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The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (M.O.V.P.E.R.), also known as The Grotto, is a Masonic body founded in 1889 by LeRoy Fairchild and members of Hamilton Lodge #120 in Hamilton, New York. [1]
During a meeting on September 10, 1889, the members of Hamilton Lodge #120 decided to call themselves the “Fairchild Deviltry Committee” and to limit membership to Master Masons in good standing. [2] As interest in the group grew, similar groups were formed elsewhere, leading to the formal establishment of the Supreme Council, also known as the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (M.O.V.P.E.R.), on June 13, 1890. [2]
The first "Grand Monarch" and one of the order's founders was Thomas Lemuel James, a former United States Postmaster General. [3] Other founders included Professor Oren Root, Joseph Frank McGregory, and Naval Officer William Colgate Eaton. [4] George Beal, with the assistance of Rudolph R. Riddell, authored the original ritual of the order, which was later revised by Riddell. [5]
M.O.V.P.E.R.'s emblem features a depiction of "Mokanna" and represents the veil of secrecy. [6]
The emblem and ritual of the Grotto are inspired by Thomas Moore's poem, Lalla Rookh, which describes a "Veiled Prophet of Khorasan." [7]
The contemporary ritual of the Grotto organization draws inspiration from Moore's narrative but includes Masonic embellishments. Each Grotto branch may impart its own interpretation of the story. [8]
M.O.V.P.E.R. is guided by a philosophy that is deeply rooted in the concept of "Good Fellowship".[ citation needed ] It represents a spirit of camaraderie, unity, and shared joy.[ citation needed ]
Members are distinguished by a black fez with a red tassel, sometimes with a Mokanna head emblem in the center. [9] A Monarch (President of a single grotto) wears a black fez with a purple tassel, while a Grand Monarch (President of the Order) wears a black fez with a yellow tassel. Other Grand Officers wear a black fez with a white tassel. [10] [11]
The Daughters of Mokanna, a women's auxiliary organization, was founded in 1919. [12] Four original subordinate Daughters of Mokanna chapters opened "Amoo" in Rock Island, Illinois; "Mohassan" in Davenport, Iowa; "Ankara" in Kansas City, Missouri; and "Zal" in Moline, Illinois. Together, these four subordinate chapters formed the Supreme Daughters of Mokanna. [13]
To be eligible for membership, candidates must be an adult female relative of a Veiled Prophet (a Grotto member can also be invited), related to a Master Mason in good standing, or be a member in good standing in an organization recognized by the Masonic Lodge (i.e., Eastern Star, Amaranth, etc.).
Different fezzes are worn to signify various ranks or roles within the organization:
Membership in this group is by invitation only. To be invited, one must be a female relative or a female friend of a member of a Veiled Prophet (a Grotto member can also be invited) and at least 21 years old.
During the early 20th century, amid rapid industrialization and urbanization, the M.O.W.O.S. provided its members with a sense of community and belonging in a time of displacement and uncertainty. The group's name is a reference to the Salem witch trials, and attempts to reclaim the image of the witch, transforming it into a symbol of female empowerment and strong sisterhood.[ citation needed ]
Sometime prior to 1917, the Mysterious Order Witches of Salem was founded as a female auxiliary to the Grotto. The first “Caldron,” the term used for a local chapter of the Order, was founded in Chicago, Illinois, and was known as Aryan Caldron No. 1. [14]
Like its male counterpart, the group is involved in fun and fellowship, as well as charitable activities directed toward dentistry for the handicapped and cerebral palsy. The current number of Witches (members) is unknown as the group is very discreet. The M.O.W.O.S. is also known for its elaborate costumes and rituals, but because of grand secrecy, the rituals are safely guarded, and no written copies are made available online or on paper. [15]
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics do not take place within the lodge; and Continental Freemasonry, which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.
The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body open to both men and women. It was established in 1850 by lawyer and educator Rob Morris, a noted Freemason, and adopted and approved as an appendant body of the Masonic Fraternity in 1873. The order is based on some teachings from the Bible, and is open to people of all religious beliefs. It has approximately 10,000 chapters in 18 countries and approximately 500,000 members under its General Grand Chapter.
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge, but is subject to its direction only in enforcing the published constitution of the jurisdiction. By exception the three surviving lodges that formed the world's first known grand lodge in London have the unique privilege to operate as time immemorial, i.e., without such warrant; only one other lodge operates without a warrant – the Grand Stewards' Lodge in London, although it is not also entitled to the "time immemorial" title. A Freemason is generally entitled to visit any lodge in any jurisdiction in amity with his own. In some jurisdictions this privilege is restricted to Master Masons. He is first usually required to check, and certify, the regularity of the relationship of the Lodge – and be able to satisfy that Lodge of his regularity of membership. Freemasons gather together as a Lodge to work the three basic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organizations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, Michael and George.
Job's Daughters International is a Masonic affiliated youth organization for girls and young women aged 10 to 20. The organization is commonly referred to as simply Job's Daughters, and sometimes abbreviated as JDI. Job's Daughters welcomes many religions and cultures.
Al-Muqanna born Hashim,, was an 8th-century political and military leader who operated in modern Iran. He led an anti-Islamic rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate and claimed to be a prophet. He was a major figure of the Khorrām-Dīn, an Iranian religion which drew on Zoroastrian and Islamic influences.
The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens. It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure for witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions. Member covens generally focus theology and ritual around the worship of the Goddess and the Old Gods, which is general practice within Wicca. The Covenant of the Goddess operates largely by consensus and maintains strict autonomy for all members.
Lalla Rookh is an Oriental romance by Irish poet Thomas Moore, published in 1817. The title is taken from the name of the heroine of the frame tale, the (fictional) daughter of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The work consists of four narrative poems with the connecting tale in prose.
Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. It began in France in the 1890s with the forming of Le Droit Humain, and is now an international movement represented by several Co-Freemasonic administrations throughout the world. Most male-only Masonic Lodges do not recognise Co-Freemasonry, holding it to be irregular.
There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders, Concordant bodies or appendant bodies of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry has had a complex relationship with women for centuries. A few women were involved in Freemasonry before the 18th century, despite de jure prohibitions in the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
The Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball was a yearly cult ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri, over which a mythical figure called the Veiled Prophet presided. The first events were in 1878 and were organized and funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male secret society founded in 1878 by a highly select group of the city’s business and governmental leaders. In 2021, the parade was replaced in response to criticisms about corruption and racism.
The Imperial Order of Muscovites was an unofficial, unrecognized appendant body to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the United States, founded in 1894 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and lasting until about 1921.
The Red Cross of Constantine, or more formally the Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and of St John the Evangelist, is a Christian fraternal order of Freemasonry. Candidates for the order must already be members of Craft Freemasonry (lodge) and Royal Arch Freemasonry (chapter); they must also be members of the Christian religion, and proclaim their belief in the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
The Knights of the Ancient Order of the Mystic Chain were a secret society in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Founded by Freemasons in 1871, the group had a strong Masonic influence in its rituals and degrees, as well as incorporating elements from the Bible and Arthurian legend.
The Rite of Baldwyn or Rite of Seven Degrees is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It exists and is only practised in the Masonic Province of Bristol, England in Freemason's Hall. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. The Rite of Baldwyn specifically is a collection of separate Masonic Bodies and associated Degrees that would otherwise operate independently. The three primary bodies in the York Rite are the degrees of Craft Freemasonry, the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch, and the Camp of Baldwyn.
The Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans (AMOS) is an unofficial appendant body of all Odd Fellows. It is recognized as the "playground for Odd Fellowship", (comparable to The "Shriners" within Freemasonry) and is known for engaging in public and private hijinks and spectacle, all in the name of good, clean fun. AMOS is open to male Odd Fellows in good standing over the age of 18 but has a close relationship with Ladies of the Orient ("LOTO"), which is only open to women. The two organizations typically meet at the same time and share in social events with each other. Like many other primarily social appendant bodies to fraternal organizations, the rituals and initiations of AMOS have a Middle-Eastern theme and the official regalia is a fez.
Lorraine J. Pitkin was an American women's activist and political postmaster. She served as Most Worthy Grand Matron (1880–86) and Right Worthy Grand Secretary of the Order of the Eastern Star (O.E.S.) of the Illinois Grand Chapter.
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