THE ROSICRUCIANS

Mention of the ROSICRUCIAN MOVEMENT(S) and organizations as well as those who supposedly were ROSICRUCIANS has long been of interest to me from childhood and youthful school days, when I read the books on such that were in the library, where I lived along, with magazines that came from organizations of such, who also ran advertisements in many popular and sometimes well-known magazines.....usually with this eye-catching caption: "WHAT POWERS DID THIS MAN POSSESS?" AND there would be depictions of such persons as Ben Franklin, Leibnitz, Descartes, Newton,etc. Eventually, I contacted some, if not most of them, and took every opportunity to read on Rosicrucianism in dictionaries, encyclopledias, as well as in books that sometimes discussed such, and, of course, I read a lot of other things, much of which can be termed as: arcane, esoteric, supernatural, spiritualistic, mediumistic, psychological, etc. among other things.....too numerous to mention here but are often discussed by me in my other blogs when I have time and feel the urge to do so.... There is little doubt in my mind that I was influenced by the occult in many ways through reading, movies a slight bit, radio programs of some kinds, and magazines, of which, FATE was probably the premier one that I found the most fascinating over the years, although it is now long gone, and my early copies of it also long gone....though there are some contemporary publications, present-time ones that occasionally catch my attention and on some occasions I may purchase such, but only if the topic(s) or article(s) are significant, add to what I did not know already, or unusual and timely.... I have a blog that deals with Rosicrucianism specifically but since it is always listed in most books on such esoteric groups and also in conspiracy books and other literature, I have placed it also under SECRET SOCIETIES....and this will lead, no doubt, to some strange bedfellows..... The relationship of subjects will sometimes be apparent when a number of such groups,organizations, etc. are compared and studied and it might well appear that osme of them are operating on the same lines or parallel lines and so people, like myself, may jump from one line of thought and endeavor to another one, sometimes going in opposite directions....all of it being a most difficult, if not confusing, balancing or juggling act, that few persons wish to bother with and seldom do so.....more on this another time..

FREEMASONRY

A bit of 'synchronicity' occurred today....I gathered up my books on Masonry and related topics this weekend, starting Friday night, and read and reviewed materials and planned to upload some of the images of these today...but early this morning at the newsstands I came across a magazine that brought up the old notion that 'Masons controll the world' or are a'secret government' which makes everyone interested in the 'conspiracies' discussed more alert to such..... The magazine dealt with various subjects but I did not buy it as yet. It some some articles on facebook profile pictures and what they convey to various study groups, including marketers and so forth....plus some stuff on volcanos that interest me, and also the effect of 'improving' certain brain functions by the internet which I read and agreed with along certain lines...though its main thesis apart from this was that it limits and affects memory..... So now at the center, I am trying to upload a few of the books I have in my library,etc. and hope to discuss some of them in the future....I also have books on some of the'secre societies' and related groups to place in here....always good fodder when looking for the unusual and sometimes the weird if not the fantastic....which can be made to seem most plausible...especially when various things are magnified...or if one has had some minor contacts, however tenuous, or so major or minor doubts about the status quo and the official pronouncements....more on this another time...

WHAT IS A SECRET SOCIETY?

A SECRET SOCIETY that is known to the ordinary public is NOT SECRET but retains that aura of mystery and clandestine activity, nonetheless,in the imaginations of those who learn of their presence or existence somewhere in the world and about which much information, such as it might be, they ahve access to in various ways, whether in newspapers, magazines, television,movies, comics, radio, books, novels, or advertisements for such,etc. My criteria for such is simply this: an invitations to join, an initiation of some sort,a set of rules and by-laws and some special regalia along with a specialized leadership, based on hierarchy...along with other things to enhance or support their activities, such as fund-raising in various ways,from extortion to voluntary donations and/or membership dues and payments....etc.... Secret Societies that are 'cults' have, of course, many aspects to consider and which pertain to occcult or religious areas...very numerous .... Some Secret Societies keep membership figures low for obvious reasons, especially if they are subversive or revolutionary as history shows....and some modern groups have had their roots in such .....as the history of communism, anarchy, Bolshevism, etc. will show...

THE SCOUTING MOVEMENT (BOY SCOUTS)

The BOY SCOUT MOVEMENT that began in England and quickly spread around the world and which still exists today, to include girls and younger boys, under the 'Cub Scout' banner,etc. is not thought of as a 'secret' organization, although its seniors, the leaders and Scout Masters have been accused over the years of various practices and agendas that seem to discriminate against others,etc. Having been a Boy Scout myself, I entered the organization with youthful enthusiasm, namely because of its outdoor and camping activities, and so forth rather than the lofty moral and social codes it sought to instill in the members and received the usual 'shock' to discover that despite taking oaths to be 'morally straight and mentally clean' a great many of its members did the opposite: stole, swore, bullied, and did other things that could, and sometimes did, get them into trouble with the law or other authorities,etc. I also concluded much the same about the Freemasons and Shriners, who, for all their charitable work,etc., seldom exhibited on a daily basis in their ordinary 'non-lodge-temple' life the high morals and standards they claimed to be in such...that is, they succumbed to all the temptations of ordinary society...at least that was my observation...same as learning how the children of Christian Ministers, boys, could swear and curse and take their Lord's name in vain and exhibit all the non-Christian virtues...which sums up in this: Do what I say and not as I do, and always say the right thing and state the loftiest moral conclusions but do't necessarily follow them! Thus, from these childhood and youthful experiences and observations I learned the great difference between THEORY and PRACTICE and the huge gap that often exists between them! Nevertheless, I decided from such not to follow as best I could in the ways others did things and determined to be as different concerning things as best I could under the circumstances most of which demanded obedience and conformity....thus, I have often said of myself, I became educated in spite of the schools and the teachers I had...though, in fairness, some of them helped mre more than perhaps I deserved....but that history is not what I am discussing here..... What many ignore about scouting is this: it was set up as a quasi-military organization to regiment and recruit boys for the military by stressing military and survival skills, which are important, of course in this day and age even more so...I will stop here to let everyone digest this statement and comment on it another time.

SECRET SOCIETIES

Various groups have been designated as 'SECRET SOCIETIES' and their private, unusual, and sometimes illegal activities have received attention in various ways, but in the popular, ordinary mind, such continue to exert an alluring, fascinating attraction and media attentions...... Nearly all groups have been seen as 'clandestine',elitist,exclusive, subversie in some way, or merely fraternal and social, and also ineffective and harmless,until something else enters into them...certain elements unforeseen by the participants..... Lofty motives and high goals are usually cited as reasons for the existence of such and the programs set up do often meet the expectations of the participants or members....but many are too exclusive and so become objects of general suspicion(s)..... Eventually,some groups are viewed as ineffective and useless or inept and out-of-date and so they fall off the social and cultural horizons or scales and end up extinct...though a few die-hard members may survive but usually such organizations fade out because some members arrrive at the conclusion they can do better by forming a different and superior group, usually due to some disargeements and squabbles, and so they splinter, re-group, reform,etc. Attempting to trace all such lines of activity and development can be most tedious and time-consuming and appeal only to those who are have an intense curiosity and burning desire to penetrate into the more secretive and dangerous areas of some of these societies....... You can supply your own list of various 'secret societies' and probably should, but the ones I plan to discuss here are those that I have looked at over the years, mostly by reading about them and not indulging in their agenda(s) or membership(s) or following their leadership and direction(s)...... One will always be at the risk, of course,of arousing the ire and displeasure of those groups still active with a vast membership and so caution is always advised in such discussions or revelations of andy and all their 'secrets',rituals, rites, activities, etc. So far, I have actually said little or nothing of any group or society that people do not already know on some scale or level and so only those with a similar interest in such things will be attentive to this blog......