The American Minervan

Tag: English

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

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a…

  • 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…