Tracing Boards

[Offramp]

I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.

I read it but I am not sure it is true.

If true I suppose there could be no Explanation of the First Degree
Tracing Board, or second or third.

They are lovely pieces of ritual.

[Alan Schwartz]

Post by Offramp
I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.
I read it but I am not sure it is true.
If true I suppose there could be no Explanation of the First Degree
Tracing Board, or second or third.
They are lovely pieces of ritual.

Some US lodges use tracing boards; I visited a lodge in Washington
DC late last year that did (it also used Emulation ritual, and in Italian).

Many other lodges, including mine, use a slide show instead that shows
individual tracing-board like images during the explanation.
An internet search for "Masonic degree slides" will show you
some examples. There are several variations.

[Doug Freyburger]

Post by Alan Schwartz

Post by Offramp
I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.
I read it but I am not sure it is true.
If true I suppose there could be no Explanation of the First Degree
Tracing Board, or second or third.
They are lovely pieces of ritual.

Some US lodges use tracing boards; I visited a lodge in Washington
DC late last year that did (it also used Emulation ritual, and in Italian).

I don't know exactly what a tracing board is.

Post by Alan Schwartz
Many other lodges, including mine, use a slide show instead that shows
individual tracing-board like images during the explanation.
An internet search for "Masonic degree slides" will show you
some examples. There are several variations.

In the second degree I have also seen a large picture that is used
during one of the lectures. In California every lodge I attended had a
roll out carpet with all of the topics of the Fellowcraft degree on it
and the candidate would be walked to each illustration as the lecture
progressed. I visited a Prince Hall second degree in California where
a similar illustration was hung in a rack. I have since seen similar
Fellowcraft illustrations here in Illinois.

I see a lot of decorative illustrations on the walls in lodge buildings.
Many show the symbols of only the third degree. Many show all of most
of the symbols of all three degrees. Every so often there's one that
only shows the symbols of the first degree.

Are these decorative illustrations what you call tracing boards? To me
ritual is the wording and/or the floor work and only a few visual aids
are needed. Visual aids are nice and common but not what I learned the
word ritual to mean.

[Mudge]

Post by Offramp
I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.
I read it but I am not sure it is true.
If true I suppose there could be no Explanation of the First Degree
Tracing Board, or second or third.
They are lovely pieces of ritual.

Indeed, they are !!

[Dave Vick]

In article

Post by Offramp
I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.
I read it but I am not sure it is true.

Like most general statements, it's both true and false. Many US Lodges
do use tracing boards, many do not and use projected slides instead.

[Rob Sandilands]

Post by Dave Vick
In article

Post by Offramp
I was surprised to read that the US does not have tracing boards.
I read it but I am not sure it is true.

Like most general statements, it's both true and false. Many US Lodges
do use tracing boards, many do not and use projected slides instead.

... in UGLE Emulation, UGLQ and other Australian rituals, the tracing
boards are used to further reinforce the lessons of the actual degree
... in general, the boards used in each lodge are fairly standard,
although I have seen some older ones use that vary from the ritual ...
the boards take their rise from the old chalk tracings drawn on the
floor of English lodges by the Tyler and then erased at the end of the
meeting ... apparently a job for the candidate in many cases to
reinforce the lesson of secrecy ... I also understand that there are a
few lodges around who have the old carpets with the illustrations on
them, although I've never been lucky enough to see one other than in
photos ...

... with the trend in metropolitan areas over here of several lodges
using the same premises on different nights, I'm not sure how a new
lodge would far getting a new set of boards ... probably quite expensive
unless they used a print ... in the modern age, I can certainly
understand the use of slides or data projection ...

... strangely enough, our GL has directed that the EA and its
accompanying tracing board are to be delivered seperately, while the FC
can be done on the same or another night ... I've been out of active
circulation for a bit, but the MM tracing board is done on the same
night as the degree as there are alternate means of recognition included
in the lecture ...

... the ritual for all three tracing boards is very meaningful, and I
think would be sadly missed if they were ever cut from the ceremony ...