Editing Taxil hoax (section)

==Taxil and Freemasonry==
Léo Taxil was the [[pen name]] of Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, who had been accused earlier of [[libel]] regarding a book he wrote called ''The Secret Loves of Pope Pius IX''. On April 20, 1884, [[Pope Leo XIII]] published an [[Papal encyclical|encyclical]], ''[[Humanum genus]]'', that said that the human race was:
{{quote|
separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ... The other is the kingdom of Satan... At this period, however, the partisans of evil seems to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pope Leo XIII |title=Humanum Genus |date=20 April 1884 |url=http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_18840420_humanum-genus.html |publisher=The Holy See}}</ref>}}

[[File:Diana Vaughan - Mémoires d'une ex-palladiste parfaite, initiée, indépendante.jpg|upright|thumb|The fictional Diana Vaughan, dressed as General Inspector of Palladium. Photograph by Van Bosch, published in the book ''Mémoires d'une ex-palladiste parfaite, initiée, indépendante'' (1895)]]

After this encyclical, Taxil underwent a public, feigned conversion to Roman Catholicism and announced his intention of repairing the damage he had done to the true faith.

The first book produced by Taxil after his conversion was a four-volume history of Freemasonry, which contained fictitious eyewitness verifications of their participation in [[Satanism]]. With a collaborator who published as "Dr. Karl Hacks", Taxil wrote another book called ''Le Diable au XIXe siècle'' (''The Devil in the Nineteenth Century''), which introduced a new character, Diana Vaughan, a supposed descendant of the [[Rosicrucian]] alchemist [[Thomas Vaughan (philosopher)|Thomas Vaughan]]. The book contained many tales about her encounters with incarnate [[demon]]s, one of whom, a devil snake, was supposed to have written prophecies on her back with its tail, and another who played the piano while in the shape of a crocodile.<ref>
{{cite journal
|title= Anti–Protestant Rhetoric in the Early Third Republic
|last= Hause
|first= Steven C.
|journal= French Historical Studies
|date= Spring 1989
|volume= 16
|issue= 1
|page= 192
|doi= 10.2307/286440
|jstor= 286440
}}</ref>

Diana was supposedly involved in Satanic Freemasonry but was redeemed when one day she professed admiration for [[Joan of Arc]], at whose name the demons were put to flight. As Diana Vaughan, Taxil published a book called ''Eucharistic Novena'', a collection of prayers which were praised by the Pope.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

===Palladists===
In the Taxil hoax, '''Palladists''' were members of an alleged [[Theistic Satanism|Theistic Satanist]] cult within [[Freemasonry]]. According to Taxil, Palladism was a religion practiced within the highest orders of Freemasonry. Adherents worshipped [[Lucifer]] and interacted with demons. 

In 1891 [[Léo Taxil]] (Gabriel Jogand-Pagès) and Adolphe Ricoux claimed to have discovered a Palladian Society.<ref>Waite, Arthur Edward ''The Hermetic Museum'' 2006 Lulu</ref> An 1892 French book ''Le Diable au XIXe siècle'' (The Devil in the 19th Century", 1892), written by "Dr. Bataille" (actually Jogand-Pagès himself)<ref>Characterised by Waite as "a perfervid narrative issued in penny numbers with absurd illustrations of a highly sensational type; in a word, Le Diable au XIXe Siècle, which is the title given to his memoirs by the present witness, connects in manner and appearance with that class of literature which is known as the "[[penny dreadful]]." (Waite, ''Devil Worship in France'', ch. VII ([http://www.sacred-texts.com/evil/dwf/dwf09.htm on-line text]).</ref> alleged that Palladists were Satanists based in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], headed by the American [[Freemason]] [[Albert Pike]] and created by the Italian liberal patriot and author [[Giuseppe Mazzini]].<ref>p.204 Hastings, James, Editor ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics'', Vol. 12 Varda Books</ref>

[[Arthur Edward Waite]], debunking the existence of the group in ''Devil-Worship in France, or The Question of Lucifer'', ch. II: "The Mask of Masonry" (London, 1896), reports according to "the works of Domenico Margiotta and Dr Bataille" that "[t]he Order of Palladium founded in Paris 20 May 1737 or Sovereign  Council of Wisdom" was a [[Anti-Masonry|"Masonic diabolic order"]].<ref>Waite, Arthur Edward. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xmMuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA22 Devil-Worship in France, or the Question of Lucifer]''. George Redway. London, 1896. 22ff.</ref>  Dr. Bataille asserted that women would supposedly be initiated as "Companions of Penelope".<ref>Reported word-for-word in [[Lewis Spence]], ''An Encyclopaedia of Occultism'', 1920 (reprinted 2006) p.314</ref><ref>As seen in the blurb for [http://www.sacred-texts.com/evil/dwf/index.htm The Internet Sacred Text Archive edition of Devil Worship in France] and the [http://www.sacred-texts.com/evil/dwf/dwf17.htm conclusion], Waite was '''debunking''' the story of Palladists</ref> According to Dr. Bataille, the society had two orders, "Adelph" and "Companion of Ulysses"; however, the society was broken up by French law enforcement a few years after its founding.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.witchvox.com/whs/dt_whs.html?aid=cabc&id=8981 |title="Pagan Protection Center" website |access-date=2008-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525065101/http://www.witchvox.com/whs/dt_whs.html?aid=cabc&id=8981 |archive-date=2011-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A supposed Diana Vaughan published ''Confessions of an Ex-Palladist'' in 1895.