2° Tracing Board

In this work, Brother Bowring presents a symbolism remembrance of the Fellow Craft's journey through the winding stairs of the Temple. The way is guarded by the Wardens of the Lodge.

The Plumb, Square and Level—the working tools of the second degree—are pictured in the foreground because they provide the basis for all the Fellow Craft's work. As the ritual states, quoting Shakespeare:

"The Plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several stations before God and man, squaring our actions by the Square of Virtue, and ever remembering that we are traveling upon that Level of time to 'that undiscovered county from whose bourne no traveler returns.'"

It is interesting that the image that is suspended and glorified within the Temple is the Hebrew letter heh or "h" rather than the Latin letter G or the Hebrew letter yud or the full tetragrammaton (yhvh). While these latter three are the most commonly used, Brother Bowring, who was Jewish, elected to use the Hebrew H. It is a brilliant choice, because the controlling number of the second degree is five, and in Hebrew heh is also the number 5. Heh also is the initial of Ha Shem ("the Name"), by which traditionally religious Jews refer to the name of God out of respect.

Notes by Shawn Eyer, P.M.