Wait... Masonry Wants Me To Do Math?

No One is as Invested in Your Journey as You!

I’m sure that at some point in your masonic journey you’ve come across the term “improving myself in masonry” or something very close to that, but have you stopped to really think and really consider what that means? As my imaginary friend and guide Noah Lewis has discovered, there are hints and clues available to us everywhere, waiting patiently for our eyes to discover and our minds to conceive them. This is true within the bounds of our operative and speculative lodges, and it is true without where we walk the streets of our neighborhoods and experience life as it unfolds around us. The trick, or perhaps the actual goal of masonry, is to teach us to recognize and interpret those clues!

When it comes to the idea of improving one’s self in masonry, we are provided with a fairly solid clue very early in our budding masonic journeys; see if these two passages sound familiar to you:

“The study of the liberal arts and sciences, that valuable branch of education which tends so effectually to polish and adorn the mind, is earnestly recommended to your careful consideration; especially the science of Geometry, which is established as the basis of our art.

“Geometry, or Masonry (originally synonymous terms), being of divine and moral nature, is enriched with the most useful knowledge; while it proves the wonderful properties of nature, it demonstrates the more important truths of morality.”

Math, you ask; masonry wants me to do math? In a fashion, yes, but that is not the point. Masonry encourages each of us to “improve ourselves self in masonry” and, as the passage states there was a time when geometry and masonry were understood to be synonymous. What are we to make of this? What is this mysterious lesson which this clue alludes to?

How Exactly Does One Improve One's Self in Masonry?

Enough of my tease, here is my interpretation and my understanding of this instructive hint; it is through the study of the liberal arts and sciences that man might divine the information and lessons that God intends for man; if we are to become closer to our God and understand the nature of our relationship with him, we must understand the lessons he designed and provides for us.

The Grand Architect provides his designs for man and the universe through the seven liberal arts and sciences. The knowledge intended for man was preserved and passed to us through these lessons and shows us how to make sense of His gifts and His wonders – the centrality of the Sun and its life-giving light, the movement of the stars in the sky and their capacity to guide both the adventurous and the lost across unexplored seas and lands. We can discover the way to properly design and shape the right angles, horizontals, and perpendiculars necessary to build our living temples in a way that is pleasing to Him.

The 47th Problem of Euclid

Most of us are familiar with The Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid, but some jurisdictions place more emphasis on this important symbol than others. We know that the problem itself was a Pythagorean equation, and it is something we would learn of and use in geometry, but who was this Euclid character? Euclid, it turns out, was an ancient Greek mathematician who lived in the period around 300 Before Common Era (BCE) in Alexandria, Egypt. Euclid came to be known as the “Father of Geometry” and is widely credited for the origin of the titles “Master” and “Fellow” – terms that are certainly familiar within our craft!  Euclid applied the title “master” to those who were expert in their work and charged with teaching the discipline and organizing the collective knowledge of geometry (also known as “masonry”, remember?). The term “fellow” was applied to those who were part of a guild or academic society and were those craftsmen who had advanced in their work beyond the apprenticeship skill level. Just a little tidbit to ponder next time you see a masonic application of the symbol representing the Pythagorean Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid and perhaps pause to consider the centrality of geometry to our craft! The more we learn and know of the arts and sciences, the more we learn and know of our craft – the more we improve ourselves in our craft!

Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy – these are the seven liberal arts and sciences that provide us a peek into the mind of the Grand Architect and His ultimate plan for us. This truth was shared with us when we received our first three degrees but many of us may have missed it in the blizzard of new words, signs, and symbols; indeed, it took my protagonist Noah Lewis and his fictional quest to lead me along my own path to this light.

As I weigh the meaning of this clue and its value within the context of my own journey, I also wonder if we place enough emphasis on this lesson in our crucial, early years in the craft.

“The study of the liberal arts and sciences, that valuable branch of education which tends so effectually to polish and adorn the mind, is earnestly recommended to your careful consideration; especially the science of Geometry, which is established as the basis of our art.”

Our ritual reveals these arts and sciences as the foundation of the mysteries that have evolved through the ages to become our beloved craft, and it bids each of us to improve ourselves in each of them. We circumambulate on a path that reveals the ecliptic as we trace the Sun on its daily path. We mimic right angles, horizontals, and perpendiculars in our steps as we approach the light. We acknowledge the Summer Solstice when we place our new masons and new cornerstones in northeast corners in homage to the rise of the Sun in the northeastern sky on that longest day of the year. It is clear that our ritual – and therefore our mysteries – exemplifies these renowned arts and sciences and give life to the knowledge that God has shared with man, yet I’m not sure we impress this truth on the minds or in the hearts of our newest brothers, our candidates who would benefit from this ray of light which might illuminate the path of their nascent masonic journey. My brethren, as you go about your lives, don’t forget to take some time and make some efforts to improve your knowledge of the seven liberal arts and sciences and uncover even more of the clues from the Grand Architect of the Universe that await you all along your pathway!

I am sure there are those who will disagree with the thoughts I’ve shared here and that’s okay – our masonic journey is what we make of it, and we cannot expect others to live our truths – my only goal is to share some of my own journey for your consideration and evaluation to use – or not – as you see fit.  

My brethren, thank you for this moment of your time and I wish you peace and harmony in your travels!

~BroBill

A Mason’s Journey