What is the significance of the lodge being called a temple?

The designation of a lodge as a temple reflects its symbolic foundation in the Temple of Solomon, which serves as the archetype from which all lodge temple symbolism is derived 1. Quatuor Coronati Lodge notes that the building of King Solomon's Temple has functioned as one of the central allegories of the Craft degrees as worked in England and Wales since the eighteenth century, serving as a recurring image throughout ritual.

This symbolism carries both historical roots and internal moral significance. Joseph Fort Newton observes that the ancient Temple of Solomon deeply influenced associations of medieval builders, providing forms and watchwords long before modern Freemasonry emerged 2. Beyond these historical ties to operative builders, the temple represents an internal construction. The Grand Lodge of India explains that a candidate builds an ideal temple of character within himself as he rises from an Entered Apprentice to a Master Mason.

The orientation of a lodge extending from east to west carries historical, cosmological, and symbolic meanings. Historically, this alignment derives from ecclesiastical architecture, as early lodge practice followed the traditional layout of Christian churches, which had in turn adapted an ancient reverence for the east as the direction of the rising sun and the origin of light 1.

Cosmologically, the extent of the lodge from east to west symbolises the expanse of the known world and the cosmic whole 14. One traditional theory notes that a map circumscribing the region known at the time of King Solomon's Temple—stretching from Spain in the west to Asia Minor in the east—forms an oblong shape whose length extends from east to west, thereby making the lodge a symbol of the entire earth 1. In this sense, the lodge represents universal dimensions and functions as a microcosm of the universe 4.

Spiritually and allegorically, the two directions represent stages of human existence and consciousness 3. The east signifies the divine source of light, life, and spiritual intuition, while the west represents the physical world, mortal existence, and temporal rational understanding 3. The symbolic trajectory from west to east reflects the journey of the individual from earthly darkness toward higher spiritual illumination and truth 3.

Ornaments, furniture, and jewels are interpreted in mystical commentary as internal and spiritual attributes rather than merely physical items within a lodge room 3. In this allegorical reading, the candidate is encouraged to adorn the "Lodge within" with the ornaments and jewels of grace and the invaluable furniture of true knowledge, dedicating his actions to God and humanity 3.

The jewels of the lodge are distinguished as either moveable or immoveable 3. Moveable jewels are described as transferable in their effect, meaning that when these virtues are displayed in an individual's life, their uplifting influence is communicated to others 3. Immoveable jewels represent attributes permanently fixed in the roots of a person's being—the raw material entrusted to the individual to waken out of chaos and roughness into due and true form 3.

While standard lodge lectures assign specific physical objects to each of these three classes, the available text focuses exclusively on their moral and spiritual significance without enumerating the physical objects themselves 3.