20th Degree: Master of the Symbolic Lodge

Transcripts, Chapter Markers and Show Notes for all episodes are available from our website - WayOfTheHermit.com.

This degree is characterized by its simplicity and focus on the fundamental principles of Masonry. The ritual involves a straightforward lecture on symbols, with an emphasis on personal interpretation rather than elaborate drama. The degree uses classic Masonic symbols such as squares, triangles, and pillars, and highlights the significance of the number nine, which is represented by nine candles forming a right triangle around the altar. This arrangement symbolizes the "47th Problem of Euclid" or the "Pythagorean Theorem."

The degree's purpose is to teach leadership and the virtues of leniency, kindness, and humility, and advocates for restoring Masonry to its original purity and simplicity. It criticizes the dilution of Masonic values through unnecessary innovations and emphasizes the importance of moral centering and fair judgment. The "Symbolic Lodge" is seen as a metaphor for the mind, with the degree teaching a way of thinking through symbols and allegories.

This series on the Scottish Rite uses the following primary sources (which you are encouraged to read as well):

• Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition
• Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide
• A Bridge to Light

Images and Diagrams:

• Pythagoras of Crotona (by J. Augustus Knapp)

Overview:

• 01:14 Introduction
• 01:39 Degree Ritual
• 10:57 Purpose of the Degree
• 12:56 Morals and Dogma
• 13:58 Ignorance and Innovations in Freemasonry
• 14:43 The Meaning of Masonic Titles
• 15:46 Masons Kneel Before God and Honor
• 16:39 The Scottish Rite is a Teacher of Great Truth
• 17:52 Masonry Teaches by Parable and Allegory)
• 19:09 Exercise Humanity to Those Beneath You
• 19:50 Masonry is the Performance of Duty
• 21: 16 Duties of the Masonic Classes
• 22:40 Duties of a Master of a Lodge
• 24:50 The 47th Problem of Euclid
• 27:07 Square Work
• 28:53 Thoth
• 30:56 Conclusions

Links:

• Thoth (Amazon)
• Pythagorean Theorem (Wikipedia)
• Squaring the Circle (Wikipedia)
• Trigonometry (Wikipedia)
• Kabbalah (Wikipedia)
• Numa Pompilius (Wikipedia)
• Hammurabi (Wikipedia)
• Mani (Wikipedia)
• Alfred the Great (Wikipedia)