Lambskin

The lambskin apron serves as the distinctive badge of a Mason, presented upon initiation as the first gift received and the first symbol explained 1. Its unspotted material emphasizes purity of life and rectitude of conduct, traits held necessary for gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge above 1. Because the lamb is an emblem of innocence, substituting materials such as silk or satin destroys the emblematic character of the investiture 1.

In lodge tradition, the apron represents acceptance into the fraternity and the gift of brotherhood 2. It is accounted more ancient than the Order of the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle, descending from the protective garments worn by operative stonemasons as well as sacred vestments found across ancient civilizations and mysteries 12. Operative aprons were made of leather, linen, or skin depending on the mason's specific work at the building site or banker 1.

Symbolically, the apron's structure carries detailed geometric and spiritual readings. An operative apron's rectangular body, formed of four right angles, represents matter or the physical body, while its triangular flap symbolizes spirit or the soul 1. Dropping the flap represents the descent of spirit into matter 1. Wilmshurst expands this reading, taking the apron to signify the mortal human body itself—a seven-fold entity uniting the three-sided soul with the four-sided body—and charging the Mason to keep this badge undefiled 3.