I personally think it is a direct allusion to the light of truth described by plato in the allegory of the cave. Much of masonic ritual is borrowed from the writings of Plato and his allegories and Socratic dialogues.
This excerpt from "the timaeus" you should recognize from the entered apprentice initiation ritual.
Timaeus: "All men, Socrates, who have any degree of right feeling, at the beginning of every enterprise, whether small or great, always call upon God."
For those not familiar with the history of Plato's academy in Athens, it was founded in the 5th century BC and destroyed by the Roman empire in the 5th century AD shortly after the official adoption of Christianity by the empire. I have no doubt that the mathematicians and philosophers sought refuge by practicing their skills hidden within other organizations who had need of skilled geometry.
This Light is two fold. The Light meaning God and the Light meaning Truth. So when we are called to spread the light means that we have to share what we have learned with others.
Reaching to the Light (God) means that we have to work in ourself to be the best person we can in order to reach union with God. Traveling to the West or down the spiral staircase is the metaphor for this work.
In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum and polarization.
In my opinion, once we realise that we believe in so many things that we can't prove exist with the five senses, it is a small step to believe heavenly and evil forces exist all around us.
For example, when we turn on the car radio, we know that radio waves connect our radio with the radio station miles away even tho we can't see, hear, feel, taste or smell the radio waves, we have to believe all the radio stations waves surround us daily even when the radio isn't on. The same is true of our cell phones which are all connected by radio waves and many other things we cannot see.
I believe we find "Light" by masonic education. Individually by study and collectively by education talks at EVERY stated meeting. I think one knows they have some of it when they learn something new about freemasonry that requires a change in their understanding and actions, but one also realizes. that as a Freemason. that one is constantly seeking "more light" and probably will never achieve complete illumination in their lifetime.
Great question. I don't believe their is one answer. A lot of good ones on the responses. Masonically, you can take for example, the square and compass. According to ancient Eastern mythology (ie Nuwa and Fuxi), the compass makes a circle, representing light, spirit or the heavens. Whereas the square, represent the material, physical, or the earth. We are born into darkness. When in darkness some seek light, meaning the spirit, or the realm of the Pleroma (Light).
When one squares the circle, it's a meaning to bring the spirit into the body, where the two opposing forces become one.
Thank you for sharing all of these perspectives Brothers. These are questions that I have pondered for a long time. I presume that the answers might well be different for every Mason, and I think that is right and proper, for I think that Freemasonry itself is rightly interpreted differently by every Freemason.
We learn, I think, when our interpretations are challenged, forcing us to think more deeply.
I personally think it is a direct allusion to the light of truth described by plato in the allegory of the cave. Much of masonic ritual is borrowed from the writings of Plato and his allegories and Socratic dialogues.
This excerpt from "the timaeus" you should recognize from the entered apprentice initiation ritual.
Timaeus: "All men, Socrates, who have any degree of right feeling, at the beginning of every enterprise, whether small or great, always call upon God."
For those not familiar with the history of Plato's academy in Athens, it was founded in the 5th century BC and destroyed by the Roman empire in the 5th century AD shortly after the official adoption of Christianity by the empire. I have no doubt that the mathematicians and philosophers sought refuge by practicing their skills hidden within other organizations who had need of skilled geometry.
This Light is two fold. The Light meaning God and the Light meaning Truth. So when we are called to spread the light means that we have to share what we have learned with others.
Reaching to the Light (God) means that we have to work in ourself to be the best person we can in order to reach union with God. Traveling to the West or down the spiral staircase is the metaphor for this work.
In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum and polarization.
In my opinion, once we realise that we believe in so many things that we can't prove exist with the five senses, it is a small step to believe heavenly and evil forces exist all around us.
For example, when we turn on the car radio, we know that radio waves connect our radio with the radio station miles away even tho we can't see, hear, feel, taste or smell the radio waves, we have to believe all the radio stations waves surround us daily even when the radio isn't on. The same is true of our cell phones which are all connected by radio waves and many other things we cannot see.
I believe we find "Light" by masonic education. Individually by study and collectively by education talks at EVERY stated meeting. I think one knows they have some of it when they learn something new about freemasonry that requires a change in their understanding and actions, but one also realizes. that as a Freemason. that one is constantly seeking "more light" and probably will never achieve complete illumination in their lifetime.
Light, is that which enables us to see. Depending on where we are in our development, it might mean different things.
I'll make it more interesting. Light enable us to see, but we also has to understand what is that that we see.
Light "per se" is not visible. It becomes "visible" when it bounces off of an object.
And what we see is not what it really is, because an object absorb light except the one we actually see.
Great question. I don't believe their is one answer. A lot of good ones on the responses. Masonically, you can take for example, the square and compass. According to ancient Eastern mythology (ie Nuwa and Fuxi), the compass makes a circle, representing light, spirit or the heavens. Whereas the square, represent the material, physical, or the earth. We are born into darkness. When in darkness some seek light, meaning the spirit, or the realm of the Pleroma (Light).
When one squares the circle, it's a meaning to bring the spirit into the body, where the two opposing forces become one.
Thank you for sharing all of these perspectives Brothers. These are questions that I have pondered for a long time. I presume that the answers might well be different for every Mason, and I think that is right and proper, for I think that Freemasonry itself is rightly interpreted differently by every Freemason.
We learn, I think, when our interpretations are challenged, forcing us to think more deeply.