Secret Societies
by Milton William Cooper
History is replete with whispers of secret societies. Accounts of elders or priests who guarded the forbidden knowledge of ancient peoples. Prominent men, meeting in secret, who directed the course of civilization are recorded in the writings of all people.
The oldest is the Brotherhood of the Snake, also called the Brotherhood of the Dragon, and it still exists under many different names. It is clear that religion has always played a significant role in the course of these organizations. Communication with a higher source, often divine, is a familiar claim in all but a few.
The secrets of these groups are thought to be so profound that only a chosen, well-educated few are able to understand and use them. These men use their special knowledge for the benefit of all mankind. At least that is what they claim. How are we to know, since their knowledge and actions have been secret? Fortunately, some of it has become public knowledge.
I found it intriguing that in most, if not all, primitive tribal societies all of the adults are members. They are usually separated into male and female groups. The male usually dominates the culture. Surprisingly, this exactly resembles many civilized secret societies. This can only mean that the society is working not against established authority, but for it. In fact, could be said to actually be the established authority. This would tend to remove the validity of any argument that all secret associations are dedicated to the "destruction of properly constituted authority." This can only apply, of course, where the secret society makes up the majority or entirety of any people which it affects. Only a very few fall into this category.
Secret societies in fact mirror many facets of ordinary life. There is always an exclusivity of membership, with the resultant importance attached to being or becoming a member. This is found in all human endeavors, even those which are not secret, such as football teams or country clubs. This exclusivity of membership is actually one of the secret societies' most powerful weapons. There is the use of signs, passwords and other tools. These have always performed valuable functions in man's organizations everywhere. The stated reason, almost always different from the real reason, for the societies' existence is important.
The comradeship is especially important. Sharing hardships or secrets has always been a special thrill to man. No one who undergone the rigors of boot camp is ever likely to forget the special feeling of belonging and comradeship that was shared between the victims of the drill sergeant or company commander. It is an emotion born of initiation. The most potent tool of any secret society is the ritual and myth surrounding initiation. These special binding ceremonies have very deep meaning for the participants.
Initiation performs several functions which make up the heart and soul of any true secret society. Like boot camp, the initiation into the armed forces, important aspects of human thought that are universally compelling, are merged to train and maintain the efforts of a group of people to operate in a certain direction. Initiation bonds the members together in mysticism.
Neophytes gain knowledge of a secret, giving them special status. The ancient meaning of neophyte is "planted anew or reborn." A higher initiation is in reality a promotion inspiring loyalty and the desire to move up to the next rung. The goals of the society are reinforced, causing the initiated to act toward those goals in everyday life. That brings about a change in the political and social action of the member. The change is always in the best interest of the goals of the leaders of the secret society. The leaders are called adepts. This can best be illustrated by the soldier trained to follow orders without thinking. The result is often the wounding or death of the soldier for the realization of the commander's goal which may or may not be good for the overall community.
Initiation is a means of rewarding ambitious men who can be trusted. You will notice that the higher the degree of initiation the fewer the members who possess the degree. This is not because the other members are not ambitious but because a process of very careful selection is being conducted. A point is reached where no effort is good enough without a pull up by the higher members. Most members never proceed beyond this point and never learn the real, secret purpose of the group. The frozen member from that point on serves only as a part of the political power base as indeed he has always done. You may have guessed by now that initiation is a way to determine who can and cannot be trusted.
A method of deciding exactly who is to become an adept decided during initiation by asking the candidate to spit upon the christian cross. If the candidate refuses, the members congratulate him and tell him, "You have made the right choice, as a true adept would never do such a terrible thing." The newly initiated might find it disconcerting, that he/she never advances any higher. If instead, the candidate spits upon the cross, he/she has demonstrated a knowledge of one of the mysteries and soon will find him/herself a candidate for the next higher level. The mystery is that religion is but a tool to control the masses. Knowledge (or wisdom) is their only god, through which man himself will become god. The snake and the dragon are both symbols of wisdom. Lucifer is a personification of the symbol. It was Lucifer who tempted Eve to entice Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge and thus free man from the bonds of ignorance. The WORSHIP (a lot different from STUDY) of knowledge, science, or technology is Satanism in its purest form, its secret symbol is the all-seeing eye in the pyramid.
Undesirable effects of secret societies and their aura of mystery has sometimes given them the reputation for being abnormal associations or, at the very least, strange groups of people. Whenever their beliefs are those of the majority they are no longer considered antisocial. A good example is the Christian church, which was at one time a secret society under the Roman Empire. In fact, the "Open Friendly Secret Society" (the Vatican) actually ruled most, if not all, of the known world at one time.
Most secret societies are generally considered to be antisocial; they are believed to contain elements that are not liked or are outright harmful to the community in general. This is exactly the case in some instances. Communism and fascism are secret societies in many countries where they are prohibited by law. In this country the Nazi party and the Ku Klux Klan are secret societies due mostly to the fact that the general public is disgusted by them. Their activities are sometimes illegal, thus the secrecy of their membership. The early Christians were a secret society because Roman authorities considered them from the start to be dangerous to imperial rule. The same was true of the followers of Islam. The Druseed and Yezidis in Syria and Iraq consider the Arabs a dangerous secret society dedicated to the takeover of the world. The Arabs today think the same of the Jews. Catholics and Freemasons used to have precisely the same ideas about each other.
In many primitive or backward societies initiation into the highest degrees of the group involved subjection to trials which not infrequently resulted in death or insanity for the candidate. It can be seen that social right and wrong is not the yardstick in estimating the value of a secret society. In Borneo, initiates of hunting societies, consider it meritorious and compulsory to hunt heads. In Polynesia, infanticide and debauch were considered essential for initiation into their societies, where the tribal code needed members who indulged in these things, as pillars of society.
Since the beginning of recorded history, governmental bodies of every on have been involved with maintaining the status quo to defend the establishment against minority groups that sought to function as states within states or to oust the constituted authority and take over in its place.
Many of these attempts have succeeded but have not always lasted. Man's desire to be one of the elect is something that no power on earth has been able to lessen, let alone destroy. It is one of the "secrets" of secret societies. It is what gives them a political base and lots of clout. Members often vote the same and give each other preference in daily business, legal, and social activities. It is the deepest desire of many to be able to say, "I belong to the elect."
Houses of worship and sacrifice existed in the ancient cities. They were in fact temples built in honor of the many gods. These buildings functioned often as meeting places for philosophers and mystics who were believed to possess the secrets of nature. These men usually banded together in seclusive philosophic and religious schools.
The most important of all of these ancient groups is the Brotherhood of the Snake, or Dragon, and was simply known as the Mysteries. The snake and dragon are symbols that represent wisdom. The father of wisdom is Lucifer, also called the Light Bearer. The focus of worship for the Mysteries was Osiris, the name of a bright star that the ancients believed had been cast down onto the earth. The literal meaning of Lucifer is "bringer of light" or "the morning star." After Osiris was gone from the sky, the ancients saw the Sun as the representation of Osiris ("...it is claimed that, after Lucifer fell from Heaven, he brought with him the power of thinking as a gift for mankind." Fred Gittings, Symbolism in Occult Art)
Most of the greatest minds that ever lived were initiated into the society of Mysteries by secret and dangerous rites, some of which were very cruel. Some of the most famous were known as Osiris, Isis, Sabazius, Cybele and Eleusis. Plato was one of these initiates and he describes some of the mysteries in his writings.
Plato's initiation encompassed three days of entombment in the Great Pyramid, during which time he died (symbolically), was reborn, and was given secrets that he was to preserve. Plato's writings are full of information on the Mysteries. Manly P. Hall stated in his book, The Secret Teachings of All Ages that, "...the illumined of antiquity...entered its (pyramid of Giza) portals as men; they came forth as gods." The ancient Egyptian word for pyramid was khuti, which meant "glorious light." Mr. Hall says also, "The pyramids, the great Egyptian temples of initiation..."
According to many, the great pyramids were built to commemorate and observe a supernova explosion that occurred in the year 4000 B.C. Dr. Anthony Hewish, 1974 Nobel Prize winner in physics, discovered a rhythmic series of radio pulses which he proved were emissions from a star that had exploded around 4000 B.C. The Freemasons begin their calendar from A.L., "In the Year of Light," found by adding 4000 to the modern year. Thus 1990 + 4000 = 5990 A.L. George Michanowsky wrote in The Once and Future Star that "The ancient Sumerian cuneiform...described a giant star exploding within a triangle formed by...Zeta Puppis, Gamma Velorum, and Lambda Velorum...located in the southern sky....[An] accurate star catalogue now stated that the blazing star that had exploded within the triangle would again be seen by man in 6000 years." According to the Freemason's calendar it will occur in the year 2000, and indeed it will.
The spacecraft called Galileo is on its way to Jupiter, a baby star with a gaseous makeup exactly the same as our sun, with a load of 49.7 pounds of plutonium, supposedly being used as batteries to power the craft. When its final orbit decays in December 1999, Galileo will deliver its payload into the center of Jupiter.
The unbelievable pressure that will be encountered will cause a reaction exactly as occurs when an atomic bomb is exploded by an implosion detonator. The plutonium will explode in an atomic reaction, lighting the hydrogen and helium atmosphere of Jupiter and resulting in the birth of the star that has already been named Lucifer. The world will interpret it as a sign of tremendous religious significance. It will fulfill prophecy. In reality it is only a demonstration of the insane application of technology by the JASON Society which may or may not even work. They have practiced overkill to ensure success, however, as the documents that I read while in Naval Intelligence stated that Project GALILEO required only five pounds of plutonium to ignite Jupiter and possibly stave off the coming ice age. Global warming is a hoax. It is easier for the public to deal with and will give the ruling elite more time before panic and anarchy replace government. The reality is that overall global temperatures are becoming lower. Storms are becoming more violent and less predictable.
The icecaps at the poles are growing larger. The temperate zones where food can be grown are shrinking. Desertification is increasing in the tropics. An ice age is on its way, and it will occur suddenly.
Simultaneously a vault containing the ancient records of the earth will opened in Egypt. The opening of the vault will usher in the millennium. A great celebration has already been planned by the Millennium Society to take place at the pyramids in Egypt. According to the January 3, 1989, edition of the Arizona Daily Star, "President-elect Bush is spending this New Year's holiday at Camp David, Maryland, but in 10 years he may be in Egypt. Organizers of the Millennium Society say he's already committed to ushering in the next century at the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Giza.
The first secret that one must know to even begin to understand the Mysteries is that their members believe that there are but few truly mature minds in the world. They believe that those minds belong exdusively to them. The philosophy that follows is the classic secret-society view of humanity:
"When a person of strong intellect is confronted with a problem which calls for the use of reasoning faculties, they keep their poise and attempt to read a solution by garnering facts bearing upon the question. On the other hand, those who are immature, when confronted by the small problem, are overwhelmed. While the former may be said to be qualified to solve the mystery of their own destiny, the latter must be led like a bunch of animals and taught in the simplest language. Like sheep they are totally dependent upon the shepherd. The able intellect is taught the Mysteries and the esoteric spiritual truths. The masses are taught the literal, exoteric interpretations. While the masses worship the five senses, the select few observe, recognizing in the gulf between them the symbolic concretions of great abstract truths. "The initiated elect communicate directly to Gods (ALIENS?) who communicate back to them. The masses sacrifice their lambs on an altar facing a stone idol that can neither hear or speak. The elect are given knowledge of the Mysteries and are illumined and are thus known as The Illluminati or the Illuminated Ones, the guardians of the 'Secrets of the Ages."'
Three early secret societies that can be directly connected to a modern descendant are the cults of Roshaniya, Mithras and their counterpart, the Builders. They have many things in common with the Freemasons of today as well as with many other branches of the Illuminati. Brotherhood are the symbolic rebirth into a new life without going through the portal of death during initiation; reference to the "Lion" and "the Grip of the Lion's Paw" in the Master Mason's degree; the three degrees, which is the same as the ancient Masonic rites before the many other degrees were added; the ladder of seven rungs; men only; and the "all-seeing eye."
Of special interest is the powerful society in Afghanistan in ancient times called the Roshaniya--illuminated ones. There are actually references to this mystical cult going back through history to the House of Wisdom at Cairo. The major tenets of this cult were: the abolition of private property; the elimination of religion; the elimination of nation states; the belief that illumination emanated from the Supreme Being who desired a class of perfect men and women to carry out the organization and direction of the world; belief in a plan to reshape the social system of the world by first taking control of individual countries one by one, and the belief that after reaching the fourth degree one could communicate directly with the unknown supervisors who had imparted knowledge to initiates throughout the ages. Wise men will again recognize the Brotherhood.
The important fact to remember is that the leaders of both the right and the left are a small, hard core of men who have been and still are Illuminists or members of the Brotherhood. They may have been or may be members of the Christian or Jewish religions, but that is only to further their own ends. They give allegiance to no particular nation, although they have used nationalism to further their causes. Their only concern is to gain greater economic and political power. The ultimate objective of the leaders of both groups is identical. They are determined to win for themselves undisputed control of the wealth, natural resources, and manpower of the entire planet. They intend to turn the world into their conception of a totalitarian socialist state. In the process they will eliminate all Christians, Jews, and atheists. You have just learned one, but only one, of the great mysteries.
The Roshaniya also called themselves the Order. Initiates took an oath that absolved them of all allegiance except to the Order and stated, "I bind myself to perpetual silence and unshaken loyalty and submission to the Order.... All humanity which cannot identify itself by our secret sign is our lawful prey." The oath remains essentially the same to this day. The secret sign was to pass a hand over the forehead, palm inward; the countersign, to hold the ear with the fingers and support the elbow in the cupped other hand. Does that sound familiar? The Order is the Order of the Quest. The cult preached that there was a spirit state completely different from life as we know it. The spirit could continue to be powerful on earth through a member of the Order, but only if the spirit had been itself a member of the Order before its death. Thus members of the Order gained power from the spirits of the dead members.
The Roshaniya took in travelers as initiates and then sent them on their way to found new chapters of the Order. It is believed by some that the Assassins were a branch of the Roshaniya. Branches of the Roshaniya or "the illuminated ones" or the Illuminati existed and still exist everywhere. One of the rules was not to use the same name and never mention "the Illuminati." That rule is still in effect today. I believe that it is the breaking of this rule that resulted in Adam Weishaupt's downfall.
Read all 4 Secrets
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