Customer Reviews

Esoteric Work of the 1st through 3rd Degree, According to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

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This presents the basic Scottish Rite ritual for the Symbolic Lodge's three degrees which are the foundation degrees for all of Freemasonry. What is interesting is that the majority of Masonic Lodges in the United States use the York Rite ritual for these degrees. Any Mason who is interested in reading the differences of the two rites should read this short work by Albert Pike. Interesting is the "Chamber of Reflection" used in the beginning of the EA degree and the introduction to the elements. Knight Templars are familiar with the Chamber as it is used in their orders. But most non-Knight Templar Masons are not. Another point of difference is the introduction to the elements. Many who are familiar with Mozart's Magic Flute is aware of the passage through fire and water that the heroic couple must endure as part of the initiation. Again most Masons in America are largely unaware of where the elements come from and why they are in the opera. This book contains the basic answer and shows how the Scottish Rite ritual incorporated the elements into its ceremony. For those seeking the "secret" parts of the Masonic rites, you will not find them here. The actual obligations and "secret" parts are not written out. Only those who have completed their Masonic catechisms will have any idea what certain initials stand for and they will have considerable difficulty since the obligations do not match word for word those used in the USA. A very good book for scholars of Masonic ritual or cross-cultural initiations rites but not one I would recommend to the general public. B@P

After reading some of the comments, it is apparent that there is some confusion about the contents of Esoteric Work. This book is to be used along with The Porch and Middle Chamber: BOOK OF THE LODGE. PMC has certain sections missing from it that refer to the material in this book. Those missing sections are marked like footnotes. Both books have the same reference markers so that you can go back and forth from one text to the other with ease. You must use both books in order to read the rituals in their complete form. The first section of PMC has a chapter called Secret Work, which is almost the same material as what's in this book, however, this book has a small amount of additional material that will be of value to any student who is a glutton for everything Pike. Overall the complete rituals are a fascinating read, bare some resemblance to the York Rite rituals found in Duncan's Ritual or Lester's Look to the East, but add a whole lot more. As with Morals and Dogma, the references to classical literature can be overwhelming, but make a solid foundation for a study of the ancient mysteries.

It is great to have found the missing secret work for the Scottish Rite version of the three Blue degrees. This is an excellent adjunct to Porch and the Middle Chamber.

Freemasons wanting to perform a degree using this book will be bitterly disapointed. Something makes me doubt that this is authentic Albert Pike. So much text is amputated - the reader will end by not having much knowledge of the Scottish Rite blue degrees.
Half of the book consists of unrelated graphics, poorely reproduced, and of an abusively overused stock.