Let's be clear. I am no longer a Beyoncé fan. I once was. I fell off during her fourth album release. But I'm not one of those people who believes that I own an artist simply because I spent $9.99 on an album download from iTunes. Musicians are artists no matter their instrument, and therefore have a right to evolve in terms of their artistic expression. Art is more about expression and less about commercialism. I'm okay with not liking her music anymore. Like white people everywhere on Super Bowl Sunday, there comes a point when you have to accept that everything isn't for you.
Although I am not a fan, that does not automatically make me a hater. First of all I want to abolish, nay, kill the word hater with fire, lots and lots of fire. A hater is one who dislikes another for no reason whatsoever other than bitterness and/or jealously. I could care less what Beyoncé does unless I am asked to blog about her. All of the aforementioned should validate my following opinion on her alleged involvement in the Illuminati.
To quote Wikipedia: "The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776. The society's goals were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. "The order of the day," they wrote in their general statutes, "is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them."
In subsequent use, "Illuminati" refers to various organizations which claim or are purported to have links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies, though these links are unsubstantiated. They are often alleged to conspire to control world affairs, by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations, in order to gain political power and influence and to establish a New World Order. Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories, the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels, movies, television shows, comics, video games, and music videos."
So what does Beyoncé have to do with any of this? Well, as I like to say, "Look for the Christians." Christians tend to believe that any spirituality outside their own is condemnable by death to say the least and eternal damnation to say the worst. Beyoncé and her husband have been recorded saying that they feel "possessed" when they perform. That the entire Sasha Fierce campaign was an alter ego that Beyoncé allows to take over her when she hits the stage. This serves as proof to Christians and millions of others that the Carters are possessed by demons. But the reality is, ask any film or stage actor, and they will tell you that you have to take your mind elsewhere when performing. You have to become the character to be believable. You lose yourself in the performance. There are a long line of men who played The Joker on film who can testify to that. Most actors won't even watch their own performances because they don't recognize themselves. But for some reason, when the Carters make the same comments, they are possessed by evil spirits. Bring up Garth Brooks having an alter ego and people exclude him from being Illuminati because, he's a confirmed Christian. Another reason people say Beyoncé is tied to Illuminati is that she makes the triangular symbol with her hands at her concert. So basically, people will ignore all of the times Beyoncé has said she is a devout fan of yoga and Indian culture where making this gesture with your hands is common. But none of this is what irritates me most about this whole Illuminati conspiracy. What irritates me is how the Black Conscious community is so readily buying into this.
Realize that every time a black celebrity reaches superstardom, there is a sea of oppressors seeking to discredit them. Understand, as a Conscious Black person, you should never tear down the accomplishments of another Black person. When a Conscious Black person accuses a successful black person like Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Nikki Minaj, and Rihanna of being Illuminati, he is sending a message that black people are incapable of achieving success on their own merits. Poor, criminal, drug addicted black people are never accused of being Illuminati. Why? Why is it only the successful and highly visible? Black people are more willing to believe that another Black person's success is to be attributed to the devil before they'll willingly believe that Black people have the work ethic and financial stability required to become superstars in their own respective rights. How contradictory is that message coming from the Conscious ones?
What about the goat symbolism? What's so evil about a goat? Well, as it turns out, nothing. Even the bible tells a story where one must paint their doorway with goat's blood to prevent the death of their first born son. In pagan religions in areas in which the goat is indigenous, the goat may be sacrificed for certain rituals. This includes African voodoo, which is spelled a number of different ways. In order for missionaries to convince Africans that Christianity is the one true religion, they had to teach them that voodoo is evil. Anyone who has actually researched African religion knows that voodoo is about balance. In fact, the black magic portion is what changed voodoo to hoodoo, which didn't exist until the Christian element was added to it. By making the goat evil, all pagan religions were marked as evil by association. Louisiana is steeped in Creole culture. Part of that culture is voodoo. Beyoncé is very proud of her culture and even flaunts that pride in her newest video, Formation. Beyoncé wearing a goat ring isn't evil. If anything, she is toying with the simpletons who believe in Illuminati. She is a brilliant business woman who knows how to keep her name in your mouth. If anyone thought that her previous Super Bowl performance wasn't playing up the hype, they were sorely mistaken.
What I find ridiculous is the fact that so many Conscious people don't seem to know their own African history well enough to know that the Illuminati conspiracy theorists got it wrong. The theories that the triangle symbol that the alleged Illuminati make with their hands is the eye of Horus, an evil God. It's very convenient that an Egyptian God would be dubbed evil. Horus is the God of sky and kingship. This makes it more probable that the triangle symbolism is another show of Black pride from the couple who donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter. In African history the triangle is the delta, the pyramid, the eye of all male gods. But white Christians have convinced people that it is the eye of the devil. White history is filled with missionaries who led the world's indigenous to believe that their deities are wrong and that their god, Jehovah, is the one and only true god. Indigenous people on every single continent were tortured and murdered in an attempt to make them believe in Christianity, and yet, the Carters and the Illuminati are the evil ones.
I may not be a fan of Beyoncé, but I am certainly an enemy of hypocrisy. Accept and give due credit to Black celebrities who put their all into establishing their careers. Don't allow Christians or white America to convince you yet again that your heroes are bad and their heroes are good. If you find yourself losing faith in your people remember, the Christians made slaves. The Christians tortured the Native Americans. The Christians "cleansed" Africans of their "heathen" ways and led them down this path of self-hatred that has endured for centuries. Illuminati conspiracies are just another form of racial oppression. Do not submit to the fairytale.
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