Holy Royal Arch

Holy Royal Arch

The Royal Arch is a single degree of Freemasonry that typically follows directly from the 3rd Degree of Master Mason. Many masons will say it "completes" the Master Mason degree. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet as a "Chapter" (not a "lodge"); in the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch as practised in the British Isles, much of Europe and the Commonwealth, Chapters confer the degree of Royal Arch Mason.

Much of the story of the Royal Arch degree is taken from the Book of Numbers.

Twelve Tribes of Israel

A key aspect of the Holy Royal Arch degree is that of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

The 12 Tribes of Israel - Masonic Attributions (according to Stephen Skinner)

Tribe	Astrological	Direction
Gad	Aries	South
Ephraim	Taurus	West
Manesseh	Gemini	West
Issachar	Cancer	East
Judah	Leo	East
Naphali	Virgo	North
Asher	Libra	North
Dan	Scorpio	North
Benjamin	Sagitarius	West
Zebulon	Capricorn	East
Reuben	Aquarius	South
Simeon	Pisces	South

The Banners

In practice, the colours of the banners vary widely across lodges and their suppliers. The following information is sourced from a variety of places by Michael Jenkyns, (Kitchener No. 210 GRC) including the King James Bible and Duncan's Ritual:

• Judah - Crimson colour with a Lion. Genesis Ch 49 v 9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp.” (Banner 1) {The Jewish people are descended from Judah.}
• Naphtali - Blue colour with “a hind let loose”. Genesis Ch 49 v 21 “Naphtali is a hind let loose that bears comely fawns.” (Banner 2)
• Asher - Purple and an overflowing cup. Genesis Ch 49 v 21 “Asher’s food shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties.” Jewish tradition holds that Asher’s banner depicted an olive tree. Both can be considered as depicting “gastronomic richness”. (Banner 3)
• Dan - Green with a serpent biting a horse’s heel. Genesis Ch 49 v 17 “Dan shall be a serpent in the roadway. . . that bites the horses heels so that its rider falls backward.” There is no Jewish tradition linking the symbol of the Eagle with Dan - the symbol was always a serpent. (Banner 4)
• Benjamin - Green with a wolf. Genesis Ch 49 v 27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf...devouring the prey.” (Banner 5)
• Manasseh - Pale Pink with a vine beside a wall. In Genesis Ch 41:51, “Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh for he said God has made me forget all my hardship." In Deuteronomy, Manasseh played a significant role in the history of Israel. The Christian description of a “fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall” was appropriated for Manasseh. Jewish tradition holds that Manasseh’s banner displayed a unicorn. (Banner 6)
• Issachar - Sky Blue with an ass crouching between two burdens. Genesis Ch 49 v 14 “Issachar is a strong ass crouching between the sheepfolds” although two saddlebags or burdens are substituted as being more meaningful. (Banner 7)
• Zebulun - Purple with a ship. Genesis Ch 49 c 13 “Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the sea; he should become a haven for ships.” (Banner 8)
• Reuben - Scarlet with wavy lines. Genesis 49 v 3-4 “Reuben, you are my first born...unstable (i.e. turbulent) as the waters”. The waters are depicted by wavy lines. Jewish tradition lists Reuben’s banner as either mandrakes or the figure of a man - not surprising since the root of this highly poisonous plant was thought to resemble human form. This indicates a variation in emphasis but a consistency with Genesis. (Banner 9)
• Simeon - Yellow with a sword and dagger crossed. Genesis Ch 49 v 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.” (Banner 10) Jewish tradition holds that Simeon’s banner showed a city.
• Gad - White and a troop of horsemen. Genesis Ch 49 v 19 “Raiders shall raid Gad but he shall raid at their heels.” Jewish tradition holds that Gad’s banner showed a camp. (Banner 11)
• Ephraim - Green with an Ox. To find a biblical reference for this symbolism we have to turn to Deuteronomy Ch 33 v 17 and the blessing given by Moses to the Israelites. When Moses mentions Joseph he says “In majesty, he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are like the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh.” Although there are references to both Ephraim and Manasseh, the vine having already been used, the Ox was adopted. (Banner 12)

The Order of the Banners and Ensigns The reason for the order of the Banners and Ensigns corresponds to the listing in the second chapter of the Book of Numbers. The tribes were listed in a particular order in which they were to march when fleeing out of Egypt and then into camp. When the tribes were encamped the Levites were in the centre with the Tabernacle and the twelve tribes were arranged in four divisions of three tribes each at the cardinal points of the compass. From this we can arrive at the four divisions of the Army of Israel:

Judah (1) with Issachar (7) and Zebulun (8) to the East

Reuben (9) with Simeon (10) and Gad (11) to the South

Ephraim (12) with Manasseh (6) and Benjamin (5) to the West

Dan (4) with Asher (3) and Naphtali (2) in the North

The Tetramorph: The Four Holy Living Creatures

The Four Holy Living Creatures

Tribe	Creature	Astrology	Element	Direction	Temperature	Tetragrammaton	QBL Four Worlds	Archangel	Weapon	Symbols
Gad	Man	Air	Aquarius	East	Hot/Wet	Yod	Atziluth	Raphael	Dagger/Sword	Feather/Incense/Perfumes/Rose
Ephraim	Lion	Fire	Leo	South	Hot/Dry	Heh	Briah	Michael	Wand	Flame
Manesseh	Eagle	Water	Scorpio	West	Cold/Wet	Vau	Yetzirah	Gabriel	Cup	Water
Issachar	Bull	Earth	Taurus	North	Cold/Dry	Heh	Assiah	Auriel	Pentacle	Salt/Soil

The elements of the Christian tetramorph first appear in the vision of Ezekiel, who describes the four creatures as they appear to him in a vision:

As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

They are described later in the Book of Revelation:

And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

The Four Veils (Banners at the Eastern end of the Chapter) also allude to the Four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Terminology

Once accepted into a Holy Royal Arch Chapter the candidate becomes a "Companion" with Royal Arch meetings being described as "convocations". The advanced ceremony advanced to Companion is called Exaltation. Royal Arch Chapters are governed by three Principals, who conjointly rule the Chapter, sitting together in the east of the assembly.

In addition to the three Principals, who rule conjointly, a Royal Arch Chapter has elected and appointed officers with individual responsibilities within the Chapter.

These are:

Zerubbabel – Prince of Jerusalem

Haggai – the Prophet

Joshua or Jeshua – the High Priest

Scribe Ezra

Scribe Nehemiah

Treasurer

Director of Ceremonies

Principal Sojourner

1st Assistant Sojourner

2nd Assistant Sojourner

Assistant Director of Ceremonies

Organist

Steward (there may be several Stewards)

Janitor

V.I.T.R.I.O.L and Alchemy

V.I.T.R.I.O.L stands for the latin: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem which translates into “Visit the interior of the earth, and by rectifying what you find there, you will discover the hidden stone”. The hidden stone is invariably interpreted as the mythical philosopher's stone. Also known as The Stone of The Wise. This mysterious stone is the substance that will heal all diseases, transmute base metals into gold, and bring everlasting youth along with a myriad of other positive life-affirming principles.

In physical alchemy and chemistry, Vitriol is a combination of ferrous and sulfuric acids. In chemistry, it can be used as a powerful disinfectant and further distillation will yield a yellow-coloured oil usually referred to as "Oil of Vitriol". This is a potent acid that will dissolve human tissue and is corrosive to all metals except gold. A common symbol is that of a Green Lion (Vitriol) with the Sun (gold) in its mouth. Symbolic of placing rock that contained gold into the acid, dissolving away everything except the gold itself, Hence: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem symbolic of the spiritual transfiguration in alchemical experimentation and practice.

V.I.T.R.I.O.L is strongly analogous to the Nigredo, the blackening or "the long dark night of the soul" where one is confronted with one's one shadow/dark side. In medieval Christianity, the "Harrowing of Hell" (Latin: 'Descensus Christi ad Inferos', "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades), is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. In triumphant descent, Christ brought salvation to the souls held captive in the underworld.

1 Peter 4:6 King James Version

6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

The story was elucidated in the non-canonical Gospel of Nicodemus.