The Past Master's Jewel
The emblem of a man who has served as Worshipful Master of his Lodge: in most American jurisdictions, open compasses on a quarter-circle with a sun at the center.
Also called: past master emblem · compasses and quadrant · compass sun and quadrant
What it means
A Past Master is a Mason who has been installed and has served a term as Worshipful Master. It is an honor for service, not a degree, and it does not place him above the Master Mason degree.
The American pattern is the compasses opened on a quadrant (a quarter-circle arc), usually with a sun between the legs. In England and jurisdictions following English practice, the Past Master's jewel is the square with the diagram of the forty-seventh problem of Euclid hanging inside it. Each Grand Lodge sets its own patterns and rules for Past Masters' regalia (in Pennsylvania, the Ahiman Rezon governs), so check before ordering an apron or jewel.
Past Master rings, aprons and jewels are among the most common gifts Lodges give a Master at the end of his year. That is the right way for one to arrive.
In context: Gifts for a Visiting Grand Lodge Officer and the "Purple" Visit
Related Lodge offices: Past Master
Frequently asked questions
What does the Past Master's Jewel mean in Freemasonry?
The emblem of a man who has served as Worshipful Master of his Lodge: in most American jurisdictions, open compasses on a quarter-circle with a sun at the center.
Who can wear the Past Master's Jewel?
Only a man who has actually served as Worshipful Master of a Lodge may wear the Past Master's emblem. If you are buying a gift, confirm he has completed his year; a Past Master ring for a brother who has not served is a gift he cannot wear.
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)
- Albert G. Mackey, An Encyclopædia of Freemasonry (1873)
- Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania