At The Gate Of Initiation – The Two Pillars

Short Papers Competition 2009 © 2010 Internet Lodge and the author Paper 30/2009 Title At the Gate of Initiation – The Two Pillars Author Bro Keith Bowles – England We accord the two Pillars – otherwise known as Jachin and Boaz , very great prominence within our Temples. Their im agery can also be found on our banners, tracing boards and regalia. In fact, you could say they are synonymous with Freemasonry.
But what do they actually mean or put another way – what do they signify? This is not an easy question to answer; for des pite the heavy emphasis laid upon the Pillars in our artwork and lodge ornaments, we learn surprisingly little of their hidden meaning from our ritual. More to the point; their mystical dimension is largely overlooked and as a consequence, each of us is alone – fr ee to contemplate for ourselves the true design purpose. But that being said, for those of us who have been stimulated enough to find out more; where should we begin our study?
In order to shed some further light on our subject, we must first broaden our frame of reference beyond the Craft. It is import ant to remember that the source of our Masonic Legend is derived from the Legend of Israel. Historians and scholars have long since known that ‘certain’ other manuscripts exist; namely those written by Jewish Mystics under the generic name of the Kabbalah. Certain of these writings are of particular relevance to Freemasonry - because they lay special stress on the mystical import of the two Pillars. The Kabbalah therefore provides an invaluable insight as to their deeper symbolism although within the confines of this paper , we are forced to restrict our research to that which may simply be observed during any ritual.
You will have noticed that the Pillars are adorned with two globes; one depicting material earth and the other celestial heaven . They are replicated on the Warden’s columns and when the lodge opens, the earth column is laid flat and the ce lestial column raised upright
thereby symbolising the heavenly or spiritual nature of our work. We can also describe them as a pair of opposites ; this is less obvious perhaps but nonetheless symbolic of the dual nature of existence - positive and negative, active and pas sive, light and dark, good and evil.
During our ritual, the Candidate will stand between them and will thus form the middle pillar; he himself is placed in a position of balance. In other words, we can interpret that the
personality of the Candidate will be harmonised if he follows the path of equilibrium or balance.
Short Papers Competition 2009 © 2010 Internet Lodge and the author Finally, perhaps we should consider that the answer to our question is more fundamental; maybe the primary function of the Pillars, like all of our other symbols, is to simply stimulate the imagination – their true purpose being to act as a kind of doorway into the inner Temple . The answer can thus only to be grasped through our own searching or contemplation – after all, if one is told the answer in advance, the value of the lesson is lost!
REFERENCES
‘The Ladder of Lights’ - William G. Gray (Samuel Weiser, inc) ‘The Meaning of Freemasonry’ - W.L.Wilmhurst (Gramercy Books) ‘Selected Masonic Papers of A. E. Waite’ - Edward Dunning (The Aquarian Press) ‘A Garden of Pomegranates’ by Israel Regardie (Llewellyn Publications)