FELLOWCRAFT DEGREE
WM: *. Brethren; Brother _____ is in waiting for the
Second Degree of Freemasonry, he having made
suitable proficiency in the preceding degree. If
there is no objection, I shall confer this degree
upon him. (Pause) Brethren, there being none,
I will proceed.
WM: *. Brother Stewards.
SS: (S) Worshipful Master.
WM: How should a Brother be prepared for the Second
Degree of Freemasonry?
SS: By being divested of all metallic substances,
neither naked nor clothed, barefoot nor shod,
right knee and breast bare, hood-winked, and
with a cable-tow twice around his right arm,
clothed as an Entered Apprentice.
WM: Repair to the preparation room where Brother
____ is in waiting. When thus prepared, cause
him to make the usual alarm at the inner door.
(At this time, any Present or Past Grand Lodge Officers,
or Masters, who had been invited to a seat in the East,
retire to the sidelines for the degree work.)
Cand: * * *
SD: (S) Worshipful Master.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: There is an alarm at the inner door.
WM: Attend to the alarm and ascertain the cause.
SD: * * *. Who comes here?
SS: Brother ____, who has been duly initiated an
Entered Apprentice, and now wishes more Light
in Masonry by being passed to the Degree of
Fellow Craft.
SD: Brother ____, is this an act of your own free will
and accord?
Cand: It is.
SD: Brother Stewards, is he worthy and well qualified?
SS: He is.
SD: Duly and truly prepared?
SS: He is.
SD: Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding
degree?
SS: He has.
SD: By what further right or benefit does he expect to
obtain this important privilege?
SS: By the benefit of the pass-word.
SD: Has he the pass-word?
SS: He has not, I have it for him.
SD: Advance and give it.
SS: Shibboleth.
SD: The pass-word is right. Since the Brother is in
possession of all these necessary qualifications,
let him wait until the Worshipful Master can be
informed of his request, and his answer returned.
SD: * * *. Worshipful Master.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: There is without, Brother ____, who has been
duly initiated an Entered Apprentice, and now
wishes more Light in Masonry by being passed
to the Degree of Fellow Craft.
WM: Is this an act of his own free will and accord?
SD: It is.
WM: Is he worthy and well qualified?
SD: He is.
WM: Duly and truly prepared?
SD: He is.
WM: Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding
degree?
SD: He has.
WM: By what further right or benefit does he expect to
obtain this important privilege?
SD: By the benefit of the pass-word.
WM: Has he the pass-word?
SD: He has not, I have it for him.
WM: Give it for the benefit of the Craft.
SD: Shibboleth.
WM: The pass-word is right. Since the Brother is in
possession of all these necessary qualifications,
let him enter this Worshipful Lodge of Fellow
Crafts, and be received in due and ancient form.
SD: * * *. Let him enter this Worshipful Lodge of Fellow
Crafts, and be received in due and ancient form.
SD: Brother ____, when first you entered a Lodge of
Free and Accepted Masons, you were received
on the point of a sharp instrument piercing your
naked left breast, the moral of which was at that
time explained to you. I am now commanded to
receive you on the angle of a square applied to
your naked right breast, which is to teach you
that the Square of Virtue should be a rule and
guide for your practice through life.
JW: *.
SW: *.
WM: *.
JW: * *.
Chap: "Thus he shewed me; and behold the Lord stood
upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line
in His hand."
SW: * *.
Chap: "And the Lord said unto me: Amos, what seest
thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the
Lord: Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst
of my people Israel."
WM: * *.
Chap: "I will not again pass by them any more."
SD: * * *.
JW: *. Who comes here?
SD: Brother ____, who has been duly initiated an
Entered Apprentice, and now wishes more Light
in Masonry by being passed to the Degree of
Fellow Craft.
JW: Brother ____, is this an act of your own free will
and accord?
Cand: It is.
JW: Brother Senior Deacon, is he worthy and well
qualified?
SD: He is.
JW: Duly and truly prepared?
SD: He is.
JW: Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding
degree?
SD: He has.
JW: By what further right or benefit does he expect to
obtain this important privilege?
SD: By the benefit of the pass-word.
JW: Has he the pass-word?
SD: He has not. I have it for him.
JW: Advance and give it.
SD: Shibboleth.
JW: The pass-word is right. Since the Brother is in
possession of all these necessary qualifications,
conduct him to the Senior Warden in the West
for his examination.
SD: * * *.
SW: *. Who comes here?
SD: Brother ____, who has been duly initiated an
Entered Apprentice, and now wishes more Light
in Masonry by being passed to the Degree of
Fellow Craft.
SW: Brother ____, is this an act of your own free will
and accord?
Cand: It is.
SW: Brother Senior Deacon, is he worthy and well
qualified?
SD: He is.
SW: Duly and truly prepared?
SD: He is.
SW: Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding
degree?
SD: He has.
SW: By what further right or benefit does he expect to
obtain this important privilege?
SD: By the benefit of the pass-word.
SW: Has he the pass-word?
SD: He has not. I have it for him.
SW: Advance and give it.
SD: Shibboleth.
SW: The pass-word is right. Since the Brother is in
possession of all these necessary qualifications,
conduct him to the Worshipful Master in the East
for his examination.
SD: * * *.
WM: *. Who comes here?
SD: Brother ____, who has been duly initiated an
Entered Apprentice, and now wishes more Light
in Masonry by being passed to the Degree of
Fellow Craft.
WM: Brother ____, is this an act of your own free will
and accord?
Cand: It is.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon, is he worthy and well
qualified?
SD: He is.
WM: Duly and truly prepared?
SD: He is.
WM: Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding
degree?
SD: He has.
WM: By what further right or benefit does he expect to
obtain this important privilege?
SD: By the benefit of the pass-word.
WM: Has he the pass-word?
SD: He has not. I have it for him.
WM: Advance and give it.
SD: Shibboleth. (Each of the three times it is given
during this examination, the pass-word is
whispered by the Senior Deacon into the ear of
the examiner, so that the candidate will not
overhear it.)
WM: The pass-word is right. Whence came you and
whither are you traveling?
SD: From the West, traveling East.
WM: Why did you leave the West and travel East?
SD: In search of more Light in Masonry.
WM: Since the Brother is in possession of all these
necessary qualifications, and in search of more
Light in Masonry, re-conduct him to the Senior
Warden in the West, who will teach him how to
approach the East in due and ancient form.
SD: Brother Senior Warden.
SW: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: It is the order of the Worshipful Master that you
teach this Brother how to approach the East in
due and ancient form.
SW: Cause the Brother to face the East.
SW: Brother ____, advance on your left foot as an
Entered Apprentice. Take an additional step on
your right foot, bringing the heel of your left into
the hollow of your right, thereby forming the angle
of a square.
SW: (S) Worshipful Master.
WM: Brother Senior Warden.
SW: The Brother is in order.
WM: Brother ____, before you can proceed further in
Freemasonry, it will be necessary for you to take
an Obligation appertaining to this degree. It
becomes my duty, as well as pleasure, to inform
you, that there is nothing contained in the
Obligation that conflicts with the duties you owe
to God, your country, your neighbor, your family,
or yourself. With this assurance on my part, are
you willing to take the Obligation?
Cand: (Answers in the affirmative)
WM: Than advance to the Sacred Altar of
Freemasonry. There kneel on your naked right
knee, your left forming the angle of a square,
your right hand resting on the Holy Bible, Square
and Compasses, your left in a vertical position,
your arm forming a square.
SD: (S) Worshipful Master, the Brother is in due form.
WM: * * *.
WM: Brother ____, if you are still willing to take the
Obligation, say "I", pronounce your name in full,
and repeat after me.
Cand: I, ____ ____, of my own free will and accord, in
the presence of Almighty God and this Worshipful
Lodge of Fellow Crafts, erected to Him, and
dedicated to the memory of the Holy Saints John,
do hereby and hereon, solemnly and sincerely
promise and swear, that I will keep and conceal
and never reveal any of the secrets belonging to
the Degree of Fellow Craft, which I have received,
am about to receive, or may be hereafter
instructed in, to any person unless it shall be to a
worthy Brother Fellow Craft, or within the body
of a just and duly constituted Lodge of such; and
not unto him or them until by due trial, strict
examination, or lawful Masonic information, I shall
have found him or them justly entitled to receive
the same.
Furthermore, I do promise and swear that I will
answer and obey all due signs and regular
summons, sent me from the body of a just and
duly constituted Lodge of Fellow Crafts, or handed
me by a worthy Brother of this degree, if within
the length of my cable-tow, and the square and
angle of my work.
Furthermore, I do promise and swear that I will
help, aid and assist all poor and distressed Fellow
Crafts, they applying to me as such, I finding
them worthy, and can do so without material injury
to myself.
Furthermore, I do promise and swear that I will
not wrong, cheat, nor defraud a Fellow Crafts
Lodge, or a worthy Brother of this degree, to the
value of anything, knowingly, nor suffer it to be
done by another if in my power to prevent.
To all of which I do solemnly and sincerely
promise and swear, without any hesitation, mental
reservation, or secret evasion of mind in me
whatsoever, binding myself under no less a
penalty than that of having my left breast torn
open, my heart and vitals taken thence, and with
my body given as a prey to the vultures of the
air, should I ever knowingly, or willfully, violate
this, my solemn Obligation of a Fellow Craft. So
help me God and make me steadfast to keep and
perform the same.
WM: In token of your sincerity, kiss the Holy Bible on
which you hand rests.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon, remove the cable-tow.
WM: Brother ____, in your present situation, what do
you most desire?
Cand: (prompted by SD) More Light in Masonry.
WM: Let the Brother be brought to Light.
WM: My Brother, on being brought to Light in this
degree, you behold the Three Great Lights in
Masonry, as in the preceding degree, with this
difference: One point of the Compasses is above
the Square, which is to teach you that you have
received, and are entitled to receive, more Light
in Masonry. But as one point is still hidden from
your view, it is also to teach you that you are as
yet one material point in darkness respecting
Freemasonry.
WM: *.
WM: You now behold me as Worshipful Master of this
Lodge, approaching you from the East, upon the
step, under the due-guard and sign of an Entered
Apprentice; upon the step, under the due-guard
and sign of a Fellow Craft. My Brother, a Fellow
Craft advances on his right foot, bringing the heel
of his left into the hollow of his right, thereby
forming the angle of a square. This is the
dueguard, and alludes to the position of your
hands while taking the Obligation; this is the sign,
and alludes to the penalty of the Obligation. This
due-guard and sign are always to be given as a
salutation to the Worshipful Master, also on
entering or retiring from a Fellow Crafts Lodge.
WM: My Brother, before rising from this Sacred Altar
where you have taken the solemn Obligation of a
Fellow Craft, I wish to direct your attention to
one of its ties. You have sworn that you would
answer and obey all due signs and regular
summons sent you from the body of a just and
duly constituted Lodge of Fellow Crafts, or handed
you by a worthy Brother of this degree, if within
the length of your cable-tow and the square and
angle of your work. The length of your cable-tow
alludes to your ability to obey a summons,
and the square and angle of your work to the
propriety of answering such. Should you receive
a summons from this or any other Lodge, health
and business permitting, it would be your duty to
obey it; health and business not permitting, it
would not be within the length of your cable-tow.
Should you see a Masonic sign given at what you
deemed an improper time, or an improper place,
you are not bound to answer it; it would not be
within the square and angle of your work. My
Brother, your own good judgment must tell you
when and where to answer Masonic signs.
I now present my right hand in token of the
continuance of friendship and brotherly love, and
will invest you with the pass-grip, pass-word, real
grip and word of a Fellow Craft. As you are
uninstructed, he who has hitherto answered for
you, will do so at this time. Give me the grip of
an Entered Apprentice.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: Worshipful Master.
WM: Will you be off or from?
SD: From.
WM: From what and to what?
SD: From the grip of an Entered Apprentice to the
pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
WM: Pass. What is that?
SD: The pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
WM: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
WM: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
WM: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or syllable it.
WM: Syllable it and begin.
SD: You begin.
WM: Begin you.
SD: Shib.
WM: bo.
SD: leth.
WM: Shibboleth, my Brother, is the name of this grip.
You should always remember it, for should you
be present at the opening or a Fellow Crafts
Lodge, this pass-word will be demanded of you
by one of the Deacons, and should you be unable
to give it, it would cause confusion in the Craft.
WM: Will you be off or from?
SD: From.
WM: From what and to what?
SD: From the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft, to the real
grip of the same.
WM: Pass. What is that?
SD: The real grip of a Fellow Craft.
WM: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
WM: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
WM: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or halve it.
WM: Letter it and begin.
SD: You begin.
WM: Begin you.
SD: A.
WM: J.
SD: C.
WM: H.
SD: I.
WM: N.
WM: Jachin, my Brother, is the name of this grip, and
should always be given in this manner, by lettering
or halving it. When lettering, always commence
with the letter "A". Rise, salute the Junior and
Senior Wardens and satisfy them that you are in
possession of the step, due-guard, sign, pass-grip,
pass-word, real grip and word of a Fellow
Craft.
SD: * * *.
JW: *. Who comes here?
SD: A worthy Brother Fellow Craft.
JW: How may I know him to be such?
SD: By certain signs and tokens.
JW: What are signs?
SD: Right angles, horizontals, and perpendiculars
JW: Advance a sign. Has that an allusion?
SD: It has; to the position of my hands while taking
the Obligation.
JW: Have you a further sign?
SD: I have.
JW: Has that an allusion?
SD: It has, to the penalty of the Obligation.
JW: What are tokens?
SD: Certain friendly or brotherly grips whereby one
Mason may know another in the dark as in the
light.
JW: Advance and give me a token. What is that?
SD: The pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
JW: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
JW: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
JW: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or syllable it.
JW: Syllable it and begin.
SD: You begin.
JW: Begin you.
Cand: Shib. (prompted if necessary)
JW: bo.
Cand: leth.
Cand: Shibboleth.
JW: Will you be off or from?
SD: From.
JW: From what and to what?
SD: From the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft to the real
grip of the same.
JW: Pass. What is that?
SD: The real grip of a Fellow Craft.
JW: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
JW: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
JW: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or halve it.
JW: Letter it and begin.
SD: You begin.
JW: Begin you.
Cand: A. (prompted as necessary)
JW: J.
Cand: C.
JW: H.
Cand: I.
JW: N.
SD: Jachin.
JW: The word is right. I am satisfied.
SD: * * *.
SW: *. Who comes here?
SD: A worthy Brother Fellow Craft.
SW: How may I know him to be such?
SD: By certain signs and tokens.
SW: What are signs?
SD: Right angles, horizontals, and perpendiculars.
SW: Advance a sign. Has that an allusion?
SD: It has; to the position of my hands while taking
the Obligation.
SW: Have you a further sign?
SD: I have.
SW: Has that an allusion?
SD: It has; to the penalty of the Obligation.
SW: What are tokens?
SD: Certain friendly or brotherly grips whereby one
Mason may know another in the dark as in the
light.
SW: Advance and give me a token. What is that?
SD: The pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
SW: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
SW: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
SW: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or syllable it.
SW: Syllable it and begin.
SD: You begin.
SW: Begin you.
Cand: Shib. (prompted)
SW: bo.
Cand: leth.
Cand: Shibboleth.
SW: Will you be off or from?
SD: From.
SW: From what and to what?
SD: From the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft to the real
grip of the same.
SW: Pass. What is that?
SD: The real grip of a Fellow Craft.
SW: Has it a name?
SD: It has.
SW: Will you give it to me?
SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
SW: How will you dispose of it?
SD: Letter or syllable it.
SW: Syllable it and begin.
SD: You begin.
SW: Begin you.
Cand: A;
SW: J;
Cand: C;
SW: H;
Cand: I;
SW: N.
Cand: Jachin.
SW: The word is right, I am satisfied. Conduct the
Brother to the Worshipful Master in the East.
WM: *. Brother Senior Deacon, re-conduct the Brother
to the Senior Warden in the West, who will teach
him how to wear his apron as a Fellow Craft.
SD: Brother Senior Warden.
SW: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: It is the order of the Worshipful Master that you
teach this Brother how to wear his apron as a
Fellow Craft.
SW: Cause the Brother to face the East. My Brother,
you have already been informed that at the
building of King Solomon’s Temple, the different
bands of workmen were distinguished by the
manner in which they wore their aprons. Fellow
Crafts wore theirs with the flap turned down at
the lower left corner, tucked up in the form of a
triangle, to serve as a receptacle for their working
tools. As a Fellow Craft you will therefore wear
yours in this manner, that the three sides of the
triangle thus formed may symbolize the fidelity,
industry, and skill which should characterize your
work as a Fellow Craft.
SD: Worshipful Master, your orders have been
obeyed.
WM: My Brother, as you are now clothed as a Fellow
Craft, I present you emblematically, the working
tools, which are the Plumb, Square, and Level,
and are thus explained: The Plumb is an
instrument used by operative masons to try
perpendiculars, the Square to square their work,
and the Level to prove horizontals; but we, as
Free and Accepted Masons, are taught to use
them for more noble and glorious purposes. The
Plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our
several stations before God and man, squaring
our actions by the Square of Virtue, ever
remembering that we are traveling upon the Level
of Time to that "undiscovered country from whose
bourne no traveler returns."
WM: I now present you the Three Precious Jewels;
the Attentive Ear, the Instructive Tongue, and the
Faithful Breast. They teach us this important
lesson. The Attentive Ear receives the sound
from the Instructive Tongue, and the mysteries
of Freemasonry are safely lodged in the
repository of Faithful Breasts.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon, reconduct the Brother
to the place whence he came, invest him with
that of which he has been divested, and return
him to a place representing the Middle Chamber
of King Solomon’s Temple.
WM: My Brother, salute as you have been instructed.
WM: *. Brother Junior Warden.
JW: (S) Worshipful Master.
WM: Call the Craft from labor to refreshment, to resume
labor at the sound of the gavel in the East.
JW: * * *. Brethren, it is the order of the Worshipful
Master that you be now called from labor to
refreshment, to resume labor at the sound of the
gavel in the East.
*. (Craft is called from labor to refreshment.)
WM: *. (Craft resumes labor.)
SS: * * *. (from outside the inner door)
SD: (S) Worshipful Master.
WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
SD: There is an alarm at the inner door.
WM: Attend to the alarm and ascertain the cause.
SD: * * *. Who comes here?
SS: Worthy Brother Fellow Crafts desire admission.
SD: Worshipful Master, worthy Brother Fellow Crafts
desire admission.
WM: You will admit them and conduct them
emblematically through a porch, up a flight of
winding stairs consisting of three, five, and seven
steps, through an outer and inner door, into a
place representing the Middle Chamber of King
Solomon’s Temple.
SD: It is the order of the Worshipful Master that you
be admitted and conducted emblematically
through a porch, up a flight of winding stairs
consisting of three, five, and seven steps, through
an outer and inner door, into a place representing
the Middle Chamber of King Solomon’s Temple.
