Freemasonry and Esoteric Fraternities
The Craft, its symbols and its esoteric neighbours.
5 stagesIntroductionFoundationPrimary SourcesDevelopmentAdvanced Study
This path reads Freemasonry from the inside out: first its symbolic interpretation, then its ritual, then the higher degrees, and finally the esoteric fraternities that grew alongside it.
Who This Path Is For
Readers who want a historical and symbolic understanding of Freemasonry and its esoteric offshoots.
The Syllabus
1
Introduction
Introductory text
Wilmshurst on the Craft as a spiritual path.
2
Foundation
Foundational text
Mackey’s account of the principal symbols.
3
Primary Sources
The ritual itself
Duncan’s nineteenth-century monitor of the degrees.
4
Development
Advanced and interpretive
Pike’s encyclopaedic lectures on the Scottish Rite.
5
Advanced Study
Related fraternities
The Rosicrucian legend and Hall’s survey of initiatory orders.
