The internet is full of theories and conspiracies about the Illuminati, especially after Beyonce's recent release of "Lemonade." The Illuminati has become an idea so popular that even the kids at the summer camp I worked at last summer made up their own "Illuminati confirmed" roll calls. But how many people actually know what the Illuminati is? My guess is not very many.

The Illuminati is (or used to be) a secret organization formed in the mid-late 1770s. "Illuminati" means "enlightened," and the group was said to be made up of enlightened individuals who knew more than the rest of society. The Illuminati was formed as a non-religious group, meaning that they actually wished to dismiss any religious influence; but somehow they are often linked to Catholicism, and the Pope himself is rumored to be a member. The Illuminati was also short-lived as it has not existed since around 1785—or so we are told.

Though the original Illuminati was shut down only 10 or so years after it began, it is rumored that today's even more secretive Illuminati group is actively taking over the world. Whether members of the Illuminati are politicians, business men and women, or celebrities, they are said to have control over most of the U.S. It is rumored that the Illuminati is and has been in control of the U.S. government since its beginning. It is a coincidence that the Illuminati was founded only a short two months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence? But the Illuminati would be nothing if they only maintained control of the government, right?

It is apparent to anyone who pays attention to popular media that Beyonce and her husband, Jay Z, are the ring leaders for the modern Illuminati. Even their daughter, Blue Ivy, is said to be a member of this secret and elite group. According to some conspiracy theorists, Blue Ivy is actually an acronym that stands for Born Living Under Evil, Illuminati's Very Youngest. Other celebrities' children, such as North West, are also rumored to be members of the Illuminati with their own secret coded names to confirm it.

Other members of the Illuminati include a range of people including the entirety of the Nike corporation, everyone at Starbucks, the Pope, and Donald Trump. If the Illuminati is so popular and so many of its members are constantly in the public eye (does this have anything to do with the "all seeing" eye that is a symbol for the group?), how do they manage not to get caught? According to theorists, the Illuminati has been behind almost every major event in American history since their founding. The assassination of JFK? Illuminati. 9/11? Illuminati. The Great Depression? Illuminati. LeBron James joining the Heat? Illuminati. If everything is a result of the Illuminati's acts, then surely someone should have cracked their code by now and caught them all, right?

Wrong. The Illuminati haven't actually been behind all of these events. The Illuminati actually has an entire sector of people who just sit there and throw out false conspiracy theories to throw the rest of us of. Or do they? Maybe that's just a false theory that has been thrown out by the Illuminati to throw us off—so technically, they do do that. But that's beside the point. The point is that the Illuminati are allegedly covering their own tracks.

And they are doing it so well that other people actually dedicate their time to researching conspiracies and running blogs, writing books, etc. that are filled with theories and proofs of the Illuminati's existence. This is the reason that I love the Illuminati. Whether it's real or fake, it still has the power to consume people's thoughts and time, and let's be real, it's really fun to think about.

But the most interesting thing about the Illuminati is that, despite the secrecy of the organization and the high caliber status of most of its members, all anyone has got to do to join is give their email address and first name here. The best part is that there's no membership fee!