In Summary:
The general meaning of the 13th degree “Royal Arch of Solomon” in the southern jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite relates to the Hiramic Legend and the immortality of the soul. This degree also makes use of symbols such as the square and triangle.

Initial Note:
To make honor and duty the steady beacon – lights that shall guide your life – vessel over the stormy seas of time…

Regalia Notes:
The apron is of crimson velvet. Upon it is embroidered a triangle emitting rays and in the middle a letter, an archaic form of the Semitic Yod. The color denotes the zeal and devoutness of a Royal Arch Mason.

The triangle is the emblem of Deity, or Infinite Wisdom, Infinite Power, and Infinite Harmony; the letter represents the Tetragrammaton, the Name of God made known to Moses.

The cordon is a broad, watered purple ribbon worn from the right shoulder to the left hip from which is suspended a triangle of gold bars.

The jewel is a circular medal of gold, around which, on one side are the following letters, words, and numbers: R,S,R,S,T,P,S,R,I,A,J, et S, ANNO ENOCHI 2995. On the same side is an engraving of the ground with a rectangular hole in it into which two men are lowering a third with a rope.

On the reverse side is a triangle emitting rays and in the middle of it the same letter as is on the apron. This medal is to be worn upon the chest, suspended by a
narrow, white watered ribbon.

The letters stand for Regnante Solomone, Rege Sapientissimo, Thesaurum Pretiosissimum Sub Ruinis Invenerunt Adonirum, Joabert, et Satolkin … Anno Enochi 2995; or ‘In the reign of Solomon, wisest of kings, Adonirum, Joabert and Satolkin found under the ruins the most precious treasure’. Let the emblem on the reverse side of the jewel always remind us that the good Mason reveres and adores the Grand Architect of the Universe, and endeavors, by pursuing the path of honor and duty, to perform the part assigned to him in the world well and faithfully.

Duties are:
• Seek knowledge. Be motivated by duty and honor.

For Reflection:
• Are idle hours and idle words subject to the great law of retribution?

Lessons:
• Moral character is a habit, not formed in a moment. The great law of retribution acts in our memory as remorse and at the final judgment

Important Symbols:
• Enoch, Adoniram, Yehu-Aber, Satolkin, the descent into the vault, the arch, cube of agate, triangle of gold, name of Deity.

---

Additional Notes:
Like other degrees encountered in Scottish Rite Masonry, this degree is also known by other names: The Royal Arch of Enoch, the Royal Arch, and the Royal Arch Ecossais (Scottish Rite Arch). It must be remembered that Albert Pike wrote the degrees of the Scottish Rite in the 19th century and in doing so, he selected, combined, deleted, and elaborated material from the numerous and varied degrees existing at the time. The other names associated with this degree attest to both its heritage and its importance in Freemasonry.

Ecossais is a French word, usually translated as “Scottish”; according to Mackey, it may also be translated as “Scottish Master” (Ecossais Maitre). Under whatever name this particular degree may be found, it is essentially a legend accounting for the recovery of that which was lost. The older versions recount that the True Word was engraved on a triangular plate of gold which was cast into a dry well; but the new versions relate that the True Word, also engraved on a golden plate, was deposited in a purposely prepared place to be found centuries later by three masters.

Enoch, also in a name of the degree, is an important Masonic character. He was an ancient Hebrew patriarch and predecessor of Solomon. From Genesis (5:24) we learn that his life was one of exceptional virtue; he is described “as walking with God.”. He is said to have lived 365 years, his earthly life ending not by death but by being bodily transported to Heaven (Genesis 5:23). We are told he received the gift of wisdom and knowledge from God and was learned in astronomy and astrology. Tradition tells us that God, seeing in Enoch a man of perfect virtue, elected to reveal to him His true name. After receiving it in a dream, Enoch’s vision continued and he was conveyed vertically through nine arches into a subterranean vault which continued a triangular plate of gold upon which was written the name of God. Enoch took the dream as a sign from God and after a long journey through Canaan, or the Holy Land, he excavated nine apartments vertically into the earth each covered with an arch, the lowest hewn out of solid rock. In this apartment, he placed an alabaster pedestal and mounted upon it a cube of agate into one side of which he had sunk a triangular plate of gold inscribed with the name of Deity – thus fulfilling the purpose of his vision.

Above the apartments, he built a modest temple of unhewn stones with a secret passage into the apartments under a stone with a ring through it. The Bible provides us with the reason for unhewn stones, for God decreed His altars to be such:
“and if thou wilt makes me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it”. (Exodus 20:25)
This passage also explains the prohibition against “the sound of an axe, hammer, or any tool of iron” during the construction of King Solomon’s Temple as related to Masonic tradition, which itself has a specific Biblical source (1 Kings 6:7).

The legend provided in the Liturgy explains that during the construction of King Solomon’s Temple, an administration center was needed. The site chosen for this center was unknowingly that of Enoch’s original temple. It was believed that the ruins were of an ancient pagan temple. During the removal of the ruins, the secret passage was discovered. Adoniram and two of his assistants (Yehu-Aber and Satolkin) successively lowered each other into the dark vertical passage, each reaching farther than the one before him. Finally, Adoniram himself reached the ninth apartment where he discovered treasure left there by Enoch. The next day the three Master Architects returned and removed the cube of agate which they conveyed to King Solomon who immediately recognized the word engraved upon the golden plate on its side as the Ineffable Name of Deity.

According to his father, David, who had received it from the prophet Samuel, Solomon created this degree, it is said, to reward the zeal and dedication of the discoverers of this great treasure. In Hebrew, the name Enoch is ‘Henoch’ and means: initiate, instruct, teach and dedicate. In the Holy Koran of the Muslims, Enoch is called “Edris” derived from a word that means to read or to study with attention. In Freemasonry, Enoch, therefore, has become a symbol of initiation and the acquisition of knowledge.

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