The Pentacle Club is one of the world's oldest

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

societies, known by amateur and professional magicians for its longevity and members.

Origins

The Pentacle Club was founded in 1919 by Professor W. W. Rouse Ball, J. H. Johnson, C. R. Cosens, F. J. W. Roughton, and W. I. Grantham. The Club, consisting of members of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, was a successor to The Mystics, a pre-

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

club that ran from 1909 to 1914. Rouse Ball, the first President of the club, gathered support from across the university for the first meeting of the club, where the members "saw demonstrations of rope and card tricks, thimble and billiard ball manipulations". The initial subscription rate was half a crown a term.

Later history

During the 1920s, the Pentacle Club became increasingly well known on a national level, thanks in part to a sequence of guest visits to Cambridge, including Douglas Dexter and

Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created '' The Nautical Al ...

, the latter inviting the Pentacle Club to undertake a joint performance with the

Magic Circle A magic circle is a circle of space marked out by practitioners of some branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be mar ...

in London. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the club performed in aid of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, with amateur magicians from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, evacuated to Cambridge during the conflict, adding to the membership. In 1963, the club began to admit members from outside the university, leading to a slow change in the club's composition — over the last few decades, the membership has been increasingly drawn from the Cambridge region, and less from undergraduates. The club retained its traditional links to the university, however, under the long presidency of Sir

William Hawthorne Sir William Rede Hawthorne CBE, FRS, FREng, FIMECHE, FRAES, (22 May 1913 – 16 September 2011) was an English professor of engineering who worked on the development of the jet engine. Bragg-Hawthorne equation is named after him. Life ...

, Master of

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

, well known for performing magic. In 2023, students at the University of Cambridge revived the original name and emblem for The Mystics, reimagined as a society for the academic study and discussion of supernatural magic and

esotericism Esotericism may refer to: * Eastern esotericism, a broad range of religious beliefs and practices originating from the Eastern world, characterized by esoteric, secretive, or occult elements * Western esotericism, a wide range of loosely related id ...

Present

Past presidents

Presidents and their tenures: * 1919–1925 Professor W. W. Rouse Ball * 1925–1932 Doctor J. Canney * 1932–1968 Doctor F.B. Kipping * 1969–1969 Sir Gordon Sutherland * 1970–1990 Sir William Hawthorne * 1990–2008 Claude Perry MIMC * 2008–2013 John Davenport MIMC * 2013–2018 Chris Kostecki MMC Current president (2018 – present): Jeremy "JezO" Bond MMC

References

{{Magic organizations 1919 establishments in England Organizations established in 1919 Magic clubs Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge