>>6189480 (lb)

http://www.deepertruth.com/journal/article-1.html

achim and Boaz are the pair of symbolic pillars (with Boaz on the left) described in the biblical account of the Temple of Solomon and featured prominently in Masonic temples.

In the Jewish mystical kabbalah, Joachim (sometimes jachin or jachim) and Boaz are the left and rightmost pillars of the tree of life- mercy and severity, or strength. Jachim represents the male polarity of the universe, light, motion, activity, the electron. Boaz represents the female polarity of the universe, darkness, passivity, receptivity, and silence. The pillars are similar in concept to the Eastern Yin Yang, representing opposites in balance.

Like much Masonic symbolism, the pillars are described in the old testament story of King Solomon, as the most significant feature of a grand temple. The story has traditionally been viewed as symbolic, and to Freemasons represents the spiritual development of man. One Masonic legend avers that the philosopher Pythagoras discovered the pillars, and together with Hermes Trismegistus, used them to discover all of the secrets of Geometry.