Transcripts, Chapter Markers and Show Notes for all episodes are available from our website - WayOfTheHermit.com.

In this episode, Gene and David first discuss the Degree Ritual, a ceremony with roots tracing back to the Crusaders' interactions with the Druze, a mystical Islamic sect from Lebanon. This ritual, set in the Middle Ages, involves a candidate assuming the role of a Prussian Knight, undergoing a transformative journey through two symbolic apartments. The first apartment, representing a carpenter's workshop on Mount Lebanon, hosts an induction ceremony emphasizing the dignity of labor and the rejection of idleness. The candidate is introduced to the College of Artificers, an ancient group of artisans with connections to Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite, suggesting a lineage of knowledge and craftsmanship dating back to Rome around 700 B.C.

The second apartment in the Ritual of the Degree symbolizes the Council of the Round Table, where the candidate learns about the College's ties to the construction of Solomon's Temple, highlighting the Druze's central role in the shared mysteries of Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre. The working tools of the Degree - the Saw, Plane, and Ax - serve as metaphors for patience, equality, and civilization, respectively.

The purpose of the Degree is to instill an appreciation for work as a noble, humanizing force, essential for personal and societal advancement. The discussion also covers the Degree Lecture's emphasis on work as worship, the nobility of labor, and the lifelong duty to contribute meaningfully to the world, encapsulating the Masonic valorization of industriousness and moral integrity.

This series on the Scottish Rite uses the following primary sources (which you are encouraged to read as well):

• Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition
• Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide
• A Bridge to Light

Images and Diagrams:

• Knight Royal Axe

Overview:

• 01:14 Introduction
• 01:33 The Degree Ritual
• 08:56 Purpose of the Degree
• 09:40 Morals and Dogma
• 10:37 Work is Noble
• 14:51 Laborare est Orare, “Work is Worship”
• 17:19 Duty is With Us Always
• 19:45 Industry Lies at the Foundation of Human Improvement
• 24:45 The Poor Have Made Many Great Achievements
• 28:04 Masonry Ennobles Common Life
• 29:15 The Cedars of Lebanon
• 30:09 The Royal Ax
• 32:55 The Workshop
• 33:22 The Round Table
• 33:51 Conclusions

Links:

• Druze (Wikipedia)
• Sons of Noah (Wikipedia)
• Aholiab (Wikipedia)
• Bezalel (Wikipedia)
• Ezra (Wikipedia)
• Nehemiah (Wikipedia)
• The Matrix Reloaded - The Architect Scene Part 1 (YouTube)
• Oath of the Abyss (Hermetic.com)