Secrets, Lies, Privilege, and Power. An in-depth look at the hidden force and the inner workings of secret societies! Claims and counter-claims. Accusations and allegations. NSA spying and suppressed evidence. Cover-ups and threats. Documented connections and intrigue. Suggestions of a New World Order. Are we to believe the coincidences are mere chance? Might the paranoid be on to something? Who really holds the levers of power? History admonishes us to be vigilant of hidden plots and nefarious agendas of governments and the powerful. Exposing their deep reach into the operations of today's world, Secret Societies: The Complete Guide to Histories, Rites, and Rituals is packed with details on nearly 200 organizations, their histories, founding members, backgrounds, and suspected conspiracies. It uncovers and probes the hidden agendas of these secret cabals. Along the way, it debunks myths and presents the evidence on an invisible world of influence. Powerful cliques, their plots, and their chilling affects are examined, including ... the Illuminati the Freemasons the Bilderberg Group MKUltra Skull and Bones Ordo Templi Orientis FEMA Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn the Knights Templar Ku Klux Klan La Cosa Nostra Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship Council on Foreign Relations Montauk Project World Bankers the Secret Government extraterrestrial invaders and many, many more. With more than 140 photos and other graphics, Secret Societies is richly illustrated, and its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. For skeptics and theorists alike, this thoroughly researched reference overflows with fascinating information to make readers think about—and possibly reconsider—the state of the nation and the world!

"Adam Parfrey is one of the nation's most provocative publishers."—Seattle Weekly "Secret society historian Craig Heimbichner follows the Middle Path to wisdom. He works the graveyard shift in the secret lodge."—Joan d'Arc, Paranoia magazine Secret societies—now a staple of bestseller novels—are pictured as sinister cults that use hooded albinos to menace truth-seekers. Some conspiracy books claim that fraternal orders are the work of serpentine aliens and interbred humans who wish to supplant earth of its energy, and later, its very existence. On the other side of the aisle, books by high-ranked Freemasons—skeptical in tone but no less partisan in approach—protect their organization's public image by denying the existence of its most contentious ideas. Ritual America reveals the biggest secret of them all: that the influence of fraternal brotherhoods on this country is vast, fundamental, and hidden in plain view. In the early twentieth century, as many as one-third of America belonged to a secret society. And though fezzes and tiny car parades are almost a thing of the past, the Gnostic beliefs of Masonic orders are now so much a part of the American mind that the surrounding pomp and circumstance has become faintly unnecessary. The authors of Ritual America contextualize hundreds of rare and many never-before printed images with entertaining and far-reaching commentary, making an esoteric subject provocative, exciting, and approachable. Adam Parfrey is the author of Cult Rapture: Revelations of the Apocalyptic Mind and It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines, the Postwar Pulps. He is editor of the influential Apocalypse Culture series Love, Sex, Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment. Craig Heimbichner has recently appeared on a National Geographic documentary about the Bohemian Grove, contributed to the Feral House compilation Secret and Suppressed II, and wrote about the famous occult order the O.T.O. in Blood and Altar.

Provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world's most notorious secret societies, chronicling their origins, history, initiations, rituals, beliefs, activities, secret signs, members, and influence.

Secret societies in tribal societies turn out to be key to understanding the origins of social inequalities and state religions.

Discover everything you ever wanted to know about secret societies like the Freemasons, the historical mystery of Atlantis, why King Arthur, Leonardo da Vinci and Hitler are key figures, plus conspiracy theories, forgotten sciences and ancient wisdom.

"For more than two hundred years, the world has held a prejudiced view of the Illuminati. Much has been claimed for and against the Order - its name synonymous with secrecy, intrigue, and mystery in the modern context, despite a poverty of concrete evidence in the English language. Little has been said about the factual structure and development through its life cycle. The Secret School of Wisdom - The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati, is a ground-breaking text. It marks the first time that a comprehensive ritual book for the society has been re-assembled. Every degree, its instruction and associated texts, has been included and assembled in chronological order of progression. The reader will be guided along the same path as many of Germany's most enlightened men, as they did in the years immediately prior to the French Revolution. They will ascend from one level of knowledge to the next. Much of this material has never been published, let alone translated into English. Supplemental texts are included to gain further historical insight into the Order. The documents have been checked for accuracy with the original archival texts, and carefully translated into English. The Secret School of Wisdom - The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati is a pioneering text, a full working manual of the Order, and an astounding insight into the world's most intriguing secret society. Discover: * The first book in history to publish the complete rituals of the Illuminati * The doctrine of the Illuminati in their very own words * The regalia and jewels of the Order completely revealed for the first time * The development of the rituals and teachings of the Order * The secret goals of the Order to reform society - exposed in detail * The rituals that went on to become part of modern day Freemasonry The secret signs, grips and passwords of the Illuminati revealed."--Publisher description.