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What were the Oculists?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of Is the 2011 decipherment of the Copiale cipher correct?·4 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: the Oculists were a Masonic or para-Masonic order at Wolfenbüttel that recorded and practised high-degree…Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. The Oculists were a Masonic or para-Masonic order at Wolfenbüttel that recorded and practised high-degree… leads, with evidence 1 for: supported by its tests. Three are still possible.

Why it matters

The plaintext describes a society with eye imagery, eye tests in its ritual and detailed knowledge of Masonic high degrees; what that society was is a historical question the cipher opened rather than closed⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 4

Evidence: 1 for
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible
Evidence: 1 against
Disputed

History

  1. University of Southern California puts forward: the Oculists were a fraternity with a genuine interest in eyes and eye surgery whose imagery was literal.
  2. University of Southern California: the rituals show an interest in eye surgery and ophthalmology, though the members apparently were not eye…Against: The Oculists were a fraternity with a genuine interest in eyes and eye surgery whose imagery was literal.
  3. Knight et al. puts forward: the Oculists were a Masonic or para-Masonic order at Wolfenbüttel that recorded and practised high-degree…
  4. Schultz puts forward: the Oculists watched Freemasonry from inside, as rivals or informants, which the cat-and-mouse insignia hints…
  5. Schultz: from page 27 the text describes rituals of the highest Masonic degrees.For: The Oculists were a Masonic or para-Masonic order at Wolfenbüttel that recorded and practised high-degree…
  6. Schultz: önnerfors read the insignia of cats watching mice as a joke or a sign of surveillance.For: The Oculists watched Freemasonry from inside, as rivals or informants, which the cat-and-mouse insignia hints…
  7. Asked on this site
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