Rosicrucian Stream

The Rosicrucian stream of the Order's teaching descends from the fraternity that announced itself to Europe in the early seventeenth century by means of three remarkable documents: a Fame, a Confession and a Chemical Wedding. Whatever the historical truth of that fraternity, the impulse it released has never been extinguished. It called for a general reformation of the whole wide world, beginning with the reformation of the individual; it bound its brethren to heal the sick freely; and it set at the centre of its symbolism the Rose upon the Cross, the flower of the soul blooming upon the wood of mortal life.

What the Order takes from the Rosicrucian stream

From this stream the Order takes four things. First, the mandate to heal: every Squire of the Order undertakes a work of healing service, whether of body, of mind or of circumstance, and reports upon it to the Commandery. Second, the alchemy of the heart: the understanding that the passions, the fears and the attachments of the lower nature are not to be destroyed but transmuted, as the alchemist transmutes the base metal, by patient and lawful operation. Third, the discipline of silence: the Rosicrucian is known by deeds and not by profession, and the Order forbids its members to boast of their membership or to make of it a means of advantage. Fourth, the symbol of the Rose Cross itself, which is the badge of the Second Degree and the key to its meditations.

The Rose and the Cross

The Cross is the body, the world, the fixed conditions of our life: the four elements, the four directions, the four seasons, the crossing of spirit and matter at the point where a human being stands. It is not to be escaped. The Rose is the soul, which opens at the centre of the Cross when, and only when, the Cross is accepted. The Order teaches that most of the suffering of the seeker arises from the attempt to have the Rose without the Cross: to attain illumination while refusing the conditions of incarnate life. The Rosicrucian path is the path of acceptance, and the Rose is its reward.

In the Second Degree the Squire is given a meditation upon the Rose Cross which occupies not less than a year. In it the Squire learns to place each difficulty, each affliction and each gift of life upon one of the arms of the Cross, and to watch for the opening of the Rose. This exercise, simple as it is, has been described by many members as the turning point of their work.

The healing mandate

The early Rosicrucian documents required of the brethren that they heal the sick, and that they do so without payment. The Order interprets this mandate broadly. Few of our members are physicians. But every one of them is in a position to relieve some suffering: by visiting the lonely, by feeding the hungry, by teaching the ignorant, by defending the wronged, by the simple and difficult work of listening. The Squire chooses such a work in consultation with the Prior of the Commandery, undertakes it for the duration of the degree, and is not advanced to the Third Degree until it has been faithfully performed. The Order holds that this requirement, more than any examination, is the true test of the Second Degree.

What the Order does not take

The Order does not claim that the Rosicrucian fraternity of the seventeenth century had a continuous organised existence, nor that it has inherited any such organisation. It makes no claim to possess the secrets of the Rosicrucians, if by secrets are meant formulae for the transmutation of metals or the prolongation of life. It regards the Rosicrucian impulse as a living current within the Tradition, which may be received by any who open themselves to it and which is proved by its fruits.