Ëarliest female Occult society???

[Desecrated]

I ran into a female mason today and after a rather lengthy discussion trying to figure out which the first female occult society/sorority was, we both drew blank.
So I was wondering if anybody here have done any prior research into this subject?

[Shinichi]

Are you talking about Modern Occultism, or back further? Because the political and spiritual power of the priestesses of goddess cults goes all the way back to Sumer, and that's just recorded history.



~:Shin:~

[Desecrated]

Are you talking about Modern Occultism, or back further? Because the political and spiritual power of the priestesses of goddess cults goes all the way back to Sumer, and that's just recorded history.



~:Shin:~

I was probably thinking in a horrible euro-centric way and thinking about western/European occultism.

[mindsword]

Female witchcraft, shamanism and priest(tesse)s have existed as long as anything else of its counterpart. I have no other historical evidence except common sense that says one thing cannot exists without another (yin/yang), and the fact that i have not ever heard of anything otherwise... "Organized female sisterhoods" however, i don't really know, just as i don't know how long organized occult fraternities, brotherhoods, patriarchy etc. have existed... I'd say since whenever homo sapiens developed a spiritual brain and started organizing and developing as modern humans. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Who the fuck knows. My third eye doesn't go back that far. Does it matter? It's part of the mystery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution ... production

[Shinichi]

I was probably thinking in a horrible euro-centric way and thinking about western/European occultism.

Hah.

It would take me some time to dig through the archives and find a proper answer to who was "the first" female dominated occult society. I know that The Order of The Eastern Star was established in 1850, which is fairly early in the modern period for a female group to spring up. As for university sororities, Wikipedia says "Sororities (originally termed "women's fraternities") began to develop in 1851 with the formation of the Adelphean Society Alpha Delta Pi,[8] though fraternity-like organizations for women didn't take their current form until the establishment of Pi Beta Phi in 1867 and Kappa Alpha Theta in 1870" (Fraternities and Sororities).

There were probably female dominated societies during the Renaissance and The Middle Ages, but given the treatment of women through most of Western civilization through that time, I doubt there is much on record. There were certainly individual female occultists and mystics who managed to not get burned, like St. Hildegard of Bingen. They aren't as talked about as the men of their day, but the women of Occult History are certainly there.



~:Shin:~

[Desecrated]

In 1747, the Chevalier Beauchaine began the Order of Woodcutters (Ordre des Fendeurs), with rites supposedly based on an early version of the Carbonari. In 1774, the lodges of adoption came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient de France, and the published regulations show a system of four degrees:[5]

Apprentie, or Female Apprentice.
Compagnonne, or Journeywoman.
Maîtresse, or Mistress.
Parfaite Maçonne, or Perfect Masoness.

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That is the earliest date I have found.
Does anybody know about female members in Rosicrucian, I know the modern organization have females allowed.

[Shinichi]

The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross, a German organization, is the earliest Rosicrusian group I know of besides the original movement. It was founded in the 1750's, so your Woodcutters is an earlier group even if the OGRC accepted women - but it's listed as a fraternity in all of the sources I have access to.

I'm not sure anyone can honestly talk about the membership of the original movement, since it was so secret and thoroughly underground. They may or may not have accepted women, but given the general cultural view of women at the time, it's likely that it was led by men even if some of the wives were allowed some form of lesser participation.



~:Shin:~

[Seabed]

Not the earliest, of course, but good info:
The Vril Society, formed by a group of female only psychic mediums. When led by Marija Oršić, wasn't secret any more. As a secret society before early 1900, hard to say anything about the origin.
Not exclusively female socitery after 1920.

[Desecrated]

(Just adding this information if I need it later)

Countess Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta was allowed to participate in her husbands freemasonry affairs in 1776 at the royal castle, she also created an adoption-lodge for other women to join. But it wasn't until 1802 that women were allowed in on equal terms in the newly founded 'Yellow Rose'.

[RockDemon]

Wouldn't ancient Priestess - Prostitutes be considered an Occult society?

[Desecrated]

Wouldn't ancient Priestess - Prostitutes be considered an Occult society?

I think most of those where actual religions.

Although I'm finding a really hard time finding a good definition between a religious sect and an occult society.