The Vault in Freemasonry

As Freemasonry is based on the tradition of the builders, and therefore on architectural symbolism, it would be surprising if Masonic rituals did not in some way address the Vault and its central element, the Keystone. But it is a fact that the theme of the Vault is absent from the Masonic rituals of the craft degrees. They deal much more with vertical and horizontal structures, using tools such as the Perpendicular and the Level. At most, the Vault is perhaps suggested in the third degree, where we learn that the Master Mason has passed from the Square to the Compass. The combination of a square structure (evoked by the Square) and a rounded structure (induced by the Compass) could indeed suggest a Vault, but this point is not developed here. The notion of a Vault as an architectural element is only found in the Masonic rituals of certain higher or side degrees. However, the term Vault does appear in the rituals and ceremonies of the craft degrees, but in a non-architectural sense. So what Vault is referred to in the rituals of the craft degrees ? And how is the Vault treated in the higher or side degrees ?

The Starry Vault 

If it is installed in a room specially dedicated to it, the Lodge usually has a ceiling representing the firmament, known as the Starry Vault. It reminds us that the Lodge symbolically assembles outside the Temple, as appears in many ancient Masonic catechisms, starting with the oldest that has been preserved (Edinburgh Register House MS, 1696), which reads : "Q. Where wes [sic] the first lodge. A. In the porch of Solomons [sic] temple."

But the Starry Vault is also there to signify that the Lodge (and therefore Freemasonry) is universal and even symbolically merges with the universe. Its presence illustrates the questions about the height of the Lodge that can be found in most masonic catechisms since the 1700s : "Q. How high is your lodge. A. inches & spans Inumberable [sic]. Q. How Inumberable. A. The material heavens & stary [sic] firmament" (The Dumfries MS no. 4, circa 1710).

The Temple adorned with a vault representing heaven is not exclusive to Freemasonry. This symbolism can be found in many ancient temples, as well as in Christian churches.  In many traditions, the sacred place seems to be linked to the universe, to the macrocosm of which it is a microcosm. Sometimes, the temple is organised around the axis mundi, the mysterious line that connects the earth and the sky and around which the world revolves in ceaseless movement. In the Masonic Lodge, this axis mundi can be represented by a Plumb Line suspended above the Mosaic Pavement, thus indicating the Centre.

The Steel Vault and the Human Vault

Freemasons know of another Vault, which is used only to welcome a visiting Official to the Lodge. This is the Steel Vault. Two rows of Freemasons facing each other raise their swords to form a virtual tunnel under which the procession leading the Official to the East passes.

This ceremony, which denotes loyalty and protection, is of chivalric and military origin, and is often performed at the exit of the church at the wedding of a soldier. It became established in Freemasonry under the influence of the military Lodges and perhaps also of the chivalric higher degrees that developed during the 18th century.

It should be noted that the sword is not necessary to signify the protection one wishes to offer. The Feminine Grand Lodge of France (and no doubt other Feminine Grand Lodges) has replaced the Vault of Steel with a less martial version, the Human Vault, for which the Sisters simply extend their hand, arm raised. The meaning remains the same. Even in the military, the sword or sabre, rarely worn today, is often replaced by the kepi or cap, brandished with the right hand.

The Vault in the Higher and Side Degrees

We can find the Vault as an architectural element only in certain Masonic higher or side degrees, either as a dome or as an arch. In the 13th degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Freemasons theoretically assemble in an underground Vault, a white crypt supported by nine arches and accessed through a trapdoor at the top of the Vault. A similar Vault is found in the 14th degree, but this time coloured red. 

Symbolically, this Vault is similar to the cave, a place where telluric forces are secretly at work, a place of gestation and (re)birth. The cave also represents the human heart, i.e. the inner self, or even the unconscious. The descent into the cave can therefore signify both the symbolic death that necessarily precedes birth on a higher plane of consciousness, and the work of introspection that responds to the traditional "Know thyself" that underpins all initiatory work, and more generally all personal development. 

In symbolic terms, the only difference between the cave and the crypt is that the former is natural and the latter man-made. The crypt, or subterranean vault, is the fruit of knowledge of the mysterious mechanisms of the human soul ; it is a human artifice, a deliberately constructed athanor. It reveals Man's ability to give himself the means to evolve spiritually, rather than simply following Nature. From a Masonic point of view, the crypt is undoubtedly symbolically stronger than the cave, because it shows Man capable of actively building the path to his elevation.

In the Anglo-Saxon Royal Arch degree, this secret underground Vault is also mentioned, but there is also a Keystone, which the candidate must unseal to gain access to the crypt. This Keystone requires no further development at this degree. But at the Degree of Mark Master, the Keystone becomes the centre of the ceremony. Three stones are represented, one cubic, one oblong and one keystone. The first two are accepted, because they conform to the plans. The keystone is initially rejected and discarded as inappropriate. Then comes the moment when the Worshipful Master looks for the stone needed to build the Vault. Then the Keystone is found and its indispensable nature recognised. The 22nd verse of Psalm 118 is then quoted ("The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner”), explicitly likening the Keystone to the figure of Christ. In a very different ceremony, the Knight Pontiff of the Tau, one of the higher chivalric degrees of the Ancient Oriental Rite of Memphis, also discovers the Christ-like dimension of the Keystone, albeit in a more esoteric, even Gnosticising way.