In Summary:
The 12th degree “Master Architect” in the southern jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite teaches faith in morality, virtue, and in God. The degree emphasizes that life is what each person makes of it and that an optimist turns a trial into a blessing. The apron of the 12th degree consists of a white outer shell, lined with blue and gold, symbolizing the Craft degrees, with a protractor, plain scale, sector, and compasses.

Initial Note:
To do that which it is right to do, not because it will insure your success, or bring with it a reward, or gain the applause of men, or be the ‘best policy’, more prudent or more advisable; but because it is right, and therefore ought to be done…

Regalia Notes:
The apron is white, lined and bordered with blue, and fringed with gold. On the flap is embroidered a protractor; and in the middle of the body a plain scale, a sector, and the compasses, are arranged to form a triangle. The colors are to remind us of the degrees of the Symbolic Lodge, the foundation of Masonry.

The cordon is a broad, blue watered ribbon, worn from the left shoulder to the right hip.

The jewel is a heptagonal medal of gold. On one side, in each angle is a five-pointed star, enclosed by a semicircle. In the center, on the same side, is an equilateral triangle, formed by arcs of circles.

On the reverse side are five columns, representing the different orders of architecture, arranged from left to right, with the initial of the proper order below each, in old English letters – [T]uscan, [D]oric, [I]onic, [C]orinthian, [C]omposite.

Above these columns are a sector and a slide-rule; below them, the three kinds of compasses, the plain scale, and the parallel ruler. Between the second and third and the third and fourth columns are Phoenician letters equivalent to the English/Roman letters ‘R’ & ‘B’. These letters have two meanings, one esoteric and the other esoteric.

The esoteric meaning all may know; is simply the initials of Rab Benaim, the Semitic name for the degree. You should pay particular attention to the symbolic meanings of the jewel and its designs in the ritual.

Duties are:
• Seek wisdom through knowledge.

For Reflection:
• Are you in control of your life?

Lessons:
• Wisdom is a gift from God and should be preferred over riches. Wisdom and knowledge bring honor, discretion, and understanding. Wisdom teaches the knowledge of God.
Wisdom enables immortality.

Important Symbols:
• Architects Tools.

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Additional Notes:
In Masonic Degrees, candidates make a series of ceremonial prescribed circuits of the altar. This practice, called circumambulation, is derived from the ancients and existed among the Romans, Semites, Hindus, and others. It is thought to have been a rite of purification. The sun was believed to travel around the earth; the initiates imitated the movement of the sun when they made circuits around the altar. In the Symbolic Lodge, the circuits of the craftsmen at the installation of the officers symbolize the possession of the lodge by the new Master. In Scottish Rite Masonry, this ancient symbol of purification is adopted to represent a renewal of virtue through the performance of duty. In addition to circumambulation, this degree is filled with numerous symbols which carry its teachings more than the actual ceremony. We are now advancing to the loftier philosophical lessons of Masonry and so encounter more complex symbolism.

Sources:
Purchase ‘A Bridge To Light‘ by Rex R. Hutchens
Purchase ‘Morals & Dogma‘ by Albert Pike.