DEITIES AND WORSHIP Contained in the ALBERT PIKE 1872 19 in THE STA3STDABJ3 PRINTINO CO. Louisville CopyrigU, 1930, by The Supreme Council, 33, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America PREFACE. It. is quite uncertain, now that I have this book finished, whether I shall ever care to publish it. It was not commenced for that purpose and it may always remain a monotype, in manuscript. For it has been written as a study, and not as a teaching for myself and not for others. It is not at all the fruit of a meditated purpose, and was not commenced as a diagnosis of the Deities of the Veda, an attempt to discover the distinctive personality and individuality of each, which it afterwards became, and the fruits of itself to myself have been sufficient to reward me abundantly for the labour it has cost. Nothing has ever so much interested me, as this endeavour to penetrate into the adyta of the ancient Aryan thought, to discover what things, principles or phenomena our remote ancestors worshipped as Gods, what Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, the Agvins, Vayu, Vishnu, SavitJfi and the others really were, in the conception of the composers of the Vedic hymns. It has had a singular charm for me, this inquiry into the true mean ing of the epithets and phrases, often, in appearance, indiscriminately applied to different Deities, often seemingly inappropriate, and the expres sions of a wild and riotous imagination into the true meaning of names and epithets and phrases that became, literally accepted and misunderstood, the sources, seeds or germs of the legendary myths and many of the Deities of the Grecian mythology and theBrahmanic fables and pantheon. And I have felt the most intense satisfaction in deciphering, as it seemed to me I did, these hieroglyphs of ancient Aryan thought in bringing myself into relation en rapport with these old Poets and Philosophers, under standing them in part, and thinking with them in deciphering their hiero glyphics, infinitely better worth the labour than all that are engraved on the monuments of Egypt and Assyria, and in solving one by one the enigmas contained in their figurative and seemingly extravagant language, whose meaning was only to be discovered by beginning with their simplest notions and conceptions, and making the curious processes of their thought my own trying as it were, to be them, intellectually, and to think their thoughts. Thus I satisfied myself that every one of their Deities had for them a perfectly distinct and dear personality and individuality that their ideas were not in the least vague, incoherent or confused that their imagination was perfectly - ell-regulated, and that every epithet and phrase was logically appropriate and correct. So also, upon a partial examination, I found it to be in the ancient Zarathustrian G tMs, which are, I do not doubt, even older than the Vedic hymns. I found in both, the most profound philosophic or metaphysical ideas, which those of every philosophy and religion have merely developed and that, so far from being Barbarians or Savages, the old Aryan herdsmen and husbandmen, in the Indus country under the Himalayan Mountains, on the rivers of Bactria, and, long before, on the Scythic Steppes where they originated, were men of singularly clear and acute intellects, profound thought and an infinite reverence of thebeings whom they worshipped. The inquiry has opened to me an entirely new chapter of the history of human thought, and given me an infinitely higher conception of the Aryan intellect...

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1874 Edition.

This is Albert Pikes' volume of 'lectures' on the esoteric roots of Freemasonry, specifically the 32-degree Scottish Rite. Until 1964, this book was given to every Mason completing the 14th degree in the Southern jurisdiction of the US Scottish Rite Freemasons. Masonic lectures are standard oral presentations given during initiation to a new degree. Lectures provide background material for initiates and the discuss duties of the degree in general terms. Pike states right off that half of the text is copied from other works. Unfortunately none of these quotes are properly cited, and in most cases it is only a shift in style which allows us to identify a quote. There are also lapses of fact and logic. So it would be a mistake to use this work as an authoritative source without additional research and critical thinking. That said, Morals and Dogma is a huge, rambling treasure-house of esoteric data, particularly on the Kabalah and ancient Mystery religions. Whether you just browse these pages or study it from one end to the other, this is a must-read book for anyone looking for long-lost knowledge.

2011 Reprint of 1906 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Fully describes the first three degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Pike is best known for his major work, "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry," originally published in 1871. "Morals and Dogma' was traditionally given to the candidate upon his receipt of the 14th degree of the Scottish Rite. This practice was stopped in 1974. "Morals and Dogma" has not been given to candidates since 1974. A classic work on the subject.

If you're a Thirty-second Degree Mason you may THINK that you've received all the Scottish Rite degrees, but chances are you haven't. Why? Unknown to most people, Albert Pike also wrote Scottish Rite rituals for the three Blue Lodge Degrees. In Pike's words, these Scottish Rite Blue Lodge rituals were "to be studied and understood before investiture with the fourth degree. For, without it, the system of that Rite is incomplete, and even like a fabric without foundation." This rare reprint includes the, openings, closings and rituals of the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees according to the Pike workings of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. More importantly it contains the complete SECRET WORK. These rituals are MUCH MORE ESOTERIC and differ significantly from the Webb-form (York Rite) Blue Lodge rituals commonly used in the United States, and the book has several interesting illustrations (including Hiram's jewel-a talisman ). Also included is the "Table Lodge" ceremony. Highly recommended. Very scarce

THIS 44 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Lectures of the Arya, by Albert Pike. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564591824.

Pike knew that our language, philosophy, religions, are traceable to the Aryans, Indo and Irano, and he has presented to our view, through the Lectures, the emigration and last division of the race, their country, character and manners, their language, their deities, and legends. "Of the work, Pike himself said: 'Oldest literary monuments and records of human thought in the world and as the source and origin of the great philosophical doctrines of the world, but also, and far more, because they make known to us a sublime theosophy and purely philosophic faith believed in and understood by men of our own blood and lineage at a very remote period when they dwelt near the cradle of the race.

THIS 38 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Lectures of the Arya, by Albert Pike. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564591824.

THIS 24 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Reprints of Old Rituals, by Albert Pike. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564599833.

There are other things that you should hear said now, and without which you will not be fully in possession of this degree... You will find them in the Legenda... (quote from the 26th degree, AASR, SMJ). This book contains ALL of the "Legenda" and "Readings" written for members of the Scottish Rite to supplement the ritualistic instruction. This anthology is similar, in some respects, to Pike's Lectures on Masonic Symbolism, but was considered REQUIRED READING by Pike himself. No Mason can truly understand the Scottish Rite degrees without reading this essential work.