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[ Numerous brethren had requested us to open up a
separate section of “ Words and Expressions in Freemasonry” and post articles
about the words commonly used in freemasonry to enable the brethren to acquire
comprehensive knowledge about them. We have made a beginning with this article
on Acacia. The data have been collected from many sources. We invite similar
articles about the numerous words used in Freemasonry, so that our collective
efforts may provide Masonic Education to the brethren, who do not find time to
make an independent study and research- Webmaster ]
Acacia
Acacia is an important symbol in freemasonry, particularly
in the third degree. Reference to Acacia in the Rituals is found in the
sentence,
“..and to distinguish the spot stuck a sprig of acacia
at the head of g..”
There are two genus of the acacia, the true acacia, acacia vera and the false
acacia robinia pseudacacia of American origin. It is desirable that the
physical aspects of acacia are noticed first before considering the symbolism
and the symbolic aspect of acacia.
Catholic Encyclopedia mentions that the Biblical Acacia
belongs to the genus Mimosa, and is no doubt identical with the Acacia seyal
(Del.) or the Acacia tortilis (Hayne); both are called seyyal, or torrent trees,
seyal means torrent. They grow in the desert wadis, or torrent valleys, of
Sinai. The wood is light, hard, and durable, and grows almost as black as ebony
with age. Botanically, it has several names; acacia vera, mimosa nilotica,
acacia tortilis and the acacia arabica growing in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Gum
Arabic is obtained from that tree. Mackey in his revised Encyclopedia mentions
that it is called babul tree in India. Oliver in his Landmarks (Vol-2) had
observed that acacia did not grow on the north and in Jerusalem area. Rabbi
Joseph Schwarz, had however asserted that the tree grew in Jerusalem and it
looked like the mulberry tree attaining great height and had a hardwood and its
sap produced gum Arabic. Lieutenant Lynch in his book the Expedition to the
Dead Sea, has recorded that Acacia grew in great abundance at Jericho, and still
farther north. There are abundant Acacia trees throughout Jerusalem. The acacias
wattle, mimosa, gum tree, etc. and their varieties grow in Australia, Africa,
India and tropical countries.
Jewish Encyclopedia mentions that
Rabbinical Literature refers to acacia as shiṭṭah
among the ten kinds of cedar-trees and fourteen evergreen trees and that "Of
all these the shiṭṭim-wood
alone was selected in order to atone for the sin that Israel was to commit.
References are found in Shittim [Num. xxv. 1 et seq.]. Indeed, while
Phine has assuaged the divine wrath [Num. xxv. 7], the Holy One—blessed be
He!—said: 'I shall in the future heal the plague of Shittim-- A fountain shall
come forth from the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim'";
see Joel, iv. 18, Heb. (Tan. l.c.).
"Acacia trees without any knots or
fissures were cut by Jacob the patriarch in Migdal
Ẓebo'aya, Palestine, and were
taken down by him to Egypt to be preserved by his children for future use in the
wilderness; wherefore we read (Ex. xxxv. 24): 'Every man with whom was found shiṭṭim
[R. V. acacia] wood.' R. Hananiah was asked regarding the Acacia-trees that were
still growing there whether it was right that people should refrain from using
them for common purposes in order that the wood might be consecrated solely for
the Ark, to which he replied: 'By all means remain true to the custom of your
fathers,'" which was not to use Acacia for such purposes (Gen. R. xciv.; Cant.
R. i. 12; Yer. Pes. iv. 30d; see also Testament of the Patriarchs,
Simeon, § 8).K.
The
following are the references to acacia in the Bible.
(Exo 25:10 NIV) "Have them make a
chest of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a
cubit and a half high.
(Exo 25:13 NIV) Then make poles of
acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
(Exo 25:23 NIV) "Make a table of
acacia wood--two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.
(Exo 25:28 NIV) Make the poles of
acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them.
(Exo 26:15 NIV) "Make upright frames
of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
(Exo 26:26 NIV) "Also make crossbars
of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,
(Exo 26:32 NIV) Hang it with gold
hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four
silver bases.
(Exo 26:37 NIV) Make gold hooks for
this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five
bronze bases for them.
(Exo 27:1 NIV) "Build an altar of
acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five
cubits wide.
(Exo 27:6 NIV) Make poles of acacia
wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.
(Exo 30:1 NIV) "Make an altar of
acacia wood for burning incense.
(Exo 30:5 NIV) Make the poles of
acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
(Exo 35:24 NIV) Those presenting an
offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone
who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
(Exo 36:20 NIV) They made upright
frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
(Exo 36:31 NIV) They also made
crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,
(Exo 36:36 NIV) They made four posts
of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them
and cast their four silver bases.
(Exo 37:1 NIV) Bezalel made the ark
of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit
and a half high.
(Exo 37:4 NIV) Then he made poles of
acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
(Exo 37:10 NIV) They made the table
of acacia wood--two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
(Exo 37:15 NIV) The poles for
carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold.
(Exo 37:25 NIV) They made the altar
of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and
two cubits high --its horns of one piece with it.
(Exo 37:28 NIV) They made the poles
of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
(Exo 38:1 NIV) They built the altar
of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits
long and five cubits wide.
(Exo 38:6 NIV) They made the poles
of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.
(Deu 10:3 NIV) So I made the ark out
of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I
went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
(Isa 41:19 NIV) I will put in the
desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in
the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together.
Acacia is referred to in scripture
as shittah. The plural is shittim. Acacia was a sacred wood, among the Hebrews.
Moses was instructed by God to make the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the
table for the showbread, as well as the rest of the sacred furniture for the
tabernacle, out of Shittim wood. Portions of Exodus referred to above mention
that the wood was overlaid with gold. We find from the Scripture that Acacia
was held more sacred than the other trees. It is also said that Acacia was used
for Christ's Cross and his crown was made of Acacia thorns.
Let us now consider the symbolism of
Acacia in freemasonry. Early Freemasons appear to have appropriated a hallowed
plant as a sacred symbol, teaching a divine truth for all the ages to come. The
symbolic relationship of the Acacia appear to point out the three aspects of
Immortality, Innocence and Initiation. Bro.Mackey in his Revised Encyclopedia
points out that Acacia symbolically represents 1. Immortality of the Soul. 2.
Innocence and 3. Initiation. Many Masonic scholars have also written on this
aspect..
Immortality of the Soul
The nature of the flower, which
comes forth only to be cut down, reflects the transitory nature of man's life.
While the continual renewal of the evergreen, represents youth and vigour to be
compared to a spiritual life, where man's soul free from the body may enjoy
immortality. Acacia is a hardy tree and can stand tremendous variations
in weather, rain and drought. It grows even after it is cut and burned. It
grows even if one root alone is left. Acacia is therefore a symbol of
immortality. The evergreen used in the funeral service for masons is an emblem
of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By this we are reminded that we
have an immortal part within us, which shall survive the grave and which shall
never die. In the closing sentences of the monitorial lecture of the third
degree, the same sentiment is stressed, as follows by the "evergreen and ever
living sprig" the Freemason is strengthened "with confidence and composure to
look forward to a blessed immortality." According to Dalcho, a historian, the
Hebrews always planted a sprig of acacia at the head of the grave of a departed
friend. This custom among the Hebrews arose from the following circumstance.
Jewish law forbids the internment of the dead within the city walls. The Cohens
or Priests were prohibited from crossing graves. It was therefore necessary to
place marks thereon, so that they could avoid the graves. For this purpose the
acacia was used. It is that custom, which has been been referred to in the
ritual mentioned above. Thus the head of the grave was marked by placing Acacia
there. From this, the propriety of placing a sprig of acacia as an emblem of
immortality, as a symbol of the ceremonies intended to teach the great truth
"the life of man, regulated by morality, faith and justice will be rewarded at
its closing hour by the prospect of eternal bliss. In the Masonic Funeral
Service, as used in New Brunswick, the Acacia is depicted as "an emblem of our
faith in the immortality of the soul." The closing words of the Third Degree
refer to the Acacia as a reminder of that far better and immortal part, which
must survive the grave and which never dies.
To this day in some of the funeral services, the participants carry a sprig of
cedar (acacia) to place with the apron set in place during the ceremony. The
ancient custom which this commemorates has the mourners carry in their hands a
sprig of some evergreen, generally cedar or cypress to place in the grave of the
deceased.
The sprig of acacia, in its most ordinary signification, presents itself to the
master mason as a symbol of the immortality of the soul being intended to remind
him, by its evergreen and unchanging nature, of that better and spiritual part
within us, which as an emanation from the Grand Architect of the Universe, can
never die.
Innocence:
Acacia is also a symbol of
Innocence. The symbolism in this instance depends not on any real analogy in the
symbols use or form, rather on the compound meaning of the word. The word akakia
in the Greek language refers to the plant and the purity of the life or the
moral quality of innocence and it is the word for innocence, or being free from
sin. Among the nations of antiquity, it was common to symbolize the virtues and
other qualities of the mind as common plants. The Olive was adopted as the
symbol of peace, the Quince was the symbol of love and happiness, the Palm was
the symbol of victory and the Rosemary, the symbol of remembrance etc.
Initiation
The word Acacia can be considered
symbolic of the initiation of a new member. Most of the ancient initiations and
religious mysteries had a plant of some type occupying a position of importance
in the performance of the rites. The particular plant used, became the adopted
initiation symbol from prominent and constant ceremonial usages. There were
different plants used in the ancient mysteries. Lettuce was the sacred plant of
the mysteries of Adonis, becoming the analogue of the Acacia in the Masonic
mysteries. The Lotus in India's religious rites and prayers, the Mistletoe in
the rites of the Druids, the Erica or Heath in the Egyptian rites and the Myrtle
used in the Greek mysteries are examples of such usage and practice. In Egypt,
the Erica, or Heath was a sacred plant. In the mysteries of Osiris, there is the
story of Isis, that during the search of the body of her murdered husband (Osiris),
the same was found interred at the brow of a hill, near which an Erica or heath
plant grew and hence, after the recovery of the body and the resurrection of the
god, when she established the mysteries to commemorate her loss and the
recovery, she adopted the Erica as a sacred plant, in memory of it having
indicated the spot where the remains of Osiris were concealed. This is similar
to our legend with this difference that Acacia was substituted for the Erica and
Osiris was substituted for Hiram Abiff. Acacia being the substitute for the
Lotus, the Erica, the Ivy, the Mistletoe and the Myrtle, was adopted by the
ancient brethren as a symbol of Initiation into M.M degree. Further, acacia
leaves adorn the Grand Officers’ Collars on the left, while on the right, there
is the ear of corn. Our ancient brethren had symbolically held the sacred symbol
of the Acacia leaves closer to the heart of the Grand Officers and the tradition
still continues.
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