I have been striving to understand the difference between "illuminati" and "The Masons".
There seems to be a distinction. Let's say both use the same story/"lore", but come down on different conclusions about what is the proper course.
Take the Hidden Hand interview as fairly solid conveyance of what is taught. Consider, however, the possibility that Eden was a trap for 'predator deities' which fed on others by sowing discord and evil among other worlds. The assumption being that a further spiritual evolution awaited should they consume enough power and repeat the same process. The individual is subjected to the hive intelligence or cause - ensnared in hatred.
I come down on the side that not only is this wrong in the malevolent case, it is wrong in the benevolent case. Simply endlessly consuming to try and rival the power of the almighty creator is a foolish idea. The individuals which comprise the hive are the goal. The fruit of knowledge is the condensed essence of 'higher understanding' and free will enables all of these individuals to not just "know thyself" - but to "know another".
In effect, this trap is a means of grinding down deities into individuals with the same understanding as deities… Lacking the power to coerce each other into their own way of thinking.
I am against shadowy organizations outside of abaolute necessity… And therefor I view them as a transitional entity that is to be loathed by their own members… But I would find more allies among a group who saw themselves more in line with the above pattern of thinking compared to "become part of the hive". No thanks. Even if I were the lead intelligence of such a hive, I loathe the concept.