From: "Ludo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Notes On Part One of "The Unknown Treasure : The Priory of Sion Fraud And The Spiritual Treasure of Rennes-Le-Chateau" by Robert Richardson from The Rennes Observer Begins by recognising importance of the subject of Rennes-le- Chateau to genuine students of the Western esotoric tradition, but decries increasing trend of the publication and promotion of material that is "purely hypothetical, which is neither factual or experiential, and which, in some cases, is entirely fabricated" Posits that the story popularly known to the 30,000 annual visitors to Rennes-le-Chateau is false, that while the area has "genuine spiritual importance, the information forming the core publicity about it is was fabricated in the last several decades for deliberate ends." Claims that the fabricated evidence was fed to well-intentioned authors, and that the underlying disinformation has been re-iterated and perpetuated by later, similarly well-intentioned authors seeking to elaborate on the RLC story Breaks the elements of the RLC story down to four elements: 1) The story of Father Berenger Sauniere and his contemporaries 2) The story of what Sauniere found 3) The story of how and why a 20th century group fabricated the false history of what they pretended was an ancient esotoric society called the Priory of Sion 4) The story of how writers, publishers and readers swallowed and embellished the disinformation created by the so-called Priory of Sion Decides that in order to take a fresh look at the significance of RLC, it is necessary to investigate the Priory of Sion fraud, to see what group created it, and how Essay begins with a look at the occult revival in mid-19th century France, citing Paris as a centre for esotoric groups and the increasingly open discussion of occult subjects. Points out that many esotoric groups were founded and then just as quickly broke up into competing splinter groups, with many individuals belonging to several different esotoric orders. Claims that this background created "a confusing climate of overlapping memberships and affiliations." that continues to impact on cultural and esotoric thought today. He claims that some of the theories about reforming society that arose during the French occult revival would not become widely known until after the Russian revolution. The main thrust of these theories was to attack the errors of the "corrupt and morally bankrupt society spawned by the Second Empire of Napolean III", seeing the policies as stemming from a mistake made in the past. He agrees that such a conclusion was easy to make since France's socio-political structure had been in a state of turmoil since the Revolution. Claims that until 1905 (when the government formally separated the Catholic church and the state), 3 factions were locked into a battle "which would forever end the institutional power and priviledges of two of the combatants: 1) The Royalists (the old ruling classes and those favouring their return) 2) The Church (a Royalist ally seeking to maintain its historic power base) 3) The Repubulicans (composed in the RLC territory of the Languedoc primarily of freemasons, the working classes and influential rural citizens. During this time of chaos, there were increasing calls to reform and change society, "to return it to a spiritually focused state from which mankind could reform an increasingly dehumanised world." Places origins of "synarchy" in the 1880s with a man called Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre. Claims that forty years later, after bubbling along in esotoric circles, synarchy entered the political mainstream. Defines synarchy (or joint rule) as a combination of the esotoric and the political - select groups of initiates influencing groups which represent different aspects of society. Saint-Yves d'Alveydre's model was the Knight Templars, who he saw as secretly directing the society of their time in this way. He believed that a return of Templar principles would leads to the creation of an ideal society. Claims that the principles were seen as a threat by the Royalists, Church and far right, adding fuel to their belief that freemasonry was their natural enemy - and as such the influence of freemasonry and synarchy had to be ended, leading to the denouncing by the French far right of Jews and Freemasons "with the same breath" Says that these attitudes were further spurred on by influence of Papus and the banding together of fourteen initiatic orders (including the Traditional Martinist Order, The Order of Hermes and AMORC) into a federation called F.U.D.O.S.I - which was seen as a new power centre against the far right. The far right responded by founding a host of pseudo-esotoric groups with far-right attitudes and pro-Catholic stances in an attempt to counter- balance their influence. Identifies one group which appears to fall into this category, which was founded at the time : Alpha Galates (founded 1934) Describes suppression of esotoric groups by Gestapo and Vichy government during WWII - mentions the "Chauvin Report" which alleged synarchist freemasonry membership by many members of Vichy government. Authorship of Chauvin Report never identified. Goes on to describe how masonry and initiatic orders survived - and alleges that so did those who wanted to use that heritage for themselves. Describes Alpha Galates as having been a front for another organisation, utilising Pierre Plantard (born 1920) as its titular head from the late 30s. Claims Plantard (age 17) attempted to found an anti-semitic and anti-masonic group, and sought official permission to paublish a nationalistic journal. Further claims that "during his teenage years and on into his twenties, M. Plantards's activities as documented in police and government files show him to be either incredibly precocious financially and organisationally, or very well coached and financed by older, more sophisticated people." and that many of his early public activities centred around Catholic youth groups. Claims that the group sponsoring Plantard sought to create leverage with the new Vichy government by insinuating its "Plantard-headed youth arm" with the puppet government Details Plantard's attempts to start Vichy-recognised organisations, finally succeeding in 1942 - openly using the name Alpha Galates and publishing the journal called Vaincre - and noting that Plantard was under police investigation from that summer onwards. "Filled with anti-Semitic, fawningly pro-Vichy articles, sprinkled with shallow, superficial esoterica on Celtic traditions and chivalry, and overlaid with Intense nationalism, Vaincre tried to present Alpha Galates as the mobilising clearinghouse for a relatively sizeable and cohesive body of young people" Mentions that although Plantard later claimed to have been incarcerated for alleged resistance activites, no documentation has been found to substantiate this. Goes on to state that a 1945 investigation concluded that Alpha Galates (revolving door membership of 40 or 50) had no serious purpose Article argues however, that this conclusion was incorrect, and that by aligning with the right-wing, the people behind Alpha Galates planned to gain influence in a synarchist manner. History claims that with the renewal of F.U.D.O.S.I activities in 1947, Plantard filed legal papers to form another organisation - the Latin Academy - whose titular head was his mother. Ostensibly for historical research, article claims it was founded to carry on agenda of Alpha Galates - to increase its influence while simultaneously undermining genuine masonic and initiatic orders. Claims that by mid-1950s, Plantard was actively promoting himself in some Catholic circles as the Merovingian pretender to the throne of France - not something claimed before the war. Article places one centre of activities among the priests at Paris church and seminary of St Sulpice. Papers filed by Plantard and others in 1956 to create a group called the Priory of Sion. Numerous researchers observe that statutes bear a striking resemblance in content and form to organisational structure of Alpha Galates. Publication begins of Circuit at that time (an abbreviation for a verbose bit of double-speak called the "Chivalry. of Catholic Rules and Institutions of the Independent and Traditionalist Union". Circuit did not last long, but when it disappeared, "simultaneously, propaganda about the historical sublects forming the background for the disinformation which would eventually become widespread about Rennes-le-Chateau began to appear" Article has Plantard promoting himself in 1958 as the seeming spokesman for the Committees of Public Safety - lobbying for the return of de Gaulle. The article claims that Plantard and co. hoped to be able to thrust themselves into positions of power and influence in this manner, but were unsuccessful - instead using references in Le Monde to imply a secret association between de Gaulle and his inner circle and Plantard. This is repeatedly trumpeted in new editions of Circuit, which reappeared after de Gaulle's return to power. Circuit is described at this time as regularly featuring esotoric and masonic material, and proudly pointing to Vaincre's anti-semitic and anti-masonic back issues as its heritage - "Among the sublects with which Circuit superficially flirted were mythology, astrology, chivalry (a Vaincre favourite and a constant subject in lower level European initiatic orders), vitriculture, patriotism, a system for restructuring the government of France, the unique (but unspecified) greatness of Pierre Plantard, dewy-eyed calls for a return to the spirit of wartime resistance, and for, of course, French National Renewal." The article leaps to 1962 and the publication of Robert Charroux' book "Treasures Of The World" - a compilation of various lost treasure stories, including a brief description of Abbe Sauniere's mysterious prosperity. Also included are lengthy discussions on the Templars and "the lost wisdom of secret societies" and a brief description of finds at the fortress of Gisors. Heightened public interest is posited as the springboard for the Priory's launch into wider public view as they position themselves as an "inside source" about Gisors - contending that Priory archives from the 16th century were housed in Gisor's forgotten underground chapel of St Catharine They also claimed that lost records and the treasure of the Knights Templar were hidden there - in later years a minor hoard was found during construction work. From a propaganda viewpoint, this gave the Priory the profile and leverage with authors they wanted. Claims postdated documents deposited by the Priory to create a reference trail, and began a campaign of disinformation to capitalise on limited and poorly comprehended data on RLC Article goes on that publicity from BBC documentaries, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and subsequent works has given the Priory their desired credibility "To achieve its goals, thus far the Priory has wholesale fabricated documents, genealogies, and outrageous claims which contradict the documented historical facts. They created stories citing source material which never existed. They have appropriated actual histories and changed dates, names, and places, and have mixed these falsifications in with facts. So successful has their promotion and disinformation campaign been that when someone claims to be a Priory member offering "inside" information on a historical mystery, authors tend to accept outrageous fabrications as credible, and readily grasp at revelaflons from other, similarly fictitious groups which have recently appeared. The net result has thus far been a victory for a body of falsehoods manufactured to advance a particular agenda." "Despite occasional unfavourable scrutiny, the Plantard group has continued its activities. And authors and publishers continue to reprint its fictional fabrications as if they were true. How Plantard and his Priory constructed these fictions is worth analysing. Who they have referenced in creating their stories leads to their actual history and goals, and ultimately allows their fraud to stand fully revealed." - - - - - - - - - - - Ludo "One of the universal rules of happiness is: always be wary of any useful item that weighs less than its operating manual" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from this mailing list, or to change your subscription to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at http://www.onelist.com and select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.albino.com/circle/pos/ - list of priory-related books, associations, and websites .... to unsubscribe, contact list-managers [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
