As a historian of the occult, I receive more interview requests on one topic than any other. Halloween? No. Haunted houses? Almost never. Crocodiles in the sewers? Getting colder…
The question I am hit with more than any other: Is Jay-Z a member of the Illuminati? First of all, no. Secondly, and more seriously, a wide swath of our country has latched onto some variant of a conspiracy theory in circulation since the French Revolution, namely that a group of elite, antidemocratic control freaks are manipulating currency, plotting to steal our freedom, and worshipping goat-headed gods.
For some reason that only Alex Jones can fathom, these ultrasecret invisibles convey symbolic messages during Super Bowl halftime shows, Disney movies, and hip-hop videos.
As is often the case in matters of conspiracy theories, the truth is almost exactly the opposite of everything you’ve heard.
In actuality, the Illuminati has not existed for more than 200 years. The historic Illuminati was founded in Bavaria in 1776 by a lawyer named Adam Weishaupt. He believed in the same ideals that led to America’s Declaration of Independence that same year. His plan was to make his underground lodge — a kind renegade Freemasonic movement — into a vehicle for democratic revolution.
