The American Minervan

Tag: English

  • The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    The ALUMBRADOS, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato). The term has earlier religious uses, with no historical connection between the use of the term by the Spanish Alumbrados Catholic mystics and the later Illuminati Order in Bavaria. LINGUISTIC HISTORICAL…

  • Remembrance of the Gods: What the Origin of the Term Soul in English Reveals

    Remembrance of the Gods: What the Origin of the Term Soul in English Reveals

    Origin of Soul and Spirit in English In our English, the sawol (from saiwalō; Proto-Germanic origins) or soul meant life, animate existence, living being, or the spiritual and emotional part of a being. Around 971, this term also referred to the “spirit” of a deceased person. The terms “soul” and “spirit” became in the English confusedly synonymous and passed down…