The use of the apron is extremely old, not, as with the operative Masons, as a protector of clothing and body against tools and stone, but as a badge of honor. It was so used by the priests of Israel, by candidates for the mysteries of Mithras in Persia, by the ancient Japanese in religious worship. Ethiopia knew aprons as did Egypt. In all times and climes, it has been a badge of distinction. It is as such that a Mason wears it.
The material of the Masonic apron-lambskin-is a symbol of innocence, as the lamb has always been.
Color and material are important in its symbolism but Masonry admits the "symbol of the symbol"--as, for instance, an electric light in place of a candle. Hence a Mason has more than once been "properly clothed" when the lambskin aprons of the lodge were all in use and he came through the tiled door clad in a white handkerchief!
Downloadable books (free):
John Sebastian Marlowe Ward - The Master Masons HandbookAleister Crowley - The Mass Of The Phoenix
Aleister Crowley - Why Jesus Wept
