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Rosicrucianism

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"The Temple of the Rosy Cross," Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618.

The Rosicrucians are a legendary and secretive Order dating from the 15th or 17th century, generally associated with the symbol of the Rose Cross, which is also used in certain rituals of the Freemasons. Several modern societies have been formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and allied subjects. Many argue that modern Rosicrucians are in no sense directly derived from the "Brethren of the Rosy Cross" of the 17th century, though they are keen followers thereof. Moreover, the 17th century group itself has been viewed as a literary hoax or prank, rather than an operative society.

History & origins

According to the legend, the Rosicrucian Order was founded in 1407 by a German pilgrim named Christian Rosenkreuz (1378 - 1484), who studied in the Holy Land under various occult masters. During his lifetime, the Order was alleged to be small, consisting of no more than eight members. When Rosenkreuz died in 1484, the Order died out, only to be "reborn" in the early 17th century. This legend is accepted to varying degrees by modern Rosicrucians, with some accepting it as literal truth, others seeing it as a parable, and yet others believing Rosenkreuz to be a pseudonym for some more famous historical figure (Francis Bacon is often suggested).

According to a lesser known legend found in Masonic literature, the Rosicrucian Order was created in year 46 when an Alexandrian Gnostic sage named Ormus and his six followers were converted by Mark, one of Jesus' disciples. From this conversion, Rosicrucianism was born by fusing primitive Christianity with Egyptian mysteries. Rosenkreuz would therefore only have been Initiated into and become the Grand Master of an already existing Order instead of being its founder.

The publication of the Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis (1614)

In point of fact, what was known in the early 17th century as the "Society of Rosicrucians" (Rosenkreuzer) was most likely a number of isolated individuals who held certain views in common (which apparently was their only bond of union). There is no trace of a society holding meetings, or having officers. So far as the numerous works are concerned, it is evident that the writers who posed as Rosicrucians were moral and religious reformers, and utilized the technicalities of chemistry (alchemy), and the sciences generally, as media through which to make known their opinions. Their writings included a flavour of mysticism or occultism promotive of inquiry and suggestive of hidden meanings discernible or discoverable only by Adepts.

The publication of the Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis (1614), the Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), and the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616) caused immense excitement throughout Europe, and they not only led to many re-issues, but were followed by numerous pamphlets, favourable and otherwise, whose authors generally knew little of the real aims of the original author (and doubtless in not a few cases amused themselves at the expense of the public). It is probable that the first work was circulated in manuscript form about 1610, according to historical records, but if so, there was no mention of the order before that decade. In fact, research indicates that all three documents, including the concept of the Rosicrucian Order, were probably the creation of theologian Johann Valentin Andrea (1586-1654), although his authorship is only confirmed for the Chymical Wedding, which he subsequently described as a Ludibrium.

The authors of the Rosicrucian works generally favoured Lutheranism as opposed to Roman Catholicism.

The curious legend, in which the fabulous origin of the so-called society was enshrined (Christian Rosenkreuz had discovered and learned the Secret Wisdom on a pilgrimage to the East in the 15th century), was so improbable, though ingenious, that the genesis of the Rosicrucians was generally overlooked or ignored in the writings of the time. The metaphorical quality of these legends lends to the nebulous nature of the origins of Rosicrucianism. For example, the opening of Rosenkreuz's tomb is thought to be only a way of referring to the cycles in nature and to cosmic events.

Famous persons alleged to be Rosicrucianists or having had an important impact on Rosicrucianism were:

in the pre-Manifestos centuries

in the 17th and 18th centuries

in the 19th and 20th centuries

Influence on Freemasonry

Masonic piece of jewelry of the "18° Knight of the Rose Croix" (Scottish Rite)
Masonic piece of jewelry of the "18° Knight of the Rose Croix" (Scottish Rite)

The influence that Rosicrucianism had in the modernizing of ancient Freemasonry early in the 18th century must have been slight, if any, though it is likely that as the century advanced, and additional ceremonies were grafted on to the first three degrees, Rosicrucian tenets were occasionally introduced into the later rituals. So far, however, as the real foundation ceremonies of "Craft Masonry" are concerned, whether before or after the premier Grand Lodge was formed, it is most unlikely that such a society as the Freemasons would adopt anything of a really distinctive character from any other organization.

Rose Cross and Alchemy

Paracelsus (Alchemy)
Paracelsus (Alchemy)

The alchemy in the laboratory (the ancestor of modern chemistry), where the ultimate goal was understanding of the laws of Nature in order to aid the individual's quest for perfection, recalls another type of alchemy, the one called spiritual. The true alchemists, or philosophers of the fire, often make reference in the their works to the blowers, meaning all those who were just interested the creation of gold and the material aspects of alchemy.

In his laboratory, the alchemist works on the materia prima and surrounds himself, among other tools to accomplish the operations, of a furnace with a peculiar form, called athanor.

In the point of view of the Spiritual Alchemy [1], the materia prima is the human soul, and about the athanor, it is constituted by the physical body and the subtle bodies; these last ones maintain the life of the most dense one and assure the connection with the soul. The laboratory is the human existence during which the soul has the possibility of accomplishing the learning needed to perfect itself, operating the transmutation of the vices and defects of the vil metal into spiritual, that is, into related virtues and qualities.

The first Rosicrucians praticticed the operative alchemy, in vogue at that epoch, of interest even to the higher ranks, as popes and kings. The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is a major writing which clearly makes reference, through its title, to this work on the matter, in the laboratory.

Current-day Rosicrucians (like modern Freemasons, who do not construct cathedrals anymore) direct their concentration toward the work of spiritual alchemy.

Divine Sciences of Healing & of the Stars

3rd Natal Chart of The Rosicrucian Fellowship at Mount Ecclesia (1911)
3rd Natal Chart of The Rosicrucian Fellowship at Mount Ecclesia (1911)

According to the early Manifestoes, the Rosicrucians were a "secret" Order. Their members believed or could "demonstrate" healing powers that were believed to be a gift from God: Spiritual Healing. In other Orders these powers were explained by egyptian mysteries and again, differently in the hermetic Order. Members were admitted on this basis alone and the "membership" was very selective. The writers, philosophers and people of the time became curious and infuriated because they were denied entrance into these secret meetings. Most of the writings of the time are biased or speculatory for this reason. Many modern Rosicrucian organizations hold the belief that these God given powers may be used to help others.

Some interpretions, used as an idea or icon by persons or groups either Gnostic Christian or simultaneously Christian and trans-Christian, are described as being Rosicrucian: for example, a cult that centers around the Virgin Mary yet openly or secretly identifies her to the Virgo constellation of the Zodiac.

A large majority of modern Rosicrucians believe in the study of Spiritual Astrology as a key to the Spirit, designed toward spiritual development and self-knowledge, as well as an aid to healing through Astro-Diagnosis. [2]

The Manifestos

Father C.R.C. (Christian Rose Cross)
Father C.R.C. (Christian Rose Cross)

If one abstracts from the symbolic associations of the rose and the cross which have been visioned by many since ancient epochs, it is known, as evidence, that in 1614, 1615 and 1616 there where published three treaties or manifestos, in German language, which gave rise to this movement:

Between 1614 and 1620 about 400 manuscripts and books were published which discussed the Rose-Croix documents.

The peak of the «Rosicrucianism furor» (as it was called) was reached when in 1622 appeared two misterious posters in the walls of Paris within few days from each other. The first one started saying "We, the Deputies of the Higher College of the Rose-Croix, do make our stay, visibly and invisibly, in this city (...)" and the second one ended with the words "The thoughts attached to the real desire of the seeker will lead us to him and him to us".

In The Muses' Threnodie by H. Adamson (Perth, 1638) are the lines: "For what we do presage is riot in grosse, for we are brethren of the Rosie Crosse; We have the Mason Word and second sight, Things for to come we can fortell aright."

Modern groups

A Rose Cross symbol embroidered on an altar cloth (20th century)
A Rose Cross symbol embroidered on an altar cloth (20th century)

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, various groups styled themselves Rosicrucian. Almost all claimed to be authentic heirs to a historical Rosicrucian tradition. These include the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), the Confraternity of the Rose Cross (CR+C), Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, the Rosicrucian Fellowship, the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship, Societas Rosicruciana, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, and others as well. These diverse groups can be divided into two categories: the para-Masonic groups and the Esoteric Christianity groups. There has never been any connection between these two following streams.

Reference literature

See also

Organizations

The Temple

Studies

Other resources

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