Freemasonry has often been described as “a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.” Not all Freemasons may agree with this description – which is attributed to Dr. Samuel Hemming, c. 1820—and it may not tell the whole story, but it’s as good a place as any to start. The volume of Masonic Ritual and lecture that has accumulated and evolved over the centuries has offered us an almost inexhaustible source of material to teach the lessons of Masonry and learn the lessons of life. However, while our Rituals, symbols and allegories are among our great treasures, our method is not without its challenges for the Mason seeking enlightenment and knowledge. In fact, a central challenge arises from the very strength of the symbolic method: An emblem may symbolize one thing, but it may also symbolize many other things. It has even been said that the most powerful emblems are those to which many different meanings can be ascribed.

The emblems of Freemasonry are powerful indeed, and as a result they have given rise to a vast profusion of written work exploring and interpreting the higher meanings of our Rituals and emblems. These works have approached Masonry using perspectives as diverse as Kabballah, sacred geometry, Hermeticism, Christianity, Alchemy, legendary history, Eastern philosophy, mythology, Rosicrucianism, ceremonial magic and highly eclectic personal beliefs, to name but a few. The question therefore naturally arises as to which one is right and true, and the answer is as unsatisfying as it is brief: It depends.

I like to remind young Brothers that it’s incorrect to say “there are no wrong answers” or “all interpretation are equal” when interpreting Masonic Rituals, emblems and allegories. There are plenty of wrong answers and bad interpretations. Wrong answers and bad interpretations are those that are not grounded in a thorough knowledge of that which is answered or interpreted.

For example, if someone proclaims some “truth” about Masonry predicated on the assumption that the Masonic Altar is always situated in the middle of the Lodge room, this would be a “wrong answer” because it does not acknowledge that one of the largest Masonic traditions in the world does not use a centrally-located Altar, nor does it account for the fact that our own tradition only started using a centrally-located Altar sometime in the mid-1800s.

The good news is that there is an almost infinite number of “right answers” that can be built upon a solid basis of knowledge. Freemasonry can also be described as a journey of spiritual, intellectual and moral growth, so we should eagerly embrace opportunities to enrich our Masonic experience through the acquisition of knowledge. Just remember to be skeptical! If it seems too tidy to be true, it probably isn’t. Two starting places I recommend are David Stevenson’s The Origins of Freemasonry : Scotland’s Century”, which is more grounded in good scholarship than any other book on this subject, and Robert L.T. Cooper’s The Rosslyn Hoax”, which contains many of the most foundational texts with relevance to Freemasonry and also sets forth a good way of discerning an academic approach from a popular approach (hint: you want to read things written by those who adopt the former approach).