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.Now, arethey  secret societies or  societies with secrets ? Well, they areboth and of course neither, depending on one s point ofview.To get to the underlying problem the notion of exactlywhat their secrets could be must be analysed.First thing s first.By definition a secret society must be secret but the veryidea, in many respects, is something of an oxymoron.Thevisibility of these societies is not obscured.One can walkdown the high street of many British towns and clearly see asignpost pointing the way to the nearest Masonic lodge.Themagnificent building of The Grand Lodge in London is notexactly hard to miss and one is unlikely to find oneself trip-ping over it accidentally on a casual stroll along Great QueenStreet.This is not, in itself, a problem, but perhaps themoniker of  secret must be dropped due to its constant andcontinuing inaccuracy.Most, if not all  secret societies nowhave websites, some of which are extremely well presented,79HOW TO START YOUR OWN SECRET SOCIETYallowing an unprecedented access to at least the  outer portalof their institutions.Of course, one must resist the tempta-tion to use the term  fluffy to describe the modern secretsociety, but at least they are making efforts to rid themselvesof the conspiratorial mystique that has shrouded them for solong.(Of course, it should not be forgotten that this verysame mystique has been nurtured by the very same peoplenow apparently attempting to reverse the process.)In reality a secret society should really be seen as a societywith secrets.Numerous books, documentary films and so-called exposes in one form or another, mostly very silly itmust be said, keep the general public aware of these broth-erhoods.Hardly a month goes by without someonedecrying Freemasonry, the Illuminati, the Ordines, Skull andBones, Bohemian Grove and the Buffaloes as nothing morethan a group of revolutionary Johnnies trying to bringdown society or put the wind up the Church.The secretsthey keep may bring about the downfall of humanity.Frankly, that is nonsense.Your detractors will probably invent sinister secrets totarnish your reputation.To keep your secrets safe you mustmaintain a noble and diplomatic silence.Unfortunately thisvery same silence will bring you to the attentions of thefevered speculators.The Knights Templar fell into this trapbefore they were extinguished.They were accused of allkinds of heinous and heretical activities but did nothing todispel these accusations  to their detriment.Be on yourguard but defend wisely!So, what secrets to use?Well the beauty of this is that the secret can be anythingform the inane, bizarre to the downright revolutionary.It all80SECRETSdepends on what kind of secret society you have opted toconstruct.Basically it is up to the individual to construct avalid set of  secrets that can inspire suitable reverence inthose who have recently passed the first level of initiation.The secrets growing more impressive as each level is passed.Secrets usually take the form of recognition grips, signsand special words that allow one member of the secretsociety to recognise the other.They can of course be largescale, from a five year plan to subvert a legal process, to insti-gating the downfall of a country s power base, plunderinganother nation s resources, or simply to make as muchmoney as possible through insider dealing.Even the nobleaim of the enlightenment of humanity should be considered.Of course, you do not have to be a member of a secretsociety to do any of the above.But it is beneficial to set goals.Some of the most controversial secrets you can possessrelate directly to religion  usually some source for its trueorigin or some lost gospel or manuscript.You can make greatclaims to be the true keepers of these secrets, but be sure tomake them earth shattering or explosive.Using those kind ofpejorative terms will have your opponents fuming with rage.A number of sects, such as those connected toGnosticism (from Gnosis, to know), had heretical beliefsabout the nature of Christianity, the most famous being theCathars [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]