Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and was used symbolically in the Old Testament. It signifies the fulfilment of the revealed Word of God. It also prophesied the Last Day and had the same function as the Greek letter Omega as it appears in the Book of Revelation: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Rev. 21:6;22:13). It was spoken of in the Book of Ezekiel: “And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof" (Ez. 9:4). The Tau is thought to be this sign, placed upon the foreheads of the faithful of Israel to save them from the wrath of God. Throughout ancient times it was placed upon the foreheads of those surviving battle, as a sign of life.

 

Christians in Greek or Roman influence anciently used a tau cross. The cross’s use in Franciscanism dates back to St. Francis of Assisi himself, who used it as his signature and personal seal. During the time of Francis and from the Fourth Lateran Council, called by Pope Innocent III, the Tau was a symbol widely used by the Catholic Church as a sign of conversion and sign of the cross. The basis of a triple tau in early church history would mean the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A belief in the triune nature of godhead is common to many faiths and religions.

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The Triple Tau also may be considered as signifying the letters T and H, Templum Hierosolym, the Temple of Jerusalem, and when used as the Royal Arch symbol, some jurisdictions teach that the Companions thereby acknowledge themselves  servants of God.

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In the Royal Arch symbol, the Triple Tau is enclosed within a triangle and a circle. The triangle is a simple shape in geometry that has taken on great spiritual significance and symbolism. The equilateral triangle was revered by ancient nations as containing the greatest and most abstruse mysteries, and as a symbol of God, denoting a triad of intelligence, a triad of deity, a triune God. The equilateral triangle, with its three angles of the same degrees and three sides of equal length, denotes equality. By this equality or perfection of design and proportion, it represents the deity. The triangle is a symbol of divine union, and an emblem of the mysterious triune, representing His triune essence: omnipotence (all powerful), omnipresence (eternal) and omniscience (all knowing).

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The circle is an emblem of eternity, having neither beginning nor end, and so may be also considered emblematical of God who is without beginning of days or end of years.

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