Copiale Cipher

[related: Oculists]

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An extensive ciphertext dating from around 1776 whose origin was unknown for over 260 years. The Copiale Cipher consists of almost 100,000 individual characters in a 100 page handwritten volume. Finally decoded by computer in the 1990s, the text outlines various rites of initiation knowledge transference within the Oculists, a group of German freemasons. The Oculists positioned light at the center of existence and equated its presence with direct knowledge. Lucifer, in his role as "light bringer", is central to the Oculist practice, leading to claims by Pope Clement XII of Satanism, thus forcing the group to meet in secret and code its various materials.