Over the years, there have been published several charts or plans of the degrees and orders of Freemasonry. Masonic editions of the Bible, presented to newly raised members, often include such a chart. There is also one that overlays a plan over an image of the square and compasses. Others will follow the same general design. Perhaps the best-known, and most widely reprinted, is one from Life magazine 1 which depicts the grades or degrees as a staircase. What all these charts do is create the erroneous impression that regular Freemasonry is composed of many degrees and that either the 33° of the Scottish Rite or the Shrine is somehow pre-eminent or superior. It is claimed as an Ancient Landmark of Freemasonry that there are but three degrees in Freemasonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch. Freemasons know that this "landmark" only dates from the union of the Grand Lodges of England in 1813, 2 but—with rare exception such as the Swedish Rite—the convention holds that a regular and recognized Grand Lodge of freemasons only recognizes these three degrees as "pure Antient Masonry" and holds itself sovereign and independent of any self-styled body conferring or awarding other degrees. That said, Craft Freemasonry in North America has developed a close relationship with the Royal Arch and Scottish Rite. These, and other bodies, confer additional—not higher—degrees. Grand Lodges will also recognize a number of organizations that practice and profess the same ideals and beliefs as Freemasonry. These organizations are generally termed Appendent Bodies or Bodies in Amity, although they have also been termed Concordant. Sometimes they will be called Auxiliary Bodies. The following list is not definitive, nor does it claim to represent the policies of any or all Grand Lodges. MASONIC FAMILY MASONIC FAMILY LINKS MASONIC ORDERS & DEGREES CANADIAN ORDERS & DEGREES MASONIC CHARTS . “In the United States, various terms have been applied to the high degrees, such as appendant, appurtenant, concordant, supplementary, allied, associated, and finally, one that is descriptive but inconvenient: degrees for which the degree of Master Mason is a prerequisite. Some oppose the term high degrees, because they dislike the implication that the Master’s degree is not the highest, but the name is simple and convenient and its long usage would seem to preclude any possibility of avoiding it.” Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia, Henry Wilson Coil. Richmond, Virginia : Macoy Publishing, Revised 1995. p. 312.

Masonic orders and degrees The structure of Freemasonry can often appear confusing to the non-mason for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Freemasonry has evolved from a two-degree system to a three-degree system and then, as it spread from England into Europe and North America, it either evolved into various multi-grade systems or else recognized other organizations conferring degrees and imparting lessons which were believed to compliment or supplement the first three. Whilst members of the philanthropic club, the Shrine, may style themselves "Shrine Masons", and members of the Scottish Rite will call themselves "Scottish Rite Masons", it is only the fact that they have received the first three degrees, and continue to be members of a Craft lodge, that permits them to call themselves freemasons. Adding to the confusion, in North America there are three Scottish Rite bodies, the Canadian Jurisdiction, Southern Jurisdiction and the Northern Jurisdiction, which have slightly different titles for their degrees. In South America and Mexico the Grand Lodges will have absorbed variations of either the York or Scottish Rite degrees into their systems and often there will be two or more Grand Lodges in one geographical jurisdiction—generally one styled a Grand Lodge and the other a Grand Orient—each conferring a different set of degrees. In Europe, what they term the Scottish Rite more closely resembles various eighteenth century European rites than it does the North American model. To complete the confusion, historically in the United Kingdom there were some lodges working what was once termed the York Rite which included the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. The numerous degrees and orders of the York or American Rite, that is those of the Chapter, Council and the Temple, exist in the United Kingdom, but are organized quite differently than in Canada and the United States. For example, the Mark Master degree is conferred by either lodges or Royal Arch Chapters in Scotland and in lodges of Mark Master Masons in England. Craft Freemasonry 1° Entered Apprentice 2° Fellowcraft 3° Master Mason Concordant or Appendant Bodies York Rite Royal Arch Masons Mark Master Virtual Past Master Most Excellent Master Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch Council of Royal and Select Masters (Cryptic Rite) Royal Master Select Master Super Excellent Master Royal Ark Mariner Preceptory of Knights Templar Illustrious Order of the Red Cross Order of Saint Paul Order of Saint John or Malta Order of the Knights Templar The Scottish Rite organisation is a little different in Canada, as are the Capitular and Cryptic systems (often mislabeled, as above, as the York Rite), while the Allied Masonic Degrees is quite different. The Templar system is about the same in USA and Canada. The Province/State/National organisations are rather different between the two countries and more different than England, Scotland and Ireland. One interesting feature of Ireland is that one must be a Knight Templar for seven years before one can be invited to join the AASR. In England one must be a professing Christian to join the AASR where for simplicity the whole 4-18 is just called the Rose Croix. For information on how these degrees are administered in your jurisdiction, contact your local Grand Lodge. Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection 4° Secret Master 5° Perfect Master 6° Confidential [Intimate] Secretary 7° Provost and Judge 8° Intendent of the Building 9° Elu, or Elected Knight, of the Nine 10° Illustrious Elect or Elu of the Fifteen 11° Sublime Knight Elect, or Elu, of the Twelve 12° [Grand] Master Architect 13° Knight of the Ninth Arch, or Royal Arch of Solomon 14° Grand Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason, or Perfect Elu Chapter of Rose Croix 15° Knight of the Sword [of the East] 16° Prince of Jerusalem 17° Knight of the East and West 18° Knight [Prince] Rose Croix Council of Kadosh 19° [Grand] Pontiff 20° [Grand] Master of Symbolic Lodges 21° Noachite or Prussian Knight 22° Knight of the Royal Axe 23° Chief of the Tabernacle 24° Prince of the Tabernacle 25° Knight of the Brazen Serpent 26° Prince of Mercy 27° Knight Commander of the Temple 28° Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept 29° Grand Scottish Knight of St. Andrew 30° Knight Kadosh Consistory of Sublime Princes 31° Inspector Inquisitor Commander 32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret Supreme Council 33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General Appendant or Adoptive Bodies Women’s Orders Amaranth Order of the Eastern Star Daughters of the Nile White Shrine Youth Orders De Molay Job’s Daughters Rainbow Girls Masonic Clubs Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine Grottoes of North America High Twelvians National Sojourners Sciots Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia Tall Ceders of Lebanon Bodies in Amity, also termed Appendant Royal Order of Scotland Heredom Rosy Cross Red Cross of Constantine Knight of Rome Knight of the Red Cross of Constantine Knight of the Holy Sepulchre Knight of St John the Evangelist Secret Monitor of Canada or Brotherhood of David and Jonathan Induction Princes Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees Excellent Master Architect Grand Architect, Superintendent, Masters of Tyre St. Lawrence the Martyr Knight of Constantinople Grand Tyler of Solomon Ye Antient Order of Corks Masonic Order of the Bath Royal Order of the Red Branch of Eri (additional six degrees) 1. "The Structure of Freemasonry." Life. Vol. 41, No. 15. October 8, 1956. Time Inc., Chicago. [from a painting by Everett Henry] printed size: 21" x 14". 2. The Articles of Union were signed on November 25, 1813 by the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Kent, and confirmed on December 27, 1813 prior to the constitution of the United Grand Lodge of England: Article II "...declared and pronounced that pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch."

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