Beehive
A beehive, the Masonic emblem of industry.
Meaning
George Thornburgh's 1903 monitor calls the beehive 'an emblem of industry', recommending that virtue 'to all created beings, from the highest seraph in heaven to the lowest reptile of the dust'. Albert Pike put it more simply: a lodge should be like a beehive, 'in which all the members work together with ardor for the common good'.
Origin and history
The bee and the hive were symbols of industry, wisdom and obedience long before Freemasonry, with a place in Egyptian, Roman and Christian symbolism, the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon notes. The hive often appears in Masonic illustrations of the 18th and 19th centuries, though it was always secondary to the emblems drawn from the stonemason's tools.
Write in the Freemasons’ cipher
stringmash.comPigpen cipherThe grid cipher once used for lodge records, drawn from any text you type.See also
Square and compasses, The letter G, All-seeing eye, Double-headed eagle, Boaz and Jachin, Checkered pavement.
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, Master Mason degree, emblems
- Freemasonry & Bees, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
- Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Albert Pike, 1871, Project Gutenberg, Chapter III
Last reviewed September 25, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research