The Evolving Meaning of Masonic Symbols
Many people interested in Freemasonry ask brothers questions like:
What do the Masonic symbols mean?
What does the Square and Compasses stand for?
What do Masons believe?
What does 3–5–7 represent in Freemasonry?
There are standard answers—spoken in lodge rooms, written online, or shared in casual conversation. Most of these come directly from the ritual and have been memorized by countless brothers over generations. These responses offer a meaning, but there is more.
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 direction, 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.
Albert Mackey
“The whole system of Freemasonry is a series of symbols, and the moral and religious truths which it seeks to inculcate are most impressively taught by them.”
Allen E. Roberts
“Masonic symbols are not meant to be mysterious. They are lessons—moral lessons—intended to help us live better lives.”
H.L. Haywood
“A symbol is a truth put in the form of a picture or story so that a man may have it in his hand or in his heart and may use it for the shaping of his own life.”
Carl H. Claudy
“The working tools are symbols. But of what? Of labor, of charity, of truth, of tolerance, of kindness, and of the love of man for man.”
Charles Hunt
“The form and furniture of the lodge, its ritual and its symbols, are guardians of a moral code which would otherwise be lost to time.”
Robert Macoy
“The moral application of the working tools is the great object of the science. Their true meaning must be learned not in idle repetition, but in the heart of the craftsman.”
Daniel Sickels
“Every emblem of the Order is pregnant with meaning—each teaches a lesson of man’s relation to his fellow man and to his God.”
Henry W. Coil
“Much of what passes for symbolic explanation is but conjecture, often repeated so long it is mistaken for fact. We must look at symbols as products of their time, not of eternal truth.”
Closing Reflection
The symbols of Freemasonry—etched by hand, printed with tradition, and interpreted through centuries—continue to teach lessons of truth, morality, and brotherhood. Macoy Publishing remains committed to preserving and sharing this visual language of the Craft.
