Synopsis
Now available after 135 years! One of the rarest and most important books ever published on the Ancient and Accepted (Scottish) Rite of Freemasonry—Albert Pike's Magnum Opus or "Great Work,” being his first revision of the complete rituals of the Scottish Rite. Only 100 copies were printed—less than thirty are said to survive. Pike's ritualistic revisions were so impressive he was made an active member of the Supreme Council and became the most revered Sovereign Grand Commander in the history of the Rite. Thanks to the generous loan of a copy from a European antiquarian, this special reprint makes available to the serious student the complete authentic rituals which served as the foundation of the Scottish Rite's philosophy. This invaluable work is not to be confused with either the various ritualistic "exposures” of anti-Masons, or the rituals currently used by either American Scottish Rite. The Magnum Opus contains Albert Pike's complete, original text of the Scottish Rite degrees. Some of Pike's rituals were used by other Supreme Councils as a foundation for their own practices; while more recently the Supreme Council 33rd Degree, Southern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A. has appointed a committee to revise the current Pike rituals. The Magnum Opus allows researchers to trace the divergence to discover shifts in Masonic symbolism. An invaluable reference aid and research tool, the scarcity and cost of an original copy placed it beyond the reach of almost all Masonic bibliophiles. This affordable facsimile reprint places Masonic knowledge where it belongs—in the hands of those seeking Light. Although similar to the current rituals used by the Scottish Rite, it is slightly different and more esoteric. We have also included for the first time ever, the grips and signs, and the key to the "Secret Work." Very essential and rare! Contents: Fourth Degree, Secret Master; Fifth Degree, Perfect Master; Sixth Degree, Confidential Secretary; Seventh Degree, Provost and Judge; Eighth Degree, Intendant of the Buildings; Ninth Degree; Knight Elu of Nine; Tenth Degree, Illustrious Elu of Fifteenth; Eleventh Degree, Prince Ameth, or Sublime Elu of Twelve; Twelfth Degree, Grand Master Architect; Thirteenth Degree, Royal Arch; Fourteenth Degree, Grand, Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason; Fifteenth Degree, Knights of the Sword, of the East, or of the Eagle; Sixteenth Degree, Princes of Jerusalem; Seventeenth Degree, Knight of the East and West; Eighteenth Degree, Knight, or Sovereign Prince of Rose Croix, of Heredon; Nineteenth Degree, Grand Pontiff, or Sublime Scotch Mason; Twentieth Degree, Venerable Master of All Symbolic Lodges; or Master ad Vitam; Twenty-First Degree, Noachite; or Prussian Knight; Twenty-Second Degree, Knight of the Royal Axe, or Prince of Libanus; Twenty-Third Degree, Chief of the Tabernacle; Twenty-Fourth Degree, Prince of the Tabernacle; Twenty-fifth Degree, Knight of the Brazen Serpent; Twenty-Sixth Degree, Prince of Mercy or Scottish Trinitarian; Twenty-Seventh Degree, Knight Commander of the Temple, or Teutonic Knight of the House of St. Mary of Jerusalem; Twenty-Eighth Degree, Knight of the Sun; or Knight Adept; Twenty-Ninth Degree, Grand Ecossais of St. Andrew, or Patriarch of the Crusades; Thirtieth Degree, Knight Kadosh; Twenty-First Degree, Grand Enquiring Commander; Thirty-Second Degree, Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.
