For many Masons, there most treasured possesion is their Master Mason’s Apron. They earnt it, worked hard for and proud to wear it. The design of which has specific significance.
The light blue border and having three rosettes arranged in fashion with point upper most. The colour of the silk, the triangle, and the three rosettes have special meaning.
The two vertical ribbons signify the Pillars at the prochway or entrance way to King Solomon’s temple. Each ribbon has seven tassles attached, to remind a mason that no lodge is perfect without 7 brethren present. Also many believed that the seven ages of man were influenced by the seven known planets.
- Infancy: In this stage he is a helpless baby and knows little.
- Whining schoolboy: It is in that stage of life that he begins to go to school. He is unwilling to leave the protected environment of his home as he is still not confident enough to exercise his own discretion.
- The lover: In this stage he is always sentimental, expressing his love in a silly and pointless manner. He makes himself ridiculous in trying to express his feelings.
- The soldier: He is very easily aroused and is hot-headed. He is always working towards making a reputation for himself, however short-lived it may be, even at the cost of foolish risks.
- The justice: In this stage he thinks he has acquired wisdom through the many experiences he has had in life, and is likely to impart it. He has reached a stage where he has gained prosperity and social status. He becomes vain and begins to enjoy the finer things of life.
- Old Age: He is a shell of his former self — physically and mentally. He begins to become the butt of others’ jokes. He loses his firmness and assertiveness, and shrinks in stature and personality.
- Incapacity: Dependent on others for care and unable to interact with the world, he experiences “second innocence, and mere oblivion.”
No Master Mason is considered to be efficient unless he have knowledge of the severn liberal arts and sciences. Which are Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy.
All the World is a stage