The Hidden Meanings Behind the Square and Compasses
Many people who are interested in Freemasonry ask brothers questions like:
- What do the Masonic symbols mean?
- What does the Square and Compasses stand for?
- What does the G in the Masonic symbol represent?
- What does 3–5–7 represent in Freemasonry?
Of course there are standard answers to these questions, but the truth is, Masonic symbols don't have just one meaning. Their strength lies in how they speak differently to each Brother, depending on where he is in his personal and moral journey. As we grow older, face life's challenges, reflect on past decisions, or seek new directions, these symbols often reveal deeper, more personal truths. What an Entered Apprentice sees in the Square and Compasses may be very different from what a Past Master sees—and that’s part of the Craft’s beauty.
Since 1849, Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Company, Inc. has published thousands of works exploring these symbols and the deeper questions they raise. Below is a sampling of what some of the most respected Masonic scholars we’ve published have said about the symbols that guide, inspire, and challenge Freemasons across generations.
What does the G in the Masonic symbol represent?
Excerpt from “The Craft and its Symbols” by Allen Roberts.
One of these symbols, with which you are familiar, is the interlaced Square and Compasses—the "symbol of Freemasonry."
This has been recognized and accepted as the Masonic emblem from the beginning of the 18th Century at least. The United States Patent Office took note of this in 1873. It told a flour manufacturer, and the world:
"This device, so commonly worn and employed by Masons, has an established mystic significance, universally recognized as existing, whether comprehended by all or not, is not material to this issue. In view of the magnitude of the Masonic organization, it is impossible to divest its symbols, or at least this particular symbol—perhaps the best known of all—of its ordinary significance, wherever displayed. The manufacturer was denied the use of the Square and Compasses as a trademark.
It was about this time that some unknown "inventor" added a letter "G" in the center of the Square and Compasses. To many American Masons the emblem is not complete without this letter. This is not so in other countries, however. In other languages God does not start with the letter "G"; neither does Geometry.
This is but one of dozens of symbols that Freemasonry employs to imprint on the mind "wise and serious truths."
