05.03.2020
What can be done for a secret club. Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Opus Dei are waiting for you! How to join a secret society. Application for admission into the ranks of the Order
We learned from Taras Nechaev, a historian from the Society for the Analysis of Conspiracy Theories in Tartu, how to get a bunch of strange associates, and to them a line in the resume, with which they will call for any interview, just to look at you.
Become a Knight of the Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta was founded in 1099. First, the hospitaliers treated the wounded knights, then cut into Crusades, after they traded as a privateer in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and in our time they are engaged in charity work and sell stamps.
The Order of Malta is a semi-state, it occupies two mansions in Rome and the castle of Sant'Angelo. His embassy in Moscow is the closest to the Kremlin, directly opposite the Borovitskaya Tower. And the whole story is written on a well-tailored website orderofmalta.int.
How to enroll
First, become a Catholic. Then help the suffering for a long time, and at the same time find two members of the order who saw this and will confirm it. At the acceptance ceremony, you will approach the Grand Master with a new robe in your hands, answer “yes” to the question of whether you are ready to live in a new way, and receive a slap in the face as a sign of recognition of the hierarchy. Then you can put on the mantle and be called the Knight of Honor and Devotion.
Become a Rosicrucian
The history of the Rosicrucians is as confusing as the ideology. Allegedly, the sage Christian Rosencreutz lived in the XIV century, who studied Kabbalah, alchemy and other mysticism, and then created a brotherhood to achieve universal prosperity.
From the 17th century, the Rosicrucians published manifestos on different topics, from cooking the philosopher's stone to the basics of Kabbalism, people were not killed. The people suspected them of magic and untold riches. Now the "Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rose and Cross" is registered as a non-profit organization, has its headquarters in San Jose, declares love and justice, conducts open lectures and collective meditations.
How to enroll
Come to the office, inform about the desire to become a Rosicrucian and the amount of the contribution that you will donate. Do not hesitate, there will certainly be cloaks with symbols, candles, spells in Latin at the rite of entry.
Become a Teutonic
The Teutonic Order appeared in 1190 in the Syrian camp of the crusaders. At first it was a brotherhood of military doctors, then just military men. They founded Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), baptized Prussian pagans, went like a “pig” to the Nevsky squad and drowned in Lake Peipus.
The Nazis adopted the Teutonic aesthetic, but persecuted the order's priests. And the descendant of the crusader knight, the German ambassador to the USSR, Werner von der Schulenburg, participated in a conspiracy against Hitler. Now the office of the Teutonic Order is located in Vienna, from there the Grand Master manages several hospitals and sanatoriums, where nuns work mainly.
How to enroll
First you need to accept Catholicism and enroll in familiars - sympathizers. If you sponsor the order well and generally show yourself to be a remarkable person, then there is a chance that you will be made an honorary knight. You can contact the Grand Master for admission at orden-online.de. Passing the GTO standards is not required.
Join Opus Dei
This society is famous Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, describing him as a powerful Catholic octopus, which the Vatican itself is afraid of. Opus Dei was created in 1928 by the humble priest Josemaria Escrivá de Balaguer to teach Catholics how to do ordinary work as a religious service and thus be saved. It was not until 1982 that John Paul II made the society part of the church. Rumor has it that this is such a form of gratitude - it was Opus Dei that helped Karol Wojtyla become John Paul II.
How to enroll
First, become a Catholic. The organization itself is secular, but it is part of the Catholic Church. (If you are used to sacrificing a black mole to Dazhdbog, you will feel a little uncomfortable in Opus Dei.) Then you write a request for entry, and wait six months. Then you sign a temporary contract, you wait another five years. And if all this time you have obeyed your mentors, then a permanent contract will be signed with you.
Become a Freemason
Freemasons themselves derive themselves from the masons who built the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. But reality refers the first Masonic lodges to the end of the 16th century. Freemasons did not strive for world domination, but only for moral perfection. They were engaged in charity, discussions on the topics of ethics and mutual assistance, which was prescribed by the statutes. Catholic Church considers them an enemy force, the Nazis and communists persecuted them, but otherwise the life of the Masons was always peaceful.
How to enroll
There are many Masonic lodges to this day. They accept both believers and atheists. The main condition is a good reputation and relative sanity. There is no single ritual, single leadership and single ideology, but, most likely, you will be taken half-naked to the center of the room, they will put an apron on you, they will offer you to read the oath and hit you with a sword on the shoulder.
Organization of secret societies for dummies
For the search phrase “secret societies”, the Yandex search engine gives out no less than 15,000,000 links. Is it really a lot or a little? For the area of intentions, for compiling a sociological cross-section modern society and the mood of the youth, perhaps a lot. But from the point of view of the practical implementation of these intentions, it is incredibly small, especially if we take into account the percentage of intentions and their implementation, which tends to the impossible for the simple arithmetic reason that it is impossible to divide by zero.
Strange as it may seem, quite a significant part of these links (we can talk about 7–10%) leads to websites and blogs of young and very young people who set out to create their own secret society or “revive” an already known, but not represented in the region of residence site or blog author. Taking into account the presence in modern world only one and a half dozen secret (or equated to them by public opinion)42 societies in the aggregate of no more than one and a half hundred of their various branches and branches43, we have to admit that the practice of creating secret societies is currently either a completely undeveloped topic, or a topic that is deliberately associated with numerous difficulties and difficult to develop.
The reasons for the emergence of secret societies and the circumstances of their creation can be reconstructed almost exclusively from the internal documents of the respective secret societies, while the documents official history can serve here only as auxiliary material and supply the researcher with only indirect evidence and insignificant facts. This causes the actual unknowability of the real circumstances of the creation of certain secret societies: after all, it would be ridiculous to rely on the “foundation legends” and traditional myths of social groups as historical and indisputable facts. However, no one has canceled the combinatorial method, which allows at least partially approaching the truth in studying both the objective conditions for the creation of a particular secret society and the subjective motivations of its creators.
The authors of numerous conspiracy theories have succeeded a lot in this field, to whose pen belongs many secret societies created on paper, or never existed in history (more precisely, in the available historical evidence), or existed in reality, but had completely different characteristics (according to the available historical evidence). ). These conspiracy artifacts usually embody both personal characteristics, fears and doubts of the authors, as well as a large part of the "collective unconscious", generalized features, fears and doubts of human society at different times, in different countries and in their various social strata.
In the same context as conspiracy theorists, it would be fair to also mention “esotericists”, if we accept this name for a wide range of people who are seriously involved in the study of esoteric traditions, members of secret societies, practicing individually or simply addicted to reading relevant literature. Their circle became wide in Europe during the Enlightenment, during the fall of the influence of the official church and the growth in the availability of unofficial religious and occult literature. Since then, these two processes have only been developing and covering more and more vast territories of the inhabited world, therefore the circle of "esotericists" continues to grow steadily. Sooner or later, about half of these people come to the idea of creating their own "support group", and here the concept of a secret society comes to their aid (provided that the defendant abandons the intention to practice individually). Acting as a “teacher” (the founder of the tradition), or “the first student” (the successor of the tradition, the “opener of ancient scrolls”, “the listener of the last will of the last teacher”, “witness of the manifestation of the spirit - the bearer of the tradition”, etc.), he establishes his own secret society and supplies it as outward signs, such as the administrative structure and rules of admission, and internal, that is, it creates an appropriate foundation myth and develops the basic postulates of the doctrine.
Without a doubt, one can argue endlessly about the presence or absence of a fundamental difference between "ancient" and "modern" secret societies, their comparative advantages and disadvantages, but this is not our task in this article. We would like to present here, if possible, a clear and easy-to-understand algorithm for creating a secret society from the available materials: first of all, these are people.
Speaking of religious secret societies, C. W. Heckerthorn (“Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries”) writes: “From the most ancient times, religion had its secret societies, that is, they arose from the period when the true religious knowledge of the first people consisted , it should be noted, from the concept of the universe and the Eternal Power that produced it, and the laws by which it was supported - gradually began to be lost in total mass the human race. True knowledge was chiefly preserved in the ancient mysteries, although they had already departed one degree from the primitive, innate wisdom, presenting only a type, instead of a prototype. It is the phenomena of external, temporal nature, instead of the reality of internal and eternal nature, which external world There is outward manifestation... Comparative mythology reduces all seemingly contradictory and opposing beliefs to one primitive, basic, true concept of nature and its laws.
Similarly, on the outer plane of being, the mechanism for the creation of secret societies is more or less the same throughout the entire course of human history.
For ease of assimilation of this truly universal mechanism, it would be logical to take as an illustration a completely unexpected literary work in this regard and, using its example, demonstrate most of the signs and properties of secret societies known at the moment at the founding stage.
Vladimir Dmitrievich Bonch-Bruevich
CLEAN PLATE SOCIETY
Everyone sat around the table on the terrace. There were three children at the table: two girls and a boy. They tied up their napkins and sat quietly, waiting for their soup to be served.
Vladimir Ilyich looked at them and spoke quietly.
Here comes the soup. The children ate poorly, almost all the soup was left in the bowls. Vladimir Ilyich looked disapprovingly, but said nothing. Submitted the second. The same story: again, almost everything was left on the plates.
Are you a member of the Clean Plate Society? Vladimir Ilyich suddenly asked loudly, turning to the girl Nadia, who was sitting next to him.
“No,” Nadia answered quietly and looked at the other children in bewilderment.
- And you? And you? he turned to the boy and the girl.
“No, we are not,” the children replied.
- How are you? Why so late?
“We didn’t know, we didn’t know anything about this society! the children said in a hurry.
- In vain. This is very unfortunate! It has been in existence for a long time.
- We didn't know! Nadia said disappointedly.
“But you are not fit for this society. They won't accept you anyway,” Vladimir Ilyich said seriously.
- Why? Why won't they accept? the children asked excitedly.
- How why"? What are your plates? Look! How can you be accepted when you leave everything on the plates?
- We'll get there now! And the children began to eat up everything they had left on their plates.
- Well, unless you improve, then you can try. They give out badges to those whose plates are always clean,” continued Vladimir Ilyich.
– And badges!.. And what badges? the children asked. - How do you get there?
- You have to apply.
- And to whom?
The children asked permission to get up from the table and ran to write a statement. After a while they returned to the terrace and solemnly handed the paper to Vladimir Ilyich. Vladimir Ilyich read it, corrected three mistakes, and wrote in the corner: "We must accept."
There is absolutely nothing strange in the fact that, using the example of this doubly imaginary “secret society” (because it is imagined, in fact, as a fictional character who only borrowed the outer shell from a well-known historical person), certain patterns can be established that ensure the completely non-illusory success of this enterprise as for the "creator" of the secret society, and for his "novices". Let us leave aside the Soviet habits of Vladimir Ilyich with his statements and resolutions and concentrate on the spiritual side of the process.
A person throughout the entire period allotted to him on earth lives in the feeling of the presence of a certain reality that is real only for him, subjective, but at the same time is recognized by all the people around him as the only truly existing and objective. A person is more or less aware of it, or rather, has an established image of the surrounding reality, which integral part enters into his personality. And suddenly he suddenly realizes that this personal, assimilated and familiar reality of his is not what he sees it, which turns out that in parallel with him in this objectively existing and familiar world there is something that he did not suspect and did not think about, that exists outside of his perception and sensations and leads his own life. Any discovery of this kind shifts the framework a little. subjective reality person and knocks him out of the usual pattern. His personal reality, which usually envelops his personality in a dense cocoon and creates comfortable conditions for her to live (like a mother’s womb before birth), gets a hole and becomes open to external influence, and the person himself becomes vulnerable, exposed to outside influences and loses self-confidence. Naturally, the size of this “hole” directly depends on the significance of the discovery and on the personality traits. In this case, children appear in the story, and it is obvious that just as the child's personality itself is more susceptible to influence than the adult one, so the children's reality has much thinner walls than the adult reality.
The most important thing here is that going beyond the boundaries of familiar reality is at the same time a transition to a state of borderline reality - transcendence, that is, in fact, the very borderline state is imitated, which is considered mandatory for the implementation of a full-fledged mystical initiation and which numerous initiatory rituals of well-known secret societies are aimed at achieving. In other words, the very fact of revealing to children the fact of the existence of a secret society marks the beginning of their initiation, because the story clearly shows their active rapport - an interested and empathic reaction, sympathy and a desire to learn more and, if possible, take part.
The secret nature of the described society must not be underestimated in any case, since it is well known that a secret entails.
From purely psychological tricks which have an irresistible effect on the characters of the story, it is worth noting the not accidentally thrown by Vladimir Ilyich “Why are you so late?”, - after all, in this way a theoretically existing society is given authority and indirectly reported that “all” or “many” people worthy of all kinds are already in it. approval and respect, implied exemplary people, role models.
It is also important that, again, implicitly and indirectly, the protagonist makes the children understand that members of this society can, or are allowed, or need to look down on all other people, that members of society have “something” that allows them to behave this way, because it may not initially occur to potential candidates that there may be no good reason for such an attitude. Therefore, elementary logic suggests that the members of this society are endowed with initiation certain distinctive properties that take them beyond the scope of ordinary human existence, or at least its habitual sector for children.
And this assumption is justified when children learn that in order to enter a secret society they must satisfy certain conditions that carry clear signs austerities. They must radically change their way of life (with a small number of responsibilities, as children do, the introduction of even one new one is very sensitive), and this change will make them special, not like everyone else, and they will have to be responsible for a clear and unfailing fulfillment of the new duty.
It is emphasized that an imaginary person with a stick will not stand over them, that a new duty is imposed on them not so much from the outside, but in such a way as to become their internal need. In general, this is not so much a duty as an order to change internally, to become different, from where the children have both increased anxiety and an increase in the sense of the significance of the moment. This is nothing more than an impulse to self-improvement, written in all the statutes and constitutions known in the history of spiritual and mystical societies. As the ritual of Masonic initiation into disciples says, “we accustom our spirit to indulge in lofty feelings, to think about honor and virtue, for only by controlling our inclinations and our disposition, you can bring your spirit into that fair balance, which is wisdom, that is, the knowledge of life” .
In general, it is important that entry into a secret society is conditioned by the fulfillment of a certain preparatory work. Any initiation, as you know, is a search for an unknown new or old, about which it suddenly became known that it was, but disappeared. We have already said that having learned the very fact of the existence of a new, unknown reality, the candidate has already found himself in the borderline reality, beyond which new life, the renewal of his personality and the acquisition of new properties bestowed by initiation. It is logical, therefore, that from the very threshold of the threshold of the secret sanctuary, he begins to work on himself, on changing his own personality. For him, this is no longer the beginning, but the continuation of spiritual work in the name of initiation. And with this work, he, as a candidate, is strikingly different from all other people, in fact becoming Kadosh - "separated, sanctified."
At the same time, the candidate knows and understands that his own opinion about the path traveled and the successes made along this path, about his own achievements, means almost nothing, because members of society who have already passed initiation will judge them. They will decide whether it is worth accepting him into their midst, whether he is ready to share with them the privileges and duties inherent in equal membership in a select number of “separated ones”. The concept of self-initiation is only a later invention of the human mind, spoiled by the availability of information, while the most ancient esoteric traditions operate with the concept of a chosen circle, voluntarily accepting or rejecting a new member seeking communion with its secrets.
Human nature is weak, and the soul, residing in the earthly body, is invariably prone to idolatry and idolatry, therefore the concession made by most of the secret societies known to us to human nature and which Vladimir Ilyich also makes, even more attracting children to his society with the message of that members of this society are entitled to external insignia. Not only any member of modern secret societies, but anyone even slightly versed in their specifics knows how much attention is often paid to external attributes in them, regardless of the real significance of these items in the ideology and symbolic content of the organization. The ancient commandment to honor the Creator, but not the creature, does not always find a lively response in the souls of the initiates.
In general, the society created by the imagination of the character of the story, or rather, its external properties described, are formulated quite thoughtfully and professionally, so to speak, regardless of how much or, conversely, how little he thought about their formulation. But one cannot fail to note also the significant organizational and - more importantly - ideological miscalculations leading to the repetition by the Clean Plate Society of the fate of so many spiritual organizations previously created in the history of the Earth.
The goals of the society are not proclaimed. The new initiates are in ignorance, in the name of which they sacrifice their familiar reality and change their way of life. Clean plates act in this case as a means, not an end. Even if it were said that the plates should be clean to make life easier for mom, because then it would be easier for her to wash them, that would already be a statement of purpose. The goal should be of a moral and spiritual nature, and this provision was remarkably formulated by V. Pelevin in Generation P through the mouth of one of his characters: “But after all, just grandmothers cannot stand behind grandmothers, right? Because then it is purely incomprehensible - why are some in front and others behind?
The legend of the foundation is not stated. Every secret society necessarily has a founding legend, namely an epic account of an event in the past that laid the foundation for the existence of the organization. Usually, the further in time a given event is pushed back, the more importance is attached to it and the more authority this society expects to have.
Most importantly, the initiation has no continuation. This story has been repeated countless times from generation to generation. Without fear of lying, we can confidently say that with a minimum statistical error, it was repeated in the creation of all known world secret societies, all religious denominations and all political parties and community groups. Usually created by passionaries, spiritualized leaders, they then lost their leader, who either had time or did not have time to leave his successors knowledge about the purpose of the organization's existence, its origin and the means to achieve the stated goal. If the doctrine was not formulated, the niche was filled with inventions of successors, becoming an independent doctrine, taking the name of the doctrine proclaimed by the founder. If the founder had time to formulate the doctrine, it was passed on from generation to generation with greater or lesser accuracy, acquiring along the way interpretations, comments, additions, and also often changing dramatically, while retaining the original name that connects it with the founder.
So, Vladimir Ilyich definitely does not plan any continuation. Having signed the children's statements and accepted them into his society, he does nothing further and presumably moves the next day to Moscow, for example, because the summer is over and it's time to get to work in the Kremlin. Left without a charismatic leader, children are left to their own devices, and two paths open up for them.
The first way: not seeing dramatic changes in their own lives after taking on new responsibilities, having lost a leader who did not communicate a spiritual purpose, not knowing that they are the continuation of a long tradition of initiation, not seeing the practical consequences of their work worthy of special attention, children may be disappointed in the newfound initiation. and stop playing it. However, the consequences of this are extremely serious: children are disappointed in the very ideas of a new reality, charismatic leadership, clean plates, self-improvement, helping their mother, joining the chosen circle. A worn-out, but not lost meaning maxim: "We are responsible for those we have tamed."
It is very difficult to decide whether the second way is better or worse. Because it consists in the fact that the most passionate of children in such a situation can take on the role of a leader and either act at their own peril and risk, explaining that they are doing this in the absence of the creator, or start commanding on behalf of the creator, insisting on connection with him, real or spiritual, which he allegedly has and which, by the will of the creator, is inaccessible to other members of society. It is clear that society is transforming into a society of a new creator, and it will depend on him whether he will repeat the mistakes of the first creator and be satisfied with the first few manifestations of his power, or he will develop goals, ideology, rituals and everything else for society.
No matter what anyone says, Ilyich's precepts can lead to many extraordinary thoughts, even if they are put into quite banal and self-evident logical chains.
From the book The Image of Man as the Basis for the Art of Healing - Volume I. Anatomy and Physiology author Husemann FriedrichI-organization A person, despite the intactness of the sense organs, still could not experience the world as “reality” if his entire organism were not built from the world thanks to the I and for the I. This means that a person really participates through the sense organs in the world,
From the book Wind of the Nagual or Farewell to Don Juan author Smirnov Terenty LeonidovichOn the secret aspects of prayer My advantage as a researcher of various esoteric methods is that I had a unique opportunity to trace the transforming effect of prayer on human consciousness simultaneously from two positions, from two parallel levels -
From the book The Golden Rules of Feng Shui. 10 simple steps to success, well-being and longevity author Ogudin Valentin LeonidovichThe results of the impact of the "secret arrows" of the roads The road directed directly to front door at home, brings bad luck to its inhabitants and creates a predisposition to accidents. The road, directed at an angle to the house, contributes to the leakage of money. If she fits with
From the book Theosophical Archives (compilation) author Blavatskaya Elena Petrovna"Historical" Zoroaster and Zarathustra of Secret Writings Translation - K. Leonov Well-known gross historical errors and miscalculations are often nothing more than deliberate distortions of them later, because they leave a false impression in the mind of the student, from
From the book Teaching of Life author Roerich Elena Ivanovna From the book Teaching of Life author Roerich Elena Ivanovna author Roerich Elena Ivanovna[The danger of various societies for the study of esotericism] I read your letter with all my attention and I must say that I was most pleased that, apparently, now you are not a member of any pseudo-occult societies or organizations. After all similar organizations now what
From the book Teaching of Life author Roerich Elena Ivanovna[Problems in the Work of Spiritual and Enlightenment Societies] Regarding regroupings, it seems to me that there is rarely a sharp division into aspiring and gifted and less successful. There is always a middle element, which can serve as a sufficient engine for less
From the book Miracle of Health author Pravdina Natalia BorisovnaNeutralization of secret arrows After that, carefully look again to see if the three most important energy points of the house - the door, stove and bed - are under the influence of "secret arrows".
From the book Rock of those who imagine themselves to be gods author Sidorov Georgy AlekseevichChapter 3. The Essence of Secret Societies Modern historians are trying to prove to us that Freemasonry is a rather late phenomenon. That it took shape at the beginning of the 18th century, while earlier there were no secret societies and could not be. Freemasons don't count. It was purely professional.
From the book The Complete History of Secret Societies and Sects of the World the author Sparov Viktor From the book Astrology of Sex. Your zodiac guide to love and passion by Davis Rowan From the book From the sayings of the Mother. Auroville. City of the future by Aurobindo SriOrganization Are necessary for the construction of Auroville special methods labor, organization, coordination? It is impossible to live without discipline. Even in the body, all functions are subject to the strictest discipline. It is worth it to weaken somewhere, and the disease will begin. What should be the nature of this
From the book Comte de Gabalis, or Conversations about the Secret Sciences author de Villard Nicolas MontfauconThe first conversation about the secret sciences May the soul of the Comte de Gabalis appear before God, who, as I have just been informed, died of apoplexy. Know-it-all gentlemen will not fail to notice that this kind of death is not a wonder for people who do not know how to keep secrets.
From the book Masonic Testament. Hiram's Legacy author Knight Christopher3. LIGHT OF MYSTERIOUS KNOWLEDGE
From the book About Heaven, about the world of spirits and about hell author Swedenborg EmmanuelThe heavens are made up of innumerable societies 41. The angels of each heaven do not all live in one place, but are divided into small and large societies, according to the difference in the good of love and faith of each of them; similar to each other in good form one society. The blessings in heaven are varied up to
Have you always dreamed of becoming a member of a closed club, but don't know about any of them? Do you want to come across as a mysterious person who belongs to an elite organization and knows more than the rest? Create a secret society just for your friends!
Create your own secret society
Read a few books on the subject, such as the Clique series by Lisey Harrison, for the basics. Just don't be as cruel as the characters in the book. Ask a few friends to read these books as well, and talk privately with one of your close associates who has also embraced the idea of creating a community.
Come up with a name for the club. Together with a friend, discuss what your society will be called and who else you will accept into it. Remember that even if you have a lot of friends, not all of them are suitable for membership in a secret organization. After all, they still will not know that they were not accepted, which means that they will not be offended.
Come up with a rite of passage for yourself and your partner. You yourself must go through it before accepting other people into the club, in order to feel and reasonably evaluate your plan. The rite of passage is one of the most important aspects of a secret society. It should be something that you would not do just like that, in Everyday life. Light candles - this will give any action a serious and mysterious atmosphere. You can give members special names that other members of the club will call them from now on.
Determine what your society will do. The community must have rules. Create a schedule for certain "club" activities - for example, dress the same on specific days or have monthly rituals. Have fun! It all depends on your creativity. You can also organize the distribution of intra-club news.
Find potential members for the club. Casually drop something about society in a conversation in order to assess the degree of interest of the interlocutor. Make sure he doesn't betray you or break the rules. Don't mention the club to people you don't trust 100%.
An important aspect of secret organizations is secret meetings. Gather each time in a new place or find a "secret room" where no one will find you and no one will recognize you.
Come up with a dress code. In most small societies, robes are the form of dress, and in large ones, elaborate aprons.
Keep everything under wraps and have fun. You and your friends will be closer than ever.
Carefully select new club members. Initiate the most outstanding and active people from the school, those who can inspire and motivate others.
Be friendly, but don't give away all the society's secrets right away. New members must first earn your trust. You don't want them to blather right away, do you?
Come up with a way to exclude from society, if suddenly, some members become objectionable to you, or start chatting about the secrets of the club. If this suddenly happened, pretend it was never a secret, and immediately come up with something new. Add this item to the rules of the club.
Come up with a secret or a secret task. A secret society must have the goal of protecting something.
- Come up with a secret handshake.
- Don't talk about society to people you don't trust.
- A good meeting place for members of a secret society - school library. Pick a remote area and hold meetings there. Just be quiet so you don't draw attention!
Warnings
- Delete your browsing history so that no one knows that you have read these articles.
- If you suddenly choose the wrong members for society - party people, sports fans, those who seek to control everything or are busy with their own affairs, such as competitions and self-assertion - be prepared to associate with people you do not trust. They may perceive the secret society as an opportunity for competition, and then it will be difficult to keep them silent.
- Make sure you are not doing anything illegal.
Retelling, chapter fifteen. My comments are in italics.
The translation is presented for informational purposes, all rights belong to the copyright holders.
How to create a guild, college or secret society
Author: Wolfgang Baur
About community goals, initiation, structure, secrets and enemies
Worldbuilding is most often about people, places, magical changes on a global scale. But the smallest aspects that focus in themselves all the features of the setting are the totality of its social structures: orc tribes, colleges of bards, thieves' guilds, vampire clans, even the church hierarchy and knightly orders. How to design these elements to make the world more attractive and playable? According to the author, the social design of these communities is crucial in getting players involved in the world and the game.
Here are the key elements to consider when designing a (com)society or guild. They can be applied to most RPGs.
Distinctive general purposes and exceptions
Unlike tribes and peoples, a (com)society is usually a voluntary association, not necessarily tied to any particular location. Brotherhoods of priests, conclaves of wizards, craft guilds, and orders of paladins decide for themselves who becomes a member, for which the candidate must first complete their training or confirm their qualifications. In other words, such (com)societies are essentially clubs and, like all clubs, they may accept newcomers often, rarely, or never at all.
Founding members are usually among the most influential members of a (com)society for obvious reasons (because of the "experience" of the participant, thanks to knowledge of internal procedures, sometimes as a reward for patronage), so in some cases the goals of the (com)society coincide with the group's personal goals. Imagine, for example, an archmage who wants to capture the djinn queen; the head of the jewelers' guild, eager to create the greatest work of art ever seen; a legless secretive alchemist who hopes to climb the mountain and build a temple for his holy wife. They each have their own purpose, and as founders, they must be persuasive, powerful, or wealthy enough for others to share their goals.
In most cases, however, the goals of a (com)society are much larger and more ambitious and far exceed any personal goals - otherwise it will not survive the founding generation. These goals must exceed the capabilities of any person, require joint efforts and somehow change the whole world. These should be big goals because people don't tend to join in and fight for something small. And perhaps we should recognize that the monsters (who have come) require a similar level of motivation (from those who decide to fight them).
So what could be such a big goal? The details depend on your world, but perhaps they are related to the awakening of the imprisoned deity, the creation of a library of all knowledge, the exploration of the remote corners of the world, the collection of all forms of magical ores and gems, the care of the poor and sick, the protection of elven forests from logging, the destruction of all traces of blasphemous heresy. Or goals more related to power: the restoration of the royal family on the throne, the enslavement of all mankind by the Lich Queen, or the creation of the Theocracy of the One True Demon God.
Initiation and initiation rituals
Who is making these goals a reality? Those who voluntarily donate their efforts as apprentices and apprentices, who are born into a cult or (com)society, who support it with money or favors, or who undergo initiation through a test.
The key moment for the game is when the character tries to join such a group. Such a moment simply must include at least a little drama and suspense (tension). Eventually, it may be voted down, at the behest of the deity of the cult, due to a bad divination result or a bad omen. A longtime adversary can thwart a character's attempt to join (com)society, delaying it temporarily or permanently. For starters, you have to work a little. Here are 10 possible ways conduct an initiation or initiation:
1) Washed in Blood: initiation as a trial by combat. The initiate must fight in a real or symbolic battle with an illusory opponent, terrible monster or apprentice (co)society. The victory can be formal - unless the opponent has replaced the fake monster with a real one. And in the case of a duel with an armed opponent, the goal may be more a demonstration of stamina, iron restraint or good manners than, in fact, the victory itself.
2) Strong Mind: the test subject can test the memory, courage and knowledge of the secret sciences, arrange many hours of questioning, ask to sing or recite something, answer in a dead language or retell an ancient story, theorize about the creation of spells and artifacts lost for centuries. The goal could be a painful vocal defense of the world(?) or a test of the subject's endurance before they fail. Indeed, the power of intelligence is a great way to evaluate candidates for the scientific (community) and the ever-increasing number of tasks to test these skills can create a sense of growing tension and complexity in the gaming session.
3) Generous Giver: the subject may be required to show generosity of spirit and open the wallet. Initiation may include bribes and gifts to the head of the guild, endless libations (banquet) for newfound brothers and sisters, offerings in the form of small spells, symbolic animals, jewelry, rings, knives, or other items of value to (community). The richer the initiate, the more expensive the gifts should be, the exact amount can be expressed as "very, very many" horses, gold bars, necklaces, or whatever you have. Failure to provide the required number of gifts will certainly embitter those who have been overlooked, which will affect the outcome of the vote.
4) Bound by Magic: The candidate must swear an oath of magic or undergo a ritual of binding and submission to guarantee the safety of the secrets of (com)society or ensure obedience to the will of the guildmaster, or guarantee the integrity of members within the thieves guild ("By taking this oath, you will not be able to lie to your brothers or the head of the order") . These obligations do not have to be completely negative or force them to do something: members of the wizards guild can gain the ability to sense or read magic when entering the guild, and members of the thieves guild gain night vision like a cat (in general, there must be some benefit).
5) Ceremonial Sacrifice: The applicant may be required to sacrifice something very valuable - a magical item, a relic, blood and hair. He may be subjected to ritual castration, vows of chastity or poverty. The subject is warned about such things in advance, but knowing and acting out are two different things. Clearly write down this moment during development so that there are no questions during the game.
6) Anointed of God: the subject must visit several shrines, undergo a sacred ritual, or overcome several difficult tests that are significant for members of the (com)society, such as a knightly vigil or the anointing of priests. Candidate can be accepted or rejected higher power, he may experience a vision, a prophecy, or receive a sign of blessing. The candidate may be rejected permanently or until the (com)society reopens its doors to newcomers if he cannot receive such a sign or vision.
7) Returned from Darkness: The candidate may have to endure narcotic visions, prolonged fasting, intentional poisoning, spending some time in isolation or complete darkness, or undergoing another painful ritual that is dangerous to physical or mental health. He may be subjected to various temptations, spiritual and temporal temptations, offer comfort, water, food or other help, which he or she must reject.
8) Recognized by the Elite: The candidate must charm, deceive, or work hard to convince the founders, leaders, or elite (com)society to vote for their rank in the organization's hierarchy. If he fails to convince them, he cannot advance despite all his merits.
9) Keyless lock: The candidate gains arcane knowledge, items, a familiar, or new magic and must master them or subdue them in some way. Until he solves the mystery of this test, the initiation will not be completed and he will not be able to become a full member of the group.
10) Tested and Marked with the Finger of Fate: The candidate comes into the sight of some powerful entity - a demon, angel, dragon, archmage or some kind of arbiter - who peers into his soul and decides whether he is worthy to join the order. If the candidate fails, they are brought back into the world, rejected, and advised to complete a few tasks or gain a deeper understanding before returning. "You have not satisfied the Arcane Master - move on and develop skill and wisdom until next time." If the candidate succeeds, some sign will appear on his body: a tattoo, a halo, horns, a change in eye color, or another sign that clearly shows that this person is one of the followers of the Secret Master.
Open, closed and secret (com)societies
Craft and thieves' guilds, knightly and monastic orders, colleges of magicians, cults, aristocratic clubs and secret societies are all organizations dedicated to some kind of group action and goal. But they are structured differently when they speak in public. Craft guilds keep their technology secret, and mages hide their arcane knowledge. Knights can be open to the world, but hide their military equipment and combat commands, the meaning of flags, special maneuvers or training methods. Monastic brotherhoods have both public duties and internal orders(See Zeb Cook's essay on secret cults (Chapter 14)). Both cults and secret societies hide their activities from others, especially if their goals are malicious.
Therefore, one should carefully consider what will be the public image of the (com)community, its internal orders and trade secrets. Even known philanthropic, honest, and good-hearted (com)societies may hide secrets known only to their elite, related to dubious sources of funding, politics, the manipulation of wealthy sponsors, or harsh rules against men and their position in the order. Thus, the cult of animal and human sacrifice will take quite definite measures to prevent rumors about their real activities.
The developer must decide what secrets the (com)society keeps and how it protects them from outsiders. Power pressure, economic dependency, shame and guilt, powerful oaths, threats to family or friends, magical coercion, invisible demonic surveillance—something helps (com)society keep its inner secrets.
In general, a (com)society can be open to all, with all its secrets except for some minor part relating to finance, theology or magical knowledge. Or it may be that access is open to all, only a few of the most devout are initiated. Anyone can join, but not everyone can advance in the hierarchy, since a (com)society has an outer and inner circle of members. The inner circle knows the real goals of the organization, while the outer circle works on public tasks that may be related to these goals or serve as a front. In other words, a (com)society can have several levels of participation and commitment. At each next level, the character learns more and more secrets and experiences an “aha!” moment of enlightenment, having received an explanation for some actions of the (com)society, incomprehensible before. The task of the developer is to clearly show what information is available at what level.
Finally, an extreme form of "us-them" thinking, where any inside information is kept secret, and everyone who is not a member of the group is seen as dangerous, unbelieving, threatening the great goals of (com)society. Usually groups organized in this way are called cults, although "Wall Street Banking" would also work. If you're designing a vampire clan, Cthulhu cult, or similar (com)society, be careful about shaping its secret history and punishing it for breaking the secret. They will likely become plot points for the Hosts or part of the story of the setting. Sometimes it is worth pointing out the specific forms of punishment or retribution that are applied to those who betray the secrets of the cult: death by drowning for former servants of Dagon, killing by sunlight, or exsanguination for traitors to an ancient clan. If it's part of the world's history (lore), it can be used in the adventure and story.
Status and power
Having decided who and how can join a (com)society, consider its internal hierarchy. A guildmaster, an archmage, a vampire prince, a baron who heads a brotherhood of knights - there are no major problems with the appointment. But who are their main supporters? How does one progress in rank from novice to page, squire, knight, master sergeant, commander, and finally marshal? How many levels are there in the cult hierarchy?
Come up with several titles, make it clear that the organization recognizes them, give examples in the bible of the world who most often finds themselves in which position (requirements for the candidate). It is not necessary to list all the ranks of the weavers guild if it plays a secondary role in the setting, but if you are creating a world of secret monster hunter organizations, you need to decide who signs the invoices when fighters exceed the budget for ammunition in pursuit of bigfoot.
Finally, make it clear how big the organization is and how big its influence is. It can be as simple as listing the members of a gang of thieves, or as complex as listing the network of sires and ghouls in a vampire city. Note that a small organization is not necessarily weaker than a large order with thousands of members. The Circle of Eight in the world of Sergo the Hawk (Greyhawk) is dominant in its history and mythology, all its members are important. You can come up with a similar group of representatives of various forces in your world.
Need for competitors
One of the underestimated aspects when designing a guild or society is rivals, competitors and worst enemies. In the end, if it was so easy to achieve what you want, everything would have ended long ago. The enemy may be another (com)society, striving for the same values, or pursuing goals so disgusting that all sane people want to prevent them. Perhaps the goals of society run counter to the plans of the state. The enemy can be an archmage who monitors the actions of (community) or a free alliance of street boys and smart adventurers.
It is not so important who will play the role of an opponent, as that there are those who know their true goals. When characters join a (com)society, they accept these enemies as their own. This gives the GM an excellent reason for conflict - if the enemy is clearly defined and easy to use, with their own goals, hierarchy, tools, spies and magical artifacts. Ideally, prepare an initiation ritual that the characters can pass or fail to infiltrate opponents for espionage.
Identification marks
An essential part of designing any college, guild, or society is how it will look to the players. The author believes that the simplest solution is to use one character, piece of clothing, secret word or other identifier to the maximum. The Cult of the Red Star uses red stars, the Loyal Alchemist Guild uses the pelican (symbol of loyalty), the Order of Immortal Light uses solar symbols.
This, of course, is trite, but the point is that players can recognize the nature of the cult at a glance. And for a school of magicians with their lions, snakes, ravens and badgers, it will be easy to use these symbols to indicate the characters' personalities. There is nothing wrong with constantly repeating descriptions like "you see a man with ashy hair and a snake tattoo", as this is the easiest way to let the characters know that they are dealing with a Slytherin graduate. This works great for all open, public organizations and helps them identify each other, and of course it makes it easier for the villains to recognize and target the game's heroes.
13 Unusual Worldbuilding Communities
1. Guild of Alchemists, who opened the fountain of youth.
2. An order of inquisitors who can sniff out any lie.
3. A brotherhood of minotaurs and rangers specializing in dungeon exploration and robbery.
4. Order of paladins that rob the rich.
5. The cult of slave traders who believe that people are better off living in slavery.
6. A secret society of werewolves who want to gain power over unsuspecting residents.
7. A guild of mages who aspire to become liches and immortal spirits.
8. Guild of thieves, which is engaged in charity in favor of orphans.
9. A dwarven trading guild that specializes in gryphon and aircraft transportation.
10. A community of singers supporting an invisible wall that protects the world from demonic hordes.
11. An order of priests dedicated to collecting knowledge and mapping the world.
12. Society of women, among whom there are oracles and prophets, wishing the world stability and security.
13. An order of assassins guarding the fortress where the roots of Yggdrasil and the Fruit of Knowledge lie.
Conclusion
Why bother so much? Because secret (com)societies are the greatest villains and greatest heroes your world. They will survive any attempt to destroy them. The mega-villain can be killed, but his followers will live to strike back and exact revenge. A hero who fell in the service of the Order of St. Arik knows that even though he sacrifices his life, others will take up his banner and continue his work.
Well-designed (com)societies can echo throughout the world-building process. Make them mythical, epic, mysterious, secretive or vile, but make them understandable, organized, active and passionate about their goals. And you will be rewarded with conflict, drama and great acting.
What can you do so that life does not seem boring and empty, like on a desert island, which is occasionally visited by relatives? Just don't stay at home! There are many different clubs for the elderly in every city. And if you have a lot of creative ideas, you can open your own club!
Get into uni
In the Novoilinsky district of Novokuznetsk at the library. D. Likhachev has a unique club for the elderly. People come here to study! This is a university for the older generation "New Start!". Everything is here, as in a real educational institution: lessons, teachers, breaks, graduations, holidays. "Our university has been operating for the second year," he says. head Natalia Suvorova- more and more comes to us and more people. To be honest, such popularity surprises us, because everything that we do now in the club, we did before in the library. Obviously, the chosen form of association turned out to be very successful - here is both knowledge and communication!”
The idea of creating such a club came from the "students" themselves. Someone has already seen similar ones in other cities of Russia, and all of them were very popular, because it's never too late to learn! And if also with like-minded people, it is interesting and useful. “The council of veterans of the district turned to me with a request to open a university for the elderly,” continues Natalya Sergeevna. - The idea seemed very interesting to me, especially since we already had some kind of base at the library. We have compiled a passport and the position of the club, in which we outlined its main goals, objectives, direction of work, the category of "students". We keep a journal of visits and a curator from the library staff is assigned to the university, and we choose a leader from among the club members.”
"University" is good because it gives both knowledge and communication. Photo: From the personal archive /
The university opened its doors, as it should be for all educational institutions, on September 1. "Students" attend classes in literature, local history, computer science, art history, in English, Orthodox culture, physical education and even Esperanto! The lecturers come from pension fund, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, health centers, and not only tell, but they can, for example, even check blood for sugar or even do some kind of express tests. "Students" go to the fire department, various museums, exhibitions, meet interesting people of the city.
But not all lessons are serious. There are many creative activities that, over time, began to be carried out not only by volunteers, but also by the "students" themselves. They share their experience with great pleasure: someone shows embroidery, someone is engaged in floristry, decoupage, knitting. The teachers at the university are different: they are both library staff and volunteers (current and retired teachers educational institutions cities, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, public institutions), and now the students themselves, who are preparing for the lessons with great pleasure and responsibility. Classes are held once a week, on Fridays. As a rule, there are two or three lessons a day, one of them is necessarily creative.
Lecturers at the "University" are different: library workers, current teachers, employees of various services. Photo: From the personal archive /
“Our ‘students’ are getting younger before our eyes! - continues the head of the university. - Indeed, they turn into mischievous, cheerful students. And what elegant they come! We also have the first bell, we celebrate the Day of Knowledge, the Day of the Student and, as expected, graduation with the presentation of certificates. Our grandparents are getting what they missed when they retired - new information and communication. They get to know each other, find new friends, then go to the dacha together, go to visit a friend and even go on vacation together, for example, to a sanatorium. And this year, the “students” of the “New Start” began to take part in the new project “Grandma for an hour”. These are free creative activities for children, with whom the “grandmother” on duty from among the students of the university is engaged. They hold various creative workshops, read books together, help with homework, learn to play musical instruments, in chess and checkers. This is how a simple idea to combine knowledge and communication has grown into a big interesting concept, the implementation of which brings so much benefit to both its organizers and students.
Share yourself!
In 2005, Iraida Borisovna decided to take up social activities, created a club for veterans of the native Zavodskoy district of Novokuznetsk and called it "My Family". The social service went forward and allocated a room - in the recreation center "Komsomolets". “In order to open a club, you just need a great desire and necessarily creative potential,” says Iraida Zinovieva. - I didn’t even have to come up with classes: everything that I could do myself, I decided to pass on to my grandparents. She knew how to sew - she opened a circle for sewing, she knew how to draw - for drawing, she knew how to sing - she organized an ensemble, she knew how to write poetry - a poetic circle, she was engaged in landscape - she began to teach landscape design, she sculpted from clay - now I teach others clay plastics. And in the end, there were seven circles. The average age of the "club youth" is solid - 80 years. “Despite their age, they are young at heart, because they are busy with creativity,” continues the head of the club. - We compose songs, and poems, and music, and sing ourselves. We constantly participate in various competitions, art meetings and festivals. Our grandmothers bypass the young at competitions and take prizes! They are full of creative ideas and life optimism, because they feel that they benefit people and give them joy, they set an example of how to live actively and not lose heart!
When people are busy with creativity, they are young. Photo: AiF / Pavel Kazakov
Having been “infected” with irrepressible energy from their leader, the “club youth” also actively engaged in social activities. Now they travel with charity exhibitions and concerts to specialized institutions for children and the elderly. They believe that only in this way, feeling needed, realizing their creative potential, one can live in joy and harmony with oneself.
Movies are not for entertainment
The club of intellectual cinema "Dialogue" turns 38 this year! Perhaps this is one of the oldest clubs in Novokuznetsk. The participants here are different, of course, and there are many pensioners. It arose from the desire of the townspeople to discuss problematic cinema. “In the pre-perestroika years, we were simply excited by such films as Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Ivan's Childhood, Five Evenings, Ascent, The Escape of Mr. McKinley, Father Sergius,” says club member Andrey Ivanov.- Nobody spoke about it on television, as now, did not discuss them. You won't hear the truth! And we really wanted to understand the film and discuss it with like-minded people. And before that, sometimes the discussions were stormy, that fists were used! Can you imagine?
The club was founded by infectious disease doctor Boris Gilyov. And in 1979, "Dialogue" began to organize meetings in the library. N. V. Gogol. “There was a time when they were only allowed into the club based on the results of exams,” Andrey continues. - It was necessary to know the basic film terms. I remember we even wrote cheat sheets for beginners so that they would not fail in the exam. The club was very popular: it was a member of the Society of Film Friends under the Union of Cinematographers, traveled to various film festivals, collaborated with the Museum of Cinema in Moscow. At one time, film critics from Moscow, famous cameramen came to visit the club. A unique collection of films by the best directors has been formed here!
“Of course, now people have more opportunities to watch and discuss interesting films: there is the Internet, various forums,” says Andrey Ivanov. - But we come here just for live communication. We older people miss it. We learn to listen to each other, express our point of view, meet new people. Many of us then just make friends, go to visit each other. Here we get interesting knowledge and communication, just what we lack so much in life.”
