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MAN,
MUSIC AND MASONRY
FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
RITUAL IS GOOD FOR YOU!
WILLIAM LITTLE
MANY
FAITHS, ONE BROTHERHOOD
THE LADDER OF JACOB
THE
LADDER OF JACOB
An
illustrated lecture exploring the significance
of the ladder in masonic
symbolism
and in other traditions and
cultures.
by
Wor.Bro.V.Rev. Frederick A. Shade PGStdB
Presented
at the Australian and New Zealand
Masonic Research Council Conference, held in
New Zealand, 5th November 2004
Introduction
I will begin my talk with a question: What do you think of, or visualise, when
I say the word ladder?
There are two images that come immediately to my mind, one of the ladder I use
to clear out the leaves from the guttering around
the house, and the other is the board game I played
as a child called "snakes and ladders".
The image of my garden ladder is obviously
an utilitarian one, a piece of equipment. Its application
is that of enabling me to ascend and descend safely
around the house when doing my chores. As to the
ancient game of snakes and ladders, this
is obviously a strong image in my memory from childhood.
This game is full of symbols and images, of the
ladder which enables you to ascend quickly from
one level to another on the board, and of the snake
which drops you down just as quickly! And so, in
this game, on of the symbols signifies progress,
ascension and success, the other of falling behind
or just falling, and of failure. I'm sure that psychologists
could tell us a lot more about these images and
symbols!
The ladder is thus vested with positive attributes and qualities, and the snake
(thanks to the story of the Garden of Eden and the
Fall), is presented as a symbol of temptation, failure,
a fall from grace - down you go! (Of course, the
snake represents some positive qualities too, and
it is used in the Bible to represent different qualities.
Notice that it is incorporated into the logo of
medical practitioners and is also used in masonry
in certain degrees such as the Rose Croix.)
I have started my talk this way because we are dealing with a symbol - the ladder,
which in fact refers initially to things of this
world, to an object we use around the home. But
we go further with the use of the ladder as an utilitarian
object to one having certain qualities and virtues,
and these also have strong mythological, symbolic
and moral significance. Thus the ladder signifies
things not only of this world but also of other
realities, such as heaven or the spiritual world,
with the ladder itself being the link betweeen the
mundane and the celestial. The ladder has been used
since time immemorial as a symbol of the link that
exists between God and Man, between spiritual and
physical matters, between heaven and earth.
Of course, to us Freemasons, these things I have referred to are fairly obvious,
but to the person in the street, even the regular
church-goer, the spiritual significance of the ladder
may escape their notice.
I have studied a number
of references, masonic and non-masonic, in preparing
this talk and I have come up with several interesting
aspects of this symbol as used in present societies
as well as in the past. I will concentrate on those
things which have a personal significance, especially
how the ladder is used as a symbol of power, change,
progress, and especially of ascension to the goal
of spiritual perfection. These examples will show
how antient and powerful a symbol the ladder is
as well as helping us to appreciate the symbol in
its masonic context.
Art
and Poetry
In religious art, the ladder is used in paintings to represent an imaginary
stairway of spiritual ascension. It is a symbol
of communication, of intercommunion, the comings
and goings between heaven and earth. These are the
keys to the symbol of the ladder - it represents
communication as well as ascension.
Just about every culture and religion I have studied
uses the ladder symbol in one form or another.
A good place to start is the poet Dante (1265 - 1321) as he has inspired
many works of art. In his great work Paradiso
we find the following words:
"....I saw rear'd up,
In colour like to sun-illumined gold,
A ladder, which my ken pursued in vain,
So lofty was the summit; down whose steps
I saw the splendours in such multitude
Descending, every light in heaven, methought,
Was shed thence." (21: 28-34)
Of course, his imagery has biblical origins.
Earth
and Heaven
One of the difficulties is that, when we study earlier societies and civilisations,
we tend to impose our own understanding, concepts
and world-view on what we find. This is what makes
the study of the past such a challenge. And one
of the significant facts of very early cultures
is that they did not distinguish between earth and
heaven as we do; there was no difference - it was
all one world, one reality! Even in the book of
Genesis, in the story of Adam and Eve, it suggests
that there was no distinction, at least initially.
But this connection,
this unity of earth and heaven, was "broken".
Traditionally, this refers to the break between
God and Man, of Man no longer abiding in the consciousness
of God (in "paradise") etc. There are
several theories as to why and how this happened,
and each culture/religious tradition has its own
version of this great myth. Some suggest, for example,
that it represents the separation of the conscious
and unconscious parts of the mind, or the development
of individual consciousness etc. Whatever may have
been the real cause, this break or separation between
heaven and earth, between Man and his Creator, between
spirit and matter, is a universal myth, and the
ladder is an important symbol used in this story
of Man's quest for communication, reconciliation
and ultimately re-union with his Creator. (The works
of the famous mythographers Mircea Eliade and Joseph
Campbell provide us with a wealth of material on
this and other aspects of Man's quest for knowledge
and understanding, and also his desire for union
with the Divine.) And as there is a need to re-establish
this connection between earth and heaven, so also
is there the need to find a way, a means, to achieve
it, hence the symbol of the ladder appearing frequently
in the stories and pictorial representations of
this process.
Ladders
and Stairways
Remember, symbols were very important in past ages, even more so than today.
The reason is that most people in pre-modern societies
did not read or write - it was not necessary for
them to do so as it was primarily an oral tradition.
They would use pictures and symbols for teaching
and handing on of stories. (Even up to medieval
times and later, stories of the bible and of church
doctrine continued to be carved in stone and timber
in the facades and interiors of cathedrals and churches
as a means of teaching the congregation, e.g. Notre
Dame entrance in Paris. Also, until recent times,
the masonic ritual was not written down but learned
within the confines of the lodge room and the secret
knowledge was passed on to the new member "from
mouth to ear", i.e. it was an oral tradition.)
In his magnum opus "The Golden Bough" James Frazer refers to the mythology
represented in pre modern societies in this area
of the globe. At the beginning of the rainy season
the Sun god comes down into the holy fig-tree to
fertilise the earth, and to facilitate his descent
a ladder of seven rungs is placed next to the tree
for his use. (pp. 179-180)
In the Mithraic rites, each rung of the ladder is guarded by an angel
and the adept had to strip himself progressively
in order to attain resurrection of the body. The
Mithraic initiation had the ladder as a symbol of
mystical initiation, ascending through the seven
metals and planetary spheres. (We also come across
this particular process in the Hermetic Tradition.)
In the Platonic tradition the ladder symbolism describes the ascent of
the soul from one world to the other.
As a symbol of ascension, a ladder came to represent the ascent of Muhammed
to heaven (from the top of Mt.Moriah, i.e. the place
of KST and later temples).
In ancient Egypt, tradition relates that Ra's ladder linked heaven and
earth. The Egyptian Book of the Dead refers to a
ladder which allows one to behold the gods.
In the works of Egyptian art we find the souls of the dead climbing a
stairway of seven or nine treads to reach the throne
of Osiris and undergo the weighing of their hearts.
Climbing, stairways and ladders occupy an important place in contemporary
psychoanalytical writings, especially in dream analysis
(cf Carl Jung). Notice that the ladder and stairs
are in fact variations of the same symbol, something
I did not realise until recently when I came across
a masonic book which made this connection (more
later).
And so, what does the stairway represent? It is traditionally a symbol
of the acquisition of learning and of the ascent
to knowledge and transfiguration. If the stairway
is rising skywards it indicates knowledge of the
divine world. If it is descending into the earth
it signifies knowledge of the occult (hidden) and
the depths of the unconscious, and so "descending"
does not necessarily indicate failure. (Take note
of the HRA and similar degrees in regard to a "descent"
and the discovery of something precious down within
the earth.)
Christian
Symbolism
We find the symbol of the spiral staircase in Rosicrucian, masonic and
mystical traditions to name a few. In this form,
the focus is in fact on the newel post of this axial
evolution. And the staircase can also be a link
between not two but three worlds - and thus it also
descends to the Underworld as well as to the Heavens.
The early Church fathers used the ladder as a representation of the spiritual
progress one makes along the path of discipleship.
Importantly, St.Isaac the Syrian adds "The
ladder of this kingdom is hidden within thee, in
thy soul. Cleanse thyself, therefore, from sin and
thou shalt find the rungs whereon to mount it".
The means involved are a strict gradation of spiritual
exercises, mounted rung by rung. "Thus",
wrote St.Simeon the New Theologian, "the individual
will succeed in raising himself from Earth and ascending
into Heaven".
The great mystic St.John of the Cross refers to a ladder in his writings.
He says that God's wisdom, which is a secret wisdom,
is like a ladder - one ascends the ladder in secret
contemplation, by interior prayer, to a knowledge
of Heaven. (1)
I came across a remarkable observation which caused me to pause and reflect.
And that is, that both Christ and the Cross
are ladders, as is the individual. (These
three representations of the ladder deserve a lecture
in their own right.) But there is more! The same
is true of trees and mountains! Each
of them, in their own way, are used to symbolise
progression upwards towards something higher (or
better), as well as going down below (such as the
roots of the tree). All of these are represented
pictorially in religious art and in the writings
of the mystics as metaphors of spiritual ascension
to the Source of All - or to the depths for knowledge
below or within.
Indeed, even the monastery is likened to a ladder, since the residents
in the cloister make their way to heaven through
rigorous discipline. And some monastery houses bear
the name of Scala Dei - the Ladder
of God.
As masons, we would ask the question: how many rungs are there on the ladder?
In Hebrew the word for ladder is sullãm,
and in Greek scala, and these words are used
in the Old Testament. Jacob's Ladder is the most
famous example, of course. On our 1st Degree Tracing
Board, the traditional representation of Jacob's
Ladder, which rests on the Volume of the Sacred
Law (or on the lodge pavement) and ascends to heaven
(represented by the clouds above and the angels
on the ladder etc.), usually has 15 rungs, with
the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and
Charity represented on the rungs either by symbols
or angels, or both.
But there are other ladders in our sacred stories. For example, there is the
three stories of Noah's Ark (Gen. 6:16), the six
steps of Solomon's Throne (1Kings 10:19), the six
and eight steps of Ezekiel's temple (Ez. 40:26,31),
and some of the Psalms (120-134) are known as the
Gradual Psalms or "Songs of Degrees" or
"A Song of Ascents".
The early Church Fathers and the medieval mystics constantly refer to
the rungs of the ladder between earth and heaven
in their symbolism (Origen, William of St.Thierry,
Dionysius the Aeropagite etc.). For example, we
have the three stages of spiritual advancement -
beginning, persevering and completing; the tripartite
constitution of man - body soul and spirit (cf 1Thess.
5:22), and the mystical path of purgation, illumination
and union with God.
Origen refers to the seven stages through which the soul must go
before it can celebrate its marriage to the Word.
According to St.John Cassian, the ladder
which will reach to heaven has ten rungs, while
St.Benedict holds that they are twelve
in number and describes them in chapter 7 of his
Rule (2).
Sacred
Mountains and Sacred Poles
I mentioned that mountains
are a version of a ladder or stairway because they
are usually depicted as having a spiral path around
them, going from the bottom to the top. In religious
art, the soul is seen moving through purgatory to
heaven such as in the painting of Domenico di Michelino.
Each level represents a mortal sin and the soul
stays at each level for a period of time. In fact,
Dante and Virgil depict purgatory as being
below the seas of the world and encompassing
the southern hemisphere! (3)
Another representation of the mountain is in a 15th century Florentine work
which shows a spiral path reaching from earth to
God. It has seven tiers and is set apart from the
world by way of a portal at the bottom. At each
level scholars and philosophers receive instruction
which originally comes from the Divine.
Another form of ladder which I had not until recently came to recognise as such,
is the sacred pole which appears in
many pre-modern societies such as the Australian
aborigines. The pole is their representation of
ascension to the gods, and in fact the ascension
of their god from this earth. This sacred pole makes
their land sacred, wherever they go, in the same
way as the ark of the covenant was sacred to the
Jews in their wanderings and enabled their God to
be continually "present" with them, and
the land they lived on to be sacred. (4)
Freemasonry
And now we should apply this information to the representation of the Ladder
in the Masonic Tradition.
In the Craft we have Jacob's Ladder represented on the 1st Degree T.B.,
and a winding staircase on the 2nd. The latter
is in fact a version of the former.
In the 1st Degree, Jacob's Ladder is represented in a simple form as
a ladder resting on the VSL and ascending to the
heavens. In this composite picture we can see how
the TB is an excellent means of metaphysical and
moral instruction. Metaphysics is more than just
expounding on or exhorting certain moral virtues,
as it is really an endeavour to explain Man's nature
and destiny as well as his duties in this life.
Albert Mackey has a comprehensive article on Jacob's Ladder in his "Encyclopedia
of Freemasonry". He states that Jacob's Ladder
first appeared on a tracing Board in 1776. Here
it had only three rounds (FHC?), but later the ladder
went to seven rounds or more (4 Cardinal and 3 Theological
Virtues?).
If we go to the Emulation Lectures we have the following questions in
the First Lecture, fourth section:
"Q. Of how many staves or rounds was this Ladder composed?
A. Of
many staves or rounds, which point out as many moral
virtues, but three principal ones, which are FAITH,
HOPE and CHARITY.
Q. Why
Faith, Hope and Charity?
A. Faith
in the Great Architect of the Universe, Hope in
Salvation; and to be in Charity with all men. (FHC
are then defined at length.)
Q. On
what does the Ladder rest?
A. The
Volume of the Sacred Law." (pp 35,36)
In the 2nd Degree, the ladder has been changed into a winding staircase.
The candidate actually treads the steps towards
the East on this winding staircase - a very signifcant
action and one which needs to be taken more seriously.
(It could also be interpreted validly that the candidate
takes the three steps of Jacob's Ladder in the 1st
Degree.)
I mentioned earlier that Jacob's Ladder appears on most Tracing Boards having
15 rounds. (Bernard E. Jones refers to an Irish
ritual of 1796 in which the ladder is shown with
11 rungs.) Whether we have here a blending of meanings
and symbols, I do not know. Certainly, the steps
for the winding staircase on the 2nd Degree Tracing
Board should be at least 15, consisting of 3 + 5
+ 7 or more. An explanation of this is contained
in our 2nd Degree Lecture on the TB, and here are
some of the questions from the Emulations Lecture.
In the Second Lecture, fourth section, we read:
"Q. Where did they then P..
A. Up
the winding staircase.
Q. Consisting
of how many steps?
A. Three,
five, seven or more.
Q. Why
three?
A. Rule
a Lodge.
Q. Why
five?
A. Hold
a Lodge.
Q. Why
seven or more?
A. Make
it perfect.
Q. Who
are the three that hold a Lodge?
A. The
W.M. and his two Wardens.
Q. Who
are the five that hold a Lodge?
A. The
W.M., two Wardens, and two F.Cs.
Q. Who
are the seven that make it perfect?
A. Two
E.A.s added to the former five."
.................
Q. Why
do seven or more make it perfect?
A. Because
K.S. was seven years and upwards, in building, completing
and dedicating the T. at J. to God's service."
(pp. 82,88)
We need not detain ourselves here with questions such as which way the stairs
should wind, how many steps it should have or how
it ought to be depicted on the Tracing Board. Let's
just stick to the concept of a winding staircase
and what it is intended to symbolise.
There are ladders appearing
in several other Orders in Masonry and they usually
have seven rungs. The number seven is the
number of perfection and we have several Rites or
degrees called ceremonies of "perfection"
in which the ladder, the "ladder of perfection",
figures prominently. This number is often broken
up into three and four and each has
its own set of significances. The number three
obviously refers to a trinity of some sort e.g.
the Holy Trinity of the Christian Faith, and also
qualities and attributes such as Faith, Hope and
Charity. The number four is used to refer
to all sorts of things such as the four quarters
of direction, the four elements and the initials
of Divine Names etc. The number seven can
be interpreted to signify the seven days of creation,
the seven cosmic stages of evolution (Theosophy),
the seven planetary spheres (as in several religions),
the seven parts of Man's constitution, the seven
stages in the alchemical process and the seven Liberal
Arts and Sciences.
So you can see that the ladder has been used to represent ascension into a higher
realm, either in this world or beyond, and also
descent into a lower or hidden world. The steps
of the ladder (or treads of a staircase in a building
or on a mountain) have been made to represent moral
virtues, spiritual qualities, physical and spiritual
advancement, or knowledge of things celestial or
terrestial. It has been, and is, a very versatile
symbol and I believe it to be one of the most powerful
we have in our Tradition.
Conclusion
Jacob's Ladder is a very dynamic symbol and it points to moral and spiritual
principles and virtues. It is a symbol indicating
our desire to travel along the path or up the ladder
which takes us to the heavens.
For Freemasonry, our symbol, the ladder, has its origin in the story of Jacob
as told in the book of Genesis (ch.28). Masonry
has taken up this story and developed the symbol
of the ladder into what we now have depicted on
our several TBs. But Carl Jung and others (e.g.
Frazer) have also shown us that symbols such as
this one are in fact universal and archetypal. And
so a survey of other cultures is justified
and this is why I have spent more time on non-masonic
sources in my presentation. Even our own 1st Degree
TB Lecture acknowledges the debt we owe to the Egyptian
mystery schools.
The title of my talk "The Ladder of Jacob" could have as its subtitle
"The Ladder of Lights" as the symbol is,
for me, a blending of masonic and kabbalistic terminology.
"The ladder of lights" is the title which
one author uses for his book on the Tree of Life
or Sephiroth in which he describes aspects of the
Jewish mystical tradition called the Kabbalah. I
mention this as, although our study of masonry begins
with our own tradition, our own writings and documents,
it should not end there. No organisation or tradition
can be studied with completeness only within its
own material, it has a much wider context - political,
cultural and religious. Also, an organisation like
masonry has several different streams of thought
and influence within it. And so we need to appreciate
our masonic tradition within this wider context,
in this wider milieu which has moulded and
influenced its rituals, symbols and teachings down
the centuries.
One of the outcomes of this study for me is that I now appreciate more deeply
just how dynamic a symbol is Jacob's Ladder, and
also how it speaks to us today just as it did to
'our ancient brethren'. It is more than just a reference
to a story in our own scriptures, to the remote
past; it is a metaphor of the dynamic relationship
we have with the Divine and of our communing with
God. The ladder is also a symbol of the direction
I am to travel and an indication of some of the
"working tools" I am to take with me on
this journey back to God, whether one sees the symbol
as a ladder, a winding staircase, a tree or a mountain.
For me, the ladder, Jacob's Ladder, is the precursor
of the more developed symbol of the Tree of Life
of the Kabbalah, for the latter has grown out of
the former.
This study of the ladder
has been very rewarding for me. It has reminded
me of the truly spiritual basis of our fraternity,
its teachings and symbols, and I believe this needs
to be emphasised in our lodges. Also, the claim
of the Craft to its universality is justified,
and that it can be further strengthened by a better
understanding of other cultures and their traditions.
In this way, we can show how these universal and
archetypal symbols, such as Jacob's Ladder, speak
to all peoples, all nations.
******************
Footnotes
1.
St.John of the Cross and Jacob's Ladder
In his mystical treatise
The Dark Night of the Soul, St.John of the
Cross reflects on the gaining of God's wisdom and
our ascent to him with the use of this divine wisdom.
He writes that the fire of divine love purges the
soul in the darkness. He goes on to say that the
soul is purged when it is illumined with this fire
of loving Wisdom (for God, he says, never grants
this mystical Wisdom without love, since love infuses
it). We are reminded that the wisdom of God is
silver tried in fire, i.e. the fire of purgative
love (Lamentations 1:13), "For this dark contemplation
infuses into the soul love and wisdom conjointly,
to each one according to his capacity and need,
enlightening the soul and purging it". (Notice
God's discrimination, of the giving of Wisdom according
to one's capacity to receive. The early Church fathers
also refer to this.) He goes on to say (ch.18),
using imagery of old, that God perfects and exalts
the souls of humanity by His secret Wisdom.
He recalls that David said: "Blessed is he that hath Thy favour and help,
for such a man hath placed in his heart ascensions
into the vale of tears in the place which he hath
appointed, for after this manner the Lord of the
law shall give his blessing, and they shall go from
virtue to virtue as from step to step, and the God
of gods shall be seen in Sion". (Ps. 84)
St.John of the Cross further explains how this ascent on the mystical ladder
is not only a deeply spiritual process, but also
why the soul of the individual is not usually aware
of its own progress or ascension. He reminds us
that Jacob slept (a symbol of deep contemplation)
when he saw the ladder - thus indicating how secret
and deeply personal is this road and ascent to God.
According to him, the number of steps on this ladder
of love is ten (an association with the Decalogue
or with the Tree of Life - the Sephiroth?), and
that it is only upon arriving at the upper levels
that the soul becomes aware of its progress.
2.
St.Benedict's Rule for Monasteries
In chapter 7, On Humility, we read the following:
"...Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the very highest point of humility
and to arrive speedily at that heavenly exaltation
to which ascent is made through the humility of
this present life, we must by our ascending actions
erect the ladder Jacob saw in his dream, on which
Angels appeared to him descending and ascending.
By that descent and ascent we must surely understand
nothing else than this, that we descend by self-exaltation
and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set
up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises
up to heaven if our heart is humbled. For we call
our body and soul the sides of the ladder, and into
these sides our divine vocation has inserted the
different steps of humility and discipline we must
climb."
3.
Mountains
In the fresco by Demonico di Michelino in Santa Marai del Fiore, purgatory is
depicted as a huge mountain rising from the waters
which, according to the ancients, occupied the whole
of the southern hemisphere. The mountain of expiation
is an inverted cone, at the summit of which is the
"divine forest thick and alive" of the
Earthly Paradise. Seven ledges encircle the mountain.
One of the mortal sins is punished on each of them
and the souls stay there for a period of time according
to the gravity of their sin.
4.
The Sacred Pole
For many ancient tribes the sacred pole was also the cosmic axis of the world.
The image of this cosmic pillar is the Milky Way
and can be found referred to as such in the sacred
writings (Rig Vedas) of the Hindus and elsewhere.
In a similar manner was the sacred mountain depicted
as having a cosmic setting as well as a physical
location.
*********************
References
and Helpful Sources
General:
The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols, Penguin pubn, England, 1969
Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion
Abridged edn, Macmillan, London, 1960
A. Roob,
The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism
pub. Taschen, London, 1997
The Life and Times of Dante, pub. Paul Hamlyn, London, 1967 (Portraits
of Greatness series)
Masonry:
B.
E. Jones, Freemason's Guide and Compendium
Harrap, London, 1950
A. Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (rev. H.L. Haywood)
The Masonic History Co., Chicago, 1950
W.K.MacNulty, Freemasonry. A Journey through Ritual and Symbol,
pub. Thames and Hudson, 1991
The Lectures of the Three Degrees as Demonstrated
in the Emulation Lodge of Improvement
A. Lewis, England, 1974
Lectures:
F.A. Shade, Why Ritual? (Ritual and Health) (Victorian Lodge of Research
1995)
F.A. Shade, The Sacred and Profane; A Study of Religious Man
(Golden Jubilee Chapter of Research 1988)
Kabbalah:
Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah, S. Weiser USA, 1997
William S. Gray, The Ladder of Lights, Helios Books U.K., 1968
Charles Poncé, Kabalah. An Introduction and Illumination for the World Today,
Quest USA, 1973
Illustrations
The illustrations and
explanations are available from the author.
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