Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross

The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz, also the Fraternity of the Golden and Rosy Cross) was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fichtuld.[1] Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members.[2] Much of the hierarchical structure for this order was used in Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA) and from there, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[3]

History

Sophia, Secret figures of the Rosicrucians of 16th and 17th centuries, 1775

The fraternity was founded in the 1750s, but it is not certain when it came into existence. Many documents and books mention it from the 18th century. For instance, Frater U.D. believes that in 1710, the idea for the order was born with the publication of Sigmund Richter's (using the name Sincerus Renatus) The perfect and true preparation of the Philosophers Stone according to the secret of the Brotherhoods of the Golden and Rosy Cross.[4] By the 1770s, the order had centers in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Regensburg, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Poland, Hungary and Russia.[2]

The order slowly began to decline after the death of King William II.

Structure and governance

The order is subdivided into:

Known members

References

  1. 1 2 Greer, John Michael (2008). The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies (2nd ed.). Harper Collins. pp. 367–368. ISBN 978-1-4351-1088-5.
  2. 1 2 3 McIntosh, Christopher. "Charting Rosicrucian Europe", Lapis Magazine.
  3. Gilbert, Bro. R. A. "The masonic career of A.E. Waite", Ars Quatuor Coronatorum.
  4. U.D., Frater (2008). High Magic II: Expanded Theory and Practice. Llewellyn Worldwide. pp. 272–273. ISBN 0-7387-1063-6.

Bibliography

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