posted on Apr, 22 2003 @ 10:27 AM
There was an older secret society, known as the Alumbrados. Means illuminated, in Spanish.
The Freemasons make endless references to them. Gotta call 'em something. Illuminati works as well as any other term.
We can't "know" anything. By nature they conceal their activities.
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,
Manly P. Hall; Lectures On Ancient Philosophy; Page 409: Illuminati
...its purpose is to impress upon the reader's mind the philosophical and political situation in Europe at the time of the inception of the Masonic
order. A philosophic clan, as it were, which had moved across the face of Europe under such names as the "Illuminati" and the "Rosicrucians," had
undermined in a subtle manner the entire structure of regal and sacerdotal
supremacy.
Foster Bailey; The Spirit of Masonry; Pages 20-21: Plan, Illuminati, Not all get it
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.
[Edited on 22-4-2003 by Researcher]