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The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order
'An introduction to the spiritual movement that influenced Western esoteric tradition—from alchemy and Freemasonry to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
This scholarly work traces the mysterious Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, from its inception upon the discovery of Father Christian Rosenkreuz’s perfectly preserved body in a seven-sided vault to present-day organizations in America. McIntosh includes a survey of Rosicrucianism in America, exploring the latter day survivals of Bacon’s New Atlantis. Perfect for students of the Western Mystery tradition who want an introduction to Rosicrucianism, with good resources for further study.
This scholarly work traces the mysterious Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, from its inception upon the discovery of Father Christian Rosenkreuz’s perfectly preserved body in a seven-sided vault to present-day organizations in America. McIntosh includes a survey of Rosicrucianism in America, exploring the latter day survivals of Bacon’s New Atlantis. Perfect for students of the Western Mystery tradition who want an introduction to Rosicrucianism, with good resources for further study.
162 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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May 24, 2024
AN “OUTSIDER’S” PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROSICRUCIAN ORDER
Christopher McIntosh (born 1943) was born in Scotland. He worked as a journalist, then for UNESCO, and was on the faculty of the distance M.A. program in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, England. He lives in Germany.
He wrote in the Introduction to the original edition of this book, “The complex of ideas known as Rosicrucianism may be seen as a loosely-knit organism clustered around a central mythology whose chief symbol is the extremely simple, yet marvelously suggestive, image of a rose linked to a cross… I had originally thought of the Rosicrucian movement as a vague hotchpotch of ideas clinging to an extremely nebulous legend… During my researches, the evidence I discovered forced me to revise this view… it did develop a coherent teaching, which represented a highly interesting late revival of a Gnostic way of thinking… In this study, I shall … enter into many intriguing ideas of symbology, my intention being to examine the history of the Rosicrucian phenomenon from its origins up to the 20th century.” (Pg. xvii-xviii)
He continues, “the basic facts… are as follows. In 1614, a German text was published with the title… ‘The Declaration of the Worthy Order of the Rosy Cross’ … [It] purported to reveal the existence of a fraternity founded by one Christian Rosenkreuz who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries… Soon after… the ‘Confessio Fraternitatis appeared eared (1615)… holding out the promise of a reformed world order and the overthrown of papal tyranny… Then in 1616, a third work appeared… under the title ‘The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz’… Occult imagery abounds… its author was almost certainly a Tübingen Protestant theologian named Johann Valentin Andreae… The publication of the Rosicrucian writings stirred up a great controversy in Germany…” (Pg. xviii-xix)
He adds, “The durability of Rosicrucianism has, I believe, partly to do with the appealing quality of the rose-cross motif. The rose and the cross … have been given various interpretations. In Christian symbolism, they are sometimes found representing the virgin Mary and Christ.” (Pg. xix-xx) He goes on, “Since Rosicrucianism links up with the whole Hermetic/Qabalistic tradition, it is possible to apply it in various ways. For example, it can be used for mystical contemplation or for magical manipulation---the distinction being … that in mysticism we attempt to communicate with the divine by projecting our consciousness beyond the physical world, whereas in magic we attempt to operate on the physical world using correspondences with the divine world.” (Pg. xxi)
In the first chapter, he explains, “The Rosicrucian movement is part of … the Western esoteric tradition… Although frequently in conflict with Christianity, Christian thinking was often influenced by it, and vice versa… The philosophical milieu in which the tradition began is loosely known as Gnosticism… The Gnostics saw the universe as a duality between spirit and matter.” (Pg. 1)
By the 17th century, “What might be called a Rosicrucian type of mind … begins to emerge: a mind steeped in the Hermetic-Qabalistic tradition, in search of hidden wisdom, and prepared to travel far to find it. The epitome of this kind of mind id Joachim Morsius (1593-1643)… Morsius’ friend, the … alchemist Balthasar Walter, assured him that Jacob Boehme alone really understood the Rosicrucian doctrines, and he consequently wrote to the great mystic… hoping to be enlightened. Boehme, however… did not talk of the Rosicrucian reformation, but spoke instead of the true reformation in Christ… Morsius may have failed in his search, but the dream would continue to be nurtured in other minds.” (Pg. 36-37)
He observes, “The further in time you travel from the era of the manifestos, the more bizarre and exotic the revivals of Rosicrucianism become; the more they are overlaid with other traditions and symbologies. One of the most vigorous of these revivals took place in France. Its origins can be traced back to the late 18th century, when Rosicrucian degrees began to be introduced into French Masonry.” (Pg. 85)
He recounts, “The most impressive fruit to grow from the Rosicrucian tree was undoubtedly the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical society which appeared in England in the 1880s and whose offshoots are still active today. The Golden Dawn, as Gerald Yorke has written… ‘was the crowning glory of the occult revival in the nineteenth century. It synthesized into a coherent whole a vast body of disconnected and widely scattered material and welded it into a practical and effective system, which cannot be said of any other occult Order of which we know at that time of since.’” (Pg. 97)
He states, “The first man… to promote Rosicrucianism widely in America was Paschal Beverly Randolph. Born in 1825… Though Randolph has been branded by some as a charlatan, his writings do not suggest this. He was honest enough to admit that his Rosicrucianism came mainly from within his own mind…” (Pg. 120-121) He notes, “there is evidence that earlier Rosicrucians were interested in sex as a magical force and described it symbolically in their treatises. Sexuality is a curiously recurrent theme among Rosicrucian apologists, and Randolph clearly regards it as central to the whole philosophy.” (Pg. 122)
He recounts, “[Max] Heindel’s group is today one of several active organizations in the United States using the name ‘Rosicrucian.’ Another is the Fraternitas Rosae Crusis, which traces its ancestry from P.B. Randolph, but whose main guiding force was R. Swinburne Clymer. The most influential American Rosicrucian group is the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crusis (usually known as AMORC), founded by H. Spencer Lewis (1883-1939). Among these three groups there has been quite a lot of hostility, culminating in a long feud between Clymer and AMORC.” (Pg. 125-126)
He notes, “It has always been characteristic of Rosicrucian organizations to go to great trouble to try and prove their authority and prevent rivals from laying claim to the Rosicrucian banner. According to Clymer’s account in the work just mentioned, Lewis began by claiming authority from the French Rosicrucians. He then decided that it would be desirable to obtain a German lineage. To do this, Clymer claims, Lewis allied himself, around 1930, with a German occultist called Heinrich Tränker (1880-1956), who had declared himself successor to Theodor Reuss (who had died in 1924) as head of the O.T.O. Tränker, calling himself ‘Recnartus,’ had formed a group called the Societas Pansophia. Lewis and Tränker then formed the International Headquarters of the Supreme Council of AMORC at Berlin, and Lewis began to issue proclamations of his connections with the German Rosicrucians… According to Clymer, Lewis and his associates found some difficulty in maintaining the credibility of the German connection and, by the beginning of 1933, were laying plans for a new European source of authority called FUDOSI [Federatio Universalis Dirigens Ordines Societatesque Initiatiques]. This body took shape out of contacts between Lewand and a number of European esotericists.” (Pg. 128-129)
McIntosh is not himself a Rosicrucian, but this book will be of interest for those seeking an “outsider’s” perspective on the history and development of the Order.
Christopher McIntosh (born 1943) was born in Scotland. He worked as a journalist, then for UNESCO, and was on the faculty of the distance M.A. program in Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, England. He lives in Germany.
He wrote in the Introduction to the original edition of this book, “The complex of ideas known as Rosicrucianism may be seen as a loosely-knit organism clustered around a central mythology whose chief symbol is the extremely simple, yet marvelously suggestive, image of a rose linked to a cross… I had originally thought of the Rosicrucian movement as a vague hotchpotch of ideas clinging to an extremely nebulous legend… During my researches, the evidence I discovered forced me to revise this view… it did develop a coherent teaching, which represented a highly interesting late revival of a Gnostic way of thinking… In this study, I shall … enter into many intriguing ideas of symbology, my intention being to examine the history of the Rosicrucian phenomenon from its origins up to the 20th century.” (Pg. xvii-xviii)
He continues, “the basic facts… are as follows. In 1614, a German text was published with the title… ‘The Declaration of the Worthy Order of the Rosy Cross’ … [It] purported to reveal the existence of a fraternity founded by one Christian Rosenkreuz who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries… Soon after… the ‘Confessio Fraternitatis appeared eared (1615)… holding out the promise of a reformed world order and the overthrown of papal tyranny… Then in 1616, a third work appeared… under the title ‘The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz’… Occult imagery abounds… its author was almost certainly a Tübingen Protestant theologian named Johann Valentin Andreae… The publication of the Rosicrucian writings stirred up a great controversy in Germany…” (Pg. xviii-xix)
He adds, “The durability of Rosicrucianism has, I believe, partly to do with the appealing quality of the rose-cross motif. The rose and the cross … have been given various interpretations. In Christian symbolism, they are sometimes found representing the virgin Mary and Christ.” (Pg. xix-xx) He goes on, “Since Rosicrucianism links up with the whole Hermetic/Qabalistic tradition, it is possible to apply it in various ways. For example, it can be used for mystical contemplation or for magical manipulation---the distinction being … that in mysticism we attempt to communicate with the divine by projecting our consciousness beyond the physical world, whereas in magic we attempt to operate on the physical world using correspondences with the divine world.” (Pg. xxi)
In the first chapter, he explains, “The Rosicrucian movement is part of … the Western esoteric tradition… Although frequently in conflict with Christianity, Christian thinking was often influenced by it, and vice versa… The philosophical milieu in which the tradition began is loosely known as Gnosticism… The Gnostics saw the universe as a duality between spirit and matter.” (Pg. 1)
By the 17th century, “What might be called a Rosicrucian type of mind … begins to emerge: a mind steeped in the Hermetic-Qabalistic tradition, in search of hidden wisdom, and prepared to travel far to find it. The epitome of this kind of mind id Joachim Morsius (1593-1643)… Morsius’ friend, the … alchemist Balthasar Walter, assured him that Jacob Boehme alone really understood the Rosicrucian doctrines, and he consequently wrote to the great mystic… hoping to be enlightened. Boehme, however… did not talk of the Rosicrucian reformation, but spoke instead of the true reformation in Christ… Morsius may have failed in his search, but the dream would continue to be nurtured in other minds.” (Pg. 36-37)
He observes, “The further in time you travel from the era of the manifestos, the more bizarre and exotic the revivals of Rosicrucianism become; the more they are overlaid with other traditions and symbologies. One of the most vigorous of these revivals took place in France. Its origins can be traced back to the late 18th century, when Rosicrucian degrees began to be introduced into French Masonry.” (Pg. 85)
He recounts, “The most impressive fruit to grow from the Rosicrucian tree was undoubtedly the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magical society which appeared in England in the 1880s and whose offshoots are still active today. The Golden Dawn, as Gerald Yorke has written… ‘was the crowning glory of the occult revival in the nineteenth century. It synthesized into a coherent whole a vast body of disconnected and widely scattered material and welded it into a practical and effective system, which cannot be said of any other occult Order of which we know at that time of since.’” (Pg. 97)
He states, “The first man… to promote Rosicrucianism widely in America was Paschal Beverly Randolph. Born in 1825… Though Randolph has been branded by some as a charlatan, his writings do not suggest this. He was honest enough to admit that his Rosicrucianism came mainly from within his own mind…” (Pg. 120-121) He notes, “there is evidence that earlier Rosicrucians were interested in sex as a magical force and described it symbolically in their treatises. Sexuality is a curiously recurrent theme among Rosicrucian apologists, and Randolph clearly regards it as central to the whole philosophy.” (Pg. 122)
He recounts, “[Max] Heindel’s group is today one of several active organizations in the United States using the name ‘Rosicrucian.’ Another is the Fraternitas Rosae Crusis, which traces its ancestry from P.B. Randolph, but whose main guiding force was R. Swinburne Clymer. The most influential American Rosicrucian group is the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crusis (usually known as AMORC), founded by H. Spencer Lewis (1883-1939). Among these three groups there has been quite a lot of hostility, culminating in a long feud between Clymer and AMORC.” (Pg. 125-126)
He notes, “It has always been characteristic of Rosicrucian organizations to go to great trouble to try and prove their authority and prevent rivals from laying claim to the Rosicrucian banner. According to Clymer’s account in the work just mentioned, Lewis began by claiming authority from the French Rosicrucians. He then decided that it would be desirable to obtain a German lineage. To do this, Clymer claims, Lewis allied himself, around 1930, with a German occultist called Heinrich Tränker (1880-1956), who had declared himself successor to Theodor Reuss (who had died in 1924) as head of the O.T.O. Tränker, calling himself ‘Recnartus,’ had formed a group called the Societas Pansophia. Lewis and Tränker then formed the International Headquarters of the Supreme Council of AMORC at Berlin, and Lewis began to issue proclamations of his connections with the German Rosicrucians… According to Clymer, Lewis and his associates found some difficulty in maintaining the credibility of the German connection and, by the beginning of 1933, were laying plans for a new European source of authority called FUDOSI [Federatio Universalis Dirigens Ordines Societatesque Initiatiques]. This body took shape out of contacts between Lewand and a number of European esotericists.” (Pg. 128-129)
McIntosh is not himself a Rosicrucian, but this book will be of interest for those seeking an “outsider’s” perspective on the history and development of the Order.
December 27, 2022
I found this book unejoyable and a slog to read. References to topics and trends that I found inaccessible. Also, I was hoping to learn more about Masonic esoteric topics. This felt largely tangential. It definitely had a ton of research supporting it and was thoroughly worked and organized. But an equally researched discussion of the evolution of the toaster I would find as relevant to my interests or as exciting. It also felt overtly scholarly, which is usually the call sign of a discipline that struggles with some insecurity for recognition as legitimate in academia. I didn't enjoy it, but don't let me yuk your yum. If you would like a real look at hermetic traditions' historical evolution, this will be the book for you.
January 6, 2019
Чудесно пропедевтично проучване. Всеки, който желае да добие базисни познания за розенкройцерството, е желателно да започне именно с монографията на Макинтош. Тя, за съжаление, е единственото научно засега изследване по темата, което можем да намерим на родния книжен пазар, залят основно от булевардни творения.
June 1, 2010
Well, it's the first book I've read about the Rosicrucians, and it is what the title says it is. Written in a typical history book style, it moves along smoothly and is very organized. It is very straight forward (some might call it dry) but it told me what I wanted to know, so I am happy.
October 16, 2017
McIntosh presents a detailed analysis of the formation of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood, its teachings, and myths. Only in the later sections, dealing with subsequent groups influenced by the Brotherhood does McIntosh lose some focus.
June 9, 2014
A complete history of The Rosicrusians
Christopher McIntosh recaps the complete history of one of the world's most enigmatic and secretive organizations. While the book doesn't really touch on any of the secrets of The Rosicrusians, it tells the history of the various incarnations and offshoots from the writing of the original manifesto, The Fama Fraternitatis, to disputes among the various factions that currently exist in America.
Christopher McIntosh recaps the complete history of one of the world's most enigmatic and secretive organizations. While the book doesn't really touch on any of the secrets of The Rosicrusians, it tells the history of the various incarnations and offshoots from the writing of the original manifesto, The Fama Fraternitatis, to disputes among the various factions that currently exist in America.
October 28, 2012
Only book I've found on the subject. Interesting read.
November 25, 2014
Mostly history of the movement which is hidden within little known lives of people who practiced it.
March 31, 2016
A great history book about the order and it includes a section on Golden Dawn which came from Rosicrucian.
December 23, 2008
Great research into Rosicrucians
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews