Top 5 Illuminati Facts CONFIRMED

America was founded by the Illuminati? Well, no, but the Illuminati was established on May 1st, 1776, two months before Ben Franklin and co signed the Declaration of Independence. A German philosopher named Adam Weishaupt founded the “Order of the Illuminati”, to advance such radical Enlightenment-era ideas like liberty, constitutional democracy and the separation of church and state. Responding to the political situation that existed in the German state of Bavaria at the time, the order’s stated purpose was to put an end to injustice and abuses of power by influencing the people with power. But did they have anything to do with the founding of the USA? Well, ideas, and indeed people, travelled a lot slower in the 18th century, so it’s highly unlikely that the founding fathers were members of this particular secret society.

The original “Order of the Illuminati” existed for less than a decade. In 1784, the organization had 650 members, but the secret society wasn’t exactly “secret,” as members were known to jibber-jabber all over Munich. They should have made the first rule not to talk about the illuminati. Feeling threatened, the Duke of Bavaria threw down the hammer and officially banned the Illuminati specifically. So, this secret society which had once boasted of its power, ceased to exist. Before the end of the century, however, people were writing books alleging that the Illuminati persisted in actual secrecy and had orchestrated the French Revolution.

For an organization that dispersed in a time when Beethoven was still a teenager, they’ve apparently been pretty active ever since. As we said, the Illuminati sparked the French Revolution. And just a few years later, the Illuminati assassinated JFK… Even though the Kennedys are supposedly one of the thirteen bloodlines descended from the Bavarian Illuminati. Anyhow, it’s a fact that people have passionate thoughts about the Illuminati. And it’s become commonplace to accuse celebrities of being secret members of the Illuminati as well. We’re looking at you, Beyoncé. And we got our eye on you too, Jay-Z. And we also have our eye on any celebrity that doesn’t act how we want them to, right? Let’s be fair, though, even if they do often mix up the illuminati with Freemasons, you really can’t knock the hustle of Illuminati conspiracy theorists.

For the sake of enlightenment, can we all acknowledge that freemasons are not the illuminati? The freemasons date back to the 14th century and masonic lodges are very much a real thing. In fact, Brother Spartacus, as Weishaupt called himself, originally wanted to join a masonic lodge, but couldn’t scrounge up the dough for membership. Later on, the Illuminati were actively recruiting members from the Freemason ranks. The identity confusion emerges through endless conspiracy theories, as some have identified the Illuminati as a subgroup of the freemasons, or connected them to the formation of freemasonry. It’s just a matter of which conspiracy theory you believe in the most. But the freemasons and illuminati do, in fact, have vastly different origin stories.

This freaky, floating eye is famously found on the American one dollar bill, and often thought of as a right-under-your-nose proof that the Illuminati run the country. But in terms of historical facts, the original Illuminati symbol wasn’t the infamous eye, but the Owl of Minerva, which symbolizes knowledge. The Bavarian Illuminati’s association with the “all-seeing eye” is something that’s been perpetuated by pop culture. It’s a myth. A farce. A conspiracy. What you see on the one-dollar bill is the Eye of Providence, a Christian symbol of the holy trinity. But hey, let’s throw the conspiracy theorists a bone. The eye is part of masonic iconography, and it’s a documented fact that many of America’s founding fathers were card-carrying freemasons. You’re welcome.


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