ATS resource thread for the Western Esoteric Tradition and clandestine organizations

The development of the cult of Mithras in the western Roman Empire: a socio-archaeological perspective

Afterlife Research Centre

'Secret' Jacobite society opens to general membership

A group that has its roots in a secret society which remained loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Battle of Culloden has opened up its membership.

Until now people have had to receive an invitation to join A Circle of Gentlemen.

Circle commodore Matthew Donnachie said by encouraging general membership, a fund could be created to support heritage and archaeology projects.

The move comes in the 265th anniversary year of the Battle of Culloden.

Established in Edinburgh in 1748, the original secret circle continued to back the prince after the Jacobites' defeat at Culloden, near Inverness, in 1746.

Its members continued to meet late into the 18th Century.

The modern version of the society followed discussions between Jacobite enthusiasts during the 1990s.

circleofgentlemen.info...

Located the following books in an excellent second-hand bookshop just today:

Magicians of the Golden Dawn: A Documentary History of a Magical Order, 1887-1923 by Ellic Howe

www.answers.com...

It is a damn comprehensive history of the The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

The above is a Wiki link and almost all serious researchers would look down their nose at it as a source, but I quite appreciate Wikipedia for its democratization of the encyclopedic process, its resonance as a truly postmodern well of information, and, well, its just a good starting point. The footnotes and references at the bottom of the articles are often excellent for further investigation.

And the following book which I also found is most intriguing, it seems to have been responsible for many memes present in the modern era of what the historian of the occult James Webb would term "rejected knowledge."
The list would entail the influencing of Eric von Daniken's "Chariots of the Gods" and ancient astronaut theory in general, the more speculative side of the Nazi occult theocracy theory, secret societies, lost civilizations, conspiracy theories, and pseudo-sciences of many descriptions. From all accounts it seems to be a gloriously silly, captivating, fantastical grand myth-making text that presaged much of the New Age themes of the decades after it was published.
The book is "The Morning of the Magicians: Mysteries of the Universe" by Louis Pauwells and Jacques Bergiers.

The excellent Gary Lachman reviews the book here. Well worth a read.

"For all its extravagance, wild invention and sheer absurdity, when it first appeared in 1960, its themes of a golden age, millenarian expectation, changing the world, the rise of the new man, presaged in many ways the obsessions of the decade to follow."

pp. 36 - 37 of Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius by Gary Valentine Lachman on "The Morning of the Magicians" ("The Dawn of Magic" in the U.K.) by Louis Pauwells and Jacques Bergier.

Related to the above book are the following links:

en.wikipedia.org...

www.themystica.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

A related volume, thematically, to the text by Pauwells and Bergier seems to be the pseudo-historical Metapolitics: The Roots of the Nazi Mind.

BTW, if anyone interested in the tropes explored in this thread isn't listening to Eric Davis' Expanding Mind podcast these days, then shame on you.

Voynich manuscript: Mystery book gives up a secret.

Above story found via the fantabulous blog of parahistorian Professor Hex.

professorhex.blogspot.com...

Further blogs of note:

The Legacy of Henry Corbin

en.wikipedia.org...

The blog featured the following paper on the Islamic perspective of the microcosm and macrocosm:

The Sublime Visions of Philosophy- Fundamental Ontology and the Imaginal World

Gary Lachman - Consciousness, Culture, and What Happens When They Meet

Informative piece on Jack Parsons and the Babalon Working here.

Related to the above (as it pertains to L. Ron Hubbard) is the following:

The Transcendental Engineers: The Fictional Origins of a Modern Religion.

Hat-tip to Boing Boing for that one.

Bavarian Illuminati Info: 10 Notable Members of the Bavarian Illuminati

The above article is the result of year and a half of work, the author informs me. Lots of info that did not appear in his book Perfectibilists.

Expanding Mind Podcast: Carl Jung's Red Book

The Red Book, Jung's prophecy, and libertarian gnosis: a talk with Dr. Stephen Hoeller, author and Regionary Bishop of Eccelsia Gnostica in Los Angeles. www.gnosis.org...

Urge to Own That Clapton Guitar Is Contagious, Scientists Find

Why would someone pay $959,500 for a used guitar?

That was a difficult enough question in 2004 when Eric Clapton sold his beloved Fender Stratocaster named Blackie. But now, as collectors around the world prepare to bid Wednesday at another charity auction of Mr. Clapton’s guitars, the questions are even tougher.

Why would someone create a replica of Blackie, complete with every single nick and scratch, including the wear pattern from Mr. Clapton’s belt buckle and the burn mark from his cigarettes? And why is that replica expected to fetch at least $20,000 at Wednesday’s auction, and probably much more?

Fortunately, social scientists have been hard at work on the answers. After conducting experiments and interviewing guitar players and collectors, they have just published papers analyzing “celebrity contagion” and “imitative magic,” not to mention “a dynamic cyclical model of fetishization appropriate to an age of mass-production.”

Hat-tip to the Philosophy of Science Portal blog for the above story on imitative magic.

InfoFacts Blogspot: Sabbati Zevi

Satanic Sex Cult Leader Guilty of Child Rape

Paedophile sex cult leader ‘may never be released’

Is there anyone who can send me an invite to theoccult.bz... please?

Conspiracy Archive Blog: From the ‘Black-hooded’ Vehme to the Ku Klux Klan

Recently I came across a bit of intriguing history. It turns out that the Ku Klux Klan was inspired by the romantic tales of the Holy Vehme; specifically what was written about them by Sir Walter Scott. During the time of the formation of the Ku Klux Klan, everyone in the South, it seems, was obsessed with Scott’s novels. And his 1829 Anne of Geierstein, in particular, contains detailed descriptions of the Vehme.

Below you’ll find a succinct overview of the “Vehmgerichte,” Vehmic Courts or Secret Tribunals, from Charles William Heckethorn’s The Secret Societies of All Ages, followed by the 1922 article, “Goethe and the Ku-Klux Klan” by James Taft Hatfield.

reply to post by Dokuja


I would also really appreciate if anyone could sign me up. If anyone can, could you pm me please.

reply to post by Dokuja


reply to post by The 5th


Dokuja and The 5th,

Your posts are totally off-topic, if you wish to discuss that subject create a separate thread on it. If either of you are in any doubt as to what the topic is read the OP.
This is not a request thread. Thanks.

Back to the original topic:

Avalonian Aeon Blogspot: Thelemic UFOlogy and the Cult of Lam

Avalonian Aeon Blogspot: The Mystery of the High Story

Boing Boing - Psi-Fi: Popular Culture and the Paranormal

Wikipedia: List of occultists

Interesting....

Jobs page of the Guardian newspaper (U.K.) - vacancy for a "director of research" at the United Grand Lodge of England

Employer:

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

Posted: 04 April 2011

Contact: Sonia Dixon

Location: Central London

Industry: Arts & heritage - Museums & galleries , Education - Research , Arts & heritage - Arts Education and Training

Contract: Contract

Hours: Full Time

Salary: unspecified

Further information
UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

(www.ugle.org.uk...)

Freemasonry is a secular fraternal organisation of British origin, and the United Grand Lodge of England will be celebrating its tercentenary in 2017. Over that period, Freemasonry has spread worldwide to millions of members, from walks of life that include royalty and many other prominent figures. The international, social and ethnic diversity of its membership is represented in the extensive archive and rich collections of other materials held at Freemasons' Hall in Central London by the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

The last decade has seen considerable growth in research on Freemasonry as a significant element in British social and cultural history. The role of the Director of Research will be twofold: first, to expand opportunities to carry out such studies by developing comprehensive databases from our historical records and by enhancing other research resources and, secondly, to encourage, facilitate and participate in specific research projects utilising those resources.

Applications are invited from candidates with demonstrable experience in the compilation and analysis of historical evidence, and its utilisation in research projects, at a seniority level comparable to that of professor. The Director of Research will be based at Freemasons' Hall, but will be expected to engage actively with the external world to develop a broad range of contacts in support of the work.

The appointment will be for an initial period of three years, with possibility of renewal, and may be full-time or at least 60 per cent part-time. For further information and an application form, please write to Sonia Dixon, HR Manager, United Grand Lodge of England, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ, or e-mail to [email protected]. The closing date for applications is 6th May 2011.

Found via the OVN News Blog.

Here is a forum which involves Masons from all over the world. It is a vetted forum for Masons only, but it does have a section devoted to those who are seeking information about the craft.

The Sanctum Sanctorum

The Grand Lodge of British Columbia also has a wonderful website chock full of information about the craft, it's history, and many of the legends surrounding it.

The Grand Lodge of British Columbia

reply to post by IAMIAM


Thanks for the links.

Originally posted by IAMIAM
Here is a forum which involves Masons from all over the world. It is a vetted forum for Masons only, but it does have a section devoted to those who are seeking information about the craft.

The Sanctum Sanctorum

I am on that forum also it is a wealth of information to the Freemason and non mason alike. I like to see the different opinions expressed by Brothers from different places around the globe, it is amazing to see some of the differences.

On The Level (Lewis Masonic) interview with Dr. David Harrison, author of The Genesis of Freemasonry. Good stuff. Only just under 17 minutes for those who don't have much time, he addresses alternate points in the history of Freemasonry (largely) to previous videos I have included of his.



Amazon UK: The Genesis of Freemasonry by David Harrison

reply to post by Extant Taxon


I am contributing the official web-site for CLIPSAS - CENTRE OF LIAISON AND INFORMATION OF MASONIC POWERS SIGNATORIES OF STRASBOURG APPEAL for this informative thread. CLIPSAS is an is a global liberal Freemasonic organization with the objective is to "congregate Freemasons, men and women, who consider that ABSOLUTE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE is the humanity's great victory over itself". I will point out that the organization is composed of Orders largely considered "irregular" by American, Canadian and English Lodges of the tradition of the UGLE.

CLIPSAS

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.

No, the official position of the GOdF is that they recognize all Freemasons of known obedience whether or not that recognition is reciprocated.

Originally posted by no1smootha
reply to post by Extant Taxon

 

I am contributing the official web-site for CLIPSAS - CENTRE OF LIAISON AND INFORMATION OF MASONIC POWERS SIGNATORIES OF STRASBOURG APPEAL for this informative thread. CLIPSAS is an is a global liberal Freemasonic organization with the objective is to "congregate Freemasons, men and women, who consider that ABSOLUTE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE is the humanity's great victory over itself". I will point out that the organization is composed of Orders largely considered "irregular" by American, Canadian and English Lodges of the tradition of the UGLE.

CLIPSAS

Excellent link, I look forward to perusing the pages further. Thanks.