In Summary:
The 17th degree “Knight of the East and West” in the southern jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite is a degree that focuses on the themes of human failure, social and moral behavior, and the importance of seeking truth in one’s way of life. It is said to be based on the story of a wanderer seeking truth and teaches the importance of loyalty to God as man’s primary allegiance. The degree also emphasizes the importance of avoiding the mistakes of the past and learning from them. This degree is also based on “The Book of Life” and the initials of Union, Honor, Duty, Loyalty, Courage, Discretion, and Silence as its core values.

Initial Note:
The lessons of this degree are that loyalty to God is man’s primary allegiance, and the temporal governments not founded upon God and His righteousness will inevitably fall.

Regalia Notes:
The apron is of yellow silk, lined and edged with crimson; the colors are emblematic of the dawn. Its triangular shape is symbolic of the Deity in His first three emanations. In the
center is a gold Tetractys formed of 10 Hebrew Yods. They represent the ten Sephiroth (or manifestations of Deity) on the Tree of Life in the Kabalah.

The order is a broad, white watered ribbon, worn from the right to the left. It is crossed by a black one of equal width, worn from left to right. The jewel is suspended from the latter. The two colors are symbolic of the two principles of good and evil as explained in the dualist doctrines of Zoroaster and Manes.

The jewel is a heptagonal (seven-sided) medal, half gold and half silver or mother of pearl. These two colors are emblems of the sun and moon, themselves symbols of the Egyptian deities Osiris and Isis, who represent the generative and productive powers of nature, illustrated in Masonic Symbolism by the columns Jachin and Boaz as the active and passive forces manifested in nature (Morals&Dogma p. 202). On one side are engraved, at the angles, the same letters as are on the capitals of the columns in the ceremony and possessing the same meaning, as that of the last seven of the Sephiroth of the Kabbalah.

A star is over each. In the center, on the same side, is a lamb, lying on a book with seven seals, on which seals are, respectively, the same letters, though shown in this representation as the Roman equivalents.

On the reverse side are two crossed swords, points upward; their hilts rest on an even balance. In the corners are the initials in Greek of the names of the Seven Churches (Revelation 2 and 3).

Duties are:
• To work, to reflect, and to pray. To hope, to trust, and to believe. To teach the truths that are hidden in allegories and concealed in the symbols of Freemasonry.

For Reflection:
• Can Masonry teach religion without being a religion?
What is the meaning of the vacant chair in the ceremony?

Lessons:
• An army of martyrs have offered up their lives to prove their faith or benefit mankind.

Important Symbols:
• The East, the West, John the Baptist, the colors of the rainbow, the candidate, the number seven, the vacant chair.

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Additional Notes:
While many of the Scottish Rite ceremonies are infused with quotes and paraphrases from Scripture, here the events in the drama and many of the words in the ritual are directly taken from the Revelation of God through Jesus Christ to St. John the Evangelist. This is the last book of the New Testament and is also called the Apocalypse to St. John, from the Greek apocalypsis meaning revelation. Generally, apocalypses are secret books intended for the initiated.

The fundamental idea in the Apocalypse is that the East will one day dominate the whole of the world again and the final victory will be Israel’s. The document predicts an awaiting catastrophe for the world, the second coming of Christ, and the glorious future that awaits mankind after the last decisive conflict, the triumph of good over evil.

Sources:
Purchase ‘A Bridge To Light‘ by Rex R. Hutchens
Purchase ‘Morals & Dogma‘ by Albert Pike.
Additional Sources:
https://scottishritenmj.org/blog/history-seventeenth-degree
https://guthriescottishrite.org/college/Chapter%20of%20Rose%20Croix/17th/Cline,%20J.%20Winfield,%20Symbolism%20of%20the%20Tracing%20Board.pdf
https://scottishritenmj.org/subordinate-bodies/chapter-of-rose-croix