ATS resource thread for the Western Esoteric Tradition and clandestine organizations

I propose that this thread be used to list legitimate, scholarly, and serious resources, both online and offline, for the further investigation of Western esoterica, occult philosophy, and those groups that are so often intimately connected to these topics, societies with secrets and clandestine organizations.
So much completely false and shakily grounded information gets put forward on ATS, but then this is the nature of the board, conspiracy theory as post-modern mythology. All this is enjoyable as a genre but I wanted to see if I could inject material and resources that are more soundly and thoroughly researched for any interested parties to look into further.
If you post information and links in this thread please stop and think before posting. Ask yourself what possible bias may the owner of the website have, what axes may they have to grind? How well referenced and footnoted is the information presented there? Is there an undercurrent of bigotry against particular groups, ideological, religious, racial, sexual, or otherwise?
I would be far more open to consider a sometimes flaky, New Age orientated site like Crystalinks.com, than say, David Duke's website or that of Michael A. Hoffman II (no matter how much I enjoyed the latter's "Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare" as a pure conspiracana genre piece of the highest order). If a single piece is of merit, well researched, and balanced in its approach, then it should be considered, no matter what its source. This list is merely preliminary and is indicative of my own focus. Lots of other esoteric topics and secret societies are missing. Please include further links.

Societies with secrets and clandestine organizations:

Online

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

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

The Rosicrucian Enlightement - Frances A. Yates (PDF book)

The Secret History of Freemasonry: Its Origins and Connection to the Knights Templar by Paul Naudon PDF book (Deceptively titled. The "connection" is not quite what you may think)

Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time by Carroll Quigley. PDF book. (A bloody long book, but with some solid information on one of the most important secret societies in modern history, lost in amongst the voluminous text, that needs to be addressed and compared with the following Quigley volume):

The Anglo-American Establishment - by Carroll Quigley PDF book.
(Very important work.)

Offline resources:

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

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

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry by John J. Robinson (Whilst the link between the Templars and the Freemasons is almost certainly spurious, Robinson's book is one of those that needs to be read, if only for the romantic, mythological notion)

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

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

Qadosh: The Johannite Tradition by Jonathan Sellers

[edit on 2/3/10 by Extant Taxon]

Western esoterica/occult philosophy:

Online:

Amsterdam Hermetica - Western Esotericism in the Academy

European Society for the Study of Western Esotercism

Gnostic Info

Gyllene Gryningen 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

Offline:

The Occult Underground - James Webb

The Occult Establishment - James Webb

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

The Western Esoteric Tradition: A Historical Introduction by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

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

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

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

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

And the biggy that I'm saving up for:

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

Any books by Frances A. Yates would also be a winner, they come highly recommended.



[edit on 2/3/10 by Extant Taxon]

[edit on 2/3/10 by Extant Taxon]

Thanks for an excellent library of links, many of which are new to me

I would also like to suggest:

www.psyche.com...

Masonic Lodge of Education




[edit on 2-3-2010 by Nammu]

reply to post by Nammu


Psyche.com can be pretty good. I'll have a look at the other site now. Thanks.

Theosoph Society

There is the Catholic (New American) Bible as well. Though the books that have been left out are definitely better sources for esoteric information.

reply to post by Extant Taxon


In all your research with the GOF, do you have any idea if they consider UGLE clandestine? I never thought about it until now.

www.amazon.com...

The Secrets of High Magic by Francis Melville

a great spellbook of western hermeticism that i have in my own library.

Originally posted by network dude
reply to post by Extant Taxon

 

In all your research with the GOF, do you have any idea if they consider UGLE clandestine? I never thought about it until now.

I don't really know if they use that particular terminology. As far as I know they simply don't recognise UGLE's authority, so in a sense, maybe yes.
I shall have to check up on exactly how GOdF regards UGLE, and how they phrase it.


Thanks for the links from everyone.

This website analyzes the sacred geometries in Kabbalah, the Hindu Sri Yantra, and the Platonic solids and proves rigorously that they are equivalent representations of any holistic system embodying the divine archetypes.

smphillips.8m.com...

The site reveals for the first time the true interface between esoteric/mystical teachings and scientific knowledge.

It also provides 100% proof that a certain form of higher cognition of the world is consistent with facts of nuclear and particle physics, as well as with the amazing, hitherto unknown, properties of these sacred geometries at the heart of ancient philosophical and religious traditions.

This is a really great resource for anything Theosophy, it allows you to search all of their texts, which is really awesome.
Theosophy Library Online

Good thread OP, star n flag.

Lets not forget about those loveable goofballs the Odd- Fellows.

Independent Order of Odd Fellows

Something odd about those guys.

Originally posted by micpsi
This website analyzes the sacred geometries in Kabbalah, the Hindu Sri Yantra, and the Platonic solids and proves rigorously that they are equivalent representations of any holistic system embodying the divine archetypes.

smphillips.8m.com...

Looks an interesting site. I'll look into it further. Thanks.

Originally posted by beebs
This is a really great resource for anything Theosophy, it allows you to search all of their texts, which is really awesome.
Theosophy Library Online

Thanks, that is handy.

reply to post by dashen


The Oddfellows may be "odd" in your opinion? Couldn't see that pun coming...
Thanks, though more of a resource site would be handy, with further info beyond what that site includes, research papers, academic tools, etc.

[edit on 2/3/10 by Extant Taxon]

Ordo Templi Orientis - U.S. Grand Lodge

Thelemapedia - reference for all things Thelema

reply to post by Theli93


A Thelema Wiki eh? Thanks, looks interesting.

I have come across no better site for primary texts, as well as some historical commentaries, as the Internet Sacred Text Archive.

reply to post by Xcalibur254


Thanks. Already got that site listed.

reply to post by Extant Taxon


Noticed that after I had posted. Still, I feel like that site can ever be mentioned too much. It's certainly the best resource I've found when it comes to esoteric texts.

[edit on 2-3-2010 by Xcalibur254]

reply to post by Xcalibur254


It is a most valuable resource, yes.

Some additional resources:

The Web of Hiram
www.bradford.ac.uk...

Martinist:
www.hermetics.org...

Order of St. John:
www.allianceofstjohn.org... (History, Member orders)
www.orderofmalta.org... (Malta)

Asiatic Brethren:
www.hermetics.org... (Mozart)
books.google.com... (Page 137)

Rosicrucian Bach connection:
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Prince Hall:
celebrity-gossip.suite101.com...

Eastern Star:
www.amazon.com...



[edit on 3-3-2010 by hawk123]

reply to post by hawk123


Some interesting links there, thanks.