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Jim Tresner, 33° Grand Cross
 Original oil painting by Bro. Robert
H. White, 32°
The regalia of the Thirty-first Degree is almost
stark in its simplicity. The apron (see facing page) is white
lambskin lined and bordered in white. On the flap is a Teutonic
cross* embroidered in silver and black. The
jewel is a silver Teutonic cross and is worn around the neck
hanging from a white
ribbon. The color of the degree is white. Embroidered in gold
on the point is an equilateral triangle, emitting golden rays
and containing the numerals XXXI.
White, representing purity of intent and motive,
has been seen before in the regalia of the Scottish Rite, but
here it becomes
the predominant theme. Clearly, we are dealing with transcendence
or at least with preparation for transcendence. In the great
myth cycles, the last event which befalls the hero, just prior
to the culmination of his quest, is an event of purification
and preparation. The Thirty-first Degree fulfills that role.
In previous degrees we have been warned against
unconscious arrogance. We have been cautioned about being “wise in our own conceit.” We
have been told that too many Masons profess their obligations
with their mouths but do not hold them in their hearts nor practice
them in their lives. We have been cautioned that we never will
become Masons just by learning the words of the ritual, even
if we memorize every single word of it, for Masonry involves
a change in the heart.
And so now comes the testing set in context of
the Egyptian Court of the Dead. As mentioned before, this degree
involves asking
deep and searching questions. It is not intended that the candidate
be able to profess a spotless purity of life, although that sometimes
happens. I was in the audience during one performance of the
Thirty-first Degree when, about two-thirds of the way through
the questions, the candidate had professed a life of such complete
and scintillating innocence and purity that the actor questioning
him stopped and said, “My Brother, you’re wasting
your time becoming a Mason. Instead, you should apply directly
for sainthood.”
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Depiction of
the Eqyptian Court of the Dead |
On the other hand, I was also present when a candidate
had admitted to a life stained by the deepest of faults. All
of us present
were becoming most uncomfortable. When the point in the ritual
was reached where he was asked if there were anything else he
wished to say in mitigation or palliation of his answers, he
stammered out, “Well, you see, I’m a used car salesman.” It
brought down the house. Easily 15 minutes passed before everyone
could stop laughing and regain enough self-control so that the
degree could continue. The actor who had asked the questions
laughed so hard that he wept into his handkerchief and had to
leave the stage. When he came back, the degree started again,
and his first words were, “That’s all right, Brother,
we understand.” It was perfectly sincere, but it brought
down the house again. The purpose of the degree is not the selection
of saints. The purpose is to make each person realize just how
much latitude
he gives himself and how much self-deception he may practice.
There is a fundamental conflict in the line, “I am a charitable
man; get off the street you dirty beggar,” but it can be
typical of our thinking.
After the candidate has experienced this, after
he understands he is often inconsistent, he hears the voices
of the sages explaining
the ideas of justice and fairness which come from equilibrium
and balance. If he understands the degree, the candidate begins
to discover that only through balance can he find wisdom.
*The
Teutonic Cross may be
thought of as a Greek Cross with a short bar at the end of each
arm. Another way of saying
it is to say that a Teutonic Cross is
a Greek Cross Potent. (Potent, in the language of heraldry, means that the arms
terminate with a bar. It is not the same thing as a crosslet, for a crosslet
is set in a short distance from the end of the arm.) In the Scottish Rite, this
cross forms the jewel or symbol of several of the higher Degrees. But in the
jewels and emblems of some Degrees, a second Teutonic Cross, double potent (with
two crossbars at the end of the arms) is added to, i.e. charged, upon the first
cross. And an escutcheon (shield-shaped plate) with a design is surcharged upon
the second cross. In the case of the example given of the 30° (shown right),
the device has the initials J.B.M. for Jacobus Burgundus Moliensis (Jacques DeMolay).
Prints of the individual Scottish Rite Degree paintings may be
obtained from Bro. George J. Stoklas, KCCH, by calling 202-483-7448
or sending an e-mail to embcamera@aol.com.
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Jim Tresner,
Valley of Guthrie, Okla., is the Director of the
Masonic Leadership Institute; Editor of The Oklahoma
Mason, Member of the Steering Committee, Masonic
Information Center; Director of Work in Guthrie; and
author, among other books, of Albert Pike: The Man
Beyond the Monument and Vested in Glory: The
Regalia of the Scottish Rite. Contacts: Grand Lodge
of Oklahoma, P.O. Box 1019, Guthrie OK 73044; Tel.
405-282-3212; Fax 405-282-3244;
okmasonmag@hotmail.com |
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