The obelisk is a symbol of the Egyptian sun god Ra, also known as Atum.
Where there is an obelisk, the Egyptian sun god Ra rules.
To understand why the obelisk is so important to masons one has to understand the Masonic version of Egyptian mythology behind their rituals.
Osiris was a king of Egypt who married his sister Isis. His brother ‘Set’ wished to usurp the throne and so plotted his death. He tricked Osiris into climbing into a golden chest. As soon as he was inside, Set nailed down the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. It was carried off to Byblos in Syria where it came to rest against a small Tamarisk tree or Acasia tree, with the dead Osiris still inside. Isis found out what Set had done to Osiris, so she set off to find her husband.
A vision led her to Byblos, where she recovered his body and took it back to Egypt. Alas! Set stole it and tore it into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout Egypt to prevent Osiris coming to life again. Isis recovered all but one of the pieces - the penis - and gave Osiris a fit burial. Their son, Horus, avenged him by slaying Set.
Another son, Anubis, resurrected Osiris with the ‘lion grip’
Having triumphed over the grave, Osiris now reigns as king and judge of the so called dead. The piece of Osiris that Isis never recovered was the penis, which Set had thrown into the Nile where it was eaten by fish. Ever resourceful, Isis manufactured an artificial organ around which the Egyptians established a cult or festival.
From this it is a small step to the conclusion that the benben or obelisk was itself a phallic symbol. Whether of osiris , Re or fertility in general, it was a symbol of fatherhood ‘The rock that begot’
To Freemasons groping for mystic enlightenment in the 1800’s the obelisk was the only architectural symbol of Osiris still in existence. And if, as some Masonic historians claim, Hiram Abiff is really Osiris reborn there could be no greater proof of Masonic ascendancy in the modern world than Egyptian Obelisks thrust by masons into the heart of the West’s great cities. These would also symbolise Boaz and Jachim, the twin pillars which masons claim were built in front of Solomon’s temple, in imitation of two obelisks at the entrance of Egyptian temples.