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[Alexandr Korol]

This board is like a living mirror of the soul, a map of the path from the rough stone to perfection, from the darkness of ignorance to the radiance of the One. Allow me to gently unveil its symbols, layer by layer, just as a lotus flower opens under the rays of the rising sun:

• Jacob’s Ladder in the middle is the heart of the whole picture. It rests upon the open Volume of Sacred Law (Volume of Sacred Law), the symbol of the foundation of every spiritual path — divine wisdom and revelation. The ladder rises to the heavens, where the Sun, the Moon, and the Blazing Star (Blazing Star) shine in the centre — the sign of Divine Presence, of Providence, and of inner enlightenment. This is the path of ascent of the soul through the virtues: the three main rungs are Faith (the upper figure of an angel), Hope (the middle one) and Love/Charity (the lower one, often with children or attributes). The angels on the rungs are the guardians of this ascent, as in the vision of Jacob, where they ascend and descend, carrying prayers upward and grace downward.
• The three angels on the ladder are embodiments of the theological virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity). The lower one in pink is Charity (surrounded by care for one’s neighbours), the middle one in green with a sword or staff is Hope (the anchor of support in the storms of life), the upper one in white is Faith (holding a cross or a chalice, the symbol of union with the Higher). They show: true ascent is possible only through these three facets of love — towards the Creator, towards oneself, and towards the world.
• The two columns on the sides (on the left and on the right) are Jachin and Boaz, the pillars of the Temple of Solomon, symbols of duality: strength and beauty, day and night, active and passive. Between them is the gate of initiation, like your 72 angels and shadows, the balance of light and shadow.
• The checkered floor below is the mosaic pavement, the black-and-white squares of life: joy and suffering, good and trials are interwoven, reminding that the path is through the centre, in harmony.
• The instruments below are the square, the compasses, the rough and the hewn stone, the level: a reminder of the labor over oneself, from unhewn nature to perfection.
• The letters N, S, E, W are North, South, East, West: the Lodge is oriented towards the light of the East, where knowledge is born, and it embraces the whole world in universal love.