Customer Reviews

Blood on the Altar: The Secret History of the World's Most Dangerous Secret Society

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1 star:		(8)

 

 

Craig Heimbichner's book is extraordinarily well done. A previous reviewer mentioned that it could well be seen in tandem with Michael A. Hoffman's important "Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare". In fact, Heimbichner's book is published by Independent History and Research, which is Hoffman's company. And Mr. Hoffman was also kind and generous enough to offer a review here recorded by Amazon. Moreover, readers of Hoffman will recognize the unmistakable influence of Hoffman in Heimbichner's style.

The preceding notwithstanding, "Blood on the Alter" is well written and important on its own account. Heimbichner shares with his readers herein the benefit of his evident serious and far reaching study of the cryptocracy, together with a well organized and excellent presentation. Those reviewers who have crudely criticized both style and content of this book clearly have another axe to grind.

Perhaps the greatest relevance of Heimblichner's account occurs toward the end of the corpus of his book. There, the author contrasts the moral and intellecutal bankruptcy of "judeo-christianity" with the small but growing movement of those who seek out the truth fearlessly. This is perhaps the most important dichotomy in today's world, and we are rightly grateful to Mr. Heimbichner for so clearly elaborating this terribly important dynamic. Read this very important book, and be both richly blessed and well informed.

You may not agree with the supposition that the OTO is an elite ranking of Freemasonry, though several 32 degree Masons I know of are Crowleyites. I don't suspect that many military or governmental freemasons go to practice sodomy sex magick after drinking with their buddies at National Sojourners' gatherings.

That said, Craig Heimbichner's book is well-sourced and has a great amount of intriguing information not found elsewhere, both in scare books by Fundamentalist Xtians and hagiographies by Thelemites.

Well worth a read!

Conspiracy books are fun to read because they are usually so out of touch with reality that they almost amount to comic relief from the grimness of the world around us. This is not one of those books. "Blood on the Altar" is a work that shows the results of many years of serious research into an area that, easy as it is to ignore, is a real and sinister factor in the way we have fallen under the control of forces that are far from benign.

Heimbichner traces the many tentacles of secret organizations--many of whom are careful, like Scottish Rite Masonry, to "put a happy face" on for public view, while concealing even from the lower ranks in their lodges what the upper echelons are actually involved in.

What is so extraordinary about this book is not just the range and scope of citations from the "secret" documents of the organizations themselves (though that is mightily impressive), or the rogue's gallery of scoundrels and criminals to which we are introduced, but the way the book traces the genealogy of the occult currents that stretch back over millenia and keep recurring in new forms over the centuries. Not only does this book expose the underlying aims and methodologies of these nefarious cultlike groups, in particular the OTO, which Heimbichner credibly portrays as the controlling central group today, but he demonstrates the ways in which the Cryptocracy controls and manipulates the populace, all the while chipping away at the cultural values that once defined the West as a civilization.

All this is presented in lively and often sardonically witty prose, and to have crammed this much history and information into a mere 170 pages is an impressive achievement. There is something in this book to provide a shock and a wake-up call to everybody, and it deserves to be widely read. One can only hope (and the book does end on a note of hope) that it will contribute to a breaking of the hypnotic trance that seems to envelop our society like a black cloud.

Craig Heimbichner unravels not just a powerful and heretofore largely unknown secret society, but more importantly, the command process that guides it. "Blood on the Altar" reveals the inner Thelemic mechanism behind the outer organization and is recommended to all serious students of how clandestine elites actually gain and hold power.

--Michael A. Hoffman II
(Hoffman is the author of "Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare")

I have to say this book has alot of high points. Remember, if it makes waves in the Illuminati camps, there MUST be truth to it! If it were not a threat, such a great debate would not be made over such material. The best part was the most obvious cover up I saw on here. When I saw the end of a reveiw and it said something about the "greater will" or something like that, that is OBVIOUSLY the sign off of any Thelemic follower/ schollar or teacher. They may as well have said "Hail Satan" after the review. It is one in the same. They always capitalize on letting your own will be your true master. Look for such key words in reveiws as well as light hearted empethy and soft-humored dismisals of common conspiracy theory belief. It is all present to create the illusion that such a concern is really "no big deal to worry about".

Before anything else though, I must add that the negative remarks were typical protocol of any well-organized occultist. The most effective method of swaying the masses is to have them believe this entire concept is "childish" and make-believe at best. Yes, they are willing to put down their belief in order to thwart your focused attacks. Secrecy is key and the closer you get to infiltration of an order, the softer they will try to appeal in order to gain your trust. It is a sociopathic means of survival on their part. Face it. Sociopaths excel in all areas of business, because they understand individual weakness; since a teary eye or simply a cry of "We only exist to help the feeble children in wheel chairs" is all it takes for some to empethize with such organizations, it is nothing short of a laughing matter to such an individual (to conceal his or her true motive).

A most amuzing angle is to be aware of entertainment. Are you aware of how many "Nights of Malta" (for just a slim example) or other Illuminist members there are among owners of sports teams? If that isn't enough, an Illuminist himself admitted that sports has been the greatest invention ever to withdrawl the attention of the masses and to deflect it to less a important matter; thus enabling the "illuminated architects" to move forward; undetected with plans; (within the shadows) with more ease. They understand that popular belief is in favor of a more scientific/proof-driven kind of society and amplify such a belief by evoking and tunneling more of "what the masses want" (stressing the need for solid proof)straight into our homes. We can only assume that some journalists have tie-ins (or are infact members themselves) with some key members of such organizations (ie. Bildenburgers); allowing the truth to remain unexposed from the scrupulous eye. If you are obsessed with research and are willing to spend countless hours digging through tons of independent research, an understanding will set in and the reality of what you begin to intake will consume you with a fiery passion. It sickens me how "innocent" the government portrays their immage. The act is put on to make them appear as victims of happenstance when something goes down and they are getting the blame. Shoulders shrug and an answer is never given. They are merely masters of delaying a problem to a future date. For they know they can not and will not be able to do a thing about it without permission. They themselves know they really hold NO POWER in and of themselves. The reason they look and operate so unorderly is in essence due to their lack of actual involvement with the real key factor of creating what they are implementing. In other words, since they are not the ones generating the power, they know very little about it. They are only told what to inforce and must do so under the gavel of the "Higher powers" of the Illuminated. In all reallity, Washington DC takes the blunt trauma for the High figures which allows the true leaders freedom to create and dominate. Let us focus our efforts more efficietly at the real problem and not the "little people". Agenda-laden reveiws are transparent after acknowledging the free research available to us all. Google is such a great tool so please use it for empowerment ;)

...to reflexively discount "conspiracies," but why do nations spend billions on spies and counter-intelligence? Do armies publish their battle plans? Why do nations and businesses keep secrets? Do revolutions occur? Are revolutionary plans hatched in the open? Do the controlling events of history occur in the "free and open marketplace of ideas?" Did you imagine the US President is the boss and takes no instructions? Why are there secret societies? Are secret society members just aged frat boys playing dress up philanthropy? Why their obsession with the Talmud, Kabbalah, other Satanism, and rebuilding the Temple? Why were both 2004 major party presidential candidates members of the same secret society? Have "the left" and "the right" both been compromised? Is the political "center" the locus of truth and morality? Do prominent men engage in human sacrifice and overt Satanic worship? Are perversion and murder overlooked to protect fellow members of secret societies? In what way is the "intelligence community" under the command and control of the OTO, B'nai B'rith, and their subordinates in Freemasonry? What do science fiction movies and NASA have in common with secret societies? What secret rituals accompanied the testing of the first A-bomb and the space program? In what way has modernist Catholicism followed Protestantism, succumbing to subversion by secret socities? Has a "freeze and thaw" technique been used to subdue our horrified reactions to the sick realities when we are allowed to glimpse them? Are we more enlightened than our forebears or are we in a fugue?

Need answers? Have a strong stomach? Give ear then to Mr. Heimbichner's excellent documentation of the techniques used to subdue us all, to condition us for the advantage of the Prince of the World and his powerful and wealthy minions.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

I've been a member of the OTO for nearly 15 years, so it may suprise many readers of this review that I would give 4 stars to an expose of my dastardly doings. Boy, don't I wish. When I finished the book, I went waving it at my girlfriend, saying, "Where is THIS organization? I want to join THIS OTO!" Sadly, despite Mr. Heimbichner's efforts to assist our recruiting drive, the reality on the ground and the glamorous mystique he weaves around the Order are often very different things. Grant's Typhonian OTO, Bertiaux's OTOA, Motta's SOTO, McMurtry's
"Caliphate" OTO (to which I proudly belong), the "Swiss" OTO, et al, are mostly working with entirely different objectives. We are, unfortunately, too busy squabbling amongst ourselves to mount any sort of organized offensive on the status quo. This is not, as Heimbichner suggests, because the higher ups of the Order have nefariously sought to present the illusion of confusion. I can assure you that the confusion is quite real.

Nonetheless, I think that Heimbichner would be suprised at the number of places where he and I agree. While I repudiate his racist blood-libel bit, (or, rather, not being Christian, I don't care who's fault it is that his imaginary friend, Jesus, was crucified), I share his criticism of Zionism and the excesses of the State of Israel. I also agree that the Thelemic teachings are rather edgier than perhaps most self-identifying Thelemites are willing to admit to themselves. I also agree that Vatican II was tragic in many ways for Catholicism.

Further, while I can't speak for other Thelemites, I'm willing to acknowldge that Heimbichner was correct that I have a love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church. Protestanism is not very impressive. The mushrooming of suburban shopping mall style mega-churches, where a consumer culture passively consumes the yammering of ill-qualified preachers responsible only to themselves, is the logical outcome of the protestant ethic. At least the Catholic Church is a worthy opponent. I love the tradition, the art, the architecture, the mystery of the Catholic Church. At the same time, I find the ideas of original sin and vicarious atonement repugnant. The Church's clinging to Biblical questionable doctrines forbidding birth control at a time when over-population threatens our planet is irresponsible, to say the least. In fact, the Church's mania to control the sexuality of it's adherents is perhaps its most objectionable characteristic.

The problem, really, with this book is that Heimbichner's One United Conspiracy theory makes him fail to appreciate what, to me, should particularly be noted; which is this -- that, despite competing value systems, often, similar goals make for strange bedfellows. He misses a great deal of nuance and complexity that would have made this book a serious historical inquiry. While Heimbichner laments our media manipulated society, he fails to note that Aleister Crowley, whom he blames for this state of affairs, was complaining about "The Black Lodge" trying to "stop people from thinking" as far back as the 1940's (see Crowley's Magick without Tears for more on this issue.) The real menace today is the military-industrial complex. This is true whether you are a "right wing nut" or a "left wing nut," an occultist or a Catholic. In our own ways, esotericists and students of conspiracy like Heimbichner, although he doesn't realize it, are actually after the same enemy. Talk about strange bedfellows.

Love is the law, love under will.

This book is jam-packed with information and gores just about everyone's sacred cow with wit and insight as it shines a spotlight on the vermin-infested corner of occult Masonry. The campaign to slander this book on Amazon run by Masons and Thelemites (members of the OTO, subject of this book) is proof that the author struck the proper nerve. The lies posted below would be amusing if they weren't the (illiterate) product of such a campaign. For example, one recent reviewer mocks the author's statement that vampirism belongs to the upper levels of the OTO, but surely knows that the "Mass of the Phoenix" of the OTO is also known to initiates as the "Mass of the Vampire," and for good reason. Kenneth Grant not a member of the OTO run by Bill Breeze, which is "legally recognized?" What a joke. Take a trip to Peter Koenig's OTO website in Switzerland and you will find a document from Aleister Crowley authorizing Grant to run the whole bloody organization. That Breeze "won" something in the U.S. court system is another joke; in fact, followers of Marcelos Motta in the Society of the OTO claim the whole operation was run by the CIA through the courts. And the author never, ever claims that all of these individuals are members of the "same" OTO, but highlights the different and various individuals and branches of the OTO phenomenon.

These OTO reviewers are so full of contradictions that they praise the glossary and the research while saying it is "ridiculous." Really? They also pull out accusations and "tags" which are inaccurate, such as "racial bias" or mentions of UFOs (utterly absent from the book) in an attempt to attack the author or the book itself. As for the mention of infiltration by the OTO, the author never states how vast it is, but instead actually documents from OTO internal "libri" their own intentions to do so. This is never discussed in these reviews--for obvious reasons.

Buy the book and hang on to it. It will be worth serious money in a few years.

The author seems has done his homework in a very difficult area. After reading the book, I feel that I begin to understand some of the details of this area. One negative comment -- Since OTO likes to reconcile opposites (liberal-conservative, male-female and so forth), understanding that the OTO is on both sides of the liberal-conservative divide, for example, doesn't imply that neither is the right choice for us as individuals. It is just that the enemy, as in tai-chi, will attempt go with his opponent for awhile, in order to deflect-divert him later. The author seems to believe that anywhere you see this kind of ocultic activity is a place that you should avoid and this may not be true. Still, this is only a minor criticism of an excellent book.

Some comments against this book are not only obliviously ironic, but they are also dead wrong. Unfortunately, advocates of the OTO who read this book are so threatened by the scholarship (which exposes their "secrets") that they have to react with personal attacks on the author. Regarding some weak attacks on the book itself, how about some specifics, kids? I found the book expertly researched and informative. Don't throw EVERYONE into the UFO group. Seems like the OTOligists (thelemites) are organizing a campaign to purposely counter positive reviews by posting negative ones. This smacks of the tactics of their evil cousins, the Scientologists.