84 SYMBOLS OF THE CENTRE AND OF THE WORLD
also-if in these circumstances the idea might not have been introduced after the event and more or less belatedly; and in fact, for those who follow the most current opinion on the origin of the grade of Master it must indeed seem to be the case inasmuch as this substitution does appear to have belonged strictly speaking to the grade of Master. But the whole question is seen in a quite different light by those who, like ourselves, refuse for more than one reason to consider this grade as the product of a 'speculative' elaboration of the eighteenth century, and who see in it a kind of 'condensation' of the content of certain higher grades of operative Masonry, contrived to fill as far as possible a gap due to the ignorance of the founders of the Great Lodge of England regarding these grades. It becomes then a question of the superimposition of two different meanings that by no means exclude one another, something that is in no way exceptional in symbolism. Furthermore (which no one seems to have noticed up to this point), the two interpretations, respectively through Greek and through Hebrew, are in perfect agreement with the specific character of the two corresponding grades, 'pythagorean' for the second and 'solomonian' for the third; and perhaps, after all, it is especially here that we find what is necessary for an understanding of what is really involved.
Let us now return to the 'geometric' interpretation of the grade of Companion, and what we have said so far is not the most interesting part of that interpretation as regards the symbolism of operative Masonry. In the same catechism that was cited above, the following kind of enigma is also to be found: 'By letters four and science five, this G aright doth stand in due art and proportion'. [7] 'Science five' here obviously designates the 'fifth science', that is, Geometry. As to the significance of 'letters four', at first sight and by symmetry we might be tempted to suppose that there is a mistake and that 'letter' must be read in the singular, so that it would be a question of the 'fourth letter', that is, in the Greek alphabet, the letter delta, Δ, which in fact is interesting symbolically by its triangular form; but since that explanation would have the great defect of showing no intelligible relationship with the letter G, it is much more likely that it is really a question of 'four letters' and that the irregular expression science five, instead of fifth science, has been placed there intentionally to make the statement yet more enigmatic. Now the point that might seem to be the most obscure is this: why are four letters spoken of, or if it is really still a question of the initial letter of the word Geometry, why must it be quadrupled to stand aright in due art and proportion? The answer, which must
be related to the 'central' or 'polar' position of the letter G, cannot be given except by means of the symbolism of operative Masonry; and, moreover, it is here that it becomes necessary to take this letter in its Greek form, Γ, as indicated above. In fact, four gammas joined together at right angles form the swastika, 'symbol, as is also the letter G, of the Pole Star which is itself the symbol, and for the operative Mason, the actual throne of the hidden central Sun of the Universe, Yah', [8] which obviously calls to mind very closely the Tai-i of the Far Eastern tradition. [9] In the passage from The Great Triad which we cited at the outset of this chapter, we had already called attention to the existence, in the operative ritual, of a very close relationship between the letter G and the swastika; however, we did not then have the information which, by introducing the Greek Γ, makes this relationship still more direct and completes its explanation. [10] It is well to note further that the bent part of the arms of the swastika is considered in this context as representing the Great Bear seen in four different positions in the course of its revolution around the Pole Star, to which the centre where the four gammas are united naturally corresponds, and that these four positions are related to the cardinal points and the four seasons; and it is well known how important the Great Bear is in all the traditions in which polar symbolism plays a part. [11] If we consider that all this pertains to a symbolism which may truly be called 'ecumenical' and which by that very fact indicates a rather direct link with the Primordial Tradition, we can understand without difficulty why the 'polar theory has always been one of the greatest secrets of the true master Masons'. [12]