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| + | Martin Arrowsmith has no life, and sits at recent changes pressing F5 all day long! |
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| − | The '''Illuminati''' was a small [[freethought|freethinker]] society founded in 1776 in Bavaria. They ceased to exist by 1789.
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| − | ==The legend==
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| − | The spread of the Illuminati legend and continued belief in them today can be traced back to the book ''Proofs of a Conspiracy'' by John Robinson, a 1798 anti-[[Freemason]]ry book (the Freemasons and Illuminati are often regarded as one and the same by conspiracy theorists). ''Proofs of a Conspiracy'' has become a source of inspiration to many [[conspiracy theories|conspiracy theorists]] since its initial publication and has been reprinted by, among others, the [[John Birch Society]]. Many modern variations of the Illuminati conspiracy have them being a controlling influence in the [[New World Order]].
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| − | ==Keeping the fire alive==
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| − | The alleged continued existence of the "Illuminati" looms large in many [[conspiracy theories]], tall tales by evangelical [[Satanic Panic]]-fakers like [[Mike Warnke]] and [[John Todd]], crank [[anti-Semitic]] and anti-Masonic writings, [[pseudolaw]] theories, etc. Depending on which version of the "Illuminati" story one believes, they are either a Satanic, Masonic, Zionist, [[atheism|atheist]], [[David Icke|reptilian]],<ref>http://www.davidicke.com/index.php/</ref> or secular financial conspiracy. Despite the many different versions of the conspiracy, each version claims to have evidence that they are correct. They secretly control [[earth|world]] events and their symbol, the all-seeing eye, is on the back of the U.S. $1 bill. This belief, in whatever version, is patently ridiculous but it persists. When the Founding Fathers designed the Great Seal, the all-seeing eye was proposed by members of design committees who were ''not'' Freemasons/Illuminati. It was also not named the "all-seeing eye," as the cranks believe, but rather the "eye of providence."<ref>http://www.msana.com/eyeinpyramid.asp</ref><ref>http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/eye.html</ref>
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| − | Several 20th century conspiracy theory books such as those by William Guy Carr and Des Griffin combined John Robinson's allegations about the Illuminati and [[Freemasonry]] with those of the hoax book, ''[[The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion]]'', to come up with an explicitly anti-Semitic version of the Illuminati theory. [[Jack Chick]] and [[Alberto Rivera]] on the other hand promoted an anti-[[Catholic]] variant of the theory, alleging the Illuminati was a creation of the Vatican.
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| − | ==The liars get on board==
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| − | Mike Warnke and John Todd, mentioned above, are two fake "ex-[[Satanist]]" [[Christian]] evangelists. They have both described the Illuminati as the highest level of Satanism. Warnke claimed he learned of the Illuminati when attending a high-level conference of Satanists and Witches, shortly before he dropped out of Satanism to join the navy and convert to Christianity. Todd claimed to have been a member of the Illuminati himself, which he said was a high council of druids secretly working to destroy Christianity and make witchcraft the official religion of the United States. Belief in the Illuminati as a Satanic conspiracy continues to be held by many evangelical Christians, despite both Warnke and Todd being exposed as frauds.
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| − | To the true believer, exposing them as frauds only goes to show how far the Illuminati are willing to go to malign opponents.
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| − | ==Horizontal transfer of memetic material==
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| − | More modern conspiracy theories about the [[New World Order]] often keep the essential structure and nature of the Illuminati theory but shy away from direct mention of the Illuminati in favor of other groups, such as the [[Trilateral Commission]]. Also see our article on [[meme]]s.
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| − | ==Illuminati in culture==
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| − | On another level, the Illuminati plays a role in books like Robert Anton Wilson's ''Illuminatus'' trilogy, Dan Brown's ''The Da Vinci Code'' and ''Angels & Demons'', and the joke religion of [[Discordianism]].
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| − | It is also a kick-ass card game put out by Steve Jackson Games.
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| − | ==Easter Eggs in the Media==
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| − | They also have a tendency to put hidden symbols and clues to their existence around the world, and on money, for no apparent reasons.<ref> Well, no reasons that actually make ''sense,'' anyway. Cranks claim that the symbols are put there to somehow brainwash people into accepting the coming Illuminati reign.</ref>
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| − | Nearly every popular culture icon, including television shows, politicians and music artists, are said to be somehow connected to the Illuminati in some way. Probably the best example of this would be Tupac/Machiavelli, who's last album was entitled "The Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory." Coincidentally, the Tupac was killed seven days later.<ref> This fact, and the album's title, have led to the claim that Tupac chose the title as a way of saying that he would die in seven days. However, Tupac actually chose the title to reference that the album was made in a relatively short period of seven days.</ref> One of the claims made by conspiracy theorists is that the chorus to "Hail Mary" was written to tell how the Illuminati had tried to recruit Tupac; in their response to his refusal, they killed him.
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| − | An equally good example would be rapper Jay Z. He is supposedly very high in the Illuminati's hierarchy of celebrities. The hand gesture that he flashes has been cited as "proof" (in a very, ''very'' loose sense of the word). Jay Z's clothing line, Rocawear, is also supposedly named after the Rockefeller family.
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| − | It can be very difficult to find anyone who isn't actually connected with the Illuminati. All of the claimed affiliations involve an occult symbol in a music video or photo (usually the "all-seeing eye," the Star of David, or a Pentagram).
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| − | Michael Jackson is a very interesting case. One faction of the conspiracy community considers him a member of the Illuminati, employed to brainwash the public. Another faction, however, says that Michael was not a member, but actually was fighting to expose their control of the music industry and media. Michael was supposedly killed for this very reason (similar to the "Hail Mary" claim above).
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| − | Spelling illuminati in reverse and entering it as a URL (aka www.itanimulli.com) leads to the NSA website.
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| − | ==Footnotes==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3257 Sinfest: Join the Illuminati!]
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| − | [[Category:Bullshit]]
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| − | [[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
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Martin Arrowsmith has no life, and sits at recent changes pressing F5 all day long!