






The skull and crossbones symbol was used on the flags of privateer (pirate) ships. It was also used on the military caps of SS officers in the Third Reich and was refered to as ‘Totenkopf’ or death head. Special rings were also crafted for SS officers in recognition of their personal achievement, devotion to duty, and loyalty to the Fuhrer and his ideals. The US military is quite fond of skull art which adorns many different unit patches in all branches of service. It is, however, a favourite of the US special forces.

The femur symbolize strength and stability, and two of them in a cross represent the duality of man and the connection between the material world and the spiritual.

The skull and crossbones is also used frequently in freemasonry. From gravestones to aprons to the hilts of ceremonial swords, the motif is prevalent. Said to symbolize a raising from the dead, the symbol is used in the 3rd degree ritual during which a Mason is elevated to the level of Master Mason.


Both of these aprons belonged to George Washinton. Note the skull and crossbones adorning the one on the right.

There are numerous theories as to what the number 322 references. Some claim it is a biblical reference to Genesis 3:22, some believe it is a door number (31:57,) some say it is a reference to March (or Mars) 22nd, the Spring equinox (and the day the Georgia Guidestones were erected.) Still others suggest that 322 refers to the death of Demosthenes (in 322 B.C.) and that documents in the Tomb have purportedly been found dated to Anno-Demostheni, such as in the following example. (There’s no good reason why it can’t stand for more than one of these things. There’s also no reason it must stand for any.)


This letter was written in 1860 but is dated A.D. 2182. The number 322 is added to the date of some ‘Skull and Bones’ documents. This is all good and well, but what does the number itself mean, and what is its particular signifigance? Why was it chosen above all other possibilities, and why is it displayed so prominently on a secret society’s logo?

The occult has many strange practices. For example, when making a sigil or when casting a spell, certain letters (usually vowels) will be removed from the word or words in question. This was also done in medieval portraiture when text was included on the canvas as well as on certain legal documents. It was common practice during the middle ages.

In the book “Secret Societies and Subversive Movements,” Nesta H. Webster shows her readers a cipher used by Masons and some other secret organizations to encrypt and decrypt sections of text.

The key to this cipher is that it starts at the letter ‘M’ and continues backwards towards ‘A’ goes on to ‘Z’ and follows to ‘N’ all the while counting up from 1 to 26. The letter ‘G’ is special in that it is number seven in both this cipher and in the regular alphabet. The letter ‘T’ is also number twenty both ways. The final result is displayed below.

M-1, L-2, K-3, J-4, I-5, H-6, G-7, F-8, E-9, D-10, C-11, B-12, A-13, Z-14, Y-15, X-16, W-17, V-18, U-19, T-20, S-21, R-22, Q-23, P-24, O-25, N-26


Why this cipher was chosen to begin on the letter M may have something to do with the fact that the letter ‘A’ then falls on number thirteen. Perhaps it was M for mason. Who knows?

Anyhow, when the number 322 is deciphered using the above code, the result reads KLL.

Having removed it’s vowel, that’s quite a motto, isn’t it?