The Rosicrucian Quest Part 3

The Egyptian monks with whom C.R.C. had become acquainted proceeded to show him another text, the "Apocalypse of Thomas" the Apostle to India, an early Christian revelation with unmistakable Hermetic characteristics. About the first chapter presented below, C.R.C. wrote : Spero philoſophiam naturalem comperire demum obſervationes huius viſionis de mundo. (I hope that natural philosophy may one day verify the observations of this vision concerning the Cosmos.)

1.1 It was in India that I witnessed, among the followers of Sanatana Dharma, the celebration of the Sacred Marriage which lasts nine days, and the miraculous austerities of their saints, who told me of the guardians of the spheres, of their travels in the sky, and of the ancient wars they had waged.
1.2 For they were masters of the sky, and the Earth trembled before them : they melted the mountains of ice, and dried up the great river of legend, which was called the Sarasvati.

1.3 I was received among those saints, and I purified the air by burning spices in the sacred fire, as is their custom.
1.4 And it came to pass that a wind arose, and a voice in the wind, and the voice asked : Can it be said to the endless, here is where you end and I begin ?
1.5 That was the voice of the Messenger, and the number of the Messenger is seven years and seven days.
1.6 I felt my back arch painfully, and my spirit rose up, and I looked down upon my body.
1.7 And the wind carried my spirit even higher, so that I saw the curvature of the Earth, and the brightness of the Earth, which was surrounded by darkness.

1.8 And I saw that the sun was as bright as four suns, for I had been carried above the clouds.
1.9 The whole Earth turned, showing me places whereof no writings exist : the lost places, the empty places, and the lost tribes of men.
1.10 And the Messenger said : Behold the pyramids of the desert, and of the forest, and behold the temples of Asia from the time of the flood.
1.11 Thus I beheld the Pillars of Enoch, long concealed from human eyes.

The Rosicrucian Quest Part 2

After his cryptic discovery in Greece, C.R.C. continued his journey in Egypt, where he met a group of monks who showed him an ancient papyrus. This, they told him, was part of a "Book of Sarah" concerning the Biblical matriarch's sojourn in Egypt three thousand years earlier.

C.R.C. was fascinated by the story, and wrote in his diary : Hæc theophania Sarae fidem ſuam in coniugio divino repræſentat. Depingitur aſpiciens aſteres Orionis ſignificans aſcendendum. (This theophany of Sarah depicts her belief in the Divine Marriage. She is shown facing the stars of Orion, symbolizing ascension.)

We can now display and translate the fragments of papyrus scroll that so interested him.

Sarai was conveyed to (or procured for) the house of the king, for she was beautiful and there was no husband who claimed her. She was with her brother Abram, but he was in fact her husband, and fearing violence he concealed this from them, lest they kill him in order to possess her. Thus Sarai went under the king's roof, but Abram they did not trouble, instead rewarding him.

Now the king saw Sarai and desired her greatly. He had her veiled in fine veils and brought unto him, but she resisted him. He made her to uncover her nakedness, and his eyes were fixed upon her, her skin shining like the moon, but still she would not lie with him.

Now this continued each night, and Sarai beseeched [Asherah daily to be returned to her husband.] - bracketed text translated from the beginning of the next page]

But Asherah appeared to her, saying : I have brought thee hither so that thou mayest learn the mysteries of Egypt. Therefore be not distressed, but say unto the king : Send unto me scribes that I may learn from them the ways of this land.

So Sarai said unto the king : An thou dost desire my happiness, being a kind lord, send unto me thy scribes so that they may teach me. Grant me to know thy ways as thou hast known my nakedness.

And he sent her scribes, and Sarai learned of them their writing, and the mysteries of stars and of forms, for to bring that knowledge back with her to Canaan....

The Rosicrucian Quest Part 1

I'm beginning a new series, imagining texts that Christian Rosenkreuz might have come across when searching for lost mysteries during his journeys in the East.

First up, in Greece, C.R.C. discovered a tablet fragment inscribed with indecipherable characters. He made a drawing of these characters in a diary that he began to keep. This diary was later typeset and copies were distributed to select Brothers and Sisters.

The typeset copies also included a facsimile of the unrecognizable script, in the hopes that the Brothers and Sisters might be able to someday translate it. The facsimile appears thus, with C.R.C.'s diary entry below :

Credo has fuiſse litteræ Enochi. Non eſt dubium vt ſint multum anticæ

 quoniam nemo ne inter eruditiſsimos quidem illas legere poteſt.

I believe these to have been the letters of Enoch. There is no doubt that they are

very old since no one, not even among the most learned, is able to read them.

A later Brother, identified as Fr I.D., noticed a particular sequence of four symbols that occurs twice in the short text :

Taking his cue from C.R.C.'s hypothesis concerning the origin of the characters, Brother I.D. proposed that these might be the Adamic characters equivalent to the Hebrew אדני (Adonai) but in this he was mistaken. We now know that the script is Linear B, and the four characters highlighted by Brother I.D. can be read as e-ru-ku-te, likely a cognate of the later Greek ειρκτή (prison).

The full inscription can be read : Whereas some say the body was created as a prison for the soul, I ask, is the nest a prison for the bird ?

This esoteric question surely would've intrigued C.R.C. had he been able to decipher it.

The Ascension of the Virgin

Here we have an early Latin text which tells an unorthodox version of the origins of Christianity. It's inspired by Richard Carrier's mythicist theory, as well as cryptic references from one of St. Paul's epistles and from the apocrypha regarding multiple heavens and visitations thereto.

When the first among angels appeared to the Holy Virgin, he did not know her like the angels of old, but he filled her with the mysteries.

It came to pass, when she was drawing water from a well, that she heard a voice from within it, and she began to prophesy. Her parents, fearing she may be possessed, called upon those who drive out evil spirits.

They attended the Virgin for three days. They recited the Psalm and blew the ram's horn, according to their rites.

On the third day, she lay near death. Then the men beheld the first among the Sons of Heaven, and the Virgin was roused. Thus they knew that it was

divine light which had filled her.

The Virgin said : I have ascended to the third heaven, and seen the faces of those who guard the high places, and am returned unto you. Of the second heaven I may not speak, for none may go there even in spirit, unless he be born of it, save for Enoch.

The men confessed that she spoke true, and she told them to baptize each other and become apostles of the Righteous One.

H. Spencer Lewis vs. Joseph Smith

It occurred to me that Rosicrucianism and Mormonism have certain things in common. Both movements were started by heterodox Christians who felt that the True Church was "none of the above". Both kicked off with literary works which challenged the very definition of Christianity. Both involve temple rites not open to the public. Fast forward to the H. Spencer Lewis tradition in particular, both founders could be described as charlatans, visionaries, or both.

But the original Rosicrucian manifestos were authored by intellectuals. The Book of Mormon wasn't. Whatever Joseph Smith was, he certainly wasn't a university-trained classicist. And the Church he founded was organized around prophetic doctrine and strict obedience enforced by ecclesiastical courts. It might be said that Mormonism is the Catholicism of Protestantism, whereas Lewis' tradition is philosophical and esoteric in nature, experimental rather than revelatory.

In the CR+C versions of the Lewis monographs, footnotes are provided alluding to new scientific discoveries which the adherent might want to read up on. And while I haven't read the modern AMORC variations, their official journals are chock full of articles on the mythology and philosophy that the movement draws upon. Mormonism, it seems, tends to excommunicate people whose published ideas veer in that kind of exploratory direction. There's a right way and a wrong way. (I wonder if online Mormon interactions take on that character. In my experience, online Rosicrucian interactions often take the form of "I believe X" - "I believe Y" and both parties appreciate each other's insights.)

Is the future of mysticism brighter than the future of religion ? Or will childhood indoctrination win out ?

The Apocalypse of Cleopatra

It's been too long since my last post, but I've found time to do a bit more creative writing. The following is a mystery school piece called "The Apocalypse of Cleopatra" written in first century Greek. I had to dig into the Woodhouse ancient Greek dictionary at times, but I finally managed to finish it.

I, Isis, was dreaming when Apollo appeared to me clothed in golden light. His limbs were mighty and his fingers were long, perfect for playing the lute. I said to him : "Brother, what news is there from Olympus?" He replied : "Everything is changeable, my sister. Even the gods die and are reborn. Come with me and gain wisdom!"

He brought me to Memphis by the power of Hermes where he showed me two pyramids floating in the sky, one pointing upwards and the other pointing downwards.

I saw starving men eating thistles, and women refusing to relinquish the bodies of dead children whom they had once nursed.

Crocodiles were swimming in the sand and birds fell from the sky. The bones of the dead were as dust, and the wind showed no mercy to them.

I despaired, but Apollo said : "Look closer." I looked at my reflexion in the water and I saw three faces. The first wore the royal jewels ; the second was anointed with oil ; and third was surrounded by a halo of light.

Then an elephant approached us and I saw that he had a red rose upon his brow. With my inner eyes I recognized him as the soul of Pythagoras. I saw the stars revolving around his magnificent form.

He bid me mount him and he carried me into the heavens, to the abode of Iphigenia, handmaiden of Artemis, who guards the mystery of the triple moon.

From the distant reaches of the firmament I saw that all things were in harmony. The three aspects were revealed to me, and I despaired no more.

I saw the lion of heaven devour the darkness, and Ra-Horus reigned. The earth was always fertile. Olive oil and frankincense were as plentiful as water and dates. I saw that the spirit moved among the people, and they would purify the world.