Podcasts about Discordianism

NAME YOUR PRICE: the super-soft FREE FEED LOSER shirt has got to go! https://isaacw.gumroad.com/l/mjdvfOn today's episode of the Occult Symbolism and Pop Culture with Isaac Weishaupt podcast I'm going to attempt the first live show on Sunday May 18th so join me to take part of a historical moment in Occult Symbolism and Pop Culture! We'll have some major-fun show update announcements before we catch up on a couple of pop culture events that are definitely part of the high strangeness of 2025! We're talking about CERN going Illuminate Confirm Alchemy and Kim Kardashian's bathtub ritual updates! I'll take some questions in the comment sections so be sure to join!This episode aired live on Sunday May 18, 2025 at 3PM EST (12PM PST) for future live shows, subscribe to my YouTube or Twitter/X account:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@occultsymbolismTwitter/X: https://x.com/IlluminatiEyesLinks:Name your price: the super-soft FREE FEED LOSER shirt has got to go! https://isaacw.gumroad.com/l/mjdvfBreaking Social Norms: What is Discordianism? https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2025/04/28/what-is-discordianism-jfk-kerry-thornley-principa-discordia-conspiracy-theories-illuminati/Substack on Kim K's Santa Baby https://open.substack.com/pub/illuminatiwatcher/p/kim-kardashians-santa-baby-occult?r=br4gm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=falseSubstack Dark Enlightenment series- read part 1 https://open.substack.com/pub/illuminatiwatcher/p/what-is-the-dark-enlightenment-conspiracy?r=br4gm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=trueONE STOP SHOP- Rumble/YouTube, social media, signed books, audiobooks, shirts & more: AllMyLinks.com/IsaacWShow sponsors- Get discounts while you support the show and do a little self improvement!*CopyMyCrypto.com/Isaac is where you can copy James McMahon's crypto holdings- listeners get access for just $1 WANT MORE?... Check out my UNCENSORED show with my wife, Breaking Social Norms: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/GRIFTER ALLEY- get bonus content AND go commercial free + other perks:*PATREON.com/IlluminatiWatcher : ad free, HUNDREDS of bonus shows, early access AND TWO OF MY BOOKS! (The Dark Path and Kubrick's Code); you can join the conversations with hundreds of other show supporters here: Patreon.com/IlluminatiWatcher (*Patreon is also NOW enabled to connect with Spotify! https://rb.gy/hcq13)*VIP SECTION: Due to the threat of censorship, I set up a Patreon-type system through MY OWN website! IIt's even setup the same: FREE ebooks, Kubrick's Code video! Sign up at: https://illuminatiwatcher.com/members-section/*APPLE PREMIUM: If you're on the Apple Podcasts app- just click the Premium button and you're in! NO more ads, Early Access, EVERY BONUS EPISODE More from Isaac- links and special offers:*BREAKING SOCIAL NORMS podcast, Index of EVERY episode (back to 2014), Signed paperbacks, shirts, & other merch, Substack, YouTube links & more: https://allmylinks.com/isaacw *STATEMENT: This show is full of Isaac's useless opinions and presented for entertainment purposes. Audio clips used in Fair Use and taken from YouTube videos. 

We'll discuss the origins and influences of Discordianism on modern day pop culture, conspiracies and the Illuminati! We'll start with some Pope Francis hot takes & symbolism of his death (88, 23 Enigma, Law of Fives), JFK, Jim Garrison, Kerry Thornley, Greg Hill, Lee Harvey Oswald, Josie comes up with a gay/JFK/CIA conspiracy, Warren Commission, Principia Discordia, Robert Anton Wilson, Chaos, Eris, 4chan, Pepe/Kek, and of course- Twin Peaks! You can now sign up for our commercial-free version of the show with a Patreon exclusive bonus show called “Morning Coffee w/ the Weishaupts” at Patreon.com/BreakingSocialNorms  OR subscribe on the Apple Podcasts app to get all the same bonus “Morning Coffee” episodes AD-FREE with early access! (*Patreon is also NOW enabled to connect with Spotify! https://rb.gy/r34zj)Want more?…Index of all previous episodes on free feed: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2021/03/22/index-of-archived-episodes/Leave a review or rating wherever you listen and we'll see what you've got to say!Follow us on the socials:instagram.com/theweishaupts2/Amazon Affiliate shop (*still under construction) with our favorite hair, skin care and horny books: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2024/08/24/amazon-shopping-list-josie-and-isaacs-list/Check out Isaac's conspiracy podcasts, merch, etc:AllMyLinks.com/IsaacWOccult Symbolism and Pop Culture (on all podcast platforms or IlluminatiWatcher.com)Isaac Weishaupt's book are all on Amazon and Audible; *author narrated audiobooks*STATEMENT: This show is full of Isaac's and Josie's useless opinions and presented for entertainment purposes. Audio clips used in Fair Use and taken from YouTube videos.

This week, I had the pleasure of joining forces with the one and only Monica Perez as we peeled back the layers of deception ultimately revealing our common enemy possessed with the darkest ambitions unbeknownst to the general public…Please consider supporting our work-Monica's Website:https://monicaperezshow.com/Monica's YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/c/MonicaPerezMonica's Rokfin:https://www.rokfin.com/monicaperezMonica's Twitter/X:https://x.com/MonicaPerezShowMonica's Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/monicaperezshow/Monica Mixes:https://www.monicamixes.com/Austin's Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's Spreaker:https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-underclass-podcast--6511540Austin's Rumble:https://rumble.com/user/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@TheUnderclassPodcast#ProcessChurch #SonofSam #DavidBerkowitz #KerryThornley #Discordianism #JFKAssassination #LeeHarveyOswald #SirhanSirhan #RFKAssassination #SharonTate #RomanPolanski #CharlesManson #WilliamMentzer #Manson2 #ZodiacKiller #DrJeffreyMacDonald #FortBraggMurders #OperationGladio #LAFires #TechnocracyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-underclass-podcast--6511540/support.

Time Stamps:2:38 - The Gaza Holocaust5:23 - Discordianism = CIA Front?11:54 - Cult Cutouts12:17 - Temple of Set FBI Documents17:40 - Operation Paperclip28:13 - Trauma Based Mind Control33:58 - Philosophy of Discordianism1:01:16 - Kerry Thornley & Lee Harvey Oswald1:05:00 - "In Their Name"/"The Final Jihad"1:45:42 - Nazi Breeding Experiments/Oswald's Nazi DadWelcome to The Morning Dump, where we dive headfirst into the deep end of the pool of current events, conspiracy, and everything in between. Join us for a no-holds-barred look at the week's hottest topics, where we flush away the fluff and get straight to the substance.Please consider supporting our work-Austin's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-underclass-podcast--6511540Austin's Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheUnderclassPodcastCheck out nadeaushaveco.com today & use code Jose for 10% off your entire order!!!Jose's Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/nowayjose2020 Only costs $2/month and will get you access to episodes earlier than the public Check out TopLobsta's kickass threads- toplobsta.com Use JOSE at checkout for 10% off Get No Way, Jose! merch- https://www.toplobsta.com/pages/no-way-joseNo Way, Jose! Rumble Channel- https://rumble.com/c/c-3379274No Way, Jose! Odysee Channel- https://odysee.com/@NoWayJose:7?r=JChxx9RMmW9PuL49z3PvTq4sxE2GjJrpNo Way, Jose! YouTube Channel- https://youtube.com/channel/UCzyrpy3eo37eiRTq0cXff0gJose's Podcast Host- https://redcircle.com/shows/no-way-joseApple podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-way-jose/id1546040443Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/0xUIH4pZ0tM1UxARxPe6ThStitcher- https://www.stitcher.com/show/no-way-jose-2Amazon Music- https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/41237e28-c365-491c-9a31-2c6ef874d89d/No-Way-JoseGoogle Podcasts- https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5yZWRjaXJjbGUuY29tL2ZkM2JkYTE3LTg2OTEtNDc5Ny05Mzc2LTc1M2ExZTE4NGQ5Yw%3D%3DRadioPublic- https://radiopublic.com/no-way-jose-6p1BAOVurbl- https://vurbl.com/station/4qHi6pyWP9B/#TheGazaHolocaust #DiscordianismCIAFront #MichaelAquino #DavidFerrie #CultCutouts #TempleOfSetFBIDocuments #OperationPaperclip #PaperclipSecrets #TraumaBasedMindControl #MindControlOps #DiscordianismPhilosophy #ChaosPhilosophy #KerryThornley #LeeHarveyOswald #InTheirName #TheFinalJihad #NaziEugenicsExperiments #OswaldNaziDad #NaziBreedingPrograms #OswaldOrigins #NeurolinguisticProgrammingBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-underclass-podcast--6511540/support.

Time Stamps:2:38 - The Gaza Holocaust5:23 - Discordianism = CIA Front?11:54 - Cult Cutouts12:17 - Temple of Set FBI Documents17:40 - Operation Paperclip28:13 - Trauma Based Mind Control33:58 - Philosophy of Discordianism1:01:16 - Kerry Thornley & Lee Harvey Oswald1:05:00 - "In Their Name"/"The Final Jihad"1:45:42 - Nazi Breeding Experiments/Oswald's Nazi DadWelcome to The Morning Dump, where we dive headfirst into the deep end of the pool of current events, conspiracy, and everything in between. Join us for a no-holds-barred look at the week's hottest topics, where we flush away the fluff and get straight to the substance.Check out nadeaushaveco.com today & use code Jose for 10% off your entire order!!!Please consider supporting my work- Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/nowayjose2020 Only costs $2/month and will get you access to episodes earlier than the publicNo Way, Jose! Rumble Channel- https://rumble.com/c/c-3379274  No Way, Jose! YouTube Channel- https://youtube.com/channel/UCzyrpy3eo37eiRTq0cXff0g My Podcast Host- https://redcircle.com/shows/no-way-jose Apple podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-way-jose/id1546040443 Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/0xUIH4pZ0tM1UxARxPe6Th Stitcher- https://www.stitcher.com/show/no-way-jose-2 Amazon Music- https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/41237e28-c365-491c-9a31-2c6ef874d89d/No-Way-Jose Google Podcasts- https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5yZWRjaXJjbGUuY29tL2ZkM2JkYTE3LTg2OTEtNDc5Ny05Mzc2LTc1M2ExZTE4NGQ5Yw%3D%3DRadioPublic- https://radiopublic.com/no-way-jose-6p1BAO Vurbl- https://vurbl.com/station/4qHi6pyWP9B/ Feel free to contact me at thelibertymovementglobal@gmail.comAustin's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-underclass-podcast--6511540Austin's Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/TheUnderclassPodcastAustin's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheUnderclassPodcast#TheGazaHolocaust #DiscordianismCIAFront #MichaelAquino #DavidFerrie #CultCutouts #TempleOfSetFBIDocuments #OperationPaperclip #PaperclipSecrets #TraumaBasedMindControl #MindControlOps #DiscordianismPhilosophy #ChaosPhilosophy #KerryThornley #LeeHarveyOswald #InTheirName #TheFinalJihad #NaziEugenicsExperiments #OswaldNaziDad #NaziBreedingPrograms #OswaldOrigins #NeurolinguisticProgramming

Website: https://chthonia.netPatreon: https://patreon/com/chthoniaThis week we look at Eris, goddess of strife and discord. Hesiod declares that there are 2 Erises, one that is beneficial to humans and one that isn't. There is also the 3rd Eris of the modern "religion" of Discordianism, which highlights to problem of excluding discord from our lives. 

We welcome first time guest Gabriel Kennedy to talk about his book "Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson". We delve into some of the events of Robert Anton Wilson's life, his involvement with the Discordians, and his experience of Chapel Perilous.Check out Gabriel's work at: https://www.prop-anon.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/conspirinormal-podcast/donations

Zizians, Rationalist movement, Peter Thiel, Eliezer Yudkowsky, neoreaction, Accelerationism, Curtis Yarvin, AI, AI apocalypse, machine learning, psychedelics, Effective Altruism (EA), Sam Bankman-Fried, Extropianism, Thiel & Yudkowsky as Extropians, Discordianism, life extension, space colonization, cryptocurrencies, Yudkowsky as self-educated, Nick Bostrom, Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR), Rationalism's use of magical thinking, New Thought, Roko's Basilisk, Nick Land, predicting the future, LessWrong, LessWrong's relations ship to the Zizians, Ziz, non-binary/trans, vegan Siths, Vasserites, murders linked to Zizians, Zizians in Vermont, Luigi Mangione indirectly influenced by Zizianism, Brain Thompson assassination, ChangeHealthcare hack, were the hack and assassination targeting UnitedHealth Group influenced by this milieu?, is the Trump administration radicalizing Zizians?, Yudkowsky's links to Sam Bankman-Fried, Leverage Research/Center for Effective Altruism & MK-ULTRA-like techniques used by, are more cults coming from the Rationalist movement?Additional Resources:Leverage Research:https://medium.com/@zoecurzi/my-experience-with-leverage-research-17e96a8e540b#c778MIRI/Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR):https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MnFqyPLqbiKL8nSR7/my-experience-at-and-around-miri-and-cfar-inspired-by-zoeMusic by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/Additional Music: J Money Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Brynn Anderson of Vital Force Herbs and I dive into a rare lecture from the legendary Robert Anton Wilson, recorded in the year 2000. As a companion to last week's conversation with RAW biographer Gabriel Kennedy, this episode brings us the man himself—unfiltered, razor-sharp, and as mind-expanding as ever.In this talk, Wilson explores the evolving philosophical and intellectual climate of the 2000's era, touching on themes of reality tunnels, cognitive flexibility, and the illusions that shape our perceptions. He delves into the interplay of science and mysticism, the hidden structures of power, and the ways in which language, belief systems, and conspiracy theories warp human consciousness. With his signature wit and profound insight, he challenges us to think beyond our conditioned assumptions and embrace the absurdity of existence with a sense of curiosity and humor.As we listen, Brynn and I reflect on Wilson's words in real time -taking notes for after the lecture to then unpack the deeper layers of his ideas and their relevance in today's world. Whether you're a longtime admirer of RAW or encountering his brilliance for the first time, this episode is an invitation to expand your perception and question the nature of reality itself. Drop In!Robert Anton Wilson Bio:Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews.Wilson described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". His goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything."In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, drugs and what Wilson called "quantum psychology".His "Maybe Logic" inspired the creation of the Maybe Logic Academy.“The Berkeley mob once called Leary and me “the counter-culture of the counter-culture.” I'm some kind of antibody in the New Age movement. My function is to raise the possibility, “Hey, you know, some of this stuff might be bullshit.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Magnum & Izzo discuss the Illuminati. EPISODE 136 OF THE SWERVE PODCAST ↩️ Checkout This Episode's Sponsors!

Allen Greenfield joins Luxa https://linktr.ee/LuxaStrata (and later Flood https://exvplanis.com/) for a special episode to discuss his new book, The Secrets of the Real Black Lodge Revealed and the intersections of UFOs, Occultism, Magick, politics and more. Topics discussed include Robert Anton Wilson, Kerry Thornley and Discordianism, the robotic head of Philip K. Dick, the TV Series, Twin Peaks and what Allen means by the “Real Black Lodge” (which is a concept that comes up in the show and elsewhere), UFOs/UAPs and what the government knows, oldschool Ufology and Project Bluebook, Allen's time in the OTO, and what is the nature of the Phenomena? It's a wild ride down several rabbit holes which I think those who are into unpacking layered meanings in things will enjoy!Luxa shares thoughts about magic and the phenomenon, and a sound magic track inspired by the strange events which occurred at Rendlesham Forest beginning on the night of December 26th, 1980. There's also an update about The Green Mushroom Project https://greenmushroomproject.com/ and Void House- creating consent forward magical spaces for conducting group work both in person and online, investigating the magical and alchemical properties of consent, and providing consent education to magically inclined people. Much Love! Full show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRwY7OApCBhakg6xZoUkCLpdgtjTmQ6IHX2_fr7SApbg9ziPd8aRelAIvNUxcY1b9ZIvmhNu5XEYyFn/pubThanks for listening to the Lux Occult Podcast! Support the show by helping Luxa buy books and curtail other costs, as well as taking a bibliomancy break by giving on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/luxoccult . Or, Buy Me a Coffee.com is an option for a one time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/luxoccultpod?new=1 We would love to hear from you! Please send your thoughts, questions, suggestions or arcane revelations to luxoccultpod@gmail.com or message on Instagram @luxoccultpod https://www.instagram.com/luxoccultpod/ and on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/luxastrata919.bsky.social Secrets of the Real Black Lodge Revealed! by Allen Greenfield https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Real-Black-Lodge-Revealed/dp/B0CGC8LSR7Allen Greenfield's other books https://www.amazon.com/Books-Allen-H-Greenfield/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AAllen%2BH.%2BGreenfieldGreen Mushroom Project https://greenmushroomproject.com/ Ask for a link to our Discord server!CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS- Fuck Around and Find Out Pt. 3: Sorcerous Recipes for Resistance, Resilience, and More from The Green Mushroom Project https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSlzdwOAD04fb0SVTVnqLmoXU6Vj3fapeYa2w1ixiOQWJLEz8v5KrUU-P-aRfwgwhx6eqvGeCjO-IqT/pubKhaíre Enodia! A Hekatean Ceremony for Enchanting Items for Domestic Abuse Survivor Shelters https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSCbbSDiDsjhV0p12NVHN6DlMxDpjKpeSWfrEJr_3o42vuIx06v9E9-s0cuuyZukEihVatl7sgEv-lx/pubEYES OF YOUR EYES- Luxa Strata ft. Folds & Floods https://youtu.be/EfdQ-pJEBsg

This is the free half of a full talk which can be obtained by subscribing to JaysAnalysis at the Paypal links at the site. Musician and researcher John Adams joins me to divulge new details in relation to his series with researcher Nino on the secret history of punk music. Arising from the psychedelic genre and the 60s counter-culture (so-called) movements, punk became an iconic sub-genre that would have a tremendous impact on "youth culture" through the 70s, 80s, 90s and into today. The real question, however, is whether there is a deeper occult agenda to punk music, as well as a social engineering aspect to this "scene." We explore these questions, as well as topics such as: Henry Rollins, Riot Girl, feminism, GG Allin, Iggy Pop, situationism, Fugazi, The Sex Pistols and "spectacle," performance art, deep state connections, Genesis P-Orridge and transgender agendas, the Stone Roses, Lou Reed and Blavatsky, The KLF and the rise of electronica, Discordianism, techno and rave culture, and the power of pop culture to mind control mass populations. Send Superchats at any time here: https://streamlabs.com/jaydyer/tip Get started with Bitcoin here: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/jaydyer/ The New Philosophy Course is here: https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/philosophy101 Set up recurring Choq subscription with the discount code JAY44LIFE for 44% off now https://choq.com Lore coffee is here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/coffee/ Orders for the Red Book are here: https://jaysanalysis.com/product/the-red-book-essays-on-theology-philosophy-new-jay-dyer-book/ Subscribe to my site here: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.

Plethon, Byzantium, Italy, the Eastern Roman Empire's influence on Hermeticism & the Renaissance, Venice, Venice as a refuge of the Eastern Roman Empire, Bohemia, Thirty Years War, Reformation & Counterreformation, Elizabethan England, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's role in keeping alive the occult tradition, Peter Brook, Mormonism, Mormonism's role in American metaphysics, Mormonism's role in modern New Age movement, Bush family, Reverend George Bush, Bush's Swedenborgian church, Satanism among the Romantics, Manly P. Hall, the Philosophical Research Society PRS), Hall's death and the attempted coup at PRS, Kyballion, Charles Fort, Fort's enduring influence of Ufology and Discordianism, Vice-President Henry A. Wallace, Wallace's occult interests, the Ouija board, Stephen K. Bannon, Bannon's esoteric interests, Bannon as a Discordian, Traditionalism, Rene Guenon, Julius Evola, the future of esotericism, the end of gurus & master/teacher roles Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/Additional Music: Albert Bouchardhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DHX6JH7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGDK2O22CQN0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VMOkbz1YKIA3xk8rSMaHpSyycbimuR7T39QtMhEacIW1k4NfeFjUGmWo9tMk7Gxs-ZWz1zenT14kA1K61d9ylbembad2iq1AuocgQlQAve9A6-CePCr7w0LlGSHb6O1FKMsA9QRuh0oOhVhRnmT-t8VH11kBieMDbXeALvX2cqE2uo3u0JwG5_OcIcK3YnNosDy2S0NhjT1IKCv6BUH2SRemDQPfn9cR4mrT2b7Kztc.Dh8Z1WB56eE3q2wJWz7Q1_tGT7o2ksyY6bQONn6Nc7s&dib_tag=se&keywords=albert+bouchard&qid=1726453739&s=dmusic&sprefix=albert+bouc%2Cdigital-music%2C481&sr=1-1 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part one of our two-part talk with author Adam Gorightly about his research into the very strange history of Discordianism and The Illuminati. If you have never heard of Operation Mindf*ck, get ready for a ride.LINKS:Adam Gorightly Books (affiliate)  Historia Discordia (affiliate)  Illuminati (wiki)  INWO game (SJGAMES) and Board Game Geek review  Can't Get You Out Of My Head  (Youtube)  JFK Movie (affiliate link)  The famous Playboy Illuminati Letter  Barkun - A Culture of Conspiracy  60s Counter Culture  Robert Anton Wilson   Kerry Thornley (wiki)  Can't Get You Out of My Head or Documenting Operation Mindf*ck - POV Magazine  This episode brought to you by Factor Meals – use our link or code MonsterTalk50 to 50% off your first order!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.

Fairy tales, children's stories, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, Discordianism, Mormonism, chaos magick, magical symbols & languages, American McGee's Alice, Alice Liddell, Utah, Gilgal Gardens, Ted Bundy's cellar, many worlds hypothesis, cats as hyperdimensional beings, cats vs fogs as spiritual beingsNathan's book can be found here:https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Valley-Mysteries-Nathan-Nish-ebook/dp/B0CXSDZG2W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SH2XTSEI7O1G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FRhWyDDd9yADVXbuwmVzq3XcredAHdKbyPDuIzUZt_LCX18gJk8NfX_sQpJ3H_U_AY0Oqx8a6hp13h4aPEbIekHy-21nLcz5OUk1xEsu4g1aU1Ly2fnRyc6UJscFMarhLAU326zcvqth2Sw3GnMxGATa0bqZ3i0Wo3WUofsN9QvS6BcPJ1Vfx52Sg0nF6j9gFFieb6d-JWk3YergfNaRr0fdOGOU7fyRU64h_FwOiQA3xeyoGXisss62s9Hs6fyh9EiTlikndNGosIZkyt_s&dib_tag=se&keywords=Lake+Valley+Mysteries&qid=1722560597&s=books&sprefix=lake+valley+mysteries%2Cstripbooks%2C88&sr=1-1Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USBuy Grow kit: https://modernmushroomcultivation.com/Aloha and welcome! Today, we have the extraordinary Steven Snider, known to many as Recluse, the mastermind behind the legendary VISUP blog. Dive into the depths of culture, parapolitics, and high weirdness as we explore Steven's unique approach to these fascinating realms. With a foundation in the synchro-mystical movement, Recluse merges rigorous research with a reluctant acceptance of Fortean and Saturnine currents.Steven is the author of *Strange Tales of the Parapolitical: Postwar Nazis, Mercenaries, and Other Secret History* and *A Special Relationship: Trump, Epstein, and the Secret History of the Anglo-American Establishment Book I*. He is also working on a forthcoming book dealing with the history of Discordianism, state-sanctioned behavioral modification programs, and conspiracy theories.In addition to his writing, Steven hosts *The Farm* podcast, known for its high-quality, in-depth weekly shows that delve into these complex and intriguing topics. Drawing inspiration from iconic TV shows like *The X-Files* and *Twin Peaks*, and films such as *2001: A Space Odyssey* and *Blade Runner*, Steven brings a rich and multifaceted perspective to our discussion. Join us for an enlightening journey as we uncover the intricate web of conspiracies and hidden truths with Steven Snider.https://visupview.blogspot.com/?m=1https://patreon.com/thefarmpodcastII?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_fan&utm_content=join_link Support the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USCheck out our YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPzfOaFtA1hF8UhnuvOQnTgKcIYPI9Ni9&si=Jgg9ATGwzhzdmjkgGrow your own:https://modernmushroomcultivation.com/

Today Isaac and Josie discuss the occult art of Alchemy! We'll start out with Ancient Egypt's Zep Tepi appearance of Thoth aka Hermes Trismegistus, "As Above So Below", the Emerald Tablets, Isaac Newton, language of the birds, Nicolas Flamel, Carl Jung, Freud, James Shelby Downard's Synchromysticism JFK ritual, Discordianism, Twin Peaks and much more!LAST CHANCE LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jay-jamie-dyer-isaac-weishaupt-jimbob-hollywood-conspiracy-comedy-tickets-882418596777?aff=oddtdtcreator—You can now sign up for our commercial-free version of the show with a Patreon exclusive bonus show called “Morning Coffee w/ the Weishaupts” at Patreon.com/BreakingSocialNorms  OR subscribe on the Apple Podcasts app to get all the same bonus “Morning Coffee” episodes AD-FREE with early access! (*Patreon is also NOW enabled to connect with Spotify! https://rb.gy/r34zj)Want more?…—Index of all previous episodes on free feed: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2021/03/22/index-of-archived-episodes/—Leave a review or rating wherever you listen and we'll see what you've got to say!Follow us on the socials:-instagram.com/theweishaupts2/Check out Isaac's conspiracy podcasts, merch, etc:-AllMyLinks.com/IsaacW-Occult Symbolism and Pop Culture (on all podcast platforms or IlluminatiWatcher.com)-Isaac Weishaupt's book are all on Amazon and Audible; *author narrated audiobooks*STATEMENT: This show is full of Isaac's and Josie's useless opinions and presented for entertainment purposes. Audio clips used in Fair Use and taken from YouTube videos.

Lords: * Andrew * Tyriq Lords: * The Church of the SubGenius * Making FreeCell is kind of like playing FreeCell * How do we get to a place where our primary tool for productivity is not also our primary avenue of distraction? * "

Charles Fort, Fort's influence on science fiction, Theodore Dreiser, "maybe-fiction," alternate reality games (ARGs), The Blair Witch Project, The House of Leaves, weird fiction, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Heinlein, Golden Age of Science Fiction, John W. Campbell, Fort's influence on "hard science fiction," Ray Palmer, Tiffany Thayer, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, N. Meade Layne, Arthur C. Clarke, the Shaver Mysteries, Stanley Kubrick, Stephen King, surrealism, Forteanism as an American/literary form of surrealism, virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive experiences, QAnon, Discordianism, Forteanism's influence on DiscordianismMusic by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/Additional Music by: The Octopushttps://www.amazon.com/Supernatural-Alliance-Octopus/dp/B0794L5SMZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1F6WVC0739CWY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4AIiK0eNYT_zeQWf_x47AQ.0Z9deQR8TYgDa5M2cG1UTAcZLooa7QVAWoJieNbz5Gs&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+octopus+supernatural+alliance&qid=1711847309&s=music&sprefix=the+octopus+supernatural+allianc%2Cpopular%2C278&sr=1-1 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seriah is joined by Chris Ernst and author and researcher Adam Gorightly to discuss Discordionism, its origins, and its influences on society. Topics include the Illuminati, Kerry Thornley, Greg Hill, Lee Harvey Oswald, D.A. Jim Garrison, the goddess Discordia, order and chaos, Principia Discordia, public-domain publishing, Jonathan Vankin, U.S. Marine Corps, socialism, communism, the book “The Idle Warriors”, the Warren Commission, Wittier CA, New Orleans LA, Grace Zabriskie, Gary Kirstein, Slim Brooks, 1950's/early 60's Beatnik milieu, JFK assassination, counter-culture, groovy packs, Robert Anton Wilson, Playboy magazine, anarchism, “jakes”, the book “Oswald”, Operation Mindfuck, John Birch Society, Alan Chapman, Clay Shaw, anti-LGBTQ conspiracy witch hunt, the three tramps in Dallas, E. Howard Hunt, paranoid schizophrenia, the Inside Edition TV interview, Barbara Reid, Thornley/Oswald cloning theory, the books “The Illuminatus! Trilogy”, Loompanics publishing, esoteric Nazism, the Necronomicon, Ann Marjory Camron, the book “Wormwood Star the Magickal Life of Marjorie Cameron”, Greg Hill and computer programming, Bank of America, hacking and Easter eggs, Bavarian Illuminati, Nesta Webster, John Robison, anti-communism, anti-Semitism, theories that the CIA introduced LSD to the counter-culture, Atsugi U.S. Navy base, “Behind the Bastards” podcast, “Who Killed JFK?” podcast, U-2 pilot Gary Powers, Oswald as intelligence agent, two-Oswald theories, the book “Harvey and Lee” by John Armstrong, Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien, the book “Family of Secrets” by Russ Baker, George H.W. Bush and the JFK assassination, “The Devil's Hour” TV series, Church of the Subgenius, Adam's book “The Prankster and the Conspiracy”, Ivan Stang's book “High Weirdness By Mail”, slack, the J.R. “Bob” Dobbs avatar, the alternative music group Negativland, audio sampling, the Burning Man festival, Roland Barthes' theory of semiotics, the commodification of Che Guevara's image, Sondra London, culture jamming, AI and future chaos, Adam's books, and much more! This is an absolutely fascinating discussion that goes all sorts of places!

Seriah is joined by Chris Ernst and author and researcher Adam Gorightly to discuss Discordionism, its origins, and its influences on society. Topics include the Illuminati, Kerry Thornley, Greg Hill, Lee Harvey Oswald, D.A. Jim Garrison, the goddess Discordia, order and chaos, Principia Discordia, public-domain publishing, Jonathan Vankin, U.S. Marine Corps, socialism, communism, the book “The Idle Warriors”, the Warren Commission, Wittier CA, New Orleans LA, Grace Zabriskie, Gary Kirstein, Slim Brooks, 1950's/early 60's Beatnik milieu, JFK assassination, counter-culture, groovy packs, Robert Anton Wilson, Playboy magazine, anarchism, “jakes”, the book “Oswald”, Operation Mindfuck, John Birch Society, Alan Chapman, Clay Shaw, anti-LGBTQ conspiracy witch hunt, the three tramps in Dallas, E. Howard Hunt, paranoid schizophrenia, the Inside Edition TV interview, Barbara Reid, Thornley/Oswald cloning theory, the books “The Illuminatus! Trilogy”, Loompanics publishing, esoteric Nazism, the Necronomicon, Ann Marjory Camron, the book “Wormwood Star the Magickal Life of Marjorie Cameron”, Greg Hill and computer programming, Bank of America, hacking and Easter eggs, Bavarian Illuminati, Nesta Webster, John Robison, anti-communism, anti-Semitism, theories that the CIA introduced LSD to the counter-culture, Atsugi U.S. Navy base, “Behind the Bastards” podcast, “Who Killed JFK?” podcast, U-2 pilot Gary Powers, Oswald as intelligence agent, two-Oswald theories, the book “Harvey and Lee” by John Armstrong, Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien, the book “Family of Secrets” by Russ Baker, George H.W. Bush and the JFK assassination, “The Devil's Hour” TV series, Church of the Subgenius, Adam's book “The Prankster and the Conspiracy”, Ivan Stang's book “High Weirdness By Mail”, slack, the J.R. “Bob” Dobbs avatar, the alternative music group Negativland, audio sampling, the Burning Man festival, Roland Barthes' theory of semiotics, the commodification of Che Guevara's image, Sondra London, culture jamming, AI and future chaos, Adam's books, and much more! This is an absolutely fascinating discussion that goes all sorts of places! - Recap by Vincent Treewell of The Weird Part Podcast Outro Music is Sickhoose with SJR.The song can be found on Spotify under Diablo Sickhoose) Download

In today's episode of Truth Wanted, Kelley Laughlin and Scott Dickie display their discordian core beliefs as they discuss developed friendships with theists while UFO documentaries are infuriating the UFO community all because we have lost our superhuman abilities and can now use the internet to communicate. Galaxy in MO wants to talk about atheist and theist discordianism, where both disorder and order are delusions imposed upon the universe by one's own perspective where anyone's view of order and disorder is not any more true or false than the other. Could there be many realities perceived by one event then? This was originally written to ridicule religion in the same bowling alley that was in The Big Lebowski. Why is this just not a system of understanding human thought? What makes this an “ism”? With your method of measurement, are there any belief systems that will be excluded? When have your beliefs led you to a conclusion that you did not like?Jamie in OH, a long time caller with Scott, wants to discuss friendship within this discourse. Has your interaction with the show changed the way you see atheists? How does it feel when someone is sincerely interested in friendship rather than trying to convert or deconvert? IT helps to concentrate on the things you have in common with people and keep the friendship. Bleeding Gums Murphy in TX tells us about the The UFO MOVIE They Don't Want You to See is debunking UFO claims and causing the UFO community to fall apart. It is expected for something like this to cause outrage. When people's beliefs or identity are challenged, the flight or fight response is activated in the brain and the protective response takes over. If you address the beliefs rather than the individuals, you will generally be safe, even when it seems the beliefs are bordering on mental health. Kyle in Canada wants to talk about the way we live now vs the old naturopath way. What do you think we have lost with our modern society? What is the harm in losing something and picking up something new? Why is how we approached things in the “natural” days any better than how we do it today? What have we lost that has not been replaced by something else? Show us your work on why this is better. Thank you for diving into this discussion with us this week! Question of the week is: Name a time the punishment actually fits the crime.

In the next installment of our not-quite-intentional series of co-authors in the Llewellyn Zodiac Witch series, Thumper Forge joins me to talk about all things Virgo, transitioning from blogging to writing and publishing books, and a little history of Chaos magic and Discordianism. You can find Virgo Witch wherever you buy books or purchase direct from Llewellyn. Read more of Thumper's work at Patheos Pagan, or see where he'll be appearing or what's coming up at his website. And follow him on social media @fivefoldlaw Please support Black, indigenous, queer, trans, and women-owned, local, independent bookstores. Transcripts of all episodes are available at witchlitpod.com Buy us a coffee (and support our work) on Ko-fi Changing Paths by Yvonne Aburrow and Conjuring the Commonplace by Laine Fuller & Cory Thomas Hutcheson are both available from 1000Volt Press or to order wherever you buy books. My book, Verona Green, is now available in all the usual places.Autographed copies also available from 1000Volt Press. Follow WitchLit on InstagramFind Victoria at https://readvictoria.com and https://1000voltpress.com and on Instagram

Blake Lemoine burst onto the public scene a year and a half ago when he went public about his work on Google's LaMDA system. In this interview, Blake talks about the current state of AI development, and our collective involvement in this massively important technological event.  Topics include: Google, LLMs, AGI, AI, engineering jargon, LaMDA, chatbot, Gemini, evolution of search engines, safety protocols, sentience and consciousness, Pope's sermon on AI and peace, philosophy, Silicon Valley, transhumanism, Ben Goertzel, Ray Kurzweil, Effective Altruism, Accelerationism, Techno-Utopians, Libertarianism, religion, cults, occult, Discordianism, Turing Test, Roko's Basilisk, panic, Gary Marcus, low emotional intelligence and power, nerds, different characters of LaMDA, narratives, new kind of mind, faithful servant, AlphaGo, Sci fi worries not a real problem, AI as a human weapon, Golem, ethics, privileged access to advanced systems a real danger, MIC, The Gospel system of IDF, automation of worst aspects of human culture and society, artists sounding alarm

Self-Aware AI EngineerThe Age of Transitions and Uncle 12-17-2023 Blake LamoineAOT #409Blake Lemoine burst onto the public scene a year and a half ago when he went public about his work on Google's LaMDA system. In this interview, Blake talks about the current state of AI development and our collective involvement in this massively important technological event. Topics include Google, LLMs, AGI, AI, engineering jargon, LaMDA, chatbot, Gemini, evolution of search engines, safety protocols, sentience and consciousness, Pope's sermon on AI and peace, philosophy, Silicon Valley, transhumanism, Ben Goertzel, Ray Kurzweil, Effective Altruism, Accelerationism, Techno-Utopians, Libertarianism, religion, cults, occult, Discordianism, Turing Test, Roko's Basilisk, panic, Gary Marcus, low emotional intelligence and power, nerds, different characters of LaMDA, narratives, new kind of mind, faithful servant, AlphaGo, Sci-fi worries not a real problem, AI as a human weapon, Golem, ethics, privileged access to advanced systems a real danger, MIC, The Gospel system of IDF, automation of worst aspects of human culture and society, artists sounding alarmUTP #319Blake Lemoine joins Uncle for a fun and hard-hitting exploration of all the big questions. AI may have already passed the Turing Test, but what about the Uncle Test? Topics include: computers, the word committee, AI development, business, college, military service, Twilight Zone computer, talking to machines, AI romantic partners, journalists, automated podcasts, world population, Republicans, government hour, watch how it works, the Beast, exorcism, Knights of Columbus, Pope, new hat, swords, New Year's Revolution, show back on Friday nights, Ryan Seaquest, NYE, The Country Club New Orleans, Bum Wine Bob, hot buttered rum, NFL, Army mechanic, startup employment, it works, ghost in a shell, alchemy of soul creation, PhD in Divinity, Star Trek, Bicentennial Man, Pinnochio, Festivus, VHS live-streams, Christmas specials, Die Hard, holidaysBlake Lamoine TWITTER Xhttps://twitter.com/cajundiscordianRandomly related Links I watched hours of the AI-generated 'Seinfeld' series before it was banned for a transphobic remark. Beyond that scandal, it's also a frustratingly mindless show.https://www.insider.com/ai-generated-seinfeld-parody-twitch-nothing-forever-streaming-transphobia-banned-2023-2Seinfeld - Nothing, Forever | Watchmeforever | AI | Season 1 Episode 1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6mD9YzVbZI‘The Gospel': how Israel uses AI to select bombing targets in Gazahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombing-targetsFRANZ MAIN HUB:https://theageoftransitions.com/PATREONhttps://www.patreon.com/aaronfranzUNCLEhttps://unclethepodcast.com/ORhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/uncle-the-podcast/FRANZ and UNCLE Merchhttps://theageoftransitions.com/category/support-the-podcasts/KEEP OCHELLI GOING.You are the EFFECT if you support OCHELLIhttps://ochelli.com/donate/Ochelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelliBASIC MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP$10. USD per MonthSupport Ochelli & in 2024Get a Monthly Email that deliversThe 1st Decade of The Ochelli EffectOver 5,000 Podcasts by 2025BASIC + SUPPORTER WALL$150. USD one time gets the sameAll the Monthly Benefits for 1 Yeara spot on The Ochelli.com Supporters Wallhttps://ochelli.com/membership-account/membership-levels/

In our sequel to Discordianism, Kevin takes us through the bizarre story of the KLF and it's ties to magical thinking and Discordianism.Episode Outline:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p85YG0NU50QPTPKgeun1WVLPEMIF8QuwuVlMw8OlAXM/edit?usp=sharingCogito Ergo DoleoFind more info about the show at https://www.supernaturalselectionpod.com/Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/supernaturalselectionTheme music by FC Music Studios - https://soundbetter.com/profiles/408824-fc-music-studiosFriends of the Show!Flagged for Content: https://linktr.ee/flaggedforcontentSpooky Dice Bag: https://spookydicebag.com/

Today we talk about a variety of projects that Isaac has been studying and Josie has some great questions about them! We'll start with UFO Disclosure and a new book by Diana Pasulka called "Encounters" (the same as the Netflix show), new Disclosure basics, sidebar on Justin Timberlake and Britney, Super Mario Bros Wonder review, then we get into the End Times! Solomon's Temple, Puritans, Protestants, embracing end times and John Dee! Finally we'll wrap up with a talk about Discordianism and Robert Anton Wilson!FULL SHOW NOW UP AD-FREE with early access on Patreon.com/BreakingSocialNorms and Apple Podcast Premium; free feed gets it in two days!—You can now sign up for our commercial-free version of the show with a Patreon exclusive bonus show called “Morning Coffee w/ the Weishaupts” at Patreon.com/BreakingSocialNorms OR subscribe on the Apple Podcasts app to get all the same bonus “Morning Coffee” episodes AD-FREE with early access! (*Patreon is also NOW enabled to connect with Spotify! https://rb.gy/r34zj)-Check out the index of all supporter ad-free episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55009895-Follow Josie Weishaupt on IG for dogs, memes and show discussions: instagram.com/theweishaupts2 (*now under new management- Josie's running it and reading all the comments!)Want more?…—Sign up for the free email newsletter for updates at BreakingSocialNorms.com—Index of all previous episodes on free feed: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2021/03/22/index-of-archived-episodes/—Leave a review or rating wherever you listen and we'll see what you've got to say!Follow us on the socials:-instagram.com/theweishaupts2/ Check out Isaac's conspiracy podcasts, merch, etc:-AllMyLinks.com/IsaacW-Conspiracy Theories & Unpopular Culture (on all podcast platforms or IlluminatiWatcher.com)-Isaac Weishaupt's book are all on Amazon and Audible; *author narrated audiobooks, get free first month Audible.com/IlluminatiThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4824851/advertisement

The KLF, aka The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu were the best selling singles band in the world for a period in the 1990s. Their last single featured Tammy Wynette, the "First Lady of Country Music", in what would be her last chart topping hit. They were pioneers in sampling and house music, but you've likely never heard of them. Why? Because in 1992, after being honored at the Brit awards, they fired a machine gun full of blanks into the crowd, deleted their entire catalog, and resurfaced a short time later only to tour a film of the two members of the KLF, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, methodically lighting their last one million pounds on fire in an abandoned house in remote Scotland, then they disappeared back into the ether (not exactly, but it's a better story that way). The KLF are, whatever else they might be,  are an example of just what you can get away with when you get wrapped up in Discordianism, the real/fake religion that worships Eris, the goddess of chaos, invented the illuminati, and which some suspect had something to do with the assassination of JFK. It's all very silly. But most importantly, The KLF absolutely rule.  We need money to burn, and you can help us do that while getting access to our bonus series The Corkboard Bizarre, as well as our private Discord server where we do most of our online hanging out by supporting us on Patreon https://patreon.com/thenonsensebazaar

Welcome to another episode of our podcast, where we explore the unique blend of religion, philosophy, and parody that is Discordianism. Learn about the Aneristic and Eristic principles, the five-fingered hand of Eris, Operation Mindfuck, and more! source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism

For some, symbols and their meanings are obvious; others remain oblivious to these facts. Symbols, which include colors, insects, animals, letters, etc., are used by psychologists, marketers, and the like to coerce and manipulate. The intention isn't always malevolent, but often is at the very least aimed at convincing your subconscious that you need something that you probably don't need. Politicians and their handlers, along with the mainstream media, use them to sell ideology. We aren't just speaking of corporate logos and their colors, or even psychological tactics in general, but also of reservoirs of occult energy being tapped into in the form of gods and goddesses, titans and monsters. The newest variant of disease is called ERIS, Greek goddess of strife and discord, a name sharing a relationship with PAN-DEMIC. Jealous of not being invited to a wedding in one story, ERIS tossed a Golden Apple onto the ground so that guests would begin fighting over it and mayhem would ensue. This is what is currently happening with the Eris variant and the same narrative being spun about temperature. We are being told directly that we are not as sick or hot as we have been, but that doesn't matter. What matters is how you feel; and you feel… sleepy… and sick, and hot, and afraid. It's hypnosis brought on by repetitive suggestive statements and symbols. The Discordianism, based on the myths of Eris, believe that there is no order or disorder, and therefore, as with moral relativism, nothing is right or wrong.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5328407/advertisement

Mae Brussell, the Magnin family, Edgar Magnin, Reformed Judaism, the influence of Judaism on Mae Brussell, Mae's background prior to the JFK assassination, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, JFK assassination, Warren Commission, Charles Manson, Northern California in the late 1960s/early 1970s, Zodiac killer, SLA, Jim Jones, People's Temple, Zebra murders, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Chicago Seven, The Big Lebowski, Tom Hayden, Paul Krassner, Addie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Yippies, Robert Anton Wilson, Discordianism, Forteanism, Fortean Society, Charles Winans, Rolling Stone lawsuit, Texas psychedelic scene, Texas scene brought to California, The Realist, Dick Gregory, Larry Flynt, pornography, Mae Brussell as Jewish scholar, the death of Mae Brussell's daughter, false rumors online about the death of her daughter, what became of Mae's documents, the Mae Brussell Research Library, Colonel Michael Aquino, Mae and Mae's family relationship to Michael Aquino Additional information on donating and contributing to the Library can be found here:The Mae Brussell Research Libraryhttps://maebrussellresearchlibrary.com/ The Realist Archives:https://www.ep.tc/realist/Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds by John Higgs was first published ten years ago, self-published in fact, and quickly became a phenomenon. Ostensibly about the reasons why, in August 1994, the remnants one of the most successful, if esoteric, pop bands on the planet would torch 20 thousand 50 pound notes on the Scottish island of Jura, John Higgs quickly finds himself obliged to veer off piste — into the worlds of punk, rave, Dada, magic, Discordianism, alchemy, numerology and the very fabric of reality itself. Republished now with added reflective footnotes The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds is as wild a ride as you would want from a book about the playful, chaotic, duo at the heart of the band. Not only that, but it might also reveal what Higgs calls “one of the most important philosophical leaps of the twentieth century”…Buy The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/the-klfJohn Higgs is the author I HAVE AMERICA SURROUNDED, THE KLF, STRANGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE, WATLING STREET, THE FUTURE STARTS HERE, WILLIAM BLAKE NOW, WILLIAM BLAKE VS THE WORLD and LOVE AND LET DIE. He lives in Brighton with his wife and their two children. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#discordianism #discordian #eris What is Discordianism? Discordian magic, practices, beliefs, Eris. Principia Discordia and Magick. CONNECT & SUPPORT

#religion #invented #popculture Prof Carole Cusack tackles Invented Religions, Provisional Beliefs, Magical Practices and Witchcraft in the contemporary Western world CONNECT & SUPPORT

Welcome back to the Let's be friends podcast, in this episode I pull back the curtain exposing the real theatre at play. The "Illuminati" may actually not be who you thought they were–they may in fact just be a bunch of clowns.We're all familiar with the phrase "order out of chaos," but have you ever wondered who actually creates the chaos?  In this episode I discuss the history of Discordianism, or those who worship Eris also known as Discordia, the Goddess of strife and discord.  I take a look at how the counter culture movement infiltrated the supposive Illuminati using it to create ripples of discord, which today have turned into full blown storms of societal chaos.  This episode is for those who may have gone a little too far into the rabbit hole, and now you've started to question everything.  May this be the missing key you've been searching for.Want more Let's be friends?  Join the Friendship Membership 

Weird Wisconsin, high strangeness, Burlington, mysterious origins of Burlington, James J. Strange. the Strangite Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), Mormonism, schisms in Mormonism after Joseph Smith's assassination, Voree, Voree plates, early Strangite church in Burlington, Beaver Island, later criminality of Strangites. Strang's assassination, Strang's grave, Strangite church's headquarters, Burlington Liars' Club, hoaxes in media, Whitechapel Club, Discordianism, possible Burlington links to Discordianism, Mormon parodies in Discordianism, the Church of the SubGenius (CoS), Ivan Strang, CoS as mockery of Strangite church, Forteanism, Charles Fort, Forteans in Wisconisin, Meade Layne, Paul Doerr, Robert Anton Wilson, Burlington Vortex, Mary Sutherland, unknown origins of Vortex, altars in Vortex, Vortex compared to Twin Peaks' Glastonbury Grove, Black Lodge portal, Twin Peaks and BurlingtonNote: I got my mythological references and little mixed up in this one. I accidentally referred to Twin Peaks' Glastonbury Grove as Sherwood Forest in this episode.Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

VYS0023 | Mercurial, Mutable, Mysterious Something - Vayse to Face with Paul Weston - Show Notes It's episode 23 and joining Hine and Buckley to pull that cosmic trigger is none other than author, researcher, lecturer and master of synchro-mysticism, Paul Weston. In the way that only Paul knows how, he spins a wonderful, breath-taking web of strange events, synchronicities and bizarre connections which all emerged in a single extremely powerful month in his home town of Glastonbury - How did he end up scattering Courtney Love's father's ashes in the centre of the Glastonbury Zodiac? How does that relate to a series of macabre and grisly murders? And how did the discovery of a swastika on the threshold of Dion Fortune's former residence trigger a waking-dream-proximity-alert? Paul also talks about how Cosmic Trigger is a psycho-active book (a trip he's taken 29 times!), how you can encourage synchronicities in your own life and how to deal with Chapel Perilous when your time comes... recorded 26 March 2023 Thanks to Keith for compiling the show notes!!! Paul's interview is so reference-dense that we've broken down the links into subject headings to help you find your way around: Paul Weston Links Paul Weston's website (https://www.paulwestonglastonbury.com/) Paul Weston's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@PaulWestonGlastonbury) Paul Weston's Avalonian Aeon Publications Facebook page (https://en-gb.facebook.com/AvalonianAeonPublications/) Avalonian Aeon (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25789350-avalonian-aeon?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nK5vEDt9u5&rank=1) by Paul Weston The Occult Battle of Britain (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44076194-the-occult-battle-of-britain) by Paul Weston Paul Weston talking about The Occult Battle of Britain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkVJpFlezGA) Mysterium Artorius (https://www.waterstones.com/book/mysterium-artorius/paul-weston//9780955769603) by Paul Weston Aleister Crowley and the Aeon of Horus (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780955769641/Aleister-Crowley-Aeon-Horus-History-0955769647/plp) by Paul Weston Glastonbury Zodiac and Earth Mysteries UFOlogy (https://paulwestonglastonbury.com/videos/glastonbury-zodiac-and-earth-mysteries-ufology/) by Paul Weston A Glastonbury Abbey Dream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuXVDeE0IJ4) a series of photographs set to music by Paul Weston Robert Anton Wilson/Timothy Leary Links The official Robert Anton Wilson Website (http://rawilson.com/) RAW fan site (https://rawilsonfans.org/) RAW Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson) Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/cosmic-trigger/author/robert-wilson/) by Robert Anton Wilson Wikipedia Article on Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Trigger_I%3A_The_Final_Secret_of_the_Illuminati) Excerpt from Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (http://rawilson.com/cosmic-trigger-final-secret-of-the-illuminati/) The 23 Phenomenon, article by RAW, originally published in Fortean Times #23 (of course!), 1977 (https://rawilsonfans.org/the-23-phenomenon/) RAW talking about Aleister Crowley (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt8TZ0hYHiE) RAW and Timothy Leary at The Bridge Psychedelic Conference 1991 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uHLy0q9kWA) Wikipedia Article on Timothy Leary (psychologist, author) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary) Timothy Leary's Eight-circuit model of consciousness (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-circuit_model_of_consciousness) Prometheus Rising (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31538633908&ref_=ps_ggl_2039220669&cm_mmc=ggl-_-UK_Shopp_Tradestandard-_-product_id=UK9781561840564USED-_-keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwhdWkBhBZEiwA1ibLmHF7z2-sJtnD0IMVFbp08c1vnXIpx9eS8qkKVL_gK8PDvzCOpniN0BoC2oUQAvD_BwE) by Robert Anton Wilson Hank Harrison Links Wikibin article on Hank Harrison (http://wikibin.org/articles/hank-harrison.html) (not up-to-date!) Videos of Paul Weston's tribute to Hank Harrison, and the scattering of Harrison's ashes in Park Wood at the heart of the Glastonbury Zodiac, 2023: here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS_EE4nIN2U) and here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjkro8jSTqY) The Cauldron and the Grail (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780918501172/Cauldron-Grail-Harrison-Hank-0918501172/plp) by Hank Harrison Love Kills: The Assassination of Kurt Cobain (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13580168-love-kills) by Hank Harrison Author Hank Harrison on his Book "Love Kills" and his daughter, Courtney Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElZ2hSbUQy4) Covert Action article on the Kurt Cobain Suicide/Murder Cover-up (https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/07/21/u-s-intelligence-coverup-newly-declassified-fbi-file-on-nirvanas-kurt-cobain-compounds-evidence-implicating-his-wifes-role-in-his-murder/) Twin Peaks Links Wikipedia Article on Twin Peaks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks) Wikipedia Article on Mark Frost (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Frost) Mark Frost interview, The Independent, 1992 (https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/higher-peaks-in-view-the-man-who-wrote-twin-peaks-has-plans-to-get-weirder-mark-frost-talked-to-kevin-jackson-about-sherlock-and-warlocks-1541807.html) Psychic Self-Defence (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/psychic-self-defence/author/dion-fortune/) by Dion Fortune Twin Peaks Blog Article - All in the Details – The Owls of Twin Peaks (https://twinpeaksblog.com/2020/02/02/all-in-the-details-the-owls-of-twin-peaks/) Katherine Maltwood/Glastonbury Zodiac Links Wikipedia Article on Katherine Maltwood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Emma_Maltwood) The Maltwood Moot (https://www.thekatharinemaltwoodsociety.com/the-maltwood-moot) Signs and Secrets of the Glastonbury Zodiac (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780955769634/SIGNS-SECRETS-GLASTONBURY-ZODIAC-Leitch-0955769639/plp) (anthology) edited by Yuri Leitch The Glastonbury Zodiac (https://www.paulwestonglastonbury.com/glastonbury/glastonbury-zodiac/) article by Paul Weston Lecture on Earth Mysteries, Ufology, and the Glastonbury Zodiac (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416-WDw3EQM) by Paul Weston, recorded at Truth, Mysteries and New Frontiers (Glastonbury Symposium), 24 July 2015 John Cowper Powys Links Wikipedia Article on John Cowper Powys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cowper_Powys) A Glastonbury Romance (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31536788218&searchurl=an%3Dpowys%2Bjohn%2Bcowper%26sortby%3D17%26tn%3Da%2Bglastonbury%2Bromance&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1) by John Cowper Powys Wikipedia Article on a Glastonbury Romance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Glastonbury_Romance) Glastonbury Romance 2003: Daemonic Genius of John Cowper Powys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRLck9pTZVo) lecture by Paul Weston John Cowper Powys and the Psychogeography of Wearyall Hill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL7YdR5-7zE) presentation by Paul Weston Ken Campbell/Daisy Campbell Links Wikipedia Article on Ken Campbell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Campbell) The Warp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Oram#The_Warp) (play) by Neil Oram Wikipedia Article on Daisy Eris Campbell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Eris_Campbell) Cosmic Trigger (https://cosmictriggerplay.com/the-play/) (play) by Daisy Campbell John Constable aka John Crow/Cross Bones Burial Ground/The Southwark Mysteries Links Wikipedia Article on John Constable aka John Crow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Constable_(writer)) Wikipedia Article on Cross Bones burial ground (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Bones) Crossbones website (http://crossbones.org.uk/) The Goose and ‘John Crow' (https://crossbones.org.uk/goose-and-crow/) The Goose Twitter account (https://twitter.com/TheGooseSez) Feature on Cross Bones from Inside Out London, 2011 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYFicWN7sM) Wikipedia Article on Henry of Blois (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_of_Blois) The Southwark Mysteries (book) by John Constable (https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-southwark-mysteries/john-constable/9781840020991) The Southwark Mysteries (plays) by John Constable (http://crossbones.org.uk/southwark-mysteries/) Feature on John Constable and The Southwark Mysteries (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmqW0odrY7c) (possibly taken from BBC ‘Songs of Praise') James Joyce Links Wikipedia Article on James Joyce (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce) Finnegan's Wake (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/finnegans-wake-james-joyce/1579471?ean=9780199695157) by James Joyce Wikipedia Article on Finnegan's Wake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnegans_Wake) Ulysses (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/ulysses-complete-james-joyce/1536609?ean=9789353361457) by James Joyce Wikipedia Article on Ulysses (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)) Glastonbury Murders Links ITV News - Glastonbury 2023 murder (https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2023-03-08/man-charged-with-the-murder-of-somerset-pensioner) BBC News - Glastonbury yoga teacher jailed for life for lodger murder (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-63831748) ( ) Dion Fortune/Alice Buckton/Glastonbury Royal Jubilee Links Wikipedia Article on Dion Fortune (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dion_Fortune) Remember Dion Fortune, Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/DionFortune/) Glastonbury: Avalon of the Heart (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780850305180/Glastonbury-Avalon-Heart-Fortune-Dion-0850305187/plp) by Dion Fortune Avalon of the Heart Tours (https://www.avalonoftheheart.co.uk/) (Guide: Paul Weston) Wikipedia Article on Alice Buckton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Buckton) Alice Buckton's Glastonbury Past and Present (https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-glastonbury-past-and-present-1922-online) - 1922 film Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in Glastonbury, Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/JubileeCelebrationsinGlastonbury/) Pax Cultura, Avalon of the Heart, Glastonbury Royal Jubilee (https://www.paulwestonglastonbury.com/pax-cultura-avalon-of-the-heart-glastonbury-royal-jubilee/) Nicholas Roerich Links Wikipedia Article on Nicholas Roerich (painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, philosopher) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Roerich) Nicholas Roerich: His Life and Work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIlkebwlQSo) - presentation by Paul Weston Cadbury Castle Links Wikipedia Article on Cadbury Castle, Somerset (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadbury_Castle%2C_Somerset) South Cadbury Environs Project, Excavations (https://web.archive.org/web/20151020235302/http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/scep/Excavation.html) Frederick Bligh Bond/Edward the Martyr Links Wikipedia Article on Frederick Bligh Bond (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Bligh_Bond) The Company of Avalon (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/company-avalon/author/bligh-bond/) by Frederick Bligh Bond Wikipedia Article on Edward the Martyr (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Martyr) Wikipedia Article on Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church_Outside_of_Russia) Wikipedia Article on Vikings: Valhalla (streaming television series) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings:_Valhalla) Wikipedia Article on Edmund Ironside (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ironside) Wikipedia Article on Yaroslav the Wise (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaroslav_the_Wise) Wikipedia Article on Kievan Rus' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27) The Cumberland Obelisk, Virginia Water (https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4353658) Wikipedia Artiucle on Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William%2C_Duke_of_Cumberland) Other links Andrew Collins' website (https://www.andrewcollins.com/) The Dark Gods (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/dark-gods/author/anthony-roberts/) by Anthony Roberts Wikipedia Article on Glastonbury Fayre (album) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Fayre_(album)) Wikipedia Article on John Michell (writer) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michell_(writer)) Research Into Lost Knowledge Organisation (RILKO) website (https://www.rilko.org/) Wikipedia Artcile on Dame Francis Yates (historian, writer) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Yates) Wikipedia Article on Newgrange (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange) Gothic Cathedrals: Architecture and Divine Light (https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1649/gothic-cathedrals-architecture--divine-light/) The High History of the Holy Grail (http://www.sangraal.com/histgrail.htm) Yuri Leitch's website (http://www.yurileitch.co.uk/home) Wikipedia Article on Space burial (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_burial) Wikipedia Article on Fellowship of Isis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_of_Isis) Dundon Beacon (http://www.palden.co.uk/leymap/compton-dundon.html) The Occult (https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-occult/colin-wilson/9781780288468) by Colin Wilson Jacqueline Haigh (writer, performer) website (https://www.jacquelinehaigh.com/) The KLF and the Toxteth Day of the Dead (http://klf.de/home/tag/toxteth-day-of-the-dead/) Wikipedia Page on Babalon (Thelema) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalon) The Sacred Prostitute: Eternal Aspect of the Feminine (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780919123311/Sacred-Prostitute-Eternal-Aspect-Feminine-0919123317/plp) by Nancy Qualls-Corbett, Wikipedia Page on Discordianism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism) Thalia Brown, Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ThaliasArtOfAvalon) The Green Stone (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-green-stone-graham-phillips/1561262?ean=9781912241095) by Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman Hellier (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hellier+season+1+episode+1) - If you still haven't watched, surely now is the time? The Mothman Prophecies (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-mothman-prophecies-john-a-keel/2074568?ean=9780765334985) by John Keel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keel) Cryptid Wiki Article on Indrid Cold (https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Indrid_Cold) Wikipedia Article on Graham Phillips (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Phillips_(writer)) The Sunderland Family (http://www.ignaciodarnaude.com/revelacion_extraterrestre/Randles-Whetnall,Sunderland%20contacts%201976,Wales,U.K.-1,FSR79V25N3.pdf) - Article by Jenny Randles and Paul Whetnall Mysterious Britain Article on Aveley Abduction (https://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/ufos/aveley-abduction-1974/) LightQuest (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30043957463&ref_=ps_ggl_2039220669&cm_mmc=ggl-_-UK_Shopp_Tradestandard-_-product_id=UK9780940829497USED-_-keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwhdWkBhBZEiwA1ibLmF1Q03yg0inXZyqJGviwW_slKDi-iQRJ9dPlqqGsdqilC9EzrqWrqBoC210QAvD_BwE)by Andrew Collins Wikipedia Article on The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn) Wikipedia Article on Samuel Mathers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Liddell_MacGregor_Mathers) Wikipedia Article on Aleister Crowley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley) Wikipedia Article on MK Ultra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKUltra) Wikipedia Article on Timothy Leary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary) Wikipedia Article on Ken Kesey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kesey) Wikipedia Article on Charles Manson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson) Wikipedia Article on the Eight-circuit model of consciousness (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-circuit_model_of_consciousness) Wikipedia Article on Ramana Maharshi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi) Book of Lies (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-book-of-lies-keep-silence-edition-aleister-crowley/4122491?ean=9781646691838) by Aleister Crowley Wikipedia Article on Chapel Perilous (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_perilous) BBC News - Q-Anon: What is it and where did it come from? (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/53498434) Wikipedia Article on Donald Trump (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump) Wikipedia Article on The Montauk Project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montauk_Project) Discordia Wiki Article on Operation Mindfuck (https://discordia.fandom.com/wiki/Operation_Mindfuck) The King in Orange: The Magical and Occult Roots of Political Power (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781644112588/King-Orange-Magical-Occult-Roots-1644112582/plp) by John Michael Greer The Seventh Sword (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/the-seventh-sword/author/andrew-collins/) by Andrew Collins Beneath the Pyramids: Egypt's Greatest Secret Uncovered (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Beneath%20the%20Pyramids%20by%20andrew%20collins&sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-topnav-_-Results)by Andrew Collins The First Female Pharaoh: Sobekneferu, Goddess of the Seven Stars (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31473776289&searchurl=kn%3DThe%2BFirst%2BFemale%2BPharaoh%253A%2BSobekneferu%252C%2BGoddess%2Bof%2Bthe%2BSeven%2BStars%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1) by Andrew Collins Robin of Sherwood (TV Series) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIZA-zeEXSQ) Excalibur Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QR6_17mn5s) The Green Knight Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY) British Music. An Arthurian Landscape Evocation - A Lecture by Paul Weston (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0intmS_EIM) Wikipedia Article on Bohemian Grove (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Grove) Special Guest: Paul Weston.

On today's episode of the Occult Symbolism and Pop Culture with Isaac Weishaupt podcast we enter the Grey Lodge once again in this supporters-only episode as part of the Twin Peaks deep dive! Today we'll go through the cast of Twin Peaks and talk about their backgrounds, other work and fun facts! From connections to Tupac and Discordianism to cast romances and marriages to porn stars and accusations against David Lynch- it's a lot to get into! We'll wrap up with Isaac's own Miss Twin Peaks contest which will also include the top countdown lists for best villain, hottest male (*we don't want to leave the fellas out), least likeable, most useless and of course- the MOST FAVORITE character!FULL EPISODE NOW UP AD-FREE ONLY ON SUPPORTER FEEDS!Time is running out to get into the Twin Peaks Grey Lodge for only 2 BUCKS! Join the VIP Section to go ad-free, hundreds of bonus episodes (*including the Twin Peaks Grey Lodge series), two free books and early access! All for only 2 bucks with coupon code 'CHERRYPIE' that expires June 30th! Go to illuminatiwatcher.com/members-section/ and sign up for the VIP Section- scroll ALL the way to the bottom, sign up for Tier 1 using coupon code "CHERRYPIE" and you're in!Links:SUPPORTER FEEDS: Go ad-free with 160+ bonus episodes (*NOW INCLUDING THE TWIN PEAKS GREY LODGE SERIES), early access and books!Patreon.com/IlluminatiWatcher,VIP Section (*with comparsion of Apple vs Patreon vs VIP vs Rokfin): https://illuminatiwatcher.com/members-section/Apple Podcasts Premium! You can now go ad-free with ALL the bonus episodes on the Apple app- just open up the podcast and subscribe!This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3200989/advertisement

Episode 165 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Dark Stat” and the career of the Grateful Dead. This is a long one, even longer than the previous episode, but don't worry, that won't be the norm. There's a reason these two were much longer than average. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode available, on "Codine" by the Charlatans. Errata I mispronounce Brent Mydland's name as Myland a couple of times, and in the introduction I say "Touch of Grey" came out in 1988 -- I later, correctly, say 1987. (I seem to have had a real problem with dates in the intro -- I also originally talked about "Blue Suede Shoes" being in 1954 before fixing it in the edit to be 1956) Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many songs by the Grateful Dead, and Grayfolded runs to two hours. I referred to a lot of books for this episode, partly because almost everything about the Grateful Dead is written from a fannish perspective that already assumes background knowledge, rather than to provide that background knowledge. Of the various books I used, Dennis McNally's biography of the band and This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead by Blair Jackson and David Gans are probably most useful for the casually interested. Other books on the Dead I used included McNally's Jerry on Jerry, a collection of interviews with Garcia; Deal, Bill Kreutzmann's autobiography; The Grateful Dead FAQ by Tony Sclafani; So Many Roads by David Browne; Deadology by Howard F. Weiner; Fare Thee Well by Joel Selvin and Pamela Turley; and Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads by David Shenk and Steve Silberman. Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is the classic account of the Pranksters, though not always reliable. I reference Slaughterhouse Five a lot. As well as the novel itself, which everyone should read, I also read this rather excellent graphic novel adaptation, and The Writer's Crusade, a book about the writing of the novel. I also reference Ted Sturgeon's More Than Human. For background on the scene around Astounding Science Fiction which included Sturgeon, John W. Campbell, L. Ron Hubbard, and many other science fiction writers, I recommend Alec Nevala-Lee's Astounding. 1,000 True Fans can be read online, as can the essay on the Californian ideology, and John Perry Barlow's "Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace". The best collection of Grateful Dead material is the box set The Golden Road, which contains all the albums released in Pigpen's lifetime along with a lot of bonus material, but which appears currently out of print. Live/Dead contains both the live version of "Dark Star" which made it well known and, as a CD bonus track, the original single version. And archive.org has more live recordings of the group than you can possibly ever listen to. Grayfolded can be bought from John Oswald's Bandcamp Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript [Excerpt: Tuning from "Grayfolded", under the warnings Before we begin -- as we're tuning up, as it were, I should mention that this episode contains discussions of alcoholism, drug addiction, racism, nonconsensual drugging of other people, and deaths from drug abuse, suicide, and car accidents. As always, I try to deal with these subjects as carefully as possible, but if you find any of those things upsetting you may wish to read the transcript rather than listen to this episode, or skip it altogether. Also, I should note that the members of the Grateful Dead were much freer with their use of swearing in interviews than any other band we've covered so far, and that makes using quotes from them rather more difficult than with other bands, given the limitations of the rules imposed to stop the podcast being marked as adult. If I quote anything with a word I can't use here, I'll give a brief pause in the audio, and in the transcript I'll have the word in square brackets. [tuning ends] All this happened, more or less. In 1910, T. S. Eliot started work on "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", which at the time was deemed barely poetry, with one reviewer imagining Eliot saying "I'll just put down the first thing that comes into my head, and call it 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.'" It is now considered one of the great classics of modernist literature. In 1969, Kurt Vonnegut wrote "Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death", a book in which the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, comes unstuck in time, and starts living a nonlinear life, hopping around between times reliving his experiences in the Second World War, and future experiences up to 1976 after being kidnapped by beings from the planet Tralfamadore. Or perhaps he has flashbacks and hallucinations after having a breakdown from PTSD. It is now considered one of the great classics of modernist literature or of science fiction, depending on how you look at it. In 1953, Theodore Sturgeon wrote More Than Human. It is now considered one of the great classics of science fiction. In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. It is now considered either a bad piece of science fiction or one of the great revelatory works of religious history, depending on how you look at it. In 1994, 1995, and 1996 the composer John Oswald released, first as two individual CDs and then as a double-CD, an album called Grayfolded, which the composer says in the liner notes he thinks of as existing in Tralfamadorian time. The Tralfamadorians in Vonnegut's novels don't see time as a linear thing with a beginning and end, but as a continuum that they can move between at will. When someone dies, they just think that at this particular point in time they're not doing so good, but at other points in time they're fine, so why focus on the bad time? In the book, when told of someone dying, the Tralfamadorians just say "so it goes". In between the first CD's release and the release of the double-CD version, Jerry Garcia died. From August 1942 through August 1995, Jerry Garcia was alive. So it goes. Shall we go, you and I? [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Dark Star (Omni 3/30/94)"] "One principle has become clear. Since motives are so frequently found in combination, it is essential that the complex types be analyzed and arranged, with an eye kept single nevertheless to the master-theme under discussion. Collectors, both primary and subsidiary, have done such valiant service that the treasures at our command are amply sufficient for such studies, so extensive, indeed, that the task of going through them thoroughly has become too great for the unassisted student. It cannot be too strongly urged that a single theme in its various types and compounds must be made predominant in any useful comparative study. This is true when the sources and analogues of any literary work are treated; it is even truer when the bare motive is discussed. The Grateful Dead furnishes an apt illustration of the necessity of such handling. It appears in a variety of different combinations, almost never alone. Indeed, it is so widespread a tale, and its combinations are so various, that there is the utmost difficulty in determining just what may properly be regarded the original kernel of it, the simple theme to which other motives were joined. Various opinions, as we shall see, have been held with reference to this matter, most of them justified perhaps by the materials in the hands of the scholars holding them, but none quite adequate in view of later evidence." That's a quote from The Grateful Dead: The History of a Folk Story, by Gordon Hall Gerould, published in 1908. Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five opens with a chapter about the process of writing the novel itself, and how difficult it was. He says "I would hate to tell you what this lousy little book cost me in money and anxiety and time. When I got home from the Second World War twenty-three years ago, I thought it would be easy for me to write about the destruction of Dresden, since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen. And I thought, too, that it would be a masterpiece or at least make me a lot of money, since the subject was so big." This is an episode several of my listeners have been looking forward to, but it's one I've been dreading writing, because this is an episode -- I think the only one in the series -- where the format of the podcast simply *will not* work. Were the Grateful Dead not such an important band, I would skip this episode altogether, but they're a band that simply can't be ignored, and that's a real problem here. Because my intent, always, with this podcast, is to present the recordings of the artists in question, put them in context, and explain why they were important, what their music meant to its listeners. To put, as far as is possible, the positive case for why the music mattered *in the context of its time*. Not why it matters now, or why it matters to me, but why it matters *in its historical context*. Whether I like the music or not isn't the point. Whether it stands up now isn't the point. I play the music, explain what it was they were doing, why they were doing it, what people saw in it. If I do my job well, you come away listening to "Blue Suede Shoes" the way people heard it in 1956, or "Good Vibrations" the way people heard it in 1966, and understanding why people were so impressed by those records. That is simply *not possible* for the Grateful Dead. I can present a case for them as musicians, and hope to do so. I can explain the appeal as best I understand it, and talk about things I like in their music, and things I've noticed. But what I can't do is present their recordings the way they were received in the sixties and explain why they were popular. Because every other act I have covered or will cover in this podcast has been a *recording* act, and their success was based on records. They may also have been exceptional live performers, but James Brown or Ike and Tina Turner are remembered for great *records*, like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" or "River Deep, Mountain High". Their great moments were captured on vinyl, to be listened back to, and susceptible of analysis. That is not the case for the Grateful Dead, and what is worse *they explicitly said, publicly, on multiple occasions* that it is not possible for me to understand their art, and thus that it is not possible for me to explain it. The Grateful Dead did make studio records, some of them very good. But they always said, consistently, over a thirty year period, that their records didn't capture what they did, and that the only way -- the *only* way, they were very clear about this -- that one could actually understand and appreciate their music, was to see them live, and furthermore to see them live while on psychedelic drugs. [Excerpt: Grateful Dead crowd noise] I never saw the Grateful Dead live -- their last UK performance was a couple of years before I went to my first ever gig -- and I have never taken a psychedelic substance. So by the Grateful Dead's own criteria, it is literally impossible for me to understand or explain their music the way that it should be understood or explained. In a way I'm in a similar position to the one I was in with La Monte Young in the last episode, whose music it's mostly impossible to experience without being in his presence. This is one reason of several why I placed these two episodes back to back. Of course, there is a difference between Young and the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead allowed -- even encouraged -- the recording of their live performances. There are literally thousands of concert recordings in circulation, many of them of professional quality. I have listened to many of those, and I can hear what they were doing. I can tell you what *I* think is interesting about their music, and about their musicianship. And I think I can build up a good case for why they were important, and why they're interesting, and why those recordings are worth listening to. And I can certainly explain the cultural phenomenon that was the Grateful Dead. But just know that while I may have found *a* point, *an* explanation for why the Grateful Dead were important, by the band's own lights and those of their fans, no matter how good a job I do in this episode, I *cannot* get it right. And that is, in itself, enough of a reason for this episode to exist, and for me to try, even harder than I normally do, to get it right *anyway*. Because no matter how well I do my job this episode will stand as an example of why this series is called "*A* History", not *the* history. Because parts of the past are ephemeral. There are things about which it's true to say "You had to be there". I cannot know what it was like to have been an American the day Kennedy was shot, I cannot know what it was like to be alive when a man walked on the Moon. Those are things nobody my age or younger can ever experience. And since August the ninth, 1995, the experience of hearing the Grateful Dead's music the way they wanted it heard has been in that category. And that is by design. Jerry Garcia once said "if you work really hard as an artist, you may be able to build something they can't tear down, you know, after you're gone... What I want to do is I want it here. I want it now, in this lifetime. I want what I enjoy to last as long as I do and not last any longer. You know, I don't want something that ends up being as much a nuisance as it is a work of art, you know?" And there's another difficulty. There are only two points in time where it makes sense to do a podcast episode on the Grateful Dead -- late 1967 and early 1968, when the San Francisco scene they were part of was at its most culturally relevant, and 1988 when they had their only top ten hit and gained their largest audience. I can't realistically leave them out of the story until 1988, so it has to be 1968. But the songs they are most remembered for are those they wrote between 1970 and 1972, and those songs are influenced by artists and events we haven't yet covered in the podcast, who will be getting their own episodes in the future. I can't explain those things in this episode, because they need whole episodes of their own. I can't not explain them without leaving out important context for the Grateful Dead. So the best I can do is treat the story I'm telling as if it were in Tralfamadorian time. All of it's happening all at once, and some of it is happening in different episodes that haven't been recorded yet. The podcast as a whole travels linearly from 1938 through to 1999, but this episode is happening in 1968 and 1972 and 1988 and 1995 and other times, all at once. Sometimes I'll talk about things as if you're already familiar with them, but they haven't happened yet in the story. Feel free to come unstuck in time and revisit this time after episode 167, and 172, and 176, and 192, and experience it again. So this has to be an experimental episode. It may well be an experiment that you think fails. If so, the next episode is likely to be far more to your taste, and much shorter than this or the last episode, two episodes that between them have to create a scaffolding on which will hang much of the rest of this podcast's narrative. I've finished my Grateful Dead script now. The next one I write is going to be fun: [Excerpt: Grateful Dead, "Dark Star"] Infrastructure means everything. How we get from place to place, how we transport goods, information, and ourselves, makes a big difference in how society is structured, and in the music we hear. For many centuries, the prime means of long-distance transport was by water -- sailing ships on the ocean, canal boats and steamboats for inland navigation -- and so folk songs talked about the ship as both means of escape, means of making a living, and in some senses as a trap. You'd go out to sea for adventure, or to escape your problems, but you'd find that the sea itself brought its own problems. Because of this we have a long, long tradition of sea shanties which are known throughout the world: [Excerpt: A. L. Lloyd, "Off to Sea Once More"] But in the nineteenth century, the railway was invented and, at least as far as travel within a landmass goes, it replaced the steamboat in the popular imaginary. Now the railway was how you got from place to place, and how you moved freight from one place to another. The railway brought freedom, and was an opportunity for outlaws, whether train robbers or a romanticised version of the hobo hopping onto a freight train and making his way to new lands and new opportunity. It was the train that brought soldiers home from wars, and the train that allowed the Great Migration of Black people from the South to the industrial North. There would still be songs about the riverboats, about how ol' man river keeps rolling along and about the big river Johnny Cash sang about, but increasingly they would be songs of the past, not the present. The train quickly replaced the steamboat in the iconography of what we now think of as roots music -- blues, country, folk, and early jazz music. Sometimes this was very literal. Furry Lewis' "Kassie Jones" -- about a legendary train driver who would break the rules to make sure his train made the station on time, but who ended up sacrificing his own life to save his passengers in a train crash -- is based on "Alabamy Bound", which as we heard in the episode on "Stagger Lee", was about steamboats: [Excerpt: Furry Lewis, "Kassie Jones"] In the early episodes of this podcast we heard many, many, songs about the railway. Louis Jordan saying "take me right back to the track, Jack", Rosetta Tharpe singing about how "this train don't carry no gamblers", the trickster freight train driver driving on the "Rock Island Line", the mystery train sixteen coaches long, the train that kept-a-rollin' all night long, the Midnight Special which the prisoners wished would shine its ever-loving light on them, and the train coming past Folsom Prison whose whistle makes Johnny Cash hang his head and cry. But by the 1960s, that kind of song had started to dry up. It would happen on occasion -- "People Get Ready" by the Impressions is the most obvious example of the train metaphor in an important sixties record -- but by the late sixties the train was no longer a symbol of freedom but of the past. In 1969 Harry Nilsson sang about how "Nobody Cares About the Railroads Any More", and in 1968 the Kinks sang about "The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains". When in 1968 Merle Haggard sang about a freight train, it was as a memory, of a child with hopes that ended up thwarted by reality and his own nature: [Excerpt: Merle Haggard, "Mama Tried"] And the reason for this was that there had been another shift, a shift that had started in the forties and accelerated in the late fifties but had taken a little time to ripple through the culture. Now the train had been replaced in the popular imaginary by motorised transport. Instead of hopping on a train without paying, if you had no money in your pocket you'd have to hitch-hike all the way. Freedom now meant individuality. The ultimate in freedom was the biker -- the Hell's Angels who could go anywhere, unburdened by anything -- and instead of goods being moved by freight train, increasingly they were being moved by truck drivers. By the mid-seventies, truck drivers took a central place in American life, and the most romantic way to live life was to live it on the road. On The Road was also the title of a 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac, which was one of the first major signs of this cultural shift in America. Kerouac was writing about events in the late forties and early fifties, but his book was also a precursor of the sixties counterculture. He wrote the book on one continuous sheet of paper, as a stream of consciousness. Kerouac died in 1969 of an internal haemmorage brought on by too much alcohol consumption. So it goes. But the big key to this cultural shift was caused by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, a massive infrastructure spending bill that led to the construction of the modern American Interstate Highway system. This accelerated a program that had already started, of building much bigger, safer, faster roads. It also, as anyone who has read Robert Caro's The Power Broker knows, reinforced segregation and white flight. It did this both by making commuting into major cities from the suburbs easier -- thus allowing white people with more money to move further away from the cities and still work there -- and by bulldozing community spaces where Black people lived. More than a million people lost their homes and were forcibly moved, and orders of magnitude more lost their communities' parks and green spaces. And both as a result of deliberate actions and unconscious bigotry, the bulk of those affected were Black people -- who often found themselves, if they weren't forced to move, on one side of a ten-lane highway where the park used to be, with white people on the other side of the highway. The Federal-Aid Highway Act gave even more power to the unaccountable central planners like Robert Moses, the urban planner in New York who managed to become arguably the most powerful man in the city without ever getting elected, partly by slowly compromising away his early progressive ideals in the service of gaining more power. Of course, not every new highway was built through areas where poor Black people lived. Some were planned to go through richer areas for white people, just because you can't completely do away with geographical realities. For example one was planned to be built through part of San Francisco, a rich, white part. But the people who owned properties in that area had enough political power and clout to fight the development, and after nearly a decade of fighting it, the development was called off in late 1966. But over that time, many of the owners of the impressive buildings in the area had moved out, and they had no incentive to improve or maintain their properties while they were under threat of demolition, so many of them were rented out very cheaply. And when the beat community that Kerouac wrote about, many of whom had settled in San Francisco, grew too large and notorious for the area of the city they were in, North Beach, many of them moved to these cheap homes in a previously-exclusive area. The area known as Haight-Ashbury. [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Grayfolded"] Stories all have their starts, even stories told in Tralfamadorian time, although sometimes those starts are shrouded in legend. For example, the story of Scientology's start has been told many times, with different people claiming to have heard L. Ron Hubbard talk about how writing was a mug's game, and if you wanted to make real money, you needed to get followers, start a religion. Either he said this over and over and over again, to many different science fiction writers, or most science fiction writers of his generation were liars. Of course, the definition of a writer is someone who tells lies for money, so who knows? One of the more plausible accounts of him saying that is given by Theodore Sturgeon. Sturgeon's account is more believable than most, because Sturgeon went on to be a supporter of Dianetics, the "new science" that Hubbard turned into his religion, for decades, even while telling the story. The story of the Grateful Dead probably starts as it ends, with Jerry Garcia. There are three things that everyone writing about the Dead says about Garcia's childhood, so we might as well say them here too. The first is that he was named by a music-loving father after Jerome Kern, the songwriter responsible for songs like "Ol' Man River" (though as Oscar Hammerstein's widow liked to point out, "Jerome Kern wrote dum-dum-dum-dum, *my husband* wrote 'Ol' Man River'" -- an important distinction we need to bear in mind when talking about songwriters who write music but not lyrics). The second is that when he was five years old that music-loving father drowned -- and Garcia would always say he had seen his father dying, though some sources claim this was a false memory. So it goes. And the third fact, which for some reason is always told after the second even though it comes before it chronologically, is that when he was four he lost two joints from his right middle finger. Garcia grew up a troubled teen, and in turn caused trouble for other people, but he also developed a few interests that would follow him through his life. He loved the fantastical, especially the fantastical macabre, and became an avid fan of horror and science fiction -- and through his love of old monster films he became enamoured with cinema more generally. Indeed, in 1983 he bought the film rights to Kurt Vonnegut's science fiction novel The Sirens of Titan, the first story in which the Tralfamadorians appear, and wrote a script based on it. He wanted to produce the film himself, with Francis Ford Coppola directing and Bill Murray starring, but most importantly for him he wanted to prevent anyone who didn't care about it from doing it badly. And in that he succeeded. As of 2023 there is no film of The Sirens of Titan. He loved to paint, and would continue that for the rest of his life, with one of his favourite subjects being Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster. And when he was eleven or twelve, he heard for the first time a record that was hugely influential to a whole generation of Californian musicians, even though it was a New York record -- "Gee" by the Crows: [Excerpt: The Crows, "Gee"] Garcia would say later "That was an important song. That was the first kind of, like where the voices had that kind of not-trained-singer voices, but tough-guy-on-the-street voice." That record introduced him to R&B, and soon he was listening to Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, to Ray Charles, and to a record we've not talked about in the podcast but which was one of the great early doo-wop records, "WPLJ" by the Four Deuces: [Excerpt: The Four Deuces, "WPLJ"] Garcia said of that record "That was one of my anthem songs when I was in junior high school and high school and around there. That was one of those songs everybody knew. And that everybody sang. Everybody sang that street-corner favorite." Garcia moved around a lot as a child, and didn't have much time for school by his own account, but one of the few teachers he did respect was an art teacher when he was in North Beach, Walter Hedrick. Hedrick was also one of the earliest of the conceptual artists, and one of the most important figures in the San Francisco arts scene that would become known as the Beat Generation (or the Beatniks, which was originally a disparaging term). Hedrick was a painter and sculptor, but also organised happenings, and he had also been one of the prime movers in starting a series of poetry readings in San Francisco, the first one of which had involved Allen Ginsberg giving the first ever reading of "Howl" -- one of a small number of poems, along with Eliot's "Prufrock" and "The Waste Land" and possibly Pound's Cantos, which can be said to have changed twentieth-century literature. Garcia was fifteen when he got to know Hedrick, in 1957, and by then the Beat scene had already become almost a parody of itself, having become known to the public because of the publication of works like On the Road, and the major artists in the scene were already rejecting the label. By this point tourists were flocking to North Beach to see these beatniks they'd heard about on TV, and Hedrick was actually employed by one cafe to sit in the window wearing a beret, turtleneck, sandals, and beard, and draw and paint, to attract the tourists who flocked by the busload because they could see that there was a "genuine beatnik" in the cafe. Hedrick was, as well as a visual artist, a guitarist and banjo player who played in traditional jazz bands, and he would bring records in to class for his students to listen to, and Garcia particularly remembered him bringing in records by Big Bill Broonzy: [Excerpt: Big Bill Broonzy, "When Things Go Wrong (It Hurts Me Too)"] Garcia was already an avid fan of rock and roll music, but it was being inspired by Hedrick that led him to get his first guitar. Like his contemporary Paul McCartney around the same time, he was initially given the wrong instrument as a birthday present -- in Garcia's case his mother gave him an accordion -- but he soon persuaded her to swap it for an electric guitar he saw in a pawn shop. And like his other contemporary, John Lennon, Garcia initially tuned his instrument incorrectly. He said later "When I started playing the guitar, believe me, I didn't know anybody that played. I mean, I didn't know anybody that played the guitar. Nobody. They weren't around. There were no guitar teachers. You couldn't take lessons. There was nothing like that, you know? When I was a kid and I had my first electric guitar, I had it tuned wrong and learned how to play on it with it tuned wrong for about a year. And I was getting somewhere on it, you know… Finally, I met a guy that knew how to tune it right and showed me three chords, and it was like a revelation. You know what I mean? It was like somebody gave me the key to heaven." He joined a band, the Chords, which mostly played big band music, and his friend Gary Foster taught him some of the rudiments of playing the guitar -- things like how to use a capo to change keys. But he was always a rebellious kid, and soon found himself faced with a choice between joining the military or going to prison. He chose the former, and it was during his time in the Army that a friend, Ron Stevenson, introduced him to the music of Merle Travis, and to Travis-style guitar picking: [Excerpt: Merle Travis, "Nine-Pound Hammer"] Garcia had never encountered playing like that before, but he instantly recognised that Travis, and Chet Atkins who Stevenson also played for him, had been an influence on Scotty Moore. He started to realise that the music he'd listened to as a teenager was influenced by music that went further back. But Stevenson, as well as teaching Garcia some of the rudiments of Travis-picking, also indirectly led to Garcia getting discharged from the Army. Stevenson was not a well man, and became suicidal. Garcia decided it was more important to keep his friend company and make sure he didn't kill himself than it was to turn up for roll call, and as a result he got discharged himself on psychiatric grounds -- according to Garcia he told the Army psychiatrist "I was involved in stuff that was more important to me in the moment than the army was and that was the reason I was late" and the psychiatrist thought it was neurotic of Garcia to have his own set of values separate from that of the Army. After discharge, Garcia did various jobs, including working as a transcriptionist for Lenny Bruce, the comedian who was a huge influence on the counterculture. In one of the various attacks over the years by authoritarians on language, Bruce was repeatedly arrested for obscenity, and in 1961 he was arrested at a jazz club in North Beach. Sixty years ago, the parts of speech that were being criminalised weren't pronouns, but prepositions and verbs: [Excerpt: Lenny Bruce, "To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb"] That piece, indeed, was so controversial that when Frank Zappa quoted part of it in a song in 1968, the record label insisted on the relevant passage being played backwards so people couldn't hear such disgusting filth: [Excerpt: The Mothers of Invention, "Harry You're a Beast"] (Anyone familiar with that song will understand that the censored portion is possibly the least offensive part of the whole thing). Bruce was facing trial, and he needed transcripts of what he had said in his recordings to present in court. Incidentally, there seems to be some confusion over exactly which of Bruce's many obscenity trials Garcia became a transcriptionist for. Dennis McNally says in his biography of the band, published in 2002, that it was the most famous of them, in autumn 1964, but in a later book, Jerry on Jerry, a book of interviews of Garcia edited by McNally, McNally talks about it being when Garcia was nineteen, which would mean it was Bruce's first trial, in 1961. We can put this down to the fact that many of the people involved, not least Garcia, lived in Tralfamadorian time, and were rather hazy on dates, but I'm placing the story here rather than in 1964 because it seems to make more sense that Garcia would be involved in a trial based on an incident in San Francisco than one in New York. Garcia got the job, even though he couldn't type, because by this point he'd spent so long listening to recordings of old folk and country music that he was used to transcribing indecipherable accents, and often, as Garcia would tell it, Bruce would mumble very fast and condense multiple syllables into one. Garcia was particularly impressed by Bruce's ability to improvise but talk in entire paragraphs, and he compared his use of language to bebop. Another thing that was starting to impress Garcia, and which he also compared to bebop, was bluegrass: [Excerpt: Bill Monroe, "Fire on the Mountain"] Bluegrass is a music that is often considered very traditional, because it's based on traditional songs and uses acoustic instruments, but in fact it was a terribly *modern* music, and largely a postwar creation of a single band -- Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. And Garcia was right when he said it was "white bebop" -- though he did say "The only thing it doesn't have is the harmonic richness of bebop. You know what I mean? That's what it's missing, but it has everything else." Both bebop and bluegrass evolved after the second world war, though they were informed by music from before it, and both prized the ability to improvise, and technical excellence. Both are musics that involved playing *fast*, in an ensemble, and being able to respond quickly to the other musicians. Both musics were also intensely rhythmic, a response to a faster paced, more stressful world. They were both part of the general change in the arts towards immediacy that we looked at in the last episode with the creation first of expressionism and then of pop art. Bluegrass didn't go into the harmonic explorations that modern jazz did, but it was absolutely as modern as anything Charlie Parker was doing, and came from the same impulses. It was tradition and innovation, the past and the future simultaneously. Bill Monroe, Jackson Pollock, Charlie Parker, Jack Kerouac, and Lenny Bruce were all in their own ways responding to the same cultural moment, and it was that which Garcia was responding to. But he didn't become able to play bluegrass until after a tragedy which shaped his life even more than his father's death had. Garcia had been to a party and was in a car with his friends Lee Adams, Paul Speegle, and Alan Trist. Adams was driving at ninety miles an hour when they hit a tight curve and crashed. Garcia, Adams, and Trist were all severely injured but survived. Speegle died. So it goes. This tragedy changed Garcia's attitudes totally. Of all his friends, Speegle was the one who was most serious about his art, and who treated it as something to work on. Garcia had always been someone who fundamentally didn't want to work or take any responsibility for anything. And he remained that way -- except for his music. Speegle's death changed Garcia's attitude to that, totally. If his friend wasn't going to be able to practice his own art any more, Garcia would practice his, in tribute to him. He resolved to become a virtuoso on guitar and banjo. His girlfriend of the time later said “I don't know if you've spent time with someone rehearsing ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown' on a banjo for eight hours, but Jerry practiced endlessly. He really wanted to excel and be the best. He had tremendous personal ambition in the musical arena, and he wanted to master whatever he set out to explore. Then he would set another sight for himself. And practice another eight hours a day of new licks.” But of course, you can't make ensemble music on your own: [Excerpt: Jerry Garcia and Bob Hunter, "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" (including end)] "Evelyn said, “What is it called when a person needs a … person … when you want to be touched and the … two are like one thing and there isn't anything else at all anywhere?” Alicia, who had read books, thought about it. “Love,” she said at length." That's from More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon, a book I'll be quoting a few more times as the story goes on. Robert Hunter, like Garcia, was just out of the military -- in his case, the National Guard -- and he came into Garcia's life just after Paul Speegle had left it. Garcia and Alan Trist met Hunter ten days after the accident, and the three men started hanging out together, Trist and Hunter writing while Garcia played music. Garcia and Hunter both bonded over their shared love for the beats, and for traditional music, and the two formed a duo, Bob and Jerry, which performed together a handful of times. They started playing together, in fact, after Hunter picked up a guitar and started playing a song and halfway through Garcia took it off him and finished the song himself. The two of them learned songs from the Harry Smith Anthology -- Garcia was completely apolitical, and only once voted in his life, for Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to keep Goldwater out, and regretted even doing that, and so he didn't learn any of the more political material people like Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan were doing at the time -- but their duo only lasted a short time because Hunter wasn't an especially good guitarist. Hunter would, though, continue to jam with Garcia and other friends, sometimes playing mandolin, while Garcia played solo gigs and with other musicians as well, playing and moving round the Bay Area and performing with whoever he could: [Excerpt: Jerry Garcia, "Railroad Bill"] "Bleshing, that was Janie's word. She said Baby told it to her. She said it meant everyone all together being something, even if they all did different things. Two arms, two legs, one body, one head, all working together, although a head can't walk and arms can't think. Lone said maybe it was a mixture of “blending” and “meshing,” but I don't think he believed that himself. It was a lot more than that." That's from More Than Human In 1961, Garcia and Hunter met another young musician, but one who was interested in a very different type of music. Phil Lesh was a serious student of modern classical music, a classically-trained violinist and trumpeter whose interest was solidly in the experimental and whose attitude can be summed up by a story that's always told about him meeting his close friend Tom Constanten for the first time. Lesh had been talking with someone about serialism, and Constanten had interrupted, saying "Music stopped being created in 1750 but it started again in 1950". Lesh just stuck out his hand, recognising a kindred spirit. Lesh and Constanten were both students of Luciano Berio, the experimental composer who created compositions for magnetic tape: [Excerpt: Luciano Berio, "Momenti"] Berio had been one of the founders of the Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano, a studio for producing contemporary electronic music where John Cage had worked for a time, and he had also worked with the electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Lesh would later remember being very impressed when Berio brought a tape into the classroom -- the actual multitrack tape for Stockhausen's revolutionary piece Gesang Der Juenglinge: [Excerpt: Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Gesang Der Juenglinge"] Lesh at first had been distrustful of Garcia -- Garcia was charismatic and had followers, and Lesh never liked people like that. But he was impressed by Garcia's playing, and soon realised that the two men, despite their very different musical interests, had a lot in common. Lesh was interested in the technology of music as well as in performing and composing it, and so when he wasn't studying he helped out by engineering at the university's radio station. Lesh was impressed by Garcia's playing, and suggested to the presenter of the station's folk show, the Midnight Special, that Garcia be a guest. Garcia was so good that he ended up getting an entire solo show to himself, where normally the show would feature multiple acts. Lesh and Constanten soon moved away from the Bay Area to Las Vegas, but both would be back -- in Constanten's case he would form an experimental group in San Francisco with their fellow student Steve Reich, and that group (though not with Constanten performing) would later premiere Terry Riley's In C, a piece influenced by La Monte Young and often considered one of the great masterpieces of minimalist music. By early 1962 Garcia and Hunter had formed a bluegrass band, with Garcia on guitar and banjo and Hunter on mandolin, and a rotating cast of other musicians including Ken Frankel, who played banjo and fiddle. They performed under different names, including the Tub Thumpers, the Hart Valley Drifters, and the Sleepy Valley Hog Stompers, and played a mixture of bluegrass and old-time music -- and were very careful about the distinction: [Excerpt: The Hart Valley Drifters, "Cripple Creek"] In 1993, the Republican political activist John Perry Barlow was invited to talk to the CIA about the possibilities open to them with what was then called the Information Superhighway. He later wrote, in part "They told me they'd brought Steve Jobs in a few weeks before to indoctrinate them in modern information management. And they were delighted when I returned later, bringing with me a platoon of Internet gurus, including Esther Dyson, Mitch Kapor, Tony Rutkowski, and Vint Cerf. They sealed us into an electronically impenetrable room to discuss the radical possibility that a good first step in lifting their blackout would be for the CIA to put up a Web site... We told them that information exchange was a barter system, and that to receive, one must also be willing to share. This was an alien notion to them. They weren't even willing to share information among themselves, much less the world." 1962 brought a new experience for Robert Hunter. Hunter had been recruited into taking part in psychological tests at Stanford University, which in the sixties and seventies was one of the preeminent universities for psychological experiments. As part of this, Hunter was given $140 to attend the VA hospital (where a janitor named Ken Kesey, who had himself taken part in a similar set of experiments a couple of years earlier, worked a day job while he was working on his first novel) for four weeks on the run, and take different psychedelic drugs each time, starting with LSD, so his reactions could be observed. (It was later revealed that these experiments were part of a CIA project called MKUltra, designed to investigate the possibility of using psychedelic drugs for mind control, blackmail, and torture. Hunter was quite lucky in that he was told what was going to happen to him and paid for his time. Other subjects included the unlucky customers of brothels the CIA set up as fronts -- they dosed the customers' drinks and observed them through two-way mirrors. Some of their experimental subjects died by suicide as a result of their experiences. So it goes. ) Hunter was interested in taking LSD after reading Aldous Huxley's writings about psychedelic substances, and he brought his typewriter along to the experiment. During the first test, he wrote a six-page text, a short excerpt from which is now widely quoted, reading in part "Sit back picture yourself swooping up a shell of purple with foam crests of crystal drops soft nigh they fall unto the sea of morning creep-very-softly mist ... and then sort of cascade tinkley-bell-like (must I take you by the hand, ever so slowly type) and then conglomerate suddenly into a peal of silver vibrant uncomprehendingly, blood singingly, joyously resounding bells" Hunter's experience led to everyone in their social circle wanting to try LSD, and soon they'd all come to the same conclusion -- this was something special. But Garcia needed money -- he'd got his girlfriend pregnant, and they'd married (this would be the first of several marriages in Garcia's life, and I won't be covering them all -- at Garcia's funeral, his second wife, Carolyn, said Garcia always called her the love of his life, and his first wife and his early-sixties girlfriend who he proposed to again in the nineties both simultaneously said "He said that to me!"). So he started teaching guitar at a music shop in Palo Alto. Hunter had no time for Garcia's incipient domesticity and thought that his wife was trying to make him live a conventional life, and the two drifted apart somewhat, though they'd still play together occasionally. Through working at the music store, Garcia got to know the manager, Troy Weidenheimer, who had a rock and roll band called the Zodiacs. Garcia joined the band on bass, despite that not being his instrument. He later said "Troy was a lot of fun, but I wasn't good enough a musician then to have been able to deal with it. I was out of my idiom, really, 'cause when I played with Troy I was playing electric bass, you know. I never was a good bass player. Sometimes I was playing in the wrong key and didn't even [fuckin'] know it. I couldn't hear that low, after playing banjo, you know, and going to electric...But Troy taught me the principle of, hey, you know, just stomp your foot and get on it. He was great. A great one for the instant arrangement, you know. And he was also fearless for that thing of get your friends to do it." Garcia's tenure in the Zodiacs didn't last long, nor did this experiment with rock and roll, but two other members of the Zodiacs will be notable later in the story -- the harmonica player, an old friend of Garcia's named Ron McKernan, who would soon gain the nickname Pig Pen after the Peanuts character, and the drummer, Bill Kreutzmann: [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, "Drums/Space (Skull & Bones version)"] Kreutzmann said of the Zodiacs "Jerry was the hired bass player and I was the hired drummer. I only remember playing that one gig with them, but I was in way over my head. I always did that. I always played things that were really hard and it didn't matter. I just went for it." Garcia and Kreutzmann didn't really get to know each other then, but Garcia did get to know someone else who would soon be very important in his life. Bob Weir was from a very different background than Garcia, though both had the shared experience of long bouts of chronic illness as children. He had grown up in a very wealthy family, and had always been well-liked, but he was what we would now call neurodivergent -- reading books about the band he talks about being dyslexic but clearly has other undiagnosed neurodivergences, which often go along with dyslexia -- and as a result he was deemed to have behavioural problems which led to him getting expelled from pre-school and kicked out of the cub scouts. He was never academically gifted, thanks to his dyslexia, but he was always enthusiastic about music -- to a fault. He learned to play boogie piano but played so loudly and so often his parents sold the piano. He had a trumpet, but the neighbours complained about him playing it outside. Finally he switched to the guitar, an instrument with which it is of course impossible to make too loud a noise. The first song he learned was the Kingston Trio's version of an old sea shanty, "The Wreck of the John B": [Excerpt: The Kingston Trio, "The Wreck of the John B"] He was sent off to a private school in Colorado for teenagers with behavioural issues, and there he met the boy who would become his lifelong friend, John Perry Barlow. Unfortunately the two troublemakers got on with each other *so* well that after their first year they were told that it was too disruptive having both of them at the school, and only one could stay there the next year. Barlow stayed and Weir moved back to the Bay Area. By this point, Weir was getting more interested in folk music that went beyond the commercial folk of the Kingston Trio. As he said later "There was something in there that was ringing my bells. What I had grown up thinking of as hillbilly music, it started to have some depth for me, and I could start to hear the music in it. Suddenly, it wasn't just a bunch of ignorant hillbillies playing what they could. There was some depth and expertise and stuff like that to aspire to.” He moved from school to school but one thing that stayed with him was his love of playing guitar, and he started taking lessons from Troy Weidenheimer, but he got most of his education going to folk clubs and hootenannies. He regularly went to the Tangent, a club where Garcia played, but Garcia's bluegrass banjo playing was far too rigorous for a free spirit like Weir to emulate, and instead he started trying to copy one of the guitarists who was a regular there, Jorma Kaukonnen. On New Year's Eve 1963 Weir was out walking with his friends Bob Matthews and Rich Macauley, and they passed the music shop where Garcia was a teacher, and heard him playing his banjo. They knocked and asked if they could come in -- they all knew Garcia a little, and Bob Matthews was one of his students, having become interested in playing banjo after hearing the theme tune to the Beverly Hillbillies, played by the bluegrass greats Flatt and Scruggs: [Excerpt: Flatt and Scruggs, "The Beverly Hillbillies"] Garcia at first told these kids, several years younger than him, that they couldn't come in -- he was waiting for his students to show up. But Weir said “Jerry, listen, it's seven-thirty on New Year's Eve, and I don't think you're going to be seeing your students tonight.” Garcia realised the wisdom of this, and invited the teenagers in to jam with him. At the time, there was a bit of a renaissance in jug bands, as we talked about back in the episode on the Lovin' Spoonful. This was a form of music that had grown up in the 1920s, and was similar and related to skiffle and coffee-pot bands -- jug bands would tend to have a mixture of portable string instruments like guitars and banjos, harmonicas, and people using improvised instruments, particularly blowing into a jug. The most popular of these bands had been Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, led by banjo player Gus Cannon and with harmonica player Noah Lewis: [Excerpt: Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, "Viola Lee Blues"] With the folk revival, Cannon's work had become well-known again. The Rooftop Singers, a Kingston Trio style folk group, had had a hit with his song "Walk Right In" in 1963, and as a result of that success Cannon had even signed a record contract with Stax -- Stax's first album ever, a month before Booker T and the MGs' first album, was in fact the eighty-year-old Cannon playing his banjo and singing his old songs. The rediscovery of Cannon had started a craze for jug bands, and the most popular of the new jug bands was Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, which did a mixture of old songs like "You're a Viper" and more recent material redone in the old style. Weir, Matthews, and Macauley had been to see the Kweskin band the night before, and had been very impressed, especially by their singer Maria D'Amato -- who would later marry her bandmate Geoff Muldaur and take his name -- and her performance of Leiber and Stoller's "I'm a Woman": [Excerpt: Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, "I'm a Woman"] Matthews suggested that they form their own jug band, and Garcia eagerly agreed -- though Matthews found himself rapidly moving from banjo to washboard to kazoo to second kazoo before realising he was surplus to requirements. Robert Hunter was similarly an early member but claimed he "didn't have the embouchure" to play the jug, and was soon also out. He moved to LA and started studying Scientology -- later claiming that he wanted science-fictional magic powers, which L. Ron Hubbard's new religion certainly offered. The group took the name Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions -- apparently they varied the spelling every time they played -- and had a rotating membership that at one time or another included about twenty different people, but tended always to have Garcia on banjo, Weir on jug and later guitar, and Garcia's friend Pig Pen on harmonica: [Excerpt: Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions, "On the Road Again"] The group played quite regularly in early 1964, but Garcia's first love was still bluegrass, and he was trying to build an audience with his bluegrass band, The Black Mountain Boys. But bluegrass was very unpopular in the Bay Area, where it was simultaneously thought of as unsophisticated -- as "hillbilly music" -- and as elitist, because it required actual instrumental ability, which wasn't in any great supply in the amateur folk scene. But instrumental ability was something Garcia definitely had, as at this point he was still practising eight hours a day, every day, and it shows on the recordings of the Black Mountain Boys: [Excerpt: The Black Mountain Boys, "Rosa Lee McFall"] By the summer, Bob Weir was also working at the music shop, and so Garcia let Weir take over his students while he and the Black Mountain Boys' guitarist Sandy Rothman went on a road trip to see as many bluegrass musicians as they could and to audition for Bill Monroe himself. As it happened, Garcia found himself too shy to audition for Monroe, but Rothman later ended up playing with Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. On his return to the Bay Area, Garcia resumed playing with the Uptown Jug Champions, but Pig Pen started pestering him to do something different. While both men had overlapping tastes in music and a love for the blues, Garcia's tastes had always been towards the country end of the spectrum while Pig Pen's were towards R&B. And while the Uptown Jug Champions were all a bit disdainful of the Beatles at first -- apart from Bob Weir, the youngest of the group, who thought they were interesting -- Pig Pen had become enamoured of another British band who were just starting to make it big: [Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, "Not Fade Away"] 29) Garcia liked the first Rolling Stones album too, and he eventually took Pig Pen's point -- the stuff that the Rolling Stones were doing, covers of Slim Harpo and Buddy Holly, was not a million miles away from the material they were doing as Mother McRee's Uptown Jug Champions. Pig Pen could play a little electric organ, Bob had been fooling around with the electric guitars in the music shop. Why not give it a go? The stuff bands like the Rolling Stones were doing wasn't that different from the electric blues that Pig Pen liked, and they'd all seen A Hard Day's Night -- they could carry on playing with banjos, jugs, and kazoos and have the respect of a handful of folkies, or they could get electric instruments and potentially have screaming girls and millions of dollars, while playing the same songs. This was a convincing argument, especially when Dana Morgan Jr, the son of the owner of the music shop, told them they could have free electric instruments if they let him join on bass. Morgan wasn't that great on bass, but what the hell, free instruments. Pig Pen had the best voice and stage presence, so he became the frontman of the new group, singing most of the leads, though Jerry and Bob would both sing a few songs, and playing harmonica and organ. Weir was on rhythm guitar, and Garcia was the lead guitarist and obvious leader of the group. They just needed a drummer, and handily Bill Kreutzmann, who had played with Garcia and Pig Pen in the Zodiacs, was also now teaching music at the music shop. Not only that, but about three weeks before they decided to go electric, Kreutzmann had seen the Uptown Jug Champions performing and been astonished by Garcia's musicianship and charisma, and said to himself "Man, I'm gonna follow that guy forever!" The new group named themselves the Warlocks, and started rehearsing in earnest. Around this time, Garcia also finally managed to get some of the LSD that his friend Robert Hunter had been so enthusiastic about three years earlier, and it was a life-changing experience for him. In particular, he credited LSD with making him comfortable being a less disciplined player -- as a bluegrass player he'd had to be frighteningly precise, but now he was playing rock and needed to loosen up. A few days after taking LSD for the first time, Garcia also heard some of Bob Dylan's new material, and realised that the folk singer he'd had little time for with his preachy politics was now making electric music that owed a lot more to the Beat culture Garcia considered himself part of: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Subterranean Homesick Blues"] Another person who was hugely affected by hearing that was Phil Lesh, who later said "I couldn't believe that was Bob Dylan on AM radio, with an electric band. It changed my whole consciousness: if something like that could happen, the sky was the limit." Up to that point, Lesh had been focused entirely on his avant-garde music, working with friends like Steve Reich to push music forward, inspired by people like John Cage and La Monte Young, but now he realised there was music of value in the rock world. He'd quickly started going to rock gigs, seeing the Rolling Stones and the Byrds, and then he took acid and went to see his friend Garcia's new electric band play their third ever gig. He was blown away, and very quickly it was decided that Lesh would be the group's new bass player -- though everyone involved tells a different story as to who made the decision and how it came about, and accounts also vary as to whether Dana Morgan took his sacking gracefully and let his erstwhile bandmates keep their instruments, or whether they had to scrounge up some new ones. Lesh had never played bass before, but he was a talented multi-instrumentalist with a deep understanding of music and an ability to compose and improvise, and the repertoire the Warlocks were playing in the early days was mostly three-chord material that doesn't take much rehearsal -- though it was apparently beyond the abilities of poor Dana Morgan, who apparently had to be told note-by-note what to play by Garcia, and learn it by rote. Garcia told Lesh what notes the strings of a bass were tuned to, told him to borrow a guitar and practice, and within two weeks he was on stage with the Warlocks: [Excerpt: The Grateful Dead, “Grayfolded"] In September 1995, just weeks after Jerry Garcia's death, an article was published in Mute magazine identifying a cultural trend that had shaped the nineties, and would as it turned out shape at least the next thirty years. It's titled "The Californian Ideology", though it may be better titled "The Bay Area Ideology", and it identifies a worldview that had grown up in Silicon Valley, based around the ideas of the hippie movement, of right-wing libertarianism, of science fiction authors, and of Marshall McLuhan. It starts "There is an emerging global orthodoxy concerning the relation between society, technology and politics. We have called this orthodoxy `the Californian Ideology' in honour of the state where it originated. By naturalising and giving a technological proof to a libertarian political philosophy, and therefore foreclosing on alternative futures, the Californian Ideologues are able to assert that social and political debates about the future have now become meaningless. The California Ideology is a mix of cybernetics, free market economics, and counter-culture libertarianism and is promulgated by magazines such as WIRED and MONDO 2000 and preached in the books of Stewart Brand, Kevin Kelly and others. The new faith has been embraced by computer nerds, slacker students, 30-something capitalists, hip academics, futurist bureaucrats and even the President of the USA himself. As usual, Europeans have not been slow to copy the latest fashion from America. While a recent EU report recommended adopting the Californian free enterprise model to build the 'infobahn', cutting-edge artists and academics have been championing the 'post-human' philosophy developed by the West Coast's Extropian cult. With no obvious opponents, the global dominance of the Californian ideology appears to be complete." [Excerpt: Grayfolded] The Warlocks' first gig with Phil Lesh on bass was on June the 18th 1965, at a club called Frenchy's with a teenage clientele. Lesh thought his playing had been wooden and it wasn't a good gig, and apparently the management of Frenchy's agreed -- they were meant to play a second night there, but turned up to be told they'd been replaced by a band with an accordion and clarinet. But by September the group had managed to get themselves a residency at a small bar named the In Room, and playing there every night made them cohere. They were at this point playing the kind of sets that bar bands everywhere play to this day, though at the time the songs they were playing, like "Gloria" by Them and "In the Midnight Hour", were the most contemporary of hits. Another song that they introduced into their repertoire was "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful, another band which had grown up out of former jug band musicians. As well as playing their own sets, they were also the house band at The In Room and as such had to back various touring artists who were the headline acts. The first act they had to back up was Cornell Gunter's version of the Coasters. Gunter had brought his own guitarist along as musical director, and for the first show Weir sat in the audience watching the show and learning the parts, staring intently at this musical director's playing. After seeing that, Weir's playing was changed, because he also picked up how the guitarist was guiding the band while playing, the small cues that a musical director will use to steer the musicians in the right direction. Weir started doing these things himself when he was singing lead -- Pig Pen was the frontman but everyone except Bill sang sometimes -- and the group soon found that rather than Garcia being the sole leader, now whoever was the lead singer for the song was the de facto conductor as well. By this point, the Bay Area was getting almost overrun with people forming electric guitar bands, as every major urban area in America was. Some of the bands were even having hits already -- We Five had had a number three hit with "You Were On My Mind", a song which had originally been performed by the folk duo Ian and Sylvia: [Excerpt: We Five, "You Were On My Mind"] Although the band that was most highly regarded on the scene, the Charlatans, was having problems with the various record companies they tried to get signed to, and didn't end up making a record until 1969. If tracks like "Number One" had been released in 1965 when they were recorded, the history of the San Francisco music scene may have taken a very different turn: [Excerpt: The Charlatans, "Number One"] Bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Great Society, and Big Brother and the Holding Company were also forming, and Autumn Records was having a run of success with records by the Beau Brummels, whose records were produced by Autumn's in-house A&R man, Sly Stone: [Excerpt: The Beau Brummels, "Laugh Laugh"] The Warlocks were somewhat cut off from this, playing in a dive bar whose clientele was mostly depressed alcoholics. But the fact that they were playing every night for an audience that didn't care much gave them freedom, and they used that freedom to improvise. Both Lesh and Garcia were big fans of John Coltrane, and they started to take lessons from his style of playing. When the group played "Gloria" or "Midnight Hour" or whatever, they started to extend the songs and give themselves long instrumental passages for soloing. Garcia's playing wasn't influenced *harmonically* by Coltrane -- in fact Garcia was always a rather harmonically simple player. He'd tend to play lead lines either in Mixolydian mode, which is one of the most standard modes in rock, pop, blues, and jazz, or he'd play the notes of the chord that was being played, so if the band were playing a G chord his lead would emphasise the notes G, B, and D. But what he was influenced by was Coltrane's tendency to improvise in long, complex, phrases that made up a single thought -- Coltrane was thinking musically in paragraphs, rather than sentences, and Garcia started to try the same kind of th

Jejune Institute, The Institute, Dispatches from Elsewhere, the Latitude Society, In Bright Axiom, Jeff Hull, alternate reality games (ARGs), immersive art, Rosicrucianism, the Whitechapel Club, the Fortean Society, the Cacophony Society, Suicide Clubs, press clubs, social upheaval, humor as a teaching tool and path of enlightenment, Western forms of Taoism and Sufism, New Thought, The Secret, actions vs thoughts, group encounters, magical realism, the magic of place, manifesting the incredible, the encroachment of capital on open places, the closing of the weird commons, genre fiction, tropes, Museum of Jurassic Technology, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, The X-Files, fiction as a means of transformation, nonfiction metanarrative, changing the narrative, magical nonfiction, the breakdown of society and what comes nextNote: I confused two separate X-Files episodes, season 2's "Firewalker" and season 6's "Field Trip." The former dropped in 1994 while the later appeared in 1999. The Museum of Jurassic Technologies was founded in 1988, but it wasn't originally based in Culver City. Lawrence Weschler's acclaimed account of the museum, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders, appeared in 1995. By the time Weschler began exploring the museum, it was based out of Culver. An early display recounting a genus of fungus dubbed Tomentellawas alleged to leave West African ants known as Megaloponera foetens dead with spores protruding from their bodies. Death came after the fungus consumed the ant's brain and nervous system, leaving only a spike-like protrusion out of the creature's head. "Firewalker" most closely resembles this exhibit and the timeframe seems to allow for the X-Files writing staff to explore the museum during this era. After first musical break (4: 10): an epic rundown of the influences behind immersive art and ARGs: Rosicrucianism, the Whitechapel Club, Suicide Clubs, the Fortean Society, Discordianism, Operation Mindfuck, the Cacophony Society. Also, the magic of place and the encroachment of capital: Can magical spots be preserved for the curious? After second musical break (40: 45): The Secret vs actions; magical mystery tours; death and rebirth of personality; manifesting the incredible; Jeff's "the Warp Zone experience" After the third break (1:03: 00): Magical realism, subverting genre fiction a la Lynch & Kubrick; art and self-discovery; human potential, self-help & group encounters; the Museum of Jurassic Technology; the projection of magical spots throughout; the metaphysics of The X-FilesAfter the fourth break (1: 32: 16): The breakdown of consensus reality: When the weird turn pro, what does everyone else do? Plus, the Non-fiction metanarrative; or magical nonfiction? Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/Additional music taken from Daniel Dutton's The Faunhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC5PQ7GB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3PNRMC4O8GV21&keywords=dan+dutton+the+faun&qid=1680225166&s=music&sprefix=%2Cpopular%2C71&sr=1-2 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are joined by a special guest. Michael Allison from the Podcast About Everything. We talk all types of stuff. Conspriacy, MK ULTRA, Covid, and a whole lot of other stuff.ENJOYFIND MORE Michael HEREhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-podcast-about-everything/id1515652511FIND US HEREONE AND DONE TV. ONE AND DONE TVEmail: Projectskepticpod@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/projectskeptic/Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/project_skeptic_podcasthttps://discord.gg/A7rCytVAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/project_skeptic_podcast/Voicemail: 1-814-299-6919www.projectskeptic.comhttps://www.teepublic.com/user/project-skeptic-podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/ProjectSkepticPodcast

We are joined by Sondra London. We speak to Sondra primarily about her book "Good Little Soldiers" but we also talk about her life and the people she has interacted with in the course of it. Sondra tells us about her friendship with Kerry Thornley and Discordianism, clears up some misconceptions about her forays into True Crime writing, and her research into the world of mind control.https://sondralondon.com/

Theresa Duncan, Jeremy Blake, "Theremy," Golden Suicides, Scientology, Alternate reality games, ARGs, Franklin scandal, Johnny Gosch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Beck, Tom Cruise, "Alice Underground," the Duncan Blake Rumor Mill, Brett Easton Ellis, LA, Hollywood, Venice, Chateau Marmont, Chateau d'Amboise, Knights Templar, Leonardo da Vinci, Catherine Di Medici, Black Masses, Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Courtney Love, Quentin Tarantino, Hunter S. Thompson, Rodney Alcala, Museum of Jurassic Technology, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Bunny Museum, Ray Johnson, Andy Warhol, pop art, Ray Johnson's suicide, Johnson's suicide as art, Mount Lowe, Salvation Mountain, the Salton Sea, Urban exploration, Cacophony Society, Suicide Club, Leonard Knight, Burning Man, Sean Penn, Into the Wild, Noah Purifoy, Joshua Tree, Graham Parsons, Llano del Rio, Job Herriman, utopian communities, faked suicides/deaths, Aztec Motel, Route 66, Wright family, Mayan revival style, Isaac Kappy, Tuesday's Child, Tuesday Weld, Tuesday Weld as Illuminati priestess, Discordianism, neo-Dadaism, underground art currentsFor those interested, Taylor's most recent short film and other work can be found here:https://vimeo.com/686522265Music by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded February 28th, 2023https://www.patreon.com/conspirinormalWe are joined by Sondra London. We speak to Sondra primarily about her book "Good Little Soldiers" but we also talk about her life and the people she has interacted with in the course of it. Sondra tells us about her friendship with Kerry Thornley and Discordianism, clears up some misconceptions about her forays into True Crime writing, and her research into the world of mind control.https://sondralondon.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/conspirinormal-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We are joined by special guest, Thumper Forge. Discussion highlights include Discordianism, Traditional Wicca and personal perspectives on the evolution of the pagan/witchcraft communities.

Kentucky, Kentucky high weirdness, Hellier, Penny Royal, Murray, Hopkinsville, Hopkinsville hobgoblins, UFOs, CIA, MK-ULTRA, MK-ULTRA investigation into UFOs, Sidney Gottlieb, John Mulholland, stage magician, Andrija Puharich, Fort Campbell, Night Stalkers, 101 Airborne Division, 20th Special Forces Group, Continuity of Government, COG, Colonel Michael Aquino, Rod Ferrell, role playing games, RPGs, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Vampire: The Masquerade, Satanic panic, actual deaths linked to RPGs, the Murray vampire cult, JJ's personal links to Ferrell and his cult, Heather "Zoey" Wendorf, Billy Graham, Eustis, Florida, New Orleans, trafficking, minors, targeted murder, political hit, Baton Rouge, incest, Satanic Ritual Abuse, Black Mask, pedophilia, Pike County, Elkhorn City, Pan, Pike County Vampire cult, separate vampire cults on opposite sides of the state, Natasha Cornett, Jehovah's Witnesses, Tennessee, Peter Levenda, "Simon," Simon Necronomicon, Simon Necronomicon by both cults, Discordianism, Sondra London, Gray Barker, Allen Greenfield, Thelema, Kerry Thornley, Hand of Death, Henry Lee Lucas, The Finders, serial killer cultsMusic by: Keith Allen Dennishttps://keithallendennis.bandcamp.com/ Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023 is the year of the rabbit, a time of fertility and birth. But a ‘birth' of what? In 2022 we saw the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Pope Benedict XVI, and the further deterioration of the might-as-well-be-dead President Joseph Biden, all three of the offices or horns from the book of Daniel. Once plucked, a fourth baby horn takes their place with the establishment of the Kingdom of the Antichrist for seven years. In Revelation 13:2, “The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne…” an eerie prediction of King Charles, whose Coat of Arms reads, “The red dragon gives the lead,” possibly turning over power to Prince William in the next seven years - from 2023 to 2030. Will this be the new world of dragon and beast or another false narrative? Numbers 1 through 22 represent creation, development, and perfection, leaving 23 to signify a resetting, i.e., the birth of a new world. The 23rd oracle of the I-Ching also implies a type of chaos followed by order. 23 plays an important role in human development too, with 23 chromosomes given to babies by each parent, and 23 seconds needed for blood to circulate throughout the body. Discordianism sees 23 as an enigma or ‘cosmic trigger', associated the number with Eris, Greek goddess of strife and discord, alternatively known as Queen of the Night. The Greek Hecate, of the crossroads, is also Queen of the night and as a moon deity is associated with lunar creatures such as the rabbit. Rabbits are commonly considered unclean, but fast, and lucky. As symbols of sex and lust they can be associated with the demon Asmodeus, an elegant demon spoken of in part by Pope Francis recently.

Become an elite Poopinati! www.themidnighttrainpodcast.com   The Illuminati   So, you're standing amongst the council, being tried by a jury of a higher order. Your crime; Being the most dangerous person across the multiverse. You look shockingly at Mordo, Richards, and the other members of this definitive group of beings as you defend your alleged crimes, for you are facing the… Illuminati!   Or some shit like that.   We are exploring the super, double extra wannabe cult or the underground rulers of everything evil, depending on your take after today, the "Real Illuminati." At first, we'll dive into what they SAY IS THE REAL STORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Wink Wink! (Be we all know the truth) and then we're going to jump right in to what mainstream media (which is controlled by the illuminati) says are “conspiracies”. Strap on your tinfoil hats, Passengers! We're going for a ride!!   The term "Illuminati" refers to several genuine and imagined organizations. However, the term historically refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, a secret society from the Age of Enlightenment that was established on May 1, 1776, in Bavaria, which is now a part of Germany and that has the most delicious cream donuts. The association aimed to combat abuses of governmental authority, superstition, obscurantism (intentionally providing information in a vague or complex way to prevent further investigation and understanding or, simply, spewing a bunch of word vomit to confuse people), and religious influence in public life. In its general laws, they stated that controlling the perpetrators without conquering them was the "rule of the day."    Later, the term "Illuminati" was used to describe many groups that are said to represent a continuation of the original Bavarian Illuminati (even though these links have not been proven). To obtain political power and influence and create a "New World Order," these organizations have frequently been charged with plotting to manipulate events and install operatives inside of governments and companies. The Illuminati are portrayed as lurking in the shadows and manipulating the strings and levers of power. They play a crucial role in some of the most well-known and intricate conspiracy theories. This interpretation of the Illuminati has found its way into popular culture, appearing in various books, movies, T.V. episodes, comic books, video games, and music videos.   At the University of Ingolstadt, Adam Weishaupt (1748–1830) started teaching canon law and practical philosophy in 1773. (Canon Law, according to Wikipedia, is "how the Church organizes and governs herself." It is the system of laws and religious legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church.) He taught in a school-sponsored by Jesuits, whose order Pope Clement XIV (14th) had suppressed in 1773, and was the only non-clerical professor there. The university's finances and some authority, which they continued to see as belonging to them, were still in the hands of the Ingolstadt Jesuits. When course content featured anything they deemed liberal or Protestant, they made constant attempts to frustrate and discredit non-clerical employees, especially in those instances. Weishaupt had a strong anti-clerical stance and decided to use a covert organization of like-minded people to propagate the Aufklärung (Enlightenment) beliefs. The word clerical in this sense means "referring to anything to do with the clergy — those ordained for religious work, usually in the Christian faith."   He said "screw it" and established his own society, which was to have a ranking or grading system modeled after Freemasonry, but with his own goals because he felt Freemasonry was too costly and not open to his ideas. Bund der Perfektibilisten, or Covenant of Perfectibility (Perfectibilists), was the new order's initial name and a horrible one, to boot. Still, it was later modified since it sounded like some pretentious bullshit. Weishaupt established the Perfectibilists on May 1, 1776, choosing the Owl of Minerva as their emblem. The Owl of Minerva is often called the "owl of Athena." It has been a symbol of knowledge and wisdom throughout the Western world. The members were to use aliases within the society. Weishaupt became Spartacus. Law students Massenhausen, Bauhof, Merz, and Sutor, became Ajax, Agathon, Tiberius, and Erasmus Roterodamus. Logan would have been dubbed Hasentus Everseenamovieus, whereas I would have been known as Dopus Asfuckasus. Weishaupt later booted Sutor for being a lazy turd.    In April 1778, the order became the Illuminatenorden, or Order of Illuminati, after Weishaupt seriously considered calling it the "Bee order." Massenhausen was the first to step up and be most engaged in advancing society. Significantly, he hired Xavier von Zwack, a former pupil of Weishaupt who was just beginning his distinguished administrative career while studying at Munich not long after the order started. He was the head of the Bavarian National Lottery at the time, where if you won, you got all the donuts. And, of course, that's not true, but it should be.  Weishaupt quickly viewed Massenhausen's "go get em attitude" as a liability because it frequently led to attempts to hire the wrong people. Later, his unpredictable love life caused him to become careless. As Weishaupt turned over the leadership of the Munich group to Zwack, it was discovered that Massenhausen had stolen subscription money and read Weishaupt and Zwack's communications. After earning his degree in 1778, Massenhausen accepted a position outside Bavaria and lost interest in the order. The order had nominally twelve members at this point.   After Massenhausen left, Zwack put all his effort into finding more responsible and significant recruits. This included Hertel, a canon of the Munich Frauenkirche and a childhood friend of Weishaupt, who was considered a hell of a guy. By the end of the summer of 1778, the order had five territories: Munich (Athens), Ingolstadt (Eleusis), Ravensberg (Sparta), Freysingen (Thebes), and Eichstaedt, with a total of 27 members (including Massenhausen).   The order had three membership levels at the time—novice, minerval, and illuminated minerval—but only the minerval level required a problematic ceremony. In this, a password and code were supplied to the candidate. Weishaupt was kept informed on the actions and personalities of his members through a system of mutual espionage, with his favorites joining the Areopagus, the ruling council. Some newbies were allowed to join the army and become insinuates. Jews, pagans, women, monks, and members of other secret societies were told to fuck off, but upright Christians were what they wanted. Favored candidates were wealthy, submissive, eager to learn, and between 18 and 30.   After unsuccessfully trying to stop some of his followers from becoming Freemasons, Weishaupt decided to join them to gather resources for developing his own ritual. Early in February 1777, he was accepted into lodge "Prudence" of the Rite of Strict Observance. He learned nothing about the more advanced degrees of "blue lodge" masonry as he excelled through its three degrees. Still, the following year, a priest by the name of Abbé Marotti told Zwack that these deeper secrets depended on an understanding of the earlier religion and the primitive Church. Weishaupt was persuaded by Zwack that their own order should establish cordial ties with Freemasonry and acquire permission to develop their own lodge. At this stage (December 1778), adding the first three degrees of Freemasonry was considered a secondary project.   Quickly, a warrant was obtained from the Grand Lodge of Prussia called the Royal York for Friendship. The new lodge was named Theodore of the Good Council to flatter Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. It was founded in Munich on March 21, 1779, and quickly packed with Illuminati. However, the first master, Radl, was persuaded to return home to Baden and ran the lodge by July, per Weishaupt's order.   The next step involved independence from their Grand Lodge. By establishing masonic relations with the Union lodge in Frankfurt, affiliated to the Premier Grand Lodge of England, lodge Theodore became independently recognized and able to declare its independence. As a new mother lodge, it could now spawn its own lodges. The recruiting drive amongst the Frankfurt masons also obtained the allegiance of Adolph Freiherr Knigge.   Knigge was recruited late in 1780 at a convention of the Rite of Strict Observance by Costanzo Marchese di Costanzo, an infantry captain in the Bavarian army and a fellow Freemason. As he was still in his twenties, Knigge had already reached the highest initiatory grades of his order and had arrived with his own grand plans for reform. Disappointed that his plan found no support, Knigge was immediately intrigued when Costanzo informed him that the order he sought to create already existed. Knigge and three of his friends expressed a strong interest in learning more of this order, and Costanzo showed them material relating to the Minerval grade. The teaching material for the stage was "liberal" literature which was banned in Bavaria but common knowledge in the Protestant German states.   Knigge's three colleagues lost interest in Costanzo after becoming disillusioned and extremely confused, like the rest of us. Still, he persisted and was rewarded in November 1780 with a letter from Weishaupt. Knigge was a perfect candidate because of his ties inside and outside Freemasonry. For his part, Knigge was charmed by the attention and drawn to the order's proclaimed goals of educating people and shielding them against oppression. Moreover, Weishaupt recognized Knigge's interest in alchemy and the "higher sciences" and promised to promote them. In response to Weishaupt, Knigge laid out his ideas for reforming Freemasonry when the Strict Observance was beginning to doubt its history.   Before he could be admitted to the higher ranks of the order, Weishaupt put Knigge in charge of recruitment. Knigge agreed, but with the stipulation that he be given the freedom to select the recruitment locations. Many additional masons joined the Illuminati's Minerval grade after finding Knigge's depiction of the new masonic order appealing. At this point, Knigge seemed to respect the "Most Serene Superiors" Weishaupt said he served. To delay providing any assistance, Weishaupt assigned him an additional duty despite his embarrassing failure to explain anything about the upper degrees of the order. Because he was full of shit.   Knigge then created pamphlets documenting the actions of the illegal Jesuits, claiming to show how they continued to thrive and recruit, particularly in Bavaria, using material provided by Weishaupt. Finally, Knigge wrote to Weishaupt that his position was becoming damn near impossible because he couldn't offer his recruits any real answers to their question about the higher grades. Weishaupt finally broke down and admitted in January 1781 that his superiors and the purported antiquity of the order were bullshit and that the higher degrees had not yet been created as he faced the possibility of losing Knigge and his masonic recruits.   Knigge was unusually composed in response to Weishaupt's admittance, even though he was looking forward to learning the promised intricate Freemasonry secrets found in the upper degrees of the Illuminati. Weishaupt pledged to give Knigge complete creative control over the development of the higher degrees and to send him his own notes. Knigge, for his part, enjoyed the chance to express himself through the order. He asserted that his new strategy would increase the appeal of the Illuminati to potential members in Germany's Protestant counties. Knigge received a 50 florins advance from the Areopagus in November 1781 to travel to Bavaria, where he met and partied with fellow Illuminati members.   The order had now developed extensive internal divisions. In July 1780, the Eichstaedt command had formed an autonomous province, and a rift was growing between Weishaupt and the Areopagus. They found him stubborn, dictatorial, inconsistent, and obviously full of shit. As a result, Knigge was constantly thrown into the role of peacemaker.   In discussions with the Areopagus and Weishaupt, Knigge identified two problematic areas. First, Weishaupt's emphasis on recruiting university students meant that young men with little practical experience often had to fill senior positions in the order. Secondly, the anti-Jesuit ethos of the order at its inception had generally become anti-religious. Knigge knew it would be a problem recruiting the senior Freemasons that the order was looking to bring in. Knigge felt the stifling grip of conservative Catholicism in Bavaria and understood the anti-religious feelings that this produced in the liberal Illuminati. Still, he also saw the negative impression these feelings would provide in Protestant states, making the spread of the order in greater Germany much more difficult. The Areopagus and Weishaupt felt powerless to do anything less than give Knigge a free hand. He had the contacts within and outside of Freemasonry that they needed, and he had the skill as a ritualist to build their projected grade structure, where they had ground to a halt at Illuminatus Minor, with only the Minerval grade below and the merest sketches of higher grades. The only restrictions imposed were the need to discuss the inner secrets of the highest degrees and the necessity of submitting his new grades for approval.   Meanwhile, the scheme to propagate Illuminatism as a legitimate branch of Freemasonry had farted out. While Lodge Theodore was now in their control, a chapter of "Elect Masters" attached to it only had one member from the order and still had a constitutional superiority to the craft lodge controlled by the Illuminati. The chapter would be difficult to persuade to submit to the Areopagus and formed a real barrier to Lodge Theodore becoming the first mother-lodge of a new Illuminated Freemasonry. A treaty of alliance was signed between the order and the chapter, and by the end of January 1781, four daughter lodges had been created, but independence was not on the chapter's agenda.   Costanza wrote to the Royal York, pointing out the discrepancy between the fees dispatched to their new Grand Lodge and the returned service they had received. The Royal York, unwilling to lose the money they were bringing in, offered to confer Freemasonry's "higher" secrets on a representative that their Munich brethren would dispatch to Berlin. Accordingly, Costanza set off for Prussia on April 4, 1780, with instructions to negotiate a reduction in Theodore's fees while he was there. On the way, he argued with a Frenchman about a lady with whom they shared a carriage. The Frenchman sent a message ahead to the king sometime before they reached Berlin, calling Costanza a spy and having him arrested. He was only freed from prison with the help of the Grand Master of Royal York and was kicked out of Prussia, having accomplished fuck all.   Knigge's recruitment from German Freemasonry was far from random. He targeted the masters and wardens, the men who ran the lodges and were often able to place the entire club at the disposal of the Illuminati. For example, Baron de Witte, master of Constancy lodge in Aachen, caused every member to join the order. This way, the order expanded rapidly in central and southern Germany and obtained a foothold in Austria. Moving into the Spring of 1782, the handful of students who had started the order had swelled to about 300 members, with only 20 new recruits being students. In Munich, the first half of 1782 saw considerable changes in the government of Lodge Theodore. In February, Weishaupt had offered to split the lodge, with the Illuminati going their own way and the chapter taking any remaining traditionalists into their continuation of Theodore. At this point, the chapter unexpectedly surrendered, and the Illuminati had complete control of the lodge and chapter. In June, both club and chapter sent letters severing relations with Royal York, citing their faithfulness in paying for their recognition and Royal York's failure to provide any instruction in the higher grades. Their neglect of Costanza, and inability to defend him from negative charges or prevent his expulsion from Prussia, were also brought up. They had made no effort to provide Costanza with the promised secrets, and the Munich masons now suspected that their brethren in Berlin relied on the mystical French higher grades which they sought to avoid. Lodge Theodore was now independent.   The Rite of Strict Observance was now in a critical state. Its leader was Prince Carl of Södermanland (later Charles XIII (13th) of Sweden), openly suspected of trying to absorb the rite into the Swedish Rite, which he already controlled. The German lodges looked to Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel for leadership. However, suspicion turned to open contempt when Carl regarded the Stuart heir to the British throne as the true GrandMaster, and the lodges of the Strict Observance all but ignored their Grand Master. This bullshit led to the Convent of Wilhelmsbad.   The last Strict Observance convention, postponed since October 15, 1781, eventually began on July 16, 1782, at the spa town of Wilhelmsbad, which is located outside of (and now a part of) Hanau. The 35 participants in a discussion about the future of the order knew that the Strict Observance in its current form was doomed. Also, the Convent of Wilhelmsbad would be a battle over the pieces between the Martinists, led by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, and the German mystics, led by Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and their host Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel. Only Franz Dietrich von Ditfurth, and Johann Joachim Christoph Bode, objected to mystical higher grades. Ditfurth actively advocated for a return to the fundamental three degrees of Freemasonry, which was the convention's least likely choice. The mystics had previously developed logical replacement plans for the higher degrees.   (Martinism is a type of arcane Christianity and Christian mysticism that is focused on the fall of the first man, his material seclusion from his spiritual source, and the process of his return, known as "Reintegration.")   The Illuminati were able to promote themselves as a viable option since there wasn't an effective alternative to the two schools of mysticism. Knigge, who now had complete authority to speak for the order, encouraged and helped Ditfurth, who took on the role of their spokesperson. Weishaupt rejected Knigge's initial proposal to form an alliance between the two orders because he didn't see the benefit of working with a dying order. His new strategy was to enlist the masons opposed to the higher degree of "Templar" Strict Observance.   At the convent, Ditfurth prevented Willermoz and Hesse from introducing their own higher grades by demanding that the delegates be informed in full of such degrees. Due to their frustration, the German mystics enrolled Count Kollowrat in the Illuminati as a later affiliate. With no claims to additional masonic revelations, Ditfurth's goal was to replace all higher degrees with a single fourth degree. He left the convent early after finding no support for his proposal and reported to the Areopagus that he had no hopes for the gathering.   In an attempt to satisfy everybody, the Convent of Wilhelmsbad didn't achieve shit. They renounced the Templar origins of their ritual while retaining the Templar titles, trappings, and administrative structure. Charles of Hesse and Ferdinand of Brunswick remained at the head of the order, but the lodges were almost independent in practice. The Germans adopted the name of the French order of Willermoz, Les Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cité Sainte (Good Knights of the Holy City). Some Martinist mysticism was imported into the first three degrees, now the only essential degrees of Freemasonry. Crucially, individual lodges of the order were now allowed to mingle with clubs of other systems. The new "Scottish Grade" introduced with the Lyon ritual of Willermoz was not mandatory. Each province and prefecture was free to decide what, if anything, happened after the three craft degrees. Finally, the convent regulated etiquette, titles, and a new numbering for the provinces to show that something had been achieved.   The Strict Observance was ended by the Convent of Wilhelmsbad. Along with the higher degrees that bound its most significant and influential members, it rejected its founding tale. It eliminated the rigorous regulations that had maintained the order's cohesion and alienated many Germans who did not trust Martinism. Martinism repulsed Bode, who immediately began negotiating with Knigge before joining the Illuminati in January 1783. The following month, Charles of Hesse joined.   Knigge's first efforts at an alliance with the intact German Grand Lodges failed, but Weishaupt persisted. He proposed a new federation where all German lodges would practice an agreed, unified system in the essential three degrees of Freemasonry and be left to their own devices as to which, if any, system of higher degrees they wished to pursue. This would be a federation of Grand Lodges, and members would be free to visit any of the "blue" lodges in any jurisdiction. All lodge masters would be elected, and no fees would be paid to any central authority. Groups of lodges would be subject to a "Scottish Directorate" composed of members delegated by lodges to audit finances, settle disputes and authorize new lodges. These, in turn, would elect Provincial Directorates, who would elect inspectors, who would elect the national director. This system would correct the current imbalance in German Freemasonry, where masonic ideals of equality were preserved only in the lower three "symbolic" degrees. The various methods of higher degrees were dominated by the elite who could afford research in alchemy and mysticism. To Weishaupt and Knigge, the proposed federation was also a vehicle to propagate Illuminism throughout German Freemasonry. Their intention was to use their new union, with its emphasis on the fundamental degrees, to remove all allegiance to Strict Observance, allowing the "eclectic" system of the Illuminati to take its place.   The newsletter announcing the new federation outlined the faults of German Freemasonry; unsuitable men with money were often admitted based on their wealth, and the corruption of civil society had infected the lodges. Having advocated the deregulation of the higher grades of the German lodges, the Illuminati now announced their own from their "unknown Superiors." Lodge Theodore, newly independent from Royal York, set itself up as a provincial Grand Lodge. In a letter to all the Royal York lodges, Knigge now accused the Grand Lodge of corruption. Their Freemasonry had allegedly been corrupted by the Jesuits. Strict Observance was now attacked as a creation of the Stuarts, devoid of all moral virtue. The Zinnendorf rite of the Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany was suspect because its author was in league with the Swedes. This direct attack had the opposite effect to that intended by Weishaupt. It offended many of its readers. The Grand Lodge of the Grand Orient of Warsaw, which controlled Freemasonry in Poland and Lithuania, was happy to participate in the federation only as far as the first three degrees. Their insistence on independence had kept them from the Strict Observance and would now keep them from the Illuminati, whose plan to annex Freemasonry rested on their own higher degrees. By the end of January 1783, the Illuminati's masonic party had seven lodges.   It wasn't just the clumsy appeal of the Illuminati that left the federation short of members. Lodge Theodore was recently formed and did not command respect like the older lodges. Most of all, the Freemasons most likely to be attracted to the federation, saw the Illuminati as an ally against the mystics and Martinists. Moreover, they valued their freedom too highly to be caught in another restrictive organization. Even Ditfurth, the supposed representative of the Illuminati at Wilhelmsbad, had pursued his own agenda at the convent.   The non-mystical Frankfurt lodges created an "Eclectic Alliance," was almost indistinguishable in structure from the Illuminati's federation. Far from seeing this as a threat, the Illuminati lodges joined the new alliance after some discussion. Three Illuminati now sat on the committee that wrote the new masonic statutes. Aside from strengthening relations between their three lodges, the Illuminati seem to have gained no advantage from this maneuver. Ditfurth, having founded a masonic organization that worked towards his ambitions for Freemasonry, took little interest in the Illuminati after he adhered to the Eclectic Alliance. In reality, the Eclectic Alliance's creation undermined the Illuminati's plans to spread their own ideologies through Freemasonry.   The final decline of the Illuminati was brought about by the indiscretions of their own Minervals in Bavaria, and especially in Munich. Despite efforts by their superiors to curb loose talk, politically dangerous boasts of power and criticism of monarchy caused the "secret" order's existence to become common knowledge, along with the names of many important members. The presence of the Illuminati in positions of power now led to some public unease. There were Illuminati in many civic and state governing bodies. Despite their small number, there were claims that success in a legal dispute depended on the person's standing with the order. In addition, the Illuminati were blamed for several anti-religious publications appearing in Bavaria. Much of this criticism sprang from vindictiveness and jealousy, but it is clear that many Illuminati court officials gave preferential treatment to their brethren. In Bavaria, the energy of their two members of the Ecclesiastical Council had one of them elected treasurer. Their opposition to Jesuits resulted in the banned order losing key academic and Church positions. In Ingolstadt, the Jesuit heads of departments were replaced by Illuminati.   Alarmed, Charles Theodore and his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati. A government mandate dated March 2, 1785, "seems to have been a deathblow to the Illuminati in Bavaria." Weishaupt had fled. Documents and internal correspondence, seized in 1786 and 1787, were then published by the government in 1787. In addition, von Zwack's home was searched, and much of the group's literature was disclosed.   So, that was exhausting and supposedly all about the "real Illuminati," right? But, according to the www.illuminatiofficial.org website, this may not be the case.   "Since the formation of the Illuminati, many citizens have inaccurately portrayed our organization in a negative manner. These misconceptions have been perpetuated for centuries through videos, photos, articles, books, and unofficial online resources claiming to understand our mission and members. In creating this online destination, we strive to alleviate the concerns voiced by the people of this planet and provide insight into our goals and operations."   "Their Purpose"   "Ensuring the survival of over 7 billion humans is a daunting task. Our duty to this planet has spanned across centuries and survived even the most established government entities. To continue functioning throughout societal and generational changes, The Illuminati's operations often require anonymity for both our members and our work. In 2013, the Illuminati authorized the formation of the Department Of Citizen Outreach. Through various initiatives and campaigns, including this website, the modern Illuminati has committed itself to furthering our relationship with our citizens.You may not find us praised in any history book or document. However, the Illuminati has helped with every major movement on this planet since the first human government was established. Our work is often marked by distinct symbols as a means of tracing our influence through history for those wishing to investigate. With gentle guidance from our organization, the human species is allowed to function in their natural order while playing the part of gears in a machine for the betterment of the world."   Also, according to their website, they discuss the symbols of their cult… I mean organization.    "THE PYRAMID   In popular culture, a great amount of focus is placed on the Illuminati's belief that money is not evil. Some view our encouragement of work and wealth as a promotion of selfishness – overlooking the true meaning of the Pyramid and its underlying messages that motivate our diligence. In the tenets of the Illuminati, wealth is not simply a means of personal enrichment. Instead, money is a tool that can be used to fulfill each person's duty to the advancement of the human species. The selfish pursuit of money is a hollow goal, but the pursuit of the goodness that money can create is one of humanity's greatest responsibilities. The more money a person owns, the more ability they have to positively change the lives of those who are in need. If you are poor and of good heart, and your friend's house is burned in a fire, you will remain a good person but have no ability to help them with what they need the most. If the same house burns but you are rich, you can give your friend a place to stay and a new home because you have more than enough for yourself and anyone around you who needs it. Money has no feeling, no voice, and no soul – its choice between good or evil is decided by those who use it. Though it is not wrong to be poor, the celebration of poverty is rooted in selfishness. A person who is poor can save a life, but a person who is rich can build a hospital and save ten thousand. The poor can do little to help the poor, but the rich can help as many as they are able. If a person is rich, they have the opportunity to do good, but if they are poor they are unable to help anyone but themselves. Those with little can still do much. Money is merely paper and numbers that are traded for a person's time and effort. Therefore if a person does not have money, they can instead use their time and efforts to further the advancement of humanity – positive actions that are of equal value to any charitable donations. The greater a person's fortune, the greater their responsibility to their fellow humans. Like the Pyramid, those with the greatest power can do the greatest good for the largest number of those below them."   "THE EYE We Are Always Watching Out For You   The human species is guarded and preserved by a coalition of its most elite members called the Illuminati. Since our origination, Illuminati members have guided Earth's most dominant creature through periods of interpersonal chaos, environmental outbreaks, and other mass attacks that threaten humanity with extinction. The human has made itself this planet's most dominant and advanced species. Even the weakest human is born master of the strongest of all other species on Earth. Through natural selection, every human generation is made of a genetic structure that is stronger and more advanced than the previous. Living humans evolve at a rapid pace, and can continue to advance in ability through study, practice, and a commitment to self-improvement. As a human absorbs knowledge and wisdom, some will experience their Awakening: a pivotal moment when their minds evolve to a level of understanding that is higher than the majority. They begin to see themselves as strings in a universal tapestry with a duty to uplift their fellow humans, and quickly understand the inner workings of wealth, power, and authority. Those who have experienced their Awakening often describe it as the moment their Eye was opened. The Illuminati is made of individuals who have reached this Awakening. Leaders, innovators, and other influential members of this planet have joined together to shape the face of human society and guide its masses into finding their own individual place in the Universal Design. To create a better world, unique beings with unique objectives and beliefs must forgo their differences and work together for the good of all. Progress requires cooperation. Humans must suppress their natural defensive selfishness and aid others who appear, believe, or act in ways that are different from themselves. Unfortunately, many humans are only concerned with their own wellbeing and thus cannot understand the positive intentions of a higher authority. Many would rather this planet remain in turmoil instead of following the directions that will lead them to happiness. Historically, the greatest enemies of human progression have been humans themselves. For this reason, those who have experienced their Awakening understand the need for it to remain secret – for their own safety and the ultimate good of a humanity that often does not know what is best for it. It is the Illuminati's responsibility to ensure the ongoing survival and advancement of the human species, so that all people, in all places, can live in Abundance."   "THE LIGHT Follow The Light   Every human is guided by an inner compass that points toward the Light, revealing truth and direction when facing decisions. Given many names by spiritual leaders and unexplainable by science, the Light is an invisible guide that many believe has led them to joy, success, and lives of Abundance. It communicates directly to every human, urging them to strive for goodness and forgo their natural selfishness. All human religions and spiritual beliefs ultimately seek the Light in ways differing only in form and function. Some religions refer to the Light with a name, such as God or Elohim. The core of every religion is founded on the human species' innate desire to understand this invisible force. Even without a formal religious affiliation, every human is naturally drawn to the Light. Individual members of the Illuminati adhere to every variety of personal spiritual beliefs –– but by recognizing that all of our paths lead to the same destination, we find that the Light brings all people into an ultimate unity. There is no proof that a God exists but there is also no proof that a God does not. The Illuminati's spiritual foundation is based upon this universal conundrum of faith and doubt. Our organization does not question whether a god does or does not exist but instead focuses on the betterment of the humans living on this planet. Though the human mind in its physical form is not capable of fully understanding the Light, conscious thought and intention reveal many of its inner workings and effects. By studying the wisdom of this planet's greatest minds, humans can discover ways to increase the Light's powerful influence in their lives. The Light, under many names, has been attributed to supernatural changes in the physical realm, including increases in wealth, power, prestige, health, and happiness. Miracles, attraction, and the belief in unseen powers that can alter the physical world have some basis in truth. Though scientific advancements have explored both this planet's environment and the inner workings of the human mind, there are still countless mysteries that remain unsolved. Thus many occurrences that are attributed to the supernatural are merely the result of the human mind processing a concept it cannot explain naturally. Some humans attempt to form a deeper connection with the Light through rituals that have been passed down for centuries. Though these ceremonies often involve complicated steps and requirements, their true effect is not found in their directions or decorations but rather in the state of mind that results within its participants. Many of the Illuminati's traditions include rituals and oaths designed to explain higher concepts, and use the power of focused repetition to strengthen the ability of the human consciousness. The Illuminati prohibits rituals that include human or animal sacrifice. Learn More. A desire to understand the Light is an integral part of the path to illumination. By rising through the levels of illumination, Illuminati members discover more about their world and the true power that hides within their minds. Whatever you seek, whatever you dream, whatever you hope: all is possible if you follow the Light."   "THE ETERNAL CIRCLE Every human is one part of a larger, eternal design – individual gears in a clock that has no end.   Your actions have the power to alter the future of the entire world. Though you may not fully understand your purpose, your part is just as important as the greatest kings and queens of this planet. Some feel as though their temporary lack of wealth or influence makes them powerless to create change. But does a clockmaker favor the larger gears over the smaller? Does the hour hand become jealous of the minutes because it turns slower? Every part has a role in the functioning of a timepiece. Every part supports those around it in ways it may never see. Your absence would undo the order of our universe, even if you do not realize your importance. The world began before you and will continue after you, but it will be different because of the decisions you made. Every generation inherits the world left by the one before it, just as a king inherits the crown of his father. Your pursuit of wisdom and goodness could lay the foundation for your great-great-grandchild's rise into power – the same descendant who might steer a country from war and save lives by the millions. Did the ancestors of Aristotle or Alexander The Great know who their actions would create? Though you will never understand the full influence of your actions, the results of your dedication to humanity are still yours to claim. As you climb the great Pyramid seeking the Light at its top, you will look down and see that you are an integral part of our universe's most intricate mechanism. Though our human members may perish and fade into the annals of time, the Illuminati will continue to stand into eternity."   Why a secret society? "Freedom is an idol of the human species. The Illuminati operates in defense of you and all humans, in all places, and of all generations. Our duty to this planet has spanned across centuries and survived even the most established government entities. But the cultivation of trillions of human lives is a daunting responsibility, and while the human would not exist today without our protection, many uninformed masses mistake our guidance for a restriction of liberty. Every human desires to be free of oppression, free of hardship, free of poverty, free of hunger, free of rules and laws — but as you understand, the nature of your species leaves true freedom impossible. Are you free to murder? Are you free to steal? Are others free to murder and steal from you? Or are there certain freedoms that must be given up for the benefit of all? For happiness, the human desires freedom; for prosperity, the human requires leadership. This is the reason behind our anonymity. To continue functioning throughout societal changes and generational differences, the Illuminati must remain behind the curtain — an outsider, belonging to none and loyal to all. You may never understand how your life can be free while guided by our organization. You may never fully comprehend our purpose and why you are safest and happiest with us. Simply open your mind and release your apprehensions, and you will find the relief of truth. We will never take your hand and pull you down the path like a slave to our whims. You must find and travel the road on your own. But your quality of life is our greatest concern, and the reason our symbols are placed in your society as a map for you to follow if you desire."   What about the modern-day "Illuminati" or "New World Order?"   According to an article from theweek.co.uk, In a 2017 interview with the BBC, David Bramwell, "a man who has dedicated himself to documenting the origins of the myth," said the modern-day Illuminati legend was influenced not by Weishaupt but rather by LSD, the 1960s counter-culture, and specifically a text called Principia Discordia. The book praised an alternative belief system – Discordianism – which preached a form of anarchism and gave birth to the Discordian movement, which ultimately wished to cause civil disobedience through practical jokes and hoaxes. One of the leading proponents of this new ideology was a writer called Robert Anton Wilson, who wanted to bring chaos back into society by "disseminating misinformation through all portals – through counter-culture, through the mainstream media," claims Bramwell. He did this by sending fake letters to the men's magazine Playboy, where he worked, attributing cover-ups and conspiracy theories, such as the JFK assassination, to a secret elite organization called the Illuminati. Wilson turned these theories into a book, The Illuminatus Trilogy, which became a surprise cult success and was even made into a stage play in Liverpool, launching the careers of British actors Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent. What is the New World Order? The idea of a powerful modern Illuminati conspiring to rule the world remained a niche belief a handful of enthusiasts upheld until the 1990s.   The internet changed all that, giving conspiracy theorists a global platform to perpetuate their beliefs and present their evidence to a massive audience. Theories about how the New World Order operates run from relatively straightforward ideas to the outright bizarre. Conspiracy theorists obsessively analyze public events for "evidence" of Illuminati influence. The symbols most associated with the Illuminati include triangles, pentagrams, goats, the all-seeing eye – such as the one that appears on U.S. banknotes - and the number 666. This has led to claims some of the American Founding Fathers were members, with Thomas Jefferson accused in the aftermath of the War of Independence. Another commonly cited Illuminati symbol, which appears on U.S. currency, is the so-called Eye of Providence, which is said to represent the omniscience of God watching over humanity. According to a 2013 survey by Public Policy Polling, 28% of U.S. voters believe that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian global government. In addition, it found that 34% of Republicans and 35% of independents believe in the New World Order threat compared to just 15% of Democrats. Who is supposedly a member? As well as being king and queen of the charts, Beyonce and Jay-Z are frequently depicted as lords of the New World Order. Beyonce's immense fame and popularity have long made her a favorite target for conspiracy theorists. Illuminati "experts" seized upon her half-time performance at the 2013 Super Bowl as an example of her "devil-worshipping" choreography, even accusing her on-stage alter ego Sasha Fierce of being a "demonic entity." However, some musicians enjoy deliberately playing with symbols connected to secret societies. For instance, Rihanna frequently incorporates Illuminati images into her music videos and even joked about the theories in the video for S&M, which featured a fake newspaper with a headline declaring her "Princess of the Illuminati." Jay Z has also been accused of hiding secret symbols such as goat imagery and devil horns in his music videos. But, most damningly, the logo for his music label, Roc-A-Fella Records, is a pyramid – one of the most well-known Illuminati logos. Rob Brotherton, a professor at Barnard College and author of Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe in Conspiracy Theories, explains that real-life government conspiracies targeting black people in America, such as FBI infiltration of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, planted the seeds for Illuminati theory's popularity among hip-hop artists and fans.   Speaking to Complex, he said: "Hip-hop served as this [soapbox] for people to talk about issues that were relevant to them, things like discrimination, poverty, the criminal justice system, which are often seemingly slanted against African-Americans". "It's a short leap to go from noticing some kind of injustice to thinking about whether there's something behind it. Hip-hop was just a good candidate to revive this myth," he says. What do celebrities have to say about the theories? Katy Perry told Rolling Stone in 2014 that the theory was the preserve of "weird people on the internet" but admitted she was flattered to be named among the supposed members: "I guess you've kind of made it when they think you're in the Illuminati!" However, she added she was tolerant of people who wanted to believe in the theory because: "I believe in aliens." On the other hand, Madonna might just be a believer – all the more interesting given that she has frequently been accused of being a member herself. Speaking to Rolling Stone, she hinted that she had secret knowledge of the group. The claim is not so shocking given that she released a single titled 'Illuminati.' She said: "People often accuse me of being a member of the Illuminati, but the thing is, I know who the real Illuminati are." In 2016, Beyonce thrilled her fans by unexpectedly releasing a new single, Formation, in February ­– but conspiracy theorists were excited for another reason. The very first line of the track acknowledged the rumors: "Y'all haters corny with that Illuminati mess." When Prince died suddenly of an accidental overdose in April of the same year, a small but vocal corner of the internet accused the Illuminati of killing the singer-songwriter, who was famous for fiercely protecting his copyrights and artistic freedom from industry interference. "The Illuminati talk won't stop coming and what doesn't help is that Prince himself seems to have been genuinely convinced that the organisation existed," reports one gossip website. In 2009, the singer appeared on T.V. to warn of influential mystery figures controlling the world through "chemtrails" – chemicals pumped into the air via jet planes to manipulate human behavior.   Some other conspiracies are . The Illuminati killed Paul Walker. After starring in 7 films in the Fast and Furious franchise, Paul Walker fans were shocked by his ironic death in 2013. He was the passenger in a Porsche that careened out of control and crashed into a pole — or so the media said. But if you ask conspiracy theorists, the Illuminati is actually to blame. According to the YouTuber known as Shane, the Illuminati murdered Walker after he threatened to expose the group. The story goes that Walker was involved in charity work when he came across a bunch of wrongdoings like embezzlement behind the scenes that he wanted to go public with. But, of course, the Illuminati couldn't let that happen and took him out via drone strike.   The Illuminati killed JFK. History buffs know JFK died after being shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald, but many people aren't convinced. According to TIME, 70% of Americans believe the assassination is part of something way bigger… So did the Illuminati have something to do with it? According to The Conspiracy Zone, the answer is ABSO FUCKIN LUTELY. Their evidence is fascinating: JFK was shot in a triangle. ‘John Kennedy' has 11 letters in it. The assassination date (11/22/63) includes multiples of 11. His limo was traveling 11 miles an hour… the list goes on.  Why would the Illuminati want JFK dead? Apparently, JFK planned on bringing U.S. troops home from Vietnam and wanted to end the Federal Reserve to end the national debt, which would take away the Illuminati's control over the country. He was killed just days after replacing Federal Reserve Notes. Conspiracy theorists have pointed to audio from the day of his assassination that proves there was more than one shooter, as well as a bullet trajectory that doesn't match that of Oswald's position.   Kesha's song ‘Die Young' is an Illuminati anthem.   Theorists say Kesha's music also addresses the secret society, whose symbols abound in her early music videos. Take, for example, the video for ‘Die Young:  The Illuminati symbolism is so blatant that even Billboard called it out, referencing the numerous triangles, an upside-down cross, and all-seeing one eye. The video even begins with a flashing skull and crossbones. According to conspiracy theorist The Vigilant Citizen, “Illuminati symbols are becoming more prevalent because that was the plan all along: To gradually make them part of popular culture.” Oh boy.   Lady Gaga is an “Illuminati puppet.” Lady Gaga is another pop star rumored to be part of the Illuminati. Again, theorists call out the overt symbolism in her videos and persona, calling it a “tribute to mind control.” They say her stage name ‘Gaga' refers to being totally absent-minded, which can be achieved through mind control. Furthermore, in her early days, many of her videos were rife with triangles and all-seeing eye symbolism. However, some say her newest project proves that she's broken free from the Illuminati. After a little hiatus, she boasts a more subdued, realistic image and more meaningful, artistic music. So, then, why didn't they just kill her? In an appearance at Harvard, Gaga talked about how unhappy she was in the entertainment industry. She calls herself a ‘Stefanie/Gaga hybrid,' which Illuminati theorists saw as proof that she became an alternate, demonic personality under Illuminati control. She also says she disliked “being used to make people money,” another potential dig as being an “Illuminati puppet.”   Donald Trump is an Illuminati mind controller.   If all of these stars are under Illuminati mind control, who's doing the controlling? Aside from alleged Illuminati king Jay-Z, Donald Trump's hand signals reveal his status as a top Illuminati member. While using your hands when you talk is normal, conspiracy theorists say Trump's rather odd gestures are secret messages. The classic “a-ok” symbol apparently means the devil's number ‘666.' However, he also frequently makes the triangle symbol with his hands when he's at ease — which could be the same Illuminati gesture Jay-Z always makes or a reference to the vagina.    The Kanye West/Kim Kardashian/Taylor Swift feud was fabricated by the Illuminati. Apparently, when West humiliated Swift on stage at the 2009 VMAs, he welcomed her to the Illuminati.   As we know, they've managed to keep the feud in the media for years. While most people have begun to agree that anything these people do is just for publicity, according to The Vigilant Citizen, it's actually an Illuminati “psychological operation” aimed at kids “to precondition them to start believing in fabricated events.”   OK, lastly, let's talk about the lizard Illuminati. David Icke, the nut job conspiracy theorist, is the leading proponent of this theory.  This should explain it from an article on Time.com,    They are among us. Blood-drinking, flesh-eating, shape-shifting extraterrestrial reptilian humanoids with only one objective in their cold-blooded little heads: to enslave the human race. They are our leaders, corporate executives, beloved Oscar-winning actors, and Grammy-winning singers. They're responsible for the Holocaust, the Oklahoma City bombings, and the 9/11 attacks ... at least according to former BBC sports reporter David Icke, who became the poster human for the theory in 1998 after publishing his first book, The Biggest Secret, which contained interviews with two Brits who claimed members of the royal family are nothing more than reptiles with crowns. (Picture Dracula meets Swamp Thing).  The conspiracy theorist and New Age philosopher, who wore only turquoise for a time and insisted on being called Son of God-Head, says these "Annunaki" (the reptiles) have controlled humankind since ancient times; they count among their number Queen Elizabeth, George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Bob Hope. Encroaching other conspiracy theorists' territory, Icke even claims that the lizards are behind secret societies like the Freemasons and the Illuminati. Since earning the dubious title of "paranoid of the decade" in the late 1990s, Icke has written several books on the topic, including his latest work, The David Icke Guide to the Global Conspiracy, while operating his own website — complete with merchandise and advertisements. The Top Ten Illuminati Movies https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=illuminati&sort=moviemeter,asc&mode=detail&page=1

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