So a while back thee was a thread on Freemasonry, which we know some of us here are members of that Org. I ran across this the other day, which is from “The Secret Societies of All Ages”: “Tobaccological Society. When in 531 Theodora from a ballet girl had become the wife of the Emperor Justinian L, she wished to be surrounded by philosophers, especially the expounders of Pythagoras. But for once the philosophers stood on their dignity, and declined imperial patronage. This led to their persecution, and the closing of their schools and academies ; they were not allowed to hold meetings. But Pythagoreans must meet, hence they met in secret, first in a ruined temple of Ceres on the banks of the Ilissus, and afterwards in an octagonal temple, built by one of them, at the foot of Mount Hymettus. They called themselves Ped- nosophers, which in a philologically incorrect manner they interpreted as meaning " Children of Wisdom.” For their symbol they adopted the anemone, which flower was said to have sprung from the blood of Adonis, wounded by a wild boar so philosophy arose afresh from philosophy persecuted by superstition. At first women and children were ad- mitted, but they were told part only of the secret, whatever it was. The sign was crossing the arms on the breast, so that the index finger touched the lips. The sacred word was theus-theos, " Hope in God." The chief of the Order was known to but a few members by his real name ; to the rest he passed under a pseudonym. There were different degrees in the Order, which perpetuated itself until 1672 in various countries, England included. In this year Charles II. prohibited all secret societies, and the Pednosophers changed their name to Tobaccologers, and adopted the tobacco plant as their emblem, its red flower suggesting to them philosophy persecuted by Justinian and others. At their meetings they discussed chiefly academical subjects ; in fact, modern academies owe to them their origin. Many men of note belonged to the Order, which was divided into four degrees the glamour of secrecy must be kept up to the last ! The members in the lodge wore a triangular apron. To- wards the end of the last century the Order declined in this country, and its papers, its records, and mysteries eventually fell into the hands of the French Marquis d’Etanduere, who left them to his son, at whose death they were examined by a M. Doussin, to whom he had left them ; and this M. Doussin thereupon reconstituted the society at Poitiers in 1806, where it continued till about the year 1848. The tobacco plant, its culture and manufacture, were the subjects of symbolical instructions, and for the real names of the towns where lodges existed, the names of localities famous for fine sorts of tobacco were substituted. Persons known to belong to the society popularly went by the designation of snuff- takers." https://archive.org/stream/secretsocietieso02heckuoft/secretsocietieso02heckuoft\\_djvu.txt I find this rather pertinent as for the last line “the society popularly went by the designation of snuff-takers.” I was rather appalled by a statement made on a page which is disseminating knowledge about fraternal orders, the Masonic Trowel, where the author states: “Many of these groups have now vanished into obscurity - for example, the four degree Tobaccological Society which somehow derived “moral instruction” from the art of smoking would hardly have a place in today’s society.” I guess the author of the page did not read the entry in the aforementioned source where it is stated that they gained knowledge from “The tobacco plant, its culture and manufacture, were the subjects of symbolical instructions”, not to mention all the indigenous peoples who use the plant in some form of traditional teaching or spiritual work. It would be pretty neat if such a society saw a comeback, not only dedicated to snuff-taking (as we already have a great international org for that), but to symbolic and allegorical teachings which the art of tobacco cultivation can… apparently through degree work, bring enlightenment.

It’s the 21st century. Soon cars will drive themselves and some even park themselves today. You can go across the world by plane in 24 hours. Robotics and drones are on the rise… Computers and engineering. What does this have to do with tobacco? Absolutely nothing and absolutely everything As time changes so do people and their perception. I understand what you mean, I’m not a huge fan of a broad spectrum of societies ideals… Let alone with tobacco. However it isn’t up to us to decide the fate of others perception. Embrace the new while personally holding on to the old ( at least I do ) Maybe societies views on tobacco aren’t so hot anymore… But that doesn’t warrant a " come back " just because it’s different For example tobacco was a huge cash crop that thrived on slavery for 200+ years especially in America… But I don’t connect the two in my mind. Such sentiment be it negative or positive is often left up to the perception of ones self. Every time something dies even things we care for. New things are born. It is only natural for humans and all things to change and evolve with time. Even our culture or who we once were I’ll always love tobacco and I’ll always respect what it once was and is to myself. That’s good enough for me

cigshurt best post of the month for sure.

I find the information of the original post greatly entertaining and interesting, but I agree that such an organization would be pretty strange by nowadays standards. Firstly, because the basic principles that animated most of these secret societies (except the spiritual ones, and that is open to discussion) were almost universally established as “normal” by the post-1789 (or 1776) western societies. Secondly, because current lobbying and “democratic” structures would render the participation in such society (one favorable to THAT EVIL WEED!) politically counterproductive, reducing its secret activity to more or less the salon chat we used to partake in forums like this one and those about pipes and cigars. So I suppose that, without the secrecy and the pomp, we can be seen as a globalized, almost public and non-elitist version of the Tobaccologers, with our prosecution being based in individual, superficial and harmless habits (because it doesn’t matter how harmful smoking or any other habit can be to the taker, and how evil politicians want to portray it, it’s still irrelevant for society at large) instead of philosophies or ideals. Besides, the possibility of coordinating such an international organization based in some fixed tobacco-based metaphors and Enlightened ideals might seem quite romantic, but being realistic, also quite difficult.

Yeah I get what you say. Something of a nature would not be a large and sought out body such as some of the more successful societies/fraternities and such. However, I do find that it would be an interesting and quirky “club” to be a part of. If, and a BIG IF, a group did decide to put something like this back together in some modern incarnation, I would think that any notes of secrecy and elitism would be left out. Maybe something more akin to a club of snuff-takers (hence Tobaccologers) who enjoy in equal parts tobacco, philosophy and growing tobacco?

@LeNezzz Whoever dares to take to burden of establishing an association of such character, I hope also posses a large piece of land to declare independent, and that he calls me and my loved ones there to live the dream of such a Divine Republic! But chances of something like that happening are on the low side, methinks! :((

It’s about as hard as starting a Meetup, getting like minded folks together, constituting the club, incorporate if desired and carry on. It’s basically how you start a book club, if folks are more serious then they incorporate as a society… Basic qualifications: 1) You snuff? Y/N 2) You like philosophy and pondering life in general while enjoying snuff? Y/N 3) You like gardening and would like to eventually grind your own? Y/N 4) You social? Y/N — At this point this applies to many members here at SH — 5) You like ritual, regalia and other such furnishings of a fraternity? That’s the basics I guess. Not saying this is something that would appeal to most, but the exercise of putting something like it together is by no means impossible or impractical.

The again… There are some of us with an impish streak in us who would go to great lengths in order to present a totally fictitious “secret society” (to which our personal membership “accidently slipped out”) for the sole purpose of adjitating, agrivating, befuddleing and seeing how far we could get on pushing the joke to the limits.

Alas, to paraphrase that great philosopher Grouch Marx, “I wouldn’t even consider joining any c club that would have me as a member!” Nevertheless I love the idea as laid out above! Regards,

The again… There are some of us with an impish streak in us who would go to great lengths in order to present a totally fictitious “secret society” (to which our personal membership “accidently slipped out”) for the sole purpose of adjitating, agrivating, befuddleing and seeing how far we could get on pushing the joke to the limits.

_ to wit: _ Anybody here remember me talking about “The 5-S” some years ago? You will find the following reference on my snuff page Dentist and Oral Health Care Articles - Endodontist and Orthodontist Info The 5-S There is a very old international secret society known as “The 5-S.” It’s roots in North America appear to go back to the immigration of the Hugonaughts. Very little is known about The 5-S except for the fact that it is international in scope and has members all over the world. As I deveoped it, “5-S” stands for: The Secret Society of Serendipitous Snuff Sniffers.