The Porch and the Middle Chamber by Albert Pike

The Porch and the Middle Chamber by Albert Pike

If you're a Thirty-second Degree Mason you may THINK that you've received all the Scottish Rite degrees, but chances are you haven't. Why? Unknown to most people, Albert Pike also wrote Scottish Rite rituals for the three Blue Lodge Degrees. In Pike's words, these Scottish Rite Blue Lodge rituals were to be studied and understood before investiture with the fourth degree. For, without it, the system of that Rite is incomplete, and even like a fabric without foundation. This rare reprint includes the, openings, closings and rituals of the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees according to the Pike workings of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. More importantly it contains the complete SECRET WORK. These rituals are MUCH MORE ESOTERIC and differ significantly from the Webb-form (York Rite) Blue Lodge rituals commonly used in the United States, and the book has several interesting illustrations (including Hiram's jewel-a talisman ). Also included is the Table Lodge ceremony. Highly recommended. Very scarce

Pike was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Ben and Sarah (Andrews) Pike, and grew up in the towns of Byfield and Newburyport. John Pike (1613-1688/1689), the founder of Woodbridge, New Jersey, was among his colonial ancestors who inhabited the region in 1635. He went to school in Newburyport and Framingham until he was fifteen years old. He passed the entrance tests to Harvard University in August 1825, but he declined to go when the college asked payment of tuition fees for the first two years. He started a self-education program and went on to teach in Gloucester, North Bedford, Fairhaven, and Newburyport.

He left Massachusetts in 1831 to move west, eventually settling in St. Louis. St. Louis is a city in Missouri. Eventually, he joined a hunting and trading trip to Taos, New Mexico. After settling in Arkansas in 1833, Pike taught in a school and authored a series of articles under the pen name Casca for the Little Rock Arkansas Advocate.

His essays were so well-received that he was requested to join the staff of the publication. In a politically tumultuous and divided Arkansas in December 1832, the Advocate championed the Whig Party's stance under Pike's administration. He bought the newspaper after marrying Mary Ann Hamilton in 1834. In 1840, Pike became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

He thereafter became a member of a Masonic Lodge, where he was very active. In 1859, he was chosen Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite. He remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the rest of his life (a total of 32 years), devoting most of his time to the development of the order's ceremonies. He is most known for publishing Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871, which was followed by multiple editions.

During the nineteenth century, this aided the order's expansion. Pike is still regarded as an illustrious and powerful Freemason, particularly in the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction. Pike died at the age of 81 in Washington, D.C., and was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery. Burial was not in his plans; he had requested that his body be burned.

His ashes were brought to the House of the Temple, the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction's headquarters, in 1944. In Washington, D.C.'s Judiciary Square neighborhood, there is a memorial honoring Pike. In Washington, D.C., he is the only Confederate military officer who has an outdoor statue.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781169782938
ISBN 10	1169782930
Title	The Porch and the Middle Chamber
Author	Albert Pike
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Kessinger Publishing
Year published	2010-09-10
Number of pages	404
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable