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| Written by John Teehan |
Disclaimer: The secret rulers of the world had absolutely no part in the writing of this column.
Honest.
This is just a short bit about secret societies with some links to videos and not an attempt to shape any propaganda or misinformation into the world in order to further our hidden and mysterious agenda.
Honest.
Swear to god.
In short, anyone rich and powerful today who went to Yale was a member of Skull and Bones. (Well, not everyone, but a lot, certainly.) We’re talking past presidents, senators, leaders of industry, CEOs of financial institutions, owners of publishing conglomerates, the works. It’s one of the few secret societies where membership is an open secret, but what goes on behind the closed doors of the Tomb, the Skull and Bones hall.
There’s really no direct evidence that “Bonesmen” are actually involved in any worldwide conspiracy to rule the world be it through the Illuminati (more on them later) and a New World Order (something mentioned by former president and Bonesman George H. W. Bush). Still, because so many members went on to become such powerful movers and shakers on the world stage, it’s hard to brush aside rumors with absolute ease.
There was at least one not-too-awful movie about Skull and Bones (The Skulls, 2000) and two forgettable sequels. None of the three movies really touch much on any world-conspiracy fodder. They’re more crime thriller than conspiracy thriller.
But where’s the fun in that. Here’s a relatively short video outlining some of Skull & Bones darker secrets. I’m sure you can trust the accuracy. Honest.
Knights Templar and the Freemasons
What’s more romantic than being part of a tradition that goes back to the knights of Middle Ages?
Founded in 1129, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (or Knights Templar, if you’re nasty) were a powerful military order who made their name in the Crusades, protecting pilgrims, and creators of an early form of banking that led them to become one of the richest institutions in the world. They became so powerful, and so many members of the nobility became too heavily indebted to them, many were arrested in 1307, tortured into false confessions of Satanism and other crimes, which lead to their permanent disbandment in 1312. Their assets were seized, and what knights who weren’t tortured and/or executed were sent out of orders or transferred to others.
Supposedly, some knights were given refuge by a branch of Scottish Freemasonry, hence the connection so many Freemason organizations make with the original order of the Knights Templar. In truth, any actual connections are tenuous at best and reflect more a claim to a continuation of the traditions of the holy order.
But that’s not enough for some people. Those who look for worldwide conspiracies tie the fabled wealth and power of the Templars as it was spread throughout Europe and the Middle East as proof of their attempts to install a New World Order based upon everything from Christian dominionism to Satanic overthrow. Some even claim they were all really atheists in disguise and were trying to usher in some kind of proto-communism. Linking them the Freemasons who have branches all over the world only serves to further these suspicions, and because so much of America’s earliest leaders were Freemasons, ipso facto, there’s a Templar connection there, and possibly even Templar treasure–and sinister Templar agendas still governing us today.
Oh, my.
Enjoy this:
Cicada 3301 and Anonymous
Secret societies for the digital age. I suppose it’s fair to question if they count as “societies” in the classical sense. I ague that they qualify if for no other reasons than they are (in all likelihood) made up of at least several members whose identities are kept secret.
So here you have the secret societies of the modern computer age and, frankly, it took longer for them to show up than I expected. The internet is a perfect breeding ground not just for conspiracy theories and theorists, but for practitioners of world domination “behind the veil”. While hackers (the criminal kind) have been around since the mid-80s, there was never a sense of them organizing into a grand cabal to run things behind the screens. They were more interested in browsing government and corporate computers and occasionally selling secrets to Russians, but for the most part the hackers of old were in it for the technical challenge and bragging rights.
Over the years–decades, actually–some hacker collective groups have tried to think bigger.
Anonymous is probably the most well-known one despite very few members having been positively identified. While technically starting in 2003 on a 4chan board, it didn’t really move into the public arena until around 2008 with its attacks on Scientology. They’re more of a loose collection of hacktivists than a strict organization with a clear hierarchy. Still, for a bunch of roughly organized crypto-anarchists, they’re pretty effective at keeping secrets regarding their identities and associations, methods, plans, and so forth. If you want an in with these folk, you have to find them. They float around the net and the darkweb with false fronts, layers of security, and woe-to-the-infiltrator. But it’s not impossible.
And as far as secret societies go, their goals are pretty straightforward–freedom of information and social justice. Of course, that could be just what they want us to believe.
They might have more nefarious plans none of us are prepared for–like meat-flavored Ben & Jerry’s or… or the return of disco.
Nefarious!
As for Cicada 3301, what are they up to?
Their shtick is to release puzzles online and elsewhere often involving cryptology in an effort to “recruit” intelligent individuals. Recruit for what? Possible suspects involve the NSA, CIA, MI6 and MiB. Crypto-currency–whatever that is–has also been mentioned. If anyone has actually been “recruited”, then no one is talking. Talk of cryptography tends to get some government types twitchy, and because they’re playing it closer to the vest than even Anonymous, the whole Cicada 3301 thing is the online secrecy society I’m keeping more of an eye on.
A never-closing eye atop a pyramid. The Eye of Providence.
The Illuminati
Of all the secret societies, this is probably my favorite.
Why?
Because I’m a member.
Prove me wrong. That’s your folly, then.
The best thing about the Illuminati is that it’s so secret that no one knows who’s a member. Or if it even really exists. Oh, something called the Illuminati did kind of exist in the late 18th century founded by a Bavarian fellow of the name of Adam Weishaupt. It was an organization that sometimes met, but more often exchanged correspondence about various Enlightenment-era issues such as anti-occultism, problems with religious influences in public life, abuses of power, and so forth. Because of their irreligious leanings, the group was outlawed before the century even came to a close, but many thought they just went underground and even influenced the French Revolution.
Over time, “Illuminati” came to be used to describe any secret organization, real or imagined, that bucked the current power systems of church and state.
They were seen as threats to the “natural order” of things with their anti-superstition positions and criticisms of the status quo. But because there were more critics of the Illuminati than there were actual members, the propaganda war came down with the result that the Illuminati were an evil organization bent on world domination, yadda-yadda-yadda. Everything always goes back to the Illuminati. Fluoridated water? The Illuminati. Vaccinations? The Illuminati. Wall Street crashes? The Illuminati. Missing socks from the dryer? No brainer. 9/11 and JFK? Absolutely.
You get the idea.
What’s fun is seeing how some conspiracy theorists even try to stretch the Illuminati tradition beyond its well-founded origins to more ancient times. For some reason, ancient Egypt is popular (as is Atlantis). The Illuminati are to blame for the pyramid with the all-seeing eye (not unlike Sauron) on the dollar bill, and the phrase “Novus Ordo Seclorum” (New Order of the Age, or… New World Order).
This is evidence that our government is controlled by the Illuminati. Heck, all governments, all major industries, all celebrities and power players are in their thrall. It’s become pretty popular, lately, to claim that pop music stars such as Jay-Z and Katy Perry are part of this all because sometimes triangular shapes and/or eyes appearing in their performances, costumes, or album covers. This is supposedly some kind of gang sign that reveals their membership and allegiance.
If only it were that easy. As a member of the Illuminati myself, I can tell you that this is total BS. Our secret recognition sign is a [redacted] surrounded by thirteen [redacted] being consumed by a [redacted redacted redacted].
I trust the truth can now be told.
Actually, I mentioned the Illuminati in passing about a month ago when I was writing a column about UFO conspiracies. For some reason, they found out about this and there are a bunch of posted comments from the Illuminati inviting me to join (already a member) and promising riches (that’s not what we’re about, baby). I was curious, though, and looked up these folks up. Apparently there’s a whole Internet Thing about joining this online Illuminati in order to attract wealth and success. I note from many of the commenters I come across that spelling and grammar are not among their requirements for membership.
For more on the Illuminati… hell… there are lots of very long videos on YouTube about them. Maybe start with this one:
And if you didn’t take time to watch any of the videos linked above, I can’t say as I blame you. They’re watching, of course, and recording what you view. And controlling what you view. Chances aren’t ruled out that I may be part of the whole conspiracy. If I leave you with anything to ponder, though, I leave you this. Puzzling Evidence.
The Talking Heads, man… they knew about stuff.
(Good lord… I think I need to reiterate something here in case anyone has any misunderstandings. I am, generally, not a believer in conspiracy theories. I am a fan of them and their theorists, but I don’t for a moment really swallow any of this. You should be taking it with a grain of salt as well. We’re talking entertainment value here only. Thank you.)
(or are we?)
