Camp Gagnon - The Truth About Secret Societies: Freemasons, illuminati, Knights Templar

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

🚨 Make Sure To Rate Us 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟What is the origin of humans' earliest secret societies? We break down Freemasons, Illuminati etc., and for every secret society we cover prominent members and take some skeletons out the closet. WELCOME TO CAMP! 🏕️Shoutout to our sponsors: Zippix, Morgan & Morgan, and Bluechew.Ditch the cigarettes, ditch the vapes and get some nicotine infused toothpicks at https://zippixtoothpicks.com/ today. Get 10% off your first order by using the code GAGNON at checkout.👕🧢 GET YOUR CAMP DRIP HERE: https://campgoods.co/🏕️ Get Today In History Email Here (Free): https://camp.beehiiv.com/🎟️ 🎫 Comedy Tour Tickets Here: https://markgagnonlive.comTIMESTAMP: 0:00 Tour Dates + CampGoods In Stock!!!1:00 Intro To Secret Societies3:42 Knights Templar6:41 Templars Lost Religious Artifacts13:50 The End of The Templars19:40 The Rosicrucian Order Beliefs25:15 Origin of The Rosicrucian Order32:32 Origins of Freemasons37:41 The Story of Hiram Abiff + Ritual of Hiram Abiff43:09 The Ranks of Freemasonry + 33rd Degree + Checkered Floors47:25 Freemason Symbols and Conspiracies52:19 Critiques of Freemasonry 57:28 Origins of The Illuminati59:48 Structure of The Illuminati1:02:05 Ban on Secret Societies + George Washington's Illuminati Letter 1:06:51 Was Thomas Jefferson In Illuminati?1:07:54 Playboy Illuminati Prank + Illuminati Card Game1:12:50 Illuminati Symbolism and Conspiracies1:20:05 Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn Practices1:30:51 Alister Crowley +Was Lam an Alien? 1:36:10 Magical Duel Splits The Hermetic Order1:40:01 What’s Your Favorite Secret Society?

Secret societies. Who are the men who call themselves Mason? They give anything to get into the stone cutters. These are the most obscure, nefarious, and controversial organizations to ever exist. They have been accused of controlling global governments, controlling financial systems, and even the lives of citizens like you and I. And some people allege that they don't even exist at all. You probably heard of someone, the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, the Illuminati,

the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. These are just a few of the most infamous. organizations to have ever existed. You've probably heard about them, maybe in movies or a Dan Brown book. But the truth is, they actually existed and at one point in time possessed an insane amount of power. So today, we're going to begin to the bottom of all these secret societies, going through all the details, who the members were, what their rituals were like, and how they were formed, and what their legacy is today. If you are a weirdo like me and you spent, you know, your teenage years on YouTube watching obscure YouTube videos about these people, then this is

the episode for you. We're going to be diving into all the details of these obscure organizations that exist in the shadows. So pull up a chair, throw on your hood, and welcome to camp. What's up people and welcome back to camp. My name is Mark Gagnon. Welcome to my beautiful tent in this tent. We typically talk about the most interesting, controversial, and fascinating topics from around the world from all times. And normally, across from me, I have one of my dumbest friends that I explain stuff to. One dumb guy talking to another dumb guy is kind of the premise of the show. But today I don't have, you know, one of my dumbest people across from me, one of my dumb comedian friends. Today I just have, you know, you at home, the dear viewer. You get to be

my dumb friend today. So welcome to the tent. I'm also joined by Christos, who produces the show, a good friend. And also my friend Gabe, what's up, Gabe? Gabe, stop talking, dude. Ugh, I mean, enough. Enough with everyone interjecting all the time. Welcome back to the show. I got some updates first. I'm on the road. If you want to see me coming to your city, to do one hour of stand-up comedy. You can see that at the mark agnon.com will be announcing a bunch of dates. Additionally, Camp Goods, soon to be renamed.

We have merch up on the website right now. You can check that out. And without further ado, let's discuss the topic of the evening. Secret Societies. This is something I've been fascinated about for a long time. Something I've, you know, as a child, I would debate my mother about the nature of the Freemasons and the Illuminati.

That was my homeschooling education for most. to my childhood. Not really a ton of like math and stuff, mostly just like debating like Rosicrucians and bizarre nuances of secret society. So if you're interested in secret societies, congratulations. This is the episode for you.

I'm so dumb. I was even on, I was just on Google the other night. And I found this book by Manly P. Hall. This is like an all-time great esoteric occult book written in the early 1900s by this like fascinating mystic occult guy. And it's got some sick illustrations. I've never opened it, never really read it, haven't gotten around to it.

But it is just, shall I say, a slight proof of my dedication to the bizarre and the weird. If you're like me, then strap in. So let's jump in, shall we? Secret societies are a fascinating thing. This is not going to be an episode where I'm going to claim that these secret societies run the world. You know, I don't know if it necessarily works like that. But maybe at one time, they did, okay? From the Knights Templar to the Illuminati, these are,

fascinating groups that have, you know, a deep historical history that many people from many different times have tried to, you know, recreate, right? Medieval Knights, philosophers, influential figures throughout history, meeting, and secret. And it's not just something for movies, even though movies obviously jump all over this. These are organizations that have genuinely had influence in creating the modern world that we live in every day. So in this episode, we're going to be talking about some of these groups, the Rosicrucians and their search for hidden knowledge, the Freemasons, the Freemasons,

you know, just a little masonry group that joined together and created, you know, the backbone of American society and started putting pyramids and all of our money. And then even the Illuminati, what is that? Is that even a real thing? Was it ever a real thing? And then, obviously, we got to talk about the Order of the Golden Dawn. Yes, this is, you know, one of the most all-time craziest secret societies where Alistair Crowley claimed to have come in contact with a demon or an entity. So don't worry, we're going to be jumping into all of these fast. fascinating serious societies, how they started, who the people were that were involved in them and what their legacy is in the world today. Now, I need to add that, you know, as someone that's, you know, interested in this kind of stuff, I had my dear friend Zach prepare a lot of research. Zach is just a good old country boy from Mississippi. That has a lot of free time. And so he decided to tackle this crazy topic of putting together all the research. So I will be learning along with you. So let's start with the Knights Templar. Knights Templar is a fascinating little green. group that started on the mean streets of Jerusalem. That's right, in the year 1119 AD, about a thousand

years ago, give or take. And yeah, this is what they look like. Pretty sick outfits, to be honest with you. Full trash can on the head, looking sick as hell. Basically, these nine knights took a solemn vow and swore to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, marking the birth of one of history's most fascinating and controversial organizations. Now, these weren't just regular nights, whatever the hell that means. I don't even know what a regular knight is. But they're not whatever you think they are. They are warrior monks.

These are basically like Jesus freaks with a peace. You know what I'm saying? How about that? They were warriors bound by oaths of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They were hardened warriors and, you know, there were men that have been through a couple battles, all right? They could swing a sword with deadly precision, but they also spent hours a day in quiet prayer. Kind of a cool mix, if you ask me. It's kind of my dream job, to be honest with you. I think,

I think we got to get back to this, all right? The Templars started small, but they didn't stay that way for long. Their reputation for bravery and dedication spread quickly. Soon, nobles and commoners alike were clamoring to support this new order of holy warriors. Money, land, and recruits poured in from across Europe, but the Templars weren't content just fighting. They had a bigger plan, all right? As their influence grew, they built a financial empire. That's right. They set up a network of strongholds across Europe and the Middle East in cities like Paris, London, and Jerusalem. And these fortresses weren't just military bases. They were medieval banks where the rich and powerful could store. They're valuable safely. I mean, that's kind of sick. They started their own bank basically. They're like, hey, we're just going to keep all your stuff here. Don't worry. Jesus will look after it. And they even invented an early form of a traveler's check, which allowed pilgrims to deposit money at one of the Templar houses and withdraw at another. avoiding the risk of carrying cash on dangerous roads. I mean, what an insane time to go back to.

You're just traveling on the road. You're trying to check out Jerusalem because you're just bored, you know? You got a little cash. And you've got to worry about bandits or just like a war breaking out or something. And then you've got to have one of these guys with a trash can on his head to protect you. I mean, that's insane. So as you can imagine, the Templars became very wealthy and very influential. They were lending money to kings.

They managed estates for nobles and then even acted as financial advisors. to the powerful. Their advice, give us all your money. It sounds pretty good to me. This is an age when most people couldn't read or write and the Templars were practically financial geniuses, but their success was obviously not met with just pure excitement and joy. There was jealousy and suspicion. How could all these monks that were sworn to poverty, you know, that were dedicated to living a life with no wealth at all, all of a sudden be some of the richest people in all of Europe up in the Middle East. Some people suggest that they had discovered religious artifacts during their time in Jerusalem. Again, this is part of the conspiracy. I'm just telling you what some people believed.

They believe that the Templars got access to the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, and even the Spear of Destiny. If you're not sure what these are, the Holy Grail is said to be used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Yeah, I always thought the Holy Grail growing up was just like a silly thing that you would drink from, though, like make you young. Turns out that's a fountain of youth. completely different thing. The Holy Grail is literally what Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and is perhaps the most famous artifact ever associated with the Templars. Some theories suggest that the Templars found the Grail during their time of Jerusalem.

However, alternative interpretations proposed that the Grail wasn't even a physical object at all, but rather a metaphor maybe for spiritual enlightenment. Some scholars even argue that this is how the Templars understood the Grail as like this symbol or like a talisman for divine energy within the human body, not an actual artifact, but that didn't stop people from trying to find the Holy Grail much later. Some people believe that the Templars also unearthed the Ark of the Covenant. Yeah, underneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to biblical accounts, this was the most sacred object where God's presence would manifest.

If you've ever read the Bible or maybe even listen to one of our past episodes, you'll know that the Ark of the Covenant was very important to the ancient Jews. Inside the Ark was said to be the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Aaron's rod represented the priesthood and the jar of manna. God's, you know, abundant gift of life and food to the wandering Israelites. And this theory proposes that the Templar secretly transported the Ark to Europe using its divine powers to amass wealth and influence. That's intriguing, but again, no historical evidence supports this claim. It is interesting, though. I mean, I don't even know how they would transport it. According to the old biblical tradition, if you touch the Ark of the Covenant, you would die. So they must have had a, I don't know, some type of sticks or something to move it around. Other people believe that the Arch of the Covenant has magical powers. Though, like, if you found it, like, it would have, like, you know, like God's actual energy or something or anti-gravity or something like that. Who knows?

Recent research in the Vatican Secret Archives uncovered a potential link between the Templars and the Shrout of Turin. Have you heard of the Shrout of Turin? I haven't known. Shrout of Turin is fascinating. We need to do a whole episode on the Shrout of Turin. It's basically said to be the shroud or the sheet that was laid across Jesus' body after he was taken off the cross. You can see an image of it right here is actually in Turin, Italy

as we speak, and you can go see it, I'm pretty sure. And that's a negative on the right that shows the face of a man after he's been crucified. And some people believe this is where we get the modern depictions of Christ. And the left is the shroud. That's the shroud itself.

And it's like a full body, if you click the image right above it. It looks exactly like my mattress cover in the summer. Yes, it does get a little dirty, but that has more to say about your cleanliness habits that you sleeping happens to be like a guy that was just murdered. But yeah, it's a fascinating artifact. People have done testing on it.

They believe that like the threads of the linen of the shroud go, you know, all the way back to the time of Christ. Other people believe it was a, you know, a dupe or some type of, you know, fraud that was created. A trial document from 1287 describes a Templar initiation ritual involving veneration of, quote, a long linen cloth on which was impressed by the figure of a man. This could potentially explain the shrouds whereabouts during the historical gap between 1204 and 1353. One of the most famous artifacts, however, is the Holy Lance.

We've talked about the Holy Lance in different episodes involving the Nazis that apparently Heinrich Himmler was interested, you know, allegedly. Some people believe that Hitler himself, when he conquered Vienna, went to go get the Holy Lance. However, that has been disputed by historians as well. This Holy Lance is basically known to be the spear that pierced Jesus's side during the crucifixion. While not directly linked to the Templars in most legend, the spear has a rich history on its own. It's been associated with like Charlemagne, the great, you know, Holy Roman Emperor. Apparently he held the lance with him and carried it with him in battle and it granted him this invincibility. The one battle that Charlemagne lost where he eventually died, apparently he dropped the lance into a river.

No one knows even exactly where the lance is. There's like recreations, but people do suspect that it's in Vienna, Austria. Wait, in addition to being crucified, Jesus was speared? Read the Bible, Christos. Come on, dude. A Roman soldier speared him and water came out of his body. Right there, you can see an actual photograph from the time, not a painting. Comment if you didn't know that.

Everyone knows that, Christos. Come on, bro. Not a lot of people know that. And, yeah, apparently it was used to like, during crucifixions to make sure the people actually died. Sometimes it would quicken their death. Other people believe it was done to, you know, increase the pain. that a crucified person would feel at the hands of the Roman state. Regardless, no one really knows for sure what happened.

The mystery around the Templars is fascinating regardless, though. The sudden downfall in the question of what happened to their alleged treasures makes it easy to believe that maybe there was something bigger. Maybe there was, you know, secret societies, the Vatican themselves, that are hiding some of this information. And as a result, these rumors have taken a life of their own. Some even claimed that the Templars had unearthed scrolls containing lost wisdom from the time of Solomon. Obviously Solomon famous for building the second temple, allegedly using demons to build the temple himself, using the rings of Solomon. He was able to control them. People believe this is potentially also where the idea of Freemasons come from, like these master builders, these people that can build these great things. That's like hearkening back to the time of Solomon. Again, random theories, okay? Others insist that they've found the secret to eternal life or even perhaps discovered the hidden bloodlines of Christ. Each tale is crazier than last. but there is one thing, the idea that the Templars knew something that the world didn't.

I mean, this is like an OG conspiracy. It's like, yo, who's got the info? The Knights Templars, they're the ones that are in there. They're holding all these secret treasures, yada, yada, yada. Their power reached its peak in the early 1300s, and they answered to one man and one man only, the Pope. So basically untouchable. They can kind of operate with impunity. But their fall is as dramatic as their rise.

Yes, Friday the 13th of October, 1307. Apparently, that's where the idea that Friday the 13th is unlucky comes from. Can we fact check that, actually? Because I'd heard that growing up, but I don't know if that's actually the case. But yeah, apparently Friday the 13th being unlucky comes from this idea that this one, the Knights Templar was sort of dissolved. King Philip, the 4th of France, ordered the arrest of all the Templars in his kingdom. The charges, heresy, blasphemy, and all sorts of unspeakable acts.

Templars across France were rounded up, tortured, and forced to confess to crimes that they may or may not have committed. The king was deeply in debt to the Templar order and saw a chance to erase what he owed and seized their wealth. I mean, not a good idea to strike up a deal with the king, right? Right. You can imagine, like, you're doing a deal with the king, and if he owes you money, he'll just arrest all of you. But what's the relationship between the king and the pope? I'm glad you asked. So the Pope, obviously, as the Catholic figurehead and theocrat of the time, came under pressure from the French king.

And the French king was basically able to levy pressure on him being like, you know, obviously you have church and state not exactly separate at the time. So you have some political power from the actual like monarchs of the town, I'm assuming through, you know, economic levies and things like that, able to put pressure on the Pope and maybe strike a deal. So, seems like they strike a deal and officially absolved the order in 1312 and the last grandmaster of the Templars Jacques de Mollay was burned at the stake in Paris two years later on March 18th.

Legend has it that as the flames consumed him he called out a final curse against King Philip the 4th of France and Pope Clement the 5th declaring that they would face divine judgment within a year. Pretty wild. but nothing happened to those guys

Syke Both men died shortly after Pretty wild Pope Clement V who had already been You know in poor health Passed away April 20th 1314 and in that same year On November 29th King Philip the 4th

Died suddenly potentially from a stroke During a hunting trip So of course that's gonna fuel Way more conspiracy theories Right you dissolve this whole order Burn one of the guys at the stake And then immediately the two people involved in it die I mean it sounds like the first guy

was ready to go anyway. Yeah, exactly. It'd be like me being like, oh, I think Joe Biden will die in the next 10 years. You know what I mean? It's like, all right, it's pretty safe.

Hopefully he lives forever. Hopefully, I don't want, I don't want death to any American president. His wife. Yes. Wait, wait, wait, she's way younger, though. Yeah. No, she's got time.

Both of them are, both of them are good. They'll live to be a thousand years old. Vampires never die. Joe Biden is. A thousand years. Yeah, no, he's pushing it for sure. So, as you can imagine, these conspiracies have, you know,

kind of gone around and folklore ever since then, people around Paris being like, wait, you heard about the king dying, like shortly after he sentenced this guy to death? And also the money. People are like, where did all the treasures go? And these questions obviously have stuck around ever since then. And the Templars have become a staple in pop culture, appearing everything from, you know, historical works to fantasy novels, romance novels, perhaps. They've been portrayed as villains, heroes, and everything in between. 19th century, you got this guy, Walter Scott. Probably heard him, he popularized the image of the villainous Templar Knight, this corrupt, power-hungry

warrior that was going around, basically stealing from people. And this depiction stuck around for a while, coloring how people viewed the order. But in the 20th century, things began to change. This guy, Jan Gilu, the Swedish author, introduced the idea of the heroic Templar, a noble warrior fighting for a greater cause. And this new image caught on leading to more sympathetic betrayals and books and, you know, film and things like that. And in recent years, the Templar myth has taken on a life of its own. Obviously, people read the Da Vinci Code, and that definitely popularized the idea that the Templar has discovered

earth-shattering secrets that could shake the foundations of Christianity. And while these claims don't really hold up to historical scrutiny, really, they've captured the public's imaginations. They've also showed up in, like, Assassin's Creed. You ever played that? So the Templar myth is obviously, you know, popular in that video game, basically imagining these century-old secret wars between the Templars and the assassins

that shape history. The real Templars were, you know, not really, as you can imagine, saints or sinners. They were people of their time, capable of great acts of charity and protecting the, you know, the wayward traveler and just helping them back to their land, but also terrible violence and probably, you know,

robbing people on the street. And their true legacy lies not in hidden treasure, secret knowledge, but the mark that they left on history. They helped shape the banking systems that we use today and creating some of the financial instruments. They played a crucial role in the Crusades, which depending on what side you're on, you're welcome or I'm sorry.

And they also left us with the questions of nature, power, and faith, and also just hidden forces that govern the world, as you can imagine. The Templars might be long gone, but their legacy is everywhere. The symbols show up on dollar bills. Can we get an image of that, Knight Templar symbol, dollar bill? their stories fuel you know favorite movies and video games and of course their mysteries keep conspiracy theories alive i mean that's why we're listening to this episode right now and the more we dig into their past the more questions we find what other secrets are buried in history waiting to be uncovered well i'm glad you asked christos this is a bit of a reach yeah what is this the knight templar cross

you have to do origami to get the night templars cross on dollar gold yeah i don't know about that no there's got There's got to be another one, right? The 9-11 thing on the dollar bill is a lot more. Mm-hmm. I mean, what do we got? You know what I like about the Knights Templars? What's that? If you are going to be handling my money,

if you're a monk and celibate, you don't have the desires that are sexual that can cause you to mess that up for me. You hope. I mean, that's the whole goal, you know what I mean? But at the same time, it's like absolute power corrupts, absolutely. The Unix. Yeah, they didn't have penises.

Exactly. They didn't have a choice. I'm saying these guys are just guys like all of us. Of course, they're holy men, okay? And I'm completely on the side of the Templars. They can do no wrong. They're right guys. But you give them unlimited power and impunity and they can do whatever they want and all they have to answer to is the Pope.

You can see how that might be right for corruption. Not that that happened here. I trust him with my money. Same. If I go into a bank and he doesn't have a giant trash can on his head and a giant cross on his shirt, I'm leaving immediately. I'm walking right out of there. But, as you can imagine, it's not the case in my local Wells farm. ago. Let's talk about the Rosicrucians in a world of secret societies. Few groups have captured

the imaginations like the Rosicrucians. They stretch all the way back to the 17th century. It's this mysterious brotherhood that's associated with esoteric wisdom, enlightenment, hidden knowledge. But who were the Rosicrucians? What was the actual history behind them? What can we actually hold on to? Have you ever heard of the Rosicrucians? I haven't. Well, let me tell you. At the heart of Rosicrucian philosophy lies a profound and intriguing concept, the idea of universal divine intelligence present in all things. And it's not just like your typical religious notion of God. Instead, a Rosicrucian saw the divine as an all-encompassing force flowing through every atom of the universe.

From the tiniest grain of sand to the vast expanses of the cosmos, they believed that this intelligence gave order and meaning to everything. I mean, that reminds me in the book I'm reading right now, Galileo's error about panpsychism. The idea that consciousness exists in like all material things. But like you could take like the composition of a human being like take carbon water all that stuff put it on a table There's no consciousness But if you form into a human being all of a sudden there is consciousness So it's like where does the consciousness lie? Is it in the things themselves? So it's kind of like Gishtal

Psychology where the sum is greater than its parts Yeah maybe I don't know I'm not familiar with that okay sounds like it got it Yeah this idea that like because the things themselves the atoms themselves are imbued with their own you know, consciousness when they're put together that you can create like a supreme consciousness that interacts with the world like you and I. But they're saying material things.

Precisely. Inanimate. Precisely. So all things are on this spectrum of consciousness. Oh. So human beings have the highest consciousness that we can observe. But other things have other consciousness. Dogs have some type of consciousness.

For sure. And if we follow it all the way down, it's like, do rocks have some type of even more subtle version of consciousness? I'm not sure if that's exactly what the Rosicrucians are fighting for, but I mean, maybe, let's find out. For the Rosicrucian, it wasn't just a call to action. If divine wisdom is truly present in all things, then the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe

might be found in the most mundane objects and experiences. Simple flower, a ray of sunlight, you know, tan in your perineum, or even the rhythm of one's own breath could reveal the truth about the nature of reality. To tap into this cosmic wisdom, Rosicrucians developed a range of spiritual practices. Meditation was the biggest, by quieting the mind and turning inward,

they believe that they could attune themselves to the subtle vibrations of divine intelligence. Gabe, you pulled up a picture of some of the famous Rosicrucians. I'd be curious to see who. I mean, all right, we got Emmanuel Kant, Renee Descartes, Galileo, John D. The occultist, Nietzsche, Leonardo da Vinci,

Victor Hugo, Blaise Pascal. I mean, this is a solid little starting five, I'll be honest. Are you not going to mention our presidents, our past presidents? Wait, where? Thomas Jefferson. Oh, TJ, yeah, yeah, yeah, we got Thomas Jefferson, Spinoza,

Claude Debussy, one of my favorite composers ever. Are you intentionally not saying Benjamin Franklin? Also Ben Franklin. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I'm just running through the list. Okay. I was more excited by Clydebusier. We live in the United States.

That's fair. We do live in the United States. Shout out to him. And, yeah, apparently they were all down with meditation. I mean, that's sick as hell. Meditation rules. Hmm. So these visualization techniques were another important tool used by the Rosicrucians.

They see. The power of imagination is a way to create vivid mental images, representing themselves as conduits for divine energy and using this visualizing symbolic representation to tap into these cosmic truths. The Rosicrucians were also avid students of ancient texts. They poured over the works from a wide range of traditions, including hermeticism, Kabbalah, and even Gnosticism,

which we will get to later, okay? But they didn't just read those on face value. They believed that hidden within the words and symbols were deeper esoteric meanings that could unlock spiritual truths. The quest for wisdom led the Rosicrucians to developing this complex system of symbolism and allegory

and they saw the universe as this book of symbols waiting to be deciphered by those with the right knowledge, even their name and emblem, a rose upon a cross. Rosicrucian. Rose upon a cross.

Were rich layers of meaning hinting at the union of divine and earthly wisdom. Look at that. A rose upon a cross. across the Rosicrucians. But the Rosicrucians weren't trying to keep this knowledge to themselves. They saw their mission as one of global transformation. By unlocking the secrets of the universe, they hope to usher in a new age of spiritual enlightenment. This utopian vision captured the

imagination of a lot of people, as you can imagine, some of the people we just mentioned, and soon Rosicrucian ideas spread across Europe and overseas. The influence of Rosicrucian thought can be seen in many occult and esoteric movements, the emphasis on personal and spiritual development, the blending of scientific and mystical ideas and the use of, you know, sort of secret language all became hallmarks of Western esoteric traditions. Groups like the Freemasons, the philosophical society, and countless others drew inspiration from the Rosicrucian concepts. Now, of course, with such big goals and secret of methods, it wasn't long before the, you know, conspiracy theories started to come about, as you can imagine. Some claimed that they possessed

ancient Egyptian secrets that would grant them immortality. Others insisted that they were puppet masters, secretly controlling the world from behind the scenes. Even all the way back then, they were convinced that there was some type of like puppet master group. And maybe they were right. Who knows? The truth, as often the case is, you know, slightly less intriguing. The exact origins of the Rosicrucian movement are, again, difficult to really pin down. The story goes that a German nobleman named Christian Rosencruz traveled to the Middle East in the 15th century

where he learned secret wisdom from Arab sages. Upon returning to Europe, he founded the Rosicrucian order to preserve and spread his knowledge. But many scholars argue that this story is more symbolic than factual. The first real mention of Rosicrucians didn't appear until the early 1600s, when three mysterious manifestos were published, the Fama fraternitus, confessio fraternitus, and Kimical Wedding of Christian Rosicruz. These writings set off a wave of intrigue describing a secret brotherhood

devoted to transforming the world through hidden knowledge and esoteric wisdom. It kind of sounds like Da Vinci Code. A little way. You know what I mean? It's like these books kind of come out out of nowhere, spreading this sort of story, and then everyone jumps on trying to find the mystical knowledge. Again, I don't know.

I've never, like, deep dived on the Rosicrucians. I've never, like, I haven't read all the Rosicrucian works, so I can't say if what they discovered was actual secret knowledge or not. So whether the Rosicrucian order truly existed at this time is still up for debate. Some people believe that the manifesters are nothing more than, like, you know, a hoax or maybe even satire, while others saw them as like a call to action, like an invitation for like-minded individuals to come together and create such a group themselves. But regardless of the origin, the ideas in these texts ignited a movement that has, you know, lasted in, you know,

the Western esoteric world ever since. And as Rosicrucian ideas spread, various groups and individuals claim to be the true heirs of this mystical tradition. In the 18th and 19th centuries, several Rosicrucian orders were established, each with its own interpretation of the original teaching. Some focused more on practical alchemy, while others emphasized spiritual development or occult studies. One of the most influential Rosicrucian-inspired groups to emerge was the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, found in the late 19th century in England, when this secret society pulled heavily from Rosicrucian symbolism, mixing it with teachings from other esoteric traditions. Among its members were poets W. B. Yeats and the infamous occultist Alistaira Lester Crowley, both of whom helped spread these mystical ideas

into mainstream culture. We'll get to them later. But it is interesting, right? All these secret societies always have super powerful, influential, you know, members in them. And one theory is like, of course these people are influential because they went into these groups and possessed all these, you know, all the secret teachings and all the knowledge and then went out and became, you know, scientists and musicians and stuff like that. The other theory is that, like, you know, talented people find themselves into these groups

and the way to get powerful as by, you know, politic and being around these other powerful people. I don't know. The second one seems slightly more likely to me, but we shall see. What's up, guys? We're going to take a break really quick because I want to talk to you about the most discreet coolest way to curb your nicotine cravings, and that's right here with Zippics.

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Now let's get back to the show. What's up, guys? We're going to take a break really quick because I need to tell you about how you are potentially entitled for some compensation. That's right. You may have been injured without even knowing it. And I think statistically most Americans have been injured by this. We know that our food is poison. Many of these companies, these massive conglomerates, are pumping our food with stabilizers and gums and other processed chemicals that are legal in most other countries, but for some reason in America, they are fully legal, and they are allegedly causing many health problems. That's a very small alleged. I actually just read a book

about this, ultra-processed humans. It's fascinating that the processed chemicals that are going into our foods are terrible for you. I mean, if you were to take a baked cookie and a cookie that's filled with processed preservatives, even if they have the same exact nutritional profile, the one with the preservatives and all the gums and stabilizers and ultra-processing chemicals is going to be worse for you by a far, far margin. So if you have been exposed to many of these ultra-processed foods, they've been known to be addictive, they've been known to target children, and they can potentially cause chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, both of which were unheard of 40 years ago, but now affect the lives of thousands of children.

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is the ancient mystical order, Rosé Cruces, AMORC, Amork. This group in the United States was found in 1915 and remains one of the largest Rosicrucian orders today. Amork presents itself as this philosophical and educational organization offering correspondence courses and esoteric studies to members around the world. Let's pull up their website.

Oh, is this it? Oh, this is a nice website. No, it looks good. I don't know who their web guys, but did a good job. I mean, you would think, I mean, I feel like you could make it a little nicer. Rosicrucian Jr., RJ. Yeah, if they're possessing the power of all time, you'd think that they could kind of make it like interactive or something. But yeah, look at this.

A bridge to another dimension of life. The Rosicrucian order has provided a bridge for me into a dimension of life that I inwardly and innately long for, but cannot find in all of my scientific and religious searches. That's Lonnie Edwards, a surgeon general, former commissioner of health of the city of Chicago. I mean, there you go. Some powerful people are part of it. The Rosicrucian approach of spirituality still draws interest today, largely because it values personal experience over just, you know, blind faith. For those, you know, disillusioned with traditional religion, its mix of mysticism and, you know, reason and logic offers this alternative path, one that embraces spiritual exploration without rejecting science. And this balance

continues to resonate with, you know, modern truth seekers to this very day. However, it's important to note that many of the more sensational claims about the Rosicrucian power or influence are probably a little exaggerated. While Rosicrucian ideas have had an impact on Western estrateric thought for sure, it's difficult to really, you know, have evidence that they possess supernatural abilities or control the world from the shadows. But if you you have all these powerful people that are in there, then, you know, there's something to be said, right? It's kind of just like an intellectual gang. You know what I mean?

Like, they're not running a corner doing drugs, but maybe, like, they run a specific subset of, like, an industry. Maybe all the musicians are Rosicrucians, and it's like, oh, maybe they run, like, classical music. Who knows? Obviously, the traditions have influenced psychology and philosophy and all that kind of stuff. They're focused on self-discovery and personal transformation mirrors ideas found in, you know, modern psychology. and obviously having, you know, Frederick Nietzsche as a member of the Rosicrucians, like the father of psychology in a lot of ways, a famous philosopher, you could say. Was Freud? Was Freud of Rosicrucian? I wonder if Freud was a part of any, uh, was a part of any, uh, like secret societies or anything like that. I love looking at Gabe's spelling of things. I mean, he did good with Sigmund, I'll be honest with you. Um, the search was like secret society and maybe see if he was ever a part of anything. Because it makes sense. Back in the day, I think dudes were boys.

And they were just like, yo, I have like this group of guys. I think they were just looking for a hang most of the time. Sigmund Freud formed the secret ring with six other psychoanalyst dedicated to covert promotion of their field and the removal of impediments to the acceptance of psychology. Wow. The secret committee. He joined it with a bunch of other people that I don't know their names, but they are a little scary sounding.

I mean, that's fascinating. Wow. Freud in the rings, the secret committee. Yeah, dude, everyone was a part of these kinds of things. It's basically, I mean, a fraternity is the same thing. Like, fraternities are, like, at their core, basically, like, cosplaying secret societies, except their M.O. is just, like, get blacked out and, like, me, girls.

You know? But it follows the same kind of, same kind of deal. I wonder if they had a haze to get in these orders. That'd be great. Be like, yo, Ben Franklin, you got to do, edit 40 hints. Start chugging, buddy, you know? Like, that would be sick as hell. But, yeah, it's interesting.

Like, it's basically fraternity. But perhaps the most lasting impact of the Rosicrucians is there a reminder that true wisdom often hides in the least expected places. They challenge us to look behind the obvious questioner of choices and seek a deeper meaning in the world around us. But the story of the Rosicrucians is far from over, as long as there are people drawn to hidden wisdom and mysteries. Yeah, the Rose and Cross will continue to call. And who knows? Maybe I'm a Rosicrucian. Hmm.

Right? I mean, what am I doing? I'm searching for truth and wisdom and the most mundane things. You're bringing people to your campsite? To my campsite. It's very culty. It's all very culty.

All right, let's talk about one of the big boys, all right? Freemasons. All right. You've heard of a Freemason, right? Of course. From the stone yards of medieval Europe to the grand lodges of today, Freemasonry has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Again, I'm not an expert in Freemasonry. If someone in here is a Freemason and wants to correct some of the stuff, feel free. All right, put it in the comments, just be nice to me, okay? What began as a guild for stone masons in the Middle Ages has become a worldwide fraternity shrouded in mystery. So let's start at the beginning, all right? Back in the days when cathedrals were the skyscrapers of the time,

stone masons were the rock stars of the construction world. If you could get a sick stone mason, you could get a sick cathedral, and you could be the sickest city in town. So these craftsmen formed guilds to protect their trade secrets and ensure fair wages. So it's basically a union, kind of how it starts. They had three levels of expertise. They had apprentice, fellow craft or a journeyman, and the master mason. Sound familiar?

That's because modern freemasonry still uses these degrees in its structure. As the need for massive stone buildings decline, these guilds began to accept members that weren't actual stone masons. These accepted or speculative masons were often educated men interested in philosophical aspects of the craft. And by the early 1700s, the shift was complete in free mason. masonry as we know it today was born. 1717, four London lodges united to establish the first Grand Lodge, officially launching organized freemasonry. From that moment, the movement spread rapidly across Europe and eventually took root in

the Americas, and today millions of freemasons exist worldwide, and the fraternity has included some of history's most influential figures, including George Washington, Ban Franklin, he might have been two-timing, Winston Churchill, and even Buzz Aldrin, only adding to the mystery and significance. Let's look at Buzz Alderman at Freemason? I mean, that's wild. I mean, again, it's not like the most secretive thing ever.

Like, growing up in Orlando, I'd meet these dudes. They're like, yo, I'm Freemason. And, like, they had the ring. Like, they put it on their license plate. I think if you're a Freemason, you don't say you are. Well, people put it on, like, their license plate and stuff.

Like, you'll drive around. You'll see a license plate with a Freemason. Those are the phony guys. I mean, they're just faking it. Not faking it, but they're not the actual. If you're a Freemason, You're not telling anybody you're Freemason. Well, I think now Freemasonry is like so diluted from what it originally was.

Like, I think, and we'll talk about this a little bit. Back in 93 when you were coming up in Florida. Yeah. I mean, I wasn't a baby talking to these guys. This is more like 2000s. Okay. But still, like it's not a, you know, it's not as, I just don't think it's, it consolidated as much, you know?

Oh, look at that. He's a member of several Masonic organizations. The Clear Lake Lodge in Texas. Isn't that weird? One of the only guys to ever go on the mood. allegedly is also a freemason. It's interesting. But again, it's like, here's my only issue.

Again, I've debated with my mom about this forever because my mom's like, the Freemasons, built America, yada, yada. It's like, yes, they did, of course. Like all the early founding fathers, all Freemasons. But like, I just think today, all those people, like, once people are, like, buying, like, books on Amazon of your secret society,

you got to move to another secret society. It's kind of over. Right? Like, the block gets too hot. We got to rebrand. And so, like, the actual people that are involved in secret societies are I'm assuming in some other thing that we don't know about. And maybe someone out there knows it, Bohemian Grove, but even that's probably too hot.

They're making T-shirts on Amazon. So you got like, all right, we got to move on to the next thing. And then it just kind of keeps on shifting. And then they keep the old lodges open as like a tourist destination and then like random people in Orlando, Florida can join to be a Freemason. That's what I'm assuming. But back in the day, what were the Freemasons doing? Right?

They're not building cathedrals anymore. So instead, they've taken the tools and practices of stone masons and turned them into symbols for moral and spiritual growth. So take their symbol, you know, the square and the compass, the most recognizable Masonic symbol. The square represents morality, reminding Mason's to square their actions with ethical behaviors, while the compass symbolizes the boundaries of proper conduct. Together, they form a visual reminder of Masonic commitment to personal improvement.

Rituals also play a big part in Freemasonry, so new members go through initiation ceremonies for each degree, learning secret handshakes, passwords, symbolic lessons along the way. aren't just for show. They're designed to teach moral lessons and foster a sense of brotherhood amongst the members. Again, every Freemason you ever meet today, they're just like the oldest guy ever.

And like, you can see like, again, the second people like me, like dumb guys on YouTube are making videos about it, it's like, all right, time to change. So these rituals are, you know, a big part of it. And then there's also the degree system, which is actually pretty interesting. And it's super complex and complicated. Like I said before, you have like apprentice,

you have fellow craft journeymen and then you have the master mason and they form the foundation of the Masonic membership, but there's a whole set of additional degrees and all sorts of stuff. Each degree involves its own unique initiation ritual designed to teach moral lessons through symbolism. For example, the initiation ceremony for the entered apprentice degree welcomes new members into lodge using symbols like lambskin aprons to represent purity and integrity. So you have this guy, Hiram Abiff. This is a famous legend. and it's one of masonry's most central rituals. So at the heart of Freemasonry, you have the legend of Hiram Abif, a narrative that forms the centerpiece of the master mason degree.

According to Masonic tradition, Hiram of Biff was the chief architect of King Solomon's temple, a skilled craftsman sent by King Hiram of Tyre to assist with the temple's construction. The biblical account in First Kings described him as, quote, filled with wisdom, understanding, and skill to work with all kinds of bronze. Three Masonic legends significantly expands his role and story. And the story in the Mason version, Hiram Abiff possessed the secrets of a master mason,

knowledge that three fellow craftsmen desperately wanted. These three ruffians often referred to as Jubella, Jubelo, and Jubalum, or collectively as the three juets, plotted to extract these secrets by force. Jubella, Jubelo, and Jubelum. Mm-hmm. I mean, that's, were they triplets? It seems like that.

Can we get a picture of these guys? Jubello, Jewelay, and Jubelum. Why did they call them the Jew ways? I don't know. I don't know what that means. I'm assuming it's like, it's because all their names start with J.U. So I'm assuming it's just like a suffix to be like, yeah, the Jews.

Jewelays is a misspelling or a distorted form of the word Jews. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. Often used in a derogatory or anti-Semitic context. Really? Yeah. Oh, that's fascinating.

I had never heard that. See, a new slugly. Slur. We just got a new slur, isn't that great? Every week you'd just find a new way to insult a whole subgroup of people. Yeah, the Freemasons's three ruffians. Regardless. They basically plotted to extract these secrets by force. They confronted Hiram at the three entrances of the temple, demanding he reveal the master mason's secret word.

When Hiram refused each time, maintaining his solemn oath of secrecy, he was struck with severe blows from architectural tools, first with a gauge, then a square, then finally setting mall to the forehead, which proved fatal. The three conspirators then buried, Hiram's body in a shallow grave and attempted to flee.

When the great architect was reported missing, King Solomon ordered a search. After several failed attempts, the body was discovered by a search party of fellow crafts. Solomon then ordered the body to be exhumed using the grip of a master mason, also known as the five points of fellowship, and a special word was uttered. The ritual reenactment of this legend forms the climax of the masturbation, master... Did I just say? I heard that. I didn't say masturbation.

The Master Mason initiation ceremony. The candidate symbolically plays the role of Hiram Abiff, experiencing a ritualistic death and resurrection that represents spiritual rebirth. The candidate is slain and then raised from a symbolic grave, representing both the immortality of the soul and the triumph of good over evil. During the ceremony, the new master Mason is taught a substitute word, standing in for the true master's word, which was lost with Hiram Abiff's death.

Fascinating. Again, these rituals, they seem crazy, but like, if you ask anyone that's been in a fraternity, and they'll be like, yeah, we had a secret handshig. You know what I mean? Like, again, I don't know how, like, how real these rituals are. But at the same time, you know, if you're religious, like, I wouldn't do a satanic ritual. That freaks me out. Right.

I'd be like, all right, that's too far. Like, why risk it? You know what I mean? But if you're already in the group, everyone's in on it. you're kind of peer pressured into it. Right. You'll do it a little eyes wide shut party. Exactly. And put your mask on.

Jeffrey Epstein-style. Who knows, right? Things get out of hand. Real quick. It happens. So the five points of fellowship. This is used to raise the candidates. And it's one of the most solemn aspects of the ritual.

This special grip involves five points of physical contact between the members, foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, mouth to ear. In this position, secret words are whispered. symbolizing the secret nature of the trust between masons. Again, the fact that anyone knows this, again, I'm not exactly even sure if this is all true. Like, I'm assuming this is true. I mean, this looks pretty hilarious. I've never been initiated into, it looks like they're slow dancing.

Yeah, it is very romantic. One of them is dressed like the Babaduke, like wild. Again, I don't know what's real or not. I've never been initiated, but the fact that anyone knows this is just kind of like a fact that, like, all right, it's probably not as important as it once was. time to switch up the secret society. So this ritual, again, teaches a bunch of important lessons, right, fidelity to one's obligations, as Hiram chose death rather than betray the trust. It illustrates the Masonic belief in resurrection and immortality. And finally, it dramatizes the ongoing search for

what was lost, often interpreted as divine truth. And Hiram Biff's legend has become so central to masonry that many Masonic scholars consider it the symbolic foundation of the entire fraternity, The themes of death, rebirth, fidelity to one's vows, and the eternal quest for further light to echo through all of the Masonic philosophy and symbols. Additionally, many of the tools associated the Freemasons derive their significance from, you know, this legend, right? The setting mall, the sprig of, you know, acacia, symbolizing his grave, and then the substitute word given to newly raised master of masons. But beyond the legends and the core degrees, masons can pursue. additional degrees through like the Scottish Rite or the York Rite. For example, the Scottish right offers 29 additional degrees, you know, organized into four bodies. You have the Lodge of

perfection, a bunch of other different, you know, specific degrees. Then there's an honorary 33rd degree awarded to Masons who've made significant contributions to the fraternity or society. It's important to note that these additional degrees aren't considered higher than the master mason degree. They're supplementary offering further opportunities for study and personal growth within masonry. Yeah, 33 apparently is like a super important number in free masonry. Like there's all like these different clubs like 33rd being like super important. I'm pretty sure there's even like you'll see some like movies and stuff.

Like it's become like a real center point for like conspiracy theorists where they're like, oh, the 33 degree. Look at 33. Look at the 33. Oh, let's see the Jammatria meaning. Oh yeah. Previous episode. We can throw us back to our previous episode on Jumatria.

it's considered a master number to believe to represent powerful combination of spiritual evolution teaching and potential for profound personal growth or guidance so there you go corroborated with you know Gamitria but the Mason rituals go beyond just initiation lodges conduct ceremonies for installing new members

and even hold Masonic funeral rights one of the few public ceremonies that honor a deceased Mason's life and character yeah they're all about They're all about symbolism and, you know, symbolism and rituals and stuff like that. Like they got like this famous apron. Can you search like the Freemason apron? So there's like clothing rituals focused on gratitude for time spent together in brotherhood with reminders to apply moral lessons learned within the lodge and family life.

So you can look at this guy. Just a nice happy Mason right there with his beautiful little apron. Some people have pointed out that the Gmail logo is inspired by. by the free Masonic apron. Hmm. So as you can see, people have drawn this connection. They're like, yeah, look at that.

It's very similar. Oh, okay. Yeah, that, I thought it was just the letter G. But also, like, Google does the words in their thing. I don't know. I'm not here to defend Google. Maybe they did it. Maybe they're all masons.

Who knows it's possible? It's interesting, say the least. The setup of Masonic Lodge is designed to reflect the symbolic architecture of Solomon. Temple. From checkered floors to the placement of altars, every lodge is symbolically the temple for the duration of the degree and the ritual objects representing its architecture. These, you know, include the pillars of Boaz and Jakin throughout every initiate must pass. That's the other thing. Checkered floor is like another famous Freemason symbol that people claim is all over. Black and white?

Yeah. So like a checkered floor, like they'll put this in like movies and stuff like that. Yeah. And apparently they're definitely in the shining. Oh, yeah, it's like in a bunch of movies. And people are always like, oh, it's because of the Freemason. Maybe it is. Again, I have no idea. But, like, there's all these, like, music videos. Search, like, yeah, you can see some of them here.

But also, like, I don't know, maybe checkers are interesting to look at. But there's definitely a lot of them. And specifically in, like, esoteric or, like, you know, like cult-type movies, like eyes wide shut, the shining, stuff like that. Right. People always indicate that, like, there's some type of connection with Freemasons. And the checkered floor is one of the big ones. One of the core principles of Freemasonsry is the idea of making good men better. They emphasize personal growth, encouraging members to continually improve themselves morally intellectually.

And charities and other big deal in Masonic circles. Freemasons are known for donating millions to various causes from funding hospitals to supporting education. And yeah, I mean, they throw their money down, apparently. Maybe it's to influence these places, you know, maybe to get, you know, secret blood or something. you know, maybe like get a little kickback. Who knows? Freemasonry takes pride in uniting men from all walks of life, all walks of life regardless of their background or belief.

And so yeah, in a Masonic Lodge, you might have a CEO behind a plumber, and they're both equal in their commitment to the craft and its values. So now people, you know, you might be looking at this being like, this sounds pretty great, right? Like, what's wrong with this? You know, outside of the Hiram dude getting murdered. but people are like, yeah, what's, it seems like it's all very open, and, you know, they're donating money and they're involved in the community. This is where people point out the conspiracy stuff, all right?

Freemasonry has long been connected to cosmic symbolism, right, with its rituals, architecture, philosophy, mirroring the structure of the universe. From the very layout of the Masonic lodge to the symbols used in its teachings, there's a clear reflection of celestial order. The lodge itself is designed to represent the cosmos, the ceiling, simileged. symbolizing the starry decked heavens, much like the night sky, while the checkered floor represents the earthly plane embodying the balance of light and darkness, good and evil. The positioning of the worshipful master in the east where the sun rises reinforces the idea that enlightenment and divine wisdom comes from the same celestial force that guides the natural world. And then those two pillars we talked about before, Boaz and Jakin, at the entrance of the lodge further cements

this cosmic connection. These pillars originally from Solomon's Temple are thought to represent the foundations of the universe. much like the world pillar found in ancient various traditions from, you know, Norse or like the Kabbalistic tree of life. Many cultures believe in a structure that upheld the heavens and Freemasonry preserves this idea by using these pillars as symbols of, you know, stability. You can see, if you just search like Freemason pillars, you'll find, you know, images of these pillars with, like, you know, spheres on top of them, symbolizing, like, Earth stability on these different spheres. So, yeah, you can see them here. again, it's like steeped in like all this different type of symbolism. It's pretty interesting.

The art is actually kind of fired, to be honest with you. Like that one there was like the star in the eye. I mean, that's sick as hell. I mean, that goes hard, bro. Do you think they call it checker board or chess board? Probably chess. Yeah. Chess is like obviously much smarter.

Yeah. And then the star in the middle, that's Chinese checkers. So it all comes around. You know what I mean? You got to just trust the process. Sure. You guys figured it out. Yep.

So this theme continues with the three great lights of Freemasonry, the sun, the moon, and the worshipful master, creating this cosmic trinity, as we can see, is very similar to Christianity. And the worshipful master is the interesting one because it serves as a guide, much like the celestial deities who bring order to the universe. And one of the most recognizable Masonic symbols is the square and compass. Together, these two tools symbolize the unity of heaven and earth, which is a theme found in many esoteric traditions, including the, hermetic order and their famous principle that we'll get to later as above so below which you'll also see like any images of like baffamette and shit like that people always point this out like any anytime you have like baffemet it's always like a finger pointing up and then a finger pointing down as above so below which is like a deep-seated you can see it here um like a deep-seated like esoteric

idea that like yeah it's apparently heretical if you ask my mom she's like yeah it's evil to believe as above so below. You have to accept that like, you know, God is pure and what happens here is impure. Another big symbol in Freemasonry is the all-seeing eye. This is a massive, you know, very important symbol you've seen on our money. The eye represents divine omniscience and has been compared to the eye of Providence or the Egyptian Eye of Ra. Even some suggest a connection between the symbol and the galactic center serving as a focal point of creation in cosmic order. And of course, numbers also play a key role in Masonic philosophy. Yeah, you can see the all-seeing eye here.

What is the translation of that? Anuette kept us. We should figure that out. Yes. Because that's probably important. I mean, it is interesting. This is on our money. Like, as much as I'm like, you know, like,

all right, chill with like the, you know, free means and stuff. It is strange. It's literally on the currency that we use every day. Yeah. And the literal translation translates to he, favors. He favors our undertaking. Oh, well. So literally, like, manifest destiny, I'm assuming. Who's he? Exactly. Who is he, right? If you're saying, as above, so below, maybe you're not saying God. Oh, wow. Novus Ordo Selectorum, a new order of the ages, and one of the two mottos on the

reverse side of the great seal of the United States. We might just need to do a whole episode on just the dollar bill. There's also, like, a whole thing with the numbers, the numbers are very important. one of the most important numbers, you know, 33. In many spiritual traditions, three represents a creation and order, much like the cosmic trios found in Egyptian mythology, Hinduism, as we've talked about, Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, all creating this triune god. And obviously Christianity, three is represented a ton. And Freemasonry embraces this universal pattern,

reinforcing the idea that its teachings are not just about fraternity, but understanding existence. So let's just dig into some of the critiques of Freemasonry. obviously as a Catholic, it's illegal to be a Catholic and a Freemasons. Did you know that? It's like the Catholic Church is very much anti-freemasonry. When you say illegal, you mean... You go to Catholic jail. Oh, okay.

Which is a crazy jail. You don't want to go to Catholic. Okay. But, yeah, apparently, if you're a Catholic, you can't be a Freemason. My mom always told me that. But yeah, it's very frowned upon. And people believe that Freemasons have, you know, taken control of all the world governments. And, you know, they point to, like, the United States, you know, England. and they have a little bit of a point considering that there's a ton of, you know,

Freemason presidents and prime ministers. And yeah, does that indicate they're a part of a grand scheme? Again, my theory, if I really had to guess, is like back in the early days, you had to create like social orders and secret societies as a way of consolidating power to operate under, without the watchful eye of, you know, the government, whether it's the British government or the United States government.

And you all would kind of get together to like trade secret its information, and back, you know, even to today, like, information is like the most valuable currency ever. So if you get all these smart people together that all are connected and they can all kind of put their, you know, their brains together, then you can, you know, create a pretty powerful social force. Again, I don't know if Freemasons are still running the show. But in the early parts of America, like, all the framers were obviously Freemasons. They're all meeting up. I don't know if they possess secret knowledge or if they're just all or they're talking to each other trading trade secrets.

I mean, the Freemasons are the triangle guys. Mm-hmm. Right. And this is the one that every single conspiracy IG post says Jay-Z is a part of.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that thing? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. He calls it Hove, but that's, yeah. And he drops the blueprint on 9-11. Hmm. Another part of the conspiracy people like.

So another common claim is that Freemasons are a secret religion with its own God. That's possible. You know, critics often point to the use of the term great architect of the universe as evidence. But masons insist that this is just a neutral term that allows members of different faiths

to pray together without conflict. They maintain that Freemasonry is not a religion and doesn't replace or interfere with a member's personal faith. Some of the wilder theories out there involve the Freemasons teaming up with other secretive groups, the Luminati, maybe the remnants of the Knights Templar and, you know, building this All-Star team that then is able to, you know, subvert different governments around the world.

The symbols of Freemasonry are obviously, you know, pretty mysterious to outsiders and they exist all over. And, you know, you can find a ton of them online. By the way, look at Jay-Z in this photo. Oh, wow. That's hilarious. That's kind of crazy. That does look a little bit like Jay-Z. That's not him?

That's definitely Jay-Z. You think so? Definitely. Oh, wow. I mean, it might be, bro. I don't get why these guys are wearing white gloves, but. No, that's not. That's a part of it. That's all part of this ritualistic symbolism.

Oh, okay. I'm sure it means something. I don't know exactly what it means, but... Keep your hands clean. Yeah, exactly. But it is fascinating. It is actually worth noting that, like, most of the Freemasons that I knew growing up were all Black dudes. They're, like, I think it became a part of, like, black culture in some parts of the country to, like, become a Freemason. Oh. LeBron has one.

Oh, interesting. What is the Boulet Foundation? Can we look that up? I mean, that's fascinating. Yeah, where's that? the research. Yeah, exactly, right? We got a fire Zach immediately. It's a, uh, it's a black college. Founded HBCU, which again, sounds crazy, but also at the, that's a good point. But also a lot of these fraternities will, like, recruit, like, high school kids. I knew kids in high school that were a part of, like, secret society fraternity things in high school. And specifically in, like, rural parts of the country, like, they'll become a part of, like, these, like, they were recruited

early. Yeah, to join like these little like secret society things. And so they, yeah, it becomes a whole thing. What's going on at the Blue Lace Society? I don't know. Maybe that's a topic for a different episode. But it is interesting. All these like societies and like groups crop up.

I don't think they all possess secret knowledge, but I do think they're all like down with each other. You know what I mean? Like they become like homies. It's just kind of like a brain gang like is the best way to put it. What's up guys? We're going to take a break really quick because I'm sitting here in my beautiful tent. As you can see, every week, day in. day out. And people always ask, they say, Mark, how do I have a tent like that? I want to sit in a

beautiful tent and invite a lover, a friend, you know, someone that I appreciate and adore. I want to give them a good time inside my tent. Well, it's easy. Thanks to the good folks over at bluechew.com. That's right. Bluechew is the original OG brand offering chewable tablets. And what do these tablets do? Oh, I'm glad you asked. They are going to give you the, just in a stronger, harder, and longer lasting sexual performance. That's right. They're going to help you pitch a tent any place, anywhere. And the best part, it's all done online. That means you don't have to go to a doctor's office and, you know, talk to them and be like, oh, you know, I'm feeling some type of way. Look, this is not for people that are, you know, lacking necessarily. This is for people to want to have the best experience

of their life, whether it's Valentine's Day, birthday, a funeral. Who knows, whenever you need it, you never know when you could use Blue Chew. And we have a special deal for the listeners of this program. That's right. Try your first month of Blue Choo for free. That's right. Completely free. Mark, is it going to work for me? Is this? Hey, it's free. Why not just try it? Visit Bluotchew.com for more details and important safety information. And we thank Blu for sponsoring this podcast. All right. Now let's get after it and let's get back to the show. So, I mean, what do you guys think? I mean, you tell me, are the freemason still running the show? Am I missing something here? I don't know. Again, I believe that at the early

part of America, there was an integral society that was needed to, like, you know, subvert power and, like, all the smartest people were a part of it, of course, and all sharing information with each other secretly. But I don't know if they have access to, like, you know, ancient knowledge from King Solomon. But I do think they definitely do all these rituals because, like, it's, you know, kind of, like, fun and sort of, like, you know, cool. And maybe they're doing incantations with some evil spirit to, like, gain occult, you know, power.

Comment below. let me know. I'll do an updated video and I'll make an amendment to this. Okay. Now let's talk about the Illuminati. That's a fascinating one. People always talk about the Illuminati. Oh, the Illuminati runs the world. Again, I have my own personal thoughts about the Illuminati. But apparently there is a historical society known as the Illuminati. Started in 1776, pretty important year. As America prepares to declare its independence, something equally radical is unfolding in the little Bavarian town in Germany with a university professor named Adam Westhop. He gathers a small group of five students and founds a secret society that would fuel speculation and conspiracy theories for

centuries called the Illuminati. Westhop wasn't your average academic who was raised by his godfather after being orphaned at a young age and grew up to be the first non-Jesuit professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstatt in nearly a century. This didn't exactly make him popular with the Jesuits, as you can imagine, who had been kicked out by the Pope just a few years earlier. Weisshop, known for his love for enlightenment ideals and distaste for religious influence in public life, decided to fight fire with fire. So May 1st, 1776, him and his group of students found this thing called the Order of the Illuminati. Their mission, just to challenge superstition, pushed back against religious control over public life, and exposed abuses of state power.

That's a pretty hilarious goal. It started off as something. good. I mean, you could argue good potentially. You could also argue, you know, like it seems like they'd probably be against conspiracy theories, but yet created the most conspiratorial organization of all time ever. So let's not forget their goal, right, to put an end to the mechanations of the purveyors of injustice to control them without dominating them. What exactly does that mean? Anyway, all future candidates needed approval from existing members before they could join. They also have a strong reputation in the community, a well-established family, social connections, and most importantly, wealth. Yes, the Illuminati wanted influential and financially flush individuals who

could spread their ideas and expand their reach. In the beginning, the members had three levels, novice, minervals, and illuminated minervals. What's a minerval? This is a reference to the Roman goddess of wisdom, minerva, reflecting the orders aimed to speak truth, knowledge, or illumination about how society and the state might be reshaped. The structure of the Illuminati is similar to Freemasonry. Kind of interesting. In the first class, you have, you know, each novice was initiated with humanitarian philosophy until it became a Minerval, then received the order statutes, and it could attend meetings.

In the second class, you have, you know, a bunch of different degrees inspired by Freemasonry. You have apprentice, fellow, master, Illuminatus Major, Illuminatis Dyrigans. and the Illuminatis Major supervised Recruitments and the Illuminatis Derrigens presided over Minerval meetings. And then finally, you have the third class. This is the highest degree of philosophical and illuminations.

And this is priest, prince, megas, and king. Seems like a pretty big title, if you ask me. What's a Magis? I don't know exactly. I'm assuming this is in connection to the sorcerer of the

acts of Thomas, I believe. Or maybe the axe of Peter. A member of a priestly castle in ancient Persia. Oh, interesting. There's a guy named Simon Magus, who is a sorcerer in, I believe, the acts of the apostles, which apparently he was able to fly around. And, you know, people weren't sure how he was doing it. That's what I assumed it was.

But maybe it's just, you know, a Persian king or something like that. That makes more sense with prince and king, you know, in front and behind it. So at first the Illuminati was about threatening, about as threatening as your average debate club. But this guy, Weisshop, had big plans. He modeled the order of the structure on the Jesuits with a dash of freemasonry. And the members were given fancy code names. And the group had its own calendar that broke with the months by seasons. And yeah, they renamed a bunch of the months.

So like autumn, they renamed. They had the vintage month, the foggy month, the frost month. Winter you had the snow month, the rainy month, the windy month. Yeah, this just feels like the Farmers Alman Act. It feels very kind of boring to me, to be honest. The Illuminati grew quickly, though, attracting intellectual, politicians, and even some dukes. You may be wondering how do they recruit people? Well, they infiltrated Masonic lodges, using them as recruitment grounds for their own order.

So by 1784, they had somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 members across Europe. And as we know, all good things never last. that Bavarian authorities caught wind of this group and decided they had enough. So 1784, Carl Theodore, the Duke of Bavaria, banned all secret societies. That makes sense, right? If you're a government official,

you don't want some type of secret group of powerful people all meeting all the time. So you've got to kabash it. So the Illuminati thought that they could fly under the radar, but a year later, Carl dropped the hammer with another edict explicitly outlawing the Illuminati order specifically. That's wild.

Now what happens next is even crazier. Just two years after the ban, police raids on Illuminati members' homes, particularly that of Franz Xavier von Zwach, uncovered secret documents written in a cipher, including plans for a female branch of the order, receipts on an invisible ink, and even instructions for performing abortions. Whoa.

It's invisible ink a real thing. What do you mean? Is that a thing? Yeah. You never played it as a kid? No. You never got like a spy set? Was I that deprived as a kid?

Yeah. Google Invisible Ink. Oh, is it like ink and then you have to drop something on it and then you can read what it is? I mean, there's a bunch of different ways you can do it. So like you can do it with like light where like, you know, you write a message. Like this is the most famous one basically using like a black light. Another one I did as a kid is you'd use lemon juice. Or like you could use lemon juice and highlight stuff.

But then if you held it over a fire, all of a sudden just the lemon juice would kind of like burn in. And then the whole paper. No. You just like whole. hold it over heat. Okay. And the heat activates the acidity of the lemon juice and then you can read the message.

I haven't remember that since I was a kid. Thank you for bringing that up. Yeah. Well, you brought it up. Well, we did it together. It was more than enough to convince the Duke that these Illuminati folks were up to no good. I mean, they're planning abortions.

I'm glad that that was the part you took issue with. I'm glad that you were like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Invisible ink? Yeah. No, they were somehow having instructions for abortions. We live in New York, not Texas. Yeah, that's fair. And I guess people have been doing abortions for a long time.

It goes all the way back. The Hippocratic Oath. You ever read that? Yep. It says specifically, no abortions allowed. Oh, really? Does it? Yeah.

And doctors still say it today, but they took that part out. Kind of funny. So Weiss Hop thought he was going to build this brand new secret society and take over the world. Instead, he loses his university job and is forced into exile. The Illuminati is done by 1787 when the... Duke issues a final edict that made membership not only illegal but punishable by death. Raised the question, why was this guy so concerned about it? If you're willing to punish people by death, maybe they are doing something you're worried about.

Maybe he felt them trying to infiltrate his government. That's possible. We've got to figure that out. But here's where things get interesting. Instead of slipping into obscurity, Illuminati became the ultimate political boogeyman. So by 1797, this Jesuit priest named Augustine Borell published a book claiming that the Illuminati orchestrated the French Revolution. The idea catches fire, spreading across Europe, even to the United States. Suddenly, the Illuminati were behind every major world event.

George Washington himself wrote a letter addressing the Illuminati threat. I mean, that is fascinating. Can we get a fact check on that? That is hilarious if that's true. He seemed pretty chill about the whole thing. You know, he says, quote, it was not my intention to doubt that the doctrines of the Illuminati and the principles of Jacobism had not spread to the United States. On the contrary, no one is more fully satisfied of this fact than I am. However, he clarified that he did not believe Masonic Lodges in America were involved in propagating these ideas as societies, though individual members may have been influenced. Washington emphasized his belief that the Illuminati's goal to undermine government and

religion were dangerous and incompatible with American value. It is a real letter. Wow. So George Washington knew about the Illuminati. Which means he wasn't part of it. or it's the perfect cover-up. Oh. See, the theory's never end.

George Washington, you sly dog. Yeah, right? I thought he couldn't tell a lot. Isn't that his whole thing? That's honest Abe. No, what's the whole cherry tree thing? He, like, chopped down a cherry tree? Oh.

And why, he, like, something about, like, him being, like, such a good boy. I don't even remember the story. He, like, chopped down a cherry tree because of, uh... Oh, you're right. Yeah, it's like this legend that, uh... when he was six years old, he received a hatchet as a gift and damaged his father's cherry tree.

When the father discovered what George had done and became so angry, and young George bravely said, I cannot tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet. Washington's father embraced him and declared that his son's honesty was worth more than a thousand trees.

That's a good dad. Shout out to the pop of Washington. Now, Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, he was accused of being a member of the Illuminati. Isn't that wild? Apparently he wasn't,

But he was trying to, you know, but, you know, conspiracy terrorists are obviously going to believe that he was. Maybe he was. I have no idea. I mean, at this point, all these guys are suspect to me. Federalist politicians and preachers, particularly in New England, accused Jefferson and his Democrat Republican Party of being a part of the Illuminati conspiracy. These accusations were largely based on Jefferson's positive attitude towards post-revolution France

and his religious views, which some consider close to atheism. That makes a lot of sense. So if this priest puts out a book that says, oh, the Illuminati was involved with the French revolution, then all of a sudden, if you're pro post-revolution France, it's like, well, maybe you're... And if he's already a Freemason, then it's like, all right, well, maybe there's something there. And the theory was used as a political tool to discredit Jefferson during the election campaign. Jefferson himself dismissed the conspiracy theories and a letter to James Madison, calling

them the ravings of the bedlamite. Fast forward to the 20th century, the Luminati myth took on a life of its own. By the 1960s, the Illuminati was revived and popularized through a prank. Robert Anton Wilson, a writer and editor at Playboy magazine, along with Carrie Thornley, the co-founder of Discordianism, initiated Operation Mindfuck. They began sending fake letters to Playboy claiming the Illuminati were behind various world events. This disinformation campaign gained momentum when Wilson, together with Robert Shea, wrote the Illuminatus trilogy. the novel incorporated numerous conspiracy theories blending fact and fiction to create a compelling narrative about the Illuminati's supposed influence.

See, this is where I'm like, look, is it possible that there's a group of people or many groups of people that are fighting for global power, you know, involving like many wealthy influential people that are bankrolling it? Possibly. And by blaming everything on the Illuminati, it seems like a perfect cover if that's what you're doing. For all the other. That's what I'm saying. Organizations. Let's say us, all right, me, you. Gabe, let's say we happen to be the most powerful media organization in the entire world,

hypothetically. Right. And we were controlling all the world events, getting people elected, performing coups in other countries. Right. Who would you want to blame? Julian Dory, obviously. Yeah, exactly. You'd say it's Julian Dory's Luminati podcast. Right. Over there in New Jersey, that's running the whole thing. Yeah. I try to get the heat off us immediately. And he's over there being like, what are you guys talking about? I'm not even involved. Yeah. Too late. We're already spreading misinformation. That's how it works. So that's why I'm like, all the Illuminati stuff just feels like red herring. It's like, yeah, what are we even talking about?

So these guys put out this misinformation campaign, and this fuels the modern Illuminati conspiracy theory involving elaborate theories with celebrities and world domination. I mean, have you seen the Illuminati card game? No. Can you pull this up? This is actually a fascinating little thing. So this Illuminati card game came out in like the 70s or the 80s, and some of the cards are very, very strange.

So, like, look up like predictions. It's a, I actually want to buy this. This would be a great thing to buy, to be honest with you. Search Illuminati card game predictions. And apparently some of the cards, some of them are fake. So like they get, you know, like blown out of proportion. But some of them are like very strange. So like the epidemic.

So like use the, so there's a way to play the game, I guess. Or like the Pentagon, click on that one. Like infamously, you know, the Pentagon. But this seems like satire. It might be. but also there's all these weird predictions that go along with it where it's like Go back to a charismatic

Later card if you can Gabe Mm-hmm Oh okay I don't know I thought I thought it looked like Trump for a second Zoom in a little bit So I think people are like yeah Look at his golden hair

Yeah So again but this came out in the 90s This card maybe He was banging back in the 90s That's fair Zoom in on what the text says a little Literally and figuratively The card maybe played at any time

It counts as an action for the group it affects. The power for one fanatic, the group has increased to six. No player may have more than one card, yada, yada, yada, yada. Six. Oh.

January 6. Oh, shit. Yeah. So, yeah, there's all sorts of interests stuff with this. There's also just a bunch of great Trump conspiracies that, like, people that don't talk about it. We got to do a whole episode about that.

Yeah, like Lord Baron, have you heard of this? And like that whole book or like, Warner von Braun's, you know, Race for Mars. And like the Elon is the guy that takes, takes everyone on Mars. Yeah. And these books, like the Baron one is interesting

because it's like this guy Baron whose dad's name is Trump or something like that. Yeah. It's like insane. And it was written in like 1912. I mean, what are the odds? Regardless,

many people still believe that, you know, many celebrities and elites participate in dark rituals that involve blood sacrifices and these sacrifices are said to be necessary for gaining or maintaining fame and power.

Some claim that these rituals involve animals while others suggest they only involve humans. The idea is that by offering something a value these individuals can secure their place in the spotlight. Again, my whole thing with like these rituals, I'm like, it's possible that these rituals happen. I think they exist for blackmail. I'm on the Nick Bryant side where it's like, hey, like, have sex with a dog or something crazy thing. Yeah. And like have blood. And it's like, yeah, we're going to compromise you. That way, if you ever try to step out of line and like pass legislation

we don't want, we got you forever. Bang. That's what I'm. I'm assuming it is. I just assume it's all power shit. So I don't doubt that it's possible it could happen, but I don't think that it's to like get power from Satan. But maybe it is. At the top, there's one horny guy or kinky guy that does enjoy it. Right. Or it does enjoy watching it. So then you give power to the, you know, most depraved people. Right. And then that's how you get them locked in. You're not going to give power to some guy that's incorruptible. That's going to do the right thing and not consider, you know, the interests of the corporations. Right. So people like Jay-Z, be honest. say a bunch of other people have been accused of flashing these symbols. Allegedly. And for the record, there are a lot of, you know, funny, you know,

hand flashing symbols that go along. And some people talk about the Illuminati humiliation rituals. Yeah. All the time where it's like, oh, you get this person's got to be, you know, like in a dress or they got to get slapped, like, you know, Chris Rock and Will Smith. John Cena naked. John Cena naked. These are all humiliation rituals done by the Illamini that basically get them into the group.

Right. I mean, maybe. I'm down, whatever I got to do. I mean, look, these groups are evil and despicable, unless they benefit me, in which case I'm completely on board and I'll do whatever they want. Mind control is another major element of this whole thing. Some people point to like Britney Spears' public breakdown, for example,

and they cite that that's a mind control program that goes rogue. And, you know, people look at, you know, music videos where you have, you know, Egyptian symbols and pyramids and all-seeing eyes. Katie Perry's Dark Horse video, for example, has been accused of maintaining or containing a bunch of a lubey. Illuminati imagery, some believing that it's a nod to secret occult themes. I will say there is a lot of media with occult themes. My mom is big on this.

I remember being like 10 years old looking at like Lady Gaga videos and she was like, look, look, look, this is symbolic of like Jesus and that they're trying to like subvert like the Eucharist and the Catholic Mass. You look at some of the stuff with like, well, Nazex. It looks very. I assume he's leaning into it. For sure. That like he's like an internet dude that's like, oh, this is provocative. Or like Google like Michael Jackson Illuminati album cover. Um, this is like a famous one that my mom would point out.

Be like, look at how weird all the stuff is. Um, but yeah, there's like, yeah, like, have you seen this album cover before? Yes. So, like, there's all sorts of like weird symbolism in this that people have dissected for years. Maybe we do an episode on that. Um, and zoom out really quick. There's other stuff in here. Like, uh, click on that one in the middle.

What do you see? What ground is standing on, right? Checkerboard. Checker board. And then there's just a ton of stuff. The monarch. mind control, like the butterflies everywhere. But meantime, he had nothing to do with the design of that himself.

So that leads the question. Who does? The people that killed him. Exactly. Exactly. Lee Harvey Oswald. Well, like, in that case, it's like, okay, these are deliberate, you know, symbols that are being used.

Why are they being used? Like, you see the all seeing eye down in the bottom right. Triangle. You see the triangle. You see the pillars of Boaz. It's like all this freemates and stuff. And the question is like, why? Yeah.

And it's a good question. Why? It's a good question. Because like at this time, I don't know if it was done to be provocative. You don't think some artists are taking shrooms and they're like, oh, oh, let's do this on this CD cover. It's possible. I mean, I bought this whole book, this giant coffee table book that was super expensive just because I loved the artwork. Yep.

Never used it once. I was like, how sick is this? I just move it around from around to the studio. And it's so heavy. Like, I don't even know what this stuff is. I just think it looks cool. Yeah, it does look cool. But maybe they think it looks cool.

Or maybe their dog would. sling to people being like, yo, I'm down with the squad. You know what time it is? Possibly. I don't know. There's a long tradition of looking into these kinds of things. And then people obviously talk about, you know, celebrity deaths and replacing them with clones. Avril Levine was a super famous one.

People say they're like M&M, Jamie Fox, you know, people like that, they get killed and their clones replace them. Yep. That to me is like the hardest one to believe. I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. Have you seen the different way these people look? People look different and they go offline and also when you have unlimited money.

They get older. Get on drugs. Maybe I'm just sounding like a, maybe I'm a voluminati apologist. Yeah. But I'm just like, I just need a little bit something more tangible. Give me some evidence. I don't know. Like I've been around some famous people.

Okay. And I assume like, oh, at a certain point, I'm going to get to a level of success where I'm going to get invited to the party. I'm going to see the thing. I'm going to find the, just hasn't happened. Are you sure? Maybe I'm just missing it. My whole reason. Maybe you don't remember.

How about this? How about we try to make this show the biggest podcast in the planet, okay? We're already doing. On our way, okay? But maybe the audience at home, they pump this up, okay? I then become this massive, you know, public figure. And then if I ever get invited to these weird parties, I'd as watch shut, you know, type thing.

Yeah. I'll disclose what happens. Sure. Hand to God. Let's work on it, guys. You also realize your mom's not going to be down to for this. So far, I've gotten way more successful than I ever thought I would, to be honest with you. I'm a kid from Florida.

I didn't think this is going to happen for me. Okay? And at this point, I figured I would have seen something weird. I just has... Maybe there's weird stuff that I'm not privy to. Maybe I'm just too dumb to notice it. Or there's VHS tapes with you doing stuff that you have no idea exist. But if I don't know they exist, then how can I be blackmailed?

Well, once you hit a certain level of popularity, that's when they get you early. Then they send me the VHS, they go remember this. Look what Mark Agonon did when he was 27. AI. It's all AI, all right? Just don't believe the hype, okay? Including this episode. This is all AI specifically, okay?

Anyway, so there's all this stuff, right? There's all this, you know, conspiracy that surrounds it, which all of it I find very fun. I enjoy diving into it. Don't get me wrong. I just, I don't put all the stake into it that some other people do. And it is very funny and kind of ironic that it goes very much against Weiss Hop's original idea of what the Illuminati was supposed to be. Right. Which is I find hilarious.

And maybe one of the funniest things about the Illuminati is that it has become kind of a blank slate. Now it's kind of a meme. It's become like a joke. But like it was like a blank slate for a long time for like fears and anxieties. And it started with one guy that blamed the French Revolution on them. And maybe they were a part of it. I don't know. I need to look into what that guy's book says. I'm not going to write him off as a crazy guy.

We got to look into it. Who knows? Maybe they are pushing for a new world order. I'm not opposed to any of this. Maybe it's called the Great Reset. Maybe that's what is. Maybe it's, you know, what's that guy's name, Claus Schwab. Have you heard of this guy? Charles Schwab. No, look up this guy, Claus. K-L-A-U-S. Like Santa?

He is the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. And people have accused him of being the new head of the Illuminati, whatever that is. Okay. He looks like the head of the Illuminati. Oh, yeah. If you were to cast an evil guy in a movie, you'd be like, yeah, this guy for sure. And Alan Alder could play him in the movie. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. It's interesting, but people have pointed out to, like, the great reset and these kinds of ideas. Like, you'll, you know, you'll own nothing and you'll love it. Right. We're going to eat bugs. And people have attached themselves. My mom specifically, she's like, they're going to make us eat bugs. I'm not fucking doing it.

I don't eat bugs and I refuse. So let the record show. For now, I'm still on the good side. Don't let them trick you to eating bugs, okay? Owning nothing, you'll love it? I mean, so far, I like Spotify. I don't own music anymore, and I freaking love it, to be honest. But shout out the Illuminati.

They've done a pretty good job so far. Now, let's talk about the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This is a fascinating one. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn basically burst into London's occult scene 1888, founded by three Freemasons, William Winn-Westcott, a coroner, Samuel Liddell McGregor, Mathers, a translator of occult text, and William Robert Woodman, a physician. The myth is that they created this fictional thing. They claimed their authority came from mysterious German adept named Anna Sprengle, who supposedly provided them with cipher manuscripts containing ancient magical secrets. Later research proved these documents were likely fabricated by Westcott himself, but I've never looked into that. Maybe they're legit.

Who knows? Despite the origins, the Golden Dawn quickly attracted Britain's intellectual and artistic elite. Unlike previous occult groups that merely discussed theory, the Golden Dawn demanded practice. Their system was a practical, magical curriculum that combined Egyptian mythology, Kabbalah, alchemy, tarot, astrology, and ceremonial magic into a cohesive system designed for one purpose to give members direct experience of supernatural realms and powers. All right. I mean, that's something.

The order operated through a strict hierarchical structure with color codes, color coded grades based on Kabala, Kabala Tree of Life. Let's search that of the Kabbalah Tree of Life. I've definitely seen this. New initiates start as neophytes in the outer. order progressing through grades like Zellatar, Theracus, Philosophis, before reaching the inner order called Rose, Rose, Rubé, Arracusus, Ruby Rose, and Golden Cross. Sounds like Rosicrucianism.

Each advancement required mastering specific magical techniques and passing examinations. Their rituals were elaborate. Members wore robes, decorated with magical symbols, wielded wands, daggers, and swords, performed ceremonies and temples adorned with Egyptian Greek and Hebrew imagery. Oh, we see the tree of life here of cabala. We should look into this. Maybe we do an episode on that. That sounds interesting.

I would love to get a cabala expert on the pod. Yeah, that's got Madonna. Wait, who? Madonna. Oh, yeah, she's like, apparently. But like Hollywood cabala, I don't even buy. I want like a real proper OG rabbi to break down all the cabala stuff. That would be fire.

So the techniques that they use might seem familiar to modern occultists, but in Victorian England, they were groundbreaking. Here are some of them. Scrying a technique used to enter vogue. visionary states by gazing into reflective services like crystals, black mirrors, or even still water. The goal was to quiet the conscious mind and allow deeper subconscious visions to emerge, whether symbolic, messages from spirits, or glimpses into the past or future. So scrying is fascinating. There's a famous obsidian scry from John D. Could you pull a picture of that? John D. was like this famous occultist that has this like obsidian mirror that he

would use to scry and talk to spirits and stuff. And yeah, practitioners would typically dimmed the lights, focused their gaze on the reflective surface, and then let their mind slip into a trance. Over time, images would begin to form, often starting as vague shapes before becoming clearer. The experience was similar to lucid dreaming or deep meditation with the scryor acting is a passive receiver rather than actively controlling what appeared. Yeah, this one right here, you can see John D's obsidian mirror. And it was actually made out of this thing that we have right here. This somewhere arrowhead. Made out of obsidian.

Hmm. Like the hardest naturally occurring materials. You can see if it's like perfectly flat. You actually get like a good mirror out of it. It's very black. I mean, again, I'm one of these people that's like, if you meditate like strongly, you can start to see and hear stuff. For sure.

What that is, I don't know. When I pray and I feel something, I'm like, oh, that's God. But is it possible you could meditate and like, I don't know, I heard people say like they can meditate and feel like they're tripping on shrooms. For people say they can meditate and they hear voices, they hear God talking to them. Astral projection is another thing, if you've ever heard of that. This is the practice of consciously separating your awareness from your physical body and traveling to non-physical or astral forms. Essentially the idea is that your consciousness can leave your body and explore different realms.

Some people believe these experiences are literal, like your actual soul or energy leaving the physical form, while others see these as powerful mental journeys as a way to explore consciousness. And then there's invocation, another power. ritual practice used to embody divine forces, allowing practitioners to temporarily take on the essence or presence of a deity, spirit, or higher intelligence. Unlike simple prayer, meditation, invocation has an active and immersive experience, more like stepping into the mindset or energy of a god. There's famous versions of this, like the Seth tapes, if you ever heard of this, you can pull up the Seth tapes. This was an audio recordings and transcripts. Here, go back to that.

audio recordings and transcripts of sessions where Jane Roberts channeled a non-physical entity who called himself Seth offering teachings on the nature of reality, human potential, and spiritual growth. So literally this woman who I believe is like a medium in the 60s channels this person Seth or this deity and then is speaking, you know, through this deity. The law of one is another famous one where basically another medium and like kind of an occultist basically changed. channeled raw, like this deity. The sun god from Egypt and spoke to raw. And now there's like all this law of one material and you can listen to all the tapes and

read the whole book. And now there's like almost like a quasi-religion surrounding the idea of speaking to this deity through a medium. Pretty fascinating. What is happening there? I have no idea. Genually I'm curious. Right.

Probably too curious. The Seth thing was the most interesting to me. It's effectively the same thing. You're channeling this deity that's speaking to you. Not unlike talking to Michael Masters who claims that, you know, he had a chakra alignment and then downloaded this information from a deity or like spoke to a

deity outside his house. Right. I don't know. It's like, again, I don't doubt that these people are claiming that this is happening or that they feel that it's happening. What's actually happening? I have no freaking idea.

I'm not going to mess with it, though. That shit freaks me out. So how do they do these invocations? They recite sacred names and chance to align with the entity's energy. They use symbolic gestures and tools like robes or wands, and then dramatic identification, essentially acting as if they were the entity adopting its posture, voice, or mindset. And then there's Anokian magic. This is a

system of angelic communication and ritual magic developed in the 16th century by John D., who we just talked about, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I and his scryor Edward Kelly. They claimed to have received the system directly from angelic beings who provided them with the intricate and divine language, sigils, and structured magical hierarchy. When the hermetic order of the Golden Dumbled revived D's work, they expanded on it, believing Inokian magic to be one of the most powerful forms of ceremonial magic. The system was complex,

involving Inocyan calls, which are basically ritual prayers in the angelic language, specialized sigils, and a unique four-elemental watchtower system representing cosmic forces, whoa. Yeah. That's a lot. So basically this, I'm assuming, coming from Enoch,

where they're, like, using this, like, magic power to try to, like, you know, speak with entities. Some occultists consider it the nuclear option of magic. It's extremely potent but potentially dangerous if mishandled. It wasn't just about summoning spirits, but stepping into a cosmic order that according to Dee and Kelly had the power to reshape reality itself. And then we get to the Tatva visions. This was a technique that was used that basically they would use geometric symbols called Tatvas as gateways to deeper states of consciousness and elemental realms. These symbols often painted in bold colors represented five classical elements.

So you've got the Prithvi, which is Earth, that's a yellow square. The Apas, which is a silver crescent, and that's linked to water. The Tejas, which is fire, it's a red triangle. The Vayu, which is air, it's a blue circle. And then the Akasha, which is the spirit of the ether, a black or deep indigo oval. You can see all the Tatva visions here. Practitioners of this would focus intently on a Tatva symbol either drawn on paper, are visualized in their mind's eye, by meditating on it, they believe that they could enter a

trance-like state and project their awareness into the elemental plane if represented. This allowed them to gain hidden knowledge, receive visions, and even interact with spiritual beings tied to the element. Then you got geomancy, an ancient form of divination that involves interpreting patterns made by tossing handfuls of dirt, drawing random dots on paper, or marking the ground. These patterns, when analyzed, reveal insights about the future. and it's, I guess, similar to, like, reading tea leaves. Like, you basically, like, looks at your tea leaves, be like, however this landed is, like, aligned with your chart and, like, your astrological, you know, kind of signs.

They do that with Greek coffee as well. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. And then tarot and astrology, obviously, people are familiar with tarot cards as a way to tap into the subconscious and communicate with spiritual forces and navigate, you know, personal issues that you're dealing with. and, you know, I've never really messed with taro, to be honest with you. This is all the kind of stuff that just for some reason just freaks me out.

The last thing you want is that death card. Yeah, right? And you're just walking around looking for it. Like, I don't know. It just seems like, I don't, why would you mess with this stuff? But apparently this stuff is all super, super popular. I mean, like astrology and like horoscopes, still popular even to this day. But people were doing this stuff for a long time, specifically in Europe, you know, around the 17-1800s.

The cultists use astrology not just to understand fate but to time rituals and invoke planetary energies. So it's not just like your little white girl obsession. It's the language of God. And when, you know, it's just at the right hands, it's not just about seeing the future, but making it. Whoa. So that guy, W.B. Yeats that we talked about before.

Famous poet, I've heard his name before. I don't really know anything about him. But apparently he incorporated magical symbolism throughout his writing. So actress Flores. Lawrence Farr, who developed magical techniques using sound and voice. And then horror writer Arthur Matchen, Machen, who supernatural fiction drew directly from Golden Dawn Concepts. And then Annie Horneman, who received, who financially supported the order while pursuing her own magical development. And then the artist Moina Berkson Mathers,

who created much of the order's artwork and ritual implements. Wow, that's fascinating. And then, of course, you got old Alistair Crowley. Couldn't be doing an occult episode without that guy. I'm a full circle. He's one of the most infamous members joined in 1898. He's obviously, you know, super talented as an orator and as a charmer. But he's also a troublemaker. So his presence only made tensions within the group worse.

Crowley moved up the ranks quickly, but when leadership refused to let him advance further, he didn't take it well. So out of spite, he leaked the order's secret rituals in his magazine, the Equinox, breaking the secret oaths of the secrecy that he had sworn Wow. Golden Don's actual practices were far more extreme than the respectable facade suggested. The members actively attempted to contact non-human entities through rituals.

Their advanced techniques included the Onakian chess. This was a unique four-player chess variant created by the Golden Dawn that basically each piece was tied to earth, air, fire, water, making the game more than just a battle of the wits, but was a mystical tool for unlocking knowledge. And the flying rolls, these are instructional paper, circulating within the Golden Dawn that covered

techniques like clairvoyance and magical attacks and shapeshifts. And this just sounds like fucking Hogwarts, bro. This is wild. You gotta wonder if they had any breakthroughs or what was going on. I can't imagine you join this group and just think it's all bullshit.

Like these guys got to be getting something out of it. Maybe they just like being a part of the squad. I think at a certain point it becomes a ceremony to do some of these things. They don't even believe in them. Maybe, yeah, I have no idea. Or maybe, like, they're just having

any of these meditative, psychic things where, like, they're seeing stuff in their mind's eye. Maybe they're doing drugs. I don't know. Probably. They have a bunch of other things. They're using the Tatfas. They're using, you know, scrying.

And, you know, of course, they're using sex magic. So sex magic wasn't officially a part of the Golden Dawn teaching. But Crowley was, you know, he was all about it. So he created his own magical. system called Thelma. One of the most controversial parts of the Golden Dawn was its connection to the non-human entities, and members again claim that they talked to angel, spirits, and secret chiefs. Golden Dawn leader Samuel Mathers insisted that he got direct instructions from these beings, but not everyone bought it. His exclusive access to the secret chiefs became a source of tension that only

this guy could talk to the secret chiefs and no one else. But then we have Alastair Crowley in his encounters with the entity known as Lamb. This is one of the strangest and most debated moments in a cult history. In 1918, while in New York, Crowley conducted a series of magical rituals known as the Amalantra working with his scarlet woman, Roddy Minor. A scarlet woman was a term Alastair Crowley used to describe his female magical partners, particularly those who participated in sex magic. The concept comes from the Phthalmic philosophy where the scarlet woman represents the goddess of Babylon, who is a divine feminine force and a power of sexual energy, but in Crowley system, the scarlet woman wasn't just a lover, she was a channel for magical energy.

Using sex magic and drugs, they entered trans states where they claim to make contact with an intelligence that would be known as lamb. You can see a picture of lamb right here. Jesus Christ. Now, what does lamb look like to you, Chrysos? That's a gray. That's an alien, right? So people have pointed this out.

Now, this is prior to, you know, the alien, you know, like, lore that exists in America today. This is prior to Betty and Barney Hill's abduction in the 50s. So at this point, no one had ever seen or talked really about, like, gray aliens. But yet, here's Alastra Crowley talking with this entity that many people are like, oh, this is obviously an alien. So he included this in his drawings in 1919 at the Dead Souls art exhibit in Greenwich Village and published it in the voice of silence, mysteriously captioning it the way. Crowley didn't write much about his interaction with Lamb, almost as if it was normal to communicate with him. but he described it as a communicator from extraterrestrial sources.

After Crowley's death, occultist Kenneth Grant took this idea even further. He believed Lamb was trans plutonian, and that Crowley's ritual had opened a portal between dimensions allowing non-human intelligences to enter our world. So by the 1970s, this guy Grant started the Lamb Working, a series of rituals designed to invoke Lamb. He even suggests that Lamb was connected to a group of entities called The Great Old Ones, barring from H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror mythology.

Some modern occultists even believe that Crowley's rituals weakened the barriers between worlds and that all these abduction stories and stuff came because of him, because all these abductions happened, you know, after Alistair Crowley had channeled lamb. So was Crowley unknowingly the first person to contact a modern UFO? Or did he tap into something far older, something that had always been there waiting for an invitation?

Either way, the order's cohesion didn't really last long by 1900. It was falling apart due to a bunch of reasons. You have this guy Mathers who's talking to the great chiefs and, you know, that's creating a dictatorial leadership that people are mad about. Questions about the authenticity of the founding documents that people are now reading into those disputing that they were actually ever, you know, secret and just they were drawing from other stuff. Personal conflicts between the members, financial problems, and then obviously Crowley publishing the secret teachings. And the final split happened after a chaotic, magical battle between Mathers and Florence Farr's faction in London. Both sides were resorting to banishing rituals and magical attacks against each other, turning

the conflict into a full-blown occult showdown. When the dust settled, the Golden Dawn broke off in several rival groups. Alpha et Omega, Stella Matuton, Batutina, and the Holy Order of the Golden Dawn each claim to carry on the original teachings in their own way. Despite its brief formal existence, the Golden Dawn had a long-lasting impact. Their system formed the backbone of Western ceremonial magic as practiced today. Their techniques spread through various offsuits of organizations and later popularized in books by Israel Vergardi, who is Crowley's former secretary, who published the complete Golden Dawn system in the 1930s, believing as techniques deserve preservation despite the secret oaths. While they claimed to be reviving ancient wisdom,

the Golden Dawn was actually highly innovative. They took bits from different magical traditions, and blended them into a new system. In ways, they operated like this research lab for magic, I guess, systematically experimenting with altered states of consciousness, meditation, and they thought that they could teach magic through testing and replication. The Golden Dawn was surprisingly progressive for its time. Women participated as full equals,

which was rare in an era when they couldn't even vote. The order welcomed members from all walks of life, from aristocrats to professionals, making it more socially diverse than many of us. others. And their views on sexuality were also relatively liberal for Victorian era. Despite, you know, some of the sexual morality stuff regarding Alistair Crowley's sex magic, that played a major role in the order's eventual fallout. So for all their spiritual ambitions, the Golden Dawn was still made up of flawed human beings. The organization was riddled with ego clashes and

power struggles and probably some mental illness here and there. And as a result, the whole thing fell apart. Kind of ironic that they were trying to, you know, build a society to transcend the material world, but instead ultimately fell apart because of human failings. But their legacy lives on. Obviously, you have Yeats' poetry, Crowley's Thelma, you know, which shaped Western esotericism. And then even Carl Jung's ideas echo the beliefs that symbols and rituals unlock the subconscious. Many modern magical traditions are shaped by the Golden Dawn, Wicca, power, you know, bar from their rituals. Chaos magic took their experimental approach, but dropped the rules. So were they contacting spiritual, you know, or supernatural entities? Or were they just doing, you know, psychological tricks

and just getting into altered states of consciousness through drugs or meditation, you know, believing that they were talking to some entity, but actually just talking with their own subconscious. Who knows? I mean, it's all pretty fascinating. What do you think? Which one was your favorite secret side of Christos? Knights Templar were pretty dope. They're pretty cool. They seem like good guys, right? They're trying their best. They're trying to save people. Are they killing some Muslims? Maybe, you know, who's really to say what's going on? We got to ride with the Catholics, and did they start the first bank? Right. So the Jews stole it from us. That's what I'm saying. It's like it all goes back to the Catholics, all right? I think they're cool. I like that.

The hermetic order of the Golden Dawn. I mean, that one's crazy. Well, that one's like a superstar team, an all-star team of different factions. Yeah, they had some time to perfect them. My thing is just like, if they have all this magic, why didn't they use it better? Right. Like, didn't Crowley die as like a drunk or something? I don't know. Like, there's got to be a better way. Or maybe that is the corrupting power of magic that if you use magic and you talk to these entities,

you might gain, you know, renown or, you know, wealth and this brief time you're on earth, but yet you die from some type of crippling ailment because it's like a Faustian bargain. You know, no deal doesn't come without a debt. I don't know. It's all very fascinating. What do you guys think? I would love to know that I miss anything. Are there any secret societies that I left out?

Is there anything that you wanted to know more about that I, you know, happen to gloss over? Or is there anything that I said incorrect that you would love to correct the record I would love to know. I read every single comment, every single one, even the mean ones. And I just lay in bed and I go, ah, damn it. This guy hates me. Alfonso, something, something, 656. I think I'm an idiot. Fuck.

I read them all. So, comment. Let me know if I'm missing anything and I will bring it up on the next episode, especially if we do another one on secret societies and the secret teachings of all ages. Christos, anything you like to add? Love you guys. Gabe, anything? Peace and blessings to all.

Thank you so much. Come see me on the road. Check out the merch. I would love to see y'all rocking it. And as always, this is camp. It's happening multiple times a week. We've got religion camp and we're building out our own secret cults and secret society. So join us.

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