Born in the heat of the scientific revolution and the development of the liberal ideas of the European Enlightenment, the secret Order of the Illuminati was a secret society that, trying to imitate Freemasonry, had a specific political agenda to overcome absolutism and build a perfect society based on equality and freedom.
From there on, a whole legend was born, and it is, among other things, the start of a series of mindboggling conspiracies. But what is the Illuminati, is the Illuminati real, and how to join the Illuminati? These are the important questions that our article aims to answer.
What are the Illuminati?
On May 1, 1776, Adam Weishaupt, the only professor at the University of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, who did not belong to the order of the Jesuits, created the Bund der Perfektibilisten (League of the Perfectibilists) as the only educational space for his students who remained free of the influences of the Society of Jesus. He became the founder of the Order of the Illuminati, a secret society.
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Within this cell was created a reading club, the Association of Secret Wisdom, so that young people had free access to the literature of the Enlightenment and its ecclesiastical criticism. In this way, a project was created that was born as a secret society, that is, that its members were anonymous and always tried to escape the control of the authorities.
Following the illustrated model, the ultimate goal of the Order of the Illuminati was to perfect society through individual improvement that emanated from the knowledge and implementation of the great values of liberalism: freedom, equality and fraternity.
At the root of this thinking is the idea of formation as a path to individual self-control that makes external forms of control sterile and unnecessary, such as the absolutist state and the Catholic Church.
The Illuminati is one of the many secret societies that flourish in the modern world and in the new forms of organization of public opinion. However, Illuminati is not synonymous with Freemasonry, although they shared some features such as hierarchy.
Unlike Freemasonry, which rejected religious and political struggles, the Illuminati had a political agenda. While the filiation of the freemasons was public, the Illuminati were part of a strictly secret order. But in fact, since the rise of the order in the hands of Adolph von Knigge the Illuminati absorbed many members of the Freemasonry who switched sides after the crisis of the Order.
The most important Illuminati symbolses
The Order of the Illuminati functioned in a manner similar to Freemasonry: through an initiatory ritual the new members were introduced to the secret knowledge, after which they could ascend to the Masonic class, which was divided into:
- Pawn
- Officer
- Master
- Lower Illuminated
- Higher Illuminated
In addition, the members who entered the Order had to do it under a fictitious name that came from the Greco-Roman tradition, such as Spartacus (Adam Weishaupt) and Philo (Adolph von Knigge). One of the key elements in the Order was the intricate system of symbols.
1.The Illuminati Pyramid
This is the Illuminati symbol par excellence: it consists of a pyramid of 13 unfinished steps at the top of which lies the all-seeing Illuminati Eye. The Illuminati used the pyramid, symbol of Egyptian mythology because it reflected those who chose the path of perfection and their ascent to the top.
On the other hand, the pyramid also conveys the idea of order and hierarchy. We must not forget that it is a secret order, and the 13 steps mean the ranks that the initiates have to go through to reach enlightenment.
2. The All-Seeing Eye
What is this Illuminati Eye that crowns the pyramid? This all-seeing eye? It is the symbol of vigilance and providence, inscribed within an "enlightened Delta" or triangle, which represents the control of the rest of the world through knowledge and acquired wisdom. Those who are above will manage and control, but always in a fair and balanced way.
The all-seeing Eye has clear parallelism with the Christian symbol of God, which emanates from its omnipresence, and also refers to the famous Eye of Horus in Egyptian mythology, a symbol of wisdom. However, in Illuminati symbolism, seeing is synonymous with knowing, advances and knowledge as an instrument to guide society.
3. The Shining Delta – The Illuminati triangle
Sometimes the Illuminati triangle has been misinterpreted as a direct translation of the triangle of the divine eye of Christians. However, while the triangle of God represents the holy trinity (father, son and holy spirit), the Shining Delta reflects the balance of the world and the natural cycle of life (father, mother and child).
The Eye within the triangle symbolizes the power of knowledge and wisdom to dominate the natural order and balance of the world, and thus to be able to govern the destiny of society in the best possible way.
4. The staff and the hexagram
Not being exclusive to this order and forming part of many other cultures, the hexagram is also a symbol of the Illuminati because it represents preservation and protection against destruction. Behind this symbol, there is a complex diversity of magical and astrological meanings, but many choose to see a conspiracy theory: the Illuminati as the basis of Zionism (Jewish nationalism) lead by the six-pointed star of David.
Also, the pentagram, a universal symbol used among satanic sects, was used by the Illuminati as a symbol of protection and the fusion of man with nature and natural balance.
Some curiosities about the Illuminati
Did you know that some famous thinkers like Goethe or Herder were part of the secret order of the Illuminati? Did you know that the first idea of its founder was to call the group Order of the Bees? Or that some adventurous scholars make them responsible for the French revolution and the imposition of new world order?
Discover five incredible facts about the Order of the Illuminati.
1. The Illuminati or the Order of the Bees
It was at the dawn of the secret society when, in the attempt to structure the order, its leader Adam Weishaupt tried to dodge the control of the authorities with imaginative names that would identify the group.
The first idea that crossed his mind was the Order of the Bees, because he saw the members of the order as bees that through pollen (knowledge) made honey (actions and procedures). Finally, he abandoned this option and, based on the name of the Enlightenment, he thought that the best denomination would be that of “Illuminated”.
2. Goethe and the famous Illuminati
As an intellectual organization inspired by the Enlightenment movement, the Bavarian Illuminati attracted several famous thinkers who always remained anonymous. One of them was Abaris, a fictitious name which protected the most important writer of German literature, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
In fact, Goethe was for many years an amateur mason, a belief that transferred to his most important writings such as Faust, where the protagonist receives enlightenment in exchange for the soul.
In addition, also the philosopher Herder, one of the most important thinkers of German Romanticism, participated in the secret society of the Illuminati.
3. The Illuminati in literature: Dan Brown and Umberto Eco
The curious way of organizing its members through anonymity and secret meetings, and all the conspiracy theories that have developed around the Illuminati, turn this order into a source of mysterious delight for conspiracy fanatics
One of the first members was Umberto Eco, who in “The Pendulum of Foucault” recreated an authentic initiatory work which has given scholars and amateurs alike reasons to debate on the subject of the Templars and other esoteric and occult issues.
Another great work in that sense is “Angels and Demons”, by the acclaimed author Dan Brown, in which the protagonist tries to dismantle an Illuminati cell that aims to destroy the Vatican.
4. The Illuminati and the French Revolution
In 1791 the religious figure Jean François Lefranc elaborated a theory about the French Revolution as a conspiracy of the Illuminati, and therefore the famines, the discontent of the popular classes and the anti-monarchical reaction would not have a direct relation with the events, but rather it would have been something orchestrated from the outside.
Although it seems somewhat far-fetched, other scholars soon joined this theory, claiming for example that all the leaders of the revolution were Freemasons, or that revolutionary France was full of small Masonic orders like the enlightened radicalism of the Illuminati.
5. Modern conspiracies
The fact that the Illuminati pyramid and the All-seeing Eye were incorporated into the one-dollar bills during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a 32nd-grade member of the Illuminati for the Scottish rite, also accompanied by the message "New Order of the Centuries ", gave rise to a great conspiracy that alludes to United States wanting to control the world.
Some see it only as an ingenious attempt by the US administration to create a lucky charm for its citizens, but others see a worldwide conspiracy of secret orders that aim to impose a new world order.
It must not be forgotten that the basic idea of the Bavarian Illuminati was to subvert the foundations of the existing regime in order to impose, in a gradual, peaceful and silent manner (a combination of stillness and action) a world-class government of a radical liberal character in which authoritarian governments would not be needed. This aligns with the conspiracies about a global government imposed by invisible powers.