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CHAPTER 10 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS ESOTERICISM AND CONSPIRACY CULTURE

Asbjørn Dyrendal

!e relation between esotericism and takes many forms. However, the scholarly literature has focused mainly on conspiracy theories about esoteric societies. !is is understandable. Lea"ng through the literature of conspiracy culture one may often be struck by the prominence given to eso- teric societies in these alternative versions of history. Many websites of con- spiracy theory pay an enormous amount of attention to “” groups, some imaginary, others well known. Seemingly small and powerless societies like the may be presented as the polar opposite. Societies long defunct according to academic historiography may be presented as driv- ing forces in history, the crowning example being the Bavarian secret society Illuminati, theories about which have grown only more expansive since the order’s demise in the 1780s.1 Such theories are often viewed as quaint expressions of fundamentalist out- rage against unorthodox and largely unknown expressions of . !ey may, however, be related to more than and become anything but quaint. Both recently, such as during the scare, and more dis- tantly, in the aftermath of the ,2 conspiratorial versions of history and society have acquired prominence. In such cases fear and outrage may reach the level of . !ese occasions of collective action have “mainstreamed” certain theories for a limited period of time, and have sparked both public and academic interest in conspiracy theories about esoteric soci- eties. !is is why we know so much, relatively speaking, about them. Collective action and mainstreaming have been less prominent in a corre- spondingly less researched phenomenon: varieties of in, and use of, con- spiracy theories in esoteric movements. But if “esotericism” is the construct of

1. See e.g. Sørensen, Den Store Sammensvergelsen. 2. E.g. John M. Roberts, !e Mythology of the Secret Societies.

200 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS a “Grand Polemical Narrative”3 we should, perhaps, consider that the polemi- cal construction of otherness might be reciprocal.4 !eir common rejection by the mainstream may lead those de"ned as Other by a self-proclaimed ortho- doxy to de"ne their ties to each other and their emically constructed histori- cal forebears as close.5 !ey may also project a similar kind of otherness onto their preferred opponents, e#ectively demonizing the mainstream as much as any discourse of the more powerful. !at such polemical narratives may take the form of conspiracy theory has already been considered with regard to some examples from esoteric groups. !e presence of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in far-right esoteric move- ments is, for instance, well known.6 Here, however, I will show further exam- ples of conspiracy theory in esoteric societies, with three largely di#erent usages; in anthroposophy, Satanism and . As we shall see in these examples, conspiracy theories about secret, esoteric societies crop up even within the esoteric discourse on conspiracy. It should come as no surprise that some “esotericists”, when believing in conspiracies, may also ground them in esoteric discourse. We should perhaps try to delve deeper, into the less easily seen. So in order to assuage the thirst for esoteric knowledge, I shall attempt a tentative answer to a discussion I have had with one of the editors of the present volume: may conspiracy theories in themselves qualify for membership in contemporary esoteric discourse in any useful manner? Does relating them to each other help us understand anything better? In order to delve into this issue, I look next at two examples of conspiracy discourse written by recognized spokespersons within conspiracy culture. To assist in the venture of examining whether conspiracy discourse itself is also usefully considered as esoteric discourse, I will look at the examples through the lens of three interrelated topics that follow closely on my chosen de"nitions of conspiracy theory and esoteric discourse (below): notions of history, agency and knowledge. !e "rst topic raises questions related to conspiracy theories as apocalyptic mythologies of , and their construction of secret societies in history. Revealing secret history brings us to the nature of knowledge, how it is constructed and what its function is in these mythologies. Hidden knowledge about secret agents who are more e#ective than those seen, also brings in the question of agency, and how secret knowledge may make it more powerful. !ese topics should, hopefully, be a good starting point for considering con- spiracy theories both about esoteric movements and in esoteric discourse, and

3. Hanegraaf, “Forbidden Knowledge”. 4. E.g. Hammer, “Contested Diviners”. !is reciprocity is implied by Hanegraa# and others as well, but it is rarely explicitly addressed. 5. Cf. Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy. 6. E.g. Goodrick-Clarke, Black Sun; Barkun, Religion and the Racist Right; Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy.

201 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL a promising set of questions for re$ecting on whether considering conspiracy theory as esoteric discourse is useful.

CONSPIRACY THEORY, CONSPIRACY CULTURE AND ESOTERICISM

Conspiracy theory is, in common parlance, a denigratory label indicating that a theory about the causes of an event or phenomenon, among other things, (i) involves a deliberate conspiracy, (ii) is fanciful and (iii) commits glaring errors of fact and/or reasoning. !ese connotations are so pervasive that they cannot be overlooked, so I shall instead make use of them. In this context, “conspiracy theory” is taken to mean theories involving consciously plotting , theo- ries that are, in regard to extant knowledge, fanciful, and which make use of what is, from an academic perspective, specious reasoning, factually unlikely, or simply wrong. !e latter is also an implication of Michael Barkun’s scheme of classifying conspiracy theories as “stigmatized knowledge”.7 Taken together, these elements focus on the notion of explicitly intentional agency in conspir- acy theory, and on the importance of claims to hidden, “esoteric” knowledge stigmatized by mainstream society’s ”Grand Polemical Narratives” to hide the truth. !e consciously plotting mark out what constitutes “conspiracy the- ory” from a broader family of narratives about hidden forces limiting human agency and subverting our quest for knowledge. !is broader family is what is usually meant by “conspiracy culture”.8 In this article I subscribe to a narrower understanding of conspiracy culture to delimit the milieu and discourses sur- rounding conspiracy theorists understood as “spokespersons”. I only rarely draw on narratives not involving deliberate conspiracy, and then only as back- ground or comparison. With regard to what may count as esoteric, I take a broad stance in$uenced by, among others, Kocku von Stuckrad’s focus on “the esoteric” as discursive strategy9 and Christopher Partridge’s concept of occulture.10 For the purposes here, I follow von Stuckrad’s delimitation of esoteric discourse:

What makes a discourse esoteric is the rhetoric of hidden truth, which can be unveiled in a speci"c way and established contrary to other interpretations of the universe and history – often that of the institutionalised majority.11

7. Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy. 8. E.g. Knight, Conspiracy Culture; Knight, Conspiracy Nation. 9. E.g. von Stuckrad, . 10. Partridge, !e Re-enchantment of the West. See also Chapter 6 of this volume. 11. Von Stuckrad, Western Esotericism, 10.

202 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

We may note that by including opposition to “the institutionalised majority”, this way of viewing esoteric discourse foreshadows the possibility that re"ected polemical narratives may be used by those forced into the domain of rejected knowledge. As Wouter Hanegraa# notes with regard to the mainstream, iden- tity construction depends on “simultaneously constructing an ‘other’ who rep- resents whatever we do not want to be”.12 !is works the other way around as well, and demonizing the “other” can strengthen identity when social bonds are loose.13 When interest in content also overlaps, we may "nd a broader occulture in a more sociological sense of “amorphous networks”14 clustering – at least for a while – around certain ideas. !e ideas circulating in, from and to a broader “alternative” mainstream is what Partridge terms occulture: a “reser- voir of ideas, beliefs, practices, and symbols”15 related to “arcane and restricted knowledge”16 from a broad spectrum of sources. Unlike Campbell’s focus on a monist nature of the mystical religion he termed the cultic milieu, Partridge’s occulture includes the dualist. !e ideas constituting dark occulture, to which conspiracy theory belongs, are thus a phase of, or subscene within, the broader “occultic” milieu. As we shall see next, conspiracy thinking is also a far from uncommon element in esoteric discourse.

CONSPIRACY THEORY AMONG ESOTERIC SPOKESPERSONS

!e examples below are drawn from three fairly di#erent representatives of esoteric discourse, all of which are at least at one order removed from the right-wing esotericism most often tied to conspiracism: and anthroposophy; Anton LaVey, founder of the of ; and the Discordian movement represented by Principia Discordia and the Illuminatus! trilogy. !ey di#er: Steiner is an important and recognized representative of esoteric discourse; LaVey combines “secularized esotericism” with a less rec- ognized “esotericized ”;17 and the Discordian movement is least eas- ily placed, being perhaps the most unorganized representative of a “chaotic” stream within neopaganism. Discordianism started as a mock religion, and became more of a serious joke as it developed in many di#erent directions.18 It is the branch of chaotic thought where conspiracy theory is most prominent, albeit in a surprising manner resonating with several others.19

12. Hanegraa#, “Trouble with Images”, 109. 13. See e.g. Dyrendal, “Sykdomsindustrien”. 14. Partridge, !e Re-enchantment of the West, vol. 1, 66. 15. Ibid., 84. 16. Ibid., 69. 17. See Petersen, “‘We Demand Bedrock Knowledge’”. 18. For a good introduction, see Cusack, Invented . 19. Partridge’s chapter in this volume shows that “esoterrorism” and related conceptualizations of art closely parallel ideas about agency and the use of conspiracy theory in Discordianism.

203 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL

Rudolf Steiner and the materialist “vaccine conspiracy”

Like their forebears,20 modern-day disciples of Rudolf Steiner vary widely in their opinions on a multitude of topics. !is includes vaccination: While many anthroposophists follow ordinary vaccine programmes, others clearly do not, and Waldorf schools seem to have been the fulcrum of vaccine-preventable diseases more often than should be their due.21 Some are generally negative towards vaccines and vaccine programmes. !is seems to have been the case with anthroposophical doctor Philip Incao, a prominent promoter of alterna- tive medicine and the author of a number of articles on vaccines. Writing for the anthroposophical journal Gateways in support of the anti-vaccine organi- zation National Vaccine Information Center, he places his remarks within a generally vaccine-critical position, and posits a conspiracy theory he grounds in Steiner and anthroposophical cosmology: “Rudolf Steiner’s comments … leave no doubt about the ‘hidden agenda’ behind the plan to vaccinate all the world’s children with as many vaccines as possible, thus devastating their spir- itual development.”22 !ere is a plan. It is secretive, destructive and directed against human agency by blocking children’s spiritual development, thus barring them from freedom. Incao builds his theory by "rst "nding fault with the scienti"c back- ing behind vaccines, misrepresenting along the way the state of research in standard conspiracist manner. Since he "nds no good medical rationale behind vaccines, there must be another explanation for the implementation of vaccination programmes. !is he "nds by going to Steiner, which reveals to him a more sinister “hidden agenda” behind vaccines. Clearly disappointed in his fellow anthroposophists for their lack of interest or zeal with regard to anti-vaccination, he brings forward the appeal to what “der Doktor hat gesagt”. What Steiner did have to say on the issue is more complicated. It is far from clear that it must be read as Incao does (indeed, it seems overly narrow), but we do see several instances where Steiner put forward varieties of the state- ment Incao quoted, and which puts the statement in context. In a Dornach lecture of October 1917, Steiner stated that:

[W]hile human bodies will develop in such a way that certain spir- itualities can "nd room in them, the materialistic bent, which will spread more and more under the guidance of the spirits of dark- ness, will work against this and combat it by physical means. I have told you that the spirits of darkness are going to inspire their human hosts, in whom they will be dwelling, to "nd a vaccine that

20. E.g. Zander, Anthroposophie in Deutschland. 21. Hoggendorf et al., “Spotlight on Measles”; cf. Ernst, “Anthroposophy”. 22. Incao, “Report on Vaccination”.

204 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

will drive all inclination towards out of people’s when they are still very young.23

!is is an important attack on and threat towards human freedom and agency as understood by Steiner: to become a free and complete individual capable of moral imagination, humanity needs spirituality. What his esoteric vision tells him, is that the evil spiritual forces of di#erent ages will by necessity work for a “vaccine” against the spiritual development of the age, and for a - killing . Materialism as a cultural force may thus seem to be the central enemy, but through application of esoteric insight, it is revealed that it re$ects deeper forces, and that a “vaccine” against spirituality will be the tool of evil (materialistic) spirits. !ey are just waiting for the right time and knowledge to put this plan into action. If we take Incao literally, he claims that mankind has now reached that stage and vaccines as a whole have become such a tool where, to use his own Steiner quotation, “Materialistic doctors will be entrusted with the task of driving souls out of human beings.”24 How does Steiner know? He knows, of course, through his special, spir- itual insight, which leaves him able to experience higher knowledge directly. To all of lesser abilities, it works as declaration about esoteric knowledge. !is knowledge concerns power and agency, revealing a conspiracy against human freedom by evil spiritual forces that work through human beings, some of whom are organized in “secret brotherhoods”. In lecture three of the compilation Secret Brotherhoods and the Mystery of the Human Double, composed of seven lectures from 1917, Steiner recapitu- lates what is going on “behind the scenes of external events”. He starts with a mystery: the “incomprehensible” of what he calls a noble woman. More accurately, although Steiner does not say so explicitly, it is about the murder of Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria (1837–98) by the anarchist Luigi Lucheni. In the materialist world, the murder may look “incomprehensible”, as it did to people such as the theatre critic who was Steiner’s interlocutor in the text.25 Once seen through the lens of esoteric insight, however, it is all made sensible: spiritually inclined people, Steiner reveals, will now develop towards something belonging to the “sixth post-Atlantean age”. !ese will be less inter- ested in “matters of the physical plane”, leaving more earthly power to those less spiritually inclined.26 Put another way, the very vision of human develop- ment towards freedom by spiritual development, is threatened because spir- itual development leaves those of higher knowledge less interested in material, political agency. By default, this leaves in$uence in earthly a#airs, including the power to hinder spirituality (thus freedom and agency), vulnerable for

23. Steiner, “Fall of the Spirits of Darkness, Lecture 13”. 24. Steiner, quoted in Incao, “Report on Vaccination”. 25. Steiner, Secret Brotherhoods, 77. 26. Ibid., 81.

205 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL appropriation by powers of evil. “Secret brotherhoods” of occultists are of the latter kind. Since they are probably possessed and greedy for knowledge and power, they have been killing people, seemingly wantonly. Why? Because, Steiner tells us, the souls of those killed may be used to gather knowledge and power, and transmitted from the dead through trained mediums.27 What relates this theory of assassination by occultists for evil, esoteric pur- poses to vaccination? Both are related through the underlying forces at work in time: “During the "fth post-Atlantean epoch the human being’s physical appa- ratus for thinking will become mature enough to comprehend fully certain elements of disease, certain processes of healing, and connections between natural processes and diseases.”28 !is knowledge may be used for good or for ill, and must be brought about in its right time. !e purposes of the conspiracy are of course other; “to get those secrets into one’s clutches for the purposes of turning in a certain direction that have to do with processes of disease, and also of procreation”.29 !e secret knowledge of a “vaccine” against spirituality thus seems one of the goals of assassinations, and the secret societies seek it to promote their goal of power. Materialism is one part of a ploy for power, and it will express itself as a determined attempt at rooting out spiritual inclination. It will do so in a fairly radical manner,

by bringing out remedies to be administered by inoculation, just as inoculations have been developed as a protection against dis- eases, only these inoculations will in$uence the human body in a way that will make it refuse to give a home to the spiritual inclina- tions of the soul.30

!us the apparently random is made to make sense: secret ways of knowledge reveal the secret brotherhoods, the evil spirits in$uencing them, the deeper tendencies of the time, and their connection to minute details of history. !e topic of threats towards spiritual agency and human freedom, framed in Steiner’s anthroposophy, is an undercurrent through it all. But we may note that although “inoculations” are mentioned as part of the materialist con- spiracy of evil powers, Steiner clearly di#erentiates between existing vaccines against diseases, and those to come, which will be against the spirit. !e con- $ation made by Incao is easily understandable from many other uses Steiner made of the same trope, but it is produced by later interpretation. !at is not the case with our next example.

27. Ibid., 85–89. 28. Ibid., 82. 29. Ibid., 90. 30. Ibid., 91.

206 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

Anton LaVey and the invisible war

Anton LaVey loathed consumerism and conformism. !e concerned agency and freedom. Echoing a tradition from nineteenth-century occultism’s discouragement against leaving one’s will in the hand of others (e.g. mesmer- ists), he said that a Satanist “should not allow himself to be programmed by others”.31 Indeed, a true Satanist is a doer and “must be responsible for reaction and change”,32 rather than being the one who reacts to and is being changed by others. He abhorred “the masses”, and presented conspiracy theory as myth- making for the masses. As myths they are necessary, “for they are essential to man’s emotional needs”.33 !at is, they are necessary to the kind of man who is not a born Satanist. Yet LaVey clearly involved himself in conspiracy theory.34 According to the LaVey presents in !e Satanic Bible, the strong rule by nature. So how did , which he deemed a religion of the weak, ascend to power in the Western world? How did the “herd” of weaklings pull down the strong, push them to the side, and make “slave morality” the law of society? !roughout his writings, but especially in !e Satanic Bible and other early texts, we "nd religion in the role of subjugating humans. !is comes complete with the conspiracy theorist’s notion of deliberate, conscious agency behind the function. For instance, on the sinfulness of sex: “In order to insure the propagation of humanity, nature made lust the second most pow- erful instinct, the "rst being self-preservation. Realizing this, the Christian Church made fornication the ‘Original ’.”35 !is sorry state of a#airs is the result of manipulation by priestcraft, a conspiracy by the Christian cabal: “!e religionists have kept their followers in line by suppressing their egos.”36 !is is why Satan is “the best friend the church has ever had”.37 !e threat of damna- tion combined with suppression of natural tendencies manipulates their fol- lowers – and the result is the rule of the weak and the suppression of vital life. !is may look like any of a myriad of tales of a "ght between powers of evil and good in history, with darkness and light inverted towards a preference for the material and self-related. It is that as well, but in a secularized version of esoteric discourse, the secular text was itself “Magus” LaVey’s most powerful form of . It is also a conscious use of history as mythology of the of “spiritual” religion; LaVey’s tale of the history of repression should also be read as an , a call for a change of attitudes, for driving back harmful, life- denying in$uences and taking control of vital life. !us also his continued use

31. LaVey, !e ’s Notebook, 63. 32. Ibid. 33. Ibid., 108. 34. See Dyrendal, “Hidden Persuaders and Invisible Wars”. 35. LaVey, !e Satanic Bible, 47. 36. Ibid., 94. 37. Ibid., 25.

207 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL of “secret history”, where LaVey marshals the rhetorical powers of simplistic Christianity and turns it on its head:

[I]f the love of money is the root of all evil; then we must at least assume the most powerful men on earth to be the most Satanic. !is applies to "nanciers, industrialists, popes, poets, dictators, and all assorted opinion-makers and "eld marshals of the world’s activities.38

Satanism was a marginal, newly formed anti-religion, but he had it acquire a powerful legacy by route of this imaginative feat:

Occasionally, through “leakages,” one of the enigmatic men or women of earth will be found to have “dabbled” in the black arts. !ese, of course, are brought to light as the “mystery men” of his- tory. Names like Rasputin, Zaharo#, Cagliostro, Rosenberg and their ilk are links – clues, so to speak, of the true legacy of Satan … a legacy which transcends ethnic, racial and economic di#erences and temporal , as well. !e Satanist has always ruled the earth … and always will, by whatever name he is called.39

In constructing a “true” lineage of Satanism LaVey mirrors and reinvents con- spiracy culture’s lore: the powerful truly are Satanists.40 !at is, however, a good thing. Living life by satanic stratagems brings you success, and also makes life richer. However, there is a dark side: If e#ective “” works for Satanists, then it works for anyone. !at includes those who create culture and religion for the masses. A true Satanist must avoid “the colorless existence of others”,41 but corporate interest and other forces are trying to mould everyone into mindless consumers and worse. !is is “the invisible war”:

!e skirmishes take place in the region of one’s own mind. !e less one is aware of the invisible war, the more receptive one is to its ongoing process of demoralization, for the insensate human is vul- nerable, malleable and ripe for control.42

It is fought “with technologically advanced chemical and electromagnetic weapons, crowd control, weather control and misdirection to the entire

38. Ibid., 104. 39. Ibid. 40. On this subject of “de facto Satanists”, see Chapter 4 of the present volume. 41. LaVey, Devil’s Notebook, 63. 42. LaVey, “!e Invisible War”, 163.

208 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS operation”.43 Subliminal messages and other hidden control measures attempt to deprive everyone of that “wondrous, unique experience”44 life should be. Satanists should use their insight and “materialist magic” to make their own subliminals instead, thus avoiding unwanted in$uences. !is is no joke, but neither is it completely serious.45 LaVey plays with the contents as well as the form of conspiracy theory, at times communicating a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards belief, mocking what he deems excesses. But LaVey’s play with conspiracy theory may also be seen to follow quite logi- cally from, and relate strongly to, his conceptions of magic and agency. His magical postulate that recipients of spells are most receptive while sleeping,46 for instance, is mirrored by his arguments that “subliminals” work best while the recipient is asleep.47 How does LaVey know all this? Related to the element of play, we should not be at all certain that he always claims to know when he states something as fact. Some statements are mockery, some balance on the metaphorical. But largely – and although he frames Satanism as a religion demanding study, not , and the satanic mindset as one that asks questions – his style does not encourage doubt or deliberative . LaVey often leans toward the cat- egorical statement or surprising observation, but tends to encourage little in the way of argument. We saw one example above, formulated as a seemingly argumentative “if-then” statement: “if the love of money is the root of all evil; then we must at least assume the most powerful men on earth to be the most Satanic”.48 In practice, this is a simple way of getting to a historically linked conclusion by way of common morality discourse instead of through histori- cal research. LaVey rarely appeals directly to academic research. More often, he appeals in some way to his own, grounded, bodily experience. As noted by Jesper Petersen, LaVey may appeal to science and reason, but “[i]n essence, it is the experience of practical application or experiential authority that under- girds LaVeyan scientism – science is true because it resonates with satanic reasoning”.49 LaVey knows because it works: he, like Steiner, has experienced it. But often even this element of grounding is missing and we are left with the statement as revelation. !e conspiracy against human agency may work along the principles of black magic, but the connection is not made explicit through argument.50 He declares and concludes. Filling in the gaps is for the reader, who may, on closer reading, "nd seemingly simple statements to be ambiguous, playful and sardonic.

43. Barton, !e Secret Life of a Satanist, 83. 44. LaVey, Devil’s Notebook, 63. 45. See Dyrendal, “Hidden Persuaders”. 46. LaVey, !e Satanic Bible, 122. 47. LaVey, Satan Speaks!, 80. 48. LaVey, !e Satanic Bible, 104. 49. Petersen, “‘We Demand Bedrock Knowledge’”, 85. 50. Most clearly in LaVey, “Invisible War”.

209 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL

“Seeing the fnords”: conspiracy theory and guerrilla enlightenment in Discordianism

If LaVey indulged in play with conspiracy theory more or less tongue-in- cheek, Discordian play with conspiracy is both more and less serious. Less, because in Discordian writing anything and everything is doubtful and laugh- able; more, because conspiracy theory has for that very reason become an important part of Discordianism as a religious path. Discordianism started as a mock religion around 1957, with Principia Discordia as an anarchic, mock scripture devoted to Eris, the of chaos. It evolved in several stages, always keeping the anti-authoritarian elements of “humour, mockery and parody”.51 !ese are also important to the Discordian uses of conspiracy theory, which often cluster around secret societies, more particularly the mythology about the Bavarian Illuminati. It starts already in the chaotic founding text, Principia Discordia, which includes an “advert” for the “Bavarian Illuminati”:

Founded by Hassan i Sabbah, 1090 %& (5090 %', 4850 %() Reformed by Adam Weishaupt, 1776 %& (5776 %', 5536 %()

THE ANCIENT ILLUMINATED SEERS OF BAVARIA

invite YOU to join

!e World’s Oldest and Most Successful Conspiracy52

!e chapter is, appropriately, called “!e Epistle to the Paranoid”, and the “advert” is a play on the style and content of similar advertisements for con- spiracy literature. !e mythological founding in the advert, pushing the foun- dation of the Illuminati back almost 700 years to Hassan i Sabbah, is quickly transcended on the following pages when we are thrown further back – to Atlantis and beyond.53 In the tradition of both esoteric societies’ emic historiographies and con- spiracy theories, the historical genealogy of the true Illuminati is unmasked as a chain through more of known (and unknown) history than most suspect. !e “knowledge” presented is, however, as part of “nonsense as salvation”54 partly contradicted, partly transcended by giving con$icting information. !is strategy becomes even more central to Discordianism through the publica- tion of Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson’s Illuminatus! trilogy.55 !ere we "nd the Illuminati to be all of, and anything but, what is generally assumed

51. Cusack, Invented Religions, 27. 52. Hill & !ornley, Principia Discordia, 70. 53. Ibid., 72. 54. Ibid., 74. 55. Shea & Wilson, !e Illuminatus! Trilogy.

210 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS by historians, esoteric societies, and conspiracy theorists alike. !e Illuminati seems the authoritarian, secret cabal behind the New World Order (NWO), but in reality “employs a totally di#erent, laissez-faire (and Taoist) agenda”.56 In style with superconspiracies in general, Illuminatus! has the antagonists play both sides of an issue, in"ltrating each other and making chaos. Of course, the Illuminati are made to have played their role in secret assassinations and plots that have shaped history. !is includes “alternative” history, from Atlantis for- ward, but always with a twist, following a narrative style that consciously diso- rients the reader by frequently switching points of view, time, narrators, and what is presented as truthful. !e chaos is there to enlighten the reader. By creating confusion, cast- ing doubt and uncertainty on everything, the reader is treated to a narrative “mindfuck” – a strategy for disrupting an established sense of reality related to “esoterrorism”57 – forcing the reader to question what is real. !is may allow the reader to glance the fnords, the hidden, fear-inducing words, top- ics, objects and so on that the authors tell us we are programmed to ignore. !rough the right “” we may, like the character George Dorn, become able to notice them:

!en I saw the fnords. !e feature story involved another of the endless squabbles between Russia and the U.S. in the UN General Assembly, and after each direct quote from the Russian delegate I read a quite distinct “Fnord!” !e second lead was about a debate in Congress on getting the troops out of Costa Rica; every argument presented by Senator Bacon was followed by another “Fnord!” At the bottom of the page was a Times depth-type study of the growing pollution problem and the increasing use of gas among New Yorkers; the most distressing chemical facts were interpolated with more “Fnords.” Suddenly I saw Hagbard’s eyes burning into me and heard his voice: “Your heart will remain calm. Your adrenalin gland will remain calm. Calm, all-over calm. You will not panic. You will look at the fnord and see it. You will not evade it or black it out. You will stay calm and face it.” And further back, way back: my "rst-grade teacher writing FNORD on the blackboard, while a wheel with a spiral design turned and turned on his desk, turned and turned, and his voice droned on, IF YOU DON’T SEE THE FNORD IT CAN’T EAT YOU, DON’T SEE THE FNORD, DON’T SEE THE FNORD … I looked back at the paper and still saw the fnords.58

56. LiBrizzi, “!e Illuminatus! Trilogy”, 340. 57. See Chapter 6 of this volume. 58. Shea & Wilson, !e Illuminatus! Trilogy, 438.

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Fnords are programmed to spread a low-grade fear making people eager to believe, and easy to control and manipulate. Fnords continue and develop the popular literary and political conspiracy theme of “brainwashing”59 related to foreign power, government, and consumer society alike. Stealing people’s autonomy with fear, the only avenue left for release is consumerism:

!en I got a hunch, and turned quickly to the advertisements. It was as I expected: no fnords. !at was part of the gimmick, too: only in consumption, endless consumption, could they escape the amorphous threat of the invisible fnords.60

Fnords hinder agency and promote mindless consumerism. But that is just a small countercultural element to the use of conspiracy theory in Discordianism. To some it may be important, but the confusing and complex plots, the humour and the mock academic elements are perhaps the more existentially essential element of how conspiracy theory is used: !rough Discordian use, and particularly in the Illuminatus! trilogy, conspiracy theory functions as a deliberate “mind virus” to disrupt the reader’s ordinary cogni- tive system. It becomes, in keeping with founder Kerry !ornley’s vision of Discordianism as “an American form of ”,61 a kind of absurd koan, taking rationality to extremes of paradox where every claim to knowl- edge collapses in on itself. In this way conspiracy theories become a form of “guerrilla enlightenment”-tactic, generating doubt to promote the laughter of sudden, sublime insight.62

CONSPIRACY CULTURE: ICKE AND JIM MARRS

!e examples above show how some esoteric spokespersons have used con- spiracy theory with regard to history, agency and knowledge. It works partly as a mythology of evil, making sense of history by revealing secrets about how the world works. !e claims to knowledge have di#erent qualities, from cer- tain truth to complete doubt. Knowledge about the hidden conspiracy plays, in limited parallel to esoteric “gnosis”, di#erent roles in “salvation”, but it is always a guide to action: from understanding the deeper issues and agents of our time, through purely personal protection, to deliberate chaos and the col- lapse of ontology as a way to enlightenment. In the next section we shall have a look at some of the same issues with spokespersons for the most explicit part of conspiracy culture: conspiracy

59. E.g. Seed, Brainwashing. 60. Shea & Wilson, !e Illuminatus! Trilogy, 439. 61. Cf. discussion in Cusack, Invented Religions. 62. Ibid.; cf. LiBrizzi, “!e Illuminatus! Trilogy”.

212 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

theorists making their living as such. As with the examples above, I have cho- sen from both the explicitly spiritual and the more secular side. While Jim Marrs starts from a basis of “event conspiracies” (the assassination of John F. Kennedy) and holds a more or less consistent secular basis for his thinking throughout his texts, is explicitly “spiritual” and anti-materialist in his mode of argument. !ere are reasons to consider both. !e spiritual con- spiracy theorists are numerous and we should not underplay the explicit con- nection. Considering the “secular” conspiracy theorists helps make sure that we are not merely comparing the same kind of apples.

David Icke and Babylonian reptiles from the fourth dimension

David Icke is one of the brightest stars on the occultural conspiracy scene, but controversial among some circles of conspiracy theorists, partly for his expli- citly spiritual side, and partly for anchoring his conspiracy in shapeshifting reptiles. Sharing the general occultural critique of Christianity and organized religions, and framing the critique as a history of hidden plots, Icke favours an ontology with hidden “dimensions”, levels of existence, materiality and spir- itual existence beyond bodily death. Indeed, all of these general “” topics are vital to his mode of argument when revealing the truth behind the “Babylonian Brotherhood”. Icke’s books are crammed with alternative history, including alternative his- tories about religion. !ey serve as narrative critiques of politics and religion, grounding the criticism in a genealogy of the powerful: the secret societies, practices and ideas he criticizes are all attributed to a hybrid reptile–human bloodline from, among other places, “the lower fourth dimension”.63 !ese alien reptiles created religions like Christianity and as tools for their own “Babylonian Brotherhood”:

Judaism, Christianity and Islam all base their beliefs on these same stories written by the Levites after their stay in Babylon. We are looking at a point in history which was to de"ne and control the world from then until now. … !e Cabala is the esoteric stream of what is called , which is in fact a front for the Babylonian Brotherhood, as is the Vatican.64

!is exempli"es a typical epistemological strategy: listing names combined with brief narratives of their hidden connections and their meaning, so that initiates may awaken to knowledge and be free. Here, esoteric societies and

63. E.g. Icke, !e Biggest Secret, 26. 64. Ibid., 84.

213 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL mainstream religions both carry the seal of the alien, draconian beasts. Icke e#ortlessly constructs correspondences (and substantive identity) between symbols and actors across time, culture, and political and religious identities. !ey all derive from the same source and have the same purpose: “casting a spell on the human mind and emotions” in order to destroy human under- standing of “who we really are” – part of an energetic, divine whole with “no us and them, only we and ultimately ‘I’”.65 Even the reptilians are, in the "nal meaning, part of this “I”, so why do they destroy this understanding? At the more limited level of being where separate- ness exists, they are obsessed with power:

Humans who understand their true nature, power and worth would be impossible to manipulate … Only by delinking human- ity from this knowledge has it been possible to orchestrate the reptilian-Brotherhood Agenda over thousands of years. !e crea- tion of religion and o)cial “science” has been fundamental to that and … the same secret societies were responsible for establishing both.66

Fear is essential to how the reptilians control humans. !is is part of the expla- nation, claims Icke, for the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana, and others.67 It is also part of the explanation for war and crises. To create the strongest possible negative feelings associated with fear and guilt, so that it may dominate consciousness, “the Brotherhood use horri"c Satanic and sacri"ce”.68 Initiates into their order are forced to participate in these ritu- als to ascertain their synchronization into “the reptilian wavelengths”. More broadly, the construction of fear is said to stimulate the kind of society and behaviour the reptilians desire, and to do so through “vibrational patterns” leaving traces in our DNA. As if that was not su)cient, the reptilians are also claimed to work their mind control through technology, including “implants” of thought control devices.69 !ese are, again, part of the plan to take con- trol of human agency so that it is locked to a fearful existence on this plane of being. A preparation for this, recalling Steiner and his modern disciple, is the weakening of the mind–body through vaccines, which have been a tool of keeping mankind ill and functioning below par, and an important develop- ment in getting “access keys to the body-computer”.70 !e function is simi- lar to that promised by Steiner and his more anti-vaccine followers, in that it works both against bodily and spiritual health.

65. Ibid., 472. 66. Ibid., 472–3. 67. Ibid., 478. 68. Ibid., 474. 69. Icke, !e David Icke Guide, 391–4. 70. Ibid., 547.

214 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

Icke’s style is declarative. He presents his claims to knowledge as statements of fact, and he uses the gamut of “New Age” validations of knowledge,71 from personal experience and testimonials to science. He stresses the latter in the form of his own “research” with supportive testimonials as “independent con- "rmation”, whether through others’ research, channelling, or allegedly auto- biographical information. Outside “research” is selected to support his own theses, and it is narrated within the story Icke wants to tell. Much of his writ- ing consists of retelling other “rejected knowledge”, repackaged to suit his own theories. In addition to strategies that at times parallel or serve as secularized versions of esoteric knowledge-strategies, Icke also employs “traditional” eso- teric ones. “!e Cabala”, he writes, “is the secret knowledge hidden in codes within the and other texts”, and the sacred texts of “all the religions” are written in such code.72 !ey all contain secret knowledge to be revealed. He goes on to reveal true names and “their true meaning”. Similarly, he decodes the “true meaning” of colours, numbers and symbols, where simi- larity is made into identity across time and space. Everything concerns deeper truths and higher knowledge, hidden by esoteric elites and “hidden in the code of the mystery schools”.73 Although standing in clear continuity with the broader “New Age” milieu, Icke is a critical member. He sees New Age as being ignorant of the dark, rep- tilian forces, calling it “spirituality as escapism”.74 Still, the solutions and the salvi"c messages are in line with the milieu: We may be programmed and controlled intellectually, but our emotions and intuition, as long as they are guided by love, not fear, will set us straight – and free:

You think with your intellect and that is so vulnerable to program- ming through the eyes and ears by the daily diet of lies, suppression and misrepresentation in the media and by all those Brotherhood clones to which it o#ers a platform. But when we feel, we are tap- ping into our heart centre, our intuition, that connection with the .75

Intuition is a way to knowledge more certain than what the intellect can pro- vide alone. When Icke states that “the truth shall make you free”,76 it is a truth where feeling and rationality are reintegrated and set to work by “healing” through love.77 For this to happen, Icke’s own texts and the conspiracy lore he presents are a necessary step.

71. See e.g. Hammer, Claiming Knowledge. 72. Icke, !e Biggest Secret, 84. 73. Ibid., 85. 74. Ibid., 486. 75. Ibid., 502. 76. E.g. Icke, … And the Truth Shall Set you Free. 77. Icke, !e Biggest Secret, 504.

215 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL

Jim Marrs and the rule of secrecy

Denial of accidents in toto is one of the traits often used for describing “grand conspiracy”. Conspiracy lies at the heart of history and how one views it, writes Jim Marrs, now one of the veterans in conspiracy theory: “Here there are only two views: accidental or conspiratorial.”78 Starting out from “event conspiracies” like the John F. Kennedy assassina- tion, Marrs broadened out to “UFO cover-ups” and extraterrestrial presence, and more comprehensive theories encompassing the totality of history (and some prehistory). Literature theorist Samuel Chase Coale called his Rule by Secrecy “the quintessential text that reveals the ultimate vision of conspiracy of the era … the Bible of conspiracy”.79 Although many other writers and texts vie for the title, Marrs does have prominence similar to Icke. Marrs’s texts belong to the secular side of conspiracy culture. Not in the sense of pressing an explicitly secular agenda, but in the sense that he, unlike many other writers of “grand conspiracy”, does not present an explicitly reli- gious agenda of his own. While he sometimes, and mostly in the “"nal per- spective”, includes extraterrestrials and “the alien agenda”80 into the picture, what might have been explicitly religious overtones are secularized. Unlike with Icke, there is no talk about soul, spiritual development, or salvation from anything but an oppressive conspiracy and their evil plan. !ey may at times be called “satanic” or alleged to be Satanists, but he attributes no abilities to them. Nor are there explicit references to supernatural modes of acquiring knowledge, although such were employed by some of the “research” he relies on. Marrs’s main interest lies in the in$uence of “secret societies” on economics and politics.81 !ese are the main areas where he sees the limitation of human freedom, and where the abuse of power by the conspiracy interferes deeply with the lives of people. !ey do so, for instance, through the production of wars and economic crises, both of which spread anxiety, fear and misery, leav- ing more control in the hands of the conspirators. Economic matters acquire a special importance for “thought control”: not only are the media generally owned by the conspiracy, their revenues controlled by big business, but – by listing a set of prominent media "gures as “members of” the Bilderberg group, Council on Foreign Relations, or the Trilateral Commission – he includes them as pawns of “NWO” or worse.82 !is is why “we” are not informed of the nefarious plans of these groups, and how “we” are kept passive. In addition

78. Marrs, Rule by Secrecy, 6. 79. Coale, Paradigms of Paranoia, 22. 80. Marrs, Alien Agenda. 81. Bankers are also presented as a secret society (Marrs, Rule by Secrecy, 77), and the econ- omy likened to religion. 82. Marrs, Rule by Secrecy, 105.

216 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS there are other methods of more literal mind control, which Marrs relates to the heritage from Nazi scientists, through CIA experiments, and beyond. He mainly presents these techniques as being used on a few individuals rather than on whole populations,83 but there is one exception ringing of Cold War fears. !is is when he presents the $uoridation of water as part of the Nazi heritage of mind control, and alleges that “sodium $uoride was placed in the drinking water of Nazi concentration camps to keep inmates paci"ed and sus- ceptible to external control”.84 Since he also alleges that $uoridation gives peo- ple cancer and other life-threatening diseases, it becomes a general threat. While Marrs’s main interest may lie with politics and economy as elements of limiting the free agency of the ordinary citizen, this does not preclude a very distinct interest in religion. Marrs, like Icke, devotes quite a lot of space to presenting alternative histories of religion. Like Icke, he follows “New Age” versions that repackage the Judaeo-Christian tradition as something quite dif- ferent from how it is usually understood. But more than anything, he holds a continued interest in secret societies and, like Icke, sees a “Babylonian” herit- age behind the current world conspiracy. !is includes, as one might expect, the involvement of secret societies in greater and lesser event conspiracies. For instance, “World War II was largely the result of in"ghting between secret occult societies composed of wealthy businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic.”85 Although each event is traced to particular causes, they share a general trait: “!e imprint of secret societies can be found in every war and con$ict of the twentieth century.”86 Like the Discordian pranksters, Marrs is enamoured with the Illuminati. So is an enormous amount of conspiracy culture, and like some of it, Marrs takes the “information” presented in the Illuminatus! trilogy at face value. He buys into their fake sources and historiography, for instance attributing to the historical Illuminati the prescience and/or in$uence to coin “$ower power” (in the form “Ewige Blumenkraft”) as slogan. When tracing their prehistory, how- ever, he stops at a lineage back to “the infamous Muslim Assassins”,87 while its present history is connected to “the Round Tables of Mason Cecil Rhodes … the Royal Institute of International A#airs, Council of Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission”88 – in short, all the usual suspects. As with Icke and other (il)luminaries of conspiracy culture, Marrs is interested in the “blood- lines” of this hidden elite, tracing their genealogical descent as well as their ideas and (abuse of) power through history. He "nds that “[t]he world’s deep- est secrets all lead back to Sumer in Mesopotamia, the "rst known great

83. E.g. Marrs, !e Rise of the Fourth Reich, 346–8. 84. Ibid., 329. 85. Ibid., 305. 86. Marrs, Rule by Secrecy, 200. 87. Ibid., 237. 88. Ibid., 109.

217 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL civilization”.89 Why them, why there? It was a prime, "rst site of extraterrestrial operations on earth, explains Marrs, seeking this space because it combined water, fuel and moderate weather.90 !e historical narrative of Rule by Secrecy is jumbled. !e origin with the extraterrestrial “Annunaki” is presented as a climax at the end of the book. Every chapter in itself deals with single strands of historical claims that may or may not be dealt with or linked to in other chapters. Continuity is underdevel- oped. !is may be the narrator’s choice, but it also points towards the way his knowledge-claims are developed in the text. “!ere is no guarantee”, he starts out with what seems a massive understatement, “that all of the information presented here is absolute ground truth.”91 With a powerful conspiracy trying to suppress knowledge and supply misleading evidence, anything is doubtful.92 As is common to grand conspiracy, this is not a call for extra careful consid- eration of sources of information. Instead it serves to make the case for a lib- eral, more “esoteric” approach to the production of knowledge. !e doubt and uncertainty presented at the outset is rarely seen again. How then is knowledge produced? Two of the central strategies could be called innuendo and super"cial resemblance. Coale comments that “Marrs weaves his web of guilt by association”,93 and all of the elements are impor- tant. Lists, names and connections produce hidden meanings. !e links may be personal, or they may relate to ideas, with the latter being constructed as proof of personal contact. When important people need to be associated, the text may for instance delineate the possible links between degrees of separa- tion. !is results in a maze of small narratives about association. Similarity is often conferred on the basis of the conspiracy lore and alternative histories the theorist depends on. Such similarities may, as with Icke, be used to bridge even longer historical spans and con$ate demonized enemies in conspiracy lore. A relatively short time span, with a useful gallery of persons, is bridged like this, for example:

Marx’s manifesto set forth the ten immediate steps to create an ideal communist state. !ey bear a striking similarity to the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, suggesting some common origin. … !is list was also remarkably similar to the steps for cre- ating an ideal society proposed by the Bavarian Illuminati, strongly indicating a close connection between the two.94

89. Ibid., 374. 90. Ibid., 381. 91. Ibid., 17. 92. Ibid. 93. Coale, Paradigms of Paranoia, 23. 94. Marrs, Rule by Secrecy, 199.

218 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS

Since the conspiracy is a web of relations, and everything is shrouded in secrets, the proof is in the linking. When the link may be made, it serves as proof. !ese forms of link may take the form of correspondences less intelligi- ble to anyone versed in the requisite area of knowledge:

!e famous Egyptian Book of the dead, in a passage containing a confession to the “Lord of Righteousness”, reveals a remarkable correlation to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.

Bible Book of the Dead Have no other before me I do not temper with divine balance Make no idols I stop not a when he comes forth Do not misuse the name of God I do not o#end the god who is at the helm … !is comparison provided compelling support for those who claim that the biblical Israelites drew heavily from the ancient Egyptian texts. !e Egyptians, in turn, gained their knowledge and beliefs from the older cultures of Babylon and Sumer.95

Perceived similarities are proofs of contacts, in$uences and, "nally, identity. If you cannot "nd the time to produce even the spurious similarities to “prove” the connections, you may, as we see exempli"ed in the "nal sentence, just pos- tulate them. All strategies of producing links and similarities have, however, another element tied to them. Like Icke, Marrs depends on the “research” of others not duped by the conspiracy; the research of someone in the same milieu. References to more mainstream academic endeavours are few and tied chie$y to results that may be "tted into the narrative being weaved. Although unnamed “researchers” abound, there are surprisingly few references to the common topos of mainstream scientists being shut up and having their results suppressed by the conspiracy. Still, the topic of the conspiratorial suppression of knowledge is always in place. Indeed, it plays a central role as what limits freedom and “salvation”. Information (“the truth”), Marrs concludes, is what will set you free.96

95. Ibid., 365. 96. Ibid., 410.

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DISCUSSION: CONSPIRACY THEORY AS ESOTERIC DISCOURSE?

When considering conspiracy theory in and about esoteric groups and dis- courses, questions of history, knowledge and agency are intertwined. Looking now at the merits of viewing conspiracy theory as esoteric discourse, I shall focus "rst on aspects of history and knowledge. Closing the discussion, I will consider the relation between knowledge and agency. !e topics remain inter- twined: in order to realize freedom, conspiracy theories maintain, one has to unveil hidden knowledge about secret plots and hidden power. !e unveiling of conspiracy tends to take the form of a historical narrative. !e polemical content and narrative form serve conspiracy theories in their function as mythologies of evil revealing secret knowledge about the origins and nature of evils befalling humanity (and Nature). !is goes especially for the more complex and wide-ranging theories about grand, systemic (up to, and including, cosmic) conspiracies we have looked at above. History gives meaning and shape to revelations about the hidden forces around us, how they have shaped past and current events, and where they are leading us. In order to ful"l the role as apokalypsis of evil’s roots and how its plan unfolds, a conspiracy theory must reveal secret knowledge about places of power. Besides, and allied with, the suspects in high "nance, politics and the military, the historical “secret societies” are presented by both some esoteri- cists and conspiracy theorists as important loci of hidden traditions wielding unknown power. !is, as noted already by John Roberts,97 is interesting also for its historic interrelation with older, self-mythologizing emic historiogra- phies of esoteric societies. Two internally related elements seem important here. !e "rst is related to secrecy as the two-faced coin of esoteric discourse. As discussed by Hugh Urban,98 the very claim of possessing secret knowledge and hidden power may raise suspicion from outsiders. As Roberts noted for early anti-Masonry, initiatory knowledge as revealed through levels of eso- teric insight quickly raises suspicion that lower levels are left in the dark, or actively misled. !e second element is the esoteric discourse on “secret chiefs” or “ascended masters” as hidden leaders with particularly deep insight and power. Add the two, and we may see conspiracy theories involving secret societies as the outline of an esoteric movement-discourse, appropriated, "lled in, and turned on its head: instead of guiding humanity in its progress, the secret chiefs of conspiracy mislead, corrupt and destroy, and the secrecy itself “proves” (as stated already in Roman conspiracy theories about early Christians) that suspicions are true. Conspiratorial history may be seen as an inverted esoteric discourse on his- tory, knowledge and agency. Alleged chains of transmission for the conspiracy

97. John M. Roberts, !e Mythology of the Secret Societies. 98. See Chapter 9 of this volume.

220 HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, HIDDEN POWERS are revealed, but the forebears of their own theories are often forgotten or under-communicated. In these cases conspiracy theory reacts to, parallels and partially inverts esoteric discourse in another manner as well: while par- tially adopting the content and form of esoteric discourse, it reveals secrets of history in order to remove secret power in the present. !e soteriological aspect of conspiracy theory is served by removing the alleged veil of secrecy from esoteric knowledge, serving at the same time as “initiation” into this knowledge. Conspiracy theories thus tend to reveal the least “ordinary”99 aspects of occulture as destructive, while at the same time partaking in the same occul- ture they reveal as evil: !e construction of history as conspiracy often ends up con$ating other, equally marginalized competitors in occulture with a “demonic” mainstream. By identifying them with a hidden establishment of power, they are placed outside the and made actors in a history of power. !ese revelations are made in order to remove the power of evil, but recalling Hammer’s injunction to look at esotericism as/in speci"c social formations,100 we should also take note of the power constructed by these rev- elations. In brief, the revelation of “secret knowledge” in conspiracy theory serves to delimit in-group from out-group, aiming in the same stroke to work as an “initiatory” experience regulating the possibility of salvation through disclosure: adopt, and awaken, or reject, and join the black brethren (or the sheeple). !e unveiling of hidden truth is in both conspiracy theory and esoteric dis- course, to paraphrase von Stuckrad,101 established contrary to the institution- alized academic interpretations of history. Conspiracy theory tends, however, to be characterized as “fundamentalist” rather than esoteric in its epistemolo- gy.102 Indeed, it still holds true that conspiracy theories thrive in fundamen- talist circles, and that they, as in several of the examples above, tend towards literalism in interpretation. !ey also tend to use biblical lore literally and have scant room for “higher criticism”. But also like fundamentalist discourse, conspiracy discourse is more complex than etic simpli"cation would have it. Literalism is but one aspect even of fundamentalist epistemology, and like modern literature, conspiracy theories go further in an “esoteric” direction. Like prophetic literature, they show a marked tendency to “semiotic arousal”103 where the visible becomes transparent signs evidencing the invis- ible. Anything may become such a sign, and it is important to make note of everything pointing in the right direction. It is an oft-noted observation that conspiracy theories immunize themselves from critical inquiry (e.g. by the

99. See Chapter 6 of this volume. 100. Hammer, “Esotericism in New Religious Movements”. 101. Von Stuckrad, Western Esotericism, 10. 102. E.g. Coale, Paradigms of Paranoia, 4, 24. 103. Landes, Millennialism.

221 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL stratagem that evidence to the contrary is manufactured by the conspiracy). Since evidence against any theory is rampant by reason of conspiracy and cover-up, evidence for the conspiracy theory is necessarily always hidden. But at the same time, conspiracy theory is driven by the narrative logic of suspense "ction;104 the conspiracy must leave clues so that the detective may solve the case. !is makes culture into a “Book of Nature” whereby the signature of its conspiratorial authors may be read. We get a hermeneutic where the discerning eye can reveal the plot. !e strategy may be simple inversions, as the “fact–"ction reversal” noted by Michael Barkun,105 whereby precisely because something is marked as "ction, it may be deemed legitimate to view it as masked fact. Other strategies are more similar to the correspondences and analogies of traditional esoteric dis- course. We have seen keys to interpretation ranging from Steiner’s esoteric insight to revelations through secular “expertise” above. Taking this epistemology seriously, one is caught in a web of contradictions and uncertainties: Nothing is certainly true, but anything might be true. !is opens connections between di#erent areas of occulture: stigmatized knowl- edge claims $ow between di#erent groups of interest, creating the improvised apocalyptics of dark occulture where all manner of conspiratorial claims "t. But it also opens up the arena for serious play with uncertainty: chaotic “onto- logical guerrilla” activity, esoteric and self-initiations into deeper secrets of history, society, and self. We made note of the play with uncertainty in Discordian use of conspiracy theory and some elements of it as well with LaVey. In the other examples there were few real doubts and not much play. !e claims to knowledge may be shrouded in a very limited uncertainty, but are nonetheless presented as fact. !e style in conspiracy discourse tends, as in archaeology and other types of alternative history, to appeal to the academic, and the prose may be dense with references to “research”. It involves using phrases and terms from both academic and “rejected” science. !e e#ect is a variation of “ter- minological scientism”.106 While many are explicitly “spiritual”,107 others adopt topics, storylines, and modes of argument that strip away references to the supernatural completely.108 But even the "rst category tends to adopt an at least super"cially secular rationality and a “scholarly” style that is completely absent from Steiner’s explicit esoteric discourse, for example. An esotericist like Steiner is closer to “conventionally” religious conspiracy writers,109 and his revelations may be more easily recognizable as the spiritual gnosis of the

104. See e.g. Wisnicki, Conspiracy, Revolution, and Terrorism. 105. Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy. 106. Hammer, Claiming Knowledge, 236–9. 107. E.g. Icke, !e Biggest Secret. 108. E.g. Marrs, Rule by Secrecy. 109. E.g. Des Gri)n, Fourth Reich of the Rich.

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mystically enlightened human. But all of the apokalypses considered above have a redemptive quality. Whether meant for the individual alone or for a larger collective, they serve to make sense and prepare for recovering agency from oppressive circumstances. !e relation between knowledge and agency is, then, in many ways the most important one as it holds the key to salvation. In order to break free one must be made aware of how one’s agency is being subverted. !is is, to paraphrase Partridge, occulture at its most ordinary: the attempts to subvert “brainwashing” by “mindfucks” or “esoterrorism” may be foregrounded by the esoteric avant-garde, but the fear of threats to agency through mainstream consumer culture is itself mainstream. It is a topic which brings into contact esoteric, conspiratorial, and mainstream discourses, and is mediated and writ- ten large through popular culture:110 from mainstream thrillers to conspiracy lore, government and big business is portrayed as controlling the individual through powers both seen and unseen. Still, the fear of agency loss grows when we move from the broader milieu to central spokespersons and their theories. !is is when we may talk of agency panic:

[I]ntense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy or self- control – the conviction that one’s actions are being controlled by someone else, that one has been “constructed” by powerful external agents. … !is fear sometimes manifests itself in a belief that the world is full of “programmed” or “brainwashed” subjects, addicts or “mass-produced” persons.111

With the exception of Steiner’s more speci"c fears of materialism vaccinating (“brainwashing”) people against spiritual ideas, we have seen that the mass production of programmed subjects was a repeated concern of how conspir- acy limits agency and commits evil. Indeed, in some of the theories, this, not the actions of murder and mayhem, is the epitome of the conspiracy’s evil. !is is one reason why knowledge is given soteriological status: it has the power to “break the programming”. !is also shows the value given to free agency and a free self. In line with modern assumptions generally, and self- spirituality speci"cally, the self as agent is functionally sacred. It is the last ref- uge of what should be protected from the onslaught of modernity and outside power, but which the lore of conspiracy culture tells us is under attack. !e underlying ideals and/or assumptions about agency and personhood tend towards idealization of a “diamantine” self with a core separated in essence from persuasion and in$uence. In mainstream culture the ideal tends

110. E.g. Melley, “Agency Panic”; Seed, Brainwashing. 111. Ibid., 62.

223 ASBJØRN DYRENDAL towards “a rational, motivated agent with a protected interior core of beliefs, desires, and memories”.112 Notwithstanding its general lack of plausibility, this is a popular, normative idea of selfhood, generating a $ood of recipes for how to become that diamantine, e#ective self. Popular esotericism – from !e Secret and other positive thinking manuals to more complex introduc- tions to magic(k) – thrives on this, but goes one level further: the diamantine self is a higher self, above the purely rational and interior. It tends to be both “supra-rational” and transpersonal, requiring “initiatory” knowledge in order to become self-aware. If we view the positive focus on strategies of “agency recovery” as the esoteric mainstream response to agency threats – an occul- tural positive psychology telling the prospective adherent that one may achieve “change according to Will” by personal change and use of speci"c techniques – the conspiracy response in dark occulture seems again an inverted image. It a)rms personal agency, but, as brought to the fore by LaVey, through a dif- ferent lens: !e good news is that there exists e#ective, personal agency in the world, and that it uses recognizable techniques. !e bad news is that the techniques are in use by evil forces so steeped in secrecy that they are almost impossible to reach. Exposing the conspiracy thus serves as key to “agency recovery” when conspiracy is brought into the picture. In both “light” and “dark” occulture, exposing hidden sources of power and agency leads to the recovery of agency. Looking at conspiracy theory in esoteric discourse together with conspiracy theory as esoteric discourse primarily highlights similarities. It helps us notice the parallel ways in which knowledge, history and agency are constructed, their similar functions, and the internal connections between esoteric dis- course and conspiracy discourse. Connecting anything with something else through hidden links, where everything is connected and identity is conferred on principles of “signatures”, occult correspondences, and “as here, so there”, conspiracy theory may take on the look of a modern esoteric discourse, pre- occupied, perhaps, with social salvation rather than the divine. With the sacra- lization of the self, agency takes a central seat, and with secularization, hidden histories and “sciency” references take the place of more traditional mythi- cal ones. Both esoteric discourse and conspiracy theories belong to occulture, and they seem to draw from the same doxa. !us historiographies, topics, and concerns move between them, adding the dualistic, polemical edge to their response to a marginalizing mainstream. Conspiracy theory works to present hidden knowledge about evil, but it also cements an audience as “in-group” and attempts “transformation” of the passive individual to social mobilization through presenting the negative, where lighter occulture focuses on the pos- itive. Conspiracy theory may thus be a natural, sociological side of esoteric

112. Melley, Empire of Conspiracy, 14.

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discourse, as well as a logical extension of it in constructing an “Other” that does not recognize esoteric discourse and attendant movements as legitimate.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

!is article has developed partly out of discussions with Egil Asprem, who has contributed numerous valuable ideas at di#erent stages. !e article would not have been possible without his contribution.

225