alt.illuminati FAQ alt.illuminati Frequently Asked Questions compiled by Trevor W. McKeown version 2.01 Last modified: 5 May 2008 Archived: anti-masonry.info/alt.illuminati_FAQ.html The Illuminati has played a central role in what was once termed the plot theory of history but now is simply called conspiracy theory. The difficulty—if not impossibility—in documenting actual causality between incidents, trends, events, personages and groups has not prevented an exponential growth in theories, speculations, opinions and accusations. The alt.illuminati FAQ is intended to show what documented facts are available and provide an overview of the many theories. Version history: 1992/10/26 Peter Trei posted "Bavarian Illuminati" FAQ Ver 1.1 - three articles from "Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia," 1992/11/ Peter Trei posted "Bavarian Illuminati" FAQ Ver 1.1 - three articles from "Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia," - remarks on credibility of Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea - additional German references from Roald A. Zellweger [1992/10/27] 1993/04/16 alt.illuminati newsgroup created by Gregg Bloom - From: gbloom@flute.calpoly.edu Fri Apr 16 01:00:55 1993 "Reason for creation: The impending war. We shall be victorious!" 1994/01/ Peter Trei posted "Bavarian Illuminati" FAQ Ver 1.2 - no obvious changes. 1994/06/13 Trevor W. McKeown posted his own Illuminati FAQ 1994/09/08 Thomas Moll posted what he called the first attempt at an alt.illuminati FAQ - Question and answer format, focused on 'Illuminatus! Trilogy' 1995/04/19 Enchanter! posted "alt.illuminati FAQ v1.1" - excerpts from Milton William Cooper’s "Behold a Pale Horse"; - Peter Trei’s notes on Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea; - Trevor W. McKeown’s "FAQ: The Illuminati"; - Quotes from Larry Abraham, 'Call it Conspiracy'; - Review of 'En Route to Global Occupation,' by Gary H. Kah; - Three articles from "Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia," - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/4243/alt_illuminati_faq.txt 1996/02/18 Trevor W. McKeown, posted "A Bavarian Illuminati Primer" - freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/illuminati.html 2003/12/01 Frater E.K.O. posted "Bavarian Illuminati FAQ, Ver 1.2" - Peter Trei’s FAQ Ver 1.2, without Peter Trei’s remarks on the Illuminatus! Trilogy. 2004/03/19 alt.illuminati FAQ v. 2.0 - http://anti-masonry.info/alt.illuminati_FAQ.html Contents: I ALT.ILLUMINATI 1. What’s the history of this newsgroup? 2. Where’s the newsgroup charter? 3. Where did this FAQ come from? II ILLUMINATI 1. What was the Bavarian Illuminati? 2. What is the Illuminati? 3. What was the Alumbrados? III HISTORY 1. What is the link between the Illuminati and Freemasonry? 2. What are some reliable histories and literature about the Illuminati? 3. How does this tie in with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? IV SYMBOLS 1. What does the eye in the pyramid mean? 2. What does the pentagram mean? V PEOPLE 1. Who was Adam Weishaupt? 2. Who was Baron Adolph von Knigge? 3. Who was the Abbe Buerrel? 4. Who was John Robison? 5. Who was Thomas Jefferson? 6. Who was Benjamin Disraeli? 7. Who was Cecil Rhodes? 8. Who was Lady Queenburough? 9. Who was Nesta Webster? 10. Who are Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea? VI FICTION 1. What is the Illuminatus! Trilogy? 2. Fnord? 3. Was the Illuminatus! Trilogy made into a play? 4. Isn't there a card game? 5. Are there newsgroups devoted to the Illuminati games? 6. What movies mention the Illuminati? 7. Does the Illuminati get mentioned in popular fiction? VII CONTEMPORARY CLAIMANTS 1. Does the Illuminati still exist? VIII THEORIES 1. Who are the lizard people? 2. Did the Illuminati kill American President Abraham Lincoln? 3. Is the Illuminati intentionally causing widespread illness and disease? 4. Who put the face on Mars? 5. Who caused the French Revolution? 6. Who killed JFK? 7. Who caused the [enter conflict] war? 8. Are the illuminati satanists? 9. Is the communist menace a pawn of the Illuminati? 10. Does the Illuminati cause unemployment? 11. Is the Illuminati the New World Order? 12. Does the Illuminati cause pollution? 13. Are the Knights Templar the original Illuminati? 14. Does the Illuminati want to bring about the End Times? 15. Doesn't the Illuminati hide at the highest levels of Freemasonry? 16. Is the Skull and Bones fraternity an Illuminati front? 17. Is the CIA an Illuminati front? 18. Does the Illuminati control the Vatican? 19. Is the Illuminati behind HAARP, high altitute Chem Trails, international banking, mind control experiments and black helicopters? 20. If they don't exist, why do we keep hearing about the Illuminati? The alt.illuminati FAQ is maintained at anti-masonry.info/alt.illuminati_FAQ.html. If your favourite theory is not included in this list, it’s obviously a conspiracy. Fnord. Further information on Conspiracy Theory literature can be found at www9.pair.com/xpoez. I ALT.ILLUMINATI 1. What’s the history of this newsgroup? The Usenet newsgroup alt.illuminati was created without the usual posting of proposals into alt.config and other kindred newsgroups such as alt.discordia, alt.conspiracy, news.answers, or alt.answers. Neither uunet.uu.net archives nor ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/ contain any messages regarding proposals or charters establishing the newsgroup. Gregg S. Bloom claims that in mid April 1993 he simply sent a Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) post to the control newsgroup authorizing the global creation of alt.illuminati. He sent the first post into alt.illuminati through the server at California Polytechnic State University on Fri April 16 1993 [01:00:55]: "Reason for creation: The impending war. We shall be victorious!" [FNORD] He posted once again later that day as Dark Elf. In response to this FAQ, Colz Grigor, claiming to be Gregg S. Bloom, posted into alt.illuminati on 22 February 2003. Gregg S. Bloom posted again on 5 April 2008, confirming his role in creating the newsgroup as well as his several pseudonyms, and describing his first post as "a bit of Discordian nonsense". 2. Where’s the newsgroup charter? At this date, there isn't one. A review of early posts suggests the intent of the newsgroup was to discuss the Illuminatus! Trilogy in context of current events, with an emphasis on humour and irony. 3. Where did this FAQ come from? Peter Trei (ptrei@bistromath.mitre.org) first asked for suggestions for an Illuminati FAQ in alt.discordia, bit.listserv.fnord-l and alt.conspiracy on 1992-10-26 15:23:16 PST. The next day Roald A. Zellweger added several German citations. The "Bavarian Illuminati" FAQ Ver 1.2 was posted, as a work in progress, in November of the same year. Unaware of the work of Peter Trei, Trevor W. McKeown posted his own Illuminati FAQ on June 13, 1994; Thomas Moll posted what he called the first attempt at an alt.illuminati FAQ on September 8, 1994; and Enchanter! posted "alt.illuminati FAQ v1.1"-- an amalgam of the first two with additional quotes by Milton William Cooper and others -- on April, 19, 1995. Trevor W. McKeown rewrote his FAQ and posted it as "A Bavarian Illuminati Primer" on February 18, 1996, subsequently editing and adding to it several times. A copy of Peter Trei’s text was reposted by Frater E.K.O. with Peter’s name stripped out and redated, December, 2003. II ILLUMINATI 1. What was the Bavarian Illuminati? Adam Weishaupt (1748/06/02-1811) Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingolstadt, founded the Illuminati of Bavaria on 1 May, 1776 with a membership predominantly made up of his students. Originally called the Order of the Perfectibilists, "its professed object was, by the mutual assistance of its members, to attain the highest possible degree of morality and virtue, and to lay the foundation for the reformation of the world by the association of good men to oppose the progress of moral evil." The rituals were of a rationalist and not occult nature. Status as a freemason was not required for initiation into the order. Baron Adolphe-Francois-Frederic Knigge claimed a system of ten degrees incorporating the three degrees of symbolic Freemasonry. Where Weishaupt and Knigge promoted a freedom from church domination over philosophy and science, eighteenth century anti-masons, John Robison and the Abbe Barruel, saw a call for the destruction of the church. Where Weishaupt and Knigge wanted a release from the excesses of state oppression, Robison and Barruel saw the destruction of the state. Where Weishaupt and Knigge wanted to educate women and treat them as intellectual equals, Robison and Barruel saw the destruction of the natural and proper order of society. The Edicts by the Elector of Bavaria, Duke Karl Theodor on June 22, 1784, for the suppression of the Bavarian Illuminati, were repeated in March and August, 1785 and the order began to decline, so that by the end of the eighteenth century it had ceased to exist. See freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/illuminati.html for a Bavarian Illuminati Primer with extensive footnotes, citations, references and links. 2. What is the Illuminati? Just about anything you want it to be. Some communist commentators viewed the Illuminati as a capitalist plot. Capitalistic, free enterprise writers viewed them as socialists. Those on the Christian right view anyone not of their own specific faith to be satanic and probably Illuminati inspired; the Roman Catholic Church is definitely Illuminati. Although possibly the Illuminati are actually a front for the Jesuits. Many in the self-styled American milita movement view the US government as being Illuminati controlled. The United Nations must be Illuminati. Islamic fundamentalists view the Illuminati as behind the freemasons, the New World Order and Western culture...and they're Zionists. Others will contend that the illuminati are extraterrestrials. Currently the label Illuminati is applied indiscriminately to any wealthy, powerful individual or group who is perceived as a threat to the user of the term. The term "Illuminati" is also frequently used by antisemitics and anti-zionists as a code word for Jew. No information has come from any group seriously claiming to be the Illuminati although Charles L. Westbrook Jr., in The Talisman of the United States, Signature of the Invisible Brotherhood [Ayden, NC.] and Lyndon LaRouche claim to have uncovered hidden messages in the streetplan of Washington, DC, and one pseudoanonymous online poster claimed that the Illuminati hides messages in the wardrobe and social calendar of fashion model Heidi Klum. Fritz Springmeier (AKA Victor E. Schoff), in The Top 13 Illuminati Bloodlines [Portland : Springmeier, 1995]—reprising his self-published Be Wise As Serpents (1991)—and Dr. John Coleman, in Committee of 300, The Conspirators Hierarchy [Nevada : Joseph Holding Company, 1995] purport to tell you who the illuminati are. The factual history of the Bavarian Illuminati is dealt with above. A review of the main streams of conspiracy theory is given under Sec. VIII. 3. What was the Alumbrados? (Spanish for 'enlightened') A mystical movement first recorded by Menendez Pelavo about 1492 in Spain. They believed that the human soul could enter into direct communication with the Holy Spirit and, due to their extravagant claims of visions and revelations, had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition, the first on September 23, 1525. Although Ignatius of Loyola -- founder of the Jesuits in 1534, and composer of the "Constitutions" of the Society of Jesus -- was brought before an ecclesiastical commission in Alcala in 1527 to determine if his teachings were heretical, he was cleared of any suspicion that he was an alumbrado, He wrote nothing that would suggest he accepted their beliefs. The name translates as 'illuminati' but the name is the only similarity with the later Bavarian Illuminati. Guerinets: The alumbrados, under the name of illumines, arrived in France from Seville in 1623, and were joined in 1634 by Pierre Guerin, curé of Saint-Georges de Roye, whose followers in Picardy and Flanders, known as Guerinets, were suppressed in 1635 [Jean Hermant 1650-1725, Histoire des heresies, Rouen : 1727]. "Another and obscure body of Illumines came to light in the south of France in 1722, and appears to have lingered till 1794, having affinities with those known contemporaneously in this country as 'French Prophets,' an offshoot of the Camisards." [Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911 edition.] III HISTORY 1. What is the link between the Illuminati and Freemasonry? While many contemporary conspiracy theorists claim that the Illuminati is made up of "high-ranking" 33° freemasons, just as many other conspiracy theorists claim that this is an unprovable red herring that distracts from the very real and provable conspiracies. Freemasonry denies any connection other than a brief historical association with the Bavarian Illuminati. Many conspiracy theorists use the terms Freemasons, Illuminati, Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG) and New World Order almost interchangably. The masonic response to many of these accusations can be found in the Anti-masonry FAQ, available at anti-masonry.info/anti-masonry_faq.html. 2. What are some reliable histories and literature about the Illuminati? There are two easily definable catagories of books on the Illuminati and conspiracy theory. Those that stick to the facts, avoid opinions and provide clear documentation of their sources; and all the rest. This list will give you facts. Another list at the end of this FAQ will give you the opinions. Johannes Rogallavon Bieberstein, Die These von der Verschwrung, 1776-1945: Philosophen, Freimaurer, Juden, Liberale und Sozialisten als Verschwrergegen die Sozialordnung , Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1976. Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World-Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion . Chico, CA: Scholars, 1981 [1969]) Carl F. Graumann and Serge Moscovici, eds., Changing Conceptions of Conspiracy . New York: Springer, 1987. Richard Hofstadter, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics", Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays . New York: Knopf, 1966, pp. 3-40; George Johnson, Architects of Fear: Conspiracy Theories and Paranoia in American Politics . Los Angeles: Tarcher, 1983. John M. Roberts, The Mythology of the Secret Societies . London: Secker & Warburg, 1972. Vernon L. Stauffer, New England and the Bavarian Illuminati. Studies in History, Economics and Political Law , edited by the Faculty of Political science of Columbia University. Volume LXXXII, Number 1. Whole Number 191. Chapter III, pp. 142-228. New York: The Columbia University Press, Longmans, Green & Co., Agents. London: P. S. King & Son, Ltd., 1918. (Dean and Professor of New Testament and Church History, Hiram College) 374 pages. Chapter III is reprinted online at freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/stauffer.html 3. How does this tie in with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? An easily demonstrated hoax, the Protocols is often quoted and reprinted by those who wish to interpret its vague terms as forcasting one interpretation of current events. Antisemitic in tone, and in intent, it is used to link Zionism, or Jews, with the Illuminati. William Guy Carr (1895-1959) claimed they "are the Long rang Plan of the Illuminati which was explained by Amschel Rothschild to his associates in Frankfort in 1773." [Pawns In The Game. Los Angeles, St. George Press: 1958. p. 157.] In the USA, the Protocols was republished in Milton William Cooper’s Behold a Pale Horse . [1943/05/06 - 2001/11/06] Between August and November of 2002, the New Jersey based Arabic-language newspaper The Arab Voice published excerpts from the Protocols . In justification, editor and publisher, Walid Rabah, noted that "some major writers in the Arab nation accept the truth of the book." A detailed, referenced refutation of the Protocols is at: freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/protocols.html IV SYMBOLS 1. What does the eye in the pyramid mean? Symbols mean what the user wants them to mean. While Jungian psychologists will talk about archetypes and the terminally unimaginative will insist that only their understanding of a symbol can be the real one—cultural diversity and historical records contradict this belief. The eye in a triangle resting on an incomplete pyramid is a uniquely American invention. Of the four men involved in designing the USA seal in 1776, only Benjamin Franklin was a freemason, and he contributed nothing of a masonic nature to the committee’s proposed design for a seal. The committeemen were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, with Pierre Du Simitiere as artist and consultant. The single eye was a well-established artistic convention for an 'omniscient Ubiquitous Deity' in the medallic art of the Renaissance. In 1614 the frontispiece of The History of the World by Sir Walter Raleigh showed an eye in a cloud labeled "Providentia" overlooking a globe. Du Simitiere, who suggested using the symbol, collected art books and was familiar with the artistic and ornamental devices used in Renaissance art. The all-seeing eye of God is noted several times in the Christian Bible : Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." Psalm 33:18 "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy." Ezekiel 20:17 "Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness." The eye inside of an equilateral triangle, point up or down, has often appeared in Christian art. It is often placed high above the alter as in the Pfarrkirche at Grmunden am Traunsee (1626) and the Fisherman’s church at Traunkirchen, while it appears over the doorway of the church of the monastery of St. Florian near Linz. While the eye and pyramid icon is clearly not masonic nor derived from any real-world usage other than the American Great Seal, conspiracy theorists are quick to point out that it, or variations of a circle inside a triangle, often appear in corporate logos. In popular fiction a stylized eye and pyramid, or some version of a single eye, is a common visual shorthand for power, secrecy, conspiracy or control. The intent of the creators of films and television programmes, in utilizing these icons, can only be a matter of conjecture. It is quite probable that conspiracy theorists and the visual arts are simply feeding off each other. A number of conspiracy theorists, such as Jordan Maxwell, have claimed that the eye and pyramid symbol was printed in Bavarian Illuminati texts "until recently" on display in the British Museum. No citations or references are given, although mention is also sometimes made to UFOs and extra-terrestrials. The dust jacket illustration for the 1972 hardcover edition of None Dare Call it Conspiracy includes the eye and pyramid symbol from the USA Great Seal. Passing mention is made inside to the Illuminati, but no mention is made of the seal. See anti-masonry.info/anti-masonry02.html#eye_pyramid for footnotes and citations. 2. What does the pentagram mean? From the Greek, "pente", meaning five and "gramma", a letter; the pentagram is a five pointed figure formed by producing the sides of a pentagon both ways to their point of intersection, so as to form a five-pointed star. It has no specifically satanic origin or meaning and no connection to the Bavarian Illuminati. The pentagram (also called pentacle, pentalpha, pentacle, pentagle, or pentangle) is thought by some occultists to trace its esoteric significance to an astronomical observance of the pattern of Venus' conjunctions with the Sun and has had many meanings in many cultures through the ages. Éliphas Lévi claimed, with no justification or historical precedent, that one point upward represents the positive principle and one downward, the negative, or evil. This has become a common—if unfounded—belief. The pentalpha seems to have been widely used in Christianity, and may even be found in certain Gnostic sects. It is commonly known as the "Star of Bethlehem," the "Star of the East," or "Star of Solomon," and is a symbol of Divine guidance. From a symbol for health or healing, It was appropriated in the mediaeval period as a charm to ward off demons, evil spirits and witches, which seems to be the root source of its common association with modern wicca and satanism. See anti-masonry.info/pentagram.html for footnotes and citations. V. PEOPLE 1. Who was Adam Weishaupt? "Founder of the Illuminati of Bavaria, born at Inglstadt, 1748, died 1811. He was educated in law and attained the rank of Professor in 1772 at the University of Ingolstadt. He had been educated by the Jesuits but acquired a dislike for them, and in his professional life, he was soon in conflict with the whole clergy, partly because he held the chair of Canon Law, which had always been held by an ecclesiastic. In conferences with his students in whom he planted liberal ideas on religion and philosophy, and he soon con- ceived of a close association of enlightened or intellectual persons who might advance the moral and intellectual qualities of themselves as well as others. This idea materialized as the Illuminates or Illuminati, who at first had no connection with Freemasonry. In 1777, he was admitted to Lodge Theodore of Good Counsel (translated by some as Lodge Theodore of Caution) at Munich, and from that time, he sought to interrelate the affairs of his Illuminati with Freemasonry. "He soon formed an association with Baron von Knigge, an able and upright man from north Germany, and the two might have accomplished their objectives and some good had it not been for the opposition of the Jesuits (who were still powerful though banished from Bavaria) and the Roman Catholic clergy. More- over Weishaupt and Knigge could not agree upon some of the latters' ritual- istic interpretations. From the literature on the subject of Illuminism and from the caustic remarks of Masonic writers, we might suppose that this order or movement lasted a long time, but the whole drama opened with the organization of the Perfectionists in 1766 and, 18 years later in 1784, the Bavarian government banned all secret associations. The next year, Weishaupt was discharged from his position at the University and banished from the country. He fled to Gotha and found asylum with Duke Ernest of that little city, remaining there until his death in 1811. In Gotha, he published a number of works, those on Illuminism being: "A Picture of Illuminism," 1786; "A Complete History of the Persecutions of the Illuminati in Bavaria," 1785 (only the first of two planned volumes published); "An Apology for the Illuminati," 1786; "An Improved System of Illuminism," 1787, and others. "The most objective writers on the subject give Weishaupt credit for being of high moral character and a profound thinker, and it is worth noting that his associate, Knigge, spoke with great respect of his intellectual powers. It appears, however, that he was the victim of at least two powerful forces, first, the vindictive hate of the Church of Rome and the Bavarian government and, secondly, his own inadequate judgement of how to launch a revolutionary and more or less secret movement such as Illuminism. He was really employing methods of the Jesuits, for his whole order seems to have been composed of spies and counter spies, and only those most adept at scheming and trickery were advanced. The candidates all had pseudonyms, that of Weishaupt being Spartacus, and those who became too inquisitive about matters as to which their suspicions were aroused were turned out. If the purpose had been philosophic, ethical, or for the improvement of the mind or salvation of the soul, it need never to have been quite so secretive, and from the Masonic standpoint, Weishaupt was not justified in using the Fraternity as the vehicle for his scheme, good or bad, though he had ample precedents on all sides." [Henry Wilson Coil, Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia , 1961.] 2. Who was Baron Adolph von Knigge? "German freemason and, in part, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati. He was born near Hanover in 1752, and died at Bremen in 1796. He was initiated in a lodge of the Strict Observance at Cassel in 1772, but, for a time, seemed uninterested in the society, thogh later becoming one of the foremost German writers on the subject. He published "On the Jesuits, Freemasons, and Ros- icrucians," 1781, anon.; "Essay on Freemasonry," 1784; "Contribution Towards the Latest History of the Order of Freemasons," 1786; and "Philo’s Final Declaration," 1788. He also wrote many non-masonic works, one being "On Conversation with Men," towards the end of his career and after a sad experience with the Illuminati and disappointment with the Strict Observance, causing him therein to devote much space to secret societies and denunciation of Freemasonry. The most interesting and significant part of Knigge’s career was his participation with Weishaupt in the promotion of the Bavarian Illuminati, he being almost an equal party." [Henry Wilson Coil, Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia , 1961.] 3. Who was the Abbé Buerrel? Abbé Augustin Barruel (1741/10/02 - 1820/10/05), a member of the Jesuit Society, wrote Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire du Jacobinisme , The Abbé published the first two of his four volumes in 1797 and the last two in 1798. Only the third volume deals with the Illuminati and Freemasonry, most of his information was derived from freemason and Lutheran pastor, Jean Auguste Starcke, and a Viennese journalist, Léopold Aloys Hoffman. 4. Who was John Robison? John Robison (1739-1805) was a mathematician, scientific writer, and lecturer in the field of natural philosophy. He contributed to the third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and was elected first general secretary the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Author of Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe carried on in the Secret Meetings of the freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies, collected from Good Authorities . Due to the anti-Jacobin sentiments of the day it was received with some excitement but the Encyclopaedia Britannica says that this book, "betrays a degree of credulity extremely remarkable in a person used to calm reasoning and philosophical demonstration." Robison had been initiated into Freemasonry at Liege. Further information is available at http://anti-masonry.info/stauffer_notes.html#182 5. Who was Thomas Jefferson? Thomas Jefferson (1743/04/13-1826/07/04), United States President from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809, was not a freemason. On Jan. 31, 1800 he corresponded to his friend, Bishop James Madison, writing: "Barruel’s own parts of the book are perfectly the ravings of a Bedlamite" and "As Weishaupt lived under the tyranny of a despot and priests, he knew that caution was necessary even in spreading information, and the principles of pure morality. This has given an air of mystery to his views, was the foundation of his banishment.... If Weishaupt had written here, where no secrecy is necessary in our endeavors to render men wise and virtuous, he would not have thought of any secret machinery for that purpose." Jefferson’s endorsement of what he viewed as the Illuminati’s liberal and democratic agenda has led to him mistakenly being labelled an Illuminati. 6. Who was Benjamin Disraeli? Disraeli (1804 -1881) was a popular novelist before he was prime minister of England (1868, 1874-80). In Coningsby (1844), he created a secondary character named Sidonia who remarks in a conversation about the various undersecretaries, ministers and advisors to the European states: "The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes." In context, there is no suggestion that these personages are in league, secretly or otherwise, nor that they are in any way illuminated. In 1856 he warned the British House of Commons about secret societies in France, Italy and Germany [ Hansard, H. of C. debates, III series, cxliii, 773-1, 14 July 1856]. 7. Who was Cecil Rhodes? Cecil Rhodes (July 5, 1853 - March 26, 1902) was a British administrator, financier and philanthropist who left £6,000,000 to public service and endowed 170 Oxford scholarships. He wrote six wills over his lifetime. In the first, written at the age of 23--sometime after his doctor had warned him that he had but six months to live--he proposed to "form a secret society with but one object, the furtherance of the British Empire and the bringing of the whole uncivilised world under British rule, for the recovery of the United States, for the making the Anglo-Saxon race but one Empire." This was written on June 2, 1877. By the time he wrote his final will, his thinking had evolved to the establishment of a scholarship trust fund. The trustees for the Rhodes Scholarships in 1902, were Lord Alfred Milner (1854-1925), Lord Rosebery, Lord Grey, Alfred Beit, L. L. Michell, B. F. Hawksley, and Dr. Starr Jameson. The scholarships were to be given without regard to race or creed. Conspiracy theorists see this as the origin of the Round Table, which they claim became the Council On Foreign Relations, which in turn set up the Trilateral Commission. [ American Rhodes Scholarships , Frank Aydelotte; Call it Conspiracy , Larry Abraham. (Double A Publications: Seattle, Washington, 1985) p. 91.] 8. Who was Lady Queenburough? Edith Starr née Miller Paget, Baroness, (d. 1933) was the author of Occult Theocrasy in which she claimed that Continental Freemasonry and International Communism were Illuminati inspired creations of satanists dating back to creation. Further information is available at anti-masonry.info//miller_e/index.html 9. Who was Nesta Webster? Nesta Helen Webster née Bevan (1867-1960) was the author of Secret societies and subversive movements published in 1921 and reprinted in 1924, 1966, 1970, 1980 and 1989. Author of a series of articles for the British Fascists' The Fascist Bulletin from May 1926 to January 1927, she also contributed to The Patriot until the Second World War. Further information is available at anti-masonry.info/webster_n.html 10. Who are Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea? In the mid 1970s, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson restarted popular speculation with their fictional Illuminatus! Trilogy . This mixed actual history with conspiracy theory and pure invention, and very deliberately produced doubts in the reader’s mind as to the nature of reality--a technique which the authors referred to as "guerilla ontology," in pursuit of "Operation Mindfuck." They were apparently introduced to illuminism by some of the correspondance they received while working as letters column editors at Playboy magazine. At the core of Illuminatus! is an aeons-old conflict between the conspiracies representing the forces of order, bureaucracy, and repression, represented by the Illuminati, and the conspiracies representing the forces of chaos, spontaneity and freedom, representing by the Erisians (followers of Eris, the Greek goddess of discord). The plot involves every conspiracy you've ever heard of, many you haven't, monomaniacal midgets, golden submarines, giant squid, ancient Atlantis, zombie Nazi stormtroopers, and a good deal of sex. Wilson and Shea drew heavily on Akron Darual’s History of Secret Societies, the Principia Discordia of the Erisians, many kinds of fringe conspiracy theory, and their own imaginations. One of their conceits is that Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, secretly murdered George Washington and took his place. Illuminatus! became an underground bestseller, and while Shea seems to have been content to sit back and enjoy the royalties, Wilson has worked the interest it developed into a minor industry. He has brought out a steady stream of fiction and "non-fiction" concerning the Illuminati and related topics, noteably the Schrödinger’s Cat trilogy, "The Illuminati Papers," "Cosmic Trigger - The Final Secret of the Illuminati," and most recently the Historical Illuminatus Series, which is up to four books. [Peter Trei, 1994] VI FICTION 1. What is the Illuminatus! Trilogy? Written by Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - 1994/03/10) and Robert Anton Wilson (1932/01/18 - ), the Illuminatus! Trilogy consists of The Eye in the Pyramid (1975) (ISBN), The Golden Apple (October 1975) (ISBN), and Leviathan (November 1975, January 1976, November 1977, May 1979) (ISBN: 0440147425). Originally published by Dell in 1975 as three separate paperbacks, but since, long available in one large 800+ page volume (ISBN: 0440539811). A hardcover is also available from Fine Communicatins [sic?] (ISBN: 1567312373). It received a Hall of Fame Award from the Libertarian Futurist Society in 1986 as a work of "classic libertarian fiction." The story involves investigations of and initiations into various conspiratorial groups, sex, drugs, and a dangerous rock band. Peter Trei writes: "I've met Wilson, and my impression is that he lacks sincerity. I don't think he actually believes in the continuing existence of the Illuminati, but knows he’s stumbled onto a gold mine. He does seem serious about some of the psychological theories he promotes." Other works of interest are the History of Secret Societies by Akron Daraul and The Illuminoids (Sun Publishing, 1978) by Neil Wilgus (1937 - ). The first tries to link together a number of groups, claiming that the Illuminati, the freemasons, the Italian Carbonari, and the Spanish Alumbrados are all linked and can be traced back to the Hashashins of the ancient middle east. "The Illuminoids" is post-Illuminatus! and catalogs the conspiracy theories connected to it. Three issues of an Illuminatus! comic book covering the first book, with one trip per issue (the trilogy consisted of five books subdivided into ten trips, with fourteen appendices), were published by Rip Off Press between July of 1987 and March of 1991. Illuminatus! was also featured in the 1998 film 23: Nichts ist so wie es scheint, directed by Hans-Christian Schmid. Wilson had a brief cameo as himself. The official site for the film is www.movie.de/BVI/Archiv/23/index.html See also us.imdb.com/Title?0126765 Robert Anton Wilson’s official site: www.rawilson.com/illuminatus.html Layman’s Guide to Illuminatus!: longwood.cs.ucf.edu/ 2. Fnord? In the Illuminatus! Trilogy, the authors created a word which, in the context of the story, when placed in any medium would allow the creator to implant subliminal messages in the viewer’s mind while leaving the viewer unaware. The expression has become a password for fans of the book and is often used in an ironic or sarcastic context. 3. Was the Illuminatus! Trilogy made into a play? An eight and a half (to ten?) hour, five part (The Eye in the Pyramid, Swift-Kick Productions, The Man Who Murdered God, Walpurgisnacht Rock and Leviathan) stage version by Ken Campbell and Chris Langham’s Science Fiction Company of Liverpool opened at the Liverpool Theatre of Language, Mus, Dream and Pun on Harpomas, November 23, 1976. It was performed in London at the National Theatre in March, 1977 (it was also performed in Seattle in 1978, and possibly in Jerusalem as well...?). [See The Illuminoids, p. 24.] 4. Isn't there a card game? A convulated, confusing, and often quite humourous card game, Steve Jackson Games released Illuminati: New World Order (Limited and Unlimited, 413 cards) in 1995. There are eight different Starter Set box backs. There is also an Assassins set of 125 cards, and a Church of the Sub-Genius boxed set. Steve Jackson Games: Conferences and Newsgroups [list of relevant newsgroups for SJGames]: www.sjgames.com/general/conferences.html Official INWO Card List - April 18, 1995: www.sjgames.com/inwo/lists/il_html3.html Illuminati: www.sjgames.com/illuminati/ Generic Universal RolePlaying System (GURPS) Illuminati: www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Illuminati/ Illuminati: New World Order (INWO): www.sjgames.com/inwo/ 5. Are there newsgroups devoted to the Illuminati games? Yes, several newsgroups discuss the Illuminti game. - alt.games.illuminati - alt.games.illuminaty - rec.games.board - rec.games.trading-cards.misc - rec.games.frp - rec.games.frp.gurps 6. What movies mention the Illuminati? The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (2001) Christopher Walken plays Cagliostro, erroneously styled "the Grand Master of the Illuminati". Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Adrien Brody, Brian Cox, Joely Richardson, Christopher Walken. Directed by Charles Shyer, written by John Sweet. Drama R 117 min., USA, English. Technicolor. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) Laura Croft’s father writes in a note to her: The world will be in great danger, with a secret society known as the Illuminati, devious dangerous men who seek to fulfil an ancient prophesy...." 00:32:30. Laura Croft discovers the Illuminati headquarters in Venice. She says to Manfred: "You're with the Illuminati." Manfred Powell replies: "I beg your parden? There’s no such thing. It’s just a bed time story." 00:53:22. Directed by Simon West Writing credits (WGA) Sara B. Cooper (story) and Mike Werb (story) Action Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor, Daniel Craig. 100 min. USA, English . Color (DeLuxe) , Dolby Digital. Mention of Freemasonry in movies is more common, as are depictions of the all-seeing eye or the eye in a triangle. One list is at freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/cinema.html 7. Does the Illuminati get mentioned in popular fiction? Often. The Illuminatus! Trilogy has been dealt with elsewhere. Four other examples will suffice: The Crusader , Jack T. Chick. These Christian comic books attack Freemasonry, the Catholic church, communism and the new age movement. The author, Alberto Rivera, has been demonstrated to be a fraud but the books continue to be popular in evangelical and anti-catholic circles. The Crusader Series. Jack T. Chick. Chick Pubications, Chino, California: 1979. 17 vols. DC Comics. According to the Unofficial History of the DC Universe, [www.comicboards.com/dcguide/History/History_1_1900.htm] , in 11th century Persia, Vandal Savage’s secret organization, formed in ancient Atlantis, takes the name "the Illuminati". Rip Hunter’s cousin, Dan Hunter, time-travels to 1770 and inadvertently aids the Illuminati in killing George Washington and replacing him with Adam Weishaupt of Bavaria, a look-alike. Other than noting that in Flash No. 137, Vandal Savage is a Sumerian king in 2700 BCE, issue titles and dates are not cited.[www.blaklion.best.vwh.net/timeline2.html] Foucault’s Pendulum , Umberto Eco. Translated from the Italian by William Weaver. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, San Diego, New York, London:1988. ISBN: 0-15-132765-3 [Hardcover, 641 pages.] Angels & Demons, Dan Brown. New York : Simon & Schuster : Pocket Books, 2000. A work of fiction involving a secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati—a cult of early scientists who had vowed revenge against the Vatican for crimes against scientists like Galileo and Copernicus. VII CONTEMPORARY CLAIMANTS 1. Does the Illuminati still exist? Conspiracy Against God and Man (1974), by Clarence Kelly, quotes Nesta Webster to build an argument that the Illuminati survived and thrives to this day. Also inspired by Nesta Webster, and R. E. Search (Lincoln Money Martyred, 1935), William Guy Carr, (Pawns in the Game) has himself inspired Dan Smoot (The Invisible Government, 1962), Gary Allen, Phoebe Courtney, (Beware Metro and Regional Government, 1973), Osborne (The Great International Conspiracy) and Myron Coureval Fagan (1887/10/31-1972/05/12), The Illuminati and the Council on Foreign Relations (Three LP albums recorded in 1967-68). Hollywood, Calif : Cinema Educational Guild, 1967. All argue for the continuing influence of the Illuminati. Remembering that the Bavarian Illuminati’s professed goals were representative democracy, separation of church and state, and the emancipation of women—it could be said that in the westernized nations the Illuminati has won. That said, no one, of any creditablity, has claimed to represent the Illuminati recently although there are any number of claimants: World League of Illuminati: Allegedly the singer and journalist Theodor Reuss "re-activated" the Order of Illuminati in Munich in 1880. Leopold Engel founded his World League of Illuminati in Berlin in 1893. From these two sprung the Ordo Illuminatorum which was still active in Germany as late as the mid-1970s. Much research has been compiled by Peter-R. Koenig. Die Alte Erleuchtete Seer Bayerns: Alleged by Marc Lachance to have been founded in 1947 by employees of the Munich newspaper, Suddeutsche Zeitung, there are unsubstantiated claims to a longer lineage. With some 100 members claimed in Bavaria, Baden-Wurttenburg and Thuringia, they have disavowed ritual, and keep organised structure to a minimum. FNORD The Illuminati Order: Founded sometime prior to 1988, Solomon Tulbure [1969/10/18 - 2004/11/17] brought this group online in 2001. Currently it can be found online at illuminati-order.com. Orden Illuminati: Another addition to the list of claimants to the Illuminati tradition, this group was founded in Spain in 1995 by Gabriel Lopez de Rojasn and can be found online at www.ordeniluminati.com VIII THEORIES 1. Who are the lizard people? There are three theories about the lizard people: they are extraterrestrials; they are inner terrestrials living within the earth; or they are manipulating humanity from another dimension. Dr. Arthur David Horn is convinced that humanity was seeded by extraterrestrials. William Bramley, in Gods of Eden (Avon Books), believes they are living inside the earth, and have created a secret society called the Brotherhood of the Snake. Alex Christopher, in Pandora’s Box, Volumes I and II (Pandora’s Box, Alabama), claims to have seen reptilian "big-eyed Greys" and reports a deep underground reptilian-human base beneath the Denver Airport. William Cooper, in Behold a Pale Horse writes that the human race is controlled by extraterrestrials through religion. David Icke accepts all these theories and claims that reptilian shape-shifters he terms the Babylonian Brotherhood have interbred with humans since prehistoric times in a plan for world domination. [The Biggest Secret, The book that will change the world, Davide Icke. Scottsdale, Arizona : Bridge of Love Publications USA, 1999hc 517p ISBN: 0 9526147 6 6.] David Icke also announced on the Terry Wogan talk show on BBC1 in 1991 that he was the Son of God. [See Them, Adventures with Extremists, Jon Robinson. p. 152.] 2. Did the Illuminati kill American President Abraham Lincoln? Charles Chiniquy claimed that the Jesuits killed Lincoln [Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, Charles Chiniquy. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1968, first published 1886]. Eric Jon Phelps claimed that Jesuits directed the Illuminati to kill Lincoln. [Vatican Assassins : "Wounded in the House of My Friends . Halycon Unified Services, 2001.] 3. Is the Illuminati intentionally causing widespread illness and disease? Opinions are divided as to who is responsible: the Illuminati, the Jesuits, the Zionist Masonic Conspiracy, take your pick. The purpose of the American Medical Association and Federal Drug Administration is to make people chronically ill through mass vaccinations and immunizations. [Second Opinion , Dr. William Campbell Douglas. Atlanta : Second Opinion Publishing, 1999. vol. ix, no. 5. pp. 4-5. Outbreaks of AIDS coincide with experimental hepatitis B vaccines. [Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola , Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz. Rockport, Mass. : Tetrahedron Publishing Group, 1997. p. 501] The knowledge of the true causes of chronic disease and non-drug remedies has been suppressed. [Diabetes Mellitus: The Secret of Prevention and Reversal . William H. Philpott. Holmen. Wisc. : LGS Trust, 1998. pp. 16-18, 19.] "...modern medicine’s treatments for disease ... are more dangerous than the diseases..." [Confessions of a Medical Heretic , Dr. Robert Mendelsohn. New York : Warner Books, 1979.] 4. Who put the face on Mars? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick say that the Illuminati did. The Illuminati hasn't said. Brian Desborough is convinced that white Martians built the pyramids on Mars and then later conquered Earth. Richard C. Hoagland has written much on the face on Mars and an area called Cydonia [Monuments On Mars California: North Atlantic Books, 1996]. 5. Who caused the French Revolution? Abbé Barruel and John Robison claim the Illuminati caused the revolution. Lyndon LaRouche blames British Freemasonry. "The Synarchist tradition is traced to the British freemasonry around the British East India Company’s Lord Shelburne. Shelburne launched the continuing operations against American independence and France during the period 1763-1789, and was behind not only the July 14, 1789 storming of the Bastille, but also the Jacobin Terror and the launching of Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to imperial power. Shelburne’s tools thus included his Adam Smith, and French figures, such as Cagliostro, Mesmer, and Joseph de Maistre, who were assembled around an Anglo-French freemasonic cult known then as the Martinists. The Bavarian Illuminati were among the pipelines leading into the synthesis of the Martinists as a force involved in the 1789-1815 developments in France. Napoleon Bonaparte’s career was crafted around the influence on him of Joseph de Maistre." [Lyndon LaRouche on Freemasonry, alt.conspiracy. 30 Jan 2004 11:31:26 -0500] Barruel, Abbe [Augustin] (1741/10/02 - 1820/10/05). Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism . Written in French, and translated into English by the Hon. Robert Clifford, F.R.S. & A. S. "Princes and Nations shall disappear from the face of the Earth ... and this revolution shall be the work of secret societies." Weishaupt’s Discourse for the Mysteries. Part I. The Antichristian Conspiracy. Second Edition, revised and corrected. London: Printed for the Translator, by T. Burton, No. 11, Gate-fleet, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields. Sold by E. Booker, No. 56, New Bond-Street, 1798 [Entered at Stationers Hall.]. Robison, John M. (1739-1805). Proofs of a Conspiracy Against all the Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Free Masons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies. Collected from good authorities , John M. Robison. A.M. Professor of Natural Philosophy, and Secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. "Nam tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet. Edinburgh: Printed for William Creech; -- and T. Cadell, Junior, and W. Davies, London. 1797. Entered in Stationers Hall. 496 pp plus 35 pp postscript to the second edition. Taxil, Leo, [Marie-Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pages] (1854/03/21 - 1907). Revelations completes sur la Franc-maconnerie ... Le Culte du Grand Architecte. Paris, 1886. 412 pp. ; 8o. Illuminati founder Adam Weishaupt denied the accusation. Neither Barruel nor Robison provided citations. 6. Who killed American president John F. Kennedy? The freemasons, the Illuminati, the Mafia, The CIA, Castro, the Jesuits; take your pick. James Shelby Downard (born c. 1909) believed "the assassination of JFK was a performance of the occult ritual called The Killing of the King", a masonic ritual. ["King Kill 33 degrees." in Parfrey, Adam, ed. Apocalypse Culture. New York: Amok Press, 1987.] Alberto Rivera, and his promoter Jack T. Chick, claim that the Jesuits and the freemasons killed Kennedy. David Scheim’s book Contract On America provides the evidence showing how Mafia chiefs like Marcello worked together with the CIA to murder JFK. W.R. Morris' booklet The Man Behind the Guns (1975) accused retired US General Edwin Walker and American congressman John Rousselot, two John Birch extremists, of organizing the Kennedy assassination. "Based on the committee’s entire investigation, it concluded that the Secret Service, FBI and CIA were not involved in the assassination. The committee concluded that it is probable that the President was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. Nothing in the committee’s investigation pointed to official involvement in that conspiracy. While the committee frankly acknowledged that its investigation was not able to identify the members of the conspiracy besides Oswald, or the extent of the conspiracy, the committee believed that it did not include the Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, or Central Intelligence Agency." [Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1979. www.archives.gov/research_room/jfk] 7. Who caused the [choose conflict] war? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson, Jack T. Chick and many others say that the Illuminati causes most wars. The Illuminati hasn't said. 8. Are the illuminati satanists? Without a doubt. Jack T. Chick, Edith Starr Miller, Nesta Webster and William G. Carr have written extensively on the subject. Lady Queenborough, Edith Starr née Miller Paget, Baroness (d. 1933), Occult Theocrasy . published posthumously. Abbeville, France: [Imprimerie F. Paillart,], 1933. 2 vol. : front. (ports.) illus., facsims. (1 fold.) ; 23 cm. Nesta Helen Webster née Bevan (1867-1960), Secret societies and subversive movements .1921, reprinted 1924, Christian Book Club of America: 1964 ISBN: 0 913022 05 5, 1966, 1970, 1980 and 1989. William Guy Carr (1895/06/02 - 1959/10/02), Pawns in the Game . (4th Edition, April, 1962), Los Angeles, California: St. George Press, 1962. pb 193 pp. "...a comparatively small group of men whose sole objective is to enslave the whole world of humanity in their satanic plot of one-world government." Myron Coureval Fagan (1887/10/31-1972/05/12), The Illuminati and the Council on Foreign Relations (Three LP albums recorded in 1967-68). Hollywood, Calif : Cinema Educational Guild, 1967. 9. Is the communist menace a pawn of the Illuminati? Definitely. Although the details are contested, the basic claim is often made. Whether the Illuminati controls Freemasonry, Communism controls the Illuminati, the Jesuits control communism through the Shriner Freemasons, or any variation on this theme, it is clearly a conspiracy. [Carr, William Guy (1895/06/02 - 1959/10/02). Pawns in the Game . (4th Edition, April, 1962), Los Angeles, California: St. George Press, 1962. pb 193 pp.] "...The role of the Soviet Union in the development of a new world order involves the birth of communism. Karl Marx was hired by the League of Just Men, a branch organization of the Illuminati, to write the Communist Manifesto and to penetrate and subvert the labor movement in France. In the early days of the revolution, "the revolutionaries called themselves Spartacusts (after Adam Weishaupt’s Illuminati pseudonym) before becoming known as Bolsheviks and later as Communists." There were other Illuminati who infiltrated the labor movement. On the labor movement’s committee charged with the responsibility of making the movement international in scope were a personal secretary to one of the two highest-ranking officials of the Illuminati, a French Freemason, and the secretary of the English Masons' Union." [anonymous contribution to the e-zine, Conspiracy Nation: an analysis of 'En Route to Global Occupation,' by Gary H. Kah (Lafayette, Louisiana, Huntington House Publishers, 1992).] "...the Illuminati was organizing to unite the Nihilist and Atheist groups with all other subversive groups into an international group to be known as Communists." [Myron C. Fagan (1887/10/31-1972/05/12), The Illuminati and the Council on Foreign Relations (Three LP albums recorded in 1967-68). Hollywood, Calif : Cinema Educational Guild, 1967.] Rakovsky, a colleague of Leon Trotsky arrested for plotting against Stalin, claimed in 1938 that the "true meaning of Communism is Illuminati tyranny" but that the freemasons would have to be liquidated. [Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich, Clackamas, Or.: Emissary Pub., 1976. p. 254] 10. Does the Illuminati cause unemployment? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick among others, say that they do. The Illuminati hasn't said. 11. Is the Illuminati the New World Order? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick among others, say that they are. The Illuminati hasn't said. Texe Marrs writes: "What do Communism, the Illuminati, and the Islamic terrorists who committed the recent heinous crimes against America have in common? Plenty!" "The World Marxist/Communist Movement was spawned from Illuminati conspiracies. When Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and their henchmen seized control of Russia and its republics and set up the Communist-led U.S.S.R., they were simply following The Plan of Adam Weishaupt’s Order of The Illuminati and Albert Pike’s Palladium of International Freemasonry. 12. Does the Illuminati cause pollution? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick among others, say that they do. The Illuminati hasn't said. Brian Desborough’s They Cast No Shadows: A collection of essays on the Illuminati, revisionist history and suppressed technologies [2002; Writers Club Press/ iUniverse.com] will tell you more. 13. Are the Knights Templar the original Illuminati? "The Knights Templars, as it turned out, had been masters of deception, expert in duplicity, appearing to serve Christ on the surface while worshipping Lucifer within their inner rites." Morals and Dogma confirmed that they "had two doctrines, one concealed and reserved for the Masters...the other public." The Pope abolished the order. It then went underground, trusting its dangerous secrets only to those who had passed successfully through a series of degrees. Hundreds of years later, they surfaced again, this time as a benevolent organization of good works, taking over the stone mason guilds of Europe, since the original Knights Templars had viewed themselves as grand builders and had with their riches built many castles and estates. The stone mason guilds were eager to make the union because they were at that time in danger of going under due to their shrinking numbers. The transition was successful with the public viewing it favorably as an organization of simple good works." [anonymous contribution to the e-zine, Conspiracy Nation: an analysis of 'En Route to Global Occupation,' by Gary H. Kah (Lafayette, Louisiana, Huntington House Publishers, 1992).] 14. Does the Illuminati want to bring about the End Times? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick among others, say that they are either agents for or harbingers of the end times. The Illuminati hasn't said. 15. Doesn't the Illuminati hide at the highest levels of Freemasonry? Texe Marrs, Pat Robertson and Jack T. Chick among others, say that they do. The Illuminati hasn't said. Freemasons deny the charge, but they would, wouldn't they? Certainly Milton William Cooper believed this. In his Behold a Pale Horse (Light Technology Publishing: Sedona, AZ, 1991) pp. 74-77 ], he writes: "Researchers agree that [Adam Weishaupt] was financed by the House of Rothschild. Weishaupt advocated "abolition of all ordered national governments, abolition of inheritance, abolition of private property, abolition of patriotism, abolition of the individual home and family life as the cell from which all civilizations have stemmed, and abolition of all religions established and existing so that the Luciferian ideology of totalitarianism may be imposed on mankind. "In the same year that he founded the Illuminati he published 'Wealth of Nations,' the book that provided the ideological foundation for capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. It is no accident that the Declaration of Independence was written in the same year. On the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States the wise will recognize the all-seeing eye and other signs of the Brotherhood of the Snake." "...Most members of the Freemasons are not aware that the Illuminati practices what is known as ’secrets within secrets,' or organizations within organizations. That is one purpose of initiation. ... Only those at the top who have passed every test truly know what the Masons are hiding, thus rendering it impossible for anyone outside to know much at all about the group. The Freemasons, like everyone else, are responsible for the cleanliness of their home. The occupant of a secret house within a secret house within a secret house cannot clean if he cannot see the number of rooms or what they contain. Their house is a stinking cesspool. Look to the Masons for the guilty party if anything happens to me." Cooper was killed while resisting arrest on November 6, 2001. See anti-masonry.info/cooper_m.html for a short biography. "Karl Marx was hired by a mysterious group who called themselves the League of Just Men to write the 'Communist Manifesto' as demagogic boob-bait to appeal to the mob. In actual fact the 'Communist Manifesto' was in circulation for many years before Marx’s name was widely enough recognized to establish his authorship for this revolutionary handbook. All Karl Marx really did was to update and codify the very same revolutionary plans set down seventy years earlier by Adam Weishaupt, the founder of the Order of the Illuminati in Bavaria. And it is widely acknowledged by serious scholars of this subject that the League of Just Men was simply an extension of the Illuminati which was forced to go deep underground after it was exposed in 1786 by a raid conducted by the Bavarian authorities." [Call it Conspiracy , Larry Abraham. (Double A Publications: Seattle, Washington, 1985) p. 41.] 16. Is the Skull and Bones fraternity at Yale University an Illuminati front? Antony Sutton (1925-2002/06/17) said so. Neither Skull and Bones nor the Illuminati have said. [America’s Secret Establishment, An Introduction to the Order of Skull and Bones, Antony C. Sutton. Billings, Montana: Liberty Press, 1986.] See anti-masonry.info/anti-masonry01.html#skull for further information. 17. Is the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) an Illuminati front? From Operation Sunrise, through Operation Blowback and Operation Paperclip, to the present Project Monarch [see Fritz Springmeier and Mark Phillips], claims are made that the CIA has been furthering the Illuminati agenda, possibly the Jesuit agenda, maybe a communist agenda, and quite probably the Shriner Freemasons are either behind it all or simply foot soldiers. No one is talking. [Fritz Springmeier and Cisco Wheeler, The Illuminati Formula Used to create an undetectable total mind controlled slave . Clackamas, Oregon : Springmeier, 1996] 18. Does the Illuminati control the Vatican? Pierre Fautrad a Fye claimed, in Bulletin de l'Occident Chrétien Nr.12, July, 1976, that some 120 high ranking and powerful Vatican priest, bishops and cardinals were also freemasons and were plotting to undermine the Roman Catholic church. According to Eric Jon Phelps, it’s the other way around and the whole conspiracy is controlled by the Jesuits. [Vatican Assassins, 2001] 19. Is the Illuminati behind HAARP, high altitute chemtrails, international banking, mind control experiments and black helicopters? The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) near Galcona, Alaska—a thirty acre array of 180 antennas—claims to be developing methods of using the upper layers of the ionosphere to facilitate nuclear submarines with some experiments looking into changing the ion density and reaction rates of pollutants in the upper atmosphere. Chemtrail sightings are claimed to have first appeared in 1997 over central Virginia. The United States Air Force denies that they are anything more than contrails—hot engine exhaust momentarily condensing ice crystals into pencil-thin vapour trails; skeptics claim that the colours can be explained by simple refraction and the increase in sightings to the increase in air travel; the Niels Bohr Institute does not acknowledge the term "chemtrail". Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director Lawrence H. Dubois denies their involvement. Theories as to their source and purpose range from anti-bacteriological warfare chemicals, weather manipulation, control of global warming, or a programme to spread sickness and reduce the world’s population. Nobody appears to control international bankers, although James Patrick’s chart "Rise and Power of the International Bankers", in the 2 June 1975 issue of the weekly Ozark Sunbeam attempted to account for all of them. J. Jaynes' book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown Of the Bicameral Mind, [Boulder City Nevada : I&O Publishing] explains how for thousands of years, the masses have been hypnotized into not thinking for themselves by Illuminati-like leaders who use mysticism, religion, music and propaganda to accomplish this. Jim Keith, author of Black Helicopters Over America, Illuminet Press can tell you about the helicopters. The Illuminati has not joined the discussion. 20. If they don't exist, why do we keep hearing about the Illuminati? Film makers, authors, talk-show hosts, entertainers: they all cater to their market. Whether its rapper Wide World accusing other rappers of belonging to a homosexual secret society called "The Masons" that’s plotting to destroy rap or it’s Mel Gibson claiming George Bush is a 33° freemason, it’s all designed to promote sales. Or it’s a disinformation programme to distract the public while the Illuminati takes over. Take your pick. Do some real research. Make up your own mind. Fnord.