Secret Societies

In Sicily, the Cosa Nostra acted like a shadow government, controlling local lawmakers, priests, and law enforcement. They ruled the island until the 1980s, when a brave group of magistrates finally put the mafia on trial.

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In the mid-1800s, criminal gangs sprang up in Sicily, using violence to extort farmers in the island's lucrative citrus trade. By the end of the century, the gangs organized into the Cosa Nostra: the all-powerful Sicilian mafia.

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At the turn of the century, the Order of the Golden Dawn was born… and then died. In the decades since, several mystics have resurrected the order, founding numerous competing chapters, influencing political elections, and maybe even causing the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. 

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In 1888, three Rosicrucians and Freemasons—William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Wescott, and S.L. Mathers—allegedly found an ancient manuscript detailing rituals of a long lost Golden Dawn. They resurrected the order and perpetuated its magical secrets… but were they really mystics? Or was it all an elaborate hoax?

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Some of America’s most historical figures, from Samuel Adams to John Hancock to Paul Revere, were members of the Sons of Liberty. But their methods for securing independence weren’t always pure. Alternate histories suggest they may have incited the Boston Massacre and sold opium to fund their cause.

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In 1765, nine middle-class businessmen began meeting under Boston’s Liberty Tree. Over time, merchants, artisans, shopkeepers, even politicians joined the secret society known as the Sons of Liberty. Not only did they orchestrate the Boston Tea Party, they inspired the American Revolution.

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He inspired the Beatles, sacrificed goats, and faked his own death. Aleister Crowley is one of the most controversial figures in modern history, and his name has become synonymous with the O.T.O.

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The occult society of magicians, Ordo Templi Orientis, has divided public opinion since its founding in Germany around 1890. Are they innovative philosophers, or do they worship Satan? Take a walk into the O.T.O.'s world of blood, rituals, and sex magic. 

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Knowledge about the Bilderberg Group hit the mainstream in the 2000s. Since then, conspiracy theorists have accused the group of handpicking world leaders, deposing uncooperative governments and even creating implements for mind-control. However, the true danger posed by the group is much more harmful than any wild, unfounded claim.

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