The Iconography of the Scottish Rectified Rite Volume 1 - The Lodge Tracing Boards for Apprentice and Fellow Craft

The grade tableaux of the Rectified Scottish Rite are part of the great tradition of emblem books. Born in the 16th century, this tradition carries a body of practical, philosophical, and symbolic knowledge dating back to antiquity.

Each tableau consists of an illustration and a motto written in Latin, which cannot be understood without reference to this historical context.

The Apprentice grade tableau shows a broken and truncated column bearing the inscription *adhuc stat*; its counterpart for the Fellow Craft grade depicts a cubic stone, on one of whose edges is placed a square with these words: *dirigit obliqua*.

Enigmatic for those who do not possess the essential interpretative keys, the meaning of these symbolic illustrations is elucidated by the erudition of Thomas Grison, who clearly explains what motivated their design.

He demonstrates that these tableaux are a kind of summary of the spiritual approach specific to the Rectified Scottish Rite, and an invitation to work on the stone by rectifying oneself, in order to know oneself and discover the path leading to divinity.