The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is a
masonic rite
In Freemasonry, a Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In many cases, such as the York Rite, it can be a col ...
founded in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in September 1881 by the merger of two older rites; the ''Rite of
Misraïm'' and the ''Rite of
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
''. Although founded in 1881, its predecessors have their origins in the 18th century. The system is sometimes known as "Egyptian Freemasonry" due to the invocation of
hermetic
Hermetic or related forms may refer to:
* of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes
* of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth
** , the ancient and m ...
-derived
esoteric
Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...
symbolism referencing
Ancient Egypt in its system of degrees. The rite is noted for its high number of degrees in its system; it has 99 degrees, though some modern French variations practice only 33 degrees.
Memphis-Misraïm was governed internationally under a Grand Hierophant from 1881 until 1923. This first of these was
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
, the famous military leader of the ''
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
'', who had also been Grand Master of the
Grand Orient of Italy
The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) ( it, Grande Oriente d'Italia) is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy fr ...
. After his death, there was factionalism within the organisation, until eventually, the English freemason
John Yarker
John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...
emerged as Grand Hierophant in 1902. He was succeeded by
Theodor Reuss
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923) also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was an Anglo-German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo T ...
in 1913 and upon his death in 1923 there was no longer an international leadership.
The group in France, later renamed the ''Grande Loge Française du Rite ancien et primitif de Memphis-Misraïm'' continued to exist, despite the cessassion of activities from the international governance after Reuss' death. Charles Detré (Tedé),
Jean Bricaud
Jean (or Joanny) Bricaud (11 February 1881, Neuville-sur-Ain, Ain – 24 February 1934), also known as Tau Jean II, was a French student of the occult and esoteric matters. Bricaud was heavily involved in the French neo-Gnostic movement. He was ...
,
Constant Chevillon Constant Chevillon (born 26 October 1880 in Annoire ( Jura); died 25 March 1944 in Lyon) was a French occultist who was Grand Master of the Freemasonry Rite of Memphis-Misraïm and head of FUDOFSI and other occult societies.
Educations & civil ...
, Charles-Henry Dupont,
Robert Ambelain
Robert Ambelain (2 September 1907 – 27 May 1997) was a French essayist. He was involved in the esoteric Masonic Martinist movement and claimed to have revived the Primitive Scottish Rite.
He has written several works, such as ''The Maso ...
and Gérard Kloppel were Grand Masters of the French organisation. In particular, Ambelain played a significant role in reforming the rituals of Memphis-Misraïm in 1960. Since then many different people across the world have founded their own organisations claiming descent from the Kloppel lineage.
Recognition by mainstream Freemasonry
The Rite of Memphis-Misraim is not practiced by any Regular Anglophone Masonic organization. It is practiced in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador by Regular Grand Lodges. In the US, it is under control of the College of Rites.
History
The Rite of Misraïm
From as early as 1738, one can find traces of this Rite filled with alchemical, occult and Egyptian references, with a structure of 90 degrees.
Joseph Balsamo, called
Cagliostro
Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (, ; 2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795) was the alias of the Italian occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (; in French usually referred to as Joseph Balsamo).
Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. ...
, a key character of his time, gave the Rite the impulse necessary for its development. Very close to the
Grand Master of the Order of the
Knights
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
of
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death.
He undertook many building projects, introduc ...
, Cagliostro founded the Rite of High Egyptian Masonry in 1784. Between 1767 and 1775 he received the Arcana Arcanorum, which are three very high hermetic degrees, from Sir Knight Luigi d’Aquino, the brother of the national Grand Master of Neapolitan Masonry. In 1788, he introduced them into the Rite of Misraïm and gave a patent to this Rite.
It developed quickly in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
and
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. In 1813, it was introduced by Joseph, Michel and
Marc Bédarride
Marc Bédarride (4 February 1776 – April 1846) was a French writer, military officer and Freemason. He served the First French Empire during the French Revolutionary Wars under Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and later in the Italian Peninsula. Alth ...
.
The Rite of Memphis
The Rite of Memphis was constituted by
Jacques Étienne Marconis de Nègre
Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre (3 January 1795, Montauban, - 21 November, 1868, Paris) was a French writer and active Freemason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of ...
in 1838, as a variant of the Rite of Misraïm, combining elements from
Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
ism and
chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
with Egyptian and alchemical mythology. It had at least two lodges (“Osiris” and “Des Philadelphes”) at Paris, two more (“La Bienveillance” and “De Heliopolis”) in Brussels, and a number of English supporters. The Rite gained a certain success among military Lodges. It took on a political dimension and in 1841 it became dormant, probably because of the repression following the armed uprising of
Louis Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism.
Biography Early life, political activity and first imprisonment (1805–1848)
Bla ...
’s Société des Saisons in 1839. With the overthrow of
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...
in 1848, the Order was revived on March 5, with its most prominent member being
Louis Blanc
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (; ; 29 October 1811 – 6 December 1882) was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. Alth ...
, a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
member of the provisional government with responsibility for the National Workshops.
In 1850 ''Les Sectateurs de Ménès'' was founded in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
which proved popular with refugees fleeing France for London at that time. About ten lodges were set up by French refugees, the most important being ''La Grand Loge des Philadelphes'' chartered in London on January 31, 1851, which continued to exist until the late 1870s. During this time it had about 100 members, often called
Philadelphes
The Grand Loge des Philadelphes (or just Philadelphes) was a masonic lodge founded in London by French exiles in 1850, associated with the Quarante-Huitards. It was originally named ''Les Sectateurs de Ménès'' () after the Egyptian pharaoh Men ...
. Between 1853 and 1856 other lodges of the Rite of Memphis were established.
In 1856, Benoît Desquesnes, the exiled secretary of the ''Société des Ouvriers Typographes de Nord'' proposed that the higher degrees of the Rite of Memphis were not only superfluous, but undemocratic and inconsistent with the Masonic ideals of
equality
Equality may refer to:
Society
* Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing
** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...
. Despite the attempts of Jean Philibert Berjeau to dissolve the ''Philadelphes'', they implemented this proposal and elected Edouard Benoît as master. This group became renowned for their involvement in revolutionary politics. However the ''Gymnosophists'' and the ''L'Avenir'' lodges remained with Berjeau. In 1860 the number of degrees was reduced to 33 in France, The other bodies of the Rite did not agree to this truncation of the degrees, and by 1866 Berjeau dissolved them (in France), most of the ''Gymnosophists'' joining the ''Philadelphes''.
The Rite of Memphis continued in its 97 degree quality in both the US and South America as well as in other parts of Europe. It must be made clear that no Grand Hierophant of the Rite ever gave up the Rite completely to the
Grand Orient de France
The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonry, Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly ab ...
or to the US
Grand College of Rites
The Grand College of Rites (officially, the Grand College of Rites of the United States of America) is a Masonic organization.
The Grand College of Rites was established by nine Master Masons in Washington, D.C. on May 12, 1932 for the purpose of ...
. The Rite has been revived all over the World by The Grand Hierophants holding the Original Charters of the Rite through the Ambelain and Kloppel lineages.
The Rite of Memphis-Misraïm
In 1881, General
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
prepared to fuse the two Rites, to be effective as of 1889. Its popularity was greatly increased owing to the works of German Masonic scholar
Theodor Reuss
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923) also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was an Anglo-German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo T ...
, the agent of John Yarker, who became Deputy Grand Master in 1902 and Grand Master in 1905. Reuss succeeded Yarker in this office in 1913. Reuss' lineage was reduced into a nine degree structure which eventually became the original, Mixed (male and female) Masonic
Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...
with a tenth degree for the position of Outer Head of the Order.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
, who (controversially) claimed the position of Outer Head of the Order in 1923 and was officially voted in as Outer Head in 1925, would eventually reform Ordo Templi Orientis into a Para-Masonic Body in which the rituals were reworked to provide a greater focus on both
ceremonial magic
Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an ex ...
and his vision of
Thelema
Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word '' ...
. He also changed the three former Symbolic Masonic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow-Craft (or Companion) and Master Mason into three rituals alluding to an esoteric Templar lineage with the names of Man, Magician and Master Magician. According to Crowley's own writings, this was done because (unlike the Masonic scene in Continental Europe) the overwhelming majority of Freemasons in the United States of America and the British Commonwealth nations were members of "Regular" Freemasonry with alliance to the United Grand Lodge of England, whose tenets, among other things, do not allow women to be initiated to this day. Thus, Ordo Templi Orientis became an order that was completely independent of Freemasonry and its parental Rite, the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis - Misraïm.
Degree structure
As noted, there is no longer one international authority for Memphis-Misraim. However, The World Association of Egyptian Obediences (WAEO) boats over thirty constituent members from orders and obediences from around the world, making their 100 degree structure a solid, if not all-encompassing summary of global Memphis-Misraim thought.
Memphis-Misraim does contain the three degrees of Craft Masonry, although their names differ by source. WAEO tracing boards name both the first and second degree as "Companion", however some constituent members such as the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Misraim (APRMM) refer to them as the traditional Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft, respectively. There are several differences between the names used by these organisations beyond the Craft degrees.
Prominent members
Some of the most prominent figures in European
occultism
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...
have been associated with the Rite. This includes the Frenchmen;
Gerard Encausse
Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...
(Papus), Charles Detré (Tedé),
Jean Bricaud
Jean (or Joanny) Bricaud (11 February 1881, Neuville-sur-Ain, Ain – 24 February 1934), also known as Tau Jean II, was a French student of the occult and esoteric matters. Bricaud was heavily involved in the French neo-Gnostic movement. He was ...
,
Constant Chevillon Constant Chevillon (born 26 October 1880 in Annoire ( Jura); died 25 March 1944 in Lyon) was a French occultist who was Grand Master of the Freemasonry Rite of Memphis-Misraïm and head of FUDOFSI and other occult societies.
Educations & civil ...
, Charles-Henry Dupont and
Robert Ambelain
Robert Ambelain (2 September 1907 – 27 May 1997) was a French essayist. He was involved in the esoteric Masonic Martinist movement and claimed to have revived the Primitive Scottish Rite.
He has written several works, such as ''The Maso ...
. The National Grand Master in Germany from 1906 to 1914 was
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...
and the founder of the
Thule Society
The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, ...
, Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer (
Rudolf von Sebottendorf
Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer (9 November 1875 – 8 May 1945), also known as Rudolf Freiherr von Sebottendorff (or von Sebottendorf) was a German occultist, writer, intelligence agent and political activist. He was the founder of the Thule Socie ...
), became an initiate while living in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The German founder of the
Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua,
Arnold Krumm-Heller, was also associated.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...
, as mentioned above, was at one time affiliated with the rite in its shortened version used by
Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...
. In the United States,
Harvey Spencer Lewis
Harvey Spencer Lewis F.R.C., S:::I:::I:::, 33° 66° 95°, PhD (November 25, 1883 – August 2, 1939), a noted Rosicrucian author, occultist, and mystic, was the founder in the US and the first Imperator of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosa ...
, founder of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis,
AMORC, was also associated with the rite.
Universal Grand Hierophants
*1881—1882:
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
*1882—1900: Giambattista Pessina
*1900—1902: Ferdinando Francesco degli Oddi
*1902—1913:
John Yarker
John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...
*1913—1923:
Theodor Reuss
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923) also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was an Anglo-German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo T ...
See also
*
Ancient and Primitive Rite
The Ancient and Primitive Rite, also called the ''Order of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraim'', is a Masonic Rite. First popularized by John Yarker, it is generally considered clandestine by Freemasonry, Masonic organizations withi ...
*
List of Masonic Rites
In Freemasonry, a Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In many cases, such as the York Rite, it can be a col ...
*
Philadelphes
The Grand Loge des Philadelphes (or just Philadelphes) was a masonic lodge founded in London by French exiles in 1850, associated with the Quarante-Huitards. It was originally named ''Les Sectateurs de Ménès'' () after the Egyptian pharaoh Men ...
*
Ordo Templi Orientis
Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...
References
Further reading
*
Boris Nicolaevsky
Boris Ivanovich Nicolaevsky (russian: Бори́с Ива́нович Никола́евский) (20 October 1887 – 22 February 1966) was a Russian Marxist activist, archivist, and historian. Nicolaevsky is best remembered as one of the leading ...
, “Secret Societies and the First International,” in ''The Revolutionary Internationals'', 1864–1943, ed. Milored M. Drachkovitch (Stanford, 1966), 36–56.
* Faulks, Philippa and Robert L.D. Cooper. 2008. ''The Masonic Magician: The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite''. London, Watkins Publishing
*
* Prescott, Andrew.
The Cause of Humanity: Charles Bradlaugh and Freemasonry'
External links
Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-MisraimMemphis-Misraim in the Netherlands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memphis-Misraim
Masonic rites
Organizations established in 1889