Illuminatis. You may doubt their existence, but the fact is that the internet is full of references to a supposed secret society that controls all our steps, using every possible form of domination. For many, this is all a legend. For others, “opening your eyes” and seeing the “truth” is just the first step to getting out of control.

Controversy aside, you may not know the true origin of the Illuminati. They actually existed in the eighteenth century and theoretically ceased to exist years later. Transformed into other groups and gaining new ramifications, they have come hard into our century and today they are more alive than ever in literature, on the Internet, and of course in many people's minds.

The origin of the Illuminatis

The Illuminati Secret Society was founded on May 1, 1776, in Bavaria. The term, which in direct translation means "enlightened, " concerned a group of people who shared the ideals of the Enlightenment movement in vogue in Europe at that time. At the time, members of society aimed to spread “free thought” by questioning dogmas imposed in particular by the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, eight years after its founding, the government of Bavaria, now Germany, has promoted a real hunt for secret groups. The Illuminatis group brought together many influential people who invariably had a political stance contrary to the system in force at the time.

Among the Illuminatis there were also many Freemasons and their hierarchical system was quite similar to the degrees adopted by Freemasonry. The hunt for the secret societies caused the group - which had about 2, 000 people - to fragment and internal fighting led to the end of the Illuminati in 1788. However, the ideal would remain recorded in history.

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The age of secret societies

In 1798 the writer Augustin Barruel, in the book "Illustrative Memories of the History of Jacobinism", revealed a very convincing theory involving Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Jacobins and Illuminatis. Like Dan Brown's books today, the work was very successful and many took as absolute truth all that was described in Barruel's thesis.

His work spawned other similar books and one of the most famous and successful publications of the time was written by John Robinson, a Scottish Freemason professor of Natural History. In the book “Evidence of a conspiracy against all religions and governments in Europe, ” the author stated that the Illuminati aimed to create a single world government. The theory has been accepted by many and even today its ideals prevail.

The new societies

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Although the original Illuminatis secret society ceased to exist, the ideal remained and its concepts gave rise to other secret societies. In the United States, a group called Skull and Bones was created in 1832, supposedly with the same goal of taking control of the world. The group has links to the CIA, the FBI, Freemasonry and the Bilderbergers.

Another group associated with the Illuminatis is often called the Bilderberg Club. The latter, in fact, exists and brings together about one hundred world personalities, including businessmen and celebrities. This group, whose list changes every year, meets once a year at a luxury hotel from around the world to discuss sensitive matters.

Some say that at these meetings they draw up plans for world domination. Among the names in this group are Donald Runsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense, and Peter Sutherland, president of Goldman Sachs Bank and British Petroleum, two of the world's largest companies.

Secret Symbols and Celebrities

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“The all-seeing eye” and a pyramid are the main symbols of the Illuminati. These symbols are quite common to find and even reproduce, but one of them only has to emerge for the conspiracy theories to emerge immediately. According to some experts, the Statue of Liberty in New York would be an Illuminati symbol, containing some secret rooms.

The pyramid of the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas would be another monument in honor of the secret society. Not even celebrities escape the associations of involvement with the group. Barack Obama, Beyonce, Bono Vox, Lady Gaga and even Cristiano Ronaldo are some of the "accused" of belonging to the group. However, nothing has been confirmed to date.

Myth or truth

Among the great modern mysteries of humanity, the existence of the Illuminati is perhaps one of the most popular today. Do they really exist? It is not possible to state. However, doubting their existence is exactly what they expect, and can thus take advantage of our weakness.

Would the Illuminati ideal have survived the last few centuries and come to the present day intact, or is it just an illusion created by some conspirators today? The choice whether or not to believe in their existence is yours.