MODERN NEO-PAGANISM & THE OCCULT

A Guide to Alternative Religions

And Their Opponents (Vers. 2.0)

Chapter 11

About Rosicrucians

CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUZ AND THE ORDER OF ROSICRUCIANS:

ANCIENT TRUTHS IN MODERN DRESS:

In the thirteenth century a high spiritual teacher, having the symbolical name Christian Rosenkreuz--Christian Rose Cross--appeared in Europe to commence a great work. He founded the mysterious Order of Rosicrucians with the object of throwing occult light upon the misunderstood Christian Reli- gion and to explain the mystery of Life and Being from the scientific stand- point in harmony with Religion. He labored with the Alchemists centuries before the advent of modern science. He, through, an intermediary, inspired the now mutilated works of Bacon. Jacob Boehme and others received through him the inspiration which makes their works so spiritually illuminating. In the works of the immortal Goethe and the masterpieces of Wagner the same influence meets us. All un- daunted spirits who refuse to be fettered by either orthodox science or or- thodox religion, who fling away the husks and penetrate to the spiritual kernel regardless of vilification or of flattery, draw their inspiration from the same fountain as did and does the great spirit which animated Christian Rosenkreuz. As the path of development in all cases depends upon the temperament of the aspirant, there are two paths, THE MYSTIC and THE INTELLECTUAL. The Mystic is usually devoid of intellectual knowledge; he follows the dictates of his heart and strives to do the will of God as he FEELS it, lifting him- self upward without being conscious of any definite goal, and in the end he attains knowledge. In the middle ages people were not as intellectual as we are today, and those who felt the call of a higher life usually followed the mystic path. But in the last few hundred years, since the advent of modern science, a more INTELLECTUAL humanity has peopled the earth; the head has completely overruled the heart, materialism has dominated all spiritual impulse and the majority of the thinking people do not believe anything they cannot touch, taste or handle. Therefore, it is necessary that appeal should be made to their intellect in order that the heart may be allowed to believe what the intellect has sanctioned. As a response to this demand the Rosicrucian Mystery teachings aim to correlate scientific facts to spiritual verities.

THE ROSICRUCIAN INTERPRETATION OF CHRISTIANITY

The Rosicrucian Order is an ancient Mystic Fraternity formed in the year 1313 by a high spiritual teacher having the symbolical name "Christian RosenKreuz": Christian Rose Cross. It was his mission to prepare a new phase of the Christian religion to be used during the coming age now at hand, for as the world and man evolve so also must religion change. The system of worship suited to the spiritual needs of our forebears is unsuited to our altered intellectual condition. Therefore, the great spiritual entities in charge of evolution, change the religions of the world in harmony with the passage of the marching orbs in the heavens.

The Rosicrucian Philosophy is entirely Christian, striving to make religion a living factor in the land -- and to lead to Christ those who cannot find Him by faith alone.

THE SIXTH SENSE

The particular function of the Philosophy is to enable people to accept the Christian doctrines through the medium of esoteric knowledge, when they are unable to do so through the medium of faith. It aims to supplement the work of the churches, not to supplant them.

The Rosicrucian Philosophy teaches that man possesses a latent sixth sense which has been developed in some and which eventually will be developed by all. This sense enables its possessor to perceive and investigate the super- physical realms, where the so-called dead live.

It also teaches that the Earth is a great school to which we return life after life through rebirth, learning new lessons during each sojourn here, and thus ever evolving toward greater perfection of character and the powers which it confers. The grades attained by different individuals in this school account for the differences in fortunes which we see on every side. Therefore we do not despair of God's love when we see the inequalities of life, for we know that in time all will be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.

FACING DEATH

Sooner or later there comes a time when the consciousness is forced to recognize the fact that life, as we see it, is but fleeting, and that amid all the uncertainties of our existence there is but one certainty - Death!

When the mind has thus become aroused by thought of the leap in the dark, which at sometime must be taken by all, several questions inevitably present themselves: Whence have we come? Why are we here? Whither are we going? These are basic problems with which all must sooner or later grapple, and it is of the greatest importance how we solve them, for the view we take will color our whole lives.

The Rosicrucian Teachings also take the sting of sorrow out of the greatest of all trials, "the loss of loved ones," even if they have been what is called wayward, or black sheep, for we know that it is an actual fact that in God we live and move and have our being; hence, if one single Spirit were lost, a part of God would be lost and such a proposition is absolutely impossible. Under the immutable Law of Cause and Effect, we are bound to meet these loved ones sometime in the future, under other circumstances, and there the love that binds us together must continue until it has found its fullest expression. The Laws of Nature would be violated if a stone thrown from the Earth were to remain suspended in the atmosphere, and under the same immutable Laws, those who pass into the higher sphere must return. Christ said Ye must be born again;" and "If I go to my Father, I will return."

ADVERSITY AND TROUBLE

When the bark of our life sails lightly upon smooth summer seas, wafted along by the fair winds of health and prosperity, when friends are present on every hand, eager to help us plan pleasures which will increase our enjoyment of this world's goods, when social favors or political powers come to us to gratify our every wish in whatever sphere our inclinations seek expression, then indeed, we may say, and seem justified in saying, with our whole heart and soul: "This world is good enough for me." But when we come to the end of the smiling sea of success; when the whirlwind of adversity has blown us upon the rocky shores of disaster, and the sea of suffering threatens to engulf us; when friends have failed and every human help is as far off as it is unavailing, then we must look for guidance to the skies as does the mariner when he steers his ship over the waste of waters.

Likewise one who is looking for a guide which he may trust in the days of sorrow and trouble also should embrace a religion founded on eternal laws and immutable principles, able to explain the mystery of life in a logical manner so that his intellect is satisfied. At the same time, a system of devotion satisfies the heart, so that these twin factors in life receive equal satisfaction.

DIVINE LOVE

Only when man has a clear intellectual conception of the scheme of human development is he in a position to range himself in line therewith. When it is made clear to him that that scheme is benificent and benevolent in the very highest degree, that all is truly ruled by divine Love, then that understanding will sooner or later call out in him a true devotion and heartfelt acquiescence which will awaken in him a desire to become a co- worker with God in the world's work.

Eye has not seen nor ear heard the glories that are yet in store for us, but Oliver Wendell Holmes has expressed a little of what we may look forward to in the following lines:

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul. As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea.

THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP

 Purpose, Aims, and Activities

Taken from the Rosicrucian Fellowship pamphlet "The Rosicrucian Interpretation of Christianity."

The Rosicrucian Fellowship is an organization composed of men and women who are students of the Rosicrucian Philosophy as presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. This philosophy is known as the Western Wisdom Teaching and presents deep insights into the Christian Mysteries and establishes a meeting- ground of science and religion. Its students are scattered all over the world; but their International Headquarters is located at Oceanside, California, USA.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship has no connection with any other organization. It was launched during the late summer and autumn of 1909, after a course of lectures in Seattle by Mr. Max Heindel. A study center was formed and the Headquarters were temporarily located in that city. Arrangements were also made for publishing The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. With the issue of this work by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, the Association was definitely started. Study centers had been formed previously in Columbus, Ohio, and North Yakima, Washington. These, with the Seattle Center, constituted the physical beginning of the Fellowship in 1909, as stated in the "Echoes from Mt. Ecclesia," of June 10, 1911, that the permanent International Headquarters was established at Oceanside, California.

WESTERN WISDOM TEACHING

The Western Wisdom School teaches that God is the Creator of our solar system and all that exists; that in all nature a slow process of development is constantly carried on with unwavering persistence through repeated embodiments in forms of increasing efficiency; that the goal of every created thing is perfection, which is ultimately attained by all. It emphasizes the fact that as we sow, so shall we reap, and that it is possible for us to hasten or retard our own soul growth by the way we live. It unfolds the whole plan of creation from the beginning to the end, and gives specific directions how to proceed in order to accomplish the best results in the most effective manner. It throws light on many perplexing passages in the Bible and bridges the chasm between science and religion by making religion scientific and science religious. It makes no statements that are not supported by logic and reason and it invites questions and investigations.

The true teachings of the Rosicrucians are a clear call to rectitude and strength of character, to self-reliance, justice, unflinching courage, to honesty, compassion -- in short, all the sterling qualities of mind and soul which go to make a helper and saviour of men. The Western Wisdom Teachings clarify the essential truths of Christianity: the immaculate, as opposed to the miraculous, conception of Jesus; the duality of Jesus the man and Christ the divine Archangel Who used his vehicles; the supreme Mission of Christ to teach humanity the Gospel of Love, in the absence of which evolution cannot continue, while taking upon Himself the sins of the world be clothing the planet in His sublime desire essence; the operation of the laws of rebirth and consequence, under which humanity must and will individually achieve salvation. This salvation is simply but succinctly defined as the result of knowledge of one's true self and adjusting life to spiritual principles.

THE GENERAL WORK OF THE FELLOWSHIP

The work of the Fellowship is to preach the gospel and heal the sick. This is achieved by making the Western Wisdon Teaching available to all who are ready to receive it and by conduction a Healing Department which emphasizes spiritual healing along with principles of right living. The work of the Fellowship is done through the efforts of its entire membership assisted by Headquarters. Many friends in the world work through Centers which hold classes in the Philosophy and in astrology, the study and teaching of which is an integral part of the work in the Fellowship.

THE ADMINSTRATION BUILDING

In this building secretaries and workers carry on the basic (except healing) part of the Work by correspondence. Here the incoming mail is received, opened and distributed to the various departments: Philosophy, Esoteric, Astrology, Educational, Editorial, Accounting, Foreign Language Departments and Magazine Circulation.

THE CHAPEL

The Mission style Chapel, also called the Pro-Ecclesia, a picturesque, inviting sanctuary in its setting of trees and shrubs, rests in the heart of the Fellowship, purified and hallowed by years of prayer and devotional services. Services are held in the Chapel twice daily, conducted by individual workers of the Fellowship at the beginning of their day's work and again at its close. Morning and evening services have been held in the Chapel every day since its dedication on Christmas Eve, 1913, by the founder of the Rosicrucian Fellowship, Max Heindel. Healing Service, open to all, is held weekly.

THE TEMPLE

The Temple, built of white concrete, is twelve-sided to conform with the twelve signs of the zodiac, which have a direct influence of the restoration and maintenance of health. This building is dedicated entirely to spiritual work, which includes devotional exercises and spiritual healing. Singing and pipe organ music form part of each service.

HEALING DEPARTMENT

The Healing Department Building houses the secretaries who handle all correspondence with patients receiving attention from our spiritual Healing Department. This work is carried on principally by means of the aid of the Invisible Helpers, working on the invisible planes during the sleep of the patient. Contact by patients with the Helpers is maintained by a weekly letter to Headquarters.

THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

Rays from the Rose Cross is a 48-page magazine published monthly for the purpose of emphasizing through its articles, stories, and poems, different phases of the Western Wisdom Teachings and their practical application to daily living. It contains the following departments: Editorial; Mystic Light (articles and stories dealing with occult philosophy); Bible Interpretation; Astrology; Reader's Questions; New Commentary; Nutrition and Health; Children's Department. Free sample copy on request.

PRINT SHOP AND BINDERY

Equipped for printing and binding magazines and pamphlets. It includes two offset presses, photocomposer, power and hand paper cutters, paper and book folders, stapling machine, etc.

THE CAFETERIA

The well-equipped dining room takes care of the culinary needs of workers, guests, and visitors. The meals are wholly vegetarian. This room doubles as an auditorium for music perfomances and gatherings on special occasions.

THE LIBRARY

A free library, consisting of hundreds of good books, religious, scientific, educational, occult, and miscellaneous, is available to workers and visitors.

HOW OUR MATERIAL OBLIGATIONS ARE MET

The work is carried on by means of freewill offerings. There has never been a fixed price on our lessons. Our students and friends have always been most generous in contributing to our material necessities.

VISITORS WELCOME

Visitors are always welcome at Headquarters. Reception area and bookstore are located in the Guest House.

CORRESPONDENCE COURSES

Correspondence courses in Preliminary and Supplementary Philosophy, Bible, and Astrology -- offered on a love offering basis -- are open to all who are not professional hypnotists, mediums, palmists or astrologers.

THE BROTHERS OF THE ROSE CROSS

All those aspiring ones who align themselves, "in spirit and in truth," with The Rosicrucian Fellowship and its Teachings, place themselves within the sphere of the Illumined ones of the human race whom we speak of as the Elder Brothers of the Rose Cross. It is greatly to our advantage as spiritual aspirants to realize the full significance of this fact and endeavor zealously to reap the full benefit of such a wonderful privilege. We can help make ourselves more attractive to their assistance by taking time to meditate upon them and their humanitarian endeavors, to send them our gratitude and love, to rededicate ourselves to serving them in their constant efforts of uplifting humanity.

The Brothers of the Rose Cross are Adepts, being among those Compassionate Ones, who, through many lives, have unfolded their inner faculties to a very high degree by loving, self-forgetting service to the race. They have passed through all the Lesser and Greater Mystery Schools, thereby reaching a stage of evolution which frees them from all the ties to Earth. However, they have elected to stay here on Earth as helpers, each being given work according to his particular interest and bent.

These Hierophants of the Western Wisdom Teachings have forged a second spinal cord by drawing the lower love-ray of Venus upward and transmuting it to altruism, conquering for it the dominion over the sympathetic segment of the first spinal cord and the left cerebral hemisphere now ruled by the passionate Hierarchy of Mars, the Lucifer Spirits. Thus each Brother is a complete creative unit on both the spiritual and physical planes, able to use the bi-polar force (masculine and feminine) through the double spinal cord, illuminated and raise in potential energy by the spinal spirit fires of Neptune (Will) and Uranus (Love and Imagination). This creative energy conceives in the twin hemispheres of the cerebrum, ruled by Mars and Mercury, a vehicle fit for the expression of the Spirit, which is then sent out and objectified in the world by the spoken Creative Word. By means of this power he is able to perpetuate his physical existence and create a new body before he leaves the old one.

All of the Brothers have a material body, and they live in a house (in Germany) which appears to be the home of well-to-do but not ostentatious people. They hold offices of distinction in their community, but these positions are only for the purpose of giving a reason for their presence. Thus they avoid questions and suppositions as to what they are or what they are doing. Outside their house and through their house is what may be called the Temple. It is etheric and is different from our ordinary buildings, but may be likened to the auric atmosphere around the Pro-Ecclesia or Temple at Mt. Ecclesia, in Oceanside, California (2222 Mission Avenue), which is etheric and much larger than the buildings themselves. Such structures are around churches and other buildings where people are very spiritual and of course differ in color. The Rosicrucian Temple is superlative and not to be compared to anything else; it so permeates with spirituality the house in which the Elder Brothers live that most people wouldn't feel comfortable there.

Being able to control their actions and emotions, the Brothers save all unnecessary strain upon their bodies. They know the exact elements required to keep up their bodies. They know the exact elements required to keep up their bodies, and the proper proportions in which to take them. Thus they secure the maximum nutrition and a minimum of waste. For that reason they may keep their bodies in a state of youthful preservation and vigorous health for hundreds of years.

Lay brothers who have been connected with the Temple for twenty to forty years in this life have indicated that the Elder Brothers look just about the same today as they did thirty or forty years ago. Judging by the standards of ordinary men they seem now to be about forty years of age.

It has been said by some of the lay brothers that Christian Rosenkreuz is today using a body which has been preserved for several centuries. This may or may not be so, but our august leader is never seen by the lay brothers who gather at the Temple(etheric) for the midnight service. His presence is only felt and is the signal for beginning the work. To trace the beginning of the Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucian Order is as difficult as it is to find proof of the beginning of the first Manifestation of God. Since theirs is a work which aims to encourage the evolution of humanity, they have labored far back into antiquity--under one guise or another. We have historical proof, however, of the appearance as early as the thirteenth century of advanced teachings which were to prove as a bright star to many.

During the past few centuries the Brothers have worked for humanity in se- cret. Each night at midnight there is a service at the Temple where the Elder Brothers, assisted by the lay brothers who are able to leave their work in the world (for many of them reside in places where it is yet day when it is midnight in the location of the Temple of the Rose Cross), gather up from everywhere in the Western World the thoughts of sensuality, greed, selfishness and materialism. They seek to transmute into pure love, benevolence, altruism, and spiritual aspirations, sending them back to the world to uplift and encourage all Good. Were it not for this potent source of spiritual vibration, materialism must long ago have totally squelched all spiritual effort, for there has never been a darker age from the spiritual standpoint than the last three hundred years of materialism.

Seven of the twelve Brothers go out into the world whenever occasion re- quires, appearing as men among men, or working in their invisible vehicles with or upon others as needed; yet it must be kept strictly in mind that they never influence people against their will or contrary to their desires, only strengthening good wherever found. The other five Brothers never leave the etheric Temple, and although they do possess physical bodies, all their work is done from the inner worlds.

The Thirteenth of the Order is the Head, Christian Rosenkreuz, the link with a higher Central Council composed of Hierophants of the Greater Mysteries, who do not deal with ordinary humanity at all, but only with graduates of the Lesser Mysteries. He is hidden from the outside world by the twelve Brothers, as the central ball is hidden by twelve balls of even size. Even the pupils of the School never see him, but at the nightly services in the Temple his presence is felt by all.

Every midnight at their service the Elder Brothers open their breasts to attract the darts of hate, envy, malice, and every evil that has been launched during the past twenty-four hours. First, in order that they may deprive the Black Grail forces of their food; and secondly, that they may transmute the evil into good. Then, as the plants gather the inert carbon dioxide exhaled by mankind and build their bodies therefrom, so the Brothers of the Holy Grail transmute the evil within the Temple: and as the plants send out the renovated oxygen so necessary to human life, so the Elder Brothers return to mankind the transmuted essence of evil as qualms of conscience along with the good in order that the world may grow better day by day.

During the Temple Service the twelve Brothers, together with the lay bro- thers, function in their soul bodies. Hence it is evident that the presence of the Head of the Order is altogether spiritual. Nevertheless, he is always active in the affairs of the world, working with the governments of the nations in the Western World to guide them along the apropriate path of their evolution. To this end he appears in a physical embodiment, at least part of the time.

After the first year of World War I the Elder Brothers, by dint of hard work and organization, succeeded in creating an army of Invisible Helpers who, having passed through the gate of death and having felt the sorrow and suffering incident to an untimely transition, were filled with compassion for the others who were constantly pouring in, and became qualified to soothe and help them until they also had found their balance.

The Elder Brothers all possess the external picture consciousness of the Jupiter Period, which they use in initiating their pupils into the Rosicrucian Order. The Initiator fixes his attention upon certain cosmic facts, and the candidate, who has become fitted for certain powers, is like a tuning fork of identical pitch with the vibration of the ideas sent out by the Initiator in pictures. Therefore, he not only sees the pictures but is able to respond to the vibration, and the latent power within him is converted into dynamic energy and his consciousness is lifted to the next step upon the ladder of initiation.

The mass of humanity is taken care of by the religion publicly taught in the country of their birth; but there are always pioneers whose precocity demand a higher teaching. To them a deeper doctrine is given through the agency of the Mystery School belonging to their country. When only a few are ready for such preparatory schooling they are taught privately, but as they increase in number the teaching is given more publicly. The latter is the case in the Western World at present. Therefore the Brothers of the Rose Cross gave to Max Heindel the Philosophy as published in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception and sanctioned the launching of The Rosicrucian Fellowship to promulgate the Teaching. The purpose is to bring aspiring souls into contact with the Teacher when by service here in the Physical World they have shown their sincerity and given reasonable assurance that they will use their spiritual powers for service in the other world when they shall have been initiated therein. The scientific method of soul unfoldment advocated by the Elder Brothers is always bound to benefit anyone who practices it and can never under any circumstances cause harm to anyone.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship
2222 Mission Avenue
P.O. Box 713
Oceanside, CA, 92049-0713, USA

Tel: [Voice] 619-757-6600
[Fax] 619-721-3806
[BBS] 619-721-1828

You are welcome to write or call them for a complete list of publications, correspondence course information and other services.