The letter G

The letter G set between the square and compasses. Masons read it as standing for geometry, and for God.

Masonic symbols. Also called Masonic G.

Meaning

The G has two meanings, and both are given in the second degree, the Fellow Craft. George Thornburgh's 1903 monitor calls it the initial of Geometry, 'the first and noblest of sciences, and the basis on which the superstructure of Freemasonry is erected', and then says it has 'a far greater significance still' as the initial of Deity. The Grand Lodge of California today describes it as standing for geometry, the basis for stonemasonry and, symbolically, for modern Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite adds that it is also thought to represent God, the Grand Architect of the Universe: Freemasonry is not affiliated with any one religion, but belief in a God is a core requirement of membership.

Origin and history

Harry Carr, of the Quatuor Coronati research lodge, traced how the letter's meaning changed. As Mark Dwor summarises his work, the real question is not where the G came from but how it gradually changed from Geometry to God, and how that new meaning became the predominant one. Carr himself ended his study by allowing both: within the vast boundaries of Masonry universal, he wrote, 'there is room for every shade of interpretation'.

Write in the Freemasons’ cipher

stringmash.comPigpen cipherThe grid cipher once used for lodge records, drawn from any text you type.

Sources

Masonic Monitor of the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, George Thornburgh, 1903, approved by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, Project Gutenberg, Fellow Craft degree
Freemasonry Symbols, Masons of California (Grand Lodge of California)
The Origins of the Square and Compasses, Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction
The Letter G, Mark Dwor, 1996, after Harry Carr, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol. 76 (1963), Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon

Last reviewed September 25, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research

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