What does it mean riding the goat?
in the United States, 1845–1930. William D. Moore. The idea that candidates undergoing initiation into American fraternal groups were forced to ride goats was ubiquitous in the decades surrounding the beginning of the twentieth century.
What is riding the goat Freemason?
The Cassius Coolidge dog picture of “Riding the Goat” is Masonic in nature and yes it is sometimes used as a joke between members and potential members. It depicts one of the first three principal degrees of Freemasonry. The dog riding the goat is wearing a blindfold.
What is the initiation of Freemason?
Masonic initiation rites include the reenactment of a scene set on the Temple Mount while it was under construction. Every Masonic lodge, therefore, is symbolically the Temple for the duration of the degree and possesses ritual objects representing the architecture of the Temple.
What are the 3 great lights of Masonry?
See also The UGLE Book of Constitution – BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR GRAND LODGE RECOGNITION – Accepted by the Grand Lodge, September 4, 1929 item 6 states that the Great Lights are the VSL, Square and Compasses. Therefore the author will refer to the Compasses as such.
Did the Freemasons ride the goat?
A few of the more inflammatory pamphlets of the mid-eighteenth century did accuse freemasons of satanic practices, but Mackey fails to provide any documentation for his claim that these were the source of the expression, “riding the goat.”
What is goat riding?
Goat riding is one of those superstition that permeates most every corner of fraternal initiation. Not exclusively a Masonic institution, goat riding or making candidates “ride the goat” has been an aspect of hazing fueled initiation meant to scare and embarrass neophytes and initiates joining the institution.
What is the message of riding the goat?
The one-act play, Riding the Goat (1929) by May Miller [Sullivan] (1899-1995), refers in the dialogue to a fictional fraternal lodge initiation, but also uses the title as a metaphor for initiation in life, as one grows and learns.
Who wrote riding the goat?
“Riding the Goat”, Wines in the Wilderness, Plays by African American Women from the Harlem Renaissance to the Present, Edited and Compiled by Elizabeth Brown-Guillory. Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies, Number 135. New York : Greeenwood Press, 1990. ISBN : 0-313-26509-7 hc. 251 p..