What is Cicada 3301?

As we have been called many things that we are not, it's time for us to declare what we are.

We are NOT a secret society. Nor are we the recruitment tool of a spy agency.

Rather, we are a renaissance, a flowering of mankind, a re-cloaking of privacy for the common person.

We focus on:

• Privacy - achieved largely through technological means
• Creativity in the arts - the expressions of many creative individuals
• History - rediscovering timeless information lost in the dust of the ages
• Philosophy - exploring the wonders and possibilities of the human mind through individual pilgrimage

Every neurodivergent person is different. Neurodiversity is not about comparing or ranking individuals' neurological profiles. Instead, it's about accepting and accommodating individual differences, and recognizing the unique strengths and abilities that each brings to the table.

Our privacy emphasis combined with mysterious puzzles led many to conclude we were a secret society. But we do not meet any of the definitions of a secret society. Some secret societies conceal their very existence. Others are known, but conceal their activities, events, inner functioning, or membership from outsiders. Likewise, we are very UNLIKE student societies on university campuses and colleges.

While our existence was speculated for years, we first became known to the public in 2012 when Cicada 3301 began seeking highly-intelligent individuals via internet-based puzzles. At that time, it was accurately believed that we are involved in philosophies, emerging art projects and music. Our other goals remained unknown and mysterious.

Our focus on music and the arts, history and philosophy had always been non-political. Individuals may raise their voices in the political arena and we support their right of free speech, but they do not speak for Cicada as a whole. Cicada does not advocate for or against political causes. Our focus on privacy cuts across the entire political spectrum.

We have also been called a cult. But we do not meet any of the definitions of a cult.

What people discover in the process of solving our puzzles is up to them.

False paths still exist. Not everything will be made clear.

Isn't that the nature of pilgrimages, and puzzles?

Cicada 3301 is a renaissance, not a secret society.