The Old Charges of Masonry set forth several regulations relating to the qualifications for membership. The major qualification is the assertion of belief in a monotheistic Supreme Being, for no “stupid atheist” can become a Mason. The candidate must be a “free man born of a free mother,” an interesting bit of phraseology since under ancient British law the conditions of serfdom and villeinage were inherited through the mother, which would peg the origins of Freemasonry to a time when those conditions were extant. Age was also a factor, as the Old Charges forbid the induction of a man in “his nonage or dotage,” eliminating the unreliably immature and the man laboring under the impending threat of onrushing senility. The actual age requirement has varied from time to time and from one Grand Lodge to another. At one time in Britain the minimum age was twenty-five, although twenty-one is now the most common admission age throughout Freemasonry. A lower age requirement has often been available to the son of a Freemason, a special candidate known to Freemasons by the unexplained title of Lewis. (General Douglas MacArthur became a Mason by a special short form of initiation which constituted being made a “Mason-at-sight,” largely based on the fact that he was a Lewis.)
The mentally deficient are prohibited Masonic membership by the Old Charges, which is understandable. Not so clear is the reason for the prohibition of membership to any man who is not in full possession of all of his limbs. This had long been a requirement of military organizations and was a common clause in the rules of the religious orders, but it seems out of place in a fraternal organization. In practice, of course, Freemasonry no longer clings to that ancient rule. It does, however, claim to cling to the rule that a candidate must be of good character and good repute in his community.
Masons proudly announce today that no one is ever invited to become a Freemason, but must ask for admission by means of a written petition to a lodge. Such a procedure would have been impossible in Secret Masonry, since a man could hardly have been expected to work up a heated desire to be a member of an organization of whose existence he was totally unaware. In Secret times he would have been watched, evaluated, discussed, perhaps surreptitiously interviewed, and then very carefully made aware of the existence of the secret fraternity a bit at a time, until it was deemed absolutely safe to invite him in. A residual of the practice of admission by invitation only is still adhered to by a few Grand Lodges, such as those of Australia.
The candidate’s petition for membership must set forth that he has come to respect and admire the Masonic order and that he seeks membership for reasons other than personal material benefits. His petition is reviewed, as are his character and reputation, and a vote taken in the lodge. Although practices vary, traditionally one negative vote (one black bean or black ball) is enough to reject his petition.
Finally the day comes when the candidate is scheduled to be initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason. Today, that initiation generally takes place in a permanent “lodge room” equipped with an altar and candlesticks and chairs for the various lodge officers. The Masonic symbols appropriate to the degree are prepainted on panels of oilcloth. All of these are later additions, for convenience and to enhance the feeling of the solemnity of the ceremony, since they would have been impossible in the hidden meetings of Secret Masonry. In those meetings, which Masonic legend tells us were held “on high hills and in deep valleys,” no so-called “lodge furniture” would have been available, or even wise. In consideration of British weather, we must assume that even in Secret times some of those meetings were held indoors, if only in a barn or shed, especially in major cities such as London where high hills and deep valleys were in rather short supply.
The lodge symbol that would always have been available to those Secret meetings was the circle on the floor, the center of Masonic lodge room symbolism. This circle could easily have been scribed in the earth of a clearing or in the dirt floor of a barn. In the very earliest days of Public Masonry, when almost all lodge meetings took place in the private rooms of taverns, the symbols were marked on the floor with chalk. The custom developed that the newly admitted brother, regardless of rank or lineage, was presented with a mop and bucket at the end of the meeting, which he used to erase the Masonic symbols from the floor. Although in this “tavern” period lodge meetings were held on an upper floor as a deterrent to snooping, Masons refer to the Entered Apprentice lodge as the “ground floor of Solomon’s temple.”
Another important feature of today’s initiation which may have been absent in ancient ritual is the Bible or other holy book on the altar, used always in combination with the symbolic compass and square in the administration of the controversial oaths. It is hardly likely that a Bible was readily available to every little group throughout Britain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, so the oath may well have been administered with a symbol only.
The Entered Apprentice candidate is subject to a final interrogation before being prepared for his initiation. He is asked to confirm that he has been prompted to seek admission by a favorable opinion of Masonry already formed, that he has no personal mercenary motives, that he has a desire for knowledge and self-improvement and a sincere wish to be of service to his fellow man.
Passing satisfactorily through the interrogations, he is asked to strip half-naked. Originally this meant stripping to just trousers and shirt, then rolling the left trouser leg above the knee and unbuttoning the shirt to permit slipping it off the left arm, leaving shoulder and breast bare. The left shoe and stocking were also removed. Today, all this is usually made easier by the provision of a costume and a slipper for the right foot. All metal objects of any nature are taken from the candidate.
When stripped, he is blindfolded (Masons say “hoodwinked”) and a rope is looped around his neck and left trailing on the floor. The rope, used in a slightly different manner in each of the three initiation ceremonies of basic three-degree Craft Masonry, is called a “cable-tow.”
In preparation for the initiation ceremony, the lodge has been convened as a Lodge of Entered Apprentice Masons. Outside the door stands the officer known as Tyler, a combined sentry and sergeant-at-arms, who is charged with the security of the meeting, including the screening of visiting Masons. His title, the meaning of which was lost long ago, had been used to create the Masonic verb to tyle, as we see when the Worshipful Master of the lodge asks the Junior Deacon the first care of a Mason. The answer comes back, “To see the Lodge tyled, Worshipful,” to which the Master responds, “Attend to that part of your duty, and inform the Tyler that we are about to open a Lodge of Entered Apprentice Masons, and direct him to tyle accordingly.” After following these instructions, the Junior Deacon reports back, “The lodge [or door] is tyled.”
“By Whom?”
“By a Master Mason outside the door, armed with the proper implement of his office [a sword].”
“His duty there?”
“To keep off all cowans and eavesdroppers, and to see that none pass or repass without permission from the Chair [or Worshipful Master].”
There follows a routine of identifying each officer, his place in the lodge, and his duties. The Master then gives the signs of the Entered Apprentice degree which will be revealed to the candidate in the initiation ceremony, which signs are repeated by all of the Masons present as an indication that all in attendance are qualified to be there, and the lodge is opened.
An officer of the lodge (the Junior Deacon) takes the blindfolded candidate by the arm to lead him into the lodge room for the ceremony. There will be no need to set forth that ceremony in detail because the primary interest is in identifying only those most significant items that may provide clues as to Masonic origins. Also, Masonic ceremonies tend to be inordinately repetitious, which can be very tedious to the reader, but which was probably absolutely necessary to preserve ritual that could never be written down but had to be committed to memory. The repetition served an important purpose for Masons but will do little for us. In addition, because of the purely verbal tradition, there is variance in the exact wording from one lodge or jurisdiction to another. What is remarkable is that in the absence of official written manuals the worldwide performance of the ritual is so much the same.
As the Junior Deacon escorts the blindfolded candidate into the lodge room, the Senior Deacon is waiting with a compass in his hand. As the candidate is stopped in front of him, the Senior Deacon presses one of the compass points to his chest and says, “Mr.———, upon your entering this lodge for the first time I receive you on the point of a sharp instrument pressing your naked left breast, which is to teach you that as it is a torture to your flesh, so should the recollection of it ever be to your mind and conscience, should you attempt to reveal the secrets of Masonry unlawfully.”
The Senior Deacon now takes charge of the candidate and begins to lead him once around the room. Just as they begin, the Master stops them with a rap of his gavel, admonishing them that such an important journey should not be undertaken without invoking the blessings of God. All bow their heads for a short prayer that dedicates the candidate to the service of God and the brotherhood, after which the Master puts the question to the initiate, “In whom do you put your trust?,” to which the only acceptable answer is, “In God.”
As the Senior Deacon and the candidate proceed around the room, they pause at the station of the Junior Warden, who asks, “Who comes here?”
“Mr.———, who has long been in darkness and now seeks to be brought to Light and to receive the rights and benefits of this Worshipful Lodge, erected to God and dedicated to the holy Sts. John, as all brothers have done before.”
After questions relating to his qualifications and intentions, the blindfolded candidate is led on to the station of the Senior Deacon, where essentially the same questions and answers are exchanged. Led on to the station of the Worshipful Master, the same exchange takes place, except that the Master demands, “From whence come you, and whither are you traveling?” This time the Senior Deacon answers for the initiate, “From the west, and traveling toward the east.”
“Why leave you the west and travel toward the east?”
“In search of Light.”
The Master then orders the candidate to be taken to the Senior Warden in the west to be instructed as to the proper manner in which to approach the east. The Senior Warden conducts the candidate eastward to the altar, positioning the heel of his right foot in the hollow of his left foot, forming a right angle.
The Master leaves his station in the east and approaches the altar to inform the candidate that before he can proceed any further he must take upon himself a “solemn oath and obligation,” which the Master assures him will not interfere with any duty that is owed to God, country, family, or friends. After expressing his willingness to take the oath, the candidate, still blindfolded, is guided into the proper position for an Entered Apprentice. He kneels on his bare left knee, with his right leg ahead of him in the angle of a square. In front of him on the altar is the holy book of his faith, open, with the compass and square on the open book. In the Entered Apprentice ceremony, the square is on top of the points of the compass.
The candidate places his left hand under the book, palm up, while his right hand is on top of the compass and square, palm downward. In this position, he takes the first of the oaths that have brought so much criticism down on the Masonic institution.
“I,———, of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God, and this Worshipful Lodge erected to Him and dedicated to the holy Saints John, do hereby and hereon most sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail, ever conceal and never reveal, any of the arts, parts, or points of the hidden mysteries of ancient Free Masonry which may have been, or hereafter shall be, at this time, or any future period, communicated to me as such, to any person or persons whomever, except it be to a true and lawful brother Mason, or in a regularly constituted lodge of Masons; nor unto him or them until by strict trial, due examination, or lawful information I shall have found him, or them, as lawfully entitled to the same as I am myself. I furthermore promise and swear that I will not print, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, mark, or engrave them, to cause the same to be done on anything movable or immovable, capable of receiving the least impression of a word, syllable, letter, or character, whereby the same may become legible or intelligible to any person under the canopy of heaven, and the secrets of Masonry thereby unlawfully obtained through my unworthiness.
“All this I most solemnly, sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to perform the same, without any mental reservation or secret evasion of mind whatever, binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, at low-water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, should I ever knowingly violate this my Entered Apprentice obligation. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”
Upon the completion of the oath, the candidate is instructed to kiss the holy book, as a token of his sincerity. He is then asked what it is that he desires most, to which the proper answer is, “Light.” At this response, the blindfold is removed and the secrets of the Entered Apprentice are revealed to him. Among these are the handgrip and two hand signs. One is the penal sign, which recalls the penalty “to have my throat cut across,” as the hand, thumb inward, is drawn quickly across the throat, then dropped to the side. The other sign repeats the position in which the hands were placed under and on the holy book when taking the oath: left palm up, right palm down, hands about two inches apart. It is the more interesting sign of the two because it has a name with a lost meaning. The sign is called a “due-guard.” Several attempts have been made to explain the term, but they come off as clumsy contrivances, as in the thought that “with this sign you do guard yourself as an Entered Apprentice Mason.”
Then occurs an especially intriguing part of the ceremony, the presentation of the Masonic “apron.” This is now frequently of white cloth, or felt, but old usage would require that the apron be of white lambskin. Tradition indicates that originally it was not cut and trimmed as a garment but was simply a whole lambskin tied about the waist. Today Masonic aprons are of cloth, lined, trimmed in color, and decorated with a variety of Masonic badges and symbols, but as a clue to the past, all that matters is that original lambskin.
The newly made Mason is told that this white apron is an emblem of innocence “more ancient than the Golden Fleece or the Roman Eagle,” more honorable a badge than any that could ever be bestowed by any prince or potentate. He is told how to wear the apron so that it will conform to the way that the same apron was worn by Entered Apprentices at the building of Solomon’s temple.
The new Mason is now asked by the Master to contribute to the lodge some item, any item, made of metal, if only a pin or a button. Since all metallic items were taken from him prior to his initiation, he is confused and frustrated by the repeated demand. Finally the Master ends the confusion by pointing out that at this moment the new Mason is destitute, with not a penny in his pocket. He is told that this part of the ceremony has been staged as a reminder to him that if he ever finds a friend, and especially a brother Mason, in a like condition, he is to contribute as liberally as he can according to the need, but only to the extent that his generosity will not bring any material injury to himself or to his family. This is his first lesson in Masonic charity.
In the final portion of the initiation, presentation is made of the “working tools of an Entered Apprentice.” First, the twenty-four-inch gauge (ruler), to be used symbolically to divide the Mason’s day into periods of work, of refreshment and sleep, and of service to God and distressed brothers. Next, the common gavel or maul used to dress stones, but to be used symbolically now to chip away vices and superfluities so that the Mason may shape himself into a stone suitable for the temple of God. However, the use of a working mason’s tools to teach lessons of morality was definitely no part of Secret Masonry, so cannot contribute to the search for beginnings.
More important for clues to origins are the Masonic terms revealed in this degree, which remain mysteries to this day. The Tyler is the officer who guards the lodge against cowans and eavesdroppers. The Entered Apprentice identifies his status by giving the due-guard of that degree. He is led through the ceremony by means of a cable-tow. If his father was a Mason he is a Lewis.
The symbols to be considered carefully were the circle and the black and white mosaic pavement on the floor, plus the compass and square on the Bible. Other parts of the ceremony to be addressed were the half-naked state of the candidate, the removal from the initiate of all objects made of metal, the concept of the Mason as a man traveling from west to east, and the white lambskin apron.
The next sources of Masonic mysteries would be the initiation rites of the second degree, that of Fellow Craft.