In Summary:
This degree is considered “Grand Master of All Symbolic Lodges (or Master Ad Vitam)” and is about MASONIC TOKENS. In the context of this degree, a token is described as a small object that serves as a reminder of a person, place, or event. The purpose of this degree is to remind the members of their obligations as Master Masons and to encourage them to continue to learn and progress in the craft. The degree also teaches the importance of Loyalty and Faithfulness and is a reminder of the importance of the symbolical lodge, its teachings, and the importance of continuing to learn and progress in the craft of masonry.

Initial Note:
This degree shows us Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality. These teach moral, religious, and philosophical understanding. This degree helps one to comprehend Deity, forces of nature, good and evil.

Regalia Notes:
The apron is yellow, bordered, and lined with sky blue. In the center are three concentric equilateral triangles, with the initial letters of the nine Great Lights in the corners. The letters stand for the following: Charity, Generosity, Veneration, Heroism, Patriotism, Honour, Toleration, Truth, and Justice.

In the center of the inner Triangle is the Tetragrammaton in Phoenician characters. Across it, from below upwards, are the Hebrew letters Yod, He, and Yod, written vertically from bottom to top and sideways.

The remaining letters are Aleph, Vau, Ras; together the letters form the Hebrew for “Let Light Be!” or, as in the King James Version of the Bible, “Let there be light”

The cordon is a broad ribbon of yellow and sky blue; it may also be two ribbons, one of each color, crossing each other.

The jewel is gold, like the triangles on the apron, with the same words and letters.

Duties are:
• Dispense light and knowledge.
Practice the Masonic virtues both in and out of the Lodge.

For Reflection:
• Is your behavior the same both in and out of the lodge?

Lessons:
• Truth, justice, and tolerance are indispensable qualities for a Master of the Lodge. An example is the best teaching method known.

Important Symbols:
• Triangle, square, octagon, candles, three pillars, Pythagorean right triangle.

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Additional Notes:
Over the many years that the ceremonies of the Scottish Rite have been performed, many acceptable changes, additions, and minor deletions have been made. The Rubric (a text of acceptable modifications) says of this degree:
“The 20th Degree is a most beautiful Degree; conferred in full, including the opening and closing, it presents the lessons of the Degree in pure, classical drama, scarcely excelled anywhere. Nothing should be added, and nothing subtracted. Finish the Degree according to our Ritual. Do not spoil it by introducing a single thing.”

This degree is considered classical drama for many reasons. The most significant are its simplicity in set and action, the ceremonial use of candles, and the use of squares, triangles, and pillars, the classic symbols of Masonry. In Morals and Dogma, Pike notes that Masonry should be returned to its primitive purity. The ceremony is a dramatic statement of this “primitive purity”.

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