Colour Symbolism in Freemasonry
By: Bro. Leon Zeldis
Bro. Leon Zeldis is the editor of "The Israel Freemason."
This STB is part of a paper printed in the 1992 Vol. lO5, Ars
Quatuor Coronatorum Transactions.
Editor
Colour is a fundamental element of masonic
symbolism. It appears in the descriptions of
aprons, sashes and other items of regalia, in the
furnishings and wall-hangings of the lodge room
for each degree or ceremony, in the robes worn
in certain degrees, and in many other masonic
accoutrements. The colours specified in each
case appear to have no rational justification. As
A.E. Waite wrote: "There is no recognized
scheme or science of colors in Masonry. Here
and there in our rituals we find an 'explanation'
for the use of a certain colour, but this usually
turns out to be merely a peg on which to hang a
homiletic lecture about it, having little if any
connection with the origins of its use."
This paper seeks to find some rationale behind
the selection of colours as masonic symbols,
restricting our examination to the Craft degrees,
and those of the Ancient and Accepted (Scottish)
Rite, with occasional reference to the Royal
Arch.
It was early recognized that colours have a
strong influence on the mind and therefore can
be employed for certain moral or aesthetic ends,
through symbolical, allegorical and mystical
allusions. Newton wrote of 'the sensual and
moral effects of colour,' where sensual must be
understood as 'transmitted by the senses.'
Goethe, too, wrote extensively on colour (over
2,000 pages! ).
Masonic Blue
Blue, then, is the Craft colour par excellence,
used in aprons, collars, and elsewhere. Let us
quote Bro. Chetwode Crawley. "The ordinary
prosaic enquirer will see in the selection of blue
as the distinctive colour of Freemasonry only the
natural sequence of the legend of King
Solomon's Temple. For the Jews had been
Divinely commanded to wear...a 'riband of blue'
(Numbers 15:38).' A modern translation of that
verse in Numbers is: 'You are to take tassels on
the comers of your garments with a blue cord on
each tassel.' The biblical text, then, refers to blue
cords to be incorporated in the tassels worn by
pious Jews, while Bro. Chetwode Crawley is
speaking of blue ribbons which somehow
became the embellishments of aprons, sashes
and collars.
Another suggested source of the colour men-
tioned by Bro. Chetwode Crawley could be its
association with St. Mary, mother of Jesus, 'so
prominent a figure in the pre-Reformation invo-
cations of the Old Charges, drawing in her train
the red ensign of St. George of Cappadocia, her
steward and our Patron Saint.'
Blue and red, the heraldic azure and gules are
sometimes associated with the chevron of the
Arms of the Masons' Company.
The Masonic Symbolism of Colours
a) White
White, the original colour of the masonic
apron, was always considered an emblem of
purity and innocence, exemplified in images
such as the white lily or fallen snow.
Plato asserts that white is par excellence the
colour of the gods. In the Bible, Daniel sees God
as a very old man, dressed in robes white as
snow (Daniel 7:9). In the New Testament Jesus
is transfigured on Mount Tabor before Peter,
James and John, when his clothes became 'dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world
could bleach them' (Mark 9:3). Officiating
priests of many religions wore and still wear
white garments. In ancient Jerusalem both the
priests and the Levites who performed the
Temple rites assumed white clothing.
Among Romans, the unblemished character of
a person aspiring to public office was indicated
by a toga whitened with chalk. This is the origin
of the word 'candidate,' from candidatus
'dressed in white.' Verdicts at trials were decided by small stones (calculi) thrown into an urn:
white to absolve, black to condemn.
White signifies beginnings, virtualities, the
white page facing the writer, 'the space where
the possible may become reality.' White is
therefore understandably the colour of initiation.
It is a symbol of perfection, as represented by the
swan in the legend of Lohengrin. In this aspect it
is related to light or sky blue, which in Hebrew
is tchelet and may be connected semantically
with tichla (perfection, completeness) and tachlit (completeness, purpose). (See also the observations on the symbolism of blue.) Among the
Celts the sacred colours of white, blue and green
were understood to stand for light, truth and
hope. Druids were robed in white.
White is also connected with the idea of death
and resurrection. Shrouds are white; spirits are
represented as wearing white veils. White,
rather than black, is sometimes the colour of
mourning, among the ancient kings of France,
for instance, and in Japan. White, finally, can
signify joy. Leukos (Greek) means both white
and cheerful; as does candidus in Latin. The
Romans marked festive days with lime and
unlucky days with charcoal.
b) Blue
Blue is the colour of the canopy of heaven:
azure, cerulean or sky blue. 'Universally, it
denotes immortality, eternity, chastity, fidelity;
pale blue, in particular, represents prudence and
goodness.' In the Royal Arch, the Third
Principal is told that it is an emblem of beneficence and charity.
In biblical times, blue was closely related to
purple. Generations of scholars have puzzled
over the correct meaning of tchelet (light blue)
and argaman (purple), usually mentioned
together, without reaching satisfactory conclusions. Only recently has the problem been finally solved in the course of far-reaching research
into the dyestuffs and dyeing methods used by
the ancient Phoenicians and Hebrews. Both
colours, it turns out, were produced with dyeing
materials extracted from murex, a shellfish abundant on the coast of Lebanon. The tchelet was
obtained from a short-variety (murex trunculus);
the argaman came from two kinds: the single-
spined murex brandaris and, to a lesser extent,
the Red-mouth (thais haemastoma).
Some historians have concluded that, in the
Middle Ages in Europe, blue was low in popular
esteem. The favourite colour was then red
because the dyers could achieve strong shades of
it which brought to mind the prestigious purple
of the ancient world. Towards the end of that
period, blue gradually became recognized as a
princely colour, the 'Royal Blue' which displaced red at court, red then being used by the
lower classes and so regarded as vulgar. Blue
and gold (or yellow) then became the colours of
choice for shields, banners and livery.
It may not be by chance, therefore, that the
Master was said to be clothed in 'yellow jacket
and blue breeches,' in the famous metaphor first
used in an exposure, 'The Mystery of FreeMasonry,' which appeared in The Daily Journal
in 1730. The traditional explanations of the
phrase relate it to the compasses, the arms of
gold, gilt or brass and the points of steel or iron.
(Steel can certainly appear blue; iron can not!)
Blue was used royally in France noticeably as
the background to the fleur-de-lys. It became
associated with terms of prestige such as blue
blood, cordon bleu (originally the sash of the
Order of the Holy Spirit), blue riband (of the
Atlantic) and blue chip.
c) Purple
Purple is a symbol of imperial royalty and richness but can also relate to penitence and the
solemnity of Lent and Advent in the seasons of
the Christian church.
Although described (in the Royal Arch, for
instance) as 'an emblem of union, being composed of blue and crimson,' I believe this to be a
somewhat contrived explanation. But an interesting fact, which appears to have escaped most
writers on this subject, is that in the Cabbala, the
Hebrew word for purple, argaman, is a mnemonic, representing the initials of the names of the
five principal angels in Jewish esoterism.
d) Red
Red or crimson, the colour of fire and heat, is
traditionally associated with war and the military. In Rome the paludamentum, the robe worn
by generals, was red. The colour of blood is naturally connected with the idea of sacrifice, struggle and heroism. It also signifies charity, devotion, abnegation--perhaps recalling the pelican
that feeds its progeny with its own blood.
In Hebrew, the name of the first man, Adam, is
akin to red, blood and earth. This connection
with earth may explain, perhaps, the connection
of red with the passions, carnal love, the cosmetics used by women to attract their lovers. It is the
colour of youth. Generally, it represents expansive force and vitality. It is the emblem of faith
and fortitude and, in the Royal Arch, of fervency
and zeal. It has also a darker side, connected with
the flames of hell, the appearance of demons, the
apoplectic face of rage.
Scarlet was the distinctive colour of the Order
of the Golden Fleece, established in 1429 by
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1419-67).
Not only was the mantle scarlet, but also the robe
and a special hat--the chaperon--with hanging
streamers.
e) Green
Green has been directly associated with the
ideas of resurrection and immortality...The acacia (the masonic evergreen) has been suggested
as a symbol of a moral life or rebirth, and also of
immortality. To the ancient Egyptians, green
was the symbol of hope.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland has adopted
green as its emblematic colour, and, in varying
shades, it is incorporated in the dress and furnishings of degrees and Orders beyond the Craft
in English, Irish and Scottish Freemasonry.
f) Yellow
Yellow is rarely seen in lodge, except perhaps
on the Continent. It is an ambivalent colour, representing both the best and the worst, the colour
of brass and honey, but also the colour of sulphur
and cowardice. Yellow is the perfection of the
Golden Age, the priceless quality of the Golden
Fleece and the golden apples of the Hesperides.
It is also the colour of the patch imposed on the
Jews as a badge of infamy. In the sixteenth century, the door of a traitor's home was painted
yellow. A 'jaundiced view' expresses hostility,
but the most memorable symbolism of yellow is
that it reminds us of the sun and of gold.
g) Black
The three fundamental colours found in all civilizations, down to the Middle Ages in Europe,
are white, red and black. These, too, may be
regarded as the principal colours of
Freemasonry: the white of the Craft degrees, the
red of the Royal Arch and of certain of the
degrees of the Ancient and Accepted (Scottish)
Rite, and the black of some of its others, and of
the Knights of Malta. The other colours of the
rainbow find limited uses; they serve only to
frame or line the white lambskin upon which so
many aprons are based, or for sashes and other
items of regalia.
Traditionally, black is the colour of darkness,
death, the underworld although it was not introduced for mouming until about the middle of the
fourteenth century, such use becoming habitual
only in the sixteenth. The 'black humour' of
melancholy (atara hilis) the black crow of ill
omen, the black mass, black market, 'black
days': all refer to negative aspects. The Black
Stone at Mecca is believed by Muslims to have
been at one time white; the sins of man caused
the transformation.
Black has also a positive aspect, that of gravity
and sobriety; the Reformation in Europe
frowned upon colourful clothing. Formal dress
for day and evening wear continues to be black.
It is associated with the outlaw and the banners
of pirates and anarchists, but also with rebirth
and transformation.
In the French and Scottish Rites, the lodge in
the third degree is decorated in black and is
strewn with white or silver tears, representing
the sorrow caused by the death of Hiram Abif.
Conclusion
A review of the traditional explanations for
the choice of certain colours in masonic symbol-
ism reveals their weaknesses. In considering the
use of blue in the English regalia of a Master
Mason, it has been possible to find a connection
between one of the Hebrew words for that colour
and the Holy Bible.
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