How do you join Secret societies?

[PowerofMine]

Dear friends,
I’d like to know if anyone has any stories on joining secret societies for knowledge and power and how you got in there? I saw random mentions of people getting employed by them. I want to know the criteria and what it takes? Thanks

[Vipera aspis atra]

Persons who have been part of legitimate secret societies are forbidden from telling you anything about it, certainly to divulge anything here. Be wary of anyone who openly provides you with such information in a public, recorded setting.
If they are allowed to talk about the practices and goings-on, then it is just a society - not a secret one, and they should be able to point you toward a resource where you can learn more, or potentially apply to join.
Finally, some will try to lure you into a problematic cult or scam by giving you just enough info to get you intrigued, so be cautious of that potential when hunting down such opportunities.

The more elaborate answer to this also really depends on why you want to know, what you hope to gain from such an association, and what your perception of a secret society is. But based on how you've asked, I am not sure you understand what you're asking for.

I'd suggest reading as much as you can on the topic of those groups which are openly, historically documented to get a better grasp of the subject itself, before going further. There are some very insightful resources if you dig around. I'd start with the ancient mystery cults and initiatory traditions of magic - a fascinating topic, and how this concept has evolved around the world. It will also educate on the duality of closed societies - where they branch into trouble-organizations from the spiritual/intellectual good stuff.

[RyanJZ]

Depends. There’s a difference between secret societies, and societies with secrets, which is what the Free Masons are. Becoming a Mason actually isn’t as difficult as you would think, but you need to volunteer a lot of time when you’re new. Anyways, some lodges actually host annual open houses! If you’re interested, find your local lodge. I wouldn’t join the Free Masons though if all you’re looking for is some reputation for being in a secret society.

[Vipera aspis atra]

As an addendum to what Ryan is saying, keep in mind the Freemasons are primarily a fraternity. Any information kept by them of the slightest interest to those who want something the public doesn't have is mainly available to higher ups (private libraries are the thing), and what you have access to will vary a lot depending on the lodge. Many of the men in my family were freemasons of varying rank.
And.. some lodges are very rooted in the Christian element of Freemasonry, which can also impact your experience, if you are accepted at all.

Freemasonry today doesn't have much to offer in the realm of the metaphysical anyway. From what I know it deals more in people and institution connections, advantages possible there if you're willing to network and are into growing a business or something. And opportunities there are not assured.. I know of enough people who have contributed nothing significant to society and were/are also freemasons. Sorry if any proud freemasons are reading. It all depends on who you are, where you are accepted, and what you do with the affiliation at your disposal.

[RyanJZ]

It really depends on the lodge. Also something else to know is that the Free Masons have their roots in the Enlightenment movement. And a lot of the lodges only allow men, which is of course problematic for some....

[Lewk]

Personally I think the vast majority of modern Masonic Lodges are nowadays little more than a Rotary Club, or a members club with old fashioned, arcane rules & procedures. In the UK, where I live, you can book meeting space in their buildings. I've been to job-related training and a day long political party meeting in Masonic buildings.

One time I had a view through the meeting room's open door to the main corridor and was amused to see a middle aged man wearing a sword on a colourful sash periodically dash out the building's entrance, run round the building and come back in again looking a little harassed. I'm pretty sure it was just silly ritual, with no esoteric aspect to it at all and hardly secret. Certainly mystifying.

When we demystify people and things that seem strange, they often turn out to be quite ordinary. The history of masonry is very interesting but there seem to be very, very few people currently calling themselves Masons that are interested in the occult and the spiritual side of any of it.

As far as I can tell, esoteric masonry is a modern revival, a best guess reconstruction, rather than a continuance, of what may have been authentic ancient practices. Much like most, if not all, Wiccan groups nowadays.

[Metheus North]

I remember seeing the Masons in parades. Lewk reminded me with mentioning the sword man running around lol. They marched while playing instruments.

On the topic of secret societies, I only know what I have seen in movies. Let's see, the Illuminate from the Lara Croft movies is one. I also saw a movie about a secret community that only allowed members of their secret society live. Oh, Queen of the *insert D word here* also had the Watchers. Was that what they were called? Memory lapse in progress lol.

There are some pretty interesting documentaries you can watch of secret organizations that eventually fell because of crime related activities.

I don't really know of any secret groups, myself. I am sure that there are recruiters that attempt to find suitable candidates for initiations. I am going to echo what's been said already, most of these groups are not law abiding and are more likely to be scam artists. They will take everything from you while giving nothing back.

[Lewk]

And maybe there's a difference between closed / secretive societies and those that remain anonymous (if there are any).

It's been quite well recorded that secretive occult societies had problems such as scam merchants, sexually predatorial or mentally abusive leaders (which is bad enough, you'd think). But you'd need to beware of their group energy or thought form (egregore) too.

I've read that a number of occult societies apparently created very strong group thought forms (egregores) that became dominant and negatively impacted on their highly involved members, including those who sought to leave.

Some of these are said to have resulted inadvertently from a belief in hidden chiefs. Others were created consciously. The stories of the resulting havoc go to show that just being an impressively secret society doesn't itself make you competent in the occult arts.

I will try to find a link to the harrowing experiences I read of. (Couldn't find it just now.)

Luckily, egregores can be destroyed and we can extricate ourselves from their grip, which is handy, as they permeate the world we live in.

I can just find this for now...

https://www.newdawnmagazine.com/article ... rk-stavish

"Spiritual, occult, religious, political and other groups with specific aims create egregores, using symbols and rituals to focus and draw upon the energy of individual members/believers/fans/participants to fuel it. Their energy helps to sustain the psychic entity, and the psychic entity then influences the individual in some way through this connection. "

"There are also a few personal accounts in the book of individuals who belonged to spiritual or occult groups who discovered the power of the egregores when they tried to leave those groups."