Digital Edition | February 2025

Having concluded two years of service as Master of the Southern California Research Lodge, I am humbled by the opportunity to edit the first Fraternal Review issue of 2025, on one of the most enigmatic Masons of any century: Alessandro, Conte di Cagliostro. A man of humble and obscure origins, Cagliostro came to great fame and celebrity among the luminaries of the late 18th century, who marveled at his alchemical operations, theurgic work and Masonic philosophy. He gathered this wisdom into his Rite of Egyptian Freemasonry, with himself as Most Serene Grand Copht, or head of the Order. His meteoric rise similarly led to rapid controversy, as he was embroiled in scandal through no fault of his own, accused of criminality and charlatanry, and ultimately found himself condemned to life in prison by the Inquisition. To this day, his name and reputation remain connected to charlatanry, an undeserved fate.

     In so many ways, Cagliostro is larger than life, and what is gathered here represents but a fraction of what he accomplished in his career. In this issue, we are given a general overview of Cagliostro’s life by the guest editor; while Michael Samu provides an introduction to the Egyptian Masonic Rite, and an examination of his character, as well as a rebuttal of the accusations levied against him. Mat Ravignat takes us deeper into the Egyptian Rite, while Kenneth Mackenzie and Henry Evans examine Cagliostro’s interactions with other contemporary Masonic bodies.  Milko Bogard looks at the possible connections between the alchemical work of the Egyptian Rite with similar alchemical-Masonic systems.

Wor. Daniel Rivera, PM

Guest Editor

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