What is the significance of the number 33 in Freemasonsry?

a reply to: Nathan-D

Like any other number scribed in text it has a single purpose - to remind of a certain order. The order in this particular case is the 33rd degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, which represents God, and his power over creation. In such manner Freemasons connect their "work" with that of God's will, so in a sense this number is a link between the Freemasons and the creator itself.

This is the most basic explanation for the reason of 33 in Freemasonry, if it has as another hidden or double meaning, I am not a Freemason, so can't really speculate about it...

You are asking the wrong question because Freemasons do not have possess the real secrets of the universe and so what they understand the significance of the number 33 to be is irrelevant. The question should be:

"What is the significance of the number 33?"

Its true meaning is NOT cultural or historical but mathematical in the Kabbalistic context and therefore of cosmic or universal significance. There are four steps to revealing it:

1. The Pythagorean tetractys array of 10 points is equivalent to the Etz Chayim (Tree of Life) with 10 Sephiroth. Its three corners symbolise the Supernal Triad of Kether, Chokmah & Binah, its centre symbolises Malkuth (outward, physical realisation of any system designed according to the archetypal blueprint of the Tree of Life) and the six points at the corners of a hexagon symbolise the six Sephiroth of Construction above Malkuth.
2. The number of combinations of 10 objects arranged according to the pattern of the 1, 2, 3 & 4 objects in the four rows of a tetractys = 2^1 - 1 + 2^2 - 1 + 2^3 -1 + 2^4 - 1 = 1 + 3 + 7 + 15 = 26*. This the gematria number value of Yahweh, the Godname assigned to the second member of the Supernal Triad, which expresses the creative aspect of God. The number of permutations of these objects = 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! = 1 + 2 + 6 + 24 = 33. Arranged in a tetractys, 10 objects form 33 sets of objects that are distinct if their ordering matters (as it does if the mathematical objects obey non-commutative rules of multiplication).
3. The tetractys is the mathematical template for construction of sacred geometry. If we consider the lowest N of a set of overlapping Trees, simple counting shows that the number of Sephiroth on the central Pillar of Equilibrium up to the top of the Nth Tree = 2N + 3. Sixty-nine SLs span the central pillar up to the 33rd Tree, that is, 65 SLs up to its Malkuth. The number 65 is the gematria number value of Adonai, the Godname assigned to Malkuth.
4. Constructed from tetractyses, the lowest N overlapping Trees have (12N+7) tetractyses with (50N+30) points. Hence, the lowest 33 Trees need 1680 points to construct them, i.e., the number of points in 168 tetractyses.

The number 168 is the gematria number value of Cholem Yesodoth, the Mundane Chakra of Malkuth. The Godname of Malkuth specifies the very set of Trees whose population of points is measured by the Mundane Chakra of this Sephirah. Now, Malkuth signifies the material form of whatever is designed according to the archetypal pattern of the Tree of Life. I have shown that the ground state of the E8xE8 heterotic superstring should be a standing wave in 4-d space-time that makes 1680 circularly polarised oscillations. The scientific significance of the number 33 is that it specifies the number of Trees of Life that contain as many points as there are oscillations in the lowest vibrational state of E8xE8 heterotic superstrings making up the physical universe. It determines the microscopic manifestation in 4-d space-time of the Tree of Life blueprint. Quite an important number....

*Number of combinations of N objects, taken n at a time, = N!/n!(N-n)!. Summing from n= 1 to n = N, this gives 2^N - 1.

Be Happy There's Only 33...
There Are Grand Designs In This World And Grand Schemes To Keep It All Together.
One Should Experience 33 Rather Than Inquire Of It.
A Fair Solution Would Be To Rise Through The Degrees And It Will Give You Some Backbone On The Matter. You Would Be Surprised To Know That There Are 33 Mind Numbing Experiences That Will Instill In You The Grand Design Of Man And His Correlation To War That Peace May Be Attained. This Grand Scheme Is Often Accompanied By The Like Minded Peoples That You Can 'WITHOUT A DOUBT' Trust With Your Life... Or You Can Cop Out And Be A Little Mind Numbing Spoiled Child.
This Thing Is Highly Expected Of The Like Minded Peoples Of Man. But... This They Can Not Ask Of You. You Must Choose To On Your Own. They Will Be Watching...
And No... They Are Not Illuminatti. They Are Called Men Of Order.

BTW: I Only Got As Far 33 Before I Turned Away. This Sh!t Is Power!

I Would Like To Add...
There Is A Woman Who's Dream Is To Have A Real Man... And There Is Nothing She Wouldn't Do For You. She Can Bow The Heavens, Raise The Seas, And Calm The Waters. She Can Even Be Your Dream!
But The One Greatest Thing She Can Do... Is Be Everywhere With You! That Is True Magic. So... Take Up Geometry. Draw The Line For The Enemy And Then Cross It In Unto War (4°) And Carry That Cross With You To Whatever End. You Will Be Most Greatful To Yourself... And She Too.

I Turned Away Because I Can Not Do Those Favors To The House Of My Fathers. They All Desire It. But None Will Tread It. Spoiled Brats. And If I Have My Way They Will Remain So. For None Amongst Them Has Earned My Compassion. They Shall Eat Scraps... As I Dine With The God Of My True Enemy. And I Will Laugh.... Til I Die.

a reply to: Nathan-D

It relates to the master number thirty three which is encoded within our anatomy, and refers to the thirty three vertebrae’s of the spine which your astral Fire must rise from the base or sacral; all the way to the Pineal; which represents a state of union with the divine which continues even after the experience.