Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross explained
The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz, also the Fraternity of the Golden and Rosy Cross), was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld.[1] Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members.[2] Much of the hierarchical structure for this order was used in Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA) and from there, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[3]
History
The fraternity was founded in the 1750s, but it is not certain when it came into existence. Many documents and books mention it from the eighteenth century. For instance, Frater U∴D∴ believes that in 1710, the idea for the order was born with the publication of Sigmund Richter's (using the name Sincerus Renatus) The perfect and true preparation of the Philosophers Stone according to the secret of the Brotherhoods of the Golden and Rosy Cross.[4] By the 1770s, the order had centers in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Regensburg, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Poland, Hungary, and Russia.[2]
The order slowly began to decline after the death of King William II.
Structure and governance
The order is subdivided into:
- Grade I – Juniorus
- Grade II – Theoricus
- Grade III – Practicus
- Grade IV – Philosophus
- Grade V – Adeptus Minor
- Grade VI – Adeptus Major
- Grade VII – Adeptus Exemptus
- Grade VIII – Magister
- Grade IX – Magus
Known members
See also
Bibliography
- Raffaella Faggionato: "Rosicrucian Utopia in Eighteenth-Century Russia, A: The Masonic Circle of N.I. Novikov".
- Antoine Faivre: "Access to Western esotericism", State University of New York Press, 1994,,
- Christopher McIntosh: "The Rosicrucians: the history, mythology, and rituals of an esoteric order", Weiser Books 1988,
- McIntosh, Christopher (1992) The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason: Eighteenth-century Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its relationship to the Enlightenment, E.J. Brill, New York,
- Claude-Antoine Thory: Acta Latomorum, ou chronoligie de l'histoire de la franche-maçonnerie Française et étrangère avec un supplément, Durfart, Paris, 2 bind, 1815
- Renko D. Geffarth (2007) "Religion Und Arkane Hierarchie: Der Orden Der Gold- Und Rosenkreuzer Als Geheime Kirche Im 18. Jahrhundert",
- Harald Lamprecht: Neue Rosenkreuzer. Ein Handbuch. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
- Karl R.H. Frick: "Die Erleuchteten: Gnostisch-theosophische und alchemistisch-rosenkreuzerische Geheimgesellschaften bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts, ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte der Neuzeit", Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz, 1973,, ; andre utgave Marix Verlag, 31. januar 2005,,
Notes and References
- Book: Greer, John Michael. The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies. 2nd. Harper Collins. 2008. 978-1-4351-1088-5. 367–368.
- McIntosh, Christopher. "Charting Rosicrucian Europe", Lapis Magazine.
- Gilbert, Bro. R. A. "The masonic career of A.E. Waite", Ars Quatuor Coronatorum.
- Book: U.D., Frater. High Magic II: Expanded Theory and Practice. Llewellyn Worldwide. 2008. 978-0-7387-1063-1. 272–273.