Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 1 Provincial Grand Lodge of Lincolnshire Pathway to Mentoring: Second Degree Ceremony Fellowcraft Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 2 This Mentoring Booklet was presented to On his being passed to the Degree of Felowcraft on by Worshipful Brother The Worshipful Master of Lodge No Date Personal Mentor Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 3 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 Degree of Passing, the Second Degree 3 The Working Tools of a Fellowcraft Freemason 4 The Second Degree Tracing Board 5 Charity 6 Officers of the Lodge 8 Masonic Clothing 9 The Holy Royal Arch 10 A Daily advancement in Masonic knowledge 10 What Next? 11 Mentoring Check List 12 Third Degree Questions and Answers (Abbreviated) 13 Sources of Information 14 Personal notes Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 4 INTRODUCTION DEGREE OF PASSING, THE SECOND DEGREE Congratulations on being Passed to the degree of a Fellowcraft or Second To give you an understanding of your Degree. You are now midway in your journey through the second degree let us journey in Craft Freemasonry. look at the several parts of the Ceremony and their significations. Until the 18th century there were only two degrees in Craft Masonry; the Entered After the Lodge was opened and the Apprentice and the Fellowcraft. In those Minutes read and confirmed, you were days the Worshipful Master was elected required to answer questions to from the ranks of the Fellowcraft and so it demonstrate your knowledge of how you follows that today the new Master makes were prepared to become a Freemason, i.e. his commitment and takes his Obligation in your Initiation or First Degree Ceremony. the second degree. The rank of Fellowcraft You agreed to persevere through the signifies you have passed your Second Degree Ceremony. The Worshipful Apprenticeship and are now a qualified Master then entrusted you with the p..s g..p practising Craftsman. and p..s w…d leading to the Second Degree. You were encouraged in the First Degree booklet to discuss any questions you may You then retired from the Lodge Room to have with your Mentor, Masonic friends be prepared for the ceremony. and perhaps conducting some research on the UGLE website ‘Solomon’ without On re-entering the Lodge Room (without straying into a higher degree or the Holy the now unnecessary h..dw..k), you Royal Arch. We hope you have found this advanced and saluted the Worshipful rewarding and enlightening. Master as an Entered Apprentice Freemason and a prayer was recited. You This degree represents manhood, the were then paraded around the Lodge and middle period of life. During this playlet, examined by the Junior Warden to prove the importance of education, work, man’s you as an Entered Apprentice and you relationship with the world we live and the returned to the North West Corner. The awesome power of the Great Architect of Worshipful Master then announced to the the Universe, are taught to the Freemason. Brethren that you would pass in view before them, as a Candidate properly prepared to be passed to the Second Degree. On arriving at the Senior Warden, you communicated to him the p..s g..p and p..s w..d leading to the Second Degree, which you had received earlier from the Worshipful Master. This allowed you to 1 Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 5 pass to the next part of your Masonic Freemasonry you may be called upon to journey and you again approached the prove yourself when visiting a Lodge pedestal in the East of the Lodge. The where you are not known. You should predominant number in this Degree is five, also be aware that there are some small and so you advanced to the pedestal by five variations of the signs in some Lodges steps as though ascending a winding which you will see when visiting and staircase. again you can discuss this with your Mentor. This may not have been apparent at the time but when you knelt to take your You were then taken to the Junior Warden obligation, the number five was again and Senior Warden and asked to predominant, although perhaps obscure. communicate these Signs and Secrets, When you took your obligation, you basically to prove you know them and their formed five squares with both of your significations. arms, your hand, your foot and your knee. The Worshipful Master delegated the You recited your Second Degree Obligation Senior Warden to entrust you with the in which you “sincerely and solemnly Apron, often also known as a Badge, of a promise and swear… never to improperly Fellowcraft. Your new apron indicates that reveal any or either of the secrets or you have progressed from an Entered mysteries of or belonging to the Second Apprentice to a Fellow Craft as it is now Degree in Freemasonry, denominated the adorned with two rosettes. These should Fellowcrafts”. serve to remind you that, as a Craftsman, you are expected to make a serious study of The new position of the Square and the seven liberal arts and sciences. You Compasses was explained to you. In the 1st may remember that they are grammar, Degree both points were hid, whereas now rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music one point is disclosed, to imply you are and astronomy. Perhaps this could be now in the midway point of Freemasonry. somewhat modernised by suggesting that this list represents the need to develop your After taking the ‘Obligation’ you were faculties, abilities and talents through study entrusted with the Secrets of this Degree, and research for the benefit of yourself and which again consisted of a Sign, Token society in general. and Word. The details of which are quite different to the previous degree. You were The Senior Deacon placed you in the SE also informed of their origins and part of the Lodge with your feet forming a meanings. There is also some significant square on the edge of the carpet. You were symbolism here which you should discuss informed that Freemasonry is a progressive with your Mentor. science and reminded you of the progress you have made to become a Fellowcraft. It is important that you should become He informed you to extend your researches confident and proficient in the signs in into the hidden mysteries of Nature and all the degrees as on the practical side of Science. 2 Pathway books Fellow Craft FINAL October 22nd.qxp_Layout 1 22/10/2019 13:38 Page 6 You have now moved from the North East THE WORKING TOOLS OF corner, as an Entered Apprentice, where A FELLOWCRAFT FREEMASON you symbolically represented a foundation stone, to the South East corner. In this Let us first reflect on those of the First Charge, you were told, “You are now Degree. There is an important difference placed in the South East part, to mark the between the Working Tools in the First progress you have made”. This is the fifth Degree used to prepare the stone for the time the word ‘progress’ has been used hands of the more expert workman and during the ceremony. Firstly, the Tyler those in this Degree. The implements of the used it at the door of the Lodge. The Inner First-Degree, the Twenty-Four-Inch Gauge, Guard repeated it when he reported your the Common Gavel and the Chisel, were presence to the Master. The third time was tools of action, in hewing and cutting stone by the Master immediately after your in the one sense, and in forming our moral obligation when the Volume of the Sacred character in the other sense. Law and the square and compasses were presented to you. The fourth was when the Now that your progress has led you to the Senior Warden presented you with your completion of the Second Degree, it is badge. Progress is the central theme of important to remember the main aspects of this Degree which is appropriate, for we these working tools. While the working progress in life from sunrise to sunset, from tools in the First Degree were characterised birth to death and from beginning to end. as tools of action, here the Square, the Level and the Plumb-Rule are spoken of as The working tools of this Degree, the tools of testing. In the ritual we are square, the level and the plumb rule, are the constantly reminded that we are not all tools of the expert Craftsman, the skilled operative Masons, but rather free and mason responsible for the correct accepted, or speculative, that we apply interpretation of the architect's design. these tools to our morals. In this sense, the These then are the most important of all Square teaches morality, the Level equality, tools and the way in which they were and the Plumb Rule justness and presented to you is probably one of the uprightness of life and actions. Thus, by simplest yet meaningful passages in the square conduct, level steps, and upright whole of our Masonic ritual. intentions, we hope to ascend to those immortal mansions whence all goodness emanates. If you absorb this symbolism, you cannot fail to become a worthy Freemason and a credit to the society in which you live. Once properly dressed you were brought back into the Lodge, you saluted the Worshipful Master and were then placed in front of the Second Degree Tracing Board.