what is the hermetic significance of the two pillars in craft masonry according to wilmshurst and the older writers

Wilmshurst reads the two pillars at the entrance of the lodge as a symbol of the "pairs of opposites" that pervade natural and metaphysical existence: light and darkness, active and passive, positive and negative, and the primordial elements of fire on the right and water on the left 1. On a personal level, he views them as representing the human organism itself—both the physical legs and the dual psychical supports of man—between which the postulant must pass along the narrow path of real initiation and spiritual rebirth 1. For Wilmshurst, bringing these opposing forces into balance coordinates man's inner house and achieves the spiritual stability required to endure higher mystical trials 1.

Older Masonic writers interpret the symbol through biblical, historical, and esoteric traditions. Mackey observes that early eighteenth-century lectures, including those of Calcott and Preston, connected the pillars to the pillar of cloud by day (associated with the right hand) and fire by night (associated with the left hand) in the wilderness, signifying divine guidance, protection, and the enduring strength and stability of the institution 3. Mackey also notes that isolated monumental pillars historically originated from phallic symbols representing the generative energy of Deity 3. Waite turns instead to Kabbalistic texts, such as The Garden of Pomegranates and The Gates of Light, to explain how strength is assigned to the left pillar and establishing power to the right, presenting the entire temple as a spiritualized "House of Doctrine" 2.