Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons: Sacred Mysteries, Rituals and Symbols Revealed - Jean-Louis de Biasi 2011

Masonic Ciphers
Appendix

Several different ciphers are used in Freemasonry. The one used by Dan Brown in The Lost Symbol is called the Pigpen cipher (sometimes called the Masonic cipher, or Freemason’s cipher). This cipher was developed and used by the Freemasons in the early eighteenth century. The example (below) shows how the letters are assigned to a grid.

The word Freemasonry is shown in Latin characters and, below it, it is shown in encrypted form. As you can see, the position of the letter in the grid gives the shape of the code that was used. If the letter is in the middle of the grid, the code of the letter is a square. If the letter is in the middle and it has a dot in it, the code of the letter is a square with a dot in its center.

Down through the centuries, several Masonic ciphers have been developed all around the world, based on this same grid.

Below, you will find an English Masonic cipher.

Below you will find a Continental Masonic cipher.

Below, you will find a Masonic cipher that was developed after the eighteenth century. The use of the three points (dots) is symbolically interesting. They may indicate a European origin, because three points (dots) in a triangle are frequently used in Freemasonry.

Below you will find a Masonic cipher from the United States. As an illustration, the word Freemasonry is shown in Latin characters. Below it, the encrypted form is shown. You may notice that this encryption is different from the first one demonstrated. This example demonstrates why the code is essential for the decryption of the message.