Become a Freemason, Access the Rite
To become a Freemason, and then to enter the Rite (Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Switzerland, Degrees 4 to 33), it is necessary to be a member of a Masonic Lodge of the Grand Lodge of Switzerland Alpina (GLSA), and to have reached the Grade of Master (3rd) for at least one year.
It is therefore necessary to have been initiated into Freemasonry.
How to do it?
Contact a Freemason, or the GLSA (ALPINA), or contact a GLSA Lodge:
From there, the initiation procedure can be initiated. It is relatively long and complex: curriculum vitae, cover letter, extract from the criminal record, meetings with members of the Lodge (investigations), meeting with the whole Lodge (passage “under the banner”) or only part of it (application committee)…
If the said procedure is so complex, it is to avoid, as far as possible, the candidate embarking on a path that does not suit him.
To leave Freemasonry, on the other hand, nothing could be simpler: a letter of resignation is enough. It is useless even to justify oneself.
A Brother initiated within another Obedience must be affiliated to a Lodge of the GLSA.
Access the AASR Rite
After the first three Degrees (Apprentice, Companion, Master) of the so-called “blue” Lodges, the Brother who shows a particular desire to consolidate his knowledge, to acquire new light, may be offered to join a Chapter (Degrees 4 to 18 of the Rite), then an Areopagus (19 to 30), and finally the Consistory (31 to 33).
The AASR imposes no limits on the free search for the truth and, in order to guarantee this freedom to everyone, it requires tolerance from everyone (4th principle of the Swiss AASR).
There are seven essential passages for those who follow the entire course: Degrees 1 – 2 – 3 – 18 – 30 – 32 – 33.
It takes at least one year to go from 3 to 18, two years from 18 to 30, as many from 30 to 32, and from 32 to 33. However, haste is never recommended.
The other Degrees are the subject of a simple communication, sometimes of a particular ceremony.