Brothers of the Shadows
A Perspective on Conspiracies
By Sevak Gulbekian
Perpetual Peace Gore Vidal
suggests that the American public
has been conditioned to respond to the
‘word ‘conspiracy’ with a smirk and a
ickle. Conspiracy, in other words, is
for the nuts and the loners, and is not
to be taken seriously. In this way, he
argues, through the media’s association
of the concept of conspiracy with
fringe or extreme elements, the real
conspirators go unnoticed. It is a vital
point, and Vidal courageously chases
and exposes genuine conspiracies by
politicians, the FBI, lobbyists for the
Tobacco companies, and so on. But
the flip-side of the conspiracy coin is the proliferation of
fanciful and fantastic theories that now crisscross the globe
in seconds with the help of electronic media, The spread of
the internet has democratized conspiracy theory. Millions
of people now have the means to publish their own unique
analysis of what is going on. A necessary consequence of
this massive growth in personal digital publishing is that it
is getting to be much more difficult to discern the truth and
find the diamonds among the glittering plastic trinkets.)
Amidst the more fantastic theories of UFOs and
intergalactic lizards certain core themes do persistently
reoccur in the mass of ‘conspiracy theory’ material now
available. Principal among them is the idea that a shadowy
elite is seeking to enslave humanity under the auspices
of a single, centralized world government. The name of
the mysterious ‘Illuminati’ is most often associated with
such a group, although what is meant by it is frequently
ill defined. The Illuminati are. supposedly. a cabal of top
bankers, politicians and businessmen seeking to create the
aforesaid all-powerful government.
‘What is the truth of all this? Given the nature of the
subject matter, it is not possible to give any definitive
answers. However, I would like to introduce an important
perspective on the theme —one that has generally not been
given serious consideration ~ that can potentially throw
a lot of light on the question. This perspective is taken
from the research of Rudolf Steiner. In the second part of
the article I will try and relate Steiner’s ideas to themes
commonly found in contemporary conspiracy research.
So why Steiner? Because, if for no other reason, his,
pronouncements and indications on practical areas of life
have borne such remarkable fruit, testimony to which
I: his book Perpetual War for
are hundreds of Waldorf schools offering a new kind of
education, farms successfully practicing bio-dynamics,
clinics dispensing anthroposophic medicines, and so on.
As a profound clairvoyant, Steiner claimed to investigate
other dimensions of reality for insight into the human
condition. His legacy is hundreds of volumes of published
talks and written works on a wide range of themes. In
contrast to that of many other spiritual teachers and gurus,
the work arising from this legacy has shown itself to
have practical applications in all areas of life. This in
itself does not provide ultimate evidence for the truth of
his work, but it does correspond to the biblical dictum ‘by
their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20).
In 1916 and 1917, in the midst of the catastrophic
First World War, Steiner gave a series of 25 lectures to
4 group of his followers who gathered together at their
centre in Dornach in neutral Switzerland. These lectures,
since translated and published in English.’ offer a unique
reading of contemporary events. Behind the outer fagade
of world affairs, suggested Steiner, the machinations of
‘occult groups or ‘brotherhoods’ were at work. Certain,
Of these brotherhoods had wanted the Great War to take
place and had manipulated events to bring it about. In
doing this, they sought to protect the dominant economic
position of the English-speaking world, and in turn to crush
the ‘mediating’ role of Central European powers such as
Germany, the Austro-Hungarian empire, and so on.
‘These occult brotherhoods — small groups of men who
met together in ‘lodges’ and practised ceremonial magic
as a means of achieving certain goals ~ originated from
the English-speaking (Anglo-Saxon) world and were
allied, in particular, with Anglo-American interests. Their
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aim was to extend Anglo-American influence across
the globe and to ensure the predomination of Anglo-
American culture. Furthermore, they sought to extend its
superiority into the distant future; essentially to ensure
that the present state of affairs continues evermore,
According to Steiner's research, human evolution goes
through “great periods’ of development. During each of
these periods, a particular people or nation grouping is,
given the task of leading humanity, in a spiritual sense.
Over the millennia, it has been the destiny of different
peoples to bring specific qualities, in a benevolent way,
to the whole of humanity. Particular periods of history
are thus led by particular nations. This does not imply
a form of political control or empire — and is neither a
theory of national or racial superiority ~ but is referring to
a spiritual form of authority.
Steiner suggested that the Western world, and in
particular the English-speaking peoples, have been
given the task of getting to grips with the material world
= of becoming comfortable on Earth and developing in
harmony with it. In this specific sense, the West was to
introduce a certain kind of (beneficial) materialism into
human development. But this materialism was only meant
to be developed up to a certain point. It was necessary in
order for humans to become fully part of the earthly world,
and to help introduce an individualized consciousness
(the ‘I’). But beyond that it had the potential to be
destructive. Materialism as a philosophy ~ which shuts
out the possibility of soul and spirit ~ is retrogressive,
asserted Steiner, and works as an evil in human evolution.
‘The Anglo-American brotherhoods that seek dominion
over mankind know this, and hence today are deliberately
sponsoring various kinds of materialism in the hope of
halting and trapping humanity at the present stage of
its development. They don’t want humans to progress
beyond the present stage of immersion in the material
world. In other words, they don’t want us to reconnect
in a free way with our spiritual ‘I’, because they know
that their grip over humanity would then be lost. Human
progress is dependent on spiritual knowledge, and so the
occult brotherhoods work against the acquiring of such
knowledge.
Steiner explained further that the brotherhoods were
aware that the Slavic peoples were to be given the task of
leadership on behalf of humanity during the next “great
period’ of history. For this reason, the Anglo-American
brotherhoods not only sought to dominate the present
great period of human development, but - knowing
that the Slavs had an important mission in the future
= sought to gain control over the Slavic peoples (Russia
in particular) in the present, in order to interfere with
or even put a halt to their coming task. In this way, the
Anglo-American brotherhoods could extend theit control
over human development into the distant future. Steiner
later claimed that the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,
which led to the creation of the USSR and the 72-year
cultural, intellectual, economic and political repression of
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the populations of its various peoples, was masterminded
and sponsored by these same brotherhoods as a means of
controlling the region and its peoples.”
What is the evidence for Steiner's analysis? Apart from
anything else, itis interesting to note the present state of
world affairs, and how — since Steiner spoke about this
topic in 1916-17 - Anglo-American culture has come
to dominate the globe in tandem with North American
‘economic and political influence (with the enthusiastic
support of British politicians). The assertion of unilateral
military action by the United States and Britain in the
2003 invasion of Iraq — in the face of almost total global
opposition — was a good example of this formidable
power at work. However, admittedly these observations
do not provide ‘proof’ in a strict sense.
Another source of evidence is the remarkable research
of Prof. Carroll Quigley (1910-77) who wrote two
substantial volumes, The Anglo-American Establishment
(1949) and Tragedy and Hope (1966), on the secret
network that emerged from the enterprise of Cecil
Rhodes (1853-1902). Quigley characterized the power
of this group through its influence in politics, culture
and social life as ‘terrifying’. It is important to note
that Quigley was no paranoid conspiracy theorist, but a
respected Georgetown professor, and even the teacher
of Bill Clinton. (How such networks might be related
to the brotherhoods Steiner is talking about will be
considered later.) Other authors have followed Quigley's
lead and complemented his studies with contemporary
‘observations. A few have even related Steiner's ideas to
Quigley’s research.‘ In this context, however, I would
like to mention only two external ‘symptoms’, which, at
the very least, offer circumstantial evidence for Steiner's
diagnosis.
In 1893, an Englishman called C.G. Harrison delivered
ix lectures to the Berean Society, a mysterious group of
“Christian esotericists’. A record of these lectures is to be
found in Harrison’s remarkable book The Transcendental
Universe. Little is known about the Berean Society or
Harrison, although he wrote two further books in his
lifetime. What is clear is that Harrison, who speaks in
defense of the ‘high’ Church, had access to a phenomenal
store of esoteric thought, and was furthermore privy 0 a
certain amount of inside knowledge. In his second lecture,
he spoke not only of ‘the next great European war’, but
also of the ‘national character’ of the Slavic peoples with
its ability to ‘enable them to carry out experiments in
Socialism, political and economical, which would present
innumerable difficulties in Western Europe’.’ Remember
that these lectures were given in 1893 ~ 21 yeurs before
the First World War and 24 years before the Bolshevik
Revolution!
‘While Harrison claimed to be a “theoretical occultist’ as
opposed to a ‘practical’ one— ice. he did not practice magic
or ritual, with the implication that he was not a member
of a ‘lodge’ himself ~ from his work itis evident that he
represents an esoteric strain of thought which clearlydefends the English establishment. How could he know
about the forthcoming War as well as the ‘experiments
in Socialism’, which would take a grip on Russia and its
surrounding states for most of the twentieth century? If
he was not, as he claimed, a ‘practical occultist’ himself,
itis reasonable to assume that he had contact with people
‘who were, and who had access to the malign plans of such
secret groups referred to above.
‘The second significant piece of evidence which offers
some backing for Steiner's claims of occult interference
in world politics is to be found in a special edition of
the satirical weekly The Truth, published at Christmas
1890. Under the heading “The Kaiser’s Dream’, the
magazine featured a cartoon ee
map of Europe together with
a humorous _ commentary.
Many observations can be
made of the map, but the
most pertinent point to note
in relation to the above is that
all the countries of Europe
are shown as republics with
the exception of Russia and
its neighboring. states, over
which are written the words
“Russian Desert’. In addition,
Germany is identified with the
words “German Republics"!
This map signifies not only
a foreknowledge — similar
to Harrison’s ~ of the fate of
Russia to become a cultural
aswell as an economic
‘desert’, but also of the future splitting of Germany into
‘republics’. ‘The magazine's editor, Henry Labouchére,
was a Freemason. Was his remarkable foresight pure
luck, or once again did he have some inside knowledge of
future plans to shape the world?
It is of course possible that the above examples are
merely flukes and coincidences... but surely it is unlikely.
Do these examples offer evidence for the existence of
occult brotherhoods with pernicious plans for politica
manipulation? We may never know for sure, but it is
evident that Steiner's perspective offers much food
for thought, and opens up important new vistas for
understanding current world events.
Veep Anata dr
‘The Kaiser's Dream
inde eaces Wechecit
Steiner and modern conspiracy research
Having sketched out Steiner's picture of secret
brotherhoods, I would like now to try and show how his
perspective might relate to the more general conspiracy
research referred to earlier. Many readers will be
familiar with the Bilderberg conferences, the Council
on Foreign Relations, and the Tri-Lateral Commission
names commonly referred to on numerous websites and
dozens of books on the themes of ‘world government’
conspiracies and the aforementioned Illuminati. For
those not familiar with these organizations, very brief
descriptions will be given.
‘The Council on Foreign Relations
Founded in 1921, the Council is an independent think
tank and pressure group that studies — in its own words
— ‘the foreign policy choices facing the United States and
other governments’, Essentially, it seeks to influence US
foreign policy through high-level contacts with politicians
and other power brokers, and by producing publications
such as the influential magazine Foreign Affairs.
‘The Tri-Lateral Commission
Founded in 1973, the Commission is often considered to be
something of a ‘litle brother’ to the CFR. It was created in
order to foster closer cooperation between Japan, Europe
and North America, ie. the western industrial nations, and
to further what today would be called “globalization”. Its
‘website now states that these regions have been enlarged
to include ‘a Pacific Asian Group’, ‘a North American
Group’, and a wider ‘Furopean Group’ including Fast
European nations. Again, members consist of high-flying
leaders in business, media, academia, public service, etc.,
from the three given regions,
‘The Bilderbergers
Bilderberg takes its name from a Dutch hotel where,
in the early 1950s, the first meeting took place under
the aegis of Prince Bernhard. The yearly conferences
are now held by informal rotation in countries of “the
Atlantic community’ (according to The Economist).
Guests — around 100 - include serving prime and
cabinet ministers, central-bank governors, defence and
other experts. They talk about issues of the day, but their
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thoughts may not be repeated outside the meetings and
never are ~ supposedly to encourage frank discussion.
Skull and Bones
In addition to the above, the Yale University secret society
‘Skull and Bones is often identified by investigators in the
conspiracy field. The latter has been thrown into the
limelight recently due to the remarkable admission by
both Republican and Democratic candidates of the 2004
American presidential election that they are members of
the exclusive club.
“The home of Skull and Bones on Yale campus;
a stone building known as the “Tomb”
As Skull and Bones is a tiny campus “fraternity” that
invites only 15 undergraduates per year to join its ranks
~ and at any one time has only 800 or so living members
~ the fact that the two candidates for the pust of the most
powerful position in the world are members of it (from
a US population totalling some 293 million people) is
quite incredible. It has long been known that George W.
Bush is an initiate of Skull and Bones (as was his father
George Bush and grandfather Prescott Sheldon Bush),
but it has been something of a surprise to discover that
the democratic candidate John Kerry is also a member,
(Kerry laughed nervously when questioned about his
and Bush's membership on television. "You both were
‘members of the Skull and Bones; what does that tell us?”
he was asked. “Yup. Not much’, he replied.")
According to the key researcher of Skull and Bones,
‘Antony C. Sutton, the society was first founded in 1833.
Members, who meet secretly in its ‘tomb’ on the grounds
of Yale, are sworn to secrecy about the group's rites and
activities, In terms of its operations and philosophy,
Sutton refers to the ‘dialectical’ process, derived from
the philosopher Hegel, as being at the heart of Skull
and Bones’ thinking. ‘The ‘Hegelian dialectic’ is an
interpretive method in which the conflict between a
proposition (‘thesis’) and its ‘antithesis’ is resolved at
a higher level of truth (the “synthesis’). Sutton seeks to
prove that the group has been instrumental in funding and
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encouraging the development of both far-left and far-right
political groupings — principally the Communists and
‘Nazis — in the twentieth century. From the point of view
of Skull and Bones’ broad vision of human development,
left and right are viewed as two parts of the Hegelian
dialectical process; one political wing represents thesis
while the other represents antithesis. These two aspects
clash and fight each other, but eventually merge to form
the synthesis. It is this synthesis, according to Sutton,
that Skull and Bones is aiming to create. By controlling
and manipulating the conflict, it controls the outcome (or
synthesi
It is relevant to note that Sutton first published his
interpretation of Skull and Bones in the mid-1980s. At
that time, he quoted the group as working for a ‘New
World Order’ (NWO). This NWO was to be the product
of the synthesis of political left and right. Shortly after
the collapse of the Eastern-bloc communist countries, and
the subsequent triumph of Western capitalism ~ a triumph
that Francis Fukuyama rather prematurely referred to as
“the end of history’ (in his 192 book of the same title)
— George Bush began to use the specific phrase ‘New
World Order’ in public speeches.
‘This fascinating fact offers some circumstantial
evidence tor Sutton’s interpretation. Presuming that
Sutton is correct, humanity is living right now within the
period of ‘synthesis’ — the birth of a NWO led by the West,
‘and principally the United States. (And perhaps it will
‘come as no surprise to adherents of Sutton’s analysis that
a new ‘dialectic’ has suddenly appeared to take place of
the old, i.e. ‘Communism versus Capitalism’ is replaced
with “The West versus Islamic Fundamentalism’,)
Antony Sutton’s series of booklets on Skull and Bones
begins with his Introduction to the Order,’ in which he
points out that — despite their being commonly associated
with conspiracy — organizations such as the Council
on Foreign Relations and Trilateral Commission are
ultimately not secret, and have lange public memberships.
Likewise, it could be added that despite the fact the
Bilderberg conferences are not open to the press or
public, the names of the people who attend these yearly
private meetings are not concealed. (The minutes of the
1999 meeting in Sintra were even leaked and published
wholesale on the internet.) Lists of members of the above
‘groups can be found in Robert Gaylon Ross's Who's
‘Who of the Elite, Members of the Bilderbergs, Council
on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and Skull
and Bones Society — and even on official websites and
publications.
Sutton suggests that organizations such as the above
form a larger ‘outer circle’ of members, while societies
such as Skull and Bones form part of an “inner circle’ of
truly secret groupings, of which there is a still further
‘inner core’ — the ‘decision-making core’ — which
remains completely out of public view, ie. truly hidden
(or, literally, ‘occult’). This is a reasonable hypothesis.
From what is known of the Bilderberg conferences,gg
for example, it could be inferred that their essential
motivation is to further the Western Capitalist Project
through high-level networking and the grooming of
young talent. To put it in another way, they are working
for the economic, political and cultural domination of
a globalized world by the West ~ in particular by the
English-speaking peoples led by the United States and
Britain. (The Bilderberg conferences include guests from
NATO and European countries only and, although it has
a Dutch influence, it is headed by North Americans.)
Groups such as Skull and Bones (and Sutton deduces
that there are others such as Scroll and Key) are not
completely secret in that their existence and membership
are well documented. According to Sutton these are the
‘core’, with similar objectives to the more public groups
but with more focused and consciously held goals.
John Kerry and George Bush, September 2004
In contradistinction to the Bilderbergers etc., true secret
societies usually have elaborate initiation ceremonies and
use ritual as a critical part of their mutual enterprise.
The brotherhoods Steiner speaks of, as has already
been mentioned, are also built on Masonic principles
of secrecy and ritual, but are hidden from public view.
In relation to the groups referred to above, it is quite
possible that such genuinely occult brotherhoods form
part of the inner, ‘decision-making’, core that Sutton
refers to. Having said that, as Sutton points out most
members of the larger groups would have no inkling of
any subterfuge or conspiracy, and neither would many
members of secret groups like Skull and Bones. This
work would be left to the directors, or ‘initiates’, with
esoteric knowledge and understanding. According to
Steiner, the specific brotherhoods he is referring to not
only have the conscious goal of maintaining Anglo-
American domination, but complement this aim with real
esoteric insight — i.e. an understanding of the evolutionary
cycles referred to previously.
The above sketch gives a framework for comprehending
how public groups such as Bilderberg, more secret groups
like Skull and Bones, and the occult societies that Steiner
refers to might interact and co-exist. In this sense, the
true occult societies would be the central inspiration
for the larger intersecting groups of organizations with
politically active individuals. To my mind, such a picture
= with its complex of interrelations — is more convincing
than the somewhat nebulous idea of a single all-powerful
‘Illuminati’, supposedly responsible for creating a massive
conspiracy that controls every aspect of modern Ii
Sevak Gulbekian is a publishing manager living in Forest
Row, UK. This article is a revised and expanded chapter
from his book In the Belly of the Beast, Holding Your
‘Own in Mass Culture, Hampton Roads, 2004
End Notes
1 Karma of Untuihfuiness Volumes 1 & MU, Rudolf
Steiner Press, London, 1988 and 1992.
2 See further in Sergei O. Prokofieff, The Spiritual
Origins of Eastern Europe and the Future Mysteries
of the Holy Grail, Temple Lodge Publishing, London,
1993,
3. The Anglo-American Establishment was only published
in 1981, Books in Focus, New York. Tragedy and Hope
‘was published in 1966 by Macmillan, New York.
4 See Terry Boardman, Mapping the Millennium, Behind
the Plans of the New World Order, Temple Lodge
Publishing, London, 1998, and Amnon Reuveni, Jn
the Name of the ‘New World Order’, Manifestations
of Decadent Powers in World Politics, Temple Lodge
Publishing, London, 1996
5 The Transcendental Universe, ‘Temple
Publishing, London, 193, pages 98-99
Lodge
6 Daily Telegraph, London, 12 July 2004.
7 The Secret Cult of the Order (1983), An Introduction
to the Order (1984), How the Order Creates War and
Revolution (1985), How the Order Controls Education
(1985), Veritas Publishing Co., Aukland. A more recent
and high profile study is Alexandra Robbins Secrets of
the Tomb.
Photograph on this page by Reuters.
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