The Mystical Seven, one of the University’s secret societies, is considering sites for its new headquarters after a fire claimed their old building over a decade ago.
“A group of alums are raising money to rebuild the Mystical Seven,” Associate Vice President for Facilities Joyce Topshe wrote in an e-mail to The Argus. “They are considering renovating the vacant brick building on the northeast corner of Lawn Avenue and Pine Street into a new Mystical Seven. No specific project schedule has been set at this time.”
The first chapter of the Mystical Seven was founded at the University in 1837, according to a thesis about the secret society entitled “Mystical 7: A History” by Benjamin Wyatt-Greene ’02. The number of members was originally restricted to seven, but soon jumped to 14 and above. Women were eventually accepted into the Mystical Seven, making the society the first co-ed group in North America.
From the Wesleyan branch of the Mystical Seven, which was referred to as the Temple of the Wand, the secret society spread to Emory University, becoming what is thought to be the first fraternal organization in the South. Further “temples” were set up, and members kept in contact with one another until the Civil War, when many participants died in battle or did not return to higher education. Two members remained at the University after the war, though they lacked knowledge of the society’s appropriate rules and regulations.
The post-Civil War incarnation of the Mystical Seven is responsible for bringing both the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) and Beta Theta Pi (Beta) fraternities to the University. In order to gain admission into DKE, one of the two Mystical “survivors” revived the Mystical Seven and applied as a group for a charter. DKE accepted the offer and the Mystical Seven became a senior society for the leaders of various organizations and fraternities on campus but retained its independence from the fraternal structure.
Shortly thereafter, Beta absorbed the southern Mystical Seven societies and representatives from the fraternity offered the University a charter under the guise of bringing the legitimate Mystical Seven back to the campus. In spite of this, the Mystical Seven senior society rejected Beta’s claims and remained separate.
While most students today might think there is only one Mystical Seven society, there are actually two. In the early 1980s, Christopher Kylin ’84 researched the history of the society and used his findings to create another sect of the Mystical Seven. This new group obtained the writings of the pre-Civil War Mystical members and claim that they adhere to the spirit and ritual of the society far more than the other, previously existing group on campus. The two groups are completely independent of one another, but do occasionally make contact.
“We play pranks on each other every so often,” said an anonymous University alumnus, who belongs to the newer incarnation of the Mystical Seven. “I remember [the other Mystical Seven] once stink-bombed one of our parties. We wanted to do something with a mailing list of their members, but nothing ever came of it.”
The size of each group has grown past the traditional seven members.
“It’s logical that the Mystical Seven would have seven members, but both groups actually have around 15 members, more or less,” the anonymous Mystical Seven alumnus said.
The original Mystical Seven at the University had its headquarters in the attic of the first North College, until it was accidentally burned down in 1906. The seven-sided building that stood on Wyllys Avenue was established as a replacement meeting area in 1912 and remained as such until a mid-’90s fire. The burned-out building was finally removed last year.
The building planned for the corner of Lawn Avenue and Pine Street would presumably belong to the older Mystical Seven group on campus.
“I haven’t heard anything about a reconstruction, so chances are it’s [the older Mystic Seven] that you’re talking about,” said the anonymous Mystical Seven alumnus.
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