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Appendant bodies

hanzosbm

Premium Member
Obviously, this forum has a whole section on various appendant bodies. However, this question has to do with them as a whole, so I thought I'd ask it here.

For a little context for those who may not have read any of my other posts, I tend to look quite deeply into Freemasonry. I believe it is a science not only to be learned in degrees, but one in which the layers, like an onion, are peeled back again and again revealing deeper and deeper truths. I also have a bit of a leaning towards the esoteric aspect of Freemasonry.

Now, with that being said, I am seeking guidance on when to join any appendant bodies. I'm not really looking to debate between them, though if you feel in the course of your discussion that XYZ Rite will help but ABC Rite is just for socializing, then please say so.

After almost 6 years as a MM I finally started to see the first rays of Light and since then have been delving deeper and deeper into it. I feel like a lifetime could be spent just trying to unravel all that the first 3 degrees have to offer. Yet, I also have to ask myself if it is best to become extremely well versed in one aspect, or familiar with many. As an example, if one is going to research their family tree, you could either go one generation at a time listing every sister, brother, cousin, aunt, stepmother, etc which would extend out horizontally very far, or you could focus purely on the tracing back of your surname looking at your father's father's father's father etc. This would extend out vertically very far.

Right now, I feel like I am gaining a large amount of knowledge based on the first 3 degrees, and certainly the study of the knowledge found in appendant bodies will take significant time and could complicate/help to complete my overall view of things.

In short, I'm wondering when I should start looking into appendant bodies.

Again, please keep in mind that I would not be joining for social reasons, nor for the intention of doing charity work (although those are both great to have) but rather for expanding my understanding. I've heard some people say 'oh, those degrees were made up 50 years ago with no real meaning behind them. It's a fun club, but that's it' about certain groups. I've heard other groups' degrees described as being good, but any knowledge of lessons from them are superficial in terms of there not being any deeper meaning, which is fine. In fact, that would make things easier because it wouldn't require any contemplation.

So what are your thoughts about these groups?
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
I went through the line the first time and joined my first appendent body as WM elect, so I figure your six years is about the right duration.

Then I went through the line the second time in a different jurisdiction and joined my second appendent body. This year I started through the line for the third time and I'll likely join my third appendent body near the end of this iteration.

In my case I value the lessons learned in my appendent bodies but I don't attend them much. I stay active at the blue lodge level. The lessons there are enough for a lifetime. I know plenty of brothers who switched to appendent brothers - I'm okay getting their dues payments as more members means more activities at lodge. I also know some brothers who are active at both levels.
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
I don't really do deeper and deeper truths, but here is my two cents' worth:

If you want, as Paul Harvey said, "the rest of the story," join the York Rite. The three Blue Lodge degrees are three chapters of a book, and they aren't even the first three chapters. The Chapter and Council degrees complete the legend.

In terms of lessons, no degree teaches a better lesson than the Mark Master, in my opinion.
 

JJones

Moderator
I'm Yorkrite, so I'm a bit biased. There's no real reason I haven't gone SR yet, aside from time and interest.

The Yorkrite has the Royal Arch, which picks up where the Master's leaves off. This alone makes it worthwhile to me. If you pursue all the degrees then you'll eventually take the Order of The Temple, which is just...amazing, in my opinion.

As for when you should take them? I'd suggest anyone wait at least a year after their MM degree. Use that time to reflect on and grow from the lessons you've already learned before moving on. Then again, you could spend a lifetime just reflecting on the first three degrees so it's ultimately up to the individual.

Also, don't go to a YR festival if you can help it. In my part of the world it's almost impossible to receive most of the YR degrees in the traditional way but if you have the option to take them individually, then I highly recommend doing so.
 
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hanzosbm

Premium Member
The consensus definitely seems to be that the York Rite makes the most sense as the next step from a narrative point of view. As I ultimately wish to join both and must choose which to do first, that's as good a reason as any.

Then again, you could spend a lifetime just reflecting on the first three degrees so it's ultimately up to the individual.

This is what I'm struggling with. Even as avid a Mason as I am concerning research and reflecting, I think it will take a VERY significant amount of time to truly understand the first 3 degrees. So then I'm left with the decision of whether to introduce new material while I'm still trying to learn the basics or focus on the basics possibly forever and never be introduced to the 'new material'.

Maybe it might be better to ask the question thusly; from a philosophical point of view, do the appendant bodies offer new light, or simply reinforce what has already been taught?
 

Glen Cook

G A Cook
Site Benefactor
The consensus definitely seems to be that the York Rite makes the most sense as the next step from a narrative point of view. As I ultimately wish to join both and must choose which to do first, that's as good a reason as any.



This is what I'm struggling with. Even as avid a Mason as I am concerning research and reflecting, I think it will take a VERY significant amount of time to truly understand the first 3 degrees. So then I'm left with the decision of whether to introduce new material while I'm still trying to learn the basics or focus on the basics possibly forever and never be introduced to the 'new material'.

Maybe it might be better to ask the question thusly; from a philosophical point of view, do the appendant bodies offer new light, or simply reinforce what has already been taught?

Um, not sure the consensus was York Rite, but certainly Chapter and perhaps Council, with which I'd agree. They will help with the context of the Craft degrees. The Royal Arch is, in my view, part of the basics.
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
Um, not sure the consensus was York Rite, but certainly Chapter and perhaps Council, with which I'd agree. They will help with the context of the Craft degrees. The Royal Arch is, in my view, part of the basics.
Thank you for the clarification. The names and how it all works is still fairly foreign to me, but I enjoy learning.

JamesTheJust, you indicated that the higher degrees seem a bit jumbled. I've also been told that it is common to have multiple degrees conferred at one time. Might I infer that the higher degrees require less contemplation?

Obviously, I am asking this in regards to use of my time. If one can go through the higher degrees and learn all that they have to offer in a few months, then by all means. However, if I am to start a journey that could take a lifetime, I'd want to make sure that I'm not trying to juggle too many balls at once.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
The consensus definitely seems to be that the York Rite makes the most sense as the next step from a narrative point of view. As I ultimately wish to join both and must choose which to do first, that's as good a reason as any.

York Rite members consistently say it completes the story. They don't much say it offers profound new views of philosophy.

Maybe it might be better to ask the question thusly; from a philosophical point of view, do the appendant bodies offer new light, or simply reinforce what has already been taught?

The Scottish Rite definitely teaches additional philosophy, much of it illustrated by events of world history. The philosophy is the strength of the Scottish Rite.

The Shrine focuses on having fun helping kids. Not so much on philosophy. Abundant fellowship and shared activity.

If you enjoy finding your own philosophical points based on story, you may well find the York Rite as philosophical as the Scottish Rite. I regularly post on the meaning of various parts of the ritual and the philosophical implications so it is clear to me I would find philosophy in the York Rite degrees. Yet I chose Scottish Rite because it offered additional philosophy. Go figure. Different time of my life, different viewpoints I guess.
 

Zaden

Registered User
I went Scottish Rite very soon after I was Raised, for me, perhaps because of my background and other things I had studied and experienced this was very rewarding. Right off the bat the SR introduces the Kabbalah and goes into a number of other traditions as you proceed through the degrees. The Scottish Rite also has a Royal Arch degree (technically two) "completing" the Blue degrees in its own way. Philosophy and digging deeper into the meaning of the degrees (including the first three) are a big part of the Scottish Rite.
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
I went Scottish Rite very soon after I was Raised, for me, perhaps because of my background and other things I had studied and experienced this was very rewarding. Right off the bat the SR introduces the Kabbalah and goes into a number of other traditions as you proceed through the degrees. The Scottish Rite also has a Royal Arch degree (technically two) "completing" the Blue degrees in its own way. Philosophy and digging deeper into the meaning of the degrees (including the first three) are a big part of the Scottish Rite.
Thank you, Brother. The Kabbalah is another of those schools of thought that I have not yet delved into. I know that its study will be valuable, but I also predict that it is a large enough endeavor that I hesitate to even get started yet.
You mentioned that SR had you digging deeper into the first 3 degrees. Do you feel that it gave you insights in the first three degrees you could not have found otherwise? The reason I ask is that part of me feels like I should just get the first 3 degrees worked out in my mind first (although that could take a lifetime) before moving on, whereas the other part of me thinks 'why spend a lifetime doing so if the SR is just going to turn that understanding on its head'?
Am I making any sense here?
 

Companion Joe

Premium Member
Trying to hit a couple of points here:

Some say the YR degrees are a jumble; well, that's not inaccurate. Counting the three Craft degrees, the YR degrees are nine (some say 10) chapters of a story. With the EA, FC, and MM degrees, you get 1-2-6. The others aren't conferred in chronological order, either.

I can't say whether or not the YR degrees offer any higher philosophy. I don't do philosophy. They do complete the story. To say they aren't rewarding is asinine. If you are looking for "real secrets" or "higher philosophy" in Masonry rather than good fellowship, I guess you will be disappointed.
 

Zaden

Registered User
Thank you, Brother. The Kabbalah is another of those schools of thought that I have not yet delved into. I know that its study will be valuable, but I also predict that it is a large enough endeavor that I hesitate to even get started yet.
You mentioned that SR had you digging deeper into the first 3 degrees. Do you feel that it gave you insights in the first three degrees you could not have found otherwise? The reason I ask is that part of me feels like I should just get the first 3 degrees worked out in my mind first (although that could take a lifetime) before moving on, whereas the other part of me thinks 'why spend a lifetime doing so if the SR is just going to turn that understanding on its head'?
Am I making any sense here?
The introduction you get to the Kabbalah in the degrees is pretty basic on the surface, but by studying the lectures and the texts that go with the degrees and meditating on the meaning you go deeper. And, yes, there is a lot in masonry that you can see the influence of the Kabbalah (Qabala, Cabala) in.

As I mentioned, like those discussing the York Rite mention, the Royal Arch, the terminal degree of the Lodge of Perfection, "completes" the craft degrees. That which was lost being found and the like. Interestingly, the story of the Master's degree is a little different from that in the Blue Lodge. Suffice it to say that, a part of the story that was very brief in the Blue Lodge takes a number of degrees in the SR to be told in full. After that it goes into a lot more, but the first three are, like any part of masonry, the foundation.
The Scottish Rite also has a program called the Master Craftsman Program, a by mail correspondence course with reading assignments and graded quizzes. The first two parts or levels and the soon to be released 4th deal with the Scottish Rite degrees (though the MCP 1 has a wealth of study on the history of Masonry and the evolution of the blue degrees into what they are today), MCP 3 on the other hand deals specifically with the Blue Lodge, via Albert Pike's book Esoterika (his lectures and studies of the symbols of the Blue Lodge). You don't have to be a member of the SR to do the MCP, though there is overlap that one who has gone through the SR will notice, and, in many ways it helps you see the direct connection/expansion in some of the later degrees with the first 3. You can also just get the book, of course, though a lot of the quizzes are very good at stimulating further thought.

I wouldn't say that the SR "turns on its head" any understanding of the blue lodge degrees, it does expand on them, but I wouldn't say they contradict or redefine them. There are symbols throughout that take on different meanings depending on the degree, or context, they are used in. Still, it is explicitly pointed out that, just because a symbol etc. is used in one way in one place, that doesn't change the fact that it means something different when used in another place. Like the first three degrees and the other activities of the blue lodge, there are many layers to everything.
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
Brother Zaden,

That was fantastic and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. Though I still don't know if I've made up my mind yet as to when to pursue SR and/or YR, I feel that I now at least have the information I need to make that decision, and I have you and the other brothers here to thank for that.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
I was advised by several brothers to wait 6 months after raising to consider the appendant bodies. After 6 months I petitioned the York Rite and am very glad I did. Now I have petitioned the Scottish Rite and am very much looking forward to it.
 

montkun

Registered User
I'm in no rush to proceed to the higher degrees, I want to focus my efforts in learning my role as Senior Deacon in regular meetings and during degree work. Once I'm confident with those I'll decide what path I might take between the York and Scottish Rite.
 

KSigMason

Traveling Templar
Site Benefactor
I waited 2-years, but I did that to work on my Wardens and Worshipful Master Certificates of Proficiency.
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
I like to think of the appendant bodies as a "cafeteria of organizations". Each individual can select from the appendants, any group that suits him. And you can drop out later if you like. AND. If you can't find a group you like,,then you can start one. I did!
 
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