Freemasons are part of an ancient tradition with rituals and symbols all their own. As a Mason, you can earn degrees, join esoteric and social organizations, and become privy to the language and abbreviations specific to Freemasonry.

A glossary of Masonic terms

Freemasons have their own lingo, like many organizations. They give special meaning to some common words and have terms you won’t hear anywhere but in a Masonic lodge. The following list is a glossary of sorts for some common Masonic phrases: 

• Appendant bodies: Masonically affiliated groups that Masons or their relatives may join. 
• Degree: One of three progressive stages of advancement in the lodge, conferred using a ritual ceremony; additional degrees are conferred by appendant bodies. 
• Grand Lodge: A governing organization with authority over the individual lodges in its jurisdiction. 
• Grip or token: A special identifying handshake used by Masons to identify each other, different for each degree. 
• Hoodwink: Blindfold worn by candidates during portions of degree ceremonies. 
• Initiated: The completion by a candidate of the 1st Masonic degree. 
• Light: Masonic knowledge. 
• Lodge: A group of Freemasons assembling under the authority of a charter issued by a Grand Lodge; also a building or a room where Masons meet. 
• Operative: The period of Freemasonry when Masons actually worked with stone and constructed buildings 
• Passed: The completion by a Mason of the 2nd degree. 
• Profane: A non-Mason. 
• Raised: The completion by a Mason of the 3rd degree. 
• Recognized: The agreement between Masonic Grand Lodges that each other’s rules and customs conform to a certain accepted standard. 
• Regular: A classification of Freemasonry that practices customs which conform to the laws and regulations of a Grand Lodge. 
• Sign: A hand gesture used as a mode of identification between Masons, different for each degree. 
• Sitting in the East: The position in the lodge room where the Worshipful Master sits, also known as the Oriental chair; lodges are symbolically situated east and west. 
• Speculative: Freemasonry as practiced today, using the symbolism of Operative Masons to build character in men. 
• Step: A position of the feet used as a mode of recognition between Masons, different for each degree. 
• Word or pass: A password used as a mode of recognition between Masons, different for each degree. 

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