Many of you (patricularly those who’ve been around here a while and have paid attention) may know that I am a Freemason. I have been informed that my lodge here in Racine, WI just might be interested in a coat of arms. Here’s our history:
Racine, Wisconsin is nicknamed "The Belle City" for reasons that seem to be lost to history. Those of you who remember the film A League of Their Own may remember that the Rockford Peaches played the Racine Belles. In a punning way, the symbol of Racine has always been a bell.
Masonic history: Racine Lodge #18 was formed 1849. Belle City Lodge was formed in 1857. These two lodges merged to become Racine-Belle City Lodge #18 in 2003. So, this was a suggestion that I emblazoned:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/PaddyW_photos/rbc182.jpg
Not very ingenuous: three bells each with a date and (with the exception of the dates) almost sure to have been done before.
So, let’s have a little fun. Here are the rules: you MAY NOT use the square and compasses in your design. These implements belong to all masons everywhere and putting them on any one shield lays a spurious claim to them. Do not put a pyramid in your design. Despite what some folks say about the US 1 dollar bill, the pyramid is not and never has been a symbol with any esoteric meaning to Freemasonry (however, Shriners, who must be Masons, have a pseudo-Arabic thing going on).
Make a design that says "Racine, Wisconsin", or says "Freemason", or combines them.
Saying "freemason" without the compass or square is like trying to spell Wisconsin without the letter "i."
I would suggest taking your design (eliminate the dates, though…bad, bad, bad!, not to mention unreadable) and putting the compass chevronwise between the bells, perhaps on a chevron.
The other heraldic charge common to masonic lodges is the tower (makes sense, doesn’t it?). So perhaps (using your existing color scheme), Gules on a chevron between in chief two bells Or and in base a tower Argent a pair of compasses expanded [this seems to be the standard blazon for this kind of compass] Gules.
Do the colors red and gold have a particular significance for you or Racine? I believe they are the tinctures of the arms of the Grand Lodge of England.
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Rather than include images of the compass and the square, I chose to represent the effects of the compass and the square. The per chevron element is a right angle which is drawn using the square, and the bezant is a circle drawn by the compass. Of course I included your bell within the boundries of the square.
I believe the blazon would be:
Per chevron gules and or, over all a bezant counterchanged, a bell of the first in base
but I am not a blazonry expert.
Quote:
Wiki: Lake boat captain in 1834, founded the settlement of Port Gilbert at the place where the Root River empties into Lake Michigan. The area was previously called Kipi Kawi and Chippecotton by the indigenous peoples, both names for the Root River. The name "Port Gilbert" was never really accepted, and in 1841, the community was incorporated as the village of Racine. (The word "racine" means "root" in French). After Wisconsin’s statehood was granted in 1848, the new legislature voted in August to incorporate Racine as a city.
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Joseph McMillan;44166 wrote:
Saying "freemason" without the compass or square is like trying to spell Wisconsin without the letter "i."
I would suggest taking your design (eliminate the dates, though…bad, bad, bad!, not to mention unreadable) and putting the compass chevronwise between the bells, perhaps on a chevron.
The other heraldic charge common to masonic lodges is the tower (makes sense, doesn’t it?). So perhaps (using your existing color scheme), Gules on a chevron between in chief two bells Or and in base a tower Argent a pair of compasses expanded [this seems to be the standard blazon for this kind of compass] Gules.
Do the colors red and gold have a particular significance for you or Racine? I believe they are the tinctures of the arms of the Grand Lodge of England.
Yes, I know that the dates on the bells are bad, but it was an early compromise position. You should have heard what those who approached me were interested in: let’s just say "quarterings and supporters" and leave it at that.
Red and gold do not have a particular significance here. In fact, blue and silver are the colors of the individual lodges, purple and gold the colors of American Grand Lodges. I chose red and gold because they suited me at the time.
Let me add more information. When I said "don’t use the square and compasses", I was referring to the standard Masonic symbol of the compasses expanded to 60 degrees, points downward, over the square. The symbol commonly seen with the G in the center in the US.
Eric has done a fine job of alluding to them without actually depicting them. Michael’s ‘Root River’ is wonderful canting (and one I might suggest to the City of Racine the next time I talk to the mayor).
It’s difficult to give y’all symbolic guidance here, and I know it’s frustrating. While in the Masonic jurisdiction of Wisconsin I’m free to discuss almost everything Masonic with anyone, in other jurisdictions that is not the case. And supposing that other Masons may participate here (I really have no idea, but it is possible), I don’t want to put them in the place of having to violate the Masonic Codes of their homes. It’s our custom, as silly as it may seem.
But the square and compasses (we call them compasses) are universal enough that I should be able to give you a clue without offending too many. The circle drawn by the compasses represents the boundary of an individual Mason’s duties to God, his country, his neighbor and himself (in that order, mind you), a line that he should never step across. The square is a metaphor for morality, a virtue by which all men should measure their actions.
Now, in that vein, let me say that I am not opposed to squares or compasses, but to the standard symbol of Freemasonry appearing on a shield as a sumbol to identify an individual lodge or person.
Well, why don’t we look at the arms of other masonic lodges and see what they do?
United Grand Lodge of England:
http://freemasonrywatch.org/pics/blkcrest2.gif
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, impales a color differenced version of the dexter half of the English Grand Lodge with the arms of Massachusetts:
http://mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Reports/cglseal.jpg
Indiana (the bordure’s a little much):
http://www.indianafreemasons.com/imoimage/inglcoatc.jpg
See http://glrb.org/Erlusa.htm for seals (some armorial) of most of the grand lodges in the US.
Here are the arms of a local lodge, Montezuma #1 in Santa Fe, NM (pretty good, if the clutter created by the Zia sun symbol of NM is cleared away):
Joseph, here’s a quick mock-up of your earlier design ... very nice.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/PaddyW_photos/chvrbls.jpg
Very nice!
Are you going to design a crest as well? I have an idea for one, of a tower with the compass above the doorway/entry. Haven’t thought up colors yet.
Cheers,
Whip it out Mohammed, I’d love to see it!
Joseph: it appears that compasses on a chevron and towers are popular Masonic heraldic charges, indeed.
The Mass and Indiana CoA’s demonstrate exactly what I’m trying to get away from. Senseless impalements, quarters filled with Masonic symbols and lotsa "fruit salad" (like Indiana’s bordure).
I agree that the Zia is a little too much, but it is a handy way of saying "New Mexico" without incorporating the Zia into the shield. The crest of the square, along with the pendant plumb and level (instead of tassels on the lambrequin) are pretty clever. Not only are they laden with esoteric meaning, they are the symbols of the three principal officers of a lodge. I don’t like the mural crown, but it does say "stonemason".
I’m also playing around with a derivative of Eric’s design, but I don’t like it quite yet.
This is fun!! :D
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c93/mohamedhossam/crest.gif
So Patrick, whaddya think of that?
I couldn’t find a good compass clipart, or to be honest was too lazy to search :D so I made my own using MS Paint, which is what I always use.
I’ve presented you with two choices, with one being a palette switch of the other!
I realized that putting a compass over the "doorway" of the tower would render it almost unseen, so I toyed with putting it above and below the tower, but I settled on putting it upon it. Would that be blazoned, A Tower (gules/or) charged with a compass (or/gules)??
Cheers,
Patrick Williams wrote:
Whip it out Mohammed, I’d love to see it!
Hmmmmm….That doesn’t sound right. :oops:
Mohamed, very cool idea! I think if you shrink the compasses just a little so that they fit completely on the tower it might look a bit better, and less like a broken windmill.
I like Michael’s idea of sticking with the Racine arms, but I thought a chevron (representing a square) in place of the "river" might have a little more Masonic meaning to it. The Azure represents the "blue light", the masoned field represents (duh) masonry, and it is Or, representing the golden Temple of Solomon.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/pblanton/Masonic.jpg
Take care,
Phil, you naughty minded….........:p
Mohamed, the crest is nice. I agree with Phil that the compasses might be better if they did not extend from the tower. This might be a place where the restriction against the square and compasses ‘logo’ (for lack of a better term) might be lifted. The masoned tower then becomes an allusion to the lodge.
Phil - what can I say? lolol ... a poor choice of works, I guess. :rolleyes: As far as I know, Racine doesn’t actually have a coat of arms and these are of Michael’s devising.
Here are some variations on Eric’s design.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/PaddyW_photos/rbc222.jpg
All of them party per chevron Azure and Gules, the difference being in the annulet (at this size though, does it become an annul?). This puts the bell, as a symbol of the lodge, within the boundaries of its duties, supported upon the point of morality.
I can work this up later, but here is my idea:
1. Divide the field per chevron, letting a compass be the line of division.
2. Three pillars (towers) arranged two-and-one. Or some other meaningful charges—ashlars etc.
3. The allusion to the city/town could be represented in the crest, which could be a bell, a tree, or some combination of the two. Another charge or dividing line (like wavy or dancetty) could be used to represent water/a river.
4. Choose whatever tinctures are most fitting.
But I’m a fan of "Per chevron Azure and Argent, a Compass Or" (the compass being the dividing line). The problem with this, however, is that from a distance the line between the Or and Argent would not be so distinct. So maybe the base should be another color instead of a metal.
The Gules and Or could be used in the crest since Gules seems to be popular in a lot of the current designs and I guess it has some meaning.