Rosicrucianism

14.MAY.10

EDITOR: There are Rosicrucianism societies, fraternities, orders, fellowships or lodges in most countries of the modern world. Some of them are very active, others are obscure; highly secret, some seen to be primarily religious in their emphasis, and some categorically deny that Rosicrucianism is a religion, holding rather that it is a philosophy, making use of the most modern Scientific methods of the occults, the mystic and other sects in the quest for truth.{{more}}

But while Rosicrucianism is sectarian in character and the various branches are sometimes bitterly critical of each other, they do have a common feature, the central one being the proported possession of certain secret, wisdom handed down from ancient times through a secret brotherhood and esoteric wisdom that can only be imparted to the initiated.

Their teachings so far as known seem to combine something of Egyptian Hermitism, Christian Gnosticism, Jewish Cabalism, Alchemy and a variety of other occult, beliefs and practices. While alchemy seems to have been prominent in the movement. Modern Rosicrucianism affirm that their language must be taken symbolically rather than literally and that they have no interest in such things or transmutation of metals.

Stanley Quammie
(taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica)