GRAND ELECT, OR FRENCH DAME 7

 
Dit rituaal is een amerikaanse vertaling van het franse rituaal, zoals dat halverwege de
negentiende eeuw gebruikt werd..

Decorations, Clothing, etc. The hangings are white, and the throne is red. There are five lights,
of which one is a transparent star of eight points, with the SW. in the centre. The Brothers dress
in black and the Sisters in white. The Wor. Master and Mistress wear a hood from which the
Jewel is suspended by a long black ribbon. The Apron is white, doubled and bordered with
black and having the star of eight points embroidered in the centre. The Jewel is of mother of
pearl in the form of an eight pointed star, with rim and points of gold; in the centre is the SW., it
is worn over the heart by a black ribbon. The Sash is black. The titles are Sov. Gd. Master and
Sov. Gd. Mistress.
 
 
OPENING
 
Sov. Gd. Mas., knocks 5 – 5: Sister Senior Grand Warden, what is the hour?
Sis. Sen. War.: The signal is given and we are ready to obey your orders.
Sov. Gd. Master: What duties especially call for immediate attention?
Sis. Sen. War.: To regulate the punishment to which a perjured Sister has been condemned.
Although the duty is unpleasant, we must not shrink from its performance. I therefore declare
this Council duly open and competent for business. (5 – 5, the two Sister Wardens make the
same declaration and knocks).
 
 
RECEPTION
 
The preparation room is dark, a white mantle and veil is thrown over the head and body of the
Aspirant, she is led to the door of council and knocks given, 5 - 5.
Sis. Jun. War., opening wicket: Who comes here?
Miss Cerem.: A Scotch Lady, who hearing that a Sister of the Order has been condemned to
death for having broken her vows, and revealed our mysteries, ventures to present herself to
petition that she may be permitted to plead for a mitigation of the punishment to which she has
been sentenced.
The Sis. Jun. Warden reports in similar terms to the Sov. Gd. Mistress.
Sov.Gd. Mis.: We will ourselves hear her. Let her be admitted. She is placed between the
columns.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: Your request has been made known to us, but alas, our condemned Sister Elstach,
has been convicted on the clearest evidence of deliberate perjury, how then can you venture to
plead her cause?
Mis. of Cerem., for Aspirant: Whilst feeling the greatest horror for the crime of which the
unfortunate sister has been guilty, yet would I respectfully remind you that to minister to the
sick and suffering, aye and even to the sinful and criminal, has ever been the great prerogative of
our sex, how much more then is it the duty of Brothers and Sister Masons to endeavor at all
times to temper justice with mercy.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: We listen with pleasure to your pathetic appeal, and shall be glad to know on
what grounds you base your petition for clemency.
Mis. of Cerem.: I have learnt, O Sovereign Grand Mistress, that the condemned Sister has not
deliberately violated her vows. She listened to the insidious voice of a person who presented
himself in the guise of a Brother of our Order, and having by his apparent zeal for, and
knowledge of Masonry, gained her entire confidence, she unfortunately revealed to him only
what he appeared to be already well acquainted with, and she has ever since bitterly bewailed
her indiscretion.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: We greatly commend the zeal displayed on behalf of our unfortunate Sister, we
respite her and will make due enquiries into all that you have alleged. At some future time you
shall be summoned to our Council, and the result of our deliberations make known to
you. Aspirant is reconducted to the p reparation room, in which, during her absence, several
green branches have been placed as emblem of hope. The Mis. of Cerem. leaves her and returns
to Council. After a short time she returns to the Aspirant and addresses her thus: I am directed
by the Sovereign Grand Mistress to require your instant presence in the Council. Follow
me. Both enter without knocks and stand between columns. The members have substituted a
green sash for the black one.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: My dear Sister, according to our promise we have duly investigated the case of
our Sister Elstach for whom you have so eloquently pleaded, and find that the person who
contrived so insidiously to extract from her our secret was a recreant Brother of our Order, the
sentence of death has been commuted to a twelve months suspension from all Masonic
privileges. As a reward for your generous zeal we have decided to admit you to membership in
our Council as a Grand Elect Lady, but before your investiture can be completed, we must
require from you a solemn promise to keep inviolate our Secrets. Are you prepared to make that
promise?
Aspirant.: I am.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: Then you will advance to the Altar, kneel on both knees, place both hands on the
Holy Book. Done. Repeat your name at length, and say after me. I, ..., do solemnly promise that
I will never improperly reveal anything concerning the secrets of our Order, and that I will
carefully conceal them from Brothers and Sisters of an Inferior Degree as I would from those
who are not members of our Order, and that I will advise, console, and assist, all Brothers and
Sisters who may be in need thereof. So may the Most High succour me in my utmost
need. Aspirant kisses the book four times. Rise, my dear Sister, and receive the honors you have
so well earned; and receive from our Brothers and Sisters the applause due to a Grand Elect
Lady. All Salute by 5 - 5. I now invest you with this Apron and Sash, one side of which is black,
the other green; on the green side is depicted the eight-pointed star. I also invest you with the
Jewel of the Order, which from its whiteness typifies Purity. It has engraven thereon the Fleur de
us, as a French Lady of Adoption. I will now make known to you, my dear Sister, the Secrets by
which we recognize each other in this Degree. Secrets explained. You will now proceed to the
West for examination. Conduced to the West where the Wardens examine her in S., T. and W.
She is then placed between the columns.
Mis. of Cerem.: Sovereign Grand Mistress, our new Sister has answered correctly questions put
by Sis. Wardens.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: You will now, my dear Sister, take your seat and listen to the lecture.
 
 
LECTURE
 
Q.: Are you a Grand Elect Lady?
A.: I am, prove me.
Q.: How did you obtain that honor?
A.: By applying for mercy for the condemned.
Q.: Were you successful?
A.: I was, from which I learned the lesson never to weary in well doing or abandon the cause of
those whom the world appears to have forsaken.
Q.: Give me the sign of the Degree. (Done).
Q.: What is the sign it intended to imply?
A.: An appeal for mercy.
Q.: Give me the token? (Done.)
Q.: What does that imply?
A.: A response to the appeal.
Q.: Why is the Apron reversible?
A.: The black side in the first part of the ceremony is a token of grief, and the green side in the
second part of the Hope that we have in our Brothers and Sisters.
Q.: What does the Jewel imply?
A.: The star of hope, without which this world would be a wilderness indeed.
Q.: Why is the fleur de lis engraved on it?
A.: To mark the connection of this Degree with France, and also as an emblem of the purity of
life and actions expected from a Grand Elect Lady.
Q.: Where should the star be worn?
A.: Over the heart which is supposed to be the seat of all tender emotions.
Q.: What is the word, and its meaning?
A.: Elstach, the name of a condemned Sister, meaning a victim prepared for sacrifice.
 
 
CLOSING
 
Sov. Gd. Mis., knocks: My dear Sisters, assist me to close this Council. Sister Senior Grand
Warden, what is the hour?
Sis. Sen. War.: The hour in which we have vanquished our enemies, and are now ready to enjoy
the fruits of our labors.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: How, Sister Junior Warden, have we vanquished our enemies?
Sis. Jun. War.: By converting them into friends.
Sov. Gd. Mis.: May such ever be the result of our Masonic labors. I declare the Council closed. Depart in
peace. Knocks 5 - 5 repeated by Warden.