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The Order of the Bavarian Illuminati

Background

     This secretive order claims (when it is heard from at all) to be spreading intellectual, social, and governmental reform and enlightenment. The order's past, and much of its lore, can be traced to Masonic and Rosicrucian sorcerers of the late Renaissance. Members are largely well-educated and upper class Europeans; Masters of this order are usually also members of some older established orders, such as the Masons. Some connections to the Jesuits are also mentioned -- the goal of reform and enlightenment would seem to match well with the goals of the Societas Iesu. The order operates openly only in Bavaria; it is widely viewed as part of the same conspiracy which controls Mad King Ludwig. As the Illuminati are rarely mentioned in newspapers, the public at large has little concern for the order one way or the other; but police agencies, government ministries, and paranoid radicals in every European nation watch for them.

     Note that, amusingly enough, none of the above information is secret. The actual effectiveness and adherence to doctrine of the Illuminati is debatable; they are known for taking credit for revolutions and assassinations that were not under their control. Some other magical orders despise them -- especially the Masons. It seems likely that much of the Masons' reputation for skullduggery and political machinations is actually due to the Illuminati.

     At various times the Masons and the Rosicrucians have been strong opponents of the Illuminati; their atheistic, anti-clerical goals make them enemies of most religious groups. The Golden Dawn is also actively opposed to the schemes of the Illuminati -- cynical persons feel it is a matter of two parties feuding over the same goal.

History of the Illuminati

• 1775 -- An ancient text, the Manuscriptum Mentallis, was discovered by Adam Weishaupt, a Masonic sorcerer (in the Lodge of the Order of Theodore of Good Counsel, based at Munich) and professor of canon law. The book, long-lost in the archives of Lilienfeld Abbey in Austria, contained a trove of forgotten lore.
  

• 1776 -- The Order of Perfectibilists is founded on May 1st by Weishaupt.

• 1777 -- The War of Bavarian Secession begins. The Order of Perfectibilists changes its name to the Order of the Illuminati. 

• 1778 -- France recognizes American independence, signs treaty and provides aid. Benjamin Franklin assists in the initiation of Voltaire into Masonic Lodge of Paris. Masonic Convention in Lyons organizes the Knights of Benificence. 

• 1779 -- War of Bavarian Secession ends. 

• 1780 -- Weishaupt's wife dies. Weishaupt dispatches the Marquis de Costanzo to propagate Illuminism in northern Europe (Baron von Knigge probably then first showed interest in the Order). The Illuminati Order begins a period of rapid growth. The Order of the Brotherhood of Asia, a Rosicrucian off-shoot controlled by the Illuminati, is founded. 

• 1781 -- Weishaupt seeks an abortion for his sister-in-law while awaiting dispensation to marry her. Baron von Knigge comes to Munich and joins the Illuminati. He begins development of their lore and organization, with the aid and assistance of Johann J. C. Bode, a prominent German Mason. United Masonic Lodges of Hamburg headed by Fraximus, a secret Rosicrucian. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason published. 

• 1782 -- Illuminati dominate European (Blue) Masonry. Casanova retires as secret agent. The oldest known (modern) edition of the Manuscriptum Mentallis was printed this year -- the location of the printing isn't given in the book.
  

• 1783 -- A former follower of Weishaupt (Utschneider) sends letters denouncing the Illuminati to the Elector of Bavaria, and to the Jesuits; a court of inquiry begins investigating the Masonic Theodore of Good Counsel Lodge in Munich. Eclectic Rite founded by Baron Knigge in Frankfort. 

• 1784 -- Weishaupt issues his orders for a French revolution (the Illuminati were however not the only groups interested in, or aware of, the political unrest in France). A copy of the orders is sent to the Illuminates in France, who may have been headed by Robespierre. The courier, Lanz, is struck and killed by lightning as he rides on his way from Germany to France, and the subversive documents are found by the Bavarian authorities. After studying the orders, and upon the advice of the Jesuit Order, the Elector of Bavaria (Carl Theodore) outlaws secret societies on June 22, and orders his police to raid Weishaupt’s newly organized Lodges of the Grand Orient, and the homes of his most influential associates. Baron von Knigge resigns from the Order in disgust. Cagliostro moves to Lyons from Bordeaux to found the Mother Lodge of Egyptian Masonry. Royal Commission in Paris, including Franklin and Guillotine as members, investigates allegations of “mental domination” and returns a negative report. 

• 1785 -- Weishaupt is dismissed from his position, and flees to Gotha where he is protected by Duke Ernest. There, he writes A Complete History of the Persecutions of the Illuminati in Bavaria; new and further Bavarian edicts (in March and August) outlaw the Illuminati and their Grand Lodge specifically. French “Diamond Necklace” affair. Rosicrucian Order suppressed in Austria. Anonymous pamphlet appears in Germany revealing secrets of ancient Egyptian ceremonies. 

• 1786 -- Wisdom Lodge founded in Virginia. The Bavarian government publishes The Original Writings of the Order and Sect of the Illuminati. A secret Illuminati congress is held in Frankfort where King Louis XVI of France, Elector Carl Theodore of Bavaria, and Gustavus III of Sweden are condemned to die by the Illuminati. Italian Illuminatus Buonarroti's library of Masonic and subversive books are confiscated by state authorities. In Gotha, Weishaupt releases A Picture of Illuminism and An Apology for the Illuminati.

• 1787 -- German authorities publish letter by Weishaupt admitting he sought abortion for his sister-in-law; Weishaupt replies, blaming “extenuating circumstances.” Weishaupt releases An Improved System of Illuminism. Goethe visits Cagliostro's family in Palermo. 

• 1789 -- French Revolution begins. A book by Professor John Robison, Proof of a Conspiracy to Destroy All Governments and Religions, is published; he teaches natural philosophy (aka physics and science) at the University of Edinburgh, and is a high ranking Scottish Rite Mason. 

• 1790 -- Rebellion and massacre throughout France. Cagliostro arrested by Inquisition of Rome. Bavarian edict against Reading Societies (some of which harbor the Illuminati). 

• 1791 -- Napoleon joins the Jacobin Club (a Masonic group). The anonymous book Vie de Joseph Balsamo (Cagliostro's name before he joined the Masons), the first recorded link between the Illuminati and the French Revolution, appears in several European countries. Mozart's The Magic Flute, containing Masonic elements, performed. 

• 1792 -- War between France and Austria. Louis XVI imprisoned in the Templars’ Temple tower. Massacres of September, in which priests, bishops, royalists and others are killed. Elections for the National Convention, a triumph for Robespierre and his followers. France declared a Republic. Catherine II outlaws Masonry in Russia. Life of Joseph Balsamo translated into English in Dublin. Assassination of Gustav III at the Stockholm opera. 

• 1793 -- Year One of the French Republic; the year of the Terror, Louis XVI found guilty of conspiracy, condemned to be executed. French government kills thousands of its citizens. France declares war on England and the Dutch United Provinces; war breaks out with Spain and Austria; Russia and Prussia begin partition of Poland. French food riots. 

• 1794 -- Year Two; France passes laws distributing confiscated property to the poor, leads victorious battle against Austrians. Would-be assassin of Robespierre fires on Collot d'Herbois instead; the next day a young girl arrested as suspected assassin; she and 40 others sent to guillotine. Other attempts on Robespierre's life; his enemies accuse him of attempting to have himself declared divine by Catherine Theot, an old woman who preached a mystery religion. Robespierre is guillotined. 

• 1795 -- France makes peace with Prussia and Spain, invades Holland. Napoleon suppresses revolt in Paris and goes to Italy as Commander-in-Chief. 

• 1798 -- Illuminati scare in New England. Knights of Malta lose their island to Napoleon. 

• 1800 -- Napoleon comes to power, supposedly with the help of Illuminati manipulation. 

• 1805 to 1881 -- Life of Auguste Blanqui, French socialist, founder of numerous secret societies modeled after Buonarroti. 

• 1811 -- Death of Weisshaupt 

• 1815 -- Napoleon's Waterloo. Secret societies which eventually become the Decembrist Movement formed in Russian Masonic lodges. 

• 1816 -- The Illuminati, and many other groups, attempt to manipulate the Congress of Vienna to their own ends. The final result is a stalemate, resulting in no gains by any of the secret groups -- a great disappointment to the Illuminati, who had encouraged the Napoleonic wars to rid Europe of its previous regimes. 

• 1819 -- Founding of National Freemasonry, the most important of several Polish secret societies devoted to ousting the Russians from Poland. Liberation of Columbia by Bolivar. 

• 1822 -- Russian government suppresses Masonry (again). Equador liberated by Bolivar. 

• 1825 -- Decembrist movement suppressed in Russia after brief uprising. Bolivar liberates Bolivia. Founding of Vienna bank by Solmon Rothschild and Naples bank by Carl Rothschild. 

• 1828 -- Anti-Masonic Party founded, first third-party in America. Attempted assassination of Bolivar. 

• 1829 -- Allegedly, an Illuminati meeting in New York decides to unite Atheists and Nihilists into the Communist movement. 

• 1830 -- Anti-Masonic conventions in Massachusetts and Vermont find evidence linking Masonry with Illuminism. Simon Bolivar dies. 

• 1834 -- Italian revolutionary leader, Giuseppe Mazzini, is selected by the Illuminati to direct their revolutionary program throughout the world. He serves in that capacity until he dies in 1872. 

• 1835 -- The socialist “League of the Just” founded in Paris, later becoming the Marxist Communist League. Attempted assassination of Jackson with two pistols, both of which misfired. 

• 1844 -- Bahai religion begins when the Bab proclaims his mission in Persia. 

• 1847 -- California declares itself an independent nation.

• 1848 -- Fall of monarchy in France. Republic established in Rome. Abdication of Ferdinand I in Austria. Revolts in Denmark, Ireland, Lombardy, Schleswig-Holstein and Venice. Marx and Engels publish the Communist Manifesto (allegedly commissioned by the Illuminati) and travel in France and Germany encouraging discontent. Women's suffrage movement gets underway in Seneca Falls, New York.
  

• 1861 -- Jacolliot writes about the Nine Unknown in Calcutta (they supposedly have great medical and spiritual knowledge and power). 

• 1869 -- St. Germain allegedly completes 85 years in the Himalayas after his "death." 

• 1872 -- death of Mazzini, the organizer of the Illuminati’s revolutionary operations. General Pike becomes the new leader of the Order. 

• 1876 -- Disraeli again warns about dangers of secret societies. 

• 1881 -- Garfield assassinated. Czar Alexander II assassinated by secret society. Disraeli publishes Lothair, a novel about secret societies and European politics. 

Notable Figures

General Albert Pike, CSA

     A tall, strong man, Pike traveled into the American West, eventually becoming a self-educated schoolteacher, newspaperman and lawyer. He was often employed by Native American tribes, and led three regiments of Indian cavalry (on the Confederate side) during the Civil War.

     Enlisted by Giuseppe Mazzini into the Illuminati, Pike became fascinated by the idea of a one world government, and ultimately became the head of the Order. Between 1859 and 1871, he worked out the blueprint for future wars, revolutions and economic upheavals; these were to carry the conspiracy into its final stage in the 20th Century.

     Besides his native English, he knows Spanish, French, German, Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Aramaic and several Native American languages.

     Born 1809, died 1891.

Conte Alessandro Cagliostro

     An Italian adventurer, magician, and alchemist, born in 1743, whose real name was Giuseppe Balsamo. After early misadventures in Italy he traveled in Greece, Arabia, Persia, and Egypt. While in Italy, he married Lorenza Feliciani, who became his assistant on his trips to the cities of Europe, where he posed as a physician, alchemist, mesmerist, necromancer, and Freemason. He claimed the secret of the philosopher's stone and of miraculous philters and potions -- including one of eternal life. Initiated into Masonry in 1776, as the Grand Copt of the order of Egyptian Masonry he organized many lodges. His reputation was amazing, particularly at the court of Louis XVI. Implicated in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, he was imprisoned, acquitted, and banished. Cagliostro returned to Rome in 1789, where the Inquisition charged him with heresy and sorcery. Imprisoned for life, he died in a dungeon in 1795.

Adam Weishaupt

     Adam Weishaupt was born February 6, 1748 at Ingoldstadt and educated by the Jesuits. His appointment as Professor of Natural and Canon Law at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775, a position previously held by an ecclesiastic, gave great offense to the clergy. "Weishaupt, whose views were cosmopolitan, and who knew and condemned the bigotry and superstitions of the Priests, established an opposing party in the University.... This was the beginning of the Order of Illuminati or the Enlightened...." Weishaupt was a Freemason; he was initiated into Lodge Theodore of Good Council (Theodor zum guten Rath), at Munich in 1776. Died 1811.

Baron Adolph Franz Friedrich Ludwig von Knigge

     German Freemason and, in part, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati. He was born near Hanover in 1752, and died at Bremen in 1796. He was initiated in a lodge of the Strict Observance at Cassel in 1772, but, for a time, seemed uninterested in the Society, though later becoming one of the foremost German writers on the subject. He published "On the Jesuits, Freemasons, and Rosicrucians, 1781, anon.; "Essay on Freemasonry", 1784; "Contribution towards the latest history of the Order of Freemasons", 1786; and "Philo's final Declaration", 1788. He also wrote many non-Masonic works, one being "On Conversation with Men", towards the end of his career and after a sad experience with the Illuminati and disappointment with the Strict Observance, causing him therein to devote much space to secret societies and denunciation of Freemasonry. The most interesting and significant part of Knigge's career was his participation with Weishaupt in the promotion of the Bavarian Illuminati, he being almost an equal party.

The Doctrine and Plans of the Illuminati

      The plan unveiled by Weishaupt on May 1, 1776 requires the overthrow or subversion of all existing governments and religions; further doctrines advocate the abolition of all religion, the overthrow of all civil government, the creation of world (“Cosmopolitan”) citizenship and the abolition of private property. Science, rationalism, and enlightenment will create a utopian society; outdated morality and superstition will be banished, bringing universal happiness to the human race. This new society will "unite, by way of one common higher interest and by a lasting bond, men and women from all parts of the globe, from all social classes and from all religions, despite the diversity of their opinions and passions, to make them love this common interest and bond to the point where, together or alone, they act as one individual.”

      The object of the Order of the Illuminati is “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 and women to oppose the progress of moral evil.”

      In Weishaupt’s own words, the Illuminati themselves will “form a durable combination of the most worthy persons, who should work together in removing the obstacles to human happiness, become terrible to the wicked, and give their aid to all the good without distinction, and should by the most powerful means, first fetter, and by fettering, lessen vice; means which at the same time should promote virtue, by rendering the inclination to rectitude, hitherto too feeble, more powerful and engaging.” The order, “by mutual helpfulness, counsel, and philosophic discussions, would increase morality and virtue, lay the foundation for the reformation of the world, and oppose the progress of evil.”

      Weishaupt planned to surround the ruling authorities with members of his Order: "These powers are despots, when they do not conduct themselves by the Order's principles; and it is therefore our duty to surround them with our members, so that the profane may have no access to them. Thus we are able most powerfully to promote its interests. If any person is more disposed to listen to Princes than to the Order, he is not fit for it, and must rise no higher. We must do our utmost to procure the advancement of Illuminati into all important civil offices."

      “We have to struggle with pedantry, with intolerance, with divines and statesmen; and above all, princes and priests are in our way. Men are unfit as they are, and must be formed, each class must be the school of trial for the next [...] Every person shall be made a spy on another and on all around him. Nothing can escape our sight; by these means we shall readily discover those who are contented, and receive with relish the peculiar state-doctrines and religious opinions that are laid before them; and, at last, the truly worthy alone will be admitted to a participation in the whole maxims and political constitution of the Order.”

The Current Plan of Operation

1. Monetary and sex bribery is to be used to obtain control of people already in high places in the various levels of all governments and other fields of endeavor. Once influential persons have succumbed to the deceits and temptations of the Illuminati, they are to be held in bondage by application of political and other forms of extortion, threats of financial ruin, public exposure, and physical harm.

2. The Illuminati who are on the faculty of colleges and universities are to cultivate students possessing exceptional mental ability and who belong to well-bred families with international leanings, and recommend them for special training in Cosmopolitan Internationalism. All such scholars are to be first persuaded and then convinced that men and women of special talent and intellect have the right and duty to rule those less gifted on the grounds that the masses do not realize what is best for them physically, mentally, and spiritually.

3. All influential people who come under the control of the Illuminati, plus the students who have been specially educated and trained, are to be used as agents and placed behind the scenes of all governments as experts and specialists. They will advise the ministers to adopt policies which will, in the long run, serve the plans of the Illuminati.

4. Illuminates are to infiltrate into other Orders of magic, and form their own secret societies within all secret societies. Only persons who prove themselves internationalists are to be initiated into the Illuminati.

Rites and Rules

      The oath reads in part:

"I bind myself to perpetual silence and unshaken loyalty and submission to the Order, in the persons of my Superiors; here making a faithful and complete surrender of my private judgement, my own will, and every narrow-minded employment of my power and influence."

     Members are required to spy and report on other members of the same or lower degree, and submit autobiographies which could compromise themselves should they decide to leave the Order.

      The Illuminati are extremely secretive, even identifying themselves and their chapters by assumed classical names; for examples, Weishaupt was Spartacus, Knigge was Philo, Ingolstadt, the former headquarters, was Eleusis, Austria was Egypt, etc. Dates are given in code.

      The ceremonies are divided into three principal classes and those into degrees as follows:

1. The Nursery

1. Preparatory Literary Essay

2. Novitiate

3. Minerval

4. Minor Illuminatus

5. Magistratus

2. Symbolic Freemasonry

1. Apprentice

2. Fellow Craft

3. Master

4. Scots Major Illuminatus,

5. Scots Illuminatus Dirigens (Directory)

3. Mysteries. There is only one person in each of these offices.
   

1. Lesser

• Presbyter, Priest, or Epopt - currently, the Duke of Holdernesse
  

• Prince or Regent

2. Greater:

• Magus

• Rex or King - currently, Albert Pike
  

      Non-mages never progress beyond the level of “Magistratus.” Mages at the Good level of Sorcery ability are about at the “Fellow Craft” degree of the Symbolic Masonry class. At the next degree “Master”, they start learning actual Masonic magics; to reach the 4th Degree of the 2nd Class requires a complete knowledge of the Masonic Lore.

      The actual initiation of plots and direction of the organization starts mostly at the degree of “Scots Major Illuminatus” which are the senior members of any one chapter. The 3rd Class degrees ("Mysteries") control multiple chapters.

Lore

     The Illuminati possess the lore of the Manuscriptum Mentallis, and a portion of the Writings of Unspeakable Knowledge; in addition, those high in this order possess the knowledge of all Masonic magics.

Spells

      The usual European scholastic cantrips (Sense Magic, Magelight, Candleflame, Confusion, Simple Illusion, Minor TK, Resistance to Sorcery, and Housewifery) are also available and taught. The common magics of Wards and Focuses are regularly employed.