Post by giovanni on Nov 24, 2005 14:50:55 GMT
THE CHAIN OF UNION
Bro. René Guénon
Among the Masonic symbols that in our day tend to be least understood is the 'chain of union'1 surrounding the upper part of the Lodge. Some see in the chalk-line with which the operative Masons would trace out and mark the outline of an edifice; they assuredly right in this, but even so this does not suffice, and one should at least inquire into the symbolic value of the chalkline itself.2 It might also seem abnormal to accord such a position to a 'tool' for tracing an outline on the ground, and also requires some explanation.
To understand these points we must first of all remember that from traditional point of view any edifice whatsoever was always built according to a cosmic model; moreover, the Lodge is expressly specified as an image of the Cosmos, which is no doubt the last memory of this idea that has continued to exist in the Western world up to our day. As long as this had been the case, the site of an edifice has to be determined and 'framed' by something which in a certain way corresponded to what might be called the very 'framework' of the Cosmos; we shall soon see what this is, and we can immediately say that the 'materialized' tracing with the chalkline properly speaking represented its terrestrial projection. We have moreover already seen something similar concerning the plan of cities established according to traditional rules;3 in fact, the case of the city and that of edifices taken separately do not differ essentially in this respect, for it is really always a question of imitating the same cosmic model.
When the edifice is built, and even once it has begun to go up, the chalk-line obviously has no further part to play; thus the position of the 'chain of union' does not refer precisely to the outline it was used for, but rather to its cosmic prototype, the remembrance of which, on the contrary, always has as its raison d'être to determine the symbolic meaning of the Lodge and of its different parts. The chalk-line itself, under this form of the 'chain of union', then becomes the symbol of the 'framework' of the Cosmos; and its position is understood without difficulty if, as indeed the case, this 'framework' has a celestial and no longer a terrestrial character;4 and we should add that by such a transposition the earth in sum simply restores to heaven what had initially been borrowed from it.
What makes the meaning of this symbol particularly clear is that, while the chalk-line as 'tool' is naturally a simple line, the 'chain of union' on the contrary has knots at intervals;5 these knots are or ought normally to be twelve in number,6 and thus evidently correspond to the signs of the zodiac.7 It is indeed the zodiac, within which the planets move, that truly constitutes the 'envelope' of the Cosmos, that is, the 'framework' of which we have spoken,8 and as we have said, it is obvious that this is really a celestial 'framework'.
Now, there is something else yet of no less importance: a 'framework' has among its functions, that of maintaining in their place the various elements that it contains or encloses within itself, so as to make of them an ordered whole, which, as we know, is the etymological meaning of the word 'Cosmos'.9 Thus, it must someway 'link' or 'unite' these elements among themselves, which moreover the designation 'chain of union' formally expresses; and indeed the most profound meaning derives from this, for as with all symbols in the form of a chain, a rope, or a thread, it ultimately refers to the sûtrâtmâ. We still confine ourselves to calling attention to this point without at this juncture entering into fuller explanations, because we shall soon return to it, this characteristic being still more clearly apparent in the case of certain other symbolic 'frameworks' which will now examine.
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1 The term used by the medieval guilds is 'chain of alliance'.
2 This symbol also bears another name, 'serrated crest', which seems rather to designate strictly the periphery of a canopy; now, we know that the canopy is a symbol of heaven (for example, the chariot canopy in the Far-Eastern tradition), but there is really no contradiction here, as will be seen.
3 See 'The Zodiac and the Cardinal Points', [chap. 13].
4 This is way the assimilation to the periphery of a canopy is also justified, which it obviously would not be for the terrestrial projection of this celestial 'frame'.
5 These knots are called 'lakes of love'; perhaps this name, as well as the particular form of the knots, in a certain sense bear the mark of the eighteenth century, but it may also be that there is here a vestige of something that goes back much further and could even be quite directly related to the symbolism of the Fedeli d'Amore.
6 The 'Board of the Lodge', which figures at the head of Ragon's Maçonnerie occulte, in fact no longer in common use, is manifestly incorrect, not only for the number of knots in the 'chain of union' but also for the strange and even inexplicable position attributed to the zodiacal signs.
7 Some people think these twelve knots imply, 'ideally' at least, the existence of an equal number of columns of the west to which the extremities of the 'chain of union' correspond. In this connection it should be noted that a similar arrangement, though in a circular form, is found in certain megalithic monuments whose connection to the zodiac is equally obvious.
8 As regards the zodiacal division of cities, see again the study already referred to [chap. 13]. As to what remains to be said here, it is worth noting that this very division assigns their respective places to the different elements whose union constitutes the city. Another example of the zodiacal 'envelope' is to be found in the Far-Eastern symbolism of the Ming T'ang, with its twelve openings, which we have explained elsewhere (The Great Triad, chap.16).
9 It can be said that our world is 'ordered' by the combined temporal and spatial determinations that are linked to the zodiac, on the one hand through its direct relationship with the annual cycle, and on the other through its correspondence with the directions of space (it goes without saying that this last point of view is closely related also with the question of the traditional orientation of edifices).
Bro. René Guénon
Among the Masonic symbols that in our day tend to be least understood is the 'chain of union'1 surrounding the upper part of the Lodge. Some see in the chalk-line with which the operative Masons would trace out and mark the outline of an edifice; they assuredly right in this, but even so this does not suffice, and one should at least inquire into the symbolic value of the chalkline itself.2 It might also seem abnormal to accord such a position to a 'tool' for tracing an outline on the ground, and also requires some explanation.
To understand these points we must first of all remember that from traditional point of view any edifice whatsoever was always built according to a cosmic model; moreover, the Lodge is expressly specified as an image of the Cosmos, which is no doubt the last memory of this idea that has continued to exist in the Western world up to our day. As long as this had been the case, the site of an edifice has to be determined and 'framed' by something which in a certain way corresponded to what might be called the very 'framework' of the Cosmos; we shall soon see what this is, and we can immediately say that the 'materialized' tracing with the chalkline properly speaking represented its terrestrial projection. We have moreover already seen something similar concerning the plan of cities established according to traditional rules;3 in fact, the case of the city and that of edifices taken separately do not differ essentially in this respect, for it is really always a question of imitating the same cosmic model.
When the edifice is built, and even once it has begun to go up, the chalk-line obviously has no further part to play; thus the position of the 'chain of union' does not refer precisely to the outline it was used for, but rather to its cosmic prototype, the remembrance of which, on the contrary, always has as its raison d'être to determine the symbolic meaning of the Lodge and of its different parts. The chalk-line itself, under this form of the 'chain of union', then becomes the symbol of the 'framework' of the Cosmos; and its position is understood without difficulty if, as indeed the case, this 'framework' has a celestial and no longer a terrestrial character;4 and we should add that by such a transposition the earth in sum simply restores to heaven what had initially been borrowed from it.
What makes the meaning of this symbol particularly clear is that, while the chalk-line as 'tool' is naturally a simple line, the 'chain of union' on the contrary has knots at intervals;5 these knots are or ought normally to be twelve in number,6 and thus evidently correspond to the signs of the zodiac.7 It is indeed the zodiac, within which the planets move, that truly constitutes the 'envelope' of the Cosmos, that is, the 'framework' of which we have spoken,8 and as we have said, it is obvious that this is really a celestial 'framework'.
Now, there is something else yet of no less importance: a 'framework' has among its functions, that of maintaining in their place the various elements that it contains or encloses within itself, so as to make of them an ordered whole, which, as we know, is the etymological meaning of the word 'Cosmos'.9 Thus, it must someway 'link' or 'unite' these elements among themselves, which moreover the designation 'chain of union' formally expresses; and indeed the most profound meaning derives from this, for as with all symbols in the form of a chain, a rope, or a thread, it ultimately refers to the sûtrâtmâ. We still confine ourselves to calling attention to this point without at this juncture entering into fuller explanations, because we shall soon return to it, this characteristic being still more clearly apparent in the case of certain other symbolic 'frameworks' which will now examine.
_______________________________
1 The term used by the medieval guilds is 'chain of alliance'.
2 This symbol also bears another name, 'serrated crest', which seems rather to designate strictly the periphery of a canopy; now, we know that the canopy is a symbol of heaven (for example, the chariot canopy in the Far-Eastern tradition), but there is really no contradiction here, as will be seen.
3 See 'The Zodiac and the Cardinal Points', [chap. 13].
4 This is way the assimilation to the periphery of a canopy is also justified, which it obviously would not be for the terrestrial projection of this celestial 'frame'.
5 These knots are called 'lakes of love'; perhaps this name, as well as the particular form of the knots, in a certain sense bear the mark of the eighteenth century, but it may also be that there is here a vestige of something that goes back much further and could even be quite directly related to the symbolism of the Fedeli d'Amore.
6 The 'Board of the Lodge', which figures at the head of Ragon's Maçonnerie occulte, in fact no longer in common use, is manifestly incorrect, not only for the number of knots in the 'chain of union' but also for the strange and even inexplicable position attributed to the zodiacal signs.
7 Some people think these twelve knots imply, 'ideally' at least, the existence of an equal number of columns of the west to which the extremities of the 'chain of union' correspond. In this connection it should be noted that a similar arrangement, though in a circular form, is found in certain megalithic monuments whose connection to the zodiac is equally obvious.
8 As regards the zodiacal division of cities, see again the study already referred to [chap. 13]. As to what remains to be said here, it is worth noting that this very division assigns their respective places to the different elements whose union constitutes the city. Another example of the zodiacal 'envelope' is to be found in the Far-Eastern symbolism of the Ming T'ang, with its twelve openings, which we have explained elsewhere (The Great Triad, chap.16).
9 It can be said that our world is 'ordered' by the combined temporal and spatial determinations that are linked to the zodiac, on the one hand through its direct relationship with the annual cycle, and on the other through its correspondence with the directions of space (it goes without saying that this last point of view is closely related also with the question of the traditional orientation of edifices).