From the book
Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry
R. Swinburne Clymer · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe triangle and square are forms through which the text interprets spirit, embodiment, divine unity, and the candidate's progress.
- In Ancient Mystic Oriental MasonryThe degree account changes the relation of the triangle to the square as spirit descends and the worker advances.
- In this editionSquare can describe character or a geometric form; its concordance does not restrict the word to one meaning.
- A place to readM.16: … “deepest meanings to the Initiates. A Pyramid, the triangular form of it, signifies fire, and the” …
Meaning
The triangle and square are forms through which the text interprets spirit, embodiment, divine unity, and the candidate's progress.
Use in the book
The degree account changes the relation of the triangle to the square as spirit descends and the worker advances. Elsewhere a triangle signifies fire, divine qualities, or a threefold unity. The pyramid and other emblems extend the same forms into different settings.
Places to read
- Mystic Masonry · Block 16… “deepest meanings to the Initiates. A Pyramid, the triangular form of it, signifies fire, and the cubical form the earth visited by fire. Fire in turn signifies Love, God, the Fatherhood” …
- Mystic Masonry · Block 44… “Entered Apprentice starts on his career with the triangle surmounting the square (spirit has not yet descended into matter). As he progresses the descent takes place, and we have the triangle” …
- Foundations of Mystic Masonry · Block 113“10. " 'The Initiates wore a triangle, symbolical of the three qualities of the Dumiurgos — Power, Wisdom and Love.”
- Masonic Symbolism · Block 108… “uniform symbol of this three-fold Deity was an equilateral triangle, the precise form occupied by our pillars of Wisdom, Strength and Beauty."*”
- Masonic Symbolism · Block 125… “came from India and had similar rites. The Equilateral triangle was one of their symbols, and so was the mystical Y; both alluding to the Triune God and the latter being” …
In this edition
Square can describe character or a geometric form; its concordance does not restrict the word to one meaning.
Reading the argument
The variety resists a one-to-one dictionary of shapes. A reader should ask what relation the arrangement expresses in each passage, rather than assume that every triangle proves one doctrine or one historical origin.
triangle
“triangle” — 8 occurrences in 6 text blocks: I.23; M.44; F.113; S.108, 125; N.184.
triangles
“triangles” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: F.110.
square
“square” — 7 occurrences in 4 text blocks: I.23; M.44, 72; S.58.
triangular
“triangular” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: M.16.
equilateral
“equilateral” — 2 occurrences in 2 text blocks: S.108, 125.