![]() In a 1902 letter to Reuss, Westcott wrote, “The Illuminati system as a whole may suit your country, but I could not work it here.” Lees explains: “England did not traditionally have such a rich tapestry of haut-grade or high grade orders and rites such as Europe had enjoyed for the previous three hundred years.” In the end, nothing came of the English Illuminati project. In this volume, Lees publishes the papers, along with a fascinating array of other material about the ins and outs of the Masonic organizations, lodges, and degrees that proliferated at the time. ![]() These papers had been buried unknown for decades in the archives of the British Masonic organization Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, but were accidentally discovered by author Alistair Lees. This volume centers on the rituals for the English Illuminati, which Westcott had translated and adapted from Reuss’s rituals. In 1900, he even managed to interest William Wynn Westcott, an English physician, Mason, and Theosophist (best known as cofounder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn), into creating an English branch. In 1880, a German esotericist named Theodor Reuss tried to revive Weishaupt’s Illuminati. (You can draw your own conclusions about these claims.) Twentieth-century conspiracy theorists asserted that the Illuminati were a secret elite bent on world domination. But he failed to extinguish rumors about the Illuminati, and in the subsequent decades, authors such as the Abbé Barruel and John Robison blamed them for the French Revolution and related social unrest. These aims did not suit the Elector of Bavaria, who had the organization shut down only a decade later, in 1786. The society’s goal, among others, was to promote liberal ideals in an age when monarchy and ecclesiastical dominance were crumbling rapidly. ![]() The story starts in 1776, when Adam Weishaupt, a law professor at the University of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, started a quasi-Masonic secret society called the Illuminati. Whether that’s accurate or not, this book gives us a deep look into the European occult revival of the late nineteenth century and some of its key figures-practically all of whom were connected to the Theosophical Society. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 67, is a constitutional monarch, but in traditional culture, the monarch is revered as the country’s protector and insulting the king is a criminal offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.Shepperton, Middlesex, U.K.: Lewis Masonic, 2019 224 pp., casebound, $43.95.Ī more commercially minded publisher would have titled this Final Secret of the Illuminati. The dismissed complaint accused Future Forward founder Thanathorn and other executives of being “part of an anti-monarchist movement” through speeches made by its senior members and academic seminars they attended. Prayuth first took power in a 2014 military coup and his party won elections last year in a process the opposition complained was rigged to favor pro-army parties. ![]() It draws much of its support from young people.įuture Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 41, has emerged as the most prominent opponent to the government that last year reinstalled former junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, 65, as prime minister five years after he staged a military coup.įuture Forward officials say backers of the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha are using the monarchy as a way to suppress democratic opposition. The party ran on a progressive platform and called for an end to the military-led establishment’s influence over Thai politics. WHAT IS THE FUTURE FORWARD PARTY?įormed in 2018 as an alternative to the main established parties, the Future Forward Party made a strong showing in the election last March, coming third by winning 6.2 million votes. Such a move could result in a substantial increase in the government’s parliamentary majority. The dismissed sedition complaint before the Constitutional Court alleged that the Future Forward Party wanted to destroy the monarchy and was linked to the Illuminati, a secret society that conspiracy theorists believe seeks world domination.Ī guilty verdict could have seen the party, whose leader is a vocal critic of the government, banned. FILE PHOTO - Thailand's opposition Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit gestures as he leaves after reporting to a Bangkok police station to hear charges filed against him for organizing the country's biggest protest since the 2014 coup in December last year, Thailand, January 10, 2020. ![]()
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