All language subtitles for Illuminated.2019.1080p.WEBRip.x264-RARBG

(mysterious ethereal cacophony)

(mysterious score)

(haunting piano score)

- In the south of Germany

lies the state of Bavaria,

whose history reaches back to
the 6th Century Common Era.

The Bavarian landscape is full
of lush, beautiful scenery,

rolling hills and impenetrable fortresses.

Along the banks of the Danube River

is the city of Ingolstadt,

well-known for being the setting to

Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein".

Yet, it is also known as the backdrop for

a much darker narrative about the world's

most controversial secret society,

the Illuminati.

The true story of the Illuminati
is not a horror story,

nor is it a conspiratorial
account of nefarious intentions,

set on enslaving humanity,

or bringing forth the end of days.

This is a rare and unvarnished insight

into the mysteries of the Order,

and their secret rituals,

for the true story of the
Illuminati is a very human one.

It is a story of rebellion,

a story of love,

and a story of great loss.

- The Illuminati was founded
in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt

and six of his pupils.

Weishaupt's main objective
for creating the Illuminati

was to make mankind happy,

by instilling a strict moral regiment

through a series of initiatic decrees

that were patterned after Freemasonry,

to teach morality, virtue,

and more importantly, self-actualization,

and self-accountability
to govern one's self,

and thereby making him free.

- He created this society to bring about,

almost revolutionary change to Bavaria

and possibly to Germany,

or Europe as a whole.

Weishaupt got this idea of
forming a secret society

by one of his students,

who was not a Bavarian.

He came from Central Germany.

He showed him a number of books,

which Weishaupt then devoured.

They were Masonic books,

as well as Rosicrucian trots.

And Weishaupt developed this idea

that by forming a secret society

he could actually accelerate
the pace of the Enlightenment.

- During this time of
the Enlightenment though,

this is also the Age
of the Secret Society,

and how can you think
of Age of Enlightenment,

New Science, rational
thought, and secret societies.

What you have to think about
is the idea of initiation,

the process of gathering
knowledge that has been lost,

or has been unknown to you,

was equated with Enlightenment.

Now this entire time is,

they're fascinated with the ancient world,

Neoclassicism, et cetera...

Greece, Rome, and then also Egypt,

and so this idea of ancient mysteries

practiced by the ancients
as being revived,

revolutionizing our thought.

These secret societies saw themselves

as inheritors of these ancient mysteries.

(pensive piano score)

(church bell slowly ringing)

(haunting piano score)

- In 1748, Johann Adam Weishaupt

was born in the Bavarian
city of Ingolstadt.

By the time Weishaupt
was only five-years old,

both his Mother and Father would be dead.

After the tragic death
of his parents however,

fate stepped in.

Weishaupt's Godfather,
the Baron von Ickstatt,

took over the care for Weishaupt.

It would be Baron von Ickstatt
who would plant the seeds

of the forbidden fruit of
knowledge in Weishaupt,

which would end up blossoming into

the infamous Order of the Illuminati.

The Baron von Ickstatt was the book censor

for Ingolstadt University,
a Jesuit institution.

- So all of the books
you're not supposed to read,

Adam Weishaupt, you know,

as a young man reads all of these books

and he starts to understand that

all these popular philosophical works,

these aren't inherently bad,

but what it does is it
minimizes the role of the state

and also the role of
the church in society.

And what ends up happening
is that you know,

he reads these pieces,

and he's conversing with
some of his students

and he gets the idea as early as 1774,

there's a draft paper that's
in Berlin that's called,

"A School For Humanity",

and it kind of is the little
proto-thing for the Illuminati.

It was necessary to do this
behind closed-doors because

the Jesuits had a monopoly
on the University's system.

- The Jesuits were formed
essentially as the Pope's army.

The Jesuits had been very influential in

education in general
and at the University.

Weishaupt was definitely on
the side of the Enlightenment,

and very much opposed to
the on-going influence

of the Jesuit Order at the
University of Ingolstadt.

- It's because the church
during the 18th Century

held a huge copyright on free-thought.

During the Age of Enlightenment,

this started to come apart.

And so there's friction.

This was a period where there
was heavy censorship on works.

The Catholic Church owned
most land, knowledge,

your soul, even...

And so this concept,

a dual-concept of secret, not secret,

that's where it came into being.

(thunder rumbling)

(ethereal cathedral score)

(birds chirping)

- Over the years,
Adam Weishaupt's mind

opened up to the writings
of various philosophers

from the 18th Century
Enlightenment Era at its zenith.

(fire crackling)
In 1768 by the age of 20,

Weishaupt received his
Doctorate Degree in Law,

indicating that he had
a very, bright mind.

From 1772 to 1773,

several important events
occurred in Weishaupt's life.

He obtained a professorship of
law at Ingolstadt University,

and married his first
wife, Afra Sausenhoffer,

against the wishes of his Godfather.

During this time,

Pope Clement XIV disbanded
the Jesuit Order.

This opened up an
opportunity for non-Jesuits

to teach Canon Law at
Ingolstadt University.

Weishaupt secured this new appointment,

and became the first
non-Jesuit in the history

of Ingolstadt University
to teach Canon Law.

As Weishaupt's career progressed,

his liberal views became apparent
to his Jesuits colleagues,

and he became their number
one enemy on campus.

While the Jesuits
conspired against Weishaupt

he used his intellect to fight back.

- A concept itself was more about

having a new Order of the Ages,

so that he meant he could
complement each other

and work to a greater good.

To improve yourself so
that you can be of service,

and you can also teach and instruct,

and be an example for someone else.

- He drafted a paper titled,

"A School For Humanity",

a philosophical doctrine which outlined a

preliminary structure for
his own secret society.

Weishaupt eventually discarded his idea

for a "School of Humanity",

and on May 1st, 1776,

wrote the statutes for an entirely new

secret society called,
the Perfectibilists.

- That means, believe us in the

continuous perfection of mankind.

Believe us and fight
us for the improvement

of mankind and its condition.

- He writes about why one
should have such an Order

and also whether such an Order

would be dangerous to society.

These are things he openly addresses.

There's a Machiavellian
undertone in all this,

about absolute power he
could have over people,

who do not even realize that it is

him having this power over them.

- When you have this goal
you become dangerous.

In a similar manner, other
secret societies have

had similar goals and have
therefore become dangerous.

You have to understand
that during this time

that Bavaria was a Catholic country,

that many people not only had
no ownership of their mind,

they didn't even own their own land.

So there was no movement for the

human soul to express themselves.

- They don't really realize to what degree

their lifes are monitored in the

ideal society is going to erect.

He speaks of a society in
which everyone is observed.

I think these ideas are
absolutely common-ground

at that time but they
have the clear notion

that humanity might be
able to develop mentally,

to develop into something higher.

And that should be attractive
for practically everyone

to reach that perfection.

It's more in a way that the old idea

of Medieval philosophers
that perfection comes after

the world is destroyed
in a divine revolution,

that this idea is just dropped,

you can get this perfection on Earth

and you can strive for
it and you can create it.

(choir singing hauntingly)

(birds chirping)

At that time there were still

ancient influences at the universities,

so the first stage of the
Order was a student group.

- Within a short amount of time,

Weishaupt changed the name
of his secret society,

from the Perfectibilists to
the Order of the Illuminati.

- Illumination is kind of
like the light bulb going off

that will set into motion a development

in the initiate's psyche, and as a result,

and it'll be reflected in their immediate

environment in actual physical situations

which will reflect in their
mind and cause change.

(choir singing hauntingly)

- In the old days,

you know before progressive reforms,

and liberal reforms, and everything else,

it was always a secret.

The men in the town knew something,

or they wanted to keep secrets among them,

or they had oaths,

and they kept those as
secrets among the men.

And then eventually those men used

those secrets to their benefit,

and it was to protect
the people in the town.

It was to protect the people
in the city and the county.

- They were trying to explain
in the best way they knew how,

their own agenda,

or their own curriculum
for freeing the human mind

and therefore the spirit
through initiation.

It seems very strange that a almost anti,

not only anti-Catholic but
anti-spiritual organization

would use ritualistic
practices and symbols,

but this is what they did at the time.

We have to understand that
the Age of Enlightenment,

it wasn't necessarily all rationalists,

and one plus one equals two,

not only was there the
Counter-Enlightenment

but there were those who
did believe in religion,

there were those that did
believe in spiritualism,

or rather an esoteric doctrine.

- The Illuminati
degrees were broken up

into three classes: the Minerval Class,

the Freemasonic Class,
and the Mysteries Class,

comprising a system of 12 degrees.

Within the Minerval
Class of the Illuminati

were three degrees:

Novitiate, Minerval,
and Illuminatus Minor,

or Minervalis Illuminatus.

The Minerval Class introduced the founding

principles of the Order to the candidates.

The term Minerval was
derived from Minerva,

the Greek Goddess of Wisdom.

Often depicted with a shield

emblazoned with the head of Medusa.

- The first degree of the
Illuminati is the Novice degree,

the thing is though it's
not much of a degree at all,

because there's no formal
initiation ceremony.

And what it consists of
is a young man, you know,

somewhere between the ages of 14 and 16,

he's brought in by his initiator,

and he only knows this one person,

so that way if he
decides to quit or demit,

he can't give the Order up because

he doesn't know the people's actual names,

or anyone else in the
Order but his initiator.

- Novitiates were
required to maintain a journal,

called a Quibus Licet,

which was an exact record
of all correspondence

between the new member and the Illuminati.

The candidates were
taught an initial cipher

to conceal names and
locations of the Order.

The Zoroastrian years and
Persian months were also

used in correspondence to
add further complexity,

and security in their
private communications.

(ritualistic chanting)

In 1777, Weishaupt became
a member of the Freemasons.

He joined the Zur Wohltatigkeit Lodge,

or the Lodge of Caution.

Weishaupt only reached
the degree of Fellow Craft

before he decided not to
continue in Freemasonry.

But his cunning mind
spotted an opportunity

to grow his own Order by
infiltrating Masonic lodges

and recruiting their members.

The Illuminati did this by chartering

their own Masonic lodge,

Saint Theodore of Good Counsel.

- They begin to infiltrate Freemasonry,

they create a lodge,
Theodor zum guten Rath,

and that is opening the
doors into Freemasonry,

now they are accepted and it's not clear

that they are more than that,

and that they have some
hidden ambition in that lodge.

- The plan was a success,

and the Order of the Illuminati expanded.

- This organization that is
Freemasonry is a scaffold,

a structure where by you
can hang your own thoughts,

your ideals and even some of the higher

degrees of Freemasonry have that in mind.

- As the Illuminati
continued to grow and evolve,

Weishaupt was struck
with a devastating blow

in his personal life.

His beloved wife, Afra Sausenhoffer died.

- Afra Sausenhoffer was
Adam Weishaupt's first wife

and she gets sick and is
dying right around 1780

and Adam Weishaupt is totally distraught.

- And that was a very,
heavy blow to Weishaupt

and his only surviving daughter.

- Yet fate stepped
in, once again for Weishaupt.

In May of 1780, Baron Adolph von Knigge,

a well-known Freemason
and Master Ritualist

joined the Illuminati which
altered both Weishaupt's life,

and the destiny of the Order forever.

- Knigge was ambitious.

He must've been and is way charismatic,

and he's highly engaged
in the lodges in Germany.

And he's a good networker.

And he is interested in all
these secret observations.

- Knigge quickly became a part

of the Illuminati's inner circle,

and with Weishaupt's permission,

began revising the second
degree of the Order,

the Minerval Degree.

In the Minerval Degree
the candidate was placed

in a dark room by an officer
known as his Godfather

who told him, here you
may reconsider once more,

whether or not you remain
resolved to join the Order.

If the candidate wished to proceed,

his hat and sword were collected.

(pensive piano score)

- After 30 minutes has passed,

the candidate is taken
from the dark chamber

and brought into the
Minerval assembly room

before the Magistrate or the Officers.

- He was asked,

what is your desire?

Why do you come here?

After the initiate answered,

he then pledged eternal silence, secrecy,

and obedience to the Illuminati.

The Minerval modes of recognition
were then taught to him.

"Ekas ekas este bebeloi",

was given to him in charge as such

as the secret passphrase of a Minerval,

which was derived from the Ancient Greeks,

meaning, "Away away ye profane".

The secret grip was demonstrated
by the joining of two hands

and then tapping the
hand of the other member

with the pinky-finger, three times.

The secret sign called, the Blinding Sign,

was illustrated by a salute that shadowed,

or blinded the eyes.

The candidate was then
awarded with a Minerval Jewel,

a beautiful emblem of
learning and graduation,

into the early stages of Enlightenment,

symbolized by the Owl of Minerva

resting on top of an open book,

ensorceled by a laurel wreath.

The letters PMCV on the open book,

stood for the Latin phrase,
"Per me caeci vident",

meaning, "Through me the
blind become sighted".

At the conclusion of the Minerval ceremony

the superior returned the
candidate's sword and hat to him.

(rousing victorious score)

He then signed the Minutes Book,

at the secretary's station.

- Secrecy is important because
there are many teachings

that go in a gradual system,

and if you give all the teachings

and secrets at the beginning,

sometimes we're not ready to
understand those concepts.

So the secret, it maintains
an order to the gradual

advancement of the person
getting that knowledge.

- It's important to
make distinction between

a secret society and a
society with secrets.

Masons were, are still
a society with secrets,

whereas the Illuminati
was a secret society,

the difference being,

a Mason can say, "I am a Freemason",

they just can't discuss what it is that

they do in the ritual of Freemasonry.

The Illuminati cannot
mention membership at all,

that's a secret society.

So you take, for example the Masons,

what's a different secret society,

would be like the Mafia,

you can, I can wear a Masonic Ring,

and tell you that I'm a Freemason,

you'll never see me wear a Mafia Ring,

and so you'll never know

whether I'm in it or not. (chuckles)

- The Illuminatus Minor,

or Minervalis Illuminatus
Degree was a ritual used,

primarily for inculcating into
the mind of the candidate.

The various symbols found within

the Minerval Class of degrees.

It was told, "Now take
a look at the pyramid,

"this is the symbol of
our illustrious Order,

"which takes large steps
closer toward its goal,

"only if the members join
forces working toward its

"attainment for the honor
of the supreme architect

"and the happiness of the world",

which is why you find written
here the letters D, P,

"Deo proximo",

meaning, "Close to God".

The candidate was also
instructed on the esotericism

of the god-headed bird
holding a Gorgon's head.

Overall this symbol was
indicative of gaining wisdom

through various trials in
life and constant study.

After the symbolic instruction occurred,

the candidate was taught the
secret modes of recognition.

The secret passphrase was "Cave Ne Cadas",

Latin for, "Beware of falling
from your high place".

The secret grip was demonstrated
by two hands conjoined

and the thumb tapping the
other hand three times.

The secret sign was the thumb

and index finger spread outward.

- What this degree is are the

leadership of the Minerval assembly.

Now for someone to get to this period,

they already had to have
been made a Master Mason,

and that's important because
if you're going to advance

at all on the Illuminati,
you have to be a Freemason,

and it was so that way
they could have that

seamless connection between
the Secret School of Wisdom

and the Masonic Degrees.

- Low degrees are mostly
about character formation,

knowing thyself, and
also knowing the others,

getting to know the characters of

the persons you communicate with,

your friends and acquaintances.

Particularly impressive is
the incredibly long list

of questions by which
individual candidate's

character was to be assessed and vetted,

so thoroughly that it was
completely unrealistic to do this.

It's pages and pages of very intricate

and detailed questions concerning the

character of each individual candidate.

So that's a very important
element of the lower degrees.

(mysterious piano score)

- While Knigge
strived to bring the Order

to a new level of ritual excellence,

a second enemy of the Illuminati arose.

A Rosicrucian group calling themselves,

the Golden and Rosy Cross.

They were also a secret society,

however the philosophy
of these Rosicrucians

couldn't be more disparate
than the Illuminati.

They believed in the ultimate
goal of the universal

reformation of mankind through
the practice of studying

and mastering the metaphysical
laws of the universe,

by combining the ritual
practices of Alchemy,

Hermeticism, Kabbalah,
and Christian Gnosticism.

- The Rosicrucians had a
very strange set of ideas.

They believed in a very mystical
approach to Christianity,

of very direct communication with God,

they encouraged their members
to lead a devout life.

- Several harsh,
written exchanges were made

between the Golden and Rosy
Cross and the Illuminati.

(men murmuring)
At the core of their war

was the battle for recruiting members.

As the war waged on, Weishaupt encountered

yet another major obstacle
in his personal life.

He had impregnated his
deceased wife's sister,

Anna Sausenhoffer, out of wedlock.

- He starts consulting
with some of the members

of the Illuminati, looking for you know,

recipes to cause like an
abortion, or a miscarriage,

or something in this nature,

it never ends up happening.

- As a result
of this controversy,

Weishaupt beckoned his friend,

and fellow-member of the
Illuminati, Baron Thomas de Bassus,

to let Anna go into hiding
at Sandersdorf Castle.

- He eventually married her

but that was a long struggle for him

because according to the rule
that the Catholic Church,

you had to get a special
dispensation from the Pope himself,

to be able to marry a sibling
of your first partner.

- During this
time Knigge began adapting

the Masonic Degrees of the
Rite of the Strict Observance

into the Illuminati and
aggressively set into motion

his plan for infiltrating Freemasonry.

- Knigge's infiltration is strategic.

He is getting into lodges,

asking high-profiled members to join

and for them it is in a way attractive

as they are building a kind of internal

super structure in these lodges.

You can be a normal Freemason,

and you can be a Special Freemason
in a hidden congregation,

and that's extremely interesting.

- Knigge believed
that incorporating a class

of Freemasonic Degrees into
the Order of the Illuminati

would allow Freemasons
to feel more comfortable

in transitioning into
an alternative system.

- The main reason why
they wanted to do this is

because they had no money at all.

And so their thought was,

well if we graft ourselves
onto the Masonic system,

we can have a fertile ground
for recruiting members,

but more importantly we
can have their money.

- And Weishaupt albeit reluctantly agreed.

(birds chirping)

- Although Knigge revised

various aspects of the Masonic rituals,

the themes of mortality and
reflection remained the same.

- The Masonic system within
the Illuminati system

was not very well harmonized
with the rest of the degrees.

They didn't really teach what

Weishaupt was most concerned with.

They were mostly inline with
existing Masonic Degrees,

which were generally
practiced at the time.

(choir singing hauntingly)

- In the fourth
degree, Entered Apprentice,

the candidate was led into
the lodge room, blindfolded,

and was received upon the point of a sword

which was to teach him that
his progression through the

Illuminati Order would now
take a much more serious tone,

and dire consequences would await him,

should he betray the Order.

He was then led around the
lodge room in a mysterious

journey with his eyes veiled in darkness.

It was only by the help of his guide

that we was able to successfully navigate

the dangers that surrounded his soul.

As the Master of Ceremonies conducted

the candidate toward the east,

he was caused to kneel in
front of the Worshipful Master.

A compass was placed upon
his naked left breast,

which was to teach him to
circumscribe his desires

and keep the passions of
his heart within due bounds.

The Worshipful Master then used his gavel

to strike the compass three times,

piercing the skin of the candidate.

This was to teach him to
always conceal the secrets

of the Illuminati within
his bleeding heart.

He was then prepared to receive

the light of the Entered Apprentice.

(choir singing hauntingly)

(dramatic orchestral score)

As his blindfold was removed,

the Worshipful Master told
him behold the host of men

armed and ready to avenge perjury,

should you become a traitor,

none of your steps on the face
of this Earth shall be safe.

- There's an overlap between
the Illuminati and the Masons.

The Masons had 14 United States

presidents who were Freemasons,

and because there's
always been that overlap

between the Illuminati and the Masons,

it's always been said that

he country was run by the Illuminati.

Really the Founding
Fathers were Freemasons,

including nine of the signers of

the Declaration of Independence,

including the most
famous one, John Hancock.

A lot of founding principles

were based on Masonic principles.

There were 13 colonies, some
say that was intentional.

There's been claims that Bermuda
had requested colonization

as part of them to be the
14th, that they were denied,

'cause they wanted to keep it at that 13.

So believe what you will with that.

But it's also understood
that Masonic lodges

that overlap different
borders at the time were

the reason why there was trust
built between those colonies,

which in essence, united
the states of America.

The Masons had more of an influence,

more so than what people think,

is really the background
work of the Illuminati.

- A lot of people have
this wrong notion that

the Illuminati influenced
the American Revolution,

actually it was quite the opposite.

They wrote John Adams
and Benjamin Franklin,

as they were serving as envoys in Paris

and they were looking to establish

a colony in the United
States, called Elysium.

It was showing that they philosophically

associated with the liberties the early

American Republic was after, as heaven,

and they had similar
ambitions and aspirations.

The trouble was though is that they

picked a place on the Savannah River,

and in the Battle of Charleston,

the entire Southern Colonies were cut off,

and so it made this plan untenable,

not to mention the fact that
they didn't have any money,

so it was really more of a
pipe-dream than anything.

(classical violin score)

- Next in the
Illuminati's Freemasonic Class,

came the Fellow Craft Degree,

where the candidate again,

made a mysterious journey
towards seven steps,

which he would symbolically
climb toward the middle chamber

of the Temple of Light.

Once inside the middle chamber,

he was taught to continue to
educate himself through study,

to contemplate the beauty of nature,

and to master his senses.

When the Fellow Craft Degree concluded,

the Worshipful Master pointed
his sword at the candidate

and said, "Draw your sword only
in defense of your brethren

"and the honor of the Order".

In the Master Mason Degree,

the theme of mortality reached its climax,

again the candidate would
make yet another mysterious

journey around the
lodge room with a coffin

containing a skeleton in
the middle of the floor.

After completing the journey,

the candidate's symbolic
death ritual occurred.

As he stood before the Worshipful Master,

he was struck from behind on each one

of his shoulders by the wardens.

The Worshipful Master then
hammered the candidate's forehead

knocking him backwards.

(rousing dramatic score)

He was placed in the coffin
with a veil over his head,

with all of the brethren pointing

their swords toward his heart.

This act symbolized the
doorway of death he would

symbolically pass through
on his way to the pillars

of initiation and to
the greater mysteries.

- The candidate is taught
that all things that

may be unpleasant actually may not be bad,

just as all things that are
pleasant may not be good.

And it teaches him to
shift his perspective,

from that of a local member of
society to shift one's view,

and perspective to a
more global perspective.

- One might think that that's
kind of an exciting system

that you have a group
of enlightened masters

guiding humanity to its highest reaches,

through thick and thin,

better or for worse.

- Knigge
introduced two high degrees

from the Strict Observance into

the Illuminati's Freemasonic Class,

the Illuminatus Major, or
Scottish Novice Degree,

and the Illuminatus Dirigens,
or Scottish Knight Degree.

- The Strict Observance
are basically strictly

observing their Orders
from unknown superiors

and they're the guys that have the whole

Templar Mythos into Freemasonry,

that Freemasonry is directly descended

from the Knights Templar,

which is a fine story and everything,

but it's not at all true.

You know, it's just a mythology.

- You bridged into a higher Order,

which was one of Knighthood,

and this wasn't just from
Craftsman to Knighthood,

this was a transition
to a spiritual Order.

- Knigge takes the two Scottish Degrees

from the Strict Observance

and he tries to augment them

and put them into the system.

So what ends up happening
is that the Illuminati,

their Scottish Novice
Degree is really a play

on the Scot's Master Degree that's

in the Strict Observance system.

- This is where the
themes of the Freemasonic Class

within the Illuminati Order
transitioned from mortality

to inner-reflection.

The Worshipful Master handed
the candidate a mirror

and told him, "The Order gives
you this sharpness of sight,

"this degree of Enlightenment,

"behold the image in this
mirror it is your own.

"Self knowledge is the
magical looking glass

"through which you may
read the souls of others.

"The path to the hearts of other men

"begins with your own heart,

"therefore begin with yourself.

"Do you believe that inwardly,

"you are as you appear on the outside?

"Study your physionomy
often, daily, hourly.

"You will constantly discover new features

"and you will learn to judge
others by these features.

"What a beautiful and awe,

"what an ugly thing,
it can so very often be

"to behold the unconcealed human heart.

"Nosce Te Ipsum."

The secret sign of the Illuminatus Major,

or Scottish Novice was the
index finger of the right hand,

pointing toward the heart,

and the index finger of the left hand,

pointing upward toward the moon.

This sign alluded to a
passage in the degree about

how the initiates of this
degree would only meet

under the light of the
moon in its first quarter.

Where the writing stated,

"Only he who sees with
the eyes of Minerva's bird

"laboring under the protection
of this benevolent orb

"will surely find them."

- This right from the
first degree up to its last

was controlled by unknown
superiors, secret chiefs,

and this is something that pops
up in Illuminati conspiracy.

Again this controlling secret group that

controls all of humankind
or this particular Order,

this was a particularly you know,

popular theme at this period,

and it exists later on.

You have the secret chiefs in Theosophy

and also references to it in the O.T.O.

- And there was also the hidden
assumption that if anyone

has any secret knowledge
about Alchemy and magic,

then it must be people of social standing.

So there is some idea
behind it in the beginning,

that you might use the infant gate

for all these secret
branches of knowledge,

whether they are, in a way magic,

I don't really get this.

(haunting piano score)

- The eighth and final
degree of the Illuminati's

Freemasonic Class was
the Illuminatus Dirigens,

or Scottish Knight,

where the real deviousness
of Adam Weishaupt

began to surface.

The legend of this
degree was based in part,

on the Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland,

during the year 1314,

where the exiled Knights Templar

fought alongside Robert the Bruce.

However, instead of instilling

the ideals of Knightly virtue,

into the new Illuminatus
initiates of this degree,

Weishaupt focused on using this degree

to create a secret network of spies

to gather information
on Freemasonic Lodges,

and use their influence to recruit

more members into the
Order of the Illuminati.

Becoming an Illuminatus Dirigens,

or Scottish Knight of the Order meant that

in addition to being
responsible for directing

the Freemasonic Degrees
within the Illuminati,

the member was also charged with

spying on Freemasonic Lodges,

and influencing decision-makers
within these circles

to join the Illuminati.

It was actually written in
the statutes of this degree

that the Illuminati believed themselves

to be the secret superiors of Freemasonry.

The candidate was told,

"Happy are you who may cross
this hallowed threshold,

"we welcome you in our midst.

"Ever bless the day we
opened unto you the portal

"only the wise and
honorable man may enter.

"Here you see a part of
the unknown Holy Legion

"bound with inseverable
bonds to fight for mankind.

"If you wish to make yourself worthy

"of guarding the inner sanctum,

"your heart must be clean and pure,

"your spirit ablaze with divine fire

"for the dignity of your nature."

The sign of this degree was made

forming the shape of an "X",

which alluded to Saint Andrew's Cross,

the Patron Saint of the Scottish Degrees.

The password was "Jehovah".

- There was this unique
opportunity for the Illuminati

to take over lodges which
were becoming disaffected

with the Strict Observance
which by then was falling apart.

This was a major component in

the Illuminati Order's success.

- I would love to see how many
members per lodge they get

because they seem to be sweeping
higher members of lodges

were more interesting members of lodges,

at one group into the Order,

they need this lodge input.

Because if you create a
Minerval Church anywhere,

you need at least five,

six members to have a starting point.

- As a result of
Knigge's recruiting efforts,

a multitude of Freemasons
joined the Illuminati.

- They managed with Knigge's
help to convert a lot

of individual Freemasons
and whole lodges almost,

to the Illuminati Order.

- The Illuminati got a strict focus on

actually getting involved
in intellectual work,

on improving your character,

on improving society,

fire improving your character,

offering their own option
of a high-grade system

right at the point of time when high-grade

Freemasonry in Germany is in crisis.

- In 1782, the
Congress of Wilhelmsbad

was called to Order.

Many leading Masonic figures attended,

representing the Illuminati was Knigge.

Two major turning points at
the Congress of Wilhelmsbad,

tipped the scales in
favor of the Illuminati.

The first was that the Rite
of the Strict Observance

officially denounced
their Templar origins,

resulting in a major rift in the Order.

The second, major turning
point was that Johann Bode,

a German translator and
Deputy Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Hamburg
Freemasons, joined the Illuminati.

- At the time when Bode
comes into the game he is

actually strategically creating
a province for himself,

the idea is once you have
Bode in there you can have

the higher-levels of
aristocracy in this Order

because he would be
the person to get these

top-level people from the different lodges

and from other secret
organizations into it.

- Shortly after
the recruitment of Bode,

Knigge and Weishaupt commenced their work

on what would be the final set of degrees

for the Illuminati, the Mysteries Class.

The ninth degree Presbyter or Priest,

speculated on the purity of religion.

The candidate was tempted
with a crown, scepter, sword,

gold and priest's garments.

The candidate was told to
choose from these items.

If he reached for anything other
than the priest's garments,

he was told, "Begone unholy man".

If he reached for the priest's garments,

however, one called out to him,

"Hail thee, noble man.

"Peace be with you."

The Holy Legion of Assistance shouted,

"Hail and blessings",

to the kings and priests of the New Union.

"Blessed be you.

"Be illuminated and go in peace."

- The Presbyter Degree,

it contained a peculiar Theology really,

consisting of Weishaupt's ideas,

but also of Knigge's ideas.

That was probably the only
degree where essential

ideas of both men really
were joined together,

which also caused some friction.

- It's really Adam Weishaupt's take

on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's discourse

on the origin of human inequality.

On the one side,

Rousseau takes you up the
hill that mankind starts

in a primitive state and
is enslaved by his needs

and Weishaupt takes you down
the other side of the hill,

and shows you by curbing your needs,

you obtain your original state of freedom.

- The 10th
degree, Princeps or Regent,

discussed Weishaupt's view on society.

- Up to this point,

the candidate has
submitted himself to very

demanding obligations and monthly reports,

they cumulusly check reports,

so when he is initiated as a Regent,

he's set free from all these obligations,

and all the files the
Order has collected on him,

up to this point are returned
back to the candidate,

and the thinking is that
he's so tightly bound to this

system that obligations are
no longer necessary for him

to be a loyal and faithful
member of the Order.

- In the ritual of this degree

bones and a crown laid
out before the candidate

was to teach him that whether
the bones belonged to a king,

a nobleman, or a beggar,

all are the same at death.

The initiate was told that
slaves were not allowed,

and that he must profess
his wish to be truly free

from the chains that bound
him to a state of slavery.

Once the candidate was free from

the bondage of his restraints,

he then entered a room where
he observed a shepherd's crook,

which denoted he was charged
with leading others to freedom.

He received a Roman Cap of Liberty,

in accordance with the
ancient Roman tradition

of when slaves from that era were

literally set free by their masters.

The crown set before him was to remind him

that he should never desire to trade

the Roman Cap of Liberty for the crown.

Around this time, Knigge
began to view Weishaupt

as a hypocrite for preaching freedom

and liberty through the
Illuminati teachings,

yet gave no real authority to Knigge

to further develop his own
ideas within the Order.

As a result, Knigge and
Weishaupt had a falling out,

and thus the rituals for the Docetists

and Philosophi Degrees
were never finished.

The 11th degree, Docetists,

was the first of the Greater Mysteries,

and was considered highly-heretical

in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church.

(ethereal ambient score)

A Docetist is one who
believes that Christ's body

was not human but either a phantasm,

or a real, but celestial substance,

and that therefore his
sufferings were only apparent.

- The Docetist Degree is where things

start getting really interesting.

In the correspondence
between Knigge and Weishaupt,

they talk about the need for
creating a people's religion,

and what this is,

is that basically they're going

to prove the existence of God

and the immortality of the soul,

and do it through logical
and secular reasoning.

- The degree I believe can
be related to Weishaupt's

own biography and the
fate that had befallen him

in 1780 when his first wife died.

He was arguing that death
only meant ascending

to a new level of
existence and perception.

And so eventually in
some kind of afterlife,

everybody who had deceased and
left the world of the mortals

would probably be able to communicate with

the other loved-ones
that had gone before him.

(rousing dramatic score)

- The Docetists Degree however,

discussed the idea that
God does not perceive man

the same way human
beings perceive mankind,

nor does God have a body
and senses as we do,

but is more of a divine mind,

and therefore God perceives
what happens to life

as the effects of certain
forces only observable to him.

The writings in the
Docetists Degree conclude

with the daring statement that says,

"We turn God into a man

"and convert the infinite to the finite."

- This is where the
Great Mysteries come in,

these ideas of the ancient mysteries,

because this natural religion
could not exist side-by-side

with competing state gods who
sought to control society.

So the idea of the natural
religion became part of a mystery

which was to be practice
or worship in secret.

This is the real basis for what we say is,

"Ancient Mystery Schools".

They don't really exist in this form.

The history of these ancient civilizations

don't really have this concept.

- The final
degree of the Illuminati

was the Philosophi Degree.

Like the proceeding degree,

it had no completed ritual.

The former themes of
restoring man to his natural

state of liberty by curbing
one's needs was intertwined

with the concept that one must view

the world from a broader perspective,

that man only considers right from wrong,

good and evil, from their
own personal perspectives,

and that to understand
these concepts more fully,

one must assume an external point of view

to see the true cause
and effect of actions,

and that from this perspective,

what is good might actually be bad,

and what is wrong might actually be right.

- This is where the political system of,

that the Illuminati is trying to enact

its political reforms
are fully fleshed-out.

- It's a panorama of
philosophy of history,

which centers on two ideas in particular,

the correlation between population,

and the advancement of humanity.

- This theme resonated
with Weishaupt and Bavaria,

given the rolling back
of the Enlightenment

by Charles Theodore, and the control,

and censorship of academia by the church.

It is within this context that we see

Weishaupt's motivation for
creating the Illuminati,

and the religious and political solutions

offered by his Order were
really one in the same.

The solutions Weishaupt
attempted to offer through

his own philosophy were
less-relevant to others,

and this was one of the primary

reasons that the Illuminati failed.

It was in a large sense,

one man working out his own issues,

and attempting to manifest his

own utopian vision as reality.

- Weishaupt was an ambitious man.

He could also be quite
ruthless and acerbic.

He was not the greatest
leader because he was always

clashing with other people
and within the Order,

so he was not very good at
coming to a joint decision

with his closest collaborators.

- In 1784, the
Illuminati began to fall apart.

Knigge resigned from the Order,

causing a major setback.

(melancholy orchestral score)

(water splashing loudly)

That same year, the most powerful enemy

of the Illuminati fully-surfaced,

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria.

- Even though the Jesuits
had lost their post,

he puts the Jesuits back into
place and so it basically,

just as the Enlightenment
was coming into Bavaria,

the rug gets snatched
out from underneath them.

- Between 1784 and 1787,

Charles Theodore issued several edicts,

which would ban all secret
societies in Bavaria,

and eventually issue a death penalty,

which would end the resistance on any

remaining members of any secret society.

He turned his focus,
ultimately on the Illuminati,

and especially Weishaupt,

who lost his professorship
from Ingolstadt University,

and was eventually exiled from Bavaria.

(thunder rumbling)

- What's happening at
the end of the Order is,

in a way, dark.

Dark because we don't
have a document that says,

that's now the end.

Any such organization is doomed to fail.

I see how the Illuminati
fail in their practical work.

They realize now it's not
gonna work any longer.

- The last activities that
we know of were in 1788,

and there's no question that

the Illuminati all
actually, was dissolved.

(thunder booms)
It was not a big bang,

it was a whimper at the end,

it was just dissolving
quietly in Central Germany,

and Weishaupt wasn't able to continue

at the helm of this organization.

- With Weishaupt in exile,

it was rumored that he became
a heavy smoker and drinker.

He struggled with money,

even though he was
receiving a monthly stipend,

which led historians to believe that

he developed a gambling addiction.

(birds chirping)

Weishaupt spend the majority
of his remaining years

in the town of Gotha,
where he died in 1830.

Even though the majority
of the world's leading

Illuminati historians
have found evidence that

the Order did in fact dissolve
in the late 18th Century,

there are still those today who believe

the Illuminati carries on in the shadows,

controlling governments, world
affairs, the banking system,

and many other aspects of daily life.

Perhaps the greatest
achievement of the Illuminati

is that the world still
talks about them today.

(rousing orchestral score)

- I'm sure there are certain fraternities,

and certain groups that,

you know, I'm sure people would
equate with the Illuminati,

like the O.T.O.,

or some other organization
I know that there's

the Fraternitas Attorney,

which is another group that maybe

people would associate
with the Illuminati.

But I just say,

they tried to blend
them all from you know,

the Templars to you know,

the Knights of Malta, to the Jesuits,

to you know, I just go down the list

of everyone that's Illuminati,

and I have a feeling that,

I don't think we should mix the substance,

I think that if there is an Illuminati,

we need to know the true
history of the Illuminati,

and then from there I think
people will find it to be,

"Oh, is that all it is?"

- Part of the Illuminati during that time

it definitely circulated
and the idealism carried on,

and so there's that
idea that globalization

and New World Order
does exist with certain

things that developed
in today's day and age.

I mean, we can call certain
things like the United Nations,

or NATO a couple of Adam Weishaupt wins,

if you wanna call it that,

because his idea was to globalize

and get away from a nationalist viewpoint.

There are dangers to globalization,

because you might hate absolute power.

And then you'll have no watchers
to oversee the watchers.

- They were advocates for
liberalism, republicanism,

free thought, and secularism,
and gender equality.

So it had some effect
in the popular culture.

Now that was back you know,

when that society you know, worked,

and that declined and
it met its own demise,

because of its own indiscretions.

But it did maintain an
aura of mystique to where,

at the beginning of last century,

it was taken up by some to
describe intentions of groups

in other societies that
were taking their name

to have that in their societies
as a level of hierarchy,

and because it had its
own aura of mystique

to where they used it
to attract membership.

And of course it has
taken a life of its own,

because a lot of people think that

the Illuminati still exists

and that they're an entity
of you know, to themselves,

and it is not my belief
through the research

that I have found and a lot
of people are intrigued by it,

and a lot of people who really partake on

the conspiracy theory make it as a given,

when it's actually
unsubstantiated, you know,

that you know, that exists today.

- The Illuminati is an organization,

a secret organization that
any war is the catch-all

for everything bad in the world anymore.

I've done countless talk
shows about the Illuminati,

and I've had several
people call my radio show,

claiming that they're
part of the Illuminati,

or they've had some experience
with the Illuminati,

and I always shake my head and say,

well didn't you know the Illuminati

disbanded like several hundred years ago.

They say, but there are secret

organizations that have branched off.

You know, I kind of
think that maybe, yeah,

there a few branches
that have kind of went

their various ways but
I think that right now,

when you talk about the Illuminati,

it becomes nothing more than a

very safe, marketable, boogeyman.

- Some people actually believe
in the idea that there is

some kind of secret society
called, the Illuminati,

which calls the shots, even today,

which controls international organizations

and the way that the world is
being run on a global scale.

That of course is nonsense,

but it's quite interesting
in its own right.

We have to be careful to distinguish

between fact and fiction.

And the way we do that is by
studying the original documents

and there's actually a lot
to be done on that front.

We're very grateful that
the Illuminati left behind

a rich heritage of archival documents,

and even though a lot was
lost over the centuries,

there's still a lot of material for us,

historians to analyze and to publish

for the larger public
to be acquainted with.

- How can you substantiate there is this

nefarious group that's
still running the world.

I just think that you know,

especially with people that tend to be

sort of extremists in their belief systems

will sort of grab hold of
something to kind of substantiate

a certain claim or what have you.

There are certain individuals
that might have some sort of

profit interest involved,

it's just a marketing gimmick,

and especially people in
the entertainment industry

kinda grabbed hold of that because

they knew it was
something that could sell.

- Some of the craziest
stories about the Illuminati,

well there's the one where
the Queen of England's

a blood-drinking lizard.

- They want to take over the world.

- All governments are
basically under one umbrella.

- The dollar bill.

- The eye, the sinister eye,

or they're doing the whole triangle.

- CIA trauma-based mind control.

- Or reptilian shape-shifter
somewhere beyond visible light,

so you can't see them. (chuckles)

It's probably legit, right?

I mean. (laughs)

- So now it becomes, the Illuminati,

like a train, barreling down on you.

Illuminati!

You know, people,

their spit is speckling on
their lips when they say it.

Illuminati!

You know, they get crazy.

And then you mention
Freemasonry and people go crazy,

Satan in their head.

- Hail Satan!

- Hail Satan!

- Republicans, Hillary Clinton,

everybody all comes together,

and they're all thrashing at each other,

and that's Illuminati!

- Does the Illuminati
still exist? (laughs)

No. (giggles)

- I really think that
people are reticent to admit

that secret societies have
been with us for a long time.

They've influenced a lot of things,

from music to literature...

Heck, take out your wallet,

look at the dollar bill.

What's on the back, the
seal, "Annuit coeptis",

you know, "Novus ordo seclorum",

what is that all about,

it's about some Order
that they have envisioned,

he has favored our undertakings,

all of this stuff is all Illuminati,

and it's there and it's gonna
be with us for a long time.

(chuckles)
- It does not exist.

The Illuminati does not exist today.

- Despite whatever headway is made,

what we can prove about
what they truly were,

nobody was gonna want to believe it,

because they're already set in their way,

because conspiracies just refuse to die.

However, it's important to put
this information out there,

because if it enlightens someone, that...

Does that not complete the work
that the Illuminati, itself,

had been set out to do?

To enlighten the mind?

To free your heart of all
the vices and fetters?

(rousing orchestral score)

- Whether the
world will ever accept that

the Illuminati were simply
a group of like-minded

individuals who desired to
make the world a better place

through education and moral
refinement does not matter,

because there is a profound
lesson in the Order's story,

that those who search for
the light in the darkness,

and do not stray from the path
may indeed find illumination.

(pensive orchestral score)

(mysterious ethereal cacophony)