The Beehive
An emblem of industry, recommending that virtue to every created being from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile of the dust.
What it means
One of the Master Mason's emblems in the monitors. The lesson is industry, and with it the duty to be useful to others: the monitors say that he who will not endeavor to add to the common stock of knowledge may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature.
The beehive was a popular emblem across many 19th-century fraternal orders, so not every beehive on an antique is Masonic.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Beehive mean in Freemasonry?
An emblem of industry, recommending that virtue to every created being from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile of the dust.
Who can wear the Beehive?
This is a lesson rather than a badge. It turns up on Lodge charts, prints and gifts, and owning or displaying one says nothing about rank. On a lapel most people will read it as Masonic.
Sources
Drawn from the published monitors and from what the bodies concerned publish about themselves. Nothing here comes from, or goes beyond, any obligated material.
- Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry (1797)
- Jeremy L. Cross, The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor (1819)