The Rudolf Steiner Archive

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

[ 1 ] It is important to talk about high degree Masonry because this type of teaching has set itself special tasks, and some of these will be discussed in the near future. We are essentially dealing with a special rite, namely that which is 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 usually the highest leaders of a Grand Orient — namely, the Grand Orient of Germany, Great Britain, and America — have the 96th degree. These degrees are such that, up to about the end of the eighty degrees, they are divided in a manner which I will explain in a moment.

[ 2 ] Starting at about the 87th degree, the actual occult degrees begin, into which only those who are devoted to real occultism can be initiated. I always make the reservation that there is probably no one on the continent who has really gone through all these degrees or who has really undergone occult Masonic training. But that does not particularly harm Masonry, because it will regain its task, and then the organizations will also be there, the shell will be there that is needed to achieve what is to be achieved.

[ 3 ] Now I must mention various Masonic movements and their tendencies, even if only briefly. First of all, it must be taken into account that all high-degree Masonry can be traced back to a personality who is often mentioned but also greatly misunderstood. He was particularly misunderstood by the historians of the 19th century, who had no idea of the difficult situations in which occultists can find themselves in life. I am referring to the personality of the little-known, much-notorious Cagliostro. The so-called Count Cagliostro, in whom there was hidden an individuality known only to the most initiated occultists in its true nature, first attempted to raise Freemasonry to a new level in London. For in the last third of the 18th century, it was already 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 Lyon in founding a philatelic lodge with occult content from a number of Freemasons living there, namely the lodge called the Lodge of Triumphant Wisdom. The purpose of this lodge was stated by Cagliostro. But what you can read about it is nothing more than something written by people who did not understand it. What can be said about it are really only hints. Cagliostro was concerned with two things: first, teaching for the purpose of producing the so-called philosopher's stone; second, opening up understanding of the mystical pentagon, the mystical pentagram. Now I can only hint at what these two things mean. They can be ridiculed, but they are not just symbolic; they are based on facts.

[ 5 ] The philosopher's stone has a specific purpose, which was stated by Cagliostro: it was supposed to extend human life to 5,527 years. This seems ridiculous to the free spirit. In fact, however, it is possible to extend life indefinitely through special training, whereby man learns to no longer live in his physical body. However, anyone who imagines that adepts do not experience death in the usual 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. However, this would only happen in the usual sense if the adept allowed it. It is not a question of physical death, but of the following. The physical death of someone who has recognized the philosopher's stone for himself and understood how to extract it is only an apparent event for him. For other people, it is a real event that marks a major stage in his life. For those who understand how to use the philosopher's stone in the way Cagliostro wanted his students to, death is only an apparent event. It does not even constitute a particularly important phase in life; it is something that only exists for others who can observe the adept and say that he is dying. But in reality, he does not die at all. Rather, the person concerned has learned not to live in his physical body at all; he has learned to allow all the processes that suddenly take place in the physical body at the moment of death to take place gradually during his lifetime. Everything that normally takes place at death has already taken place in the body of the person concerned. Then death is no longer possible, because the person concerned has long since learned to live without the physical body. He discards the physical body in the same way that one takes off a raincoat, and puts on a new body as one puts on a new raincoat.

[ 6 ] Well, you can probably form a small idea of this. This is the one lesson that Cagliostro passed on—the philosopher's stone—which reduces physical death to insignificance.

[ 7 ] The second was the knowledge 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 does not achieve anything. People living today generally know very little about the physical body; only those who know the pentagram learn about the five bodies. You cannot recognize a body when you live in it, but only when you have it as an object. This is what distinguishes the average person from someone who has gone through a school where the five bodies have become objects for them. The ordinary person also lives in these five bodies. But he is inside them and cannot step out and look at them. At most, he can look at his physical body when he looks down at his body or looks at himself in the mirror. If Cagliostro's students had followed his method correctly, they would have achieved what individual Rosicrucians achieved, who were basically in a school that had the same tendency. They were in a school of the great European adepts, which led to the five bodies becoming realities and not remaining mere concepts. This is called “pentagram knowledge” and “moral rebirth.”

[ 8 ] I do not mean to say that Cagliostro's students did not achieve anything. In general, they managed to understand the astral body. Cagliostro was extremely skilled at teaching them about the astral body. Long before disaster struck him, he had succeeded in establishing schools in Paris, Belgium, St. Petersburg, and several other places in Europe, in addition to the school in Lyon, from which at least some people emerged who laid the foundation for those who reached the 18th, 19th, and 20th degrees of high-degree Freemasonry. Thus, before he had to end his life in the dungeons of Rome, Count Cagliostro had a significant influence on occult Freemasonry in Europe. The world should not judge Cagliostro at all. I have already indicated that when people talk about Cagliostro, it is generally like an African Hottentot talking about the construction of the elevated railway, because it is impossible to see how his outward, seemingly immoral deeds relate to world events.

[ 9 ] I have already noted that the French Revolution arose from secret societies of occultists and that, if one follows the currents further, one can trace them back to the school of adepts.

[ 10 ] It is possible that what is described as a novel by Mabel Collins in the book “Flita” is difficult to understand. She describes in a very grotesque way how an adept in a hidden place has the chessboard of the world before him and lets the pieces play, and how he determines, so to speak, the karma of a continent on a very simple card. This is not exactly as it is described there, but something much more grandiose is actually taking place, of which the description in “Flita” is only a distorted image.

[ 11 ] Well, the French Revolution definitely 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 a Count of Saint-Germain. He wanted to announce himself to the queen and ask for an audience with the king. However, the minister of Louis XVI was an enemy of the Count of Saint-Germain, so he could not get to the king. But he described to the queen with great sharpness and precision the great dangers that lay ahead. Unfortunately, his warnings were not heeded. At that time, he spoke the great words based on truth: “He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind,” adding that these words had been spoken thousands of years ago and repeated by Christ. These were words that were incomprehensible to any outsider.

[ 12 ] But Count Saint-Germain was right. I would like to add just a few more points, 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 advanced 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, that she saw him six more times long after that time. In truth, he was with some Rosicrucians in Vienna in 1790 and said what was also true: that he had to retire to the Orient for eighty-five years, and after eighty-five years, those would be able to resume his work in Europe. 1875 is the founding year of the Theosophical Society. These things are all connected in a certain way.

[ 13 ] In the school founded by the Landgrave of Hesse, these two things were also essential: the philosopher's stone and the knowledge of the pentagram. The Masonry founded by the Landgrave of Hesse lives on today in a slightly modified form. The entire Masonry as I have described it is called the Egyptian Rite, the Rite of Memphis and Misraim. Its origins can be traced back to King Misraim, who came from Assyria – from the Orient – and was initiated into the Egyptian mysteries after the conquest of Egypt. These are secrets that date back to ancient Atlantis. From then on, there was a continuous tradition. The new Freemasonry is only a continuation of what was founded in Egypt at that time.

[ 14 ] Before going into details, I would like to say that high-degree Freemasonry is very different from ordinary Johannine Freemasonry. Ordinary Johannine Masonry is based on a kind of democratic principle, and if the democratic principle is to be applied to matters of knowledge, it is obvious that this will lead to the assembled brothers doing nothing more than expressing their opinions. But truth is not something about which one can have opinions. Either one knows the truth or one does not. No one can say that the three angles in a triangle are 725 degrees instead of 180.

[ 15 ] When people sit together and talk, they talk about their opinions, even about the highest things. But all this is on the plane of deception and just as inaccurate as what is said by someone who does not know how large the sum of the angles in a triangle is, who only has an opinion about it. Just as one cannot discuss whether the sum of the angles in a triangle is this or that number of degrees, so one cannot discuss higher truths. That is why the democratic principle is impossible in matters of knowledge, because it has no basis. What distinguishes high degree Masonry from Johannine Masonry is that one can recognize the truth step by step. Those who have recognized it can no longer disagree. Either one has recognized it or one has not. The ninety-six degrees therefore have a certain justification.

[ 16 ] At the top is the so-called sovereign sanctuary, which is identical to what is called the Grand Orient in Freemasonry, which is in possession of the actual occult knowledge and knows the way and the language of what can be read in the Manifesto of Freemasonry, and which makes it possible to hear the voice of the “Wise Men of the East.” Once he has reached this level, however, he is able to hear the voice of the wise masters. Until then, however, one must have worked one's way through so that one is in possession of a very specific knowledge, and furthermore in possession of very specific inner qualities, inner characteristics, which are by no means merely the usual bourgeois virtues, but something much more intimate and meaningful. I note that [in relation] to all that is being discussed here, what is communicated in theoretical and practical terms in theosophical books is only an elementary part, so that the theory of high-degree Freemasonry goes far beyond what can be disseminated in popular theosophy. What can be disseminated is based on the permission [on the part] of the adepts to go to a certain extent in popularizing the knowledge. But it is not possible to disseminate all knowledge.

[ 17 ] It is true that humanity will be very astonished by some discoveries in the near future. But they will come a little too early and therefore cause some harm. The Theosophical Society has the essential task of preparing 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, namely at a certain time among the Atlantean population. There was really the possibility of overcoming death, something that was commonplace. I would just like to note that I did not want to have this truth printed just yet. Therefore, in “Lucifer,” where it should appear in the discussion of the Atlantean period, points have been made about what cannot yet be communicated. It cannot be said entirely. In The Theosophical Review, a very advanced medium has recorded a very similar message, which contains exactly the same thing in a slightly different form. The overcoming of death in the Atlantean era naturally rests in the memory of individuals, without them knowing it. Many people are reborn today who went through that time in a previous incarnation and who are being led to such insights through their own memory. 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 being led to this through their memory from the Atlantean time.

[ 18 ] Certain things will come to fruition in the near future, and therefore they will be talked about. This makes it necessary to understand the need for gradual advancement in knowledge. This gradual advancement is therefore rightly emphasized by those who today want to revive the Misraim and Memphis rites. Even if this fails in the next few years, one must not believe that failures in such matters mean anything. At the head of the American Misraim movement stands a man whose significant character is a certain guarantee of steadfastness in advancing. That is the distinguished Mason John Yarker.

[ 19 ] What form the matter will take in Great Britain and Germany is difficult to say today. You will understand that one must reckon with the human material involved in such matters, and that therefore the German movement—if it is to have anything to do with such things—must reckon with what is present in this direction. If real occultists are to be involved in such things, they must be committed to one direction or the other. They will not always be able to participate in these things. Even the masters, if they prescribe such things, will have to abide by great and comprehensive laws.

[ 20 ] So if you hear something about the German Misraim-Memphis movement, you should not believe that this already has any significance for the future. It is only the framework into which a good picture can one day be placed. This German Misraim Order is under the overall leadership of a certain Reuss, who is probably the actual leader in Great Britain and Germany today. The well-known Carl Kellner is also active in this direction. The actual writing is probably in the hands of Dr. Franz Hartmann, who serves this Misraim rite most with his pen. That is what you may encounter in this or that fragment from here or there about this movement.

[ 21 ] I can now only give a general description of what this is all about. There are four types of teaching in this Misraim rite. The ninety-six degrees can thus be attained in four different types of teaching or disciplines. These four disciplines through which one ascends are: First, the so-called symbolic type of teaching or discipline. Through this, certain symbols can be recognized as facts. The person concerned is introduced to the occult laws of nature, through which very specific effects are brought about in cyclical movements in humanity.

[ 22 ] The second type of teaching or discipline is the so-called philosophical. It is the Egyptian-Hermetic. It is a more theoretical type of teaching. The third type of teaching is the so-called mystical, which is based more on inner development and, when applied correctly, would lead above all to the proper handling of the philosopher's stone, namely to the overcoming of death. This is essentially also indicated in the one sentence I read to you, which says that in Freemasonry everyone can convince themselves of immortality. However, as the Kabbalah says, it depends on whether they desire it or not. The fourth type of teaching is the Kabbalistic. It consists of 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 responsibility for giving anyone real guidance, because those concerned have not gone through the process themselves, but the whole thing is a temporary arrangement and is only intended 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. It is important that forms exist in the world. If you have molten metal and no mold, you can do nothing with it but let it run out into a lump. The same is true of spiritual currents. It is important that these forms exist into which the spiritual metal can be poured. This is symbolized in the Iron Sea. This will be recognized when that which now only seems to vegetate takes shape for the public.

[ 24 ] Last time, I read to you from a speech by the English Prime Minister Balfour. It already draws attention to the fact that certain things that are physical truths today are ancient occult knowledge. If you read Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine,” you will find a passage about electricity that literally says the same thing that physicists are now gradually coming to realize. But what you find is merely a vague idea of what it is. It is the physical atom. Until four or five years ago, this was completely misunderstood by all external — not occult — science. It was considered to be a mass filling space. Today, people are beginning to recognize this physical atom for what it really is. They are coming to the conclusion that this physical atom behaves in relation to the force of electricity in the same way that a lump of ice behaves in relation to the water from which it froze. If you imagine water freezing into ice, the ice is also water. And so the physical atom is nothing other than frozen electricity. If you fully understand this and go through the information that was contained in all scientific writings on atoms until a few years ago and regard it as nonsense, then you will gain approximately the right idea. Only since this short time has physics been able to form an idea of what the physical atom is. It behaves like a lump of ice in relation to the amount of water from which it froze. The physical atom is condensed electricity. I consider Balfour's speech to be extremely important.

[ 25 ] It is ... [gap] something that has been known since 1875 [1879?]. The fact has been known to occultists for thousands of years. Now we are beginning to understand that the physical atom is condensed electricity. But there is a second issue: knowing what electricity itself is. That is still unknown. For you do not know one thing: where to look for the essence of electricity. This essence of electricity cannot be found through any external experiments or 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 level—as human thought. Human thought is the same essence as electricity: one time viewed from within, the other time viewed from without.

[ 26 ] Anyone who knows what electricity is knows that something lives within them that forms the atom in a frozen state. Here you have the bridge from human thought to the atom. You will come to know the building blocks of the physical world: they are small condensed monads, condensed electricity. The moment people recognize this most elementary occult truth about thought, electricity, and atoms, they will recognize something that will be most important for the future and for the entire sixth subrace. 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 thousands of years. But because the human race had to go through the development of the intellect and had to refrain from the actual inner work, they have become shells, but have remained as forms, and the right knowledge will have to be poured into them.

[ 28 ] The occult researcher gains the truth from one side, the physical researcher from the other. Just as masonry emerged from the craft of building cathedrals and temples, so too will we have to build in the future with the smallest building blocks, with condensed quantities of electricity. This will require a new kind of masonry. Then industry will no longer be able to function as it does now. It will become so chaotic and will only be able to work toward a pure struggle for existence as long as we do not know... [gap].^{1There is a gap in the stenogram here; in a transcript in plain text, the following is added: [what must be poured into these shells as thought. But if we know that],} Then it would be possible for someone in Berlin to drive a cab through the city while the disaster he caused from Berlin is taking place in Moscow. And no one would have any idea that this person caused it. Wireless telegraphy is the beginning of this. What I have described is the future. There are only two possibilities: Either things will continue chaotically, as industry and technology have done so far. Then it will lead to those who possess these things being able to cause great harm, or it will be cast into the moral form of Freemasonry. ^{2This last sentence reads in the notes of Marie Steiner-von Sivers: “These things will either continue chaotically as industry and technology have done so far, or harmoniously, as is the goal of Freemasonry, and then the highest 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. In the Chapter of Clermont, he attempted to establish a connection between the Jesuits and Freemasonry. This was not successful, and therefore the old enmity between the two has remained. Our Jesuits know little about these things, and even the clergy do not know what it is all about. The real clergy ... [large gap].

[ 30 ] The Trappists must remain silent, for it is known that silence gives one a significant ability to speak enthusiastically in the next life. However, this is only understandable if one believes in reincarnation.