blue and red symbolism in freemasonary

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Blue and Red Symbolism

in Masonryby Joannes Richter

Introduction

This summary documents the starting point for early religion as an Ancient Symbol Worship.

Ancient peoples erected pillars and created circles as religious symbols, representing the male

respectively female reproductive organs. These ancient religious symbols have been overthrown byprophets, but they did not disappear completely.

Basically the symbols for these old male and female elements may be considered as bipolar

antipodes. Remarkable ancient religious bipolar symbols are the colours redand blue, which have

been documented in the Books Exodus1 and Chronicles. However two additional colours (purple

and white) have been found as a third respectively fourth symbolic element. Purple obviouslyrepresents the joined male and female or divine, androgynous forces, whereas white represents the

absence of colours.

Ancient religious symbolism in the colours red, blue andpurple has been inherited from the biblical

sources to the Masonic traditions. According to American medical doctor and Freemason Albert

Gallatin Mackey2 the Aprons, Banners, the Breastplate, the Canopy, the Garments, the Ephod, the

decorations of the Tabernacle and the Veils have been made of blue, purple, and scarlet or

crimson, decorated with gold upon a ground of fine white linen. In parallel to the Masons the

colour symbols may also have been transported by priests, monks, royals, scientists and initiated

artists. A number of royal tombs reveals the red, white and blue-combinations, but a vast number of

medieval icons, paintings, and ancient decorations and sculptures as well demonstrate the special

combinations of red & blue symbols.

Most of the knowledge has been lost or at least suffering in the course of time. In Encyclopedia of

Freemasonary the documented symbolism for the four masonic colours3is rather crude:

Blue is a symbol ofuniversal friendship and benevolence, Purple is a symbol here ofunion,

Scarlet is a symbol offervency andzeal,

White is a symbol ofpurity, and is peculiarly appropriate to remind the neophyte.

Obviously the modern Masons must have lost the red & blue symbolism by 1873, although the

medieval painter Hieronymus Bosch must have been aware of red & blue's symbolism in 1510.

1 see details inThe Sky-God Dyaeus2 Albert Gallatin Mackey (March 12, 1807 June 20, 1881) was an American medical doctor, and is best known for

his authorship of many books and articles about freemasonry, particularly Masonic Landmarks. He served as Grand

Lecturer and Grand Secretary of The Grand Lodge of South Carolina; Secretary General of the Supreme Council ofthe Ancient and Accepted Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.

3 From the Encyclopedia of FreemasonaryVol I (1873) & Vol II (1878) by Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Veils,Symbolism of the
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Instead the following standard symbolism has been be interpreted from medieval artwork4:

Blue is a symbol offemale adult contributions

Purple is a symbol here of (male and female) adults' union,

Scarlet and crimson are symbols ofmale adult contributions,

White is a symbol ofpurity, and is peculiarly appropriate to remind the newborn.

The special pairwise symbolism of red & blue may easily be identified by inspecting the medieval

Bibles, which will often reveal decorations in alternating colours red & blue. A number of these

alternating texts have been documented in Secret Colour Codes in the Bible and in Illuminated

Manuscripts . The Utrecht Bible (1460) reveals alternating initials in red and blue-combinations:

4 see details inThe Sky-God Dyaeus

Fig 1: Utrechter Bible (1460)
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The special combination ofred, white and blue may be found at the count Gerard's grave (ca. 1240)

at Roermond5 and at the Graves ofHenry & Eleonora Plantagenetat Fontevraud Abbey (ca. 1189).

5 see details in: Blue and Red in Roermond

Fig. 2: Monumental grave at Roermond (ca. 1240)

Fig. 3: Grave of Henry & Eleonora at

Fontevraud Abbey
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Hieronymous Bosch must have been aware of the symbolism in the rose-red pillar (fountain of lovenamed Mizpeh6) and the corresponding blue circle (corresponding to the cairn named Galeed7).More details to the symbolism of the Garden of Earthly Delights (1510) by Bosch have been

documented in Symbolism in the Garden of Delights by Hieronymos Bosch andSymbolism in the

Paintings by Hieronymos Bosch .

The following chapters will document details from two documents published in 1873 and 1875 to

demonstrate the vast amount of ancient knowledge which has been saved by Masonry with respect

to colour symbolism.

6 Influence of the Phallic Idea in the Religions of Antiquity.by Hodder m. Westropp and c. Staniland Wake with anIntroduction, additional notes, and an appendix by Alexander Wilder, m.d. Second edition with plates, 1875,

republished 20107 Influence of the Phallic Idea in the Religions of Antiquity.by Hodder m. Westropp and c. Staniland Wake with anIntroduction, additional notes, and an appendix by Alexander Wilder, m.d. Second edition with plates, 1875,

republished 2010

Fig. 4: The central creation symbol as a pink

(rose-red) fountain over a blue foundation(1510)
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We have suggested that Abraham was represented in the character of a dissenter from the

worship prevailing at Ur of the Khasdim. As remarked on a subsequent page by Mr. Wake,that some great religious movement, ascribed by tradition to Abraham, did take place

among the Semites at an early date, is undoubted. It may have been the " Great Religious

War."

The religion of the patriarchs appears to have had some affinity with that of the Persians,

insomuch that some writers intimate an identity of origin. This was certainly the case at alater period. Other peoples were also driven to emigration. Many Scythian nations

abandoned their former seats. The Phoenicians left their country on the Erythrean Sea, and

emigrated to the shores of the Mediterranean. The Pali, or shepherds on the Indus, removed

to the west. A part of the population of Asiatic Ethiopia, or Beluchistan, it is supposed, also

emigrated. The Hyksos, during the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Monarchy, appeared in Egypt.

Josephus, abandoning his own history of Jewish Antiquities, construes the account by

Manetho, in regard to them, as relating to the ancient Hebrews, remarking: Our ancestors

had the dominion over their country. If we might interpret the story of Abraham and other

patriarchs as we would the traditions of other nations, we would assign to it a religious or

esoteric meaning rather than a secular and historical one, and fix a later period for thebeginning of the authentic annals. The early association of the Shemitic with the Ethiopian

nations, however, appears to be abundantly corroborated by profane as well as sacred

history. Similarity of customs indicate that the chosen people, if they had a separate

political existence, were in other respects substantially like the earlier nations. We may

expect to find these resemblances close enough to show even a family likeness. Of course,

every intelligent reader is aware that the Hamitic and Shemitic populations of Asia, Africa,

and Europe, belonged to what is denominated the Caucasian or Indo-Germanic race. The

earliest deity of the Ethiopian or Hamitic nations, whose worship was most general, was the

one known in the Bible by the designation of Baal. He bore, of course, a multiplicity of

titles, which were often personified as distinct \yhla aleim, or divinities; besides having in

Syria a separate name for every season of the year. In the Sanscrit language he was styledMaha Deva, or Supreme God; and after the Aryan conquest, was added to the Brahmin

Trimourti under the title Siva. Other names are easily traced in the Hamitic languages; as

Bala in Bel, the tutelar deity of Babylon; Deva Nahusha, or Dionysus, of Arabia and Thrace;

Iswara, or Oseiris, of Egypt. In western mythology he become more generally known

through the Phoenicians. In Tyre he was Mel-karth, the lord of the city; in Syria he was

Adonis and Moloch; but all through Europe he is best known by the hero-name Hercules.

His twelve labors typify the sun passing through the signs of the zodiac; his conquests in the

west show whither the Phoenician navigators directed their course; while the maypoles, Bl-

fires, and other remnants of old worships, exist as his memorials. The story of his

achievements is a fair outline of the history of Phoenician adventure.


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Colours in Masonry

Aprons in Masonry10

An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. There isno one of the symbols of Speculative Freemasonry more important in its teachings, or more

interesting in its history, than the lambskin, or white leathern apron. Commencing its lessons

at an early period in the Freemason's progress, it is impressed upon his memory as the first

gift which he receives, the first symbol which is explained to him, and the first tangible

evidence which he possesses of his admission into the Fraternity. Whatever may be his

future advancement in the "royal art," into whatsoever deeper arcana his devotion to the

mystic Institution or his thirst for knowledge may subsequently lead him, with the lambskin

apron-his first investiture---he never parts. Changing, perhaps, its form and its decorations,

and conveying, at each step, some new but still beautiful allusion, its substance is still there,

and it continues to claim the honoured title by which it was first made known to him, on the

night of his initiation, as the badge of a Mason.

''The apron appears to have been, in ancient times, an honorary badge of distinction.

In the Jewish economy, none but the superior orders of the priesthood were permitted

to adorn themselves with ornamented girdles, which were made of blue, purple, and

crimson, decorated with gold upon a ground of fine white linen; while the inferior

priests wore only plain white. The Indian, the Persian, the Jewish, the Ethiopian, and

the Egyptian aprons, though equally superb, all bore a character distinct from each

other. Some were plain white, others striped with blue, purple, and crimson; some

were of wrought gold, others adorned and decorated with superb tassels and

fringes.11 Freemasonry was originally incorporated with the various systems of

divine worship used by every people in the ancient world."

Banners, Royal arch12

Much difficulty has been experienced by ritualists in reference to the true colours and proper

arrangements of the banners used in an American Chapter ofRoyal Arch Masons. It isadmitted that. they are four in number, and that their colours are blue, purple, scarlet, and

white; and it is known, too, that the devices on these banners are a lion, an oz, a man, and an

eagle. But the doubt is constantly arising as to the relation between these devices and these

colours, and as to which of the former is to be appropriated to each of the latter.

We must depend on the Talmudic writers solely for the disposition and arrangement of thecolours and devices of these banners. From their works we learn that the colour of the

banner of Judah was white; that of Ephraim, scarlet; that of Reuben, purple; and that of Dan,

blue; and that the devices of the same Tribes were respectively the lion, the ox, the man, and

the eagle. Hence, under this arrangement---and it is the only one upon which we can depend

the four banners in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, working in the American Rite, should

be distributed as follows among the banner-bearing officers:

10From theEncyclopedia of Freemasonary and its kindred sciences by Albert c. Mackey m. d.11 Signs and Symbols of Freemasonry, lecture x, page 196 - Doctor Oliver

12From theEncyclopedia of Freemasonary and its kindred sciences by Albert c. Mackey m. d.
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Purple19

Purple is the appropriate colour of those Degrees which, in the American Rite, have been

interpolated between the Royal Arch and Ancient Craft Masonry, namely, the Mark, Past,

and Most Excellent Masters. It is in Freemasonry a symbol of fraternal union, because,

being compounded of blue, the colour of the Ancient Craft, and red, which is that of the

Royal Arch, it is intended to signify the close connection and harmony which should ever

exist between those two portions of the Masonic system.

It may be observed that this allusion to the union and harmony between blue and red

Masonry is singularly carried out in the Hebrew word which signifies purple. This word,

which is argamun, is derived from ragam or rehem, one of whose significations is "a

friend." But Portal (Comparison of Egyptian Symbols with Those of the Hebrews) says that

purple, in the profane language of colours, signifies constancy in spiritual combats, because

blue denotes fidelity, and red, war.

In the religious services of the Jews we find purple employed on various occasions. It was

one of the colours of the curtains of the Tabernacle, where, Josephus says, it was symbolic

of the element of water, of the veils, and of the curtain over the great entrance; it was alsoused in the construction of the ephod and girdle of the Heigh Priest, and the cloths for

Divine Service.

Among the Gentile nations of antiquity purple was considered rather as a colour of dignity

than of veneration, and was deemed an emblem of exalted office. Hence Homermentions itas peculiarly appropriated to royalty, and Vergilspeaks ofpurpura regum, or the purple of

Kings. Pliny says it was the colour of the vestments worn by the early kings of Rome; and it

has ever since, even to the present time, been considered as the becoming insignia of regal

orsupreme authority.

In American Freemasonry, the purple colour seems to be confined to the intermediate

Degrees between the Master and theRoyal Arch, except that it is sometimes employed in thevestments of officers representing either kings or men of eminent authority such, for

instance, as the Scribe in a Chapter ofRoyal Arch Masons.

In the Grand Lodge of England, Grated Officers and Provincial Grand Officers wear purple

collars and aprons. As the symbolic colour of the Past Master's Degree, to which all Grand

Officers should have attained, it is also considered in the United States as the appropriate

colour for the collars of officers of a Grand Lodge. Purple is the appropriate colour of those

Degrees which, in the American Rite, have been interpolated between the Royal Arch and

Ancient Craft Masonry, namely, the Mark, Past, and Most Excellent Masters. It is in

Freemasonry a symbol of fraternal union, because, being compounded ofblue, the colour oftheAncient Craft, and red, which is that of the Royal Arch, it is intended to signify the close

connection and harmony which should ever exist between those two portions of the Masonic

system.

Purple Brethren20

In English Freemasonry, the Grand Officers of the Grand Lodge and the Past Grand and

Deputy Grand Masters and Past and Present Provincial Grand Masters are called purple

brethren, because of the colour of their decorations, and at meetings of the Grand Lodge are

privileged to sit on the dais.

19 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryand its kindred sciences by Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Purple

20 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Purple Brethren


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Purple Lodges21

Grand and Provincial Grand Lodges are thus designated by Doctor Oliver in his Institutes of

Masonic Jurisprudence. The term is not used in the United States.

Royal Arch Clothing22

The clothing or regalia of aRoyal Arch Mason in the American system consists of an apron,already described, a scarf of scarlet velvet or silk, on which is embroidered or painted, on a

blue ground, the words, Holiness to the Lord, and if all officer, a scarlet collar, to which is

attached the jewel of his office.. The scarf, once universally used, has been very much

abandoned Every Royal Arch Mason should also wear at his buttonhole, attached by a

scarlet ribbon, the jewel of the Order.

Royal Arch colours23

The peculiar colour of the Royal Arch Degree is red or Scarlet, which is symbolic of

fervency and zeal, the characteristics of the Degree. The colours also used

symbolically in the decorations of a Chapter are blue, purple, scarlet.

Royal Arch Robes24

In the working of a Royal Arch Chapter in the United States, great attention is paid to the

robes of the several officers.

The High Priest wears, in imitation of the High Priest of the Jews, a robe of blue,

purple, scarlet, and white linen, and is decorated with the breastplate and miter. The

King wears a scarlet robe, and has a crown and scepter.

The Scribe wears a purple robe and turban.

The Captain of the Host wears a white robe and cap, and is armed with a sword.

The Principal Sojourner wears a dark robe, with tessellated border, a sleuthed hat,

and pilgrim's staff.

The Royal Arch Captain wears a white robe and cap, and is armed with a sword.

The three Grand Masters of the Veils wear, respectively, the Grand Master of the

third veil a scarlet robe and cap, of the second veil a purple robe and cap, of the first

veil a blue robe and cap. Each is armed with a sword.

The Treasurer, Secretary, and Sentinel wear no robes nor peculiar dress. All of these

robes have either a historical or symbolical allusion.

21 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Purple Lodges22 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Royal Arch Clothing

23 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Royal Arch colours

24 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Royal Arch Robes
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Tabernacle25

The Sinaitic Tabernacle

The Tabernacle itself was, according to Josephus, forty-five feet long by fifteen wide; its

greater length being from East to West. The sides were fifteen feet high, and there was asloping roof. There was no aperture or place of entrance except at the eastern end, which

was covered by curtains.

Internally, the Tabernacle was divided into two apartments by a richly decorated curtain. The

one at the western end was fifteen feet long, making, therefore, a perfect cube. This was the

Holy of Holies, into which no one entered, not even the High Priest, except on extraordinary

occasions. In it was placed the Ark of the Covenant, against the western wall.

The Holy of Holies was separated from the Sanctuary by a curtain embroidered with figures

of Cherubim, and supported by four golden pillars. The Sanctuary, or eastern apartment, was

in the form of a double cube, being fifteen feet high, fifteen feet wide, and thirty feet long.

In it were placed the Table of Shewbreadon the northern side, the Golden Candlestickon thesouthern, and theAltar of Incense between them.

The Tabernacle thus constructed was decorated with rich curtains. These were of four

colours white or fine twined linen, blue, purple, and red. They were so suspended as to

cover the sides and top of the tabernacle, not being distributed as veils separating it into

apartments, as in the Masonic Tabernacle.

Josephus, in describing the symbolic signification of the Tabernacle, says that it was an

imitation of the system of the world, theHoly of Holies, into which not even the Priests wereadmitted, was axis it were a heaven peculiar to God; but the Sanctuary, where the people

were allowed to assemble for worship, represented the sea and land on which men live. But

the symbolism of the Tabernacle was far more complex than anything that Josephus has saidupon the Subject would lead us to suppose.

Temple of Solomon26

From the porch you entered the Sanctuary by a portal, which, instead of folding doors, was

furnished with a magnificent veil of many colours, which mystically represented the

universe. The breadth of the sanctuary was twenty cubits, and its length forty, or just twice

that of the porch and Holy of Holies. It occupied, therefore, one-half of the body of the

Temple. In the Sanctuary were placed the various utensils necessary for the daily worship of

the Temple, such as theAltar of Incense, on which incense was daily burnt by the officiating

Priest; the ten Golden Candlesticks; and the ten Tables on which the offerings were laidprevious to the sacrifice.

The Holy of Holies, or innermost chamber, was separated from the Sanctuary by doors of

olive, richly sculptured and inlaid with gold, and covered with veils of blue, purple, scarlet,

and the finest linen. The size of the Holy of Holies was the same as that of the porch,

namely, twenty cubits square. It contained the Ark of the Covenant, which had been

transferred into it from the Tabernacle, with its overshadowing Cherubim and its Mercy-

Seat. Into the most sacred place, the High Priest alone could enter, and that only once a year,

on theDay of Atonement.

25 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Tabernacle

26 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Temple of Solomon


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Veils, Grand Masters of the27

Three officers in aRoyal Arch Chapter of the American Rite, whose duty it is to protect anddefend the Veils of the Tabernacle, for which purpose they are presented with a sword. The

jewel of their office is a sword within a triangle, and they bear each a banner, which is

respectively blue, purple, and scarlet. The title of Grand Master appears to be a misnomer. It

would have been better to have styled them Masters or Guardians. In the English system,

the three Sojourners act in this capacity, which is a violation of all the facts of history, and

completely changes the symbolism.

Veils, Symbolism of the28

Neither the construction nor the symbolism of the veils in the Royal Arch Tabernacle isderived from that of the Sinaitic. In the Sinaitic Tabernacle there were no veils of separation

between the different parts, except the one white one that hung before the most holy place.

The decorations of the Tabernacle were curtains, like modern tapestry, interwoven with

many colours; no curtain being wholly of one colour, and not running across the apartment,

but covering its sides and roof. The exterior form of the Royal Arch Tabernacle was takenfrom that of Moses, but the interior decoration from a passage of Josephus not properly

understood.

Josephus has been greatly used by the fabricators of advanced Degrees of Freemasonry not

only for their ideas of symbolism, but for the suggestion of their legends. In the SecondBook of Chronicles29 it is said that Solomon "made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson,

and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon." This description evidently alludes to the

single veil, which, like that of the Sinaitic Tabernacle, was placed before the entrance of the

Holy of Holies. It by no means resembles the four separate and equidistant veils of the

Masonic Tabernacle.

But Josephus had said30 that the King "also had veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, andthe brightest and softest linen, with the most curious flowers wrought upon them, which

were to be drawn before these doors." To this description which is a very inaccurate one,

which refers, too, to the interior of the first Temple, and not to the supposed Tabernacle

subsequently erected near its ruins, and which, besides, has no Biblical authority for its

support we must trace the ideas, even as to the order of the veils, which the inventors of

the Masonic Tabernacle adopted in their construction of it. That Tabernacle cannot be

recognized as historically correct, but must be considered, like the three doors of the Temple

in the Symbolic Degrees, simply as a symbol. But this does not at all diminish its value.

The symbolism, according to the system adopted in the American Rite, refers to the colours

of the veils and to the miraculous signs of Moses, which are described in Exodus as havingbeen shown by him to prove his mission as the messenger of Jehovah.

Blue is a symbol of universal friendship and benevolence. It is the appropriate colour of the

Symbolic Degrees, the possession of which is the first step in the progress of the search for

truth to be now instituted. The Mosaic sign of the serpent was the symbol among the

ancients of resurrection to life, because the serpent by casting his skin, is supposed

continually to renew his youth. It is the symbol here of the loss and the recovery of the

Word.

27 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Veils, Grand Masters of the

28 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryby Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Veils, Symbolism of the29 (in, 14)

30Antiquities, book viii chapter iii, 3


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Purple is a symbol here ofunion, and refers to the intimate connection of Ancient Craft and

Royal Arch Masonry. Hence it is the appropriate colour of the intermediate Degrees, which

must be passed through in the prosecution of the search. The Mosaic sign refers to the

restoration of the leprous hand to health. Here again, in this representation of a diseased limb

restored to health, we have a repetition of the allusion to the loos and the recovery of the

Word; the Word itself being but a symbol of Divine Truth, the search for which constitutes

the whole Science of Freemasonry, and the symbolism of which pervades the whole systemof initiation from the first to the last Degree.

Scarlet is a symbol of fervency and zeal, and is appropriated to the Royal Arch Degree

because it is by these qualities that the neophyte, now so far advanced in his progress, must

expect to be successful in his search. The Mosaic sign of changing water into blood bears

the same symbolic reference to a change for the betterfrom a lower to a higher state

from the elemental water in which there is no life to the blood which is the life itselffrom

darkness to light. The progress is still onward to the recovery of that which had been lost,

but which is yet to be found.

White is a symbol of purity, and is peculiarly appropriate to remind the neophyte, who is

now almost at the close of his search, that it is only by purity of life that he can expect to befound worthy of the reception of Divine Truth. "Blessed," says the Great Teacher, "are the

pure in heart, for they shall see God." The Mosaic signs now cease, for they have taught

their lesson; and the aspirant is invested with the Signet of Truth, to assure him that, having

endured all trials and overcome all obstacles, he is at length entitled to receive the reward for

which he has been seeking; for the Signet of Zerubbabel is a royal signet, which confers

power and authority on him who possesses it. And so we now see that the Symbolism of the

Veils however viewed, whether collectively or separately represents the laborious, but at last

successful, search for Divine Truth.

Violet

31

This is not a Masonic colour, except in some of the advanced Degrees of the Ancient andAccepted Scottish Rite, where it is a symbol of mourning, and thus becomes one of thedecorations of a Sorrow Lodge. Portal32 says that this colour was adopted for mourning by

persons of high rank. And Gampini (Vetera Monumenta) states that violet was the mark of

grief, especially among Kings and Cardinals. In Christian art, the Saviour is clothed in a

purple robe during His passion; and it is the colour appropriated, says Court de Gebelin33, to

martyrs, because, like their Divine Master, they undergo the punishment of the Passion.

Prevost34 says that in China violet is the colour of mourning. Among that people blue is

appropriated to the dead and red to the living, because with them red represents the vital

heat, and blue, immortality; and hence, says Portal, violet, which is made by an equal

admixture of blue and red, is a symbol of the resurrection to eternal life.

Such an idea is peculiarly appropriate to the use of violet in the advanced Degrees ofFreemasonry as a symbol of mourning. It would be equally appropriate in the first Degrees,for everywhere in Freemasonry we are taught to mourn not as those who have no hope. Our

grief for the dead is that of those who believe in the immortal life. The red symbol of life is

tinged with the blue of immortality, and thus we would wear the violet as our mourning to

declare our trust in the resurrection.

31 From the Encyclopedia of Freemasonaryand its kindred sciences by Albert c. Mackey m. d., entry: Violet

32 Couleurs Symboliques, page 236

33Monde primetif viii, page 201

34Histoire des Voltages vi, page 152
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blue and red symbolism in freemasonary

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