at least four times. Each time you inhale, imaging a pulse of energy traveling down the plumbline into the gavel.
Next, as you inhale, imagine a pulse of energy coming down to form the jewel of a Senior Warden, a level, in your abdomen behind the navel. As you exhale, slowly intone the word Yamael (ya-ma-el) in a slightly higher pitch. Attend to the vibrations around the level, seeing its aura glow with blue light. This vibration is also repeated at least four times.
After working with the level, imagine the jewel of a Junior Warden, a plumb forming in the center of your body, behind the solar plexus. The word for intonation is Nurael (noo-ra-el) and is again at a slightly higher pitch. Feel the vibrations of the word around the plumb and see it glowing with red light.
The next stage requires visualizing the pulse of energy forming a Master’s square at the heart. The intonation is Ruchael (pronounced roo-kha-el [the kh is pronounced as a fricative h at the back of the tongue and palate]) and the aura of the square is yellow.

After the Master’s Square, imagine the pulse of energy forming a large trowel along the plumbline. The point of the blade is just into the chest; the handle joins in the throat and ends in the brain behind the brow. The color of the blade is silver, and the handle is gold. The aura of the trowel is a mixture of silver and gold. The word is AOUM, which is felt beginning in the throat with the AH sound and sinking down into the chest with the OH sound, where it transitions into the OO sound, then rise into the brow with the MM sound.
Finally, the pulse of energy forms a brilliant sphere of pure white light, the Blazing Star, above your head. From within the Blazing Star the arms of a golden compass extend down to span your head and shoulders. The intonation is silence.
For a moment focus on visualizing and feeling all six tools and auras along the plumbline, meditating upon their associations with the virtues and the officers of the lodge. In the next stage of illuminating your inner lodge, you will circulate light and breath around and through your body. Perform each circulation at least four times.

Lateral Circulations

Using cycles of rhythmic breathing (it is not necessary to count the tempo), bring the light down one side of the body and up the other, from the Blazing Star to the gavel and back to the Blazing Star. Inhale and visualize the light descending from the Blazing Star, through the left side of the body to the gavel. Pause, and then exhale and imagine the light ascending through the right side of the body back to the Blazing Star. Pause and then repeat. Throughout each circulation, feel the energy passing through your flesh, bones, and organs, as well as see it.

Medial Circulations

Using the same breathing pattern, imagine the ribbon of light descending from the Blazing Star down through the front of your body to the gavel, and then rising up your back, returning again to the Blazing Star.

The Fountain of Light

As you pause visualise and feel energy building up within the aura of the gavel. As you inhale, see the extra energy released as a shaft of light rising up the Plumbline in the center of your body. When it reaches the Blazing Star, pause while you see and feel the Blazing Star growing larger and brighter. As you exhale, imagine dozens of streams or sparks of white light simultaneously bursting out of the Blazing Star, cascading down, around and through your body as they descend and are drawn into the aura of the gavel.

The Intervoven Light

As you inhale, imagine a broad ribbon of light spiraling clockwise around your body from the Blazing Star down to the gavel. As you exhale, another ribbon of light spirals up out of the gavel to the Blazing Star, so that you are entirely wrapped by the two interwoven ribbons.

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob’s Ladder is a meditative activity designed to elevate the mind to higher levels of conscious perception and operation, even mystical realization. Jacob’s Ladder should be preceded by at least a tyling, and a raising and/or illumination of the plumbline are also advised. Climbing Jacob’s Ladder is accomplished by progressively identifying with the Three Theological Virtues – Faith, Hope and Charity – and three Celestial Lights, which are the Moon, the Sun and the Blazing Star.
To ascend Jacob’s Ladder, after a few minutes of silent meditation and rhythmic breathing, begin repeatedly intoning the name Fides (pronounced fee-des). Imagine yourself growing larger and larger, so that your head is at the farthest reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. You look up to see the large silvery Moon in space. Between you and the Moon is a towering angelic figure. You leave the Earth and ascend toward her. Fides is a mature woman with black hair, she wears a sheer black silken robe, and a black scarf is upon her head. With both hands she clutches a white lily to her breast, and she gazes reverently into the heavens. The closer you approach, the larger and more towering she seems, and the more you feel her presence. She radiates an undying trust and loyalty for the Divine, and intoning her name makes your spirit resonate with hers.
As you draw near, you see that she is translucent, the Moon visible through her form. You pass through her and cease intoning her name as you feel your unity with her. Continuing upward, you pass into the Moon and for a moment you pause within the sphere of cool silvery light, feeling lighter and more energetic. You reflect upon the place of the moon in the Cosmos, and the lunar aspects of your own nature. You then sense a change of direction and emerge from the Moon. (Plate 9).

You now begin intoning the name of Spes (pronounced spes) as you ascend toward the golden Sun. Between you and the Sun is the towering angelic figure of Spes. She is a strong young woman with brown hair, wearing a tiara of sapphires and a sky-blue gown. An anchor stands at her left side, and she holds the top of it with her left hand. As you draw nearer, she looms larger and larger. She smiles at you, and you feel the confident anticipation and patient optimism she has in the Divine. Continuing to intone her name, you feel her infectious smile resonating in your spirit. She too is translucent, and you see the Sun shining through her.
You cease intoning her name as you pass through her, feeling at one with her, and continue toward the Sun. Approaching the Sun, you see the huge ball of warm golden fire growing large and more brilliant. You enter the Sun and pause for moment, immersed in the sphere of warm golden light, feeling more peaceful, healthier, and balanced. You meditate upon the Sun’s role in the Cosmos, as well as the solar aspects of your being. You feel yourself beginning to move again, emerging on the far side of the Sun into a beam of brilliant white light shining down from a tiny yet dazzling star in the highest heavens.
You begin intoning the name of Caritas (pronounced ca-ree-tas). You ascend the beam toward the star, seeing that the beam passes through a third angelic figure, Caritas. She is a young maiden with blond hair, wearing a white scarf upon her head, with a gold-trimmed white robe over a rose gown. A red rose is in her right hand and her left points to her red heart, which shines through her breast. She radiates generosity and compassion, as well as adoration and devotion for the Divine. Your spirit becomes attuned to hers as you pass through her, cease intoning her name, and continue within the beam of light toward the distant star.

You feel as though you have gone a very far distance, yet the star seems hardly to have grown at all. You keep rising into the heavens, and gradually the silence of these depths of space begins to sink deeply into your spirit.
Eventually you see the star is clearly growing larger, and you begin to discern in its midst is an eye, a violet iris around the black pupil. You recognize this is the All-Seeing Eye of the Ancient of Days, and you become filled with awe. You are still approaching, and the All-Seeing Eye keeps looming larger and larger, until it fully occupies your entire field of vision. You stop approaching, and you feel the intense white light streaming through you, an incomprehensibly immense outpouring of energy that gives rise to all that ever was, is or shall be. This is one of Masonry’s highest images representing the Alpha et Omega, the source of all light, life, and love.
After a time, you begin returning back down through the Virtues, the Sun and the Moon, feeling them resonate in your spirit along the way: the stellar energy and love, then the solar energy and hope, then the lunar energy and faith before you touch down to ground yourself on Earth in your physical body. In returning to physical consciousness, you see and feel your body radiating these virtues with white, gold and silver rays of light within your personal lodge bounded by the Four Cardinal Virtues.
To increase the power of the vibrations in your body and in the space around you, begin intoning the word Amen. With each inhalation you draw energy down into your body from the heavens, and with each exhalation you imagine pumping that energy out through silver, gold and white rays. After several repetitions, become silent, re-establish the imagery of the tools and virtues around you, and focus your attention upon your breathing. After several breaths, end the exercise in the appropriate manner.

The Inner Temple

The Inner Temple is a Masonic memory temple, a structure built in the imagination to preserve Masonic symbols and teachings within a coherent structure of both conceptual and spatial relationships. One of the purposes of the memory temple is simply to facilitate a more vivid and accurate recall of the rituals and all the lessons conveyed within the three Degrees. In addition, the memory temple also provides nearly unlimited opportunities for examining each of the elements of ritual in the context of the Lodgeroom itself, preserving important spatial relationships. In other words, the locations of the various elements relative to the lodge and to each other often have much potential meaning.
An Inner Temple can be constructed in many different ways, but the following guidelines are presented to maximize the potentials of this work. The structure used is an idealized lodge building with three floors, each of which contains a Lodgeroom dedicated to one of the three Craft Degrees. In addition to the Lodgerooms, other rooms relevant to specific themes in the Degrees are also specified in the text below.

Entering the Temple

After Tyling, and raising your personal lodge, sit down facing east, close your eyes and perform several cycles of rhythmic breathing. Imagine that a portal takes form in the space between you and the golden square and compass in the east. The portal is two bronze columns supporting an arch, and between them hangs a royal blue curtain. Imagine that you rise from your body and open the curtain just as you do in the Parting of the Veil.
Stepping through the portal, you see an early evening landscape. A path at your feet leads up a gentle slope toward a three-story temple on a hill. A beautiful full moon shines in the darkening sky just above the lodge. The white stone of the temple glows with the last rays of the setting sun streaming from behind you in the west. Straight above you, high in the heavens, the Evening Star twinkles like a brilliant jewel.
Begin walking up toward the temple, noting two grand columns upon a porch at the top of a flight of steps. As you continue to walk closer, you see that between the columns are two bronze doors, and above them a golden square and compasses blazes in reflection of the setting sun.
You arrive at the base of the steps, ascending them in a familiar pattern: first three steps, then five, and finally seven. Pass between the two large pillars and pull open one of the doors beneath the square and compasses. You step into a large square lobby with a black and white checkered floor. It is an architecturally exquisite room decorated with lush green plants, paintings. and sculptures. Lounge chairs are grouped together in various places about the room.

In the right side of the wall at the far end of the room is a passageway, and beside it a registration table and book. Crossing the room and stepping through the passageway, you find the Tyler’s station before the open door of an Entered Apprentice Masons’ lodge. To your right is a spiral staircase that appears to lead to the second floor, and to your left you see a door.
In many jurisdictions, the new candidate prepares for initiation by first sitting for a period of meditation in a Chamber of Reflection. Masons from such jurisdictions should include it within the Inner Temple, and Masons from other jurisdictions will find it a very meaningful addition to their work. While the Chamber of Reflection is not always adjacent to the preparation room, it is convenient to make it so for the Inner Temple.
You open and walk through the door to the left of the Tyler’s station and find the Chamber of Reflection is small and tomblike. The walls are painted or draped black, with certain symbols and sayings upon them. There is one table in the room, and it bears these items:

Next the table is a stool or chair. The most common symbols upon the walls are the acronym V.I.T.R.I.O.L., a rooster, and a sickle. Common sayings include the following:

Know thyself.
If curiosity spurred you towards us, go away.
If you are capable of deception, tremble, you will be found out.
If you take notice of human differences, leave, we do not know them here.
If you persevere, you will be purified, you will overcome darkness, you will be enlightened.
Think of God, with humility.
If you want to live well, think of death.

On the other side of the Chamber of Reflection is the door to the preparation room. You may enter the Lodgeroom either by passing through the preparation room or by returning to the Tyler’s station.
The Lodgeroom is furnished and prepared for the conferral of the first Degree, though not at labor. The Lodgeroom is the same width as the lobby, but about twice as long. Proceed to the altar and practice the step, signs, and word of the Degree. With as much detail as possible, see the Three Great Lights – Holy Bible, Square and Compasses – and the three burning tapers representing the Three Lesser Lights. Recall how the Three Great Lights are arranged in this Degree when the lodge is at labor. In many jurisdictions there is a traditional passage of scripture associated with each Degree. If this is so in your jurisdiction, then recall it and note its appearance on the Volume of Sacred Law.
Begin moving around the room, always clockwise, making note of all the various furniture, implements, tools, and jewels, as they would appear in an ideal lodge. While specifics may differ from one jurisdiction to another, the most common elements include these:

Though you should visualize these elements about the Lodgeroom according to your own experience and preferences, it is useful if the Trestleboard, or tracing board, appears as a blank blackboard set upon an easel in the east. When you look upon it you can project images of any other symbols or narrative presented in your jurisdiction, such as:

After visualizing a symbol or event on the Trestleboard, it is important to return to visualizing it as a blank blackboard in the east of the Lodgeroom.
When you are ready, leave the Lodgeroom “in due and ancient form,” pass back through the lobby, and out of the temple. When you exit the temple, you find that it is no longer dusk, but dark night. The moon is large, bright, and silvery, and the stars shine brilliantly. Walk down the steps – seven, five, and three – and then follow the path down the hill. At the end of the path, you see the portal, and through it you see your body sitting in meditation within your personal lodge. Step through the portal, close the blue curtain, and sit back into your physical body. Imagine the portal fading out, the golden square and compass and the Master’s square on the wall of blue flame in the east.
Before you open your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and attend to the sensations of your body, such as your feet against the floor and your buttocks on the seat. After you open your eyes, if you feel a little spacey, try rubbing your face or sharply clapping your hands once. To end the exercise, rise and perform a Tyling.

Continue returning to the Entered Apprentice Lodgeroom, just as in the initial visit, until all the details of the imagery are clear and consistent. It’s impossible to specify a minimum number of times one must perform this exercise to accomplish a suitable Degree of proficiency in the imagery. To some extent, proficiency depends more on how often you practice, but as a general guide, even for people experienced at working with imagery, approximately 20 visits should be considered the minimum before moving on. Also, the more often you return, the more time you can devote to meditating on each of the details in greater depth rather than just recalling them. At any rate, once the imagery is well established for the Entered Apprentice Lodgeroom, you are ready return to the temple and ascend the spiral staircase to the Fellow Crafts Lodgeroom.

Passing to the Second Floor

Within your personal lodge you again visualize the portal, enter, and proceed to the Inner Temple. Pass through the lobby and into the passageway. Turn to the right and ascend the spiral staircase into the southern end of a hallway that traverses the second floor from south to north. On the near right is the entrance into the Tyler's station of the Fellow Crafts’ Lodgeroom, and across the hall on the left is another door labeled Library.
Step to the door on the left; twist the knob and step into the southeast corner of the temple library, which is about the same size as the lobby below it. Within the library you find many comfortable reading chairs, desks, and glowing lamps. Three of the four walls are set with filled bookcases rising from floor to ceiling. On the west wall, the bookcase is divided into seven vertical sections. On the south wall are five vertical sections, and the eastern bookcase is divided into three vertical sections. The north wall bears a fresco representing themes from the Fellow Craft Degree.
After looking around the library for a while, return to the hall and close the door behind you. Across the hall is the entrance to the Tyler’s station. You step in and find the preparation room on your left, and the open door of the Lodgeroom before you.

Walking into the Lodgeroom, you find it furnished for conferral of the Fellow Craft Degree, but as with the Entered Apprentice Lodgeroom it is unmanned and not at labor. Approach the altar, practicing the step, signs, and words of the Degree. Note the Three Great Lights and recall how they would be placed when the lodge is called to labor. In some jurisdictions there are differences in how the three burning tapers are arranged, and there is also likely to be a specific passage of scripture that you should remember.
As you walk about the Lodgeroom, a number of things remain very similar to those in the Entered Apprentice Degree, though there are also unique differences. Consider the placement and appearance of any of the following items used in your jurisdiction:

When you wish to complete your work in this Lodgeroom, exit properly, step out into the hall, descend the spiral staircase, and then proceed back to the portal and your body. As before, complete the session with a Tyling of your personal lodge.
As with the previous phase, return to the Fellow Craft Lodgeroom frequently to improve your recall and appreciation of all its elements. You should also continue to occasionally visit the Entered Apprentice Lodgeroom in order to keep its imagery vivid. Once you start becoming more accustomed to the Fellow Craft Lodgeroom, try visiting the Entered Apprentice Lodgeroom first, and then exit to ascend the spiral staircase and work in the Fellow Craft Lodgeroom.

Rising to the Third Floor

Following the usual procedures, enter the Inner Temple and pass to the second floor. To the right, down near the north end of the hall, you notice the landing of a flight of stairs. Walking to the end of the hall, you turn and see that the flight of steps leads up to another landing, where a second flight rises in the opposite direction. You ascend the stairs, first traveling upward from west to east, and then turning to complete your ascent from east to west. You arrive at another hall running from north to south across the middle of the building on the third floor. Across the hall from the upper landing is a door labeled Conference Room. Near the south end of the hall is the entrance to the Tyler’s station of the Master Mason Lodgeroom.
Step across to the conference room, open the door and enter. You enter the northeast corner of a large airy room, and in the center is a great circular table with many chairs. The tabletop is decorated with a large heptagon, and within that form is a pentagon, within the pentagon is an equilateral triangle, and at the center is a single dot. Above the dot is a golden lamp hanging like a large plumb bob upon a golden chain, and the chain is attached to the center of a large Blazing Star medallion on the ceiling. Upon the east wall is a painting of King Solomon. The west wall bears the image of King Hiram of Tyre, and the south wall is adorned with a picture of Hiram Abiff. The north wall is a fresco representing themes from the Master Mason Degree.
After visiting the conference room, return to the hall, walk down to the Tyler’s station, and enter the Master Mason Lodgeroom. As always, you approach the altar by practicing the step, signs, and the password of this Degree. You continue your observation of all the details in this Lodgeroom just as in previous work. The items typically present in the Master Mason Lodgeroom are:

Themes and images for visualizing on the Trestleboard include:

Hiram Abiff at Prayer in the Sanctum Sanctorum

When you finish working in this Lodgeroom, exit properly, return back to the hall, descend the two flights of stairs to the hall on the second floor, and then continue as usual to the portal and your body. Continue returning to the Master Mason Lodgeroom, at some point including it as the final step of a visit through all the rooms of the Inner Temple.

Further Work

Eventually you will have all the traditional imagery of a complete Craft lodge firmly erected in your imagination. Having done so, you will be ready to make use of that edifice for more personalized inner work, work that can begin to open up greater depths of self-knowledge, psychological integration, philosophical insight, and inspiration.

In the Lobby

Over a span of at least several sessions, give extra time and attention to clarifying the paintings and sculptures. Are they traditional Masonic images, classic works of art, or original works? Did you place them there with conscious intention, or did they spontaneously arise from the depths of your soul? In any case, what do they have to communicate to you? What might be their significance in a Masonic context?
At some point, resolve to enter the Inner Temple to meet an inner mentor, an imaginary elder brother who serves to represent the depths of your own wisdom, strength, and beauty. What does he look like? How is he clothed? Does he appear as a familiar character from myth or history, or is he someone previously unknown? How would you characterize his personality and demeanor? Develop the ability to converse with him, especially asking for his guidance. Allow him to communicate in whatever way seems most natural, whether by speaking, using gestures, or leading you about the Inner Temple to draw your attention to certain images. Feel free to take him along with you wherever you go in the Temple, communicating with him about what you see and do there.

In the Library

What are the details of the fresco on the northern wall? What have you consciously chosen, and what has spontaneously arisen? Which themes from the Fellow Craft Degree are most notable? What is the overall meaning of the fresco to you?
Recall that the western bookcase is divided into seven vertical sections, which you probably have already realized correspond to the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The five sections of the south wall are associated with the orders of architecture and the senses, but also with the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and spirit. Take time to work out the association of these groupings of five that makes most sense to you. The three sections of the eastern bookcase are divided into Wisdom, Strength and Beauty.
Examine books in each section to see what titles appear on their backs. Are they familiar to you? Do they suggest things for you to learn more about?
In each section, intentionally place at least one specific text that you have read and value highly. Develop a thorough familiarity with the actual text, so that when you visit the library you can imagine the table of contents, the page numbers and even a few specific passages. Whenever you are seeking insight and understanding, or desire inspiration for a new direction in your thinking, pull down one of these texts and open it randomly to see what page number arises. Then leave the Inner Temple, get the actual text, and see what might be especially useful or intriguing to you on that page.

In the Conference Room

As you did with the inner mentor, resolve to enter the Temple, and proceed to the Conference Room to meet the Ancient Three Grand Masters. Imagine them in historically appropriate clothing and wearing Masonic jewels. Unlike the inner mentor, which represents the depths of your personal Masonic life, the Grand Masters represent the principle supports and tenets of the tradition of Freemasonry. King Solomon embodies Masonic wisdom and a commitment to truth, King Hiram of Tyre the strength of the Craft and a commitment to service, and Grand Master Hiram Abiff the beauty of our tradition and a commitment brotherly love. When seeking the counsel of the Grand Masters, understand that their roles are always to draw your attention back to traditional words, images, and rites of Masonry, though they may also facilitate unorthodox insights into the meaning and application of the traditional forms.
How does the fresco on the northern wall differ from the one in the library? How does it represent themes of the Master Mason Degree? What does it mean to you?

Meeting the Widow

So far, we have used the images of the Virtues and various other symbols of our rituals as a means to interact with the deeper aspects of Masonry. But what of Masonry as a whole? If we take each symbol, word, and teaching as an aspect of the whole, an organ in the body of Masonry, then how might we symbolically encounter the whole within the imagination? It might occur to us that the Inner Temple is one possibility, yet that edifice is largely experienced as an inanimate structure. We are hardly capable of relating to a building as we do a person, so again we fall back upon the human tendency of anthropomorphisation, not as a weakness but as a strength of the imagination. More to the point, as heirs to the legacy of our Grand Master Hiram Abiff, we are Sons of the Widow, and it is her image that represents the very soul of our tradition. (Plate 10).

According to traditional Western religious iconography, the soul is typically represented as feminine. It is so because, like a womb, the soul must receive the spark of the Spirit in order to bear fruit. The Virtues, each an aspect of the perfected soul, are therefore properly shown as women. The psychological view compliments the religious, for when masculine archetypal images dominate on the surface of a society or an individual mind, the feminine images operate behind the scenes in the collective and personal unconscious. To at least the heterosexual masculine mind, the feminine represents everything that needed to attain wholeness, balance, and productivity. While there is room for considering the extent to which masculine and feminine archetypal imagery has been skewed by a largely patriarchal and homophobic society, the Mother remains a powerful image for all people. The essential nature of the archetypal feminine is almost universally regarded as receptive, fertile, and nurturing, three qualities that describe the ideal set of conditions established within a Masonic lodge: The ideal lodge is, after all, like a womb which receives the spark of life in the seed that is a candidate. Within that womb, the new brother encounters a wealth of spiritual nutrients and the loving attention and support that he needs to face the rough and rugged road when he is born again into the profane world.

The Widow is imagined as a beautiful, tall winged, angel in a white robe, with short dark hair. She has the look and feel of a young mother - full figure, strong, confident - and independent in the way a widowed mother must be. To meet with her, perform the Tyling, Raising and Jacob's Ladder. Once you have finished charging the atmosphere of your personal lodge with the repetitions of "Amen," imagine a portal forming in the east.
The portal is composed of two columns: the left is black, and the right is white. They are joined by an arch, and between them hangs a dark blue veil. Upon the veil are the golden Square and Compasses, and within them a silver five-pointed star, or pentagram.

Rise and approach the veil by the steps, signs, and words of the first three Degrees. At the veil, begin to chant her name: ISH-SHAW-AL-MA-NAW. After a few repetitions, part the veil in the standard manner and continue the chant a few more times as you see her revealed before you. She stands illuminated upon the brow of a hill, the predawn sky behind her, a heavenly point of light shining brightly above her head. For the first several meetings, it is recommended that you simply open the veil and meditate upon her as the embodiment of all the virtues, history, and potentials of Freemasonry. After that, you could try asking a simple question and see what sort of response you might get.
Eventually, you could pass through the portal and see what she might show you on her side of things. After meeting with the Widow, complete the session with a Tyling.

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Peter Taylor 2020.

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