Editing Taxil hoax (section)

===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.