Many have heard of the Thirty-third Degree and the Scottish Rite, but lesser known is that it sprung from an equally important Masonic system. Created by the Frenchman Stephen Morin in the 1760s, the 25-degree system known as the "Order of the Royal Secret" used many of the most important Masonic degrees of the time. With its genesis in the French Caribbean, by 1764 these "high degrees" were established in New Orleans, and by 1767 they were brought to Albany, New York. Ultimately, its rituals were absorbed into the Scottish Rite at its creation in 1801. This original work, copied from a rare manuscript, provides the complete original system, from 4° Secret Master, to 25° Prince of the Royal Secret. Also included are the detached degrees of Select Master of 27°, Knight of the Royal Arch, and Grand Master Ecose, which appeared at the back of the original manuscript.

Who were Tubalcain, Aholiab and Zabud and what is their significance for the Freemason? There is a general interest in the rituals of Freemasonry, generated in part by the apparently obscure references they contain. This is the only book that offers a guide to the stories used in Masonic ritual and their links to the Bible and Christianity. The new Mason is directed to a 'serious contemplation of the Volume of the Sacred Law' — but that is easier said than done without a grounding in the Scriptures, something that fewer and fewer people have. The historical and geographical setting of the Bible is explained here, making such contemplation easier for Mason and non-Mason alike. Mike Neville has systematically cross-referenced the most influential Chapters of the Bible to the ceremonies. It is his intention to get Freemasons to understand the ritual — not just to memorise and regurgitate — as well as to elucidate for the non-Mason. Sacred Secrets will aid the clergy, theologians and any other person interested in Freemasonry to see the links between ritual and scripture.

An Instructional (Freemasonry) manual for candidates for the masonic 32nd degree of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite, titled Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret. The manual covers a 26-week course of instruction on topics/degrees leading to the advancement to the 32nd degree.

Many people are curious about the existence of secret societies which claim to hold arcane religious or esoteric knowledge and pass it down through the generations via selected adepts. Classic Masonic writers including William Preston, Robert Gould, JSM Ward, AE Waite and WL Wilmshurst have written about secret traditions connected to the Temple of Sion. Each has different ideas about how mystical knowledge came into Freemasonry. Some say that the Charter of Larmenius reveals an underground line of Knight Templar Grand Masters who survived down to the nineteenth century. All agree there is a Secret Lodge or House of Adepts who continue to teach "true" knowledge of the ancient mysteries and that The Craft transmits beliefs linked to the Earls of Rosslyn, the Knights Templar, and Lodge Mother Kilwinning. Masonic expert Robert Lomas has collected together this thread of belief from old Masonic writers and rewritten it in modern English to make the ideas accessible to modern readers.

P.D. Newman's bold and daring theory provides a radical interpretation of Masonic symbolism. In the tradition of Wasson, Hofmann and Ruck, in ""The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries"" (1978), and Heinrich's ""Strange Fruit: Alchemy, Religion, and Magical Foods"" (1995), Newman suggests that practical psychoactive pharmacology, rather than philosophy, lies concealed in the root of some of our allegories and mysteries. Admitting to being more than a mere theoretician, Newman draws from his own personal experiences, and a wide range of sources, in presenting his theory in a logical manner, which merits consideration. - Arturo De Hoyos, 33* Grand Archivist and Grand Historian Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction