The Chamber Of Reflection

[GrandJojo]

In Belgium, all Lodges use a Chamber of Reflection - in which you will find a tressleboard with symbols on it - such as a rooster, the letters VITRIOL, a desk with a skull, sulfur, salt, clay, and writing material to write your will - which may or may be read in the Lodge. The rooms is small, usually very dark, and lit by a single candle.

I belong to a US style Lodge - and the Lodge building was not conceived with us in mind - in that there is no changeroom that leads directly to the Temple itself, there is only the door by which the Brethren enter. Usually chambers of reflection are located in the basement. So we use that room as a changeroom and do not explain the symbols. JDs and SDs know when to answer the door by context - as we know to expect the candidate at a specific point in the ritual - who will be led to the door of the Temple by the Stewards.

Use of reflection rooms has been around for hundreds of years in France and on the Continent - I can't imagine why it is deemed an innovation, other than ignorance of Masonry outside the US and GB.

 

[Glen Cook]

In Belgium, all Lodges use a Chamber of Reflection - in which you will find a tressleboard with symbols on it - such as a rooster, the letters VITRIOL, a desk with a skull, sulfur, salt, clay, and writing material to write your will - which may or may be read in the Lodge. The rooms is small, usually very dark, and lit by a single candle.

I belong to a US style Lodge - and the Lodge building was not conceived with us in mind - in that there is no changeroom that leads directly to the Temple itself, there is only the door by which the Brethren enter. Usually chambers of reflection are located in the basement. So we use that room as a changeroom and do not explain the symbols. JDs and SDs know when to answer the door by context - as we know to expect the candidate at a specific point in the ritual - who will be led to the door of the Temple by the Stewards.

Use of reflection rooms has been around for hundreds of years in France and on the Continent - I can't imagine why it is deemed an innovation, other than ignorance of Masonry outside the US and GB.

What is a "US style lodge?" The US lodges with which Inam familiar have a preparation room.

Which GL declared it an innovation? From my experience, it was prohibited because it was not part of the approved ritual, not a part of anglophone symbolic degrees, or done in an excessive manner.

 

[GrandJojo]

The Lodge I belong to was created by US servicemen in Paris when NATO was there - we practice the California Ritual. We relocated to Brussels with NATO.
In Germany, there is "The American Canadian Grand Lodge" - whichcan be seen as a District/Provincial Grand Lodge of the United Grand Lodges of Germany. These Lodges tend to practice US rituals in one form or another. On the continent, we tend to refer to this using the general term of "York Rite" for the first three degrees. However, these "US Style Lodges" are not attached to a specific US GL, they are under jurisdiction of the GL they are based out of - with the exception of some travelling/military Lodges that are meeting on US bases. These permanent US style Lodges have adapted to European customs, by using continental regalia for example - and modified their ritual to suit building arrangements and so on.

In the California Ritual, we only have a preparation room. It's the same in Texas, where I am also a member. There is no symbolism in there, it's a room adjacent to the Temple, and the name is self-explanatory. We have no such room in our building in Brussels. Instead, we have little rooms in the basement which also serve that purpose, but are decorated . Look in this wikipedia article to see the tressle board you'd find in there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Reflection

 

[Bloke]

Lodges working under United Grand Lodge Victoria (UGLV) do not use the CHoR.. We're an amalgamation of predominately English but also Scottish and Irish Lodges... Dont think UGLE us it, but believe the Scotts do. A lot of American Craft Lodges seem Scottish in character (and so do their ritual). I blame Preston and Webb LOL... but it's certainly a more dramatic ritual on the page. I've never seen it, but have seen Scottish Degrees worked and felt that gave me a window into it.. Although our ritual was an amalgamation of the EC, IC and SC, it is very Emulation in character. Mind you, cross the boarder into NSW and to QLD and their in Tartan and working something which is obviously very "Scottish"...

In short, the CHoR is far from Universal.