The Craft Rituals of GOUSA
Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society APPENDIX I
There is a clear development of the Craft rituals that were used by GOUSA , which , like the By-laws , appear to have been amended and revised over the years that the organization was in operation . Parts of the first degree of the Rose Cross of Gold for example , which was edited by Peace in 2005 and seem to have been adapted from a translated French Craft ritual , appear in a first degree Craft ritual used by GOUSA , termed ‘ The Cosmopolitan Rite ’ and , like the Rose Cross of Gold , features the admission of a Profane , the Terrible Brother and the Venerable Master , the ritual beginning with the Chamber of Reflection . 29 Like the Rose Cross of Gold , musical interludes were also featured in the Craft ritual to provide a sense of ambience and drama where needed , and according to Peace , pyrotechnics were also used . These rituals thus seemed to be rather intense and dramatic , though by December 2008 , a communication sent from Stewart McGee of Emeth Lodge to Aaron Peavy , indicated that McGee and Peace had been shortening the ‘ Cosmopolitan Rite ’ around that date .
A little later , Krispen Hartung , David Tamayo and Peace were again amending the Craft ritual . There was also an alternate translated version of all three Craft degrees of the Modern French Rite , complete with Tracing Boards and lodge layout instructions . Although it was obviously adapted from the GOdF ritual , it was ‘ Americanised ’ in parts , and its use , along with the other Craft rituals used , could be seen as not only a method of augmenting their relationship with the GOdF , but also as a means to convey their philosophical vision . 30 Indeed the Charter from the GOdF states how GOUSA were authorised to work the French ritual and the AASR ritual , the GOdF acting as a governing body in this respect . 31 An example of how the GOUSA members could be guided in the use of these rituals can be seen when Jean-Francois Mefort conducted a ritual ceremony at the Halcyon Building in Cleveland , Ohio , on the 17 th September , 2010 , leading three initiations , one passing and two raisings . Mefort reported on the meeting for the GOdF , noting that there were 35 members present plus one ‘ sister ’, and that they drank Budweiser and ate pizza afterwards . 32
29 The Terrible Brother is a character that appears in certain Eighteenth Century Rites such as the Melissino Rite and Cagliostro ’ s Egyptian Rite . See Harrison , Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry , pp . 30-31 and p . 135 .
30 For comparison see the GRAND ORIENT DE FRANCE Puissance Symbolique Régulière Souveraine , CAHIER DES RITUELS DES TROIS GRADES AU RITE FRANÇAIS , ( 2009 ). The translated GOUSA Craft rituals are remarkably similar , displaying the same Tracing Boards and similar musical interludes .
31 See Appendix II for a transcription of the Charter .
32 Jean-Francois Mefort , Grand Orient de France , Convent du GOUSA , Année 2010 . Many thanks to Thierry R Bachmann who supplied the GOdF documents that refer to GOUSA .
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