The Rudolf Steiner Archive

9. The Nature and Purpose of Freemasonry from the Perspective of Spiritual Science III

[ 1 ] It is important to discuss High-Degree Freemasonry because this branch of the Order has set itself specific tasks once again, and some of these will be discussed in the near future. We are essentially dealing with a specific rite, namely the one known as the United Rite of Memphis and Misraim. I have already pointed out that this Memphis and Misraim Rite has a large number of degrees—that ninety-five degrees must be passed through—and that the highest leaders of a Grand Orient—namely, the Grand Orient of Germany, Great Britain, and America—usually hold the 96th degree. These degrees are structured such that, up to about the 80th degree, they are divided in a manner that I will explain shortly.

[ 2 ] Beginning around the 87th degree, the actual occult degrees commence—degrees into which only those who devote themselves to true occultism can be initiated. I always make the reservation that there is probably no one on the continent who has truly passed through all these degrees, or who has truly undergone occult Masonic training. But that does not particularly harm Freemasonry, because it will regain its purpose, and then the organizations will be there, the framework will be there, that is needed to achieve what is to be achieved.

[ 3 ] Now I must outline the various Masonic movements and their tendencies, even if only briefly. First of all, it must be taken into account that the entire system of high-degree Freemasonry traces back to a figure who is frequently mentioned but also greatly misunderstood. In particular, he has been misunderstood by 19th-century historians, who have no idea of the difficult situations an occultist can find himself in during his lifetime. I am referring to the figure of Cagliostro—a man recognized by few but notorious to many. The so-called Count Cagliostro—in whom a unique individuality was concealed, known in its true nature only to the most initiated occultists—first attempted in London to raise Freemasonry to a new level. For even in the last third of the 18th century, it was already quite much at the stage I have described. He did not succeed in London at that time. He then tried in Russia and also in The Hague. Everywhere he failed for very specific reasons.

[ 4 ] But then he succeeded in founding a Philalete lodge in Lyon with a focus on the occult, consisting of a group of Freemasons living there—namely, the lodge known as the “Lodge of Triumphant Wisdom.” Cagliostro himself described the purpose of this lodge. However, what you can read about it is nothing more than what has been written by people who do not understand. What can actually be said about it consists, in truth, of nothing more than hints. For Cagliostro, it involved two things: first, instruction for the purpose of creating the so-called Philosopher’s Stone; second, the opening of the mind to the mystical pentagon, to the mystical pentagram. Now I can only hint at what these two things mean. They may be the subject of much mockery, but they are not merely symbolic; they are based on facts.

[ 5 ] The Philosopher’s Stone has a specific purpose, as stated by Cagliostro: it was meant to extend human life to 5,527 years. This seems ridiculous to the free thinker. In fact, however, it is possible, through special training, to extend life indefinitely by learning to no longer live within one’s physical body. But anyone who imagines that adepts are immune to death in the ordinary sense of the word would be mistaken. Even those who believe that an adept cannot be struck and killed by a brick would also be mistaken. That, however, would usually occur only if the adept allowed it. It is not a matter of physical death, but rather of the following. The physical death of one who has recognized the Philosopher’s Stone for himself and understood how to extract it is, for him, merely an apparent event. For other people, it is a real event that marks a major turning point in his life. For the one who understands how to use the Philosopher’s Stone in the manner Cagliostro intended for his disciples, death is merely an apparent event. It does not even constitute a particularly important phase in life; for it is something that exists only for others—those who might observe the adept, for example—and who say that he is dying. He himself, however, does not actually die at all. Rather, the fact is that the person in question has learned not to live in his physical body at all; that he has learned to allow all those processes that suddenly take place in the physical body at the moment of death to unfold gradually throughout his life. Everything that normally occurs at death has already taken place within the person’s body. Then death is no longer possible, for the person in question has long since learned to live without the physical body. He sheds the physical body in much the same way as one takes off a raincoat, and puts on a new body just as one puts on a new raincoat.

[ 6 ] Well, you will probably be able to form a rough idea of what this is. This is the one teaching that Cagliostro passed down—the Philosopher’s Stone—which reduces physical death to insignificance.

[ 7 ] The second was the understanding of the pentagram. This is the ability to distinguish the five bodies of the human being from one another. When someone says: physical body, etheric body, astral body, kama-manas body, causal body—these are merely words or, at best, abstract concepts. But that alone accomplishes nothing. People living today generally know very little about the physical body; only those who know the pentagram come to know the five bodies. One does not recognize a body while living within it, but only when one views it as an object. This is what distinguishes the average person from one who has undergone such training—that for the latter, the five bodies have become objects. The ordinary person also lives within these five bodies. But he is immersed in them; he cannot step outside of them and observe them. At most, they can observe their physical body when they look down at their own body or see it in a mirror. Cagliostro’s students, had they properly followed his method, would have attained what certain Rosicrucians attained—who, in essence, were part of a school that shared the same orientation. They belonged to a school of the great European adepts, which led to the five bodies becoming realities rather than remaining mere concepts. This is called “Knowledge of the Pentagram” and “Moral Rebirth.”

[ 8 ] I do not mean to say that Cagliostro’s students did not achieve anything. In general, they succeeded in understanding the astral body. Cagliostro was extremely skilled at imparting to them a conception of the astral body. Long before disaster struck him, he had succeeded in establishing, in addition to the school in Lyon, schools in Paris, Belgium, St. Petersburg, and several other places in Europe, from which later emerged—at least to some extent—people who laid the foundation for those who went on to reach the 18th, 19th, and 20th degrees of high-degree Freemasonry. Thus, Count Cagliostro did, after all, exert a significant influence on occult Freemasonry in Europe before he was forced to end his life in the dungeons of Rome. The world should, in essence, refrain from passing judgment on Cagliostro. I have already hinted that, in general, when people speak of Cagliostro, it is as if an African Hottentot were speaking of the construction of a high-speed railroad, because it is impossible to discern the relationship between his outward, seemingly immoral deeds and world events.

[ 9 ] I have noted before that the French Revolution arose from the secret societies of the occultists and that, if one were to trace these currents further, one could trace them all the way to the school of the adepts.

[ 10 ] It is possible that what is described as a novel by Mabel Collins in the book Flita is difficult to understand. In a very grotesque manner, she describes how an adept, in a hidden place, has the chessboard of the world before him and moves the pieces, and how he, so to speak, determined the karma of a continent on a very simple little card. This does not happen exactly as it is described there; rather, something far more grandiose than this is actually taking place, of which the description in “Flita” is only a distorted reflection.

[ 11 ] Well, the French Revolution certainly arose from such things. There is a well-known story contained in the books of the Countess d’Adhémar. It is said that before the outbreak of the French Revolution, the Countess d’Adhémar, a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, received a visit from the Count of Saint-Germain. He wished to announce his arrival to the queen and request an audience with the king. However, Louis XVI’s minister was an enemy of the Count of Saint-Germain; consequently, he could not gain access to the king. He did, however, describe to the queen with great clarity and precision the grave dangers that lay ahead. Unfortunately, however, his warnings were not heeded. At that time, he spoke the profound words based on truth: “He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind,” and he added that these words had been spoken millennia ago and were later repeated by Christ. These were words incomprehensible to any outsider.

[ 12 ] But Count Saint-Germain was right. I would just like to add a few more details, which are entirely accurate. In books about Count Saint-Germain, you can read that he died in 1784 at the court of the Landgrave of Hesse, who was then one of the most prominent German Freemasons. He cared for him until his death. However, the Countess d’Adhe&mar recounts in her memoirs that he appeared to her long after 1784, and that she saw him six more times long after that time. In truth, he was in Vienna in 1790 among some Rosicrucians and said what was indeed correct: that he would have to retire to the Orient at the age of eighty-five, and that after eighty-five years, they would once again be able to resume his work in Europe. 1875 was the year the Theosophical Society was founded. All these things are connected in a certain way.

[ 13 ] Even at the school founded by the Landgrave of Hesse, the focus was essentially on these two things: the Philosopher’s Stone and the understanding of the pentagram. Freemasonry, as founded at that time by the Landgrave of Hesse, continues to exist today in a somewhat modified form. Namely, this entire Masonry, as I have described it, is called the Egyptian Rite, the Rite of Memphis and Misraim. It traces its origins back to King Misraim, who had migrated from Assyria—from the Orient—and, after the conquest of Egypt, was initiated into the Egyptian mysteries. These are mysteries that date back to ancient Atlantis. From that time onward, there has been an unbroken tradition. Modern Freemasonry is merely a continuation of what was established in Egypt at that time.

[ 14 ] Before I go into details, I would like to say that High-Degree Freemasonry is one that differs quite significantly—even in its most intimate aspects—from ordinary Johannine Freemasonry. Ordinary Johannine Freemasonry is based on a kind of democratic principle, and if the democratic principle is to be applied to matters of knowledge, it goes without saying that this leads to the assembled brothers essentially doing nothing other than each expressing their own opinion. But the truth is not something about which one can hold opinions. One either knows the truth or one does not. No one can say that the three angles of a triangle add up to 725 degrees instead of 180.

[ 15 ] When people sit together and talk, they discuss their opinions, and in some cases even the highest matters. But all of this takes place on the plane of illusion and is just as inaccurate as the statement made by someone who does not know how large the sum of the angles in a triangle is, but merely has an opinion about it. Just as one cannot debate whether the sum of the angles in a triangle is this many or that many degrees, so too can one not debate higher truths. That is why the democratic principle is impossible in matters of knowledge, because it has no foundation. What distinguishes High-Degree Freemasonry from St. John’s Freemasonry is this: that one can come to know the truth step by step. Once one has come to know the truth, one can no longer hold a different opinion. Either one has come to know it, or one has not. The ninety-six degrees, therefore, have a certain justification.

[ 16 ] At the very top stands the so-called sovereign sanctuary, which is identical to what is known in Freemasonry as the Grand Orient—the body that possesses the true occult knowledge, knows the path and the language of what can be read in the Manifesto of Freemasonry, and makes it possible to hear the voice of the “Wise Men of the East.” Once one has reached this level, one is indeed able to hear the voice of the wise Masters. Until then, however, one must have worked one’s way through the process, so that one possesses a very specific body of knowledge, as well as very specific inner qualities and characteristics that are by no means limited to ordinary civic virtues, but are something far more intimate and significant. I note that, in relation to all that is being discussed here, what is conveyed in theosophical books—both theoretically and practically—is only a basic part, so that the theoretical aspects of High-Degree Freemasonry go far beyond what can be disseminated in popular theosophy. What can be disseminated there is based on the permission [granted] by the adepts to popularize this knowledge to a certain extent. But it is not possible to disseminate all knowledge.

[ 17 ] It is true that humanity will be greatly astonished by some discoveries in the near future. But they will come a little too soon and therefore cause some harm. The Theosophical Society’s primary task is to prepare people for such things. For example, what I referred to at the beginning as the knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone was once much more widespread than it is today—specifically, at a certain time among the Atlantean population. Back then, the possibility of overcoming death was truly something that was commonplace. I would just like to note that I did not wish to have this truth printed at this very moment. Therefore, in Luzifer, at the point where this was to appear in the discussion of the Atlantean era, ellipses have been inserted for what cannot yet be disclosed. Nor can it be stated in its entirety. In the Theosophical Review, a very advanced medium has recorded a very similar communication that contains exactly the same information in a slightly different form. The overcoming of death during the Atlantean era naturally remains in the memories of individual souls, without their being aware of it. Many people today have been reborn who lived through that era in a previous incarnation and who are guided to such insights through their own memories. This will initially lead to a kind of overestimation of certain medical discoveries. People will believe that scientific medicine has made such discoveries. In truth, people are guided to them through their memories from the Atlantean era.

[ 18 ] Certain things will come to fruition in the near future, and that is why they will be discussed. This makes it necessary to recognize the need for a gradual advancement in knowledge. This gradual advancement is therefore rightly emphasized by those who today wish to revive the Misraim and Memphis rites. Even if this effort fails in the coming years, one must not believe that failures in such matters carry any significance. At the head of the American Misraim movement stands a man whose distinguished character serves as a certain guarantee of steadfastness in moving forward. He is the distinguished Mason John Yarker.

[ 19 ] It is difficult to say today what form this matter will take in Great Britain and Germany. You will realize that, when dealing with such matters, one must take into account the human elements involved, and that therefore the German movement—if it is to have anything to do with such matters—must also reckon with whatever potential exists within it in this regard. If true occultists are to be involved in such matters, they must be committed to one direction or another. They will not always be able to participate in these matters. Even the Masters, if they prescribe such things, will have to abide by great, overarching laws.

[ 20 ] So if you hear anything about the German Misraim-Memphis branch, you must not assume that this already has any significance for the future. It is merely the framework into which a clear picture can one day be placed. This German Misraim Order is under the overall leadership of a certain Reuss, who apparently holds the actual leadership in Great Britain and Germany today. The well-known Carl Kellner is also active in this movement. The actual literary work is likely in the hands of Dr. Franz Hartmann, who serves this Misraim Rite most of all with his pen. That is what may come to you in this or that fragment from here and there regarding this movement.

[ 21 ] I can now only provide a general description of what is at issue here. There are four branches of teaching in this Misraim Rite. The ninety-six degrees can thus be attained through four different modes of instruction or disciplines. These four disciplines, through which one ascends, are: First, the so-called symbolic mode of instruction or discipline. Through this, certain symbols can be recognized as facts. The initiate is introduced to the occult laws of nature, through which very specific effects are brought about in cyclical movements within humanity.

[ 22 ] The second school of thought, or discipline, is the so-called philosophical one. It is the Egyptian-Hermetic school. It is a more theoretical school of thought. The third school of thought is the so-called mystical one, which is based more on inner development and which, if applied correctly, would lead above all to the proper handling of the Philosopher’s Stone—namely, to the overcoming of death. This is also essentially implied in the one sentence I read to you, which states that in Freemasonry, everyone can convince themselves of immortality. However, as the Kabbalah says, it depends on whether one desires it or not. The fourth school of thought is the Kabbalistic one. It consists in recognizing the principles of the world order in their truth and reality—the ten fundamental... [gap].

[ 23 ] On each of the four paths, one can ascend to higher knowledge through the Misraim Rite. However, there is probably no one within Freemasonry today who would take on the responsibility of giving anyone real guidance, because those concerned have not gone through the process themselves; rather, the whole thing is a provisional arrangement intended only to create a framework for something that is yet to come. It is possible that this framework will be filled with occult knowledge. Occult knowledge is to be poured into the forms that exist. The fact that forms exist in the world is important. If you have molten metal and no mold, you can do nothing with it other than let it solidify into a lump. So it is with spiritual currents. It is important that these forms exist, into which the spiritual metal can be poured. This is symbolized by the Bronze Sea. This will become apparent when that which now seems to be merely vegetating takes on a form recognizable to the public.

[ 24 ] Last time, I read to you from a speech by British Prime Minister Balfour. It was already pointed out there that certain things are now accepted as physical truths, yet they are ancient occult insights. If you look in Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine, you will find a passage on electricity that says literally the same thing as what physicists are now gradually discovering. But what you will find is merely a glimpse of what this is all about. It concerns the physical atom. Until four or five years ago, this was misunderstood by all external—not occult—science. It was regarded as a mass filling space. Today, people are beginning to recognize this physical atom for what it truly is. It is becoming clear that this physical atom relates to the force of electricity in the same way that a chunk of ice relates to the water from which it was frozen. If you imagine water freezing into ice, the ice is still water. And so the physical atom is nothing other than frozen electricity. If you fully grasp this and go through the statements that were contained in all scientific writings about atoms until just a few years ago—and dismiss them as nonsense—then you will gain roughly the correct understanding. Only recently has physics been able to form a conception of what the physical atom is. It behaves, in fact, like a lump of ice in relation to the volume of water from which it was frozen. The physical atom is condensed electricity. I consider Balfour’s speech to be something of extraordinary importance.

[ 25 ] It is ... [gap] something that has been published since 1875 [1879?]. This fact has been known to occultists for millennia. Now people are beginning to realize that the physical atom is condensed electricity. But there is still a second issue: knowing what electricity itself is. That is still unknown. For there is one thing they do not know: where to look for the essence of electricity. This essence of electricity cannot be found through any external experiments or through external observation. The secret that will be discovered is that electricity is exactly the same thing—if one knows how to observe it on a certain plane—as human thought. Human thought is the same essence as electricity: viewed from the inside in one case, and from the outside in the other.

[ 26 ] Anyone who knows what electricity is knows that something lives within them that, in its frozen state, forms the atom. Here you have the bridge from human thought to the atom. We will come to know the building blocks of the physical world; they are small, condensed monads—condensed electricity. The moment people come to recognize this most elementary occult truth about thought, electricity, and the atom—at that very moment—they will realize something that will be of the utmost importance for the future and for the entire sixth sub-race. They will be able to build with atoms through the power of thought.

[ 27 ] This will be the spiritual current that must be poured back into the forms that have been created by occultists for millennia. But because the human race had to undergo intellectual development and had to set aside the actual inner work, these forms have become empty shells—though they have remained as forms—and the correct knowledge will have to be poured into them.

[ 28 ] The occult researcher uncovers the truth from one perspective, the physical researcher from the other. Just as masonry evolved from the masonry of craftsmen, from the construction of cathedrals and temples, so too will we in the future have to build with the smallest building blocks—with condensed quantities of electricity. This will require a new form of masonry. Then industry will no longer be able to function as it does now. It will become so chaotic and will be able to work only toward a pure struggle for existence as long as one does not know... [gap].^{1There is a gap in the stenographic transcript here; a transcript in plain text includes the following addition: [what must be poured into these shells as a thought. But if one knows that],} Then it would be possible for someone in Berlin to ride in a horse-drawn carriage through the city, while in Moscow the calamity he caused from Berlin is unfolding. And no one would have the slightest inkling that this person caused it. Wireless telegraphy is a first step in that direction. What I have described is the future. There are only two possibilities: Either things will continue chaotically, just as industry and technology have proceeded so far. Then this will lead to those who possess these things being able to wreak great havoc, or it will be cast into the moral form of Freemasonry. ^{2This last sentence reads in Marie Steiner-von Sivers’ notes: “These things will either continue chaotically as industry and technology have up to now, or harmoniously, as is the goal of Freemasonry; then the highest level of development will be achieved.”}

Question: Why is the Catholic Church so opposed to Freemasonry?

[ 29 ] Answer: The Catholic Church does not want what is to come in the future. Pius IX was initiated into Freemasonry. At the Council of Clermont, he attempted to establish a connection between the Jesuits and Freemasonry. This was unsuccessful, and thus the longstanding enmity between the two has persisted. Our Jesuits know little about these matters, and even members of the clergy do not understand what is at stake. The true clergy ... [large gap].

[ 30 ] Trappist monks must remain silent, for it is known that silence lays the foundation for a significant ability to speak with enthusiasm in the next life. This, however, can only be understood in light of the belief in reincarnation.