The Secret History of the World

1. A Secret History Reveals Mind Precedes Matter and Shapes Reality

This is a history of the world that has been taught down the ages in certain secret societies.

Beyond conventional history. This book presents a history preserved in secret societies like the Mystery schools, Knights Templar, and Rosicrucians, arguing that many historical figures were believers. Unlike conventional history focused on politics and economics, this account centers on the evolution of consciousness and the influence of spiritual beings.

Mind over matter. The core premise is that mind preceded matter, not the other way around. The universe began as a thought in the mind of God, emanating outwards in layers of increasing density. This perspective suggests a universe that is not indifferent but responsive to human consciousness and intention.

Hidden in plain sight. This secret philosophy has been guarded closely, sometimes through threats of death or social ostracism. However, it is also encoded in art, architecture, literature, myths, and even the names of the days of the week, often unrecognized by outsiders.

2. Early Ages Saw Spiritual Beings Guide Evolution and the Fall

In the beginning an impulse must have come from somewhere - but where?

Cosmic emanations. Creation began with emanations from the cosmic mind, initially subtle like mist, then denser. These emanations are understood as hierarchies of intelligent spiritual beings, including the gods of stars and planets (Elohim).

Battles of creation. Early history involved titanic struggles between these forces:

• Saturn (Satan), the principle of limitation and death, attacked the formless Mother Earth.
• The seven-fold Sun god (Elohim) arrived, pushing back Saturn and warming Earth, leading to the age of plant life (Adam).
• Venus (Lucifer), the light-bearer, introduced desire and animal life, causing the Fall and the formation of the spine/nervous system (the serpent entwined around the tree).
• The Moon god (Jehovah) emerged to counter Venus, introducing thought and moral law.

Echoes in time. These early epochs are remembered in the names of the first three days of the week: Saturn-day, Sun-day, and Moon-day. The transition from plant to animal life brought suffering, death, and the need for conscious choice.

3. Heroes Ushered in Thought, Language, and the Fixing of Forms

The Sphinx asks Oedipus a riddle: ‘What walks on four legs, then two legs, then three legs?’

Evolution of forms. Following the early ages, the cosmos saw the proliferation of animal forms, guided by planetary gods (Jupiter/Zeus). Early proto-humans were amphibian (Age of Aquarius), then land creatures (Age of Capricorn, Sagittarius), developing limbs and organs like the thorax (Mercury).

Dawn of intellect. This era saw the development of key human faculties:

• Orpheus invented numbers and music, measuring the Music of the Spheres.
• Enoch/Cadmus invented language, naming the heavenly hierarchies and preserving ancient wisdom in stone monuments (stone circles).
• Daedalus represented the beginnings of practical science and engineering.
• Job articulated the concept of life's unfairness, a product of newly possible abstract thought.

The Sphinx's riddle. The Sphinx, embodying the four cardinal constellations (Leo, Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius), marks the point (around 11,451 BC) when matter solidified and biological forms became fixed. Its riddle about the ages of man also alludes to the evolution of human form and consciousness.

4. Ancient Civilizations Grappled with Matter and the Inner World

The Great Pyramid is a gigantic incarnation machine.

Post-Flood world. Following the Great Flood (around 9600-11,600 BC), remembered in myths like Atlantis and Noah, humanity began to rebuild. Dionysus/Noah taught agriculture and writing. Rama led migrations and fought monsters, embodying a new moral imagination.

Getting to grips with matter. Civilizations like Sumeria (Age of Taurus) and Egypt arose, characterized by massive engineering feats (ziggurats, pyramids). Unlike earlier ages where gods easily manifested, these cultures sought to draw spirits into the material world:

• Sumerians built ziggurats as 'god houses' and used statues as vessels.
• Egyptians practiced mummification to anchor the spirit for speedy reincarnation.
• The Great Pyramid (dated to 3500 BC in this history) was built to attract higher spiritual beings to incarnate.

Evolution of consciousness. This period saw a shift in consciousness. Sumerian texts suggest people experienced thoughts as external 'aural hallucinations' from gods (Jaynes's bicameral mind theory). Egyptian temple practices and the Cabala (Moses) focused on occult physiology and the power of numbers/language to influence matter and spirit.

5. Islam Rekindled Reason and Esoteric Wisdom in Europe

Allah is the Muslim name for Jehovah, great god of the moon and thought.

Moon god's impulse. Islam, founded by Mohammed (born 570 AD), represents a powerful impulse from the Moon god (Allah/Jehovah), emphasizing thought, moral law, and the suppression of animal passions. The Archangel Gabriel, associated with the moon, dictated the Koran.

Arabian Golden Age. Islamic civilization absorbed ancient wisdom (Aristotle, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism) and made great strides in science, mathematics, and astronomy. This intellectual ferment, combined with Sufi mysticism (Rumi, Ibn Arabi), created a bridge for esoteric knowledge to flow back into Europe.

Templars and the Grail. The Knights Templar (founded 1119) were deeply influenced by Islamic esoteric traditions, including Solomonic wisdom and Sufism. Their quest for the Grail is interpreted as a quest for a purified 'vegetable body' (soul) capable of carrying a higher spirit, achievable through esoteric techniques and moral development.

6. The Renaissance and Reformation Unleashed Inner Life and Occult Science

In the face of the Mona Lisa we see for the first time the deep joy of someone exploring her inner life.

Birth of the interior. The Renaissance (inspired by figures like Plethon, Ficino, Leonardo) saw the flowering of the individual inner life, a cosmos as vast as the outer one. This was seeded by Jesus Christ and nurtured by writers like Shakespeare and Cervantes. Romantic love, with its mystical yearnings, emerged from Islamic influence (Troubadors).

Occult art and science. Renaissance artists (Leonardo, Raphael, Botticelli) and thinkers (Bruno) were often initiates, using art to embody spiritual principles and attract divine influence. Alchemy, the science of transforming matter via the vegetable dimension, flourished, practiced by figures like Paracelsus and later, Newton and Bacon.

Rosicrucian impulse. The Rosicrucian Manifestoes (1614-1616) heralded a spiritual revolution, proposing a secret brotherhood with supernatural powers (healing, clairvoyance) and a mission to reform the world. Figures like Boehme and Dee embodied this impulse, seeking direct spiritual experience and applying systematic methods to both the spiritual and material realms.

7. Freemasonry Navigated Materialism, Revolution, and Deeper Laws

The great thing about science was that it worked.

Rise of materialism. The scientific revolution (Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Bacon) led to a mechanical world-view where physical objects became the primary reality. This shift, partly inspired by occultists applying systematic methods to nature, diminished the perceived reality of the spirit worlds.

Freemasonry's mission. Freemasonry emerged (officially 17th century) as a secret society aiming to guide humanity through this age of materialism. They fostered tolerance, freedom, and scientific inquiry, while preserving esoteric knowledge and practices (alchemy, ceremonial magic, astrology) in their lodges.

Deeper laws. While science revealed predictable physical laws, literature (novelists like Dickens, Dostoyevsky) explored the 'deeper laws' governing subjective experience and destiny – paradoxical patterns of cause and effect related to intention, fear, love, and moral choice, often invisible to objective analysis.

8. The Modern Age Faces a Spiritual Crisis and Prophecy of Return

Everyday I go into the grove,’ wrote the poet Nikolai Kliuev in a letter to a friend ‘and sit there by a little chapel and the age-old pine tree.

Spiritual darkening. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a spiritual crisis, a 'mystic death of humanity,' as the spirit worlds seemed to withdraw further. Literature (Dostoyevsky, Wagner) reflected this, exploring the demonic and the struggle for meaning.

Occult currents. Despite the dominance of materialism, esoteric traditions persisted:

• Swedenborg explored altered states and the structure of the spirit worlds.
• Blake and Romanticism drew on sex magic and cabalistic ideas.
• Russian mystics (Old Believers, Khlysty, Rasputin) maintained traditions of direct spiritual experience.
• Occultism influenced modern art, literature, and even political movements (Bolshevism).

Prophecy of return. Secret societies, particularly Freemasonry, anticipated a new age (Michaelic age, end of Kali Yuga) beginning around the late 19th century. This age would see the return of spiritual forces and a great battle against materialism. Monuments like obelisks were erected to invoke these forces.

The Work continues. The secret history suggests that humanity is undergoing a collective initiation, facing trials to develop consciousness and free will. The 'Work' of spiritual transformation continues, guided by ascended masters and encoded in the world around us, awaiting recognition.

Last updated: June 2, 2025