Description
Book SynopsisFor nearly 400 years, incredible myths and stories have been woven around the "invisible" Brothers of the Rose Cross, the Rosicrucians. It is said that they possessed the secret of man and God, that they could turn lead into gold, that they governed Europe in secret, that theirs was the true philosophy of Freemasonry, and that they could save--or destroy--the world. In The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians, Tobias Churton, a "perfected" Knight of the Rose Croix and the Pelican (18th degree, Ancient and Accepted Rite), presents the first definitive historical and philosophical view of this mysterious brotherhood. Starting at its beginnings in Germany in 1603, Churton unveils the truth behind the complex story that underlies the Rosicrucian movement. He explains its purpose, the motives of its earliest creators, and the manifestos "accidentally" published in the 17th century that emerged at precisely the time when modern science was emerging. He details the people who influenced its development--including Johannes Kepler, Robert Fludd, and Sir Francis Bacon--and the ties between the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, and Templars. He also shows how Rosicrucianism shaped the mythology and spiritual consciousness of both North and South America and reveals that there are many Rosicrucian fraternities still active throughout the world today.
Trade Review"There is a tendency today, fostered (in my opinion) by high-speed everything, to want to skim through things to get to the conclusion. This book is NOT amendable to such an attitude. The research behind it is meticulous. It is laid out in exquisite detail. It bears a thorough, close reading. . . . This work is eye-opening and, for those interested in the development of the Rosicrucian beliefs, a valuable resosurce." * Michael Gleason, reviewer, Oct 2009 *
"The mysterious story of Rosicrucianism, told through its dominant characters, reveals much that is significant with regard to all our pasts and much about ourselves, our truly human nature." * SirReadaLot.org, Nov 2009 *
"
The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians provides a fine history of secret societies and presents the first definitive, in-depth survey of these societies . . . " * The Midwest Book Review, Vol. 4, No. 12, Dec 2009 *
"Perhaps the growing interest by the pubic in esotericism--and, indeed, Rosicrucianism--in recent years is a reflection of a deep desire to connect with something greater, with divine intelligence itself. Churton's book is both an education and a revelation." * Nexus New Times Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 2, Feb/Mar 2010 *
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction My Rosicrucian Adventure
One The Stars The Importance of Revelation
The Reformation
The Last Light
Johannes Kepler and the New Stars
A Conjunction on the Pont Neuf, Paris
Two Tübingen and the Universe The Science
Rays
Abu Ma’shar al-Balki
Röslin versus Kepler
Grebner and Studion
Three A Prince of Utopia Interrogation
Enter the Genius
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz The Whirlpool
A Gang of Conspirators
Four The Alchemical Wedding of Johann Valentin Andreae Who Was behind the
Fama Fraternitatis?
Augustus, Prince Elector of Anhalt
Enter the Rosicrucians
Five Fama Fraternitatis, or the Brotherhood of the Most Commendable Order Roseae Crucis Damcar and the Sabians
Six The Strange Case of Dr. Adam Haslmayr The Search for the Brotherhood
A House in the Languedoc
The Decameron Montpellier and Maguelone
François Rabelais and the Rosicrucian Brotherhood
Seven The Reformation of the Whole Wide World Raphael Eglin
Hesse-Kassel
The Signifying Fish
Alchemical Politics
The Splash
The Second-Known Printed Response to the Manuscript
Fama Fraternitatis The Motive for Publishing the
Fama Fraternitatis Jesuit Conspiracy
Eight The Confession of the Fraternity John Dee and the More Secret Philosophy
Nine Rosymania I: The Furor and Its Aftermath Julius Sperber and Aegidius Gutmann
Philip Ziegler, King of the Rosicrucians
Count Michael Maier
Robert Fludd
Ten Rosymania II: Educating the World Sir Francis Bacon
Bacon’s New Atlantis and the
Fama Fraternitatis René Descartes and the New Mathematics
Descartes and Faulhaber
Joachim Morsius
Abraham von Franckenberg
Comenius and Hartlib
Eleven Andreae CosmoXenus De Christiani Cosmoxeni genitura iudicium Chymische Hochzeit: Christiani Rosenkreuz. Anno 1459
Turris Babel sive judiciorum de Fraternitate Rosaceae Crucis chaos Mythologiae Christianae sive virtutem et vitiorum vitae humanae imaginum libri tres Institutio pro magica curiosis (Education for those curious about magic)
The Societas Christiana
Twelve The Rose Cross in Britain Andreae’s Image of the Christian Society in England
Rosicrucians Are Crazy
Fasciculus chemicus The Philosopher’s Stone Revealed
The Way to Bliss Poor Robin’s Intelligence Robert Samber and a Lost Rosicrucian Free Masonry
Conclusion
Thirteen The Revenge of the Curiosi What Is a Rosicrucian?
Fourteen The Invisible House The Enlightenment
Fifteen The Age of Reason Samuel Richter
Hermann Fictuld
Dom Antoine-Joseph Pernety
The Masonic Eighteenth-Degree Rose Croix
Martinès de Pasqually
Baron Karl Gotthelf von Hund
Jean-Baptiste Willermoz
Louis Claude de St.-Martin
Hans Heinrich von Ecker und Eckhoffen and Bernhard Joseph Schleis von Löwenfeld
Alchemy Among the Gold- und Rosenkreuzer
Social Idealism
Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov
Sixteen The Age of Progress Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat
Antoine Fabre d’Olivet
Joseph Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre
Paschal Beverley Randolph
The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Stanislas, Marquis de Guaïta; Joseph-Aimé (Joséphin) Péladan; Gérard-Anaclet-Vincent Encausse, or “Papus”
Seventeen The Age of Insanity Rudolf Steiner
Le Comte de Saint-Germain
Max Heindel (Carl Louis Fredrik Grashof)
Harvey Spencer Lewis
The Lectorium Rosicrucianum
Eighteen Full Circle Notes Bibliography
Index
