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Rosicrucian means in Latin, "of the Rose Cross." The symbol of the rose cross is ancient and layered with meaning. The origins of the Rosicrucian fraternity are even more shadowed.
The first widespread publicity of the order came about in Germany in the early seventeenth century, when two anonymous Manifestos were published to great notoriety. According to the Manifestos, the Rosicrucian Order was founded a century earlier by a certain Christian Rosencreutz, a poor descendent of nobility who was cloistered at an early age with the Jesuit Order. After training with the Jesuits as a youth, he travelled to the Holy Land to learn the art of healing. He continued to travel, learning mathematics, alchemy, and magick from the Arabs, biology from the Egyptians, cabala from the Spanish. Then, according to the account in Fraternitas, he returned to his native land, where he formed a secret group composed of himself and three of the brothers of his cloister, dedicated to the preservation of the arts and learning acquired by RC on his journeys. The brothers completed a building, called the Sancti spiritus (Holy spirit), and began to seek more members. Four more men were sought, and the Rosicrucian Order was formed. The men agreed that secrecy was neccessary to fully explore the philosophy of the order. They further agreed to split up and travel the world, curing the sick. They were to meet at Spiritus Sanctus once a year, and each were charged with appointing a successor to carry on their work. The order was to remain secret for one hundred years.
Fraternitas ends with a symbolic description of the discovery of RC's hidden tomb, wherein was disacovered the uncorrupted body of the Master, and many instruments and texts preserved.
The Manifestos promised that the age of secrecy was at an end, and implored the Europe to embrace the quest for knowledge free from greed or tyranny. It called for a reformation of Religion and Science, and called shame on those who would use religious authority or the arts to defraud or accumulate wealth or power. The Confessio gave dire warnings to those who would use religion falsely, and those who misused alchemy and medicine to take money from the unsuspecting. The promoted knowledge and learning for the spiritual improvement of mankind.
Shortly after the publication of the manifestos, another strange manuscript appeared, titled the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz. This mysterious document describes an alchemical initiatiatory process using a symbolic marriage ceremony.
These works created a commotion in royal and intellectual circles, and sparked a renewed interest in magick, cabbala, and alchemy, which for the first time, were discussed openly. It was a time of great optimism and hope. The power of the Church to stifle spiritual inquiry had been greatly diminished, literacy and learning were available to more people than ever before, and the Renaissance had begun to flourish, and the ideas brough forward in the manifestos were furiously criticised and vociferously defended..
The Rosicrucian Order, however, remained secret, despite much effort to discover their dwelling or to join their ranks. Many were accused of membership in the Order, and some of these only narrowly hung onto their lives. However, the ideals promoted by the anonymous Rosicrucians took hold, and philosophy, science, and freedom of conscience flourished.
Further Exploration:
The Rose Cross Symbol
Rosicrucianism Resources
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