Perfectibilists

Perfectibilists: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati by Terry Melanson is a rich treasure trove of history, much of which I found I hadn’t quite been familiar with yet, and that, in spite of the author’s barely hidden bias, really puts the infamous Illuminati in a heroic position in their time. I’ve always… Continue reading Perfectibilists

Secret societies, societies with secrets, and societies with spoilers

When thinking about secrets and mysteries in practice, I’ve long tossed about the idea of a difference between secret societies, societies with secrets and a society without spoilers. Especially in this day when so much is being made available online, but that really is just a matter of scale when there are plenty of historical… Continue reading Secret societies, societies with secrets, and societies with spoilers

Societies with secrets, security culture and online social media

There’s a post about a new Social Media Code of Conduct for Massachusetts Freemasons [PDF] (HT @Masonictraveller) over at Freemason Information, part of The Beehive series by Fred Milliken. This document mentioned is particularly interesting to me because it touches on some issues I think are important; and the reactions to the document are also… Continue reading Societies with secrets, security culture and online social media

Freemasonry …

I’m looking for information about the system mentioned in Symbols of Freemasonry which, instead of being about Hiram and the Temple of Jerusalem, was supposedly about the building of the Tower of Babel, also switching King Solomon for King Nimrod. I ran across some interesting pages whicle looking for this. Apparently, there’s some evidence that… Continue reading Freemasonry …

Prince Hall masonry …

Apparently, there’s a pretty little rucus going on which revolves around Prince Hall masonry, which was a masonic group of Black Americans. It’s been the center of a controversy since it started, it seems, and is so again. Petty Tyranny Prince Hall, Myths, Legends and Facts

Early freemasonry …

So, interestingly, after thinking about the state of Freemasonry in the 1800’s I ran across a statement about the frission between mystic groups that append to every religion, the Gnostics to Christianity, the Kabbalists to Judaism, the Sufi to Islam, etc … “All these mystic groups were disliked by the establishment and by the clergy… Continue reading Early freemasonry …