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Franz Sättler was Imprisioned
Franz Sättler was imprisoned by the French during World War One. The is where he first came across Theosophy and the occult -
Franz Sättler became an intelligence agent
Franz Sättler became an intelligence agent for the Czechoslovak government and was captured and imprisoned once again. In this prison he had access to a library where he studied the Book of Oriental Secrets and the Magical Bible as he formulated and began writing about his religion. -
Creation of Adonism
Adonism was founded in 1925 by a man named Franz Sättler who often went by the psuedoym of Dr. Musalam. It was supposed to be a continuation of a pagan religion from ancient times, but academics recognize it as "the single-handed creation of a highly gifted and educated man." -
Sättler Returns to Austria
After returning to Austria, he began writing books about his ideas on Theosophy and the occult. He began propagating his religion creating the foundation for his Adonistic Society. -
Sättler gained followers
Sättler began gaining followers which caused a two year waiting period before they could fully join the religion and learn the 'deeper secrets.' There was a twelve lesson course that had an exam at the end, and if the exam was completed properly the follower would become a master of magic. -
Sättler Developed Adonism
By 1927 Sättler had finished developing the entire doctrine of his religion and had written all of the major treatises on it and declared in the constitution of the society that the main group was accompanied by the Adonistic Publishing House and various study lodges across German speaking Europe. The validity of his claims is very heavily debated as when he was declaring this, Adonism had not been registered and the Austrian authorities often suspected him of criminal fraud. -
Franz Sättler Runs into Legal Trouble
Franz Sättler Runs into Legal Trouble which causes him to rename his religion to the Alliance of Orion. -
Sättler's financial scandal
Sättler was finding it hard to make a living despite having published so many books which caused him to begin selling magic talismans and love potions, among other things. He eventually got into the stock trade, however his company was fraudulent and instead of being arrested he fled to Greece. -
Adonistic scandal
While in Vienna he was arrested due to the police believing he was a Czech swindler. While investigating his papers, the police came across a list of 80 German members of his religion and the press found it incredibly shocking that so many members of high-society were involved with an occult group which caused the press to accuse them of sexual orgies. -
the Alliance of Orion
Due to his struggle with finding enough new member to support himself and the religion Sättler renamed the religion. Despite this, the group was having problems with the Nazi Party as they opposed the religion thinking it was created by Jewish people. -
Sättler leaves Greece
Sättler moved to Slovakia and offered many courses in magic and nature healing but in 1937 the Nazis, who had taken over the government by this time, banned all quasi-Masonic organizations. For an unknown reason, the Alliance of Orion was exempt from this rule. -
illegalization of Adonism and Disappearance of Sättler
The Nazi party later decided in 1939 that Adonism was illegal as well. In the early 1940s, the Nazis began invading the rest of the world. This is where the last historical traces of Sättler end. It is unknown how he died but is speculated that it was in a Vienna prison or in Mauthausen Concentration Camp though neither theory has ever been proven. -
Adonism after Sättler
After Sättler, Adonism was never recreated. there were a few attempts in the 1950s and the 1970s, but none of them came to fruition. The last mention of it was around 2010 where a scholar published an examination of Sättler. Some of his works are still used today, but Adonism as a whole has disappeared out of the world.