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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
Rosicrucianism
Julia Phillips
Esoteric Legend: the Rosicrucians were founded by Pharoah Thothmes
III in the fifteenth century BC. The Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne
was said to have founded a Rosicrucian lodge at Toulouse in the 9th
century AD, and in 898 AD a second lodge was founded. Around 1000 AD a
group of heretical Catholic monks established the first Rosicrucian
college which flourished until the 16th century. It has also been
claimed that the Brotherhood of the Rose Cross was founded by Templars
after their order was disbanded by Pope Clement.
Historical story: The Fama Fraternitatis appeared in 1614 (written
in 1610), describing the foundation and purpose of the Society (Broth-
erhood) of the Rose Cross. This related that a Father CRC, born in
1378, a German, poor but from a rich and noble family, made a pilgrim-
age to Jerusalem. He remained at Damascus through ill-health, and
studied there. He later travelled to Damcar, where he was trained by
the Arabs, and translated the book "M" into the Latin tongue. He then
travelled to Fez, and after two years to Spain, where meeting with
ridicule, he returned to Germany.
After five years he calledthree of his bretheren to him,bound them
by an oath, and then founded the "Fraternity of the Rose Cross". They
later initiated another four members, and decided to spread the word
to other countries. Their by-laws were that they should heal the sick
without charge; wear the clothes of the country they visited; every
year upon a certain date should meet, or be represented, in the "House
of the Holy Spirit"; each should search for a worthy replacement for
when he dies; that the letters R.C. would be their mark; that the
Order would remain secret for 100 years. It was later also decided
that burial places would be kept a secret.
It is known thatJohann Valentin Andreae, a Germantheologian, wrote
at least one of the so-called Rosicrucian documents, but how much can
be laid at his door is not known. It is also an esoteric legend (with
some grounds in fact) that whilst an historical character called
Andraea did in fact exist, that the Rosicrucian writings attributed to
that person were in fact the work of Sir Francis Bacon. The three
major objects of the Rosicrucian Fraternity are:
1) The abolition of all monarchical forms of government and the
substitution therefor of the rulership of the philosophic elect. (This
demonstrates that the Rociscrucians are, in fact, Platonic, despite
their proclaiming themselves Christians.)
2) The reformation of science,philosophy and ethics. (Materialarts
and sciences are shadows of the divine wisdom; only by penetrating the
mysteries of nature can man attain reality and understanding.)
3) The discovery of the Universal Medicine, or panacea, for all
forms of disease.
In 1646 Elias Ashmoleand astrologer William Lilly foundeda Rosicr-
ucian lodge in London based upon a utopian ideal of the creation of a
new Atlantis.
1742