Secret societies are, as the name suggests, secret, and it’s probably because of all the weird forest initiations and lodge passwords that they use.
A pyramid hat in the lodge room
You’d think a group called Tall Cedars of Lebanon would be really serious. They are, mostly, but then you see their pyramid hats, and they don’t seem so proper anymore. The group traces back to the Tall Cedar Degree in 1843 and a ceremony with an even weirder name.
It was called the Ancient and Honorable Rite of Humility, something tells us that it probably wasn’t that humble at all. The Tall Cedars added a Canadian Forest in 1971, finally giving them the International part they’d been looking for.
A door in the bush
Not all secret societies feel like a club, Poro is a great example of that. It’s a men’s initiation society across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. A big part of their beliefs is around the transition to adulthood.Â
Poro has also been linked to things like governing, courts, trade, and military power, you know, standard secret society stuff. It even has a women’s version called Sande or Bundu, it really depends on the region. Nice to know there’s some equality.
A language hiding in plain sound
Abakuá is a secret from Cuba, and the first lodge for this secret society was built in Regla, near Havana, in 1836. A lot of secret societies are focused on men, Abakuá is no different, since it’s a male Afro-Cuban brotherhood.
It has all sorts of odd initiations and spirit-messenger figures. The society also includes materials that no outsiders are meant to read, that’s probably why we know so little about it. We’ve only ever seen some pictures of its signs and ritual images.
Shelves, symbols, and old papers
The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia grew out of one of the most famous secret societies, Freemasonry, and it originally started as the English Rosicrucian Society in 1867. It then changed its name to the Latin version in the 1880s, it’s way more mysterious, after all.
The group makes members complete papers and ritual material that get grades, just like a college assignment. Yes, graded. You have assignments to finish in this secret society, who would’ve thought it?
A locked page in Edinburgh
You’ll find the Royal Order of Scotland on St John Street in Scotland. It’s a Masonic order that has a history dating back to 1750 in Scotland and 1741 in London. The Royal Order even has its own Grand Lodge, though it’s a little different from the other groups’ lodge.
New members get admitted directly to the group, and the order itself runs through Provincial Grand Lodges around the world, it’s that big of a group. Kind of interesting that they’ve managed to keep it all top secret, though.
Odd pieces kept together
It’s kind of weird how many offshoots Freemasonry has, and the Allied Masonic Degrees is yet another example of it. In 1879, the group formed its Grand Council, trying to bring together degrees that didn’t fit under the other main governing bodies.
It has five degrees today that all sound mysterious, including St Lawrence the Martyr, Knight of Constantinople, and Red Cross of Babylon. The group itself now has over 200 councils under it. Not bad for a group that’s meant to be secret.
Fire, feathers, and a hospital
No, we’re not talking about the dinosaur. The Order of Quetzalcoatl is a group that was established in 1945 and grew out of Mexico City, featuring local chapters called teocallis. They don’t just let anyone in, why would they, they have specific rules.
For starters, you have to be Masons and Shriners before even being invited to join, there’s no guarantee you’ll get in. There are three levels to the order, and the final one is connected to the Feast of Fire. You go on a pilgrimage to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacán.
A name above the old hall
Time for a more homegrown society now. This time, it’s the Knights of Pythias, an order founded in Washington, D.C. in 1864. The founder, Justus H. Rathbone, modeled the group on the Greek friendship story of Damon and Pythias, because of course he did.
The group, interestingly enough, became the first American fraternal order that was chartered by an Act of Congress. Don’t underestimate the Knights of Pythias, though, the group goes way beyond the United States.
A temple name with a modern address
You can’t get more secret society-like than a group with the name Ordo Templi Orientis. It’s not even that old compared to some of the other entries on this list, just slightly over 100 years, but they’ve managed to keep parts completely private the entire time.
The major figures in its founding were Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, and Aleister Crowley. It’s a mix of quite a few groups, including aspects of Masonic, Rosicrucian, and Gnostic rituals.
A tavern near the stage door
The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes. Yes, that’s a real secret society; no, it’s not a secret animal club. It dates back to 1822 at the Harp Tavern near London’s Drury Lane Theatre, created by stagehands and theatre technicians.
They’d been left out of an actors’ social circle, they were tired of living that way, so what did they do? Just made their own secret society, no big deal. The group actually does charity work and offers social support, so it’s a little different from your usual kind of secret society.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
10 secret societies that control our world: Illuminati, Freemasons, and more
From the elusive Illuminati to the secretive Skull and Bones, we’ll explore the intriguing details, connections to U.S. politics, and the wildest conspiracy theories swirling around these clandestine groups.
10 secret societies that control our world: Illuminati, Freemasons, and more
