Pike was said to be a genius, able to read and write in 16 different languages, although I cannot find a record anywhere of what those languages were.  In addition, he is widely accused of plagiarism, so take with a pinch of salt.   At various stages of his life we was a poet, philosopher, frontiersman, soldier, humanitarian and philanthropist.  A 33rd degree Mason, he was one of the founding fathers, and head of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, being the Grand Commander of North American Freemasonry from 1859 and retained that position until his death in 1891. In 1869, he was a top leader in the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Incidentally Simon Gray, a Freemason, has compiled a stunning amount of information on Freemasonry that I recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about it.Between 1859 and 1871, Pike worked out a military blueprint for three world  Pike was said to be a Satanist, who indulged in the occult, and he apparently possessed a bracelet which he used to summon Lucifer, with whom he had constant communication. He was the Grand Master of a Luciferian group known as the Order of the Palladium (or Sovereign Council of Wisdom), which had been founded in Paris in 1737. Palladism had been brought to Greece from Egypt by Pythagoras in the fifth century, and it was this cult of Satan that was introduced to the inner circle of the Masonic lodges. It was aligned with the Palladium of the Templars. In 1801, Issac Long, a Jew, brought a statue of Baphomet (Satan) to Charleston, South Carolina, where he helped to establish the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Long apparently chose Charleston because it was geographically located on the 33rd parallel of latitude (incidentally, so is Baghdad), and this council is considered to be the Mother Supreme Council of all Masonic Lodges of the World.