Free cipher and text utilities. No account required. Browse the directory
Contact

Masonic / Pigpen cipher

Masonic cipher

Encode A–Z as standard Pigpen symbols, or decode a clue with the symbol keyboard and a precise, copyable notation.

Local processing: your text stays in this browser. This tool makes no network requests and stores nothing.

01 / Workspace

Encode or decode

Direction

Encode ordinary text into drawn symbols and portable notation.

Standard grid-grid-X-X Pigpen A–I grid · J–R dotted grid · S–V X · W–Z dotted X
0 / 1,000 code points

ASCII letters are case-insensitive. Spaces, tabs, line breaks, punctuation, emoji, accents, and other scripts are preserved explicitly rather than discarded.

Alphabet key

Choose a letter to add it to the input.

Ready to encode.

02 / Result

Result

Drawn Pigpen symbols

Your symbol result will appear here.

Copying exports ASCII structural tokens, not look-alike Unicode glyphs. The notation can be pasted back into Decode mode.

03 / Guide

How it works

  1. Choose a direction. Encode accepts ordinary text; Decode accepts this tool’s notation or symbols chosen from the alphabet key.
  2. Match the standard key. A–I fill an undotted 3×3 grid row by row, J–R repeat it with dots, and S–V then W–Z fill the top, left, right, and bottom sections of undotted and dotted X shapes.
  3. Use the two results. The browser draws authentic geometry for reading, while the ASCII notation is the portable representation.

Notation reference

G-TL … G-BR
Undotted grid cells from top-left to bottom-right.
DG-TL … DG-BR
The same grid cells with a dot.
X-T, X-L, X-R, X-B
Undotted X sections in top, left, right, bottom order.
DX-T, DX-L, DX-R, DX-B
The same X sections with a dot.
/, TAB, NL, U+XXXX–U+10FFFF
Space, tab, line feed, and a preserved Unicode scalar written with 4–6 hexadecimal digits.

Limitations

  • This implements the common 26-letter four-key alphabet only. J and V are separate; historical keys that merge I/J or U/V, rotate the X, reorder letters, or use Rosicrucian layouts will not match.
  • Lowercase ASCII becomes uppercase. Accented letters are not transliterated. Browser text fields normalize CR and CRLF line endings to LF.
  • The decoder reads the documented notation and keyboard selections, not photographs, handwriting, arbitrary font glyphs, or approximate Unicode shapes.
  • Pigpen is a simple monoalphabetic substitution for education and puzzles. It is not secure and should not protect sensitive information.