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ILLUMINATI

The Illuminati, founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria, aimed to counter superstition and religious influence, but was outlawed by 1790. Despite its dissolution, the group has become a symbol in modern conspiracy theories, suggesting it manipulates global affairs and seeks a 'New World Order.' Internal conflicts and recruitment challenges led to its decline, with notable figures like Knigge attempting to mediate and expand its influence within Freemasonry.

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12 views3 pages

ILLUMINATI

The Illuminati, founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Bavaria, aimed to counter superstition and religious influence, but was outlawed by 1790. Despite its dissolution, the group has become a symbol in modern conspiracy theories, suggesting it manipulates global affairs and seeks a 'New World Order.' Internal conflicts and recruitment challenges led to its decline, with notable figures like Knigge attempting to mediate and expand its influence within Freemasonry.

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krishhivjallan15
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ILLUMINATI

The Illuminati originally refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, a secret society founded on May
1, 1776, in Bavaria (now part of Germany). The group's goals included opposing
superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life, and abuses of state power.
The Illuminati were outlawed by Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, with support from
the Catholic Church, through a series of edicts between 1784 and 1790. The society was
vilified by conservative and religious critics who alleged it was involved in the French
Revolution and continued operating in secret. The group attracted influential figures like
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder, and the Duke of Gotha and
Weimar. The term "Illuminati" has been used to describe various alleged successor
organizations, though these connections are unsubstantiated. Conspiracy Theories:
Modern conspiracy theories claim that the Illuminati controls world affairs, manipulates
events, and influences governments and corporations. Some theories suggest the
Illuminati seeks to establish a "New World Order" through secretive control. The idea of
the Illuminati has permeated popular culture, featuring in novels, films, TV shows, comics,
video games, and music videos. Despite the historical group's dissolution, the Illuminati
concept remains a powerful and pervasive symbol in conspiracy theories and
entertainment.
HISTORY
Adam Weishaupt, a professor of Canon Law and practical philosophy at the University of
Ingolstadt, founded the Illuminati in 1776. Weishaupt, disillusioned by the Jesuits' control
over the university and driven by Enlightenment ideals, sought to establish a secret
society to promote his philosophical agenda. Initially named the Perfectibilists, the
society's name was changed to the Illuminatenorden, or Order of Illuminati, to better
reflect its objectives. The Illuminati's formation was marked by its use of Freemasonic
structures but adapted to Weishaupt’s vision. The society used aliases for its members,
with Weishaupt himself adopting the name Spartacus. Early members included students
Massenhausen, Bauhof, Merz, and Sutor, though internal conflicts led to Massenhausen's
eventual expulsion. By 1778, the order had expanded to include influential figures like
Xavier von Zwack and had established several regional commands. During this period, the
Illuminati had three grades: Novice, Minerval, and Illuminated Minerval. The Minerval
grade involved a complex initiation ceremony, including secret signs and passwords. A
system of mutual surveillance ensured that Weishaupt stayed informed about the
members' activities. The society was exclusive, targeting wealthy, compliant, and
educated young men, while excluding Jews, pagans, women, monks, and members of
other secret societies.
TRANSITION
Adam Weishaupt, a professor at the University of Ingolstadt, founded the Illuminati in
1776 to advance Enlightenment ideals and counter the Jesuits' influence at the university.
Initially called the Perfectibilists, the society was renamed the Illuminatenorden to better
represent its goals. The Illuminati modelled its structure on Freemasonry but tailored it to
Weishaupt’s agenda, using aliases for its members, with Weishaupt himself known as
Spartacus. Early members included students like Massenhausen, Bauhof, Merz, and Sutor,
though Massenhausen's erratic behaviour led to his expulsion. By 1778, the order had
grown and included notable figures such as Xavier von Zwack, and had established
regional branches. The Illuminati had three grades—Novice, Minerval, and Illuminated
Minerval—each with its own initiation rituals and a system of mutual surveillance to
monitor members. The society was selective, focusing on wealthy, educated young men
while excluding Jews, pagans, women, monks, and members of other secret societies.
SOME INTERNAL PROBLEMS
The order had now developed profound internal divisions. In July 1780, the Eichstaedt
command had formed an autonomous province and a rift was growing between
Weishaupt and the Areopagus, who found him stubborn, dictatorial, and inconsistent.
Knigge fitted readily into the role of peacemaker.

In discussions with the Areopagus and Weishaupt, Knigge identified two areas which were
problematic. Weishaupt's emphasis on the recruitment of university students meant that
senior positions in the order often had to be filled by young men with little practical
experience. Secondly, the anti-Jesuit ethos of the order at its inception had become a
general anti-religious sentiment, which Knigge knew would be a problem in recruiting the
senior Freemasons that the order now sought to attract. Knigge felt keenly the stifling grip
of conservative Catholicism in Bavaria and understood the anti-religious feelings that this
produced in the liberal Illuminati, but he also saw the negative impression these same
feelings would engender in Protestant states, inhibiting the spread of the order in greater
Germany. Both the Areopagus and Weishaupt felt powerless to do anything less than give
Knigge a free hand. He had the contacts within and outside of Freemasonry that they
needed and he had the skill as a ritualist to build their projected gradal structure, where
they had ground to a halt at Illuminatus Minor, with only the Minerval grade below and
the merest sketches of higher grades. The only restrictions imposed were the need to
discuss the inner secrets of the highest grades and the necessity of submitting his new
grades for approval

Meanwhile, the scheme to propagate Illuminatism as a legitimate branch of Freemasonry


had stalled. While Lodge Theodore was now in their control, a chapter of "Elect Masters"
attached to it only had one member from the order and still had a constitutional
superiority to the craft lodge controlled by the Illuminati. The chapter would be difficult to
persuade to submit to the Areopagus and formed a very real barrier to Lodge Theodore
becoming the first mother-lodge of a new Illuminated Freemasonry. A treaty of alliance
was signed between the order and the chapter and by the end of January 1781 four
daughter lodges had been created, but independence was not in the chapter's agenda.
Costanza wrote to the Royal York pointing out the discrepancy between the fees
dispatched to their new Grand Lodge and the service they had received in return. The
Royal York, unwilling to lose the revenue, offered to confer the "higher" secrets of
Freemasonry on a representative that their Munich brethren would dispatch to Berlin.
Costanza accordingly set off for Prussia on 4 April 1780, with instructions to negotiate a
reduction in Theodore's fees while he was there. On the way, he managed to have an
argument with a Frenchman on the subject of a lady with whom they were sharing a
carriage. The Frenchman sent a message ahead to the king, sometime before they reached
Berlin, denouncing Costanza as a spy. He was only freed from prison with the help of the
Grand Master of Royal York and was expelled from Prussia having accomplished nothing

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