Freemasonry Hierarchy

The primary allegory of Freemasonry is that of an Initiate's search for Light in Masonry. In the "canon" of Masonic ritual, Light - as a general principle - is given particular explanation in the Entered Apprentice degree, with it's particulars being elucidated in the degree of Fellow Craft. The sublime degree of a Master Mason is a further allegory of the loss, or wounding, of the light, which - as the culmination of the Masonic Journey - leaves the full member of a lodge in the position of having to continue his search for light throughout the rest of his life as a Freemason.

In the Entered Apprentice degree, a Brother is first "brought to light" after the declaration, by the Master of the Lodge, of no less than the very first words of the Bible:

"In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth; and the Earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; and God said 'Let there be Light!' -- And there was Light." ~ Genesis 1:1-3

The newly obligated Brother then discovers (or beholds) three particular forms given to Light in the Masonic Lodge; the Holy Bible, the Square, and the Compass. The Holy Bible needs little or no explanation, except to say that - since a prerequisite to becoming a Mason is a belief in Deity - any volume of sacred revelation of importance to the Candidate is (or should be) a valid representation of that primary source of light which provides what is, Masonically, the "blueprint" provided by the Great Architect of the Universe for that Mason's "right action" for the rest of his life as an Initiate of the Craft.

The Square is provided as an example of archetypal Virtue, and the Compass is representative of the individual Mason's application of Virtue - as a living vehicle of light - within the circle of his mundane encounters in his life.