Not sure what to do (Sigma Chi Ritual)
 

Hmmm :confused:

I happen to have come into possesion of the Sigma Chi (s)Ritual and therefore it's whereabouts on the internet. I have no doubts that it is genuine, it is 136 pages or so in length and very expansive and in depth. I have not read it, merely sifted through to check if genuine.

The thing is, I wasn't even really looking for it - I'm a bit of a new found conspiracy theorist and happened to start reading about the Sigma Chi and it's history, only recently.

Anyway, I digress. I don't know what to do - the ritual was hard to find, but if you know how to work the internet, it can be easy enough to come by.

What do I do, if anything?

p.s. I am not a member of any 'club', merely a hobby researcher :D

What to do? Since you do not know for sure if what you have is genuine, and since you have no need for it, then my suggestion would be to mail it to either the nearest Sigma Chi chapter or to International Headquarters.

Sigma Chi International Headquarters
P.O. Box 469, 1714 Hinman Avenue
Evanston, Illinois 60201.0469
847.869.3655

By the way, if you happen to uncover "the conspiracy", please keep it to yourself.

Why would I mail a computer document to them :confused: If I have no need, I just drag it to the trash!

Also, there is no conspiracy with regards to frats :p I was on the ATS conspiracy forum and there was a thread about Sigma there - not a conspiracy one per se, more a discussion.

Sorry if it looked like I was saying there was a conspiracy :o

If you found it online you should email Sigma Chi nationals with you what you found so that they may take proper steps to remove it.

Ditto that.

I believe I found the exact same thing once before, alerted Sigma Chi's nationals and they responded. It was removed shortly thereafter, but geocities sites are easy to come by.

Frankly, it is up to you. If you feel a need to keep it, then keep it. But even if what you have is Ritual, unless you are a Sig, it won't have any real meaning to you.

I've been to that site as well. Discussion happens.

No need to apologize. I was just messing with you. Besides, there is no conspiracy. Really. I mean it.

Alas, there is currently a website run by some anti-Sigma Chi guy that is devoted to going through your ritual in detail and in length. I do not know if it's validity but was surprised to see that someone would be so blatant as to do this. I'm sure you've all probably seen the website. I won't post that site on here but jeez. It's pretty pathetic regardless of it's true or not.

Dont think that website is legit. I have seen an anti sigma chi site and it is totally bogus.

Sigma Chi ritual
 

As a Sig that graduated from college almost a decade ago, I still think back, from time to time, on what I went through during pledging and initiation. But, no matter how much time passes, I remember vividly clear that I took a very serious oath (on two separate occasions on the day I was initiated into Sigma Chi), that without having done so, of my own free will, I would never have been allowed to set eyes on anything related to the ritual. This is probably the clearest memory of that day because those conducting the initiation make certain that you are aware of what you are doing and the responsibility you are undertaking. There are people out there that claim to know the ritual, but I can assure whoever reads this, that Sigma Chis do not take that oath lightly. To trade away ones soul, and break a covenant with your maker, by printing the ritual on the internet, does not seem like something someone would do just because they are pissed off at the fraternity. Therefore, I am willing to bet, without having seen the site and so-called "ritual", that it is bogus.

Heres whats poppin
 

Turns out that most fraternities nationals post false rituals on the internet and sometimes portray "angry members" or "ex girlfriends." there are about 2,000 false sigma chi rituals out there. I was pretty shocked to hear it too but it is that important. Also just a cool side fact; time magizine had an article in 2002 that listed the top ten best kept secrets that we know of in america. #1 nuclear launch codes, #2 the recipie to CocaCola. And #3 The Sigma Chi Ritual. Not because its as hard to obtain as the previous two but because 1. with the over 220,000 living Sigma Chi brothers none-reported have ever came out and just said "this is the Sigma chi ritual" at least no one would even know if it were true if someone did come out and say it. 2. It is the only fraternal ritual not held in the library of congress, it was removed by honorary sig Theodore Roosevelt while he was still in office as president. None of this is ment to belittle anyones fraternity or theyre ritual. I just know how important Ritual is to me and how it has changed my life, and i would hope that any other fraternity would feel the same about they're ritual.

I didn't know which to be more astonished at -- that you would dig up this old thread, the idea that someone had the time and energy to sneak 2000 false rituals of any fraternity into the public domain, or the suggestion that "most" fraternities do the same.

But then I got to this part:

Once I got past trying to figure out "the best-kept secrets we know of," I did a double-take. I thought that it was Teke that had its ritual taken out of the Library of Congress by Reagan. Or Lambda Chi by Truman. Or Kappa Alpha Order by J. Edgar Hoover. Or . . . well, I hope you get the idea.

It's an urban legend. That's what's poppin', Sherlock.

And I challenge you to find that Time article from 2002.

deleted...mysticcat basically covered what i had posted

yay internet rumors!
 

I've uncovered a plethera of falsities about many various fraternities including my own. I recently got a kick out of hearing that my ritual letters Phi Phi Kappa Alpha mean "Protect Friend King Aurthor".... oh really? I find that there is no harm (other than the person's ignorance) in anyone believing these fun rumors. So i simply smile and shrug. One girl asked me why the 'K' in Pi Kappa Alpha was always bigger than the other letters. I said "Why do ya think?" ;)

As far as the ritual books in the Library of Congress, several are non-existing one being Sigma Chi, and another Being Pi Kappa Alpha. They still have, in the LOC registry, other fraternities' ritual books according to the 1880 Anti-secret society movement (which later was appealed by 1940s court ruling Saimons vs. State of California which negated the requirement of all secret societies to establish written documentation of all ritual) After this point, many government officials with ties to their respective fraternity 'legally stole' their own ritual books under the assumption that it was their own property. Much ritual material still exists in the LOC including documents by Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Sigma, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Beta Theta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, and many others.

All secret societies including fraternities/sororities are still required by law to post anual membership logs which are retained in the LOC and may not be retrieved.

Can you give the cite for the court case, 'cause I'm not finding it. Like I already said, and like anybody who's been around GC for any length of time knows:
Source? Cite the law to me.

Yeah could you give a link for the Time Magazine article because I do ever remember Sigma Chi's ritual being number three. Also, could you show where Kappa Sigma's ritual is listed in the LOC?

This is interesting:

“Our group refuses to provide proof about our ritual because it is one of the most well kept secrets among any fraternity. During the 1960s, when most fraternities were required to demonstrate their rituals before congress, and register the process with the library of congress, ours was excluded. The reason for this was one of our most distinguished members, former Senator Bob Dole testified that there was nothing present in the ritual that constituted a threat, and that the secrecy is reserved only for members to share a common bond.”

The Sigma Chi ritual [link deleted] found online looks to be pretty realistic, which is unfortunate. I know in situations like this most people like to say sarcastically things like that is a joke or that's not real, but the truth is it probably is. I mean reading the guys reasoning for the site is a very common reasoning for people to turn on their fraternities which is unfortunate. Nearly every fraternity at some point has had their ritual shared, but the extent in which the Sigma Chi one has been shared is pretty sad.

I do NOT know Sigma Chi ritual. I am familiar, however, with the fraternity's published histories and other materials. I find it difficult to believe that a group that otherwise communicates with educated, elevated language would have a ritual that is ( according to the material on the "anti" site ) so poorly written. It reads like something an 8th grader would write. I taught 8th grade English for years, so I know of whence I speak. I am not the betting type, but I'd bet big bucks that Mr. Anti has it wrong.

:rolleyes:

Just for grins, I've downloaded and read some of the purported Sigma Chi rituals. They are laughable.

The idea that some disgrunted active could get his hands on a copy of the ritual, just lying around, and scan it is ludicrous. I'm not going to say it couldn't happen, but that it is very, very, very unlikely.

I believe this is why Time Magazine is purported to have printed something to the effect that the Sigma Chi ritual was the second most closely guarded non-governmental secret, behind the formula for Coca-Cola (haven't ever verified that, but even if it's not true, it's a great legend).

You even have to wonder if it's true? :rolleyes:

It's really not a great legend; it's a pretty silly legend that makes those who repeat it appear ignorant.

yeah the anti sigma chi website is totally bogus

So you found our 'ritual' good work, but- it is probably fake. Along with thousands of other theories on what the sigma chi rituals is. The truth is that there are so many versions of our ritual open to the public, no one who has not gone through the actual ritualistic experience would know if it is real or not. When I was the pledge I did research on the ritual and found a lot of websites. I thought for sure I had it figured out and come initiation, I was completely wrong.

The Ritual is so private because there has been so many people claiming they know it, and non sigs could never distinguish real from fake. It's one of those mysteries that can only be solved one way. And that's being a Sig.

Ignorance is MysticCat
 

Funny... calling people ignorant for repeating something they HAVE looked into while in every post you have made you ask for other people's sources... LOOK THEM UP YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!

IN HOC Gentlemen

This is a really sad post to read. This is Greek Chat meaning most of us should be Greek. We all have our own Rituals and we should be content with them. It's sad that you're not satisfied with your Ritual so you have to look someone else's up. Read your ritual, live it and love it the way your founders wanted you to and mine wanted me to. I have my Ritual and it's all i want or need, I have never and will never look up another Ritual because it means nothing to me.

In regards to all this other stuff, no matter how much you search and look you'll never know the true SIGMA CHI Ritual. It's safe with true SIGMA CHI's, in our minds and in our hearts, the same place your ritual should be with you.

IN HOC

Fraternity Rituals
 

What you have found may or may not be the genuine article. Now that we are in the digital age and Rituals of any and all Fraternal organizations are subject to being posted there are a few things to consider regarding the authenticity. First and foremost if you are not a Sigma Chi you can not be absolutely sure that what you have found is the genuine article. Sending a Fraternity's Ritual to the National Organization's headquarters will result in nothing happening, not even a return email in appreciation of your efforts - why? responding to such an email would instantly confirm that you have in fact found the genuine article. No response leaves that in doubt. Another interesting fact that I have discovered is that most fraternal organizations have now made certain that a "dummy version" of their ritual is on line. That is correct - a decoy so to speak. The reason is simple - if there are two documents that are different yet both purported to be the genuine ritual of a Fraternal Organization then again doubt is created.

The person you're responding to hasn't posted in 3+ years.

And really . . . "most" organizations have made certian that ritual decoys on the net. Like I've said before, I'm skeptical of that claim.

I don't see why a National org would waste their time making a fake ritual. That doesn't really accomplish too much of anything.. And if it's a Fraternity like SigEp, we have like 4 different major private rituals. Whether there's a decoy up or not, people are still going to find the real one that is up and they're going to read that and they're going to take from that whatever they please. If both the decoy and real are found, so what? They'll read them both and, again, take from it what they please.

I always find it weird, though, that whenever Sigma Chi gets mentioned, it seems like 40 of them come out of nowhere to post once and then disappear. It's interesting lol

Sigs are everywhere. :cool:

yes we are. it is nice to see all the sigs on here. and i find it funny myself to hear these accounts that our real ritual is out there. no matter, the understanding of it will be within our hearts and no one elses

its unfortunate that stuff is getting out online, who knows if its true or not.

The truth
 

Hello all, I have the honor of being an active member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. I was sent here by a classmate who claims the ritual of Sigma Chi is, in fact, leaked onto the internet, and that anyone who so wishes may see the secret ceremonies and literature that we live our lives by. Reading through the comments posted left me wondering so I did extensive research in finding all sources I could.

There is no Time magazine article that states the Sigma chi Ritual is 2nd best kept secret, I looked for hours on many websites and search engines with no avail. That was likely a false statment made by a Sigma Chi to throw off the "diggers" as many of you here are. There is no literature at all that suggests that any of the documents online are false. You can go to google and simply type in "Sigma Chi Ritual" and up it pops.

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&h...a4617bb3453d18

There is in fact a copy of our ritual sealed into the Library of Congress. The fraternity was forced to send a copy of our ritual to have a copyright implemented. (http://www.phigam.org/netcommunity/document.doc?id=348) That being said, if it were against the law(http://www.copyright.gov/title17/) to scan every page of our Ritual book (which I can assure you is much longer than 136 pages) wouldn't they have removed it by now? Wouldn't there be some kind of governing mechanism that removes copyrighted documents? Yes here it is: http://www.rbs2.com/copyr.htm --- Anything that infringes copyrighted documentation is immediately flagged for removal.

Being one of the hallowed few to actually see the real ritual and be enshrined in headquarters as a member, I can assure you i have read the so called ritual online, it's not even close to what our real ritual entails. After seeing the ritual, our chapter advisor assured us that headquarters releases false rituals every year for parents to see before they let their son be a part of it. I can find you 2 "official" rituals right now that are completely different in text.

Some of you may wonder why I would go out of my way to make this wall of text to set the facts straight if it wasn't really the ritual posted. the answer to that is very simple. I don't like anyone disrespecting my fraternity without justification. You see that posted ritual and you lose respect for us because it's no longer a secret. I can promise everyone reading this right now that if you want a real look at our sacred ritual then enroll in a university, and complete all of the processes of initiation.

Now maybe some of you are former pledges that tried to be one of the hallowed few to see the sacred ritual of Sigma Chi and failed. Maybe some of you are the outsider that is envious of the popularity that comes with being part of this fraternity. Maybe some of you are are just opposition defiant and demand sources to every statment ever made by those who cherish the code that we live by. Whatever the case may, I am truly sorry you will never experience the true values at which we hold ourselves.

In Hoc Signo Vinces (In this sign we conquer)

Dude, you're trying way too hard, especially since lots of what you say has already been dealt with in this thread years ago.

Did you even read this thread? Where do you come off calliing "many" of the people here "diggers"?

Did you read the source you cited (which was already referenced in this thread four years ago)? Nowhere does it say that Sigma Chi's ritual was submitted to the Library of Congress. All it says is this:

Quote:

The origin of the LOC-Rituals urban legend is, like most legends, cloudy. The origins of the legend might stem from the Copyright Act of 1870, and the subsequent practice of depositing materials in the Library of Congress for copyright protection. This law, combined with the resulting lore that built up around the "biggest library in the United States," might have led many to conclude that the Library of Congress has every book known to exist in its collection. For Greeks, the conclusion follows that, since their rituals are indeed books, and the Library of Congress has in its collection all books known to exist, then... Of course, the LOC doesn't contain all the books known to exist, only a very large collection.

So, all the source you've cited says is that there's a reason Greeks might assume that their rituals were submitted to the LOC. If you're going to impress us with your research, at least get it right.

Okay, still trying too hard. "Hallowed few"? "Enshrined in headquarters"? Last I knew, Sigma Chi (a fraternity for which I have great respect) has over 15,000 collegiate members and over 200,000 living alumni. That's more than "a few."

Are you claiming that the national leadership of Sigma Chi Fraternity intentionally lies to parents by releasing false rituals so that they will let their sons join? Really?!

What thinking person would lose respect for a fraternity just because its ritual (or a fake ritual) has been leaked? I mean, I'm certainly not going to let some of the dribble you've posted here (coupled with the fact that you bumped an old thread that might otherwise have remained forgotten just to post the dribble) affect my respect for your fraternity.

Again, you didn't even read this thread, did you?

And again, you're trying way too hard.

Not mine.

Just sayin.

Prove it.

I think I know what library that is, though I'd rather not say why for the reasons stated in the paragraph below. Just exactly which rituals that library may have, and whether they restrict access to them, I don't know and don't really want to know.

But I do get a bit uncomfortable when anyone starts saying anything here on GC that might point someone in the direction of rituals. I think it's better of us to avoid that altogether.

Brother, slow your roll.

#1 - I don't know where your advisor came up with the story about releasing fake rituals for parents to read. He obviously needs to go through Cornerstone Mentoring or Horizons training, again. HQ does not release "fake rituals" to confuse the matter more. I think the opinion of HQ is that there are more important things to worry about than wondering if someone has read a fake ritual or not.

#2 - Agree. I don't like someone disrespecting Sigma Chi, either. However, I doubt that if someone read our ritual, they would stop respecting us. Like everyone else's ritual, ours has a deep, personal meaning to us. If our ritual ended up in someone else's hands and they read it, it would still have a deep meaning to me.

#3 - I would bet money that not one active poster on here would attempt to read the Sigma Chi ritual (unless they are already a Sig). They have their own secret rituals and respect the secrecy of ours.

Our ritual and our Creed are guides for everyday. Something to remember.

True. But how many may claim to be "hallowed". :cool:

When the Theta Tau (TX State) chapter was installed, I was married to the President (Consul) of the petitioning local. They did not have a house, so the ritual equipment for installation was stored in our apartment. Some soon-to-be Sigs expressed dismay that I might chose to go try and read their ritual, look at their ritual items, etc. I informed them that I had my own ritual, thank-you-very-much. Even so, I burst out into tears when Grand Consul Keith Sorensen handed the charter to my husband - I knew how much it meant to him, even if I didn't know the particulars of the initiation he had gone through.

The written ritual would mean nothing to me - and actually, it isn't really alive even for Sigma Chi members until it is explained and LIVED. What makes ritual important is not the secrecy, nor the words that may or may not be written down; it is its implementation in the lives of those who vow to follow its precepts. To the op, who I realize is probably long-gone, I'd say worry more about living your ritual than in trying to defend it from outsiders who at best will have only a hollow representation of what is, I imagine, a deep, rich, meaningful legacy from the founders. (Team Caldwell!)

Point taken, good sir.