Customer Reviews

Albert Pike's Esoterika: The Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry

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Esoterika provides a concise reference to Albert Pike's views on and contributions to Freemasonry. While Pike's works provide a great amount of insight on Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite, his writings, most notably Morals and Dogma, are often rambling and confusing. His works often require the referencing of other materials. Esoterika is a readable one stop shop on the often esoteric Masonic philosophy of Albert Pike. Certainly an inspirational book for the Masonic student, it gives a feeling of the personality of Albert Pike and his personal wonderings. It brings up aspects and questions about Masonry that I had never thought about. Highly recommended.

Contains the complete text of Albert Pike's never-before-published esoteric study of the symbols of Blue Lodge Degrees. Subjects include "The Compasses and the Square," "The Weapons and Blows of the Assassins," "The Three Grips," "The Substitute for the Masters Word," "The 47th Problem of Euclid," "The Truth," "Is the Cable-tow a Symbol?," "Corner Stones," "The Ladder of Jacob," "Tubal Cain," "Shibboleth," and "Solomon and Hiram."

Also includes five appendices:

(1) Parallels to the Symbolism of the Blue Degrees,
(2) A Letter Touching Masonic Symbolism,
(3) Pike's Dependence on Other Sources,
(4) The Faith of Albert Pike, and
(5) Four Valuable Exposés.

The latter section includes the complete texts of

(1) "A Mason's Examination" (1723),
(2) "The Grand Mystery of Free Masons Discovered (1725),
(3) Samuel Prichard's "Masonry Dissected" (1730),
(4) "Jachin and Boaz" (1762).

Critical notes help the reader follow Pike's dissertation and provide additional documentation.

Clothbound with gilded cover and decorative dust jacket; 501 pages; illustrated, with exhaustive index. 7 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches.

It's typical of Albert Pike that his best work was prefaced by the warning that he didn't want it published. His Morals & Dogma is a rambling, nearly incoherent mess, cobbled together from literally hundreds of un-referenced other sources. Esoterika, on the other hand, is a thought provoking exploration of the first three Blue Lodge Masonic degrees, and it deals with questions about symbolism, history and language. Pike had an incredible mind and a huge range of interests and accomplishments, and all of that is brought to bear as he explores the origins of ideas contained in the lodge degrees.

Arturo de Hoyos' edition contains a wealth of reference material, including several early exposees of Masonic rituals, so you can see the development of pre-1800 wording. It is highly recommended for the student of Freemasonry seeking greater understanding of the rituals.