Originally posted by machinegunjordan
has anyone ever seen pictures of the illuminati during there meetings or ceremonies.
During the Illuminati�s heyday, the camera had not yet been invented. However, we can infer from the writings of Weishaupt, Von Knigge, and Goethe, as
well as Mozart�s Illuminist opera
Die Zauberflote, the nature of their ceremonies.
According to Weishaupt�s book �In Defense of Illuminism�, the Illuminati began its system in a unit called the Nursery. The potential member was first
required to write an essay on why he wished to join the Illuminati, and was then required to sign a document pledging perpetual allegiance to the
Order, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech and assembly, and opposition to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
Upon being admitted, he was invested the rank of Minerval, the duties of that degree being the study of classical Greek philosophy.
After passing an exam in philosophy, he was admitted to the �Symbolic Freemasonry� stage of the Illuminati, where they conferred the Masonic degrees
of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. These degrees were of course borrowed from regular Freemasonry, and were the only Illuminati
degrees that required an actual ritualistic initiation.
After becoming a Master Mason Illuminans, the brother was then appointed to some mission, such as spreading anti-Catholic propaganda, or organizing
resistance to government policies in Bavaria. If he was successful in converting others to Illuminati ideals, he was given the honorary higher
degrees.
The ultimate goal of the Illuminati was to topple the Jesuit Electorate that controlled the Bavarian government, by force if necessary. This was
supposed to be the Order�s great secret, but practically every member, even the Minervals, were political revolutionaries, and made no secret about
hating the Church�s dictatorship. Eventually, the Illuminati admitted spies from the Bavarian secret police, which proved to be their downfall, and
Weishaupt was forced to flee, living the remainder of his life in exile.
Fiat Lvx.