How does one progress through the degrees in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite?

Progression into the Ancient and Accepted Rite begins after a candidate has attained the Craft degrees, as the Supreme Council accepts the three Craft degrees as equivalents to the first three degrees of the system rather than initiating candidates itself. Master Masons of at least six months' standing are eligible to join the Order.

Across the Rite's thirty-three total degrees, advancement is structured through distinct governing bodies. Individual Chapters confer the intermediate degrees from the 4° through to the 18°. The higher degrees are conferred through further administrative divisions up to the 32°, before culminating in the 33° under the authority of the Supreme Council.

Organizational groupings for these upper degrees differ between jurisdictions 1. In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, degrees such as Grand Pontiff (20°) and Knight Kadosh (30°) precede the Consistory, which covers the 31° and 32° 1. In the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, a Council of Princes of Jerusalem governs the 15° and 16°, while the Consistory encompasses all degrees from the 19° Grand Pontiff up to the 32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret 1. The higher degrees are personally conferred in full by the Supreme Council, ending in the executive 33° of Sovereign Grand Inspector-General 1.