Cryptology: Pigpen Cypher

One of the easiest cyphers out there is the Pigpen Cypher (left, click for full size), also know as the Freemason's Cypher, the Masonic Cypher, and the Rosicrucian Cypher.

The origins of this cypher are unknown, but there are records of it dating back to the 1700s. The Rosicrucian brotherhood and the Freemasons were among those to use it most (to our knowledge); the Freemasons so much so that it is frequently referred to as the "Freemason's Cypher."

There are a number of variations of the cypher, some of which rearrange the letters randomly (to make it more difficult to crack), some of which rearrange the grids (##XX , #X#X , &c.), and others which use multiple dots rather than multiple grids (left, click for full view; A = 1 dot, B = 2 dots, C = 3 dots, D = 1 dot, &c.).