There are MANY parts to this fantasy (yes, Virginia: it IS a fantasy!) that has provided a seemingly endless source of attention to those who want to impress others with their supposed knowledge. Like many such things (the Nostradamus prophecies, for example), however, it's nothing but contrivance.
The primary claim:
You'll see this - with variations - across the internet.
In the introduction to his book, “Pawns in the Game,” Carr wrote: “World War Three is to be fomented by using the differences the agentur of the Illuminati stir up between the Political Zionists and the leaders of the Moslem world. The war is to be directed in such a manner that Islam (the Arab World including Mohammedanism) and Political Zionism (including the State of Israel) will destroy themselves while at the same time the remaining nations, once more divided against each other on this issue, will be forced to fight themselves into a state of complete exhaustion physically, mentally, spiritually and economically."
On August 15, 1871, Pike told Mazzini that after World War Three is ended, those who aspire to undisputed world domination will provoke the greatest social cataclysm the world has ever known. We quote his written words (taken from the letter catalogued in the British Museum Library, London, Eng.): “‘We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will be from that moment without compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time."
And another
"Pike at that time (1870s) was Head of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Mazzini, in a letter dated January 22, 1870, wrote to Pike:
"We must create a Super Rite, which will remain unknown, to which we will call those Masons of High degree whom we shall select. With regard to our brothers in Masonry, these men must be pledged to the strictest Secrecy. Through this Supreme Rite, we will govern all Freemasonry which will become the One International Center, the more Powerful because its direction will be unknown."
This letter was published in the book, Occult Theocrasy by Lady Queensborough <sic>, pages 208-209."
Alternatively, you may see the same comments with a supporting claim from Nesta H. Webster who wrote Secret Societies and Subversive Movements.
Here, the facts!
1. Pike was NOT the head of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. He was the head of ONE Supreme Council (that of the Southern United States, the oldest) while there were dozens of other Supreme Councils who cared precious little about Pike's position and were not subservient to him in any way, even though he certainly was not reticent about letting folks know that he was an important person. Anyone should note, however, that the word "SUPREME" appears in the name of each and every Scottish Rite governing body in the world. This should lead to the obvious question: if there are 10 Supreme Councils, which one is the 'supreme, supreme' do you suppose? In fact, all one has to do is view the correspondence between Pike and the head of the SUPREME Council of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States at the time (Josiah Hayden Drummond) and one can easily see that even on United States soil there were those who vehemently disagreed with Pike over many, many issues. There were (and are) TWO Supreme Councils in the United States, one of which didn't recognize Pike as a leader and which, at the time, had the much larger Scottish Rite membership and was sited in the much more populated part of the United States.
2. Mazzini was probably NOT a Mason! Biographers mention Freemasonry in conjunction with Mazzini only because another 'Giuseppe' (Garibaldi) was. They were both Italian freedom fighters so - hey, it's easy enough to just switch names around. Who'll notice it, anyway? Maybe it was an honest mistake at first? Naw: since Garibaldi was wrapped up in the Franco-Prussian war at the time and wasn't very sympathetic to the type of Marxist concepts that this supposed letter was supporting. Garibaldi was a Freemason but remember, this is a letter from MAZZINI! Everyone says so.... In what is considered the defining biography of Mazzini, author Denis Mack Smith in his seminal work Mazzini writes "Mazzini was also less friendly than Garibaldi to the anticlerical Freemasons. When invited to become a mason he refused and was sometimes overtly critical."1 Anyone have any information to the contrary? Where/when Mazzini joined Freemasonry for example? Parenthetically, he's not mentioned in the 1970s publication "10,000 Famous Freemasons" either so you'll have to get some facts if you want to claim he's writing to ANYBODY about what the Masons are going to be doing.
3. Occult Theocrasy, written by Edith Starr Miller a/k/a Lady Queenborough in 1933, is a notoriously anti-Semitic screed which Masonic detractors often cite as their source for the 'Lucifer is God' quote they claim was made by Pike. That quote, commonly known as the Taxil Hoax, was just as contrived as the World War III foolishness. The author decries the "Jesuit-Judaic-Masonic-Gnostic-Brahmin-Illuminati" conspiracy (say that fast three times and you win a prize - but when one is lying, it's always good to throw a dart at the wall in hopes you'll hit something) and buys directly into the concept of "Palladian Masonry" which was a further part of the Taxil Hoax.
4. Societies & Subversive Movements is actually the earlier work, published in 1924 wherein Webster uses minute similarities and ignores the major differences between so-called "secret societies" and thereby concludes that they're all in cahoots to ferment world revolution although she fails to show how these groups communicate with one another or agree on their goals and objectives. Webster attributes all of this to Adam Weishaupt of Illuminati fame and perpetuates the concept that somehow 200 years later the group is still going strong. Webster fails to provide a shred of evidence to support her claims.
5. Oh, and the letter isn't in the British Museum at all - never has been!
The Pawns all
Most
quotes we see on the web about this World War III claim will refer to
Pawns in the Game by William Guy Carr,
an avid anti-Semite took the ideas of Webster and ran with them.
He states that "...[Albert] Pike accepted the
idea of a one world government and ultimately became head of the Luciferian
Priesthood. Between 1859 and 1871, he worked out the details of a military
blue-print, for three world wars, and three major revolutions which he
considered would further the conspiracy to its final stage during the twentieth
century." [p. xiv]. In addition, he continues the
Taxil Hoax by claiming "Pike organized
the New and Reformed Palladian Rite." [p. xv] and quotes Taxil's lie about Pike
worshipping Lucifer citing it as being in a letter sent to his Palladian
councils July 14th, 1889 [p. xvi]
Carr's accuracy, though, can easily be brought into question though when one
considers quotes like this: "Long before Marconi invented wireless (Radio), the
scientists who were of the Illuminati had made it possible for Pike and the
Heads of his councils to communicate secretly." [p. xv] Now for those who accept
the concept that an alien race is controlling Freemasonry, this might be ok but
the vast majority of rational, sentient beings would think - and rightly so -
that Carr had 'lost his marbles'.
Carr purports to quote Pike's August 15, 1871 alleged correspondence in the
British Museum Library but fails to provide citation.
More obfuscation
Some who elaborate on this hoax say that Carr learned about the alleged Pike letter from Cardinal Caro y Rodriguez of Santiago, Chile, author of “The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled.” That work, however, is a religious screed against Freemasonry and was written in the late 1920s when World War I was known as "The Great War" or "The War To End All Wars" and World War II - either in name or fact - was simply not contemplated. In fact, the term "World War" was not known to the Cardinal and thus his writing about THREE of them would be ridiculous.
Oh, but let's think that through a bit further: this letter was dated in - when? - 1871. Not 1951 after two World Wars but in 1871, some forty years before even the whiff of an international war was in the air. Many wars had been fought, some with a number of nations participating, by the year 1871 but the idea of a "world war" was inconceivable, even as late as 1901 despite the many interconnecting military alliances then being formed.
And that letter Carr claimed was at the British Museum. Well, they must be in on the conspiracy or something because they claim that no such thing was ever in their possession.
From the sublime to the ridiculous
And if you weren't convinced by all of the ranting, then you should know this: the supernatural was involved. Here's a quote from "The Three World Wars" website:
"Pike was said to be a Satanist, who indulged in the occult, and he apparently possessed a bracelet which he used to summon Lucifer, with whom he had constant communication." (Link)
Now REALLY.... We're used to seeing visitors from outer space and interplanetary travel on our televisions and in theatres but talking to the Devil in the late 1800s? It is, after all, essential to this story so if you don't believe it, you've got to discredit the rest entirely.
Oh, and if you followed the link, you're probably wondering about the Palladium stuff. Well, that was all part of the Taxil Hoax and you'll note too that some of their other stuff is from the fertile imagination of the liar, Jim Shaw.
So what's the truth?
Like most conspiracy theories, selective interpretation of only those things which fit neatly into the plan are considered while all the rest is discarded. Each retelling of the tale expands and elaborates, a classic example being Carr's attempt to pass of his fabrication on to an earlier writer in the hopes that it wouldn't be checked.
If Pike and Mazzini wrote this letter to each other, let's see the PROOF rather than just a bunch of hairy stories about it from people who hate Jews, see evils around every corner, and live their lives on the internet looking for boogey-men.
1 Mazzini. Dennis Mack Smith. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. 1994. P. 193. Note: Mr. Smith refers to Freemasons as being "anti-clerical", a descriptor which requires a further explanation. While Freemasonry as an organization takes no position whatsoever relative to secular or religious matters, the Masonic scene in Italy is a long, tortured one with considerable animosity against the Roman Catholic Church arising from its not-infrequent condemnations of the organization. Thus, it is truly not inappropriate in this instance to use that description relative to that place and time.
Created 30 August 2009 with some additional material added 5 April 2010.
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