Meridian Chapter No. 60, Royal Arch Masons of Oregon

Here you observe a depiction of the newly designed official seal for Meridian Chapter Royal Arch Masons of Oregon. Well, almost. The date of constitution needs to be updated to reflect the actual date on which the Chapter will be constituted.

Some facts which may be of interest to Companions in future years:

The seal was drawn by Companion Jeffrey R. Day, the first Secretary of Meridian Chapter, with input from other members of the Chapter in its design.

The caduceus (winged staff entwined with serpents) floating above the Ark of the Covenant was recommended by Excellent Companion Larry Stokes, the first High Priest of Meridian Chapter.

The ouroborus (serpent devouring its own tail) was recommended by Companion Russ Howard, the first Scribe of Meridian Chapter.

The design of the Lion, Ox, Man, Eagle, and Cherubim are modelled after the artistic style of the Walls of Babylon, which was one of the seven wonders of the world until it was replaced with the Lighthouse of Alexandria in the 6th century C.E.

The column on the left side of the arch is of the Ionic order of architecture and is entwined with a serpent, representing Wisdom. The column on the right is of the Doric order of architecture and is entwined with vines, representing Strength. The Ionic column features characteristic scrolls on its capital, and the Doric column is tapered so that the base is wider than the top.

The Masonic attributes of "Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty" are often attributed to the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, and are also associated with the three principal officers of a Lodge, the Worshipful Master in the East, represented by the Ionic column, the Senior Warden in the West, represented by the Doric column, and the Junior Warden in the South, represented by a Corinthian column. The monument said to be erected in the lecture of the Master Mason Degree consists of, among other things, a "Corinthian Column, broken." It is for this purpose that there is no Corinthian Column depicted in the seal, but instead, the Junior Warden, representative of our Ancient Grand Master Hiram Abiff is represented by the "Sun at Meridian Height," a symbol frequently referenced in connection with the Junior Warden, with its rays shining down into the vault. Companion Jeffrey Day intended this symbolism to indicate that Hiram Abiff's influence is still felt amongst the craft, in spite of his physical absence.

When originally drawn, the two columns were reversed, with the Ionic on the right and the Doric on the left. The day before the seal was finalized, it was realized that the seal is drawn "looking south" because of the position of the Sun, which would place the east on the left-hand side, and so the columns were reversed before the final seal was presented.

The motto, "קדש לא יהוה" is "Holiness to the LORD" written in the Hebrew language, which was the inscription designated for the gold headplate on the High Priest's mitre in Exodus 28:36-37. In Exodus, the phrase is actually written "קדש ליהוה", while the version we use was found on the coat of arms of the Antient Grand Lodge of England, although the meaning of both are the same.

The word in the motto represented by "LORD" in English is actually the Tetragrammaton, or ineffable name of God, and the pronunciation of this word is restricted in Judaism to a few specific instances, with its true pronunciation widely believed to be lost and unknown today. The letters composing the word are equivalent to our letters Y-H-V-H. When spoken, often the word Adonai (literally "My Lord") or HaShem (literally "The Name") are substituted. The motto could therefore be pronounced "Kadosh La-Adonai."

The By-Laws of Meridian Chapter give the following description of the seal:

A clockwise ouroboros on the outside top of which is depicted a set of compasses, extended upward, with the word “MERIDIAN” to the left and “CHAPTER” to the right side, both set on the curve. Printed to the absolute left of the ouroboros is “No.” and to the absolute right is the number of the chapter. On the outside bottom of the ouroboros is depicted a square, with the arms of the square extended in a downward orientation, having the word “CONSTITUTED” to the left and the date of the Chapter’s constitution to the right side, both set on the curve. The area within the ouroboros is divided into three sections. The lower section includes the words קדש לא יהוה (Holiness to the LORD, in the Hebrew language) set on the curve. The middle section is a representation of a subterranean vault, consisting of an arch from which the keystone and both adjacent stones have been removed, embordered on the left with a lion and a man made to appear as work in stone, with the lion occupying the top half, and the man occupying the bottom half of the space, and embordered on the right with an ox over an eagle, styled and arranged in like manner. Within the arch, recessed into the ground is a square representing the stone of foundation, upon the face of which is depicted a triple tau within two regular triangles forming a star of six points. Resting upon this square is a depiction of the Ark of the Covenant, surmounted by two inward facing four legged winged cherubim. In the air above the cherubim is a caduceus, engulfed in rays of light which descend from the opening above. The top section, above the vault, includes a meridian sun, partially obscured by the ouroborus, its rays extending out and downward into the vault with three stars to its left and three stars to its right, each having one point toward the nearest edge of the seal; a seventh star is located on the extreme right, having one point down, nearly touching the horizon; a depiction of the ruins of Solomon’s Temple are on the left, and a pick-ax, spade, and crow are on the right of the entrance to the subterranean vault in the center.