14 - The Illuminati

Many people will have heard of the infamous Illuminati. Others will be wondering what on Earth they could be. Ever since their inception, this 18th century secret society has garnered the imaginations of millions.

However, to understand the Illuminati, we must understand two specific institutions - the Freemasons and the Catholic authorities.

Freemasons

The history and origin of the Freemasons is not a simple subject. In fact, it is virtually impossible to decipher the truth from the myriad histories fed into thousands of books on the subject.

The reason for this is simply that it is a large organization, but it is split into many facets, each one holding virtual autonomy. Through time, differences of opinion and ritual have arisen. Although we have already taken a look at the serpent origins of Freemasonry, there are elements we need to address in order to better understand their link with the Catholic Church and the Illuminati.

Many Masonic historians try desperately to claim that their lineage stretches right back to the Temple of Solomon and the builder Hiram Abiff - they are even told it as fact in their ceremonies. Others claim descent from Roman and Greek stone masons and the Roman Augurs whom we know had "special knowledge" of the lay of the land and energies related to our modern-day perception of ley-lines and Feng Shui.

There can be no strict proof for any of this, although the "secret knowledge" has been passed down the centuries from one adept and initiate to another.

The general consensus has the Freemasons emerging from medieval stonecutters who are known as operative masons. These are the skilled craftsmen who built the great cathedrals and churches of Europe for the Catholic Church, and who included many mysterious images and secrets within their amazing carvings (soft masons or Freemasons, as the carving was free work or soft stone

This version of the history of the Masons claims that the Lodge evolved from the huts erected on site by those medieval masons. As time progressed, the Masons grew in power due to demand for their services, and formed groups or unions, which became known as Lodges.

By the 1600s the Lodges began admitting men who were not operative Masons and were termed gentlemen Masons. The terms developed through time, within the operative Masonic Lodges, and were taken on by these gentlemen Masons - becoming part and parcel of their ritual nature.

However, there are problems with this version of history.

The facts state something quite different, although there is no reason to deny that gentlemen did begin to grow in number within the ranks of the Masons. There is indeed plenty of evidence to show that in the 14th century the Masons were already a well-established group, and accepted, or were evolved by, the inclusion of the Knights Templar that had escaped Catholic suppression to Scotland.

The first official documentation is from 1356 from England. It describes the formation of the London Masons Company and the ordinances governing the Lodge that was already established at York Minster.

However, these are only the papers that have survived and speak of groups that were forming - it does not deny the fact that there must have been preexisting groups that do not have "paperwork to prove their preexistence."

The only hard evidence we do have is the symbolism being employed within the great building works of Europe from the 11th century.

Understanding that this great building exercise erupted with such a vengeance following the first crusade and the setting up of such organizations as the Knights Templar and Cistercians (who were instrumental in bringing back building skills to Europe), is the first part of the puzzle. The Templars and their non-warrior cousins, the Cistercians, were more than incidental in both bringing back the seed of alchemical enlightenment from the crusades and the building skills of the Islamic Middle Eastern world.

This is seen in the arch and the octagonal designs incorporated into most Templar and Cistercian buildings, as well as other building works carried out under their tutelage.

Also built into these structures are huge amounts of numerological symbols and "mystical" metaphors. These methods were understood and carried on by the Freemasons who today ritualize these ancient ways, and many probably do not even understand their correct purpose. These mystical building metaphors are as ancient as Stonehenge or the Great Pyramids - even if the term Freemason is not.

By the mid 17th century, there is definite evidence of large scale Masonic Lodges, as Elias Ashmole, the creator of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, records in his diary. He was made a Mason in the Lodge at his father-in-law's house. Many today split up the Masonic Lodges into Operative, Accepted, and Freemasonry; however, they are much like the Catholic Church's sub groups and monasteries, such as Cistercians, Franciscans, and even Jesuits - they are all from the same original source.

The Bible and specifically the Temple of Solomon gave the Freemasons a religious and acceptable framework to work on, and the symbolism employed with the operative mason's tools was worked to match the ancient mysteries such as the "as above, so below" Hermetic principle.

A Timeline of Known Dates:

A.D. 1250 Matthew Paris drawing shows Henry II in conference with operative Masons.
A.D. 1356 The formation of the London Masons Company and ordinances governing the Lodge at York.
A.D. 1376 The first use of the word Freemason.
A.D. 1390 The Regius Poem from Salisbury Cathedral is Masonic.
A.D. 1410 The Cooke Manuscript written for the Masonic school at Salisbury.
A.D. 1425 Henry VI forbids the yearly congregation of Masons.
A.D. 1599 Minutes taken at Aichisons Haven Lodge and St. Mary's Lodge in Edinburgh.
A.D. 1646 Elias Ashmole is initiated into the Masons.
A.D. 1717 The formation of the first Grand Lodge of London.
A.D. 1733 The first American Lodge is opened.

Today the Freemasons are a global phenomenon, with members from across the business community, religious establishment, and politics.

The influence they have is obviously huge and universal. They have links with many other "orders," such as the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, and have had over the years a lot of bad press for the influence they have brought to bear. They eventually swallowed up other institutions such as the Weishaupt Illuminati (which we will discuss shortly).

Part of this influence has been shown by hundreds of authors to have had effect all over the world and to have been more than incidental in the instigating in full or part the revolutions in France, Russia, and even the American Revolutionary War.

Some quotes from these sources: Conventional wisdom says the Philippine Insurrection of 1896 was ignited because of native opposition to the power of the Catholic Church in the Islands. The revolutionary fire was fuelled by the writings of Jose Rizal, augmented by the political leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo.

In reality the Philippine Insurrection was orchestrated by Freemasonry, and while Emilio Aguinaldo indeed led that revolution, he did so as a dedicated member and tool of the Craft.

That insight into Philippine history was suppressed by the United States Government for 45 years, until it finally was revealed by historian John T. Farrell in 1954.

The Scottish Rite monthly [New Age] added:

"The first Revolution in March 1917 is said to have been inspired and operated from these lodges and all the members of Kerenski's government belonged to them."
(Behind the Lodge Door, Paul A. Fisher)

Freemasonry has worked in a hidden but constant manner to prepare the revolution [French].

We are then in complete agreement on the point that freemasonry was the only author of the revolution, and the applause which I receive from the Left, and to which I am little accustomed, proves, gentlemen, that you acknowledge with me that it was masonry which made the French revolution. (Taken from the chamber of Deputies during the session on July 1, 1904 and stated by the Marquis de Rosanbo)

According to Fisher, again, the rebellion in Italy against Papal governments during the 1830s,

"was known as the Risorgimento, which, in reality, was a classic Masonic revolutionary movement. Its leaders were Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Cavour and King Victor Emmanuel II - all ardent Freemasons."

(King Victor Emmanuel II was later poisoned by his son, Prince Umberto, who it is then claimed was assassinated by the order of Masonic Lodges.)

Mazzini, according to the Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in America, was the first head of modern Freemasonry in Italy.

One historian, Charles Heckethorn, in his book, Secret Societies, says the chilling word "Mafia" is an acronym meaning,

"Mazzini Autoriza Furti, Incendi, Avelenameti:" that is: "Mazzini authorizes thefts, arson and poisoning."
(Behind the Lodge Door, Paul A. Fisher)

Practically all the heroes of Italian liberty were Masons.
(New England Craftsman 1920)

A great part of Europe - the whole of Italy and France, and a great portion of Germany, to say nothing of other countries - are covered with a network of these secret societies, just as the superficies of the Earth is now being covered with railroads. And what are their objects? They do not attempt to conceal themselves. They do not want constitutional government. They do not want ameliorated institutions; they do not want provincial councils nor the recording of votes.
(Benjamin Disraeli, future Chancellor of the Exchequer of Great Britain and Prime Minister - Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 1876)

A lot of these quotes seem to point at a war between the Catholic Church and the Freemasons.

This is an interesting point and one that confuses many people when they see that the Masons are actually linked and were created by the Catholic Church (or the other way around). This is a standard ploy used by secret society people across the world, and even to be found within the Statutes of many secret societies and even religious orders. It was the "done thing" to appear on the outside to be against the powers of authority, while all the time working for them.

The Freemasons can clearly be shown to have evolved from esoteric sects emanating from within and even before the Catholic Church and as a direct result of Templar influence in Scotland. So the Masons could be traced back to the Catholic Church.

This goes back to the Templars, a Catholic order. It also goes back to the Knights of St. John or Knights of Malta.

Both the Templars and the Knights of Malta have reemerged from within the Masons and are now orders themselves - in various forms. Most still owe allegiance to the Masons, but are distinct. The Knights of Malta can directly be traced back to their origin and are now located in the Vatican.

Now the Jesuits are spoken of elsewhere in this book, but they certainly are part of the Catholic Church and, in my opinion, originally influenced the Illuminati. This created a secular and separate society that later formed back into the Masons - who were created by the Catholics anyway - do we see a picture emerging here?

There is a glimmer of that central part of the wheel to which all the spokes seem to be attached. Before the Illuminati merged into the Masons, they had been implicated in the creation of several other groups such as the Rosicrucians, Golden Dawn, and even the Lutherans and Protestants!

Even South America was regained via the Spanish under guidance of Jesuit and other Monastic Orders - all Catholics.

Rosicrucians

The earliest real documentation for the Rosicrucian ideals is from 1597.

It is said that a certain alchemist traveled across Europe seeking to begin a society to carry out his newly discovered alchemical ideals. The Fama Fraternitas and the General Reformation of the World appeared in 1614 as fully fledged documents, so he must have succeeded. The founder is claimed to be a Christian Rosenkreuz, which is obviously a false name and means the rosy cross of the Christians.

It is claimed that this character traveled across Arabia, studied at Fez in Egypt and returned to Europe with his message - a message that is decidedly ancient. The origin of this enigmatic group is false and was, therefore, created by whoever did begin the order.

What clues do we have?

The rosy cross, the Rosicrucian symbol
 clearly on display at Rosslyn Chapel, Edinburgh

The coat of arms of Martin Luther, that staunch anti-Catholic, included the rose and the cross.

There are also parallels with Arabic Illuminati schools such as those of Abdelkadir Gilani, who was known as the shining rose. However, when we look at the origins of Masonry and the rituals and beliefs held within, we find they are not dissimilar.

It appears that Rosicrucianism is yet another form of that Catholic-bred Diaspora - just like the Jesuit creation of the Illuminati, drawing on the undercurrents of mysticism to create a seemingly anti-self organization. The easiest way of winning a football game is to own both sides.

Just like the Freemasons, the Alumbrados (Illuminated Ones), the Illuminati, and dozens of other groups around at the time, the Rosicrucian ways were linked to the influential Sufi mystics, who had influenced the world for such a long time. The methods required the deepest of concentration upon "the master," so that absolute adherence to the "way" was normal. It was another method of control.

The void left behind by the strictness and rigidity of Catholicism was easily filled by hundreds of such groups - including the emerging Protestants.

Today the Rosicrucians are a worldwide order with thousands of members - but their influence on the world now is minimal. Although there is a hint in one of their books, which tells us that the influence of the person or soul they call the Ego will keep returning to constantly make alterations to the way forward for mankind.

In this small piece we are told that it is the same source (Ego) from where all "spiritual illumination" has derived - and I would agree.

Many centuries have rolled by since the birth, as Christian Rosenkreux, of the individual who we know and honor by the name - the Founder of the Most Holy Order of The Rosicrucians.

Though by many outsiders his existence is regarded as a myth, it is nevertheless true that his birth marked the beginning of a new epoch in the spiritual life of the western World. That particular Ego has also been in continuous incarnation ever since, in one or another of the European countries, taking a new body as his successive vehicles outlived their usefulness, or circumstances rendered it expedient that he change the scene of his activities.

Moreover, he is incarnate today - an initiate of high degree; an active and potent factor in all affairs of the West - although unknown to the world.

As are all such individuals, he is a representative of the Central Conclave of the Elder Brothers of humanity. His mission was and is to show the spiritual significance of all scientific discoveries, thus counteracting as far as possible the deadening influence of materialistic science, which, for reasons previously given, the Elder Brothers dread more than any other manifestation of human activity.

To this end he labored with the Alchemists centuries before the advent of modern science. He, through an intermediary, inspired the now-mutilated works of Bacon.

Jacob Boehme and others received through him the inspiration which makes their work so spiritually illuminating. In the works of the immortal Goethe and the masterpieces of Wagner the same influence meets us.
(The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception by Max Heindel, 1910)

This particular Ego has been manifesting itself throughout time - and I would agree.

However, I also say that it is the same Shining influence throughout man's history that has been making these moves, stepping in and out of the scene as cerebral evolution has moved mankind forward. These Rosicrucians call this influence the Central Conclave of the Elder Brothers.

The text continues and tells us who can "see" these secrets:

It hides from the profane, but reveals to the Initiate the more clearly how he is to labor day by day to make for himself that choicest of all gems, the Philosopher's Stone - more precious than the Kohinoor; nay, than the sum of all earthly wealth!

Apparently Christ himself wrought this marvelous Stone while incarnate in the body of Jesus....The Reichs-Anzeiger said, in one article:

"Yes, there is a Philosopher's Stone. It is an Elixir of Life. It is all, and much more than has ever been claimed for it. Moreover, most people have had it in their hands often, but know it not!"

How absolutely and unqualifiedly true that is, yet at the same time how thoroughly misleading, none can guess save those who know the secret, but even the eavesdropping traitor who had listened and overheard the words spoken among the brethren, could have profited thereby."

The writer then points out that:

To those who are entitled to the knowledge, many a mystery will reveal itself "between the lines" in this work, suggested but not spoken, for to reveal them, save from the lip to ear to worthy persons and under proper circumstances, would be a grievous breach of faith, not to be contemplated.

The secrets held within the pages of that 1910 book are simple to behold and, upon reading the text, reveals nothing more than the enlightenment experience.

We are even told that in order to become an initiate we cannot simply apply.

We will be watched from the sidelines and our merits in this life counted towards being offered the "golden key to the temple." Of course, in 1910, there was no World Wide Web, and today we find this once-influential secret society now offering courses with credit card payments.

Although they still claim to be teachers of the Mysteries and custodians of the Sacred Teachings of a spiritual power more,

"potent in the life of the Western World than any of the visible Governments; they may not interfere with humanity so as to deprive them of their free will."

Reading "between the lines," this implies that they are an invisible government.

This secret government takes the form of seven Brothers who, Heindel continues, "go out into the World whenever occasion requires; appearing as men among other men or working in their invisible vehicles with or upon others as needed; yet it must be strictly kept in mind that they never influence anyone against their will or contrary to their desires; but only strengthen good wherever found."

Of course a person's "will" is dependent upon what has already influenced him or her, and "good" is relative. Is it really our "will" to run up huge debt while trying to obtain the elusive happiness we are fed by the mass media?

The Illuminati

In Essai sur la secte des Illumines, 1789, Mason de Luchet wrote:

There are a certain number of people who have
arrived at the highest degree of imposture. They
have conceived the project of reigning over opinions,
and of conquering, not kingdoms, nor provinces, but
the human mind. This project is gigantic, and has
something of madness in it, which causes neither
alarm nor uneasiness; but when we descend to
details, when we regard what passes before our eyes
of the hidden principles, when we perceive a sudden
revolution in favour of ignorance and incapacity, we
must look for the cause of it; and if we find that a
revealed and known system explains all the
phenomena which succeed each other with terrifying
rapidity, how can we not believe it?

The Illuminati are, for many, the "Men in Black," the silent masters in the background who plot our futures.

To others they are a fable, a boys club, created by frustrated Freemasons in the 18th century. There is, as ever, truth in all, but we must understand that most of the time we end up believing exactly what the marketing and propaganda wants us to believe.

Sweeping aside the Christian Bible Belt influence of anticonspiracy theorists, and those crazy ideas of the conspiracy theorists such as "they came from outer space," we have to get back to the basic facts as we know them.

Standard history tells us that the Illuminati was started by Jean Adam Weishaupt, the founder of the Order of the Illuminati. Weishaupt was born in Bavaria on February 6, 1748.

His father, Baron Ickstatt, was a professor at the University of Ingolstadt, having married the niece of the curator. The baron secured a scholarship at the Jesuit College for Adam, who then went on to become a law student at the age of 15.

Ingolstadt was a steadfastly Jesuit area and had been for more than 200 years. Dissent was not permitted, even though they had been partially suppressed in 1773 by Clement XIV. It has been said of the Jesuits that they were the world's largest and most powerful secret service - due mainly to the fact that they were feared by many in the Catholic Church, and that a universal "confession" could be well utilized for blackmail.

The Jesuits were founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola and nine companions, just like the Knights Templar.

Interestingly, Nicholas Poussin, the infamous painter of the Shepherds in Arcadia, was also a Jesuit, and it seems, from the pages of history, that the Jesuit Order has been at the center of many outrages. They are intimate with the Vatican, and history has shown that there is little in the politics of the world that the Vatican has not had a hand in.

According to a converted nun,

M.F. Cusack: The Jesuits offer the world at large a system of theology by which every law, Divine or human, may be broken with impunity, and by which the very Bulls of Popes may be defied. It is a ghastly religion; it is a religion to be abhorred by all honest and honerable men.
(The Trail of the Serpent, Inquire Within)

So according to this 19th century writer, they were even above the Bulls of the Pope. Edwin A. Sherman, an American Freemason, also wrote, in the 19th century:

The Jesuits laugh at us; and during their hilarity, the rattlesnake is coiled at our feet, climbing to strike us in the heart.

And even President Lincoln, who was finally assassinated after numerous attempts, said:

The Jesuits are so expert in those deeds of blood that Henry IV said that it was impossible to escape them, and he became their victim, though he did all he could to protect himself… I know that the Jesuits never forget nor forsake.

Amazingly, in the conspiracy theorists' world, the Jesuits have also been implicated in the creation of the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as they had already been shown to have been implicated in The Secrets of the Elders of Bourg-Fontaine, another "stirring" work.

We must also note that the Jesuits have hundreds of links with the Masonic Order and Templar symbols.

In the Jesuit Extreme Oath of Induction, as recorded in the Journals of the 62nd Congress, 3rd Session of the U.S.A. (from which it was removed at a later date and quoted here from the book Subterranean Rome by Charles Didier, 1843), we find that:

On either side stands a monk, one of whom holds a banner of yellow and white, which are Papal colors, and the other a black banner with a dagger and a red cross above a skull and crossbones [a Templar symbol].

According to this same text, the letters I-N-R-I are established, and mean Iustum Necar Reges Impius (Exterminate impious kings).

The superior then states:

...among Roman Catholics to be a Roman Catholic, and to be a spy even among your own brethren; to believe no man, to trust no man…and obtaining their confidence, to seek even to preach from their pulpits and to denounce with all vehemence in your nature our Holy Religion and the Pope; and even to descend so low as to become a Jew among Jews, that you might be enabled to gather together all information for the benefit of your Order...

You have been taught to plant insidiously the seeds of jealousy and hatred between communities, provinces, states that were at peace, and to incite them to deeds of blood, involving them in war with each other, and to create revolutions and civil wars in countries that were independent and prosperous… to take sides with the combatants and to act secretly with your brother Jesuit, who might be engaged on the other side. You have been taught your duty as a spy, to gather all statistics, facts and information in your power from every source; to integrate yourself into the confidence of the family circle of protestants and heretics of every class and character, as well as that of the merchant, the banker, the lawyer, among the schools and universities, in parliaments and legislatures, and the judiciaries and councils of state, and to be all things to all men.

It seems to be a peculiar world that the Jesuits inhabit. On the one hand they fraternise with Freemasons, royalty, and presidents, and on the other, they take an oath that puts them at odds with just about everybody who is not Catholic.

It is into this world that Weishaupt was brought up.

By 1775, Weishaupt was professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, and it was this year he or somebody else chose for Weishaupt to form a plan of an association of which he would head. This association would "oppose the forces of superstition and lies" - which implies religion. The thoughts of many commentators are that Weishaupt so hated the Jesuits that he thoroughly intended to do away with them once and for all.

Others believe that Weishaupt was in fact trained by the Jesuits for the purpose of raising a worldwide army of spies who would constantly be feeding back information - information that the Jesuits could not get anymore through their confessions.

In fact, the Illuminati even set up their own confessions in line with those of the Jesuits:

"this means consisted mainly in the introduction of an obligation of unconditional obedience, reminiscent of Loyola's Constitutions; of a far-reaching mutual surveillance among the membership of the order; and a kind of auricular confession, which every inferior had to make to his superior."

All of this surveillance and confession were fed back to the Jesuits from the very people who were supposed to be against them.

How better to find out what was in the mind of the opposition than to be the opposition? This is a standard double ploy utilised for centuries by the secret services of all religions and states. After all, it is the very reason for the double 0's on James Bond's code name.

They even fed the anti-Semitic rhetoric, which suited the Catholic Church down to the ground.

Through associations with the Freemasons, the Jesuits managed to get information from and influence to the Freemasons of the globe. Just how much influence the Illuminati finally had (or have) is unknown - that is the idea of secrecy. But what can be seen is that following Weishaupt's amazing creation, out of the order of a much older institution, we suddenly have several worldwide revolutions and the balance of powers shifting like never before.

However, even though Weishaupt and his close friend Zwack were banished and never seen again, there can be nothing read into this. It could be that they were simply rewarded with a long holiday out of the way, or were, as some believe, sent to Saxe-Coburg and the Netherlands to start the whole thing again.

There are older links for the Illuminati though that stretch right back into the realm of Afghanistan. This link is with the Roshaniya or Illuminated/Enlightened Ones, and reference to them comes from the House of Wisdom in Cairo - a veritable fount of esoteric knowledge predating the Roshaniya by hundreds of years.

Again, initiation and ritual match up between the Roshaniya and others such as the Muslim Assassins, who influenced the Templars and hence Christianity, Freemasonry, and so on.

The earliest leader we know of is Bayezid Ansari, who claimed descent from the "helpers" of Mohammed. Who exactly these "helpers" were nobody knows; suffice to say their existence in helping Mohammed escape Mecca pinpoints them in space and time, if nothing else.

It is claimed that Bayezid was indoctrinated by the Ismailis - themselves close to the Assassins and having "hidden lodges" around the world. These Ismailis came about to protect a great secret of Islam after the Crusades, in much the same manner as the heretical Cathars protected some strange secret knowledge.

It seems that the Ismailis recruited well, as the Illuminated Ones grew fast. Bayezid taught a series of supernatural exercises that were believed to lead to enlightenment and the great secret - an obvious allusion to the fact that the great secret is enlightenment. To obtain this illuminative aspect of the secret, they had to undergo the usual meditation and fasting called the khilwat - silence.

Using merchants and soldiers, Bayezid eventually spread his message across the world by word of mouth, and those Gnostics and Mystics who heard the message already understood the secret of illumination. Eventually Bayezid, who was now known as Pir-I-Roshan (sage of illumination) founded a great city at Hashtnagar with the message of human fulfillment emanating from its center.

It was understood that utilization of the human mind, in the enlightened aspect, could bring about wonders.

Eventually Bayezid died and his sons as successors were not really up to the job. However, only 40 years after the last leader of the illuminate ones died, Weishaupt started his Illuminati.

As Arkon Daraul says in Secret Societies:

Coincidences of date and beliefs connect these Bavarian Illuminati with the Afghan ones, and also with the other cults which called themselves "illuminated." The beginning of the seventeenth century saw the foundation of the Illuminated Ones of Spain - the Alumbrados, condemned in an edict of the Grand Inquisition in 1623. In 1654 the "Illuminated" Guerinets came into public notice in France.

Documents still extant show several points of resemblance between the German and Central Asian Illuminists: points, which are hard to account for on the grounds of pure coincidence.

Which social order do I sign up for?
Author at military museum, Malta

The Roshaniya have some telling symbols and rituals.

The priests were identified with a secret sign in which they crossed over both hands flat on the forehead - the place of the third eye and illumination. The colors of the Roshaniya and the Ismailis were red and white - a color utilized by hundreds of those linked with the ancient enlightenment - especially the Knights Templar, who also had a red cross on their white clothes. The red and white are symbolically important for the enlightenment process, the movement of the sun and moon, and many other elements.

Red and white were also incredibly important in the Far East where we find more Illuminated Ones known popularly as the Triad.

So the Illuminati seem to have emerged from the Catholic Church as a cover name of a secret society supposedly set up to circumnavigate the Church's authorities.

There could be claims that due to the name Illuminati simply meaning "enlightened ones," it could be that their origin then lies in a great many places. One of these is the Brethren of the Free Spirit in 14th century Europe, but this group can easily be traced back to a pantheistic heretical movement that was quickly suppressed by the Church. And in fact this is the same in all cases.

Where alternatives to Weishaupt's Illuminati are found, they are soon quickly explained away. During its supposedly short life, it gained the membership of many well-known and influential people across Europe, and this is the exact point of the process. It was a method used for centuries, and still used to this day, to find out those who oppose you under the guise of real enlightenment or illumination.

The true history of the Bavarian Illuminati, like that of the Freemasons who erected the Church's buildings, is now so clouded in mystery that it is almost impossible to decipher.

In the past few decades so much madness has been written and subtle links glorified that the popular perception has the Illuminati still in existence today, ruling the world like some sci-fi elite. The fact remains though that the links we do have reveal that the Illuminati were a group created subtly by the Catholic Church to stave off dissent within Europe's privileged and influential.

Regardless of the evidence, however, the Church and even its opponents still maintain that the Illuminati were and even are opponents of the Church and even state, even though there is precious little evidence for this. In those places that the Illuminati have been powerful, the Church is to this day still a big force, and yet in those countries, such as England, that no longer have a powerful Catholic contingency, the Illuminati were not.

This is evidence in opposition to the normal belief.