What do the three Great Lights signify?

The three Great Lights consist of the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses 12. As Carl H. Claudy explains, the Volume of the Sacred Law is not restricted to any single religious tradition or text, but represents the divine spiritual truth accessible to candidates of every faith 2. The United Grand Lodge of England's Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition similarly emphasize that the Volume of the Sacred Law, displayed open alongside the Square and Compasses, is an essential requirement for regular lodge work, serving as the chief light among the three.

In philosophical readings of Craft symbolism, such as that set forth by W. L. Wilmshurst, the sacred volume represents the external expression of the eternal divine Word that forms the foundation of human existence 1. The Square symbolizes the human soul as it was originally created, while the Compasses, interlaced with the Square, represent the functional energy or spirit of that soul 1. Together, these three emblems function as both practical moral instruments and deeper spiritual symbols, directing the Mason to regulate conduct, circumscribe personal desires, and seek spiritual regeneration 12.

Jurisdictional practices regarding the Volume of the Sacred Law differ significantly according to constitutional rules and regional religious demographics.

In Anglo-American regular jurisdictions, including lodges working under the English Constitution, a candidate takes his obligation on whichever sacred text binds his conscience, such as the Koran, the Shastras, or the Zoroastrian code 4. Nineteenth-century rulings recorded by District Grand Lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England established that in multicultural districts, the Holy Bible remains open in the lodge room while a non-Christian candidate's specific sacred book is used for his obligation 4. In present-day jurisdictions with multi-faith memberships, such as the Grand Lodge of India, it is standard practice to display multiple sacred books open on the altar simultaneously—typically including the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, the Bible, the Guru Granth Sahib, and the Zend Avesta.

Different Masonic bodies and traditions also vary in their handling of sacred texts 3. Certain Co-Masonic bodies and ateliers operating under the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite maintain open volumes of sacred knowledge tailored to the religions of their members 3. By contrast, in liberal Continental European traditions, such as the Grand Orient de France, the requirement for a religious text was replaced in the nineteenth century, and the lodge displays the Constitutions of the order on the altar instead.

Across regular jurisdictions, the underlying requirement remains that the Volume of the Sacred Law must serve as a revelation or sacred text capable of binding the candidate's conscience under a shared faith in a Supreme Being 4.

The source named below is not among the works in my library. I named it from memory rather than by consulting it, so it may be online or in print elsewhere. What it says may well be right — please check it at the source. “…practices regarding the Volume of the Sacred Law differ significantly according to constitutional rules and regional religious demographics.”

Wilmshurst expounds the three Greater Lights as a mystical allegory for the spiritual constitution of humanity and its relation to the Divine 1. In his exposition, the written Volume of the Sacred Law serves as the emblem and external expression of the unwritten Eternal Word—the Logos or Substantial Wisdom of Deity—from which every living soul emanates 1. Wilmshurst asserts that the sacred volume ought to lie open at the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John 1. This text reminds the candidate upon receiving light that the Divine Word resides within his own inward darkness, and that the "lost Word" sought in Masonic tradition is fundamentally the candidate's lost consciousness of this divine inner truth 1.

The Square, positioned upon the sacred volume, signifies the human soul generated out of that underlying Divine Word 1. Created originally in a state of perfection, the builder's square functions as an approximation of an inverted triangle with its apex pointing downward—an ancient symbol representing the soul, fluid psychic constitution, and the element of water 1.

The Compasses, interlaced with the square, symbolize the Spirit of the Soul, representing its active functional energy or Fire 1. Because the soul in isolation would remain passive and inert, its active properties emerge only through the union of the soul with its inspiring Divine foundation 1. Through these three conjoined emblems, Wilmshurst presents the triad as a single unified lesson in spiritual self-realization and divine origin 1.