The Thirty-Third Degree and the Skull Oath

The Prologue to The Lost Symbol (available online) is full of melodramatic touches. The narrator is not named in the Prologue, but in Chapter 2 he is revealed as a villain who calls himself "Mal'ach," the Hebrew word for 'angel' or 'messenger.' In the Prologue, Mal'ach goes through a Masonic ceremony of initiation, which we learn in Chapter 2 is the 33rd degree, the final degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.) And, in the course of the ceremony, Mal'ach is given wine to drink--from a real human skull. In the ceremony, he states takes an oath that says, in part:

"May this wine I now drink become a deadly poison to me ... should I ever knowingly or willfully violate my oath."

Does anything like this really happen in the Thirty-Third Degree ritual? That is, does anyone (a) drink from a real human skull, (b) with an oath that wishes death on themselves?


No.

Although I have only received the 32nd degree of the Scottish Rite, I can tell you with a great deal of confidence that what you read in the Prologue to The Lost Symbol is not an accurate depiction of the 33rd degree.

"But how could Dan Brown do that?" you might ask. After all, in the front of his book, he specifically says that "all rituals ... in this novel are real."


Yes, he does say that--but we need to be careful how we understand that statement. Let me explain.


Over a century ago, a renegade Masonic group did indeed have its candidates drink wine from a human skull. This was the Cerneau group, a renegade form of the Scottish Rite. Albert Pike (head of the legitimate Scottish Rite in the Southern Jurisdiction in the late 19th century) did his very best to discourage the practices of the Cerneau group. However, the Cerneau group was powerful, especially in New York City.



Why do I call them "renegade"? Because the Cerneau Supreme Council was never properly chartered; it was essentially the creation of a group of guys who simply decided to have a Masonic group, and took on the mantle of the Scottish Rite, without bothering to have the actual Scottish Rite authorities give them their permission. This would be like folks in, say, New Milford, Connecticut, deciding to have their own alternative U.S. federal government. I once lived in New Milford; it's a lovely little town. But having some people simply designate it as the seat of the U.S. government does not make it so.

As part of the Cernau ritual of the 33rd degree, a human skeleton was used, as well as a human skull. During the Cernau ritual of the 33rd degree, the candidate for the degree states the following (with material in parentheses indicating actions):

I furthermore solemnly swear that I will hold true allegiance to the Supreme Council of the United States of America, its territories and dependencies. And that I will never acknowledge any body or bodies of men as belonging to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, claiming to be such, except such as hold allegiance to this Supreme Council, or those who recognize this Council. To all these I do most solemnly swear, calling upon the Most High God to ratify my oath.

And should I knowingly or willfully violate the same, may this wine I now drink, become a deadly poison to me, as the hemlock juice drank by Socrates. (Drinks wine out of skull.) And may these cold arms forever encircle me. Amen. (Skeleton's arms enfold him.)

(This oath, and the illustration above, are found on p. 470 of Volume 2 of John Blanchard's book, Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated, originally published 1887-1888. A reprint edition of this book is available from Kessinger Publishing.)



This is the ritual that Dan Brown is showing in the Prologue to The Lost Symbol. Thus, Dan Brown took a ritual from a 19th century renegade Masonic group, an alternative "Scottish Rite," and portrayed it as the ritual of the legitimate Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction in the 21st century. It's a colorful ritual, to be sure. As Dan Brown claims, it is even a "real" ritual--just not the real ritual of the group that he shows in the book. What you see in the Prologue is not an accurate reflection of the Masonic group who is supposed to be conveying this degree.


Use of the Skull in Masonic Symbolism

The skull is a potent and obvious symbol of human mortality. As such, it appears in a number of Masonic degrees, in some way or another. The intent in these degrees is neither to threaten the candidate (as is the case in the ceremony shown in the Prologue), nor to celebrate death, nor to mock it. The intent, rather, is to be a forceful reminder to the candidate for initiation that life is short, that one's relatively brief life must be used well, and that one should focus on the important things in life, rather than the superficial. This is a respectful and appropriate use of a symbol of mortality.

Conclusion

I'll have much more to say about Masonic ritual, legitimate and otherwise, in my forthcoming book, Discovering The Lost Symbol: The Mind of Dan Brown and the Truth About the Freemasons (agents' and publishers' inquiries invited).

A New Name for This Blog

With the release of the Prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol in the media, and with the publication of the novel itself imminent, it seems wise at this moment to shift the emphasis of this blog from a consideration of the clues issued by Doubleday to a consideration of the novel itself. Thus, I have renamed the blog, "Discovering The Lost Symbol: The Blog." I specifically add the last two words of subtitle to distinguish this from my forthcoming book, Discovering The Lost Symbol: The Mind of Dan Brown and the Truth About the Freemasons. (Agents' and publishers' inquiries are welcome.)

I anticipate keeping up this blog for at least a few months, as I address the many issues in the book that call out for illumination and clarification. Stay tuned.

The New York Times Book Review of The Lost Symbol -- Online Now!

Janet Maslin, one of the book reviewers for the daily (Monday through Saturday) edition of The New York Times, has just posted her review of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Although her review will appear on page C1 (the first page of the Arts section) of tomorrow's (Monday's) print edition, you can read the article online on the website of the Times, here.

Maslin's piece is not the very first book review published in the world; that particular honor belongs to May Grethe Lerum in the Norwegian paper VG, as I mentioned in an earlier post. However, Maslin's review has many pleasures to enjoy -- not the least of which is that Maslin, who has several books to her credit, is a writer's writer, and a dream to read.

Enjoy.

And, if this entices you to read the print edition of The New York Times -- one of the finest newspapers on the planet -- well, that would be just fine, too.

The Prologue of The Lost Symbol and the Thirty-Third Degree

Today (Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009), Parade Magazine (an insert in many American newspapers, such as the New York Post) published the Prologue to Dan Brown's forthcoming novel, The Lost Symbol. The Prologue is also online, here, along with Chapter 1. (This publication occurs with Brown's blessing. The magazine also carries an interview with Brown--always a rare occurence.)

Readers of the Prologue must be stunned. The Prologue describes a ceremony of initiation into the Third Degree of Freemasonry, full of dramatic imagery. However, even Masonic readers must be stunned, because there are some interesting differences between the ceremony described in the Prologue and the ceremony with which most of us Freemasons are familiar.

In addition, the Prologue describes the ceremony as taking place at the Temple Room (pictured above) of the House of the Temple, the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, an impressive site in Washington, DC. (Hey, folks, if you get to DC, take the free tour! Until then, you can take an online virtual tour.)

What degree is Dan Brown trying to show here? The two basic choices are the Third Degree, and the Thirty-Third Degree. Let's consider each possibility.

What Kind of Third Degree Is This?

Some of the language of the Prologue suggests that this is supposed to be the Third or Master Mason degree, the last of the three foundational degrees of basic Freemasonry.

• The unnamed narrator of the Prologue (whom we learn in Chapter 2 is the villain Mal'akh) specifically mentions that he his journey "had begun at the first degree." The symbolic journey of the Mason begins at the first degree, and, in a sense, ends at the third. Other degrees are elaborations on that journey, or new journeys altogether.
• The narrator talks about special ritual clothing, suggestive of the first three degrees of Masonry, and then says "Tonight, however, like the brethren bearing witness, he was dressed as a master." This suggest the third degree, again, although the candidate does not dress as a Master Mason until after taking the ritual oath of the Third Degree.

Overall, this does seem a bit odd. Beyond that, since when does one receive the Third Degree in the Scottish Rite House of the Temple? And what is up with the whole business of drinking from a skull?

I must admit that at first I was confused about this issue. I thought that perhaps the Prologue was referring to a form of the First Degree that is administered under the somewhat different format of the Scottish Rite, very rarely, although it can be observed in New Orleans. It was only after Chapter 2 was released through the British paper The Mail that I understood that what I was seeing here was a version of the Thirty-Third degree. (I cannot supply a link to The Mail at present.)

So let's go into the Thirty-Third degree.

The Thirty-Third Degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

Let me state at the outset that I address the whole drink-from-a-skull thing in a separate post. Here, I'm just dealing with the issue: What is the 33rd degree? To do that, I need to discuss the degree structure of Freemasonry--which involves correcting some widely held inaccuracies about Freemasonry.

The Degree Structure of Freemasonry

Freemasonry is built around ceremonies of initiation, ceremonies known in Masonry as "degrees." There are three foundational degrees in Freemasonry, the First Degree (Entered Apprentice), the Second Degree (Fellow Craft), and the Third Degree (Master Mason). One is never more a Mason than when one is a Master Mason, a brother of the Third Degree.

There are a variety of Masonic organizations that offer further collections of degrees to enhance the Masonic experience. Some of these offer but one or two additional degrees. The York Rite offers ten. The Scottish Rite offers 29 additional degrees to the Master Mason, the Fourth through the Thirty-Second Degree. I am proud to say that I am both a York Rite Freemason (holding the degree of Knight Templar) and a Scottish Rite Freemason, of the Southern Jurisdiction (holding the 32nd degree). (There is also a Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite in the U.S., with different rituals. Washington, DC, where The Lost Symbol is set, is in the territory of the Southern Jurisdiction, so I'll focus a bit more on the Southern Jurisdiction.) We'll get to the Thirty-Third Degree in a minute.

The important thing to understand here is that Freemasonry is not like a thermometer, running from the First to the Thirty-Third Degree. Rather, it is like a wagon wheel, with the basic or Blue Lodge and its first three degrees as the all-important hub, and other Masonic organizations--like the Scottish Rite--as spokes offering different experiences.

The Thirty-Third Degree and the Scottish Rite

Masons who have shown a great deal of devotion to Freemasonry in general, and the Scottish Rite in particular, over the course of many years, may be invited to receive the 33rd and final degree of the Scottish Rite. It is important to understand what this is, and what it is not.

• The 33rd degree is the highest degree of the Scottish Rite alone. It is not "the highest degree of Freemasonry." That status is actually held by the Third Degree, the Master Mason degree. The Scottish Rite is one "appendant organization" among many that are available to Master Masons. Each of these has its own "highest degree" that is only the 'highest' with respect to that group. For example, I am also a member of the York Rite, and I hold the highest degree within this group, the Knight Templar degree. But this is only the highest degree for the group known as the Commandery within the York Rite Masons; there are even subgroups within the York Rite for which other degrees are the "highest."
• The 33rd degree is a real ritual initiation. However, it is reserved for a small number of Scottish Rite Masons who have shown real devotion to their Masonic work over the course of many years.
• A very small group of 33rd degree Masons -- thirty-three of them, to be precise -- comprise the Supreme Council, or governing body of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. They rule the Rite, but they do not rule the world. Nor do they run conspiracies from the House of the Temple to try to run the world.

The ceremony shown in the Prologue of The Lost Symbol is supposed to be an initiation ceremony for the Thirty-Third Degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. However, there are several inaccuracies here.

For one, the 33rd degree is rarely, if ever, conferred upon a single individual, or in the House of the Temple! The House of the Temple is used to govern the Rite; the Temple Room is where the Supreme Council meets. The 33rd Degree is conferred upon a large number of candidates at one time, drawn from all across the Southern Jurisdiction, usually at a separate facility that is used for ritual initiations, the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, DC. In fact, there will be such an initiation on Tuesday, October 6, 2009--something publicly announced in the pages of the Scottish Rite Journal, the largest-circulation Masonic magazine in the United States (see page 3 of the September-October 2009 issue). The publicly available online announcement is here.

There are other inaccuracies. My basic point is two-fold:

1. Freemasonry in general, and the Scottish Rite in particular, are not really what one would call a secret society. Secret societies typically deny their very existence. By contrast, the initiation into the 33rd and final degree of Scottish Rite Masonry is a matter of public record. The list of individuals made into 33rd Degree Masons is publicly available from the Scottish Rite.
2. There is a technical word for what Dan Brown is writing: fiction. Don't expect to come away from The Lost Symbol with a technically correct understanding of Freemasonry. Enjoy the ride, and if you do happen to learn something, be grateful.

In my blog post on Freemasonry, I give a number of resources regarding places where one might find reliable information about Freemasonry. Enjoy.

The New York Post Interviews Mark Koltko-Rivera About Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by telephone by Ms. Annie Karni of the New York Post (a major newspaper in New York City founded in the early 19th century by Alexander Hamilton, an American Founding Father and the subject of Clue #36). The article recounting the interview appears on page 3 of today's (Sunday, September 13) edition of the Post. The online version of the article (somewhat edited from the print version) appears here.

Much of the article involves my predictions regarding the kinds of conspiracies and other elements that I think will appear in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Those who have read this blog over the last two months will recognize my references to many of the Doubleday clues that I have discussed in the blog.

Enjoy!

Yes, I Really Think May Grethe Lerum's Got An Advance Copy of The Lost Symbol

In a post to this blog yesterday, I reported that a fan of this blog had contacted me to say that a book review of The Lost Symbol had been published in Norway in advance of the novel's publication. (You can read the post, with a link to the book review, in English and Norwegian, here.)

I can now say that the fan who informed me of this was the author of the book review, May Grethe Lerum (pictured). There has been a great deal of discussion in the comment section of my earlier post regarding the legitimacy of Ms. Lerum's claim. I can say the following:

• Ms. Lerum has supplied me with scans of the title page and copyright page of the book. (The scans are for my eyes only and I am forbidden to share them. Don't ask.) Either she is an accomplished forger (or knows one), which I doubt, or she really has the book.
• Ms. Lerum has posted her scan of the copyright page on her blog, which is available here.
• Ms. Lerum repeatedly expressed to me her concern that she did not wish to ruin the reading public's pleasure regarding the book. I believe that this explains why she was so vague in her review, and why she was so sparing in her details of the book's contents.
• I have no explanations for many other items: the discrepancy noted in the comments to the previous blog post regarding the train station; why the image is reversed above; why Ms. Lerum has creepy looking mice on her blog.
• On balance, I'd say she has the book. This would imply that her review (for which, see my previous post) is accurate in its synopsis of the novel.

Exclusive! Dan Brown's Novel, Reviewed in Norway!

You heard it here first.

Okay, so Amazon has its copies of The Lost Symbol behind double-locked fences in a warehouse. Okay, so, allegedly, Doubleday's teams of translators are placed in windowless rooms without Internet access. There's one thing they forgot about:

The book reviewers.

May Grethe Lerum has published a review of The Lost Symbol in VG, Norway's largest newspaper. You can read it in the original Norwegian here. The Google translation into English -- available here -- is not perfect, but it is at least largely intelligible, and good for endless fun; I love the way that it translates the review as saying that The Lost Symbol is "a luminous bastard of a suspense story." (I hope someone says that about one of my novels some day.)

Lerum's review is respectful, in that it does not give away major plot points. We do, however, learn the following:

• The novel revolves around Robert Landon's attempt to save his beloved mentor, Peter Solomon. (So that's where "The Solomon Key" comes in.)


• As in The Da Vinci Code, there is an important truth that mankind must learn, and a sicko pain-loving enemy, "with a hidden past and ... many faces" who must be dealt with.


• Freemasonry is prominently featured in the novel, and it looks as if the Masons are the good guys.


• In the Dan Brown universe, Freemasonry includes such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Albrecht Durer.


• Famous physicists from history make appearances, including Isaac Newton, Erwin Schrodinger, and Neils Bohr.


• The reviewer hints at a religious outlook in the novel to the effect that no religion has a monopoly on the truth.

So, there's enough here to really whet one's appetite for the book, and yet not so much that it will spoil the experience of reading it.

Many thanks to the informant who notified me about this review.