From the Quarries

What can a handful of magnetised needles reveal about the structure of initiation?

In this presentation, we explore Arithmetical, Geometrical and Masonic Symbolism by Bro. Leslie S. Weatherstone. Beginning with a simple experiment involving magnetised needles floating freely upon water, the paper traces a progressive sequence from the point and line to the triangle, square, pentad and increasingly complex geometrical forms.

Through the Law of Analogy, these figures become images of creation, the constitution of humanity and the awakening of the spiritual centre within. The Lodge, the Temple and the individual are presented as corresponding structures, each ordered around a hidden principle that brings separate forces into harmony.

From unity to polarity, from form to consciousness, and from the circumference to the centre, this is a distinctive example of an older tradition of Masonic scholarship in which arithmetic, geometry, natural philosophy and initiation form part of a single symbolic system.

Based on Arithmetical, Geometrical and Masonic Symbolism by Bro. Leslie S. Weatherstone.