The Iconography of the Lodge Tracing Board of the Thirty-Second Degree of the AASR , Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
The latter also embodies a logic of distribution of power according to the inner circle : among the Masters , there are Scots , among the Scots , there are the Emperors of the East , and so forth . This logic , which goes from the periphery to the center , where power is specifically focused , is explicitly revealed at the thirty-second degree . From this perspective , the rota , the movement , which is identical to that of the dual circulation on the mysterious scale , counts as much as the journey of steps or “ stations ” on each of its rungs . In the particular case of the camps represented by colors , this circular — or rather , spiral — movement acquires a speed that may dissolve the colors into the white in order to achieve the “ white work .” This spiral and this turning movement correspond to the one that drives the wheels of the Ezekiel ’ s chariot as they accompany each of the Four Living Creatures , as I will examine a little later . The wheels of Ezekiel ’ s vision ( fig . 14 ) merge here with the great wheel of the camp , which represents the galapal ( or whirl ) brought to life by the wind that blows through the banners . This movement accompanies another that is driven by the angels , which are engaged in working the cranks that make the world go round , put ordo into chaos , and thus stabilize the cosmos ( fig . 15 ). The banners of the camp ’ s tents , floating in the wind according to the rotation displayed , can be considered on the poetic level of the angels ’ spread wings that surround Romanesque representations of the tetramorph .
The tetramorph is in fact frequently accompanied by the choir of angels or celestial armies , and the Masonic armies of the different degrees are perhaps a late and substitute iteration of these celestial armies , as they may also be of the twelve tribes of Israel , something that I will examine later in this article . This movement is essential since it determines the order defined by the degree ritual of the procession of the army corps that sets off to Jerusalem , and also because it indicates the reading order of the enigmatic forms of TENGU for the inner circle and of SALIX NONI ( S ) for the outer circle — unless the opposite is the case , with the order of the letters suggesting the order of the parade , independently of the direction of the wind . Accordingly , the apron of the Libert collection ( nineteenth century , fig . 8 ) shows flags that are all fluttering due to a wind blowing from left to right , but the SALIX NONIS formula is expressed against the wind — the only example of this noted — while TENGU follows the wind .
II - The Center Motifs of the Lodge Tracing Board
It would be worth looking at the different
symbolic motifs by beginning from the center of the tracing board in order to gradually expand the analysis to the motifs of the successive peripheries .
A . The Triangle and the Birds
The degree ’ s explanation of the camp
says :
The triangle that you see in the middle of the tracing board represents the center of the army , and it is the place that must be occupied by the Knights of Malta 9 who are admitted into our
9
It is beyond the scope of this study to examine the relationship between the Knights of Malta and Masonic Knights .
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