Monday, February 05, 2007
ROSICRUCIANISM
A lot of disconnected pieces of research composed themselves into one picture recently when I discovered the website of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, a group out of the Netherlands whose information until recently has been available only in foreign languages as far as I could tell.
I'm not really sure where to begin, so I'll just plunge in, making the connections at random. It's going to take a few days to draw it all together.
First the symbols...
There was the birdbath symbol that I've linked previously, and which appears in both the Rosicrucian website and in the John Main Seminars website.
Notice at the John Main Seminar website that Laurence Freeman OSB, who took over when John Main died, has written a book titled JESUS THE TEACHER WITHIN. Consider for a moment yesterday's blog on the chasuble that included a triangle within a triangle and rays radiating out of the triangle. Was that a symbol of the teacher within?
Whether it was or was not, the triangle is an important part of Rosicrucian symbology along with the square and the circle. You can see their symbol here and read a description of what they are about--"a synthesis between faith and reason."
"A synthesis between faith and reason"? Where else have we heard that? Yes, from John Paul II, September 15, 1998, "Fides et Ratio". Whether or not they pursue the same goals, they are using the same words. Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVIuses those words too.
The Rosicrucian website uses the square symbol. A prominent Masonic symbol is the square and compass, though in this case the square is a tool of the craftsman. The Rosicrucian website speaks of harkening back to Jacob Boehme. Boehme was a German seer--a channeler possibly--and is the early source of Pentecostalism, and subsequently Catholic charismatic renewal. His ideas captivated William Law, whose ideas captivated John Wesley. Now we see that his ideas are incorporated into the Golden Rosycross.
The Rosicrucian symbol of square, or cross which makes four squares, triangle and circle appears in Martinist literature that I've blogged in the past. Here is one Martinist group that displays it prominently. Notice that this Martinist group includes The Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary, a group formed by Father Paul Blighton, founder of the Holy Order of Mans. This group is affiliated with Lewis Keizer through the Teachers of The Way of Master Ken David Keach, R.O., B.A., Keach is a Mason, a member of the Board of various Waldorf Schools, and has taken the name Father David Rahman Wadud Rashid as his spiritual name. He has training in Sufi, Buddhist, Christian and Anthroposophical traditions.
Keep in mind as you consider the implications of this symbolism that we are looking at a network, not an organization. Lots of little groups make one large movement with sufficient impact to bring about change in the culture.
