Coronation Lodge No. 2927 has a quarterly Masonic Publication associated with it called Coronatio Quadrans, or CQ for short.

One part of the publication is “Question from the Master” This is where the Lodge’s Worshipful Master asks a esoteric or masonic question to the Lodge Mentor who will answer it in an article in the next edition. After the Mentor answers the question, the “Question” is thrown open to all, and anyone can try and answer it themselves anonymously. The CQ Editors will read all the submissions and pick the best which gets published in CQ.

The Question in CQ Vol 9 was “Choosing one or more points I would like you to consider the history, and significance of the use of Tracing Boards in Freemasonry; the symbolism contained within regarding their associated degrees, how they convey the meaning of the respective ritual; the evolution of the symbolism, the style of imagery presented across the centuries and evolving culture, and what, if anything you would include or omit to make them more useful vehicles for conveying their intended meaning?“

This time the question was more like a series of questions, or such an open ended question you could almost write about anything and still manage to get it to fit into the range covered by the question. I decided to write something about how tracing boards used to be special and taught a lot, while now they are mass produced and some of the teachings have been lost.

So, I won.

“What did you win?” you ask, (yes I heard you. I have explained in an old blog post, I can hear you when you speak out loud while reading this site).

Well my prize is that I get to write an article on any topic of my choice, and it will get published in the next edition of CQ.

ANYTHING!

So now I need to think of what I would like to write about.