Caribbean, Nanny Maroon

When the British captured Jamaica in 1655 the Spanish colonists fled leaving a large number of African slaves. Rather than be re-enslaved by the British, they escaped into the hilly, mountainous regions of the island, joining those who had previously escaped from the Spanish to live with the Taínos.

The Maroons intermarried with Amerindian natives, establishing independence in the back country and survived by subsistence farming and by raiding plantations. Over time, the Maroons came to control large areas of the Jamaican interior. Their plantation raids resulted in the First Maroon War.

The Spaniards in Jamaica kept up communication with their former neighbours who were now living on the south side of Cuba. Less than 24 hours away on sail, the Spaniards in Cuba would eventually be called upon to help those in Jamaica try to regain control of the island. In 1655, Don Arnoldo de Sasi, the old governor, five hundred of the former inhabitants, and one thousand troops from Old Spain, landed at Rio Nuevo east of Seville where they built a fort.

But, the surprise attack was quickly suppressed when Colonel Doyley, the English governor, arrived with five hundred men from the south side of Jamaica and forced the Spanish to run back to their safe haven in Cuba. With the departure of their Spanish masters, about 1500 slaves decided to seek refuge on the north and east sides of the mountains rather than to submit to the conquerors or follow the fortunes of their former owners.

As Dallas’ History of the Maroons Vol. 1 mentions, it is believed that "for some time they were instigated by their former masters to commit hostilities against the new possessors of the country." Although this idea seemed unlikely, the possibilities of communicating with their former slaves could have been accomplished since Cuba was so to Jamaica, and because the Spaniards were very familiar in navigating the Leeward Islands.

Located in different parts of the island, most of the Spanish slaves from the south side of Jamaica sought refuge in the mountains of Clarendon where they were led by a chief named Juan de Bolas. Under his leadership, many of these Clarendon Spanish slaves attacked the British inhabitants of Jamaica, as well as the other fugitive slaves of the island. However, once they were defeated and their leader slain, the Clarendon slaves began diminishing in number, never to return to their safe haven in the mountains.

However, another group of fugitives would soon arise. In 1690 a group of slaves from the Clarendon parish rebelled against their masters and sought refuge in the interior parts of the country.

Through the recruitment of other plantation slaves, this new group of Clarendon fugitives increased in number and acquired the necessary provisions from the plantations of their newest recruits. In time, these rebels, not yet associated with the Maroons living in the east, would plunder plantations, destroy cattle, and carry off slaves by force in order to survive, simultaneously causing planters to constantly live in a state of fear.

As a result, the planters made many complaints to the British legislation and parties of armed forces were soon organised to kill the Clarendon rebels. The Clarendon rebels, who always travelled in small gangs without a particular leader, decided to organise themselves and appoint a chief who would protect them from the wrath of the Jamaican colonists. They picked Cudjoe, "a bold, skillful, and enterprising man," he in turn appointed his brothers Accompong and Johnny to lead under him, and Cuffee and Quao as Captains.

With new leadership and an increase in size, due to the Coromantee slaves who had joined them, the Clarendon rebels were gaining strength in numbers and through their leadership. Moreover, Cudjoe's war against the white inhabitants of Jamaica had brought him great fame amongst the white planters and the fugitive slaves alike. As a result, a group known as the Cottawoods, who had separated from the other Maroons prior to 1730, marched through the mountainous, uninhabited areas of the country to join Cudjoe and the Clarendon rebels.

The two main Maroon groups in the 18th century were the Leeward and the Windward tribes, the former led by Cudjoe in Trelawny Town and the latter led by his sister Queen Nanny (and later by Quao)] Queen Nanny, also known as Granny Nanny (died 1733) is the only female listed among Jamaica's National Heroes, and has been immortalised in songs and legends.

Knights Templar, Fabian Society, Priory of Sion

The Knights Templar (full name:

Knights Templar Symbol

 The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta) is a modern off-shoot of Masonry and does not have a direct tie to the original Knights Templar - a religious military group formed in the 12th century.

Members of the Masonic Knights Templar do not claim a direct connection to the medieval group, but merely a borrowing of ideas and symbols. In order to become a member of this group, you must already be a Christian Master Mason. This organisation is a distinct one, and is not just a higher degree of Masonry.

Despite Freemasonry’s general disclaimer that no one Masonic organisation claims a direct heritage to the medieval Knights Templar, certain degrees and orders are obviously patterned after the medieval Order.

These are best described as "commemorative orders" or degrees. Nevertheless, in spite of the fraternity’s official disclaimers, some Masons, non-Masons, and even anti-Masons insist that certain Masonic rites or degrees originally had direct Templar influence.

Fabian Society Symbol

The Fabian Society, founded in 1884 in Great Britain to promote Socialism. The Fabian Society takes its name from the Roman General Fabius Maximus, who fought Hannibal's army in small debilitating skirmishes, rather than attempting one decisive battle.

After the publication of the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, a great deal of interest in the Priory of Sion has been created. Unfortunately for those hoping to find and join the Priory, it is, in fact, fictional. It was a hoax created in 1956 by a pretender to the French Throne, Pierre Plantard.

Letters in existence dating from the 1960s written by Plantard, de Cherisey and de Sède to each other confirm that the three were engaging in an out-and-out confidence trick, describing schemes on how to combat criticisms of their various allegations and how they would make up new allegations to try to keep the whole thing going. Despite this, many people still continue to believe that the Priory exists and functions to this day.

The authors of the well known book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, misled by the hoax, stated: The Priory of Sion has a long history starting in AD 1099, and had illustrious Grand Masters including Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci.

The order protects certain royal claimants because they believe them to be the literal descendants of Jesus and his alleged wife Mary Magdalene or, at the very least, of king David. The priory seeks the founding of a “Holy European Empire” that would become the next hyper-power and usher in a new world order of peace and prosperity.

Opus Dei, Ordo Templis Orientis, OTO, Bilderberg Group

Opus Dei is an organization of the Catholic Church that emphasizes the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity.

Opus Dei

The celibate numeraries and numerary assistants live in special centers, while associates are celibate members living in their private homes. The order was founded in Spain in 1928 by Roman Catholic priest Josemar Escriva with the approval of Pope Pius XII. When Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code was published, it claimed that Opus Dei was a secret organisation within the Church whose aim was to defeat the Priory of Sion and those who seek to uncover the “truth” about Christianity and the alleged royal bloodline of Christ.

Outside of the book, there has been a great deal of controversy over Opus Dei because of the strictness of its religious structure. The Catholic Church forbids secret societies and membership in them, and Opus Dei investigators have frequently debunked claims that this organisation is acting in secrecy to further a sinister agenda.

Ordo Templis Orientis: The OTO (Order of the Temples of the East) is an organisation that was originally modelled on Masonry but, under the leadership of the self-styled “Great Beast” Aleister Crowley, it took on the principles of his religious system called Thelema. Thelema is based around a single law: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law, love is the law, love under the will” [1904].

Membership is based upon degrees of initiation and highly stylized rituals are used. The OTO currently claims over 3,000 members worldwide. Crowley created a “Mass” for the OTO which is called the Gnostic Mass. Of the "Mass", Crowley wrote: "I resolved that my Ritual should celebrate the sublimity of the operation of universal forces without introducing disputable metaphysical theories.

Ordo Templis Orientis

I would neither make nor imply any statement about nature which would not be endorsed by the most materialistic man of science. On the surface this may sound difficult; but in practice I found it perfectly simple to combine the most rigidly rational conceptions of phenomena with the most exalted and enthusiastic celebration of their sublimity." The ritual is very stylised and uses virgin priestesses, children, and priests. Many Ancient Egyptian God’s are invoked, as well as the Devil, and at one point the priestess performs a naked ritual.

The Bilderberg Group: This group is slightly different from the others in that it does not have an official membership. It is the name given to a group of highly influential people who meet ever year in secrecy (and usually with strong military and government sponsored security). The topics discussed are kept secret. The structure of the meetings is that of a conference - usually held in five star hotels around the world. Attendance at the meeting is strictly by invitation only. The first meeting took place in 1954 at the Hotel Bilderberg in the Netherlands.

The original meeting was initiated by several people. Polish migrant and political adviser, Joseph Retinger, concerned about the growth of anti-Americanism in Western Europe, proposed an international conference at which leaders from European countries and the United States would be brought together with the aim of promoting understanding between the cultures of The United States of America and Western Europe. Although the agenda and list of participants are openly available to the public, it is not clear that such details are disclosed by the group itself.

Also, the contents of the meetings are kept secret and attendees pledge not to divulge what was discussed. The group’s stated justification for secrecy is that it enables people to speak freely without the need to carefully consider how every word might be interpreted by the mass media. Needless to say, this group is constantly surrounded by controversy and conspiracy theories.

The Order of the Golden Dawn, Vril

The order of the Golden Dawn was created by Dr. William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers. All three were Freemasons and members of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (an organization with ties to Masonry). It is considered by many to be a forerunner of the Ordo Templi Orientis and a majority of modern Occult groups. The belief system of the Golden Dawn is largely taken from Christian mysticism, Qabalah, Hermeticism, the religion of Ancient Egypt, Freemasonry, Alchemy, Theosophy, Magic, and Renaissance writings.

Golden Dawn Symbol

William Yeats, and Aleister Crowly are two of the more famous members of the group. The fundamental documents of the order are known as the Cipher Documents. These were translated into English using a cipher attributed to Johannes Trithemius. The documents are a series of 60 folios containing magic rituals. The basic structure of many of these rituals appear to originate with Rosicrucianism. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the origins of these documents.

Masons use signs and handshakes to gain admission to their meetings, as well as to identify themselves to other people who may be Masons. The signs and handshakes often differ from one jurisdiction to another and are often changed or updated. This protects the group from people finding out how to gain admission under false pretenses. Masons also wear stylized clothing based upon the clothing worn by stone masons from the middle ages. The most well known of these is the apron.

The Vril Society or The Luminous Lodge combined the political ideals of the Order of the Illuminati with Hindu mysticism, Theosophy and the Cabbala. It was the first German nationalist groups to use the symbol of the swastika as an emblem linking Eastern and Western occultism. The Vril Society presented the idea of a subterranean matriarchal, socialist utopia ruled by superior beings who had mastered the mysterious energy called the Vril Force. This secret society was founded, literally, on Bulwer Lytton's novel The Coming Race (1871).

The book describes a race of men psychically far in advance of our own. They have acquired powers over themselves and over things that made them almost godlike. For the moment they are in hiding. They are said to live in caves in the center of the Earth. Soon they will emerge to reign over us."The Vril Society believed that whoever becomes master of the Vril will be the master of himself, of others around him and of the world. The belief was that the world will change and the "Lords" will emerge from the center of the Earth. Unless we have made an alliance with them and become "Lords" ourselves, we shall find ourselves among the slaves, on the dung-heap that will nourish the roots of the New Cities that will arise.

Vril Symbol

The Vril Force or Vril Energy was said to be derived from the Black Sun, a big ball of "Prima Materia" which supposedly exists in the center of the Earth, giving light to the Vril-ya and putting out radiation in the form of Vril. The Vril Society believed that Aryans were the actual biological ancestors of the Black Sun. This force was known to the ancients under many names, and it has been called Chi, Ojas,

Vril, Astral Light, Odic Forces and Orgone. In a discussion of the 28th degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry called Knight of the Sun or Prince Adept— Albert Pike said, "There is in nature one most potent force, by means whereof a single man, who could possess himself of it, and should know how to direct it, could revolutionise and change the face of the world."

This is the force that the Nazis and their inner occult circle were so desperately trying to unleash upon the world, for which the Vril Society had apparently groomed Hitler. A manifestation of the "Great Work" promulgated by the Adepts of secret societies throughout the ages. The Vril Society latched on to a very old archetype already in the minds of alchemists and magicians, which was only re-interpreted, by Lytton, in light of that age of occult revival and scientific progress.