Skeptoid - Skeptoid #164: What's Up with the Rosicrucians? Aired: 2009-07-28 Duration: 16:13 === The Truth About Rosicrucians (05:57) === [00:00:03] The world seems to be full of unusual religious groups and all kinds of strange beliefs, to the point that it's often hard to keep up. [00:00:10] Today we're going to point our skeptical eye at one in particular, whose name keeps coming up, but which I never really knew anything about. [00:00:18] The Rosicrucians. [00:00:20] Who are they? [00:00:21] Where they come from? [00:00:22] And what do they believe? [00:00:24] The truth about the Rosicrucians is today on Skeptoid. [00:00:32] Hi, I'm Alex Goldman. [00:00:34] You may know me as the host of Reply All, but I'm done with that. [00:00:38] I'm doing something else now. [00:00:40] I've started a new podcast called Hyperfixed. [00:00:43] On every episode of Hyperfixed, listeners write in with their problems and I try to solve them. [00:00:48] Some massive and life-altering, and some so minuscule it'll boggle your mind. [00:00:52] No matter the problem, no matter the size, I'm here for you. [00:00:55] That's Hyperfixed, the new podcast from Radiotopia. [00:00:58] Find it wherever you listen to podcasts or at hyperfixedpod.com. [00:01:08] You're listening to Skeptoid. [00:01:10] I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com. [00:01:13] What's up with the Rosicrucians? [00:01:16] What do you get when you mix alchemy, the Da Vinci Code, Nazis, Christianity, Mysticism, the Knights Templar, Shakespeare, The Secret, and Ancient Egypt? [00:01:29] No, not a bad movie about Ben Stiller working late at a museum. [00:01:33] You get the Rosicrucians. [00:01:36] Who are they? [00:01:36] What are they up to? [00:01:38] What do they believe? [00:01:39] And what the heck's the deal with all the historical imagery? [00:01:44] In San Jose, California stands an Egyptian obelisk, covered in hieroglyphics. [00:01:50] Nearby is a statue of Caesar Augustus, outside a planetarium in classical Islamic architecture. [00:01:58] In the midst of this historical montage, surrounded by living papyrus plants, is the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. [00:02:07] Actually quite a good museum filled with authentic Egyptian artifacts. [00:02:11] The rest of this city block is taken up by the world headquarters of Amork, the ancient mystical order Rosé Crucis. [00:02:19] The name Rosicrucian comes from Rosy Cross, an ancient symbol that's been adopted by many religious and pagan groups throughout history. [00:02:29] To the modern Rosicrucian organization, the cross with an unfolding white rose in the center represents the human body and its consciousness opening up, carefully steering away from its more common traditional connections with Christianity. [00:02:45] The Rosicrucians downplay any religious associations with their symbology, claiming not to be a church and welcoming members of any religion or no religion. [00:02:55] But here's a hint, when you're taking people's money, don't turn anyone away at the door. [00:03:02] According to tradition, the founder of Rosicrucianism was the none too improbably named Christian Rosenkreutz, born in 1378, the last surviving member of an assassinated German noble family, secreted away to a monastery where he grew to found the order that bore his name. [00:03:22] Rosenkreutz traveled throughout the Christian, Muslim, Dharmic, and pagan lands, amassing his knowledge and acquiring a small but tight group of followers. [00:03:32] Of his death, all that is known to Rosicrucian tradition is that his body lies somewhere in a geometrically proportioned cave, incorrupt and bathed in white light from an unseen source. [00:03:47] Rosenkreutz's story is told in the Fama Fraternitatus Rosé Crucis, an anonymous manifesto published in Germany in 1614. [00:03:57] The following year, another manifesto appeared, the Confessio Fraternitatis, which declared the existence of a secret society of alchemists and sages following pious Christian principles and planning an intellectual enlightenment of Europe. [00:04:13] Then, in 1616, the third and last of the Rosicrucians' three major manifestos was published. [00:04:20] The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. [00:04:24] An allegorical tale of Rosenkreutz using alchemy to assist in the wedding of a king and queen in a strange and magical castle. [00:04:33] The three manifestos made quite a splash in certain circles. [00:04:37] Leaders of the occult and science tried to make contact with the secret society described, including René Descartes, William Shakespeare, and the philosopher and scientist Sir Francis Bacon. [00:04:50] In fact, by some accounts, Francis Bacon was not only actually one of the secret society members, he may have written the first two manifestos, and some Rosicrucians claim he wrote Shakespeare's works as well. [00:05:04] Another hint is that Bacon was also a member of a Templar society, and the Knights Templar bore the same rose-colored cross as the Crusaders. [00:05:15] Some believe the third manifesto was written by the Lutheran alchemist Johannes Valentinus Andrei, whose name was also claimed in a 1960s hoax as one of the grand masters of the Priory of Sion, which figured so prominently in the Da Vinci Code. [00:05:31] So suffice it to say that there is enough pop culture quasi-history to adorn Rosicrucianism with as much illustrious intrigue as you wish. [00:05:41] Our task is to see if we can connect the dots and find out what links there are, if any, between all those legendary characters and the people who sit in offices in San Jose today, depositing checks and doing the books. [00:05:56] Exactly what are they up to? [00:05:59] What do they do? === Sailing Into Skeptical Adventures (03:03) === [00:06:00] And what do Rosicrucian members do? [00:06:03] Here's the answer. [00:06:06] If I were to summarize the modern Rosicrucian organization, I'd compare it to a low-pressure, less expensive version of Scientology, based on New Age beliefs instead of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction. [00:06:19] You send them a few hundred dollars a year for your membership, and they send you printed lessons for self-study that teach you all about their mystical belief system. [00:06:29] The keys to universal wisdom, as they put it. [00:06:32] Like Scientology and Freemasonry, Rosicrucians reach various levels, or degrees, based on how much of the self-study material you've purchased and read. [00:06:42] You can even perform your own initiation ceremonies into each new degree at home. [00:06:48] In your first five years as a Rosicrucian, you'll cover the three neophyte degrees from first atrium through third atrium, and then the temple section, from first temple degree through ninth temple degree. [00:07:01] By this time, your teaching will include topics such as mental alchemy, telepathy, telekinesis, vibroturgy, and radiasthesia, cosmic protection, mystical regeneration, attunement with the cosmic consciousness. [00:07:23] Hey everyone, I want to remind you about a truly unique and once-in-a-lifetime adventure. [00:07:30] Join me and Mediterranean archaeologist Dr. Flint Dibble for a skeptoid sailing adventure through the Mediterranean Sea aboard the SV Royal Clipper, the world's largest full-rigged sailing ship. [00:07:43] This is also the only opportunity you'll have to hear Flint and I talk about our experiences when we both went on Joe Rogan to represent the causes of science and reality against whatever it is that you get when you're thrown into that lion pit. [00:07:57] We set sail from Málaga, Spain on April 18th, 2026 and finished the adventure in Nice, France on April 25th. [00:08:06] You'll enjoy a fascinating skeptical mini-conference at sea. [00:08:10] You'll visit amazing ports along the Spanish and French coasts and Flint will be our exclusive onboard expert sharing the real archaeology and history about every stop. [00:08:21] We've got special side quests and extra skeptical content planned at each port. [00:08:27] This is a true sailing ship. [00:08:29] You can climb the rat lines to the crow's nest, handle the sails. [00:08:32] You can even take the helm and steer. [00:08:35] This is a real bucket list adventure you don't want to miss. [00:08:38] But cabins are selling fast and this ship does always sell out. [00:08:43] Act now or you'll miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. [00:08:46] Get the full details and book your cabin at skeptoid.com slash adventures. [00:08:53] Hope to see you on board. [00:08:54] That's skeptoid.com slash adventures. === Competing Groups and Councils (06:51) === [00:09:04] One of the benefits available to modern Rosicrucians is magical assistance to those in need of actual assistance, which they provide to successful petitioners via their Council of Solace. [00:09:16] Their website describes how this works. [00:09:20] The Council does this by putting certain spiritual energies into motion and directing them in accordance with mystical law and natural principles. [00:09:29] Metaphysical aid is thus directed to individuals with health, domestic, economic, or other problems. [00:09:36] And aid is also directed to those who are attuned with the Council. [00:09:41] The aid of the Council of Solace operates on the cosmic plane. [00:09:46] Its activity is solely metaphysical and in no way interferes with any professional or health care assistance being received on the physical plane. [00:09:56] So at this point, you're probably yawning at this yet another spin the wheel and invent a new age philosophy. [00:10:03] So it's a good time to introduce William Walker Atkinson, an author who wrote about 100 books in the early 20th century under many pseudonyms. [00:10:14] He is credited with being one of the principal architects of the New Thought Movement, which evolved into today's New Age movement. [00:10:22] His book, The Law of Attraction in the Thought World, is one of the primary influences of Rhonda Byrne's book and movie, The Secret. [00:10:30] And in fact, the word Rosicrucian appears subtly on screen throughout the movie's title transitions. [00:10:37] Many of the principal writings of the Dharmic movement of the 1960s, so popular with the Beatles and attributed to various Swamis and Yogis, were in fact written by Atkinson. [00:10:50] But one of Atkinson's books broke the pattern and was written not to promote new thought mysticism, but rather to expose it. [00:10:58] Published under the name Magus Incognito, its title was The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians. [00:11:06] In it, Atkinson claims that the true Rosicrucian order does not accept fees, has no formal organization, and is, in fact, secret. [00:11:17] He then gives away all the contents of the Rosicrucian degrees. [00:11:22] Why would he write this book? [00:11:25] Amork, the modern formal Rosicrucian group, was launched in New York in 1915. [00:11:31] The original founder, Harvey Spencer Lewis, and its first leader, or imperator, as they call it, is said to have borrowed quite heavily from the works of Yogi Ramacharika in developing the Atrium and Temple degree series. [00:11:45] Who was the real author behind the name Yogi Ramacharika? [00:11:50] You guessed it, William Walker Atkinson. [00:11:53] Apparently annoyed that his work had been so broadly and obviously borrowed from, to put it politely, without attribution, Atkinson quickly produced the secret doctrine of the Rosicrucians by retitling some of his own earlier works that contained the material used in the Rosicrucian lessons, and adding a few jabs like, real Rosicrucians would never take your money the way Amork does. [00:12:20] Atkinson also reminded us that the term Rosicrucian and the Rosicross symbol have both been in the public domain for centuries, so nobody has any exclusive right to use them. [00:12:33] And in fact, that there are many competing Rosicrucian groups out there. [00:12:38] Although Amork has clearly won in the marketplace, with its expansive San Jose headquarters, you might also choose to join the Ancient Order of the Rosicrucians, the Fraternitus Rosicruciana Antiqua, the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, or any of a dozen others, all based on essentially the same occult New Age mystical traditions. [00:13:02] Ever since the original manifestos were published by the first in this long line of clever authors, it seems everyone's been trying to get in on the Rosicrucian action, either directly by name or by rebranding it the way Rhonda Byrne and in fact William Atkinson himself have done. [00:13:21] It's even been borrowed by whole nations in search of a defining philosophy. [00:13:26] In his book The Occult Roots of Nazism, author Nicholas Goodrich Clark found that Nazi symbology was inspired by an 18th century German Rosicrucian order called Gold und Rosenkreuzer. [00:13:42] And thus we have a 10-cent tour of the history of Rosicrucian mysticism. [00:13:47] It was invented in the early 1600s by European intellectuals who wrote allegorical tales blending alchemy with Protestant Christianity. [00:13:56] It was revived in the early 1900s by the New Thought Movement, seeking ancient forms of mysticism that appealed to the notions of a population just beginning to learn that such a thing as a cosmic universe existed, and searching for meaning within it. [00:14:11] And a century later, Rosicrucianism remains just one more flavor of for-profit New Age products, leveraging claims to ancient wisdom into bank deposits. [00:14:22] It professes that the keys to the universe were known to a handful of Europeans 400 years ago. [00:14:29] They just never managed to do much with them, since recurring credit card billing hadn't been invented yet. [00:14:36] I will close with the phrase that Rosicrucians like to put at the bottom of all their written communications. [00:14:43] It means, so it shall be, and is often used to mean amen or in the name of God. [00:14:49] So mote it be. [00:14:56] You're listening to Skeptoid. [00:14:58] I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com. [00:15:06] Hello everyone, this is Adrian Hill from Skookum Studios in Calgary, Canada, the land of maple syrup and mousse. [00:15:16] And I'm here to ask you to consider becoming a premium member of Skeptoid for as little as five US dollars per month. [00:15:24] And that's only the cost of a couple of Tim Horton's double doubles. [00:15:29] And that's Canadian for coffee with double cream and sugar. [00:15:33] Why support Skeptoid? [00:15:35] If you are like me and don't like ads, but like extended versions of each episode, Premium is for you. [00:15:42] If you want to support a worthwhile nonprofit that combats pseudoscience, promotes critical thinking, and provides free access to teachers to use the podcast in the classroom via the Teacher's Toolkit, then sign up today. === Remember Skepticism, Get Premium (00:17) === [00:15:55] Remember that skepticism is the best medicine. [00:16:00] Next to giggling, of course. [00:16:02] Until next time, this is Adrienne Hill. [00:16:12] From PRX.