Julian Rees

Julian Rees

Julian Rees was initiated in UGLE Kirby Lodge 2818 in 1968. He served on the Precepting Committee of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement and was Deputy Editor of the quarterly journal Freemasonry Today. Past Master of Kirby Lodge and the German-speaking Pilgrim Lodge, he was active as Junior Grand Deacon of UGLE. 

He is the author of seven works on Freemasonry: Making Light; The Stairway of Freemasonry; So You Want to Be a Freemason?; Tracing Boards of the Three Degrees in Craft Freemasonry; Ornaments, Furniture, and Jewels; More Light—Today’s Freemasonry for Men and Women; and Freemasonry for the Heart and Mind.  

He has been published in English, French, Polish, and Danish. He was awarded the Ordre de Lafayette (Institut Maçonnique de France) and is currently a member of the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women Le Droit Humain.

The Temple and the Vault

Although most Freemasons will be familiar with the Tracing Boards — painted or engraved illustrations developed in the early years of Freemasonry which are used in Lodges to illustrate Masonic symbols and allegories during degree ceremonies and lectures, little has been published on them. The Tracing Boards are an essential part of the three Craft Degrees, assisting the Freemason in his quest to decode and interpret those allegories. 

There is no publication which adequately explains the tracing boards, their use, and the meaning of their symbolism, and Tracing Boards of the Three Degrees in Craft Freemasonry Explained fills that gap. The first three chapters give a detailed method of understanding and revealing the import of the three craft boards, based on those used in the three degrees by the Emulation Lodge of Improvement, known as the Harris Boards, which contain the elements of most of the tracing boards used in Lodges throughout England. 

The fourth chapter gives a brief overview of the history and the development of tracing boards in England, with some fascinating illustrations of long-forgotten boards. 

In the fifth chapter the author draws in many tracing boards and lodge cloths from other countries, particularly from the USA and from other Masonic jurisdictions. 

The sixth chapter takes the reader on a journey through a rich collection of lantern slides from the Grand Lodge of Iowa, not seen for many years.