THE VRIL SOCIETIES & VARIATIONS

I was in college when I read the works of EDWARD BULWER- LYTTON in the Hamilton Library Building at UNH around the early fifties. My readings in the library were often completely unconnected to any of my actual studies or subjects but more of what I wanted to read, needed to read for personal reasons, and also to fill in gaps and to round out my interests. Needless to say, I read a lot of fiction by 'classic authors, and many in translation into English. Some works I wanted to read were not available,of course, but I was an ardent searcher among the stacks, and I sometimes bought books being sold off by the library, something most libraries seem far too eager to do these days, as a result of the insane and  inane  obsessions with 'electronic' data and formats, none of which I want to replace actual books regardless of other factors that many laud and extoll in their basic ignorance.


Lord Lytton's THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEI, I had seen on the screen when a youth in my town of Claremont, NH, at the MAGNET THEATER, long since burned down and never replaced. I have also read, if there was one, the 'CLASSIC COMIC' or 'CLASSIC ILLUSTRATED' COMIC (which  replaced the originals) of 'THE LAST DAYS'. I now find I need to re-read the actual book, which I may have glanced at or partially read, along with some other things by Lytton in college. I am particularly interested in his sections on THE WORSHIP OF ISIS as practiced in ANCIENT ROME at the time of the RISE OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY in the so-called 'PAGAN' world. Most people do not know the actual meanings of the word itself. THE WORSHIP OF ISIS as well as other 'Goddesses' or counterparts of 'masculine' gods have interested me over the years. Various cultures have some rather interesting ones that are sometimes in vogue among moderns from time to time, either as objects of actual worship or devotion,etc.

'THE COMING RACE' & 'ZANONI' were the ones I read. The latter,I read first, if I recall, since it purportedly dealt with some 'ROSICRUCIAN' descriptions and subjects, while the former dealt with VRIL and a subterranean race of people. I had heard of such 'peoples' before: one was a JULES VERNE story, another a TARZAN (EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS novel, which I eventually acquired when the TARZAN & other works by BURROUGHS came out in paperbacks, and,of course, H.G.WELLS' story, THE TIME MACHINE.   

Such stories are often labeled and tagged as 'SCIENCE FICTION' of which there are innumerable works and classics, from simple 'rocket ship excursions' to planets and the moon and even galaxies, many of which I managed to read before college and also listen to radio programs with such themes, like DIMENSION X, X-MINUS ONE, 2000 PLUS, etc. as well as BUCK ROGERS and also the comics, the BIG & BETTER LITTLE BOOKS, and all the movies from silent to color for many years, aside from the few pulps and Sunday comics I read. I also got interested, of course,in Atomic Energy, UFO's, SPACE TRAVEL, Meteors, etc. and other astronomical topics, even taking a course in ASTRONOMY in college at which I did not excel.

SECRECY & PRIVACY

Many persons have a most naive view about these two 'issues'...those who favor openness in all things...and those who want everything 'secret, if not private' open up a lot of problems and difficulties when they go to either extreme......A more 'practical', 'common-sense' and pragmatic approach is usually better in the long run. The problem of all public access to things is that it does not allow for careful discussion and deep scrutiny of things whereas rendering everything very restricted and exclusive, creates suspicion(s) and exclusiveness(elitism).... A balance is hard to maintain in any case. I bring this up mainly because of a recent request from a friend on facebook about Freemasonry, which reminded me of an incident that took place years ago in Washington,DC, when I was 'working' & 'studying' there. A small group of like-minded, like 'aimed' persons went around the city to see the sights on a particular day. We came to the huge MASONIC building there that has recently been opened up to allow public tours and access for limited time,etc. and where photos have been taken to reveal this inside, which no one could view from outside.....It is a massive, looming building that invites the reason why it is there,so-to-speak. I knew,of course, what it was,although I am not nore ever have been a 'mason' but those with me did not know much about any of this, of course. This was at the time when the riots had all but finished certain sections of the city, making them look like a 'war zone' etc. and various factions, from hippies to militants, etc. were all about,etc. One rather young lady exclaimed to us all,"I don't like buildings that you can't go into!" and then added,"The buildings should be open to the public" and I told her that, some places and buildings you could not go into because the government would not allow it...This was pre-9/ll pre-Bush era DC..... She felt 'put-out' because she could not gain admittance to the building and had no idea why it was there....and such attitudes often lead to a great misunderstanding of all kinds....conspiracy notions, for example. I did not labor on the point that she might well be more upset should someone enter here 'private' space etc. Of course, all such meetings, groups, organizations, etc. do arouse certain feelings in those excluded form whatever is being done, especially taxpayers when school boards, agencies, etc. ignore them and place an agenda that proves expensive for the taxpayer, who already is overburdened by his increasing 'fair-share'...but I shall not go into this aspect of 'secrecy' at this time...it belongs on another blog...

THE JACQUES DEMOLAY LODGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

I just went to the web site of the JACQUES DEMOLAY LODGE OF FREEMASONRY IN THE PHILIPPINES and posted some comments on it,and will attempt to address the issue of FREEMASONS & their possible connections with THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION when I have more time. I wish to point out that many historical figures,heros,etc. in the Philippines have become CULT FIGURES and certain religious practices,etc. developed as a result.

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.