Brother Cliff Porter’s paper “Traditionally Speaking” [1] focused on the use of the Chamber of Reflection (COR) as part of the Initiation ceremony, particularly in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite rituals for the Craft Degrees. It is not surprising that the numerous symbols present in the COR have direct links to alchemical lore. In fact, the entire initiation process in the AASR is full of alchemical symbolism, and the initiation ceremony is truly a complex process of purification in several stages, the candidate passing through consecutive symbolic purifications by the four elements of antiquity: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. This corresponds roughly to the stages of Alchemy’s Magnum Opus: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubredo (Black, White, Blue/Green and Red).

              The COR is symbolically the purification by the Earth. One of the most important symbols that the candidate sees in the chamber is the legend V.I.T.R.I.O.L. This stands for the Latin sentence: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Ocultum Lapidem which, freely translated, means: Visit the Interior of the Earth and by Purification you will find the Hidden Stone. This legend appears in the alchemical treatise by Basile Valentin, “L’Azoth des Philosophes” (1659) which purports to teach how to make the Philosopher’s stone that will turn other metals into gold. This symbol is rarely analyzed for all its worth and this is the purpose of this paper.

            The usual explanation for displaying this legend in the COR is that by introspection, purifying the mind, that is, by eliminating “impure” thoughts (which can be equated with the vices) man comes to discover his true inner personality, the core of being that holds a spark of the divine hidden inside, and this discovery, this knowledge, as if making use of the philosopher’s stone will enable transmutation of the candidate into a better, more spiritual human being (Cf. VITRIOL in Symboldictionary.net/?p=2658). Inviting the candidate to contemplate VITRIOL as a first step towards his initiation makes it part of the gradual process of purification, necessary prerequisite for a successful initiation, much like the divestment of metals.

            But, what this introspection really is? Literally, the word means to look inside. That is, to reflect on our own thoughts, desires, aspirations, fears and affections. In some Masonic rituals, this concept is stressed in another way. At a certain point of the initiation ceremony, a mirror is disclosed in front of the candidate, who sees reflected his own image. In other rituals, the mirror is placed in the COR. In both cases, the intention is clear: to point out to the candidate that he must look within himself in order for the initiatory transformation of the Masonic ceremony to reach its fruition.

            It is important to pay attention to the use of the verb “to visit”. It signals that the introspection demanded must be a round-trip journey. Clearly, a prolonged stay in the profound and tenebrous region of the psyche (the “interior of the earth”) is dangerous and may result in madness. This is the perilous mystic experience described by the Cabbalists as “entering the Pardes” (the Garden). According to the famous Cabbalistic parable, four entered the Pardes, but only Rabbi Akiva “ascended in peace and descended in peace”. i.e. returned unharmed. [2]  

            The “interior of the earth” also refers to the well-known parallel between the earth and the maternal uterus. The candidate, who spends some time in the underground cave symbolized by the COR, is being prepared for his symbolic rebirth, when he sees the light. Masons are known as “sons of the light”.

            The stone mentioned in the VITRIOL has a wealth of esoteric symbolism. [3] The relation between stone and father (Petra-Pater) is well known, but what is less recognized is that a similar connection exists in Hebrew, the language spoken by God in the Bible. In Hebrew, stone is “even” (aleph-beth-noon), father is “av” (aleph-beth) and son is “ben” (beth-noon), so the stone combines father and son. The stone as surrogate for man appears in numerous mythological stories, such as the tale of Cadmus, the one of Deucalion and Pyrrhus, or the stone Abadir devoured by Saturn, mistaking it for Jupiter [4]. In his Alchemical Studies (p. 93), C. G. Jung quotes an alchemist stating that “As man is composed of the four elements, so also is the stone.”

            In another book, Man and his Symbols (p. 210), Jung quotes the Arabian alchemist Morienus, who wrote “This (the philosophers’ stone) is extracted from you, you are its mineral, and one can find it in you.”

            Some authors consider that the VITRIOL stone represents the philosopher’s stone (Lapis Philosophorum), that product of the alchemical work which enabled transmuting base metals into gold and acted as the panacea, the universal remedy to cure all sickness. Paracelsus wrote that the stone of the philosophers is the symbol of Christ (Jung, Alchemical Studies, p. 127).

            Being hard and imperishable, stone is the strongest building material, representing as well the immutability and permanence of the human soul, not subject to the vicissitudes of time. There are many kinds of stones, each with its particular symbolism. Precious stones, for example, among other things, refer to the Ephod of the High Priest in Jerusalem’s Temple, who wore it over his breast when addressing the Lord.

            The keystone, that strangely-shaped stone that holds together the entire arch, features in a separate Masonic degree: Mark Master. Another special stone is the cornerstone, which determines the position of the building, also known as the foundation stone. The neophyte, the newly initiated Mason, is placed in the North-East corner of the lodge, the traditional location of the cornerstone. This also hints at the role that will be played by the Fellow Craft in the Third-Degree ceremony: “the ancient and widely prevalent practice of ‘Foundation Sacrifice’, first of actually living human beings… to ensure the stability of the edifice that was to be executed.” [5]

            The “occult stone” of VITRIOL is covered, veiled, for that is the meaning of occult; to find it, one must unveil it, which stresses the fact that the physical procedure of unveiling the candidate to see the light must be duplicated in the spiritual realm in order for initiation to fulfill its mission.

           

 

[1]  The Journal of the Masonic Society, Issue 20, Spring II 2013, pp. 28-29.

[2]  Sholem, Gershom, Kabbalah, Keter, Jerusalem, 1988, p. 13.

[3] See, for instance, my paper “The symbolism of stone”, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, London, Vol. 106 (1993), October 1994.

[4]  Cirlot, J. E., A dictionary of Symbols, Dorset Press, New York, 1991, p. 314.

[5]  Horne, Alex, Sources of Masonic Symbolism, Missouri Lodge of Research, 1981, p. 38.