Perhaps one of the most fascinating places in all of Washington DC is the Scottish Rite Supreme Council. This is more commonly known as the Masonic Temple. Their stated goal is to make good men better. The tour was mind blowing because of all of the familiar symbols I recognized from Egyptian, Israeli and especially American history. At BYU, one of my LDS-church history professors made note that several early church leaders were free masons. Joseph Smith was a Master Mason of the 32 degree (33 degrees in masonry). Please note that this blog post is intended simply as a recap of the things I saw and experienced and in no way should it be read into beyond your own personal knowledge and understanding.
First, a little background from Wikipedia:
While Freemasonry has often been called a secret society," Freemasons themselves argue that it is more correct to say that it is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private. The most common phrasing is that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets." The private aspects of modern Freemasonry are the modes of recognition amongst members and particular elements within the ritual. Despite the organisation's great diversity, Freemasonry's central preoccupations remain charitable work within a local or wider community, moral uprightness (requiring a belief in a supreme being) as well as the development and maintenance of fraternal friendship.
Its my understanding that many people view Masons with suspicion. My experience from the tour is that the building was completely transparent (the secret doors near the great hall meeting room led to the organ pipes), we were allowed to take as many pictures as we wanted and ask any question that came to mind. When we asked about the significance of particular symbols, our guide answered this way:
"I get those questions all the time and I wanted to answer them well, but didn't have the knowledge. When I approached my superior on the particulars of asking what each symbol meant, he didn't give me a specific answer. Instead, he referred me to various books where I could discover the answers on my own. Being a mason is very much an experience of discovering the significance and meaning of symbols to build a personal understanding, step by step. You have to put in your own effort to know the answers."
On the outside of the temple, there are two sphinx statues that guard the entrance. You'll note in the pictures that one has its eyes half closed--this represents wisdom. The other has its eyes wide open--this represents power.
Inside the great hall were two black marble Egyptian'esque carvings. The man who designed this temple is the same guy who did the National Archives and Jefferson Memorial.
The ceiling lights have Greek influences with mythological gods portrayed, Medusa is the head in the middle. There are 33 light bulbs around the edge. They don't favor any particular religion over another.
This was carved into the wall at the head of a great staircase leading to the main meeting room.
You'll note the elaborate doors. They are 400 pounds of oak, wrapped in a beautiful pigskin leather and balanced on a single door hinge.
The guide let us wander around this room. The marble alter in the center was imported from Belgium. On top are the major religious texts from all over the world (Bible, Quran, etc). It is more symbolic that while they believe in a Supreme Being, that doesn't mean that a specific religion is practiced. Light is a very important symbol. This room had no air conditioning and has all natural light.
This was one of the open doors that allowed a cross breeze and some cooling in the room. The purple velvet curtains are beautiful and very heavy. Just the tapestries in this room represent 3,200 pounds! The carving above the door shows the number 33 and has 33 beams of light pouring off.
Our guide invited us to sit in the head guy's seat. No one did, probably out of respect for our hosts. You'll see that the windows are darker at the bottom than they are at the top. This isn't a cleaning problem. It is symbolic of advancing in degree and understanding within masonry.
Outside the grand meeting room is this single chair. During meetings a man sits here to guard the door with a sword. These days he never uses the sword and the exercise is more of a symbolic gesture.
Walking back down the stairs to the main level, we found the gold plated sword with a silver hilt, the one held by the guard when meetings are in session. You'll note the masonic symbol and number 33 in the center.
This stain glass window shows the temple and ascension to the light. You'll see the Latin words Fiat Lux which means, "Let there be Light" on top.
The window is housed in this small out cove called the Pillars of Charity. Along the wall are smaller marble pillars with plaques that honor individuals who have personally donated $1 million to the organization. These guys are not at all strapped for cash.
Now on to the basement and grand hall. Each local mason group (several groups in each state) have a coin that is given to members. Each of these coins are featured on more than a dozen tables in this meeting room.
George Washington of course was a Mason. Nearly half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons. In this same big hall are two paintings. One depicts Washington's inauguration. The bible that was used was a Masonic bible. It is currently in the possession of a Masonic lodge in New York. As an act of symbolism, that bible has been used at the inauguration of several presidents, as recent as George H. Bush (George W. was going to use it, but the weather was bad).
This picture shows the cornerstone laying ceremony of the National Capitol building. You'll note that Washington was indeed wearing ceremonial Masonic clothing. Cornerstone ceremonies are a big deal for the Masons and it was appropriate for him to dress up for the occasion.
Here's a close up view of Washington in the painting, wearing an apron and collar.
The next hall showed paintings of ceremonial clothing for each of the 33 degrees. I took pictures of the 32, 33 and 1st degrees along with the plaques describing the expectation for individuals to achieve each level.
Perform your duties to God, country, family, Freemasonry, and self.
Endeavor to achieve the Fraternity's ideal of wisdom in service to God and your fellowman.
Practice the tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.
Above is a close up view of a Masonic ceremonial apron. The symbols that jumped out to me were the eye, the sun, moon, stars and trowel (somewhat hidden on the checkerboard pyramid base. You see a similar eye on the reverse side of the $1 bill. The Eye of Providence or the all-seeing eye of God is often interpreted as representing the eye of God watching over mankind, ie divine providence.
With the Masonic background in mind, as well as the belief in a Supreme Being held by our founders (not to mention more than 90% of Americans today) the interpretation of the words on the back of the $1 bill are significant:
Annuit Coeptis - "to nod" or "to approve", and coeptum (plural coepta), "commencement, undertaking", it is literally translated, "He approves (has approved) of the undertakings"
Novus Ordo Seclorum: New Order of the Ages
The picture above shows a fragment of what is believed to be the cornerstone laid at the US Capitol. It isn't 100% guaranteed because no one can fully claim they've indeed found the complete cornerstone (see pics further down of the White House corner stone).
I found the trowel set shown above fascinating. Of course stone masons (a precursor to freemasons) were builders. These are not only tools of the trade, but very symbolic. One website says the trowel is used to spread the cement of brotherly love and affection. That cement which unites us into one sacred band or society of brothers among whom no contention should ever exist.
Two very basic symbols for masons are the square and the compass, shown in the common design above. The 'G' in the middle represents God. The square is a reminder for masons to "square their actions by the square of virtue" and the compass teaches them to "circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within due bounds toward all mankind."
Again, many prolific Americans are/were Masons (15 US presidents, John Glenn, Gene Autry, Bob Dole, etc). This makes the museum downstairs in the temple's basement incredibly fascinating as members have made significant donations. Above are actual pieces of the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 spacecrafts. There was also a piece of foam from the Space Shuttle Columbia nearby (my picture didn't turn out well).
This was a masonic flag that Buzz Aldrin brought with him to the moon. He carried it with him while taking a brief stroll on the moon.
This collar belonged to President Harry S. Truman who was a Master Mason. He made a much bigger contribution to the museum shown below. This is the cornerstone to the White House (the original White House that was burned down by the British in 1812). He donated it while renovations were being made during his tenure. As a comparison of where he stood, he gave the Smithsonian just a few shards of wood to display. You'll even see a few Masonic marks in the stone.
I understand that "The Lost Symbol" mentions that the Masonic Temple has bodies behind the walls. This is accurate in that two bodies (one cremation, one coffin) are entombed here and marked with statues. The one on the right, Albert Pike, helped unify the masons by publishing a book called Morals and Dogma. He also was a Confederate officer. I can't remember the other guy's name, but after the tour, he struck me more as a wannabe rather than doing anything truly significant. He was the second longest tenured leader of this Masonic group.
Here's the bible that was used at George Washington's funeral.
I can't get this picture to line up straight, but it shows the VERY FIRST book ever published in the United States. You'll note it was written and printed by Benjamin Franklin. There are only 5 known to still be in existence.
Finally, an unrelated side note, but something I thought of while I was on the tour. With 33 being such a special number for the Masons, it made me think of the exclusive Club 33 at Disneyland. I wondered if Walt Disney was a Mason and here is what Google told me:
A few years ago, OC Weekly (from Orange County, California) ran a review of the Disneyland restaurant Club 33, titled "Mickey the Mason: Behind the door of Uncle Walt’s exclusive Club 33." Apparently many people think the 33 refers to that "high degree" in Freemasonry. The writer found no Masonic symbols in the restaurant, saying only that "at the top of the windows... there are designs that are almost shaped like an eye." Spooky stuff! Membership in Club 33 (in 2003) is $7,500, with yearly dues of $2,500. A buffet-style meal is $47. I don't know too many Masons who would pay those kinds of dues or prices to eat, but then, I'm not a 33rd degree "high ranking" Freemason, so what do I know? Maybe those 33rd's all get to dip into that National Treasure that Ben Gates and his pals found under that church.
