Is the Neocon Cabal Just A "Front" for SYNARCHY?

The Rise of the Rough Beast 

by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince


In Britain, Synarchy is not widely known even among those interested in esoteric 
movements and secret societies.  This is very surprising, as Synarchy and its founder 
have been extraordinarily influential.

Synarchy was founded in the early 1870s by Joseph Alexander Saint-Yves dÕAlveydre 
(1824-1909).  This was a period in which many new political ideas were taking hold.  
Like many of a conservative mind, Saint-Yves was alarmed by the rise of Anarchy, and 
he developed Synarchy specifically in order to counter it.  Whereas Anarchy believes 
that the state should have no authority over the life and behavior of an individual, 
Synarchy took quite the opposite view.  In other words, the more control the state 
has over the individual the better.  This, as you can imagine, was an idea held an 
attraction for many.

Essentially, Synarchy advocates government by secret society Ð or, in its own terms, 
by an elite of enlightened initiates who rule from behind the scenes.  It doesnÕt matter 
which political party holds power in a state or even what political system that state has. 
[Nor does it matter what religious beliefs are held and publicly espoused.]  [Adopting any 
disghuise,] Synarchists would [infiltrate] key state institutions.  St-Yyes identified three 
key pillars of society that, once under the control of his elite, would allow them to 
rule without the population even being aware of their existence.  These were the 
political and social institutions, the economic institutions, and the religious 
institutions.

Although Synarchy can therefore rule in any kind of state, for obvious reasons it finds 
itself more at home among totalitarian regimes (power is held by less people, and the 
ruling regime doesnÕt change as often as in a democracy).  It has therefore always 
attracted a greater following from the Right.  Synarchy is totally opposed to ideas of 
democracy and social equality, as it believes that some people Ð i.e., Synarchists Ð are 
natural leaders.

However, Synarchy as devised by St-Yves was not a purely political movement.  St-
Yves was active in the esoteric world of 19th century Europe Ð he was, for example, a 
friend of key figures such as Victor Hugo and Lord Bulwer-Lytton - and so incorporated 
specific mystical and occult ideas into his system.

St-Yves [convinced others that he] believed in the existence of spiritually superior 
beings that could be contacted telepathically.  His elite would be made up of people who 
were in communication with them.  He himself claimed that he was in touch with these 
beings, and that they actually gave him the principles of Synarchy.

Saint-Yves drew upon many esoteric systems, from both East and West, in developing 
his ideas.  For example, he regarded the medieval Knights Templar as the ultimate 
Synarchists of their day Ð after all, they exerted control over the political, financial and 
religious life of medieval Europe, his three pillars of society.

Consequently, Saint-Yves incorporated ideas from the many neo-Templar societies 
that were flourishing in his day.  In particular, he borrowed from a Templarist Masonic 
society, the Strict Templar Observance, the concept of Unknown Superiors Ð a group 
who directed the order but whose identity remained unknown to the members.  However, 
he expanded this concept and made his Ôunknown superiorsÕ spiritually advanced beings 
that lived in a remote part of Tibet.

Although Saint-Yves himself is hardly known in this country, he was incredibly 
influential in the development of 19th century occultism.  For example, he was the person 
who introduced the concept of Agartha, the mysterious underworld realm peopled by 
initiates hidden somewhere in Tibet.  The Masters with whom he claimed to be in contact 
lived there.  

Saint-YvesÕ doctrines included ideas about the evolution and history of the human 
race that were, at the time, novel, but which have since become commonplace in Esoteric 
and New Age circles.  Central to his reconstruction of history was Atlantis as an 
advanced, global civilization.  He believed that the Sphinx was not built by the ancient 
Egyptians, but was created by the Atlanteans many thousands of years before the rise of 
Egypt.  Saint-Yves placed the end of Atlantis at around 12000 BC.

St Yves also promoted the idea of root races Ð a succession of dominant races each 
allocated a period of supremacy, but each destined to be supplanted by the next, superior 
race.  It should come as no surprise to learn that the current dominant race is the white 
Aryans.   [This example of Òroot raceÓ is incorrect.   The Aryan root race is comprised of 
all human beings currently on the planet, i.e., the entire species Homo sapiens.]
It must be stressed that it is impossible to separate Saint-YvesÕ version of history 
from his political ideology.  The history is used to justify the ideology and vice versa.  
Also, his version of history was the result of ÔrevealedÕ information Ð it lacked any 
historical or archaeological proof.  For his followers, accepting these ideas was a simple 
act of faith.

All these ideas have become, of course, part and parcel of subsequent occult beliefs, 
mainly because they were taken up, embellished and popularized by Madame Blavatsky 
(1831-1891), that larger-than-life Russian magus Ð some call her a charlatan Ð whose 
love affair with the mysteries of the East led to her founding the Theosophical movement.  
These concepts were, in turn, incorporated into the teachings of Alice A.  Bailey (1880-
1949), which have had a huge influence over the beliefs of the New Age Ð and on the 
development of the Stargate Conspiracy.

But perhaps more significantly as far as this article is concerned is that some of Saint-
Yves specific ideas appear in the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce.  For example, Saint-
Yves, in his reconstruction of history, describes a great Celtic warrior named Ram, who 
conquered the ÔdegenerateÕ black races in 7700 BC.  According the Saint-Yves, it was the 
superhero Ram who created the first Synarchist Empire, which extended from Europe to 
India.  This marked the beginning of the period of domination of the white races over the 
black.  Curiously, in a discussion about far distant events, Edgar Cayce said that this was 
Ôsome years before the entry of Ram into IndiaÕ.  But Ram could only have found his way 
into CayceÕs writings via St Yves, who had, in fact, invented Ram and all his works.
Of course, the idea that the world should be run by secret societies went down 
particularly well withÉ well, secret societies.  Consequently, many of them adopted 
Synarchist principles.  In fact, St-YvesÕ ideas transformed the esoteric underground of 
Europe, particularly France.  Some of the greatest figures in subsequent occult 
history were devotees of Saint-Yves, which is not surprising because occultists, with 
their love of hierarchy, tend to be naturally totalitarian and unegalitarian.  For 
example, Papus (real name GŽrard Encausse, 1865-1916) called Saint-Yves his 
Ôintellectual masterÕ, and when he died founded a society known as the Friends of Saint-
Yves to promote his work.  Papus, of course, had an enormous influence over the world 
of esoteric secret societies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another important movement that became closely associated with Synarchy was 
Martinism.  Although this predated St-Yves by several decades, the principles of the two 
were very close Ð St-Yves was himself a member of the Martinist Order, so there was a 
lot of cross-fertilization of ideas.

This is interesting because in our last book, The Templar Revelation, we traced the 
connection between the Martinist Order and other secret societies that make up a 
network of groups, all ultimately descended from the Strict Templar Observance, 
which includes the Priory of Sion.  It is now becoming clear that an understanding of 
Synarchy can shed light on the origins and activities of the modern Priory of Sion Ð 
but thatÕs another story... <<Information on this connection will be posted shortly>>
By the beginnings of the 20th century, the Martinist Orders Ð and many others Ð were 
firmly aligned with the ideology of Synarchy.  In 1921 the Martinist and Synarchist 
Order was founded in France.  There were also explicitly Synarchist Masonic lodges 
formed in France.

Synarchy has not only had influence over the occult world, but also over politics.
As we have seen, Synarchy outlined a specific program for the take-over of states.  
But Saint-YvesÕ aims went much further than that Ð he wanted the whole of Europe to be 
governed by Synarchy.  Right from the start, an important part of the Synarchist 
agenda was the creation of a United States of Europe, advocating the removal of 
national boundaries, customs duties, and so on.

This continued to be a central objective of Synarchy.  In fact, a Synarchist document 
published in the 1930s refers to one of their key aims as being Ôthe formation of a federal 
European Union.Õ It advocated a United States of Europe Ð although it would be a 
Europe that, for economic reasons, would be dominated by France and Germany.
As we saw earlier, Synarchy favours undemocratic and totalitarian regimes Ð they are, 
after all, easier to gain control of.  And there is a definite connection between Synarchist 
groups and the origins of Fascism in Europe in the late 1910s and early 1920s.
An organization called the International Synarchist Movement was created after the 
Russian Revolution.  According to French researchers, this was largely behind the 
rise of Fascism in Italy Ð and the creation of the Pan-European Movement in 1922.
As might be expected, Synarchy also had some influence on the development of 
Nazi ideology, although Synarchists had reservations about the Nazis emphasis on purely 
German nationalism and the Messianic cult of Hitler.

Synarchy continued to thrive in Saint-YvesÕ native France.  Synarchist groups were 
behind a wave of right-wing terrorist attacks in the 1920s and 30s.  In the 1930s a 
Frenchman named Viven Postel du Mas (of whom more later) wrote a notorious 
document called the Synarchist Pact, which became their manifesto.
In 1932, a society called the Synarchist Empire Movement was founded in France, which 
was described by one commentator as Ôa secret society with very specific and limited 
membership, following a definite politico-economic programÕ.  This was behind right-
wing terrorist groups such as the CSAR (Secret Committee for Revolutionary Action) Ð 
most of the CSARÕs members were part of the Synarchist Empire Movement.
In 1941, in Vichy France, a report by the police warned of a plot by Synarchists to 
take over the government, which noted the close relationship between the Synarchist 
movement and the Martinist Orders.  In fact, during the trial of Marshall PŽtain, the 
President of the Vichy government, in 1945, questions were asked about his connection 
with the Synarchist Pact.

The point is that Synarchy was taken very seriously by French authorities in the 1930s 
and 40s.  The term has entered the French political vocabulary (although the French press 
often use the term ÔsynarchyÕ to refer to any political or economic conspiracy, such as 
price-fixing cartels).

After the War, Synarchy adopted a lower profile, but it is still very active.  In 
fact, in recent years Synarchist groups have begun to act more openly both in 
Europe and in Britain.