nd _la joie de
vivre_. The rituals and the accepted interpretation of the Masonic
symbolism used in the lodges, or "triangles," are of a phallic type.
Women are admitted to membership. Immorality, a parody of the Eucharist,
known as the black mass, and the practice of black magic, take place at
the meetings. Lucifer is worshipped in the form of Baphomet, but from
time to time he is personally evoked, and manifested to his followers.
Luciferianism tends to become identical with Satanism, in which Lucifer
and Satan are identified and frankly worshipped as evil. The first
mention of Luciferian Freemasonry was in the _Y-a-t-il des Femmes dans
la Franc Maconnerie?_ (1891), of the somewhat notorious Leo Taxil. But
the case rests mainly on the alleged revelations of writers who claim to
have themselves been members of the Palladian Rite. The chief of these
are Dr. Hacke or Bataille, Signor Margiotta and Miss Diana Vaughan.
Unfortunately very little evidence is forthcoming as to the identity of
any of these personages. Many leading Masons, _e.g._, M. Papus in his
_Le Diable et l'Occultisme_, deny that Luciferian Freemasonry exists at
all, and it is freely stated (_cf._ _Light_ for 27 June and 4 July,
1896, pp. 305, 322) that Miss Diana Vaughan is a myth, and that her
_Memoires_ with the rest of the revelations are the ingenious concoction
of a band of irresponsible journalists of whom Leo Taxil is the chief.
No one appears to have seen Miss Vaughan, and she is alleged to be
hiding in some convent from the vengeance of the Luciferians. Probably
there will be some further light thrown on the matter before long: in
the meantime a good summary of the evidence up-to-date may be found in
A. E. Waite's _Devil-Worship in France_ (1896). Assuming that
Luciferianism really exists, I do not for a moment believe that it has
the antiquity which Miss Vaughan claims for it. The various Rites of
modern Freemasonry, with their fantastic and high-sounding degrees, are
comparatively recent excrescences upon the original Craft Masonry. The
New and Reformed Palladian Rite is said to have been founded at
Charlestown by the well-known Mason, Albert Pike, in 1870. It is based
on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, which dates from the
beginning of the century. If there is such a thing as Luciferianism, I
do not think we need look further back than 1870 for its origin. As
expounded by Miss Vaughan and others, it is pretty clearly a compilation
from