The First Three Degrees

Entered Apprentice Degree

The Entered Apprentice Degree, first of the three Degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry, is a preliminary degree, intended to prepare the candidate for the higher and fuller instructions of the succeeding degrees. The candidate is a voluntary applicant for membership in the Lodge, he comes without an invitation from the Lodge or from any member of the Order, even though he may have been told by a Masonic friend that he is the type of man the Order needs. Of his own free will and accord, the candidate knocks at the outer door of the Lodge and seeks admission that he may begin his search for Light, for the light of divine Truth. At the threshhold of the Lodge he is required to confess his "trust in God," thus repudiating any tendencies to infidelity, polytheism or pantheism, and acknowledging his faith in the One True and Living God. He is peculiarly clothed in keeping with the mysteries of the Order into which he is about to be inducted, "neither naked nor clothed; neither bare-footed nor shod," the symbolic meaning being fully explained to him as he makes his journey through the requirements of this degree. Although lacking in valuable historical information, the work of the Degree is replete instructions on the internal structure of the Order, especially in its lectures. The religious character of Masonry is impressed upon his mind and heart, not only by his confession of "trust in God," but by the open Bible upon the altar, and by his own dedication in prayer and mediation before the altar. The entire Ritual is a preliminary revelation on the internal structure of the Institution, and the symbols employed in the Degree are profoundly significant and instructive. The candidate now learns that a Masonic Lodge is an assemblage of Freemasons, duly congregated, having the Sacred Writings, Square, and Compass, and a Charter, or warrant of constitution, authorizing the Lodge to meet and work. It is also explained to him that the room or place in which the meeting is held represents some part of King Solomon’s Temple. The Lodge is supported by three great columns, Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, which are explained to the candidate. They are represented by the Master, Senior Warden and Junior Warden. In properly comprehending "what is done unto him," the course of his movements around the Lodge Room, the significance of the symbols employed, and the lectures given, including every phase of the Ritual, the Entered Apprentice Mason realizes that he has begun a noble pursuit for Truth. The aspiration of his soul toward Absolute and Infinite Intelligence is encouraged and strengthened. The faculties of his mind have been directed toward the Great Architect Of The Universe, his own Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. Through the majestic irradiations of thought, meditation, prayer and sublime comprehension's of instructions given, his soul pierces through the shadows of materialism and earthiness toward the Light for which his search has begun. He is prepared for his onward and upward course in Freemasonry, and when he has proved his proficiency in the work of the Entered Apprentice Degree, he will be ready for the next Degree of Blue Lodge Masonry. The Entered Apprentice Mason is entrusted with certain secrets of the Order, all of them moral, ethical and wholesome, and is pledged to "keep counsel of all things spoken in the Lodge or chamber by any Masons, Fellows or Free Masons." He is invested with certain "Secret Words," which, of course, he must keep inviolate and communicate them only in accordance with Masonic Law.

Fellowcraft Degree

Fellowcraft is the designation of the Second Degree in Blue Lodge Masonry. The term is derived from the union of Operative Masons, representing those who were especially skilled in cutting and fitting stones for structural use, but less skilled and capable than Master Masons. In Speculative Masonry, emphasis is laid on the significance of the term Fellow. In its basic meaning, the word signifies "bound in mutual trust." It also has in its deeper meaning the idea of "a follower, a companion, an associate." Though of less skill, of less ability, than a Master Mason, the Fellow in Freemasonry is not a servant, nor a subject, but an associate, a companion, a brother. The work of this degree is, like that of the Entered Apprentice, preparatory for advancement into the higher degree of Master Mason, but it differs essentially in the importance of its symbolism. The Entered Apprentice Degree is devoted to a beginner; the Fellowcraft Degree to a more advanced search for Light. In the First Degree the symbols and ceremonies are directed toward purification of the heart. In this Degree, this purification is no less important, but the symbols and ceremonies are directed more chiefly to lessons for the cultivation of the reasoning faculties and the improvement of the intellectual powers. Among the ancients, all religion was more or less a mystery, and hence religions, and especially the mystery of religions, were closely associated with philosophy. Among pagans, the multitude of allegories and symbols in the religions became accepted as realities, and the worship of celestial luminaries, imaginary deities with human passions, appetites and lusts, and of idols in the forms of stones, animals and even reptiles was commonplace. Hence, in Freemasonry, the emphasis is placed upon philosophy, upon intellectual enlightenment, and upon advancement of the reasoning faculties in order that these tendencies to idolatry might counteracted to the glory of the One Living True God. Freemasonry, successor of the Mysteries of antiquity, follows ancient methods of instruction. Nowhere in Freemasonry does this become more evident than in the Fellowcraft Degree. Instruction is given by symbols, and there is marked out for the Fellowcraft a path of study, of meditation, of investigation, of intellectual progress — all of which means progress toward the Search for Truth. The fundamentals of Freemasonry which claim for man the threefold heritage of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are symbolized and expounded in the Fellowcraft Degree. The vows and obligations of the Fellowcraft Degree are, of course, more advanced and extensive than those of the Entered Apprentice Degree. The pledge to secrecy with reference to the internal workings of the Fraternity is broadened and strongly re-enforced. Regulations regarding Secret Words are similar to those of the preceding Degree. The endowments and investitures of the Order given to this Degree are to be guarded with inviolate fidelity, and obedience to the tenets and laws of Freemasonry are exacted with great emphasis.

Master Mason Degree

As practiced today, Master Mason is the third and last Degree in the Masonic Blue Lodge. This Degree was originally called the "Summit of Ancient Craft Masonry." The whole system of Craft Masonry is intended to present the symbolic idea of man’s pilgrimage on earth. The First Degree is often referred to as a representation of youth, of the period of learning, or the time for the purification of affections, as the period of preparation for advancement into higher spheres of life here on earth. The Second Degree is often referred to as the representation of the period of adult life, of manhood, a time for increased and enlarged learning and of work. The Third Degree is referred to as symbolic of mature life, of ripened experiences, and a time of continued activities, but of decrease in toil and laborious endeavor. That there should be continued increase in knowledge and wisdom is a prime goal. But it is also a period of heavier responsibilities in many respects, of trials, of sufferings, and of inevitable termination in Death. Foremost in the conceptions of this period of life is that it is a time of waiting by the wearied workman for the word of the Grand Master of the Universe which will summon the Master Mason from the labors of earth to the central refreshments of heaven. For these reasons, and because of the superlative beauty and significance of the Ritual, the Ceremonies, and the Symbols of the Degree, it is called "The Sublime Degree of Master Mason."