The compasses, which are a fit symbol of the heavens, are also a fit symbol of all that is heavenly and spiritual; the square, which is a fit symbol of the earth, is also a fit symbol of all that is earthly and material, in nature and man.

Since the passing of Pike in 1891, the antiquity of these and related general themes have been pushed back from the Middle Ages to prehistory. More specifically, the ancient association of the symbols of the compass and the square in altar cloths, clothing, and temple veils has been found not only in Jewish, Christian, and other sources from the ancient Near East, but also in unexpected places such as China. Stating the central idea of the symbolism in its most basic form, a passage from the Huai-nan Tzu (ca. 170-122 BCE) asserts “the most basic principle of Huang-Lao cosmography,” namely, “Heaven is round; earth is square.” Going further, Chinese drawings remarkably similar to figure 7-9 are found as early as the second century BCE, closely associated with representational counterpart in burial clothing and wall hangings (see figure 14-9 and 14-10). Intriguingly, the echoes of such ancient ideas persist today in the phrase kuei chü, “used by modern Chinese to signify ‘the way things should be, the moral standard’; it literally means the compass and the square.”

The most important lesson in these observations is that the motif of the circle and the square—the geometrical results of the finished work that is accomplished through the pedagogical tools of the compass and the carpenter’s square—seems to signify, ...

... originally proposed for the Salt Lake Temple. Because the Nauvoo angel first appears, like other modified features that were part of the finished temple, on William Weeks’ revised sketch of the front elevation, it seems likely that this important addition was included in the design at the request of the Prophet rather than at Weeks’ own initiative.

Perrigrine Sessions, who witnessed the placement of the angel on the tower on 30 January 1846, gave the following description:

At this time, in the morning and evening of this day, there was a flame of fire seen by many to rest down upon the Temple. On this day, they raised the feign [that is, the tin weathervane] which is the representation of an angel in his priestly robe with the book of Mormon in one hand and a trumpet in the other, which is overlaid with gold leaf.

Square and compass. There are three important symbols near the top of the angel weathervane: a book, a square and compass, and a striking three-part finial. The first thing to notice about the square and the compass is that their configuration “is not typically Masonic”—indeed the symbols have not only been repositioned but also turned completely upside down. As Nicholas S. Literski has observed, Joseph Smith “was not known for leaving texts (or rituals) alone in the form he encountered them.” Neither was the English poet, artist, and mystic William Blake.

The print by William Blake shown in figure 14-8, entitled “The Ancient of Days” or “God Creating the Universe,” depicts Deity using a compass in the form of a square to bring all things into being. The solitary posture of the form seems to have been prescribed by the poet John Milton, who wrote of the moment when the Almighty “took the golden Compasses prepar’d ... to circumscribe This Universe, and all created things: One foot he centred, and the other turn’d Round through the vast profunditie obscure.”

Importantly, Blake’s beautiful image is not meant to show the origins of material creation, but rather to illustrate the idea that the first act of Creation was the engraving of divine law on the fabric of the cosmos. Implicit in the symbols of the compass and the square is the idea that the earth and heavens were created and are preserved by means of the same eternal covenant that humankind is meant to make in order to assure its own standing with God. According to Joseph Smith, the original covenant from which all others derive was made before the “foundation of the world,” when the members of the Godhead agreed to create the universe. Afterward, the terms of this covenant were said to have been marked or “engraved” upon the heavens and the earth themselves, symbolically delimiting the incontrovertible bounds of Creation.

The use of the compass and square as creation symbols is not confined to Western cultures. Moreover, it is much older than the Hermetic image that caught the interest of Masonic scholar Albert Pike (figure 7-9). For example, very similar depictions have been found in Asian tombs dating as far back as the second century BCE. At left, Fu Xi and Nü Gua, measure the “‘squareness of the earth’ and the ‘roundness of heaven’ with their implements, the square with the plumb bob hanging from it, and the compass.”

It should not be surprising to find a compass and square pictured together with the sun, moon, and stars as we see here. This is because these astronomical symbols are associated not only with the act of creation but also the three degrees of light and glory corresponding to mankind’s final judgment and dominion, as attested biblically in the writings of Paul and in modern revelation as part of Doctrine and Covenants 76 and 88—both received by Joseph Smith in 1832.

With their human torsos and serpentine lower bodies “rotating around the invisible vertical axis mundi,” Fu Xi and Nü Gua are, according to Mark Lewis, “hybrids who embody the division of the universe into ... three distinct levels and at the same time demonstrate the links between them. The paired deities move between the three realms, embody two of the three levels of the Han world, and lead upward to the third.” Michael Loewe sees this image as “a final stage in the journey” where, at the destination and “in the company of the hosts of heaven,” individuals slough off their “mortal coil as easily as a snake sheds the skin that he discards.”

The version of the banner of Fu Xi and Nü Gua shown in figure 14-9 and 14-10 was found by Sir Mark Aurel Stein in a tomb in central Asia and has been dated to the late seventh century. It was, according to Hugh Nibley,

suspended from pegs on a north wall ... near the body of a man dressed in Sassanian style. “Near the head lay also the crown-shaped paper hat” ... A mixture of cultures is apparent—the Sutras, Sassanian art and Chinese elements (the Chinese having moved in quite recently—640 CE) and the ritual with which the parties are so much concerned may have been somewhat eclectic, with a foundation of Nestorian Christianity. In the veil in question, what first catches the eye are the signs of the square and the compass [characterized by Stein as “the mason’s emblems”], boldly drawn as they are held up in the right and left hands respectively of the lady and her husband. To quote the official description: “Silk ... perhaps originally white.” ... “The bodies rise from a continuous flounce-like short white skirt”—an apron. “Their two inner arms stretched stiffly and horizontally towards each other and fused into the appearance of one arm joining both bodies; but the hand of each appearing under the opposite armpit of the other shows that they are embracing.” ... “From below issue two intertwined serpentine bodies which coil round each other guilloche-wise three times”—the well-known caduceus of life and death, signifying that all things have their opposites.

The shape of the lower bodies of the two figures also recalls the form of the multiply entwined tree in the center of the paradisiacal garden of K’un-lun.

Nibley noted that “the garment draped over the coffin and the veil hung on the wall had the same marks; they were placed on the garment as reminders of personal commitment, while on the veil they represent man’s place in the cosmos.”

Continuing, Nibley observed that “the whole design is completely surrounded with diagrams of the constellations, while above the heads of the two figures “is the sun disc, white with red spokes,” surrounded by twelve smaller circles, each connected to the next by a straight line to form an unbroken circle except at the very top where it is left open—plainly the circle of the months of the year”—“meaning ... the navel of the universe.” The moon disk appears beneath the entwined bodies, also surrounded by twelve smaller circles.

In a brilliant essay, Matthew B. Brown adduced evidence from the Psalms and the book of Revelation that further associates the symbols of the square and the compass with the temple. From his study of the Old Testament, he identified three specific attributes associated with God’s throne or His kingship. In the King James Version of the Bible, the attributes are listed as righteousness, truth, and uprightness. By extension, these throne attributes are connected with the Holy of Holies or throne room, and are “named in the Psalms as necessary to pass by the Lord’s proxy at the temple gate.” Each of these attributes can be tied to specific architectural tools: righteousness with a square leveling line or a measuring cord, truth with a compass, and uprightness with a straight scepter.

Brown further observes:

There is an intriguing section of the Old Testament where the rod image is tied together with the cord image, and both are mentioned along with an Israelite temple gate. When the prophet Ezekiel (who was a temple priest) was shown a visionary model of the Lord’s sanctuary he met an angel in the east entrance of that temple complex. This gateway seems to have served as a station for guards and so it was roughly equivalent to the veiled tabernacle gate with cherubim embroidered upon it. The angel who met with Ezekiel was holding two objects: a linen rope or cord and a measuring reed or rod. The rod (qaneh) was used for measuring short distances while the cord measured longer ones.

Three-part finial. While two of the features at the top of the weathervane are easily recognizable—a book and a combined square and compass—the significance of the striking three-part finial design, strategically positioned immediately above them, is more elusive.

It could be argued that this feature is purely decorative. However, no other element in the weathervane is purely decorative, and it is hard to imagine that the most prominent element of the weathervane would not have been used as a part of its symbolic grammar.

Keeping in mind Brown’s discovery of the three-part representation of the divine attributes corresponding to the roles of the king, could the decorative finial constitute the missing third symbolic element? If we take the symbol of the book to accord with prophetic role of the giving of the law and the square and compass (or, in the case of Ezekiel, the rod and cord) to accord with the priestly role of temple measurement and construction, we might expect the finial to evoke the royal role of kingship.