WHY DO DEACONS CARRY WANDS?

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WHY DO DEACONS CARRY WANDS?

 
         
   

Greetings Visitor,

 

The origins of many Masonic ceremonies and associated phenomena derive from both the ancient mysteries and rites of thousands of years ago as well as from the customs and practices of operative building masons of the middle ages. The current practice of deacons carrying wands is no exception but rather a case in point. In brief, deacons are messengers or attendants, and they carry wands as a continuation of a tradition - because messengers and attendants of ancient times did, traditionally, carry wands.


There is a word – asherah - which is relevant when discussing “Why deacons carry wands”. This word originated from Hebrew and has two English dictionary meanings: one is that it is a sacred wood and the other that it means a Semitic Goddess. Functionally, the word asherah refers to a wooden staff about 6 (six) feet in length which was carried by the attendants of the high priest in ancient times as insignia of their office.

 

The wooden staffs were named for the Goddess Asherah who was the mother of the twins – Shachar (God of dawn), and Shalem (God of dusk). The lecture on first degree tracing board informs us that a masonic lodge is situated due east and west for several reasons: the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and that all holy and scared buildings, such as, places of worship, are also so situated. Indeed the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple at Jerusalem were so situated. As we learned recently from the paper presented by W Bro Ravi Bowry on the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, Moses and his followers were constantly on the move for over 40 years.

 

The Tabernacle, which was a TENT, had to be dismantled and erected again every time they moved, and in re-building it, it had to be situated due East and West. In order to do this, Moses and his two attendants would go, before dawn, to the chosen site where the Tabernacle was to be erected, of course, accompanied by the group of men to do the erecting. Moses would then choose the spot where the altar was to be situated and instruct one of the attendants (representing Shachar – God of dawn) to place his asherah on the spot. When the sun rose above the horizon, the rays from the sun would strike the asherah and send a long thin shadow towards the west.

 

The other attendant (representing Shalem – God of dusk) would then place his asherah on the other end of the shadow, and that would designate the centre line of the proposed Tabernacle. Being the very first tools or implements to be used at the building of the Temple makes them of extreme Masonic importance from a historical point of view, and as such their current equivalents (the wands) should be carried at all times as insignia of the office of the Deacons (attendants), especially when conducting a candidate.

 


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