# Masonic signature



## deltasec

I heard there is a way that Masons sign their name by adding 3 dots in the form of a triangle at the end, can anyone clarify this?


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## Beathard

Wikipedia quotes Mackey in saying:
Masonic traditions the symbol is used for abbreviation, instead of the usual period. For example "R&there4;W&there4; John Smith" is an abbreviation for "Right Worshipful John Smith" (the term Right Worshipful indicates that Brother Smith is a Grand Lodge officer).


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## Traveling Man

Symbols:

An important subcategory comprises the graphic designs in Masonic documents, diplomas, summons,and the symbols utilized in Masonic writing, such as the three dots in a triangle or tripunctial mark ∴


The three dots ∴ that are often found with abbreviated names like A∴ A∴ and G∴ D were originally intended to represent "Masonic Honor Points". In Masonry, a freemason who has received the first three craft degrees of initiation may put these three dots after his name. Organizations made up of Craft initiated Masons traditionally place these same three dots after the letters of abbreviation of their organization names, e.g. Golden Dawn: G∴ D∴ instead of G.D. The practice is not strictly observed anymore in mystical organizations, but is still used in the original way by regular Masons. Now days, the three dots are often used indiscriminately to represent "mystical", "once connected to masonry", "the Christian divine trinity" and almost anything else. Some organizations, like O.T.O., do not use the three dot triangle in abbreviations of their names even though they are derived from Masonry. The practice is often not followed when an abbreviation consists of exactly three letters, since three dots or periods are already in place.

What are those three dots arranged in a triangular pattern?

The three dots (or three points) were formerly fashionable in Masonic writing instead of the usual periods after initials. The practice was apparently started in France by the non-recognized Grand Orient of France in 1774 and Masons were sometimes called 'Three Point Brothers'. The usage became popular in the US and is seen today in some Scottish Rite documents. Any significance they had two hundred years ago is now long lost.

 Masonic Info…  Thanks Brother Ed King. 

Also known in mathematics as there4.


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## dbindel

I really don't like seeing the corruption of the tripunctial mark into TWO dots as a colon (e.g., R:W: DDGM). That seems to smack of ignorance and/or laziness.

Also, I wish we in GLoT followed the example of our brethren elsewhere around the world who use honorifics such as "[Very | Right | Most] Worshipful," but always include "Brother" when addressing any fellow Mason. A couple examples:

Most Worshipful Brother T.E. Gene Carnes, Grand Master
Right Worshipful Brother Elmer Murphy, Past Grand Master

I do my best to consistently address each of my brethren as Brother, whatever his title may be


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## S.Courtemanche

Brother travling man, may I ask how you created the triangle (upper) dot with your keyboard? Thanks


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## Txmason

Are the three dots used today by masons? Is it allowed by Grand Lodge? Thank you for the very interesting post on that. What do the three dots represent? The three lesser lights in masonry?

Best,
Jerry


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## Beathard

Not sure how you do it here.  In Word you type 2234  place your cursor after the number 4, press the Alt key and the x keys simultaneously.   You can then copy and paste it... 

Gerry∴


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## flttrainer

Beathard said:
			
		

> Not sure how you do it here.  In Word you type 2234  place your cursor after the number 4, press the Alt key and the x keys simultaneously.   You can then copy and paste it...
> 
> Gerry&there4;



I am in awe that you would know such a shortcut. I couldn't name a single one lol.

Sent from my iPad using Freemasonry


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## Traveling Man

S.Courtemanche said:


> Brother travling man, may I ask how you created the triangle (upper) dot with your keyboard? Thanks


 Sent pm


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## S.Courtemanche

Traveling Man said:


> Sent pm


 

Thanks :001_smile:


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## optargueta

Here in Brazil, 95% of Mansons put three points in the end of their signatures.

Is a kind of easy identification between us. 

Of course, there are many people that put three points in the signature (women included) that aren't Mansons. But we have some ways to find who is a member and who isn't a member.

Most of times we use symbol like .'. or :. when typing.


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## marcfortuna

.'.

Freemason Connect Mobile


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## JTM

Triforce?

Freemason Connect Mobile


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## Bloke

I know this is an old thread but I searched to see if this had been covered...

I am always seeming F:. A:. on this site and it drives me nuts... the correct form is .·.

So I'm gonna reveal a masonic secret...... *hears inward take of breath from readers*

The way you produce the middle dot is by holding ALT and typing the number using your number pad on your keyboard (not the numbers in the row above the letters but the numbers on the far right. This will produce the ..... so you type period (aka full stop) "." then hold alt and type 250 to get "·" then another period (full stop) and wahla ! .·.

If that does not work... you can always just copy and past the above

Cheers
Bloke
P.·.M.·. of the interwebs...


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## Bloke

PS - Mackay speaks to it here 
https://books.google.com.au/books?i...are the initials of a Masonic title "&f=false


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## MBC

Bloke said:


> I know this is an old thread but I searched to see if this had been covered...
> 
> I am always seeming F:. A:. on this site and it drives me nuts... the correct form is .·.
> 
> So I'm gonna reveal a masonic secret...... *hears inward take of breath from readers*
> 
> The way you produce the middle dot is by holding ALT and typing the number using your number pad on your keyboard (not the numbers in the row above the letters but the numbers on the far right. This will produce the ..... so you type period (aka full stop) "." then hold alt and type 250 to get "·" then another period (full stop) and wahla ! .·.
> 
> If that does not work... you can always just copy and past the above
> 
> Cheers
> Bloke
> P.·.M.·. of the interwebs...



Why you just don't use a therefore ∴ symbol 

S ∴ & F ∴
Ben ∴


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## MBC

For the brethren using smartphone and don't know how to type it faster, you can put the therefore symbol or any other symbols that not in your keyboard to a shortcut list.
Here's an example(iPhone)
Settings>General>Keyboard>English>Text Replacement(I've seen it shown as shortcuts before)
Then you can put the symbols there for a faster way to type it, I set when you ever type "tf" or "therefore", the symbol will come out ∴


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## Glen Cook

Bloke said:


> PS - Mackay speaks to it here
> https://books.google.com.au/books?id=SY-kAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT4017&lpg=PT4017&dq="Three+points+in+a+triangular+form+are+placed+after+letters+in+a+Masonic+document+to+indicate+that+such+letters+are+the+initials+of+a+Masonic+title+"&source=bl&ots=Uev-VrYYru&sig=Myf41XEKu-gmN21x5akKfD_ib8M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5q_rX_bXKAhUnHaYKHUAsCmAQ6AEIJDAB#v=onepage&q="Three points in a triangular form are placed after letters in a Masonic document to indicate that such letters are the initials of a Masonic title "&f=false


Though in some obediences it is also used after the name


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## snakeappletree

This explains it in legal terms: http://www.newstruth.co.uk/how-to-sign-your-name-without-assuming-liability/

The use of three dots dates to Aegyptian hieroglyphs where the symbol translates as the word 'grain'. This is multi-contextual, it means both 'sand' and 'seed'. The first grain of sand in the desert, is the beginning of the desert. The seed is the beginning of the tree. Thus, the three dots means 'it begins here'. What this means is a duality; the signature authorizes the document, represents a living being has made conscious decision regarding the manuscript, that it is endowed with more value than merely a piece of paper plus words on it. It also means, everything before this point of the document is foundation, and is annulled because it happened before the beginning; we shall begin at the beginning, not before. The dualism is intentional because 'As Above So Below' is a famous masonic maxim. 

The same symbol of three dots is also witnessed on the decorative cloth for the Kaba at Mecca (Ka Ba Me are also Aegyptian words with precise meanings, relating to the lifetime, the soul, the manifestation journey). From this we may trace a direct conceptual lineage at work, dating from the ancient times through to present day, behind the facade of organized religions. 

The use of three dots arranged in triangular format as opposed to in a row is a variant on this, denoting Higher Aspirant and Stability rather than merely a Beginning. 

The most famous use of the triple-dots within a signature is of course that of the Pendragon, J R R Tolkien. 



 

Accredited image, non-profit use for educational purposes within international fair use policy. 
Such disclaimer being irrelevant given the context. With Respect.


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## Warrior1256

Very interesting stuff.


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## Glen Cook

snakeappletree said:


> This explains it in legal terms: http://www.newstruth.co.uk/how-to-sign-your-name-without-assuming-liability/
> 
> The use of three dots dates to Aegyptian hieroglyphs where the symbol translates as the word 'grain'. This is multi-contextual, it means both 'sand' and 'seed'. The first grain of sand in the desert, is the beginning of the desert. The seed is the beginning of the tree. Thus, the three dots means 'it begins here'. What this means is a duality; the signature authorizes the document, represents a living being has made conscious decision regarding the manuscript, that it is endowed with more value than merely a piece of paper plus words on it. It also means, everything before this point of the document is foundation, and is annulled because it happened before the beginning; we shall begin at the beginning, not before. The dualism is intentional because 'As Above So Below' is a famous masonic maxim.
> 
> The same symbol of three dots is also witnessed on the decorative cloth for the Kaba at Mecca (Ka Ba Me are also Aegyptian words with precise meanings, relating to the lifetime, the soul, the manifestation journey). From this we may trace a direct conceptual lineage at work, dating from the ancient times through to present day, behind the facade of organized religions.
> 
> The use of three dots arranged in triangular format as opposed to in a row is a variant on this, denoting Higher Aspirant and Stability rather than merely a Beginning.
> 
> The most famous use of the triple-dots within a signature is of course that of the Pendragon, J R R Tolkien.
> 
> View attachment 5061
> 
> Accredited image, non-profit use for educational purposes within international fair use policy.
> Such disclaimer being irrelevant given the context. With Respect.


The cite is silliness and has nothing to do with the information provided in the anonymous post.


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## Jason A. Mitchell

deltasec said:


> I heard there is a way that Masons sign their name by adding 3 dots in the form of a triangle at the end, can anyone clarify this?



To add some confusion, there are fringe Masonic organization (several Martinist and French occult socieities come to mind) - that is to say, organizations with a Masonic origin, and Masonic pedigree, but have distanced themselves from, and no longer claim to be, Masonic - who utilize the same dots and arrangement, and on signatures, but it carries a very specific and very different meaning.

To add even more confusion, some Masons, who belong to such organizations, have been signing their Masonic books with such non-Masonic artifacts, further bluring the lines.

EDIT - spelling


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## SimonM

Jason A. Mitchell said:


> To add even more confusion, some Masons, who belong to such organizations, have been signing their Masonic books with such non-Masonic artifacts, further bluring the lines.


Since the dots and symbols have the same origin of French 18th century high degree masonry it's hard to differentiate the meaning.  If we for example look at the three dots, that symbol is used by both masonic and non-masonic organisations and the origin of said symbol is from the same source.  If a mason who also belongs to such fringe masonic organisation signs with that symbol, is it masonic or not?


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## Jason A. Mitchell

SimonM said:


> Since the dots and symbols have the same origin of French 18th century high degree masonry it's hard to differentiate the meaning.  If we for example look at the three dots, that symbol is used by both masonic and non-masonic organisations and the origin of said symbol is from the same source.  If a mason who also belongs to such fringe masonic organisation signs with that symbol, is it masonic or not?



It's a fair point. In general - for regular American Masons (and I wasn't clear about that in my response), I'd respond with "no", and here's why:

In the US the remaining _eccosais_ derived systems are Cryptic Masonry, AASR, and RER. Some of the component degrees of these systems used dots, but time has abrogated such artefacts.
The dots within the fringe Masonic community took on a new dimension under Papus and the orders descended through his efforts. This created further distance from Masonry 
If we bring irregular orders such as Memphis and Misraim, then the answer moves of course towards, yes.


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## SimonM

Jason A. Mitchell said:


> It's a fair point. In general - for regular American Masons (and I wasn't clear about that in my response), I'd respond with "no", and here's why:
> 
> In the US the remaining _eccosais_ derived systems are Cryptic Masonry, AASR, and RER. Some of the component degrees of these systems used dots, but time has abrogated such artefacts.
> The dots within the fringe Masonic community took on a new dimension under Papus and the orders descended through his efforts. This created further distance from Masonry
> If we bring irregular orders such as Memphis and Misraim, then the answer moves of course towards, yes.


Nice description of the differences! In europe where some of the mainstream systems are more closely related to the _eccosais_ the question is even harder to answer, but I think you presented a good guiding principle.


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## Jason A. Mitchell

SimonM said:


> In europe where some of the mainstream systems are more closely related to the _eccosais_



Exactly. I'm glad you asked your question because I didn't qualify that I was referring to the mainstream _American_ Masonic experience, and your question let me address that.

Does the Swedish Rite use the ∴ symbol?


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## SimonM

Jason A. Mitchell said:


> Exactly. I'm glad you asked your question because I didn't qualify that I was referring to the mainstream _American_ Masonic experience, and your question let me address that.
> 
> Does the Swedish Rite use the ∴ symbol?


We did until our big reform 1801, there are interesting changes in the signatures of the masons in Sweden before and after that reform. 
The new way of signing was mostly in use during the 19th century, but you rarely see it in use anymore.


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## SimonM

double post


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## Jason A. Mitchell

SimonM said:


> We did until our big reform 1801, there are interesting changes in the signatures of the masons in Sweden before and after that reform.
> The new way of signing was mostly in use during the 19th century, but you rarely see it in use anymore.



I think the behavior you described is fairly consistent across regular Anglo-Saxon Jurisdictions.


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## NJA

Beathard said:


> Not sure how you do it here.  In Word you type 2234  place your cursor after the number 4, press the Alt key and the x keys simultaneously.   You can then copy and paste it...
> 
> Gerry∴


I'm sitting here for about 5 minutes with an open jaw after testing this and seeing the results.  I had to join this site just to say thank you, great tip!  I am amazed that 1) there is a command for this and 2) that it works, and 3) that someone was aware of it.  Maybe it's well known, I have no idea but I am creating a bulletin and wanted to get the abbreviations right. Thank you!


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## CLewey44

Ok, so what the hell did we decide here? Can plain old, regular Master Masons use the "∴" symbol or not???


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## Warrior1256

CLewey44 said:


> Ok, so what the hell did we decide here? Can plain old, regular Master Masons use the "∴" symbol or not???


Lol.....good question!


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## Glen Cook

CLewey44 said:


> Ok, so what the hell did we decide here? Can plain old, regular Master Masons use the "∴" symbol or not???


Only if your Mom says you can. Don’t ask your Dad.  He’ll just say to ask your Mom. ∴


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## MBC

So is this symbol facing in or facing out!!??

∴ / ∵


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## Warrior1256

Glen Cook said:


> Only if your Mom says you can. Don’t ask your Dad. He’ll just say to ask your Mom. ∴


Lol....I remember those days.


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