Degrees in the SR

So I have been trying to decide what body I'd like to join after the blue lodge and had a question about SR.

Most of the members of my lodge are York or Shriners the couple that are SR don't attend much. So in can't ask them.

I was under the impression that the degree movement was like the blue lodge one degree a month or two. However someone thought it was more like the man to mason where you go in on Saturday morning and come out a 32nd degree. Can someone clarify that for me??

It's not that I'm looking to to go from 1 to 32 instantly I was just shocked.

TIA


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My father-in-law did his SR in CA, and it was all in one day. From what I've seen (I'm interested in SR after I cement my Master's work) some Valleys do one day, some over a weekend and some space it over a longer period (ex. last year the Houston Valley's reunion schedule was:January 24 (4° and 14° only) March 28 (18° only) May 4 (30° & 32° only).).

In the SR the 4th, 14th, 18th, 30th, and 32nd degrees are the mandatory degrees that one must witness to be considered a 32nd Degree SR Mason. Most SR Valley's do the mandatory degrees in one long day. It's only been recently that the Houston Valley has been spreading them out over several months. The non-mandatory degrees are conferred in name only (without degree work). Sometimes Valley's will add a degree or two the the reunion so that brothers may see some of the other degrees. I think the Dallas Valley confers all 29 degrees at least once a year.

Like everything in Masonry, it varies by jurisdiction. In NM, the SR is a three-day weekend, though I can't say which Degrees were actually played out. YR is done over several meetings, and all Degrees are played out.
Again, this is but one example.

otherstar said:

In the SR the 4th, 14th, 18th, 30th, and 32nd degrees are the mandatory degrees that one must witness to be considered a 32nd Degree SR Mason. Most SR Valley's do the mandatory degrees in one long day. It's only been recently that the Houston Valley has been spreading them out over several months. The non-mandatory degrees are conferred in name only (without degree work). Sometimes Valley's will add a degree or two the the reunion so that brothers may see some of the other degrees. I think the Dallas Valley confers all 29 degrees at least once a year.

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I will point out that SR switched to classes a century ago. They went though all of the discussion that happens now around blue lodge classes. SR classes WORK.

That said I deliberately chose the longest reunion of the year when I petitioned the SR. Our mandatory view degrees were spread over 2 weekends. One each of the two Friday evenings. Two each of the two Saturday mornings. That's a total of 6 presented degrees but there were 5 mandatory ones. The reunion included one of the optional degrees. That's why I chose that reunion. I also had the chance to be the exemplar in one of the degrees (worked out by members of the line in my lodge without telling me).

The degrees are in a historical sequence but they aren't all that dependent on each other as long as you see the mandatory ones. This is true in both the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions even though the low numbered degrees are very different between them. As a result it's like building a strong structure then filling in the details. Some SR brothers see the mandatory degrees then attend local reunions only seeing the optional ones as presented locally so they might never see them all. Other SR brothers visit valleys to see a degree they have not yet seen. My Northern and Southern Jurisdiction passports still don't have all of the degrees checked.

Think of it in terms of how much you learn in the blue lodge degrees. Only proficiencies. Only specific parts in the degrees. All of the parts including obligation in one degree. All of the parts including obligation in all three degrees (certificate territory). Learning the lectures one at a time until you know them all. Learning the long form of the lectures as well. Different brother, different goal, different end point, all on the level. In SR that's like seeing the mandatory ones, filling your passport, taking part in at least one degree team ...

Last year the Valley of Baton Rouge Fall Reunion put on 8 degrees over a day and a half, the five mandatory (4, 14, 18, 30, 32) and three other degrees (17, 27, 29). This year we'll do full days and add four more degrees (12, 13, 20, 26). Hopefully we'll get back to where we used to be, which was all 29 degrees over four days on two weekends.

The number of degrees you will see in a reunion will differ by Valley, and time of year. Some valleys do a short reunion and a long reunion each year, others only do the 5 mandatory, others always do 29.

There will be a good presentation and discussion on the topic of degrees presented at reunions at the regional workshops (Biloxi, MS March 28-29, Williamsburg Apr 11-12 are still upcoming) for all those who are attending.


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My Valley (Rochester) spreads the degrees out over ten months, meeting one night most months, two night a few months. We do 17 of the degrees in full form, the remaining 12 are communicated. Minneapolis Valley does all 29 degrees in full form twice a year; you have to go every week for about five months. They also do a reunion weekend where they confer the obligatory degrees and communicate the others. None of the Valleys in Minnesota do only weekend reunions.

So, the point is, it varies greatly by jurisdiction.

I really enjoyed the SR degrees. We had them spread out over two weekends and were about two months apart.
The degrees that were actually performed were very inspirational and embedded with meaning. I liked the ones that were communicated but I bet they would've been even more impressive if performed.

How did our brother advance through the SR back in Pike's days? Were degrees communicated, or did one advance in a similar manner as the blue lodge...proficiencies and everything?

Cheers.

rebis said:

How did our brother advance through the SR back in Pike's days? Were degrees communicated, or did one advance in a similar manner as the blue lodge...proficiencies and everything?

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Until about the turn of the 20th century, SR degrees were conducted one candidate one degree at a time. They did a ton of degree work. Since about the turn of the 20th century, SR degrees have been done in classes with one class member as an exemplar.

rebis said:

How did our brother advance through the SR back in Pike's days? Were degrees communicated, or did one advance in a similar manner as the blue lodge...proficiencies and everything?

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Ill. Bro. Albert Mackey communicated 4° through 32° to Albert Pike in one afternoon. Pike communicated the Lodge of Perfection degrees (4-14) to multiple members of my Lodge in one afternoon in 1879 when he visited Minnesota.

Prior to Pike reworking the degrees, a lot of them were not much more than a short lecture and an obligation.

Talking to SR brothers present at the world conference of regular masonic lodges this year, from different countries, many of them were extremely surprised to learn about the manner in which we confer the SR degrees here in the so jurisdiction.

It took them years to attain the 32nd degree....over 10 in most cases.

It seams like there is a lot of study and examination involved before moving on to the next degree.

Also, they go all the way to 33 and not 32.


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rebis said:

Talking to SR brothers present at the world conference of regular masonic lodges this year, from different countries, many of them were extremely surprised to learn about the manner in which we confer the SR degrees here in the so jurisdiction.

It took them years to attain the 32nd degree....over 10 in most cases.

It seams like there is a lot of study and examination involved before moving on to the next degree.

Also, they go all the way to 33 and not 32.


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I'm not sure what you mean by that last sentence. We also go all the way to 33° here in the US, and in fact a larger percentage of our members are 33rds (about 1.5%) than in most countries. We have the "Inspector General Honorary," while in most countries that have Scottish Rite only their active members of the Supreme Council can hold the 33°.

33rd is a degree that is bestowed upon you. You have to be asked.

otherstar said:

n the SR the 4th, 14th, 18th, 30th, and 32nd degrees are the mandatory degrees that one must witness to be considered a 32nd Degree SR Mason. Most SR Valley's do the mandatory degrees in one long day

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Here in the Valley of Louisville it's spread over two days so that we get two additional degrees.