The Iconography of the Lodge Tracing Board of the Thirty-Second Degree of the AASR , Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
Once these journeys are over and the army has regrouped , the applicant is received as “ Valiant Prince of the Royal Secret ” and “ Faithful Guardian of the Treasure of the Order ,” and he “ enters the Consistory .”
Things become more enigmatic when one realizes that the words of the degree are made out of the series of letters associated with each of the tents of the camp and their flags : SALIX NONIS for the outer circle and TENGU for the inner one . 2 Moreover , each of the army leaders is also the “ standard bearer ” and has the name of a character from the Old Testament . And the acclamation Laus Deo is written on what is almost certainly the most important flag of the camp , since it bears the Ark of the Covenant . The summary of degrees offered by the ritual introduces some that are not part of the AASR or the Rite of Perfection , such as Grand Pontiff , Grand Master of the Key , and Grand Patriarch . Certain iconographic representations correspond to the names of the army leaders . For example , the Ark of the Covenant flag is associated with Bezalel , which is quite consistent . But other iconographic elements are in discordance with the listed titles .
My goal here is in short both to provide a reading of the images of the flags by verifying the heraldic code — a rarity in
Masonry — that they display and to propose an interpretative framework for some of the motifs . The difficulty of giving meaning to symbols must not prevent interpretative readings from being provided , provided that they are based on documents that support the reasoning given . 3 I have chosen to focus in particular on certain very discreet motifs at the center of the tracing board , and then on the standards of the inner circle of tents ( TENGU ), and finally on the motif of glory , which characterizes both the iconography and the ritual of the degree . For example , here I suggest reading the motif of the camp that connects the first five flags as a shrine , in the medieval sense of the word , as in a chest , in the center of the center — the tabernacle of the temple .
This reading , which highlights the tetramorph motif , does not appear to have been put forward thus far . The tetramorph is a highly original figure that is commonly known as “ the Four Living Creatures ” 4 — the lion , the eagle , the ox , and the human / angel . These Four Living Creatures appear in the visions of Ezekiel and John , and they are linked to Christian tradition ’ s Four Evangelists . However , we know less about their presence , real though it is , in the Masonic realm . Here they do not surround — as should be the case — the Ark of the Covenant ,
2
I will not study these words in this research .
3
The article by Ion Lazar , “ The Symbolic Camp of the 32 : Mysteries of Sacred Geometry & Masonic Astronomy ,” Hérédom 18 ( 2010 ): 259 – 297 , takes as its basis of study the iconography and in particular the geometric shapes of the camp — which illustrate the cover of Hérédom — but it is limited to the Pike tracing board . This article does not seem to fit in with the critical historical method , but rather it favors a personal hermeneutic approach that “ applies ” Kabbalistic and astrological considerations and even “ sacred geometry ,” the latter being based on Pythagorean approaches . All these considerations are external and subsequent to the oldest rituals and the oldest iconographies , which they do not take into account . Even the Cross of Saint Andrew , which is raised on pages 261 and 265 , is completely absent from the first tracing boards .
4
The Four Living Creatures can be written with or without capitals depending on the context , though generally the first letters of “ Living Creatures ” are capitalized .
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