>Yeah, I'm sure a lot of you laughed at the Lone Gunman when you downloaded the Threats file. I'm sure you giggled or frowned in disbelief at all the other authors. Bunch of conspiracy nuts, right? Looped around the bend, they belong in the crazy house, right? How could anyone sane believe in secret societies, you thought self-righteously. You have no clue how wrong you are.
Maybe the Lone Gunman is a nut. But secret societies do exist and have existed for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years now. And I'm prepared to prove it to you. What follows (by the way, thanks to St. Stan for formatting this doc) is a sort of "greatest hits" through history. I've kept it brief (actually, St. Stan made me stay brief), so to compensate, I've included a short list of books where you can do your own research. I'm sure you've heard of a few of them, but there have been hundreds of smaller secret societies and I've chosen to include a couple of them here.
>The Second Gunman(03:26:26/8-13-60)
>This document has been formatted so you can post comments, but as usual, don't frag with the actual text. Captain Chaos has been trying out some new IC, so...
>St. Stan
The Knights Templar
The Knights of the Temple, formed in 1118 AD by nine knights in Jerusalem, were originally granted shelter and a grant by the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II. Ten years later, in 1128, Pope Honorius made them a holy order, answerable only to the Pope. Now, the Knights Templar were not a secret society per se. Rather, they were powerful, proud, public and rather political. Not to mention extremely rich. All of which got them shut down by King Philip the Fair of France and his puppet, Pope Clement V in 1307.
>I don't know about puppet, but Clement was elected to the papacy in 1305 with very strong support from Philip. He may not have otherwise have been elected.
>Cross Watcher
The charges against the Templars were mostly trumped up and made from sheer ignorance and greed. But there was something to them. The Knights Templar did maintain a number of secret rites that were not totally in line with the orthodox Church. What, exactly, these different rites are, isn't clear.
>Philip's charges included stuff like some kind of Black Mass, spitting and stomping on the cross, rejecting the Catholic Church and stuff like that. Pretty funny reading actually. What little we do actually know is that the Templars incorporated certain elements of Islam, Sufi mysticism and Jewish Qabbalism (brought back from their time in Palestine, I'm sure), which has since become the basis for rituals in nearly every secret society in Europe since then. Really pretty tame, actually, compared to the charges of heresy they faced.
>Cross Watcher
>What about the fantastic treasures they were supposed to have? From what I've heard, Philip never found most of it.
>Party Timer
>That's been a nagging question for a long time. Some claim the Templars were never really as rich as was believed. Others claim they hid their treasure extremely well. And others claim much of their treasure was actually knowledge, not gold. This is the favorite answer of numerous secret societies, including those listed below and the Prieure de Sion.
>Sniffer
>The who?!
>Vox Populi 
>The Priory of Sion. Replace the "S" with a "Z" and you'll get it. This small group, based in the south of France around Rennes-le-Chauteau, has listed as it's Grand Masters everyone from Leonardo da Vinci to Isaac Newton, to Jean Cocteau (none of which can be verified of course). If you believe the story (which is more credible than you might expect), the Priory of Sion was the force behind the Templars (until 1188 that is), the Freemasons, the Rosicrucian movement and a bunch of other secret societies. Sort of the medieval version of the Black Lodge. The Priory of Sion was supposed to guard the bloodline of the Merovingian kings. Problem is, the Merovingian dynasty went officially belly-up around 751 AD. Why did they stick around? And what is up with the bizarre church in Rennes-le-Chauteau (which was apparently blown up by terrorists in Spring '57. Fortunately, there are lots of pictures and trid images still around.)? Some claim thereis a connection with either the Holy Grail, or the bloodline of Christ. Depends on who you ask.
>Rex Mundi
>Bloodline of Christ? Come on. The Bible says nothing about Jesus having children.
>Devil's Lawyer
>True. It all comes from the legends of Mary of Magdelene, who fled, supposedly to Europe, with the "sangraal." Almost everyone makes that "san graal," which would make it the "Holy Grail," which was used at the Last Supper. Break it into "sang raal," however and it becomes the royal blood. Which is interpreted as Mary was pregnant with Christ's child. And to bring it back to the Priory of Sion, their mission was to protect this unbroken bloodline. It's all weird stuff (as is everything when you deal with secret societies) and may not even be believable to most people. But some people do believe, including this Prieure de Sion (who seem to operate almost exclusively in Europe and the Middle East). And in the Awakened world, belief may be enough. Read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" for every detail.
>WZO
The Freemasons and Their Spawn
The Order of Free Masons was, according to their legend, formed around 900 AD or so. In reality, it was formed back in the 14th century (possibly by Scottish Templars) and is still around today. Originally a normal workers guild, or union, it somehow was transformed into the largest "secret" society in Europe by the Sixteenth Century. What was once a true secret society that counted as it's members royalty and leaders of nations, has become little more than a drinking club for old men. Even in England, where the Masons held their most power, they have been crushed and absorbed by the Druidic movement. What makes the Freemasons important however, is the fact that they are the links between a wide variety of other secret societies and in fact, formed the basis of the rites, rituals and various other "secrets" of these other societies. The Illuminati, the Allumbrados of Spain, the Rosicrucians and the Carbonari of Italy. Of these, only two matter and I shall explain only one of them.
>The Allumbrados were sort of the Spanish Illuminati. The Rosicrucians may have never even existed (their whole story was started by a book, printed in 1614, that had a chapter, possibly fictional, that purported to tell the history of the Order of the Rose Cross). And the Carbonari, which held a large amount of power in early 19th Century Italy faded out relatively quickly. The Illuminati on the other hand...
>Magi Maker
>So wait, how do all these groups connect through the Freemasons?
>ITP
>Oh yeah. Sorry. Almost all of these groups used the Freemasons as their base and to help grant these societies legitimacy when newly formed (they now had an instant history). The Masons had, originally, three basic ranks of initiation. These other groups latched on and claimed to have higher initiations that the Freemasons could join. So if you were an Illuminati, you could go up to the Order of the Silver Star (the "Argentum Astrum"), which was the 33rd rank. Another way to think of it all is to think of the Freemasons as the recruiting pool for these other societies.
>The Second Gunman
The Illuminati
The Bavarian Illuminati were founded by Adam Weisshaupt in Germany. What is most striking is that they may have shaped events in Europe from the 18th Century on. It has been claimed, with some element of legitimacy, that the Illuminati played a key role in the French Revolution (read Proofs of a Conspiracy for detailed arguments). It has also been claimed that the Illuminati played a key role in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in Russia. It would appear that the modern Black Lodge (of which, by the way, there is no proof that it is anything but a modern invention) is modeled on the Illuminati and may have in fact originated from that group.
>From what I could dig up, including the Threats file, that last statement is dead on. A lot of the rituals and rites are very nearly the same from Illuminati rites and rituals.
>Sniffer
>If that's true, then these rituals date at least as far back as the Templars, right? That might explain the rumors of weird magic I've heard about the Black Lodge. They're using thousand year old rituals to power their magic.
>Magi Maker
>Wait a minute. Where do those Illuminates of the New Dawn fit in with all this? Or do they?
>the Mega-Bite
>My best guess is that they are some sort of splinter group from the original Illuminati. Or maybe ones that were left out of the Black Lodge when it formed. I'm not sure. I do know, however, that many of their "secrets" are the same secrets that the Freemasons, Illuminati, Templars and Sufi mystics knew, hundreds of years ago.
>The Second Gunman
>Which could mean they are harmless cranks, or devious frag-heads with nasty plans for us all. Place your bets on which.
>BFD
The Castrators of Russia
One of the most bizarre secret societies was the Skoptsi ("Castrated") of Russia. This secret society existed from about 1757 and disappeared sometime around or before the Communist Revolution of 1917. This secretive cult, based loosely around Eastern Orthodox Catholicism, practiced ritual castration and counted as it's members men and women of all segments of society. The Skoptsi had tremendous power in the 19th Century and it seems to have used it
>The whole castration thing was based around the idea of channeling the sexual energy towards spirituality. By removing the genitalea, the sexual energy could be rechanneled and a man or woman could become wholly spiritual (become closer to divinity) and become capable of magic and gain incredible powers, maybe even immortality.
>Wingless Butterfly
>I've heard a rumor that the Skoptsi have made a come back in recent years, in Siberia and other outlying parts of Russia, where they are wielding growing influence. Maybe with the return of magic, their castration rituals mean something...
>Boris Basher
Assassins and Thugs
Finally, there are two secret societies that are still with us today that had their origins hundreds of years ago. Indeed, since the Awakening, they have had a major resurgence in membership. The Cult of Assassins (the Hashishin) and the Cult of the Black Mother, the Thuggees.
The Hashishin trace their existence back to at least 1090 and probably for up to a decade before. Created by Hasan, son of Sabah, the Hashishin wielded tremendous power for several hundred years. It should be noted that the Hashishin are devout Shi'as (also known as Shi'ites) that follow the Ishmaelite sect.
>A lot of the suicide bombings by Muslims can be linked to either the Cult or the Ishmaelites. Why? The Ishmaelites (and, therefore, the Hashishin) hold a rather unorthodox view (by Islamic standards) that suicide for a cause will take them, plus a bunch of friends, to heaven. Orthodox Islam strictly forbids suicide.
>Desert Farmer
>They may be religious, but the Assassins have a very long reputation of selling their skills to the highest bidder, whoever that may be.
>Golden Exec
>Yeah, they would put us out of a job if it weren't for their annoying tendency towards suicide tactics.
>Jackhammer
The Cult of the Black Mother is also based on religion. The Thuggees are devout followers of the destructive aspect of the goddess Kali (called Bhowani), of the Hindu faith. They were also known as the Stranglers, because of their methods (their beliefs forbade the spilling of blood). The Thuggees were rather easily crushed in the 19th Century by the British in India, as the Thuggees believed that if they were caught, it was the wish of Kali. Much as with the Hashishin, the Thuggees have seen a resurgence with the Awakening.
>The Thuggees used to wield a lot of power; much of India and the surrounding areas lived in fear of them for quite a while. Now, in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan and rural India the people are again being terrorized by the tribes and cults of Bhowani.
>Six Gun Slinger
Conclusion
Secret societies have been around for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Their rituals and rites have been in existence for just as long. Which means that in the Awakened world, these societies, of which a few that still exist in some form or other are listed, can wield tremendous power.
All that I ask is that when a secret society is mentioned, that you do not scoff and laugh at the person bringing it up. They have existed for hundreds of years; that much cannot be denied. There is far too much historical evidence that cannot be disputed. What role these secret societies played may be open to interpretation however. It does appear that they have had at least some influence on events. And it would appear, that they still do. So approach them and this topic, with an open, objective mind.
>Kinda brief, but it does get you thinking. I have to agree with The Second Gunman here. I'm not personally inclined to believe that a secret society, or societies, have a stranglehold on the world. But it would be foolish to believe that they have never held any kind of influence. Does this mean I believe everything in the Threats file? Well, I figure it this way. It's a whole lot safer to believe it's true. That way I'm at least a little prepared.
>Nazdack
>What utter drek!! I can't believe any of this ever gets printed! All these so-called secret societies are either just drinking clubs with delusions of grandeur, or the product of someone's fevered imagination. Sorry, but I prefer to live in the real world.
>OMH
>I'm not so sure. Take the Freemasons for example. American presidents, from George Washington to Ronald Reagan were Freemasons. There are documented cases in England where Freemasons have, quite literally, gotten away with murder. And then there was the P2 banking scandal in Italy in the 1970's. Secret societies are real. No, they aren't lurking around every corner and they aren't controlling everyone with "Orbital Brain Controlling Lasers" or some such drek. But they do have influence. They do have real power. You've got to believe it.
>PJ.
Real World Suggested Readings
"A History of Secret Societies", by Arkon Daraul. Citadel Press, 1961.
"Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic, & Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy," by Manly Palmer Hall. Philosophical Research Society, 1962, 1975.
"Handbook of Secret Organizations," by William Joseph Whalen. Bruce, 1966.
"Holy Blood, Holy Grail," by Michael Biagent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. Delacorte Press, 1982.
"Proofs of a Conspiracy," by John Robison. Western Islands, 1967. First published in 1797. .
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