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Tiffany Dover Pontes Saturnalia Sacrifice in OUR FACES

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The Masonic Symbolism of Colours
White, the original colour of the masonic apron, was always considered an emblem of purity and innocence, exemplified in images such as the white lily or fallen snow.

Plato asserts that white is par excellence the colour of the gods. In the Bible, Daniel sees God as a very old man, dressed in robes white as snow (Daniel 7:9). In the New Testament Jesus is transfigured on Mount Tabor before Peter, James and John, when his clothes became ’daz-zling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them’ (Mark 9:3). Officiating priests of many religions wore and still wear white garments. In ancient Jerusalem both the priests and the Levites who performed the Temple rites assumed white clothing.

Among Romans, the unblemished character of a person aspiring to public office was indicated by a toga whitened with chalk. This is the origin of the word ’candidate,’ from candidatus ’dressed in white.’ Verdicts at trials were decid-ed by small stones (calculi) thrown into an urn: white to absolve, black to condemn.

White signifies beginnings, virtualities, the white page facing the writer, ’the space where the possible may become reality.’ White is therefore understandably the colour of initiation. It is a symbol of perfection, as represented by the swan in the legend of Lohengrin. In this aspect it is related to light or sky blue, which in Hebrew is tchelet and may be connected semantically with tichla (perfection, completeness) and tach-lit (completeness, purpose). (See also the obser-vations on the symbolism of blue.) Among the Celts the sacred colours of white, blue and green were understood to stand for light, truth and hope. Druids were robed in white.

White is also connected with the idea of death and resurrection. Shrouds are white; spirits are represented as wearing white veils. White, rather than black, is sometimes the colour of mourning, among the ancient kings of France, for instance, and in Japan. White, finally, can signify joy. Leukos (Greek) means both white and cheerful; as does candidus in Latin. The Romans marked festive days with lime and unlucky days with charcoal.

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