Editing Illuminati (1700s) (section)

===Transition===
Having, with difficulty, dissuaded some of his members from joining the Freemasons, Weishaupt decided to join the older order to acquire material to expand his own ritual. He was admitted to lodge "Prudence" of the [[Rite of Strict Observance]] early in February 1777. His progress through the three degrees of "blue lodge" masonry taught him nothing of the higher degrees he sought to exploit, but in the following year a priest called Abbé Marotti informed Zwack that these inner secrets rested on knowledge of the older religion and the primitive church. Zwack persuaded Weishaupt that their own order should enter into friendly relations with Freemasonry and obtain the dispensation to set up their own lodge. At this stage (December 1778), the addition of the first three degrees of Freemasonry was seen as a secondary project.<ref name="RLF3.1">René le Forestier, ''Les Illuminés de Bavière et la franc-maçonnerie allemande'', Paris, 1914, Book 3 Chapter 1, pp. 193–201</ref>

With little difficulty, a warrant was obtained from the ''Grand Lodge of Prussia'' called the ''Royal York for Friendship'', and the new lodge was called ''Theodore of the Good Council'' with the intention of flattering [[Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria]]. It was founded in Munich on 21 March 1779 and quickly packed with Illuminati. The first master, a man called Radl, was persuaded to return home to Baden and by July Weishaupt's order ran the lodge.<ref name="RLF3.1" />

The next step involved independence from their Grand Lodge. By establishing masonic relations with the ''Union'' lodge in Frankfurt, affiliated to the [[Premier Grand Lodge of England]], lodge Theodore became independently recognised and able to declare its independence. As a new mother lodge, it could now spawn lodges of its own. The recruiting drive amongst the Frankfurt masons also obtained the allegiance of [[Adolph Freiherr Knigge]].<ref name="RLF3.1" />