Symbols and Emblems

[pointwithinacircle2]

In our common everyday language we sometimes use the words symbol and emblem interchangeably. However, when I looked them up I found that they are have different meanings. I found these definitions at http://www.merriam-webster.com

Symbol : an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality
Emblem : an object or picture used to suggest a thing that cannot be shown

In Freemasonry we find both symbols and emblems. Understanding the difference between the two has been a interest of mine for some time now. Like most of my interests I have found myself researching the question and then mulling over what I have read, then re-reading and re-mulling, until comprehension (or at least opinion) begins to form in my mind.

The distinction between symbols and emblems was once again brought to my mind yesterday as I watched my Grand Lodge officers perform two Master Mason degrees in back to back. I found myself paying close attention to the different components of the degree and asking myself if they were symbols or emblems. I noticed how many items in the MM lecture are identified as emblems. There are more than I had realized.

One part of the definition of a symbol that I have struggled to understand was the concept that an action or event could be a symbol. However as I watched the degree I found myself considering the ritual itself as a symbol. In thinking about this I thought back to my marriage, which was an event expressing my adoption of particular ideas and qualities in my life. Turning back to the ritual being performed it seemed that the ritual itself was a symbol, a symbol of the adoption of the ideas and qualities of Masonry. As I observed the details of the degree, the position of the candidate, where he stops, what is said to him, even the physical accessories used, I began to see how they all wove together to form a complete symbolic event.

So what do you think? Do you see symbols and emblems as basically the same, or are there differences worth noting? Are my rambling thoughts consistent with Masonic teachings or do you think I was just in a hypoglycemic haze as I waited for the ritual to end so I could get to the cake?

What are your thoughts on symbols and emblems?

 

[coachn]

White Lamb Skin Apron...

1. Emblem of Innocence
2. Badge of a Mason (as in "Freemason" <snicker>)
3. Symbol of Purity
4. Metaphor for Laborer
5. Sign of Morals
6. Symptom of Membership ;-)

It all depends upon how you choose to view it, doesn't it?

 

[coachn]

Unless the apron has a relevant inner function.

I find that sleeping on sheepskin isolates me from the adverse effects of artificial mattresses. Could the lambskin apron have a similar function?

Could the lambskin (covering the genitals) isolate the unresolved sexual energies of brethren so that they appear in lodge as innocent?

In Australia the aprons tend to use kangaroo skin - kangaroos being particularly innocent.

I hear tell that lambskin helps greatly with static cling... ;-)

 

[dfreybur]

Versions of ritual that I have learned contains plenty of repetition using different words and wording. Especially in the obligations the same idea is repeated again and again in alternate phrasing. Words familiar and unfamiliar are offered as homonyms.

I have wondered if the purpose of this is to teach a larger vocabulary or to try enough variations that one of them is bound to be understood and the others learned by context. Eventually I reached the opinion that those options are two sides of the same coin.

I think symbol and emblem are used in the ritual as homonyms to increase vocabulary. I also think that both words are used to circle around the intended meaning and to point at it. Rather like wagons in a circle surround a common center.

 

[hanzosbm]

While I normally like to peel back the layers, my opinion on this matter is that a cigar is just a cigar. I tried to wrap my head around a distinct difference between the two, but there's just too much overlap to really say one way or the other in my opinion.

For instance, based on the original definitions:

Symbol : an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality
Emblem : an object or picture used to suggest a thing that cannot be shown

A symbol could represent a particular idea, which is a thing that cannot be shown, which would make it an emblem.
If anything, I would instead say that an emblem is one type of symbol. Think of a car logo, like BMW's. It's an emblem of the company, and it is also a symbol that represents the company. However, to state that their logo is a symbol of the company doesn't seem right to me. To say that something is the symbol of a company just feels...bigger. Like it should encompass more than just something that denotes that corporation.

Another way to look at it would be that, at least in my mind, a symbol should have shared characteristics of that which it is symbolizing. It is natural to ask why it is the symbol for something. An emblem on the other hand doesn't necessarily have that same facet. While the Nike swoosh does indeed have a story behind it (not that I can remember it at the moment), the company's emblem is simply a pictorial placeholder for the name of the company. You see that swoosh and you think 'it means Nike' not 'it means swiftness and grace and the curvature denotes agility'.

Maybe those are simply my preconceptions of the words, which might be semantically incorrect, but that's my two cents.

 

[coachn]

What would a Symbol-Emblem-Sign-Badge Venn diagram look like?

 

[Browncoat]

What would a Symbol-Emblem-Sign-Badge Venn diagram look like?

This thread.

 

[dfreybur]

What would a Symbol-Emblem-Sign-Badge Venn diagram look like?

Sort of like a balloon knot sculpture display an origami display got together and had enough kids to fill an abstract art and sculpture museum. Except not so literal!

 

[coachn]

Like this?

 

[coachn]

If your hand is a little sensitive it can be used to determine if a symbol is active.

For example, obtain a print of, or draw a pentagram, then move your hand slowly across the shape. See if you get a tingling or warmth at particular places. What does that mean?

nerve damage?

 

[coachn]

It might be worth trying the experiment before drawing conclusions - unless you think that nerve damage only shows at certain parts of the symbol.

<sigh> I'm familiar with the phenomena. It's fun to play around with it. But I cannot take it too seriously other than to accept that the mind can imagine great and seemingly impossible things. They use a similar technique to retrain the brain to deal with phantom pain in lost limbs. It is astounding what the mind can do once it imagines a connection to something that is not truly there.

BTW - The post was meant in humor.

 

[pointwithinacircle2]

It is astounding what the mind can do once it imagines

Years ago an Australian psychologist named Alan Richardson conducted a now famous experiment in sports visualization and muscle memory. He gathered subjects and had them shoot 100 basketball foul shots, recording their base numbers. He then randomly divided the subjects into three separate groups. Group A was told to practice foul shots for 20 minutes, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Group B was ordered to do nothing basketball related for 4 weeks, not even to think of basketball. Similar to Group A, Group C was asked to come in 5 days a week for 20 minutes each but was told that they would be guided by a professional in visualizing shooting foul shots without ever touching a ball. After 4 weeks Richardson had the subjects shoot 100 foul shots again. Group A had improved in their ability 24%. Group B (the no-bball group) unsurprisingly made no significant improvement. Group C (the fantasy free throw group), however, improved by 23%, nearly as much as the group physically practicing everyday

 

[dfreybur]

It is hard to know whether there are limits to what the human mind can accomplish

One of the reasons candidates are required to memorize proficiencies is to break down the common self imposed limitation that "I can't memorize".

As with the finger pointing into the distance, the point is not at the end of the finger. Memorizing to discover a previously unknown ability is the finger not the direction it is pointing. The direction is it pointing is out into the vast expanses of the unknown.

How sensitive is your finger? That depends on the mind behind it and the willingness of that mind to form a line from the eye through the finger and out into the unknown.

I take the example of the pentagram to be an internal not external one. Knowing the history of its construction and the meanings that have been put into the symbol, my mind can tingle at an imagined pentagram so why shouldn't my finger tingle while pointing past a physical image into the abstract form and the many symbols that have been put into it. It's much the same process as why I wear my ring with its symbol.

 

[pointwithinacircle2]

One of the reasons candidates are required to memorize proficiencies is to break down the common self imposed limitation that "I can't memorize".

In this MOOC, https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn I learned that rote memorization sets up pathways in the brain that actually make learning easier. Subsequent ideas can be stored using the pre-established pathways. It was a pretty fascinating class and this idea is just the tip of the iceberg. I recommend it to anyone who wants to increase their memorization skills or their understanding of the relationship between the brain and the mind.