Οι Κάτοικοι Σπήλαιο

How many cults, esoteric groups, and religions are vying for hegemony and control of Freemasonry?

Many, it seems. It is the one ring to rule them all.

Here is the cast of characters:

Liberators = those who help free the minds of those enslaved by Shadows and who bring people to the true light.

Shadows = those who manage the Shadow Makers and keep the shadow show going 24/7 to keep men enslaved.

Shadow Makers = Liberated Minds who wander back into the cave, help free others but who accept a Faustian Deal and are brought back into the scheme to create shadows to keep men asleep and enslaved. 

Re-Enslavers = Liberators who turn down the Faustian deal of the Shadows but who now work for themselves by preying upon newly awakened sleepers while they're dazed and confused and distract them with Faux-Lights so they can be reenslaved by a false light.

Why return to the Cave?

Knowledge is power. It is either utilized for good or for evil, for purely self-serving interests or for the betterment of all people. There are Cave Dwellers that have managed to leave the cave, they most often join the ranks of the other Shadow Makers, and subsequently benefit from the continued ignorance of the Cave Dwellers.

Shadow Makers know that Cave Dwellers have come to depend on, need, and love shadows; thus, Shadow Makers continue to create and provide shadows to the Cave Dwellers. The newly freed Cave Dweller is most often offered a place amongst the Shadow Makers, a station of prestige, a title of honor, an acknowledgement that he has looked upon the Sun and understands the value of providing shadows to the Cave Dwellers.

So, why would a freed Cave Dweller want to return to the Cave? After all, returning to the Cave is a long, painful, and arduous journey of remembering what it was like to live in the darkness amidst his fellow Cave Dwellers. He knows that both the Shadow Makers and the Cave Dwellers will want to discredit him, each for a different reason. Having seen the Shadow Makers in the light, he now knows why they make shadows. Having lived amongst the Cave Dwellers he knows how afraid they are to break the chains they have forged with the Shadow Makers. So, if he returns he knows it will be at his own peril. However, if he does not return he must ask himself if he is any better of a human being than the Shadow Makers? After all, knowledge is power. It is either utilized for good or for evil, for purely self-serving interests or for the betterment of all people.

To have gotten out of the Cave, first curiosity existed and then application had to have been applied to truly see the Sun.. Thus, now they have a choice.

If there were already a bunch of good like minded people outside the Cave it might present another alternative, but maybe not. Can one truly not try, even via the Socratic method, to spark the curiosity of all the remaining Cave Dwellers when one knows their only other choice is that which the Shadow Makers present them.

If the freed Cave Dwellers possess the same knowledge as the Shadow Makers, there must exist a Character issue as to how the knowledge is used?

What might awaken the sleeper could be something completely opposite of what he most desires. Sometimes Near Death Experiences work wonders; although, not the preferred method.

 ακρίδα: What prevents an awakened cave dweller from becoming a Shadow Maker?

If you mean "Un"awaken Cave Dweller: Himself, he has the same opportunity to find the light and then the same opportunity to determine what to do with it.

If you mean "awaken": Himself, he has the same opportunity to determine what to do with what he has learned. 

Consider Cypher, from "The Matrix." -- he wanted to return to the Cave. The Machines lied to him.

 There is no going back. You can't be plugged back in. You decide to awaken others, stop shadow makers, or become a shadow maker yourself with a Faustian deal. Some even pretend to awaken others merely to re-enslave as them as they awaken using faux lights.