Tell me about candidate preparation

Preparation for initiation begins inwardly, requiring a candidate to be first prepared in his heart of his own free will 2. Within the lodge, the candidate's preparation is entirely symbolic, varying by degree, and carries an esoteric design that cannot be altered, abridged, or added to without disturbing its symbolic purpose 3.

Albert Mackey draws attention to historical parallels between Masonic preparation rituals and ancient Jewish rules for entering the Temple recorded in the Talmudic treatise Baracoth, which regulated personal condition by restricting outer garments, footwear, staves, and money 3.

The task of attending to the candidate is committed to a designated officer 3. English lodges assign no distinctive title to the preparing brother, whereas French lodges refer to him as the Frère terrible and German lodges as the Vorbereitender Bruder or Fürchterlicher Bruder 3. Depending on the jurisdiction, the duty may also be discharged by the Master of Ceremonies or another experienced lodge member, guided by the principle that what is not permissible among gentlemen should be impossible among Freemasons 3.

This initial preparation readies the candidate for the spiritual work of the first degree, which Walter Leslie Wilmshurst describes as gaining control over one's grosser nature and appetites, symbolized by shaping the rough ashlar as dug from the quarry into proper form 1.