The apron (right) reverses the colors of the 16°, with the body of the apron being yellow (dawn and breaking light) and the trim of red (zeal and faith). Both the apron body and the flap are triangular, symbol of the Deity. The body of the apron is decorated with the Tetractys, formed of 10 Yuds (a character of the Hebrew alphabet and the first letter of the Tetragammaton). They are symbolic of the ten manifestations of God (Sephiroth) found on the Tree of Life of the Kabbalah and, thus, symbolic of God's action in the creation and maintenance of the universe.

There are two cordons, one of black and one of white, which are worn from shoulder to hip, the white from right to left and the black from left to right. They symbolize duality—night-day, male-female, mercy-severity, etc.—just as do Jachin and Boaz. The fact that they cross each other suggests the union of opposites or equilibrium.

The crossing of the cordons relates to another possible symbolism. In crossing, they form an X, a shape also known as the Cross of St. Andrew. It is an ancient symbol for change or transformation, probably deriving from that point in the heavens at which the celestial equator crosses the plane of the ecliptic. The shape is seen in ancient painting and statuary, associated with time and change, and came to represent transformation in much the same way the circle came to symbolize stability.

And change or transformation is a major theme of the 17°, precursor to the 18° as its central character, John the Baptist, was precursor to the central (if unseen) character of the 18°, Jesus of Nazareth.

Thus the crossed cordons may serve as a symbolic alert to the theme of transformation—in this case the transformation of vital but unrefined spiritual power into the focused spirituality of the Law of Love.

The jewel of the Degree is a heptagonal (seven-sided) medal, made half of gold and half of silver or mother of pearl. The combination symbolizes the sun and the moon, Osiris and Isis, the power which creates and the power which nurtures—again, the same symbolism as in Jachin and Boaz.

In the center on the front is an engraving of a lamb resting on a book with seven seals. On each seal is an initial of the name of one of the last seven Sephiroth, and in the angles of the jewel the initials are repeated. It should be noted that this book with seven seals is not the Bible's Book of Seven Seals, which only Christ was worthy to open. But it's important to remember that this Degree, which features John the Baptist as a major character, immediately precedes the Eighteenth Degree in which the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are prominent and the New Law of Love is announced. As John the Baptist was seen as a precursor to Jesus of Nazareth, so the front of the jewel is a signal that this Degree concerns itself with the raw spirituality preached by John, which is to be refined and focused in the teachings of the Nazarene.

The back of the jewel is a balance scale in equipoise. On the pans rest the hilts of two swords which cross. They thus from a Cross of St. Andrew, symbol of change and transformation long associated in medieval and renaissance art with the coming of the Messiah "who shall make all things new." This Degree, then, provides a sort of spiritual jolt or jump start in preparation for the transformation, refinement, and redefinition which is to come.