The Bavarian city of Ingolstadt was no stranger to secrets. It wasn’t in May 1776, anyway, when it became the birthplace of the Illuminati. Shrouded in shadows, this secret society convened for close to 10 years, circulating its ideas without censure or condemnation. It wasn’t until 1785 that its activities were banned, as an active conspiracy against the state of Bavaria.
The Illuminati and other secret societies inspire our imaginations, both for better and for worse. There’s something about them that’s irresistibly intriguing. But why? What are they, actually, and what do they do? What makes them so fascinating, both for insiders and for outsiders looking in?
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In some secret societies, traditional rites and rituals involve the representation or reenactment of the organization’s origins, including those of the Freemasons represented above. (Credit: Tom Chalky - Digital ...
