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ATS resource thread for the Western Esoteric Tradition and clandestine organizations

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posted on Jul, 30 2010 @ 01:40 PM
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posted on Aug, 10 2010 @ 07:18 AM
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reply to post by Extant Taxon
 


Referring to my original posts on clandestine organizations and the Western Esoteric Tradition here and here, I am reposting the original information with updates and links to PDF versions of the books mentioned there previously where only offline copies were available, so as to organize all the information in a series of posts for ease of access to ATS members.

Societies with secrets and clandestine organizations:

Online resources:

Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry

Freemason Information

Canonbury Masonic Research Centre

Freemasonry Today

The Centre for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism - University of Sheffield

Masonic Info

Masonic Dictionary

Phoenixmasonry, Inc.

Phoenixmasonry, Inc. - Extensive list of ebooks on Masonry

Bavarian Illuminati - Home of the Original Writings of the Bavarian Illuminati

Illuminati Conspiracy Part One: A Precise Exegesis on the Available Evidence
(Bavarian Illuminati)

Illuminati Conspiracy Part Two: Sniffing out Jesuits
(Bavarian Illuminati)

Illuminati of Bavaria

Timeline of the Authentic Tradition

Antiquities of the Illuminati

US Grand Lodge - Ordo Templi Orientis

Theodor Reuss' Ordo Templi Orientis rituals

Thelemapedia

The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis

International Institute of Social History - Secret societies: A very short history

Wikipedia list of secret societies, attendant material and mythologies

Holy Terror: The Rise of the Order of the Assassins

Mysticism, Germanentum, and the Thule-Gesellschaft by Devorah McGinnis

Podcasts:

Masonic Central Podcast - Philosophy

Masonic Central Podcast - Spirituality

Cont. in following post



posted on Aug, 10 2010 @ 07:18 AM
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reply to post by Extant Taxon
 


PDF books:

The Rosicrucian Enlightement - Frances A. Yates

The Origins of Freemasonry - Scotland's Century 1590 to 1710 - by David Stevenson

The Secret History of Freemasonry: Its Origins and Connection to the Knights Templar by Paul Naudon

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry by John J. Robinson

The Arcane Schools: A Review Of Their Origin And Antiquity With A General History Of Freemasonry by John Yarker

Morals And Dogma By Albert Pike

The secret societies of all ages and countries : a comprehensive account of upwards of one hundred and sixty secret organizations, religious, political, and social, from the most remote ages down to the present time ... and other mysterious sects - Vol. I by Charles William Heckethorn

The secret societies of all ages and countries : a comprehensive account of upwards of one hundred and sixty secret organizations, religious, political, and social, from the most remote ages down to the present time ... and other mysterious sects - Vol. II by Charles William Heckethorn

History of Freemasonry Throughout the World - R.F. Gould

An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by Albert G. Mackey

Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy - Robert Hewitt Brown

4shared - 500 Masonic ebooks

Two PDF books on the Order of the Assassins:

The Order of Assassins - Marshall G.S. Hodgson

The History of the Assassins - Joseph von Hammer

Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time by Carroll Quigley.

The Anglo-American Establishment - by Carroll Quigley

America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull and Bones by Antony C. Sutton

Offline resources:

Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe by Margaret C. Jacob

Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Faith by James H. Billington

Perfectibilists: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati by Terry Melanson

Qadosh: The Johannite Tradition by Jonathan Sellers

Cont. in following post



posted on Aug, 10 2010 @ 07:19 AM
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reply to post by Extant Taxon
 


Western esoterica/occult philosophy:

Online:

Amsterdam Hermetica - Western Esotericism in the Academy

European Society for the Study of Western Esotercism

Links to full length articles from Esoterica: The Journal of Esoteric Studies:

Esoterica Journal

Gnostic Info

Gyllene Gryningen Blogspot

The Craftsman's Trowel Blogspot

Internet Sacred Text Archive

The Library of Hermetic Philosphy in Amsterdam

Twilight Grotto - Esoteric Archives

The Warburg Institute Library

The Hermetic Library

The Alchemy Website

Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry

The Rosicrucian Library

Theosophy Library Online

The Occult (Bit torrent resource site for esoterica)

Thelemapedia

Salamander and Sons - Esoteric, occult and arcane book publishers

Rubaphilos.com

Transalchemy.com's Picasa page featuring a plethora of alchemical imagery and art:

key.universe's Picasa page: Alchemy

ifdawn.com | The Tree of Life (The Original, since 1994)

BBC - h2g2 - The Secret Art of Alchemy

Much information on John Dee available in this post.

Fortean Times: The Occult World of CG Jung
- How a near-death experience transformed the psychologist's attitude to the world of mysticism and magic



PDF books:

A History of Magic and Experimental Science Vol. I - Lynn Thorndike

A History of Magic and Experimental Science Vol. II - Lynn Thorndike

Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff

The Occult Underground - James Webb

Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century by Mark Sedgwick

The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

Hitler's Priestess: Savitiri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and neo-Nazism by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

The lightning and the sun
by Savitri Devi


The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance by Arthur Versluis

The Red Book by Carl Jung

The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist heresy - by Steven Runciman

The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844 by John L. Brooke

The Occult Philosophy of the Elizabethan Age by Frances A. Yates

The Art of Memory by Frances A. Yates

Giordano Burno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances A. Yates

John Dee: Interdisciplinary Studies in English Renaissance Thought (International Archives of the History of Ideas) by Stephen Clucas (Editor)

Three Books on Life (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies) by Marsilio Ficino, Carol V. Kaske, John R. Clark

Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus by Antoine Faivre

Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation by Mitch Horowitz

Cont. in following post



posted on Oct, 7 2010 @ 05:08 PM
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Mystery Solved: The Alleged "Three World Wars" Albert Pike Prediction

Albert Pike to Mazzini, August 15, 1871: Three World Wars? by Terry Melanson


"I I don’t derive any satisfaction from a debunking. I really don’t. Discovering the truth is a reward in itself.

Having a knack for getting to the bottom of a thing also helps with maintaining credibility. Historiography is among other things concerned with source criticism. And while I’m not an academically trained historian, I am quite aware that one should strive to consult the primary source as opposed to relying on the word of secondary or even tertiary accounts.

The matter at hand deals with an alleged “three world war” prediction from famed Mason, Scottish Rite Sovereign Grand Commander Albert Pike. William Guy Carr was the key purveyor of the tale which, to me, was suspicious at the least. Off and on I’ve been working at it. And I’ve finally cracked the case."



posted on Oct, 7 2010 @ 05:29 PM
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reply to post by Extant Taxon
 


Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I was going to start a new thread debunking more of William Guy Carr's theories, and I was actually planning on using Terry for some of the debunking, so it is apt that here he is shining light on the Mazzini/Pike Three World Wars hoax.



posted on Oct, 8 2010 @ 02:44 PM
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reply to post by JoshNorton
 


No problem. I heard some time ago that the so-called Pike/Mazzini letter was a fraud, from a number of people, but never got round to looking into it properly myself. It's always good to see a researcher like Terry in the area of conspiratorial history give fair due where it's due and call attention to errors such as this.



posted on Nov, 27 2010 @ 02:50 AM
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OVN Blog: Save the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica:


Save the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica ! The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam is one of the most renowned international study collections for scholars of western esotericism, including freemasonry. Unfortunately, the library is under threat of closure and sale by a bank. The OVN Foundation supports the petition to save the library, online at: www.ipetitions.com.... Click on the link for more information on the issue. The petition is an initiative of the Chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, whose students and scholars have been researching the collection of the BPH for more than 10 years. Thank you for your support!


I've never been there myself but it seems a damn worthy cause to save this living resource of the Western Esoteric Tradition.

Link to website of the library: Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica



posted on Nov, 27 2010 @ 10:53 AM
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Here are two reviews I wrote of the magnificent historical narratives of the occult milieu of the 19th and 20th centuries, The Occult Underground and The Occult Establishment, by the late, lamented, James Webb:

The Occult Underground:


www.librarything.com...

The Occult Underground is a neglected triumph in the history of ideas. Webb's basic thesis, more than ably fleshed out, is that during the Age of Reason (or the era of the rational), there was a massive, surging welling up of a large section of the populace in 19th century Western Europe and United States into a countercurrent of unreason (or an Age of the Irrational) in direct opposition to the perceived tyrannical straightjacket represented by rational thought. A flamboyant army was arrayed against this secular theocracy in the form of the Theosophists, the Synarchists, the Symbolists, the Spiritualists, the Mesmerists, the Christian Scientists, the Martinists, occult orientated Freemasonic orders of many kinds, and utopian orientated millenarian mystics of various persuasions.


The Occult Establishment:


www.librarything.com...

Simply, The Occult Establishment is the story of how subversive memes detailed in his prior work, The Occult Underground, became the very fabric of the mainstream.


These books are essential reading on the subject of the occult (or, the Western Esoteric Tradition) and the general nature of what Webb terms "rejected knowledge" ( which encompasses all of conspiracy theory as we know it).



posted on Nov, 27 2010 @ 08:58 PM
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Gould's History - www.freemasons-freemasonry.com...
Mackey's Encyclopedia - www.freemasons-freemasonry.com...
Richardson's Monitor - quod.lib.umich.edu...
Anderson's Constitutions - leilah.org...
George Chase - Digest Of Masonic Law - www.amazon.com...
Albert G. Mackey - The Principles of Masonic Law - www.phoenixmasonry.org...
Juri Lina - Architects of Deception - download.cxs2.info...
Charles Finney - Why I Left Freemasonry - www.isaiah54.org...
Charles Finney - The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry - www.charlesgfinney.com...
R. A. Torrey - Freemasonry on Trial - www.bandung2.co.uk...



posted on Nov, 28 2010 @ 06:26 AM
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reply to post by vcwxvwligen
 


Thanks for contributing.




posted on Dec, 4 2010 @ 11:50 AM
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Interview with Philippa Faulks, co-author of The Masonic Magician: The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and his Egyptian Rite, found here on a YouTube playlist:

Philippa Faulks: The Masonic Magician

First segment in the series of four of the above interview:



Also Greg Kaminsky of Occult of Personality interviews Philippa on the same subject, much of the same material is covered in both, but for the sake of choice...

www.occultofpersonality.net...



posted on Dec, 8 2010 @ 09:48 AM
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I know this thread is supposed to be about Western Tradition, but I've just picked up Secrecy in Japanese Arts: "Secret Transmission" as a Mode of Knowledge by Maki Isaka Morinaga. So far it's pretty fascinating, covering the Japanese concept of hiden or "secret transmission" in swordsmanship, noh theater, etc... not what is secret, but how the secrets get passed down and taught in a formal tradition. A lot of it seems to go along with my thoughts on western Masonry.

A bit expensive, for what's essentially a doctoral thesis, but probably a good addition to the library for people into this sort of thing.
edit on 2010.12.8 by JoshNorton because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 8 2010 @ 10:02 AM
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This topic needs to mention the foundation of most occult traditions starting in the 20th century:

The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic - expensive but superior to Llewellyn's Golden Dawn.

If you can find them there's also Ellic Howe's Magicians of the Golden Dawn and R.A. Gilbert's The Golden Dawn: Twilight of the Magicians which do an excellent job at tracing the rise and fall of the HOGD.



posted on Dec, 8 2010 @ 12:41 PM
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reply to post by JoshNorton
 


It may not strictly be of the Western Esoteric Tradition but then so much of it is derivative in many ways, always, as the legend goes, "the initiate must look to the East." Japanese traditions are fascinating, I remember reading many, many years ago a book on the Samurai, written, if I recall correctly, by one who became an outcast because he had revealed certain secrets. Can't remember the name now.


reply to post by Xcalibur254
 


Good point, thanks.




posted on Dec, 16 2010 @ 05:34 AM
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InfoFacts Blog: Thuggees

Wikipedia: Thuggees

The Castrati (Skoptsy)

Wikipedia: Vory V Zakone



en.wikipedia.org...

The Thief's Code
Vors consider prisons their true home and have a saying 'The home for angels is heaven and the home for a Vor is prison.' According to Aleksandr Gurov, an expert on the Vory who headed the organized crime units of the Soviet Interior Ministry and the GRU, "unlike the Cosa Nostra the Vory have 'less rules, but more severe rules' [and the] members must have no ties to the government, meaning they cannot serve in the army or cooperate with officials while in prison. They must also have served several jail sentences before they can be considered. They also are not allowed to get married."[1]

Furthermore, according to Michael Schwirtz, "ethnicity has rarely determined whether someone can join the club, and today many members, even those active inside Russia, are from other post-Soviet countries such as Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, or Chechnya, and are not ethnic Russians."[1]

Under the theoretical code of the vory,[2] a thief must:

Vory may not have emotions
Forsake his relatives: father, mother, brothers, sisters.
Not have a family of his own: no marriage, no children; this does not however, preclude him from having an unlimited number of women.
Never, under any circumstances, have a legitimate job or significant property (i.e. a house), no matter how much difficulty this brings; live only on money obtained through gambling or theft (the word 'theft' as used here describes any criminal activity considered 'legitimate' by the Vory), and rely on lower-level criminals for accommodation. For example, harming or molesting children is strongly frowned upon and may endanger a vor's status and could provoke a more brutal retaliation from one's comrades than from the police. A 'thief in law' is a leadership position (equivalent of General in the army) so direct participation in Arms smuggling and drug trafficking is incompatible with their high status since those crimes are a form of commerce. However receiving tribute from smugglers and drug-dealers or robbing and extorting them is a legitimate activity for a 'thief in law'.[citation needed]
Help other thieves: both by moral and material support, utilizing the commune of thieves.
Rule and arbitrate the criminal world and protect basic needs of criminals' and prisoners according to the extents and priorities set by the thieves' commune (typically in a given prison (prison cell)) or region when not imprisoned)
Keep secret information about the whereabouts of accomplices (i.e. dens, districts, hideouts, safe apartments, etc.).
In unavoidable situations (if a thief is under investigation or is arrested) to take the blame for someone else's crime; this buys the other person time to escape and remain free.[citation needed]
Demand an inquiry and judgement by a council of thieves to resolve disputes in the event of a conflict between oneself and other thieves, or between thieves.
If necessary, participate in such inquiries if called upon.
Punish any offending thief as decided by the judgement of the thieves council.[citation needed]
Not resist carrying out the decision of punishing the offending thief who is found guilty, with punishment determined by the thieves council.[citation needed]
Have good command of the thieves' slang called ("Fenya"), a distinct language spoken by hardcore criminals in Russia and understood by few outsiders. (An equivalent would be for members of the American Crips gang to say: 'Hook me wid da shank cuz' which translates to 'Give me the home-made knife'.)[3]).
Never gamble without being able to cover losses.
Be good at playing card games for money.
Teach the criminal way of life to youth with potential.
Have, if possible, informants from the rank and file of thieves.[citation needed]
Not to lose your reasoning abilities when drunk.
Have nothing to do with the authorities (particularly with the ITU, Correctional Labor Authority), not participate in public activities, nor join any community organizations.
Not to serve in the military or accept any weapons from the government or prison authority (police baton).
Make good on promises given to other thieves.
Never deny his Vor status directly. To the questions like 'Are you a Vor?' or 'Who are you in this life?',[4] Vor should always answer : "Yes (Vor)", even if it is asked by police and videotaped. The latter question phrase is ritual and video footage containing the answer commonly used by the Russian militsiya to illustrate vors arrests in the media.




Rest of playlist to be found here.



posted on Dec, 18 2010 @ 02:05 AM
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Originally posted by Extant Taxon
OVN Blog: Save the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica:


Save the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica ! The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam is one of the most renowned international study collections for scholars of western esotericism, including freemasonry. Unfortunately, the library is under threat of closure and sale by a bank. The OVN Foundation supports the petition to save the library, online at: www.ipetitions.com.... Click on the link for more information on the issue. The petition is an initiative of the Chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, whose students and scholars have been researching the collection of the BPH for more than 10 years. Thank you for your support!


I've never been there myself but it seems a damn worthy cause to save this living resource of the Western Esoteric Tradition.

Link to website of the library: Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica



Re: the above entry:-



Update Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica: core collection transferred
The Ministry of Culture of the Netherlands has transferred the core collection of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica to the National Library in The Hague. Talks about the fate of the collection as a whole are ongoing. Meanwhile, the online petition to save the collection, initiated by experts in western esotericism at the University of Amsterdam, has been signed by more than 5500 students, researchers and other visitors in less than a month. You can still add your signature!


Help save the library and sign the petition here:

www.ipetitions.com...




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