Brother seeker of enlightenment,

We have just completed the study of the Twenty-ninth degree and will move on to the Thirtieth Degree in the Council of Kadosh at our next session which will be held on Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 p.m. Please contact our Valley Secretary, Ill. Keith Albright, 33° to obtain the information on the Zoom session. Even if you have not attended before each session is a separate degree so there is no need to feel that you must have prior experience to enjoy the class. As before the resource material for this and all subsequent degrees is as listed below.  It is suggested you bring your copy of “A Bridge to Light” to class and study the 30th degree beforehand at home. At the completion of the 32nd degree, we will have a graduation ceremony for those brothers who have attended 50% or 15 sessions. This will be held at the January stated meeting. With three sessions remaining this gives you a good chance to catch up and qualify for this honor.

Important Symbols:

  • Three skulls
  • The Mystic Ladder
  • The Double-headed Eagle
  • Jacques DeMolay
  • The Teutonic Cross
  • The Beauceant
  • The Black and White Standards
  • The Tomb
  • The Skeleton
  • The Frank Judges
  • The Crown and Tiara
  • The Cup Within the Skull

Lessons:

  • Arm yourself with faith in God, love toward your fellow men, and knowledge.
  • Great examples are the noblest legacies from the past; they enrich a nation more than wealth or power.
  • Labor unceasingly for the good of mankind.
  • Fight against tyranny in all its forms; over thought, over speech, over belief and over opinion.

Topics for Discussion:

  • “People will have such institutions as it is fitted to have, and it is worse that useless to attempt to force others upon it.” What does this statement mean in terms of a form of government; medical advancements, religious practices? What does the degree teach about how people and institutions find a match?
  • Explain the Protestant Reformation in relation to the statement in the question above and its relation to the lessons taught in this degree.
  • What do the lives of the great men from the past teach us?
  • The Knights Kadosh labor to free men from their own ignorance, prejudice and error. What do we get in return?
  • In A Bridge to Light we read: “The Knight Kadosh has as his mission to restore to man all his powers and the whole dignity of manhood and to make true again the ancient description of man that he was made in the image of Deity.” What powers are men missing which need to be restored? What comprises the whole dignity of manhood? If it is true that the description of man as made in the image of Deity needs to be made true again, what has been lost?
  • We are warned to be opposed to both political and religious tyranny. What can make politics and religion tyrannical?
  • Explain the symbolism of the double-headed eagle.
  • What are man’s best weapons to ensure moral victory over vice?
  • The 30th degree summarizes the teachings of the Council of Kadosh. What are these overall themes and instructions?
  • The mystical ladder is the central symbol of this degree. What do the two supports of the ladder represent? One side are the seven liberal arts, the other seven Kabalistic steps representing virtues necessary to attain perfection. This suggests two paths to perfection. What do these two paths represent? The ladder also represents an ascent as in the Fellowcraft degree. What does this ascent mean and once we have made the ascent what keeps us from falling back?
  • The hardest duty you will ever be called upon to perform is to allow another to express an opinion or belief you believe to be false, wrong or even dangerous. Laws often require us to do things contrary to our political, religious or medical beliefs. Explore the concept of tyranny and law.

Looking forward to an interesting and rewarding session,

Ill. Harry Eisenberg, 33°