Grado masónico: definición, historia y los tres grados simbólicos
Definition and General Concept
The Masonic degree corresponds to each stage of knowledge and progress attained by the initiate within the Masonic craft. It constitutes a successive stage in which new symbolisms and teachings aimed at the ethical and personal development of the individual are transmitted. The first three degrees are worked in blue lodges or symbolic lodges, commonly called lodges, and constitute the fundamental core of craft masonry or Craft Freemasonry.
According to Masonic tradition, these three main degrees correspond to the organization of the medieval craft guilds: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. Throughout the initiatic process, candidates are progressively instructed in Masonic symbolism and are entrusted with signs, words, and grips that indicate the degrees they have received.
Historical Evolution
Speculative Freemasonry, as it is known today, was officially created in the 18th century. However, its documentary and ritual precedents date back to the late Middle Ages. The widely accepted tradition, although not directly documented in historical sources, holds that the degrees of contemporary Freemasonry equate to the ancient organization of the guilds of builders of Gothic cathedrals (operative masonry), which included apprentices, fellows of the craft, and masters of the lodge.
The Three Degrees of Blue Masonry
The first three degrees constitute the essential core of Freemasonry and are practically the same in all regular lodges, regardless of the rite or obedience to which they belong. Each degree represents a stage of inner development and a deeper understanding of Masonic symbolism.
First Degree: Entered Apprentice
The first degree is that of Entered Apprentice. It symbolizes the level of ordinary or natural consciousness and the way in which the individual interacts with the world. According to tradition, its symbolic inspiration is found in the Book of Ruth 4:7, which alludes to the act of removing one’s shoes and walking with one’s eyes covered, an image of the initiate’s disposition to receive a new light.
During the initiation ceremony, the candidate is informed of their obligations and is presented with the book of the sacred law. In some lodges, this book is a religious text, generally the Bible; in others, of a secular orientation, it is a Constitution. Likewise, they receive the tools proper to their degree: the apron, the gavel, and the gauge.
The degree is based on three columns representing wisdom, strength, and beauty. The three-step ladder symbolizes the macrocosm, with the chequered pavement, virtue and heaven, and divinity as the ultimate goal. Freemasonry accepts the admission of people of any religious or spiritual belief, and there are even rites that admit those who lack any belief.
Second Degree: Fellow Craft
The second degree is that of Fellow Craft. It symbolizes the level of the individual corresponding to what is called the soul and subconscious. It represents the ascending path up the ladder, in which the Mason advances towards a deeper knowledge of themselves and the universe.
In Freemasonry, the individual themselves is considered the temple; for some rites, it is the temple of God, in reference to the first epistle to the Corinthians (6:19). The work of the second-degree Mason is carried out on the path towards the middle chamber, a symbolic space of greater knowledge.
According to tradition, among the characteristic symbols is a sheaf of wheat, signifying the ancient and conservative world of arcane knowledge. Everything takes place in a setting that reflects the Temple of Solomon, accompanied by the columns J and B, representative of strength and establishment.
The tools given in this degree are instruments of testing or calibration: the plumb rule, the level, and the square. The step or entry into the second degree is called, according to tradition, a raise of wages.
Third Degree: Master Mason
The third degree is that of Master Mason. It symbolizes the level of consciousness, spirituality, and death, which equalizes all human beings. In this degree, the brother is no longer led to the door of the chamber of death as a blind man, but finds it open, ready to face inner transformation.
An allegorical representation is carried out of the death of the wise architect Hiram Abiff, builder of the Temple of Solomon. This allegory symbolizes the death of the self, of the ego or I, symbolically mistreated by three ruffians or demons, whose traditional names are Jubela or Jubelas, Jubelo or Jubelos, and Jubelum or Jubelon, representative of the defects the initiate must overcome. By his death, Hiram Abiff is raised from it and is reborn as a new person. This death and resurrection are carried out in four steps: the reception, the death, the laying down, and the raising of the new person.
The tools given in this degree are the pencil (creativity), the reel or line, and the compasses, design tools that represent the understanding of fundamental laws. The step to the third degree, called the sublime degree of Master Mason, is named exaltation.
A Master Mason may be eligible to join various concordant or appendant bodies that confer additional degrees. Some additional Masonic organizations require that aspirants possess the Master Mason degree to enter.
Higher Degrees and Compatibility Between Rites
From the fourth degree onward, each Masonic rite has its own list of higher degrees. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite has thirty-three degrees, while the York Rite consists of thirteen degrees. Nevertheless, the first three degrees, Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, are common to all regular lodges and constitute the foundation upon which the Masonic edifice rests.
Context and Meaning
Masonic degrees constitute a progressive system of moral and philosophical teaching, structured in stages that allow the initiate to advance in their personal development and in the understanding of the principles of Freemasonry: brotherhood, freedom of conscience, human self-improvement, philanthropy, and tolerance. Far from being mere honorary titles, they represent a commitment to inner work and to the symbolic construction of a moral temple.
The universality of the first three degrees, present in all regular lodges around the world, reflects the essential unity of Freemasonry beyond ritual or administrative differences. Each degree, with its specific symbolism and characteristic tools, offers the Mason a framework for reflection and growth, on a path that, starting from ordinary consciousness, aspires to the understanding of the fundamental laws that govern human existence.
Sources used for verification: