Eric Dubay on Freemasonry

Freemasonry evolved over the last thousand years from the Knights Templar, and before that traces its roots to ancient Egypt, the Egyptian Mystery Religion and Esoteric Schools. Some believe the original Masons were the builders of the Pyramids or that they hold the secrets of those early master Masons. Freemasonry is not, however, merely a builders and stone-workers guild. Right from the first degree initiates take blood-oaths, perform occult rituals, and begin learning about a number of arcane subjects delving deeper as they rise in degrees. Some of the subjects studied/practiced include: Astrology, Consciousness, Magic, Tarot, Kabbalah, the Tree of Life, Sacred Geometry, Divination, Scrying, Theosophy, Numerology, Symbology, Alchemy, Hermeticism, the Chakra system, Auras/Energy bodies, Astral Projection/OBEs, Kundalini Yoga, Geomancy, Masonic/Occult History and Philosophy, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Secret Handshakes and Gestures. Masons rise in degrees through a process of rituals and initiations.

They read books like Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Albert Pike’s “Morals and Dogma” then write essays detailing whether they agree philosophically with people like Pike, Hegel, Machiavelli and others. These essays are then sent in to the Headquarters of International Freemasonry and reviewed by top-level Masons. If the initiate agrees that the few should control the many, and that secret society rule is virtuous, etc. then he is congratulated and promoted through higher degrees. If the initiate disagrees that the few should control the many, and holds a genuinely moral position, then he is congratulated and promoted within his existing branch, never to rise above the Blue degrees. Every Mason will disagree with this however, because most Blue Lodge Masons genuinely do not know, and high-ranking Masons are sworn to secrecy.

"The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Parts of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them, but it is intended that he shall imagine that he understands them. Their true implication is reserved for Adepts, the Princes of Masonry."
–Albert Pike, (Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd degree and Supreme Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry), "Morals and Dogma"
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The highest known formal degree of Masonry is the 33rd degree. This title has been held by many world leaders and important names in modern history. The following US presidents are/were known to be Masons, many of them 33rd degree: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson, Garfield, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Harding, Roosevelt, Truman, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes.

All the following people are/were also Masons, most of them 33rd degree: Buzz Aldrin, John Glenn, Yasser Arafat, Tony Blair, John Wilkes Booth, James Cameron, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Bob Dole, Frederick Engel, Newt Gingrich, Mikhail Gorbachev, Al Gore, Billy Graham, Richard Holbrooke, J. Edgar Hoover, Colonel Mandell House, Saddam Hussein, Burl Ives, Jesse James, Jesse Jackson, Henry Kissinger, Vladimir Lenin, Robert McNamara, Karl Marx, Lord Alfred Milner, Benjamin Netanyahu, Albert Pike, Prince Philip, Colin Powell, Cecil Rhodes, James Rothschild, Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Stalin, Strom Thurmond, Leon Trotsky, Paul Warburg, H.G. Wells and thousands more.
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(All above extracted from p36 and p38 of The Atlantean Conspiracy by Eric Dubay, atlanteanconspiracy.com)