Here's some quick stuff I found online. Much more out there in terms of
info on the group.
From http://bartram298.org/Rosicrucians.HTM :
The Rosicrucian Brotherhood
This is the most prevalent of theories linking Masonry to a secret society.
The term Rosicrucian was first used by Johann Valentin Andrea in a book "The
Report of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood" in 1615. (1) The book was a work of
fiction and told the story of a character named Christian Rosencreutz. He
was a young German monk who embarks on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In the
book Christian never reaches his destination. Instead, upon reaching Syria,
he spends time with the sages of Damascus. After spending years in Damascus
he sails to Egypt to study the nature of plants and animals. Finally, he
travels to the city of Fez in Africa to consult with the Arabian and African
philosophers who had gathered to share their experiences. (2)
Upon his return to Germany Christian is moved by the sick and suffering he
encounters. He decides to form a brotherhood dedicated to the principles he
has learned in his journeys. The purpose of the brotherhood is to remove
corruption and restore wisdom. (3) He swears them to secrecy and teaches all
that he knows. They construct a building for their order called The Temple
of the Holy Ghost. (4)
The laws of the order are as follows:
1. That they should devote themselves to no other occupation than that of
the gratuitous practice of physic (the study of the natural world).
2. That they were not to wear a particular habit, but were to conform in
this respect to the customs of the country in which they might happen to be.
3. That each one was to present himself on a certain day in the year at
the Temple of the Holy Ghost, or send an excuse for his absence
4. That each one was to look out for a brother to succeed him in the
event of his death
5. That the letters R.C. were to be their seal, watchword, and title
6. That the brotherhood was to be kept a secret for one hundred years
Although the book was fiction and a satire of society it had a great
influence on the German Alchemists and Astronomers. They were searching for
a way to turn lead to gold, an elixir to grant eternal life and a new system
of morality and philosophy. Many began to search for the remnants of the
Temple of the Holy Ghost believing it to be an actual structure. There were
many open letters in publications asking for admission into the brotherhood
of the Rosicrucians. Eventually, societies of Alchemists and philosophers
began to appear first in The Hague and later throughout Germany claiming to
be Rosicrucians and founded by Rosencreutz. (5)
By the late 1600's the Rosicrucian society had spread to England and the
first connections of the Rosicrucians and Freemasonry begin to appear. The
first is in the letters R.C. One French translation of Rosicrucian can also
be 'Rose Croix'. The Rose Croix is one of the higher degrees of Masonry.
Another connection can be found in the writing of Thomas Vaughn who was a
known Rosicrucian and Freemason. He writes, "Remember that you are the salt
of the earth, the light of the world, and the fire of the universe. Ye are
living stones, built up a spiritual house . . . which the refractory and
disobedient builders disallowed; you are called from darkness to light." (6)
In this case the Rosicrucians, like the Masons, are using the stone as a
symbol. The two organizations now have similar requirements for membership.
These include a requirement of secrecy of its members, a common bond of
fellowship or brotherhood, members of any social class could join if they
met the requirements, and a division into higher and lower orders.
One of the closest similarities of Freemasonry to the Rosicrucians is one of
the higher degrees know as the 'Knight of the Sun.' It is thought to have
been introduced into French Masonry by Antoine Joseph Pernelty during the
middle of the 1700's. (7) It involves Sylphs which is a spirit of the
Rosicrucians as well as the seven angles with form part of the Rosicrucian
hierarchy. Over the years The Knight of the Sun has also been known as
Prince Adept, Prince of the Sun, and going back to its Rosicrucian roots as
Chaos Disentangled. The purpose of the degree is to symbolically free the
candidate from ignorance, prejudice, intolerance, vice, hypocrisy, bondage,
vanity, pride and avarice. The sun represents the natural world and sustains
life to all plants and animals.
The Illuminati
While many conspiracy theories believe there is a secretive group in the
world known as the Illuminati that controls everything from the world
banking system to fluoride in drinking water there have only been two
organizations in history to use the name. The first was the Illuminati of
Bavaria founded in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt with the help of Baron von Knigge
and the other was the Illuminati of Avignon founded in 1785 by Antoine
Joseph Pernelty who also developed the degree in Masonry known as the
'Knight of the Sun' mentioned above.
At the time he founded the Illuminati of Bavaria, Weishaupt was not a Mason
although he was to later join and incorporate some of its elements. The goal
of the Illuminati of Bavaria was human perfectibility although it was
heavily involved in politics. Based on the Masonic model the order was split
into four degrees. In the first there was a group known as the Preparatory
Degrees. The second was the Intermediate Degree. The third was the Class of
the Lesser Mysteries and the fourth was the Class of the Greater Mysteries.
Baron von Knigge, who was a well-respected Mason, tried to obtain
recognition of the Illuminati of Bavaria at the Masonic Convention of
Wilhelmsbad in 1782 but failed to do so. The Illuminati of Bavaria was short
lived and by 1784 it was no more.
Antoine Joseph Pernety was a Benedictine monk and a Freemason. He founded
the Illuminati of Avignon in 1785 largely based on his experiences from the
study and practice of alchemy and the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, who
was an 18th century psychic. Though Pernety was a Mason there is no evidence
to suggest the two societies were connected. The philosophy of the
Illuminati of Avignon was rooted in Swedenborg's writings and influenced by
Christian, Jewish, and Kabalistic traditions. Like the Illuminati of
Bavaria, the Illuminati of Avignon soon faded from existence.
1. Albert Mackey, The History of Freemasonry (Random House Value
Publishing, Inc., 1996, p. 330
2. Mackey, p. 332
3. Mackey, p. 336
4. Mackey, p. 332
5. Mackey, p. 337
6. Mackey, p. 341
7. Mackey, p. 352
···
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Rosicrucianism,
"AMORC", "Rosicrucian Fellowship":
It is the religion "by correspondence"... and of lies!... claiming to be
"dedicated to the investigation, study, and practice of natural and
spiritual laws", anchored in "Egypt", with many occult and Hindu practices,
and the basic beliefs of pantheism and reincarnation, with some Masonic
rituals.
There are several groups, the largest is the "AMORC", "Ancient and Mystical
Order Rosae Crucis", with 50,000 active members, based in San Jose,
California. It spends $500,000 a year on adds, printing, and postage, to 150
countries, with 100 lodges in the USA, 26 in France, 21 in Brazil, 18 in
Niger, 13 in Canada, 13 in Mexico, 12 in england, 11 in Venezuela, 8 in
Australia... it is a big business!.
You may see "an add", in you local newspaper promising to improve your
memory, develop will power, maintain health, overcome bad habits, unlock the
secret wisdom of the ages, banish fears and frustrations, enrich the human
spirit, open the door to self-mastery... it's all propaganda, nothing is
true!... but if you write, you will receive two monographs a month, and a
subscription to the magazine "Rosicrucian Digest", to study lessons on
"mental vibrations", "mystical comprehension", "the life force", and other
occult subjects... after one year you may take "higher degrees"... and after
several thousand dollars and years you may join the "select Illuminati", and
be an active member in their business...
... These pamphlets are so secret that you are encouraged to show them to
nobody, not even to your wife... if she wants to know them, she is got to
ask for them, and pay for them!.
The "doctrine", is a mixture of Egyptian tenets, paranormal and psychic
interests, pseudo-scientific pursuits based on alchemy, with attempts of
soul travel, development of inner intuition, encompassing almost every form
of mystical -transcendent experience, from water witching to mind control...
all of this, with the pantheism and reincarnation doctrines, make it
incompatible with Christianity... if you are a Rosicrucian you can not be a
Christian!.
It is also the "Religion of Lies":
1- "It is a religion": New members in their pamphlets ("mamdamus") are
instructed "always emphasize that AMORC is not a religion"... but they are
encouraged to set up an "altar" at home ("telesterion"), with Egyptian
deities, specially the Sun-God AMEN-RA, incense, candles... and place on the
wall the "Confession of Maat", which starts with "Homage to thee, Great God,
Thou Master of all Truth, I am pure..." the prayer to the 42 gods of Egypt
("Maat" is "Truth")... the children should receive the "Appellation Rite",
as a substitute for the Christian Baptism ("Rosicrucian Manual", p.177)...
and all of this is Religion!... don't swallow their lie!.
2- "Spiritism": AMORC officially denigrates "Spiritism", but the sealed
instructions, the "mandamus", encourage members to contact departed spirit
Masters, in the "psychic contacts with soul personalities"" who are now part
of the Universal Soul, and they need an identity to express themselves; the
neophyte, in fact, becomes that physical "medium", what in theology is known
as "demonic control"... and this is spiritism!... don't swallow their
lie!... besides, the initiation rituals end with "so mote it be", a standard
oral oath of witchcraft cults... and his founder, Lewis, was a well known
occultist.
3- They don't deliver "the welfare promised" in the adds... instead, the
"initiate" what he has to do is to stare in a mirror, and trace a 5 inch
cross on it while repeating "Hail, Rosi Cross", until his imagination or the
devil gives him a foolish hallucination... and that's the most of the
mystical experience he is going to get!... and with these hallucinations he
imagines "soul trips", and he thinks to have "mental power", and even
"alchemy" to transform the metal in gold... but the gold never appears!...
only foolish demonic phenomena and spirit conjurations: "So mote it be"
4- About the "Bible", they continue the lies!: They say "the Bible is the
regulator of life, the end of all true study, the compendium of the
Universal World"... but to say that the God of the Bible does not exist, he
is the "Supreme Intelligence", a form of "pure energy", but "not a person",
just "a number endowed with motion"... they don't distinguish between God
and creation, everything is God!...
...Jesus, is said to be the highest initiate of the sun period, but he is
not God... the Holy Spirit is the foremost initiate of the moon period, but
he is not God, he is not even a person!... "Genesis" is dismissed as a
"beautiful poem"...
- To pardon your sins, you don't need the Blood of Christ, they can only be
expiated with the law of AMRA: "Send a check to AMORC"!.
5- "Prominent Thinkers", are said to be Rosicrucians, like Jesus,
Pythagoras, Descartes, Newton, Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Cicero ... and it is
another lie!... they were not Rosicrucians!.
THE "LODGES":
Some Rosicrucians attend the "Lodges", that resemble a Masonic one, but with
men and women. The Master lodge sits at one end of the room, and the Matre
lodge, a woman, sits at the other end. The Vestal Virgin in front of the
Master with the sacred fire to ignite incense used in the rituals. In the
center of the lodge stands the "Shekinah" or sacred triangle, flamed with 3
candles. Members wear Masonic-type aprons, and before each initiation they
swear a solemn oath to keep the secrets of the fraternity inviolate.
"Two special feasts":
New Year Feast, about March 21, and Outdoor Fete, around Sept. 23.
THE "ROSE"... AND THE "CROSS":
The symbol of Rosicrucians is a Christian cross with a rose in the center,
and it is an "alchemy symbolism":
- The "Cross", is the symbol of the sun, the tree of life, the generator
force, the male element.
- The "Rose", is the female element, symbol of beauty and delicacy.
Marriage, as the union of male and female, is regarded as a metaphor of the
alchemic elemental fusion that the soul undergoes in its ascent to spiritual
illumination.
... The "cross" represents "the body of man", with the "rose" symbolizing
"man's soul unfoldig and evolving". The fundamental elements of the two
spheres of Rosicrucianism, earthly and heavenly, are not only visible but
are thereby fused in the symbols of the rose superimposed on the cross.
"Number 7",
is the perfect one: At birth, or on the initiation, a human being possesses
a "dense body"; at age 7, he attains a "vital body"; at 14, the "desire
body"; and at 21, "mind" is formed.
HISTORY... AND LEGEND:
Rosicrucianism traces its roots to the Egypt before Christ... and all the
groups claim to be founded by "Christian Rosenkreutz":
- Christian Rosenkreutz, is a character of the "Fama Fraternitatis" novel
written by the German Lutheran Johann V. Andreae in 1610... but he never
existed!... in 1617, Andreae published an article stating that the "Fama"
was a novel, a satire, without any basis in real life, affirmation he
sustained until the moment of his death... and he believed that the
teachings of Rosicrucianism were false and that the history of the movement
was dotted with legends and fabrications...
... And even so, all the Rosicrucian groups have the "Fama" as their main
doctrinal book, with another two novels by Andreae, "Confessio
Fraternitatis" (1615), and "Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosenkreutz"
(1616); Andreae also stated that these two books were "fiction novels",
without any basis in real life!.
Organizations: At least 20 different:
- In "Europe": It started in Bohemia, Germany, after the "Fama". 7 groups in
Europe.
- The "AMORC", the largest, founded by H. Spencer Lewis in 1915.
Headquarters in San Jose, California, with an entire block which includes a
museum, temple, administration building, auditorium, planetarium, art
gallery, and library. Their periodical is the "Rosicrucian Digest".
- "Rosicrucian Fellowship", founded by Heindel in 1909, in Oceanside,
California.
- "Societas Rosicruciana", in 1879, in New York (321 W. 101 St.), requires
its members to be Masons. Its quarterly magazine: "Mercury".
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Also, here are a few URLs of interest:
http://www.canonbury.ac.uk/library/lectures/neo_rosicrucian.htm
From: http://home.earthlink.net/~jeauxy/ttotrrvw.htm :
"[page 23] I tell you that the etheric body in the male is female and in the
female, male. Without this knowledge much will remain incomprehensible in
practical life."