Illuminati, Freemasons, The New World Order, whatever the name the claims remain the same – that behind the scenes exists a group of elites, the puppet masters of the world.
The belief that humanity is being controlled by a secret cabal is common within many conspiracy theories. Historically limited to enthusiasts on the fringe, these feelings are gaining power in mainstream American politics.
Donald Trump’s mottos of “Deep State” and “drain the swamp” has given way to movements such as “QAnon” – a group which believes that “President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.”
Unsurprisingly, these extreme accusations have led to serious consequences, as seen in the recent political violence at the Capitol.
However, an older conspiracy theory with similar claims has also gained momentum,
but it goes one step further…
Enter: The Lizard People
Yes… lizards, the cabal is run by lizard-people, an alien reptilian race as a matter of fact, which has hijacked human civilization for god forsaken reasons. According to Public Policy Polling, 4% of the population – over 12 million Americans – believe shape shifting lizard people run our country.
Despite being an outlandish belief, it has led to real violence in the United States.
On Christmas Day 2020, an explosion rocked downtown Nashville. Security footage revealed the source was a parked RV, which was oddly broadcasting a message stating that an explosion was imminent and to evacuate.
Details emerged that the RV belonged to Anthony Warner, who had most likely acted alone. Although injuring 3 and damaging 41 buildings, luckily there were no casualties besides Warner himself – being in the vehicle.
Warner had a history of bizarre statements about conspiracy theories including 5G cellular networks, the 9/11 terrorist attack, and aliens – the former of which could explain why the RV was parked in front of an AT&T facility.
On top of these theories, Warner also believed in a plot concerning lizard people, hell bent on world domination.
Another incident in 2016 involved 30 year old ex-Marine Kyle Odom, who was arrested for throwing documents over the White House fence. Afterwards it was discovered that he was a fugitive, accused of shooting a pastor 2,000 miles away in Idaho.
Why did Odom commit these acts? Well, the answer is in the documents he was throwing.
A long essay, his ‘manifesto’ argued for the existence of “hypersexual” entities from Mars who control human civilization from their lunar and underground lairs. Including an extensive list of public figures suspected of being secret Martians, it appears that he considered this pastor from Idaho to be part of the plot.
But Warner and Odom are not alone.
Unlikely Prophets
One of the most prominent voices in the “Lizard People Community” is David Icke.
A former BBC sports broadcaster, Icke entered the spotlight in 1991 when he declared himself the son of the “Godhead” on British television. Over the following years, he proceeded to publish a series of books which outlined his philosophy and grew a considerable following.
Icke argues that an interdimensional race of blood-drinking reptilian beings called the “Archons” have infiltrated human society, shape shifting their way into positions of power in order to prevent humanity from realizing its full potential.
The ‘elite’ or Illuminati (which he has also coined “The Babylonian Brotherhood”) are ancient bloodlines of genetically modified human-reptilian hybrids which influence world events not only to keep their grip on power, but to emotionally manipulate humans so that they can ‘feed’ off of their negative energy.
The end goal of this alien cabal is to usher in the “New World Order” in the form of a global totalitarian fascist state. His solution to this grim world view is for humanity to wake up to the truth and “fill their hearts with love”.
However, Icke is not the first to put forward such claims about so called lizard people.
Oddly enough, in 1934, the LA Times ran an article revealing the explosive news that a 5,000-year-old underground city of lizard people existed beneath downtown Los Angeles. Having carved their city utilizing superior technology, their lair was filled with a fortune of gold and other treasures. Having fled underground to escape the effects of a cataclysmic meteor impact long ago, they were also allegedly related to the Mayans.
However, one of the earliest foundations for these beliefs came from philosopher Helena Blavatsky. Born into a Russian-German family in what is now Ukraine, she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 with the motto “There is no religion higher than truth”.
In 1888 she published her magnum opus, The Secret Doctrine, a multi-volume canon detailing the emergence and evolution of the universe and humanity through the attempt to reconcile ancient eastern mysticism with modern science.
One large subject in her writings was the claim that before the emergence of humanity existed a succession of “Root Races”, each of which populated different continents and exemplified different characteristics.
As well as being the founders of such mythological civilizations as Lemuria and Atlantis, she claims that one of these races was endowed wisdom by a supernatural species of intelligent “Dragon-serpents.”
Given that these theories came soon after the discovery of dinosaurs, Darwin’s theory on natural selection, and the industrial revolution, perhaps all of the above forced people like Blavatsky to reinvent the origins of mankind.
Just like Icke, Blavatsky did not come up with this notion on her own. To discover the origin of these ideas, one must go even further back in time.
Down the Ancient Rabbit Hole
From the tempter in the garden of Eden to the staff of Hermes, the serpent is one of the most ubiquitous mythological symbols throughout human history. Beyond the animal itself exists another frequent motif, that of serpentine gods or supernatural beings – appearing in nearly every ancient culture.
Along with the frequency of reptilian deities is the theme that the gods came down from the stars, sharing advanced wisdom and technology with humanity.
From agriculture to fire, many foundational advancements by humanity are accredited to the gods. However, some believe that these themes of sharing technology point towards another interpretation.
Discussed by proponents of the so called “ancient astronaut theory” – the idea that the power of the gods was in fact technology misunderstood as magic (and that they were actually extraterrestrials) – it was first popularized by Erich von Däniken’s book Chariots of the Gods?
Strangely enough, some of these claims come directly from one of the most believed scriptures in the world, The Old Testament.
Beginning with the Book of Genesis, one comes across beings known as the Nephilim. According to Genesis: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.”
In other words, non-human beings (angels) came down from heaven (space) and had hybrid babies with human women, who then grew up into positions of power and renown.
Sometimes interpreted as “giants” or “fallen ones”, these beings were one of the main reasons for why the Hebrew God decided to inflict the great flood upon humanity.
Another interesting account is found in the Book of Enoch. Although excluded from the formal canon of the Hebrew bible, it was widely accepted by early Jews and Christians.
Named after the great-grandfather of Noah, this text expands on the Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, and the moral justification for the flood described in Genesis.
Calling these fallen angels “Watchers”, Enoch describes how not only did they breed with human women, but they shared technology. Teaching everything from cosmetics, weapon killing blows, and the courses of the moon, he discusses the Watchers by their individual names such as: Azazel, Gadreel, and Sariel.
Underlying Instincts
So, take universal serpentine symbolism, add the ubiquity of gods intervening into human affairs as well as sharing technology, subtract good intentions, multiply it with some sci-fi interpretation, and voila! We are getting somewhere.
Back to the present, there seems to be an overlap between QAnon and the lizard-people theory – both allege that a secret cabal of ‘elites’ influence world events from the shadows and practice pedophilia and human sacrifice.
PhD candidate Marc-André Argentino, who researches extremism at Concordia University, comments that both theories are questions about theodicy, or how to explain away evil given the existence of an omnipotent god.
According to Argentino, both worldviews believe that the world is “controlled by evil blood drinking elites that are responsible for all the evil in the world” who require human suffering to thrive.
Lizard people conspiracists hold that these beings feed off of human emotions, while in the QAnon world, elites are purported to consume adrenochrome – a form of the hormone adrenaline – which is allegedly secreted and extracted during ritualistic human sacrifice.
However outlandish these beliefs may be, conspiracy theories are not all bad, in fact, they may serve an evolutionary function. According to psychologist and author Rob Brotherton, “If we were all completely trusting, it would not be good for survival […] sometimes people really don’t have our best interests in mind.”
Regardless of its origins, the idea that an extraterrestrial cabal is controlling civilization may be the surfacing of a strange instinct – that civilization has been influenced by non-human entities.
Author: Liam Penn (Dark Matters)