feel sorry for the people that collect rituals and pins. The only exception would be for people that collect only their own GLO materials. People that collect pins that are not in a GLO, are not too bad because they have no idea what they mean to the members of the GLO's. People that are in GLO that collect other GLO's pins should know better especially if their own pin means anything to them. Ritual collectors are the worst. If a person is in a GLO and collects other GLO's rituals, they are pitiful people. They probably get a thrill trading their own GLO information just to learn something they are not supposed to know about other organization. Maybe it gives them a sick kind of pleasure. Those who collect GLO rituals will claim to be legitimate researchers. What are they researching for? A tell all book? Maybe. For their own sick pleasure? Probably. Chris is the worst of all these people. If I find out that members of GLO's are trading rituals, I will be happy to turn them in to their headquarters. I do not imagine they would be too happy even if they claim it is just "research".

There's been a bunch of threads about this; I bet if you search for them they'll turn up. wptw especially has an interesting take on the whole situation.

Oh, Gawd, not this again...:o

Why can't it just be as simple as the
national "giving", "lending" pins through initiation.

The price of the pin would be covered in the initiation fee.... BUT it would not be the property of the person wearing it. It would be the property of the National. And if someone tried to sell pins off, it would be selling stolen property.
Might require some consitutional changes, etc. but it probably could be done.

I'm not aware of many ritual collectors. Pin collectors, sure. And like many people, I am not fond of it, but I'd rather they collected pins, I suppose, than rituals, unless it is legitmate scholarly research and the GLOs are OK with it.

But what good will turning these people in do? I know a collegiate Greek life administrator who is also a pin collector (and Greek himself). I can't help but think that *someone* important must already be aware of his hobby, and if they haven't sanctioned him yet, they're not going to!

Oh gawd, indeed. Archangel689, no offense, but this ground is well covered. Just search "ebay" and you'll get all the juicy threads.


GLOdefender, feel free to report them ALL to their national HQs if that will assuage your outrage. Since several of the badge collectors and a handful of ritual researchers are in fact national officers of their respective HQs, I doubt it's going to ruffle a lot of feathers.

In fact, I believe Beta wrote an article in their magazine praising one of their members who collects badges. And in my particular case, it was a national officer of my group that got me started in both these areas of study many years ago.

I don't find myself particularly pitiful, but if you're inclined to sacrifice your valuable time and effort in pitying me, then I'm quite flattered. Pity away!

BTW... If a tell-all book about rituals was my goal, it would have been published years ago, the checks would have been cashed and I would be writing this from a lounge chair outside my beachside hut in Fiji (the island, not the fraternity ;) ). Oh, and for the record, I've never revealed any portion of my ritual to a non-member. That's a vow I take very seriously. And also for the record, I do get a "thrill" out of learning things, though I wouldn't characterize it as a "sick pleasure". GLOdefender, perhaps if you also enjoyed the thrill of learning something then you wouldn't be such a glaring ignoramus.

wptw

I do not have a problem with pin collectors in general. I just do not agree with it. I do have a problem with ritual collectors. I agree that members of GLO's would never be expelled for pin trading with a few exceptions.
Ritual traders are the worst. They are just people that get off knowing other peoples' secrets. They call themselves researchers but they really are not because it is for their own personal information. They claim that they reveal other GLO's secrets but the do it frequently when they traded them. I know for a fact there are several ritual traders on here, one is very obvious. I wonder if they will care if I out them. Overall, I think they will not be well liked. Mr. F please don't try to justify yourself most of us realize the truth

Honestly... who cares?

Your badge is sacred only because you know what it means! If you want to collect badges of other GLO's just head on over to

Masters of Design

I just find it laughable that someone would be willing to pay (as a collector) FAR above retail for a badge when they could get one just as easily from the original source (with any engraving they want!)

Without meaning, your badge is just jewelry. The badge is not the organization though. It is a symbol of it. The MEMBERS are the organization. Last I checked no one collected GLO members.. Except maybe student governments, CEO search committees, etc..

As for ritual collectors.. They are not NEARLY as culpable as the chapter that lost control of their ritual materials.

We have hashed and rehashed many of these issues before but I think it is importnat to point out that for some older GLOs there is a lot more too their badge history than Masters of Design. Originally, my GLO did not have a uniform badge and our older badges are a treasured part of our history. Our Constitution does provide that the badge is the property of the member for her lifetime, but that hasn't stopped many badge collectors from buying old badges that have wound up on ebay and keeping an important part of our Fraternal History.

GLOdefender, I don’t feel the need to justify myself. My words and my actions speak for themselves. I stand by them.

You’ve made some statements about ritual researchers, and I disagree with what you’ve said. Moreover, I feel you’re in no position to make an informed comment about the researchers themselves since I assume you are not one of them. So any observations you might make about what motivates me, what I do with the information, etc., are bound to be fatally flawed.

Yes, there are a handful of GC regulars who study rituals. You may indeed have the means to “out” all of us. I’m not sure what you would hope to accomplish by that, but if it’s within your power and you have a mind to do it, then I won’t worry about trying to stop you. Just don’t expect to sit back afterwards and wait for all of us to be expelled from our respective groups, since in many cases our HQ members are not only aware of it, but actively participate in it. Legitimate ritual research has gone on for more than century, and I assure you it’s not the evil conspiracy you imagine.

By the way, who is this “us” you speak of when you say “most of us realize the truth”? You’ve made 2 posts here at GC (though I suspect your current username is but a new sock on an old hand). Do you already imagine yourself part of some GC majority opinion? On what basis? And for that matter, what is this “truth” you’re going on about?

I am already not, as you say, “well-liked” on GC – except maybe by Jacqueline who apparently is reminded of her DAD when she reads my posts (ouch, that was a blow to the old ego, but a sweet sentiment nonetheless). Is the threat of message board ostracism supposed to make me mend my evil ways?

Anyway, do what you’ve gotta do. If you want to debate the issue further, I’m certainly up for it. But first you need to get past the threats and the cloak and dagger clandestine crap and actually articulate your point.

wptw

quite frankly i'd love to know ritual for other glo's. but i've decided not to pursue that knowledge. i don't think their is anything wrong with wanting to know. i can understand the thrill of finding out. but i know how i felt when my best friend came to me and told me everything about my ritual even though she's a theta phi alpha. i felt like i had been robbed. and that was just coming from my bestfriend. i can't imagine it coming from someone i don't even know. just my thoughts on the subject.

shelley j
sigma k

wptw - shut up, my dad's cool. Seriously though, I want to marry a guy just like my dad. I honestly was trying to compliment you.

Shelly J - you are so honest, and I love that. I would love to know the ritual of other GLOs, too (one boyfriend, a Delta Chi, really lambasted me when I admitted this!) The important part is that I don't want other people to know MY ritual. So I stay away from theirs. Does that make any sense?

I agree -- I would love to know other GLO's rituals! Not for the sake of knowing what Chi O's ritual is or Zeta Tau Alpha's ritual or any of those things; I wouldn't care which ritual belongs to which group. I just think ritual in general is interesting, and would love to know more about it. I think that the rumors about fake rituals (as long as they're believable) are just as interesting as the real ones that GLOs actually have.

And for those of you complaining about ritual collectors, wptw is very right when he mentions that most of our founders were ritual collectors as well. Even if they didn't study other fraternities' or sororities' rituals, they definitely studied ancient Greek rituals, Masonic rituals, etc. I think that the writer of Chi Omega's ritual had studied rituals in depth before he wrote Chi O's, and I know many many other GLO ritual writers did the same thing.

I also agree that the ritual collectors aren't nearly as at fault as the people who allow their ritual to get out. The collectors aren't really doing anything wrong; they're only following the natural human instinct of curiosity, and it's not their fault if your GLO doesn't protect its secrets well enough. It's the people who "lose" the ritual books and robes and secrets that are really at fault here.

Ha! HotDamn, I'm sure your dad IS cool. And it was a nice compliment. I just wasn't quite ready yet to remind a 20-something of her dad.

Speaking for myself, there's not really a thrill involved in getting a new ritual. Maybe the first few, way back when, but not now. It's certainly exciting to have new material to study, but I don't stand at the mailbox with wild eyes, wringing my hands and laughing maniacally because I now have the secrets of XYZ. It's more like the way sugar_and_spice described it. You don't care so much which group it's from, you're just poring through it looking for unique or interesting or historically significant details.

That's just me, personally. I avoid the term ritual "collector" because I think it incorrectly connotes an acquisition mindset. "Researcher" and "student" are more appropriate terms, in my case anyway.

Remember that the main reason our rituals today are so beautiful and detailed and inspirational is because the authors were very well schooled in many forms of ritual - from ancient greek and roman rituals, to crusade-era groups, to the class societies of renaissance and enlightenment-era Europe, to the masons, the early American literary and class societies, benevolent and insurance societies, up to and including their peers - the other GLOs on their campuses. They had a vast sea of information from which to draw the bits and pieces that spoke most clearly to their hearts.

Anyway, I fear the day is soon coming when all of our rituals will be open for examination. There has been and is still too much carelessness, too much malice against greeks, too much thirst for exposé among the general public, and too little value placed on honoring the vows GLO members make in their lives. It is best to start working your mindset around to that eventuality, and to start thinking how to evolve beyond it. Because it's coming.

wptw

I think the "thirst for expose (sorry not looking for that special accent) among the general public" has a lot to do with the fact that we ARE so secretive. When we all walk around going, "OMG no I can't tell you anything about my ritual because it's sacred and special and TOP SECRET INFO", people start imagining that it involves goat's blood and swallowing knives. And I certainly hope that no one actually DOES have a ritual like that!

I liked how someone else on GreekChat described their ritual, to a family member, as a wedding. Symbolic, special, and nice. If more people knew that we weren't secretly Satanic cult members doing all kinds of crazy things in KKK outfits, they might not want to know so badly.

On another note, I don't think that what wptw does is so horrible...
Wptw, do you share your findings with others or is it mainly for your own interest?

Wptw, I'm just curious, and if you don't want to tell you don't have to, but how do you acquire these rituals?

I find the whole study of rituals fascinating, and I agree with what sugar and spice says. Whenever I walk home along row I look at crests and I wonder what it symbolizes, or I try and guess if similar words mean similar things...it's interesting.

As for our ritual becoming public, I'd like to keep it secret, but I'm not worried. Delta Upsilon has always been public and they seem to be thriving.

CarolinaCutie, here you go… é é …you can keep one and give the other to a friend.

I tend to agree with you. I’ve often said that secrecy purely for the sake of secrecy, or mystery purely for the sake of mystery, is vain and pointless. I do think it’s important to maintain our secrecy. Though non-greeks resent us for it, the experience of this secret bond is indeed one of the things that hold us tightly together. But we shouldn’t wield that secrecy or try to lord it over people, as I have seen a lot of particularly arrogant (or insecure, probably) GLO members do. That just pisses people off. That’s the breeding ground for a lot of the idiot secret-seeking trolls we deal with around here on a regular basis.

There are more graceful ways to deal with secrecy and explain ritual. The wedding analogy is one example. A Catholic mass would be another. I always say something simple like “GLO members share a detailed ritual that they keep secret, but they are expected to exemplify the teachings of those rituals in their everyday lives”. That’s why one of my favorite open mottoes is Alpha Sigma Phi’s: The cause is hidden, but the results are well known.

But you have to admit – we DO do some weird stuff in outfits not unlike KKK robes!

To answer your question, I don’t share specific ritual info with anyone except other researchers who I know to be trustworthy and who already have a great deal of ritual info of their own. This is really a very small handful of people, in case GLOdefender had you thinking it’s a mass conspiracy involving thousands. There are perhaps 10 serious researchers “out there”. Maybe another 10 who sort of dabble in it from time to time, though not seriously.

But I do talk a lot about ritual in general with people. A lot of people want to know if their ritual is similar to XYZ because they were founded by a member of XYZ, or they were founded on the same campus, etc. And I can easily answer their questions by saying, for example, the structure of the ceremony is similar, or the motto is similar, etc. Basically the same stuff you see me discussing on this and other public forums. For example, I can answer GeekyPenguin’s question by saying that, yes, in many cases a given greek letter means the same thing when used in several different groups’ names or mottoes. Same for symbols. And some are more common than others.

My rule of thumb with the “generally interested” is never to reveal any detail beyond what I would reveal of my own ritual. That seems to walk the fine line effectively.

GeekyPenguin, I’ll respectfully decline to answer your question since I don’t want to educate the general public on how to acquire rituals. You can contact me privately if you like (though I probably still won’t tell you :) ).

wptw

You know what this seems like to me? Being naked.

I would never, ever walk around naked in public. But to let my doctor see me naked, that's OK. I think the dividing line is professionalism, and respect. Doctors see people naked for a living, so they're not getting a thrill out of it. And they, through years and years of study, have aquired a serious respect for the human body.

wptw (and his friends) have that professionalism in the way they acquire their knowledge. And they have respect in the way they choose to share it.

Meaning, I'm OK with a few people knowing our secrets -- if it's for scholarly purposes, and they respect our desire to keep things secret. It's a world away from telling your best friend, cousin, and boyfriend all about your ritual.

I would almost favor what we (Sigma Nu) used to do in order to protect the Ritual. When a new chapter was founded, copies would be hand delivered. The ritual was then to be memorized and the papers destroyed.

At some point we started using books though.

Like wptw, I also am a student of ritual and ceremony, and I also treat the rituals and secret work of other fraternities and sororities with the same respect as I would my own.

I am not as active in research as wptw is, but it's very interesting to know that out of the many rituals I've studied, the Masonic virtues of faith, hope and charity, as well as fraternal love for each other are centerpieces in the teachings and ceremonies of Greek-letter organizations, even though they may arrive at it in different ways through different interpretations.

We are NOT in the business of swaggering all over campus or boasting at the local bar, "hey, everybody... I know XYZ fraternity's secrets!" or "let's crash ABC sorority's initiation at a nearby college, 'cause I know their method of recognition!"

To become a serious student of ritual and ceremony is not easy, and takes a high degree of trust, as wptw already mentioned in his post. How these rituals are obtained are considered part of the 'intelligence sources and methods' and are carefully guarded against unauthorized disclosure. We've been burned before by people who at first appear sincere, whose true motives are to expose and denouce the fraternity and sorority system as evil, satanic and un-Christian.

I am also a Mason, and also a dedicated ritualist in my local lodge. Every year I take an examination on how proficient I am in the ritual of the three Masonic degrees, so that I can become certified in teaching the ritual work to newer members. It's not easy, since the ritual work is transmitted orally and very little of the work appears in print. The Texas Masonic ritual is probably unique in that it has changed very little in over 150 years, considering it has never been officially committed to writing and passed down from Brother to Brother from 'the instructive mouth to the attentive ear' and the secrets of the fraternity retained in 'the repository of sacred breasts'.

While a dedicated researcher might be able to find an expose on Masonic ritual and ceremonies on the Web or in your local library, almost all of the grand lodges in the United States have different interpretations of ritual. Simply stated, we get to the same point, but take a different road to get there. For a brief time, I lived in Oklahoma, and was active in the local Masonic lodge there. I had to learn the ritual as exemplified in Oklahoma, and that was difficult enough to keep straight after learning the Texas work. Eventually my proficiency improved until I was able to be examined in the Oklahoma work, and I passed it successfully. Some Masonic grand lodges have it a little easier by issuing ciphers of the work to their members, but Texas and Oklahoma are but two of the twenty-five Grand Lodges that do not have a printed ritual or cipher.

That's my take on the whole situation... your mileage may vary.

:eek:

wptw
"the doctor is IN"

The way I see it is who cares. Just don't be the person to give out your org's secrets. People are going to find them out if they want to try hard enough. The less people that talk about them the harder it will be for them to collect. Even if people were trying to find out secrets to crash another org's meetings, there are ways to prevent that. For example, my chapter would never let a person into a meeting until we checked them out with IHQ first. We check their id's, get all personal info, including intiation date, and have IHQ compare it to see if they truely are a brother. I don't care if they know the ritual forwards and backwards, if IHQ can't confirm it then they are not getting in my chapter meeting. Just because a few non members might know my ritual doesn't change the meaning of it any less to me. I have no doubt there probably are a couple ritual books out there floating around. I have even seen a TKE one up on ebay at one time. All I can hope is that the true secrets parts that are left blank in the book were not filled in by a careless brother.

I can relate to that... I remember one time back in my days as a newly-minted alumni hanging out at another chapter of my fraternity. At first, there were a few brothers in the chapter that were initially suspicious until my bona fides were verified with National Headquarters and I gave them the proper methods of recognition.

The same way goes with visiting a Masonic lodge in another state or country. Not only do you need to be proficient in the modes of recognition, but you must exhibit proof that you are a member in good standing in a lodge that is recognized by the Grand Lodge where you're visiting. Most Masonic lodges have a book listing all lodges in a particular jurisdiction, to verify that such lodge exists and is recognized. Still, it is the ultimate prerogative of the Worshipful Master of the lodge to ultimately allow or deny entry to a visiting brother, or to preserve the peace and harmony in the lodge room he is entrusted to keep.

This is an interesting subject nicely wrested away from a board troll :)

Personally, I wish that every Greek group would allow its secrets out. I love to study ritual and I'm a die hard comparativist -- it's hard to see all these similarities and not know if they're just incidental. (Which some of them must be.)

Moreover, the secret motto and meanings and symbolism of my organization are amazing and something that I'm so proud of I'd like to shout them to the hills -- "look! we stand for this!" I work my behind off to try to exemplify those attributes and it would be easier, for instance, if I were to be able to tell my mother, who unconsciously exemplifies those same attributes (but grew up in the anti-Greek 70s and is suspicious at best of my sorority), that she'd make a perfect sister.

BUT I took an oath -- a very serious oath to hold the trust of my founders and my sisters close to my heart. As much as I am tempted and as much as I may disagree with the practice, I'm responsible for my own actions and following up on my own promises -- which I do.

I wish that our inter/national organizations would view the doctor metaphor as positively as many of us do -- and those of us who are willing to put in the work and the effort and the respect for the rituals would be rewarded with a glimpse into another organization.

I like the wedding analogy as well -- even if you know the vows taken, even if you know where the couple lives and know what they wore and who they are, you'll never understand that marriage, because you're not living it.

Cheers to wptw and those who treat our rituals with respect they deserve.

But enough of my babbling. I think there's a point in here somewhere. :) Good luck finding it.

Greekgrrl.

I think you make sense. ;) To me, it's not any inherent secrecy in the ritual - it's respecting other GLOs and my own oath to Alpha Xi Delta.

I'm not even sure secrecy is a necessary feature of a GLO, but since I've agreed to follow by my organization's rules, I respect that oath and in turn treat other GLO's wishes with the same respect. If Beta doesn't care who collects their pins, I can't fault a collector who wants them, just like I wouldn't see a problem in someone writing a thesis on DU's ritual.

As long as we wish secrecy, the problem I see with such collections isn't someone like wptw doing research, even if it only benefits himself. It's that some nutcase will convince other researchers he's serious, and then blow the lid off the secrets for everyone. I think that's what makes me nervous. If the world ever knows the contents of AXD's rituals, I want it to us who tells them, not someone on a information-wants-to-be-free spree.

As long as the world spins, the sun comes up and goes down, there will always be someone who will try to find a secret!!


I NEVER WANT MY RITUAL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Is that plain and simple enuff? It is something that sets each and everyone of us apart!

Yes because of the beginings of secret organizations ( Masonic ) for one, will be similar in some ways.

But everytime I see a New Young associatiate go through, I swear an oth and promise that I will never reveal any Secrets of LXA. I never have and never will!

This is what keeps Us different from Clubs and Gangs!

The Human Mind is always looking for the hidden and will continue to do so! I for one will not ever help them concerning my Ritual whch is sacred to me and my Brothers!

If you think I am wrong, I am sorry for you not me!

Tom, I think you misunderstand. I don't believe anyone here is encouraging members to go around revealing their secrets or rituals. That goes against all the vows that we have taken, and against the very idea of brother/sisterhood!

As long as a ritual researcher treats my ritual with the respect and discretion that it deserves, I don't have a problem with him studying it. I'm not at all worried about the ritual researchers--its the fanatic kooks out to bring down Greek life that we need to watch out for.


Edited for spelling

What's the difference really? A secret is a secret. An oath is an oath. If you swear to keep something secret, do it. You do not deserve to be a part of your organization if you betray it in such a way as to reveal its secrets.

I don't think anybody is planning on telling any secrets about their sorority or fraternity. I know I wouldn't tell them to anyone, ritual researcher or not. The point is that they can probably find out on their own, and in that case there's nothing I can do about it. And if somebody is going to know my secrets, I would rather it be a ritual researcher than somebody who's going to run around screaming all the secrets to everyone.

No, that would not be cool. If every greek group would to reveal their ritual, it would not be secret anymore. And, if it is not secret anymore then it will take the fun out of discovering, knowing, or revealing rituals. It's the thrill of the chase. The forbidden fruit. :)

Before I get flamed, no, I have not acquired any rituals besides my own.

It's just personal preference for me, I don't think it's going to happen , nor that it necessarily SHOULD happen, I just think it would be cool and might help anti-Greek people understand that things are/were secret because of respect and solemnity, not hazing and goat sacrifice or something.

I fully admit I may be off base. :) But it's still my opinion.

Greekgrrl

greekgrrl, it is good to have an oppinion!

While we all may have some things in common in our rituals, there are things that are differenet.

I am sure each of us thinks ours is the Best, I know mine is how about you?

While I respect wptw, I ahve talked with him over a period of time and know he is a stand up guy, I would still like my ritual secret to my Brothers only!

We all pretty much have the same ritual back ground but each is singular unto it self. Mine is important to me and My Brothers.

That is the only one that I am interested in and it alone!

I may get some disagreements on this, but the LXA Coat of Arms is the most true to the Heraldict of any that I have ever seen!

There is a reason for everything and more ornate than any.

I am dieing as been up to many hours and getting to mature! Off to opther sites and to bed time!:D

TTFN

About exposing ritual...I would hate to see it done, not because I like to feel special about knowing something others don't. What I love is to see the wonder on the faces of pledges as they're being initiated. It's like the awe and joy on a child's face on Christmas!

Don't you just hate kids who tell others that Santa isn't real? I do, and I also hate people who ruin the special experience of initiation for pledges. Luckily, that rarely happens because new members tend to be ignorant of where to find secrets.

The fact that this is even marginally the case is one of the problems with this board . . . wptw has proven himself to be intelligent and well-spoken (and informed), even if a smartass at times, which I actually like. wptw is good people.

Perhaps the original poster should take a quick lesson from wptw - engage the ol' brain before posting.

Tom,

You're correct... the Lambda Chi Alpha coat of arms is probably the most heraldically correct of all the fraternity and sorority coat of arms. Below is the heraldic blazon (the description of the coat of arms in the traditional language of heraldry, which is derived on Old English and French) of Lambda Chi Alpha:

Escutcheon (shield): Quarterly, on the first vert, a lighted Greek lamp or. On the second or, an open book proper, bearing on its face the letters Chi (C), Omicron (O), Alpha (A) Zeta (Z) On the third, sable, a balance or. On the fourth, vert, a pair of clasped hands argent, between three mullets in chevron or. Over all an inescutcheon argent, a lion rampant holding a white rose slipped proper.

Behind the escutcheon a pair of swords in saltire, points downward, argent, pommels, and hilts or. Mantling vert, lined, or. Encircling the escutcheon a riband purpure, edged argent, bearing the Greek motto Calepa Ta Kala (Chalepa Ta Kala – Naught Without Work) surrounded by an olive wreath which bears pendant the badge of the brotherhood proper. Below the escutcheon a scroll vert, with the Latin motto Vir Quisque Vir (Every Man A Man) or.

Crest: Issuant from a crown celestial or, ensigning a gentleman's helmet proper, a crucicrescent rayonne or, Latin motto Per Crucem Crescens (Growth through the Cross) or on a scroll vert.

Heraldic colors (called 'tinctures') :

vert - green
gules - red
argent - silver (white used sometimes)
sable - black
or - gold (sometimes yellow is used)
purpure - purple (violet)
proper - in the natural colors

Heraldic terminology:

mullets - stars
inescutcheon - small shield within the main shield
in saltire - crossed in an "X"
rayonne = with rays extending
lion rampant - a lion standing on its hind legs, as if to attack.
dexter = right (actually, the wearer's right)
sinister = left (actually, the wearer's left)

In traditional heraldry, the "rule of tincture" states that metals (the tinctures argent and or) should not be next to metals, nor colors next to colors; a rule designed to make the arms easily identifiable in the battlefield (the original purpose of the coat of arms). This rule is not strictly followed, as varying shades of the tinctures may also be used in the design of a coat-of arms.

Compare the Lambda Chi blazon to the one describing Alpha Sigma Phi's coat of arms:

Crest: On a wreath argent and sable, a phoenix rising or.

Escutcheon: Per cross argent and or, on a bend sable, three mullets or, all within a diminutive of a border or. On sinister chief a book open argent, pen and five hieroglyphics or, on dexter base a laurel wreath or, a Greek column minus capital argent, an ancient lamp or with rays sable.

Scroll: On a ribbon or, "18 Causa : Latet : Vis : Est : Notissima 45" sable.

diminutive - a small border, usually on the edge of the shield (escutcheon)
sinister chief - upper (wearer's) left
dexter chief - lower (wearer's right)

Technically, the Alpha Sigma Phi coat of arms wouldn't work if you follow the heraldic 'rule of tincture'. Likewise, the Lambda Chi coat of arms as designed contains heraldic items generally reserved for higher-ranking peers or royalty, for example, the garter encircling the shield is only seen on royal arms and on those who have earned the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in Great Britain (it's outranked only by the Victoria Cross, the British equivalent of the Medal of Honor.)

Honi soit qui mal y pense (shamed be he who thinks evil of it) -- the motto of the Order of the Garter.

For people who are looking for a thrill, that's true. For someone like me, who's a student of social psychology and fascinated by ways people choose to bind themselves together, the secrecy is of no consequence to our interest (except insofar as it interests us that many members consider secrecy important). I've been exposed to DU's ritual as well as the ritual of one secret IFC group. Neither was more interesting to me than the other.

I am as interested in governments and religions (both of which are in many ways analogous to GLOs) as I am in Greek organizations. How do groups codify the values that are important to them? How do they attempt to control their members' behavior? What rewards and punishments motivate people to follow rules? How do people delineate group members from non-members? These are the questions that interest me. The "thrill of the chase" is just an impediment to learning more.

Hanna

And
Well, Tom said there might be some disagreement, so I'll bite.

No, Lambda Chi's coat-of-arms -- while very beautiful and, to Lambda Chi brothers, very meaningful -- probably are not the most heraldically correct of all fraternity and sorority arms. Compared to the arms of other GLOs, Lambda Chi's arms do probably make the most complete use of optional heraldic elements such as a chivalric ribband, helmet, supporters (in the form of crossed swords behind the shield rather than animals or other figures actually holding the shield), or an inescutcheon (the small shield in the center of the main shield). But supporters, ribbands and the like are not necessary to a "complete" coat-of-arms. The only necessary components are the shield and crest (and possibly a motto).

I would submit that Lambda Chi's arms depart from traditional heraldic rules in two ways. First, the use of quartering -- the division of the shield into four quarters. Traditionally, quartering indicates the uniting of two or more arms-bearing individuals or entities into a single family or entity. For example, the arms of the United Kingdom (properly speaking, the arms of Her Majesty Elizabeth II) quarter the royal arms of England (twice), Scotland and Ireland to show that they are joined in a "united kingdom." The arms of Canada take this a step further by quartering the arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, with three maple leaves added to the base of the shield, to indicate the joinder of peoples from these countries in Canada. Quartering, then, is not usually used simply to provide a way to portray four different things, as seems to be the case with Lambda Chi's arms. Applying the traditional rules to Lambda Chi's arms, a herald not otherwise familiar with the arms would quite possibly assume that the four quarters indicate four antecedent groups from which Lambda Chi was formed.

Second, as Tom said, Lambda Chi's arms are the most "ornate" of any GLO's. But arms were meant primarily for identification, up-close or at a distance, so that a standard rule of heraldry is that simple is better, i.e., more easily recognizable. According to heraldic rules, more complex and ornate shields are not necessarily better. (Note that I'm only talking about design shown on the shield itself -- the elaborateness of the overall execution of the arms, the shape of the shield, and the like are matters of taste left up to the artist. The same coat-of-arms could be painted by one artist as very plain and by another as very ornate, and both would be correct as far the rules are heraldry are concerned as long as the elements of the arms are accurately reproduced.)

Please know that I'm am not slamming Lambda Chi or its arms, which are very beautiful. But when it comes to a description like "most heraldically correct," I think a nod has to be given to numerous other GLOs that have arms that are quite correct according to the rules of heraldry: Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, FIJI, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, to name a few. (Notice I do not include my own fraternity in this list. While our coat-of-arms are meaningful to me, they are not heraldically correct.) A special nod should be given to the arms of Pi Beta Phi, which recall that, according to traditional rules of heraldry, a woman's arms are borne on a lozenge (diamond shape), not on a shield.

Now back to our regularly scheduled post.

I don't believe GLO's should ever have t make their ritual public. I don't believe people should reveal their own rituals either. If somebody that is not a member of my fraternity some how learned my ritual and and used it for research purposes only I have no problem.

This is an interesting article I found on how TKE feels about the issue...

http://www.tkecentral.net/doclib/hyp...%20Secrecy.pdf

According to our History, John E. "Jack" Mason did and intensive study on this subject. Now one must remember that when TKN Merge with LXA in 1939, there were some changes in our Coat of Arms and Then Pledge pin incorporating both together.

I know I have looked at many of the Coat of Arms of other Greek Orgs. and many are correct to what they were at the time!

Yes, there is a thing in our Coat of Arms that do signify the squire/new Associate.

It was as close to Heralic as possible but with a little leeway to show the encompassing of all who Were and Would Be Brothers of LXA!

I wont go into the smaller Feifdoms that had Sheilds or Coats of Arm to represent themself on the Battle field.:)