But what exactly does all that symbolism mean, and where did it come from? Browse this gallery and peek inside the secretive world of the Masons.

Several Masonic signs have been found 'hidden' in paintings of Scotland's bard Robert Burns. Tiny letters and symbols have been painted in minute detail in a paintings by Alexander Nasmyth, a ...

Instead of commonplace designs like flowers or snowflakes, seamstress Celestia A. Milliken decorated her colorful quilt in 1908 with the square and compass and 70 other secret symbols of Freemasonry .

THE Consistory Court of the diocese of Carlisle has refused a faculty to per­mit a masonic symbol to be added to the churchyard memorial of a person who had been a senior Freemason. Although the ...

The four core principles of freemasonry are integrity (meaning high moral standards), friendship, respect and service, or charity. The UGLE says it donates £50m per year to "charitable causes".