posted on May, 8 2005 @ 10:20 AM
You do not "join" the illuminati. You become illuminated.
The illuminati are those who are illuminated, or enlightened. Illumination is a status or condition.
J.D. Buck; The Genius of Freemasonry; Page 36:
If the sincere and thoughtful Mason would "take notice" of the symbolism and the use made everywhere in the Lodge of the word "Light", and
remember that the real Initiates are called also "the Illuminati", (Sons of Light), those who are illumined, and who in turn illuminate
Foster Bailey; The Spirit of Masonry; Pages 20-21:
Little as it may be realised by the unthinking Mason who is interested only in the outer aspects of the Craft work, the whole fabric of Masonry may be
regarded as an externalisation of that inner spiritual group whose members, down the ages, have been the Custodians of the Plan, and as Those to Whom
has been committed the working out of the will of God for the race of men.
They can be known ... as the Masters of the Wisdom for They are skilled in the divine ways and have mastered the arts and sciences which Their
fellowmen have yet to master. They are the Dispensers of Light and to Them has been given, by virtue of Their achievement, the privilege and the
authority to pronounce the great Masonic formula: 'Let there be light' and to evoke the response: 'And there was LIGHT'.
They are therefore sometimes known as the Illuminati and can direct the searchlight of truth wherever its beams are needed to guide the pilgrim on
his way.
One theory is that only a very few Freemasons get the "benefits" of the rituals:
Manly P. Hall; Lectures On Ancient Philosophy; Page 397:
Freemasonry is a fraternity within a fraternity - an outer organization concealing an inner brotherhood of the elect. .... The invisible society is
a secret and most August fraternity whose members are dedicated to the service of a mysterious arcanum arcanorum.
.... In each generation only a few are accepted into the inner sanctuary of the Work, but these are veritable Princes of the Truth ...
C.W. Leadbeater; Freemasonry: Its Ancient and Mystic Rites; Page 11:
Furthermore, the inner effect of a given degree, even in a rite that may be fully valid, may vary greatly with the degree of advancement and general
attitude of the Bro. upon whom it is conferred; so that in one case, let us say, the 33' would confer stupendous spiritual power, and in another,
less worthy, the powers given would be much smaller, because of the candidate's incapacity to respond fully to them.