I hope this message finds you and your family safe and healthy. If there is
anything that is needed, please reach out to the Relief Committee, and we
will try to help as best we can.
I, for one, am looking forward to returning to our labors after these summer months. I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time out of doors in nature. In our increasingly technological world, nature can get lost. We each need to spend time marveling at the way the elements of our natural world fit together, each part of that world supporting another. The environment is not just a “cause;” it is where we all live, an atmosphere from which we can gain inspiration.
What’s in a number?
As we continue with our observation and awareness of the use and meaning of numbers all around us, another number pops up in Freemasonry, The Number Seven.
Some say the number 7 resonates with the vibrations and energies of the ‘Collective Consciousness’, faith and spirituality, spiritual awakening and awareness, spiritual enlightenment, spiritual acceptance and development, mysticism, intuition and inner-knowing, inner-wisdom, etc.
When it comes to the biblical meanings of the number 7, we have to say that it is the number of perfection and completeness. The first time when number 7 was used in the Bible was in Genesis 1, in which number 7 was used to determine the week of creation. The word “created” is mentioned 7 times in Genesis and it is used to describe the creative work of God. Additionally, in the bible, the number 7 is used 735 times (54 times in the book of Revelation alone), and is the foundation of God’s word. If we include with this count how many times ‘sevenfold’ (6) and ‘seventh’ (119) is used, our total jumps to 860 references.
We have also to take into account that number 7 is actually the sum of numbers 3 and 4. Number 4 is known as a number of hard work and personal efforts, while number 3 is related to mysticism and creativity. As Freemasons, we need only look at our aprons to see where the numbers 4 and 3 show up. Does Freemasonry lead us to perfection?
Many allusions exist to the sacredness of Seven in Freemasonry: The seven steps of the FC Degree, the seven liberal arts and sciences, and the seven working tools, among others. What is necessary to consider, however, is not the number or the numerology or the application of “seven” to sacred geometry. As interesting and engaging as these exercises may be, they must not be mistaken for the thing itself, that the number 7 must “trigger” in our mind a process for action and behavior. Namely, as Masons, it is a signal to our minds and hearts that we must move our thoughts, intentions, and imagination from the material to the spiritual. We must be actively working to push our thinking, feeling, and action toward work that is aligned with Masonic spirit.
Fraternally,
Worshipful Bro. Peter