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No book exploring the myriad myths and tales of secret societies can leave out the unbelievably popular Knights Templar. There are links between this medieval order of warrior monks and Muslims, Masons, and even heretics, so we need to get a grasp of their darker side.
Whether stars of the Disney film National Treasure or pawns of modern-day political and commercial propaganda, the Knights Templar have taken root as one of the world’s leading mystery groups. But what is the truth? Did they really have a great secret? Did they really hide treasure? Were they really guardians of the Holy Bloodline? Let’s take a look.
Supposedly a group of nine knights were taken from the ruling nobility in the region of France known as Champagne, collected themselves together in Jerusalem around 1118 A.D., and formed the now infamous Knights Templar. All of this cannot be totally proven from the texts - however, it is repeated so often that it becomes true.
In all likelihood, they had been formed in France years before, placing their creation further back in time than even ever imagined.
They were pledged, it is said, to commit their lives and work to a strict code of rules and were simply ordained to ensure the safe passage of pilgrims to the Holy Land. The knights request this task of the first King Baldwin of Jerusalem, who refuses. He then dies under mysterious circumstances, to be replaced by Baldwin II, who almost immediately grants them this privilege. This is the same Baldwin who went on to deal directly with the Assassins.
For the next nine years the knights excavate beneath the Temple of Solomon in complete secrecy, and the Grand Master returns to Europe, supposedly with secrets that have been hidden for hundreds of years. Very quickly, the knights achieve a special dispensation from the pope to allow them to charge interest on loans - indicating their swift path to wealth.
Soon the great cathedral-building period arrives across Europe with the newfound architectural “secrets” discovered by the crusaders.
This newfound knowledge may very well have come from some of the discoveries made by the Templars, especially when we consider that the man responsible for energizing the building program was none other than St. Bernard. Bernard gave the Order of the Knights Templar their rules and was related, by blood, to various members.
He was also indicated in the propaganda of the Arthurian and Grail literature we have already learned so much about.
The Templars grew in wealth and power. Their land-holding and banking system made them one of the most powerful and feared groups in Europe. Virtually nobody could match their international strength. According to George F. Tull in Traces of the Templars, they were also “well placed to obtain relics,” as they held the respect of nobility and had many strategically placed premises across the Holy Land.
Near Loughton-on-Sea in England there are several Templar connected sites. The temple here, Tull continues, was “well provided with liturgical books, plate and vessels of silver, silver gilt, ivory and crystal, vestments, frontals and altar cloths. Among the relics kept there were two crosses containing fragments of the True Cross and a relic of the Holy Blood,”.
Tull also tells us of how some of these relics entered Britain:
Sometimes the ships returned with more specialized cargo, as when in 1247 Br. William de Sonnac, Master of the temple in Jerusalem, sent a distinguished Knight Templar to bring to England and present to King Henry III ‘a portion of the Blood of our Lord, which He shed on the Cross for the salvation of the world, enclosed in a handsome crystalline vessel.’ The relic was authenticated under seal by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the bishops, abbots and nobles of the Holy Land.
In Surrey, the Templars held land known then as Temple Elfold with 192 acres of arable land.
Here again, in 1308 there was mention of a grail and a chalice. It is obvious that part of the wealth of the Templars came from the propaganda tools of the medieval reliquary business, proving their business acumen and their ability to root out those tools. They were also instrumental in spreading the cult of St. George, especially when we consider that they knew of his shrine in Lydda.
But in the early 14th century, King Philip of France organized their downfall, and the supposed secrets and wealth of the Templars disappear.
At their trials, the Templars were not only accused of worshipping the sacred head, but also the veneration of the serpent. As Andrew Sinclair points out in The Secret Scroll, another Templar emblem was the foliated staff of Moses, the very same staff that turned into a serpent and was emblematic of the serpent religious cult and healing.
The Rosslyn Missal, written by Irish monks in the 12th century, shows Templar crosses with great dragons and sun discs. Upon the Secret Scroll itself is the symbol of the 12 tribes of Israel, the breastplate of Aaron (whose serpent staff is said to be in the Ark) with 12 squares signifying the 12 tribes surmounted by a serpent.
The serpent rules the tribes:
“…the Serpent as a symbol obtained a prominent place in all the ancient initiations and religions. Among the Egyptians, it was a symbol of Divine Wisdom.”
(The Secret Scroll, Andrew Sinclair, which of course has been dated by scholars to the 16th or even 18th century).
Many people believe that quite a few of the Templars and their secrets escaped to Scotland, and the dawning of a new age of Freemasonry emerged in later years - thought to be directly from the Templars.
In the year 1314, King Edward of England invaded Scotland, hoping to bring an end to the border battles. Meeting the Scottish army at Bannock Burn, he was surprised by a force of well-trained men fighting for the Scots. The tide turned and Scotland achieved independence, if only for three years. The standard history has it that these well-trained men that turned the tide against the well-trained English army were nothing more than camp followers and servants.
Many, though, now believe that these were the famous Knights Templar, who had taken root in Scotland and hidden away from Catholic tyranny. Strangely, immediately after the battle, Robert the Bruce, the new Scottish king, rewards the Sinclair family with lands near Edinburgh and Pentland, the very same lands associated with hundreds of Templar graves, sites, symbols, and much more, such as Balantrodoch (a temple).
An indication of the popular liking for the Templars is shown in the Peasant’s Revolt of Wylam Tyler in A.D. 1381, when a mob marched in protest of the oppressive taxes placed upon them.
Strangely, they did not harm the old Templar buildings, but turned their attentions on those of the Catholic Church. In one instance, they actually carried things out of a Templar church in London to burn the items in the street, rather than damage the building. It may be that this uprising was a natural incident, or it may be that it was inspired by the actions of a hidden and now secret society of the Templars - hidden because of the new Catholic hatred towards them.
If it is the case that the Templars did indeed inspire this revolt, then, even though they were not successful, they tried again 100 years later, and forced the Reformation. It was around this period (15th century) that the first records of Scottish and York Masonic meetings appear.
Let’s take a rather sideways look at the history and symbolism of the Templars.
There are some strange links between Sumerian iconography and Templar symbolism that need to be voiced. The most obvious Templar imagery is that of the two poor knights seated upon a horse, which is very similar to the idea and concept of two riders seen in ancient Sumeria.
This was purely a tactical device in warfare - although there may be some truth in believing that it has origin in the “balance” hypothesis of the “twins.”
The Templar cross is equally seen in many Sumerian images normally associated with an upturned crescent moon. The Fleur de Lys is also a common image, as well as bees, which were common also to the Merovingians. The pentagram is also seen in the images of both, and symbolized the essence of the Merovingians as the “Shining Ones.”
Another symbol seen in various forms from Sumeria to France is the Abraxus - a figure with snakes for legs - a symbol used for gods such as Oannes, and, not surprisingly, this later became the symbol of the Grand Master of the Templar Order.
What could this mean? That the head of the Order of the Templars saw himself as the chief of the serpents? And what was another name for the head serpent? Pendragon!
In essence, the Master of the Templars was therefore not only by literary means including the Templars as the knights who would protect the Grail, but also himself as Arthur and vice versa.
In conjunction with the fact that the Templars also used the serpent symbol of eternity and immortality (the snake eating its own tail), we have a serpent secret being held by the very highest of Christian guardians.
The Cross of Lorraine, a symbol used by the Templars before their usual “Maltese”-style cross, is seen in Sumeria as a symbol for kingship. These influences must have been picked up while the Templars were in the Middle East and utilized later on. We know that they used the sign, because the trials in the early 1300s had the prisoners etching the symbol into the cell walls.
What other ancient secrets did they collect?
An article by Boyd Rice titled “The Cross of Lorraine: Emblem of the Royal Secret” mentions that the Cross of Lorraine, apart from being a symbol of poison, was the emblem of heraldry for Rene D’Anjou, said by Charles Peguy to represent the arms of both Christ and Satan and the blood of both. It is also said to incorporate the symbol phi or the Golden Ratio of Sacred Geometry - so very important to the Masons.
Rene d’Anjou was keenly aware of and interested in many things occult. He led a search for new (old) hermetic texts. The Cross of Lorraine was taken on by Rene, and, subsequently, by Marie de Guise, the wife of James Stuart V (parents of Mary Queen of Scots), for its occult symbolism. This occult symbolism showed the cross to be representative of poison.
Proof of this meaning comes also from the fact that it became an icon used by chemists (originally alchemists) on the bottles of poisonous substances. The idea is hidden in the duality. Why would monarchs and Templars use a sign for poison, if that poison did not have an opposite side? That of cure!
Later on in the early 20th century, Aleister Crowley, the arch Magus and self-proclaimed British Alchemist, would assign this very same symbol as the Sigil of Baphomet - the Templars’ own icon of adoration.
The Cross of Lorraine is also thought to be a sign of secrets; a sign of the Angelic Race, which came down and posited wisdom and the secrets of immortality upon the Royal Bloodline. According to Boyd Rice it is “a sigil of that Royal Secret, the doctrine of the Forgotten Ones.” And for this reason it seems peculiar that in the 1940s Charles de Gaulle should make it the official symbol of the French Resistance.
Of course we now know that these “angelic” beings were Elohim/Shining Ones or Watchers, and that the underground stream of knowledge from these, right up to the medieval period and probably beyond, is derived from Sumeria.
Baphomet
This mysterious object was said to have been venerated by the Templars and to have been written about extensively for the past 30 years. It was thought to be a skull, by some.
One possible explanation for the origin of the word could strangely be found in the deserts of Yemen. The people who live here are called the Al-Mahara, and they have developed many ways of combating snake poison. The special snake priests are called Raaboot men, and they are said to have learned the secret from father to son. Their legends state that they have immunity from snakebites.
If somebody is bitten, then a Raaboot man is called upon, who then sits by the patient, along with several others who then chant in a monotone voice, “Bahamoot, Bahamoot.” The poison is then vomited up or passed out of the body in the other direction. The Raaboot man then leaves. Again here, as I have pointed out before, the snake is said to have a jewel in its head, indicative of the enlightenment aspect.
Is it not possible that Bahamoot, as a chant for the curing of snakebites, could have made its way through the various cultures and found itself as a word for the “head serpent?” - The same “head serpent” that the Templars worshipped?
If nothing else, then the etymology of these two related items is so similar that it again shows, in the language of the serpent cult, a worldwide spread.
Friday the 13th, October 1307, was a terrible day for the Knights Templar as King Philip IV’s men descended upon all of the Order’s French holdings, seizing property and arresting each of its members. Why? Simply because Philip owed them huge amounts of money and had no way of paying them back. To add to this he had hoped that the infamous Templar treasure would be his.
With the help of his puppet, Pope Clement V, the French king tortured the knights to discover their secrets. Finally, to justify his action, the knights were accused of heresy, homosexual practices, necromancy, and conducting bizarre rituals such as desecrating the cross - as if to show their lack of faith in this Christian icon. This was, however, a method of initiation and not a heretical act.
The most unusual and perplexing evidence they came across was the worship of this idol called Baphomet. This strange “thing” - although sometimes referred to as a “cat” or “goat” - was generally seen as a “severed head.” In the Magic of Obelisks, Peter Tompkins says:
Public indignation was aroused...the Templar symbol of Gnostic rites based on phallic worship and the power of directed will. The androgynous figure with a goat’s beard and cloven hooves is linked to the horned god of antiquity, the goat of Mendes.
The list of charges used by the Inquisition in 1308 reads:
Item, that in each province they had idols, namely heads.
Item, that they adored these idols or that idol, and especially in their great chapters and assemblies.
Item, that they venerated (them)
Item, that they venerated them as God.
Item, that they venerated them as their Savior.
Item, that they said that the head could save them.
Item, that it could make riches.
Item, that it could make the trees flower.
Item, that it made the land germinate.
Item, that they surrounded or touched each head of the aforesaid idol with small cords, which they wore around themselves next to the shirt or the flesh.
Some said it was a man’s head, but others a woman’s head. Some said that it was bearded, others nonbearded. Some presumed that it was made from glass and that it had two faces.
This general mixing of ideas shows where the idea of the head could have come from. That it was a man’s head or a woman’s, indicates its “dual nature” - and much like the ancient Celtic heads, it would incline me to the opinion that it emerged from part of the supposed ancient head cult.
The Celts, it is said, believed, as did the Hindus, that the soul resided in the head. They would decapitate their enemies and keep their heads as talismans. Probably the best-known head in Celtic lore is that of Bran the Blessed, which was buried outside London - some say in Tower Hill - facing towards France. It was put there to see off the plague and disease and to ensure that the land was fertile - the same powers that were attributed to the “Green Man.”
“Bearded” and “nonbearded” simply indicates again the dual nature, as does the idea that it was “two-faced,” like the god Janus.
It was apparently called Caput 58 (Caput meaning “Head”), indicating that there may have been possibly hundreds of them. There are also strong links with Islam at this time; links that the Templars should probably not have made in their supposedly Christian world.
It is also said that the name Baphomet was derived from Mahomet - an Old French corruption of the name of the prophet Mohammed. Others claim that it comes from the Arabic word abufihamet, which means “Father of Understanding.”
In all likelihood, though, Baphomet comes from baphe meaning to submerge and mete meaning wisdom.
The Baphomet being a device for the Gnostic tradition or belief of being “submerged in wisdom,” is associated with the concept of the Sophia or wisdom goddess.
The Symbol of the Cross
We now turn to the cross, for there is great depth to its history and mythology that may well reveal more secrets of the Freemasons and Templars.
Today the world is going mad for all things Knights Templar. They have never been so popular. Everywhere you turn there’s a new book, poster, T-shirt, and even mug with their infamous red cross on a white background. But this wasn’t their only symbol.
The ankh. Today there are millions of people walking around with this unique and extremely important symbol on chains around their necks, and it is deeply embedded in the secret societies of the world, including the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and many more.
Even Christians adorn themselves with the image, thinking it to be a normal cross. And yet the significance of the symbolism implied by this seemingly unobtrusive little object is very profound.
This enigmatic symbol of Egypt represents “eternal life” and was often found in the names of Pharaohs such as the infamous Tut-ankh-amun.
The symbol is often depicted being held by a god to a Pharaoh, giving him life, or held out by a Pharaoh to his people, giving them life - this basically set aside the immortals, from the mortals, for anyone wearing or carrying the ankh had gained or hoped to gain immortality. Those holding the ankh were the great magicians, the ones capable of altering reality.
They had the power of the Otherworld through the device, which symbolized the access to the Otherworld. So, what elements of this ankh give it this special power?
The ankh is technically known as the Crux Ansata.
It is a simple T-cross, surmounted by an oval - called the Ru. The Ru is often seen as the portal or gateway to another dimension such as heaven - in essence, the Otherworld. The ankh therefore becomes the symbol of transition from one plane to another. It outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used by the Christians as their first cross, but in this symbol holds a clue to the secret of the serpent.
One character intricately linked with the ankh, and specifically the Tau cross, is Thoth or Taautus - a character no different from the alchemists’ and Greeks’ Hermes or the biblical Enoch, both of whom were transported to other worlds in ways similar to modern altered states of consciousness, and both of whom are spoken of again and again by the secret societies.
Amazingly, Thoth was said, by Eusebius, to be the originator of serpent worship in Phoenicia, and this will prove to be of worth.
Sanchoniathon called him a god and says that he made the first image of Coelus 1 and invented hieroglyphs. This links him with Hermes, mentioned previously. Thoth also consecrated the linked species of dragons and serpents; and the Phoenicians and Egyptians followed him in this superstition.
This Thoth could very well be a memory of the first group who originated the worship of the serpent after the flood or the end of the last ice age approximately 12,000 years ago. Thoth was deified after his death (a time that nobody knows, if he existed) and given the title “the god of health” or “healing.”
He was the prototype for the serpent-linked healer, Aesculapius, and identified with Mercury, who bore the serpent-entwined caduceus: All healers, all wise, all teachers, all saviors, and all associated with the serpent for their powers. Indeed, it was as the healing god that Thoth was symbolized as the serpent - he was normally represented with the head of an ibis and baboon.
The letter or symbol “Tau” is the first letter of Taautus, Tammuz, and Thoth, and is thought to be the “Mark of Cain,” who was called the “son of serpents.” In many respects, it is also linked with the ancient swastika, so well-known to us now from Nazi imagery.
The Nazis themselves began life as a secret society.
Swastika
The ancient symbol of the swastika is simply a stylized spiral, as can be shown from the many depictions across the world of swastikas made up of spirals and snakes.
It also shows up in the spiral fashions of the labyrinths and mazes. The word labyrinth comes directly from the ancient Minoan Snake Goddess culture of Crete, where the swastika was used as a symbol of the labyrinth and is linked etymologically with the “double headed axe” - which is none other than the Tau cross. Similar labyrinthine swastikas have been found in the ancient city of Harappa from 2000 B.C.
As the labyrinth is viewed as a womb of the Mother Goddess, and a symbol of the snake, there is little wonder that these two symbols became fused. However, labyrinths were also seen as places of ancient serpent initiation. In ancient Egypt, the labyrinth was synonymous with what was called the Amenti - the snake-like path taken by the dead to journey from death to resurrection.
It was Isis, the serpent queen of heaven, who was to guide the souls through the twists of the Amenti.
The path towards the center leads towards treasure.
The snake adorning Athene in ancient Greece is shown with a swastika skirt. The same is true of Astarte or Asherah and Artemis. There is Samarran pottery dating from 5000–4000 B .C . from Mesopotamia showing a female and swastika, on which the female’s hair swirls with Medusa-type serpents. The swastika is also shown as two serpents crossing each other.
In Norse myth, the hammer of Thor, 2 Mjollnir, is closely connected with the swastika and is found to be a prominent motif in Scandinavian art from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. It is found on swords and Anglo-Saxon cremation urns and on numerous Viking items. It was seen as a protector against thieves, reminiscent of the fact that serpents were known to guard treasure.
As Thor’s hammer was also seen as a Tau cross, it is certainly related to the secrets of the serpent. It was used by Thor to lop off the head of the sacred ox, which he used as bait to catch the Midgard Serpent, which encircled the globe in the symbol of the Ouroboros, eating its own tail. This was Thor offering a head as sacrifice to the serpent to try to gain immortality in the mead - the drink of the gods.
He was using the serpent to catch the serpent. It was the cessation of the constant cycling of the Midgard Serpent that Thor attempted and, in this way, he beat time itself.
Thor’s aim was to gain a cauldron big enough to take the mead for the immortals, and he needed to prove his worth by fishing for the serpent. He had power over the serpent as the slayer with the swastika or Tau cross. There is evidence to prove that the myths of these Scandinavians and the Hindus are related, as the story of Thor and the Midgard Serpent closely resemble the battle between Indra and Vritra, showing a common origin.
Vritra is the great serpent, which lies at the source of two rivers (the positive and negative, or male and female), as the Midgard Serpent lies beneath the sea (of the mind). Indra slits open the belly of the serpent to release the waters and therefore fertility back to the land. Both gods (Indra and Thor) are related to the weather, both are warrior gods with a thunderbolt as a weapon, and both slay the dragon.
The swastika of the serpent is a common motif in both Hindu and Scandinavian cultures. Eventually, the Christians steal both Pagan myths and place St. Michael and St. George in their place - both having the red serpent cross to replace the swastika.
The cross is also found in the legends of Thoth or Taautus, who was said to have symbolized the four elements with a simple cross, which originated from the oldest Phoenician alphabet as the curling serpent.
Indeed Philo adds that the Phoenician letters,
“are those formed by means of serpents…and adored them as the supreme gods, the rulers of the universe.”
If Thoth, Hermes, and even Enoch are the supposed inventors of the art of writing, then there is little wonder that they are so closely linked with the serpent.
Victoria de Bunsen in the 19th century thought,
“the forms and movements of serpents were employed in the invention of the oldest letters, which represent gods.”
This symbol of the four elements was altered slightly and became the Egyptian Taut, the same as the Greek Tau, which is where we get the name Tau cross from - a simple T.
The T or Tau cross also gives its name to the bull in the astrological sign of Taurus - note here the two elements of the Tau and the Ru being brought together. The Druids (or “adders,” after the snake) venerated the tree and the snake by scrawling the Tau cross into tree bark.
In the Middle Ages, the Tau cross was used in amulets to protect the wearer against disease.
Among the modern Freemasons the Tau has many meanings. Some say that it stands for Templus Hierosolyma or the Temple of Jerusalem. Others say that it signifies hidden treasure or means Clavis ad Thesaurum,
“A key to treasure” or Theca ubi res pretiosa, “A place where the precious thing is concealed.”
It is especially important in Royal Arch Masonry where it becomes the “Companions Jewel”:
a serpent as a circle above the cross bar in place of the Ru and forming the ankh with the Hebrew word for “serpent” engraved on the upright, and also including the Triple Tau - a symbol for hidden treasure.
It was also the symbol for St. Anthony - later to become the symbol for the Knights Templar of St. Anthony of Leith in Scotland.
St. Anthony lived in the 4th century A.D. and is credited with establishing Monasticism in Egypt, and the story goes that he sold all his possessions after hearing from the Lord and marched off into the wilderness to become a hermit. On his travels, he learned much from various sages in Egypt and grew for himself a large following. He was sorely tempted by the devil in the form of “creeping things” and serpents.
In one episode, he follows a trail of gold to a temple, which is infested with serpents, and takes up residence, needing little food for sustenance other than bread and water. He is said to have lived 105 years, and due to this longevity he is credited with protective powers.
The Order of the Hospitalers of St. Anthony, who would later take much of the Templar wealth, brought many of Anthony’s relics to France in the 11th century. Previously they were said to have been secretly deposited somewhere in Egypt just after his death and then later to have found their way to Alexandria. All of this is a symbolic representation of the truth.
The truth, in fact, is that the secrets of these stories found their way to Alexandria, which was a mixing bowl of the occult, esoteric, Gnostics and mystical world, and from there it spread into Europe via such movements as the Templars, Rosicrucians, and later the Freemasons - hence the reason for finding the symbolism in the “Companions Jewel.”
The Taut or Tau symbolizes the four creating elements of the universe. It is the center of all this creation, it is the spark in the cycle, the very center of all. Next, the symbol of the solar-serpent was added: a simple circle or the oval Ru.
This loop above the T-cross created the ankh, the symbol of eternity. The snake in a circle eating its own tale is symbolic of the sun and immortality.
Eventually, the symbol of the moon was added to this, turning it into the sign for Hermes or Mercury and showing the Caduceus/ serpent origin. It is no wonder that this, the most perfect and simple of symbolic devices, became the symbol of the early Christians. It is also no wonder that, even though there were no cross-beam crucifixions, Christ was nevertheless symbolically crucified on a symbol of eternal life, a symbol of the serpent.
This symbol became the mark or sign that would set the believer aside for saving. In Ezekiel, this is the mark that God will know, the mark on the forehead. As Deane points out, the Ezekiel passage (9:4) should read,
“set a Tau upon their foreheads” or “mark with the letter Tau the foreheads.”
The early Christians baptized with the term “crucis thaumate notare.” 3
They baptized with the symbol of the snake.
Is this the original mark of Cain, which we have found elsewhere, to be of the serpent tribe?
The idea of this sign or mark is widespread once discovered. In Job 31:35, we read in our modern King James Bibles “I sign now my defence - let the Almighty answer me,” which should properly read,
“Behold, here is my Tau, let the Almighty answer me.” He then goes on to say, “Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.”
This remarkable idea of wearing the Tau cross on the shoulder as a sign would later become part and parcel of the crusader Templars’ markings.
Also, the Merovingians (said by some to be descended from Jesus and a sea serpent or fish god - the Quinotaur or Quino-Tau-r) were supposedly born with a red cross between their shoulder blades.
The Tau cross is also strangely used by those practicing sacred geometry as a “marker” for buried treasure, whether physical or spiritual.
This buried treasure is truly the center, the point in our minds and hearts where we find the original self.
This original center (heart means center) was seen to be connected to the Universal Mind, and only by accessing this center of ourselves could we access the Universal Mind or God. This in turn stops time, we become one with all, and we believe we are immortal.
The Tau marks this place, either on the forehead or in the chest (between the shoulders), revealing to others those who can access the point in time where God resides.
The word temple from whence Templar derives has another meaning: tempos simply means “time.” The true temple is that place that has power over the cycling energy of the serpent.
The true temple, like the one on our brow, is within us.
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.
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 part of the Catholic Church and, 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 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.
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.
However, the same Shining influence throughout man’s history 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.
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.