Heather K. Calloway
Dir. of Internships & Coord. of Library/Museum Services, Supreme Council, 33°

The myth behind “riding the goat” is based on some superstition
and good-natured teasing.

Photo: From The Lodge Goat and Goat Rides (1902) by James Pettibone

It happened to me and it may have happened to you. As the neophyte in a group were you teased that you might have to meet, ride, or feed their “goat” to become an official member? That goat likely had a name, as did the one at my own college sorority, who was named Harvey. More common are the names Bill and Billy, but whatever its name, you probably wondered whence this curious tradition arose.

Animals are prominent characters in myths, fairytales, folklore, and legends and are oftentimes the objects which fill our imaginations with superstitious fears. But why a goat? A goat is simply the common name for ruminant, cloven-hoofed, horned animals. The female is known as a doe, often called a goat or nanny goat, while the male is called a buck or billy goat; the babies are referred to as kids. There are many breeds of goats, including dairy goats (Alpine or Nubian), meat goats (Boer or Spanish), miniature goats (Pygmy) and fiber goats (the ones most women prefer, Angora, known for their long and silky hair called mohair, and Kashmir, the source of the fine wool cashmere).

Goats are found throughout classical literature. The Greeks portrayed Pan as a half-human god born with goat legs, hooves, horns, and a furry upper body. Teased by the other gods for his strange appearance, he left Mount Olympus and moved to Arcadia. Goats are also found in early religious texts. The Hebrew goat is rendered as satyr in Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14, and the Old Testament has numerous other references to goats as offerings, food, and pastoral wealth, since they provided meat, milk, and their hides were used for clothing and curtains. Leviticus mentions goats in various contexts, the most important of which gives us the “scapegoat” (see Leviticus 16:6).

Mr. Bricktop, a fictional character from Masonry Exposed (1871), rides a goat in the “Fellow Calf” Degree while wearing a nightgown and bonnet and carrying a hod and candle. Photo: Courtesy Library/Museum of the Supreme Council. 33°

In Ezekiel, the goat represents the oppressors and wicked men (Ezek 34:12 and 39:18). Biblical literature also mentions the goat used as an offering and as an object of worship of false gods. Rejecting Pagan imagery, early Christians attributed Pan’s goat-like features to demonic characters. In the Middle Ages, the Devil even appeared riding on a goat. And today it’s hardly a compliment to call someone a goat; but if you do, don’t say it in Spanish!

Even the greatest baseball team in history, the Chicago Cubs (okay, so they’re my favorite team), have a legend about a “Billy Goat Curse.” As the story goes, Billy Sianis used to bring a billy goat to Wrigley Field to goad opposing teams. In the 1945 series with Detroit, P. K. Wrigley, the Cubs owner, wanted the billy goat out of the stadium because it smelled bad. Legend has it that Sianis got mad and prophesied there would never be a World Series played at Wrigley Field again. Unfortunately for Cubs fans, the curse has remained true.

Separating the sheep from the goats

So, how did these creatures become the “butt of jokes” and a way to tease new initiates during their experience? Anti-Masonic literature has had a field day using goats and goat images, including the infamous “Baphomet,” allegedly a Masonic symbol and secret of the initiation ceremonies. Baphomet was said to be the “idol” which Jacques de Molay was accused of worshipping. According to Mackenzie’s Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia (1877), the word Baphomet is allegedly an abbreviated cipher of the words TEMpli Omnium Hominum Paces ABbas (The father of the Temple, the universal peace of men), thus conveying in a phrase an appropriate and universal sentiment of a Masonic nature. Baphomet reappears in the infamous hoax by Léo Taxil, The Mysteries of Freemasonry (1887). Taxil’s hoax has been humorously and adequately exposed by Brothers de Hoyos and Morris in their book, Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? (3rd ed., 2004).

“The Rebekah Goat.” This humorous cartoon extends the goat-riding legend to the Rebekahs, the female auxiliary of the Odd Fellows. Photo: From The Lodge Goat and Goat Rides (1902) by James Pettibone

Anti-Masonic literature commonly includes sketches and engravings with wild depictions of initiations, such as those in Free Masonry Exposed (1871). This particular volume has a comical account in which a wife demanded to know what went on at the lodge. After regularly arguing about it, the husband, Mr. Bricktop, finally consented to tell his wife, Emily Jane, the secrets of Freemasonry. All that was experienced during initiation ceremonies was shared. As his story unfolds, the wild narrative of goings-on at the lodge grew and grew, including one famous ride on the goat during the “Fellow-Calf degree.” After all the husband’s trouble “to expose and explain the secrets of Masonry,” the story ends with the wife knowing that her husband had been fibbing all along.

One of the most well-liked books written about lodges, fraternal groups, and goats was The Lodge Goat and Goat Rides: Butts and Goat Hairs, Gathered from the Lodge Rooms of every Fraternal Order (1902), compiled and edited by James Pettibone. The title page reads, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the best of men.” Its humor befits the period during which it was written, however, as it is neither politically correct nor sensitive by today’s standards. “Billy the Goat” opens the book claiming that the goat is simply around to provide mirth and entertainment. One story recalls a candidate who even provided his own goat for initiation.

I believe that the rumor of having a goat at a ceremony can even be traced to the fraternal organizations themselves. A 1915 ritual of the Modern Woodmen of the World has a list of all of the articles used in the exemplification of the ritual. The list included twenty items such as a campfire, wigs, beards, uniforms, wineglasses, and a trick chair. Item number twenty on the list was indeed—you guessed it—a goat. Kind of makes you glad they didn’t pick a lion, doesn’t it?

Heather K. Calloway a native of Albuquerque, is Coordinator of Library and Museum Services and Director of Internships at the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J. She received her B.A. in Religious Studies and Political Science in 1997 from the University of New Mexico, a Master of Theological Studies in 2001 from The Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colorado, and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland in 2005. She has been a guest lecturer at various Masonic bodies, including the Allied Masonic Degrees and the New Mexico Lodge of Research.