They Cracked This 250 Year-Old Code, And Found a Secret Society Inside
November 18th, 2012Shachtman’s dismissal of the modern day significance of secret societies is unfortunate. The fact that the two main candidates in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election were both members of the same secret society, Skull and Bones, is just, “Fodder for conspiracy theorists.” Overall, though, the article is pretty interesting.
Via: Wired:
The master wears an amulet with a blue eye in the center. Before him, a candidate kneels in the candlelit room, surrounded by microscopes and surgical implements. The year is roughly 1746. The initiation has begun.
The master places a piece of paper in front of the candidate and orders him to put on a pair of eyeglasses. “Read,” the master commands. The candidate squints, but it’s an impossible task. The page is blank.
The candidate is told not to panic; there is hope for his vision to improve. The master wipes the candidate’s eyes with a cloth and orders preparation for the surgery to commence. He selects a pair of tweezers from the table. The other members in attendance raise their candles.
The master starts plucking hairs from the candidate’s eyebrow. This is a ritualistic procedure; no flesh is cut. But these are “symbolic actions out of which none are without meaning,” the master assures the candidate. The candidate places his hand on the master’s amulet. Try reading again, the master says, replacing the first page with another. This page is filled with handwritten text. Congratulations, brother, the members say. Now you can see.
For more than 260 years, the contents of that page—and the details of this ritual—remained a secret. They were hidden in a coded manuscript, one of thousands produced by secret societies in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“Many welcomed noblemen and merchants alike—a rare egalitarian practice in an era of strict social hierarchies. That made the orders dangerous to the state.”
I hadn’t thought much about secret societies being in opposition, countering, and undermining entrenched power.
“These societies were the incubators of democracy, modern science, and ecumenical religion.”
Interesting article, thanks
“There’s a whole secret history of the West waiting to be told.”
Oh yeah, it was the tyranny of the church that they were struggling against. Some of these groups thought of the church the way we think of something like the Federal Reserve or CFR, etc. now.
This demonstrates a point that many in alternative circles don’t understand, until it’s too late, or never: The opposition to a thing doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any better, and may even be worse. I’ve met many people on the fringes who have been afflicted by the same whites-of-the-eyes-showing, hair on fire madness as some of the CEOs I’ve known.
Don’t be afraid to say, “Y’all nuts,” and run for your life.
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler is probably the ultimate story of how resistance to X becomes X + worse.
“Y’all nuts” I think that sums it up. I guess we’re just looking for clues, trying to avoid the traps, and live as independent as possible.