01 Gmscott
01 Gmscott
01 Gmscott
o begin, let’s define the word and the Mystery Schools associated with
twenty years in Egypt and was a mem- It is difficult to separate the Orphic and
ber of the mystery school associated with Pythagorean traditions.
Memphis. However, by the sixth century Delphic Mysteries
BCE, Orpheus was definitely a mythical (1700 BCE to 391 CE)
figure. It was said that Orpheus’s music
could move even inanimate objects and Delphi served as the spiritual center
his sacred songs told the greatest secrets of Greece for over 2,000 years. The Pyth-
of the universe. Orphism stressed a strict ias (priestesses) played a fundamental role
standard of ethical and moral conduct. in the oracles of Delphi. They were said
Initiates purified themselves and adopted to have the power to commune with the
ascetic practices for the purpose of purg- invisible world and to speak on behalf of
ing evil and cultivating the Dionysian (Di- the god, Apollo. The temple of Delphi ex-
vine) aspect of human behavior. The Or- erted a tremendous influence in antiquity
phics abstained from eating meat and were not only because of the oracles, but also
known to wear white, symbolic of purity. because it housed a prestigious mystery
school. Above the portal of the temple of
Apollo in Delphi was inscribed the injunc-
tion, “Know Thyself.” This is ever the pur-
pose of each Rosicrucian.
Pythagorean School
(Mid-sixth century to 492 BCE)
Pythagoras taught about relationships,
especially between seemingly disconnected
elements of the universe, such as mathe-
matics and the physical world, and music
and mathematics. Pythagoreans studied
Delphi. the laws of the universe in order to bring
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their minds into harmony with Cosmic ity. Many suggest that the Isis-Horus pair
reality, thereby becoming one with the continues in images of the Virgin and
universe. This was their sacred goal in life. Child. The ancient writers, Apuleius, in
Following five years of silence, if found his book, The Golden Ass, and Iamblichus
worthy, Pythagorean postulants (men and in The Egyptian Mysteries, described in de-
women) were considered for instruction tail the rituals of the Isis Mysteries. These
into the Mysteries, presented in three de- Mysteries addressed the desire for personal
grees—the first, dedicated to the science transcendence and salvation and presented
of numbers; the second, to moral and po- a powerful image of the protective, nurtur-
litical laws; and the third, to esoteric doc- ing, and victorious Divine Feminine.
trines. The Pythagorean mystical under-
standing of the universe has far outlived Mithraic Mysteries
the actual school, including many Greek (Second century BCE to fifth century CE)
philosophers following Pythagoras, and The Mithraic Mysteries were an ini-
has influenced much of Western thought tiatic mystery school in which students
in one form or another. Rosicrucian phi- were gradually introduced to astronomi-
losophy embodies many of these concepts. cal truths through symbol, and how this
knowledge could lead the seeker to union
Eleusis with the power behind all existence. The
(1800 BCE to 500 CE) Mithraic Mysteries included a series of
The Eleusinian Mysteries arose in Ele- seven initiations in which the candidates
usis (12 miles from Athens) before spread- underwent trials. This combination of sci-
ing to all of Greece and beyond. The mys- entific study, symbolic initiation, and cos-
teries were based on the myth of Demeter, mic union is a feature of Rosicrucian work.
the goddess of fertility, and her daughter,
Persephone. Their story symbolizes the
human soul’s return, after the death of
the body, to its universal origin or loving
source. The Eleusinian initiations were
presented in three stages: the minor ex-
pression; the major expression (lasting nine
days); and the highest of the three – the ep-
opteia (meaning “the state of having seen”).
These Mysteries were so important that
during antiquity the whole Greek world
held a 55-day truce to permit travel to and
from Eleusis. The progressive concept of
initiation and its effect on the individual is
continued in Rosicrucian Initiation.
Isis Mysteries
(Fourth century BCE to sixth century CE)
As the Hellenized Egyptian myster-
ies of Isis spread throughout the Mediter-
Rosicrucian ranean world, from the Middle East to
Digest Britain, they soon became one the most
No. 2 widespread exports of Egyptian spiritual-
2014
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Hermetism ing the individual yearning for salvation
(First century BCE to the present day) from a philosophical viewpoint. Neopla-
Based on the writings attributed to tonism posits a single source from which
Hermes Trismegistus (the Hellenized form all existence emanates and with which an
of the Egyptian God, Thoth) the Hermetic individual soul can be mystically united.
tradition was honored by practitioners of This philosophical school provided ways
Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Jewish, Chris- that the individual could ascend the ladder
tian, and later Islamic religions, and many of being through theoria – contemplation
believe it represents a continuity of the of the Divine. Neoplatonic approaches
teachings in the Egyptian Temples and have continued to be of tremendous im-
Mystery Schools. Hermetism inspired portance in Jewish, Eastern and Western
many Renaissance mystics and scholars, Christian, and Islamic Mysticism, as well
and modern evolutions of this tradition as the esoteric schools, including Rosicru-
are often referred to as Hermeticism. Her- cian thought.
metism emphasizes the organic connection Kabbalah
of the Divine with the earthly (“As above, (From the beginning of Judaism to the
so below”) and points the way of return to present day)
the source of being. Rosicrucian philoso- The word Kabbalah means “tradition”
phy is heir to the Hermetic tradition. or “received tradition.” At the beginning
Gnosticism it was taught only by word of mouth and
(First century CE to fourteenth century CE) in the greatest secrecy. The primary books
One of the early varieties of the Judeo- that make up the foundational writings
Christian spiritual tradition, the various of Kabbalah include a meditation manual
groups we call “Gnostics” today empha- called the Sepher Yezirah, or “Book of For-
sized the individual coming to personal mation,” whose first date of appearance in
and interior experiential knowledge (Gno- written form is unknown, but whose oral
sis) of the transcendent Divine One which teachings date back before the first cen-
is within the innermost being. This Gnosis tury; and the Zohar, known as the “Book
then allows the person to enter into union of Splendor”, first printed in the late thir-
with the source of all existence. Persecuted teenth century. There are strong Kabbalis-
in the Mediterranean in the fourth to fifth tic connections to Neoplatonism, Rosicru-
centuries CE, Gnostics continued their cianism, and Martinism.
spiritual practice, moving to Eastern Eu- Alchemy
rope, the Middle East, Northern Italy, and
finally Southern France, where they were (Originated in or through Egypt, first
driven underground in the fourteenth cen- written documents in third century CE to
tury CE. The interior center of knowledge the present day)
is a familiar theme that manifests in Rosi- It is said that Hermes Trismegistus, to
crucian studies and practice. whom the “Emerald Tablet” is attributed,
instituted alchemy so as to “manifest on
Neoplatonism Earth the power and wisdom of the dei-
(Third – sixth centuries CE, influential to ties.” The goal of the alchemist is to trans-
the present day) mute that which is base to that which is
The last flowering of the Classical pure. Dr. Carl Jung understood alchemy
Greek philosophical tradition, the Neopla- to represent the process of self-realization.
tonists synthesized the approaches of Plato, Alchemy includes physical alchemy (for
Aristotle, Pythagoras, and others, address- example, turning lead into gold) and spiri-
Page 7
tual alchemy (personal transformation.) Its Martinism
concepts are part of the Rosicrucian cur- (Eighteenth century to the present day)
riculum. From a historical perspective, the
origins of Martinism go back to an eigh-
teenth century organization known as the
Order of the Élus-Cohen, founded by
Martinès de Pasqually (1717-1774). The
Traditional Martinist Order is an initiatic
Order and a school of moral chivalry based
essentially on Judeo-Christian mysticism.
Its name is derived from that of Louis-
Claude de Saint-Martin (1743-1803), the
French mystic and author, who wrote un-
der the pseudonym of “the Unknown Phi-
losopher.” It was formed into an Order by
Gérard Encausse, MD, known in esoteric
circles as Papus, and Augustin Chaboseau
Rosicrucianism in the late nineteenth century, and is now
(1614 to present day) conducted under the auspices of the Rosi-
The Rosicrucian tradition emerged in crucian Order, AMORC.
Europe with the publication of the three
Rosicrucian manifestos, Fama Fraternita- Rosicrucian Order, AMORC
tis, Confessio Fraternitatis, and Chymical (1915 to the present day)
Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz; pub- In 1909 Harvey Spencer Lewis trav-
lished in 1614, 1615, and 1616. For years, eled to France where he accepted from the
Europe had been embroiled in religious, Masters of the Order the charter to rees-
political, and social strife and many longed tablish the Rosicrucian tradition in Amer-
for a “new Reformation” aimed at disarm- ica in 1915. Since then the Ancient and
ing the superstition and religious intol- Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, also known
erance of the time. The manifestos were as the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, has
most likely the work of “the Tubingen served as a spiritual path to hundreds of
Circle,” a group of thirty German scholars thousands of women and men through-
and students who were passionate about out the world and continues to perpetuate
alchemy, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, astrol- many of the traditions of the ancient Mys-
ogy, naometry, and Christian Mysticism. tery Schools and the important philoso-
The manifestos enjoyed considerable suc- phies that sprang from them.
cess and circulated throughout Europe.
Many philosophers of the time became
aware of their message; among them Fran- ENDNOTES
cis Bacon and John Amos Comenius are 1. Carl Kerenyi, Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and
mentioned most often. In 1623, the Rosi- Daughter. Translated by Ralph Manheim (New York:
Schocken Books, 1967/1977), 46.
crucians posted placards on the walls of 2. William L. Reese, Dictionary of Philosophy and Reli-
Paris announcing that the Brothers of the gion (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press Inter-
Rose Cross were staying “visible and invis- national, 1996), 501.
3. Christopher McIntosh, The Rosicrucians (York Beach,
ible” in their city. Today, the Rosicrucian ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1997).
Rosicrucian
Digest Order, AMORC perpetuates the Rosicru- 4. Christian Rebisse, Rosicrucian History and Mysteries
No. 2 cian tradition worldwide. (San Jose, CA: Grand Lodge of the English Language
2014 Jurisdiction, AMORC, 2005), 3.
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