http://armageddonconspiracy.co.uk/The-Illuminati-Network%281564027%29.htm
The Dulcinites, under the leadership of Fra Dolcino, were a Joachimite movement with close connections to Catharism. They advocated egalitarianism and soon attracted the hostility of the Church and nobility. They were exterminated in 1307, the same year that the Templars were arrested and suppressed.
The Brethren of the Free Spirit, the Homines Intelligentiae, the Adamites, the Amalricans, the Beghards/Beguines, the Picards, the Turlupins, the Ranters and the Perfectionists were all groups of a similar type, inspired by the antinomian ideas of Joachim of Fiori and Amaury of Bene, and dedicated to absolute freedom. Because they did not perceive themselves as bound by the conventions of society, they often acted, in secret and sometimes openly, in ways that scandalised public opinion. Inevitably, they attracted the hostility of the Church and most of them were savagely persecuted.
Hieronymus Bosch was a member of the Adamite sect and his paintings are full of coded references to the teachings of the Adamites. William Blake's paintings and writings are also full of Gnostic symbolism, and coded messages. (An important painting of Blake's is highlighted in The Millionaires' Death Club.)
The Hesychasts - an offshoot of the Illuminati that appeared in Macedonia in the Byzantine Empire in the 14th Century. Their activities were centred on the monastic community at Mount Athos ("Holy Mountain"). The Hesychasts were mystics who endeavoured to see a vision of the light of the True God. They regarded this contemplation as the highest goal of humanity, taking them as close as possible to the divine order, bringing them into the company of the divine spark, their higher self. In this way they could become united with God. This experience could be described as "unio mystica" (mystical union), the ecstatic feeling of being one with God.
In order to disguise their practices as falling within orthodox Christianity, the Hesychasts said that the light they were seeking was that of Jesus Christ's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor where "man" and "God" visibly became one and Christ shone with the mystical light of God. After a long debate, Hesychasm was accepted as non-heretical by the Eastern Orthodox Church, but was rejected, peacefully, by the Roman Catholic Church. A similar idea, originating in Spain with the Alumbrados, met with a very different fate.
The Alumbrados (also known as Aluminados) - the Spanish chapter of the Illuminati in the 15th and 16th centuries. Ignatius of Loyola was a senior member of the Alumbrados, assigned the task of infiltrating the Catholic Church with a new group modelled on a non-military version of the Knights Templar. The group he founded was the Jesuit Order.
The Alumbrados recruited a number of "Conversos" - Jews who had been forced by the Spanish authorities to convert to Christianity if they wanted to remain in the country or even simply to stay alive. Many of these were well versed in the teachings of the Kabbalah. "Moriscos" (forced Moorish converts) were also recruited. The Illuminati have always been happy to take new members from different traditions, provided those people are not wedded to the mainstream "religions". The Conversos and Moriscos were usually those who were already uncomfortable with their original religions, though they had no fondness for Christianity, simply converting for convenience rather than through any conviction.
Like the Hesychasts, the Alumbrados sought to achieve a state of perfection that would allow them to experience a vision of God; a direct transcendental encounter with the divine. At that point, when they had received the "light", they would be able to communicate directly with their higher self.
The Alumbrados were persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition, and departed from Spain. Many went to neighbouring France where they were known as the Illuminés (and sometimes as Guerinists after their local leader Pierre Guerin). The authorities suppressed them in 1635. A new grouping appeared in the 18th century, came under renewed persecution, and fled to England where they became known as 'French Prophets'. Their writings influenced Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Another chapter of French Illuminati was established by Martines de Pasqually who had Spanish Conversos ancestry and great knowledge of the Kabbalah's teachings. This group later became popularly known as Martinists after their new leader, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin.
Another group linked to the Illuminati in this period was the Franco-Italian Carbonari. Some people claim the Carbonari was founded in the 19th Century in Italy, but in fact its origins lay in the 16th century in France.
The Jesuit order(The Society of Jesus) was established by the Illuminati as another attempt (following the Templars) to infiltrate Catholicism and seize power from within. Like the Knights Templar, they were known as "Soldiers of Christ", though they were not a military order.
The Rosicrucians - a secret order that provided the first significant public glimpse of Freemasonry. They published several enigmatic and inspirational manifestos in heavily coded language. They did not emerge into the open and thereby avoided persecution and destruction.
As for the Rosicross philosophers,
Whom you will have to be sorcerers,
What they pretend to is no more
Than Trismegistus did before,
Pythagoras, old Zoroaster,
And Apollonius their master. (Samuel Butler)
(The Rosicrucian Order gradually became detached from the Illuminati and fell under the influence of others. It continues to this day - see
http://www.amorc.org.uk. Note that although the Rosicrucians are no longer connected with the Illuminati, many of the Illuminati's original teachings are still evident in modern Rosicrucian thinking. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of
Star Trek was a member of AMORC.
Star Trek represents a very powerful image of what our society would look like if we could rid ourselves of the Old World Order.
Star Trek promotes a meritocratic, noble, honest, truthful, unselfish, ambitious, intelligent, adventurous vision of humanity, free of greed and religious dogmatism. Who is preventing us from realising this futuristic paradise? - the Old World Order.)
Freemasonry - a product of enlightenment thinking, designed to overthrow the prevailing tyrannies of monarchy and Christianity. Gradually it was infiltrated by the establishment and became totally corrupt. It is now a mainstay of the Old World Order. Freemasonry is the Illuminati's most profound regret and greatest disaster.
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the USA, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and passionate republican, was a Freemason and America's leading member of the Illuminati. He famously said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." That sentiment was highly characteristic of Illuminati thinking of that time.
America was always intended to be the great beacon of hope for the world, the Illuminati's model for how to overthrow nobles, kings, emperors and religious dogmatism; how to govern justly in the interests of all. Everything started well. Jefferson was involved with all aspects of the development of the nation, but after he left office, his power, and that of the Illuminati, waned and the Old World Order eagerly set about securing their greatest triumph. Slowly but surely they assumed complete control of America. They didn't create nobles, princes and kings, but instead powerful, dynastic families that had as much influence as the aristocrats of Europe, and even greater riches. They turned democracy into a farce. It became merely a vehicle to ensure their continued power. That's why the Bush's, father and son - two OWO fools of the highest order - both reached the White House.
The fact that the Illuminati once had the world's current hyper-power within its grasp reveals how powerful they once were, but equally reveals the brilliance of the Old World Order in reasserting its power and vanquishing its enemies. The Old World Order know that by relentlessly appealing to the basest instincts of ordinary people they will always triumph. The challenge for the Illuminati - an almost impossible one as it has transpired - is to win by cultivating humanity's nobler aspects and higher aspirations.
The Jacobin Clubs - the most radical political groups of revolutionary France, led by the Illuminati. They initially enjoyed great success, but imploded under the strain of being forced to wage war against all of the great powers of Europe that wished to stamp out the Revolution. The Jacobin leaders were guillotined.
In
Tsarist Russia in the twentieth century, the Illuminati chose to help the Bolsheviks to overthrow the corrupt Tsarist regime. Although the Illuminati opposed communism, they saw it as the lesser of the two evils when compared with rule by tyrants and autocrats. Unfortunately, communism itself soon became a tyranny under Stalin.
