If you are a major conspiracy theorist, or if you even enjoy reading about conspiracy theories, it is pretty impossible for you to have glazed past Illuminati or the Illuminati symbols. The Illuminati are like the forefathers of all conspiracy theories, and they apparently seem to have a hand in everything, from Princess Diana’s death to Lady Gag’s VMA Performances to movie productions like Black Swan. I know they must lead a pretty busy lifestyle to be so influential, right?

Suppose you have only a passing knowledge of the Illuminati or Illuminati symbology. In that case, you might be under the impression that they are a group of occultists who drink blood from skulls and aim to dominate the world through mass media mind control. In actuality, though, the Illuminati — Latin for ‘the enlightened’ — weren’t a pernicious group of individuals with an affinity for human blood and dark caves but were rather scientists, artists, and writers like Leonardo Da Vinci and the likes, the ones who paved the way for the world towards enlightenment. Hence, the name ‘Illuminati’ is meant to illuminate the enlightened.

Somewhere around the 16th and 17th Centuries, though, a couple of secret societies did start coming up proudly emblazoning the title of Illuminati, such as the Spanish Society Alumbrados, and others who held either revolutionary or anarchic ideas (depending on how you look at it.) Many of them were persecuted, but this is how the concept of the Illuminati seeped into Popular Culture so much that Madonna is now widely believed to be the ‘High Priestess’ of the Illuminati, a claim to which she had the simple response that she’d be glad to be one of ‘the enlightened’ and be ranked amongst greats like Leonardo Da Vinci. Anyway, if you’re into catching occult signs and symbology in Music Videos, Movies, Dollar Bills, etc., the following Illuminati Symbols might interest you.

Here’s a list of the ten most popular Illuminati Symbols and their meaning.

1. The Owl – Wisdom

The Owl is perfect Illuminati bait. It can see in the dark, and it represents wisdom and secrecy. Considering the Illuminati is reputed to be a secret society bent on world domination from behind the shadows, you can see how this symbol might appeal to Conspiracy Theorists. It is a perfect representation of the serendipitous ways of the Illuminati.

It’s the rationale behind people thinking that the Founding Fathers were Illuminati, as they inscribed an owl into the single dollar bill!

2. The Pyramid – World’s axis

One of the reasons The pyramid is seen to be such a powerful symbol for the Illuminati is because of its representation of a hierarchical power structure, with the One Percenters of the world residing close to the apex, the top is reserved for the all-seeing eye, which we shall get into shortly. It represents the world’s axis, with the highest point symbolizing enlightenment.

The base, i.e., the masses, are the ones holding up the Elite to be ruled by them. Another interpretation is that the 13 steps symbolize the 13 Bloodlines. It also conveys the message that the Illuminati is a solid organization, just like the structure of the pyramid.

3. The All-Seeing Eye – The ruler

This is probably the most important symbol of the Illuminati, and conspiracy theorists freak out whenever anyone puts on eye makeup so much as resembling this symbol. The eye represents illuminated as being on the top, the one who see everything and rules the rest, on the path of enlightenment.

It is placed at the apex of the pyramid generally, representative of the “Eye of Providence“, or Satan’s Eye, or the “Eye of Horus”, or that of God, depending on whom you ask and what’s the context.

4. 666 – Homage to Satan

This will be very familiar to any horror movie buffs or followers of the Omen series, in which the Devil spawn Damien has 666 embossed on his head.

It represents the number of the Devil, and the Illuminati are said to often worship the symbol as an homage to their master, Satan himself.

5. The Eternal Flame – Illuminati’s immortality

Satan, that is, the Devil, according to the Bible, was the Fallen Angel. He rebelled against the tyranny of God and was smacked down to Hell. His angel name was Lucifer, i.e., the Bringer of Light.

As such, the Eternal Flame held by the Statue of Liberty is said to be a homage to the Bringer of Light, a representation of the immortality of the Illuminati and Satan himself. Illuminati considers their organization to be eternal and undestroyable. Other than the Statue of Liberty, this logo is also seen on Standard Oil’s and Columbia Pictures logos.

6. Baphomet – Illuminati God

This is a goat-headed Pagan Demon God who made his/her first appearance in the transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar, a historical secret society. He is a representation of the Devil that the Illuminati worship.

Because of the Goat Head, theorists get into a tizzy whenever a video comes up with horns. For example, in Lady Gaga’s famous ‘Bad Romance’ video, she climbs on a bed with a music producer. On top of the bed, one can see Goat’s horns attached to the wall. This got people to come to the conclusion that the video was a representation of Gaga sleeping with the Devil himself in order to achieve Fame.

7. Skulls – Reminder of mortality

The Skull and Bones is an eternal reminder of mortality and death in the Freemasonry culture. It can be seen as a passive-aggressive warning to Initiates that they only have a short while to fulfil their goals of illumination.

It also represents the secret island where all the meetings are conducted. At the entrance of their room at Yale, the text below hangs, giving a better idea of the message conveyed by the skull: “Who was the fool, who the wise man, beggar or king? Whether poor or rich, all’s the same in death.”

8. Distorted Cross – Taunt at Jesus

The Cross of Jesus Christ is often corrupted in typical Illuminati symbolism; they may be inverted, double-crossed, etc. This is another famous motif in recent Pop Star videos like Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ and Gaga’s ‘Alejandro.’ Both of which are a favourite amongst Occult circles.

An inverted cross is seen as a homage to Satan or a taunt at God. It is believed to be present at the tombs of famous personalities belonging to the Illuminati society. It’s also sometimes referred to as Saint Peter’s Cross. Saint Peter was the first Pope, and he requested that after death, to be crucified upside down the Cross, opposite to that of Jesus.

9. The Nazi Salute – Illuminati Salutation

The Nazi Salute or The Bellamy Salute is a popular hand sign of the Illuminati which is why people assume that the whole of World War 2 was orchestrated by them and that Hitler was just a big dummy who was a puppet controlled by the Illuminati.

Who were the Illuminati, you ask? Why the big bankers and all of Switzerland, of course! Since they’re the only ones who profited from the war. However, among Hitler’s long list of aberrant individuals was also included the Freemasons, so it’s up to you to believe what you like.

10. As Above, So Below – Hell on Earth

This is a hand sign, with the right-pointing upwards and the left pointing down to the ground. Loads of ancient statues represent this, and it is seen as a representation of the Illuminati’s desire to turn Earth into living Hell. Illuminism is a system of dualism which intends to reverse everything.

So, these are just a handful of the many Illuminati symbols and signs. However, in the comments section, we’d like to hear from you about your thoughts and if you’ve seen any Illuminati symbols. Do you think Madonna and Lady Gaga are devil worshipers, or do you believe they like to taunt such associations, or is it all a whole lot of bull? Do you believe Hitler was a puppet or not? What about Obama? Do you think he tucks Malia in at night and then retrieves to a cave to drink blood with hooded figures? Or, gasp, do you think he’s already initiated, Malia? Comment down below and feel free to go crazy with your theories; we love and respect (well, maybe not that) all of them. We’d love to hear from you about your views about Illuminati Symbols!