I'm thinking about forming my own secret society with rituals and symbols, thats pretty Yea Forums, right?

have sex

Not OP but I've been considering doing a secret club with Eleusinian Mysteries style initiation. I've been trying to gleam what I can of the rituals from poetry and plays, and I've got a general idea what to do but I still need to figure it out.
Our first hint comes from Thucydides that Alcibiades was accused of doing the mysteries in his house. DMT is naturally found in the Mediterranean when certain common plants are stewed together and magic mushrooms are also not uncommon, so the main aspect of the mysteries is a hallucinogenic experience.
Secondly the gods related to the mysteries: demeter, persephone, and Dionysus. Dionysus gives credibility to the drugs aspect (drugs cause madness) as does demeter (drugs come form the earth) with persephone being the thematic element. It is said people would fast and meditate in isolation for days before "taking the mysteries", this could make the trips more intense. The theme of going to Hades (Persephone) and rebirth (Demeter) are both present. The final question is what these mean in reality.
This question is answered by Euripedes in his Bacchae. The play is, among other things, a journey through the initiation rights. Successful initiates experience a string of emotions: fear, trembling, despair, but after that joy after seeing a great light. Similarly, Pentheus mistakes a great light in the courtyard for the god.
So we have some information now and can begin to draw out a ritual.
New initiates are kept in darkness, away from nature, probably for a week or so. You are forced to meditate, and probably participate in some dance though this is debatable. You aren't fed, and the only drink you get is likely wine or just water. After a week of meditating and fasting you are given the drugs during the ritual itself. The idea is to cause fear and despair, ie a bad trip. In the Bacchae drums and reed pipes are the instruments of Dionysus so drums would likely be mixed with a frenzied dance of the maenads and singing/screaming. One of the goals is to break down their sense of identity, this could be a reference to ego death or something else but the acquisition of the new identity is a matter of contention for me, the Bacchae shows Pentheus becoming a virtual mirror to the god, would this happen? Idk, either way not yet. While in despair and dark, the music and dancing would stop so the initiate is again isolated, and a light would appear. This would be the brightest (and possibly only) light they've seen since the start of the mysteries and it would be a magical experience. Perhaps the initiate is washed but after this I look to what the maenads and followers of Dionysus do. They go to the mountains, they wear savage clothes made of nature, they are crazed (and thus are against society). Thus I believe the final step is the initiate is led into the outside, to see nature. This is the rebirth. After being in darkness for so long everything is bright and beautiful, and the initiate sees the world with new eyes.

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Seems pretty rad

I like the approach. Jesus didn't grow up with a father and thus was starved spiritually of that archetypal father. And blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Of course the Jews would rave about him.

They might find the world more beautiful after being without it, and this could lead to stronger faith. The mysteries also instill a care for nature over society, almost trying to make the initiates into animals (hence the maenads tear apart their prey and eat it raw). The prevalence of mountains could mean initiates are shown the whole world from the top of a mountain which would also be a magical experience, even more so after the despair. Afterwards the initiate believes in the gods more and trusts in nature more.
Is there a sexual element? Possibly, though I'm not sure. Dionysus refutes in Bacchae the idea that maenads are sex crazed, so perhaps not.
There's a lot more to this than I know, and this is only the ritual, not what it means. I think Homer went through this and maybe some Bible writers who knows.
So, is it feasible for a sekrit club? Well all you really need is a cabin in the mountains and a lot of time. Willing volunteers too wouldn't be too hard to find I bet. Initial experimentation could leave them mindfucked but sacrifices (to Dionysus) must be made for progress.

If you're gonna do it at least try and take volunteers that are probably going to be wage slaves/homeless/live in a commune their entire lives anyway. Like the ones that generally hate all societal authorities, muddied by class theory/inequality, possibly hipster-esque kinds that dream about vacationing in purely natural places like South America. But they can't be so pampered or uppermiddle/middle class so as to feel vaguely tied to civil realism

I was in a secret society in college, it’s really not what you would expect

This was an intriguing post which led me to find more. There are likely important aspects of the rituals I don't know about, extra steps and parts of the ritual and process I don't know about. I think the songs would've been something else, Mycenaen poetry from before Homer preserved for hundreds of years. It's incredible to think that after the bronze age collapse, while everyone was scrambling to survive, this intense and complex drug cult managed to survive. I will continue to research this and try recreate the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Duly noted.

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What was it like?

Like a fraternity with a more complicated initiation process

bump

Good idea user, you should base it on stoicism and ancient paganism

Yes. That is what teh orgiastic fertility rites part covers.

>Jesus didn't grow up with a father
citation needed because i say this is bullshit

Jesus did grow up with a father though, what are you on about?

Very nice, I'd be in desu. What's your endgame though? And what would you do if people die ? Taking trips after a week long fast must be dangerous, especially in the woods

sounds rad, how do i join?

idk about any end goal, maybe it'll inspire some genius among us to write some inspired stuff? I have to plan out what to do afterwards.
Probably gonna have some trip killer pills if things go south.