Flower of the Golden Union

Lonnie Edwards, M.D. of AMORC has discussed the notion that we live our corporeal lives because our souls chose to experience the journey of mortal existence. I don't pretend to know anything about souls, but the idea does present an interesting interpretation of the fable of Adam and Eve.

Instead of being a story of paradise lost, it might be seen as a myth of two angelic beings who chose to experience mortal lives.

Flower of the Golden Union

In the above hieratic script, read from right to left, the word for flower is written with the two snake-like letters. The Serpent, instead of being cast as a deceiver who tricks the two lovers into giving up their immortality, can be seen as a symbol of regeneration and renewal.

The snake sheds its skin, and winds through the world like a life-giving river. Here he convinces Adam and Eve to shed their old lives and enter the world of mortals together, not to drive them away from God, but to help them better understand him through experiencing divine creation in new ways.

Every myth can have more than one meaning. And while I may not share all of Dr. Edwards' beliefs, I think Rosicrucianism is more about finding synchrony than similarity.