Swedish Rite
Nonetheless, the main Swedish Rite constitutions are all recognised as regular by the United Grand Lodge of England, and stand in full amity.
The traditional rule that a candidate must come of his own will and accord is enforced within the Swedish Rite and solicitation of members is strictly prohibited.
As a cherished relic from the previously practised Rite of Strict Observance, The Grand Lodge of Denmark maintains a Novice-degree in between the VII.
Though not formally a degree, grand lodge officers, as a means of expressing the hierarchical nature of the order, are sometimes said to have obtained the XI.-degree.
In Denmark, Norway and Germany a mason will retain his craft lodge-membership while advancing through the St. Andrew's and Chapter degrees, and pay dues to all.
In Denmark, dues are collected by the Danish Order of Freemasons and distributed to the relevant St. John's, St. Andrews and Chapter-organisations.
This is a Royal order of chivalry, equivalent to a knighthood and given only to Knights and Commanders of the Red Cross at the King's pleasure; its members may not number more than thirty-three, and three of them must be ecclesiastics of the established Lutheran Church.
A Knight of the West is also made to design his own coat of arms, taking the traditional European rules of heraldry into account.
Swedish Rite Masons join at the level of an Entered Apprentice, and, with time, become Right Enlightened Brothers of St Andrew.
The layout of a St John's lodge-room and that of a Blue Lodge is different from that of the Swedish Rite, as is the ritual excepting the word and grips of recognition, which are universal.
The Swedish Rite places more emphasis on the mystical and the spiritual while the Anglo-American version of Freemasonry prioritises memorisation.
According to Alex G. Davidson, the mood in an English lodge-room is "relaxed and friendly" compared to the "mysterious and gloomy", "intensely solemn and almost mystical... otherworldly atmosphere" of the Swedish Rite.
The Junior and Senior Wardens do not have pedestals that they set on their sides; rather, they wear handle-less, hyperboloidal mallets similar to gavels with which they strike the hilt of their swords.
The primary foundations of the Swedish Rite are from the late 18th century when Carl Friedrich Eckleff created the first St. Andrews lodge in Stockholm in 1756 and the first Grand Chapter in 1759.
