DUTIES:

To enlighten our souls and minds.

To instruct and enlighten the people.

To be vigilant to the interests and honor of

our country.

FOR REFLECTION:

Do principles shape and control your conduct

or are you guided by sentiment?

IMPORTANT SYMBOLS:

The assassin Abairam, the cave with a pale light

and fountain, the stranger Pharos, The Master Hiram

as Human Freedom.

The Ninth Degree

"Elu of the Nine

~ Summary ~

Fear and ignorance are the two major enemies which

enslave men. It is important that we do not become

slaves of certain ideas; that we have the power to

fight against ignorance and intolerance for the sake

of civilization and our own intellectual freedom. It

is our duty to morally raise our own conscience, to

enlighten our souls and minds so that we may actively

participate in instructing and enlightening others.

The apron is white lambskin spotted with red; it

is lined and bordered in black. An arm holding a

dagger is painted or embroidered on the flap. In

In the middle is an arm holding a bloody head by

the hair. The apron is an emblem of Masonry and

Truth sprinkled with the blood of those who have

been persecuted for the sake of both. It is also

representative of the darkness of ignorance, error and intolerance, with which the world is shrouded,

and through which Masonry moves like a star,

dispensing light and knowledge and toleration. The arm holding a dagger reminds us of the

execution of the sentence registered in heaven

against ignorance and error. The hand holding the

bloody head represents the just punishment of

those who degrade and brutalize the human soul,

by hiding from it the light of knowledge.

The cordon is a broad, black watered ribbon, worn from the right shoulder to the left hip; from the end of the cordon hangs the jewel. At the lower end are nine red rosettes, four on each side and one at the bottom. The rosettes symbolize the original nine Elus or 'Elected' who were chosen by King Solomon to seek out the assassins of Hiram. They also represent the nine virtues taught in this degree; disinterestedness, courtesy, devotion, firmness, frankness, generosity, self-denial, heroism and patriotism. The color of the cordon reminds us ever to lament the prevalence of ignorance, oppression and error. We should strive to overcome them by means of the above excellent qualities of an Elu of Nine.

The jewel is a dagger, its hilt of gold and its blade of silver. These two metals in combination symbolize the brilliance of the combined light of the sun and the moon. We also see this meaning in the ancient Han characters of China where the character for 'sun' is merged with the character for 'moon' to form the character for 'brilliant'. This dagger is not an emblem of false bravery but of the weapons of legitimate warfare, which an Elu of Nine may lawfully use, and especially of the two-edged sword of truth with which every Mason should be armed. A reference to the dagger is also found in the lecture for the Knight of the Brazen Serpent Degree, "Even the dagger of the Elu of the Nine is that used by the Mysteries of Mithras [a Persian deity]; which, with its blade black and hilt white, was an emblem of the two principles of Light and Darkness" (p. 506). We shall see this symbol repeated in the poniard of the 30th Degree.

" For those who have received their initial Masonic instruction in Symbolic Lodge where the assassins are

executed in the 3rd Degree, the drama of the Elu of the Nine may be confusing. The Scottish Rite degrees differ

markedly from those of the York Rite Symbolic Lodge with respect to this portion of the allegory. The assassins are not apprehended in the Master' Degree but in the 9th and 10th Degrees." (p. 56)

"The word 'Elu' which appears in this and following degrees is a French word meaning 'elect' and refers to

those chosen or elected to find and inflict punishment upon the three assassins. 'Elect' was also a term used by

the Gnostics. It defined someone who was in possession of the 'gnosis' or divine knowledge acquired by

revelation." (p. 56)