Qadosh - Grand Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew (29°)

That which follows reflects our understanding of how the Initiatory structure of the AASR was designed, not how it has been, or is, practiced.

The degree symbolism of the 29° is a complement to the 30°. It is, in fact, the preparatory stage. It opens the temple and prepares the candidate for the trials he undergoes in the 30°. The 30° is the final initiatory degree in the AASR, the 31°, 32°, and 33° being administrative and the ordeals given being merely tests.The 30°is the high initiation in Scottish Rite Masonry. All the legends associated with the Templars, with the Gnosis, with the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, with Church-State, with the Scottish Royalty, are inculcated in the Kadosh. As Oliver states in II Landmarks, Kadosh was once designated K--H. This means Knight-Holy, Holy Knight. Jihad, Divine Warrior, Instrument of Wrath.

We are not speaking of today's typical docile, balding, well-fed Mason, who knows little or nothing about the origins of the Craft to which he belongs. We are speaking of the Crusaders, who were literally God's instruments of wrath, and whose real designs included the subversion and eventual destruction of the purveyors of error ~~ not only the 'Saracens' but the Roman See. This has been amply demonstrated in the Johannite Legend (below), and in the discussion of the 15°(in Part One: The Legacy of the GIFT.).

The Kadosh degree is really a tradition that goes back to high antiquity. Not as the degree itself, mind you, but as the Initiatory Tradition the degree represents.

There is good reason to believe that there were Sumerian influences in the traditions of the Celts and Franks, as well as in those of the Jews and Arabs. We have included an interesting narrative in our section on John, presented in Chapter 7, below. It connects the Sumerian sacerdotal tradition with the beginnings of Christianity, and the Crusades. There are traces of Phoenician influences in the British Isles, and a tradition that connects the early Britons, and the Celts with events that took place in Asia Minor and points East, including the Siege of Troy.

Indeed, the Elemental design of the 29° and the seven-stepped Ladder Rite of the 30° has its analogues in the Ancient Sumerian Tradition, and that bequeathed to us in the Necronomicon as the Incantations of the Gates and the Ceremony of the Walking. All one has to do is compare the materials. This, too, is connected with Inanna's descent into the underworld, in search of Dumuzi, an ancient Mystery Rite, the parent of them all.

As to the vengeance theme in the ritual, that is the charge to the newly initiated Knight, after the ordeal. The original Knights Templar undoubtedly went through a similar, not necessarily the same, initiation, before being charged to fight the Holy War.

With this introduction out of the way, we shall now study these two degrees and the history and traditions they symbolize.

The Lodge room is arranged as follows: Eighty-one lights as arranged. They are arranged around four St. Andrew's crosses, one in each corner. The Hebrew names are the Angelic forces of the quadrants. Yellow in the East for Air, Red in the South for Fire, Blue in the West for Water, Green in the North for Earth. As to the cross in the centre of the diagram, we get an interesting tie-in to some of the symbolism in the 15°:

[Print this Tracing Board. Better yet, save the whole page, and place the file in the Graphics Program of your choice, such as Macromedia Freehand, and print it, view it enlarged, etc. You can also use the zoom feature in IE. We assembled several drawings from old Masonic books, including Cross' Templar's Chart and Pike's Liturgies for the AASR.

	B
M	J	J


	N

If we take "B" for the top, then N for the bottom, then J for the right, then M for the left, then J for the centre, and N for the bottom, as ending, we get something similar to the Qabalistic Cross found in the rituals of the Pentagram and Hexagram. This 29° appears to be a Masonic Circle-casting ritual, similar to, but not the same as, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Like the LBR, it sets the liturgical frame of reference, it is the Construct. This Rite pre-dates the LBR Pentagram. The cross seems to be like the Qabalistic Cross, as we just mentioned, and signifies the operator's position. An image in the East, North, South; Columns in the North, West, South. The Altar between the operator and the image in the east. The signs, tokens, passwords, as according to the ritual, then the Lodge is further opened into the 30°.

Action begins in the North, proceeds West, South, East. Seven Signs, Four Tokens. Compare the movement with that in the Star Ruby (Liber XXV).

The chamber is prepared according to the instructions. The Lodge is hung with red tapestry, supported by white columns. The seats of the Master and the two Wardens are of red cloth with gold fringe. Those of the knights are blue.

The Lodge is styled "Grand Lodge"; the Master is called Patriarch; the Knights, Respectable Masters.

The introduction to the Degree in the Rituals of Blanchard demonstrates that something is left out of the ritual and the explanations given in the encyclopaedias. There is no Legenda for this degree. The 29° section in Words deals with the 4 Angelic names. The Ritual says there are two apartments, viz:

There is no mention whatever of this 'well-furnished room, decorated in the Eastern Style' in the ritual. Also, in the introductory, we are told:

"This is supposed to be the first grade of Ramsay's Rite which was introduced about the year 1728, and was called Ecossais or Scotch<13> Masonry. It is founded on Chivalric Masonry or the Masonry of the Crusades, and gives a history of the events that led to the union of the Chivalric orders with Freemasonry.<14>

"The ceremony of reception [initiation] is brief; the instruction full.<15> This grade is preparatory to the Kadosh and was introduced into the Ancient and Accepted Rite by Frederick the Great in 1786."

"In this degree, my brother, you are ADMITTED INTO THE TRUE EDEN OR DOMINION OF EVERLASTING TRUTH AND FRATERNITY. THERE YOU LEARN WHAT PERSEVERANCE CAN DO, AND IN THE REPOSE OF YOUR HEART AND MIND YOU FIND THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF OUR MASTER'S DOCTRINE, WHICH FOR SO MANY, IS THE TEXT OF A THOUSAND VAIN AND FALSE THEORIES. IT IS FOR THAT VERY SAME RESULT THAT FREEMASONRY HAS BEEN ASSAILED, BOTH BY KINGLY AND PRIESTLY USURPERS, BY ATHEISTS, AND NARROW-MINDED SECTARIANS. THIS DEGREE, MY BROTHER, IS USUALLY CONFERRED BY COMMUNICATION."

One might conjecture that what we have here is a session in the oriental room, complete with Alamout Black and Houri girls. Again, one might conjecture that this entire section of the present work, this Book 2, constitutes the historical portion of 'the ultimate result...' In the 30°, we shall also find a liturgical structure for what is perhaps one of the greatest crimes in Western European History, at least, karmically speaking.<16> Sorrow and hope for reversal is the idea behind the 18°; Sworn Vengeance is for the 30°; ~~~ but not blind vengeance, like mobs of vigilantes out to lynch someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It should be termed Divine Justice. "The Master's doctrine..." ~~~ which Master? Hiram? Jesus? Simon? De Molay? Hermes? Therion? Hassan ibn Sabbah? Well, although any one of these could apply, we will have to assume the authors of the rite were referring to Jesus. Any serious scholar who obtains a copy of the above listed book, The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins, by Burton Mack, will see the accuracy and truth in the quote from the ritual.

"...and in the repose of your heart and mind you find the ultimate result of our Master's doctrine, which for so many, is the text of a thousand vain and false theories." This is so true.

It is curious that the Knights are admitted into the Court of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria. Then they are admitted to the 'true Eden.' Considering what lies before us in this Book, this one statement about the First Apartment is a valuable clue.

As we stated earlier, this Ritual appears to be a ritual for the casting of a Circle, like the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. We now list the steps.

"You will at once perceive the necessity of erecting a strong wall around our institution and of trusting its guardianship to a certain number of tried and courageous knights, whose learning and power may at all times defend it against any assault on the part of its enemies, and cause them to tremble on their thrones under their Tiaras in their conventicles and even in the very midst of their revelries. Such will be the duty of our brethren, the Knights of Kadosh, such is the object of the 30°."<17>

Henry C. Clausen, Past Sovereign Grand Commander, AASR, Southern Masonic Jurisdiction, in his Commentaries to Morals and Dogma, <18> gives us some new information about the 29th Degree, that we have not found elsewhere:

"In this Degree we examine what originally was a Scottish Degree which King Robert Bruce created for the Knights Templars in 1314 following the Battle of Bannockburn. Their Order had been destroyed in 1307, its properties and possessions confiscated, and their leaders killed. Some had fled to Scotland and, joining the army of King Robert, fought and helped defeat an invasion of Scotland by King Edward II of England. As a result of this bravery King Robert created the Order of St. Andrew of Scotland into the Scottish Rite, following its organization.

"The action of the Degree illustrates that extreme secrecy is necessary when ruthless opponents throughout the world seek to destroy Masonry. The Candidate presented himself for admission as a Knight of St. Andrew, but was met by officials who declared they represented the Holy Inquisition. They charged him with being a Mason. This he admitted. Then they demanded that he renounce Masonry and name his associates and superiors. This he refused to do, even when he was sent to the rack for torture. Finally he was released and his Challengers revealed they actually were Knights in disguise, testing the applicant's loyalty. Left to guard a banner during the night, armed only with a sword and forbidden to seek aid unless three or more attacked him, he was set upon by three, fought them and defended the banner. His Brother Knights relieved him and accepted him as a member. The qualities of Knighthood were expounded to him, including the virtues of high-mindedness in adversity, open heartedness in connections, generosity in honor, superiority in courtesy, and firmness in manly honesty.

"It is understandable why this Degree sometimes is called the Patriarch of the Crusades. Chevalier Ramsay first promulgated the mythical legend in his famous oration wherein he described the experiences of Masons in a society of Knights building Christian churches in Palestine. The Saracens sought to prevent the execution of their purpose, which caused the Knights to institute secrecy and security measures. When the Saracens finally became too strong to be resisted, the Knights moved to England where they cultivated literature and the fine arts."

This is not in the Ritual, or in the Encyclopaedias. It is, to some extent, in Oliver's Historical Landmarks of Freemasonry, Volume II, pp. 9-14. The mock Jesuit trial exists in the Third Point of the 30° Ritual. The next ordeal, that of guarding, we do not find. But, we see the opening to the 30° and the connection with the Crusades. St. Andrew being the Patron Saint of Scotland is well known. It is even the device used on the Scottish flag.

The story of the Scottish Templars is now accepted, notwithstanding our earlier remarks, thanks to discoveries made in recent years. The survival of the Order is commemorated in the 29° and the Justice of Avenging the Destruction of the Order in the 30°. The 29° picks up where the 27° left off, historically speaking. The 27° deals with the clashes and infighting that cost the various Orders the very land they vowed to defend at all costs.

Just as one really needs to be Haitian to appreciate the mysteries associated with Voudoun, so, too, must one have Scottish ancestry to really understand and appreciate the Scottish associations with the Western Esoteric Tradition. This is not spoken in a racist context, anyone can practice any tradition they want to or have an inclination towards, however, it is best to stick with one's native traditions, as anyone familiar with atavisms can testify. This can be seen, also, to relate to "karmic propensity".

<F16>For, like Constantine's supposed conversion to Christianity and the bloodbath it caused, the extermination of the Templars led to centuries of bloodshed, misery, and ignorance. Perhaps one of the reasons why life today is as it is can be attributed to the extermination of the Templars by the Church. The Age of Discovery, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Age of Revolutions, the Industrial Age, all this would have occurred earlier, and with different results, and, perhaps, better consequences. BACK.

<F17>This and the material quoted earlier on the 29th Degree, and that on the 30th, below, are taken, for the most part, from J. Blanchard, Scotch[sic] Rite Masonry Illustrated (Harwood Heights: Charles T. Powner Co., 1996 e.v.), Volume II. These rituals, we are told, come from those used in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, of the Cerneau variety, and published for the benefits of his subscribers. Blanchard was a Protestant Anti-Mason, who saw in Masonry a Papist Plot, as Nesta Webster, et al, saw in Masonry a Jewish Plot, but Webster and her kin were Catholic sympathizers. For an interesting perspective on the Cerneau Rite, see Book III of the present work, "Ormus and the Grail Chalice". The pages of Blanchard, with the rituals we are analyzing are: II Blanchard 233-308, or Chapters 53 - 56. BACK.

<F18>Henry C. Clausen, Clausen's Commentaries to Morals and Dogma, (Washington: The Supreme Council, 1981 e.v.), pp. 178ff. BACK.

2a. Grand ScottishKnight of St. Andrew, or Patriarch of the Crusades (29°) ~~ schema of rituals and additional explanations.