Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Opus Dei are waiting for you! How to join a secret society. Made Explicit: Tips for Joining Masonic Lodges and Secret Orders How to Start a Secret Society with Friends

There are a large number of large organizations in the world, the type of activity of which is practically unknown to most people. And, as we know, everything unknown or known, but not completely, always causes a lot of rumors and speculation. Therefore, secret societies that prefer to remain in the shadows are credited with organizing universal conspiracies and communicating with otherworldly forces.

In fact, most of these kinds of "interest circles" are much more harmless than they are trying to imagine, although among them there are those that really influenced world history. We decided to study the history of the 10 most famous and powerful secret organizations in order to figure out when they nevertheless appeared and why and whether they still exist.

Illuminati

The Illuminati most often refers to the "Order of the Illuminati" by Professor Adam Weishaupt, which existed in the 1700s. His task was the comprehensive improvement of the church and the achievement of general prosperity. The ruler of Bavaria, Karl Theodor, called the Illuminati one of the branches of the illegal Masonic community and announced the criminal prosecution of members of the society, putting an end to history in 1787. Officially, the order ceased to exist, but it is believed that its remaining members did not leave their business and simply went underground. The Illuminati is credited with organizing the French Revolution, the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy, and influencing world politics in the modern world.

Opus Dei

The organization was founded in 1928 by the Catholic priest Josemaria Escrivá de Balaguer. From Latin, the name of the society is translated as "The Cause of God", and they are engaged in helping them find the path to holiness without renouncing everyday life. Most of its members are ordinary people: businessmen, workers, teachers, housewives, who in appearance are no different from their colleagues. And although the organization does not hide the location of its headquarters, it receives the most diverse criticism. Due to the closeness of the community, some Catholic priests consider it dangerous, in addition, the use of such practices that are characteristic of sects are often associated with Opus Dei. All this creates a certain halo of mystery around the society, which is why it is often attributed to some kind of secret Catholic society. Fuel to the fire from speculation and rumors was added by Dan Brown, who portrayed Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code as a secret sect hiding important information.

Templars

The official name of the order sounds like "The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta." This is a modern offshoot of Freemasonry, not related to the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ, founded by a group of knights in 1119. But the order is made according to his example in order to preserve the spirit of this organization. The order is included in the York Rite and for membership in it you must be exclusively a Christian who has passed all the degrees of the Royal Code, and in some jurisdictions also the degrees of the Crypt.

black hand

The South Slavic secret nationalist organization appeared in 1911. According to one version, it arose as an offshoot of the People's Defense group, which sought to unite all Slavic peoples. The goal of the organization was to fight for the liberation of the Serbs who were under the rule of Austria-Hungary. It included officers of the Serbian army and some government officials. The Black Hand was associated with a group of terrorists who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose death triggered World War I. In 1917, by order of the King of Serbia, Alexander I Karageorgievich, the organization was liquidated, and its head, Colonel Dragutin Dmitrievich, and his entourage were shot.

assassins

The neo-Ismaili-Nizari organization formed in the 11th century. The society was founded by Hasan ibn Shabbat. Their internal system was built on a strict hierarchy, where the transition to the next step was accompanied by mystical rituals. In the ideology of the sect, the main role was assigned to anti-feudal, communist and national liberation motives. The glory of hired killers without fear and reproach, always following their orders, was firmly entrenched in the Assassins. It is believed that the sect ceased to exist in 1256, after the fortresses of Alamut and Meimundiz were taken. According to other sources, some assassins still managed to escape and they founded a caste of hereditary killers in India. The traditions of the Assassins are most pronounced in the actions of terrorist Muslim sects such as "Jihad" and "Hezbollah", and especially in the units of the Fidains.

Thule Society

This occult political German society included all those who later became Hitler's closest advisers. The official name of the organization was the Group for the Study of Germanic Antiquity. They were engaged in the fact that they investigated the origin of the Aryan race. Thule - a mythical northern country from ancient Greek legends - Nazi mystics considered the capital of ancient Hyperborea. All members of the society considered the Aryans as the highest race that had already lived since the prehistoric era and Atlantis, and the inhabitants of that same Thule were the descendants of the Aryans who managed to escape from Atlantis. Another part of society, which did not believe in all sorts of mystical stories, was more interested in the fight against Jews, communists and masons. In 1919, members of Thule created the political organization "German Workers' Party", of which Adolf Hitler became a member. The Thule Society existed until 1933.

Knights of the Golden Ring

In the 1850s and 1860s, a paramilitary organization, the Knights of the Golden Ring, operated in the Midwest of the United States. The society was created by supporters of the southern states who wanted to create states in which slavery would be legal. The intended territories of action were to be Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean islands. The most notorious members of the organization were Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth and criminal Jesse James. After the arrest of the leaders and the confiscation of weapons by the government in 1864, the organization ceased to exist.

Sons of Liberty

The organization was founded in 1765 by Samuel Adams. The purpose of the members of the society was the struggle for self-determination of the North American colonies. Their motto was "No taxes without representation." The policy of public resistance included the distribution of thematic brochures, protests and open violent actions against the British authorities, for which their activities were equated with criminality and began to be persecuted. After the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the organization dissolved itself.

Skull and Bones

It is one of the oldest student secret societies in the United States. It arose in 1832 at the suggestion of Yale University Secretary William Russell, who decided, together with 14 like-minded people, to create a secret brotherhood. In their club, they accepted only people from the American aristocracy, Anglo-Saxon origin and the Protestant faith. Rumor has it that these days the prerequisite for admission is that the candidate must be the leader of their campus. The society consisted of US presidents, senators, judges of the Supreme Court, because of which it began to be considered a kind of underground group uniting the political elite. Society meetings are held twice a week, but what they discuss and do remains a mystery behind seven seals.

Masons

The official date of the emergence of Freemasonry is considered to be 1717, but there are documents dating back to 1300, which already mention Freemasons. Masonic meetings are held in a ritual form, and candidates for regular Freemasonry must believe in a Supreme Being. Masons themselves say that their goal is moral perfection, development and preservation of fraternal friendship and charity. It is believed that the community seeks to achieve political influence around the world. The most famous members of the society were Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, James Buchanan, Bob Dole, Henry Ford, Ben Franklin and many others. In total, about 5 million people around the world are members of the society.

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 already,” says its head Natalya Suvorova, “more and more people come to us. 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 drawn up a passport and the position of the club, in which we have 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.”

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, English, Orthodox culture, physical education and even Esperanto! Lecturers from the Pension Fund, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, health centers come to them, 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 of the city's educational institutions, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, government agencies), and now the students themselves, who are preparing for 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.

“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, 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.

In 2005, Iraida Borisovna decided to engage in social activities, created a club for veterans of her 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!

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.”

With the course of history, a huge number of secret societies and conspiracy theories about them appeared. So, here is a list of the ten most powerful, popular and famous secret societies, as well as alleged secret organizations. Go.

The Opus Dei rating opens, or the Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Cause of God is the personal prelature of the Catholic Church, whose main conviction is the belief that people can achieve holiness and ordinary life is a direct path leading to piety. The order was formed in 1928 in Spain by the Catholic priest Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, with the blessing of Pope Pius XII.
Surprisingly, in the pages of one of the best-selling and overrated books in the world, The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, it was stated that Opus Dei is a secret organization whose goal is to destroy the Priory of Zion and everyone who tried to reveal the "truth" about Christianity and the truth about the alleged royal lineage of Christ. In addition to the book, there was a huge amount of controversy related to the strictness of the religious structure of Opus Dei.
Since the Catholic Church forbids secret societies and membership in them, debunkers of Opus Dei often complain that the organization is secretive and has a secret and sinister policy. Although…


After the publication of The Da Vinci Code, public attention turned to the Priory of Zion. In fact, to the dismay of those who wanted to join this community, it was fictitious. It was a hoax invented in 1956 by the pretender to the French throne, Pierre Plantard. Existing letters written by Plantard, de Chériséy, and de Sade to each other in 1960 confirm that the three were involved in a blatant fraud, describing schemes on how to deal with criticisms and various allegations in order to keep their fictitious organization alive. Despite this, many people still continue to believe that the "Priority of Zion" exists and functions to this day.
The authors of the famous book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", misled, stated:

  • The "Priority of Sion" has existed since 1099 and included such great minds as Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci;
  • The Order protects certain royalty because they believe they are the literal descendants of Jesus and his supposed wife Mary Magdalene, or at least King David;
  • The Society aspires to create a "Holy European Empire", which should be the next hyperpower, establishing the New World Order, leading to peace and prosperity;


This group differs from others in that it has no official membership. It is an annual secret conference of about 130 participants, most of whom are influential people in the fields of politics, business and banking, as well as heads of leading Western media. Entrance to the conference is by personal invitation only. The meeting is usually held in one of the five-star hotels in the world. Topics discussed at the conference are kept secret. The first meeting took place in 1954 at the Bilderberg Hotel in the Netherlands.
This meeting was organized by several people. Polish immigrant and political adviser Joseph Retinger, worried about rising anti-American sentiment in Western Europe, suggested holding a conference where European and American leaders could discuss all pressing issues.
Although the agenda and list of participants were made public, the details of the meeting remained unknown. In addition, the content of the conferences is kept secret, and attendees undertake not to disclose the matters discussed. The justification for the secrecy of the group is that at the meeting, participants can speak freely without fear that every word may be misinterpreted by the media.
Needless to say, this group is constantly surrounded by controversy and theories.


The Illuminati (calling themselves "enlightened") is a secret society of an occult-philosophical and mystical nature, which was formed on May 1, 1776 in Ingolstadt by Adam Weishaupt. It was originally known as the "Bavarian Illuminati". Then the group was considered outlaws, but many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians joined its ranks. Due to the fact that the Illuminati did not consider faith in the Almighty to be the main thing, the society became especially popular among atheists. In addition, most of the participants are humanists. It is widely believed that the Illuminati seek to overthrow the existing religion.
Internal panic over a change in leadership and government attempts to outlaw the group led to its destruction in 1785. Despite this, theorists such as David Eck and Was Penre have argued that the "Bavarian Illuminati" still exists today. Although there is very little evidence for this theory. It was even believed that the Skull and Bones Society was an American offshoot of the Illuminati.
Many believe that the Illuminati is still in control of the world government and that they want to create a One World Government based on humanism and atheistic principles.


Sixth place in the list of the most famous secret societies in the world is occupied by the Templars - an international, philanthropic, knightly order associated with Freemasonry. This is a modern offshoot of Freemasonry, which is not directly related to the spiritual and chivalric order founded in the Holy Land in 1119 by a small group of knights led by Hugh de Paynes, after the First Crusade. Modern Templars deny their connection with the medieval order, but actively use its symbols and ideas.
To become a member of the Society, you must be a Third Degree Freemason. Despite claims by Freemasonry that no Masonic organization is a direct legacy of the medieval Templars, certain titles and rituals are apparently copied from the medieval order. These are known as "commemorative titles" or degrees. However, despite the fraternity's official claims, some Freemasons, "non-Masons", and even anti-Masons insist that certain Masonic rites and titles have a direct Templar influence.


The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, in most cases, simply the Golden Dawn) is a magical order that is an occult organization that operated in Great Britain during the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its members practiced theurgy, magic, alchemy and encouraged the spiritual development of their adherents. It is considered the progenitor of most occult groups.
The Golden Dawn belief system is mainly drawn from Christian mysticism, cabalism, alchemy, the religion of ancient Egypt, Freemasonry, Hermeticism, Theosophy, sorcery, and Renaissance writings. William Westcott and Aleister Crowley are the best known members of the group.
The fundamental documents of the order, known as the Cipher Manuscripts, were translated into English using a cipher written by Johann Trithemius. On 60 sheets of the document, magical rituals were described, the basic structure of which comes from the Rosicrucians.

The Order of the Oriental Templars is an international occult-religious organization that has existed since 1902. It was originally conceived by Karl Kellner, Franz Hartmann and Theodor Reuss as a Masonic academy that would reflect the symbolism of several occult-mystical communities. But in 1912 the organization became the bearer of Thelema under the leadership of the occultist Aleister Crowley.
The Order considers itself associated with Freemasonry, but it has not received recognition from Masonic organizations and is qualified by a number of researchers as "pseudo-Masonry". It currently has about 3,000 members. They have several levels of initiation, as well as stylized rituals with the participation of virgin clerics, children and priests. Gods from Egyptian mythology and the devil are mentioned.

Rosicrucianism (Order of the Rosicrucians, Rosicrucians, "Order of the Rose and Cross") is a theological and secret mystical society, allegedly founded in the late Middle Ages in Germany, by Christian Rosicrucian.
Interestingly, between 1607 and 1616, two anonymous manifestos were published, first in Germany, and then throughout Europe. They were called Fama Fraternitatis RC (Glory of the Brotherhood) and Confessio Fraternitatis (Confession of the Brotherhood). Under the influence of these documents, representing the "most honored order" of mystic-philosopher-scientists, spreading the "worldwide reformation of mankind," the ground was set for a movement that Frances Yeats later called the "Rosicrucian Enlightenment." The third important document in society originated in 1459. He described how Christian Rosencreutz, a traveler and alchemist, married the king and queen in the Wonderful Palace.
"Rosicrucianism" was associated with Protestantism and, in part, Lutheranism. According to historian David Stevenson, "Rosicrucianism" also influenced the development of Freemasonry in Scotland. Many secret societies claimed to have received their succession and sacraments, in whole or in part, from the original "Rosicrucians".
There are now a huge number of Rosicrucian groups, each of which claims to be closest to the original.


Freemasonry is an international movement aimed at the spiritual improvement of the individual and the brotherhood of people of different religions, nationalities and views. Some researchers suggest that Freemasonry comes from associations of builders who built the pyramids in Egypt, others argue that the movement originates from the late 16th and early 17th centuries from building associations of masons.
Be that as it may, Freemasonry is now spread throughout the world and is represented in various organizational forms - lodges, grand lodges, supreme councils, chapters, areopagus, consistories, federations and confederations. The total number of representatives of this movement in the world is estimated at 4,000,000 people.
Masons hold their regular meetings in a ritual style. They use special signs and handshakes to reveal themselves to other possible Freemasons. Signs vary by lodge and are frequently changed and updated. This protects the groups from outsiders wishing to infiltrate the lodge. Freemasons wear special stylized clothing worn by freemasons in the Middle Ages. The most famous piece of clothing is the apron.
To become a Mason, you must be recommended (in some cases 3 times) by a person already in the lodge. You must be over 18 years of age and have sufficient education. Many religions prohibit entry into this order, for example, the Roman Catholic Church, anathematizes such people.


Skull and Bones is a secret society of Yale University students, formerly known as the Brotherhood of Death. It is the oldest university secret society in the United States. It was organized in 1832 and uses rituals similar to Freemasonry to this day. Its members meet every Thursday and Sunday in a building they call "The Tomb".
The names of the people who make up the society were never kept secret until 1970. It is known that Bush father and son, the Rockefellers, as well as many representatives of the highest US elite were its members.
Interestingly, some suggest that the CIA is made up entirely of members of the order. However, in 2007, the Central Intelligence Agency issued an official statement that it had nothing to do with the Skull and Bones Society.

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 people come to us. 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, English, Orthodox culture, physical education and even Esperanto! Lecturers from the Pension Fund, the Ministry of Emergencies, health centers come to them, 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 of the city's educational institutions, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, government agencies), and now the students themselves, who are preparing for 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, 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 engage in social activities, created a club for veterans of her 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 Andrey Rublev, Solaris, Ivan's Childhood, Five Evenings, Ascent, 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.”

In the world for a long history, there were many different mysterious organizations: from ridiculous to militant. Each such community is, in its own way, a story of human stupidity and delusion.


Mikhail Vinogradov about the world behind the scenes

In 2012, the world's news agencies reported the decipherment of a mysterious document, originally designated the Codex Copiale. There is no provenance, as well as information about the current owner of the manuscript. According to some reports, a 105-page manuscript, bound in green with a gold eyelet, was discovered in the archives of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR back in the 1970s.

A group of scientists from different countries managed to crack the cipher and read the mysterious book. It turned out that the codex, written in the German language of the 18th century, contains the ritual of the initiation of a German secret (similar to the Masonic) society, which was called Oculisten("Opening Eyes").

The members of the secret society were ophthalmic surgeons from the Lower Saxon city of Wolfenbüttel, who imagined themselves to be healers and keepers of all medical knowledge about the structure of the eye and vision. It is known that they were engaged in the treatment of cataracts. But no one, except for the initiates, had any idea what was going on behind the scenes of this secret society, where a newcomer entering the ranks of the society was taught to "see" by plucking his hair from his eyebrows. After other pages of the manuscript were deciphered, it turned out that Oculisten had another mission - to keep an eye on the Freemasons.

The documents of this secret society included top secret rituals of freemasons, up to the highest degrees of Freemasonry. Now they are quite well known, but at that time it was possible to get such information only through espionage. It is possible that the Oculisten were either spies or a Freemasonry splinter group created to keep their core rituals safe if the Roman Catholic Church decides to deal with them in the same way as they did in their day.

It is not clear why the secret society of Irish-born miners in the coal mines of Pennsylvania in English Liverpool and Canada was called "Molly Maguires"(Molly Maguires). According to Lehigh University staff, that was the name of an Irish Catholic woman who refused to leave her home when the British Protestants expelled her from there. The first mention of this organization is found in the pages of The Liverpool Mercury dated May 10, 1853.

In the Pennsylvania anthracite mines, the Molly Maguires, a secret organization, replaced the absent unions, opposing miserly wages and shortening the working day from the 1873 stock market crash until 1878, when the society was dissolved after arrests and executions. Working conditions in the mines, with a complete lack of security measures, were appalling. Deaths and serious injuries occurred hundreds of times a year.

The Irish miners of this underground organization used the tried and tested tactics of intimidation and violence against the American coal trusts, which they followed in their fight against the Irish landlords during the so-called "Land Wars" (Land War, or in Irish Cogadh na Talún) from 1870- x to the 1890s. However, modern historians do not have a unanimous opinion about the commitment of "Molly Maguires" to bloody acts.

Members of the Molly Maguiers organization were accused of murder, arson, kidnapping and other criminal offenses. Members of the society were put on trial based on the testimony of a private detective from the Pinkerton agency, Irishman James McParlan (James McParlan), also known as James McKenna.

But "the Molly Maguires themselves left virtually no evidence of their existence, let alone their goals and motivations." Even before the investigation began, based on his personal observations, McParlan believed that "Molly Maguires", being under the pressure of their activities, adopted a new name "The Ancient Order of the Irish" (The Ancient Order of Hibernians). After starting the investigation, he estimated that there were about 450 members of this organization in one of the districts.

It is difficult to accurately answer the question of why there are so many perverts among the British establishment. Perhaps the closedness of institutions for boys played a role here. Although there were enough such institutions among French and Spanish Catholics, as well as among the Orthodox brethren in Greek monasteries.

On May 25, 1895, an English celebrity was escorted to a London prison following his conviction for sodomy. In the Victorian era, articles sent to jail for homosexuality were especially popular.

To his misfortune, the most talented Wilde met with the illegitimate son of an English officer and a Spanish baroness, who later became a writer and poet, George Cecil Ives (George Cecil Ives). In 1892, Ives tried to draw the attention of a celebrity to the problems of homosexuals, but he, to his great disappointment, did not express the slightest interest in the fate of the persecuted gays.

In 1897, Ives created the secret Order of Chaeronea - OrderHehronei. In order to stop the oppression of the gay community, this imaginary admirer of antiquity named his offspring in honor of the Battle of Chaeronea, which took place in August 338 BC, when the Sacred Detachment of the city of Thebes, allegedly consisting of lover friends. The error was a misinterpretation of the Greek word for "close or intimate friend", although it is possible that some warriors used their combat comrades as sexual partners.

Looking at the corpses of the dead, Philip wept and said: "May those who suspect them of being the perpetrators or accomplices of anything shameful die an evil death."

Centuries later, a tiny group of Oxford clickers who translated ancient Greek texts found nothing more valuable in them than popularizing - alas, sometimes literally - same-sex relationships. Based on their own perversions, the degenerates of the century before last raised to their crap standards the defense of homosexuality and other sexual perversions.

The same crap reigned in the brains of these figures as in their morality. You had to be seven spans in your forehead to entrust the work of public (!) Protection of the "honor and dignity" of queers to corrupted members of the underground society!

In 1912, first the English-speaking, and then the world community, learned partial details of the activity of the secret society of leopard people operating in West Africa. The existence of such a cult is so secret in the countries of the Black Continent, where hundreds of people die every year from the claws and teeth of predators, it is difficult to determine whether the onlooker-tourist or native was torn to pieces by the beast, or whether he fell at the hands of killers who imitated the attack of a leopard.

In the 1950s, a significant part of the Yoruba people professed Islam or Christianity, but they still have strong ancient beliefs. Among the most authoritative secret societies in Africa, Egungun, Oro and Ogboni are most often named. In addition to the secret societies of leopards and crocodiles, there is also a secret baboon society.

Little is known about the motives of the members of these societies. For example, whether they are engaged or not. Often, white colonizers invented stories about allegedly savage and barbarian tribes to justify their illegal and blasphemous deeds in the countries conquered by the West.