Looking for a little Masonic help

Hello to all of the Masons out there.

I'm looking for a little help with Masonic symbology. I recently inherited a ring owned & worn by a grandfather of mine; unfortunately, he passed away before my birth. From everything I know of him; he was a kind, caring, and generous man; Masonry was a big part of his life; and he was very dedicated to bringing smiles to children's faces through his long-time passion/work as a Shriner clown.

I'm familiar with most of the symbols on the ring, but one eludes me; the one in the lefthand image:



I assume the righthand image is denoting his degree (32nd) upon the creation of the ring, but I'm not sure if the left image is a version of the serpent (usually seen more tightly-wound/"S-shaped"), if it is signifying something Shriner related, or if I'm completely off base.

Any help/clarification would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
redmage

[edit on 5/29/07 by redmage]

Originally posted by redmage
but I'm not sure if the left image is a version of the serpent (usually seen more tightly-wound/"S-shaped"),

It's the Herbrew letter Yod, not a serpent. And it represents the 14th(?) Degree of the Scottish Rite.

Its the hebrew letter Yod, which represents GOD.. which is also on the 14th degree ring, the 32 represents the 32nd degree.

Thanks, to both of you, for the help with identifying the "Yod". I thought it was a bit "straight" to be the serpent (as commonly seen in apron hooks).

And yeah; I knew the significance of the "32", but thanks anyways Rockpuck.

[edit on 5/29/07 by redmage]

The serpent is not officially a Masonic symbol, I have seen them on aprons and rings, necklaces, ect, ect..

It stands for wisdom, rebirth, enlightenment and the year wheel. It is a Celtic symbol, not sure if AF&AM use it more then F&AM or not, it would be interesting to see the differences in symbology if one used the snake and others did not.

The most specific snake used in Masonry is the Ouroboros which is what I described above.. I don't think I have ever seen a random snake, it has to be the Ouroboros with the tail in the mouth.

The Ouroboros type symbol is used in many cultures and "pagan" religions, most a variant based on the Milky Way, however Masonry holds more specific ties to the regions of Scotland, and the AF&AM to Ireland, where the Ouroboros is as described above and was a very, very important symbol in Celtic culture..

The 'Yod' symbol is indeed the 14th degree, The scales are the 16th degree, the rose in the cross is the 18th degree and the 32 is of cxourse for the 32nd degree. There is likely a double headed eagle as the symbol on the top of the ring and is recognized as an emblem representing the Scottish Rite of Masonry

the pyramid surrounding the 32 is pointing down, to a cross, with two eyes representing the underworld.

The snake symbol, again in the bottom part of the star of Baphomet, is a recognition to the Ophites.
www.outlawjournalism.com...

Sorry, if you wanted a nice interpretation, you could have gone to
a masonic forum.

Cutbothways, the page you link to has nothing whatsoever to do with The Scottish Rite of Masonry. Please, if you are going to present information, at least do so with relevant research.

Dredz

I can't say that I'd think someone's a Mason just because they have a Mason ring.I know a lot of folks that have crosses or pentacles simply because they look cool. They may be Christian or Wiccan, or whatever, but they main reason why they were jewelry is because they think it's cool.
Besides, I've seen the rings on occasion in catalogues and thrifts stores, that coupled with the amount of very talented jewelry crafters I know makes it hard for me to ever really associate jewerly with someones beliefs.
It'd make me inclined to ask them if they were Masons though.

Originally posted by stompk/cutbothways
The snake symbol, again in the bottom part of the star of Baphomet, is a recognition to the Ophites.

Are you hoping that everyones reading skills are lacking? The following post was made by Cug and is not very difficult to miss in this otherwise short thread:

Originally posted by Cug
It's the Herbrew letter Yod, not a serpent. And it represents the 14th(?) Degree of the Scottish Rite.

Originally posted by RuneSpider
I can't say that I'd think someone's a Mason just because they have a Mason ring.

I'd say that someone wearing a Masonic ring who is not a Mason would find himself in a very embarrassing situation pretty quickly...!

reply to post by JustMe74


No doubt. I've met a lot of folks who wear stuff because it's cool, not because they actually have any idea about the relative signifacance of the item. Like those kids wearing Rolling Stones shirts and have no idea who they are.
Masonry is cool and mystical and possibly evil (in their eyes) so it's cool for them to wear the rings or other related paraphanelia.
I need to learn smaller words so I can spell better...