This foreword is written with deep gratitude to Jean-Louis de Biasi, a talented writer on the subject of Freemasonry, whom I am honored to have met during an official visit to a Masonic Lodge in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On my travels to various Masonic lodges as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Nevada, my message has been based on “Pointing the Pathway by Rays of Light.” My following comments are based on years of developing the symbolism behind my personal pin design for the purpose of this “Pointing the Pathway.”
The customs of Ancient Craft (Operative and Speculative) Masonry are here discussed as they apply today, while still maintaining a deep appreciation and respect for the historical legacy dating back to King Solomon’s Temple. It should be understood that Masonry is not a religion; all Freemasons do, however, have faith and a belief in a supreme being.
I come from a Masonic family; my grandparents and my mother and father were all active in their respective Masonic Appendant Bodies. I, myself, began as a member of the Order of De Molay[1], in 1948; today my membership transcends almost all of the Bodies in Freemasonry.
The concept for my pin design was based on the meaning of the Virtues of Freemasonry: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice; on the Tenets of Freemasonry: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth; and lastly, on the Symbolism of Freemasonry: Birth into the physical world, inherent need for light, and discovering the path in time to Eternity.
Historically, the “Point within the Circle,” “The Circumpunct,” has its origin in the solar system, both ancient and modern. It is a common astrological (and now astronomical) symbol for the sun. This image was also an alchemical symbol for gold, which was considered the most perfect of all metals. The alchemist looks upon it as the perfection of matter at all levels: the spirit, soul, and mind.
A goal of alchemy is to change base metals into gold. This objective certainly aligns itself well to Freemasonry, where the change of the base and crude state of one’s personality into perfection is intended—from a man to a Mason by degrees.
In ancient times, before Christianity, the Greeks and Romans dedicated their temples and sacred objects to their gods. To the ancients, the Sun was the ultimate source of power and as they observed its course throughout the year, they determined regular seasonal patterns of warmth and cold, growth and decay. Eventually they came to personify and worship these seasonal changes, which became many of the gods of the ancient pantheons.
The point within the circle represents an individual brother; the circle is the boundary line beyond which we are not to suffer our passions, prejudices, or interests to betray us. In going around the circle, while we stay circumscribed within these due bounds, it is impossible to materially err.
Figure 1: Official pin of Nevada’s Grand Master, Carl L. “Bud” Banks
With the Operative Mason’s implements, it is possible to use a circle to construct a perfect square. No building can be built without a perfect square. Therefore, this circle is the first step in laying the foundation of the temple.
One such person, who embodied the Masonic ideals mentioned above, was Saint John the Baptist, who was noted for his devotion to God. It was said that he possessed the qualities of Christ, whose coming he foretold, which led to his beheading. So, this humble man, a surveyor by trade, through his strong teachings of devotion, was persecuted into martyrdom�.
It became natural that the Craft Guilds of Masonry would adopt such a man as their patron saint, and he remained as such until about the 1500s, when Saint John the Evangelist was adopted by the Craft Guilds. This man had developed a legacy of enormous strength in mandating the cultivation of brotherly love.
These two Saint Johns became the men who stood beside and supported the two parallel lines denoting the solstices. These symbols predate the first Grand Lodge of 1717. The English dedicated their Lodges to the Saint Johns until 1813; since then, they have been dedicated to King Salomon. As Craft Masonry led to Symbolic Masonry, the two Saint Johns became known as the bookends of Freemasonry.
With this background, it is clear that the Masonic Feasts of Saint John the Baptist on June 24 and the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist on December 27 are, by no coincidence, occurring with the Solstices. These two dates occur at the time of the Summer solstice and the Winter solstice, times when the Sun reaches its greatest northerly and southerly declination.
With this history, the attempt has been made to bring my pin design into the meaningful experience that a Freemason has as he receives his degrees to become a Master Mason.
When looking at the pin, John the Baptist appears on the left, and Saint John the Evangelist appears on the right. The experience that a Mason receives in the three degrees when visualizing the meaning of this pin can always offer him the tools for rebuilding the temple within his heart, according to the Masonic moral teaching, where one may falter but also repair his mind and soul.
M. W. Carl L. “Bud” Banks
Grand Master F. & A. M. of Nevada
Figure 2: Executive Chamber of the Supreme Council
33rd Degree Southern Jurisdiction, in the House of the Temple
(House of the Temple, AASR-SJ, USA)
[1]1. A youth organization affiliated with the Masons.