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

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Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature
The change of meaning of the word "goat" is well demonstrated by proverbs,
for example "to get somebody's goat" (to make somebody really angry), "to be
the goat" (to be blamed for what one hasn't done), to "get your goat" (to annoy,
perturb), "to separate the sheep from the goats" (originally in Matthew, to
separate the good from the evil). In the Middle Ages, when the witch stories
came up, the belief was formed that during the witch orgies, the Devil appeared
riding on a goat.
These orgies of the witches, where amid fearfully blasphemous
ceremonies, they practiced initiation into their Satanic rites, became, to
the vulgar and illiterate, the type of the Masonic mysteries: for, as Dr.
Olivier says, it was in England a common belief that the Freemasons
were accustomed in their lodges "to raise the Devil." 1928
Both English and American Freemasons still make fun using the idiom
"riding the goat," which has become a popular saying; thus, there are quite often
goat-related articles offered at auctions, dating mostly from the late 19 th century
until the 1950s, such as buttons, bronze goats, or comic postcards with the
inscription "Are you a Mason?" as shown in the following figures.
bronze Masonic lodge goat goat button with square & compass
1928 MD, p. 248/249.