WHAT IS THE ILLUMUNATI
The 18th-century German thinker Adam Weishaupt would have been stunned if he had known his ideas would one day fuel global conspiracy theories, and inspire best-selling novels and blockbuster films.
Until he was 36, the vast majority of his compatriots would have been equally stunned to discover that this outwardly respectable professor was a dangerous enemy of the state, whose secret society, the Illuminati, was seen to threaten the very fabric of society.
Born in 1748 in Ingolstadt, a city in the Electorate of Bavaria (now part of modern-day Germany), Weishaupt was a descendant of Jewish converts to Christianity. Orphaned at a young age, his scholarly uncle took care of his education, and enrolled him in a Jesuit school. After completing his studies, Weishaupt became a professor of natural and canon law at the University of Ingolstadt, married, and started a family. On the surface, it was a conventional enough career—until 1784 when the Bavarian state learned of his incendiary ideas.
Secret papers seized by the Bavarian authorities revealed fascinating details about the rituals of the Illuminati. A novice preparing to pass to the higher level of minerval, ( A member of the early Bavarian Illuminati, ranking above a novice.) For example he had to present a detailed report on the titles of the books he owned, the identity of his enemies, and the weak points of his character. Upon initiation as a minerval, he promised to sacrifice all personal interests to those of the society.
A closer look at his upbringing, however, reveals that Weishaupt always had a restless mind. As a boy he was an avid reader, consuming books by the latest French Enlightenment philosophers in his uncle’s library. Bavaria at that time was deeply conservative and Catholic. Weishaupt was not the only one who believed that the monarchy and the church were repressing freedom of thought.
Convinced that religious ideas were no longer an adequate belief system to govern modern societies, he decided to find another form of “illumination,” a set of ideas and practices that could be applied to radically change the way European states were run. Adam Weishaupt, a Bavarian professor of canon law, started the radical Illuminati secret society in Europe in 1776 when he was 28 years old. Anti-clerical and anti-royal, The Illuminati aimed to infiltrate and upset powerful institutions. They created a plan for the global subversion of church, state, royalty, and society.
Weishaupt aimed to abolish all religions and obliterate every government so mankind could live happily in a world of equality. He foresaw the economy operating under a ‘communism of goods’ structure overseen by an enlightened (illuminated) elite over which he presided.
The Order was represented by the Owl of Minerva, which in Greek mythology traditionally accompanies Athena the virgin goddess of wisdom.
Another Illuminati emblem was a dot within a circle that symbolized the all-seeing eye which belonged not to God, but to a superior Illuminati watching over the lower ranks.
Freemasonry was steadily expanding throughout Europe in this period, offering attractive alternatives to freethinkers. Weishaupt initially thought of joining a lodge. Disillusioned with many of the Freemasons’ ideas, however, he became absorbed in books dealing with such esoteric themes as the Mysteries of the Seven Sages of Memphis and the Kabbala, and decided to found a new secret society of his own.
The spy structure
The Illuminati adopted antique codenames to avoid identification. Weishaupt was ‘Brother Spartacus’, named after the gladiator who headed the insurrection of slaves and kept Rome in terror for three years. Weishaupt aimed to find young zealots - using Freemason lodges as a recruiting ground - and knit them together with secrecy. Initially, anyone over 30 wasn’t trusted.
The lower ranks were divided into hierarchies of Novices, Minervals, and Illuminated Minervals, and divided into cells. Weishaupt acted as their spymaster.
“When he could not persuade them by his own firmness... he employed Jesuitical tricks, causing them to fall out with each other, setting them as spies on each other, and separating any two that he saw attached to each other, by making the one a Master of the other; and, in short, he left nothing undone that could secure his uncontrolled command,” according to John Robison, author of Proofs of a Conspiracy.
English: From Das verbesserte der Illuminaten. This is the original insignia of The Bavarian Illuminati. It pictures the Owl of Minerva- symbolizing wisdom on top of an open book. This version of the owl comes from an early pamphlet printed around 1788 .
Recruits had to supply the names of their ancestors, relations, friends, correspondents, and enemies. They were asked to recommend appropriate people to be received into the Order and to list those who might be unfit, justifying reasons for both opinions. They were told to pay attention to the conduct of other men around them and report back weekly about public or private occurrences.
THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: It is reported that a least 20 of the past United States Presidents belonged to some sort of secret society including The Illuminati, The Free Masons, The Oddfellows and more. Joe Biden had barely been sworn in as US president in January 2021 when conspiracy theories about his ‘Illuminati bible' went viral on social media.
As the story goes, Biden is part of a centuries-old secret society bent on world domination whose members include Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, Katy Perry, and Queen Elizabeth. Upon fact-checking Joe Bidden was not an Illuminati.
With the recent war of Russia and Ukraine In targeting an adversary whose presence was widespread but whose activities were secret, the authors of these theories found a perfect scapegoat: one which was adaptable to almost any issue, and whose hidden hand could be blamed for any problem.
So it makes perfect sense that Russia’s state-run news service aimed primarily at non-Russian audiences, employs a reporter who specializes in uncovering the hidden role the Illuminati plays in world affairs.
THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. WE AS A NATION ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE IF WE ALLOW OUR CONSTUITION TO CRUMBLE ONE LETTER, ONE SENTENCE, ONE PARAGRAPH AT A TIME. GAME OVER DEMOCRACY AND ALL THE FREEDOMS WE HAVE ENJOYED. FAIR ENOUGH I GOT THE MESSAGE LOUD AND CLEAR? WHAT CAN I DO?
GET INVOLVED TO SAVE OUR CONSTUITION AND DEMOCRACY!
ZENTRAVELER SAYS: No more secret handshakes, no more good ole boys clubs held in secrecy and no more conspiracy theories to topple our government or other governments throughout the world to create: THE NEW WORLD ORDER. GET A GRIP - HELP STARVING PEOPLE AND ADOPT THE BUDDHIST PHILSOPHY TO CREATE A WORLD OF PEACE.
~ Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance ~ PLATO
From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on. Follow the Zentraveler Newsletter often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories and such. Where else can you get a THREE IN ONE NEWSLETTER FOR THE PRICE OF FREE.
ZENTRAVELER IS A PERSONAL NEWSLETTER, DESIGNED TO GIVE TRAVEL, HEALTH, WRITING AND HUMOR INCLUDING HELPFUL HINTS WITH A ZEN LIKE QUALITY.