On occult masonry and hermetic initiation

Jean-Marie Ragon de Bettignies, a Freemason and author, was born in 1781 in Bray-sur-Seine and died in 1862 in Bruges. He was initiated into Freemasonry in 1804 in Bruges. Ragon worked as an editor and published a reading method. He was the editor of the first French Masonic revue, Hermes. Ragon belonged to various lodges, including Les amis du Nord and Le Phœnix. He also founded and led the influential lodge Les Vrais Amis, later known as Les Trinosophes. Ragon focused on distinguishing actual history from traditional history in Freemasonry and believed Elias Ashmole was its main founder.