why do we walk round the lodge sunwise

The practice of moving around the lodge room following the solar path—from east to west by way of the south—is rooted in ancient religious customs where worshippers imitated the apparent motion of the sun 12. In early sun and fire worship, as well as in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Druidical, and Hindu rites, circling an altar or sacred space clockwise was considered a sacred act of reverence and purification 12. In Gaelic traditions, this clockwise circuit was termed Deaseal, keeping the right hand toward the center, whereas moving in the opposite direction (Tuapholl) was deemed unhallowed 2.

Within Craft Masonry, this solar symbolism is reflected not only in movement but also in the placement of the principal officers: the Worshipful Master in the East represents the rising sun, the Junior Warden in the South represents the meridian sun, and the Senior Warden in the West represents the setting sun 2. Albert Mackey notes that while the Craft does not preach sun worship, its rituals preserve an allusion to these ancient solar doctrines through circumambulation, officer positions, and the emblem of the point within a circle 2.

Interpretations of the ceremony vary among Masonic writers. Carl H. Claudy emphasizes its spiritual aspect, holding that circumambulation symbolically links the candidate to ancient seekers and introduces the moral lesson of humble dependence upon a trusted guide 1. Arthur Edward Waite takes a more critical view, arguing that while processional movements generally follow the sun's course, candidate circumambulations in the Craft degrees serve practical rather than astronomical or symbolic purposes 3. Waite further observes that solar analogies in modern ritual bear the marks of modern invention, and notes that eighteenth-century Masonic writers often explained the circuit as depicting humanity's arduous progress from barbarism and ignorance to civilization and enlightenment 3.