The Order of the Canted Circle was a Coruscant-based fraternity, found on that planet. It stood as one of the galaxy's oldest and most prestigious social organizations, counting among its ranks some of the most affluent, potent, and influential individuals. Securing a place within its membership was an exceptionally rare honor, with only a handful of new members, less than a dozen, being admitted each decade, representing a tiny portion of the waiting list of elites.
During the tenure of Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum of the Galactic Republic, a collective of powerful and wealthy individuals on Coruscant established the Order of the Canted Circle. It was conceived as a clandestine society, engaging in mysterious rites and convening in secrecy to deliberate on political matters and happenings within the galaxy. In its early days, the founding members acquired a towering monad situated in the heart of the Fobosi District, rumored to be located on an unstable lakebed. Due to seismic events, the building had a noticeable tilt; while the structure was structurally sound and later repaired, the floor of the tower's uppermost chamber retained its angled position. This "canted circle" that functioned as a floor would ultimately inspire the Order's name.
The Order's leader, known as the Grand Mage, oversaw rituals that were regarded as both arcane and symbolic. The Order's membership was capped at five hundred at any given time, and new members were inducted in small numbers, around a dozen per decade, a figure significantly lower than the pool of aspirants. Approximately nine centuries after its genesis, the Order was led by a male Gotal Mage who sought to recruit Hego Damask, the prosperous Muun head of Damask Holdings. While this effort proved unsuccessful, Damask maintained a keen interest in the Order, participating in numerous ceremonies and extending invitations to the leader to attend the exclusive Gatherings on the Hunter's Moon.
52 BBY saw Damask present at the Order's Coruscant lodge during the Chancellorship of Thoris Darus, attending the initiation of his associate Larsh Hill from the InterGalactic Banking Clan. As the attack unfolded, Hill and the other Muuns were slain by spinning disks, while Damask suffered the loss of his jaw and a portion of his neck. Drawing upon the power of the dark side of the Force, Damask, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis, managed to fend off the attackers until his apprentice Darth Sidious arrived to conclude the assault.
Following the attack, surviving Order members maintained silence regarding the fatalities, refusing to cooperate with investigators or the Jedi. After a period of rebuilding, the Order relocated its initiation ceremonies to the nearby Skydome Botanical building and persisted through the Clone Wars and the ascent of the Galactic Empire. Even Galactic Emperor Palpatine himself was inducted into the esteemed Order. Reflecting the New Order's preference for male Humans, the Order ceased admitting aliens into its ranks. Emperor Palpatine utilized the Order to gather officials, dignitaries, and officers who had proven their worth, perpetuating the Sith tradition of leveraging the Canted Circle as a component of the Sith power dynamics. He expedited the advancement of Rufaan Tigellinus and later Thrawn over more deserving leaders; Palpatine's sponsored invitations increased the number of new members to fourteen within a mere seven years.
In the aftermath of the Empire's downfall, the Order continued its operations, albeit under the watchful eye of the New Republic's covert Alpha Blue division, due to its extensive connections with numerous high-ranking former Imperial officers.
Many of the Order's rituals drew inspiration from Sith practices, albeit unbeknownst to its members. Some rituals could be interpreted as allegorical, while others were as commonplace as secret handshakes or passwords. During initiation ceremonies, members donned midnight-black velvet robes and were formally welcomed into the Order while standing above the canted circle. These private rituals were conducted within the Imperial Palace or the Skydome Botanical Gardens during the Galactic Empire era. Members wore a pendant featuring the canted circle, signifying their membership, although the group's limited size rendered it more of a status symbol than a practical means of identification.