1733 The Scottish Rite - Rose Croix

The organizational form of Freemasons can be traced back to at least The Knights Templars and the Teutonic Nights 1190 AD, but it might have been activated earlier during the era of the Cistercian order. The concept of Freemason is to lay the stone free. Stonebuilding  (to Mason) was a professional craftsman capacity wich demanded advanced mathematic engineering knowledge and that knowledge came from the Roman Empire and before that from Egypt under the many Pharaohs. To be a member of a Freemason brotherhood is to always be loyal to your Freemasonic brotherhood before anything else in society such as, people in general, tribes, Kings, politicians, parliaments, corporations, institutions, procelytes or any ethical or moral norm. It is, given the situation and position in society, a treacherous prioritization if, for example, one has been elected by the people to decision-making bodies. Many other situations can be stipuleted here and render the same treasonous loyalty. It is however, a magnificent instrument to undermine or bypass the power, intentions and actions of any majority or minority in society. 

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the Droit Humain, it is a concordant body and oversees all degrees from the 1st to 33rd degrees, while in other areas it is deemed an appendant body with a Supreme Council that oversees the 4th to 33rd degrees.

It is most commonly referred to as the Scottish Rite. Sometimes, as in England and Australia, it is called the Rose Croix, though this is just one of its degrees, and is not to be confused with other Masonic related Rosicrucian societies such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Its name may vary slightly in various jurisdictions and constitutions. For example, the English and Irish Constitutions omit the word Scottish.

Master Masons from other rites may, in some countries, join the Scottish Rite's upper degrees starting from the 4th degree due to its popularity. This Rite builds upon the ethical teachings and philosophy offered in the Craft (or Blue) Lodge through dramatic presentations of its individual degrees. The term "Blue Lodge" refers to the first three degrees of Masonry, regardless of the Rite being practiced. In the Scottish Rite system, the first three degrees are considered Blue Lodge degrees rather than "Red Lodge".  

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a rite comprising 33 degrees. The first three degrees are administered by "blue lodges" or "symbolic lodges." They are called "Blue degree" and not "Red degrees". The Scottish rite is by far the most practiced rite worldwide. The next thirty degrees (from the 4th to the 33rd), the high or side degrees - a further development and complement to the first three - are administered by the "Supreme Councils of the 33rd and final degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite."[35] However, the name can slightly vary depending on the jurisdictions.

There is no international governing body aside from Le Droit Humain, which is an international order; all of the other Supreme Councils in each country are sovereign unto themselves in their own jurisdictions.

Scottish Rite building in the Lummus Park neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States

The thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite are conferred by several controlling bodies. The first of these is the Craft Blue Lodge, which confers the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason degrees. Craft Blue lodges operate under the authority of national (or in the US, state) Grand Lodges, not the Supreme Council.

The highest degree is that of Master Mason. That is why the degrees with a number higher than the third must be considered as "side" degrees, (even when called High degrees), they are seen as degrees of instruction or improvement, and not as "higher" degrees, that is, implying a particular power that a Master Mason could claim to be above the others. The hierarchical structure of Freemasonry can be likened to a three-tiered edifice, with the third tier, the Master Mason, being the highest. Attaining this level grants a Freemason access to the corridors of the third tier, where he can delve deeper into his Masonic education and broaden his understanding of the craft. They represent a lateral movement in Masonic education rather than an upward movement and are degrees of instruction rather than rank.