The Three Steps

The Three Steps can be interpreted in many ways, but ultimately the symbol comes to represent the three stages of life: Youth, Manhood, and Age, which correlate to both the three degrees of masonry, and the three pedestal officers of the lodge.

The first step is emblematic of Youth, and the lessons taught in the Entered Apprentice Degree. In the First Degree, you are a child in Masonry, learning the most basic forms and customs of the craft.

On this step you learn to govern your body and actions with temperance and restraint, setting the foundation for your future intellectual and spiritual growth. The Body is the focus of the first degree, also the responsibility of the Junior Warden, who’s duty to call the Craft from Labor to Refreshment allows him to see that the basic needs of “rest” and “nourishment” of the Body of the Lodge (the members) is satisfied – and Refreshment to Labor again to made certain that idleness and over-indulgence do not disrupt the work.

The second step represents Manhood. A man has mastered those basic skills needed to live (“the Body”), and is now free to improve the Mind, make use of the intellect God has bestowed upon Him to begin the unending struggle to understand the universe around him. This lesson is exemplified in the Fellow Craft Degree, as the candidate is encouraged to study the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences in an effort to grow the mind, to be able to appreciate the majesty of Creation through observation, and to satisfy that need for understanding through study. In Manhood we enjoy the richness of life, reward for the labor of right-living represented as wages – those same wages symbolically paid by the Senior Warden in the West.

The third step represents Age, or the twilight of life. It is this time that man has attained the wisdom of years, and naturally begins to ponder the more spiritual aspects of existence. In the Master Mason Degree, we are assured of the immortality of the soul, and are encouraged to prepare our souls for eternity. The wisdom of Age is embodied in the East, where the Master of the lodge, a symbol of King Solomon, is expected to guide the Craft under his care with a wisdom brought about through study, and adherence to all Masonic principles.

Collectively, the Three Steps represent man’s complete journey through life, and illustrate how the lessons taught in our degrees apply to our physical, intellectual, and spiritual development.

-CAR