Join Illuminati????

What about this :
The history of the Illuminati - the "illuminated ones" is as tangled as any body in history. The designation has been applied - by themselves or by others - to a wide variety of religious, social, and political reformers and conspirators.

Most accounts of the Illuminati will give prominent mention to Adam Weishaupt, who in 1776, in Ingolstadt, Germany, formed a short-lived but influential group of intellectuals. To the outside world, they presented the face of a rarefied debating society and social club. Their detractors accused them of plotting to take over Freemasonry and/or various governments, and the Society was suppressed in 1786-87. Offshoot groups had certainly spread to France; probably to the Netherlands; possibly to the United States. Many modern "conspiracy theorists" will point to the interesting symbolism on the back of the dollar bill as proof that the Illuminati have controlled the U.S. government from its beginning.

However, Weishaupt's Illuminati were not the first. An Afghanistani group in the sixteenth century used the same name and campaigned for many years - through four generations of leaders - against the Indian and Persian governments. The Afghan Illuminati founded cities of great beauty and made many great claims, but were eventually driven underground. Interestingly, the German Illuminati appeared less than fifty years after the death of the last known leader of the Afghan group. Though Weishaupt's Illuminati claimed no connection with the earlier society, the coincidence of alleged motive (political power), means (recruitment or seduction of those in power), organization (eight ranks), and "secret knowledge" (improved powers of the mind and of understanding) are too great to dismiss entirely.

The group known today as the Rosicrucians is stated by some authorities to be connected with a Spanish group of Illuminati, and, through them, to Sufiism. The Spanish Illuminati, the "Alumbrados," were broken up in 1623, victims of the Grand Inquisition. Modern Rosicrucianism is divided into a number of groups, ranging from students of medievalism and literature to advertisers in Sunday supplements.

Modern interest in the Illuminati can be divided into three categories. The first is that of the "conspiracy theorists," who take it as a matter of political fact that most of today's important decisions are made entirely behind the scenes, by people other than the "public" leaders of nations. It is a commonly-held tenet of the conspiracy theorists that the Illuminati (specifically, Weishaupt's Bavarian Illuminati) exist today, and were, for their own reasons, responsible for the assassinations of the Kennedys, the oil shortage, the two World Wars, up to present day Iraq (Babylon to Illuminati).

Or this :
What was the Bavarian Illuminati?

Adam Weishaupt (02/06/1748-1811) Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingolstadt, founded the Illuminati of Bavaria on May 1, 1776 with a membership predominantly made up of his students. Originally called the Order of the Perfectibilists, "its professed object was, by the mutual assistance of its members, to attain the highest possible degree of morality and virtue, and to lay the foundation for the reformation of the world by the association of good men to oppose the progress of moral evil."

The rituals were of a rationalistic and not occult nature. Status as a freemason was not required for initiation into the order. Baron Adolphe-Francois-Frederic Knigge claimed a system of ten degrees incorporating the three degrees of symbolic Freemasonry.

Where Weishaupt and Knigge promoted a freedom from church domination over philosophy and science, John Robison and the Abbe Barruel saw a call for the destruction of the church. Where Weishaupt and Knigge wanted a release from the excesses of state oppression, Robison and Barruel saw the destruction of the state. Where Weishaupt and Knigge wanted to educate women and treat them as intellectual equals, Robison and Barruel saw the destruction of the natural and proper order of society.

The Edicts by the Elector of Bavaria, Duke Karl Theodor on June 22, 1784, for its suppression, were repeated in March and August, 1785 and the order began to decline, so that by the end of the eighteenth century it had ceased to exist.

So, what about the members?
Initial Membership List of the Bavarian Illuminati*

Compiled by Eric Samuelson, J.D.

[email protected]

Baader, Professor
Babo, Professor
Badorifer ("Livius")
Baierhamer ("Zoroaster" or "Confucius")
Bahrdt, Clergyman
Bajerhamer
Balderbusch, F. H.
Bart, Professor
Baron Bassus-in-Sandersdorf ("Hannibal")
Berger, Counsellor ("Cornelius Scipio")
Bode, F. H. ("Amelius")
Johann J. C. Bode
Braun, Canon
Burzes, Priest
Busche, F. H. ("Bayrd")
Baron de Busch
Constanza, Marquis de ("Diomedes")
Cossandey, Professor
Dachsel
Danzer, Canon
Dietrich (Mayor of Strasbourg)
Dilling, Counsellor
Dillis, Abbe
Drexi, Librarian
Adrien Duport
Ecker, Count ("Saladin")
Fischer, Magistrate
Frauenberger, Baron
Gaspar, Merchant ("Tycho Brahe")
Saint Germain
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) ("Abaris")
Grunberger, Professor
Gunsheim, Count
Hertel, Canon ("Marius")
Hochinaer
Hoffstetter, Surveyor of Roads
Kaitner, Lieutenant
Kapfinger ("Thales")
Knigge, Adolph Franz Friedrich Ludwid Baron Von ("Philo")
Kreitmaier, Prince
Kundi, Professor
Kundler, Professor
Lange ("Tamerlane")
Leiberhauer, Priest
Losi ("Ludovicus Bavarus")
Lowling, Professor
Massenhausen, Count Hertel Poltroon Mandl ("Ajax") (treasurer)
Mauvillon, Colonel
Meggenhoff, Paymaster ("Sulla")
Baron Mengenhofen ("Sylla")
Michel ("Timon")
Mirabeau, Count Gabriel Riqueti (1749-1791) ("Cornelius Scipio")
Morausky, Count
Morgellan, Count
Christop Friedrich Nicholai (1733-1811) ("Lucian") (Bookseller)
Orleans, Duke.
Ow, Major
Tallyrand de Perigord (Abbe)
Johann Heinrich ("Henry") Pestalozzi (1746-1827) ("Alfred")
Pfelt ("Cicero")
Pfruntz, Priest
Renner, Professor
Rothschild
Sauer ("Attila")
Savioli, Count ("Brutus")
Baron von Schroeckenstein ("Mahomed")
Seefeld, Count
Socher, School Inspector ("Hermes Trismegistus")
Steger ("Shaftesbury")
Strobi, Bookseller
Torring, Count
Tropponero, Zuschwartz ("Coriolanus")
Utschneider, Professor
Vachency, Councellor
Adam Weishaupt, Professor ("Spartacus")
Werner, Counsellor
Westenrieder, Professor ("Pythagoras")
Wortz, Apothecary
Kirchenrat Karl Kasimir Wundt (1744-1784) ("Raphael")
(the grandfather of Wilhelm Wundt)
Zwack, Herr von (Lawyer) ("Cato")
* The above list is primarily from John Robison, A.M.
(p. 116-118) (1967 Western Islands Reprint).
Code names for cities included Munich ("Athens"), Ingoldstat ("Ephesus" or "Eleusis"), Heidelberg ("Utica"), Bavaria ("Achaia"), Suabia ("Pannonia"), and Vienna ("Rome").

Locations of Illuminati Lodges: Aix-la-Chappelle (2), Alsace (many), America (several), Ancona, Anspach, Austria (14), Bartschied, Bonn (4), Brunswick, Buchenwerter, Calbe, Carisruhe, Cassel, Cologne, Courland, (many), Cousel, Deuxponts, Dresden (4), Dusseldorff, Echstadt, England (8), Florence, France, Frankendahl, Frankfort, Hahrenberg, Holland (many), Hanover, Heidelberg, Hesse (many), Ingolstadt, Livonia (many), Magdenburgh, Mannheim, Mentz (2), Monpeliard, Munich, Naples, Neuwied (2), Osnabruck, Poland (many), Rome, Upper Saxony (several), Scotland (2), Spire, Strasburgh (5), Stutgard (3), Switzerland (many), Treves (2), Turin, Vienna (4), Warsaw (2), Weimar, Westphalia (several) and Worms.

Robison was not able to find the identities of Minos, Euriphon, Celsius, Mahomet, Hercules, Socrates, Philippo Strozzi, Euclides, and certain others whom he said "have been uncommonly active in carrying forward the great cause. He gave "the chief publications" that gave regular accounts of the whole (besides the original writings):

1. Grosse Absicht des liluminaten Ordens.
2. Nachirages (3.) an denselben.
3. Weishaupt's improved System.
4. System des Ilium. Ordens aus dem original~Schriften gezogen.

References to Illuminati and Secret Societies:

Rabbi Marvin S. Antelman, Vol. I, To Eliminate the Opiate (1974).
James H. Billington, Fire In The Minds of Men (1980).
David Bjelajac, Washington Allston, Secret Societies and the Alchemy of Anglo-American Painting (1997).
Samuel L. Blumenfeld, Is Public Education Necessary? (1981).
William Bramley, The Gods of Eden (1990).
William Guy Carr, Pawns In The Game (1958); Satan, Prince of This World (1997).
J.R. Church, Guardians Of The Grail (1989).
Henry Wilson Coil, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia (1961).
Conspiracy! Vol. 6 No. 12 (December 1996).
Arkon Daraul, A History of Secret Societies (1990).
Paul H. Emden, Money Powers of Europe (1938).
H.C. Engelbrecht, Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1968).
A. Ralph Epperson, The Unseen Hand (1985).
Myron Fagan, The Illuminati (1967) (Transcript).
Elliott Germain, Western Man: Alpha to Omega (1997); Transfer of Power: the War of 1861 (1999).
Robert Henry Goldsborough, Lines of Credit: Ropes of Bondage (1989).
Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich (1989); Descent Into Slavery? (1980).
Charles William Heckethorn, Vol. I, The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries (1897).
Michael Howard, The Occult Conspiracy (1989).
George Humphrey, Common Sense: An Introduction to The Dangers of the New World Order (1998).
R.M. Johnston, Vol. II, The Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy and the Rise of the Secret Societies (1973).
Gary Kah, En Route to Global Occupation (1991); The Demonic Roots To Globalism.
Stephen Knight, The Brotherhood (Dorset Press 1986).
Illiya Langlois, Inside The New American Underground (1995).
John Heron Lepper, Famous Secret Societies (1971).
C.S. Lewis, "The Inner Ring," The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (1980).
Eustace Mullins, The Curse of Canaan (1987).
John Cosen Ogden, A View of the New England Illuminati (1799); MicroPrint #36009.
Edmond Paris, The Secret History of the Jesuits (1975).
Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871).
Robert L. Preston, Wake-Up America (1972).
Lady Queenborough, Vols. I & II, Occult Theocracy (1933).
Captain A.H.M. Ramsay, The Nameless War.
J.M. Roberts, The Mythology of the Secret Societies (1972).
Marie Roberts, British Poets and Secret Societies (1986).
James Robinson, Proofs of A Conspiracy (4th Ed. 1798) (Western Islands Reprint, 1967).
Pat Robertson, The New World Order (1991).
Fritz Springmeir, The Top 13 Illuminati Bloodlines (1995).
Vernon Stauffer, New England and the Bavarian Illuminati (1918).
Albert C. Stevens, The Cyclopedia of Fraternities (1907).
William T. Still, New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies (1990).
Antony C. Sutton, America's Secret Establishment (1986).
William Sutton, The New Age Movement and the Illuminati (1983).
Nesta H. Webster, World Revolution (1921).

Do you still not believe?

Originally posted by Enigmatic Debris
what i meant was - the word Illuminati is another word for THE 33rd degree. THE ILLUMINATED ONE. therefore, to be an Illuminati, you'd have to join Freemasonry.

Not really.

I'm not a Mason, but basic research tells me that Freemasonry has only 3 degrees - there is no 33rd degree in Freemasonry. There is an affiliated group called the "Scottish Rite" that has degrees from the 4th to 32nd degree. The "33rd" degree is simply an honorary degree that is conferred upon people who perform exemplary service for the Scottish Rite organization.

From what I have researched, there are a few affiliated groups to Freemasonry: Scottish Rite, York Rite (which has something like 14 degrees and is for Christian Masons? Maybe a Mason here can explain it in more detail), and the Shriners. To join any of these, you already have to be a Master Mason in what is called a "blue lodge". I believe that membership in these affiliated groups is totally optional, and does not confer any additional status in the blue lodge.

I'm not sure where all of this nonsense regarding Freemasonry comes from... all of the Masons I've known have been outstanding individuals, and the Masonic Lodges in areas that I've lived in have done a great deal of good for the community. I have not seen any evidence of sinister activity (quite the opposite).

It seems like a lot of the paranoia surrounding Masonry is the same old junk that we hear about Jews... lots of unsubstantiated claims about control of banks, government, etc that have no basis in fact.


[edit on 5/14/2005 by JustMe74]

[edit on 5/14/2005 by JustMe74]

Originally posted by JustMe74
I'm not a Mason, but basic research tells me that Freemasonry has only 3 degrees - there is no 33rd degree in Freemasonry. There is an affiliated group called the "Scottish Rite" that has degrees from the 4th to 32nd degree. The "33rd" degree is simply an honorary degree that is conferred upon people who perform exemplary service for the Scottish Rite organization.

From what I have researched, there are a few affiliated groups to Freemasonry: Scottish Rite, York Rite (which has something like 14 degrees and is for Christian Masons? Maybe a Mason here can explain it in more detail), and the Shriners. To join any of these, you already have to be a Master Mason in what is called a "blue lodge". I believe that membership in these affiliated groups is totally optional, and does not confer any additional status in the blue lodge.

You are absolutely 100% correct. For a non-mason, you've sure managed to understand a fairly simple concept. Why nobody else around seems to get it is beyond me. Maybe it has to do with always looking to find something nefarious in the actions of a completely innocent, harmless and beneficial organization.

This is the infamous "Blue Lodge".

Originally posted by Enigmatic Debris
This is the infamous "Blue Lodge".

Infamous? That infamous Blue Lodge donates over a million dollars DAILY to charities throughout the world. That infamous Blue Lodge has provided millions of volunteers for fundraisers and charitable actions throughout the world. The only things that are infamous around here are your agenda-driven sources and hate/fear-inspired slander.

Originally posted by sebatwerk
Infamous? That infamous Blue Lodge donates over a million dollars DAILY to charities throughout the world. That infamous Blue Lodge has provided millions of volunteers for fundraisers and charitable actions throughout the world. The only things that are infamous around here are your agenda-driven sources and hate/fear-inspired slander.

I can't speak for anywhere else, but in my community the Masonic Lodge does a ton of very good things for the community, including a free college scholarship for a student in need at our local high school. In other places I have lived, the local lodges have also done a great deal of good for the community.

I think the fact that Freemasonry flourishes in free societies and is oppressed in totalitarian societies should speak volumes about the kind of organization it is.

reply to post by vallemorado


if you want to join illuminati then you obviously do not know very much about them
the illuminati are genius
the masons also but not on the same level as illuminati you should not ask these questions
knowledge is gift and you have to earn it
if you knew the truths of our race you would not be asking
do some homework before you

Originally posted by enlightened-one
the illuminati are genius
the masons also but not on the same level...

Damn it! I so wanted to join Mensa, guess I better circular-file the application.