Rosicrucians, Freemasons And The Bavarian Illuminati
712 Words3 Pages
Throughout the tumultuous era of the Enlightenment there are several secret societies that may have been proponents for change in thinking towards logic and reason. In this essay, the author will discuss the
esoteric groups and the possibility of their influence on society during this period. These guarded institutions claim many noted philosophes, politicians and scientists as members and it will be the author’s intent
to discern whether or not the groups’ roles in the Enlightenment and the drastic changes in mode of thought which were to follow were coincidence or a predestined pathway by these societies. Perhaps the oldest
and most influential out of the triumvirate of secret societies to be investigated is the Masonic Order also called…show more content… Veiled in secrecy, the Rosicrucians provided a safe environment to foster free thought which
would propel the advancement of the sciences. A more mystical precursor to the aforementioned Freemasons, the Bavarian Illuminati would utilize initiations and many symbolic rites to mask their intentions and
agendas. Each of the three societies: Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and the Bavarian Illuminati were either born out of or increased influence during the Enlightenment, which would parallel the radical change in
beliefs of our natural world and how we study our universe. It is these synchronicities which compel the question; did these secret societies usher in a new age?
The beginnings of the Freemason’s history start in the millennia before Christ. It was here that the amalgam of a religious doctrine would take root. Although based in religion, the Masons beliefs differed from
the church and state. The brotherhood would allow for tolerance of science and reason as well as unite as described by author Charles Porset, “By spirit of unity and fraternity that it introduced among all men…show more content… This faction of secret societies of the Enlightenment possessed a stronger secular view of reality and heralded reason as the true
liberator of man which fits in neatly with the change in thought by the whole of intellectual thinking of the day. The Illuminati was in opposition to the church’s rule over scientific expression and freedom. Overall,
the Illuminati was a much smaller, exclusive and arguably more radical group than the Freemasons.
Also opposed to the dogmas of the church, the Rosicrucian movement strived to make an esoteric order which would allow for the open exchange of ideas without the condemnation of the cloth. This institution
served as a template for later orders and is believed to have laid the groundwork for the information highway of the Enlightenment called the Invisible College. It was this network which served the needs of Brahe
and Kepler. Author and historian Frances Yates coined the term “Rosicrucian Enlightenment” to describe the intellectual fervor surrounding the group (1). The pamphlets stating the motives of the movement were
Anti-Catholic and were meant to undermine the power of the papal