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Acéphale, from the Greek ἀκέφαλος (akephalos, meaning “headless”).

I have a book — The Sacred Conspiracy: The Internal Papers of the Secret Society of Acéphale and Lectures of the College of Sociology. As the title says the book consists of documentation on a secret society called Acéphale. Acéphale was formed by George Bataille (1897 – 1962), a French writer, philosopher, novelist, poet, essayist, and librarian, and also one of the minds behind the magazine called Documents. I found Documents to be an interesting magazine, so when I came across The Sacred Conspiracy I sensed potential.

Now I have looked through it several times and still am not sure what Acéphale is. Something about human sacrifice. And a tree? It still fascinates me, I’m not saying otherwise. But what is it?Hopefully, on further study, I will be able to understand more. I will update this space when that happens.

The Sacred Conspiracy was published by Atlas Press in 2017, with great layout and typography, and is nice to hold.

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“Portefeuille destiné aux membres d'Acéphale. [S.l., s.n., vers 1937]. Portefeuille à 3 rabats intérieurs de percaline jaune (18 x 13,7 cm).” (From the website of French auction house Artcurial).
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Map given to members of Acéphale, the secret society.
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“The Oak of Joyenval, and probably Acéphale’s ‘oak tree struck by lightning’. The path to the left of the tree is marked (K) on the map, and is the direct route to Montjoie.” Image and caption from The Sacred Conspiracy (Atlas Press: London. 2017)

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