The Order of the Eastern Star

The Order of the Eastern Star (OES) is an appendant body to Freemasonry open to both men and women. Originating in the United States, the Eastern Star has spread throughout the world and is now established in 17 countries and territories. The Eastern Star is the largest para-masonic organisation open to women in the world, with an estimated 500,000 members today. But what is the Eastern Star, where does it come from, what is its symbolism and how does it influence the world ? We're about to find out.

Origins and history of the Eastern Star

Members of the Eastern Star like to claim that the origins of their order can be traced back to 18th century French Adoptive Freemasonry. This is historically implausible, as the rituals of the Eastern Star are clearly distinct from those of French Adoptive Freemasonry. But it is certain that the intention was the same : to allow women to share in the benefits of the Masonic spirit without having to admit them to the 'real' lodges. The Eastern Star is also similar to Adoptive Freemasonry in that Master Masons can join and the Chapter is presided over by a Worthy Matron under the supervision of a Worthy Patron who is a Master Mason of the Lodge with which the Chapter is affiliated. This distinguishes the Eastern Star from other para-Masonic organisations such as the Daughters of the Nile, the Daughters of Isis or the Ladies Oriental Shrine in North America, which are strictly for women.



Rob Morris

The Eastern Star was founded from 1850 by Rob Morris (born Robert Peckham, 1818-1888), a Freemason since 1846, who believed it was essential to integrate women into the Masonic world. He had been teaching at the Eureka Masonic College in Richland, Mississippi (founded in 1847 and known as the Little Red Schoolhouse) since 1849, and it was there that, with the help of his wife Charlotte, he laid the foundations for a new fraternal order that would be open to women. He decided on the biblical figures that would be the focus of the ritual and, as a poet, wrote the first ritual, which he called the Rosary of the Eastern Star. In 1855 he organised a Supreme Constellation to administer future Chapters.

In preparation for a trip to Europe and the Holy Land, Morris entrusted responsibility for the Eastern Star to his friend Robert Mackoy (1815-1895), an eminent American Freemason with a rich Masonic background, founder in 1849 of the Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Company (which still exists) and author in 1869 of a Dictionary of Freemasonry, which has been reprinted many times. Mackoy revised the Ritual of the Eastern Star, abandoning the term Rosary in favour of Ritual, and replaced the system of Constellations, considered too complicated, with the system of Grand Chapters, still in use today.

Morris, for his part, founded an Eastern Star Chapter in Edinburgh in 1868, which led to the Supreme Grand Council of Scotland in 1874. In the USA, the first chapter (Alpha No. 1) was formed in New York in 1874, and the General Grand Council was established in Indianapolis in 1876. It is now located in Washington D.C.

In 1874, Brother Thornton Andrew Jackson of Prince Hall Masonry was admitted to the Eastern Star and received from C.B. Case, Mackoy's Deputy, the right to organise the Eastern Star on the fringes of African American Freemasonry. William H. Myers, Grand Master of Prince Hall Grand Lodge in the District of Columbia, agreed and a first Chapter was formed.

Many famous women have belonged to the Eastern Star, but the most famous in the world is certainly Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), author of 'Little House on the Prairie', whose father, Charles Ingalls, and husband, Almanzo Wilder, were both Freemasons.


Laura Ingalls Wilder

Worldwide development and activities of the Eastern Star

The Eastern Star has spread throughout the world and the Order is currently present in 17 countries or territories. Eastern Star Chapters are divided into four organisations, two of which are international.

The oldest is the Supreme Grand Council of Scotland (1874), which administers the Chapters in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and South Africa.

The General Grand Council of Washington D.C. (1876) governs the Chapters of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Germany, Romania, Italy, the Philippines, Taiwan, Aruba and Guam.

The United Grand Chapter of Australia was established in 1984 to unite the Grand Chapters of the various provinces of the country, originally created by the Supreme Grand Council of Scotland.

Finally, the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star, which has not adopted a centralised structure, is made up of the Grand Chapters of the various American states, which operate autonomously.

Taking all the orders together, the Eastern Star may currently have 500,000 members, although some put the figure as high as one million. In any case, there has been some decline since the 1970s, when the Eastern Star had 2.6 million members.

In addition to its ritual activities, the Eastern Star is known for its extensive charitable work, particularly in the field of health.

Who can become a member of the Eastern Star ?

For men, you must be a Master Mason and submit an application, which can be rejected. If accepted, the Master Mason is joined, takes the oath and receives the ritual secrets, but as he is already initiated, he does not have to go through the initiation ceremony, which is reserved for women.

Women must be 18 years of age and originally had to be the wife, widow, mother, sister or daughter of a Freemason. Today, recruitment is open to more distant relatives. Women who have belonged to Masonic organisations for young girls, such as the Daughters of Job or the Order of the Rainbow, are also eligible to apply.

Ritual and Symbolism

The organisation of an Eastern Star Chapter provides for a college of 17 to 19 officers, depending on the jurisdiction. Unlike eighteenth-century Adoptive Freemasonry, only two positions are doubled by men. The Worthy Matron, the President of the Chapter and the Associate Matron (equivalent to a Warden) are joined by a Worthy Protector and an Associate Protector. Only these two offices must be held by men. Conversely, the offices of Worthy Matron, Associate Matron, Conductress and Associate Conductress (equivalent to Master of Ceremonies), as well as the five offices representing the five biblical women, must be held by women. The remaining offices (Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, Warder, etc.) may be held by either men or women.

It was Rob Morris who established the five biblical figures who appear during the ritual, and Mackoy has not changed this point in his reworking. The initiation ceremony therefore leads the candidate to discover five women mentioned in the Bible and to immerse herself in the moral values they symbolise. These five stages are seen as five degrees, conferred in a single ceremony.

The first of these women is Adah, daughter of Jephthah, mentioned in the Book of Judges (11:29-49). Associated with the colour blue, symbolised by a veil and a sword, she represents the Daughter, obedience and faithfulness.

The second is Ruth, to whom the biblical book of Ruth is dedicated. Associated with the colour yellow and symbolised by a sheaf of wheat, she represents the Widow, constancy and devotion.

The third is Esther, whose story is told in the biblical book of Esther. Associated with the colour white and symbolised by a crown and a sceptre, she represents the Bride, loyalty and commitment.

The fourth is Martha, the sister of Mary in the Gospel of Luke (10:38-42) and of Mary and Lazarus in the Gospel of John (11:1-44). Associated with the colour green and symbolised by a broken column, she represents the Sister, faith and hope.

The fifth is called Electa and refers to the Elect Lady, the personification of the Church, to whom Saint John addressed his Second Epistle. Associated with the colour red and symbolised by a chalice, she represents the Mother, love and hospitality.

The emblem of the Order is a star, with each of its five branches bearing the colour and symbol of one of these five women, thus summarising the reception ceremony. It also represents the star of Bethlehem, which must be followed in order to discover the truth.

In 1873, Mackoy also created an additional degree, which could be compared to the higher degrees or side degrees in Freemasonry: the Queen of the South. In this degree, the Worthy Patron plays the role of Solomon and the Worthy Matron that of Bathsheba, his mother, and the candidate represents Shebah, the Queen of Sheba, received in audience by the king. The legend of this degree, it should be noted, takes place in the same context as one of the two versions of the secret ceremony for the installation of the Master in the Chair.

Mackoy had foreseen a third degree, which was not directly integrated into the Eastern Star and developed on its own. This was the Order of the Amaranth, which from 1873 to 1921 recruited exclusively from the membership of the Eastern Star, but is completely independent of it today.

An original form of Adoptive Freemasonry

The Eastern Star undoubtedly represents an original form of Adoptive Freemasonry, far removed from the spirit of aristocratic sophistication that characterised the forms that appeared in France in the 18th century. This Order is relatively little known in Europe, but will be of interest to anyone concerned with the fascinating history of the place of women in Freemasonry.