Tracing Boards

[brothaofdes]

Being a PA mason, we DO NOT use tracing boards. I am just curious how many other jurisdiction use them and to what degree? Just to clarify, not degree as in 1st 2nd and 3rd, but how much do you utilize them in your masonic training.

 

[Bob Franks]

tracing boards/slides

Being a PA mason, we DO NOT use tracing boards. I am just curious how many other jurisdiction use them and to what degree? Just to clarify, not degree as in 1st 2nd and 3rd, but how much do you utilize them in your masonic training.

The only time I have used a tracing board (and I'll have to swear you to secrecy on this-since we did not get the Indiana GL's permission for a NC lecturer...) was last year when I visited a Lodge in SE Indiana and was invited to give the EA lecture. I was there a few days earlier for a breakfast and they showed me their tracing board on a mounted frame. I took a digital picture, in order to practice pointing to the symbols I was talking about. [I now have the board as my wallpaper on this computer]
In NC, we typically use 35mm slides, but I found a set in PowerPoint format online at:
Hiram's Oasis | Kena Shriners | Masonic files images and clipart freemason logos (look on the left side for the link to the slides).

I was having technical troubles with advancing the PP on the laptop early on and abandoned using slides at all for 3-4 years, but another Lecturer convinced me that some concepts like the 'point within the circle,' 'the 47th problem of Euclid,' and 'a hecatomb' were better illustrated visually, so I got a better remote controller for the laptop and I don't have to worry about whether the slide advances.
BTW, we only use the slides for the EA and the MM degrees. The FC Degree lecture is done with more substantial props.

 

[removed12612]

hmmmmmmm................I have seen this exact tracing board.....

 

[Gary]

Fireman, would you be able to find out how I might aquire one of those for my Lodge?

 

[Winter]

Tracing Boards are the primary form of education in Emulation. The appropriate Tracing Board is required to be displayed when the Lodge is open and is used for education.

All three Tracing Boards are also included in our ritual book. Here's a pic of the Third Degree one:

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[Bob Franks]

source for tracing boards

Fireman, would you be able to find out how I might aquire one of those for my Lodge?

I've only been accused of being a fireman once [I'm not], but I found tracing boards at:
Lost Word - Masonic Books, Masonic Gifts, Masonic Jewelry click on 'Degree Lecture Charts'

www.thefreemason.com search "tracing board"

maybe one of these will supply what you need.

S&F

 

[Duncan1574]

So far, my EA was with 35mm slides, my FC was props, and my MM? Only time will tell

 

[removed12612]

GaryE....I will see what I can do....

 

[DavisB]

So far, my EA was with 35mm slides, my FC was props, and my MM? Only time will tell

My EA used 35mm slides.

 

[brothaofdes]

BTW, we only use the slides for the EA and the MM degrees. The FC Degree lecture is done with more substantial props.

What props do you use for the FC?

I have been craving this knowledge and have been teaching myself the content and meaning on these tracing boards. Like I said, in PA, we do not use them nor do we have a catechism. In many ways I feel that I have missed out on a substantial amount of Masonic lore and am trying desperately to catch up.

With that in mind, I am also putting on classroom's at my lodge and trying to expose my brethren to what I am discovering and learning, all the while being careful to not speak of that which I have not learned about. The last thing I want to do is give bad information.

 

[Duncan1574]

What props do you use for the FC?

I have been craving this knowledge and have been teaching myself the content and meaning on these tracing boards. Like I said, in PA, we do not use them nor do we have a catechism. In many ways I feel that I have missed out on a substantial amount of Masonic lore and am trying desperately to catch up.

With that in mind, I am also putting on classroom's at my lodge and trying to expose my brethren to what I am discovering and learning, all the while being careful to not speak of that which I have not learned about. The last thing I want to do is give bad information.

I highly recommend Brother Nagy's Building ... books, they are an excellent resource and my mentor/DDGM is upset at their contents "he shouldn't have written that down", so there are things in there that a profane shouldn't see, so they MUST be good.

 

[Bob Franks]

Winding Staircase Lecture props

What props do you use for the FC?

I have been craving this knowledge and have been teaching myself the content and meaning on these tracing boards. Like I said, in PA, we do not use them nor do we have a catechism. In many ways I feel that I have missed out on a substantial amount of Masonic lore and am trying desperately to catch up.

With that in mind, I am also putting on classroom's at my lodge and trying to expose my brethren to what I am discovering and learning, all the while being careful to not speak of that which I have not learned about. The last thing I want to do is give bad information.

[This will be a little vague]
We use the two pillars usually stored in the West, and carpeting laid down showing a winding staircase, and one showing a ford of a river.

S&F

 

[brothaofdes]

[This will be a little vague]
We use the two pillars usually stored in the West, and carpeting laid down showing a winding staircase, and one showing a ford of a river.

S&F

OK, I understand. The primary points of explanation in the 2nd. Do you also use a stalk of corn?

 

[Gary]

<snip> my mentor/DDGM is upset at their contents "he shouldn't have written that down", so there are things in there that a profane shouldn't see, so they MUST be good.

That simply isn't true. There is nothing that prohibits us from explaining symbols. I would ask if he has a problem with Mackey, Pike or Claudy.

I'm not familiar with your particular jurisdiction, but it sounds to me that your DDGM is one of those that has the mindset of "Speak not of Freemasonry in any shape or form".

The author pulled his information from many respected published sources. He didn't just willfully and blatantly violate his obligation as a Freemason.

If you are a Mason, the book jumps out at you with information you are familiar with and you can associate that to the lessons the books teach. If you are a profane, it's simply a book that talks about symbols and moral teachings. Absolutely NO Masonic secrets are divulged.

 

[Bob Franks]

ear of corn

OK, I understand. The primary points of explanation in the 2nd. Do you also use a stalk of corn?

That's in the picture of the waterford.

BTW, maize, what we in North America call corn, is a western hemisphere plant. It wouldn't have been found in the Old Testament Book of Judges. "Corn" is actually a term from Old English (I am told) meaning 'small grain.' So the term could mean a sheaf of wheat or rye, but it would not have been of what we here call corn, which is actually maize.

Any Hebrew scholars who can tell us what the story referred to in the OT?

S&F

 

[brothaofdes]

That's in the picture of the waterford.

BTW, maize, what we in North America call corn, is a western hemisphere plant. It wouldn't have been found in the Old Testament Book of Judges. "Corn" is actually a term from Old English (I am told) meaning 'small grain.' So the term could mean a sheaf of wheat or rye, but it would not have been of what we here call corn, which is actually maize.

Any Hebrew scholars who can tell us what the story referred to in the OT?

S&F

According to Wikipedia:

The term originates from the Hebrew word "xxxxxxx" (שִׁבֹּלֶת), which literally means the part of a plant containing grains, such as an ear of corn or a stalk of grain.

Even though Corn or Maize is a western hemisphere plant, esoteric masonry came into prominence during the 16th and 17th centuries (debatable, but nonetheless documented). During this time, the discovery and colonization of, and importation of goods from the western hemisphere was increasing dramatically. The influence of Corn at the time into European culture, and its affect on Masonry (a stalk of grain) would not have been missed or the symbolism lost.

 

[Ashlar2006]

What props do you use for the FC?

I have been craving this knowledge and have been teaching myself the content and meaning on these tracing boards. Like I said, in PA, we do not use them nor do we have a catechism. In many ways I feel that I have missed out on a substantial amount of Masonic lore and am trying desperately to catch up.

With that in mind, I am also putting on classroom's at my lodge and trying to expose my brethren to what I am discovering and learning, all the while being careful to not speak of that which I have not learned about. The last thing I want to do is give bad information.

We , in my lodge , of course have the two pillars , then I made a checkered pavement ( 1/4" luan plywood and linoleum tiles) and steps (also out of 1/4" luan , painted and stenciled) that I place on the floor that wind around the lodge room . I have corn , wine and oil in sealed bottles .


I dislike the carpets as they are expensive , fade and crack , and are hard to walk on . With the my homemade steps , a candidate can take regular steps .

 

[Winter]

I highly recommend Brother Nagy's Building ... books, they are an excellent resource and my mentor/DDGM is upset at their contents "he shouldn't have written that down", so there are things in there that a profane shouldn't see, so they MUST be good.

Well, since we're from the same jurisdiction, I challenge him to tell me what is contained in them that is innapropriate. Hint: They're fine.

 

[Ashlar2006]

Well, since we're from the same jurisdiction, I challenge him to tell me what is contained in them that is innapropriate. Hint: They're fine.

My uncle (by marriage) thought everything , down to the bills that the lodge pays were secret . Many of the old timers flip out on the things we talk about now , they are of the same mind that anything and everything in lodge and Freemasonry are secret .

I am extremely open when it comes to Freemasonry . I do not even hide my rituals (as the old timers used to do , my uncle kept his under lock and key) , all of them are on the bookshelf , by my chair within easy reach in my living room or I leave them scattered all over the house , my wife is always complaining about my Monitor or YR rituals being on the dining room table or on the kitchen counter (I like the echo in the kitchen when I practice lectures ) .

 

[Bropreston]

in my lodge we often deliver the tracing board lectures, my "party piece" is the first degree tracing board which takes about twenty minutes to present but is well worth the effort. Our lodge mentor also does a talk on the hidden mysterys of the third degree tracing board which is very interesting.