The 32nd Degree - Master of the Royal Secret - is the completion of the Scottish Rite and the final stage showing the cohesion of all that has gone before. All the Scottish Rite Degrees, with their offices & titles, are shown as one great Encampment of Masons and Knights, gathered in a harmonious whole where each part [like each living stone in a spiritual building] has an integral place.

This also, in turn, brings us back to the Encampment of Israel in the Wilderness; the Holy Empire about to enter the Promised Land. As this was a prelude to the building of the Temple of Jerusalem, in many ways this degree brings us back to where we first started in Masonry, but now equipped with all the Light that Masonry can confer on a zealous Brother.

Consisting of but two degrees - the 31st & 32nd - The Consistory degrees are the Completion of an extraordinary Masonic journey. The 31st Degree is, literally and figuratively, the final trial before the achievement of the culmination of the Scottish Rite. The candidate is challenged to prove his purity - especially in regards to his past actions. At no point in any Masonic system is the fundamental lesson of the Craft lodge left behind or set aside. One must be true to one's basic Masonic obligations to accomplish anything of worth in the Fraternity. Here in the 31st Degree, one pledges that one has been true to his humanity and his Masonic Obligations, and never having been complacent in generosity to others while circumscribing one's own passions and desires rather than being overzealous in pointing out the flaws of others.

If one can honestly pass the thresholds of this degree, one is truly worthy of receiving the Royal Secret.

The 33rd Degree confers no special revelations or privileges within Masonry. It is an unique and important honor bestowed on Brethren who have served with distinction in Freemasonry and in their communities as a whole. There are a few who - as Active Members of the Supreme Council - are entrusted with certain powers and authorities within the Scottish Rite structure, but these powers are purely administrative, and confer no special status in Masonry outside the Scottish Rite.