Symbolism of the Sun in Masonry

I thought for tonight's blog I would address the accusation of many antis that masons are sun worshippers. After all, the sun is dominant throughout Freemasonry, including the rituals, on some aprons, and has even made its way to some company logos, movies, and even on some LDS temples. Movement in the masonic lodge is patterned after the sun's movements. Many conspiracy theorists claim this proves masonry worships Baal, a sun god mentioned in the Old Testament.

On the Tree of Life as shown in the picture, the center of the Tree of Life is known as "Tipareth" or "The Nail" and is said by Kabbalists to be symbolic of the sun, whose glyph is a point within a circle. Masonry makes use of the symbolism of the Kabbalah to teach moral lessons, but not necessarily for the purpose of worship. The middle pillar of the Kabbalah is an important concept in masonry. It represents equilibrium, when everything is in perfect balance. The concept of justice and mercy is fundamental here. A thorough study of 2 Nephi 2 in the Book of Mormon will illustrate this concept. There is no good without evil, there must be an opposition in all things. Also, God's justice must always be in perfect equilibrium with His mercy. We can illustrate this perfect balance astrologically by the sun at meridian height, which is in between its rising and setting.

To illustrate how such a fallacy as sun worship can happen, we can look at a quote from Albert Pike's Legenda II: the Enigma of the Sphinx. Pike says, "The symbols of the wise have in all ages become the idols of the vulgar." We see in Freemasonry that prayer is made to the Great Architect of the Universe, not to the sun. Some have tried to layer the Baal legend on masonry by saying it is believed that the spirit of Baal went to the sun when he died, and that the sunrise is Baal's birth and the sunset is his death. If some believe that, I think this perfectly illustrates what Albert Pike was trying to say here. Masonry is learning through symbols, not worship of symbols. Also, the concept of death and resurrection is found in many religions, including Christianity. Many masonic concepts are Judeo-Christian in origin, and only expressing a belief in a Supreme Being is required for membership. This hardly proves allegiance to a sun god. We need to be careful to recognize the difference between the "signifier" and the "signified."