What is the significance of the scythe in Masonic symbolism?
The scythe serves as an emblem of time and mortality, representing time's destructive aspect as it reaps its harvest of human life 1. Derived from classical iconography of Saturn as the god of time—typically depicted as an aged man with wings, holding an hour-glass and a scythe—the symbol emphasizes the cutting down of human existence 1.
In the Third Degree, the scythe explicitly symbolizes the relentless passage of time, which cuts the brittle thread of life and brings destruction among mankind 1.
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