Post by giovanni on May 18, 2006 17:17:33 GMT
BETWEEN THE SQUARE AND THE COMPASSES
Bro René Guénon
From The Great Triad
THERE is one particular subject which on examination reveals a: most remarkable parallelism between the Far-Eastern tradition. and the initiatic traditions of the West. This is the question of the symbolic values attached to the compasses and the square. As we pointed out earlier, these clearly correspond to the circle and the square;[1] that is, they correspond respectively to the geometrical figures representing Heaven and Earth.[2]
Masonic symbolism, in conformity with this correspondence, normally places the pair of compasses on top and the square underneath.[3] Between the two symbols we usually find the Blazing Star which is a symbol of Man[4] and, more specifically, of ‘regenerate man’:[5] with it, the Great Triad is completed. It is also stated explicitly that ‘a Master Mason always finds himself between the square and the compasses’—in other words in the very ‘place’ in which the Blazing Star is inscribed. As this ‘place’ is none other than the ‘Invariable Middle’,[6] this means that the Master is being equated with ‘true man’ exercising the function of ‘mediator’ midway between Heaven and Earth. This equation is all the more exact because—at least symbolically and ‘virtually’ if not in actual fact—Mastery represents completion of the ‘lesser mysteries’; and the goal of these mysteries is, precisely, the state of ‘true man’.[7] In other words, what we have here is a set of symbols that is strictly equivalent to the symbolism we have already encountered in various different forms in the Far-Eastern tradition.
We would like to mention another point while on the subject of Mastery. The characteristics of Mastery as we just described them correspond to the final grade in Freemasonry, and this fits in perfectly with the fact we have drawn attention to elsewhere,[8] that the craft initiations (along with the initiations derived from them) all relate to the ‘lesser mysteries’. This is certainly not to deny that in the so-called ‘higher grades’ (themselves composed of elements of very mixed origin) we find several allusions to the ‘greater mysteries’. At least one of these allusions can be traced back directly to the ancient Operative Masonry, and this shows that originally Freemasonry was capable of opening perspectives onto regions that lay beyond the bounds of the ‘lesser mysteries’. What we are specifically referring to here is the distinction made in Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry between Square Masonry and Arch Masonry. In the transition ‘from square to arch’—or ‘from triangle to circle’,[9] to use the terms adopted by eighteenth century French Freemasonry to describe the same thing—we come back once again to the fundamental opposition between square (or, more generally, rectilinear) figures as representative of Earth, and circular figures as representative of Heaven. There can therefore be no doubt that we are concerned here with the passage from the human state represented by Earth to the supra-human states symbolized by Heaven (or the Heavens).[10] In other words, what is being described here is transition from the domain of the ‘lesser mysteries’ to the domain of the ‘greater mysteries’. [11]
To return to the parallelism between Western and Eastern tradition, we should add that the compasses and square are not only implicitly present in the Far-Eastern tradition in the sense that they are the instruments used for tracing the circle and the square: they also feature there explicitly. Perhaps the most important single example is their use as attributes of Fu Hsi and Niu Kua. Although we have already mentioned this fact before,[12] we did not then offer any explanation for one feature which at first sight could seem a strange anomaly. What we are referring to is the fact that—as a ‘celestial’ symbol and therefore yang or masculine—the pair of compasses should strictly speaking belong to Fu Hsi, and the square—a ‘terrestrial’ symbol and therefore yin or feminine—to Niu Kua. But in fact when Fu Hsi and Niu Kua are depicted together, linked by their serpent’s tails which correspond exactly to the two serpents of the caduceus, it is Fu Hsi who holds the square and Niu Kua who holds the compasses.[13] We do not have to look very far for the cause of this inversion, because what we have here is the same exchange of attributes that we mentioned earlier in relation to ‘celestial’ and ‘terrestrial’ numbers: an exchange which in cases such as this can very appropriately be described as ‘hierogamic’,[14] Otherwise it would hardly be possible to explain how the compasses could belong to Niu Kua, especially when we bear in mind that the specific sphere of activity ascribed to her defines her function as primarily one of maintaining the world’s stability.[15] What is more, this function allies her with the ‘substantial’ aspect of manifestation, and stability is expressed in geometrical symbolism by the cube.[16] As far as the square is concerned, admittedly it could be argued that in a sense it is also anappropriate symbol for Fu Hsi in his capacity as ‘Lord of the Earth’, and serves as the instrument which he uses to measure it.[17] He will then coins-pond to ‘the Worshipful Master who rules by the square’, as he is described in Masonic symbolism.[18] But if this is so it is because in himself and no longer in association with Niu Kua—he himself yin-yang, re-integrated in the state and nature of ‘primor - dial man’. From this new perspective the square itself acquires a. different significance. The fact that it contains two arms set at’ right angles to each other invites us to interpret it as the reunion of. the horizontal and the vertical; and as we have seen earlier; horizontal in one of its senses corresponds to Earth, or yin, and vertical to Heaven or yang. This is precisely the reason why, in Masonic symbolism as well, ‘the Worshipful Master’s square is regarded as the union or synthesis of level and perpendicular.[19]
We would like to add one final comment on the stylised depictions of Fu Hsi and Niu Kua. Fu Hsi is shown on the left, Niu Kua on the right.[20] This of course agrees with the pre-eminence generally attributed in the Far-Eastern tradition to the left over the right, which we explained earlier.[21] But also, Fu Hsi holds the square in his left hand while Niu Kua holds the compasses in her right. Here the connotations of the symbols themselves call to mind the saying we have already quoted: ‘The Way of Heaven has preference for the right; the Way of Earth prefers the left’.[22]
By way of summary, an example such as this shows very clearly how perfectly coherent traditional symbolism always is. But at the same time it also shows that it will never lend itself to any form of more or less rigid ‘systematisation’. The reason for this is that traditional symbolism must remain capable of responding to and reflecting each and every one of the countless varying perspectives from which everything in existence can be viewed. Thanks to this, it opens up possibilities for understanding which are literally unlimited.
Notes:
[1] In Chinese, as in English, the same word—fang—denotes both the instrument and the figure.
[2] The different ways of positioning the compasses and square in relation to each other in the three degrees of Craft Masonry each have their own significance. To begin with, the celestial influences are portrayed as dominated by the terrestrial influences; then they are shown gradually detaching themselves, and finally as dominating the terrestrial influences in turn.
[3] When these positions are reversed the symbol has a specific meaning that is to be compared with the inversion of the alchemical symbol for Sulphur as a sign that the `Great Work' has been accomplished. Compare also the symbolism of the 12th Tarot trump.
[4] The Blazing Star has five points, and 5 is the number of the `microcosm'. This correlation is also explicitly affirmed in cases such as the Pentagram of Agrippa, which shows the star containing the actual figure of a man—head, arms and legs each corresponding to one point in the star.
[5] According to an old ritual, `the Blazing Star is the symbol of the Mason [one could equally well say of the initiate in general] ablaze with light in the middle of the darkness [of the profane world]'. This description is obviously an allusion to the statement in the Gospel of St. John: `And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not'.
[6] It is no coincidence that the Lodge of the Masters is also called the ‘Middle Chanber’.
[7] For its bearing on the Masonic formula just quoted, it is worth pointing out that the Chinese expression ‘beneath Heaven’ (T’ien hsia) which we mentioned earlier as a term for the cosmos as a whole is also open to another interpretation when considered from the strictly initiatic point of view. It then corresponds to the ‘Temple of the Holy Spirit, which is everywhere’ and which is the meeting place of the Rosicrucians—who are also the ‘true men’ (see Aperçus sur l’Initiation, capters 37 and 38). We will also mention in this connection that ‘Heaven covers’ and that Masonic activities must be carried out, precisely, ‘under cover’, so that the Lodge itself becomes an image of the Cosmos. See The Lord of the World, chapter 7.
[8] Apeçus sur l’Initiation, chapter 39
[9] The triangle is here substituted for the square for the simple reason that both are rectilinear figures and therefore interchangeable. The symbolism itself is not affected in the least.
[10] Strictly speaking these terms do not have the same meaning that they do in the Great Triad—or rather, they correspond to the terms as used in the Great Triad but at a level which is internal to the manifested universe. In this respect they correspond to the terms used in the Tribhuvana, with the one exception that Earth here (i.e. Earth as symbolizing the human state as a whole) should be understood as comprising both the Earth and the Atmosphere—or ‘intermediary region'—of the Tribhuvana.
[11] . The vault of heaven corresponds to the ‘canopy of perfection' alluded to in certain grades of Scottish Freemasonry. We hope in a separate study to be able to examine in greater detail the architectural symbolism involved
[12] The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, chapter 20.
[13] On the other hand no such inversion of attributes occurs in depictions of the Hermetic Rebis: here the compasses are held by the masculine half (associated with the Sun) and the square by the feminine half (associated with the Moon). As for the correspondences with Sun and Moon, it is worth recalling our comments in an earlier note on the numbers to and 12, and also the words of the Emerald Tablet ‘The Sun is its father, the Moon its Mother'. This statement refers precisely to the Rebis or ‘Androgyne' which is the ‘single thing' containing in itself the combined 'virtues of Heaven and Earth'. The 'Androgyne' is of course ‘single' as far as its essence is concerned; so far as its outward aspects are concerned it is dual—res bina —[just like the cosmic force we spoke of earlier. The symbolic serpent's tails with which Fu Hsi and Niu Kua are portrayed are of course also reminiscent of this cosmic force.
[14] Granet himself (La Pensée chinoise, p. 363) specifically acknowledges this interchange between compasses and square, as well as between odd and even numbers. Unfortunately this has not prevented him from making the mistake of defining the pair of compasses as a 'feminine emblem', as he does elsewhere (p. 267, note).
[15] See The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, chapter 25.
[16] This interchange of attributes between Fu Hsi and Niu Kua can be compared with the situation in the third and fourth Tarot trumps, where a celestial symbolism (stars) is ascribed to the Empress and a terrestrial symbol (cubical stone) to the Emperor. Also, in position and sequence the Empress is associated with the number 3, which is odd, while the Emperor corresponds to the even number 4: the same transposition expressed in a different way.
[17] We will return to this idea of measuring the Earth when we discuss the lay-out of the MingT'ang.
[18] As organised and governed by Fu Hsi and his successors, the Empire was constituted—just like the Masonic Lodge—in such a way as to present an image of the whole Cosmos.
[19] Level and perpendicular are also attributes of the two Wardens and consequently are brought into relationship with the two terms of the complementarity represented by the two pillars of the Temple of Solomon. It is also worth noting that whereas Fu Hsi's square is depicted with arms of equal length, that of the Venerable One's normally has arms of unequal lengths. Generally speaking it could be assumed that it is just a question here of the difference between a square and an elongated rectangle; but in fact the inequality of the arms is also related specifically to a ‘secret' of Operative Masonry regarding the formation of a right-angled triangle with sides proportional to the numbers 3, 4 and 5. Later in this study we will have more to say about the symbolism of this triangle.
[20] Here of course ‘right' and ‘left' are meant to indicate the right and left of the figures themselves as opposed to the right and left of an observer.
[21] By way of contrast, in the Rebis figure the masculine half is on the right, the feminine half on the left. Also, the figure only has two hands; the right one holds the compasses, the left the square.
[22] Chou Li.
Bro René Guénon
From The Great Triad
THERE is one particular subject which on examination reveals a: most remarkable parallelism between the Far-Eastern tradition. and the initiatic traditions of the West. This is the question of the symbolic values attached to the compasses and the square. As we pointed out earlier, these clearly correspond to the circle and the square;[1] that is, they correspond respectively to the geometrical figures representing Heaven and Earth.[2]
Masonic symbolism, in conformity with this correspondence, normally places the pair of compasses on top and the square underneath.[3] Between the two symbols we usually find the Blazing Star which is a symbol of Man[4] and, more specifically, of ‘regenerate man’:[5] with it, the Great Triad is completed. It is also stated explicitly that ‘a Master Mason always finds himself between the square and the compasses’—in other words in the very ‘place’ in which the Blazing Star is inscribed. As this ‘place’ is none other than the ‘Invariable Middle’,[6] this means that the Master is being equated with ‘true man’ exercising the function of ‘mediator’ midway between Heaven and Earth. This equation is all the more exact because—at least symbolically and ‘virtually’ if not in actual fact—Mastery represents completion of the ‘lesser mysteries’; and the goal of these mysteries is, precisely, the state of ‘true man’.[7] In other words, what we have here is a set of symbols that is strictly equivalent to the symbolism we have already encountered in various different forms in the Far-Eastern tradition.
We would like to mention another point while on the subject of Mastery. The characteristics of Mastery as we just described them correspond to the final grade in Freemasonry, and this fits in perfectly with the fact we have drawn attention to elsewhere,[8] that the craft initiations (along with the initiations derived from them) all relate to the ‘lesser mysteries’. This is certainly not to deny that in the so-called ‘higher grades’ (themselves composed of elements of very mixed origin) we find several allusions to the ‘greater mysteries’. At least one of these allusions can be traced back directly to the ancient Operative Masonry, and this shows that originally Freemasonry was capable of opening perspectives onto regions that lay beyond the bounds of the ‘lesser mysteries’. What we are specifically referring to here is the distinction made in Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry between Square Masonry and Arch Masonry. In the transition ‘from square to arch’—or ‘from triangle to circle’,[9] to use the terms adopted by eighteenth century French Freemasonry to describe the same thing—we come back once again to the fundamental opposition between square (or, more generally, rectilinear) figures as representative of Earth, and circular figures as representative of Heaven. There can therefore be no doubt that we are concerned here with the passage from the human state represented by Earth to the supra-human states symbolized by Heaven (or the Heavens).[10] In other words, what is being described here is transition from the domain of the ‘lesser mysteries’ to the domain of the ‘greater mysteries’. [11]
To return to the parallelism between Western and Eastern tradition, we should add that the compasses and square are not only implicitly present in the Far-Eastern tradition in the sense that they are the instruments used for tracing the circle and the square: they also feature there explicitly. Perhaps the most important single example is their use as attributes of Fu Hsi and Niu Kua. Although we have already mentioned this fact before,[12] we did not then offer any explanation for one feature which at first sight could seem a strange anomaly. What we are referring to is the fact that—as a ‘celestial’ symbol and therefore yang or masculine—the pair of compasses should strictly speaking belong to Fu Hsi, and the square—a ‘terrestrial’ symbol and therefore yin or feminine—to Niu Kua. But in fact when Fu Hsi and Niu Kua are depicted together, linked by their serpent’s tails which correspond exactly to the two serpents of the caduceus, it is Fu Hsi who holds the square and Niu Kua who holds the compasses.[13] We do not have to look very far for the cause of this inversion, because what we have here is the same exchange of attributes that we mentioned earlier in relation to ‘celestial’ and ‘terrestrial’ numbers: an exchange which in cases such as this can very appropriately be described as ‘hierogamic’,[14] Otherwise it would hardly be possible to explain how the compasses could belong to Niu Kua, especially when we bear in mind that the specific sphere of activity ascribed to her defines her function as primarily one of maintaining the world’s stability.[15] What is more, this function allies her with the ‘substantial’ aspect of manifestation, and stability is expressed in geometrical symbolism by the cube.[16] As far as the square is concerned, admittedly it could be argued that in a sense it is also anappropriate symbol for Fu Hsi in his capacity as ‘Lord of the Earth’, and serves as the instrument which he uses to measure it.[17] He will then coins-pond to ‘the Worshipful Master who rules by the square’, as he is described in Masonic symbolism.[18] But if this is so it is because in himself and no longer in association with Niu Kua—he himself yin-yang, re-integrated in the state and nature of ‘primor - dial man’. From this new perspective the square itself acquires a. different significance. The fact that it contains two arms set at’ right angles to each other invites us to interpret it as the reunion of. the horizontal and the vertical; and as we have seen earlier; horizontal in one of its senses corresponds to Earth, or yin, and vertical to Heaven or yang. This is precisely the reason why, in Masonic symbolism as well, ‘the Worshipful Master’s square is regarded as the union or synthesis of level and perpendicular.[19]
We would like to add one final comment on the stylised depictions of Fu Hsi and Niu Kua. Fu Hsi is shown on the left, Niu Kua on the right.[20] This of course agrees with the pre-eminence generally attributed in the Far-Eastern tradition to the left over the right, which we explained earlier.[21] But also, Fu Hsi holds the square in his left hand while Niu Kua holds the compasses in her right. Here the connotations of the symbols themselves call to mind the saying we have already quoted: ‘The Way of Heaven has preference for the right; the Way of Earth prefers the left’.[22]
By way of summary, an example such as this shows very clearly how perfectly coherent traditional symbolism always is. But at the same time it also shows that it will never lend itself to any form of more or less rigid ‘systematisation’. The reason for this is that traditional symbolism must remain capable of responding to and reflecting each and every one of the countless varying perspectives from which everything in existence can be viewed. Thanks to this, it opens up possibilities for understanding which are literally unlimited.
Notes:
[1] In Chinese, as in English, the same word—fang—denotes both the instrument and the figure.
[2] The different ways of positioning the compasses and square in relation to each other in the three degrees of Craft Masonry each have their own significance. To begin with, the celestial influences are portrayed as dominated by the terrestrial influences; then they are shown gradually detaching themselves, and finally as dominating the terrestrial influences in turn.
[3] When these positions are reversed the symbol has a specific meaning that is to be compared with the inversion of the alchemical symbol for Sulphur as a sign that the `Great Work' has been accomplished. Compare also the symbolism of the 12th Tarot trump.
[4] The Blazing Star has five points, and 5 is the number of the `microcosm'. This correlation is also explicitly affirmed in cases such as the Pentagram of Agrippa, which shows the star containing the actual figure of a man—head, arms and legs each corresponding to one point in the star.
[5] According to an old ritual, `the Blazing Star is the symbol of the Mason [one could equally well say of the initiate in general] ablaze with light in the middle of the darkness [of the profane world]'. This description is obviously an allusion to the statement in the Gospel of St. John: `And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not'.
[6] It is no coincidence that the Lodge of the Masters is also called the ‘Middle Chanber’.
[7] For its bearing on the Masonic formula just quoted, it is worth pointing out that the Chinese expression ‘beneath Heaven’ (T’ien hsia) which we mentioned earlier as a term for the cosmos as a whole is also open to another interpretation when considered from the strictly initiatic point of view. It then corresponds to the ‘Temple of the Holy Spirit, which is everywhere’ and which is the meeting place of the Rosicrucians—who are also the ‘true men’ (see Aperçus sur l’Initiation, capters 37 and 38). We will also mention in this connection that ‘Heaven covers’ and that Masonic activities must be carried out, precisely, ‘under cover’, so that the Lodge itself becomes an image of the Cosmos. See The Lord of the World, chapter 7.
[8] Apeçus sur l’Initiation, chapter 39
[9] The triangle is here substituted for the square for the simple reason that both are rectilinear figures and therefore interchangeable. The symbolism itself is not affected in the least.
[10] Strictly speaking these terms do not have the same meaning that they do in the Great Triad—or rather, they correspond to the terms as used in the Great Triad but at a level which is internal to the manifested universe. In this respect they correspond to the terms used in the Tribhuvana, with the one exception that Earth here (i.e. Earth as symbolizing the human state as a whole) should be understood as comprising both the Earth and the Atmosphere—or ‘intermediary region'—of the Tribhuvana.
[11] . The vault of heaven corresponds to the ‘canopy of perfection' alluded to in certain grades of Scottish Freemasonry. We hope in a separate study to be able to examine in greater detail the architectural symbolism involved
[12] The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, chapter 20.
[13] On the other hand no such inversion of attributes occurs in depictions of the Hermetic Rebis: here the compasses are held by the masculine half (associated with the Sun) and the square by the feminine half (associated with the Moon). As for the correspondences with Sun and Moon, it is worth recalling our comments in an earlier note on the numbers to and 12, and also the words of the Emerald Tablet ‘The Sun is its father, the Moon its Mother'. This statement refers precisely to the Rebis or ‘Androgyne' which is the ‘single thing' containing in itself the combined 'virtues of Heaven and Earth'. The 'Androgyne' is of course ‘single' as far as its essence is concerned; so far as its outward aspects are concerned it is dual—res bina —[just like the cosmic force we spoke of earlier. The symbolic serpent's tails with which Fu Hsi and Niu Kua are portrayed are of course also reminiscent of this cosmic force.
[14] Granet himself (La Pensée chinoise, p. 363) specifically acknowledges this interchange between compasses and square, as well as between odd and even numbers. Unfortunately this has not prevented him from making the mistake of defining the pair of compasses as a 'feminine emblem', as he does elsewhere (p. 267, note).
[15] See The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, chapter 25.
[16] This interchange of attributes between Fu Hsi and Niu Kua can be compared with the situation in the third and fourth Tarot trumps, where a celestial symbolism (stars) is ascribed to the Empress and a terrestrial symbol (cubical stone) to the Emperor. Also, in position and sequence the Empress is associated with the number 3, which is odd, while the Emperor corresponds to the even number 4: the same transposition expressed in a different way.
[17] We will return to this idea of measuring the Earth when we discuss the lay-out of the MingT'ang.
[18] As organised and governed by Fu Hsi and his successors, the Empire was constituted—just like the Masonic Lodge—in such a way as to present an image of the whole Cosmos.
[19] Level and perpendicular are also attributes of the two Wardens and consequently are brought into relationship with the two terms of the complementarity represented by the two pillars of the Temple of Solomon. It is also worth noting that whereas Fu Hsi's square is depicted with arms of equal length, that of the Venerable One's normally has arms of unequal lengths. Generally speaking it could be assumed that it is just a question here of the difference between a square and an elongated rectangle; but in fact the inequality of the arms is also related specifically to a ‘secret' of Operative Masonry regarding the formation of a right-angled triangle with sides proportional to the numbers 3, 4 and 5. Later in this study we will have more to say about the symbolism of this triangle.
[20] Here of course ‘right' and ‘left' are meant to indicate the right and left of the figures themselves as opposed to the right and left of an observer.
[21] By way of contrast, in the Rebis figure the masculine half is on the right, the feminine half on the left. Also, the figure only has two hands; the right one holds the compasses, the left the square.
[22] Chou Li.