Lingerie and Secret Societies

The Illuminati are a mysterious group that went viral in mainstream pop culture during the early 2010s, driven by viral internet videos and memes linking hip-hop artists, celebrities, and symbols to a secret, world-ruling society.  

Originally, the Illuminati (also known as the Bavarian Illuminati) was founded on May 1, 1776, by Adam Weishaupt after he was rejected by the cool Freemasons society. Due to feeling left out, he created the Illuminati to refute the influence and shortcomings of religion, and to counter the abuse of power by the state. This original group wanted to promote rationalism in public life, while aiming to combat injustice and political corruption. Eventually, this group would become an exclusive society, holding many wealthy and powerful people, eventually taking over the Freemasons. While they tried controlling the world from the shadows, they were almost immediately discovered by the public, leading to the Illuminati and other shadow societies being banned by the government, leading to the supposed end of their story.

As you probably guessed, this was not the end of the Illuminati. In fact, the most influential part of the Illuminati is the one that never existed. The modern Illuminati, or the one that you, the reader, are probably most familiar with, was created just from some people misinterpreting the original Bavarian Illuminati. This modern Illuminati conspiracy is heavily inspired by the 1975 trilogy, The Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson: two men who were not renowned writers, but editors at Playboy Magazine.

The series made by these two philosophical Playboy Magazine workers has inspired almost every part of the modern Illuminati conspiracy theory, promoting chaos and disinformation to make readers question the origins of truth and power. While The Illuminatus! was supposed to be satire, many ‘scholarly’ readers somehow believed that these two Playboy editors were the greatest minds of our time, leading the trilogy to now become the founding pillar of modern conspiracy theory culture. 

Now, the Illuminati conspiracy has expanded to include everything from JFK’s assassination to the idea that celebrities are secretly brainwashing the public. At this point, it’s basically the ultimate catch-all explanation. Something weird happened? Illuminati. Someone got famous? Illuminati. It didn't work out? That one might just be on you. Honestly, given that grandfathers of the main modern Illuminati beliefs traces back to a satirical series written by two Playboy editors, it’s not that surprising things got a little out of hand.