onfessioC .

ifraternitatis

CONFESSIO R.\ C.\

FRATERNITATIS

P re p a re d byBRO. PROFUNDIS

1918

ISSUED BY SPECIA L PERMISSION OF THE

I MPERAT OR ANCIENT M YSTICAL ORDER ROSAE CRUCIS

S.-. S.-. S.-.SAN JO SE, CALIFO RNIA, U .S .A .

M A N I F E S T O I

T i t le p a g e of ra re o ld R o s ic ru c ia n book, c o n ta in in g th e a x io m a tu m ,

th e law s a n d t ru th s , w h ic h a p p e a re d in the o r ig ina l F a m a F ra te rn i t a t i s

Rosee C ru c is . N o t ic e reference to F ra te rn i t e t C h r i s t R o se n C r e u z , a n d

th e d a te 1 6 1 8 a p p e a r in g o n th e la s t line. T h e sym b o lism of th is ti tle p ag e a l lu d es to th e p u rp o ses a n d s tu d y of R o s ic ru c ian ism .

J^~)rioiEaonis.no\iETWHF.N the years 16 10 and 16 14 a .d . there w as issued in

Europe a tract in several languages w hich caused quite a sensation among the literati and the scholars of that period. This pam phlet bore the Latin title of Fam a

Hraternitatis Rosse Crucis, or the equivalent in the language in which it w as issued. M ost Rosicrucian and other historians are of the opinion that the original pam phlet issued in C assel, Germ any, w as entirely in Latin, and that the others which followed were translations of it into the so-called profane languages of the countries in which it w as disseminated.

From the public s point of view there were two factors of the utmost interest in the text of the tract and which made it sensational. T he first w as the revelation that a strange organization known as the Fraternitatis Crucis Rosse, or the Rosicrucian F r a ternity or O rder, had come into existence through the efforts of an enlightened individual by the odd name of Christian Rosen- kreuz or C - R '- C - - in the fourteenth century, and that this individual, upon his transition, had been interred in a tomb which had been recently discovered with his body found intact, an d thal with the body were found m any startling manifestoes and documents of value to the entire w orld; further, that the findi ng of this tomb w as declared to be the beginning of the re-establishment or new advent of this Rosicrucian O rder. T h e second factor of interest w as the declared purposes of this Fraternitatis Crucis Rosse. G en erally these purposes were said to be:

(a ) To exalt m ankind; to transcend man above the ordinary w ays of living; to bring to light knowledge wrhich by necessity had to be concealed because of previous intolerance.

(b) To cause man to appraise rightly his own worth and to understand his relationship to the universe in which he lives.

THRF.K

(c) To distinguish between the two realms of ph en om en a^ the material and the divine.

This F am a also declared that this w as the time for reform ation and that the most G o d ly and illuminated Father, our Brother C - R - C- , the chief and original of our Fraternity, w as one who had ardently labored for this general reformation. T his w as the first time since the origin of the O rder Rosae Crucis in the fourteenth century (if w e accept literally the date of origin given in the Fam a) that it had ever m ade itself so publicly known.

A storm of controversy broke imm ediately after the issuance of the F am a Fraternitatis in the m any languages in which it w as published. There w as considerable speculation as to who w as the author of the work. In other words, who were the Rosicru- cians, and who had issued such a sensational m anifesto? The authorship w as attributed by m any contemporary writers and later historians to different personalities of the period. A t first it w as generally accepted, and it is still held by some, though erroneously, that one Johann Valentine A n d rea wrote the Fam a. A n d rea w as born at H errenberg in W iirtem berg on A ugust 17 , 1586 . Fie came of a w ealthy and religious fam ily. H is uncle w as known throughout G erm any as a second Luther. A n d rea received the elements of his education m ainly under private tutorship as w as the custom of the time. H e later attended a university for a brief period but left in 1 6 1 0 because of a falling into bad company. Tt is related that he repented and began a series of journeys to different countries to broaden his mind and to furth er his incomplete education. H e wrote m any works in Latin. O ne, entitled Christian R epublic , caused considerable comment because of its outspoken criticism of papalism of the period. It w as said that because of it A n drea w as accused of being a Rosicrucian. In that work w e find the first actual connection in any w ay of A n d rea with the term Rosicrucianism . L ater he wrote m any tracts on the subject of the Rosicrucians and their teachings but his literary style is recognized now as being so different from that used in the F a m a that even most historians of the day do not any longer credit him with the authorship of the Fam a. T he con-FO U R

jecture of his authorship of the F am a is based principally upon the fact that he mentioned C- R- C- in later tracts issued by him, and because some of his literary endeavors w ere of an occult nature. However, by the same reasoning w e could declare anyone a member of A . M . O . R . C . merely because he mentioned in a book by his pen the name of the organization or because he wrote books devoted to mystical lines of thought.

O f greater concern than the authorship of the F a m a w as the question as to who the Rosicrucians were. Inasm uch as the effects of the Protestant Reform ation of the previous century under the leadership of M artin Luther were still being felt in Europe and particularly in G erm any, m any persons concluded from the text of the F a m a and its proclaimed general reformation of the world that it w as a religious or Lutheran movement that w as being revived. Alm ost everyone accepted the tale of C- R- C- as either a fantasy or an actual fact. N o one except the R . C . brethren at the time grasped its real significance. E ven today there are small, unauthentic and self-styled Rosicrucian societies and fellowships that accept the origin of the Rosicrucian O rder as given in the F a m a Fratern itatis; in other words, that it w as the sole conception and creation of an individual nam ed Christian Rosenkreuz, and that it had its first great development in Europe imm ediately fo llowing the issuance of the F a m a in 16 1 4 . T he F am a relates that O - R- O -, or Christian Rosenkreuz, w as born of noble parents in 1378. T h e fam ily, however, w as said to have suffered severe financial reverses and at the age of five years he w as placed in a cloister because of poverty. In his early youth he accom panied a monk on a journey to the H oly L and . T h e monk died on the Island of C yprus. H e had no funds, but decided, so the tale continues, to go on his pilgrim age alone. H e reached the ancient city of D am ascus, but owing to the feebleness of his body he had to remain there for a considerable time. It is said he impressed the Turks in D am ascus w ith his exceptional knowledge of physics. W h ile residing there, there came to his attention the tales of great accomplishments of the W ise M en of D am car in A rab ia (a city w hich never existed, or a misspelling of another). These

F IV E

W ise M en were said to be conversant with the inner workings of the law s of nature. H e became so enthusiastic to witness their feats and study with them that he abandoned his previous plans of proceeding to Jerusalem . H e is said to have "m ade a bargain with the A rab ian s that they should carry him for a certain sum of money to D am car. Though he w as physically depleted his hardy D utch constitution stood him in good stead, and he reached his destination at the youthful age of sixteen years. T h e W^ise M en, we are told in the Fam a, knew of his coming. T hey w ere not the least surprised at his arrival or at his youth. This city w as hidden, so the F am a relates, and its enterprises m ainly concerned adept- ship. There he learned to master the A rab ic language, of which he had some knowledge previously, and higher mathematics, and acquired a more profound knowledge of physics. A secret m anuscript w as given to him to translate into Latin. It is referred to in the F am a as Book M . O f course it is a generally known historical fact that the A rab ian s were the preservers of much of the ancient wisdom of the mystery schools of G reece and of Egypt which had been suppressed by Rom an decree centuries before. A fter a sojourn of three years in D am car, he m ade a hurried journey to Egypt and there he m ade a cursory exam ination of the plant and anim al life of that land. T he W ise M en of D am car had decided that he must sail the M editerranean and finally go to Fez. This he did. There he learned more of the secrets of the K ab a la and the mysteries of the M agia . H e now believed that the learned of Europe, the literati, would welcome his w ealth of new-found knowledge. So eventually he arrived in Spain . There he tried to introduce his reformation of the arts and sciences, but the scholars w ere either skeptical or little inclined to accept him into their ranks; for he failed in interesting them. H e then ruminated at great length on his wisdom and responsibilities and finally concluded, so we are told in the Fam a, that he should return to his native Germ any.

H e arrived home and, after periods of great cogitation, decided to reduce his tru sts-th at is, the heritage of le a r n in g s to writing as a permanent memorial. H e selected three monks to assist him.six

1 Key were chosen from the cloister in which he had dwelled as a child. E ach bound him self to C- R- C- by oaths of fidelity, diligence and secrecy. T hey spent much time and considerable effort in translating the Booh M and they used m agical language and writing. This evidently meant that they employed a cipher or code. F in a lly C- R- C- began the erection of a Dom us Spiritus Sancti (House of H oly Spirit). A fter the textual work w as completed, so the F am a relates, it w as necessary to spread the work of the Order. F o r this five others were draw n in who were 'bachelors and of avowed virginity. W ith the exception of two who remained with C- R- C- , the others went to various parts of Europe to spread the teachings of the Order. T h e F a m a says they gathered in convention annually and made a full resolution of that which they had done. O ne of the brethren passed through transition in En glan d and consequently the M aster Christian Rosenkreuz ordered them all to return to him. H e later passed through transition at the age of 106 years, but none of his second successors knew exactly when or where.

T he F am a continues by saying that a young student who had in the course of his studies taken the solemn oath of fidelity and secrecy w as told by his spiritual father that the O rder of the R osy Cross would not continue to remain hidden, but before long would again be disclosed to the world. This young monk w as also a student of architecture and he prepared before setting out on his adventure into the world to improve his building, this perhaps meaning the same as the Dom us Spiritus Sancti. In his w anderings and labors he came upon a tablet which w as inscribed with the name and insignia of the Rosicrucian O rder. H e felt that such a valuable find should be more appropriately placed, and it is related that w hile affixing it to a w all with a staple, a great stone pulled aw ay, and behind it w as revealed a secret door upon w hich w as a Latin inscription indicating that one hundred and twenty years must elapse before it w as to be opened, and Io, it w as the very year^-the time for the opening of the vault or sanctuary. A n d so the F a m a tells that the monk and others entered, and it goes to great len gth in describing the arrangement

SE V E N

of the tomb and sanctuary, its fixtures, w alls and furnishings. T hey were all of a geometrical and sym bolical design; the symbolism w e, as Rosicrucians, w ould imm ediately recognize. It concerns the interlaced triangles, the square, the circle, and their relation to each other. In the center of this tomb or sanctuary w as a m agnificent altar, and when this w as moved and a brass plate beneath it lifted up, there they came upon the body of our careful and wise father, C R- C- . . H e w as clothed in the ceremonial vestments of the O rder and w as holding a parchment scroll. This vault or tomb, it is said, contained other great treasures of w isdom in scroll and book. T he F am a goes to quite some length in describing these contents.

A s said, m any thought all this a highly fantastic legend, while others accepted the story without question. A s a matter of historical fact, however, the F am a Fraternitatis itself w as actually known to exist as a manuscript before the year 1 6 1 4 in which it w as said to be first published. O ne Ju lius Sperber, in writing in 1 6 1 5 , said it had existed for nineteen years before its public a p pearance. A d am Haselm yer, a notary public who later became imperial judge under Archduke M axim ilian , and who wrote a response to the Fam a, said that he had seen the F a m a five years before it w as published, or perhaps in the year 1608 or 1609. S ir Francis Bacon, Lord C hancellor of En gland at the time, w as actually secret Imperator of the Rosicrucian O rder in England, and it w as he, as is known to the Rosicrucian O rder from the facts of its own records in the archives of the various jurisdictions, who w as the real author of the F am a Fraternitatis in its Latin form. H e had caused it to be issued for the purpose of reviving the O rder in G erm any. In other words, in accordance with the traditional custom of cyclical periods of one hundred and eight years of activity and then one hundred and ei ght years of inactivity of the Order, it had become the time for another period of Rosicrucian activity in G erm any. E ven the most skeptical and peripheral writers of Rosicrucian history agree that B aco n s book, A d van cement of Learn in g, has a similar style to the F a m a in particular that it proposes the advancem ent of the arts and sciences and ofE IG H T

learning by the inductive method, by a scrutiny of nature s own w ays as distinguished from the scholastic methods employed by the monks of the period. Further, the D om us Spiritus Sancti, or House of the H oly Spirit, to which the F am a refers and w hich is meant as an allegory of a state or condition which enters man for the higher purposes of learning, seems to parallel the Salom ons House mentioned in B aco n s tale, T he N e w A tlantis. Bacon says in his work, T h e N ew A tlantis, in referring to Salom ons H ouse: It w as the erection, and institution of an O rder, or society, which w ee call Salom ons House, the noblest foundation (as w ee thinke) that ever w as upon the earth; ^ it is dedicated to the study of the works and creatures of G o d .

Rosicrucian historians (that is, the official historians of the Order) who have access to its archives, know that C- R- C w as an allegorical name or pseudonym given to an eminent R o sicrucian character of the fourteenth century. T he literal translation means A Christian of the R osy C ross. This individual, this outstanding character, like m any before him, did journey to the E ast to bring wisdom from the ancient lands to a Europe steeped in darkness. A rnaud, a philosopher of the ninth century, w as the first to bring such wisdom to Europe. T his C R- C , consequently, by no means established the O rder, for the Rosicrucian O rder is mentioned in works prior to the legendary date of his birth. A s for the opening of the tomb referred to in the Fam a, that relates to the opening of the O rders archives which had been sealed for the one hundred and eight year period of inactivity, and the bringing of the O rder to public attention again. Its sym bols, its rituals, its sacred law s and principles, constitute the body to which the F am a refers, and had no relationship to the physical body of a human. A ctually, then, the F a m a Fraternitatis w as a manifesto carefully worded, in veiled language, to publicly proclaim the revival of Rosicrucianism in G erm any and on other parts of the European continent.

It w as anticipated by the author of the Fam a Fraternitatis that much of its context would not be understood and that more explanatory works w ould need to follow. Thus the F a m a Frater-

N IN E

nitatis contains references to a confession of the Rosicrucian O rder which w as to follow. This confession w as to disclose and admit things w hich the original manifesto did not treat fully. It w as to provide further information regarding the book M . It further w as to set forth thirty-seven reasons for making known the facts of the Rosicrucian Fraternity to a profane world and for offering such high mysteries at that time. T he F am a also promised that this confession to come w ould elucidate on the subject of a book called the R ota M undi w hich w as one of the books mysteriously referred to in the Fam a. A bout the year 1 6 1 3 in C assel, Germ any, this heralded manifesto, the Confessio Fraternitatis R- C- , put in its appearance. T h e original manuscript, like that of the Fam a, is said to have been published in Latin with the full title Fam a Fraternitatis Rosse Crucis cum eorum Confessione. It had a preface addressed to the reader who is desirous of wisdom. It, too, like the Fam a, had an extensive circulation and eventually w as translated into several languages.

A ndreas L ibavius, contemporary writer of the period, for over twenty years entered into a controversy over the origin and contents of these Rosicrucian manifestoes. H e w as a writer of volum inous works on alchem y and hermetic medicine. H is magnum opus N eoparacelsia which he issued in 1594, and which w as an attack on the writings of the G reek philosopher C laudius G alen and Aristotle, drew particular attention to him. In this work he, like m any others of the era, advocated a break with the schools of thought of Aristotle and G alen . It w as not necessarily a criticism of Aristotle and the writings of G alen , but that man should not look upon them as having all the fruits of knowledge, because there were still on the tree of knowledge many other fruits to be plucked, if man w ould just reach for them. O u r particular interest in L ibavius is his m onograph entitled, A n alysis Confessionis Fraternitatis de Rosae C ru ci. This is an extraction after his own manner of the contents of the Confessio. In it he sets forth his Argum enta. Briefly, he gives the thirty-seven reasons which appeared in the Confessio for making known the R- C- Fra-T EN

ternity, and which he analyzed. T he following is a summary of them:

1. T he promised restoration of the world to that state of paradise which existed on earth before the fa ll of man because of temptation and degradation.

2. To point out to a more enlightened world the existing defects in art, science and religion, such defects being responsible for much of m ans adversities.

3. To point out how divinity freely offers to man through illumination and the practice of certain of the mysteries w hat he previously only attained through much toil and suffering.

4. To make known the healing balm (the healing methods) of the Rosicrucian O rder for the alleviating of physical and mental pain.

5. T he O rder offers a m edial w ay by w hich the ills of the country social and political difficulties m ay be overcome.

6. It knows the wonders of the Sixth A g e nam ely, it knows w hat could be done to take advantage of the current age of the world.

7. It proffers great secrets and opens archives of heretofore unknown treasures.

8. It explains w hy the O rder must function insofar as its teachings are concerned with circumspection and even in secrecy at times.

9. T he O rd er a lw ays reveals new truth and strives to build in mind and matter an ark of such truth for posterity.

10. Such truths as it advances can be gained only through the portals of the Rosicrucian O rder.

1 1 . T h e O rder is a refuge for those who w ould escape disease and infirmity.

12 . T h e O rder is a place for those who feel that they desire to live in harm ony with the law s of nature as they are since the beginning of time, and as they w ill be in the end.

ELEV EN

13 . T h e brethren, wherever they live, shall be able to know of things which are transpiring at a great distance from themselves, and yet be conscious of their own immediate surroundings as w ell.

14 . T h e O rder promises the destruction of religious intolerance.

13 . It does not seek to gain a m ans wealth.

16 . It would make others partakers of its own goods.17 . T h e O rder does not resort to hypocrisies and chimeras.

18. It seeks to explain all mysteries in a simple and forceful manner.

19 . It is the impulsion of the H oly Spirit or G od.20. It reveals the usage of the good things of the entire earth.2 1 . It brings m ankind out into the light of learning and

understanding.22. It recognizes Christ as a great M aster and A dept.23. T hat C- R- C- lived one hundred and six years and

saw m any changes in the world.24. D arkness and perfidy pervade the whole world.25. Those who w ish light and freedom shall seek the Order.26. T h e O rder is in possession of certain rites, rules and

regulations.27. T h e happiness of the present age is inherent in the O rder.28. M an y prominent men have accomplished a great deal by

their writings in reforming the w orld; the O rder must do likewise.29. T h e counsel of G o d is to raise up the humble and abase

the proud.30. G o d sends H is m essages to those who are secret and

silent.3 1 . H e abandons dabblers to their own devices.32. M an should be a carrier of that w hich is good and noble.33. T h at m an must not spurn the common things of the

earth for they, too, are the gifts of G od .34. B u t these common things do not a lw ays give indication

of their value in nature s scheme.T W E LV E

35- N ature proffers m any other valuable things besides m edicine for the healing of the ill.

36. M a n s first need is knowledge, and philosophy is the means to provide it.

37- T he Rosicrucians offer to m ankind treasures , come and share them.

Throughout the F am a it is mentioned that "the unworthy m ay clamor a thousand times yet they w ill not receive w hat the R- CV- O rd er kas to offer. T k at rectitude and proper comport are the necessary qualifications to attain w hat the O rder has to offer is made known in both the Fam a and the Confessio. O f consequence to us of today, who are members of the Esoteric H ierarchy of the Ancient M ystical O rder Rosae Crucis, is the fact that at the time of the revival of Rosicrucianism in G erm any in the seventeenth century all of the facts concerning the O rder s establishment and purposes were not disclosed at one time. T he Confessio, as w e have seen, told more at a later date about these things, and after it came even more revealing manifestoes, both public and private.

W ith the re-establishment of the Rosicrucian O rder, A M O R C , in North Am erica for its second cycle in the early part of this twentieth century by D r. H . Spencer Lew is, certain manifestoes had again to be issued which in their purpose were not unlike the Fam a Fraternitatis. T h e tomb w as once again opened; that is, from the archives of the O rder the body w as brought into light, for again a people w as ready for Rosicrucianism , and in accordance with the traditional law of a recurring cycle of activity, literature w as issued and histories were prepared for public reading, both in book and periodical form. However, all of the facts concerning the O rders re-establishment in this jurisdiction could not be too quickly and frankly divulged. Prudence had to be exercised, so though the present histories are basically true in fact, still they conceal much. Tim e has proven the early caution necessary, and because of it the O rder in the W estern W rorId has grown in proportion to its accomplishments and its value to the

TH IR T EEN

peoples of this new era. But a time came when the curtain had to he raised higher, for in the recesses of the stage of truth were scenes the audience w as now prepared to witness with a full understanding. T he time w as propitious for another Confessio. Th is one, however, must differ by virtue of circumstances from the original one issued in the year 1 6 1 3 . It would need not tell so much of the purpose of the O rder Rosse C rucis; the world had come to know that. B u t it should acquaint certain of the brethren with the inner Cosm ic experiences of their Imperator, that they m ay be inspired to accomplish, in m anifold w ays, acts of equal consequence to mankind. In other words, this new Confessio w as needed so that certain of the brethren could add to their Dom us Spiritus Sancti.

A n d so in 19 1 8 the late Imperator of A M O R C , D r. H . S p encer Lew is, issued in manuscript form a new Confessio R . C . F r a ternitatis, and I here bring to you a reproduction of it with the hope that from its reading you m ay be so Cosm ically illuminated as to attain that state of Cosm ic Consciousness which it has brought to m any who have been privileged to read it previously.

R A L P H M. L E W I S , 1 9 0 4 - 1 9 8 7

I M P E R A T O RT h e R o s ic ru c ia n O rder, A M O R C S u p r e m e T em p le , R o s ic ru c ia n P a r k S a n Jo s e , C a lifo r n ia

Third Edition September 1978

(CONTINUED IN MANIFESTO II)

' O '|nruuj

FO U R T EEN

A V E R M E N TS ta n d i n g in th e presence of th e G o d of m y H e a r t a n d ever m in d fu l

of th e T e r ro r of th e T h re s h o ld , I do so lem n ly affirm th a t I h a v e carefu lly r e a d a n d m e d i ta te d u p o n th e co n ten ts of th is m an ifes to . I fu r the r affirm t h a t a t th e su p rem e m o m e n t w h e n I w a s consc ious of th e sp ir i tua l surge w i th in m y b e in g t h a t e n th ra l l e d a n d c a u se d m e to a sc e n d in con sc iousness a b o v e a n d b e y o n d m y m o r ta l a n d ph y s ic a l e n v iro n m en t , a n d w h e n I w a s a lso a w a re o f th e in v is ib le p resence of th e C o sm ic H os ts , I d id affix my s ig n a tu re b e lo w a n d record the h o u r , day , m o n th , a n d y ea r o f th is C o sm ic experience . I do also so lem nly a v o u c h b y these sam e sac red tokens th a t I h a v e pe rm it ted n o o th e r eyes b u t m in e to peruse the con ten ts of this m an ifes to .

N am e T im e D a y M on th Y ear

onfessio' c * *

ifraternitatis

CONFESSIO R.\ C.\

FRATERNITATIS

P repared byBRO. PROFUNDIS

1 9 1 8

pAJVUj|

IS S U E D B Y S P E C IA L P E R M IS S IO N O F T H E

IMPERATORA N C IE N T M Y S T IC A L O R D E R R O S A E C R U C IS

S . . S.-. S.-.S A N JO S E . C A L IF O R N IA . U . S. A .

M A N I F E S T O II

IN T R O D U C T IO N

N t h i s Su n day morning I find m yself in the sunny Soutfi of our country where, within the week, I w ill meet with those who have found the L ight like unto m yself; and

as I look out upon the C arolinian landscape for the first time in my life, I realize that this cross-continent trip with the rare privilege of spending a few days in sunny C aliforn ia and in visiting m any other attractive and interesting points of my country is, indeed, an event in my life which I shall alw ays remember and deeply appreciate.

T w o such trips have thus come into my life: the one to Europe in the year 1909, and this one just begun. Both have been permitted or m ade possible through the financial assistance of others and at no personal cost to me except that of service. It is this fact which leads me to deep contemplation upon the law which operates in my life in m any w ays. M y trip to Europe w as for the purpose of rendering to one an unusual service, not w holly selfish and not without its hum anitarian aspects; my mission w as at that time, however, the work of a servant in the employ of another, and as an employee I w as compensated according to the w orldly laws of service and compensation.

M y present trip finds me no longer holding any position as an employee in the service of one or a few, but a chief executive officer with others in his employment, yet I am still the servant of a great m any and have found it necessary to interrupt my home enjoyments and associations, inconvenience the work normally necessary, and devote from four to five weeks in travelling in order to render service to thousands rather than to one. E ver and ever have I found in the past nine years that I w as born to s e r v e t o be servant unto others, just as m y old friend and astrologer, Henry W aterhouse, told me ten or more years ago after a careful study of my natal horoscope.

TH REE

A n d , the very fact that nine years have almost passed since my life s work began, is significant in itself, for in Ju ly of this year, 1 9 1 8 but three months hence- the first nine years of my particular endeavor in behalf of mankind w ill have ended; and w hatever meagre work has been done by me in the attaining of the first point of my course toward that ultimate goal which w ill be reached by others in the next few years, has been a pleasure fraught with suffering, sacrifice and m any heartaches.

To me, of course, this ninth year is a year of considerable importance. It is my final, my last year of executive preparation of the work of the O rder R osae C rucis; it is the mystical year which comes into the lives of all men who enter into the cycle of this work. History proves this: the records of those who have given their lives in the past in the same work, indicate that none escapes the m ystical year, the ninth, the third point on the third journey around the Triangle. A fter this ninth year comes the cycle of suffering and crucifixion for the hardiness in daring to assume the burden of the C R O S S . For nine years the C R U C IF IX IO N , then (beginning with Ju ly of 19 27) a cycle of N IN E years of R E S U R R E C T I O N , R E G E N E R A T I O N and A S C E N S I O N .

I find, too, that just as 1 w as informed would be the case, in this ninth year of my work the first and most advanced members of the original Lodge of the O rder have reached the N inth D e gree . the D egree w hich corresponds w ith the very principle making for my advancem ent to spiritual executiveship of the O rder as soon as the N inth year is completed. It is the year a n d the D egree of exoteric attainment and esoteric birth, of esoteric fu Ifill- ment an d exoteric fu lfillm ent.*

So, I have taken this opportunity while having m any hours to think and write w hile journeying from city to city, to put into record and upon paper those facts which must form the fu n damental law s and principles upon which the future executive chiefs of the O rder Rosee Crucis m ay base their work and their plans, that the O rder itself m ay never lose the traditions w hich constitute

*T he tenth, eleventh, and twelfth degrees had not as yet been instituted by the Imperator.

FO U R

its hereditary pow er a n d personality an d its truly D iv in e a n d S p iritual conception. In this regard, then, this C O N F E S S I O N is like unto others which have been issued in the past; three of these are known to me those of Am enhotep IV , A rn au d II of France, and Christian Rosenkreutz (Francis Bacon) in Germ any. Since that of Rosenkreutz, there has been none other than this; and w hile my words m ay be less veiled than those of my more illustrious and more scholarly predecessor, still the importance of w hat I have to say and its bearing upon the O rder is none the less evident and certainly no less necessary than w as a C O N F E S S I O N in the 16th century in G erm any.

A n d , w hat have I then to confess? W o u ld I dwell upon the fact or points of my humble service as a medium for the strange laws that have worked through me by no conscious choice on my part? N o ! In that regard I w o uld rem ain quiet a n d silent that my boastfulness might not be the unbecom ing conduct of a Roscecru- cian. But, I must confess the truth regarding our B e lo v ed O rder s mystic reincarnation in A m erica an d the divinity of its teachings an d principles.

W e have been told that the truth shall make us free. Yet have I withheld the truth herein revealed because truth, like other mighty powers and forces of nature, requires a time and a place for expression that it m ay truly be beneficent and not destructive. The experiences which have come to me in the past, and which are so carefully related here, might have come to me earlier in life (though the responsibilities resulting therefrom have been unusually heavy for a man of my youth); but there w as a time and a place and circumstance, and these I w ill now reveal, explain and record in the fullest detail, that a few chosen ones m ay read now, others at a later date, and still more in that future when the O rder shall have blossomed into the matured R ose of immortality.

A man s real work in life is seldom recognized as such until after he has made a considerable advance in it and finds that the motive or motives are of D ivine inspiration, the results truly universal and altruistic in effect, and the obligations are th ose of personal sacrifice. Just how and w h en a man, even a young man,

F IV E

m ay be called upon to begin or perform his one great mission, are questions wkicH cannot be answered except, perhaps, through a prophetic Cosm ic inspiration, w hich influx of aw akening, like an inner call, has been aptly called a Cosm ic Direction.

In my own case -' if I m ay be pardoned for assum ing at this time that the work of the past nine years has been the basis for my life work I w as conscious only of one thought at the time I pledged to attempt that which seemed a colossal task; I knew that the inspiration, the im pulse, the desire cam e from without and that it w as free from selfishness a n d w o u ld m ean greater personal sacrifices if I succeeded than if I fa iled. W ith this in mind I resigned m yself to the task and found in my resignation and willingness a great enthusiasm which has never failed me even in the midst of the most disheartening circumstances and when confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

W ithou t further introduction, then, I shall enter into the minute details of my connection with the O rder Rosse Crucis and of the part I have had to play or assum e in order that the w ill of the M asters should be obeyed. P erhaps the enem ies I have m ade in the past through this work an d those w ho still seek to undo the good work of the O rder, w ill find in the fo llow ing pages m uch to censure an d condem n, but they must unite w ith my friends .- my m any loyal Brothers an d Sisters ,' in saying that w hatever I have done that might have been left undone fo u n d its prom ptings in an unselfish heart, an altruistic soul and an obedient servant, striving on ly to f ulfill the decrees of the M asters for the good of others an d ham pered w ith a very lim ited education in some essentials, an d forced into regrettable acts by the very ones w ho w ill now criticize w hat had to be done by an honest m ind, an em otional nature, an d a clear conscience in order that Light might be given to those h eld in darkness.

PROFUNDIS XII"

P A R T O N E

A s soon as I became conscious of the self within me as a boy in my twelfth to thirteenth year, I slow ly became cognizant of extreme degrees of those things which seemed to make little or no impression upon others. T h e clean things, the noble things an d sacred things of life affected me so deeply at times that I dropped into a period of meditation resulting in hours of tears and a day or so of such sweet sadness that I could not fathom its significance; secondly, I found m yself prophetic to the extent that, without intending to do so and even without knowing at the time that such w as the case, I would make statements which became or rather later proved to be correct predictions. This rather amused me as a boy, although I do not recall ever having m ade light of it or in any w ay derided the mystical element in such occurrences. To me it seemed at first as though my prophetic statements came as a result of my rather quick and logical reasoning a combination of gifts very rare in young men, but not greatly appreciated by me then. I could not understand w hy others could not make the same prophecies or at least see things in their process of development with inevitable, future results ~ as I did. E ven to this day I find m yself impatient at times with the poor and illogical reasoning of those who could, or should do better; and I am unable lo understand w hy m any do not foresee results which are logical from the premise established. But, as years have passed since my boyhood days, I have come to realize and understand w hat w as a great and serious problem in my fourteenth year. In that year I w as suddenly illuminated with the fact that at such times as I thought my own objective or conscious mind w as stating or presenting such facts as were prophetic or mystical in some element, it w as in fact not my ow n mind, but that of another self or another personality either w ithin me or constantly in touch, m entally, w ith me.

SF.VF.N

N o w such a conclusion on the part of a young man is calculated to plunge his more serious thoughts into an abyss of speculation and contemplation; and if constant test and experiment made stronger his conviction and its weirdness became a sacred thing w holly within the bounds of his emotional nature, then there could be no other result than that the young m an w o uld slow ly an d reverently turn his entire thought an d studies to the fie ld of religious mysticism.

I trust I w ill be understood. M an y minds find much interest in mysticism; m any even devote time and thought to the subject, but few indeed (and I speak now after nine or more years contact with the most advanced mystics in A m erica and other countries) are concerned with or realize that there is a religious mysticism which transcends the other forms, whatever they m ay be.

So, appreciate if you w ill, a young m an in his fourteenth, fifteenth an d sixteenth years, still in public school, w hose interests should be in the prescribed, limited, matter-of-fact subjects of gram m ar classes, being not only d eep ly but em otionally, religiouslv and enthusiastically interested in the most profound mysteries of life s m anifestation. But, such w as the case. T h e more I speculated upon the possibility of there being another personality (or perhaps I said person in those days) within me, the more I conceived of such. B ear in mind that in those days little w as known by the Iay-mind regarding secondary personalities, for H udson and others had not placed upon the open market the books dealing with those subjects which might have either suggested the problem unconsciously to me or at least have helped me to solve it. So throughout the years 1897, 1898 and 1899 I worked on my problems alone and it w as only in the latter year, the year I graduated from public school and started out in the world to work and study, that I came upon some of H udsons books and found in them a point to begin my researches , the point where he ended his theories and useless hypotheses w hich utterly rejected or ig nored the divine or religious elements in mysticism. It is not my intention to go into the details of those months and years of solemn, lonesome investigation and study of the phenomena which daily

F IG H T

grew more marked and more unconscious. N aturally I fell, or rather w as led, into the habit or practice of daily an d sometimes hourly m editation in the silence w herever I might be. M y teachers at school noticed it; our choir leader and Sunday School teacher saw it; my parents became alarm ed over my health and on many occasions spoke to me about the deep sighs which came from me long after I had retired and should have been sound asleep. I gave every outward sign of having a deep and serious weight upon my mind when I should have been happy and enjoying the games and pleasures of boyhood but which never interested me. To this day I know nothing of baseball, football, law n tennis and other games in which my brother and our school chums were very expert.

But I did find in such silent and solitary meditation that which made me extremely happy and peaceful. I can find no other word for it. Even when the tears would flow and my heart would seem to sob , as it nearly a lw ays did , in contemplation of G o d s existence and the m arvelous workings of nature, I found peace in the sadness and joy in the spiritual or mental world in which I lived at such times.

A s years went by, I found that I had become more attuned, or, as I w ould have expressed it then, more in sym pathy or understanding with that other entity or personality which at least spoke to me from within, even if its existence w as without. I had never experienced any sight of w hat others would have called spirits', but I did see, at times, beautiful lights, generally a light blue, and I often heard the sweetest of music, in full harmony but too soft to determine its nature although I w as fam iliar with music through the education in that line given me by my mother and later by a Russian pianist, a young man, my own age, whose phenomenal success or ability I a lw ays attributed to a mystical cause.

So it came about that I became a member of the M ethodist Church on Seventh A venue, known as the M etropolitan T em ple, presided over by R ev. S . Parks C adm an, and since that church w as open every day and every hour to those who desired to come there for meditation, I learned the value of a place m ade holy and harmonious by sacred vibrations, and as I had been, with my

N IN E

brother, tbe first member ol its Sun day School and the first member of its choir before the church came to Seventh A venue, 1 looked upon the place as my spiritual home an d w ent there at times to m editate, much to the astonishm ent of the janitor an d the m isunderstanding of others.

It w as at one of these periods of meditation after school hours on a W ed n esd ay , that I w as questioned by the assistant Pastor and to him I explained the joy and peace I found in such sacred meditation and contemplation. H e w as a young man, then about twenty-five, with a truly lovable, loyal and sincere nature and the youth of the Church loved him as they respected and actually worshipped D r. C adm an. I w as advised to come often and to pray. There w as naught but life itself that I desired, for I did not even consider that I needed illum ination; I sim ply d id not know w hat w as necessary and therefore d id not pray for anything except love and peace. I w as told to thank G od each day for the bread and the necessities which w ere being provided; but to my youthful understanding this seemed unnecessary, for I felt that I w as being supported or prepared by H im for some definite purpose, and that being the case, it w o uld be strange for me to thank G o d for w hat H e gave me, as though it was being g iven to me for my ow n selfish sake. So, while I felt happy and appreciative for the very life I experienced, I did not express such appreciation in the form of prayerful thanks.

I w as probably a mystery to the good young man and he did not understand me, perhaps. Bu t w e came to love each other and he often came to sit with me in silence and contemplate. Som etimes an hour would pass and not one word would be spoken by either of us; yet w e grew to feel and enjoy a certain attunement which seemed to surround us as w e sat in the centre of the Church and gazed with concentration upon the altar. W lia t he thought at such times I never knew ; some day I w ill know.

A fter I finished school in June of 1899 I started my business career in the same fashion as other boys, beginning in various lines until one w as found that seemed to be the ri ght one. A n d , I drifted from the Church and even from its locality and for several

TEN

years the Church w as simply a fond memory w hile my home, or some part of it, became my sanctum. T he kind young clergyman passed aw ay and to his memory the young people of the Church gave the beautiful stained glass w indow to be seen now in the large centre circle of the front of the Church on Seventh A venue near Fourteenth Street, N e w York C ity. Thus closed my boyhood days and the days of my early development in mysticism.

E LEV EN

P A R T T W O

It seemed not only natural that I should delve deeply into the various sciences which seemed to have any hearing upon the great work of my youth r the solving of the psychic problem which appeared to enslave me but the studies likewise proved interesting and though heavy and ponderous for one of my age, I realized more and more as I entered each fie ld of research that the principles w ere old acquaintances in new dress. It w as this latter point that is probably responsible for the fact that I never completed any one scientific study, nor thoroughly studied any one section or division of such subjects as did come within my special course of reading. I did not like the n ew dress in w hich they were presented; the only exception to this statement being the book entitled, N ew Know ledge, a semi-scientific book which came into my hands in 1 91 7 , long' after all the fundam entals of the teachings of the O rder Rosse Crucis in A m erica had been established in the regular Tem ple lectures.

Constantly I found that the modern authors or compilers of scientific textbooks lost sight of the natural fundam entals. A fter presenting their findings or the findings of others in the laboratories of the chemist, or physicist, the theories or hypotheses offered as explanations of the manifestations or demonstrations seemed too ridiculous to command my attention ^ the attention of a boy of twenty uneducated in any school of science.*

It w as near the close of my school work in 1899 that as part of the school teachings, we m ade a few experiments in physics simple little demonstrations w hich meant little to the other boys except a relaxation from more tedious studies. To me, however, such demonstrations aw akened a sleeping phase of my mind, and as soon as I w as earning sufficient money as a youth in employ,

*It was not long after his twentieth year that the late Imperator plunged into the various fields of science in which he accomplished many things of recognized importance.

I devoted my spare time to getting together sufficient material to review the old school demonstrations and m any others which constantly suggested themselves. Books I did not have at my command and I did not know of the great public library reference rooms (having entered such treasure houses for the first time in the year i q i o ) , and the only books I could consult for reference w ere such m odern textbooks as were published by or for sale by the firm of B aker and Taylor, publishers, on E ast Sixteenth Street, N e w York C ity, where I had applied for a position as offi ce boy at a salary of seven dollars w eekly in order to have such few books at hand for reading without cost.

A t eighteen years of age my experiments in physics had led me into simple chemical experiments and to this I owe my greater interest in the art of photography, which as some few m ay realize combines very m any of the fundam ental laws of both physics and chemistry, and in quite an occult or mystical manner. M y first cam era w as built entirely from wooden cigar boxes and my darkroom and laboratory w as a small room in the cellar of my home at number 72 Seventh A venue, N e w York. In and through this work came a realization of a principle w hich had been trying to find expression in my thinking and doing for several years ^ that a ll w e saw, felt, tasted or knew of objectively w as the result of v ibra tions impressing them selves upon us, just as the vibrations passing through the lens of the cam era, although invisible to us, caused a material, a P H Y S I C A L and C H E M I C A L result demonstrable in either laboratory. I now know this to be true but it w as indeed a wonderful and strange principle for a young man to conceive and mature without the aid of professional and expert assistance.

D esiring to eliminate, as greatly as possible, the element of biography in this paper, I w ill skip over the m any incidents of my youth which relate to my attempt to fathom and solve the problems involved in the realizations I constantly experienced and which today I w ould class under the general head of 'psychic to avoid using more profound or transcendental terms, but which I then understood so little as to leave them unnamed.

M y investigations led me to test seriously the tenets of the spiritualistic movement, so popular in and about N e w York

between 1903 and 1905, and from my investigations I found that so-called spiritual manifestations would help me but little. I found the average so-called m anifestation innane and absurd. T he messages purporting to come from spirits through professional (supposedly w ell trained and expert) mediums were childish prattle, compared w ith the messages w hich I heard or otherwise received from w ithin and without, independent of any considerable preparation on my part. T h e demonstrations of automatic writing (or unconscious writing) were on a par with the spirit messages usually given as proof that the spirits, or souls, of the departed retain certain knowledge and can communicate with those here. T he few books and papers I read upon the subject of spiritualism convinced me that the authors based their claims entirely upon such tw addle as I had received in over one hundred seance rooms from possibly seventy-five different m edium s. T h e theories e x ploited by the books and papers, like the theories offered by the m edium s, were much like the theories offered by the authors of modern books on chemistry and physics, which I had completely cast aside and no longer thought of consulting.

T hat it m ay be known that I did not lightly cast aside the possible proofs to be found through spiritualism , let it be known that soon after my start into that field I became a member of the Psychic Investigation League of N ew York composed of men and women of all w alks of life who were trying to find proof and not consolation or mysterious doings. This League had no theories and w as not biased. It asked for demonstrations under conditions to be agreed upon by the members and each m edium to be tested. M eetings were held w eekly in large and small halls, in churches, in homes and even in so-called haunted houses. In the second year I w as elected its President ,- a young man of only twenty, while most of the members were from forty to seventy years of age , because I had been able in the year preceding to point out to the physicians and scientists present, m any principles which they overlooked, and I had likewise used my prophetic abilities in predicting

F O U R T EE N

w hat w ould occur at times at the seances and thereby proved that the mind, independent of a m edium or a definite spirit could receive impressions from w ith in and without the hum an consciousness. F o r two years I w as president of this body, and the follow ing year a num ber of scientists and physicians as w ell as prominent lay-persons organized the N e w York Institute for Psych ical R esearch. I w as elected President of this, and its work continued along sim ilar lines to that of the L eagu e , only more profound and w ith greater analysis and research, and had much to do with the expose and elim ination from N e w York of over fifty fraudulent and crim inal mediums, the exposes being conducted in connection w ith the N e w York Police D epartm ent and the N e w Y o rk W orld .

F o r these reasons I feel that I have some right to say that if all the m edium s consulted and tested, including the fam ous M a rgaret G a u l and those constantly referred to in books on spiritualism and psychic phenom ena, could not cast any Iigkt on the problem s I had, then spiritualism a n d its theories a n d ph enom ena w ere u seless to me, even as a religion. So it, too, like the sciences, w as cast aside.

T hen cam e the period of study of the mind. I began again with some of T hom as J a y H udson s theories, but again cast them aside and found m uch food in a book entitled, Thinking, Feelin g and D o in g , written by a professor of Y a le U niversity. T h is book led me into the field of a p p lie d psychology, and then into general psychology. P a g e after page of some large and ponderous books I looked at on the shelves of a few bookstores, but never did I see a single paragraph that touched upon the points I w ished illum inated. I admit, that had anyone asked me at such times w h at those points were, I w ould not have been able to define or even classify them. (O n e can understand how much in the dark I w as working, w hen I explain that one of the points I then sought in chemistry, then physics, and then in psychology, I later worked out and demonstrated in my own private w ireless telegraph la b oratory w ith instruments purposely designed and m ade by me to prove and m ake visible the transmission of vibrations to attuned

or selected receivers.) In the year 1904 when my first son R a lp h w as born, I bad a wireless outfit operating in my borne.

F in ally in 1906 I w as tbrougb with books and tbeories. M y disgust for sucb books and tbeories included tbe authors wbo wrote tbem and tbe schools or colleges w bicb tbey represented. rh ose who have been associated w ith me in the O rder Rosee Crucis for the past three years know how that disgust for the m odern methods of teaching the sciences an d the propounding of nature s fundam ental laws has proven itself w e ll founded, and I am g lad to say that the w ork of our O rder is doing m uch to bring this great fa llacy of education before thousands o f brilliant minds an d has a lready laid the foundation for a new an d perfect system of education in Am erica.

For a year; 1906 to 1907 T did little but ponder over certain principles w bicb gradually formed in my consciousness. A ll tbis time I bad continued my almost daily sessions of meditations and attunement witb some Cosm ic influx w bicb brought witb it greater understanding. I continually found that such information as I received .- generally of a sem i-scientific a n d religious nature ,' had the ear marks, so to speak, of a definite personality, an d the mannerism s of this personality w ere consistent. I never asked a question, nor even tbe tbou gbt of a question. I did not seem to realize tbat tbis migbt bave been of Kelp. I only realized one tbing: tbat w ben I w as in tbe relaxation of sucb periods I felt peaceful, calm and contented and tbat w ben I returned to tense consciousness again, I bad an impression of having been told or in some w ay informed , of certain facts, law s and principles pertaining to G o d and nature. These facts, law s and principles were not connected; they were vague and did not form the basis of any philosophy or system; but they were, clearly, contrary to w hat w as being taught by the various schools of scientific subjects. I would at once recall that I knew differently, because I had been told sometime the truth in that regard. It w as in this w ay that most of the facts, acquired in my periods of meditation, were brought to light or rather to my objective consciousness , by finding them challenged by modern science.

A s m ay be seen from the foregoing, I did not have any theory of my own, nor did I attempt to outline any theory as to how and w h y I came to receive such unusual knowledge or be permitted to become attuned with some occult source of information and understanding. Ju st about the close of 1907, I believe, someone told me of the theory of reincarnation. I explained my problem, and at once a solution w as offered. M y information came from my mind and my mind had been in the body of one or possibly two other men who in the past had been scientists of the old school, possibly of a mystical order or fraternity, etc. etc. This solution I soon rejected, for it did not take into consideration the peace, the contentment and the peculiar sacred and religious attunem ent I felt keenly while in the periods of meditation. B u t there w as one point revealed in the discussion I had regarding the theory and its relation to my problem, which makes me feel very grateful to the dear old lady who tried her very best to have me accept her e x planation. In questioning her as to w hat mystical or scientific sect or fraternity she thought the previous incarnation might have belonged, she mentioned the name of the Rosicrucians of Egypt.I remember distinctly that in the m any days w hich followed its first mention she never spoke of the Rosicrucians as having been anywhere else than in Egypt, despite the fact that all references I could find regarding such a sect spoke of its existence in G e rm any only.

From thence on, my various researches centered around the teachings of the old mystics, with little avail. Constant references to the Rosicrucians simply veiled w hat they knew or taught. I never read, or even looked into a few public books purporting to be the secrets of the Rosicrucians, realizing that such books must be unreliable. A n d so the year ig o 8 came to a close w ith my m ind centered upon one determ ination: to find w h at the o ld mystics taught a n d if they knew the true laws of G o d an d nature as I seem ed to know in fragments.

It was this one great desire, a single ambition, w holly unselfish, clean, noble a n d alw ays associated w ith a sense of sacredness, of

D ivin e P rivilege an d H oly Inspiration, w h ich dom inated my a n d my actions at that time, a n d w ho can say that it has affected, if not dom inated, my w hole life thus far spent on earth, a n d perhaps in time to com e?

lifenotthis

F .lflH TFFN

A V E R M E N TStanding in the presence of the God of my Heart and ever mindful

of the Terror of the Threshold, I do solemnly affirm that I have carefully read and meditated upon the contents of this manifesto. I further affirm that at the supreme moment when I was conscious of the spiritual surge within my being that enthralled and caused me to ascend in consciousness above and beyond my mortal and physical environment, and when I was also aware of the invisible presence of the Cosmic Hosts, I did affix my signature below and record the hour, day, month, and year of this Cosmic experience. I do also solemnly avouch by these same sacred tokens that I have permitted no other eyes but mine to peruse the contents of this manifesto.

N am e T im e D a y M on th Y ear

onjessio* c * *

jfraternitatis

e h 1

CONFESSIO R.\ C.\

FR ATERNITATIS

P rep a red byBRO. PROFUNDIS

t o t 8

'O '| W W |

IS S U E D B Y S P E C I A L P E R M IS S IO N O F T H E

IMPERATORA N C IE N T M Y S T IC A L O R D E R R O S A E C R I I C I S

S .. S.'. S.".S A N JO S E . C A L IF O R N IA . U . S . A

M A N I F E S T O I FI

P A R T T H R E E

N o w I come to the point w hich w ill be of greatest interest to the few advanced members of the O rder Rosse Crucis who w ill he permitted to read this confession; I trust, however, that even these few w ill not fail to find in the preceding pages much illumination and considerable regard for all that I had to meet and contend with in reaching the point where I could have my great desire m aterialized.*

It w as in the spring of 19 0 8 ^ - I w ish I could remember the exact date, for it is very important ~ it occurred to me that I should go again to the old Church, the M etropolitan Tem ple, on Seventh A venue, where I had gone so m any times before, and once more sit there in silent meditation, as had been my custom. I could find no definite reason for this impulse and even tried to reason against it. But I did go on an Easter Su n day to hear the Easter music and carols, a feature of the Easter service in which I alw ays toolc part in the days of old when I w as one of the robed choir boys. The environment, the music, the fam iliar faces I saw aw akened in me the old interest in the Church, although I had not been in it for six or seven years. It w as Iilce finding the old homestead of one s youth, calling to the heart and offering a royal welcome. Understand, it w as not the religious feature of the service that appealed to me then, or even in the past. It w as the more subtle influence of the sacred vibrations I felt within the w alls of the place. To me that Church w as a spiritual home where I could find Cosm ic or D ivine communication and attunement, independent of any service or any ceremony. A ll the emotions of my nature w ere affected in the quiet of that old Church and there I loved to sit in silence.

A n d so it came about that on a Thursday afternoon, following the Easter service, I went to the old Church again, leaving my

*Even today when the membership is many times Inrger tiinn it was when this confession was written, only a few will He permitted to read it.

N IN FT F FN

business in time to be tbere about 4 :3- Thursday w as not intentionally selected as tbe day, for I bad tried since tbe T uesday of tbat week to get aw ay from business, and it w as not until T hu rsday tbat I succeeded in being able to bave tbat mucb time to m yself in tbe afternoon.

I remember w ell w bat occurred, and it is so important tbat I w ill carefully state eacb fact in its proper order, and without comment, tbat otbers m ay judge of the cause and effects of each incident uninfluenced by w hat 1 believe.

I entered the C h apel as usual and then through a small side door into the rear of the body of the Church. Reverently, yet without ceremony, I w alked to the centre aisle and up that aisle to about the centre of the Church and then entered a pew at my right hand side. There w as no one else in the Church nor had I met any one in tbe C hapel. This w as not unusual at that time of the day. T he flowers and decorations used for the Easter service had been removed, except the wire framework for a large Cross w hich had stood and w as still standing in the centre of the A ltar platform, about ten feet behind the A ltar.

T h e framework of this Cross had been covered with green moss, the Lillies had been put into the moss on Easter Sunday. N ow the Cross w as simply green, the flowers having been taken aw ay. T h e Cross w as about ten feet high, and from where I sat in my pew this T hursday afternoon the A ltar concealed only the lower part of the green Cross.

N aturally , my gaze centered upon the Cross as 1 began my period of meditation, and very probably I speculated upon the forlorn appearance of the Cross now, w hereas it had been a w onderful picture at the Easter service. But I do know, and remember w ell, that as I looked at the Cross and its significance, there came to me the fact that the Cross w as one of the symbols of the Rosi- crucians; and again I found m yself centering my thoughts on that strange sect and its existence, teachings, etc.

A s intimated, I did not come to the Church to meditate on the subject of the Rosicrucians, but simply to find again tbat old and

deeply appreciated peace, contentment and divine attunement. 1 me, the subject of tbe Rosicrucians or similar mystical sects had been on my mind practically every day for over a year, but I seemed to be objectively free from tbat tbougbt w ben I entered tbe C burcb. T be Cross, however, brought the subject to my consciousness again, and I must have lost all objective consciousness of everything else, entering into a quiet, peaceful, subjective condition, with no other thought in mind except that regarding the Rosicrucians. There w as little light in the Church only that w hich came through the stained glass of the memorial window, dedicated to my former friend, the assistant Pastor. There w as absolute quietness and profound vibrations of sacredness, and I slowly closed my eyes and then . . .

I heard a voice, clearly and distinctly, not from within me, but from without. E ven as I write this my entire nervous system is affected, emotionally, for I can easily hear that sound when the first word w as spoken; it w as P e a c e I O ften have I heard that word spoken since then, and m any times have I tried to imitate the m anner in which it w as spoken then, but it seems impossible to imitate. It w as a command; there w as no mistaking that. It w as said kindly, softly, and yet so significantly, that I knew it meant I should not move, I should not be disturbed or perturbed, that I should not even arouse m yself from the position I w as in. Yet,I opened my eyes, not in a startled manner, for I w as not startled, but exceedingly calm. A t first I saw no one, or no thing. I looked at the Cross, and while it appeared no differently than before, I did detect that between me and the Cross there w as a faint mist that I w as looking at the Cross through some sort of mist. Then I tried to gaze upon the mist and not at the Cross, and as I concentrated on the whiteness of the mist it seemed to become more dense, and I realized that the misty substance w as but two or three feet in front of my own body. Continuing to gaze at it and not through it,I saw that it had a form < that there w as an edge to the mist, a definite edge, and tracing this edge around and to each side I saw it made loose garments. A feeling of dizziness came over me, and I closed my eyes. In darkness again, I thought of w hat I had seen,

and in a few seconds opened my eyes again to find the figure more dense in whiteness, though in a slightly different position and nearer to me.

A n arm reached out and a hand pointed toward the A ltar and I looked again past the misty figure (not through it this time) and saw that the Cross looked a little more yellow than green, as though the moss w as drying and losing its color. I concentrated on the Cross, not because I had any purpose in mind, but simply because it attracted me, and slow ly the green color faded and in its place came a bright golden-rod color, until the Cross looked like G old . Then, w ith my eyes still wondering, but in no w ay doubting, the centre became more red until it w as as bright as a large rose and seemed to have the modeling of a rose; I took it for a Rose and then realized for the first time that I w as gazing at the R osey Cross the Cross I had never seen bef ore, but had read about. S low ly I brought my gaze back to the figure before me, and this time it w as more intense or rather more opaque.

I gazed into the face of the figure. It w as indistinct, but I saw that there w as long white or light hair and a long light colored beard. I judged the hair to be white or light, because it w as whiter than the face or the neck and almost as white mist; yet all of the figure w as of a white or light mist like a thick, white smoke.

A g a in words came from the lips of the figure, and I could see the lips move and the eyes twinkle. I w ill not attempt to quote w hat w as said, for I cannot remember the exact words. I w ish that I could; they were kindly said, and in language as D ivine and beautiful as the most wonderful phrases in the H oly Bible. T hey impressed me as coming from a H oly, Infinite M ind, and I listened with a feeling of respect and appreciation, but not aw ed or perplexed.

W h a t w as said to me, in substance, w as this: If I w ished to know more of the Rosicrucians and their teachings, I must prepare for an initiation into the fraternity which had an exoteric body immortal; that for several years I had been a dw eller on the threshold of the fraternity or its immaterial temple, but had failed

to use sufficient determination to cross the threshold, and, therefore, w as no further advanced than my own determination had taken me; that I would find naught ahout the fraternity in any book or paper, for its secrets had never been published and would not be published; that I must find illumination from within and not from without; that he who spoke to me was an A M O R C U S of the ancient fraternity and had been selected to be my guide; until I was prepared to cross the threshold and continue alone; that the exoteric body of the fraternity no longer existed in America, and had not existed for the past 10 1 years; that each exoteric body existed for only 108 years and that not until 19 15 w ould the new body come into existence and that it would then be the only exoteric body on the western face of the earth; and that while I w as being prepared for my initiation therein, the exoteric body w as being conceived and matured for its advent into the material w orld; that I should devote every T hursday evening to attunement for guidance; that the next exoteric body of the fraternity would be in France, or w as still there, or something of this kind.

There w as probably considerably more said, and perhaps some of w hat I have written in the above paragraph w as not said at that time or even said by this personality; but these facts did come to me either at that time through the speech m ade or the following T hursday ni ghts period of meditation when I heard a voice speaking in my home but saw no figure.

( C O N T I N U E D IN M A N I F E S T O III)

i&iiT R. A CT A TUS SECUNDUS,

D E N A T V R i t S I M 1AfeuTcchnica macrocofmihiftoria,

in partes underim divifa. a u t h o R

R O B E R T O F L V D D A L I A S D E FlK&iiiu,artmger (S'

O W , my Brothers and Sisters, I fully realize that w hat I have written in the last few paragraphs is decidedly difficult to understand, and to those who do not Icnow me or our work, it m ay w ell sound like either the ravings

of a m ad mind or the fiction of a clever brain. T he reason that it is neither of these, and likely to be rejected, has forced me to withhold the T R U T H and in its place present a different version of my first introduction to the O rder Rosse Cruris. R ead on and realize, if you can, w hat it has meant to me to know and alw ays have impressed upon my mind that the real facts and T R U T H must be veiled and the F IC T IO N exploited because fiction seemed more plausible than truth. I who had become disgusted with the fiction theories of scientists, when most d esiring the truth, now understand w hy T R U T H M A K E S U SF R E E O N L Y W H E N U N T R U T H H A S E X H A U S T E D IT S P O W E R T O E N S L A V E U S *

P A R T F O U R

Throughout the year 1908 and into the Spring of 1909 I continued my experiments each T hursday night in the quiet of a sanctum in my home. M y home I had moved to various parts of the city since 1903 in which year I married my first w ife w hile enjoying a prosperous business career as an artist, and alw ays had I set aside one room or a part of a room for my place of m editation, and the beautiful experience to be realized through this practice has led me to speak often to our Brothers and Sisters regarding the value, if not necessity, of some little sanctum in one s home.*A s lias been previously explained, tbe early liistory of tiie Order for this Jurisdiction, prepared

for public reading, had to veil many facts which now can be told in tiiese private manifestoes.TH REE

TKe result of my Thursday night sessions brought forth much illumination and encouragement. I learned gradually, that whereas one personality did dominate the conversations and experiences in which I indulged so freely, there were other personalities in the background, so to speak, to whom my more intimate personality would speak at times or cause them to speak to me. A n d so it came that I realized that at most, if not all, of these sessions there were present Seven Master M inds, each of which spoke to me at times, each having a very distinct personality and trend of knowledge on material and spiritual subjects, yet never succeeding in stepping beyond tbe limitations of conversation or revelation imposed by the one dominating personality. This dominating per- sonalitv I recognized as being of a superior intellect, reserved and careful in speech, dignified, divinely attuned and quite used to receiving homage and obedience. Y et this as w ell as the other personalities seemed to be a part of my own self of years gone by.

I could not explain this combination of personalities within and without my own existence or mind, and it w as not until recently, during some of our now w ell-valued T hird egree experi ments in the Suprem e G ran d Lodge of our O rder, that I found or received an explanation w hich is at least more logical, more plausible and more demonstrative of proof than any explanation which other schools offer for the existence of such multiple personalities

as these. .It appears then and this must some day be p r o v e n - t h a t

each of these quite distinct personalities are previous incarnations of mv present soul and mind, and that in the recesses of the m in d - which is perpetual and constant with the soul in all its incarnat io n s - th e re are niches or chambers wherein is stored and ever preserved tbe personal entity of each incarnation s conscious existence. In that regard I rather conceive of the Soul as being like unto the planisphere, used by astrologers for making their natal maps, having twelve divisions or houses. Thus, the soul m ay have twelve such chambers, each cham ber representing a possible incarnation of tbe soul wherein is recorded, and immortally presewed, the memory storehouse of each incarnated personality. I here-

FO U R

fore the mind of man in each incarnation is a cumulative mind, a resultant of the addition or combination of all past personality minds. In my own case, there were but seven previous phases of the soul, or, in other words, seven chambers in the cycle of the soul already complete, and my present personality or conscious existence making for the completion of the eighth. There are good reasons for believing that there are only twelve such chambers in the soul s cycle, and this, of course, would indicate that each soul must pass through twelve incarnations before it can attain that perfection for which it is placed into the cycle of evolution by the Suprem e M ind. W h a t follows then, or w hat that perfection m ay be, or its purpose, are questions which I trust will be answered some day, as have so m any other and more perplexing questions.

It would also appear that the mind or personality of the last incarnation preceding the present one is that which dominates the others when the present ego submits itself to a plane or condition on, or in, which the personalities of the various incarnations are m utually attuned and intercommunicative. Experiments have shown that at times the various personalities of the memory chambers m ay strive for individual dominance ^ much as personalities in various beings at the present time m ay strive for domination; and if w e compare these periods of mutual attune- ment and intercommunication, w hile one personality is conducting the psychic convocation, to a modern convention of men and minds assem bled in a place to discuss the pros and cons of various related subjects, under the leadership of a chairm an, we w ill not be surprised at the fact that when some important point is being discussed or considered by these personalities, one or two of them may take issue, and seek to present more forcibly or more u nderstandingly the facts which they know from experience.

A n d so I have fo u n d and our various experiments have demonstrated that the dominating subjective personality may submit at times to the temporary occupation of the " speakers chair by one of his colleagues in this psychic college; and at other times one of the personalities, in the intensity of argument and with the

FIV E

desire of insuring the utmost correctness or clarity on some point may overrule tKe standards of decorum, and w ,th sudden psyc . force dominate not only the psychic chairman of the convention^ but even control the complete mind and body of the ego. w.th, whose aura all this is taking place.

It w as not my intention to enter into a long explanation of hou, and why I w as able to secure from within such information as did secure during tbe m any T hursday night sessions beginning in the Spring of tpo8 and continuing up and into the month of Ju ly ,

, p P B u t it w as through the operation of those law s w W i make possible such psychic conventions of previous p e rso ^ .U e s tha 1 w as enabled to learn that, eventually, I must go to France, i w i l d enter the Tem ples of the O rder R o s * Crucis or even go one step further than the very Threshold.

T w o points remained uppermost in my mind (they were given ,0 me by the great soul which appeared to me in the C hurch m the Spring o[ 1908): first, that there was no exotenc body of the O rder then in existence in America, had not teen for ,0 , years and would not he until .

the A m erican Rosae Crucis for the month of M ay, 19 16 . A business opportunity enabled me to go to France, in Ju ly of 1909, and having considerable time in which to look after a few matters in various cities, I w as further enabled to visit other cities, towns, and sections of France, without limitation as to time or expense. Such an unusual opportunity, with its rare combination of privileges, seldom comes to a young man, and it w as the great opportunity for the O rder likewise.

B u t although the story in our m agazine just referred to is essentially true in every detail, even unto the end, the purpose of this Confession is to explain w hat w as not explained in that story and to add those details w hich are necessary to make it complete, or, in other words, to make it consist of the whole truth rather than partially so.

Know , then, each who is privileged to read this Confessio, that from the very moment I began my search for the O rder in France, I w as suspected, by those of whom I made inquiries, of being interested in fathoming one of the mysteries of the M asonic Fraternity of France. It is not quite clear to me even now, and perhaps never w ill be; and of course at the time I did not know that such w as the case. But it seems that in France, the remnants of the old O rder Rosee Crucis were absorbed by some division of the M asonic Fraternity in Fran ce; the absorption being an arbitrary matter, without legal right or authority. Furthermore, it ap pears from all that I can learn, that there are several surely more than two kinds or forms of M asonry in that country, each of which has little or nothing to do with the others and probably only one form having the recognition of the English and Am erican M asonic C raft. I do not pretend to know how all this m ay be; it concerns me very little; but it w as this condition of affairs in that country, and the fact that Am ericans before me had tried to learn w hat w as w hat of French M asonry, that made my intense interest in the Rose C ro ix seem suspicious; for, Io! it seems that m any of the higher degrees of the M asonic rites in Am erica were taken from or based upon various secret rites, first used in France (among them being the rites of the various Lodges of P e r

fection of France, and the R ose C roix of France, w hich constitutes tKe i8tK degree of A m erican and EnglisK M asonry), and that tKe. branch of French M asonry w hich had overstepped its powers in laying claim to all that w as left of the O rder Rosa? Crucis w as fearful that an Am erican, representing some form of M asonry in Am erica, w as trying to take from it some of its holdings to addto the rites in Am erica.

M y old book dealer, to whom I directed my first inquiry in Paris w as an officer of that branch of French M asonry, whicK w as jealously, and wrongly, Kolding to all of tKe material possessions of tKe O rder Rosee Crucis, sucK as old manuscripts (in the form of records, not teachings), antique Lodge accessories from some old R . C . Tem ples now in ruins, jewels, seals, etc. W h eth er they possessed any of the rituals, I have not been able to learn.

Tn approaching this book dealer, I approached the worst possible informant had I desired to keep my mission secret or if my purpose Kad been as he suspected. B u t his suspicions and h.s desire to test me, and to have me tested by others, caused h,m to direct me to the very men who could tell me just w hat I wanted to know. Therefore, I have alw ays felt that I w as truly guided by my M asters in going to the one man whom others would haveavoided.

A n d so it came about that, after being w atched to see whether I w as in communication by mail or telegraph with any group or individual in Am erica, I w as permitted to call upon the old m an in the tower in Toulouse. T o him had been sent my name, description birth date, etc., for he w as really the Archivist not only ol w hat w as left of the O rder Rosae Crucis, but of this small group of French Freem asons who suspected me of having ulterior motives. M y interview with him and its results were essentially as 1 have given them in the m agazine account, already referred to. A n d it w as through my inquiry of him as to who might be found that could remember, having parents belonging to the original O rder, that I w as directed to go to the old C h ateau outside of Toulouse and there receive my induction into the old O rderRosee Crucis.EIG H T

P A R T F I V E

Those who have carefully read the account of my entrance into the O rder, as published in the m agazine, w ill remember that no details are given of the Initiation. M uch is inferred, but nothing definite is stated. I refrained from making any definite statements in that account on this point, and have consistently refrained from doing so in any conversations on that subject. But now it is necessary that the facts should be made very plain.

T he C hateau to which I w as directed is still located on a hill near old Tolosa. T he sketch used in the m agazine story is much like the place, and I have shown a photograph to some, which w as taken on the spot and w ill enable anyone to find the old C hateau. It is w ell known to all the taxi-carriage drivers who make tours out of Toulouse. T he C hateau w as originally owned by the fam ily of Count Raym ond V I, of Toulouse, and w as one of the dozen or more which were taken from him by the P ap a l Legates to hold as security against his further activities in behalf of the heretics, when he w as officially excommunicated by the Legates of Pope Innocent IV .

It is a picturesque old stone building, with a large court, and all its floors and stairs are of stone. U pon reaching the place, I found that the man to whom I had been directed lived there. H is correct name is R ayn au d E . de Bellcastle-Ligne.

I found that he w as not simply caretaker of the place, but had some personal interest in the place, and with him lived his w ife and a daughter. Their living rooms occupied but a small part of the old building and on the upper floor I w as shown the remains of an old Rosaecrucian Lodge room, now dusty and musty, unused for over sixty years, though up to 1890 often visited by French M asons and others who knew of it.

T he old man, in his seventy-eighth year, was the son of the last Master that conducted a Rosaecrucian Lodge in that locality,

N IN E

and Ke w as not sure wKetKer Kis fatKer Kad ever conducted a Lodge in any otKer Lodge room or not. B u t Ke Kad been engaged by tbe present owners of tKe C K ateau to look after tKe property for tKe past twenty years and tKe FrencK M asons, wKo claimed an interest in tKe Rosa;crucian powers now, directed Kim (one of tKeir old BrotKers) to preserve tKe Lodge rooms intact (for wKat purpose and reason we knew not, since no effort w as being m ade to prevent rain and otber elements from dam aging tKe w alls and contents rapidly).

W itK me on tKis trip to tKe C Kateau I Kad taken an interpreter, a young FrencK man, supplied to me by a scKool of lan guages in Toulouse, wKicK, I think, w as a branch of our own Am erican Berlitz ScKool of Languages. H e spoke enougK EnglisK to enable me to find tKe C Kateau and make myself known to tKe old people living tKere. B u t tKe old BrotKer could speak better EnglisK tKan tKe interpreter and tKis deligKted me. H e Kad been a Secretary for some foreign M inister or Legate at Paris during tKe years i860 to 18 7 1 . TKerefore, during tKe entire period of my conversation witK tKe old man, my interpreter sat in tKe centre courtyard, drinking tKe w ine m ade on tKe estate, and caring for little else tKan tKe ease and deligKt wKicK tKis visit gave Kim.

Bellcastle-Ligne and Kis fam ily Kad some royal titles in add ition to tKat of Count, and despite Kis age and reduced financial circumstances, Ke retained Kis excellent military bearing and noble dignity; but witKal, Ke and Kis w ife and daugKter extended to me tKat Kospitality and extremely courteous treatment wKicK makes one feel tKat tKe days of sunny Languedoc Kave not lost tKeirpower or tKeir cKarm.

I Kave gone into tKis detail regarding tKe place and tKe man, because I Kave learned tKat Ke Kas since passed aw ay, and Kis w ife also, I believe; and Kis daugKter, a w idow , Kas become interested in some pKase of w ar work and Kas left tKe vicinity of Toulouse. TKe old C K ateau remains, Kowever, and wKen our Am erican party of Roseecrucians visit France, w e w ill go to tKe old building and spend mucK time witK sucK ceremonies tKereas are befitting.TEN

A s soon as the Count heard my story, and had questioned me closely regarding the m any psychic sessions I had in Am erica, and had learned w hat information had been given me thereby, he agreed that should I be the one who w as to again take up the work and bring it to Am erica, it would be necessary for me to Cross the Threshold. This constant reference to Crossing the Threshold aroused a considerable interest in me, yet I had no idea as to w hat it meant. H e plainly and significantly asked me several times, before w e ventured to the upper floors of the building, if I w as sure I would have no fear of the Terror of the Threshold. I convinced him that nothing that I could conceive of could have any terror for me. H e smilingly asked whether I might not fear that which I could not (at that time) conceive of; whether there might not be something beyond my comprehension which could strike terror to my heart, mind and soul. N aturally, I tried to imagine w hat such a terror or its cause could be; bodily harm I did not fear, and I could recall no event in my past life, that might give me concern regarding my soul. I w as ready to be plunged into an abyss spiritually or physically. A fter my many days of searching and meeting with trying obstacles and veiled warnings, I w as prepared, in every cell of my body, for any sacrifice that might be demanded.

T h e building w as old enough and strange enough t