(Continued from page 50) stone was referred to just as a green stone. ● Sapphire: A saturated shade of blue, but may not have been an actual sapphire as it was unlikely they were well known or used in the ancient times. ● Diamond: most likely a white or clear stone as the art of cutting diamonds had not been attained in that day.
The Third Row consisted of the following stones: ● Ligure: A yellowish (sometimes pale) mineral. ● Agate: Commonly used in Egypt and Assyria as talismans, they were said to be sky blue. ● Amethyst: A purple stone which was thought to stop you from getting intoxicated and its name literally means "not intoxicating".
The Fourth Row consisted of the following stones: ● Beryl: A stone said to be the color of the sea (blue-green). ● Onyx: An opaque, banded stone. ● Jasper: A red stone often thought to be a ruby.
High Priest's Miter On the High Priest's head is the white fine linen turban or mitre/miter. Round the base of the turban is the crown of gold, with the inscription "Holiness to the Lord". The shape and look of the mitre may change and in today's world we see an evolved style of the mitre in the headdress of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The Hebrew word mitznefet ()תפנצמ has been translated as "mitre" (KJV) or "headdress". It
was most likely a "turban", as the word comes from the root "to wrap". Crowns, mitres, headdresses, hats, and so on have traditionally been symbols of authority or sovereignty. Head coverings can also be seen as symbols of victory such as we see with the wreath or garland. For Christians the crown (and those who wear it) is said to remind us of the Crown of Thorns Christ wore as well as Christ being the King of Kings. Symbolically we can see through its circular shape it denotes perfection, which Heaven is seen as, and eternal life, and while wearing it we unite the spiritual world with this material world where the sovereign can receive divine inspiration to justly rule.
Triple Tau The Triple Tau is one of the most prominent symbols of Royal Arch Masonry and has been given many different interpretations throughout its use in the world. It is literally three (3) Tau's linked in the center joined at their base. The 'tau' is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, but it is not the letter "T" in the English language. Some of the symbolic interpretations of this symbol I will cite from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia-Yukon: This mystical character can be signified in a few different ways. First, the names Hiram of Tyre and Hiram Abif appear in the Phoenican language with the same letters “H” and “T” as they do in English. Therefore, the Triple Tau takes on the interpretation of the initial letters in Hiram Abif’s name.
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