The Illuminati: Empire of Money and Power

Foreword

The number of books available on the Illuminati is staggering. Type in the term “Illuminati” on Amazon and over 3000 books appear.  Some of the books assert the Illuminati are the progeny of lizard-like aliens; others maintain the Illuminati are part and parcel of a vast Jewish conspiracy; a few say the Illuminati no longer exist; and still others present their group as the true Illuminati and provide written manifestos and instructions on how to join.

The prevalence of misinformation is exacerbated by imitation, counterfeit claims, facsimiles, and replication.  In other words, most of the information is specious and indicative of a personal agenda.  Everyone has an axe to grind and wants to point the finger at this group or that group, or simply wants to make a buck.  It’s little more than a puerile blame game.

According to the internet and beaucoup videos on YouTube, the recent passing of Prince was the result of him pissing off the Illuminati. In effect, it was not an accidental overdose; it was an assassination by – of course – the Illuminati and their minions. Ostensibly, a whole bevy of pop stars belong to the secret organization, including Jay Z and Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Madonna, and, indubitably, Lady Gaga. And then there’s the Hollywood connection: Will Smith, Emma Watson, Lindsay Lohan, and Angelina Jolie.

The Illuminati “Jacques De Molay,” image by Lance Marwood via AI

Most of these are understandable.  But Lindsay Lohan?

Misconceptions and misleading information abound.

All this begs the question, who are the Illuminati?  And what’s the straight scoop on their origin?  Do they really exist and control the world?  And if so, what’s their agenda?

Here, for your reading edification, is the straight scoop on this supposedly secret organization that is now anything but secret.  Still, the paucity of secrecy is significant and indicative of “blown cover as a cover.”  At the present juncture, the perception is focused on the entertainment industries, the fact that members of the Illuminati are rich and famous.  The implication is that joining the Illuminati is beneficial and desirable.  But underneath the perceived advantages a fragrance of evil pervades, for the overall implication is that of making a deal with the Devil.

Something’s going on.  The question is:  what exactly is going on?  What’s the truth behind all the fame and fortune?  Smoke and mirrors tend to obscure reality, which is hidden deep inside the facades and masks.

Chapter 1: Following The Money

The Illuminati, according to some historians, grew out of Babylonian mysticism, aka illuminism, which touted salvation by means of knowledge.  In the Western world, illuminism came to be called Gnosticism.  Specifically, Gnosticism held that the human soul achieved salvation through intuitive knowledge of the so-called mysteries of the universe.  Individuals who attained this knowledge were a special category of human beings – superior.  They were better, more advanced, and thus simply superior to those who did not know.

The origin of Gnosticism is hotly debated by scholars.  No definitive provenance has been found.  But Gnosticism has been around for thousands of years.  It is the religious philosophy of self-salvation.  A religious philosophy first propounded in the Garden of Eden, when the beautiful creature told Eve, “You shall be as gods.”

Gnosticism maintained the certain belief that humanity attained salvation and everlasting life through its own efforts.  Manuscripts recovered from Athens in 529 asserted that the human intellect could determine the truth.  Protagoras wrote, “Man is the measure of all things.”  Once illuminated through knowledge (gnosis), those so enlightened could understand the kabbalah and thus achieve divinity.

The Church fell under the sway of Gnosticism.  One of the Church’s priests – Inigo de Onaz y Loyola – was admitted to the Illuminati – “the Enlightened Ones” – in Manresa, Spain.  By this time, the Illuminati taught that matter, the physical, was evil.  They also believed that mankind was created by Lucifer, the Son of the Morning Star – that Adam and Eve were descended from the union of fallen angels and human women.  Salvation was available to those who liberated their souls from their bodies.  This liberation made it possible for them to become one with the pure light of godliness or divinity.  Liberation was achieved by denying the physical (sensuality), which made it possible to intuitively grasp the mysteries of the kabbalah.

The Illuminati “Knight
Templar Torch,” image by Lance Marwood via AI

“Kabbalah is the name of an occult philosophy and theosophy that developed among Jews in Babylonia, and later Italy, Provence, and Spain, between the sixth and thirteenth centuries A.D.  The word ‘Kabbalah’ means ‘to receive,’ and refers to heavenly revelation received by Jews and passed on to succeeding generations through oral tradition.  At first, it was used by the mainstream of Judaism, but eventually, it became identified with those who believed that the Kabbalah was an esoteric, occult tradition that explained the true meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures, which was kept hidden from the masses and only made known to those who were spiritually ready to receive it.”

Loyola denied the physical by means of what he referred to as “Spiritual Exercises,” a twelve-step series of spiritual meditations designed to break open the head and free the soul from the confines of the flesh.

In 1523, Loyola arrived in Rome, where he asked Pope Adrian VI for permission to go to Jerusalem.  Permission was granted and Loyola set off for Jerusalem.  Immediately, Loyola traveled to Venice, where the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti, helped him obtain passage on a ship.  The name of the ship was the Negrona.

In August of 1523, the Negrona arrived at the island of Cyprus, where it docked and took on more passengers, one of whom was Diego Manes, a Commander of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem.

The Hospitallers had inherited the extensive wealth (properties, artworks, treasures, and money) of the Knights Templar in 1312.  The Hospitallers had been using the riches to defend Rome against the invasion of Islam.  But the war against Islam wasn’t going so well.  In 1522, the Turks attacked the Hospitallers on the Island of Rhodes.  Simultaneous with the attack, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles restricted the Hospitallers’ access to their money.  In other words, their bank account was seized.  Without money, the Hospitallers were out of business.  They held out as long as they could, but in the end, they surrendered the Island of Rhodes to the Turks and retreated to the Island of Malta.

The Negrona set sail for Haifa.  During the voyage, F. Tupper Saussy, in his book Rulers of Evil, suggests that Diego Manes presented Loyola with the documents in his possession.  The documents were the literary remnants of the Knights Templars, including “litanies, lists, secret codes, formulae, kabbalah, and other portable assets.”

The Knights Templar was founded in France in 1118, by Hugh de Payen and Godfroi de St. Omer, two knights whose goal was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land from the depredations of Muslim attackers.  From two knights with good intentions, the Knights Templar eventually grew into a huge company of men that influenced world affairs and global financial institutions.

The initial members of the Knights Templar comprised excommunicated knights, who vowed poverty, chastity, secrecy, and obedience to join.  Frankly, the excommunicated knights had nowhere to go and nothing else to do.  The Knights Templars gave them something to do and a source of income, along with fancy new uniforms and an excellent image.  The group’s mission statement was to rebuild the Temple of Solomon.  In keeping with their mission statement, they called themselves the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon.

Everyone thought well of them.  In fact, they became famous almost overnight.  Because of their perceived piety and devotion to Christ, and their notoriety, everyone wanted to join.  And since they viewed themselves as the elite and crème de la crème, they allowed only the best to enter their ranks.  Applicants appeared by the thousands, for in today’s terminology the Templars were rock stars.  And everyone wanted to be a rock star, even though initiates were required to turn over all their earthly possessions to the Templars.

Cardinal Aimeric of Santa Maria Nuova persuaded Pope Honorius II to ordain the Knights Templar as the Church’s highest religious order, which enhanced their image even more.  Aimeric encouraged wealthy noblemen and members of the Church to donate property and money to the order.  Vast waves of money were donated; tracts of land were given.  Overnight, the order accumulated almost limitless wealth and the power that came with such wealth.

The Illuminati “Philip IV France,” image by Lance Marwood via AI

In 1130, Pope Honorius II died.  Cardinal Aimeric arranged for the election of Cardinal Gregorio Papareschi, who took the name Innocent II.  Many of the other Cardinals cried foul, asserting that Innocent II’s election was rigged.  This group of dissenters elected their own Pope, called Anacletus II, aka the Anti-Pope.  With Aimeric pulling the strings, Innocent II outmaneuvered the dissenting Cardinals.  He came to an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor, Lothair II.  Innocent II crowned Lothair King of the Romans in exchange for his support.

In 1139, Aimeric suggested to Innocent II that it might be a good idea to make the Templars loyal only to the Pope.  So, Innocent II issued an official announcement – called a papal bull – that stated the Templars were now under a vow of obedience to the papacy.  By this smooth move, Aimeric, with his usual aplomb, effectively gave control of the Templars’ vast wealth to the Pope, while at the same time making the Templars the Pope’s private army.  It was a money and power grab, pure and simple, for the Templars were becoming too rich and too powerful.

By this time, the Templars were international real estate moguls, owning properties in Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary, and the Holy Land.  The Templars began building a series of great stone castles, numbering in the hundreds.  In effect, the stone castles were a chain of luxury hotels, the first choice of the rich, powerful, and famous, who wanted to feel secure while traveling or vacationing.  And because no one messed with the Templars, the stone castles were the place to stay.  Over the course of 100 years, the Templars built 870 castles and what they called chapter houses, which were large buildings attached to monasteries, churches, or castles; the chapter houses were used for meetings.  Chapter houses were usually attached to the eastern side of the primary structures.

Because of their fame, fortune, exclusivity, and apparent invincibility, the Templars became arrogant.  They believed they were ushering in a new age, a new world order.  In their superiority, they addressed one another as frere macon, “brother mason.”  This was the beginning of the Freemasons.

The Templars had so much money they didn’t know what to do with it.  So, they decided to use their money to make more money.  They became bankers, accepting deposit accounts, jewel deposits, other valuable deposits, and property deeds.  They loaned out money, for a fee, because the Church viewed interest as usury.  Technically speaking, fees were not interest, according to the Church.

At this juncture, in China, Kao-tsung, the Chinese emperor, came up with the idea of paper money, using merchant drafts as money.  When introduced to the concept of paper money, the Templars adopted it immediately.  This allowed them to securely transfer funds by means of letters of credit – paper money.

It was now 1300, and the Templars ran their international financial empire from Paris, France.  The Templars were richer and more powerful than any nation-state.  For all intents and purposes, the Templars were a nation unto themselves.  Everyone bowed to the Templars’ will, for they had the financial clout, and the military might to back it up.

The King of England, Henry III, found this a difficult pill to swallow.  He was King and these upstart knights were telling him what he could and couldn’t do!  Way beyond irritated, Henry III decided to seize Templar properties located in his realm.  When the Templars heard about it, the Master Templar traveled to London, where he told Henry that if he wanted to remain King, he’d better change his attitude.  Henry caved.

Over in France, King Philip IV, aka Philip the Fair, had the same problem with the Templars as Henry III.  The Templars sashayed around like they owned France, when, in reality, Philip did.  He was the King of France, not the Templars.  Philip IV’s problem with the Templars was threefold:  they were arrogant bastards; neither Philip IV nor the Pope had any control over them; and Philip owed the Templars a vast sum of money.  So, in 1302, Philip decided to make his point.  He issued a formal, official edict saying that everyone in France, including the Knights Templar, was under his authority.

The Illuminati “Pope Clemens Throne,” image by Lance Marwood via AI

Philip’s announcement set off a shit storm.

The Pope, Boniface VIII, took exception to Philip’s announcement, and replied with his own announcement, asserting that France, King Philip IV, the Templars, and everyone else – nobles and commoners – were under the authority of Pontifex Maximus – in other words, under him.  Boniface VIII put it like this: “It is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”  Boniface played the religion card, which was akin to a royal flush because anyone who didn’t play along risked ex-communication and the loss of their eternal souls.

Philip didn’t cave.  Instead, he fired off a retort to the Pope, in which he alleged the Pope was illegitimate, participated in sexual perversions, and, to top it off, was a heretic.

Outraged, Boniface VIII had his papal clerks write out a papal bull announcing the excommunication of King Philip.  Philip, guessing this would be the Pope’s next move, decided to beat him to the punch.  Philip hired and dispatched a group of mercenaries to Vatican City.  The mercenaries captured the Vatican and informed Boniface that he was resigning under threat of death.  The Pope, naturally, refused.  Before the mercenaries could prove whether the death threat was serious or not, the Vatican Guard counter-attacked and rescued the Pope.  The mercenaries were expelled from the Vatican by force of arms.

The entire episode was more than poor Boniface could stand.  He died shortly after.

The next two Popes – neither lasted long – maintained the same hardline as Boniface – everyone was under their authority.  No exceptions.  Then in 1305, Bertrand de Got was elected Pope.  Philip IV backed de Got’s election with bribes, manipulation, and threats.  De Got took the name Clement V.  Not only was Clement V aware that he owed his new position to King Philip IV, but Clement V was a sneaky little bastard.  He decided not to aggravate the King of France; instead, he gave in, conceding that King Philip was sovereign in France.

With his power affirmed by the Church, Philip decided it was time to squash the Templars.  In 1307, Philip’s troops sought out and arrested 620 of the 3,200 Knights Templar in France.  One hundred-forty of the 620 were arrested in Paris, including Jacques Bernard de Molay.  De Molay claimed he was a direct descendant of Jesus Christ – the blood in his veins was holy blood.  Being a descendant of Christ seemed, on the surface, impossible.  However, there was a school of thought that believed the historical Jesus had married Mary Magdalene, who bore him children.  The children eventually ended up living in Southern France.  De Molay bought into this line of thinking and firmly believed he was directly related to Jesus Christ.

In Paris, thirteen Templars escaped the net and fled.  The captured Templars went to trial, where they were convicted of blasphemy and magic (practicing the kabbalah).  Philip had them burned at the stake, like witches.

Naturally, all the wealth and properties of the Templars were seized, including 9,000 castles, the Templars’ palace in Paris, along with all their private estates and the Island of Cyprus, which Philip IV kept for himself.  The catch was that France and Philip IV would not get to keep the newly confiscated wealth.  This was due to the guile of Clement V.  Clement V, even though he was supposedly Philip IV’s puppet, wasn’t about to hand over money and assets that rightly, in his opinion, belonged to Mother Church.  Clement V made sure the riches remained under his control.

Official Templars’ documents, confiscated as evidence during the knights’ arrest, revealed that the Templars were not, in fact, faithful to the Church.  They were members of, and faithful to, a sect called the Primitive Christian Church, which denied papal succession from St. Peter.  The Templars supported a papal succession from John the Baptist and St. John.  In other words, the Templars were Johannites, which was nothing less than Gnosticism.

As Johannites, the Templars believed that Jesus was not the Messiah.  He was a fake, who had been foisted on the world by “the powers of darkness.”  Herod had correctly crucified the faker on the cross, an appropriate death for such a pretender.  However, while hanging on the cross, Jesus had repented of his hypocrisy.  Because of that, Jesus was now in heaven.

Johannite Gnosticism believed in the God of Heaven, a God who would never condescend to taint Himself by having anything to do with mere physical, human material.  God went out of His way to avoid matter, anything with stuff attached to it.  According to the Johannites, physical stuff, including the world, was governed by Satanel, who was Jesus’ brother.  And as the overlord of stuff and the physical world, Satanel had the power to bless people with material goods, like money.

Satanel, like any second-tier divinity, had his own logo, which was portrayed in the kabbalah as a goat’s head decorated (branded, tattooed, or inscribed) with a pentagram.  The Templars christened the logo “Baphomet,” a Greek term that meant “absorption into wisdom.”  The parallel to “enlightened ones” or Illuminati need not be pointed out.

Unsurprisingly, in keeping with their theology, the Templars believed that the fast track to worldly success, riches, and power was through connecting with the so-called powers of darkness, evil spirits, or demons.  For the Templars, the way to change and improve the world was by communicating with Satanel.

In March of 1312, Pope Clement V issued a papal bull with the catchy name of Vox clamantis – War Cry.  Clement V may have been a namby-pamby, but he was a tricky, devious namby-pamby.  On the surface, Clement’s announcement appeared to placate King Philip: it put an end to the Knights Templar, banning the order, which was just what Philip wanted.  But beneath the dissolution of the Templars lay a wily ploy worthy of Machiavelli:  Vox clamantis allowed the Templars to continue under a different name.  It was a simple bait and switch.  Pope Clement V and his Church would not kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.  It wasn’t good business.  The Templars were a money-making machine, and the Church was the beneficiary of all that wealth.

Vox clamantis stated, in a sub-clause, that the wealth and properties of the Templars would be assigned to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.  Not King Philip IV, who really wanted all that wealth.

The Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, before he was burned at the stake, gave instructions to the thirteen knights that escaped King Philip’s dragnet.  They were to set up covert lodges of the order in Paris, Stockholm, Naples, and Edinburgh.  And naturally, the new lodges would carry new names.  In Austria and Germany, the new name was the Teutonic Knights and the Rosicrucians; in Edinburgh, the new name was Scottish Rite Freemasonry; in Portugal and Spain, the new name was the Illuminati or Knights of Christ.

As he was led to the stake to be burnt alive, de Moly damned both Clement V and King Philip IV.  Clement V died within the next month, from a mysterious and agonizing stomach ailment – most likely poison administered by agents of the Templars.  King Philip IV, while on a boar hunt, was murdered by Angerand de Maringi, a hit man hired by the Templars.  In addition, a large number of French snitches, who had squealed on the Templars, were murdered throughout France.

Two centuries later, in 1522, Inigo de Loyola was initiated into the Illuminati.  His initiation would change the world.