Conspiracy Theorists are constantly accused of having an overly simplified view of things. This is in my view absurd, we're fully aware of the complexities of politics, our theories only add more layers of complexity, not take any away. Maybe we do indeed sound simplistic about it sometimes, but if you really pay attention we're not, not the best of us. I kind of addressed this already in one of my earliest posts. That was made in it's earliest form before I came to many of the conclusions I have now however.
In the early history of Masonic conspiracies, no where is this more frequently an issue then The French Revolution. By accusing Masonic instigators of being the architects we're accused of being ignorant of the hardships faced by the common people of France that had been building up for generations before modern Freemasonry was even formed in the 17teens. I can assure you I have no such ignorance, one does not watch all 40 episodes of Rose of Versailles in one day loving every minute of it if they have no sympathy for the plight of peasants. Also my favorite Musical is Les Miserables, which leads me to recommend this LesMis/RoV AMV.
And I express my Biblical disapproval of Monarchism on another Blog.
It's likely France was targeted precisely because of all the circumstances that made it a fertile ground for Revolution. But I'll go well beyond that, I do believe Revolution was inevitable in France even if the conspirators had done nothing. It's more about them seeking to control the Revolution, just as the elite have hijacked and taken control of the Tea Party and Occupy Wallstreet movements today.
The main thing I do not think would have been the case if the Revolution had grown organically is how strongly it was driven by Atheist, Deist and anti-Christian sentiments. That is something that was inserted by certain egotistical intellectuals who thought the Revolution needed them in order to work. Yes the Catholic clergy was corrupt and out of touch, but previously in most countries people getting sick of them lead to Protestantism. So anti-Catholic sentiments may have been inevitable, but there were French Protestants who'd been victimized by the Crown before "Rationalism" started.
The claim has been made by some that the King was trying to work with the Revolutionaries to come to some agreement like a Constitutional Monarchy. I do not currently feel qualified to asses the accuracy of that claim.
For evidence to general Masonic Influence on the Revolution read this article by Terry Meleanson.
There are indeed some conspiracy theorists who feel compelled to tie the Bavarian Illuminati to just one of the many factions among the revolutionaries. But I don't see things as that simple, just as the modern conspirators attached themselves to Republicans and Democrats, so I believe it was then too. Any discussion of specifically the Illuminati's role should be viewed in the context of my earlier post on them.
Bode became chief executive of the order in 1784, he traveled to France in 1787. He recruited many Illuminati from the Masonic Lodges of France. Particularly the Philalethes. Among people proven and documented to have become Illuminati at this time were Charles-Pierre-Paul, Marquis de Savalette de Langes (1745-1797) and Alexandre-Louis Roëttiers de Montaleau (1748-1808). Both of whom had direct ties to the Duke of Orleans, the Grand Master of French Freemasonry leading up to the Revolution. Montaleau become the head of French Freemasonry after the Revolution.
Another known Illuminati member to contribute to the Revolution was Johann Caspar [Jean Gaspard] Schweizer (1754-1811).
It is popular to speculate members beyond those we can prove, Terry Melanson suspects Mirabeu, and Marco di Luchetti suspects Nicolas Bonneville. For both of them having defended the Illuminati is the main circumstantial evidence, which Thomas Jefferson also did.
The thing that's important to remember is the Illuminati as it originally was was dying in 1787, Bode helped form a secret society within French Freemasonry at that time, and it's possible only the earliest direct recruits of his were initiated into the Illuminati proper, but those who become part of this new order without such an initiation were no less important to it.
Luchetti seems to feel Bonneville was a direct recruit of Bode however, If Bode's own records of his 1787 trip had mentioned Bonneville as a recruit I don't think Melanson would be as skeptical of his membership as he is. The key thing is, almost anyone in French Masonry could have become officially or unofficially a part of what Bode started, it's impossible to know for sure.
Brissiot was also a known Freemason. Brissiot and Bonneville were the real ideological leaders of the early Revolution, before it was hijacked by jerks like Marat and Robespierre. Eventually Brissiot and his allies became derogatorily known as the Girondions
The thing that does work against the usual conspiracy theory narrative is that the men most responsible for the Terror (Marat, Danton, Robsepierre, ect) are the ones least likely to have Illuminati connections, and flimsy even in their Masonic connections. It seems the Masons unleashed a monster they couldn't control. Buonarroti was the one person with debatable Illuminati ties who was of Robsepierre's way of thinking, he'll be discussed in a future post eventually.
Bonneville's camp were indeed the men in the Revolution most ideologically similar to the political theories advocated by Weishaupt and Kingge. And besides being so anti-Christian I don't consider what their political ideas were to be the worst. But the way Weishaupt ran the order showed he tended to be very controlling. I enjoy a great deal of Luchetti's political analysis, but he slips on the secret society aspect. Another chief villain of Luchetti's narrative is Buonarroti.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Sunday, February 8, 2015
The Illuminati vs Esoteric Freemasonry
I want to use this blog to shoot down many popular myths about the Illuminati, and Secret Societies in general. (Even that they used the All Seeing Eye and Pyramid as a symbol is one such myth.) I am a Conspiracy Theorist, but it hurts our credibility when we take at face value so many claims without investigating them. I love Alex Jones [Update 2016, used to], he's great at breaking down what's going on in the present. But when he goes back to 18th and 19th century History, he repeats many common mistakes.
In Evangelical Christian circles we want to view the "Illuminati" (which has become a byword for the enemy in general without much care for what the Bavarian Illuminati was) as synonymous with the highest level occult activity, Satanists and Neo-Pagans. And it backs up that desire that the O.T.O and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn claim Illuminati ancestry. I feel like Occult exposing Christians need to stop believing what the occult groups and Freemasons claim about themselves so much.
The truth however is that while the Bavarian Illuminati's rituals superficially incorporated ritualistic and mythological ideas, Adam Weishaupt was actually a devout "Rationalist" who hated the Esoterisism of the Rosicrucians and more mystical brands of Freemasonry (the real ancestors of the O.T.O and Golden Dawn). This fact becomes apparent studying the diligent research of Terry Melanson author of The Perfectibilists, and Jeva Singh-Anand who recently translated Kingge's book Philo's Reply. Melanson is a fellow conspiracy theorist, Anand is not. They are among the few who research the Illuminati going back to the oldest contemporary documents, most of which sadly aren't available in English yet.
This conflict has some overlap with his hatred of the Jesuits, (pretty much all Continental Rosecurcians at this time were Jesuits). But some of the above historians will overlook how you can be an Esoteric and still oppose the Jesutis and the Catholic Church. Especially those esoterics who were probably in secret serving British Intelligence.
Another important note, Weishaupt's order were not the first to use a name derived from the Latin "Illuminate". Many of the Esoteric groups Weishaupt hated were associated with terms like Iluminees and Illuminisim. This has caused researchers to often confuse references to them with the Bavarian Illuminati. Going back to Barruel and Robinson early on, and still today by authors like Marco Di Luchetti.
I have a theory however.
While the traditional Conspiracy Theory narrative is that the Bavarian Illuminati took over Freemasonry, I'm thinking it might have been the other way around. The Esoteric Masons infiltrated and took over the Illuminati, then after the Illuminati was "disbanded" they incorporated much of the infrastructure and strategy that Weishaupt had devised into their own political machinations they already had planned. Still the claim that the Illuminati took over Masonry has more creditably then it's given credit for, upon studying provable Illuminati members, some either already were or become the highest ranking Masons in their respective countries.
The Strict Observance Rite was a popular mystical Masonic order during the mid 18th Century. This order became a bit of a problem after it's founder died. He had made up a story about mysterious unseen superiors overseeing the order, but it seems they didn't actually exist. It was a strict observance lodge Weishaupt was initiated into in 1777 the year after he founded the Illuminati.
In 1782 Karl Langrave of Hesse-Kassel, who was the second highest ranking man in German Freemasonry, organized a Masonic conference at Wilhelmsbad to decide what to do about the Strict Observance Rite (which was among the many secret societies he himself was a member of). It wound up being dissolved, and as Melenson's article shows many members joined the Bavarian Illuminati either right then or in the coming months. These included Karl of Hesse-Kassel himself, and the highest ranking man in German Freemasonry, the Duke of Brunswick (there were two at this time, don't confuse them as Nesta Webster did, the other was his nephew and not a known Illuminati member or Mason, though he was sympathetic to the Revolutionaries in-spite his involvement in the war against them).
Karl would latter claim in his official memoirs that he joined the order to try and sabotage their political agenda, but I think that was saving face. Karl was very deeply involved in the occult/esoteric side of Masonry. It was he who lodged the Comte de Saint-Germain during the last years of his Life. Saint-Germain first popped up in England, I think he was possibly a British Spy.
But also among the Wilhelmsbad recruits was Johann Joachim Christopher Bode. He was deeply involved in Esoteric Masonry before joining the Illuminati, supposedly he turned his back on Mysticism and became a Rationalist like Weishaupt when he joined the Illuminati. But I have trouble believing that, one doesn't simply reject the Esoteric so easily when they'd been deeply involved in it. I think he was claiming that to gain the trust of Weishaupt and the other leaders of the order.
After the order was "disbanded" in 1784, Bode became the de facto chief executive of the order. It was he who traveled to France in 1787, which I shall expand on in future posts.
Saint-Martin is an important figure in the history of the Occult at this time. He was friends with Nicolas Bonneville (who was an Illuminati sympathizer but not quite a confirmed member, and he also wrote against the Jesuits).
Also important to the History of Esoteric Freemasonry was the order of Memphis-Misraim.
Other known esoterics and occultists who become Illuminati members include Johann Caspar [Jean Gaspard] Schweizer (1754-1811), Count Franz Joseph von Kolowrat-Liebensteinsky (b. 1748), and probably most recruited from the French Philadelthes. I could also mention Goethe but there is disagreement on how active his membership was.
In Evangelical Christian circles we want to view the "Illuminati" (which has become a byword for the enemy in general without much care for what the Bavarian Illuminati was) as synonymous with the highest level occult activity, Satanists and Neo-Pagans. And it backs up that desire that the O.T.O and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn claim Illuminati ancestry. I feel like Occult exposing Christians need to stop believing what the occult groups and Freemasons claim about themselves so much.
The truth however is that while the Bavarian Illuminati's rituals superficially incorporated ritualistic and mythological ideas, Adam Weishaupt was actually a devout "Rationalist" who hated the Esoterisism of the Rosicrucians and more mystical brands of Freemasonry (the real ancestors of the O.T.O and Golden Dawn). This fact becomes apparent studying the diligent research of Terry Melanson author of The Perfectibilists, and Jeva Singh-Anand who recently translated Kingge's book Philo's Reply. Melanson is a fellow conspiracy theorist, Anand is not. They are among the few who research the Illuminati going back to the oldest contemporary documents, most of which sadly aren't available in English yet.
This conflict has some overlap with his hatred of the Jesuits, (pretty much all Continental Rosecurcians at this time were Jesuits). But some of the above historians will overlook how you can be an Esoteric and still oppose the Jesutis and the Catholic Church. Especially those esoterics who were probably in secret serving British Intelligence.
Another important note, Weishaupt's order were not the first to use a name derived from the Latin "Illuminate". Many of the Esoteric groups Weishaupt hated were associated with terms like Iluminees and Illuminisim. This has caused researchers to often confuse references to them with the Bavarian Illuminati. Going back to Barruel and Robinson early on, and still today by authors like Marco Di Luchetti.
I have a theory however.
While the traditional Conspiracy Theory narrative is that the Bavarian Illuminati took over Freemasonry, I'm thinking it might have been the other way around. The Esoteric Masons infiltrated and took over the Illuminati, then after the Illuminati was "disbanded" they incorporated much of the infrastructure and strategy that Weishaupt had devised into their own political machinations they already had planned. Still the claim that the Illuminati took over Masonry has more creditably then it's given credit for, upon studying provable Illuminati members, some either already were or become the highest ranking Masons in their respective countries.
The Strict Observance Rite was a popular mystical Masonic order during the mid 18th Century. This order became a bit of a problem after it's founder died. He had made up a story about mysterious unseen superiors overseeing the order, but it seems they didn't actually exist. It was a strict observance lodge Weishaupt was initiated into in 1777 the year after he founded the Illuminati.
In 1782 Karl Langrave of Hesse-Kassel, who was the second highest ranking man in German Freemasonry, organized a Masonic conference at Wilhelmsbad to decide what to do about the Strict Observance Rite (which was among the many secret societies he himself was a member of). It wound up being dissolved, and as Melenson's article shows many members joined the Bavarian Illuminati either right then or in the coming months. These included Karl of Hesse-Kassel himself, and the highest ranking man in German Freemasonry, the Duke of Brunswick (there were two at this time, don't confuse them as Nesta Webster did, the other was his nephew and not a known Illuminati member or Mason, though he was sympathetic to the Revolutionaries in-spite his involvement in the war against them).
Karl would latter claim in his official memoirs that he joined the order to try and sabotage their political agenda, but I think that was saving face. Karl was very deeply involved in the occult/esoteric side of Masonry. It was he who lodged the Comte de Saint-Germain during the last years of his Life. Saint-Germain first popped up in England, I think he was possibly a British Spy.
But also among the Wilhelmsbad recruits was Johann Joachim Christopher Bode. He was deeply involved in Esoteric Masonry before joining the Illuminati, supposedly he turned his back on Mysticism and became a Rationalist like Weishaupt when he joined the Illuminati. But I have trouble believing that, one doesn't simply reject the Esoteric so easily when they'd been deeply involved in it. I think he was claiming that to gain the trust of Weishaupt and the other leaders of the order.
After the order was "disbanded" in 1784, Bode became the de facto chief executive of the order. It was he who traveled to France in 1787, which I shall expand on in future posts.
Saint-Martin is an important figure in the history of the Occult at this time. He was friends with Nicolas Bonneville (who was an Illuminati sympathizer but not quite a confirmed member, and he also wrote against the Jesuits).
Also important to the History of Esoteric Freemasonry was the order of Memphis-Misraim.
Other known esoterics and occultists who become Illuminati members include Johann Caspar [Jean Gaspard] Schweizer (1754-1811), Count Franz Joseph von Kolowrat-Liebensteinsky (b. 1748), and probably most recruited from the French Philadelthes. I could also mention Goethe but there is disagreement on how active his membership was.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Mayer Rothschild did not create the Bavarian Illuminati
One of the most persistent myths about the origin of the Illuminati you frequently see being repeated online without any source is a claim that Weishaupt was recruited to form the Illuminati by Mayer Amschel Rothschild.
The story goes that either in 1770 or 1773 Rothschild presented Weishaupt at a meeting to 12 unidentified business partners.
The facts are that Mayer Rothschild was still pretty small potatoes when the Illuminati was founded in 1776, just a local business man in Frankfurt. No conceivable way he could have had influence over anyone at Ingolstadt university. It was following the French Revolution that his business really began to take off. And not till the 19th Century he truly became an International Banker.
Also all through the 18th Century both the Bavarian Illuminati and Freemasonry strictly forbid Jews from joining.
His tenuous connection to the Illuminati is through Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel, he was patronaged by him since the 1760s and eventually became his main Banker. Wilhelm himself is not known to have been either Illuminati or a Mason. But his brother Karl Langrave of Hesse-Kassel was the number two man in German Freemasonry and the Strict Observance Rite, and among the former Strict Observance members who joined the Illuminati after the Masonic Congress at Wilhelmsbad in 1782. He'll be a subject of future posts of this blog.
There is one other connection, Baron Karl Theodor Dalberg (1744-1817)
The Rothschilds certainly became part of the Oligarchy over time. But they didn't start it.
The story goes that either in 1770 or 1773 Rothschild presented Weishaupt at a meeting to 12 unidentified business partners.
The facts are that Mayer Rothschild was still pretty small potatoes when the Illuminati was founded in 1776, just a local business man in Frankfurt. No conceivable way he could have had influence over anyone at Ingolstadt university. It was following the French Revolution that his business really began to take off. And not till the 19th Century he truly became an International Banker.
Also all through the 18th Century both the Bavarian Illuminati and Freemasonry strictly forbid Jews from joining.
His tenuous connection to the Illuminati is through Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel, he was patronaged by him since the 1760s and eventually became his main Banker. Wilhelm himself is not known to have been either Illuminati or a Mason. But his brother Karl Langrave of Hesse-Kassel was the number two man in German Freemasonry and the Strict Observance Rite, and among the former Strict Observance members who joined the Illuminati after the Masonic Congress at Wilhelmsbad in 1782. He'll be a subject of future posts of this blog.
There is one other connection, Baron Karl Theodor Dalberg (1744-1817)
The Rothschilds certainly became part of the Oligarchy over time. But they didn't start it.
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