High Masonic degrees

In Freemasonry, the first three Masonic degrees constitute the fundamental degrees in all Rites they are called Blue Lodge of Craft degree.

Over time, various systems of optional "high Masonic degrees" or "Side Degree" have been added to these three fundamental degrees, practiced in workshops known as perfection lodges or chapters.

In its early days, Freemasonry had only two degrees: that of an Apprentice (Entered Apprentice) and that of a Fellow Craft (Fellow Craft). The third degree, that of Master, appeared later, around 1725, in London.^[1]

From the 1730s onward, various authors, mostly in France and England, wrote rituals for many additional degrees, intended to continue and enrich the mythology of the first three. Thus, brothers founded where new rituals were practiced, offering Master Masons, beyond the first three degrees, the opportunity to continue their spiritual and moral journey. Historians count more than a hundred additional degrees in the 1760s.^[2]

All these degrees can be grouped into a smaller number of themes. Thus, after the legend of Hiram (3rd degree, Master Mason), different series of degrees (vengeance degrees, chivalric degrees, etc.) were constructed, forming a progressive and coherent whole, the main Rites of Freemasonry at the end of the 21th century and the beginning of the 21th century century.

Subsequently, new "high degrees," sometimes structured in independent "rites," sometimes integrated into existing rites, continued to be written, but at a much slower pace.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the total number of degrees varies according to the rites:

French Rite (RF): 7 degrees, including 3 symbolic and 4 philosophical, plus an administrative degree outside the degree scale; Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR): 33 degrees; Rectified Scottish Rite (RER): 6 degrees; Egyptian Masonic Rites: 33, 90, or 99 degrees; York Rite: 12 or 13 degrees depending on the country.

Lodges that practice the "high degrees" are distinct from the lodges of the first three degrees. They have different names, varying depending on the degrees they confer, but are also referred to under the generic term "higher lodges" or "lodges of perfection." In general, these lodges are organized separately from the obediences (grand lodges or grand orients) that federate the lodges of the first three degrees.

• Lodges of Saint Andrew (Green Lodges):
• Scottish Master

Inner Order:

• Novice Squire
• Chevalier bienfaisant de la Cité sainte (known as 'Knight CBCS')

Secret Class:

• Profès
• Grand Profès

According to the Regulator of Masonic Knights of 1786:

• 1st Order: Elected Master
• 2nd Order: Grand Scottish Elected
• 3rd Order: Knight of the East
• 4th Order: Sovereign Prince Rose-Croix, Perfect Free Mason.
• 5th Order: Administrative and Conservatory Grade.

The degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite vary from one jurisdiction to the next. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and Southern Jurisdiction, each have their own lists of degrees, as well as Scottish Rite jurisdictions in France, Canada, England and Wales.

Chapter - "Royal Arch"

• Mark Master
• Virtual Past Master
• Most Excellent Master
• Royal Arch Mason

Council - "Cryptic Masonry"

• Royal Master
• Select Master
• Super Excellent Master

Commanderies - "Knights Templar"

• Knight of the Red Cross
• Knight of Malta
• Knight Templar

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