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

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Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature
There is nothing to laugh at in any step in the Blue Lodge.
There is no such thing as a "lodge goat." [...]
It is unthinkable that we profess brotherhood and care for the blind in
one degree, and proceed to "butt" them with goats or make them "step
high" over ropes and tacks in another degree! 1938
Likewise, in his oration before the Grand Lodge of Michigan in 1927, the
Grand Chaplain WM. H. Gallagher complains about brethren he calls "the
enemies of Masonry," who do not take the beautiful ritual seriously, but instead
perform a little comedy to their entertainment. This part of his speech strongly
suggests that he refers to the goat riding ceremony, which then must, according
to these two quotations, still have been in practice during the 1920's and 1930's.
Is it inconsistent with the dignity of this august assemblage to consider
brethren as enemies of Masonry who either thoughtlessly or willfully
bring the three degrees of the Ancient Craft down to the level of a
vaudeville stunt? I fear, in fact I know, this is attempted and sometimes
successfully accomplished. There is room in Masonry for delightful
surprises, but there is no room for levity or horse-play. Yet how
persistently, in some quarters, are candidates filled with vague
apprehensions of what is likely to happen to them in their progress. I
presume there are lodges in Michigan that are taught such conduct is
reprehensible. 1939
Also in the Orange Order, which is said to bear some resemblance with the
Masonic ritual, the goat riding ceremony can be found. Here, no actual goat
riding tricycle is employed, but the pushing of the candidate by the other
members is so called, according to the following confession of a Northern
Ireland Protestant who had been a member of one of the upper echelons (the
Royal Arch Purple) within the Orange Order: "The next stage of the initiation
rite involves the initiate being pushed backward down the three steps. The other
members break his fall with a blanket and start pushing him around and
punching him. This is called 'riding the goat.' " 1940 Now, this comes close to the
use of this expression for a certain part of the third degree of Blue Masonry.
Thus, a Masonic friend from Carbondale, Illinois, told the author that the "riding
the goat" metaphor was what you could call an "ad lib" comment by his mentor
during the ceremony rather than being a part of the ceremony, which was
intended to "scare" you - for example, one is blindfolded and falls backward into
a sheet at one point. He wrote: "[...] the only time I encountered this metaphor
was with the third degree. In my case it seemed to be used to build suspense, as
1938 Ibid, p. 12.
1939 Myler, Jewels of Masonic Oratory; p. 149, bold print added.
1940 Published in the internet, June 24 th , 1999, at
http://www.rnw.nl/foreign/eng/html/ireland240699.html