"Illuminati" is the name that refers to several groups, both real and fictitious. Most commonly it refers specifically to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment era secret society founded in the late eighteenth century. However, in modern times it refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy hand behind the throne, allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, Illuminati is often used in reference to a New World Order (NWO). Many conspiracy theorists believe the Illuminati, The People of The Light, or illuminated ones, are the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of such a New World Order.
In rarer cases, the Illuminati refers to an elite set of enlightened individuals who may not cooperate but are uniquely empowered by their enlightenment, much like the intelligentsiailluminated classes of today are empowered by their education and intelligence. These are people who have become
and have achieved a higher mystical understanding of the universe. Many secret societies and mystical traditions are concerned with this kind of illumination or enlightenment, such as the Rosicrucian Societies, the Martinists and the original Bavarian Illuminati.
History
This movement was founded on May 1, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830)[citation needed], who was the first lay professor of canon law[citation needed]. The movement was made up of freethinkers, as an offshoot of the Enlightenment[2]. , which some believe was a conspiracy to infiltrate and overthrow the governments of many European states[3]. The group's adherents were given the name Illuminati, although they called themselves "Perfectibilists". The group has also been called the Illuminati Order, and the Bavarian Illuminati, and the movement itself has been referred to as Illuminism. In 1777, Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine, succeeded as ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent of Enlightened Despotism and in 1784, his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati.
While it was not legally allowed to operate, many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members, including Ferdinand of Brunswick and the diplomat Xavier von Zwack.[4] Although a few Freemasons were known[citation needed] to be members there is no evidence that it was supported by Freemasonry as an institution. Indeed, membership in the Illuminati, unlike that in Freemasonry, did not require belief in a Supreme Being.[citation needed] As a result, atheists having only the former organization open to them, congregated disproportionately in it; this over-representation, taken along with the Illuminati's largely humanist and anti-clerical bent, likely accounts for many of the claims of atheism leveled at the alleged world conspiracy of which the Illuminati supposedly remain a part.[citation needed]
The Illuminati's members pledged obedience to their superiors, and were divided into three main classes: the first, known as the Nursery, encompassed the ascending degrees or offices of Preparation, Novice, Minerval and Illuminatus Minor. The second, known as the Masonry, consists of the ascending degrees of Illuminatus Major and Illuminatus dirigens. It was also sometimes called Scotch Knight. The third, designated the Mysteries, was subdivided into the degrees of the Lesser Mysteries (Presbyter and Regent) and those of the Greater MysteriesMagus and Rex). Relations with Masonic lodges were established at Munich and Freising in 1780 by Alexander Gibson and Joseph Vincent respectively.[citation needed] (
The order had its branches in most countries of the European continent;[citation needed] it reportedly had around 2,000 members over the span of 10 years.[citation needed] The scheme had its attraction for literary men, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder, and even for the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar. Internal rupture and panic over succession preceded its downfall, which was effected by The Secular Edict made by the Bavarian government in 1785.[citation needed]
Illuminati after 1790
Conspiracy theorists such as David Icke and Was Penre, have argued that the Bavarian Illuminati survived, possibly to this day, though very little reliable evidence can be found to support that Weishaupt's group survived into the 19th century. However, several groups have used the name Illuminati since to found their own rites, claiming to be the Illuminati, including the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) of Theodor Reuss and Aleister Crowley (England),[5] Grand Lodge Rockefeller of David Goldman (USA), Orden Illuminati[6] of Gabriel López de Rojas[7] and others. (Spain), The Illuminati Order
Cultural effect
The Bavarian Illuminati have cast a long shadow in popular history thanks to the writings of their opponents; the allegations of conspiracy that have coloured the image of the Freemasons1797, Abbé Augustin Barruél published Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism outlining a vivid conspiracy theory involving the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians, the Jacobins and the Illuminati, during the course of which Barruél blamed all of what he regarded as the disasters of his times such as the French Revolution on the said groups.[citation needed] A Scottish Mason and professor of natural history named John Robison started to publish Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Religions and Governments of Europe in 1798. Robison claimed to present evidence of an Illuminati conspiracy striving to replace all world religions with humanism and all nations with a single world government. have practically opaqued that of the Illuminati. In [citation needed]
More recently, Antony C. Sutton suggested that the secret society Skull and Bones was founded as the American branch of the Illuminati.[8] Others think Scroll and Key also had Illuminati origins.[citation needed] Writer Robert Gillette claimed that the Illuminati ultimately intend to establish a world government through assassination, bribery, blackmail, the control of banks and other financial powers, the infiltration of governments, mind control, and by causing wars and revolution to move their own people into higher positions in the political hierarchy.[citation needed]Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, claimed they intended to spread information and the principles of true morality. He attributed the secrecy of the Illuminati to what he called "the tyranny of a despot and priests" referring to the governments and religious beliefs of the time.[citation needed]
Both sides seem to agree that the enemies of the Illuminati were the monarchs of Europe and the Church; Barruél claimed that the French revolution in 1789 was engineered and controlled by the Illuminati through the Jacobins, and later theorists even claimed that the Illuminati were responsible for the Russian Revolution of 1917, although the order was officially defunct prior to 1789.[citation needed] Few historians give credence to these views; they regard such claims as the products of over-fertile imaginations.[citation needed]Conspiracy theorists highlight an alleged link between the Illuminati and Freemasonry.[citation needed] They also suggest that the United States' founding fathers—some of whom were Freemasons—were rife with corruption from the Illuminati, and that the symbols of the All-seeing Eye and the unfinished pyramid in the Great Seal of the United States are an example of the Illuminati's ever-present watchful eye over Americans.[citation needed]
While Weishaupt's group did not survive into the 19th century, several groups have since used the name Illuminati to found their own rites, claiming to be the Illuminati. Groups describing themselves as Illuminati say they have members and chapters throughout the world.[citation needed]
According to Principia Discordia, the Bavarian Illuminati were revived or rediscovered in the 20th century under the leadership of Mordecai Malignatus.[citation needed]
The British writer David Icke also claims that the Illuminati secretly manipulate world events, citing bloodline connections between the British Royal Family, the Windsors and Mountbattens, and United States Presidents and, he says, a connection to the Illuminati.[citation needed]
The idea of a secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati is currently deep-rooted in popular culture. The Illuminati were for example used in the fiction novel by Dan Brown called Angels & Demons. According to Brown the Illuminati was originally founded by scientists, amongst others Galileo Galilei, who had become infuriated with the refusal of the Catholic Church to accept their work, merely condemning their research as heresy. Interestingly enough, the poet John Milton is also included by Brown.
