THE LETTER "G" - Kamloops Freemasons

THE LETTER "G" 

A summary of ideas absorbed from reading an essay on the subject as written by Bro. Harry Carr 

and placed by him in the records of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076 London on the 

premier Lodge of Masonic Research, Vol. LXXVI 1963. 

1390: Geometry was of importance in the oldest documents of the Craft. When Euclid was 

mentioned he was reported to have taught the art of building, and that "he gave it the name of 

Geometry, now universally called Masonry". Thus the "G" symbol from its earliest beginnings 

must have represented Geometry:-Masonry. 

1700: The first appearance of the Blazing Star in the ritual text does not mention either the "G" 

or Geometry. Inferentially it was a divine symbol. 

1727-1730: In the ritual, the Blazing Star was for the E.A.; the G was for the F.C., now having 

two connotations, Geometry and God. The G was in the centre of the Lodge. In the English 

rituals which we use, the Lecture on the Second Degree Tracing Board, the letter "G" means 

GOD, the G.G.O.T.U. Also during the closing of the Second Degree it is mentioned again: 

W.M.: To whom does it (the sacred symbol) allude? 

J.W.: To God, the G.G. of the Universe. 

1726-1740: The "G" was a cut-out letter, a three dimensional symbol, sometimes irradiated, 

frequently in a combination of the G and the Blazing Star. There was a suggestion that the 

combination of the G and the Blazing Star turned the E.A. Lodge into a F.C. Lodge; or that the 

combination may belong to the M.M. 

1744-1751: On the Continent, in the ritual, the Blazing Star was one of the ornaments of the 

Lodge. The "G" was associated with the Great Light (in the Middle Chamber) and there was a 

Divine connotation i.e. Glory, Grandeur, Geometry; "Glory to God, Grandeur for the Master of 

the Lodge, Geometry for the Brethren. 

1760-1766: English evidence suggested that the G and the Blazing Star were falling out of use in 

the ritual, but appeared in the Tracing Boards, combined into one symbol i.e.: an irradiated "G" 

or a Blazing Star with a G in its centre. 

1775: Hutchison noted that the G did not mean God alone but seemed to imply that the 

"Geometry" meaning had faded, and that the Craft had begun to accept an interpretation similar 

to that which is in use today. The French exposure "Le Catechism" sated that the letter "G" 

signified God in English, that is to say DIEU, or "One that is greater than me." 

Thus we have the Blazing Star as part of the furniture of the E.A. Lodge. Then the "G", "placed 

in the middle of the Blazing Star" transforms the E.A. Lodge to a F.C. Lodge. The Blazing Star 

was usually in the form of a pentalph, a 5-pointed star, either by itself or as a frame for the "G". 

The triangle as the frame for the "G" was a later development. The "G" within the 6-pointed star 

(or the Shield of David) was a still later (and rare) development. 

1776: A new symbol, "The All-Seeing Eye" appeared in a blaze of light. This All-Seeing Eye 

was described as the Eye of Providence. 

Anderson in his Book of Constitutions, (and other Masons following him) laid great stress on 

Geometry and might well have encouraged the introduction of the letter "G". Hutchinson said 

"To apply its significance to the name of GOD only is depriving it of its Masonic importance. 

But even he seems to have suggested that the "G" became a revered or sacred symbol, rather than 

a scientific one. 

The "G" in Modern Practice: 

ENGLAND: 1* The B.C. is a 7-pointed irradiated 

Star within a circle. No "G". In the 

Lecture on the 1st Tracing Board and in the

1st lecture, described as an "ornament." 

2* The candidate is passed to F.C. 

for the sake of Geometry, the 5th science. 

The lecture on the T.B. states that the 

Letter "G" is to denote GOD, the G.G.O.T.U. 

Also in the closing in the 2nd*, the J.W. 

says it refers to God, the G.G.O.T.U. The 

B.S. is a luminous transparency above the 

Master's Chair. In 3* frequently appears 

made to the Bright Morning Star. The "G" 

frequently appears in the middle of the 

Shield of David. But there is no uniformity 

of practice relating to "tangible" 

symbols in England. 

SCOTLAND: The "G" is above the altar in the centre of the lodge, and sometimes over the 

Master's chair. A quote sates: "Behold, brother, the letter "G" suspended in the East. It is the 

initial letter of Geometry, the first and noblest of sciences." 

IRELAND: The "G" is not referred to at any time in the degrees. It is displayed over the Master's 

chair suggesting that the "G" does not mean God nor geometry but rather as word is scripture. 

GERMANY: 1* The "G" n a Blazing Star in a 

Pentagram, the "G" means God. 

2* The "G" in centre of a 6-pointed 

star (hexagram), "G" meaning geometry. 

3* The "G" in a transparent hexagram 

in the East; hinting "Golgotha". 

NETHERLANDS: The "G" in a 5-pointed star (pentagram) on the T.B. on the floor. The "G" is 

also within a B.S. above the Master's Chair. One educated Dutch M.M. stated his opinion that the 

letter "G" should not be explained at all in Masonic Ritual; it is meant, he said, to have a certain, 

"Allusive" value, and the road to various explanations should be left open. 

SCANDINAVIA: The "G" in the middle of the T.B. on floor of the lodge; also "G" transparency 

in the West. In M.M.* the "G" is in the East, above the W.M. and is explained as geometry. 

NEW YORK & CONN: The "G" refers to Geometry, "the first and noblest science" (actually the 

fifth). The "G" also refers to a higher and more significant meaning, "initial letter of God." 

BRAZIL: (Portuguese) The letter "G" is for Deus, O Grande Geometra do Universo. 

Some modern interpretations: 

GNOSIS: A philosophy of mystical wisdom claimed by the Agnostics whereby the "G" had an 

insight into the "hidden mysteries of Nature and Science." 

GIMEL: The 3rd letter in the Hebrew alphabet approximately equivalent to the English letter G. 

It was a "gallows" square. 

GREEK: The Greek G. (signifying Geometry) was a right angle. Also the Greek word for GOD 

was a right angle, circle and triangle. 

ENGLAND: The B.S. was regarded as a symbol of inner light in Freemasonry. Also Geometry 

as an explanation of the "G" does not account for the profound reverence accorded the symbol. 

Final Note: "Within the vast boundaries of Masonry there is room for every shade of 

interpretation. The Craft is strengthened and enriched by these variations and by the absence of 

uniformity." 

By Bro. S. P. Halls,

Published in Tracing Board, Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, during the year 1972. 

D. Roy Murray 

King Solomon Lodge, No. 13, GRS 

Victoria Lodge, No. 13, GRA 

DDGM District No. 20, GRA, 1970-1971

THE LETTER "G" - Kamloops Freemasons

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