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Nearly two hundred years ago the degrees of Royal Master and Select Master appeared. Traveling Masonic lecturers throughout the East were conferring them upon Masons while engaging in instructing in Craft (Lodge) and Capitular (Chapter) degrees. Even one Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite included the degree of Select Master as one of its ‘Detached’ degrees.

But, these beautiful degrees were not to remain detached for any length of time. Biblical students and archaeologists know of the vaults or crypts beneath King Solomon’s Temple. Masonic Degrees were probably not actually conferred in these vaults. However, such a legend does persist throughout Freemasonry.

The legends conveyed in this system of degrees form a beautiful allegory or story. The Masonic author, Albert G. Mackey, writing of the vault, says “The vault was, therefore, in the ancient mysteries, symbolic of the grave’ for initiation was symbolic of death, where alone Divine Truth is to be found. Freemasons have adopted the same idea. They teach that death is but the beginning of Life’ that if the first, or evanescent Temple of our transitory life be on the surface, we must descend into the secret vault of death before we can find that sacred deposit of Truth, which is to adorn our second Temple of Eternal Life.”

The degrees in this group are frequently referred to as ‘Cryptic Degrees’ but this description is not strictly correct, as only two actually refer to a crypt. It is somewhat surprising to note that to many, these ceremonies constitute nothing more than interesting side degrees or a random collection of unrelated incidents in the story of King Solomon’s Temple, but to the serious and understanding Masonic student, they prove to be the essential link between the degrees of Master Mason and Royal Arch Mason.

In order to qualify, you have to be a Craft Master Mason, Mark Master Mason, and a Royal Arch Mason.

The order works 4 degrees. They are:
• Select Master
• Royal Master
• Most Excellent Master
• Super Excellent Master

• The Select Master:
This degree takes for its scenario the point where we are in the fifth year of the building of the Temple (i.e. 969 BCE), and the Secret Vault is being constructed to house the sacred treasures and other important artifacts of the Jewish people, in order to keep them safe from attack by enemy forces. Specially selected craftsmen carry out the construction of the vault and its approach tunnel, and only the three Grand Masters and those actually engaged in the work knows of the existence of the vault. A craftsman not entitled to be there accidentally enters the vault and is sentenced to death however, his fortunes turn and he is eventually pardoned and admitted to the elite band of Select Masters. This degree is set prior to the death of Hiram Abif and alludes to preparations to hide the Secret Treasures. It also explains why King Solomon selected twenty-four true, tried, and trusty Craftsmen, together with the three Grand Masters, (Making ‘twenty-seven and no more’) to complete an important part of the Temple.

• The Royal Master
This degree is noted as the Second Council Degree and is conferred in two parts. In the first part, Hiram Abif talks to Adoniram about death. In the second, a day after the death of Hiram Abif, King Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre, cannot communicate the Master’s Word without him – not in the manner agreed. The dramas illuminate both Master Mason and Holy Royal Arch Degrees. The Royal Master’s degree follows chronologically, where the vault has been completed and is in the process of being decorated with sacred treasures. One of the senior overseers engages in conversation with Hiram Abif and the latter inadvertently explains how he intends to ensure that the Master Word shall never become lost. In the course of this conversation, the candidate hears some truly magnificent ritual, which is certain to remain in his mind for a long, long time. Hiram Abif realizes, too late, that he has revealed to the senior overseer something which he should not have done, and the companion is thus sworn to secrecy. Shortly after this, Hiram Abif is slain and it is only through the knowledge given to this overseer, of the intentions of Hiram Abif, that the Master Word is indeed preserved.

• The Most Excellent Master
The degree of Most Excellent Master takes for its scenario the point where the Temple is being dedicated to the glory of God, and King Solomon determines to reward some of his most skillful craftsmen with the rank of Most Excellent Master.

• Super Excellent Master
This degree was not originally part of the Cryptic Order and is still not presented in all jurisdictions, yet it is one of Masonry’s best-written rituals. It deals with the incidents during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar when Zedekiah, the last King of Judah, was conquered and carried captive to Babylon. It dramatizes the lesson of fidelity. It is not a Degree of the Crypt’ it does not deal with Ancient Craft Masonry, but it has been described as ‘the best devised, most impressive and beautiful ritual in Masonry’. In a panorama of exciting events, biblical characters move across the stage, illustrating history. The great Chaldean Monarch, Nebuchadnezzar, lives again. The treacherous and faithless Zedekiah, the last of Judah’s Kings, proves the results of infidelity. The unswerving Ezekiel and the melancholy but zealous Jeremiah prophesy the promises of the Almighty. The great lesson is about fidelity to a trust.

The Royal & Select Masters Degrees:
• Select Master
• Royal Master
• Most Excellent Master
• Super Excellent Master

The only regalia worn by Companions is the jewel of the Order, which is an inverted skeletal triangle, surmounted by a crown and suspended from a crimson ribbon. Its symbolism is explained in the ritual but it indicates the beneficence of the Most High directed towards the individual. It is worn on the left breast over the region of the heart. Each Officer of a Council of Royal and Select Masters wears a crimson collar from which is suspended the jewel of his office. A Grand Officer wears the crimson collar edges with one or more gold stripes, according to rank.