what does the rainbow symbolise in the royal ark mariner degree and do writers agree on it

The rainbow motif in the Royal Ark Mariner degree—worn as a broad sash ribbon or represented in rainbow colouring—is associated directly with the Legend of the Flood and the Biblical account of Noah's Ark 12.

Waite attributes the choice of rainbow colouring to its obvious connection with the flood legend 1, while Mackey similarly notes that the degree's symbolism and ceremonies center on the Biblical narrative of the Ark, the Deluge, and the Dove 2. The supplied sources reflect agreement on this point, grounding the symbol straightforwardly in the Noahic story rather than presenting divergent or conflicting interpretations.

The provided sources do not record who first introduced the rainbow symbol into the Royal Ark Mariner degree. The earliest record in the passages dates to December 1798, when an account in the London Monthly Magazine described members wearing a broad sash ribbon representing a rainbow 2, but the originator of the symbol is not identified in the text.

The earliest written record of the rainbow symbol in the Royal Ark Mariner degree is found in a report by a correspondent published in the London Monthly Magazine in December 1798 2.

This 1798 account describes members of the order, who assembled in a lodge termed a Royal Ark Vessel, wearing a broad sash ribbon representing a rainbow during lodge meetings 2. They also wore an apron embellished with an ark and a dove 2. The correspondent noted that members referred to themselves as Noachidae, or Sons of Noah, presided over by a Grand Noah—identified at that time as Thomas Boothby Parkyns, Lord Rancliffe 2.

The text records that the group's primary meeting venue in London was the Surry Tavern on Surry Street in the Strand 2. Candidates paid an entrance fee of ten shillings and sixpence, sixpence of which was remitted for registry with the Grand and Royal Ark vessel 2. The magazine article also preserved a verse from a degree song authored by Dr. Ebenezer Sibley recounting the legend of Noah's Ark 2.

Although the degree later came under the governance of the Grand Mark Lodge in England and the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter in Scotland 2, this 1798 publication remains the earliest documented reference to the rainbow sash ribbon and its accompanying regalia 2.