On the Order of the Illuminati

...years existed, to admit them as Freemasons. In fact, Weishaupt intended to do exactly the same thing with Freemasonry as the Rosicrucians and other visionaries The German term Schwärmer refers to "enthusiasts" or "fanatics," often used pejoratively in the 18th century to describe those misled by mystical or irrational religious ideas. had already attempted with it; and just as those groups had planted their mystical visions upon it, he now wanted to plant his anti-Christian and revolutionary plot upon it. That he already had projects in mind for using Freemasonry to the advantage of Illuminatism Illuminatism (Illuminatismus); the doctrines and organizational system of the Order of the Illuminati, even before he had once again become a Freemason himself, is evident from the passage cited in the note above.

Meanwhile, the execution of this project proceeded very slowly, and until the year 1780, one finds no traces of an actual connection between the Masonic Order and the Order of the Illuminati, or that the former had been applied to the latter. Nevertheless, the Illuminati exerted every effort to promote their expansion and gradually raise their Order from the low status of a student society, transforming it into a secret society just like the Masonic Order through more members and through lodges established in other places—which they called Churches The Illuminati used the term "Churches" (Kirchen) as a code for their local groups or lodges to mask their activities..

There were already various members in Munich, Eichstätt, Ravensburg, Freising, Bamberg, Salzburg, and Augsburg. Already in the year 1778, efforts were made to get Illuminatism underway in Vienna, which was successful enough. This expansion gave...