Ashlar Chippings

Some words and phrases

The name ‘Boaz‘ occurs frequently in the accounts of the building of KST. The Polyglot Bible gives the meaning as ‘in it is strength’, but Cruden’s Concordance, first published in 1737, gives ‘in strength or in the goat’.

I am told by Hebrew scholars that ‘in the goat’ is a misreading of the component parts of the word, but the misreading may explain the buffoonery which I have heard of as practised on candidates in some places.

The Whole Duty of Man was the title of a book of devotion published in 1658 which remained popular for over a century… rule 33 of the rules of the Royal Masonic Institute for Girls of 1788 states that every well-behaved girl on leaving the school was to receive clothing, a Bible, a Book of Common Prayer and The Whole Duty of Man.

Casual as in ‘casual signs’ meant accidental or occurring by chance.

Evasion, equivocation or mental reservation. The phrase occurs in the declaration incorporated in the Parliament Act 1678, which the Bill of Rights requires to be made, subscribed and repeated after the Coronation Oath.

The offer to ‘letter or halve‘ a word seems to be purely Masonic, but readers of Tristram Shandy will remember how an Abbess and a Nun halve an obscene word which they believe will set their mule in motion!

[These extracts can be found in The Vocabulary of the Ceremonies by Brother Sir Lionel Brett, AQC, vol. 101.

Many of the meanings given are from Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language of 1754, which was the normal dictionary in general use during the second half of the eighteenth century, when much of our ritual was being organised]

Rudyard Kipling

In my copy of Kipling’s Just So Stories, I noticed something I had not done before in all the years I have had the book since a child.

The initial letter of the final story ‘The Butterfly that Stamped’, has several Masonic references within it.

I here reproduce that initial letter ‘T’. You will see RK’s initials at the base of the tree but look at the bracelet on the left wrist; notice also the figure’s apron as a PM.

Members of the Mark degree will also see a symbolism in the sash worn by the figure.

Kipling was, of course, a Mason, being initiated in Lahore in 1886. His stories The Man who would be King and Kim are well known for their Masonic content.

Article by: Hugh O'Neill

Hugh O'Neill

Past Master of Craft lodges under the constitution of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Member (Master 2022-2023) of Quatuor Coronati Lodge 2076,  the world’s premier Masonic research lodge.

Masonic historian and orator on Masonic topics.

 

 

Recent Articles: Ashlar Chippings

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
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2) Trouble at t’mill ,
3) The ‘Official’ Visit and
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
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and
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Take care for whom you vouch!
2) Perilous Time
3) On asking for a Certificate of Good Standing and
3) The Wrong Frequency! 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1) Some words and phrases and
2) Rudyard Kipling 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
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2) A horseman revealed! 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: - Emblems on an Installed Master’s Apron. 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
1)The Stiff Upper Lip - Keep Calm and Carry On – Masonic Style and
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) Understanding Freemasonry,
2) Where was the Foundry? and
3) Answer this and answer true 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) How to get your Knighthood,
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) Whence Came the Rosettes,
2) The Freemasons' Motto and
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) New Master,
2) Veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols and
3) Emasculation! 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Masonic Symbolism 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) The well qualified Master Elect,
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3) A chair going spare?,
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5) Nature’s Bounty 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) A ‘Masonic’ Dodo!,
2) Public ‘Open Nights’ and
3) Fraternity or Corporation? 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -
Tercentenary of United Grand Lodge of England - 1721-2021 season 2 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) Our charitable visitors,
2) Speculation?,
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4) Showing the flag 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) The Future of Masonry,
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Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) That ‘H’ word,
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3) The darkness comprehended it not!,
4) Interpretations of Symbols and
5) Tailpiece 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

Neville Barker Cryer personal view of Freemasonry 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) Equality,
2) The Faithful Few,
3) What’s the Attraction? and
4) Slap on the wrist for a Past Grand Master 

Fifty Shades of Blue

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

Fifty Shades of Blue! - The discussion of Provincial Honours amongst UGLE members appears to be ever contentious 

Masonic Sea Chest

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

Masonic Sea Chest from the Orlop Deck of HMS Victory 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar: -

1) Symbolic Masonic Penalties,
2) Eligibility? – It depends and
3) Provincial AGMs During COVID-19 Suspension 

Ashlar Chippings

Hugh O’Neill's regular chippings whilst smoothing the ashlar -
1) We are where we are, because… and
2) Ornaments to the Society 

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