They LIED To You About The Illuminati (TRUTH Will SHOCK You)

Summary

Highlights

• The Illuminati began as an enlightenment group in Bavaria in 1776, not tied to world domination 🌟.
• Bavarian authorities banned the Illuminati, leading to its original downfall 📜.
• Conspiracy theories around the Illuminati thrive due to media portrayals and cultural myths 📚.
• Symbols like the Eye of Providence are often misinterpreted as Illuminati icons 👀.
• Theorists often link celebrities to the Illuminati, though many claims lack factual basis 🎤.

Key Takeaways

• The Illuminati originated in 1776 Bavaria, focused on enlightenment ideals 🌍.
• Conspiracy theories falsely link the Illuminati to world events like the French Revolution 🏰.
• Modern pop culture keeps the Illumati myth alive with constant references 🎬.
• The Eye of Providence is mistakenly tied to the Illuminati but is actually Christian symbolism 👁️.
• Celebrities like Jay-Z and Beyonce are often incorrectly associated with the Illuminati due to conspiracy theories 🎤.

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to the Illuminati The introduction discusses the pervasive symbols associated with the Illuminati, such as hand signs by celebrities and the symbol on the US dollar. It questions the validity of claims about the Illuminati's control over world government and pop culture. The chapter aims to explore the truth behind these claims and the history of the organization, including legends like replacing George Washington and the story of the 'allseeing eye.'
• 00:30 - 01:00: Origins of the Illuminati The chapter 'Origins of the Illuminati' explores the beginnings of the mysterious group, tracing its roots back to 1776 in Bavaria, Germany. This was historically a significant year, coincidentally aligning with the US gaining independence, though the chapter assures readers this is mere coincidence. It notes the existence of two key precursor groups prior to the formation of the Bavarian Illuminati in the 1700s.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Predecessors to the Illuminati The chapter titled 'Predecessors to the Illuminati' discusses two groups often associated or mentioned alongside the Illuminati: The Russians and the Alenrados. The Russian order, believed to have been founded in the 17th century, consisted of German occultists who claimed to have powerful esoteric knowledge. Their beliefs were an eclectic mix of Egyptian hermeticism, Christiannosticism, Jewish Cabala, alchemy, and other esoteric traditions. On the other hand, the Alenrados appeared earlier, in 15th and 16th century Spain, sometimes called the original Illuminati.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Bavarian Illuminati Formation The chapter explores the origins of the Bavarian Illuminati, distinguishing between varying theories about modern-day Illuminati and their historical roots. It highlights the group's association with a mystical version of Christianity allegedly suppressed by the Spanish Inquisition. The chapter focuses on the historical formation of the Illuminati in 1776 led by Adam Vice, a canon law professor at the Jesuit-run University of Englestat, who aspired to initiate transformative changes.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Ideology and Symbolism of the Illuminati The chapter titled 'Ideology and Symbolism of the Illuminati' discusses the origins and motivations behind the formation of the Illuminati. It highlights how the oppressive rule of the monarchy and the church in his home country drove the founder, Vice Hop, to create a secret society called 'the Order of the Illuminati', inspired by the Enlightenment era's scientific and social ideas. The objective was to foster enlightened thought within this exclusive circle. A modern perspective is provided by Bavarian journalist Michael Cler, who conducts Illuminati walking tours in Inglestat and narrates these historical aspirations.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Illuminati's Structure and Expansion In this chapter, the origins and goals of the Bavarian Illuminati are explored. The organization was founded with the intention of teaching humankind to be better and to envision a society governed by reason and good sense. They were known as 'perfectists' for their commitment to these ideals, aiming to shun superstition and religious influence prevalent in 1700s Europe. The Illuminati's pursuit for a separation between church and state highlighted their desire for societal reformation.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Recruitment and Membership Due to the risk of persecution from powerful religious institutions, the inaugural meeting of a new clandestine club, formed by five law students under the guidance of a mentor named Vice, was held discreetly in the woods near an English university. This assembly focused on establishing foundational rules while emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining secrecy, as church authorities dominated the university. Any disclosure of their activities could ostracize both Vice and his students.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Illuminati's Philosophy and Challenges The Illuminati initially adopted the owl of Manurva, symbolizing wisdom, as their main emblem, rather than the often-conflated images of eyes or triangles. This choice signified their dedication to the pursuit of knowledge. Interestingly, the owl is also a significant symbol in Freemasonry, another secret society frequently linked to the Illuminati. The connection between the two isn't entirely unfounded, as the Freemasons are a significantly older organization with historical roots dating back centuries.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Illuminati's Influence and Ban The chapter delves into the historical connection between the Illuminati and the Freemasons. It mentions how the Freemason guilds, dating back to the 14th century, served as a significant inspiration for the structure and operations of the Illuminati, which was founded by Adam Weishaupt. The Freemason lodges were ideal recruiting grounds for the Illuminati due to their existing secretive nature and the trustworthy nature of their members.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Early Illuminati Conspiracies This chapter explores the early foundations of the Illuminati, focusing on the criteria for admission and the structure of the group. To become a member, one needed unanimous approval from existing members and a strong family background, ideally with substantial wealth. The group’s influence expanded throughout Germany, reaching cities such as Aiktat, Frying, and Munich. An intricate caste system was established for members, highlighting the complexity and exclusivity of the organization.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Illuminati in American Culture The chapter delves into the structure and ranking system of the Illuminati, particularly highlighting its influence in American culture. It explains the different classes and ranks within the organization, starting with novices who progress to Manurval and eventually become Illuminati. In addition to normal members, there is a separate structure for Freemasons, with ranks such as ordinary, Scottish, or Scottish knight. Furthermore, the chapter describes the mystery classes which include titles like priest, regent, magnus, and king, emphasizing the elaborate code names used within the secretive society.
• 05:30 - 06:00: 20th Century and Discordianism The chapter titled '20th Century and Discordianism' delves into the intricate and peculiar practices involved in joining and advancing within a certain organization. The process was not straightforward; membership and promotion required navigating odd rituals. Initially, gaining entry demanded more than wealth or familial ties, involving a rumored 13-step initiation procedure. Advancement involved a bizarre ritual where members compiled lists of their owned books, enemies, and weaknesses, and pledged to prioritize the group's interests over personal ones. This reflects the group's nerdy nature and complex, cult-like organizational dynamics.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Modern Pop Culture References The chapter titled 'Modern Pop Culture References' discusses the controversial principles of the Bavarian Illuminati, specifically one of their infamous doctrines. This doctrine emphasizes combating injustice by controlling rather than dominating, which fuels modern theories about Illuminati's secretive world dominance. The narrative highlights how such ideas align with current conspiracy theories surrounding the organization's secretive influence on global affairs.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Illuminati Symbolism Myths The original Bavarian Illuminati was much closer to libertarian ideals, opposing state oppression in Europe. It served as a safe space for free discourse among its members without fear of state violence. The growing discontent with the European system at the time led to a rapid increase in their membership, empowering them to develop significant means to counteract state control.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Psychology of Conspiracy Theories The chapter discusses the psychology of conspiracy theories, beginning with an example of how conspiracy theories can be used as propaganda. It describes the efforts of a group to operate as a resistance against oppressors by establishing a spy network to gather incriminating information about their enemies. This information was then used as propaganda. The chapter specifically refers to the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati, suggesting that, unlike modern perceptions of them as shadowy power brokers, they originally functioned as a resistance group. A key turning point for them was the involvement of a notable new member, Baron Adolf Friend Friedrich Fryervon Kaniga.
• 07:30 - 08:00: Celebrity and Illuminati Theories The chapter discusses Friedrich, a German diplomat and a Freemason, who played a key role as an envoy for the Illuminati. Using his wealth and extensive connections, Friedrich established operations in multiple European countries, including France, Poland, Hungary, Italy, and Bavaria. His efforts quickly grew the Illuminati's membership to 2,000 across Europe. However, with the increase in members came new challenges, leading to complications by 1784.

They LIED To You About The Illuminati (TRUTH Will SHOCK You) Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 You've all seen the symbols. From hand signs thrown up by music superstars like Beyonce and Jay-Z to the allseeing eye at top the pyramid of the US dollar. They're linked to a mysterious group said to control everything from world government to pop culture itself, the Illuminati. But is there any truth to these claims? Did this secretive organization really replace George Washington with one of their own? And what's the real story behind the infamous eye? This is the true story of the Illuminati, the most mysterious secret society that literally everyone
• 00:30 - 01:00 seems to know about. Our story doesn't start with the music industry, the media, or the US dollar, doesn't even begin in the US, the modern epicenter of theories around the mysterious group. In fact, it all started all the way back in 1776 in Bavaria, Germany. Folks whose brains are wired to notice certain patterns may have also noticed that this was the same year the US achieved independence from the British. We assure you it's a total coincidence. There were two key groups that existed before the Bavarian Illuminati of the 1700s and
• 01:00 - 01:30 often end up getting mentioned in the same breath. The Russians and the alumrados. The Russian order allegedly founded in the 17th century was a secretive group of German occultists who claimed to possess powerful esoteric knowledge. Their beliefs were a bizarre gumbo of Egyptian hermeticism, Christiannosticism, Jewish Cabala, alchemy, and other miscellaneous esoterica. The Alenrados arrived on the scene even earlier, emerging in the 15th and 16th century Spain. Sometimes referred to as the original Illuminati.
• 01:30 - 02:00 This mystical group performed a mystical variety of Christianity before being arguably wiped out by the Spanish Inquisition. Because of the complicated nature of the theories surrounding the supposed modern-day Illuminati, they're all often rolled into one, but they really don't have much relevance when it comes to the organization that really started it all. Anyway, back to 1776 and the birth of the first true Illuminati. A canon law professor at the Jesuitrun University of Englestat named Adam Vice decided he wanted to make a change in
• 02:00 - 02:30 his home nation. The monarchy and the church seemed to rule everything. So he started an exclusive group for like-minded individuals called, you guessed it, the order of the Illuminati, which means enlightened. Vice Hop and his fellow members landed on the name after being inspired by the scientific and social ideas of the enlightenment period. They hoped that they could create a little enlightenment of their own. In the words of Bavarian journalist Michael Cler, who often leads Illuminati walking tours around Inglestat in the modern day, quote, Vice helped like the
• 02:30 - 03:00 idea of teaching people to be better human beings. He wanted to change society. He was dreaming of a better world, of a better government. He started the Illuminati with the idea that everything known to humankind should be taught. The members of the Bavarian Illuminati called themselves perfectists because nothing about these guys wasn't extremely extra and they wanted to enshrine the values of reason and good sense. They decrieded the influence that superstition and religion had on culture at the time. Separation of church and state in 1700s Europe
• 03:00 - 03:30 wasn't exactly going great. So they kept their activities under wraps to avoid persecution from powerful religious institutions which is why they held their first meeting in the woods near English. This five-man team all promising law students handpicked by vice convened to lay out the ground rules of their special new club. It was of vital importance that all of this remained a secret. Given that the church controlled the University of English, that if anyone found out about Vice Hub's new little social club, he and all his students would be left out in the cold. Around this time, they also
• 03:30 - 04:00 developed their first iconic symbol, and it actually didn't have anything to do with eyes or triangles. It was the owl of Manurva. Manurva being the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom. This reflected their desire to follow the pursuit of knowledge and became its main symbol. Incidentally, owls are also an important symbol in Freemasonry, another secret society that often gets lumped into Illuminati theories. And funnily enough, their connection really doesn't come out of nowhere. The Freemasons are a much, much older organization that can trace its roots all the way back to the
• 04:00 - 04:30 Stonemason guilds in the 14th century. That's almost 500 years before the order of the Illuminati was a twinkle in Adam Vice's eye. In fact, the Freemasons were one of the biggest inspirations for the Illuminati's operations and structure. secret society that had already successfully endured several centuries was probably a good model to follow. Once the group was up and running, Freemason lodges became prime recruiting grounds for the Illuminati. After all, if someone was already part of one secret society and had proven that they could keep their mouth shut, they were
• 04:30 - 05:00 the perfect candidate for another. Over time, the group's ranks and rules started to solidify themselves. In order to be led into the group, you needed the unanimous approval of every other member, and you needed to come from a family with good standing. Ideally, you'd have some serious wealth behind you as well. All of these factors helped the group increase its influence as it slowly spread into other parts of Germany. Aiktat, Frying, Munich, and more. They also created a cast system for the members, which we won't lie, is every bit as weirdly over complicated as you could imagine. Okay, so stay with us
• 05:00 - 05:30 for a second here. The first set of classes were for normal members. They joined as a novice and then they leveled up to become a Manurval and eventually an illuminated Manurval or Illuminati. The second class consisted of Freemasons who had a whole different system to worry about. And they were ordinary, Scottish, or a Scottish knight. And then there were the mystery classes, which included the ranks of priest, regent, magnus, and king. You can't have a secret society without a bunch of crazy code names. If you're not willing to do that, then why are you even bothering at
• 05:30 - 06:00 all? As the organization developed, getting in also got more complicated than just having fat stacks and a famous family. At one point, there was allegedly a 13-step initiation process. And moving up in the ranks was just as weird and complicated. In order to change your station, you had to take part in a ritual which involved compiling a list of all the books you owned. Remember, these guys were huge nerds. You also had to make a list of all your enemies, a list of your weaknesses, and of course, solemnly swear to sacrifice your own interests to that of the group if push came to shove.
• 06:00 - 06:30 That was just one of their many grandiose principles. But one of the group's most well-known and infamous principles was summed up in the following quote found in the Bavarian Illuminati's general statutes. The order of the day is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice to control them without dominating them. You can probably see already how this could be easily interpreted as a call for secret control. Exactly the kind of shadowy world domination that modern Illuminati conspiracy theorists obsess over. The
• 06:30 - 07:00 irony is that the original Bavarian Illuminati was much closer to libertarian than authoritarian on the political compass, standing against state oppression across Europe. The circle of the Illuminati was essentially a place for free discussion between its members, where they didn't have to fear violence from the state just for speaking their minds. And clearly, they weren't the only ones who were sick of the system in Europe. As the membership of the Illuminati quickly boomed from its initial five recruits, as their numbers grew, they developed their most valuable weapon to use against the
• 07:00 - 07:30 church and the state oppressors, information. They effectively created a complex spy network who could inform them of the many wrongdoings of their enemies, which would then be used as propaganda for converting more people to their cause. Far from being the shadowy group behind the levers of power that people imagine today, they were actually a kind of resistance group fighting the powers that be. But things didn't really take off for the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati until they gained a highly important new member, Baron Adolf Friend Friedrich Fryervon Kaniga. Baron
• 07:30 - 08:00 Friedrich was a German diplomat and a Freemason whose wealth, connections, and jet setting lifestyle across Europe made him the perfect envoy for the Illuminati cause. He set up bases of operations in France, Poland, Hungary, and Italy, as well as the rest of Bavaria. Before anyone could even say Baron Adolf Fran Friedrich Foniga, the Little Secret Society was able to count 2,000 members in its ranks all across Europe. But as the old secret society saying goes, Mo members mo problems. In 1784, a
• 08:00 - 08:30 well-known local buzzkill named Carl Theodore, Duke of Bavaria, decided to crack down on unauthorized organizations. He enacted legislation banning any group that wasn't explicitly approved by the government, putting the Illuminati directly in his crosshairs. And just for good measure, in 1785, he made a more specific edict that just banned the Illuminati in particular, just in case people didn't get the message. Things didn't look good for Adam Vice and his rapidly expanding movement. And then in 1786, just 10
• 08:30 - 09:00 years after the group was founded, the Bavarian authorities got wind of the sedicious nature of their activities. They intercepted their writings which contained things that the church really wasn't fond of, like writing in support of such taboo acts and lifestyles as atheism and abortion. After this, the Bavarian government decided to take direct action, infiltrating the order of the Illuminati and shutting them down. This led to Adam Vice being arrested and banished from Inglestat for good, living around 186 mi away in the German town of Gota for the rest of his life. Vice died
• 09:00 - 09:30 in 1830 without seeing his dream of a better world become a reality. But this is just how the story of the modern-day Illuminati starts. The first major Illuminati conspiracy theory took hold just 11 years after the group was disbanded. While Adam Viceel was still alive, in 1797, Scottish physicist and writer John Robinson and French ex-Jesuit priest Abi Augustine Bakurel falsely claimed that the Illuminati along with other secret societies were the real masterminds behind the French
• 09:30 - 10:00 Revolution. The Illuminati had ruffled a lot of feathers among conservative and religious figures and had become a favorite scapegoat for any geopolitical strife that upset the Catholic Church. And after all the mudslinging that cast the Illuminati as a dark architect of the French reign of terror, the conspiracies around the group soon spread to the new world. In the newly independent United States, a young nation still defining its identity, the Illuminati took the role of the favorite mythological super villain. Preachers across the nation like Boston Fire and Brimstone pastor Jediah Morse stated the
• 10:00 - 10:30 Illuminati were scheming to take over the United States. But political control wasn't enough. According to Morris and his peers, the secret society sought to end Christianity, replacing it with sex and devil worship. They claimed the Illuminati would infiltrate every layer of society, government, business, the church, and even the press, engaging in cultural warfare to poison the mind of a nation. It doesn't sound an awful lot different than the way people talk about the group today. Honestly, then former President George Washington even mentioned the Illuminati in his personal
• 10:30 - 11:00 letters, which only added fuel to the fire. This led to one of the wildest conspiracy theories of all that Washington had even been assassinated and secretly replaced by none other than Adam Vice himself. Even Jedodia Morse might have struggled to sell that one. Meanwhile, first lady Abigail Adams took a more measured approach, reportedly recommending John Robinson's book about the Illuminati to her friends, perhaps as a warning or maybe just as some bedtime reading. The Illuminati myth became so widespread that it even became a part of the presidential race between
• 11:00 - 11:30 the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans in 1800. Claiming your political opponent is actually a part of a cobble of Satanists is a tradition nearly as old as America itself. Things in the world of Illuminati conspiracies went dormant for a while. After all, the US had plenty of other things on its mind, from a civil war to a world war followed by an economic depression and for good measure another world war. But if the theories surrounding the Illuminati are anything, they are enduring. And soon enough, they were
• 11:30 - 12:00 bound to renew themselves in the 20th century. And that is exactly what happened in the 1960s when the New Age movement birthed a new creation, Discordianism. This was a movement that would lay the groundwork for the new American understanding of the Illuminati. And the cruel irony of it was that it was all just a big joke, a parody religion made by a bunch of anarchist hippies lampuning the very concept of religion itself. Their central text, a satirical piece called Principia Discordia, was what set everything into motion. Because, as
• 12:00 - 12:30 you're going to discover later, people who are really into Illuminati conspiracy theories don't really have a great grasp of irony. The religion claimed to worship Aerys, the Greek goddess of chaos, and their devotees practiced their faith by playing pranks and trolling. They sent letters to conspiracy-minded conservative figures in the media and claimed to be members of the Bavarian Illuminati. The letter stated that they controlled everything that went on in the world. And little by little, this band of merry pranksters were reviving the conspiracy that haunted the earliest days of the nation.
• 12:30 - 13:00 And they were having a great time doing it. They didn't have any idea just how huge this little rolling snowball would get as their pranks escalated into even creating fake ads for the Illuminati to stir up public outcry. Dr. Dr. Michael Wood of the University of Winchester, an expert in the psychology of conspiracy theories, has said of what the Illuminati has spiraled into. The conspiracy theory is what we call a super conspiracy or basically a conspiracy that controls smaller conspiracies. People do talk about the Illuminati, but a lot of time it's in a
• 13:00 - 13:30 joking or self-aware kind of way, almost making fun of the idea of a global conspiracy. And there's no denying that this so-called super conspiracy has perpetuated itself in pop culture in a way that is only fanned the flames of belief. One of the fulcrum points for the presentation of Illuminati in modern fiction is the Illuminatus Trilogy, a series of satirical conspiracy novels created by Robert Sheay and Robert Anton Wilson in 1975. This was arguably one of the driving forces in getting the name Illuminati back into the modern public
• 13:30 - 14:00 consciousness centuries after the Bavarian Illuminati's dissolution. Oh, and of course, the two Roberts were gleeful card carrying discordians whose main drags were writing for Playboy magazine 2. But it didn't end there. No, in fact, it was just getting started. The trilogy of books went on to inspire a strategy based satirical card game, also simply called Illuminati, released in 1982 by Steve Jackson Games, which naturally inspired more conspiracy theories. People scoured the cards for similarities to real world events,
• 14:00 - 14:30 convinced the game was secretly revealing the Illuminati's master plan. One of the Illuminati writers fanned the flames further when he pinned an introduction to a new edition of the game book in 1983. Maybe the Illuminati are behind this game. They must be. They are by definition behind everything. To many, these would just seem like cheeky jokes made by artists trying to promote their work. But it all gets folded into the Illuminati super conspiracy as tacit admissions of what's really going on behind the scenes. In the modern day, the Illuminati isn't just portrayed as a
• 14:30 - 15:00 shadowy force pulling the strings of world events. It's also seen as a group that loves to taunt the masses. According to conspiracy theorists, they take sadistic pleasure in hiding their symbols in plain sight, daring people to uncover their influence. In 2020, dubious YouTube titan Watch Mojo released a video about 30 different celebrities that theorists have connected to the Illuminati, including Justin Bieber, Angelina Jolie, Ludacris, Andrew WK, Dojaat, Usain Bolt, Katy Perry, and LeBron James. And frankly, that is just scratching the tip of the
• 15:00 - 15:30 iceberg. But if we even attempted to list every person that theorists have connected to the Illuminati, it would make this video 5 hours long. The Illuminati has been referenced in the works of popular author Dan Brown. It's a group of superheroes in the Marvel comics cannon. It's commonly associated with Eyes Wide Shut, the last movie by acclaimed director Stanley Kubri, and references to it have made its way into shows like Netflix's canceled conspiracy comedy Inside Job. There's also the character Bill Cipher from Disney's Gravity Falls, who's designed to look
• 15:30 - 16:00 like the pyramid with the eye of Providence on the dollar bill. And with every pop culture nod, the super conspiracy grows. Suddenly, the Illuminati isn't just a secret cabal. It's behind the JFK assassination and the September 11th World Trade Center attacks. And that's when they're not apparently busy with their day job of funding and directing hip-hop and pop music videos. You may also start wondering what's the story behind the Illuminati eye. It's one of the most famous and enduring pieces of iconography associated with the group and its activities. Turns out it
• 16:00 - 16:30 actually has nothing to do with the Illuminati at all. The symbol is technically called the eye of providence. It was originally part of Christianity meant to represent the all-seeing eye of the almighty himself. It's been used for that same meaning by the Freemasons in the past who, as we mentioned earlier, have been subject to a lot of the same conspiracy theories as the Illuminati. It first appeared on the US dollar in 1862. And given that it's on the same bill as George Washington, who was a Freemason and a Christian, it makes sense that a piece of Christian and Freemason iconography would appear
• 16:30 - 17:00 there as a tribute to the man himself. The other most famous eye was in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen, an illustrated take on the human rights document of post-revolutionary France. Here, the eye represents vigilance and reason. But given the endless theories about the Illuminati's supposed role in the French Revolution, you can almost see how conspiracy theorists connected the dots. whether they were really there or not. Professor Yolanda Jettton, the head of the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, has said that people who most often fall victim to
• 17:00 - 17:30 conspiracies are quote quite lonely people. They're often at the margins of society. They have lower status positions. And by actually believing these conspiracy theories online and having others who believe them too, you create a bit of a community. You actually set yourself apart in a positive way because you know things that the rest of us don't. And in a world where life seems harder and harder, it's no surprise that conspiracy theories like the Illuminati continued to thrive. Centuries after the original Bavarian Order was wiped out. But one
• 17:30 - 18:00 question might still linger. What did Jay-Z and Beyonce have to do with this? Conspiracy theorists have long speculated that the musical duo are tied to the Illuminati, secretly working to usher in a new world order. The smoking gun is a triangular hand signal that they have both made during performances. Theorists say this is a reference to the Eye of Providence. We're sorry to burst your bubble on this, but the hand symbol isn't even meant to be any old triangle. Instead, it's a diamond. A reference to Jay-Z's production company, Rock Nation. And the sad truth is, does what's true
• 18:00 - 18:30 really even matter anymore? Feel free to argue about that in the comments. Was the Illuminati just an Enlightenment era club that got blown out of proportion, or is there something more to the conspiracy? And why do you think it continues to thrive after all these years? Drop your theories below. Now go check out what did the mysterious secret society of Freemasons actually do or watch this instead.