Ancient & Primitive Rite Memphis-MiSRaïm

Posted 3 years ago by Bro Jacques DeMolay

Introduction

The Ancient & Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim (APRMM), a unique branch within Freemasonry, stands out with its extensive degree system, reaching up to 100 degrees in some jurisdictions, though commonly capped at between either 95 or 97 degrees. This article provides an insightful overview of APRMM’s history, philosophy, and its distinctive role in the Masonic-Illuministic tradition.

Understanding APRMM’s Status in Freemasonry:
APRMM is sometimes viewed as ‘clandestine’ by certain grand lodges, indicating its disconnection from mainstream ‘regular’ Freemasonry. This distinction, however, leads to a deeper exploration of its unique characteristics.

The Historical Formation and Legacy of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (APRMM)
I. Introduction – A Living Tradition Born from Enlightenment and Revolution The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (APRMM) represents one of the most fascinating intersections between spirituality, philosophy, and human history. To both Freemasons and non-Masons, it embodies a bridge between the esoteric wisdom of antiquity and the moral aspirations of modern society. Unlike many other Masonic branches, the APRMM consciously preserved elements from ancient Hermeticism, Renaissance alchemy, and Enlightenment philosophy, weaving them into a structured path of moral and spiritual development.

Its story begins not in France or England but in Italy, where a remarkable and often misunderstood man, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), ignited a movement that combined moral reform, symbolic initiation, and a search for divine truth. From his work in Venice in 1788 grew the foundation of the Rite of Misraïm, which later evolved through French and Italian channels, merging with the Rite of Memphis in 1881 under Giuseppe Garibaldi. The APRMM thus became a living synthesis of mystical, philosophical, and social ideals that continue to inspire those seeking wisdom beyond dogma.

II. Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo) and the Birth of the Italian Rite of Misraïm
Cagliostro, born Giuseppe Balsamo in Palermo in 1743, was educated by religious orders and displayed early talent in both healing and esoteric arts. His early biography, recorded in Leben und Thaten des Joseph Balsamo, sogenannten Grafen Cagliostro (Guenther, 1791, pp. 12–27), describes how his studies of chemistry, medicine, and natural philosophy shaped his later “Egyptian” theurgy. He believed that true initiation joined moral purity with scientific understanding.

His travels through Rome, London, Strasbourg, and St. Petersburg brought him into contact with leading mystical and philosophical circles of the Enlightenment. The Souvenirs de Charles-Henri Baron de Gleichen (1868, pp. 111–118) recount that Cagliostro frequently exchanged ideas with figures such as Saint-Germain and Prince Charles of Hesse, linking his work to a wider European esoteric current that sought to unite reason and revelation.

By the time he reached Venice in 1788, Cagliostro (Balsamo) had already synthesized elements from alchemy, Kabbalah, and Christian mysticism into a Masonic structure he called the Egyptian Rite. According to Vie de Joseph Balsamo (Barberi, pp. 203–208) and Aventures de Cagliostro (d’Amoreux, 1855, pp. 41–47), this Venetian mission was not an act of vanity, but an organized effort to reinvigorate Masonry with moral and spiritual purpose. The Venetian lodges, influenced by Enlightenment rationalism and early reformist thought, invited him to grant a patent of constitution. For six weeks, Cagliostro personally oversaw the consecration of the new lodge and transmitted both English Craft degrees and German Templar degrees, fusing them under the Egyptian current he believed carried humanity’s oldest truths.

His principles are vividly expressed in the Lettre du Comte de Cagliostro au Peuple Anglais (1787, pp. 3–12), where he denounces corruption and superstition, asserting that “the purest temple of God is the heart of man.” This moral manifesto positioned Freemasonry as a universal school of virtue and enlightenment. The Venetian event, verified in The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (2002, pp. 14–15), marks the birth of the Rite of Misraïm, the cornerstone of the APRMM. His teachings emphasized purity of conduct, universal fraternity, and the awakening of divine potential through initiation.

III. The Esoteric Heritage – From Saint-Germain to Cagliostro (Balsamo)
Cagliostro’s formation cannot be understood without reference to the mysterious Comte de Saint-Germain, whose teachings are preserved in The Most Holy Trinosophia (1933). This Hermetic text describes a path of transformation through the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water, culminating in spiritual illumination. Cagliostro’s Arcana Arcanorum follows this same initiatic pattern, demonstrating the clear transmission of St. Germain’s philosophy into Cagliostro’s Egyptian Rite.

The Trinosophia uses allegory to describe man’s passage from ignorance to divine knowledge. Its chapters correspond to the symbolic architecture later mirrored in the Misraïm and Memphis rites. As Cagliostro absorbed these teachings, he reframed them within a Masonic framework focused on compassion, moral purity, and active virtue, making esoteric knowledge a means to serve humanity rather than an end in itself.

IV. The Spread of the Venetian System and the Work of the Bédarride Brothers
Following Cagliostro’s imprisonment and death, his ideas continued to circulate across Italy and France. By 1810, three brothers, Michel, Marc, and Joseph Bédarride, brought the Venetian rituals to Paris and Marseille. Drawing upon Cagliostro’s manuscripts, oral transmissions, and surviving disciples, they organized the Rite of Misraïm into ninety degrees, combining mystical, Templar, and civic themes. As described in The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (2002, pp. 15–17), this structure represented a “ladder of wisdom,” where moral discipline paralleled intellectual enlightenment.

The Egyptian Masonic History – Rite of Memphis (1867, pt. 3–5) confirms that the Misraïm lodges served as gathering points for liberal reformers and philosophers who viewed Masonry not merely as ritual, but as a form of ethical resistance to despotism. The Napoleonic wars and the conservative backlash that followed forced the Rite underground. Within Italy, these lodges also became associated with early republican movements, an intersection of esotericism and liberty that would later resurface under Garibaldi.

V. Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre and the Rite of Memphis
While the Rite of Misraïm developed from Cagliostro’s Italian current, another parallel system emerged in southern France under Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre. Born into a Masonic family deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideals, Marconis created the Rite of Memphis around 1815, officially organized in Paris by 1838 (Sanctuary of Memphis, pts. 1–3).

Marconis declared the Rite of Memphis to be the “custodian of all ancient mysteries, the synthesis of every Masonic system, and the spiritual heir of the priests of Thebes and Memphis.” (Sanctuary of Memphis, p. 11). He saw it not as an innovation but as the natural continuation of the Egyptian current that flowed from Cagliostro’s work. His Discourse on Justice emphasizes that true initiation requires action guided by conscience: “Justice is the active light of truth; he who knows the good and does it not is in darkness.”

Marconis structured his Rite as an ethical and philosophical architecture, integrating the Hermetic sciences with civic virtue. His Origin of All Masonic Rites section links the Egyptian mysteries of antiquity to modern Freemasonry, explicitly referencing “the reform of Cagliostro” as a milestone in Masonic evolution. Thus, Memphis formalized the universal and humanitarian ideals first articulated by Cagliostro (Balsamo), transforming them into an international initiatic system that would later unite with Misraïm.

VI. The Arcana Arcanorum – Cagliostro (Balsamo)’s Inner Doctrine
At the heart of both the Misraïm and Memphis systems lies the Arcana Arcanorum, meaning “Mystery of Mysteries.” These teachings, attributed to Cagliostro (Balsamo), formed the spiritual summit of the Rite. Rather than a secret of power, the Arcana represented a series of meditations and inner transformations designed to elevate the initiate’s consciousness.

Denis Labouré (pp. 19–23) and Burt (1879, pp. 28–31) affirm that this inner doctrine united three major domains: theurgy (invocation of higher intelligences through prayer and moral purification), metallic alchemy (symbolic transmutation of matter and spirit), and internal alchemy (the purification of thought and will). Each degree symbolized an ascent toward the divine, echoing ancient Hermetic aphorisms: “As above, so below.”

The Trinosophia foreshadowed this tripartite ascent centuries earlier. Cagliostro drew from it not only symbols but method, transforming ancient allegory into a discipline of the heart. The Corrispondenza Segreta sulla Vita Pubblica e Privata del Conte di Cagliostro (pp. 41–48) records that even in imprisonment, Cagliostro meditated upon these principles, seeing humanity’s inner divinity as indestructible. This vision became the cornerstone of the APRMM’s philosophy.

VII. Moral Philosophy, the “Letter to the English People,” and the Testament of 1791
Cagliostro (Balsamo)’s Lettre au Peuple Anglais (1787, pp. 3–12) provides an invaluable insight into his ethical worldview. Written during his persecution in England, it stands as one of the earliest manifestos of Masonic humanism. He declares that no priest or monarch possesses divine monopoly; rather, divinity resides within every conscience purified by truth.

He writes: “God has written His law not on tablets of stone, but in the hearts of all men.” This aligns with the Enlightenment spirit of personal morality and rational faith. His defense of virtue and conscience inspired later Masonic philosophers who viewed the Rite of Misraïm as a sanctuary for spiritual independence. The document’s appeal for universal compassion and tolerance prefigures the humanitarian principles enshrined in the APRMM constitutions of the 19th century.

His Testament de Mort et Déclarations faites à Rome (1791) deepens this message. Facing death, he wrote: “My work was to awaken the divine spark in men; they have called it heresy. I sought to teach them freedom; they have called it rebellion. Yet the truth I have served will outlive the walls of this prison.” This testament, preserved by the Inquisition archives, reveals Cagliostro’s final dedication to truth and benevolence, a continuity of his lifelong effort to unite reason and revelation.

Mistrali’s Il Conte di Cagliostro ed il Frate Lorenzo Ganganelli (1865, pp. 74–82) adds further evidence of his moral vision, recounting the respectful correspondence between Cagliostro and Pope Clement XIV (Ganganelli). Contrary to popular myth, Cagliostro did not seek to overthrow religion, but to purify it. His goal, as Mistrali emphasizes, was to reconcile reason and faith, to restore the spiritual heart of Christianity through enlightenment and compassion. This bridge between moral theology and esoteric Masonry later influenced both Misraïm and Memphis rites, which embraced the coexistence of science and spirituality.

VIII. Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Unification of the Rites (1881)
By the late nineteenth century, the Misraïm and Memphis currents shared nearly identical philosophies. Both had been suppressed at various times but continued independently in Italy and France. In 1881, Giuseppe Garibaldi, the national hero of Italy and lifelong Freemason, accepted the role of Grand Hierophant of both systems. His unification of the two rites established the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm.

As recorded in The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (2002, pp. 18–19) and reaffirmed by Yarker (1882, pt. 1–2), Garibaldi’s role was not administrative alone, it was symbolic of unity between the social, moral, and spiritual revolutions of his time. Under his guidance, the Rite became a vehicle for the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, expressed through sacred ritual and personal transformation.

IX. The Philosophical Legacy of Cagliostro (Balsamo)
Beyond the legends, Count Cagliostro, Giuseppe Balsamo, left a profound philosophical legacy. Dumas’s Mémoires d’un Médecin (1863, Vol. I, pp. 191–199) portrays him not as a fraud, but as a visionary who foresaw the moral decline of Europe and sought to restore spiritual harmony. Baron de Gleichen’s Souvenirs (1868, pp. 115–118) further humanizes him as a man of compassion, humility, and intellect.

Mistrali (1865, pp. 74–82) shows that Cagliostro’s relationship with the Church was not antagonistic, but dialogical: he wished to harmonize the gospel’s inner truth with the freedom of thought espoused by the Enlightenment. Likewise, P. A. Malpas’s Cagliostro: A Misunderstood Messenger (1936, pp. 41–46) revises the nineteenth-century polemics, calling him “a reformer who sought to heal the wound between reason and revelation.” Malpas recognized that Cagliostro’s symbolic system was never intended as sorcery but as moral alchemy, the transformation of the self through virtue and understanding.

Through these lenses, Cagliostro (Balsamo) emerges as a transitional figure between the scientific and spiritual epochs, a man who envisioned Masonry as both ethical science and sacred art. His influence survived through Marconis de Nègre’s Memphis system, which consciously preserved his moral and Hermetic principles. Marconis’ Sanctuary of Memphis explicitly links the Egyptian initiates, the Arcana Arcanorum, and Cagliostro’s reform to the symbolic architecture of modern Masonry, affirming the unbroken lineage of spiritual enlightenment from St. Germain to Garibaldi.

Cagliostro’s dream found enduring form in the APRMM, where symbolic ritual serves as a language of self-knowledge. The Rite stands as a monument to his vision: that knowledge, when united with virtue, can lead mankind to freedom.

X. Conclusion – A Living Bridge Between Past and Future
The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is not a relic of forgotten mysticism, but a continuing expression of humanity’s search for truth. From St. Germain’s Trinosophia and Cagliostro’s Egyptian Rite to Marconis’ codification and Garibaldi’s unification, it has preserved the luminous thread of spiritual Freemasonry through centuries of change.

The APRMM remains a living synthesis of ancient wisdom and modern conscience. Its message is simple yet profound: that moral enlightenment, compassion, and unity among people are the true pillars of civilization. In the words of Cagliostro (Balsamo), as preserved in Confessions du Comte de Cagliostro (1787, pp. 32–45):

“The purest temple of God is the heart of man, there let us build our sanctuaries.”

References:

  • The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (2002), pp. 13–21.
  • Lectures of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Freemasonry (John Yarker, 1882), pt. 1–2.
  • Egyptian Masonic History – Rite of Memphis (1867), pt. 3–5.
  • Sanctuary of Memphis (Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre / E. J. Marconis), pts. 1–3.
  • Memphis New – The Spurious Rites of Memphis and Misraïm (Albert Pike & William L. Cummings, 2001), pp. 147–151.
  • The Life of Joseph Balsamo, Count Cagliostro (1791), ch. 9–11.
  • Vie de Joseph Balsamo, connu sous le nom de Comte Cagliostro (Barberi G.), pp. 203–208.
  • Confessions du Comte de Cagliostro (1787), pp. 32–45.
  • Corrispondenza Segreta sulla Vita Pubblica e Privata del Conte di Cagliostro, pp. 41–48.
  • Denis Labouré – From Cagliostro to Arcana Arcanorium, pp. 16–23.
  • Cooper-Oakley, Isabel – The Comte de Saint Germain (1912), pp. 65–69.
  • Blackwood’s Magazine, Vol. 61 (1847), “The Vision of Cagliostro,” pp. 333–340.
  • Félix d’Amoreux – Aventures de Cagliostro (1855), pp. 41–47.
  • Alexandre Dumas – Mémoires d’un Médecin: Joseph Balsamo, Vol. I (1863), pp. 191–199.
  • Egyptian Masonic History of the Original and Unabridged Ancient and Ninety-Six Degree Rite of Memphis (Captain C. C. Burt, 1879), pp. 9–12, 28–31.
  • Souvenirs de Charles-Henri Baron de Gleichen (P. Grimblot, 1868), pp. 111–118.
  • Leben und Thaten des Joseph Balsamo, sogenannten Grafen Cagliostro (Guenther J. von, 1791), pp. 12–27.
  • Lettre du Comte de Cagliostro au Peuple Anglais (1787), pp. 3–12.
  • Il Conte di Cagliostro ed il Frate Lorenzo Ganganelli (Mistrali F., 1865), pp. 74–82.
  • Cagliostro: A Misunderstood Messenger (P. A. Malpas, 1936), pp. 41–46.
  • Count Mirabeau – A Historical Novel (Theodor Mundt, 1848), contextually referenced.
  • Testament de Mort et Déclarations faites par Cagliostro (1791), selected excerpts.
  • The Most Holy Trinosophia of the Comte de St. Germain (1933), transl. Manly P. Hall.