Working tools 3rd degree

In the English system, the working tools of a Master Mason are the pencil, the skirret, and the compasses 1. Symbolically, the pencil serves to remind the Mason that every word and action is observed and recorded by the Almighty Architect, to whom an account of life's conduct must ultimately be rendered 1. In the American system, the pencil is not specifically recognized among these working tools 1.

The compasses are characterized as among the most spiritual of all the working tools and are found throughout Craft Masonry 3. Beyond their specific degree assignments, the builder's tools in general were transformed over time from physical instruments into moral emblems, using the scenery of the visible world to convey spiritual realities 4. In operative medieval lodges, inventories record that masons and master masons possessed and utilized practical implements—such as trowels, squares, levels, and plumb-rules—which laid the groundwork for the symbolic tools retained in modern speculative lodges 2.

In the English system of Craft Masonry, the working tools of a Master Mason are indeed the skirret, the pencil, and the compasses 1.

The pencil is intended symbolically to remind the Mason that his words and actions are continually observed and recorded by the Almighty Architect, to whom he must eventually account for his conduct throughout life 1. The compasses, recognized as perhaps the most spiritual of all working tools, are prominent across Craft Masonry and appear throughout various rites 2.

This specific triad of working tools belongs to the English Craft system; the pencil is not specifically recognized as a working tool in the American system 1.