PDF Order of the Arrow Questionnaire for Brotherhood.
The United States saw an explosion in the number of societies and organizations that were meant to bring people together.The current of the times was reform.People banded together to deal with an increasing sense of dislocation as the society evolved into an urban industrial one.Many of the groups were aimed at young people.Young people fell to the temptations of the city as the old social mores that bound them fell away.Dozens of youth groups existed at the beginning of the 20th century.Many of them were religious and some had a martial aspect to them.The development of the Boy Scouts of America was influenced by two groups, the Woodcraft Indians and the Sons of Daniel Boone.The men with a penchant for the outdoors wanted to establish organizations that would fight the city's influence on young men and help restore their self-sufficiency.
Lord Robert Baden-Powell was interested in these organizations.He was a veteran of the British colonial wars in South Africa.In 1899, 7,000 Boers laid siege to 700 British at Mafeking and B-P, using uniformed boys as lookouts and orderlies.After 217 days, he was relieved that Mafeking had not fallen.When he returned to England in 1903, he found that the manual he had written for his boys had been bootlegged and was being used by boys for fun.He started doing what any good Victorian would do.At Brownsea Island, he put his ideas to the test and transformed his manual into Scouting for Boys.His book was based on his martial experiences and Victorian notions of chivalry and duty.There were troops in England within a few years.
The exchange continued.An apocryphal tale has it that an American businessman lost in the London fog stopped to ask a young boy for directions.The youth took him to his destination and refused to be paid, saying he was a Scout and it was his duty to help others.The movement was ready to be replanted in the States after Boyce made some inquiries.The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated in 1910.The first manual was based on the B-P manual and The Birch Bark Roll.In the early days of Scouting in America, there was a lot of debate about the direction Scouting should take, which was influenced by Native American lore and traditions.The B-P model was able to Americanize the language of the law and the promise.The Boy Scouts of America did not hold a monopoly on Scouting.Two more militaristic groups were funded by William Randolph Hearst.The Boy Scouts of the United States and the National Scouts were started by Peter Bomus.The plethora of groups in this early period is more than an interesting historical footnote, it shows just how much the notion of Scouting appealed to white America.B-P told Seton his original goal was to prepare youth for war.The Spanish-American War of 1899 was seen as America's first colonial war, but the idea that Scouting was a response to the waning interests of Great Britain is not new.The original Scout uniform is similar to a Rough Rider.
Scouting had emphasized campaigning, camp life, tracking, chivalry, and citizenship.He came up with the sign, salute and handshake.Each grade of Masonry has its own promises, as well as signs and handshakes.The Double Eagle is a system of degrees that is similar to Freemasonry and the hierarchy of Scouting.There are seven ranks in Scouting and seven steps in the Masonic 2nd Degree.The motto "Do a good turn daily" and the Scout's duty to God and Country is something that any Freemason would agree with.Kipling influenced B-P in the formation of the Cub Scouts because he was a Freemason.B-P stated that he could not be a Freemason because he did not want to offend Roman Catholic Scouts, but he seemed to have approved of it.In Australia, there are four Lodges named after B-P, one of which he signed its Bible.B-P was a Knight of Grace.ThePatron Saints of Craft Masonry are Saint John the Baptist and John The Evangelist, both of whom are Freemasons.The international symbol of Scouting is a fleur-de-lis, which is superimposed upon the Eagle.
In the 3rd millennium B.C., the fleur-de-lis was used as a symbol.Quebec is a modern-day Assyria.It has been said to stand for purity, light and perfectness.Joan of Arc used it as a military emblem and it was associated with both Christ and the Virgin Mary.The association with the French monarchy goes back to the Merovingian King, who was said to have received the symbol directly from God.One story says that a doe led Clovis on his way to fight the Aquitaine King to a hidden ford in a river.He put one of the yellow irises on the banks after crossing.He was the victor.It is possible that one story is a re-telling of the other.It appears on coins and scepters as early as the 10th century when the fleur-de-lis was adopted as a heraldic emblem by the French kings.One author states that it was probably under Saint Bernard's influence that Louis VII adopted it as a personal emblem.The highest grades of York Rite Masonry are called Knights Templar, and they are said to be inspired by Saint Bernard.
There are other affinities in America.The Church of Latter Day Saints, whose Temple Ceremonies are based upon Freemasonic ceremonies, was the first religious body to officially recognize the BSA in 1913.The Lone Scouts of America became the BSA in 1922.The tests for which Lone Scouts could earn degrees were developed by F. Allen Morgan.Morgan said that Beard and Freemasonry influenced him.Lone Scouts continued to earn degrees until the mid-1930s, despite the fact that the Lone Scout program was absorbed by the BSA in 1924.
Major David Cossgrove, a war veteran and friend of B-P, started a scheme in New Zealand for older boys with three degrees based on religious duty.A quick list of other details, gleaned from letters between Cossgrove and B-P, shows that the idea had very direct Masonic affinities.The workings of a Masonic Lodge are the same as they are with the substitution of the worddge for tower and degree for watch.The scheme has already been taken up in Africa, America and Austria and will be here when our young warriors return.They were the Empire Sentinels.If Cossgrove was not a Mason, where did the Masonry come from?That is a mystery.
There is no evidence that the Empire Sentinels plan was taken up enthusiastically in America, but there is plenty of evidence of another plan that was.The summer camp of the Philadelphia Council was founded on July 16, 1915 by two Scouters.After the OA was founded, Edson became a Mason and also attained the 32.The writing of the ritual was given to another person.The Masonic affiliation of its founders is not included in the official history of the organization.There is not a single reference to Freemasonry in the book.The first Grand Lodge of the OA was formed in 1922.In September of that year, a biennial national BSA meeting was held to discuss various topics, and one of the first items on the agenda was the existence of camp fraternities and secret societies, which some present felt ought to be discouraged.Edson said, "If we find that we can effectively use ceremony and symbolism in furthering Scout ideals of personal service, why should the entire body..."According to most definitions of Freemasonry, it's an organization that uses symbolism andceremony to instill in its members the purpose of the Craft.The OA was allowed to continue if its growth was promoted, which is similar to the way Masonicism promotes itself through recruitment.The Arrowmen may be the only organization of its kind that follows such a practice.
By 1934 there were 45 active OA Lodges.Several changes were required by the BSA as part of this approval.The changes were made to avoid confusion with other usages of the same terms.The use of lodge was re-approved in 1936 in order to avoid confusion with Lone Scouts.
The basic Masonic structure remains despite the de-Masonification of 1934.Ordeal, Brotherhood is a degree known as the "blood-rite" degree in 1927.And vigilance honor.The Masonic degrees are Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason.Each honor has its own handshake, hailing sign, and password.This is called the admonition for the Ordeal.A member of the Brotherhood responds to a question.The vigilance honor has three watchwords.The Order's teachings are intensified by the obligation and ceremony of each honor.Masonry has its own grip, step, sign, password and obligation.They are both organized into lodges and one enforces regularity.Every state has a Masonic Grand Lodge.
What about the OA initiation ceremonies?The Lodge is opened after it has been determined that all present are members.In the Ordeal, the admonition is whispered into the ears of a member by a chief, and the member responds by whispering its definition.The sign of the degree is given when the Lodge is opened.Kichkinet is sent to greet the candidates after they are announced.
The Lodge is opened the same way in Freemasonry.The Lodge is opened on the sign of the degree if membership is determined with the grip and word, whispered into the ear, and hands clasped.The Junior Warden is sent to greet the candidates after they are announced.
In the Ordeal ritual, the candidates are prepared by being symbolically bound with a rope by their conductor, who leads them into the circle.They are led around the circle and challenged by other chiefs, where the same questions are asked and answered.The guide, guard, medicine man, and the mighty chief are represented by Kichkinet, Nutiket and Meteu.Before Kichkinet is asked, they exchange three ritual taps on the shoulders.
Candidates are blindfolded and led by a steward into a similar situation in Freemasonry.The Junior Deacon exchanges ritual taps on the Lodge door with the steward.There is a challenge.The essence is the same even though the language is different.Who are these people?How are they going to get the privilege of entry?Have they got the password?They don't, but their guide gives it to them.They are taken to the care of the Junior Deacon, who leads them around a square three more times.The ritual taps are answered by staves banged on the floor.
The candidates are placed in the proper position to receive further knowledge after the Lodge's circuit.They mimic the steps a Masonic candidate takes by taking three steps forward.When they receive the Obligation, they are told to drop the rope they have been carrying and teach the hailing sign.The sash that marks their membership in the Order is presented to them.The sash is white and has a red arrow on it.When the candidate has received the obligation, he is released from the cable-tow and given the signs, token, grip and word of his degree.The Entered Apprentice degree requires one corner of the apron to be tucked up so as to form a triangle.There is an explanation of the ritual in both Freemasonry and the OA.The Lodge is closed after each principal recapitulates his role.The procedure is followed by both the Craft Lodge and the OA.
There are differences.The candidate doesn't take his Obligation upon a Volume of Sacred Law.He does not take the Obligation blindfolded.The removal of the blindfold is crucial to the dramatic and symbolic effect of this moment of Freemasonic ritual.The light in Masonry is represented by three candles placed in a triangle around the Volume of Sacred Law, and the candidate takes his Obligation in front of a campfire the night before.According to a reconstruction of the original 1915 ceremony, the fire should be made in the shape of a triangle.Some lodges continue this tradition.The Ordeal sash has a triangle with three small arrows inside it, which is superimposed on the larger red arrow of the Vigil Honor sash.The Scout Promise is represented by three candles, which are placed in the North.The effect of being brought into the circle after nightfall in a remote location is similar to having the light come on.
There are other differences that should be mentioned here.The OA Lodge is a circle.The South, West and North are where the challenges are made in an OA Lodge.The Worshipful Master is the position of the South, West and East in Freemasonry.It is tempting to say that the East is emphasized.In the 1915 ceremony Kichkinet was called the guard and Nutiket the outer guard.The leader of the Lodge was named "Sakima" and he was an inner guard.The north star is fixed and all the other stars are revolving around it, so Medeu is in the north for the lodge circle to revolve around him.He alone opens, directs, and closes the lodge.The Worshipful Master's position and duties in the East are explained in a different way in Freemasonry.
In the 1915 ceremony the closing has a sharper Masonic character than current practice, and the characters' functions are explained in a language and fashion much more reminiscent of Freemasonry than one finds in current ritual.The de-Masonification of 1934 is thought to have led to the move away from this Masonic character.The letter of introduction which accompanies this ritual was dated October 1, 1915.The dating method brings to mind Masonic methods.The current year is 6003 A.L., according to Craft Lodge dating.2003 A.D.A new timeline begins with the founding of the Lodge, despite the differences between the two methods.
The Lodge is ceremonially opened and then a recapitulation of the ritual is given before it is closed.In 1927 the OA Grand Lodge proposed a series of questions to test the Brotherhood candidate's knowledge of the structure and significance of Ordeal ceremony in a fashion clearly modeled on the " questions and answers" a Masonic candidate must know before progressing to the next degree.As one progresses, the Masonic rituals become shorter and simpler, but the Brotherhood ceremony retains the structure.The highest honor of the OA is ritualistically the least Masonic.In order to instill the value of Brotherhood, Cheerfulness and Service into its members, there is no disagreement with the expressed values of the Craft.Both groups are traditionally male and share the same hierarchic structure.There is an increase of Masonic values already present in Scouting in the OA.The Masonic values are not very important.What is more important is that the Masonic vehicle was used to communicate these values.They understood the power of symbolism and ceremony to instill ideas.A candidate for the OA must be a more advanced Scout, 1st Class or higher, which requires a boy to be slightly older.The Scouting experience is an important part of the journey to manhood for young men.Like many others before them, they drew upon a familiar and proven system, Freemasonry, for their inspiration.
Most of the fraternal organizations in America have drawn heavily on Freemasonry.The Masonic stamp can be found from college fraternities to the Knights of Pythias.The Golden Dawn, the O.T.O. and Freemasonic influences can be found in England.They both use Wicca.Some of the people who practice ritual magick in America are practicing along legitimate lines of inquiry opened up by Freemasonry.It's not surprising that the Masonic characteristics of one of its most popular institutions are ignored.
I wanted to focus on the correspondences between Freemasonry and the Order of the Arrow.When I sat down to write it, there was a text on the internet entitled "The Order of the Arrow, Another Masonic Ritual?"The author wonders if the Order of the Arrow's ceremonies were derived from Masonic ritual.I don't know if there is any doubt in my mind as to the origins of the Order.A sense of doubt is caused by the lack of physical documentation.The similarities are staggering, and the reticence of Mr. Goodwin to take a firm stand leads one to wonder why, because there is physical documentation in the rituals themselves.It could be that he would rather have his audience draw their own conclusions.
In recent years, the BSA has expressed a conservative moral tone.The President of the United States used to sign an Eagle Scout's certificate, but during the Clinton years it was eliminated as a form of chastisement due to his perceived moral laxity.The expulsion of homosexuals and the subsequent lawsuits have caused conservative Christians to view the BSA as a bastion of traditional morality and a defender of shared values.The widespread knowledge that millions of Scouts belong to an organization of a decidedly Masonic character might prove troublesome for some of its' Christian defenders, be they fundamentalists, Southern Baptists or Roman Catholics, all of whom have condemned Freemasonry at one time or another.If you type "Freemasonry" in any internet search engine, you will find watch groups condemning Masons as the servants of Satan as opposed to pro-Masons.One plucky website includes both Freemasonry and the OA in it's list of "demons to be exorcised." This is not the kind of publicity the BSA wants.
It might be argued that the description of the OA as Masonic is a bit spurious.They might point out that Masonic rituals contain lectures and symbolic dramas that do not correspond to anything in the OA ceremonies.According to Native American imagery, the inspiration for the OA is in the legends of the Delaware Indians.The Masonry OA legend is related to authentic Lenni Lenape traditions as much as Hiram Abiff is to Jewish ones regarding the building of the Temple of Solomon.It is very little to nothing.
The Native American imagery is not out of thin air.The military experience of Baden-Powell inspired him.Scouting's organizers did not receive the movement ready made but sought to redefine it on their own terms.The first prototype of the Boy Scout handbook was written by Seton, but there was a great controversy as to whether or not American Scouting should follow his model, drenched as it was in Indian lore and inspiration, or B-P with his martial and chivalric adaptation of Seton.A remarkable cross-fertilization occurred.The Order of the Arrow was born in 1915 after a break with Seton.The synthesis of influences is represented by the OA.The message of brotherhood and cheerful service is derived from Lenni Lenape legends and is expressed by representatives in Native American garb.It is next to impossible to dispute a ritual system that is Masonic in character.
The Order of the Arrow will have a kind of "B-team" DeMolay for Masonic recruitment.One is tempted to think that Cossgrove was referring to the Order of the Arrow when he said that his Empire Sentinels had been enthusiastically embraced in America.This is rather random.Two Scottish Rite Masons in America would come up with a Scouting scheme based on their Masonic experiences, but one need not make the leap that they were under some higher directive.Many people see the same kind of structure that people used to see in Communism.There is no Moscow, no central direction, and no global plan in Masonry.The cat has been out of the bag for a long time, and it has left prints all over the place.
I used this book to learn more about the origins and development of the OA.The 1934 changes in nomenclature were outlined in the text of my article.There is no mention of Masonry in the book.
The author doesn't seem to know that the Masonic connections of the OA are included in a separate section with aspects of Native American lore and culture.
The talk was given before the Virginia Research Royal Arch Chapter.On January 25, 1996.When I read this, he didn't point out any similarities between Masonry and the OA, but his caution motivated me to think about my own thoughts on the matter.
The relationship between B-P and Australian Freemasonry is also detailed in this article.
In 1975, the Chief of Unami Lodge wrote a letter about the origins of the 1915 ritual.The current date is given relative to the founding date of the organization.This is very similar to Masonic practice.You can find a summary of Masonic Dating at http://www.bessel.org/masdates.htm.
The 1981 version of the Ordeal Ceremony was revised in 1999.The changes seem to deal with the ritual tests, but I consulted earlier versions.The Ordeal and Brotherhood Ceremonies took place in Florida in the late 1980's.
An excellent overview of Scouting.You can find information on Beard, B-P, Boyce and Morgan here.Although Morgan was influenced by Freemasonry, he doesn't mention that Beard was a Mason.I found that out in Jasper Ridley's The Freemasons.
The article states that B-P was a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem because of his respect for Catholic Scouts.It gives a short introduction to the Order of St. John and discusses Kipling's influence.
The quotes and details of the 1915 ceremony can be found in. PDF format.In 1971 the script was prepared in consultation with surviving charter members.He believed it to be very much like the original when he was present.It is likely to be a fairly accurate reconstruction, since it came 56 to 60 years after the fact.
The fleur-de-lis is the international symbol of Scouting, but Velde does not mention it in his text.
Supplementary details and observations come from my experiences as an active Freemason and a former Boy Scout and Brotherhood Member.My conclusions and opinions are not shared by members of these groups or the authors of the works I consulted in the preparation of this text.
The title is "Freemasonry and Lord Baden-Powell".7 July 2003: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/writings/baden-powell.html
Kenneth P. Davis wrote The Brotherhood of Cheerful Service.Boy Scouts of America was written by Irving.
The Order of the Arrow is a Masonic Ritual.1753 was published in January 19967 July 2003: www.vamason.org/ra1753/papers/1arrow.htm