(French: "Nine Sisters", referring to the Muses)
Parisian Masonic lodge, founded in 1777 by Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande (1732-1797), the eminent astronomer.
A product of the Enlightenment, the Neuf Soeurs lodge was originally conceived by Lalande and Helvètius (1715-1771) as an Encyclopedic lodge, intended to bring together great men of the arts and sciences. When Helvètius died in 1771, Lalande carried on the project, and after some difficulties getting royal permission, the lodge was constituted in 1777.
In accordance with the original plan, membership in the Neuf Soeurs was restricted to men who had demonstrated significant achievements in art or science. Voltaire was admitted to the lodge in 1778, and the membership counted many of the most influential scientists, artists and politicians of the time.