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Secret society, any of a large range of membership organizations that utilize secret initiations or other rituals and whose members often employ oaths, handshakes, or other signs of recognition. Elements of secrecy may vary from a mere password to elaborate rituals, private languages, costumes, and symbols.

Ruby/Alamy What are the origins of Freemasonry? The origins of Freemasonry are not known definitively. National organized Freemasonry began in 1717 with the founding of the Grand Lodge—an association of Masonic lodges—in England. However, Freemason societies have existed for much longer. The most popular theory is that Freemasonry emerged out of the stonemasonry guilds of the Middle Ages. Working stonemasons had lodges where they discussed their trade, but, with the decline of cathedral bui...