Canada, Egypt and colonies of Great Britain ;in France and dependencies, and in other countries of Europe, excepting Russia; in South and Cen tral America; and in the West Indies. As be fore stated, the Masonic government is complex, no two rites — nor even Grand jurisdictions of the same rite,— being alike, owing to variances in the sequence of their degrees. The English and American are substantially in unison as to chronological order: Craft, Capitular, Cryptic and Chivalric degrees. In the American Rite its degrees follow this notation exactly, being The Royal Arch Chapter, Council and Templar systems, respectively. England, Scotland and Ireland, working the English Rite, are not alto gether in accord,— additional degrees and orders being incorporated,— but eventually all arrive at practical universality, nevertheless. The is divided into grades or degrees: symbolic (the three Craft degrees, which are not conferred, however, in jurisdic tions of the English and American Rites), In effable, Historical, Philosophical, Historical and Philosophical, Chivalric, Official and Executive, — conferred in lodges, councils, chapters, con sistories and supreme councils.
The Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (q.v.) has fostered and de veloped the social side of Freemasonry, in its °higher degrees,° principally in America.
The Order of the Eastern Star is not a Masonic organization, but a secret sisterhood to which only Freemasons and certain female rel atives can belong.
It is estimated that there are considerably over 2,000,000 Freemasons in the world, of which by far the majority are in the United States.
Consult Addison, C. G.,
Templar History' (New York 1912); Bayliss, M. W.,
History of Scottish Rite Masonry in the United States' (Washington 1913) ; Chase, G. W.,
Dictionary and Manual of Masonic Law' (Boston 1864); Crawford, G. W.,
Hall and his followers: a monograph on the legitimacy of Negro Masonry' (The Crisis, New York 1914); Findel,
tory of Freemasonry' (trans. from the German, London 1866-69) ; Fort, G. F.,
Early His tory and Antiquities of Freemasonry,' as con nected with ancient Norse Guilds, etc. (Phila delphia 1875) • Gould, R. F.,
of Free 'masonry' (London and New York 1884-89); Hyneman, Leon,
York and London Grand Lodges: A Review of Freemasonry in England from 1567 to 1813' (Philadelphia 1872); Johnson, Rev. F. H.,
Past, Present and Future' (Buffalo 1871)Mc Clenac.han, C. T.,
of Ancient and Ac cepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry' (New York 1905) ; Mackey, Dr. A. G.,
and History of Freemasonry' (New York 1898) Macoy, R. (ed.),
History, Cyclopmdia and Dictionary of Freemasonry' (New York i 1873); Preuss, A. (ed.),
in American Freemasonry' (Saint Louis 1914); Robertson, J. R., (History of Freemasonry in Canada' (Toronto 1899) ; Sachse, J. F.
Masonic Correspondence, etc.' (Philadelphia 1915); Stillson, H. L. (ed.),
of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, and Concordant Orders' (New York 1896) ; Vernon, W. F.,
of Freemasonry' (1893) ; Wagner, M. L.,