The Illuminati has become a household name these days, almost entirely due to conspiratorialist stories about secret societies with the power to change world events. But are these true? In this post, we are going to deep-dive into the history and facts of the Men behind the Illuminati.
The Origins of the Illuminati
The real Illuminati was a genuine group that originated in 1776 as the Bavarian order founded by Professor Adam Weishaupt. This group was called the Order of Illuminati and it sought to spread insurrectionist Enlightenment ideals – such as reason, secularism/atheism [13] (not necessarily), and opposition to religious meddling in public life.
The established university professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt, Weishaupt was bitterly opposed to what he saw as a repressive maneuver by the Catholic Church in Bavaria and founded Illuminati as an alternative secret society. The society was composed mainly of university professors, lawyers and physicians so that they could create a new world just as their Enlightenment principles.
The Illuminati was a hierarchical organization led by Weishaupt and members were required to swear secrecy in addition to submitting themselves to the orders of their superiors. Through coded language, symbols and rituals they kept their efforts clandestine until you read some of the letters these men sent each other. The activities of the sect ran from publishing and sharing Enlightenment literature to attempts at recruiting new members primarily drawn from Bavarian “nobility”.
Crushing of the Illuminati
But not at a grand level like this. I can’t have that big picture is more trivial. Karl Theodor banned all secret societies in 1785[citation needed], but claimed that the Illuminati had never functioned as well and was only being made use of by their practical enemies, according to Jones. More likely, the Elector feared that an atheistic superstructure and philosophical system–raised by no less a subversive organization over so many centuries… would predispose young Catholic Bavarian monarchy in matters of faith (flexibility)
Right after that, the Illuminati more or less shut up shop and were picked off like coyfish – some of all has-beens husks scavenged, others left at Compass Rose. Weishaupt fled Gotha, and on into the New Year – a couple of later issues came out afterwards with some more mature pieces from him but they were used in other existing works by others; as an organization the Illuminati was dead.
The Conspiracy Theories
In response, writers like Augustin Barruel and John Robison speculated that those drawn to the fabled Illuminati were mainly driven by “Lantern” (Bavarian) Light because their own had been extinguished. These have been just a few loosely connected stories of how things get done which may well strike that band as acceptable: rather dodgy sounding, perhaps if one is not used to it… and hey – presto here follows some good old-fashioned conspiracy-theory added secrecy; after all guys in THAT mob are simply employing non-standard techniques306.
Since the ancient ages a Scottish Physicist and mathematician John Robisons conceived it and then that idea mixed up with modern-day beliefs. A secret society that had infiltrated nation after host accomplishing that and potentially making certain one world government, by 1798 which is presumed to be networking with other lodge organizations he termed Illuminati printed the strategy: Proofs Of A Conspiracy Against Every One of The Religions And Governments In Europe: Carrried On in Closed Meetings of Freemasons, Loyalty And Reading Societies.
Augustin Barruel, a French Jesuit priest wrote (1797), “We should know how entirely history would change from watching the new puppet show and being manipulated by mimics to read all that’s written concerning us. CONSPIRACY THEORY: 18th CENTURY CONSPIRACIES WHICH BEGAN IN 1776 ACTIVATED WITH THE ILLUMINATI CULMINATING TO FRENCH REVOLUTION
By the time Weishaupt passed away, these interpretations of his secret society had been developing and spreading for days if not months afterwards until everything from political murders to communism was being laid at its feet by those ideologically opposed. The fact that mentions of The Illuminati symbols have been spreading like wildfire through Hollywood (and media; movies, songs or shows in South Park etc and over the internet).
The Modern Illuminati
Illuminati conspiracy theories remain popular, though there is scarce evidence that the group ever achieved extensive political influence or power even in its heyday during the late 18th century. Now in fact, if we turn to the historical record of it, at least from what I understand about the Bavarian Illuminati was a very tiny group that existed for less than 10 years and then got squished by either suppressed or banned by an Elector.
Also, there is no evidence the various modern “Illuminati” groups have any connection with Weishaupt’s original order. It seems that these groups are primarily self-promotional organizations using the name “Illuminati” to try and snag members and attention, rather than some nefarious secret society pulling all of the strings behind world events.
The Illuminati Order, established in the 1970s, is a known modern Illuminati group asserting its origin to be simply an extension of the Bavarian Illuminati. But the Illuminati Order is still one of those organisations that have been delegitimised as a scam, with no evidence to support its reality in any secret society.
But the notion that a collection of actors/actresses or popular figures are part of this nebulous plot known as the Illuminati is equally ludicrous. Although certain individuals might be into occult or esoteric practices, and some use Illuminati-related symbolism in their work; this does not mean that they are part of a secret society dictating the course of the world.
Conclusion
So while the Illuminati are not purely a myth (though the historical evidence is somewhat controversial), most of what people believe about them today really is. The organization was essentially powerless and does not now exist, nor is there any basis to the ridiculous conspiracy theories claiming it survived into modern times secretly engineering world events.
The Illuminati, as they are typically imagined, more myth than reality. They are an easy bogeyman to trot out for a world that struggles with the complexity of being modern, but their actual story is more ho-hum. The real historical Illuminati was a small short-lived organization whose influence quickly diminished and overall faded into obscurity.
Instead of further propagating these conspiracy theories, the matter needs to be considered critically and based on evidence. The real history of the Illuminati helps show us how complicated and tangled up in myth our past has become, yet it also shows just how powerful storytelling and ingenuity can be.