The Palladian Rite - Revisit

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro James E. Frey 32°

The Palladian Rite, according to conspiracy theorists it is the very top of the Illuminati pyramid. Conspiracy theorists point to the Palladian Rite as being the secret overlord of all Masonic Rites uniting all masonry together in a dark agenda to propitiate three world wars to bring about the New World Order Government led by shape shifting reptiles from outer space. Oh if only it were all that interesting. No my Brethren, this article will not focus on ufos, aliens, or government plots for world domination. This article will focus on the mysterious and perhaps real Palladian rite that has caused such a stir in the Masonic soup to make it the famed “Top of the Satanic Pyramid”.

I have heard various times on a variety of websites how the Palladian Rite is the secret Satanic cult that rules the whole of masonry from the shadows with an iron fist. But to understand the myth of a

Palladian Rite we must understand the connection of Masonry and Satanism. Rumors of Secret Satanic Rites within the Masonic fraternity can be traced to Leo Taxil’s nefarious work “The Devil in the Nineteenth Century”. As we know the “Taxil Hoax” attempted to connect the degrees of Masonry to animal sacrifice, homosexual rites, giant goat statues and all kinds of weird and groovy things. Sadly the population of France at the time did not know how to tell factious reporting from journalism with integrity, so this mythos began to evolve itself into the general consciousness, which is why the book is still often quoted today in anti-masonic resources. 

From this environment the notorious Palladian Rite began to gain its own mythos and develop into the puppet master archetype it is known as today. Taxil was a major influence on Paul Rosen who wrote “The Brethren of the Three Points” in 1885, which was another expose revealing the “dark” nature of Freemasonry. This book focused on Albert Pike as the leader of all American masonry and his establishment of the Palladian Rite with his connection in the Italian underworld to unify masonry with the steams of fascism which would come to power over the next 60 years. The term “satanic” is not used but replaced with “Luciferian”. There is a huge difference between Satanic and Luciferian. Satanic being the adoration of Satan and the acceptance of the left hand path, Luciferianism widely can be generalized as seeing the Old Testament Yahweh as a tyrant God who attempts to keep man ignorant of the knowledge of Good and Evil, so Lucifer, the light bearer, betrays Yahweh bringing the light of Wisdom to man through the eating of the forbidden fruit liberating man from servitude to Yahweh’s ego. This is a reinterpretation of the Greek myth concerning Prometheus who steals the fire of the Gods and delivers it to mortal man. Like Prometheus, Lucifer is cast to the underworld where he is to be punished for all eternity. Whether Taxil or Rosen knew the different between these two philosophical perceptions is limited, but it can be safe to estimate that they were ignorant of the differences labeling them both as “Devil Worship”.

In 1890 eminent Masonic scholar, Arthur Edward Waite attempted a academic approach to the material and rumors of Satanic cults in his work “Devil Worship in France” where he addresses the understanding of the Luciferian Palladian Rite as being a worked up version of a real secret society that once did exist. The Palladian Rite, was a fabricated version of the Reformed Palladium Rite which existed in France for a short increment of time. According to Kenneth Mackenzie in his “Royal Masonic Cyclopedia” the Order of Palladium first appeared in Paris in 1737 being derived from Douai with rituals being written about 1637. This group contained heavily Greek oriented degrees, two for men under the titles of “Adelph” and “Companion of Ulysses” while female members were admitted to the degree of “Sister of Penelope”. With a Greek influence on symbolism we can see the Lucifer aspect as being similar to Albert Pike’s misinterpretation in “Morals and Dogma”, for the Planet Venus. Lucifer is Latin for the Light bearer and is representative for Venus because Venus is the planet that continuously rises each morning just before the break of dawn, so Venus brings the light to the world which is why so many myths of solar deities have mothers who are representative of Venus.

Venus is also the planetary embodiment of love which is representative of the motto of the order “je sais aimer” or “I know how to love”. The seal of the Order of Palladium was a heart crowned with flowers upon an altar ornamented with palm and laurel leaves. This places the Palladium Rite in a much different light dedicated to spiritual enlightenment of the sacred feminine, not Satanism as rumored by Taxil and Rosen. The Palladium Rite was dissolved by police after a short while at the order of the Catholic state at the time and vanished into obscurity until misinterpreted by anti-masons and made the exact opposite of what it represented in the greater human consciousness. Over all it is a shame that Neo-Pagan groups of that era were not allowed to practice their beliefs in peace, their only goal being to advance the spiritual and moral aspirations of their soul. Today all that is left is a dark shadow where light once was.

~JEF

James E Frey 32° classifies himself as a gentleman of the old world, which means he is known to stand in the great forests reciting poetry to fair-haired damsels while wrestling bears for sport. He is a District Education Officer for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, a Past Sovereign Prince of the of Danville AASR, member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, Quram Council Allied Masonic Degrees and initiate of the Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He is also a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry for the R.E.B.I.S Research Society.