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Magical Organization
A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices. 18th century The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross () was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members. The Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe () or simply Élus Coëns (Hebrew for "Elect Priests"), was a theurgical organization founded by Martinez de Pasqually in 1767. It spread in France in the latter part of the 18th century and is the first branch of the Martinist tradition. 19th century So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Society
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla warfare insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. Secret societies may be community-based or associated with colleges and universities. These societies exist in countries around the world. Definitions The exact qualifications for labeling a group a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy and might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial of membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals. Anthropology, Anthropologically and historically, secret societies have been dee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martinism
Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, called 'Reintegration'. As a mystical tradition, it was first transmitted through a Masonic high-degree system established around 1740 in France by Martinez de Pasqually, and later propagated in different forms by his two students Louis Claude de Saint-Martin and Jean-Baptiste Willermoz. The term ''Martinism'' applies to both this particular doctrine and the teachings of the reorganized "Martinist Order" founded in 1886 by Augustin Chaboseau and Gérard Encausse (aka Papus). It was not used at the tradition's inception in the 18th century. This confusing disambiguation has been a problem since the late 18th century, where the term ''Martinism'' was already used interchangeably between the teachings of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin and Martinez ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
Samuel Liddell (or Liddel) MacGregor Mathers (8 or 11 January 1854 – 5 or 20 November 1918), born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was a British occultist and member of the S.R.I.A. He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories t ... order of which offshoots still exist. He became so synonymous with the order that Golden Dawn scholar Israel Regardie observed in retrospect that "the Golden Dawn was MacGregor Mathers." Early life Mathers was born on 8 or 11 January 1854 in Hackney, London, England. His father, William M. Mathers, died while he was still a boy. His mother, whose maiden name was Collins, died in 1885. He attended Bedford School and subsequently worked in Bournemouth as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wynn Westcott
William Wynn Westcott (17 December 1848 – 30 July 1925) was a British coroner, ceremonial magician, theosophist and Freemason born in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. He was a Supreme Magus (chief) of the S.R.I.A. and went on to co-found the Golden Dawn. Biography He was a doctor of medicine. In 1871 he became active in Freemasonry where he became Master of his home Lodge three years later and also the ''Quatuor Coronati'' research lodge (Master 1893–94). In 1879 he moved to Hendon. In 1880 he began studying the Kabbalah and joined Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. In 1882 he met Samuel Liddell Mathers. Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia Westcott became chief of the SRIA with the death of William Robert Woodman.Regardie, p. 17 The Golden Dawn Wescott co-founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn with Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and William Robert Woodman in 1887, using the motto V.H. Frater Sapere Aude. Around this time, he was also active i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism. The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons and members of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn. Hence the Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation, similar to Masonic lodges. While th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paschal Beverly Randolph
Paschal Beverly Randolph (October 8, 1825 – July 29, 1875) was an African-American medical doctor, occultist, spiritualist, trance medium, and writer. According to A. E. Waite, he established the earliest known Rosicrucian order in the United States. He may have also been the first to introduce the principles of erotic alchemy to North America. Early life Born in New York City, Randolph grew up in New York City and was baptized at the Church of the Transfiguration, Episcopal (Manhattan). He was a free black man, a descendant of William Randolph. His father was a nephew of John Randolph of Roanoke and his mother was Flora Beverly, whom he later described as being of mixed English, French, German, Native American and African ancestry. His mother died when he was young, leaving him homeless and penniless; he ran away to sea in order to support himself. From his adolescence through to the age of twenty, he worked as a sailor. As a teen and young man, Randolph travele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occultism
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysticism. It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as extra-sensory perception and parapsychology. The term occult sciences was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, among figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term 'occult' was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors. By the 21st century the term 'occultism' was commonly employed –including by academic scholars in the field of Western esotericism studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as those depicted in these pictures, is called an ''initiate''. Characteristics William Ian Miller notes the role of ritual humiliation in comic ordering and testing. Mircea Eliade discussed initiation as a principal religious act by classical or traditional societies. He defined initiation as "a basic change in existential condition", which liberates man from profane time and histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermetic Brotherhood Of Luxor
The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor was an initiatic occult organization that first became public in late 1894, although according to an official document of the order it began its work in 1870. According to this document, authored by Peter Davidson, the order was established by Max Théon, who when in England was initiated as a Neophyte by "an adept of the serene, ever-existing and ancient Order of the original H. B. of L." History Theon became Grand Master of the Exterior Circle of the Order. However, apart from his initiatory role, he seems to have little to do with the day to day running of the order, or of its teachings. He seems to have left these things to Peter Davidson, who was the Provincial Grand Master of the North (Scotland), and later also the Eastern Section (America). The order's teachings drew heavily from the magico-sexual theories of Paschal Beverly Randolph, who influenced groups such as Ordo Templi Orientis, although it is not clear whether or not Randolph hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Grand Lodge Of England
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron Tavern in London, it is considered to be the oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world, together with the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland. History Moderns and Ancients in English Freemasonry Prior to 1717 there were Freemasons' lodges in England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the earliest known admission of non-operative masons being in Scotland. On St John's Day, 24 June 1717, three existing London lodges and a Westminster lodge held a joint dinner at the Goose and Gridiron alehouse in St Paul's Churchyard, elected Anthony Sayer to the chair as Grand Master, and called themselves the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. The City of London Corporation has erected a Blue Plaque near the location. Little is k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Lodge
A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge, Grand Orient, or Obedience is the usual governing body of "Craft", "Blue Lodge", or "Symbolic" Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, soon to call itself the Grand Lodge of England. The head of a Grand Lodge is called the Grand Master, and the other officers of the Grand Lodge prefix "Grand" to the titles of Lodge officers. Many Grand Lodges have also established ''Provincial Grand Lodges'' as an organizational layer between themselves and member Lodges. In the United States, a Grand Lodge will often divide its area of control into "Districts" or "Regions." There is no central body to oversee all of the Grand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wentworth Little
Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier at the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon of the secretary's office at the and later secretary of the Royal Institution for Girls. He was a well-known founder of Masonic orders in the 1860s and 70s, being responsible for four: the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Societas Rosicrucian ...
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