Spring 2010 45

The Elements of Consecration ParTs OnE & TwO

by shawn EyEr, P.m. aCadEmia LOdgE nO- 847

ParT TwOExploring the centuries-old traditional symbolism of Corn, Wine and Oil as emblems of the search for deeper meanings and the refinement of wisdom, applied thematically to the journey of the Masonic initiate.

Reprinted from Philalethes Vol. 64 (2011), No. 2, pp. 74–78.

For information about The Philalethes Society, see the last page of this PDF reprint.

This reprint is copyright © 2011 Shawn Eyer.shawn.eyer@gmail.com

ParT OnEDetailing the history of the ritual of Lodge consecration as originally performed in England and the United States, and considering the role that the ancient symbols of Corn, Wine and Oil play in that ceremony.

Reprinted from Philalethes Vol. 63 (2010), No. 2, pp. 75–79, 86.

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The Elements of Consecration ParT OnE

Shawn EyEr TakES a ClOSEr lOOk aT ThE TradiTiOnalwagES Of a fEllOw CrafT and why ThEy arE COnSidErEdESSEnTial TO ThE COnSECraTiOn Of EvEry MaSOniC lOdgE

Corn, Wine and Oil are well known to Freema-sons everywhere as symbolic wages. Contain-ers of them are on display in many Lodges,

and sometimes small vials of them are given as gifts to newly passed Fellow Crafts. But as common and familiar as these items are, why are they so im-portant in our Craft? It is not uncommon for many of us to assume that these three substances are meant to repre-sent primitive “money,” paid to the builders of the Temple. However, we need to remember that everything in Masonry is symbolic. And in fact, even in the public cornerstone-laying ceremony they are called “the Corn of nourishment, the Wine of refreshment, and the Oil of joy.”1 These clearly indicate that the Wages are of a symbolic nature, although many are still tempted to interpret them materialistically, as if they refer to the financial and emotional well-being of an individual brother. There is, of course, a traditional basis for un-derstanding the Wages as literal payment. After all, according to the ancient account in the book of

Shawn Eyer MPS is the Worshipful Master of Academia Lodge No– 847 in Oakland, California, and the Editor of Philalethes.

Chronicles, Solomon offered corn, wine and oil to Hiram of Tyre as payment for the cedars of Lebanon, and for sending Hiram Abif.2 But with symbols, the presence of the literal is a giv-en: the perceptible half of every symbol is physi-cal, the other half is an idea. Throughout the Great Light in Masonry, the phrase “corn, wine and oil” is used so many times that scholars consider it a formulaic expression.3 It is used both literally and figuratively; in the lat-ter case it represents “the essentially concrete form in which ‘blessing’ was conceptualised in Hebrew thought.”4 It signifies “divine pleasure” and, in some cases, might be understood “as actual mani-festations of divine activity.”5 Thus, the Corn, Wine and Oil of Masonry comprise another example of Masonic iconography drawn from the ancient symbolism of the Biblical tradition, much like the Plumb, the Level, the All-Seeing Eye, the Stone of Foundation, and many other examples.6

Are these ancient connotations of divine bless-ing present in our Masonic symbolism? This ques-tion is easier to answer when we remember that, throughout the Craft, Corn, Wine and Oil are referred to as the Elements of Consecration.7

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ThE COnSECraTiOn riTualConsecration is a ritual used in Freemasonry when a new Lodge is established. Nobody knows when it began. There is no evidence that operative stone-masons observed the custom. But speculative Free-masons, as early as 1736, have often seen fit to “con-secrate” their Lodges.8 Consecration is similar to, but distinct from, the rituals of constitution and dedication _ although historically they have often been performed as part of a single occasion. Terence O. Haunch, in his seminal article on the subject, of-fers this definition:

Consecration is the Masonic rite, religious in

form, by which a new lodge is blessed for,

and dedicated to the purpose for which it

is regularly constituted, i.e. the practice of

Freemasonry.9

Early descriptions of Lodge consecra-tion are vague. The 1736 example, from Lodge Canongate Kilwinning No- 2 in Edinburgh, describes it only as “being done in most due and solemn form.”10 Another Scottish Lodge, Canongate and Leith, was consecrated in 1755.11 From 1756, the Antients’ Ahiman Rezon refers to certain “other Ceremonies and Expressions that cannot be writ-ten,” taking place in the context of a Lodge constitution.12 In 1772, when William Preston produced the first edition of his Illustrations of Masonry, an outline of the con-secration ceremony was included. Preston lamented that this ritual was “too frequently omitted.”13 His early descriptions of the cer-

emony are only summaries, and exclude many of the prayers and blessings, as well as the actual act of consecration itself. Luckily, we have two other versions from Preston: first, his slightly expanded account as given in the 1781 and later editions of the Illustrations, and finally in some records of his third degree lecture, wherein esoteric details of the ritual are described.14 Another early version is found in Thomas Smith Webb’s American adapta-tion of Preston’s work.15

The consecrations performed today in the Unit-ed States and England are ultimately derived from

the versions that Preston and Webb promoted. There is no one perfect form of the ceremony, but in all its forms it is both impressive and beautiful. Space here permits only the most essential outline, based only upon sources dated 1808 and earlier. The ceremony was traditionally preceded by a Grand Procession [see John Wade’s article on p. 56] in which certain key objects were paraded before

the witnesses. These included the Holy Bible, two silver pitchers containing Wine and Oil,

a golden Cornucopia containing the Corn [these vessels are illustrated on p. 57 & 79], and a special object called “the Lodge,” car-ried concealed beneath white satin. But how is a Lodge carried? This “Lodge” is of course neither a physical lodge hall, nor the brethren who compose the Lodge. By “the Lodge,” the ceremony refers to a portable object that is symbolically identified with the new Lodge about to be created. It was often a version of

the lodge board or trac-ing board. Dyer says that

in England it was “usually a first degree tracing

board.”16

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In many American jurisdictions, a simpler board depicting the “internal ornaments” of the Lodge (the Mosaic Pavement, Blazing Star, and Tesselated Border) is used. In other jurisdictions, a special wooden box or ark _ understood as a model of the Lodge _ is used; according to Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia, it is “treated with the deference due a holy vessel or other sacred object.”17 Haunch refers to it as a cista mystica and theorizes that this type of “Lodge” may have originated at the Union of 1813.18

The procession would enter “the church or house where the services are to be performed.”19

Only Freemasons could proceed past this point, as the Lodge would now be tiled in all three degrees. The representation of the Lodge was placed in the center, generally upon a cushion, still covered with white satin, and the pitchers of Corn, Wine and Oil were arranged around it.20

After some preliminaries, often includ-ing an oration on the purpose of Freema-sonry, the actual consecration began. The Grand Master and his officers, with “some dignified Clergyman” (usually the Grand Chaplain) gathered themselves around the symbol of the Lodge. “All devoutly kneel-ing,” the Chaplain proceeded to consecrate. Solemn music played as the satin sheet was removed, revealing the Lodge. Taking up a card upon which the Hebrew name of God (יהוה) was inscribed in blazing let-ters,21 the Chaplain began the first clause of the consecration prayer:

The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, O

Lord, far less the house which we build. Here

have we stampt thy sacred name (placing the

name upon the lodge) and

as thou dost promise

where thy name is

there will thou be, hear our supplication . . . . May the

characters here impressed inspire us with awe and

veneration towards thee; and enable us to direct our

progress to that state which is the essence of truth, of

glory, and of goodness.22

The brethren responded, “Glory be to God on High.” A pot of incense was then swung above the Lodge model as the grand honors were given (ap-parently from the kneeling position). It is unclear from Preston’s work exactly when the Corn, Wine and Oil were poured onto the Lodge. In Webb’s version, the Chaplain intones, “Glory be to God on High,” and the Brethren respond, “As it was in the

beginning, is now, and ever shall be!” As the response was being spoken, the three elements were poured.23 An invocation

and the second clause of the consecra-tion prayer were then rehearsed. Preston’s version says:

Most holy, glorious Lord God

. . . in thy name we are here assem-

bled most humbly beseeching thee

to bless our present designs, and to

give us thy holy spirit to enlighten

our minds in the knowledge and love

of truth; that serving thee aright in

all our doings we may further pro-

mote thy honour and glory. . . . 24

Preston concludes with all join-ing in the chorus: “Honour unto

the king eternal, immortal, invis-ible, the only God from whom no

secrets are hid, be wisdom, might, power, and dominion

for ever, Amen.”25 Webb repeats his

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response: “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be!” The grand honors were given, the Lodge covered once more, and with solemn music playing, the ceremony was complete.

ThE ThrEE “grand OffEringS”As noted earlier, today’s ceremonies are different, but all derived from Preston’s model. One of the most interesting features of Preston’s version is the placement of the Name of God upon the Lodge, call-ing the presence of the divine into the tiled space. This invocation is meant to have a lasting effect, as we can see by looking at Preston’s first degree lec-ture, where he points out that “the ground we are about to tread is holy.”

Q: What rendered it holy?

A : The name of God impressed on it; who has

declared ‘Where my name is there I am’ and

therefore must be holy.26

We learn more about this later in the lecture, where it is explained that the “masonic mansion” must be raised on “holy ground” for two reasons. First, “Because the name of God must be thereon impressed.” And second, “Because the ground on which the first regular Lodge [Solomon’s Tem-ple _ed ], on Royal sanction, was formed, was pe-culiarly sacred.” It is explained that what rendered the Temple site holy were three Grand Offerings which “were on that spot presented, which met with Divine approbation.”27 These Grand Offerings were acts of Abraham, David and Solomon that took place at the Temple site. Abraham’s offering was his son, Isaac (thankfully substituted by the ram). David’s offering was to humbly prostrate himself on the threshing floor of Araunah. And Solomon’s offering was the building of the Temple. “On this basis then,” says Preston’s ritual, “we found the

Wages From Heaven

And the Lord said where my Name is I amWhile Descartes said I think therefore I am.There is a high road and a road of reason.Come with me for a while in to a plane, Un-reasonable and Blessed!

Where a Mason’s wages fill their coffersFaster than they’re spent, and leadSpins to gold, lifting the soulFrom a hallowed space, a sacred placeUpon which this building is foundRising from soil into hearts that delight with a purpose assured as Amen!

Secure within, they consecrateWith corn, wine and oil a buildingImbued with the Most Holy Name.A Masonic Mansion, a TempleRequesting a blessing A sacrament of burning incense,Raising prayers through portalsAs high as the sky by the mercurial natureOf wine that’s sublime, stabilized salt, and an old jumpstart quickening of time.

Each offering a welcome sacrificeEach element when given comingBack in infinite fold, each consecrationReaching beyond what we temporally thinkTo an eternity of a holy reality, a covenantBetween Creator and Creation, an intimate bondTo begin the Great Work where heaven on earthWill commence and each brother is empoweredTo love one another and to celebrate a workConstant as a star, noble as a King, celebratingNature’s divine industry and the gloryOf our Great Architect’s blessed and fruitful beautiful work.

Mounir Hanafi mps

Spring 2010 79

continued on page 86

real sanctity of the Masonic pile.”28 The holiness of the Lodge is thus based upon the holiness of the Temple, even the very site of the Temple on Mount Moriah.

COrn, winE and Oil in ThE TEMPlEThe uses of Corn, Wine and Oil to sanctify Masonic temples obviously parallel the three Grand Offer-ings that according to Craft tradition consecrated Solomon’s Temple. And our offerings of Corn, Wine, and Oil are themselves rooted in the actual ceremonies that took place at that Temple. Corn was used for the grain offerings, wine was used for sacred libations, and oil was used for many things, including the preparation of the meal offering and as fuel for the seven lights of the large hammered gold menorah that stood in the Holy Place. Incense was mixed in with the grain offerings upon the main altar, and was also offered in pure form at the special incense altar that stood before the Holy of Holies.29 Haunch emphasizes the appeal that these ancient ritual elements had for the early Masons:

The sacrificial use in this ceremony of corn, wine and

oil (transferred from the rite of foundation stone lay-

ing) with the addition of the symbolic purifying and

hallowing power of incense _ usages firmly founded

in Old Testament lore _ these would all make their

appeal to the religious and masonic fervour of mem-

bers of the Craft. We may remember, too, that incense

found its way not only into the Consecration ceremo-

ny but also into certain usages in the Royal Arch.30

That the wider significance of these thorough-ly established Masonic symbols seems strange to us is a situation that is actually easy to understand. A dramatic decrease in the formation of new lodges in recent decades has meant that very few living Masons have seen a Lodge being consecrated. This can lead to a perception of the Lodge’s mission that excludes or diminishes the philosophical and mythical themes that are so central to the conse-cration rite, and decontextualizes the symbolism of the Corn, Wine and Oil. But by remembering the consecration ritual, and studying its symbolism, we can help repair the disconnect. One way to do that is to bear in mind that the Elements of Consecration are recurring symbols. Poured out upon the Lodge at consecra-tion, they are later symbolically transmitted to every Freemason during the course of his degrees. One can interpret this to mean that all Masons have a share in the consecration of the Lodge. Even if the ceremony itself took place generations ago, as long as there are eager candidates, the Corn, Wine and Oil are still pouring forth for our benefit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be!

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ThE ElEMEnTS Of COnSECraTiOncontinued from page 79

ThE grEaTEr & lESSEr lighTScontinued from page 74

N.B. Cryer (Lewis Masonic, 1989); W. Kirk MacNulty, Freemasonry: Symbols, Secrets, Significance (New York: Thames & Hudson, 2006); Julian Rees, Tracing Boards of Three Degrees in Craft Freemasonry Explained (Hersham, u k : Lewis Masonic, 2009).

13. See Harry Carr, “The Full Moon and Freemasonry,” Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 80 (1967) : 318–23; Silas H. Shep-herd, “The Moon in Ritual and Symbolism,” Square and Compass 48 (1939): 28–30.

nOTES1. Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason’s Monitor, or Illus-

trations of Masonry in Two Parts (New York: Southwick & Crooker, 1802), 116.

2. 2 Chronicles 2:2–15.3. See the entries by N. Wyatt, “Oil” (640), and J. F. Healey,

“Dagon” (216–19) and “Tirash” (871–72) in the Diction-ary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, & Pieter W. van der Horst (Leiden: Brill, 1999).

4. Wyatt, “Oil,” 640.5. Ibid.6. Cf. Alex Horne, Sources of Masonic Symbolism (Richmond,

Va.: Macoy, 1981), 48–53.7. William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry, 8th ed., (London:

G & T Wilkie, 1792), 94.8. T. O. Haunch, “The Constitution and Consecration of

Lodges under the Grand Lodges of England,” Ars Quatu-or Coronatorum 83 (1970): 10.

9. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 1.10. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 10.11. At the Dec. 1, 1755 meeting of the Grand Lodge of Scot-

land, it was requested that the GL “appoint a proper person” to “consecrate” is new temple room for the Lodge at Canongate and Leith. The Grand Chaplain was so selected, and performed the ceremony in the presence of the Grand Master and other GL officers. See Alexander Lawrie, The History of Freemasonry, Drawn from Authentic Sources of Information (Edinburgh: A. Lawrie,

1804), 186–87. The same book features several times the Corn, Wine and Oil, carried in the Cornupia and two silver vessels; the earliest instance given being 1753.

11. Laurence Dermott, Ahiman Rezon: or, A Help to the Brother (London: James Bedford, 1756), 40.

12. Preston, Illustrations, 1st ed. (London: J. Williams, 1772), 216. Preston’s first account of the consecration ritual itself is found on pp. 219–221.

13. William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry, 3rd ed., (1781), 112–17.

14. See Haunch’s article for a complete comparison of the Prestonian sources.

15. Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason’s Monitor, or Illus-trations of Masonry in Two Parts, 4th ed. (Boston: Joshua Cushing, 1808), 98–108.

16. Colin F. W. Dyer, Symbolism in Craft Freemasonry, Rev. Ed. (Hersham, u k : Lewis Masonic, 2003), 59.

17. Henry Wilson Coil, Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia, Revised Edition (Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1995), 389.

18. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 13–15.19. Webb, Freemason’s Monitor, 102.20. Webb, Freemason’s Monitor, 103.21. Haunch cites a description of the card from an 1865

manuscript: “The Tetragrammaton is the Hebrew word יהוה within an oval surrounded with Blue and White rays in letters about 14 inches long in light blue colour upon a Card about 9" · 5" but the sacred sym-bol G within a circle of rays as our symbolical ‘Word’ or name of God will also answer the purpose.” (15)

22. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 45.23. Webb, Monitor (1808), 106.24. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 47.25. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 49.26. Colin Dyer, William Preston and His Work (Shepperton,

u k : Lewis Masonic, 1988), 176.27. Dyer, William Preston, 191.28. Dyer, William Preston, 192.29. See Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple-Service in An-

cient Israel (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1985) for a detailed study of the Temple sacrifices.

30. Haunch, “Constitution and Conscration,” 20. One might also include the symbol of the Pot of Incense, not mentioned by Haunch most likely because it is no lon-ger a symbol in the English Craft degrees _ however, it once was, and remains so in most American jurisdic-tions.

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Shawn Eyer MPS is the Worshipful Master of Academia Lodge No– 847 of Oakland, California, and the Editor of Philalethes.

The Elements of Consecration ParT Two

Shawn EyEr ExPlorES ThE innEr mEaning of Corn, winE and oilThrough ThE ConTExT of TradiTional wriTingS

The first section of this article, published in the Spring 2010 issue of Philalethes, considered the trifold symbolism of Corn, Wine and Oil pri-

marily as it pertains to the consecration of a Lodge. Consecration is the traditional ceremony that acti-vates and vitalizes a Lodge, establishes its symbolic floor as “holy ground,” and firmly links the labors of the Lodge and its brethren to the glory of the Great Architect. The consecration ritual is effected by Corn, Wine and Oil being poured upon the Lodge floor or upon a “model” of the Lodge_a threefold representa-tion of the flow of divine blessings from the Supreme Architect to the Freemasons who comprise the assem-bly (both at that time and into the future). For this reason, Corn, Wine and Oil are technically known in Freemasonry as the Elements of Consecration.31

The further symbolism of these elements is the subject of this discussion_in particular, their more personal symbolism as wages that each of us as Fel-low Craft Masons has received, or at least is entitled to receive. Some have been content to consider these three items simply as a monetary payment. Of course, at the literalistic level that is how they are presented:

as wages, a paycheck. However, this explanation is not exhaustive. For example, we cannot interpret the Corn, Wine and Oil being poured upon the Lodge during the ceremony of consecration as the literal sub-stances themselves, and nothing more. Were that the case, would it not preposterously suggest that if only we pour these three items upon something, it would become a Lodge? Rather, it is what the substances represent that is important: an essential dispensation from the Supreme Being to the Craft, comingled upon the Lodge floor, mythically connecting the Lodge from the moment of its birth to the Temple of Solomon in a timeless and intangible way. Corn, wine and oil by themselves are just food-stuffs. But in ritual, they accomodate symbolic mean-ings. They represent ideas. This is obvious not only from the consecration ritual, but from the description of “the Corn of nourishment, the Wine of refreshment and the Oil of joy.”32 Just as we are speculative Masons and not operative stoneworkers, so our wages are symbolic and not a literal compensation for labor. In fact, the most basic symbolism of Corn, Wine and Oil is ancient. Like many other symbols in the Craft, they are of biblical origin, both individually and as a triad.33 The Bible presents “variations of the forumula ‘corn, new wine and oil’ 22 times,” rep-resenting “the essentially concrete form in which

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‘blessing’ was conceptualised in Hebrew thought.”34 They were not only the wages of the Tyrian masons (2 Chronicles 2:14), but they were an important part of the Temple offerings (Numbers 18:11–12, 1 Esdras 7:30–31). These offerings were superintended by a class of Levites known as the guardians of the thresh-old (1 Chronicles 9:17–19, 22–31). They guarded the north, east, west and south gates of the Temple, and they received a portion of these offerings as food and fuel. Interestingly, Masonic tradition blends the roles of stoneworkers and the gatekeepers, and the Antients reimagined the gatekeepers as Masonic brethren and practitioners of kabbalah.35 While (like many parts of Masonic tradition) this is not historically possible, it helps us understand the mythic connection that the early Masons felt to those who served in the Temple, not just during its construction, but after. That corn, wine and oil were “wages” to both groups is notable, and that they had symbolic connotations, even in ancient times, should not be ignored. Freemasons have tended to primarily_and prop-erly_interpret the Corn, Wine and Oil according to the symbolism they hold in the Great Light.36 Many have added to this basis by drawing insight from cross-cultural sources; perhaps the most detailed and edifying treatment of the three offerings may be found in Masonic Symbolism by C.C. Hunt f p s .37

Here, we will explore some aspects of their

symbolism that are drawn from ancient and medi-eval Jewish sources, including the mystical tradition. Most of the observations that follow have not been directly alluded to in previous Masonic literature.

Corn of nouriShmEnTOf the three Elements of Consecration, Corn is the one that has the most extensive presence in Craft mythos and ritual. There are two reasons for this. First, the visual allusion within the Lodge to the consecration ceremony in the form of the jewels and white rods of the Stewards, both of which feature the Cornucopia. In the consecration ritual, the Corn, Wine and Oil were carried into the ritual space by means of three metal pitchers_usually gold for the Corn, and silver for the Wine and Oil.38 Preston and other early writers specifically identify the pitcher of Corn as a cornucopia, or “horn of plenty.” When we remember the role of the Stewards in the initiation of candidates, it is easy to understand why this symbol is so fitting for them. It is they who bring every new candidate across the threshold of the Lodge_in effect, “harvesting” him from the fields of the world. As grain is threshed to sepa-rate it from the chaff, the neophyte is distinguished from the cowan by initiation. This liminal “sorting” theme is also vividly present in the teachings of the Fellow Craft degree concerning the crossing of the

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Jordan. The Hebrew word found at that point in the ritual has three meanings in the Bible: an ear of corn, a stream of water, and (as a verb) to beat out or thresh.39 Thus, our degree’s hieroglyphical emblem of the ear of corn near a fall of water (commonly pictured in monitors and tracing boards) relates to the violent sorting of the Gileadites from the Ephraimites in a very sophisticated and multidimensional way_with obvious initiatic symbolism. Another aspect of Masonic mythos involving Corn that is usually overlooked is the importance of the threshing floor legend. According to the V­olume of the Sacred Law, the location of the Temple of Solo-mon (which every Lodge represents) was in fact dis-covered as the result of a tragic incident in the life of King David. According to the book of Samuel, David issued a decree to have a census taken in his kingdom, in order to determine how strong his military was. This violated a sacred principle, and divine punish-ment was the result. This culminated in David’s angelophany on Mount Moriah, and the subsequent purchase of the site for the location of the Temple of Solomon (2 Samuel 24:1–25). The place where the destroying angel stood was the threshing floor of Araunah_a place where grain was beaten and tossed in order to separate the wheat from the chaff.40 The

symbolism of this story is deeply significant in context. As the Ephraimites were sorted from

the Gileadites at the fords of

the river Jordan, and as the wheat was separated from the chaff at the threshing floor of Araunah, so the darkness is seperated from the light on the Floor of the Lodge, and so the Stewards bear the candidate across the threshold from darkness to light, where he is “harvested” from the profane world. The newly gleaned Mason is being continually refined and sorted. Only with the proper pass may he continue into the Middle Chamber and beyond. That process of refinement is also reflected in the striking realization that just as Corn must be separated from the chaff in order to be put into use in the Temple as a bread offering, the plants (grapes and olives) that give us Wine and Oil must be processed to yield those finer substances.

winE of rEfrEShmEnTIt was forbidden for a priest to consume wine within the inner court (Ezekiel 44:21), but that is not to say that it played no role at the Temple. Wine was part of the daily offering, and we know that it was not poured out upon an altar, but instead was consumed by the priests in an unknown place within the Temple precinct.41 Both Josephus and the Mishnah record that in the Second Temple there was a massive votive grapevine of gold in the porch of the Temple. Clusters of gold grapes “as tall as a man” were suspended from it.42 This golden vine can only have been a deeply sacred symbol, and it is notable that grapevines and wine cups are the most common symbols found in Jewish artwork of this period.43 Ancient tradition taught that wine had existed from “the beginning of cre-ation.” Later kabbalists spoke of a supernal vine from which the universe was generated.44 In the Zohar, both wine and oil are presented as symbolic wealth, received by the

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enlightened mystic through the transcendence of materialistic concerns: “Never will he crave this world and its pleasures, for another manner of wealth is reserved to him_he has a share in the World to Come, the place of oil and wine. Whoever loves that place neither seeks nor desires worldly riches.”45 This symbolism is strongly reminiscent of Masonic prac-tice, where the Apprentice’s destitution is followed by the introduction of the Fellow Craft’s wages. It turns out that wine itself can be a metaphor for mystical or esoteric knowledge. The Talmud points out that the Hebrew word for wine, יין or yayin, is numerically identical to סוד or sod, “secret.” Thus the ancient aphorism, “When wine goes in, secrets come out.”46 While this can refer at the mundane level to alcohol’s power to loosen the lips, it also has a philosophical meaning. In kabbalistic interpreta-tion, sod refers to the esoteric or symbolic meaning of a subject.47 When our spiritual nourishment is stored away in the dark and left to mature, it results in a deeper understanding of life.

oil of joyThe Talmud also connects oil to esoteric knowledge: it records a strange warning that one of the things that causes a man to forget his spiritual learning is the eating of whole olives. It even says that eating olives can cause one to forget his learning of seventy years.48 Yet it also teaches that drinking olive oil can make one remember seventy years’ worth of learning! At the literal level, this is easily disproven; but as Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer points out:

This may be understood allegorically.

The ‘whole olive’ alludes to the

flesh and the outer husk of the

fruit, whereas the ‘olive oil’ is

its inner essence. In the pursuit of

knowledge a person should always

strive to penetrate to the inner core of a subject in order

to comprehend of its essence. Never should the student

‘swallow it whole,’ i.e., study matters superficially,

because that breeds misconception, and ignorance.

Such confused knowledge is best forgotten, while

clear knowledge of essentials should be remembered

for a lifetime.49

TranSCEnding liTEraliSmIf wine and oil both refer to finding inner meanings that go beyond the superficial, the reader may wonder whether there is a similar kabbalistic teaching about corn. There is indeed, and it is found in the Zohar:

Once there was a man who lived up in the mountains

and who was a stranger to civilization_he planted

wheat and ate the grains uncooked. Then he happened

to come down to the city. A good loaf of bread was served

to him. “What’s this?” he asked. “Bread, for eating!”

they said. He ate it and was pleased. He asked, “What is

this made of?” and they told him it was wheat. Then,

he was served a fine cake kneaded in olive oil. He had a

taste and asked, “And now this, what’s this made of?”

Once more they said, “Wheat.” Finally, they brought

him a delectable pastry in oil and honey, fit for a king.

He asked again, and got the same answer.

“Well,” he then boasted, “I am

above these things; I eat only the

wheat which is the basis of all of

them.” Because of his ignorant

attitude, he would

evermore remain

a stranger to these

delights, which were lost

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on him. That is how it is with anyone who learns basic

principles and then stops short_who fails to become

aware of the delights which derive from the deeper

consideration and application of those principles.50

Again we see that the unprocessed material, the raw grain, is symbolic of superficiality and an unwill-ingness to explore higher realms of meaning. Only when the grain is transformed and harmoniously combined with other ingredients can it represent those deeper considerations which so concern the contemplative and speculative mind. It should not escape notice that just as olive oil is the inner essence of the olive, so is wine the inner essence of the grape, pressed, stored in the darkness and grown fine with age_and bread is the poten-tial concealed in the head of grain, which must be laboriously threshed, ground, mixed, kneaded and properly baked in order to attain its perfect form. For centuries these three have been symbols of transcend-ing simplistic literalism, and emblems of the work involved in doing so. We cannot know whether these authentic tra-ditional teachings about the symbolism of Corn, Wine and Oil were known to any early speculative Masons, but we can enjoy their wisdom today.51 These insights are certainly not exhaustive or exclusive of other interpretations found elsewhere in Masonic literature, but their aptness and applicability to the Craft is striking, and provides useful comparison. Just as the Lodge is not consecrated until its floor (or its symbolic exemplar) receives the correct outpouring of Corn, Wine and Oil, so are our interior temples unhallowed until we receive the wages of a Mason and put them to use. To be told in a ritual that we are entitled to receive those wages is not enough. We are entitled, yes_but they will not be ours until we understand their meaning. Thresh, grind, bake. Gather, crush, ferment. Harvest, press, pour.

noTES31. “Elements of Consecration: Part One,” Philalethes 63(2010):

75–79, 86. Endnotes here are numbered consecutively with those in part one of this article.

32. These descriptions have been part of the public corner-stone laying ceremony since at least 1802, and possibly long before; see Webb, Freemason’s Monitor, 116.

33. See endnote 3; also C.C. Hunt, Masonic Concordance of the Holy Bible (World Pub. Co., 1948), 75–76, 94, 184–86, 261–62.

34. Wyatt, “Oil,” 640.35. Consider the stations taken by the ruffians in the third

degree; for gakekeepers as Masons, see Laurence Dermott, Ahiman Rezon (London: J. Bedford, 1756), xi, xiv.

36. Albert G. Mackey, The Symbolism of Masonry: Revised Edition (San Francisco: Plumbstone, 2011), 165–68.

37. C.C. Hunt, Masonic Symbolism (Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Lau-rence Press Co., 1949), 73–116. Hunt includes an important discussion of salt, which is mixed with the Corn, Wine and Oil in some jurisdictions.

38. See illustrations in Philalethes 63(2010), p. 57 & 79.39. L. Koehler & W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic

Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 1394–95.40. Later tradition (recorded in the Avodah Zarah, 24b) adds

that Araunah was a Noachite; for information on Free-masonry’s (now largely forgotten) self-identification with the Noachidae, see S. Eyer, “The Anchor and the Ark,” Philalethes 64(2011): 35–38.

41. Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel (Winona Lake, In.: Eisenbrauns, 1985), 217.

42. Mishnah Middot 3:8; Josephus, Wars 5.5.4.43. E.R. Goodenough, Jewish Symbols in the Graeco-Roman Period,

Abridged Edition (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988), 34.

44. Ben Sira 31:27; Zohar 1.192a.45. Zohar 3.40b.46. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38a.47. Moshe Ideal, Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah and Interpretation

(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2002), 430.48. Babylonian Talmud, Horayot 13b.49. Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Tehillim (New York: Mesorah, 1985),

2:1258–59.50. Zohar 2.176a–b.51. The Craft’s strong interest in the Old Testament may have

resulted in direct or indirect Jewish influence. For a useful discussion of kabbalistic influences on early Freemasonry, see M.K. Schuchard, Restoring the Temple of Vision: Cabalistic Freemasonry and Stuart Culture (Leiden: Brill, 2002).

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