DEPARTMENT LEADER
head of the Rosicrucian Department, if you have any thoughts or questions please feel free to
email me.
There are many avenues about which one could write about the Rosicrucians; their teaching,
their leadership; Modern Rosicrucian groups, but I believe that it is important to first start off by
understanding a brief history about the group.
There are two roads of history that one must look down when looking at the history of the
Rosicrucians. The first is that of history of the Rosicrucians according to tradition and the
second is the history of the Rosicrucian in light of modern history.
Rosicrucian's in light of tradition date their Order back to 1500 BCE when Pharaoh Thutmose III
organized the first esoteric brotherhood of initiates founded upon principles and methods similar
to those perpetuated today by the Rosicrucian Order. Decades later, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV,
was initiated into the secret brotherhood. This most enlightened pharaoh —
history’s first monotheist — was so inspired by the mystery teachings that he gave a completely
new direction to Egypt’s religion and philosophy. He established a religion which recognized the
Aton, the solar disk, as being the "symbol" of the sole deity — the foundation of life itself, the
symbol of Light, Truth, and Joy — and changed his name to Akhnaton to
reflect these new ideas. Centuries later, Greek philosophers such as Thales and Pythagoras,
the Roman philosopher Plotinus, and others, journeyed to Egypt and were initiated into the
mystery schools. They then brought their advanced learning and wisdom to the Western world.
Their experiences are the first records of what eventually grew and blossomed into the
Rosicrucian Order. There are Masonic writings about how Saint Mark brought the hidden
teaching of Christ to Egypt and taught them in the mystery schools
of Alexandria and all throughout Egypt.
Now in light of modern history we can start in the year 1408 when a Germany born man by the
name of Christian Rosenkreuz start The Order of the Rose and Cross in Germany after being
introduce to the Occult and Esoteric Mystery Schools while travelling throughout the Middle
East. However, both his esoteric wisdom and movement died as a mystery with him in
1484.
There was a "revival" of Rosicrucianism in the early 17th century with the discovery of the lost
tomb of Rosenkreuz. This revival is generally credited to the writings of Johann Valentin
Andreae, a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. His works composed a sort of manifesto of
the growing Rosicrucian movement in which he told the story of Rosenkreuz and various
aspects of his secret order, as well as promoting reform and suggesting an occult synthesis of
Christian pietism, Renaissance hermeticism, magic, and alchemy.
Rosicrucian lodges flourished in eighteenth century England. A good number of them were
fraudulent endeavors but many were sincere attempts at forming genuinely Rosicrucian
organizations. British Rosicrucianism had been influenced by the alchemist Robert Fludd, who
had authored the Apologia Compendiaria Fraternitatem de Rosae Cruce in 1616.
Rosicrucianism was introduced to America with The Chapter of Perfection, a Rosicrucian
association established by German settlers in 17th century Pennsylvania. They derived their
teachings from the mystic Jacob Boehme, the Kabbalah, and several German
psychic visionaries. The Chapter of Perfection was successful for a generation, but began to die
away after the death of its leader Kelpius, leaving no notable legacy. There was virtually no
further reference to the presence of Rosicrucians in America until the nineteenth century, when
Pascal Beverly Randolph, the founder of the oldest Rosicrucian body in the U.S. -- the
Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, appeared. Randolph was an occult theorist who provided America
with the first major system of alternative occult thought -- including such concepts as
reincarnation and occult sexuality. A number of writers during this time wrote books that
emphasized the links between Rosicrucianism and magic or popularized such stereotyped ideals
as the "elixir of immortality" and various alchemical wonders.
In more Modern times the largest Rosicrucian group is the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae
Crucis, an esoteric fraternal group founded by H. Spencer Lewis in 1915. More information
about this group can be found at www.rosicrucian.org.
In my next piece I am going to shed some light on the teachings of the Order of the Rose Cross.
In service of the grail, Priest Matthew T. McDonald
©Copyright Mother Goddess Gnostic Society 2005