Early history The Mystical Seven was founded in 1837, just six years after the founding of
Wesleyan University. It was recognized by the university on October 16, 1837. It was Wesleyan's first society, founded a half year before
Eclectic (May 1838). Of the seven founding members, senior Hamilton Brewer was recognized as
primus inter pares behind the establishment of the society. The members met each week at their meeting space in the furnished attic of Wesleyan's North College. The society began Wesleyan's first student publication,
The Classic, in 1840. The Mystical Seven is always referred to as a society, but in its 19th-century form, it was one of the early
college fraternities. Through the 1840s and 1850s, it was a peer organization with Wesleyan's
Eclectic Society,
Psi Upsilon,
Alpha Delta Phi, and
Chi Psi. From about 1856 to 1865, the Mystical Seven were partners in the Alpha Eating Club with the
Eclectic Society. The society was especially known for the quality of its arcana. "Never have I seen anything so original, so quaint, so completely unique, or irresistible in its solemn humor, as the Mystical Seven initiation and the ceremonies of its meetings." The Mystical Seven also had a serious academic and philosophical aspect, including public events like bringing
Ralph Waldo Emerson to speak at the campus, or later
Orestes Brownson, whose address to the society was later published as "Social Reform: An Address Before the Society of the Mystical Seven". The Mystical Seven was the first college fraternal organization to admit women, and initiated several during the 1840s. Later, a law was enacted in the society that allowed the wife of a member to become initiated at that member's discretion. The Mystical Seven expanded to several other universities. The chapters of the society were recognized as "temples", with the "Temple of the Wand" being the parent chapter at Wesleyan. In 1841, the first temple was founded outside of Wesleyan, when Mystical Seven was established at
Emory University. This new society was led by Cooper D. Schmidt. The fraternity had lost almost all the traditions of the older society, motivating leaders of the society to reach out to
Northern (Wesleyan) alumni, including Dr. Pierce, to organize a catalogue and begin publication of
The Mystic Messenger in 1878, which included annual reports and stories about the history of the society. The organization, now with four active chapters, began negotiations with
Beta Theta Pi in 1888 and merged with Beta Theta Pi the following year.
Owl & Wand In 1867, a petitioning group for a
Delta Kappa Epsilon () chapter at Wesleyan claimed initiation into the Mystical Seven to secure a
charter, which was successful. In 1868, the Delta Kappa Epsilon members formed a new society called
Owl & Wand, which was to be a senior society and use the premises of the old Mystical Seven (the attic of North College). As a senior society, it took as members individuals who were already members of four-year college fraternities, and was considered an honorary society. In 1890, the Owl & Wand group claimed to be a direct extension of Mystical Seven. However, detractors claim that the restoration was made without any knowledge of the workings of the fraternal order of the Mystical Seven or an intent to restore them. After seventy years of existence, the senior society died off.
Reformation In the 1960s, several alumni of the Mystical Seven at Wesleyan restarted the society by 1970–71. At a time when historically single-sex student groups were pressured to become
coed, the new Mystical Seven embraced this change, helping it to survive a decade that was detrimental to many other student societies and fraternities. The society, as it was rebuilt in the 1970s, has continued successfully to the present day. During the 1980s, a separate group of at Wesleyan students also decided to re-establish the original society. Much work was employed in reconstructing the practices of the original society, including the addition of much written material from several sources. The two Mystical Seven groups clashed during 1990 and again in 2001, in a dispute over which group was legitimate. Today, the two groups co-exist with little interaction with each other. The meeting place of the senior society Mystical Seven on Wyllys Avenue, known as the Mystic Templum, was gutted by fire in 1995. The building remained boarded up until it was razed in the summer of 2007. The seven-sided building, with seven-sashed windows and a seven-paneled door, had been dedicated in 1912. ==Symbols==