The construction of Rosslyn Chapel, located north of Edinburgh in Scotland, was started in about 1446 by William Sinclair, who was reputed to have been a Knight Templar who was probably involved in a war in the Holy Land. While none of those facts have been confirmed, the chapel he built is filled with stone images that, when viewed as a whole, leave the clear impression that the site is religious. However, it is definitely not a Christian site and does not fit easily into any current known religious motif. It is, in a word, a unique and revealing testimony that the architect was very involved in initiation mysteries.
One of the carved stone images inside the chapel symbolizes a Green Man, which in certain religious studies has been associated with so-called pagan religions. After careful study of those images, it seems more likely that the Green Man is consistent with a more Masonic interpretation of the Deity than any other religion or philosophy. The depiction is clearly that of a man’s head with leafy vines growing from the inside extending out through the mouth and traveling upwards forming dense shrubby vegetation.
While the figure could certainly symbolize the endless cycle of the seasons and regeneration commonly found in other clearly defined pagan symbols, its origin is Greek and Roman. For them, the Green Man represented the full flowering of education and thus inspired those who contemplated the quest for knowledge. The Green Man later found his way into Christian symbolism where he represented the immortality of the spirit and the resurrection of Jesus. Regardless of whether the Green Man represents Jesus uniting Heaven with Earth, or the more simplistic search for knowledge, it is undeniable that he also represents the growth of the spirit of man.
Art is the seed of man’s spirituality, because from a simple phrase in a literary masterpiece, or from a line drawn in a painting, messages and ideas sprout that whoever reads or observes can interpret for their respective personal improvement. It is the basis for the regeneration of humanity, or the transmutation from a state of unknowing to a state of knowing, just as the ancient alchemists transformed tin into gold. Thus, the Green Man symbolizes the wisdom that man acquires from the knowledge he has acquired as a direct result of his growth in spiritual matters beginning with the mustard seed, or the smallest particle of spiritual knowledge imparted to him.
It is fair to ask at this point what art a Freemason should explore. Should it be an examination of Da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper, which aroused so much interest in recent exciting books and movies about the legend surrounding the ancient Knights Templar? Is it the total and complete absorption of all literary works written by Albert Pike? Or is he expected to absorb other types of art and discern the messages about God from those? Although the answer that all art is important for the growth of man is inaccurate, it is the truthful answer.
A secret of the Freemasons is that the affinity with the pursuit of knowledge has never been solely because it benefits the learner, but because it eventually benefits those with whom the learner comes into contact. Masonic writers who have explored both the science and philosophy of alchemy have also given us insight into how the Green Man represents the benefit of one man’s knowledge to another man’s well-being. Freemasonry has consistently embraced the belief that the Supreme Architect of the Universe manifests through human growth – the impulse that moves from within a human being into a manifestation of action. There is no greater miracle than the one produced by the tiny mustard seed, which, when planted in the ground, produces a bush thousands of times larger than itself. The Holy Bible contains a parable that uses the tiny mustard seed to illustrate an important spiritual truth about the power of faith. In Freemasonry, the Craft teaches that the Supreme Architect manifests through an infinity of forms that implant themselves in the dark material earth. One of those forms is art, which Freemasons are taught to understand and create.
Scholars from around the world are currently engaged in a concerted effort to identify the historical beginnings of Freemasonry. They do this by following several avenues that promise empirical certainty once fully analysed. However, since Freemasonry includes a diverse number of disciplines, it is unlikely that the true origins will be discovered without a thorough evaluation of the symbolism that Freemasonry has selected over the centuries to impart wise and serious truths. A famous Masonic writer has gone further and stated that the origins of Freemasonry will never be traced, because that origin is veiled by a superphysical mystery. Whether or not we know the full truth about the origin of Freemasonry, one can begin the effort by parting that veil and studying the various symbols of the Craft, as well as the various works of art created from the depths of the soul and spirit of man. . .
There are essentially two methods by which man can grow: by observing Nature, or by creating and appreciating art. The true artist models his work after the laws of Nature, either by adopting all that Nature has revealed, or by assimilating as much of what exists in Nature as is necessary to complete the design envisioned by the artist. It is from such designs that humanity learns humanity’s place in the Magnus Opus of all works of art: the grand design of the Supreme Architect of the Universe.
The art of deciphering the secrets of the Freemasons and the symbols used by the Freemasons can be used to unlock unsuspected wisdom most likely originally possessed by those who lent those symbols to the fraternity. Old books with wrong paginations, as well as a host of secret alphabets used over the centuries, should be included in the decipherment effort. Because subtle methods were often used to hide divine truths from the uninitiated. As a specific example, consider the literary works of Shakespeare, believed by some to actually be the works of Sir Francis Bacon: that renowned Rosicrucian and Freemason, said to have been the legitimate son of Elizabeth I; dedicated to the charitable works of Art; and in desperate need of “political cover” to avoid detection as the author of politically inflammatory writing such as is found in several of Shakespeare’s plays. What is the truth? Can it be determined by studying the artwork itself? Is it worth knowing? The answers to those questions can only come to those who take the time to explore the works and decide for themselves.
The Green Man symbolism also teaches us that growth is experiential, that is, it can only be experienced to fully understand. The same goes for the “secrets” of Freemasonry. Those “secrets”, like understanding what growth means, can’t be revealed even if someone really wants to sit down and explain them to the whole world. Like death, Freemasonry can only be “experienced”, and therefore the “secrets” remain hidden from all who choose never to enjoy the experience. That is what happens with our Green Man, for it is from his mouth that the vegetation grows and around his head the resulting growth coils. He grows, experiences and becomes wise.
And you?
