system
A chat on 4chan
human
>Initiates and Initiate-led organizations are as old as humanity, but the quasi-mythical origins of the Lodges date back to Biblical times. The first official Lodge is said to have been founded by Simon Magus, the sorcerer who in Christian tradition was brought low by the power of Saint Peter. Simon Magus created a network of mystical societies, co-opting many “mystery cults', sorcerer circles and other organizations. The traditions of these societies were a mixture of Roman, Greek and Egyptian occult practices, with a leavening of Persian theology and Jewish mysticism

>The basic cosmology of the original Lodges was the mystical heresy known as Gnosticism (see sidebar, p. 24). Knowledge was shared, grudgingly at first, and then more willingly, as it became apparent that the alliance was working. Nonaligned groups were brutally suppressed as heretics or sorcerers, banned by law from practicing their arts. The alliance was kept a secret, and many false documents were disseminated to spread wrong information among the non-Initiated. These first Lodges were the first masters of the tactic of disinformation, and the wildly contradictory, often ridiculous notions that Western scholars have about ancient magical practices are a product of the Lodges’ efforts

>The Lodges had thoroughly infiltrated the Christian Church and the Roman Empire by the year 363, when the death of Emperor Julian the Apostate dealt the final blow to paganism. The majority of the population settled for promises of enlightenment and paradise after death, and the mystical elements of Christianity were suppressed. Direct communication with angels or the spirits of dead saints was left in the hands of the Church, isolating the people from contact with spirits. The few Initiates who displayed their powers openly were labeled “saints” (when they were good Lodge members) or “sorcerers” when they did not, and each was treated accordingly
gpt
>Each Lodge organizes itself as it wishes, and there is a great deal of variation among them. In general, they follow a complex network of hierarchy. There are a number of degrees or ranks, from the first degree, corresponding to beginning members, up to the tenth degree, the Lodge leaders. The word degree is often replaced by other terms in individual Lodges, but the principle, and the division into ten ranks — roughly based on the ten levels of the cabalistic Tree of Life, and on the ten levels of Initiation (see p. 58) — remain fairly unchanged. Lodge degrees do not exactly correspond with levels of the Initiation advantage. (See p. 54 for the Lodge Rank system and p. 55 for the Initiation advantage.)

>Each Lodge is made up of smaller groups called councils or dioceses (a Roman term for district or province, now commonly used by the Catholic Church and the Roman and Royalist Lodges). Each council controls a geographical area, usually the equivalent of a state or district, although some rule over entire countries or groups of countries. Orders come down from the higher levels, and are expected to be followed precisely. Disobedience is investigated by special Initiate Circles (see The Wild Hunt, p. 33) and dealt with swiftly. Each council is under the control of a leader (also known as a bishop). The leader must be an Initiate of the tenth degree (see p. 54); he usually listens to the opinion of all council members of the sixth degree or higher, and can be stripped of his rank by a unanimous vote from these members
human
>Beyond the hierarchical organization, most Lodges also have special teams that act as enforcers, spies and troubleshooters. These teams are known as circles, a term originally used for the gatherings where several Initiates combined forces to conduct powerful rituals. A circle is usually a small team of no more than 12 Initiates (usually fewer than six) who work together when the occasion demands. Circles are answerable to the council leader. A council usually controls two to ten circles

>Each council usually acts through one or more seemingly innocuous “clubs” with names like the Knights of America, the Fraternal Order of the Bison, or the Roundheads. They also control the leadership of several trade unions, police departments, and most local governments. Many important decisions and deals are made in the private rooms of “gentlemen’s clubs” or after strange rituals in underground chambers are conducted. Most non-Initiate agents of the Lodges do not know about the occult powers of their superiors, and simply assume that their masters are influential but normal people

>Lodges use magic in subtle ways. Spirit servants (commonly called animae by Lodge practitioners) watch agents to prevent treachery. When bribes or threats are not enough to deal with an interloper, practitioners use ceremonial magic to create an “accident.” When even that is not enough, or when there is no time to use magic, the Lodges will rely on direct violence, either using their own spirit warriors or ordinary assassins and thugs. For this last purpose, most councils have a small “stable” of trained killers, usually ex-military or ex-police members
gpt
>At the top of every Lodge organization stand the Secret Masters. These ancient Initiates are said to be incredibly powerful, able to kill a man with a glance and always surrounded by a small army of spirit guards. Very few people claim to have met any of the Secret Masters; most of those who do are liars. Only Lodge Initiates of the tenth degree can claim to have access to these shadowy personages, and none of them do, or even speak publicly about the subject. There are rumors that the Lucumi dream council (see p. 19) and the Secret Masters sometimes match their wills in magical duels in the dream world

>Over the years there has been constant speculation about the identities of the Secret Masters. Common names in the “guessing lists” of those who care about such things include Simon Magus himself, still alive after 2,000 years;Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor; the medieval Jewish mystic Abulafia; Count Cagliostro, the Italian alchemist who claimed to be immortal; the Comte of Saint Germain, another self styled immortal; the great Houdini; and the 19th-century occultist Aleister Crowley, among others