We're a local, and our initiation actually is a bit of a challenge. It's a way to use what you're supposed to have learned during your pledge period- chapter history, chapter values, etc. Everyone gets through it together, brothers and pledges. And we change it slightly every year, depending on the experiences of the class- incoporating things that they did.
Something you might want to try to make it more special is having more alumni there. That's a huge thing for us- the majority of our alumni come back twice a year for initiation. Granted, we don't have that many of them, but some of them drive hundreds of miles just for that day.
Also, I don't know if it's practical for your ritual, but try doing it somewhere besides the house. We've done it in a hemlock grove on the edge of campus. It means replacing the candles with flashlights, and posting a guard on the path, but it makes for an interesting ceremony.
You might want to try posting in the locals group- you'll find a lot more variety there than with the stuffy old nationals.
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