The Square and Compasses
The emblem of Freemasonry: the square for testing conduct against a standard, the compasses for keeping desires within due bounds.
Also called: square and compass · Masonic logo
What it means
The single most recognized mark of the fraternity, and the one on most of what is sold as Masonic. It joins two instruments of the operative trade. The square, used to test whether a stone is cut true, is taken as morality: squaring your actions. The compasses, used by the designer to draw a bounded circle, are taught as the instrument for circumscribing desires and keeping passions within due bounds toward all mankind.
Together with the Volume of the Sacred Law, the square and compasses make up the three great lights of the Lodge, so the emblem is not decoration: the same two objects lie on the altar at every meeting.
The American form usually puts a letter G in the center; the English form usually does not. Neither is more correct.
Points-in or points-out on a ring, and which hand to wear it on, are matters of custom and personal meaning, not law. The ring guide covers the arguments.
In context: The Masonic Ring Guide to Points In or Out, Metals, and Sizing
Related Lodge offices: Senior Deacon
Frequently asked questions
What does the Square and Compasses mean in Freemasonry?
The emblem of Freemasonry: the square for testing conduct against a standard, the compasses for keeping desires within due bounds.
Who can wear the Square and Compasses?
Worn as jewelry or on a lapel, this is read as a claim to be a Freemason, so it is customarily worn by Master Masons. As a print, a book, or a gift for a Mason, it implies nothing about the giver.
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)
- William Preston, Illustrations of Masonry (1772)
- Albert G. Mackey, An Encyclopædia of Freemasonry (1873)