Good question, and well worthy of an answer, let me tell you my history of The Illuminati. Warning: I suck with dates but will do my best.
I was introduced to The Illuminati in round about 1989-90 through a good friend of mine in college, I was probably about 19 years old. He happened to be reading a book and WOULD NOT stop talking about it. He went on and on about how once you began to learn of this stuff you would begin to see it in the real world everywhere, IF you paid attention. Mind you, back then, the symbolism wasn't quite as blatant or so well known. I told him he was full of shit and crazy, but he insisted. He said with my interest in ancient religions, psychedelics, the occult and psychology, that this was the perfect book for me. I finally gave in, and I, and another mutual friend that all hung out together, each bought a copy of this "tome." Yes, "tome."
The book is a Trilogy, 3 books in one, and about 805 pages. To say it is not an easy read is to put it mildly, at least at the start. It jumps through time and space at times, sometimes even in mid-sentence, so halfway through a paragraph of one story, it will switch to another character at another time doing something else. Eventually, BRILLIANTLY, all these threads come together and it all becomes very clear, but until then it's a bit of a scramble. There is a method to this madness, however, that I find to be pure genius. It mixes science fiction with a detective story and the occult and supernatural, all the while exposing a most insidious conspiracy along the way. The authors are also huge fans of James Joyce, which should give you some hint. What is this magic book that exposes all you ask? Why, The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Pure magic, in book form.
As I'm having trouble summarizing this book , I've decided to quote the meta-review of their book which the authors wrote into the novel:
"'It's a dreadfully long monster of a book,' Wildeblood says pettishly, 'and I certainly won't have time to read it, but I'm giving it a thorough skimming. The authors are utterly incompetent--no sense of style or structure at all. It starts out as a detective story, switches to science-fiction, then goes off into the supernatural, and is full of the most detailed information of dozens of ghastly boring subjects. And the time sequence is all out of order in a very pretentious imitation of Faulkner and Joyce. Worst yet, it has the most raunchy sex scenes, thrown in just to make it sell, I'm sure, and the authors--whom I've never heard of--have the supreme bad taste to introduce real political figures into this mishmash and pretend to be exposing a real conspiracy.'
'If The Lord of the Rings is a fairy tale for adults, sophisticated readers will quickly recognize this monumental miscarriage as a fairy tale for paranoids.'"
That said, it was a great book. If you either like science fiction or are skeptical of privilege and politics, you should read it. If you don't see the fnords, they can't eat you
I find this book to be the missing link of research material to most that claim to know of The Illuminati, and probably why the most of them get led down those paths made to look so bright that lead to total propaganda and bullshit or a complete dead end.
How can that be? you may ask. For one, Illuminatus! will teach the lay man to recognize or discover those misleadings often encountered in research of this subject. It will show you a psychological side to the game often played by the Illuminatus!, and more importantly, the very tricks of your own human mind that will lead you astray, for those who have ears to hear, that is. "The thinker thinks what the prov er proves," after all, never forget that, it's one of the most important mantras to anyone that researches this subject that can be known.
So, that was my introduction, way back when, and I never stopped researching. My areas were generally Magick and the occult, and ancient religions, with, eventually, a degree in psychology, while my friends that also had the book at the same time followed different paths of research. One, the history of it all, since he's a wonder with names and dates, and the other, the friend that first told us of it, also followed more of the magickal route. A few other friends picked up the book seeing us lug it along and talking about it, too. We were a full team of research often stumbling upon the most unlikely things in the most unlikely places, such as Masonic material at Goodwill Book Nooks and even books by R. Buckminster Fuller, among many others. At times we would find out about a book at a library and call to reserve it or have it sent to our local branch for research. More than once, the particular book would vanish before we picked it up.
I had never heard of a "Truther" movement, nor any of these Alex Jones type people in all my years of research, until a few years ago. Not even at the dawn of the internet. I just never thought to look. I preferred my own books, which were many, including all of the writings by Aleister Crowley and most by Robert Anton Wilson, who I highly recommend to all, plus many, many others. Most of those people that are most well known are working for the opposition, anyway, which is likely why I never discovered them. I've pretty much researched it all, though there always seems to be more. I could even teach you to use Magick in about 10 minutes, just as someone could show you to play the piano, but you'd still only be able to play 'Chopsticks.' The one person that I did run across, who seemed to be enlightening the world on the airwaves at the same exact time I was doing my own research, but unknown to me, was Bill Cooper. He was certainly on point. Look for his Mystery Babylon shows on YouTube. I wish I had known all those years ago people were learning the same thing I was outside of my circle, that would have been very nice to know. Unfortunately, he seems to have succumbed to the path of paranoia which is fully set in place by design as a trap, like so may others.
My knowledge comes from many years of my own research. In "magickal" terms, I would be known as an Initiate or Initiated, and/or also as an Adept, and while I may not have all the answers, which I don't think anyone could unless a true part of it at the top, I can certainly point you in the right direction and tell you what's bullshit.
Have any questions on the topic you need answered? Feel free to send it along. You have to ask the right questions to get the right answer, after all.
