Rosicrucian - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society

Secret society

A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...

, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz

Christian Rosenkreuz

Christian Rosenkreuz is the legendary, perhaps allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order , presented in the three Manifestos published in the early 17th century...

. It holds a doctrine or theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

"built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm."
Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rosy Cross

Rosy Cross

The Rosy Cross is a symbol largely associated with the semi-mythical Christian Rosenkreuz, alchemist and founder of the Rosicrucian Order...

.

Between 1607 and 1616, two anonymous manifestos were published, first in Germany and later throughout Europe. These were Fama Fraternitatis RC
Fama Fraternitatis
The Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis , or simply the Fama Fraternitatis, is an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto published in 1614 in Kassel . It was translated into English in 1652 by Thomas Vaughan and published as an appendix of the 77th...

(The Fame of the Brotherhood of RC) and Confessio Fraternitatis
Confessio Fraternitatis
The Confessio Fraternitatis , or simply The Confessio, printed in Kassel in 1615, is the second anonymous manifestos, of a trio of Rosicrucian pamphlets, declaring the existence of a secret brotherhood of alchemists and sages who were interpreted, by the society of those times, to be preparing to...

(The Confession of the Brotherhood of RC). The influence of these documents, presenting a "most laudable Order" of mystic-philosopher-doctors and promoting a "Universal Reformation of Mankind", gave rise to an enthusiasm called by its historian Dame Frances Yates

Frances Yates

Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE was a British historian. She taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years.She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance...

the "Rosicrucian Enlightenment".

Rosicrucianism was more closely associated with Protestantism than Roman Catholicism and in particular, was most closely associated with Lutheranism

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

. According to historian David Stevenson, it was also influential to Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

as it was emerging in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. In later centuries, many esoteric

Esotericism

Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...

societies have claimed to derive their doctrines, in whole or in part, from the original Rosicrucians. Several modern societies, which date the beginning of the Order to earlier centuries, have been formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and allied subjects.

Origins

The Fama Fraternitatis
Fama Fraternitatis
The Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis , or simply the Fama Fraternitatis, is an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto published in 1614 in Kassel . It was translated into English in 1652 by Thomas Vaughan and published as an appendix of the 77th...

presented the legend of a German doctor and mystic philosopher referred to as "Frater C.R.C." (later identified in a third manifesto as Christian Rosenkreuz

Christian Rosenkreuz

Christian Rosenkreuz is the legendary, perhaps allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order , presented in the three Manifestos published in the early 17th century...

, or "Rose-cross"). The year 1378 is presented as being the birth year of "our Christian Father," and it is stated that he lived 106 years. After studying in the Middle East under various masters, possibly those adhering to Sufism

Sufism

Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

or Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...

, he was unable to spread the knowledge he had acquired to any prominent European figures. Instead, he gathered a small circle of friends/disciples and founded the Rosicrucian Order (this can be deduced to have occurred in 1407).

During Rosenkreuz's lifetime, the Order was said to consist of no more than eight members, each a doctor and a sworn bachelor

Bachelor

A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...

. Each member undertook an oath to heal the sick without payment, to maintain a secret fellowship, and to find a replacement for himself before he died. Three such generations had supposedly passed between c.1500 and c.1600, a time when scientific, philosophical and religious freedom had grown so that the public might benefit from the Rosicrucians' knowledge, so that they were now seeking good men.

Reception

The manifestos were and are not taken literally by many but rather regarded either as hoax

Hoax

A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...

es or as allegorical

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

statements. The manifestos directly state: "We speak unto you by parables, but would willingly bring you to the right, simple, easy, and ingenuous exposition, understanding, declaration, and knowledge of all secrets."

It is evident that the first Rosicrucian manifesto was influenced by the work of the respected hermetic philosopher Heinrich Khunrath

Heinrich Khunrath

Heinrich Khunrath , or Dr. Henricus Khunrath as he was also called, was a physician, hermetic philosopher, and alchemist...

, of Hamburg, author of the Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae (1609), who was in turn influenced by John Dee

John Dee (mathematician)

John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....

, author of the Monas Hieroglyphica
Monas Hieroglyphica
The Monas Hieroglyphica is an esoteric symbol invented and designed by John Dee, the Elizabethan Magus and Court Astrologer of Elizabeth I of England...

(1564). The invitation to the royal wedding in the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz was edited in 1616 in Strasbourg , and its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae...

opens with Dee's philosophical key, the Monas Hieroglyphica symbol. The writer also claimed the brotherhood possessed a book that resembled the works of Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....

.

Some say the writers were moral and religious reformers. They used the techniques of chemistry (alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

) and of the sciences generally as media through which to publicize their opinions and beliefs.

In his autobiography, Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654) claimed the anonymously published Chymische Hochzeit (Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz) as one of his works, and he subsequently described it as a ludibrium
Ludibrium
Ludibrium is a word derived from Latin ludus , meaning a plaything or a trivial game. In Latin ludibrium denotes an object of fun, and at the same time, of scorn and derision, and it also denotes a capricious game itself: e.g., ludibria ventis , "the playthings of the winds", ludibrium pelagis ,...

. In his later works, he makes alchemy an object of ridicule and places it with music, art, theatre and astrology

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

in the category of less serious sciences. According to some sources, his role in the origin of the Rosicrucian legend is controversial. It is generally accepted according to others.

The Rosicrucian Enlightenment

In the early 17th century, the manifestos caused excitement throughout Europe by declaring the existence of a secret brotherhood of alchemists

Alchemy

and sages who were preparing to transform the arts, sciences, religion, and political and intellectual landscape of Europe. Wars of politics and religion ravaged the continent. The works were re-issued several times and followed by numerous pamphlets, favorable and otherwise. Between 1614 and 1620, about 400 manuscripts and books were published which discussed the Rosicrucian documents.

The peak of the so-called "Rosicrucianism furor" was reached when two mysterious posters appeared on the walls of Paris in 1622 within a few days of each other. The first said, "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".

The legend inspired a variety of works, among them the works of Michael Maier

Michael Maier

Michael Maier was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg, a learned alchemist, epigramist and amateur composer.- Biography :...

(1568–1622) of Germany; Robert Fludd

Robert Fludd

Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus was a prominent English Paracelsian physician, astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, Rosicrucian apologist...

(1574–1637) and Elias Ashmole

Elias Ashmole

Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...

(1617–1692) of England; Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, Gotthardus Arthusius, Julius Sperber, Henricus Madathanus, Gabriel Naudé

Gabriel Naudé

Gabriel Naudé was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science was the 1627 book Advice on Establishing a Library...

, Thomas Vaughan

Thomas Vaughan

Thomas Vaughan may refer to:*Thomas Vaughan , Welsh soldier, diplomat, and chamberlain to the eldest son of King Edward IV*Thomas Vaughan , Welsh-See also:*Tom Vaughan...

, and others. In Elias Ashmole's Theatrum Chimicum britannicum (1650) he defends the Rosicrucians. Some later works with an impact on Rosicrucianism were the Opus magocabalisticum et theosophicum by George von Welling (1719), of alchemical and paracelsian inspiration, and the Aureum Vellus oder Goldenes Vliess by Hermann Fictuld in 1749.

Michael Maier was ennobled with the title Pfalzgraf (Count Palatine) by Rudolph II, Emperor and King of Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

and King of Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

. He also was one of the most prominent defenders of the Rosicrucians, clearly transmitting details about the "Brothers of the Rose Cross" in his writings. Maier made the firm statement that the Brothers of R.C. exist to advance inspired arts and sciences, including alchemy

Alchemy

. Researchers of Maier's writings point out that he never claimed to have produced gold, nor did Heinrich Khunrath or any of the other Rosicrucianists. Their writings point toward a symbolic and spiritual alchemy, rather than an operative one. In both direct and veiled styles, these writings conveyed the nine stages of the involutive-evolutive transmutation of the threefold body of the human being, the threefold soul and the threefold spirit, among other esoteric knowledge related to the "Path of Initiation".

In his 1618 pamphlet, Pia et Utilissima Admonitio de Fratribus Rosae Crucis, Henrichus Neuhusius writes that the Rosicrucians left for the East due to the instability in Europe caused by the start of the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

. In 1710 Sigmund Richter, founder of the secret society

Secret society

of the Golden and Rosy Cross, also suggested the Rosicrucians had migrated to the East. In the first half of the 20th century, René Guénon

René Guénon

René Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...

, a researcher of the occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

, presented this same idea in some of his works. An eminent author of the 19th century, Arthur Edward Waite

Arthur Edward Waite

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A...

, presents arguments that contradict this idea. It was in this fertile field of discourse that many "Rosicrucian" societies arose. They were based on the occult tradition and inspired by the mystery of this "College of Invisibles".
The literary works of the 16th and 17th centuries are full of enigmatic passages containing references to the Rose Cross, as in these lines (somewhat modernised):
The idea of such an order, exemplified by the network of astronomers, professors, mathematicians, and natural philosophers in 16th century Europe and promoted by men such as Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...

, Georg Joachim Rheticus

Georg Joachim Rheticus

Georg Joachim von Lauchen, also known as Rheticus , was a mathematician, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his trigonometric tables and as Nicolaus Copernicus's sole pupil...

, John Dee

John Dee (mathematician)

and Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations...

, gave rise to the Invisible College

Invisible College

The Invisible College has been described as a precursor group to the Royal Society of London, consisting of a number of natural philosophers around Robert Boyle...

. This was a precursor to the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

which formed during the 17th century. It was constituted by a group of scientists who began to hold regular meetings to share and develop knowledge acquired by experimental investigation

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...

. Among these were Robert Boyle

Robert Boyle

Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...

, who wrote: "the cornerstones of the Invisible (or as they term themselves the Philosophical) College, do now and then honour me with their company..."; John Wilkins

John Wilkins

John Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....

and John Wallis, who described those meetings in the following terms: "About the year 1645, while I lived in London (at a time when, by our civil wars, academical studies were much interrupted in both our Universities), ... I had the opportunity of being acquainted with divers worthy persons, inquisitive natural philosophy, and other parts of human learning; and particularly of what hath been called the New Philosophy or Experimental Philosophy. We did by agreements, divers of us, meet weekly in London on a certain day and hour, under a certain penalty, and a weekly contribution for the charge of experiments, with certain rules agreed amongst us, to treat and discourse of such affairs..."

Rose-Cross Degrees in Freemasonry

According to Jean-Pierre Bayard, two Rosicrucian-inspired Masonic

Freemasonry

rites emerged towards the end of 18th century, the Rectified Scottish Rite

Rectified Scottish Rite

The Rectified Scottish Rite is a Christian Masonic rite founded in Lyon in 1778.- Origins of this Rite :The Rite was mainly elaborated by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz. This famous Mason reformed the French branch of the Templar Strict Observance at the Congress of Gauls in 1778, including some items...

, widespread in Central Europe where there was a strong presence of the "Golden and Rosy Cross", and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

Scottish Rite

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...

, first practised in France, in which the 18th degree is called Knight of the Rose Croix.

The change from "operative" to "speculative" Masonry occurred between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 18th century. Two of the earliest speculative Masons for whom a record of initiation exists were Sir Robert Moray

Robert Moray

Sir Robert Moray was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, freemason and natural philosopher. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and the French cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin...

and Elias Ashmole

Elias Ashmole

. Robert Vanloo states that earlier 17th century Rosicrucianism had a considerable influence on Anglo-Saxon Masonry. Hans Schick sees in the works of Comenius (1592–1670) the ideal of the newly born English Masonry before the foundation of the Grand Lodge

Grand Lodge

A Grand Lodge, or "Grand Orient", is the usual governing body of "Craft", or "Blue Lodge", Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Premier Grand Lodge of England....

in 1717. Comenius was in England during 1641.

The Gold und Rosenkreuzer (Golden and Rosy Cross) was founded by the alchemist Samuel Richter who in 1710 published Die warhhaffte und vollkommene Bereitung des Philosophischen Steins der Brüderschaft aus dem Orden des Gülden-und Rosen-Creutzes (The True and Complete Preparation of the Philosopher's Stone
Philosopher's stone
The philosopher's stone is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal...

by the Brotherhood from the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross) in Breslau under the pseudonym Sincerus Renatus in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

in the early 18th century as a hierarchical secret society

Secret society

composed of internal circles, recognition signs and alchemy treatises. Under the leadership of Hermann Fictuld the group reformed itself extensively in 1767 and again in 1777 because of political pressure. Its members claimed that the leaders of the Rosicrucian Order had invented Freemasonry and only they knew the secret meaning of Masonic symbols. The Rosicrucian Order had been founded by Egyptian “Ormusse” or “Licht-Weise” who had emigrated to Scotland with the name “Builders from the East”. Then the original Order disappeared and was supposed to have been resurrected by Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

as “Freemasonry”. In 1785 and 1788 the Golden and Rosy Cross group published the Geheime Figuren or “The Secret Symbols of the 16th and 17th century Rosicrucians”.

Led by Johann Christoph von Wöllner and General Johann Rudolf von Bischoffwerder, the Masonic lodge (later: Grand Lodge) Zu den drei Weltkugeln (The Three Globes) was infiltrated and came under the influence of the Golden and Rosy Cross. Many Freemasons became Rosicrucianists and Rosicrucianism was established in many lodges. In 1782 at the Convent of Wilhelmsbad the Alte schottische Loge Friedrich zum goldenen Löwen (Old Scottish Lodge Friedrich at the Golden Lion) in Berlin strongly requested Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and all other Freemasons to submit to the Golden and Rosy Cross, without success.

After 1782, this highly secretive society added Egyptian, Greek and Druidic mysteries to its alchemy system. A comparative study of what is known about the Gold and Rosenkreuzer appears to reveal, on the one hand, that it has influenced the creation of some modern Initiatic groups and, on the other hand, that the Nazis (see The Occult Roots of Nazism
The Occult Roots of Nazism
thumb|right|Cover of the 1992 editionThe Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935 is a book by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke. It is the "seminal work" on Nazi occultism and Ariosophy. The book also includes some...

) may have been inspired by this German group.

According to the writings of the Masonic historian E.J. Marconis de Negre, who together with his father Gabriel M. Marconis is held to be the founder of the "Rite of Memphis-Misraim

Rite of Memphis-Misraim

The Rite of Memphis-Misraim is a fringe Freemasonic rite which was formed by the merging of the two rites of Memphis and Misraïm under the influence of General Garibaldi in 1881.-The Rite of Misraïm:...

" of Freemasonry, based on earlier conjectures (1784) by a Rosicrucian scholar Baron de Westerode and also promulgated by the 18th century secret society called the "Golden and Rosy Cross", the Rosicrucian Order was created in the year 46 when an Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

n Gnostic

Gnosticism

Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...

sage named Ormus

Ormus

The Kingdom of Ormus was a 10th to 17th century kingdom located within the Persian Gulf and extending as far as the Strait of Hormuz...

and his six followers were converted by one of Jesus' disciples, Mark

Mark the Evangelist

Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....

. Their symbol was said to be a red cross surmounted by a rose, thus the designation of Rosy Cross

Rosy Cross

The Rosy Cross is a symbol largely associated with the semi-mythical Christian Rosenkreuz, alchemist and founder of the Rosicrucian Order...

. From this conversion, Rosicrucianism was supposedly born, by purifying Egyptian

Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...

mysteries

Greco-Roman mysteries

Mystery religions, sacred Mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious cults of the Greco-Roman world, participation in which was reserved to initiates....

with the new higher teachings of early Christianity.

According to Maurice Magre (1877–1941) in his book Magicians, Seers, and Mystics, Rosenkreutz was the last descendant of the Germelshausen, a German family from the 13th century. Their castle stood in the Thuringian Forest

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...

on the border of Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

, and they embraced Albigensian doctrines. The whole family was put to death by Landgrave Conrad

Konrad von Marburg

Konrad von Marburg was a medieval German inquisitor. He was commissioned by the Pope to combat the Albigensians, whom the Roman Catholic Church considered heretics...

of Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

, except for the youngest son, then five years old. He was carried away secretly by a monk, an Albigensian adept from Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

, and placed in a monastery under the influence of the Albigenses, where he was educated and met the four Brothers later to be associated with him in the founding of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. Magre's account supposedly derives from oral tradition.

Around 1530, more than eighty years before the publication of the first manifesto, the association of cross and rose already existed in Portugal in the Convent of the Order of Christ

Convent of the Order of Christ

The Convent of the Order of Christ is a religious building and Roman Catholic building in Tomar, Portugal, originally a Templar stronghold built in the 12th century...

, home of the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

, later renamed Order of Christ

Order of Christ (Portugal)

The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...

. Three bocetes were, and still are, on the abóboda (vault) of the initiation room. The rose can clearly be seen at the center of the cross. At the same time, a minor writing by Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....

called Prognosticatio Eximii Doctoris Paracelsi (1530), containing 32 prophecies

Prophecy

Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...

with allegorical

Allegory

pictures surrounded by enigmatic texts, makes reference to an image of a double cross over an open rose; this is one of the examples used to prove the "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" existed far earlier than 1614.

Modern groups

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various groups styled themselves Rosicrucian. The diverse groups who link themselves to a "Rosicrucian Tradition" can be divided into three categories: Esoteric Christian

Esoteric Christianity

Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened",...

Rosicrucian groups, which profess Christ; Masonic Rosicrucian groups such as Societas Rosicruciana

Societas Rosicruciana

The Societas Rosicruciana is a Rosicrucian order which limits its membership to Christian Master Masons. The order was founded in Scotland, but now exists in England, Scotland, Canada, France, Portugal, Romania, Ireland and the United States...

; and initiatory groups such as the Golden Dawn

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...

and the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis

Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis

The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis , also called Rosicrucian Order, is a philosophical and humanist worldwide fraternal organization. Members are known as students...

(AMORC).

Esoteric Christian Rosicrucian schools provide esoteric knowledge related to the inner teachings of Christianity.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship, 1909/11. Teachings present the mysteries, in the form of esoteric knowledge, of which Christ spoke in Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...

13:11 and Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

8:10. The Fellowship seeks to prepare the individual through harmonious development of mind and heart in a spirit of unselfish service to mankind and an all-embracing altruism
Altruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...

. According to it the Rosicrucian Order was founded in the year 1313 and is composed of twelve exalted Beings gathered around a thirteenth, Christian Rosenkreuz
Christian Rosenkreuz
Christian Rosenkreuz is the legendary, perhaps allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order , presented in the three Manifestos published in the early 17th century...

. These great Adepts have already advanced far beyond the cycle of rebirth
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

; their mission is to prepare the whole wide world for a new phase in religion—which includes awareness of the inner worlds and the subtle bodies, and to provide safe guidance in the gradual awakening of man's latent spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

faculties during the next six centuries toward the coming Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius is either the current or new age in the cycle of astrological ages. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods of calculating this length that may yield longer or shorter time spans depending upon the technique used...

.

According to masonic writers the Order of the Rose Cross is expounded in a major Christian literary work that molded the subsequent spiritual views of the western civilization, The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...

(ca. 1308–1321) by Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...

.

Other Christian-Rosicrucian oriented bodies include:

Anthroposophical Society
Anthroposophical Society
The General Anthroposophical Society is an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the form of spiritual philosophy known as anthroposophy. The society was initiated during 1913 by members of the Theosophical Society in Germany, including Rudolf Steiner who was at...

, 1912
Lectorium Rosicrucianum
Lectorium Rosicrucianum
The Lectorium Rosicrucianum is a worldwide school of Esoteric Christianity founded in 1935 by Dutch mystics Jan van Rijckenborgh, his brother Zwier Willem Leene and Catharose de Petri...

, 1924
Archeosophical Society
Archeosophical Society
The Archeosophical Society is a charitable cultural association founded by Tommaso Palamidessi in 1973. The purpose of the association is to study and develop Archeosophy.- The Archeosophical Society :...

, 1968

Freemasonic Rosicrucian bodies providing preparation either through direct study and/or through the practice of symbolic-initiatic journey.

French Rite
French Rite
The French Rite of Freemasonry is a Rite of Freemasonry. It was founded in France in 1786.-History:The French Rite is intimately linked to the birth of Freemasonry in France and was founded in France in 1786. British exiles brought the "Modern" rite to France and this was little by little passed...

, 1786
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1801
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia is a Masonic esoteric Christian order formed by Robert Wentworth Little in 1865, although some sources acknowledge the date to be 1866-67. Members are confirmed from the ranks of subscribing Master Masons of a Grand Lodge in amity with United Grand Lodge of...

, 1866, in Scotia (SRIS; Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

), in Civitatibus Foederatis (MSRICF/SRICF; United States) etc. This Masonic esoteric society reprinted the Rosicrucian manifestos in 1923. A well-known member was Arthur Edward Waite
Arthur Edward Waite
Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A...

.

Initiatory groups which follow a degree system of study and initiation include:

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, incorporated in the U.S. in 1915
Rosicrucian Order of the Golden Dawn, California based Order

Chronological list of groups formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and related subjects

Many of these groups generally speak of a lineal descent from earlier branches of the ancient Rosicrucian Order in England, France, Egypt, or other countries. However, some groups speak of a spiritual affiliation with a true and invisible Rosicrucian Order. Note there are other Rosicrucian groups not listed here. Some do not use the name "Rosicrucian" to name themselves. Some groups listed may have been dissolved and are no longer operating.

Fraternitas Rosae Crucis
Fraternitas Rosae Crucis
Fraternitas Rosae Crucis is a Rosicrucian fraternal organization founded by Paschal Beverly Randolph in 1858, and is the oldest Rosicrucian Order in the US...

, 1861
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia is a Masonic esoteric Christian order formed by Robert Wentworth Little in 1865, although some sources acknowledge the date to be 1866-67. Members are confirmed from the ranks of subscribing Master Masons of a Grand Lodge in amity with United Grand Lodge of...

(SRIA). ca. 1860–1865
Societas Rosicruciana in America (SRIA), 1878
Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF), 1879
Cabalistic Order of the Rosicrucian (Kabbalistique de la Rose Croix), 1888
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...

, 1888
Rose Cross Order, 1889
Order of the Temple & the Graal and of the Catholic Order of the Rose-Croix (l'Ordre de la Rose Croix Catholique et Esthetique, du Temple et du Graal) (CRC) ('Catholic', as in 'Universal'), 1890
Alchemical Rose-Croix Society (Association Alchimique de France), 1896
Rose-Croix de l'Orient (Rose-Cross of the East) (RCO) ?
The Elder Brothers of the Rose-Croix (Les Freres Aînés de la Rose-Croix)
Antiquus Arcanus Ordo Rosæ Rubæ Aureæ Crucis (AAORRAC) ?
Ordo Aureæ & Rosæ Crucis (Antique Arcanæ Ordinis Rosæ Rubeæ et Aureæ Crucis)(OARC) ?
Rosicrucian Fellowship
Rosicrucian Fellowship
The Rosicrucian Fellowship – "An International Association of Christian Mystics" – was founded in 1909 by Max Heindel as herald of the Aquarian Age and with the aim of publicly promulgating "the true Philosophy" of the Rosicrucians....

(Association of Christian Mystics) 1909
Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
The Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross was an organization of traditional esoterism of West, founded in the bosom of the Theosophical Society in 1912 but due to the First World War, the activity was suspended ....

, 1912
Corona Fellowship of Rosicrucians (CFR), c. 1918
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis , also called Rosicrucian Order, is a philosophical and humanist worldwide fraternal organization. Members are known as students...

, (AMORC), 1915
Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
The Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship was a Rosicrucian group founded by George Alexander Sullivan in about 1924. It may have existed under the name Order of Twelve from 1911–1914 and again from 1920. The ROCF operated first from the Liverpool area of England and then after the mid-1930s from...

, 1924
Lectorium Rosicrucianum, 1924
Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua
Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua
The Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua is a Rosicrucian Order originally established by German occultist Dr. Arnold Krumm-Heller, and acts in Brazil and Spanish-speaking countries. In Brazil, it was established in 1932 and has had its headquarters in Rio De Janeiro since 1933...

(FRA), 1927
The Saint Paul Rosicrucian Fellowship
Fraternidade Rosacruciana São Paulo
The Fraternidade Rosacruciana São Paulo is a Christian Rosicrucian esoteric school founded in 1929 by Lourival Camargo Pereira, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, based on the Max Heindel, Eliphas Levi, Gurdjieff,Pëtr Dem'ǐanovič Uspenskiǐ and Maurice Nicoll...

(Fraternidade Rosacruciana São Paulo), 1929
ConFraternity Rosae + Crucis (CR+C), 1989
Ancient Rosae Crucis (ARC), ?

External links

Accessible magazine (2006): The Portugal Code: the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucian Order and the Holy Grail
Alchemy Web Site (The): Rosicrucianism
Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...

: Rosicrucians
CESNUR
CESNUR
CESNUR , is an organization based in Turin, Italy. It was established in 1988 by a group of religious scholars from universities in Europe and the Americas, working in the field of new religious movements. Its director is the Italian sociologist and attorney Massimo Introvigne...

: 2005 International Conference – Spiritual filiation or doctrinal conflicts in modern Rosicrucian movements
Orthodox America: The Rosicrucians
Reverse Spins: The Mysterious Rosicrucian...
Rosie: Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum
Straight Dope (The): What is Rosicrucianism all about?
textfiles.com – Occult (The): Rosicrucianism
Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians in hi-rez full color

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