I’ve seen secret Masonic “codebooks” — what do they mean?
The nature of Masonic teachings and initiation is deeply rooted in the oral tradition. In most Lodges around the world, these rituals are never written out – but are passed on “mouth to ear,” from one Masonic generation to the next. What may be thought to be codebooks are actually Masonic “ciphers.” These ciphers are not in “code” at all, but provide merely hints of the spoken word to refresh one’s memory. A Masonic cipher cannot be “broken” as there is no code to break.