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What does the "Checkered Pavement" Symbolize?

What does the "Checkered Pavement" Symbolize?

  • Love and Hope

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Peace and Harmony

    Votes: 2 3.6%
  • Good and Evil

    Votes: 53 96.4%
  • Charity and Forgiveness

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    55

Blake Bowden

Administrator
Staff Member
What does the "Checkered Pavement" Symbolize?

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Notice: Answer(s) will be posted soon...
 
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coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
Brother Blake,

Based upon my research, I would have to say that your options do not include the very option that most Masons should know without waver.



That options would be:
  • Important / Unimportant
Please let me explain.

I believe that the checkered pavement is a symbol whose meaning has been lost due to our culture being so detached from what used to be common to people over 200 years ago.

It is a fact that the ground floor of Solomon's Temple was purchased by his father, King David, for full price from Ornan (Ornan is also known by a few other names). For those Masons who do not know, Ornan used this very spot to thresh grain heads from the chaff and winnow away that chaff once threshed.

From these facts, I'd have to say that the checkered pavement represented Wheat and Chaff at one level, with Wheat being the white spots and Chaff being the dark spots.

Furthermore, I believe that this concept was the intent of those who placed this pattern within Masonic symbolism. This very theme, threshing and winnowing, is repeated to this day by Masons at many levels. The ground floor, threshing-floor, is a place where Masons are asked to thresh and winnow symbolically to separate that which is important from that which is not.

So, Wheat and Chaff, at a much more significant level represent that which nurtures (important) and that which doesn't nurture (unimportant) of which Masons MUST learn to separate effortlessly if they are to do their Work in the World, with integrity.



Here's a breakdown of important vs unimportant and the levels that they occur.
  • Candidate - Himself from the Profane world
  • EA - Himself from Vices and Superfluities
  • FC - Proper understanding and application of the principles learned in Grammar/Logic/Rhetoric/Arithmetic/Geometry/Music/Astronomy from improper of the same. (Studying the SLAs&Ss brings Order to chaos, thus allowing for a man to distinguish -- separate -- things that he could not prior to study.)
  • MM - Himself from Ruffians (people who want titles and benefits without doing the Work and earning the same; people who lack integrity)
These are my opinions and my thoughts.

F&S,

Bro. Coach N

PS - Yeah, I KNOW what we are told in Ritual. I believe that's a surface explanation and feel that the explanation given doesn't do EA and others the good that the threshing-floor theme does. IMO
 
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jwhoff

Premium Member
Got here with the answer before I could brother. But you are completely correct on all points.

This is one of those "lights" that should be taught to brethren along the way. To my knowledge that threshing floor remains beneath the temple to this day. David did purchase it but was told by God that the project of building the temple would fall to Solomon.

jwhoff
 

coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
Answer is:

C. Good and Evil
Brother Blake,

Forgive me for challenging your provided post. This is "an" answer, and it is based upon a lecture that someone wrote and others repeated. It is not the only answer and it is not an answer that would be put forth if one further investigated the basis and history of the symbol.

As a man and Mason, I have to keep in mind that these "Lectures" were created by other men who made effort to add "meat" to Ritual. At the same time, these rituals are full of purposeful inaccuracies, strategic red herrings and contrived misdirections, designed to reveal only to those who are worthy and to placate those who refuse to do the Work. It behooves Masons to know their histories and not take for granted that all that is stated within Ritual and its lectures to be "truth" and the only truth. To ignore such possibility serves no justice to a quest for further Light and only serves to keep our Brothers in the dark.

I believe that the answer you gave above, sounds good on the surface (afterall, who can debate the fact that it does appear in our Lectures), but when one lifts the veil, there is more to it than what's being memorized and given back without much investigation.

IMO

Bro. Coach N
 
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rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
nice post Brother Coach and I feel you are right many amendments have been made to the ritual to make it "fit" better in society which did hide some secrets deeper. I have always felt the checkered pavement represented more than just evil acts or evil people. Many things that we find in life that are deemed unimportant, if we engage them will almost always come to fruit evil in one way or another. One could argue Good and Evil is the same as Important and Unimportant if like you said the good masons has done his book work!
 

coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
nice post Brother Coach and I feel you are right many amendments have been made to the ritual to make it "fit" better in society which did hide some secrets deeper. I have always felt the checkered pavement represented more than just evil acts or evil people. Many things that we find in life that are deemed unimportant, if we engage them will almost always come to fruit evil in one way or another. One could argue Good and Evil is the same as Important and Unimportant if like you said the good masons has done his book work!
I agree with you my Brother. One can easily associate the two conclusions and argue convincingly that the two could be synonmous in outcome. I've gone this route of thought many times and smile when I see the path leading back to "good and evil."
 

tom268

Registered User
For me, it is most and for all light and darkness. That may include good and evil, but the weight of the symbol lies more in being part or not part of enlightenment. What comes out of being part or not, is a different question.

To speak of a symbol as "The answer is ..." misses the point of symbolic work. That's why we use symbols, not set of rules. The symbol is the physical body of a complex idea. Every brother, who watches the symbol fills it with his own life experiences. That's why there can never be only one answer.
 

dhouseholder

Registered User
Yeah, I KNOW what we are told in Ritual. I believe that's a surface explanation and feel that the explanation given doesn't do EA and others the good that the threshing-floor theme does. IMO
I don't think the checkered pavement is explained in the Texas Work. Is it explained in your state?
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
I don't think the checkered pavement is explained in the Texas Work. Is it explained in your state?

They did take it out when they shortened the lecture but put it in the monitor. Some lodges still give that long version though so you will hear it in some Texas lodges being explained.
 

Beathard

Premium Member
Grand Lodge of England says:

The chequered pavement and its border provide material of great symbolical interest. The black and white carpetor the mosaic pavement points out the diversity of objects which decorate and adorn the creation. It points out the uncertainty of all things here on earth – prosperity and adversity, joys and sorrows and our varied and chequered existence through life.
 

LukeD

Registered User
Bro Coach N,

Not sure if you can elaborate more on this forum, but your statement made me think for some time.

"At the same time, these rituals are full of purposeful inaccuracies, strategic red herrings and contrived misdirections, designed to reveal only to those who are worthy and to placate those who refuse to do the Work."

The statement makes sense, but at the same time I'm wondering "have I been learning and absorbing the wrong stuff?"
 

RedTemplar

Johnny Joe Combs
Premium Member
We have the checkered tile in my lodge. On the outside edge of the pavement lay tiles of gray. I have often thought if there is any
symbolic significance to this flooring since black and white represent good and evil, right and wrong, important and unimportant, and etc. could there be a discussion of "gray" areas?
 

cog41

Premium Member
Good and evil, darkness and light, boundaries and borders, purity and vice, wisdom and foolishnes.

This is a good thread.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
We have the checkered tile in my lodge. On the outside edge of the pavement lay tiles of gray. I have often thought if there is any
symbolic significance to this flooring since black and white represent good and evil, right and wrong, important and unimportant, and etc. could there be a discussion of "gray" areas?

Thanks Brother Red. Those gray tiles have gotten us into plenty of trouble through the minilia. Human nature is allowed to show its full potential. Some have extrapolated to their advantage, others have errored to the conservative. Those with insight grow but too often mankind fails miserably.

Yes those gray tiles are of critical importance. They are the result of a maker placing us under the square to decide for ourselves. Too often we have failed to reach for the compasses and guidance from above.
 

jonesvilletexas

Premium Member
The Mosaic, or checkered pavement, represents this world; which, though checkered over with good and evil, yet brethren may walk together thereon and not stumble.
 
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