Do you know other GLOs' secret info?

[angels&angles]

Fun thread. Glad it got bumped, for whatever reason.

I know one grip of a sorority, which a guy told me (incidentally, he was Greek clueless, and actually told me it was of a different org, but due to the explanation of the grip, I figured out which one it really was). Apparently some girl had showed him the grip of her sorority (and he'd forgotten which one it was, only remembered one letter of the name, and it was one of those really common letters), and then when he found I was in a sorority, he got really excited to show me that he "knew" something about being Greek.

Also, the afternoon after I initiated, I stopped by a sporting event on my way home and an older guy friend, knowing I'd just learned everything, greeted me with our grip. He never told me where he'd learned it. I assume it involved a lot of liquor.

Other than that and reading "Pledged," I know nothing.

[pshsx1]

^ I like you 10x more now!

[APhiAnna]

I know a substantial part of one sorority's ritual, and even though it will never mean anything personal to me I thought it was incredibly moving and beautiful. As for fraternities, I know a lot of tiny bits of info about a lot of different fraternities...I know the meaning of SAEs letters and Phi Alpha, although I forget which phrase goes with which name...and I know some Delts who pretty much made an inside joke out of something from their ritual that had been repeated around me enough that I figured it out. Some silly stuff about Pi Kapp too.

[LucyKKG]

One of my bf's friends (a Sigma Pi) always asks me what Kappa Kappa Gamma means, and I ALWAYS give him the same fake answer. Then he's always surprised I told him so readily until he realizes I'm full of it. There's usually drinking involved. Then he tries to tell me that Sigma Pi means Sons of Christ -- then "Psych! That's Sigma Chi!"

Ha! We've had that conversation at least 3 times.

[Alumiyum]

My mom is in a different sorority than I am, so I know a few things about her sorority though she's never actually directly told me...I picked up on little things after I was initiated into my own sorority that I hadn't before. I'm sure most Greek organizations have a lot of similarities in rituals, grips, etc. I know a little about a fraternity's crest because I did some painting for them in their chapter room and a drunk member told me some things...other friends in other sororities have told me way more than they should have about selection processes and disciplinary actions. I don't think I know anything terribly important about any other organization, though...I've never shared anything "secret" from mine.

[littleowl33]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

One of my bf's friends (a Sigma Pi) always asks me what Kappa Kappa Gamma means, and I ALWAYS give him the same fake answer. Then he's always surprised I told him so readily until he realizes I'm full of it. There's usually drinking involved. Then he tries to tell me that Sigma Pi means Sons of Christ -- then "Psych! That's Sigma Chi!"

Ha! We've had that conversation at least 3 times.

That reminds me of my conversations with my Sigma Chi friends. I've heard drunk brothers say things that sound like ritual, but then they'll tell me that they're joking, so I don't know if it's actually real. They've also shown me a very obviously made-up grip. The only truly secret thing I've seen was a garment I found in a brother's closet when I was looking for something else. He moved it after I told him! Oh, I also accidentally walked into a room where they'd held some sort of ritual and hadn't cleaned up yet.

I've also had someone come up to me all full of themselves and tell me that they know what Kappa Kappa Gamma means - "Key to the Kingdom of God". Hence the key symbol... get it? I wasn't sure whether to pretend to act shocked or just laugh!

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

I've also had someone come up to me all full of themselves and tell me that they know what Kappa Kappa Gamma means - "Key to the Kingdom of God". Hence the key symbol... get it? I wasn't sure whether to pretend to act shocked or just laugh!

Yeah, that's what I keep telling him!

[Gusteau]

I have a [nerdy] interest in heraldry, so I have some hunches, but I guess I'll never know...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

I have a [nerdy] interest in heraldry, so I have some hunches, but I guess I'll never know...

Now, now . . . an interest in heraldry is never nerdy!

MysticCat types as he looks at the heraldry books on his bookshelf.

Any chance you have a (nerdy) interest in vexillology, too?

[twinkle555]

I know the handshake of a certain sorority..an ex-member at my work asked me to hold out my hand and then she just did it..i had no idea what she was doing because it was just so random! Then she told me it was XYZs handshake...lets just say she was a bitter ex-member and I guess by breaking the rules and showing me it would make her feel better.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

I know the handshake of a certain sorority..an ex-member at my work asked me to hold out my hand and then she just did it..i had no idea what she was doing because it was just so random! Then she told me it was XYZs handshake...lets just say she was a bitter ex-member and I guess by breaking the rules and showing me it would make her feel better.

She is lame and probably crazy.

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Any chance you have a (nerdy) interest in vexillology, too?

Somewhat, though not as obsessive as my heraldic interests.

Interestingly enough, I found an old version of The Quarterly online with an article written by a Sigma Chi about the Armorial Bearings of The Delta Chi Fraternity where he describes the heraldic principles of our Coat of Arms without knowing the significance behind them. Its very interesting to see how traditional heraldry matches up (or doesn't) with Ritual.

[katiedelta3]

I was told a few things by some guys when drunk, I always stopped them. I don't want to know their secrets. I knew some things I wasn't supposed to when my then-boyfriend went to college and I was still in high school. I didn't know to stop him, was just intrigued. I haven't tried to research or pry for information because I don't want to know.

[pshsx1]

One of my brothers has studied heraldry a lot and started saying what certain symbols meant, all of which happened to be on the Sigma Pi crest. My Sigma Pi friend in the room didn't really act any different and, even if my brother was spot on about each thing, that doesn't really mean it revealed any secrets.. kind of how the symbols on SigEp's crest have deeper meanings below the public ones (like the sword of virtue or the star of hope, for instance).

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

One of my brothers has studied heraldry a lot and started saying what certain symbols meant, all of which happened to be on the Sigma Pi crest. My Sigma Pi friend in the room didn't really act any different and, even if my brother was spot on about each thing, that doesn't really mean it revealed any secrets.. kind of how the symbols on SigEp's crest have deeper meanings below the public ones (like the sword of virtue or the star of hope, for instance).

Just to be clear, symbols can have a wide variety of meanings in heraldry; it's all but impossible to say, for example, "a fluer-de-lis means x." Symbols in heraldry are contextual -- what they mean depends on the context of their use.

As a simple example, in French society, a fluer-de-lis was a symbol of the royal house. But in a religious context (even in France), it is a symbol of the Virgin Mary. I'm doubting either of those apply to Kappa Kappa Gamma's or SAE's use of the fluer-de-lis.

Likewise with color. I've seen "heraldry guides" that will say things like blue stands for loyalty, white for purity, etc. While that certainly can be the case, in any given usage a color means what those who designed the arms intended it to mean.

It's certainly true that some things lend themselves to obvious associations -- red with blood, for example, or a book with learning and education. But unless it's obvious (the books on the coats-of-arms of Harvard or Oxford, for example), it's usually a mistake to say "this is what this symbol means" in the abstract.