"Rite of Memphis" -- 99 Degrees

Found some information about the Masonic "Rite of Memphis", which features 99 Degrees, the highest being called the "Grand Hierophant".

www.stichingarus.nl

Maybe this is what some are referring to in other threads about 33rd Degree Masons not knowing what goes on "higher up"?

Is the Rite of Memphis recognized by traditional Freemasons?

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
Is the Rite of Memphis recognized by traditional Freemasons?

No. It's completely irregular. I think it might appeal to the kind of person who "collects" degrees and find that 33 just aren't enough

Seriously though - a lot of the "invented" degrees (bloke and a pen in a back room, sometimes combined with "stimulants") try to be "bigger and better" e.g. have a lot more esoteric content and the more irregular they become they more offbeat and wacky.

Vanilla freemasonry just not enough for some people

Nostradamous might also have been a 99th degree mason. He seemed to be extremely enlightened for this day and age!

By the way whats so special about the years 2007-2012? A lot of people are claiming extra-ordinary events will happen in this time frame...any clues?

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
Found some information about the Masonic "Rite of Memphis", which features 99 Degrees, the highest being called the "Grand Hierophant".

www.stichingarus.nl

Maybe this is what some are referring to in other threads about 33rd Degree Masons not knowing what goes on "higher up"?

No. The Scottish Rite (which has always consisted of 33 degrees) and Memphis Rite (which consisted of 97 degrees) have always been two separate and distinct Rites. The 97th degree of the Rite of Memphis is higher than the 33rd degree of the Rite of Memphis...but NOT higher than the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite.

Is the Rite of Memphis recognized by traditional Freemasons?

The Rite of Memphis is no longer worked by legitimate Freemasons. Its degrees are now under the jurisdiction of the Grand College of Rites.

Originally posted by SkepticGreek74
By the way whats so special about the years 2007-2012? A lot of people are claiming extra-ordinary events will happen in this time frame...any clues?

The Mayan calandar is supposed to show 2012 as either the end of the world, or the end of an "age" of the world.

(Reviving old memories from college English) Y.B. Yates' wife, if I recall, claimed to receive personally divine revelation. In her notes, she declares that 2012 (?) is the date of the end of the world, sometime in December, I think...

Not sure how your question fits this thread, but hope that helps. Perhaps others can give a more detailed answer?..

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
The Mayan calandar is supposed to show 2012 as either the end of the world, or the end of an "age" of the world.

Actually, 2012 is not the end of the 12th Katun.



Link:

The Nahuas and Mayans speak of 13 Katuns, or periods of time, within which every humanity has to be developed.

We are now in the 12th Katun. In 2040 we enter the 13th Katun, the final step, the end of our civilization, which will last maybe 2000 years. Even the beginning of this Katun means destruction - and so entry into this period implies a complete change in nature due to a great sacrifice that will be performed by the fire.

As for Egyptian Masonry, the Ancient and Primitive Rite, of Memphis, etc....


www.blavatsky.net...

Than who does practice the true mysteries?

In France, after the revolution, there was a split in the masonic lodges. Some adhered to Cagliostro's Egyptian rite (the right way) which reincorporated a Priestess in their temples. Others (like the idiots that denied Blavatsky) still stuck with their Piscean, foolish ways of excluding the Priestess. They are just like the modern so-called Christians (which are Piscean in nature) that still practice stagnate rituals without a Priestess! If one is to consider the symbolism of the ritual without a Priestess...it is disgusting. Again refer to "The Revolution of Beelzebub" and the "Perfect Matrimony" by Samael Aun Weor for more info regarding this.

Interestingly enough, Cagliostro is said to have been a member of the Bavarian Illuminati....





[edit on 31-1-2007 by Tamahu]

Originally posted by Tamahu

In France, after the revolution, there was a split in the masonic lodges. Some adhered to Cagliostro's Egyptian rite (the right way) which reincorporated a Priestess in their temples. Others (like the idiots that denied Blavatsky) still stuck with their Piscean, foolish ways of excluding the Priestess. They are just like the modern so-called Christians (which are Piscean in nature) that still practice stagnate rituals without a Priestess! If one is to consider the symbolism of the ritual without a Priestess...it is disgusting. Again refer to "The Revolution of Beelzebub" and the "Perfect Matrimony" by Samael Aun Weor for more info regarding this.

There's so much wrong with that I don't even know where to start. To begin with, there was no split in Masonry following the French Revolution. Secondly, Cagliostro always remained a regular Mason in an orthodox male-only Lodge. The Egyptian Rite was a body for Master Masons and their wives, like the Eastern Star in the US and the Rite of Adoption in France. It was not meant to be a replacement for regular Masonry, but an addendum to it.

Lastly, the Osirian Mysteries are not "disgusting" because they male oriented any more than the the Mysteries of Isis are because they explore the sacred feminine.

Originally posted by Masonic Light
To begin with, there was no split in Masonry following the French Revolution. Secondly, Cagliostro always remained a regular Mason in an orthodox male-only Lodge. The Egyptian Rite was a body for Master Masons and their wives, like the Eastern Star in the US and the Rite of Adoption in France. It was not meant to be a replacement for regular Masonry, but an addendum to it.

Okay, what was meant, is that many "regular" Masons still considered him a charlatan.

Also, Cagliostro wanted to bring the Priestess more to the forefront of FreeMasonry; but his attempts were more or less rejected by Grand Lodges.


The quoted Gnostic instructor must have been referring to this:

Secret Teachings of All Ages

...After creating his Egyptian Rite, Cagliostro declared that since women had been admitted into the ancient Mysteries there was no reason why they should be excluded from the modem orders. The Princesse de Lamballe graciously accepted the dignity of Mistress of Honor in his secret society, and on the evening of her initiation the most important members of the French court were present. The brilliance of the affair attracted the attention of the Masonic lodges in Paris. Their representatives, in a sincere desire to understand the Masonic Mysteries, chose the learned orientalist Court de Gébelin as their spokesman, and invited Comte di Cagliostro to attend a conference to assist in clearing up a number of important questions concerning Masonic philosophy. The Comte accepted the invitation.

On May 10, 1785, Cagliostro attended the conference called for that purpose, and his power and simplicity immediately won for him the favorable opinion of the entire gathering. It took but a few words for the Court de Gébelin to discover that he was talking nor only to a fellow scholar but to a man infinitely his superior. Cagliostro immediately presented an address, which was so unexpected, so totally different from anything ever heard before by those assembled, that all were speechless with amazement. Cagliostro declared the Rose-Cross to be the ancient and true symbol of the Mysteries and, after a brief description of its original symbolism, branched out into a consideration of the symbolic meaning of letters, predicting to the assembly the future of France in a graphic manner that left no room for doubt that the speaker was a man of insight and supernatural power. With a curious arrangement of the letters of the alphabet, Cagliostro foretold in detail the horrors of the coming revolution and the fall of the monarchy, describing minutely the fate of the various members of the royal family. He also prophesied the advent of Napoleon and the rise of the First Empire. All this he did to demonstrate that which can be accomplished by superior knowledge.

Later when arrested and sent to the Bastille, Cagliostro wrote on the wall of his cell the following cryptic message which, when interpreted, reads: "In 1789 the besieged Bastille will on July 14th be pulled down by you from top to bottom." Cagliostro was the mysterious agent of the Knights Templars, the Rosicrucian initiate whose magnificent store of learning is attested by the profundity of the Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry. Thus Comte di Cagliostro remains one of the strangest characters in history--believed by his friends to have lived forever and to have taken part in the marriage feast of Cana, and accused by his enemies of being the Devil incarnate! His powers of prophecy are ably described by Alexandre Dumas in The Queen's Necklace. The world he sought to serve in his own strange way received him not, but has followed with relentless persecution down through the centuries even the very memory of this illustrious adept who, unable to accomplish the great labor at hand, stepped aside in favor of his more successful compatriot, the Comte de St-Germain

Lastly, the Osirian Mysteries are not "disgusting" because they male oriented any more than the the Mysteries of Isis are because they explore the sacred feminine.

Where would you get the idea that any Gnostic or myself would call the Ausarian Mysteries "disgusting"?


He was saying that to consider the symbolism of those Rituals without a Priestess is disgusting, as they are Sexual.


However, one can perform Tantric Visualization Meditations of those rituals with an Imagined Wisdom-Consort.

Or could visualize their True (non)Self as Ausar, Tehuti, Yehoshua, Krishna, Manjushri, Vajrasattva, etc.

However, these visualizations as a single, are not nearly as powerful for destroying the ego as they are with the Tantric Karma-Mudra with a physical Wisdom-Consort; unless of course one already posesses Solar Bodies.



Ausar and Auset are equally important.




[edit on 31-1-2007 by Tamahu]

Weren't the Scottish Rite and York Rite innovations from traditional Freemasonry at one time?

If so, how is it that the Scottish and York Rites became acceptable, but not the Memphis Rite?

Is there any chance down the road that the Memphis Rite will be viewed more kindly? Why or why not?

Originally posted by Zhenyghi
Weren't the Scottish Rite and York Rite innovations from traditional Freemasonry at one time?

No. The York Rite is the oldest Rite of Masonry, dating from the middle ages. Originally, the York Rite consisted only of the Blue degrees, but others were added were to the system in the 1700's.

The Scottish Rite is the sucessor to the French Rite of Perfection, which was a French adaption of the York Rite.

Is there any chance down the road that the Memphis Rite will be viewed more kindly? Why or why not?

It is not necessarily viewed unkindly. In fact, many of us who are members of the Grand College of Rites hold many of those degrees in high regard.

The Rite of Memphis, as well as the Egyptian Rite of Mitzraim, were difficult because they contained so many degrees it was impossible to organize them into a coherent system. The Grand College of Rites allows members the opportunity to study the degrees without the formality (and inconvenience) of having to work them all.

Originally posted by Tamahu



The quoted Gnostic instructor must have been referring to this:

Hall's account is apocryphal. He did not list his sources, but there is certainly no evidence that Cagliostro supported the admission of women into regular Masonry. Furthermore, it is not true that Cagliostro offered prophecies about the French Revolution.

Where would you get the idea that any Gnostic or myself would call the Ausarian Mysteries "disgusting"?


He was saying that to consider the symbolism of those Rituals without a Priestess is disgusting, as they are Sexual.

They are "sexual" in the sense of gender, which is the precise reason that women cannot be initiated. If the Master Mason is indeed the risen Osiris, it is obvious that this role cannot be held by a women, who lacks the solar phallic nature. Therefore, the Mysteries of Isis were instituted to celebrate the sacred feminine, as those of Osiris celebrate the sacred masculine.

Originally posted by Masonic Light
Hall's account is apocryphal. He did not list his sources, but there is certainly no evidence that Cagliostro supported the admission of women into regular Masonry. Furthermore, it is not true that Cagliostro offered prophecies about the French Revolution.

Well, you can't say any of it is or isn't true, really; if there aren't any sources that give evidence one way or the other.

But with Manly P. Hall being the scholar that he was, I doubt that he would have just made it all up.

They are "sexual" in the sense of gender, which is the precise reason that women cannot be initiated. If the Master Mason is indeed the risen Osiris, it is obvious that this role cannot be held by a women, who lacks the solar phallic nature. Therefore, the Mysteries of Isis were instituted to celebrate the sacred feminine, as those of Osiris celebrate the sacred masculine.

If a ritual is only emphasizing one aspect, that's fine, if it fulfills it's limited purpose.


But remember that in the Khemetian Mysteries, Ausar was not able to Rise or achieve Resurrection without Auset.

Nor was Yehoshua able to without Mary.

And that all the Dhyani Buddhas have their Wisdom-Consorts.

Krishna and Radha...

And, of course, the Rose-Cross(and Cross in general) is the Crossing of the Lingam and Yoni that gives Life(either internally or externally), the Rose being the feminine-Yoni or Wisdom(like the Lotus).

Which we also see in the Ankh as well: The Womb, and the Sexual Crossing of the Male and Female.

Also, Solomon's Seal, seen as the symbol of Daath, being the joining of Female and Male...

...etc., etc., etc.


Anyway, what is being implied with all this, is that we're in the Age of Aquarius, and that the interpretations of the Piscean rituals which veiled the Sexual Nature of Religion, are now antiquated.

Even the Tibetan Tantric Adepts(actual lineage holders) who have jealously guarded the teachings of the Karma-Mudra, even from many of their long-time disciples, are writing about it in books availible to Westerners.

(And no, I'm not talking about charlatan "Gurus", like some of the ones from India who use sex as a means to make money and lure naive women into bed)



So certain groups who have, or have had access to this Knowledge; ought to step it up, because the end is near.

Initiatic Preparation

"Gnostics cannot simultaneously sit at a table of angels and at a table of demons; we have to define ourselves.

If we want to enter into Eden we have to enter through the same door that we exited; this door is Sex. Another door does not exist; we have to enter through the same door we exited."

So I've reason to believe that Cagliostro, being a Master Alchemist, was aware of all this; and made an effort to make way for the Aquarian Age.





See this:



www.gnosticvideos.org...

Google Video Link

[edit on 1-2-2007 by Tamahu]

reply to post by Masonic Light


No, they don’t! The Grand College of Rites don’t control any degree or order, what so ever! They preserve what they think is extinct, nothing more. And I most say that they are very often wrong!
And the Rite of Memphis is a Masonic Order very much a live, and it’s quit large today in Scandinavia where I live.
And what UGLE and the US Grand Lodges thinks about that are there problem, I don’t care! We know what we are don’t, not they!

I could not find the link, until I found Memphis on:
www.stichtingargus.nl...

The first 33 degrees are similar to those of the Scottish Rite.
If you are on the top of Scottish Rite, it means that you still have 66 steps to go to the Memphis top.

The degrees of the Memphis-Misraim Rite ( as of 1980 )

Lodge
1º. Apprentice
2º. Companion
3º. Master
College
4º. Secret Master
5º. Perfect Master
6º. Intimate Secretary
7º. Provost and Judge
8º. Intendant of the Buildings
9º. Master Elect of Nine
10º. Illustrious Elect of Fifteen
11º. Sublime Prince Elect
12º. Grand Master Architect
13º. Royal Arch
14º. Grand Elect Perfect and Sublime Master
Chapter
15º. Knight of the East or the Sword
16º. Prince of Jerusalem
17º. Knight of the East and the West
18º. Knight of the Rose Cross
Senate
19º. Grand Pontiff
20º. Knight of the Temple
21º. Patriarch Noachite
22º. Knight of the Royal Axe
23º. Chief of the Tabernacle
24º. Prince of the Tabernacle
25º. Knight of the Brazen Serpent
26º. Prince of Mercy
27º. Commander of the Temple
28º. Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept
29º. Knight of St. Andrew
Areopage and Tribunal
30º. Grand Elected Knight of Kadosh
31º. Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander
32º. Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
33º. Sovereign Grand Inspector General
Consistory
34º. Knight of Scandinavia
35º. Knight of the Temple
36º. Sublime Negociant
37º. Knight of Shota (Sage of Truth)
38º. Sublime Elect of Truth (The Red Eagle)
39º. Grand Elect of the Aeons
40º. Sage Savaiste (Perfect Sage)
41º. Knight of the Arch of Seven Colours
42º. Prince of Light
43º. Sublime Hermetic Sage (Hermetic Philosopher)
44º. Prince of the Zodiac
45º. Sublime Sage of the Mysteries
46º. Sublime Pastor of the Huts
47º. Knight of the Seven Stars
48º. Sublime Guardian of the Sacred Mount
49º. Sublime Sage of the Pyramids
50º. Sublime Philosopher of Samothrace
51º. Sublime Titan of the Caucasus
52º. Sage of the Labyrinth
53º. Knight or Sage of the Phoenix
54º. Sublime Scalde
55º. Sublime Orphic Doctor
56º. Pontiff, of Sage of Cadmia
57º. Sublime Magus
58º. Sage, or Prince Brahmine
59º. Sublime Sage, or Grand Pontiff of Ogygia
60º. Sublime Guardian of the Three Fires
61º. Sublime Unknown Philosopher
62º. Sublime Sage of Eulisis
63º. Sublime Kawi
64º. Sage of Mythras
65º. Guardian of Sanctuary - Grand Installator
66º. Grand Architect of the Mysterious City - Grand Consecrator
67º. Guardian of the Incommunicable Name - Grand Eulogist
68º. Patriarch of Truth
69º. Knight or Sage of the Golden Branch of Eleusis
70º. Prince of Light, or Patriarch of the Planispheres
71º. Patriarch of the Sacred Vedas
72º. Sublime Master of Wisdom
73º. Patriarch, or Doctor of the Sacred Fire
74º. Sublime Master of the Stoka
75º. Knight Commandel of the Lybic Chain
Sublime Council
76º. Interpreter of Hieroglyphics, of Patriarch of Isis
77º. Sublime Knight or Sage Theosopher
78º. Grand Pontiff of the Thebiad
79º. Knight, or Sage of the Redoubtable Sada
80º. Sublime Elect of the Sanctuary of Mazias
81º. Intendent Regulator, or Patriarch of Memphis
82º. Grand Elect of the Temple of Midgard
83º. Sublime Elect of the Valley of Oddy
84º. Patriarch or Doctor of the Izeds
85º. Sublime Sage, or Knight of Kneph
86º. Sublime Philosopher of the Valley of Kab
87º. Sublime Prince of Masonry
88º. Grand Elect of the Sacred Curtain
89º. Patriarch of the Mystic City
90º. Sublime Master of the Great Work
Grand Tribunal
91º. Grand Defender
92º. Grand Catechist
93º. Regulator General
94º. Prince of Memphis, or Grand Administrator
95º.Grand Conservator
96º. Grand and Puissant Sovereign of the Order
97º. Deputy International Grand Master
98º. International Grand Master
99º. Grand Hierophant

Originally posted by hawk123
The first 33 degrees are similar to those of the Scottish Rite.
If you are on the top of Scottish Rite, it means that you still have 66 steps to go to the Memphis top.

It doesn't work that way, as pointed out by Masonic Light.

The Rite of Memphis is NOT worked by legitimated Freemasonry. In fact, legitimate Freemasons suffer grave consequences if they join this Rite (that would be suspension or expulsion from Freemasonry)

The Degrees of the Rite of Memphis were surrendered to the Grand COllege of Rites

a group that collects and studies defunct Masonic Degrees, long ago.

The groups that call themselves the Rite of Memphis that are working today are spurious, irregular groups that those of us are part of regular Freemasonry aren't a part of them and we are't "out-Masoned" by them, despite the higher number of degrees.

Here's an interesting article which shows how the Rite of Memphis came to be under the control of the Rite of Memphis:

www.grandcollegeofrites.org...


[edit on 5-9-2008 by senrak]

reply to post by Masonic Light


This is a strange forum for Masons who dont know their history, much less for Brethren of the Grand College of Rites.

There are no known Masonic Rites from the Middle Ages other than those sanctioned by the Church; such as the laying of corner-stones and the dedication of chapels.

History speaks of no medeval Masonic Degrees, Blue or any other color. All extant Rites and Degrees, including the three Symbolic Degrees based upon the Grades of Ancient Craft Guilds, date from the Eighteenth-century.

There is no uniformity in the York Rite, it is admitedly the oldest, but is different where ever it is worked.

The French Rites (including the Scottish Regimes, which have NOT always had 33 Degrees, and begin with the First and not the Fourth Degree) are not based upon the York. French Masonry appears to have had different customs and ceremonies than Her British precedent from the beginning.

It is disputed weather these Masonic Customs were instituted by British Jacobyte loyalists after or prior to the establishment of English Grand Lodge.

The Rite of Memphis makes great claims to antiquity like most Masonic Rites. The Sayings of the Sages contained in the Degrees were once highly regarded. Oriental Philosophy was once wildly popular in Masonic circles (as it appears strangely to be on this web-ring)

More Degrees simply gave more oppurtunity to discuss philosophy. The highest Official Degree in a given Rite could not claim any authority over the highest Official Degree in any other. Though they could, and did, claim a superior knowledge.

The Third Degree was always universally regarded as the highest in terms of governing the Order, as it exists in all Rites.

Legitimacy is simply a matter of jurisdictional teritory controled by the Brethren of a particular Masonic Obediance. It is not universally agreed upon.

The Rite of Memphis was once practised and held in high regard by "Regular" Masons in the United States, as it still is in European Jurisdictions recognized as Regular by these same State Grand Lodges today.

The interference with assemblies, outside of the Craft Lodges, by State Grand Lodges is a relatively recent development...Masonically speaking.

Where in the US are the Degrees of the Memphis Rite typically conferred? Are they in every Masonic jurisdiction, or only in a few?