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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 the anonymous "Manifestos" were published to
great notoriety. According to the Manifestos, the Order was founded
a century earlier by a certain Christian Rosencreutz, a poor descendent
of nobility who was cloistered at an early age with a 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 were each 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,
called the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz. This
mysterious document describes an 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 narrowly hung onto their lives. However,
the ideals they promoted took hold, and philosophy, science, and freedom
of conscience flourished.
Further
Exploration:
The
Rose Cross Symbol
Rosicrucianism
Resources
A Rosicrucian Primer.
The Rosicrucians, according to J. F. Sachse's work, The German Pietists
of Pennsylvania, came to America in 1694 under the leadership of Johanne
Kelpius and landed in Philadelphia. Their many accomplishments over
the years that followed were in the spirit of contributing to a new
nation, a "New Atlantis" perhaps, in a new land that offered
the great hope: freedom.
Wherever they went and under whatever name, in their small way, the
Rosicrucians have consistently contributed to the goal of personal freedom
of the individual. From an historical view, the Founders of the Rosicrucian
Movement in the 1600's may be viewed as being in the center of controversy,
but when analyzed, we see they helped to plant many seeds necessary
for the ideals of the modern world today: the separation of science
from the church and state, the freeing of medical practices from superstition,
the notion that one could pursue knowledge and the quest for truth without
persecution—all with the patient goal in mind that this would lead to
the Movement's ultimate goal: a world where any individual would have
adequate leisure, education and freedom to pursue the spiritual life.
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