Continental Freemasonry in the context of "Grande Loge de France"

Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and writer. Initially pursuing an ecclesiastical career in the Catholic Church, he abandoned the priesthood in his mid-twenties and became a ceremonial magician. At the age of 40, he began professing knowledge of the occult. He wrote over 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism.

The pen name "Éliphas Lévi" was an adaptation of his given names "Alphonse Louis" into Hebrew. Levi gained renown as an original thinker and writer, his works attracting attention in Paris and London among esotericists and artists of romantic or symbolist inspiration. He left the Grand Orient de France (the French Masonic organization that originated Continental Freemasonry) in the belief that the original meanings of its symbols and rituals had been lost. "I ceased being a freemason, at once, because the Freemasons, excommunicated by the Pope, did not believe in tolerating Catholicism ... [and] the essence of Freemasonry is the tolerance of all beliefs."

Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main traditions:

• Anglo-American style Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law" (such as the Bible, Quran or other religious text) should be open in a working lodge, that every member should profess belief in a supreme being, that only men should be admitted, and discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge.
• Continental Freemasonry or Liberal style Freemasonry which has continued to evolve beyond these restrictions, particularly regarding religious belief and political discussion.
• Women Freemasonry or Co-Freemasonry, which includes organisations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Masons in the UK) or accept both men and women (such as Le Droit Humain). Women Freemasonry groups can lean Conservative or Liberal, requiring a religion or not as determined by their Grand Orient.

All three traditions have evolved over time from their original forms and can all refer to themselves as Regular and to other Grand Lodges as Irregular. The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level by a Grand Lodge or a Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.

The Grand Orient de France (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃t‿ɔʁjɑ̃ də fʁɑ̃s], abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbed the rump of the older body in 1799, allowing it to date its foundation to 1728 or 1733). The Grand Orient de France is generally regarded as the "mother lodge" of Continental Freemasonry.