The Egyptian Masonry Of

Cagliostro

Arthur Edward Waite

Iv
THE EGYPTIAN MASONRY OF CAGLIOSTRO
Alternative judgments on the Grand CophtVoice of the Holy Tribunal
Expert opinion on his Rn-xA possibility which lies behind itRag Fair of
Magical MasonryA general 4ology for Minor RITES in respect of their
sincerityThe mythical George CoftonThe hand of Cagliostro in the
GRADESPoints in defence of EGYPTIAN MAsoz.n~yThe Tisar~ DEGREES
of the RrraAn Androgynous SystemThe L.egend of Elias and Enoch
An impartial consideration of the ascriptionComparison with other
content of the Ga.u~asQualifications of CandidatesA System of THREE
DEGREESThe Neophyte in EGYPTIAN MAsONRYIn the GRADES OF ADOPTIONThe COMPANION Or FELLOW CRAFrThe Egyptian MASTERY
Conclusion on this System.
LIKE Abraham CowleyMaster of many measuresthe alleged Giuseppe
Alessandro Balsamowho was Master of many Putative Mysteries
flamed the comet of a season; and as somewhere in the world of
literature there may be still a few who consider that Co~vley was really

great in the royal art of verse, so in the occult circles, and such curious
Houses of Life, there are still some who believe that the self-styled Count
Cagliostro 2whatsoever may have been his true namewas one of those
great Adepts who attained to be more than human. It matters little
that the voice of history has been held to have risen up against him with
a great dossier of records: when these are inconvenient to deal with, they
are permitted to sink out of sight. It matters much more, however, that
the Holy Inquisition pronounced against him and inspired the Italian
life by which he is perhaps more fully known to infamy than by any
other single document. That judgment and that motived memorial are
The identity of this Sicilian impostor with him who was to appear as Grand
Master of an EGYPTIAN RITE has been challengedas we have seenby Mr
W. H. Trowbridge in CAGUOSTRO, the Splendour and Misery of a Master of Magic,
1910.

As, for example, Marc Haven, in La MAITRE INcoIenJ.

407

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THE SECRET TRADITION IN FREEMASONRY

sometimes held sufficient by their bare fact to exonerate him, not only
before any tribunal of secretand indicible arts, and any occult circle, but also
at the bar of unattached impartial research, before which the witnesses are
liable to be themselves arraigned. The position is problematical and who
shall decide thereon? If the Sacred Office is worse antecedently and
worse also in its findings than Occult Tribunals, the rulings of these
are like their science a thing of vanity which deserves to be revoked
beforehand in most cases.
The most temperate and detached statement which can be made on the
general subject is perhaps that the characteristics of those who devised
magical Rrr!s. and Gi~nESCagliostro, Sclirceder and Schrceppfer
were precisely what might be expected from their dedications,1 which
belong, intellectually and spiritually, to the deep purlieus frequented by
zealots and impostors. Masonry on its magical side was allocated to the
second rather than to the first class; there are alternative cases, but for
the most part it was the Rag Fair of intellectual roguery, and the rogues
had every needful knowledge of their subjectwhich means a mere
smattering. It came about in this manner that the purlieus found their
voice. I shall make an exception, as will be seen, regarding the RITE of
Pasqually, who belonged to neither class, and it is partly for want of a
better working classification that his Order must appear in the list of
Magical Inventions. Let me say that it belongs at least to a very high
plane of the subject, for the Secret of this Rite was the ecstasy of
prayer. I do not propose for such reason to appear as its unqualified
apologist; and I ask therefore for the present statement to be regarded as
a point of fact only. Outside the creations of this section, one is inclined
to affirm that there are few, or comparatively few, MASONIC RITES which
are the work of conscious imposture; while even for EGvrrr~iN rVL~SONRY
something remains to be said from another standpoint. Many HIGH
Gn~Dss are trivial and many are also foolish; some offer preposterous
considerations to the rational understanding; and some, which otherwise might hold up certain lights, are confused beyond hope on the issues
of chronology. But among those which a drastic criticism would heave
over among the rubbish there are at least a few which have served a
tolerable purpose. We may say of them what can be said sometimes of
ourselves, and of many like us, in the world of daily life: Do not let us
despise any instrument which God sees fit to use, more especially if it be
ourselves. We also serve, and those above others who do not stand and
wait, though we have heard on other warrants that a certain waiting is not
apart from service.
It is not only the indiscriminate enemies of HIGH GnADE MASoNRY, or
those only who can distinguish in that department between the things
which stand for value and things of no worth whatever, who have spoken
L As regards Cagliostro, they appear at full length in a portrait by Mr
Frank King, one of the latest biographers in England of the Sublime Copht.
It claims to be actuated by a feeling that he calls for lighter treatment than has

been accorded hitherto. The result happens, however, to be pure romance,

incorporating almost every flctiuoua element in past memorials, fortified by reams
of amazing dialogues.

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OF MAGICAL AND KABBALISTICAL DEGREES

409
1 When so doing,
with disdain of Cagliostro and his EG~rr~ RITE.
some have indicated unawares a possibility, at the back of their minds, that
it included elements which may have been not entirely negligible; for
they have taken uncommon pains to point Out that he was not its author,
that he picked up a curious manuscript at a London bookstall and was
furnished thus with material which was worked up later on into the form
of GRADES; or alternatively, that to the discovery in question he owed the
actual RrruAx.s.2 I do not know how or with whom this Legend originated: as it stands, there is no trace of evidence concerning it, and it is
set aside thereforenot that the question signifies vitally in either sense.
It is obvious, on internal evidence, (x) that the Ceremonial was fantastic
in character; (2) that it was almost devoid of Masonic elements; (~) that
it was a product of Cagliostros period and had no trace of antiquity. The
Sicilianif he was a Sicilianwas a person of mean education, nor was
the Count as such a scholar, and it is thus antecedently unlikely that
he should have written the books of the words with his own hand; but
I am of opinion that it was written under him, because it embodies
precisely the kind of materials and the mise en scbze which he wanted;
while apart from this, the last place in which to come across such a
production was London at that period; and this will obtain whether
the alleged manuscript was preserved in archives or hawked in streets.
Having thus disposed of the unknown George Cofton, who is supposed
to have possessed or written the root-matter of the ivork, a second point
which arises is whether EGYPTIAN MASONRY was actually so contemptible
a device as past criticism assumes rather than affirms on evidence. I have
called it fantastic, but not of necessity in the sense of a judgment pronounced against it: the term applies to the bulk of RITUAL procedure
in the Cx~rr and the HIGH GRADES. I have said that it is devoid of
authentic Masonic elements, but the statement obtains equally as to a
great mass of GRADES which are not for that reason without interest along
their own lines. An unbiassed review of the RITuALs should lead us to
conclude that, while apart from living value, they were decorative,
dramatic and withal sufficiently suggestive to have obtained the prominence which they enjoyed for a short period in the jumbled Masonry
of France.
There are various descriptive accounts available, and I have cited one
of them elsewhere. What follows is, however, a summary of information
drawn from other and in fact several sources.3
Those included who had evidently no idea of its UrruAl. content. A notable
erample is Albert G. Mackey, s.v. CAGLIOSTRO, in his ENCYCLOPJEDIA or Fmr~r~so~y. For this American authority EGYrrIAN MASONRY was a grand
scheme of imposture, but he fails even to specify its DEGREES and is so ignorant
of its history that he speaks of E~rrmw LODGES existing in London.
Mr King suggests that the curious manuscript dealt with Kabbalistica!
practices only. Op. cit., p. xo8. But this is mere supposition.
See my Naw ENCYcLOPJED1A or Farm~soNRY, i, 93-99, which compares
at length the content of two chief codices, that in the Library of the Sco~rnsu
Gwm Lorica, and that published in the French Martinist Review, entitled
LINrrIAT1oN, between 1906 and igog.

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THE SECRET TRADITION IN FREEMASONRY

EGYPTIAN MASONRY passed under the CRAFT titles, and it was conferred
upon both sexesapparently in separate Temples. It was intended to
replace the CRAFT, whichex hypothesioffered a vestige only of the
True Mystery and a shadow of the real illumination; but in order to
secure the end more certainly, according to the mind of Cagliostro, the
Masonic qualification was required of his male candidates. The Rectified
ORDER OF THE GOLDEN AND ROSY CROSS, as reformed in 1777, said
substantially the same thing in its variant manner of languagethat
Masonry was a Brotherhood of the appearance of light in the natural
world only, and that the true light was shining in the centre of the Mystic
Cross. This Institution exacted also the Masonic qualification, but did
not initiate womenat least in those departments which preceded and
emerged as a R~Fo~iED RITE.
The imputed founders of EGYPTIAN MASONRY were Enoch and Elias=
Elijah, the most mystical among the Prophets of the Old Alliance, well
chosen for this reason, and more especially as they left nothing in writing,
some reputable apocrypha notwithstanding. Elias connects with the
Tradition of Alchemy, seeing that his rebirth in an artist of that name
was announced by Paracelsus and expected by ardent disciples of the
Sage of Hohenheim. Great things were promised to the City of Hermetic
Triumph when Elias Artists should come. Enoch and the Pillars on
which he perpetuated the kno~vledge of the world before the Flood have
stood up always as beacons on the more external side of the Secret
Tradition.
The ascription which I have mentioned has been placed naturally to
the account against Cagliostro; but I should like to understand in what
sense it is more culpable than any other Legend of the HIGH GRAUES. On
the literal surface, and in that kind of understanding, they were each and
all mendacious; and if one or more of themas I have tried to sheware
to be understood symbolically, and as affirmations of a Secret Tradition
perpetuated in Masonry, I know of no form of the parable which.cateris
paribusis better or more suggestive than the fable concerning the two
Scripture-Prophets.1 The view usually taken depends of course from
the proffered antecedents of Cagliostro, for whom in other respects I am
making no apology. He had no part assuredly in any one of the Holy
Traditions; but the existence or possibility of these has not been present
to the mind ofthe criticism under notice, and I see no reason for condemning the Sicilian illumind in respect of a most patent fiction when
historical theses like that of the RED CRoss OF ROME AND CONSTANTINE
have been suffered to pass unassailedalmost as if the vanity of such
claims went without saying.
The Legendwhatever the verdictgoes on to affirm that Enoch
and Elias instructed the Priesthood of Egypt in their form of Masonic Art;
but I do not find that the line of transmission from these seers of old to
the day of Louis XVI is clearly, or at all, indicated. Cagliostro indeed
pretended to have drunk at many Oriental fountains of wisdom, but there
~ It may be noted, however, that Enoch had figured already in Masonic
traditional literature.

OF MAGICAL AND KABBALISTICAL DEGREES

~ii

is nothing in his history to indicate evidentially that he had even crossed

over from Sicily to the northern coast of Africa. This is perhaps too
clearly accepting his disputed identity with Balsamo. But if we set
the ascription aside, he is without known antecedents and there is utterly
nothing in his career which would justify belief in his own unsupported
story, had it no miraculous elements.
So far in respect of his RITE in its dubious origin. The next point to
establish is that it was magical in character ; but the elements were
exceedingly simple, being confined to a dramatic mise en sc~ne, accompanied by extravagant personal claims. I shall not speak of the debt
which the maker owed to Mesmer, or of the high probability that he
possessed some proportion of that semi-occult power which was spoken
of as Magnetism at the period. It was perhaps from Mesmers method,
rather than from Cagliostros recollection concerning the communication
of Apostolical Succession, that it was his custom to breathe upon his
disciples when they were made EGYPTIAN APPa~rrIcEs. For this purpose
the Neophyte knelt before him, while the fumes of swinging thuribles
entranced his senses. For the rest, the most magical operation which took
place at the Masonic slances was identical with one that was followed by
Dr Dee during several decades of years. This was the induction of
vision in crystals by the mediation of Kelley in the case of the Elizabethan
occult philosopher and in the case of Cagliostro by that of boys or girls
who were in a state of maiden purityaccording to the hypothesis, at
least. There is evidence to shew that the Magus believed in this simple
process and attempted seriously thereby to establish communication with
the prophet Moses. It is on record that the experiment was, however,
always a failure. Now, it is difficult to dabble in the occult artsas the
common spiritist medium knows, among many otherswithout discovering that there are ungauged possibilities in the psychic side of our human
personality; and it is likely enough that Cagliostro may have had sufficient
casual experience in this direction to give him a certain air of seriousness
over his EGYPTIAN MASONRY. He did not exactly know when certain

phenomena might occur spontaneously with his lucids; he hoped that

they would occur always, but he prepared by fraud against failure. This,
however, would mean only that they were instructed how to play their
partto see, if see they might, and to say otherwise that which had been
learned by rote.
By a collation of many casual testimonies drawn from Masonic
sources of the past, and by the history of Cagliostro otherwise, we
learn that he promised his followers both physical and moral
regeneration. He claimed that by the First Matter, when it was
changed into the Philosophical Stone, and by the Acacia, Symbol of
Immortality, they would enter into a state of renewed youth. His pentagram, moreover, on which angels were said to have impressed their
ciphers and seals, would purify and restore his Initiates to that primitive
innocence of which man has been deprived by sin. The qualifications on
1 Waits: op. cit., i, pp. g~, g6.
~ Cf. ibid., p. 96.

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THE SECRET TRADITION IN FREEMASONRY

the part of Candidates were a belief in the Immortality of the Soul and,
as I have intimated, in the case of men, the possession of the C~.pr
DEGREES. The Statutes and Regulations of the ROYAL LODGE 01 WISDOM
TRIUMPHING, being the Mom~ LODGE OF HIGH EGYPTIAN MASONRY

for
East and West,1 specify three Grades as comprised by the system.
These were EGYPTIAN APPRENTICE, EGYPTIAN COMPANION or CRAFrsMAN
and EGYPTIAN MASTER. At the end of his experience the Candidate was
supposedperhaps by the hypothesis of the RITEto have exterminated
vice from his nature, to be acquainted with the True Matter of the Wise,
through intercourse with the Superiors Elect who encompass the throne
of the Great Architect of the Universe. These Intelligences are Seven
Angels who preside over the seven planets; and their names, most of

which are familiar in Ceremonial Magic, were enumerated in the following

sequence: Anael, Angel of the Sun; Michael, Angel of the Moon;
Raphael, who was allocated to Mars; Gabriel, referred to Mercury;
Uriel, the Angel of Jupiter; Zobiachel, attributed to Venus; and
Anachiel, the ruler of Saturn.
In the GRA.nE of Neophytecorresponding to ENTERED APPRENTICE
the Candidate was prepared in a vestibule containing a representation of
the Great Pyramid and the figure of Time guarding a cavern. He was
introduced into the Temple by virtue of his ordinary Masonic titles and
as a seeker for the true Masonry which flourished among the wise of
Egypt. He knelt before Cagliostro, who posed as the Grand Copht,
Founder and Master of the Rrrx in all parts of the globe; and the Master
breathed, as we have seen, upon him. This took place not only amidst
the swinging of censers but the recital of exorcisms calculatedalso ax
hypothesito effect Moral Regeneration. The Postulant was instructed
in seven philosophical operations: (r) in connection with the health and
disease of man; (a) on metals and the medicine thereof; (~) on the use
of occult forces to increase natural heat and that which the alchemists
term the radical humidity of things; (4) on the liquefaction of the solid;

(~)

on the congelation of the liquid; (6) on the mystery of the possible

and impossible; and () on the means of doing good with the utmost
secrecy. Moral Regeneration notwithstanding, the so-called knowledge
of the GRADE dwelt on the physical side of Alchemy, as well as on the
search after God and the examination of Self, all work undertaken being for
the promotion of the Divine Glory. The other subjects recommended for
study during the period of the Novitiate were Natural and Supernatural

Philosophy. Of the second there is no explanation; but Natural

Philosophy was described as the Marriage of the Sun and Moon and
knowledge of the seven metals. The maxim was: Qui agnoscit martem,
cognoscit attainwhich notwithstanding the transmutation of iron into
gold was by no means a favourite attempt on the part of Alchemists. As
It was located at the Orient of Lyons.
I have said elsewhere that the Ga~u,ss of the RrrE, as exhibited in the Lecnares
attached thereto, were purely and simply those of Hermetic Masonry, otherwise aichemical in character. The fact is notable in view of the elementary
Magic found in the ceremonial procedure. Op. cit., pp. 97, g8.
I

OF MAGICAL AND KABBALISTICAL DEGREES

connected with Alchemy, the discourse dwelt upon the First Matter,
which is said to be an Unveiled Mystery for those who are elect of God
and to be possessed by them. It is symbolised by the Masonic Acacia,1
while its mercurial part is denoted by the rough or unhewn stone. It is
this which must suffer the death of Philosophical Putrefaction and then
the Stone of Philosophy is composed therefrom. The Blazing Star
represents Supernatural Philosophy and its form is that of a Heptagram,
signifying the Seven Angels about the Throne of God, who are Intermediaries between God and Man. In correspondence with the divisions
of philosophy, as here stated, the term of the system was dual, being
(x) moral and (2) physical regeneration; but the word moral must
be interpreted rather widely. Divine aid was necessary to the progress of
the Candidate, and he was recommended meditation daily for a space
of three hours.
In the case of Female Apprentices who, if they were not receivedas
I have suggestedin a separate Temple, were initiated alternatively at
special meetings, the wife of Cagliostro, otherwise Countess Lorenza,
in her capacity as Gi~.z.m MIsrREss, said to the Candidate: I breathe
upon you, that the truth which we possess may penetrate your heart and
may germinate therein. So shall it strengthen your spiritual nature
and so confirm you in the faith of your Brothers and Sisters. We constitute you a Daughter of the true Egyptian Adoption, to be recognised as
such by all members of the RrrE and to enjoy the same prerogatives.3
There were, at least by the hypothesis, three years of Novitiate
presumably in both classesbetween the First and Second DEGREE,
during which the Candidate was supposed to put in practice the counsels
of his Reception. The Ceremony of Advancement took place in the
presence of twelve Masters, and the Presiding Officer said: By the
power which I hold from the Grand Copht, Founder of our Order, and by
the Grace of God, I confer upon you the GaADE OF COMPANION and
constitute you a Guardian of the new knowledge which we communicate
in virtue of the sacred names, Hm..Ios, signifying the Sun; MENE, which
referred to the Moon; and TETRAGRAMMATON. The Candidate was made
acquainted with further symbols of the First Matter in the form of Bread
and Wine. He was given Red Wine to drink, and this is a clear issue on
the symbolical side; but it is confused by the further indication that
Adonhiram is also the First Matter and that this must be killed. There is
here a reflection from the system attributed to L. G. de St. Victor, wherein
this name is attributed to the traditional MASTER BUILDER. There are also
analogies with the later GRADES of Memphis, which drew something
therefore from EGIvrIAN MASONRY. There is finally an intimation that
the Sacred Rose gives knowledge of the First Matter. The discourse is
I believe that this interpretation is peculiar to the Rrrz of Cagliostro. But we
have seen that he termed the planet alao a Symbol of Immortality.
Compare Baron Techoudys CATECHISM, as cited on p. 379. It will be seen
that the Blazing Star is the Breath of Divine Life.
This is on the authority of the Italian Lzn, published under the auspices
of the Apostolic Chamber. The word-book of the ADoP~rxvE RITE of Cagliostro
was also printed in LIwIminON, and contains the ADDRESS cited.

THE SECRET TRADITION IN FREEMASONRY

concerned with moral and Spiritual Regeneration, and the Candidate is

414

advised to purify himself within.

It was only in the GRADE OF MASmR that the Dee-like magical aspects
appeared, for it was there that the Dove, being a clairvoyant girl or boy,
was shut up in a Tabernacle and, prior to the introduction of the Candi-

date, was interrogated as to his fitness. This Ceremony was performed

with great reverence, beginning with an invocation addressed to God by
all present, who solicited that the power possessed by man before the F41
might be communicated to the Instrument thus chosen as a mediator
between the Seven Planetary Spirits and the Chief of the Lodge. The
Dove demanded on her or his part the grace to act worthily. The Grand
Copht breathed also upon the child. If the answer were affirmative in
respect of the Candidate, he was brought into the Temple and into the
presence of two Masters, who represented Solomon and the King of
Tyre. They sat upon a single throne, reproducing an arrangement which

we have met with previously. One of them was clothed in white and the
other in blue bordered with gold, while on either side of them were the
names of the Seven Angels. Twelve other Masters were present, and
these were sa]uted as Elect of God. The Candidate was also the symbol
of a Phienix rising from a nest of tire. The procedure of his reception
owed comparatively little to the Culminating DEGREE of the CRAFT. He
renounced all his past life and was directed to prostrate himself on the
ground, with his face laid against it. Prayers were recited over him;
he was raised up, created a Master and decorated with the insignia of the
GRADE. The Dove was interrogated finally to ascertain whether that
which had been done was agreeable to the Divinity. The Obligation of a
Master included blind Obedience as well as perfect secrecy. The discourse
of the GIWE turned again upon the Symbol of the Rose, as representing a
further
type of thethe
First Matter.2 Some additional explanations were
given concerning
two Regenerations which I have described as
constitutingthe term of the System. That which is called moral depended
on prayer and meditation continued for a period of forty days, following a
specific rule. That of the physical kind lasted for the same period, and
it is this which the Cardinal de Rohan is supposed to have undergone, but
without much profit to himself, at the instance of Cagliostro.3
When a woman was made a Mistress, the acting Mistress, or Chief
Officer of the Temple, represented the Queen of Sheba, and she alone
This, however, is of course a foregone conclusion. CagI.iostro would have
seen to it that each and every Postulant was desirable from his point of view,
whence it follows that the Dove was made to understand that her or his answer
must be always in the affirmative. Any seeing faculty would have been ezercised
in other directions, which do not transpire.
It is to be feared that the pupil of Aithotas proves himself a mere tyro over
the Symbols of Alchemy. Had he known the LEXIcoN of Rulandus, anna z6:z
he would have remembered that ROSA = Tartar, for that Physician to an Emperor,
while Tartar itself signified the calculus of wine, both not a little remote from
the First Matter of the Wise.
The sorry recital of this foolish business is given at length by every biographer
of die Adept, and is fortunately not to our purpose here.