The Rough Ashlar

When you walk into a Masonic Lodge, there is a good chance you will find, in the East, 2 stones; the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar. In the lectures, we learn that the rough ashlar is a stone that has been brought from the quarry. This stone, in its rough state, is not fit to be used in the construction of the temple. First, its imperfections must be removed, and its shape must conform to what the builder needs. We use a gavel and various other Masonic implements on the rough ashlar to transform it into the perfect ashlar to be used in the construction of the Temple.

The Western Esoteric Tradition has several symbols and allegories to describe this process. Some use the symbol of the Holy Grail – where the initiate is the chalice emptied and ready to be filled with divine knowledge. Spiritual Alchemy would have the Initiate go through the alchemical stages of purification until enlightenment is achieved, symbolized by the philosopher’s stone. Rosicrucian mystics use the symbolism of the Rosy Cross, where the cross symbolizes the unification of the spiritual and temporal worlds, and the rose represents the flowering of enlightenment at the apex of the horizontal and vertical arms of the cross. In Freemasonry, the Initiatory process is symbolized by the building of King Solomon’s Temple, of which the rough ashlar plays a large role.

Let’s first take a moment to talk about Initiation in general. This is important because while Freemasonry takes great pride in its initiatory work, and there are literally hundreds of Masonic Initiations to take, the Fraternity often glosses over the profundity of Initiation itself and how it can transform a human being. Initiations have consequences, and so should never be entered into lightly, or for the wrong reasons.

Think about the verb “to initiate.” It means to begin something new, to start a thing. But in the context of the Western Mysteries, it means more than that. While Initiations typically have several parts played by different officers of the Lodge in order to confer the initiation, the initiation doesn’t start with them. YOU initiate yourself. It is you who applies for initiation. It is you who, after meeting several obstructions and being asked several times if you wish to proceed, consents to continue. It is you who takes the oaths and assumes the responsibilities outlined in the initiation you are taking and you do so of your own free will.

Initiation happens to you physically, as you progress through the steps and signs and secret words. It also happens to you mentally as you’re asked to consider certain truths and confront certain mysteries. Finally it happens on a spiritual level where a pact is made between you and the Grand Architect of the Universe, promising that you will grow and become a better person.

It is this spiritual aspect of Initiation that is the most potent, and it is this aspect that MUST be considered before engaging in initiatory work. Choosing to walk the path of the initiate is an irrevocable decision on behalf of the aspirant. There is no undoing it, there is no going back, and there are definite consequences to making that choice. When you invoke the blessing of deity and proceed through an initiation, it sets certain energies in motion that will enable you to move forward on the Initiatory Path.  

The largest task for you, if you choose initiation, is to become a better you. In order for that to happen, you must first spend a lot of time discovering who you really are! This is an example of the energies set in motion by your initiatory work and can be unpleasant at times. After taking your initiations, it’s quite common to find yourself in situations where you are forced to confront parts of yourself that you don’t like, or parts of yourself you need to improve upon. Now, you are an initiate, and you have chosen to proactively take action in your life, so you are no longer able to say, “this is just the way I am.” You have promised to be better; to do better. You must face the parts of yourself that need work and actively seek to improve. If you do not, you will face the same issues again and again until you decide to face the aspect of yourself that you don’t like and make improvements.

It is important to understand that the path of initiation is in no way external. You are not on a quest to find some kind of enlightenment and perfection that you don’t have. There is no supernatural transformation that changes you from one thing into something else. On the contrary, the initiatory path leads you to be more truly who you really are and helps you eliminate the barriers that would hinder the expression of your true self.

This is why the rough ashlar is such a great symbol of this process. True, the stone is unrefined and needs some work done to smooth out the edges. However, it is also true that everything that is needed for the stone to fit into our spiritual temple already exists in the rough ashlar. All we have to do is remove the bits that aren’t a part of the temple.

There is an intimate connection between Freemasonry and Qabalistic philosophy. In Qabala, the Ain Soph Aur – the limitless light- is refracted through the several Qabalistic worlds starting with Kether. As it does so, it gains duality, the result of which is a third state that is the combination of duality. This happens over and over again. In the process, the vibratory nature of the Ain Soph Aur changes until it reaches the World of Malkuth, the physical world. In this journey, as the Ain Soph Aur progresses through these different vibratory rates, it forgets its own divine nature. It identifies with Malkut and with an individual body and has lost its awareness of its connection to Kether and its inherent unity.

The task of the initiate is to climb the Qabalistic tree – to reintegrate with all those different vibratory natures until they are once again at one with the Ain Soph Aur. The symbolism of the rough ashlar and the building of the spiritual temple is an excellent way to look at this reintegration. First of all, it’s important to note that the Ain Soph Aur may change vibration, but it remains what it is. Just as every particle in existence in the universe today can trace itself back to the Big Bang, so too can every particle trace itself back to the Ain Soph Aur. In fact, it never separated from it. It is all still whole and perfect, and it is only our individual perspectives, prejudices, and flaws that keep us from seeing this unity.

Just so, the rough ashlar contains all the perfection needed to be used in the construction of the temple. All one must do is remove any parts of the ashlar that don’t fit. We remove vice, hatred, anger, greed, and error. Once done, we are left with the compassion, love, charity and truth that already existed there. It was always meant for our spiritual temple, we just needed to do a bit of work on it first.

One of the other great aspects of this symbol is that it allows you to improve yourself in bite-sized pieces, rather than attempting to transform yourself all at once. Many ashlars, hewn in the quarry will be provided to the builder to perfect and fit into the temple. A true Mason lives by the statement “know thyself.” Thus, the Mason’s work is often an examination of where they currently are in their personal development. For example, after self-examination, the Mason may find themselves presented with a rough ashlar for patience. When you are Initiated into the Western Mysteries and take oaths indicating that you are going to work on being a better person, the Grand Architect of the Universe takes you at your word and provides you with opportunities for that self-improvement. So, with your rough ashlar for patience, you find yourself consistently in situations where your patience is tested – and this keeps on happening until you have chiseled away everything that hinders your ability to be patient – and you then have a perfect ashlar ready for your spiritual temple. Perhaps from there, you’ll move on to tolerance and start chiseling away at that ashlar. On and on this Great Work goes until, at long last, the Temple is completed, and the Initiate realizes self mastery.