1.
Introduction
In
the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”,
In a similar vein, we often search
for meaning among the better known degrees of our beloved Craft, yet sometimes
the greatest treasure lies in a place we least expect. The Illustrious
Order of the Red Cross is often seen as a curiosity, a mildly interesting
piece of whimsy which we put on before the ‘important’ degrees of
Yet this little degree is one of the
oldest of all Masonic degrees, and so venerated that it occurs in the Allied
Masonic Degrees in
Why would such an apparently
innocuous degree be thought worthy of such preservation, especially in such
exalted bodies as the Royal Order of Scotland and the Knight Masons of
In this paper we will have a brief
look at the degree’s known history. We
will then examine four of the symbols used in this sublime degree: the journey, the bridge, the debate, and the
sash & jewel (incidentally I will also explain the meaning of the two
mysterious passwords which to my knowledge are not explained in the
2.
History of the
Degree
According to the Old Testament the meeting
between Zerubbabel and Darius never took place:
it was Tatnai and Sethar-bosnai, local governors[2],
who reported the rebuilding of the
If
the degree is not based on sound biblical reference, but rather on apocryphal
writings, why was it written, and what lesson is it trying to teach us?
There is very little information
about the history of this degree.
Indeed, Spiedel refers to it
briefly as a preparatory degree to those of
We do know that it is “of
considerable antiquity” (Preface to Red
Cross of Babylon Ritual). In one
form it was certainly being conferred in
There is a claim that Passing the
Bridge – the central section of the degree – was worked in an ‘Antient’ Lodge
in
Apart from these basic references
there is little more to unearth. Now the
question arises, if this degree is as ‘slight’ as the historians and mystics
would have us believe, then why has it been preserved in almost every
significant system of European Masonry, usually at the highest levels, and why
has it been used as a vehicle to transmit some of the most arcane allegories in
all of the Craft?
3.
The Journey
The Degree is usually split into
three Acts. In Act I the Jewish
Sanhedrin lament the fact that their efforts to rebuild the City and
Although the journey is sandwiched
between what appear to be two more impressive sections, do not let this distract
you. The journey is in fact the most
important part of all!
Now,
many Masonic degrees explicitly talk of a journey: the Second Degree, the Third
Degree, the Most Excellent Master Degree, the Mark Degree, the Most Excellent
Master Degree, the Holy Royal Arch, the Royal Master Degree, the Select Master Degree
and the Super-Excellent Master Degree all contain journeys, and if one accepts
that all circumambulations are a symbolic journey, then all Masonic degrees
contain such a journey. We find the
symbolic use of a journey in many important books, not least Chaucer’s “Canterbury
Tales”, Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and Dante’s “Inferno”. Of all the Masonic systems of Degrees, the
journey undertaken by Zerubbabel in the ‘Illustrious
Order of the Red Cross’ is perhaps the most strange of all.
In the Holy Royal Arch we learn that
the name Zerubbabel signifies “Truth”;
Zerubbabel, like the “Pilgrim” of Bunyan, is therefore the embodiment of this
quality. It is ‘Truth’, therefore, which undertakes this extraordinary journey,
traveling, it might be noted, from West, or
What is most important about this
particular journey is that it is two-way.
The immense significance of this will become apparent when we consider
the fact that the journey involves crossing a bridge.
4.
The Bridge
It
is truly tragic that in our time the bridge has become so little understood, we
do not even bother to have a floorcloth to represent one of the most potent
symbols of all. The
It is unlikely to be the
“In
the great religions of the world – for example Christianity, Judaism, Islam,
Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Shintoism – there is a tradition that the soul
has to cross the river of death, usually over a bridge, but sometimes by ferry
as in Greek mythology, or by dividing the waters as Elijah did before his
translation…In all the Rites Crossing the Bridge is a symbolical representation
of Death, while the subsequent experience of the candidate is emblematical of
the judgment of the soul.”
In this sense the bridge is also
like Jacob’s ladder in the First Degree – it is a means of crossing a divide or
chasm which separates two places. Much
is made in the Book of Ezra about being ‘over the river’, ‘this side of the
river’ and ‘beyond the river’ so using the idea of the river as a key delimiter
between two lands or empires. So what is
the nature of these two worlds, this river and this bridge?
The river has often been used as a
symbol for the veil of forgetfulness or death, and its waters wash both cares
and remembrances from the transitioning soul.
The two lands represent the conscious and subconscious worlds. In Jewish Kabbalistic thought, the earthly,
material plane is called Malkuth and
the plane of Dreams is called Yesod, which is also associated with the moon,
night and sleep. There is a veil which
separates these two worlds, and this can only be pierced by means of traversing
a Path or Bridge. As the plane of Yesod or Dreams is also known as the
plane of images and the plane of deception, it is necessary to hold firm to
what is true and what is false in order successfully to cross this bridge. The bridge is sometimes seen as that watery
symbol which God placed in the heavens following the inundation of the earth – Qesheth, or the Bow. And so Truth crosses the bridge into that
world which for mystics and Kabbalists is the world of Dreams, Images,
Archetypes, and Angels. Incidentally,
this river is sometimes given the name of Starbuznai,
an interesting corruption which is very close to the name of the possible
river, Shethar-Boznai (see Footnote 2). For the keen student I have transcribed this
as (שתאר בזני)
whose numerical value would then be 970, making the name similar through
gematria to Tharsis, ruler of water,
or etz, a tree, both of which seem
appropriate! If anyone reading this
paper has other theories on the meaning of the word, I would be most interested
to hear them.
Truth,
then, crosses the bridge between the earthly world and the celestial plane,
there to be detected as an intruder (naturally, for he is both conscious and
living); yet he was chosen for this task because in the legend – from the Red Cross of Babylon – “Zerubbabel … was formerly well-known to the
King, (and) now offers his services to undertake the hazardous enterprise of
traversing the Persian dominions, and seeking admission to the presence of our
Sovereign.” So it appears that Truth was accustomed to crossing this
bridge in the past in order to communicate with this mysterious ‘King’, but may
have forgotten how to do it, which is why he is stopped, recognized as not
belonging to that second world, and apprehended. In
Kabbalistic work it is important to know the names of the guardians and the
necessary passwords, in order to gain admittance to higher realms, and
imprisonment or banishment is often the price of forgetfulness.
However, on receiving an audience
with the mysterious ‘King’ he is recognized and a final test is put to him. This test is one of determining that he
understands the importance of silence or secrecy. Truth demonstrates
his understanding of the importance of keep silent on secret matters, and the
‘King’ now welcomes him as a friend. The
mortal is accepted in the land of the dead, or the subconscious world. But has his mysterious bridge been ‘burned’,
and will he be allowed to return to the material plane with the gifts he will
learn on this journey?
As a final aside in this section, I
hope you now understand why taking the time to create even the most rudimentary
representation of the bridge is crucial to the transmission of the purpose of
this degree, and I commend its construction, either in physical form or even as
a drawing on a piece of cloth, to any degree team wishing to put on this
degree. Indeed, in some versions of this
ritual the bridge is even decorated with signs of mortality, including human
skulls and bones, thereby making the symbolic allusion of this bridge even more
explicit.
5.
The Debate
Now
we come to the most perplexing part of the story – the Immemorial Discussion,
in which three arbiters argue the supremacy of wine, the power of the king,
women, and truth. At first glance this
debate seems almost out of place in the scheme of things. Why would this be a central part of the
ritual? If accepted at face value, it
has little to teach us, but we have learned by now that the debate itself is a
symbol of something else, something higher.
To better understand the debate we
must first identify who is talking. In
the previous section I explained that this part of the drama takes place in a
Court ruled over by a mysterious ‘King’, surrounded by his courtiers. In Kabbalistic tradition we are now in the
realm of dreams, the plane of Yesod. Traditionally this plane is populated by the
angelic host. Moreover, it is within
this level that, metaphysically speaking, we find the ‘archetypes’ of all that
exists on earth. Philosophers from Plato
forward have argued that everything on earth has a ‘perfect’ counterpart, or ‘archetype’,
in a higher plane of existence. If we
accept this belief, held by these philosophers, metaphysicians and mystics, we
may conclude that Truth now finds
himself, like Pilgrim and Dante before him, in the mystical realm of the
angels, ruled over by a chief. Who
better to recognize Zerubbabel as a ‘friend of my youth’ than his own guardian
angel, perhaps, with whom Zerubbabel is once again joined in spiritual
communion?
The discussion which Truth hears, and in which he takes part,
is a rehearsal of the ‘archetypes’; in this case rehearsed for his benefit –
for he is here to learn, after all. If
he can learn what he needs to know he will have the information needed to build
that spiritual temple which has lain untended and unbuilt for several years,
perhaps due to his preoccupation with material goals and aims. And so the debate of archetypes is tailored
especially for him, as his angel gently leads him to understanding.
The
topic, not surprisingly, is about strength.
Can the goals of Zerubbabel be achieved through physical, material or
temporal objects, such as wine, women or kingly power (and remember that Christ
himself was tempted with bread and kingly power)? Even though Zerubbabel is given the task of arguing the strength of women, he comes to
realize that only Truth can set him
free. That is to say, that the strength
which he seeks to build his personal
And
finally, in a supreme gesture, the King/angel gives him words of power and a
sigil to enable him to make the transition in future. In knowing that the power to transform and to
build the
6.
The Sash &
Jewel
The
passwords given in this degree do not hold any particular significance. Indeed, the two which are not explained in
the American ritual have been adequately explained above for those who know
where to look.
Of
far greater interest is the sash and jewel.
In
Masonry the predominant colors are white, black, red and purple. Uniquely in this degree we find the color
green. This alone would suggest an
antiquity to this degree. It is worth
pointing out that several other Masonic orders which contain at least a germ of
this ritual use red and green regalia, including the Knight Masons, the Royal
Order of Scotland and the Scottish Rectified Rite. The color red, explained at length in the
Holy Royal Arch degree, represents zeal.
But what of green?
Green
is the color of initiation, a profound and spiritual initiation into the High
Mysteries of Life and God. We see the
color in the popular concept of the Holy Grail as a cup carved from an emerald,
or from the Emerald Tablet, which contains the classic hermetic axiom “As
above, so below”. Green is also
associated with Venus – both planet and goddess – and in alchemy with the metal
copper (so chosen for Venus and Initiation as the metal is both malleable yet
sound, and through the action of air oxidizes to the color green, or
verdigris). And so red and green signify
a zealous spirit, and initiation into the Arcana Arcanorum. On the Tree of Life of the Kabbalists, it is
associated with the Sephiroth of Netzach,
whose attributes include the color Green, an attribution to the planet Venus,
and also to the philosophical element of Fire.
Just as Fire is Red and Zealous, so its complement, Green , is the most
passive color, and are fitly joined together.
One final point: Netzach, our green sephiroth, is the
Seventh Sephira. Now, the jewel
associated with the Red Cross and the
Knight Masons and the Scottish Rite
are all seven-pointed stars!
Figure 1: Apron of Elect of Zerubbabel (Elu Cohen
Rite).
Note the Sword and Trowel, the Chains and
the Bridge.
What
are we to conclude from this? Truth,
having “carried away the victory” (by the way, Netzach means “Victory”!),
is rewarded with the celestial equivalent of a multiple entry pass to the
Celestial world to commune and learn at leisure. His pass is a seven-pointed star, bearing the
green color of high initiation and the bright blood-red color of zeal and
enthusiasm, containing both the most passive and active of colors. Armed with this sigil, and the names of the
guardian of this plane (our ‘governor’) and of the abyss (our ‘river’) he can
now pass back across the bridge to the material plane, carrying the receptacles
of knowledge he has learned from the Strange Land he has just visited.
Figure 2: Royal Order of
Incidentally,
for the keen student, the penalty may also be found in Ezra VI, 11.
7.
In Conclusion
This
paper has not been intended to be an exhaustive summary of all the symbolism
contained in the illustrious Order of the Red Cross. It is intended, however, to demonstrate that
there are many, many levels to the symbols used which, of course, is the
purpose symbolism in the first place.
Lest
the reader think that all this is merely wishful thinking, let him remember
that the people who wrote these degrees were firstly scholars who, in their
time, would have been well-versed in Latin, Greek; and the fruits of the
Renaissance, which created an environment in which astrology and astronomy,
alchemy and chemistry, science and religion were appreciated side by side (Sir
Isaac Newton wrote more books on Astrology than he did on Astronomy!). In addition they were involved in the
exciting religious and politic turmoil which was the revolutionary age of the
18th and 19th Centuries.
Finally, the great resurgence in mystical knowledge, the fascination
with chivalric Orders (and the secrets they concealed), and the first contact
with socio-religious systems of Eastern Asia and other parts of the world,
including Egypt, alongside a diminishing of Rome’s tyrannical and murderous
autocracy (remember that the last person burned at the stake for heresy in
Spain was as recently as 1804), were leading to a remarkable upsurge of
interest in the occult.
For all these reasons, we can be
certain that the many levels on which this ritual can be read is not due to
some happy coincidence. The writers knew
exactly what they were doing, and by applying ourselves we can enjoy the
multilayered symbolism, and profit from the profound messages they contain.
In ending, I hope I have encouraged
you to see this degree in a new light, and a new atmosphere of respect.
Bibliography
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¨
Ritual of the Grand Encampment of Knights
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Ritual of the Red Cross of
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The Royal Masonic Cyclopædia, Kenneth Mackenzie, pub.The Aquarian
Press (orig. pub. 1877)
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The
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S.E.P.P.
Regalia Brochure, Paris, 2002
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www.occultresearch.org/freemasonry/higher.htm
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