Freemasonry and Ritual Work: The Misraim Service

To ground his project of founding the new mysteries of Anthroposophy in spiritual history, Rudolf Steiner always sought to unite with and transform where possible the older initiatory streams such as Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. In November 1905, both Steiner, who was General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society and Arch Warden of its Esoteric Section, and Marie von Sivers were invited to "join," in a purely formal way, the Order of Ancient Freemasons of the Memphis and Misraim Rite, allowing him to form his own Mystic Temple, Mystica Aeterna, in Berlin. On this basis, Steiner created- freely and out of his own spiritual experience and inspiration- the Cognitive-Ritual Section, or Misraim Service, of the Esoteric Section. "Everything was done as it must be when spiritual reality is to be investigated directly and experienced in full consciousness." Though outwardly similar to existing Masonic rituals, forms, and legends, the spiritual content Steiner gave was