The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
Chaplain. Instead of "Amen" or "So mote it be," the sisters answer with "Lord
help us to keep our promise" (p. 63). Sister of Charity is ordered to close the
Holy Bible, the symbol of White Light. Then, the song "Blest Be the Tie That
Binds" is sung, and Sister Confidential Observer goes to inform the Outer
Observer that the Assembly is now closed and "that peace and harmony are in
every heart" (p. 64). The Confidential Observer reports to the Worthy Advisor
that her command has been obeyed. Mother Advisor speaks a benediction, to
which the girls respond "Until we meet again," whereupon the Assembly is
closed with one rap of the gavel.
Initiation Ceremony
At the beginning of the Initiation Ceremony, the Worthy Advisor asks the
Recorder whether there is to be conferring of degrees. Upon affirmation, the
Drill Leader is ordered to ascertain whether candidates are in waiting, and having
reported this to be so, the Drill Leader is asked to retire and conduct the
candidate to the door of the preparation room. She gives an alarm at the door of
the preparation room, and Sister of Faith is sent there to ask the candidate
questions and to instruct her. She addresses the candidate with "Sister of the
Outer World" (p. 38) and asks about her motivation to come here. The Drill
Leader answers in her place: "Like all others in the Outer World, she would
know her Creator better, and she believes she will find that Way here." (p. 38).
This is an openly expressed religious motive, the Masons, more obscurely,
"seeking light" instead. Sister of Faith is asked by the Worthy Advisor to receive
the candidate and conduct her on her way, whereupon Sister of Faith receives her
"under the sign of Secrecy" (p. 39). When they arrive at the station of Sister of
Hope, the latter grants the permission to travel to the Station of Sister of Charity,
who likewise grants them to travel to the station of the Worthy Associate
Advisor. The latter inquires what they are seeking, and is told "a Pot of Gold
which an ancient tradition says is at the end of the rainbow" (p. 40). Since the
Worthy Associate Advisor considers this search laudable, he allows them to pass
to the Worthy Advisor in the East, who asks the candidate to pledge solemnly
that she will obey the laws and obligations of this Assembly. Then, he
commands Sister of Faith to travel with the candidate to the "White Altar of the
Holy Promise," (p. 41), where the candidate kneels down, presses the Bible to
her heart, and thus gives the obligation, while all other members of the Assembly
equally kneel and face the altar. The Chaplain invokes God's blessing and asks
God to "[g]o with this sister every step of this initiation, show her that we teach
Thy Truth" (p. 43). Then, Sister of Faith extends her right hand to the new sister
and says "Arise, Sister" (p. 43), which bears some resemblance to a Masonic
raising. The Worthy Advisor holds a short lecture, stating that the Holy Bible is
the rule of right living for all, and that its heroines are those "who in the past
have stood for the Trinity of Home, Church and Nation" (p. 43). "To be a wife,
mother, sister or daughter, and to honor these stations, has ever been the mission