A sword whose blade is of a spiral or twisted form is called by the heralds a flaming sword, from its resemblance to the ascending curvature of a flame of fire. Until very recently, this was the form of the Tyler's sword. Carelessness or ignorance has now in many Lodges substituted for it a common sword of any form. The flaming sword of the Tyler refers to the flaming sword which guarded the entrance to Paradise, as described in Genesis 3:24: "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." It is more commonly seen now as a symbol in the emblem of the Scottish Rite where the flaming sword is held in the talons of the double-headed eagle.
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This page is adapted from the Glossary at Phoenixmasonry — Used with permission.
