Occult Mafia Part I: Templar Knights, Garduña Secrets & the Madonna of the Mountains

About this episode

This episode explores the historical connections between the Sicilian Mafia and medieval secret societies, including the Knights Templar and Garduña.

What happens when the origins of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra are traced far beyond modern organized crime… back to Crusader orders, secret initiations, religious warfare, and the hidden power structures of medieval Europe? In this explosive first installment of Occult Mafia , Joel Thomas of Free The Rabbits begins connecting the dots between the Knights Templar, the Knights of Malta, early Freemasonry, and the shadowy criminal brotherhood known as the Garduña—an organization many researchers point to as a foundational myth behind the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra, and the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta. From the Crusades and the rise of the Hospitallers… to Malta lodges, secret rituals, aristocratic networks, and the religious-political machinery of the Spanish Inquisition—this episode explores whether Europe’s most feared criminal brotherhoods were simply gangs… or the underground continuation of something far older. Along the way, Joel dives into the symbolism of the Maltese Cross, the hidden influence of medieval orders, and the mysterious “Madonna of the Mountains”—a recurring thread that may connect sacred imagery, secret societies, and the birth of the mafia underworld…

People in this episode

Host: Joel Thomas

Topics covered

• organized crime
• historical origins
• secret societies
• medieval Europe
• criminal brotherhoods
• religious warfare

Keywords

• Cosa Nostra
• Knights Templar
• Garduña
• mafia origins
• medieval orders
• Freemasonry
• Madonna of the Mountains
• Crusades
• criminal brotherhoods

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cosa Nostra, Knights Templar, Knights of Malta, Freemasonry, Garduña, Sicilian Mafia, Neapolitan Camorra, Calabrian ’Ndrangheta, Spanish Inquisition

Books & works: Madonna of the Mountains

Places: Malta

More episodes of Free The Rabbits

• The Biblical Zodiac: The Mazzaroth, The Watchers & The Gospel in the Stars · June 8, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Occult Mafia Part 4: Pinocchio's Pleasure Island, Memphis-Misraïm & the 'Ndrangheta · June 1, 2026 · 1h 19m
• Occult Mafia Part 3: Freemason Mobsters, Mazzini & the Jacobin Terror · May 25, 2026 · 1h 14m
• Occult Mafia Part 2: The Secret Gospel, Divine Feminine & the Camorra Underworld · May 18, 2026 · 1h 9m
• Secret UFO Pastor Meeting: What Really Happened, Reptilians, Fallen Angel Tech & The Coming Disclosure w/ Tony Merkel · May 11, 2026 · 1h 55m
• Man Before Adam: Old Earth, Pre-Adamite Civilizations & Fallen Angel Creations · April 27, 2026 · 1h 19m