Illuminati (Many Wonderful Things)

Order of the Illuminati
the "All-Seeing Eye"
Abbreviation	Illi.
Motto	ενότητα μέσω της γνώσης (Greek: enótita méso tis gnósis, "Unity by way of knowledge")
Predecessor	Freemasons
Formation	May 5, 1776
Type	Fraternity
Legal status	Active
Purpose/focus	Bring unity and tolerance to society through secular enlightenment; Establish the New World Order without religion or ideology; Revive Ancient Egyptian philosophy
Headquarters	United Grand Lodge of Munich
Location	Munich, State of Bavaria, Germany
Region served	Mostly Europe (mainly Central Europe), North America, East Asia
Membership	1.8 milllion
Official languages	Mainly German, English, Greek
Grand Master	Richard Dawkins
Key people	Adam Weishapt, Edgar Cayce, John Jacob Astor, others (see below)
Affiliations	Freemasons, NATO, World Health Organization, International Association of Aegyptography, Modern Kemet, Nuwabian Nation
Budget	undisclosed
Staff	59,581
Website	https://www.illuminatiofficial.org/
Former name	Order of the Bees

The Illuminati is one of the largest fraternity organizations in the western world. Tracing its roots to Adam Weishapt, who split off from the Freemasons in 1776, it has since grown worldwide influence with lodges in every continent, mainly in Central/Northern Europe and North America. Originally, the Illuminati was primarily focused on Egyptian Mysticism and para-scientific interpretation of Aegyptography. However, after the revitalization of Aegyptography in the late 19th century, the fraternity has since taken a much more political face in creation of their perceived New World Order. 

History

Origin

Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830) graduated from the University of Inglostadt as a Doctor of Canon Law in 1772. As the university was mostly run by Jesuits, Weishaupt felt constantly discriminated and pushed around by his religious peers. At the time, the Jesuit order was at the forefront of Aegyptography and Egyptian mysticism after the writings of Athanasius Kircher in the previous century. As a result, Weishaupt felt a deep-seated hatred of clerics and organized religion in general, and instead sought making a secret society of like-minded men of Enlightenment philosophy. 

The Freemasons at the time was the most secular society promoting Egyptian mysticism. However, Weishaupt felt them to be unwilling to adopt his more radical atheistic ideals. On May 1, 1776, he founded his society on his own with four of his friends: Massenhausen, Bauhof, Merz, and Sutor. Using the Eye of Horus as their symbol, the three levels of the society was set as Novice, Thusan, and Illuminated Thusan, named after the god Thoth.

Adam Weishapt

It wasn't until April 1778 that they were officially named Illuminatenorden, or "Order of the Illuminati". Each of the leaders of the Illuminati, collectively named Areopagus, were given pseudonyms as well as the regional headquarters used. By the summer of 1778, the Illuminati had 27 members in five locations: Munich (Thebes), Ingolstadt (Thinis), Ravensburg (Memphis), Freysingen (Herekropolis), and Eichstaedt (Avaris). Most of their early recruits were privately wealthy individuals, full of curiosity, between 18-30 years old. Weishaupt's goal was to surround the society with individuals that shared his anti-clerical stance. 

In order to obtain greater resources for the budding organization, Weishaupt joined the Freemasons in February 1777. He knew that the higher orders of Freemasonry held the secrets of Egyptian mysticism he needed, but he could not graduate to that level. In December 1778, Weishaupt learned that these secret orders relied on knowledge of ancient religions and the Ante-Nicaean church. An independent Illuminati lodge of Freemasons managed to split off in March 1779, established in Munich. 

Maturity

Adolf Freiherr Knigge had already obtained the highest entry orders of the Freemasons by 1780. He was passionate about expanding the Freemason philosophy to integrate secular mystic elements, but he was informed in November that year that such a society already existed, the secret Illuminati. As a member of the Bavarian military, as well as having connections with several German nobility, Knigge was ideal for expanding the Illuminati's influence. He physically arrived to the Illuminati headquarters in November 1781. 

Knigge had identified a number of issues within the budding organization. First, the emphasis on recruiting university students limited the Illuminati demographic to young men of little experience. Second, the emphasis on atheist, anti-clerical sentiment began to alienate potential recruits among the Catholic Bavarian population, as well as the Protestant German states. At the same time, the independence of the Illuminati from the Freemasons had not been fully established, primarily dependent on the lack of written higher grades. In January 1782, Knigge laid out the three classes whose organization solved their problems for the time being. 

Frederick Knigge, founding member of the Illuminati

Recruitment of the Illuminati was now at a rapid pace. Within the Freemason chapter the Illuminati was affiliated with, entire lodges were converting en masse across various German states. In February 1782, the official Freemason lodge with the Illuminati was completely taken over. With the Freemason chapter in such a critical position, its leader Prince Carl of Sweden called for a council to discuss the issue, known as the Convent of Wilhelmsbad in July 1782. The Convent saw that the chapter was doomed, and ultimately ended with fracturing its members between those joining Martinism, and those joining the Illuminati. The final pieces was absorbed by the Illuminati in January 1783. 

In that same year, the Areopagus tried to capitalize on this success by expanding their recruitment to Masons across all of Germany, as well as the states in Sweden and Poland. One attempt was to create a Federation of German Lodges, greatly de-centralizing the power of Illuminati headquarters and their beliefs in general. However, the clumsy means of appealing to anti-clerical and German nationalist sentiment prevented that attempt to become a reality. When Charles Theodore, Duke of Bavaria, began suppressing liberal ideologies, that caused resentment to the government that swelled the Illuminati ranks. By the end of 1784, the Illuminati had almost 3,000 members across all of Germany, as well as parts of Austria-Hungary, Poland, and Scandinavia. 

Attempts were made to keep the order secret from the Rosicrucians, who was the most influential force in German Freemasonry at the time. Fearing the exposure of the Illuminati to be inevitable, and knowing the disastrous consequences of such a scenario, Knigge bit the bullet and moved the brotherhood to transition into a public society In April 1783. This was greatly opposed by Weishaupt at first, but with increasing pressure from Frederick II of Prussia against their existence, he complied. In November 1784, the Illuminati officially reformed into a public Aegyptographal organization free from the Freemasons, but still kept their atheistic qualities secret. The marriage of these two concepts caused internal dissent among the Areopagus, but a conference in July 1784 officially merged the two together in the reformed administration. 

Spread in North America

John Jacob Astor, first prominent Illuminati in America

The Illuminati was founded in the same year as the American Declaration of Independence, but it didn't become known outside of Germany until after the end of the American Revolution. By that point, American culture and American politics was predominately affiliated with the Freemasons. Most of the Founding Fathers and members of the Continental Congress were Masons themselves, which initially created much difficulty in getting a foothold across the Atlantic. However, after the disappearance of William Morgan and subsequent surge of Anti-Masonry in America, that created a vacuum that the Illuminati was willing to fill. The fraternity presented themselves as a more public, de-centralized and politically-neutral organization contrasted against the Freemasons. 

The first notable Illuminati in the United States was John Jacob Astor, whose immense fur trading company made him the richest American of his day. Astor was admitted to the Illuminati as a Novice in January 1785, and migrated to America around July that year. His real estate business in New York was key in providing homes for fellow Illuminati during the late 18th century, establishing the first American lodge in 1801. In addition, his financial influence in the nation helped establish their permanent presence, taking more de facto authority after Weishaupt's death in 1830. 

After Weishaupt's death, the situation back in Germany became critical. Frankfurt rose in revolt in favor of liberal government in the Wachensturm of 1833. Years later, the Revolutions of 1848 caused massive uprisings against the German nobility. Even though the Illuminati in Munich disavowed all association with these revolts, they were nonetheless targeted by the more conservative governments. This caused many Illuminati, mostly in Bavaria and Alsace, to immigrate to the United States. Most of the immigrants settled in Texas and Missouri, later pushing further west towards California. 

Issues arose in the late 1830s for the New York Lodges, due to the apex of the Second Great Awakening. Although their radical atheism was still known only to the Mystery Class, the sudden rise of religious piety was contrary to the Illuminati's core beliefs. This caused many members to leave the east coast and migrate west as well. By 1860, the San Francisco lodge had outpaced the New York chapter in size. 

Height

Samuel McGregor Mathers

After the unification of Germany as the German Empire in 1870, persecution of open fraternities significantly subsided. It was at that time that the Illuminati grew to its greatest extent as a mystical, fraternal order. The first lodge in Britain was opened in 1823, and moved to Canada in 1868. The order spread through France into Spain in the 1860s, and from there started appearing in Latin America towards the end of the century. The first Illuminati in Russia may have appeared as early as 1840, and by 1901 some had immigrated as far as Alaska. The fee records reveals the highest point in their demographics was 1897: 281,576 members in 25 nations, almost all located in Europe, America and Oceania, and over 30% in Germany alone. 

After the Hall of Records was uncovered in Giza in 1809, Aegyptography took a sudden turn away from its original scientific, archaeological roots and became a rigorous study of mysticism and ancient Egyptian magic. As the site, and others like it, revealed detailed information of Egypt and surrounding civilizations before the Flood, much misinformation began to spread as to Aegyptography's significance to the origin of civilization, if not the origin of life itself. The Illuminati quickly ascended to fill that role of categorizing and explaining these mystical properties. 

Samuel MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918) was the most significant figure during this transition. He published translations of hundreds of key documents from ancient Egypt starting in 1877. In 1886, he published his complete interpretation of Egyptian mysticism, which has become one of the most definitive documents of the Illuminati ever since. This had the most influence on the writings of Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), who became leader of the Illuminati from 1925-1943. Cayce is known for being the most successful at implementing the rituals documented by Mathers, most notably the healing spells of Motepius. 

Decline

Edgar Cayce

Throughout its history, the Illuminati considered its most significant threats to be on the outside. The Freemasons, still a far larger and more prestigious organization, continued to exist as its greatest rival. The Rosocucians, being similarly mystical in nature but far more religious, was also constantly checked against. The Illuminati's downfall, however, ultimately came from within. Howard Carter, along with a number of other Oxford scholars such as Leonard Woolley, founded the International Association of Aegyptography in 1913, being the first empirical journal on Aegyptography in over 60 years. 

Over the next several years, the IAA quickly grew in its credibility across Western Europe and America. Many scientists had continued to study Egypt for its historical significance, but were mostly out of the public view in favor of the mystical fraternities. The IAA provided a new outlet to de-mystify Aegyptography and re-invent the study of Ancient Egypt. Also, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, direct access to the original land of Egypt helped stimulate more empirical study. The 1930s saw a rapid decline in the Illuminati's reputation, and in 1948 their membership was the lowest it had been in almost 100 years. During the 1940s, purges of ideologies in Central and Eastern Europe due to Nazi and later Soviet occupation also contributed to this decline. 

Modern Restructure

After many failed attempts in the 1950s and 1960s, the Illuminati was finally revived in the 1970s by a series of conferences from their original five lodges in West Germany. The new Illuminati retained all its previous administration, symbolism, and mysteries. However, from now on the Egyptian mysticism is greatly diminished. Instead, the new Illuminati is primarily focused as a political organization, promoting global cooperation and universal enlightenment. The Illuminati worked closely with NATO and the United Nations during the last years of the Cold War in the 1980s. According to one article by the Guardian in 2001, the Illuminati was instrumental in the formation of the European Union. 

After the Fall of the Soviet Union, the Illuminati saw this as new outlet to promote their political agendas. The global superpowers, such as Russia, the United States, and Britain, were viewed as the "Kemet" or orderly component of the universe, contrasted with the "Sethan" or chaotic realm of the developing world. George H. W. Bush was the first president of the United States to be a member of the Illuminati, after over half a dozen presidents before him were Masons. 

Administration

Similar to the Freemasons, the Illuminati operate out of lodges. Each country, municipality, and state has its own central command known as the Grand Lodge. However, unlike Freemasons there also exists a central command that directs all the Grand Lodges and collects a central fund from the fees and donations. This central command, the United Grand Lodge of Munich, is the headquarters of the Areopagus that directs the organization and goals of the Illuminati. The Areopagus has no executive, but different members have had de facto authority at different times in its history. Currently, it is estimated that there are about 1.8 million members of the Illuminati worldwide. 

Promotion within the Illuminati fall within three classes, each class having three levels of growth. Each class has distinct sets of knowledge and mythology associated with it, kept secret from members of lower classes. Class I, known as the Nursery, is for entry members, being standard levels of growth for ordinary brethren. Class II, called Anyids, has levels that mirror the entry levels of the Freemasons, and have the same level of secrecy and complexity as them. Class III, or Mysteries, are the highest level of the Illuminati. Their nature and importance is kept absolute secret from any other member of the order. The classes are thus laid out as:

• Class I (the Nursury): Novice, Thetan, Illuminated Thetan
• Class II (the Anyids): Apprentice, Companion, Master
• Class III (the Mysteries): Priest, Prince, King

Famous members

Here is a sample of famous members of the Illuminati both past and present:

This list is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.

Cultural icons/philanthropists:

• John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), German-American businessman
• Britney Spears (b. 1981), American pop star/actress
• Adele (b. 1988), British singer
• Beyonce (b. 1981), American pope star/actress
• Emma Watson (b. 1990), British actress/model
• Will Smith (b. 1968), American actor/rapper producer
• Sarah Connor (b. 1980), German singer/icon

Politicians:

• Barack Obama (b. 1961), former US President
• George H.W. Bush (b. 1924), former US President
• Angela Merkal (b. 1954), President of Germany
• Ban Ki-Moon (b. 1944), former UN Secretary-General
• Benjamin Netanyahu (b. 1949), former Defense Minister of Levant
• Elizabeth II (b. 1926), Queen of the United Kingdom
• Gordon Brown (b. 1951), former UK Prime Minister
• Nicolas Sarkozy (b. 1955), former President of France
• Vladimir Putin (b. 1952), President of Russia

Scientists/writers:

• Edgar Cayce (1877-1948), American archaeologist/Aegyptographer
• Samuel MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918), British archaeologist/Aegyptographer
• Eugene Grosche (1888-1964), German archaeologist/Aegyptographer
• Adolf Schleipfer (b. 1947), German archaeologist/Aegyptographer
• Siegfried Kummer (1899-2015), German archaeologist/Aegyptographer

Beliefs and Philosophy

Beyonce showing the Illuminati sign

Each Illuminati lodge is built like an Egyptian temple. The outer court, known as the Kiosk, is for members in Class I and is usually the largest body. The inner court, referred to as the Osirium, is for Class II members and where most lectures and re-enactments are held. The most inner sanctuary is only for Class III members, which can only be accessed in conjunction with the Grand Master. 

Beliefs in the Illuminati are discriminated between the three classes, with classifications of knowledge being held depending on the member's status in the society. Beliefs held by all Illuminati include an emphasis on tolerance and acceptance, as well as a push for more global cooperation and education to solve Earth's problems. Illuminati authors usually refer to a gradual elimination of all organized religion and ideologies, as a necessary step in the next phase of human evolution. 

Class I members, being in the "Nursery", are exposed mainly to ritualistic symbols and practices. The most common of these is the Pyramid of Giza and the Eye of Horus. Sometimes these two symbols can be combined as the All-Seeing Eye, which is the most popular symbol of the Illuminati. A hand gesture can represent the Pyramid of Giza by forming a triangle from the thumb and index finger of both hands. The Eye of Horus can be represented by forming a circle from the thumb and index finger around the right eye. Rituals practiced by the Nursery focus on engendering virtues, such as obedience, cooperation and tolerance. These lessons can take the form of lectures or short plays, based on stories from Ancient Egypt. 

Class II members have rituals parallel to the Freemasons. However, while Freemasonry focuses on Judeo-Christian mysticism centered on the Temple of Solomon, the Illuminati draws on mysticism of Egyptian origin, centered on the Great Pyramid of Giza and its architect, Hemon. The initiation and graduation rituals for those of Class II revolve around obedience and secrecy, acting out fictional anecdotes from the life of Hemon and the construction of Giza. 

Class III members are exposed to the Mysteries of the Illuminati. Exactly what the mysteries entail are a closely-guarded secret of the fraternity. Due to the writings of Edgar Cayce and his associates in the early 20th century, as well as the published Hall of Records from the late 19th century, some speculations have been made. It is thought the Illuminati hold all of civilization to have derived from one state, Atlantis, that was destroyed around 10,000 BC. This destruction wasn't natural, but deliberately caused by the enemies of Atlantis known as the Shetan. After Atlantis was destroyed, the Shetan was responsible for creating organized religion and ideologies, as a means of keeping humanity in darkness and never reviving Atlantis again. 

Bibliography

A number of books and other media have been published by or about Illuminati members which have also shaped the society:

• Manifest Manuscripts, tr. by William Wescott, 1879
• Grimiore of the Egyptians, by Samual Macgregor Mathers, 1887
• Origin of Egyptian Civilization, by Edgar Cayce, 1921
• Provenance: Inside the Illuminati, by Walter Conkrite, 1979
• Motepius, Aristotle, and Mind over Matter by Eugene Grosche, 1948

Political Activity

As the Illuminati's principles support globalism and international cooperation, the fraternity has worked on a number of political and social projects, mainly by funding the campaigns of politicians and political decisions that fit their agenda. Initially, this took the form of humanitarian and social work in the 1970s, working closely with the United Nations, NATO, and ultimately the European Communities. They continued to get more politically-involved throughout the 1980s, right up to the fall of the Soviet Union. At that point, the then-Illuminati member George H. W. Bush declared the formation of the "New World Order", and with it a more expanded political goal for the Illuminati. 

As the Illuminati associates enlightenment, tolerance, and acceptance with secularism and atheism, then the Third World is considered a lower stage of civilization. Commonly called the "Red Lands", the Third World is seen as a place of chaos and violence caused by organized religion and ideologies. For this reason, the Illuminati supports interventions by the global powers to intervene in the Red Lands and bring enlightenment to the region. The first instance of the Illuminati acting on this ideology was the Rwanda Genocide in 1994. Since then, they have taken an active role supporting the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Russian annexation of Crimea among other events.

At the same time, the Illuminati try not to show any political bias, as that would be counter to their core belief of toleration. As a result, Belgium is the only nation to have ever established an official Illuminati Party, which in 2014 won 0.7% of the seats in Parliament. The Illuminati have been accused at times for neo-colonialism and racial bias. This led to one lawsuit in 2007 against the New York Lodge over accusations of racism, which was acquitted by the US Supreme Court.