Rosicrucian Events & Activities: UNITY IN DIVERSITY, The Hague 2013

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.” - Buddha

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. - Matthew, V:9

De eerste voorwaarde om met anderen in vrede leven te kunnen is vrede met jezelf te hebben. - Aristide Gabelli

“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.” ― John Lennon

“In some sense man is a microcosm of the universe; therefore what man is, is a clue to the universe. We are enfolded in the universe.” – David Bohm

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein

It is in vain that we pretend to arrive at the fullness of truth by reasoning. By this way we reach only rational truth; still it is infinitely precious, and full of resources against the assaults of false philosophy. The natural lights of every man of aspiration have indeed no other font, and it is therefore of almost universal use; but it cannot impart that sentiment and tact of active and radical truth from which our nature should derive its life and being. This kind of truth is given of itself alone. Let us make ourselves simple and childlike, and our faithful guide will cause us to feel its sweetness. If we profit by these first graces, we shall taste very soon those of the pure spirit, afterwards those of the Holy Spirit, then those of the Supreme Sanctity, and, lastly, in the interior man we shall behold the all. - Louis Claude de Saint-Martin



I would like to draw your kind attention to two special events, the Netherlands Jurisdiction of AMORC will be organizing in the coming months. First there's the Meditation for Peace on 22 September 2012 in The Hague and on 10 November 2012, also in The Hague, the symposium Science & Spirituality with Lynne MacTaggert, Tom McFarlane and Michel Bénot.

Well a Medication for Peace I already hear you say why is that so special? Well this one is! This meditation is organizated with the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, the Anthroposophical Society, the Theosophical Society and the Sufis! Most interesting speaker here imho will be Sufi Dr. H.J. Witteveen (12 June 1921). Economist Wittveen is former Dutch Finance Minister and President of the IMF. The meditation will appropriately be held in the Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, The Hague.

The Netherlands Jurisdiction of AMORC covers The Netherlands, the Dutch-speaking population of Belgium, The Netherlands Antilles and Surinam. Its Grand Master is Klaas-Jan Bakker.

For further information please refer to: www.amorc.nl

De eerste voorwaarde om met anderen in vrede leven te kunnen is vrede met jezelf te hebben.- Aristide Gabelli

Clémence Isaure: the Golden ISIS of the Rosicrucians...

“Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.”

“You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?”

"Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you." — Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi


The following study was written by soror Julie Scott GM; for an English translation of which please refer to her full article in the Rosicrucian Digest # 1, 2010.

Clémence Isaure: De Gouden ISIS van de Rozekruisers

Isis was in augustus 1909 in een van haar vele gedaanten aanwezig bij de overdracht van de Rose+Croix Traditie van de Rozekruisers van Toulouse aan H. Spencer Lewis en de Rozekruisers Orde AMORC. Grootmeester Julie Scott brengt hier in kaart hoe het fascinerende verhaal van deze Gouden Isis is verlopen van de Middeleeuwen tot het begin van deze fase van het Rozekruiserswerk.

In 1909 stond een jonge H. Spencer Lewis voor het schilderij “De Verschijning van Clémence Isaure (Gouden Isis) aan de Troubadours”, mijmerend over de mystieke betekenis ervan. Op dat moment maakte de Grootmeester van de Rozekruisers van Toulouse zich aan hem bekend en leidde hem naar de volgende stap in zijn inwijding in de Rozekruiserstraditie, die uiteindelijk leidde tot het vestigen van de Rozekruisers Orde AMORC.

Waarom koos de Grootmeester ervoor om zich op deze plek – de Hal der Illusteren in het Capitool (stadhuis) van Toulouse, en voor dit schilderij – te vertonen aan de Amerikaanse mysticus, die later de Rozekruiserstraditie in Amerika opnieuw zou vestigen als de Aloude Mystieke Orde Rosae Crucis? Het antwoord gaat terug op de aloude tradities van de mysterieën, voortgezet door onze Orde en zo prachtig weergegeven in dit schilderij.

Wie was Clémence Isaure?
De naam Clémence betekent clementie of genade, en Isaure betekent Isis van Goud, ofwel Gouden Isis. Diverse bronnen beschrijven Clémence Isaure als iemand die werkelijk bestaan heeft en in het gebied van Oc woonde (Languedoc). Zij was van een zeldzame en inspirerende schoonheid en talent. Anderen beweren dat zij een fictieve persoonlijkheid is, geschapen om de vrouwelijke tradities en eerdere tijdperken voort te zetten.

Volgens de legende legde Clémence Isaure na de dood van haar geliefde troubadour, die haar via zijn gezangen prees en die zij aanbad, een gelofte van kuisheid en zwijgzaamheid af. Voor zij daar echter toe overging, deed zij een gift aan een fonds voor de stad Toulouse, met de bedoeling de dichtwedstrijden van de Gai Savoir, een dichterlijk genootschap dat in 1323 werd opgericht, weer in te voeren via een nieuwe groepering getiteld Académie des Jeux Floraux (Academie der Bloemenspelen).

Clémence Isaure symboliseerde edele actie, schoonheid en wijsheid die door de dichtkunst werden geïnspireerd. Bovenal vertegenwoordigde zij het voortzetten van de aloude mysteriën, met name welke geassocieerd werden met het vrouwelijke en in het bijzonder met de godin Isis. 

Het mysterieuze gebied van Oc.
In de Middeleeuwen werden de zuidelijke helft van wat nu Frankrijk is, plus delen van Spanje en Monaco, Occitanië genoemd, ofwel het gebied van Oc. Tegenwoordig noemt men dit de Languedoc (de taal van Oc), ofwel L’Occitanie. De levendige Occitaanse cultuur verleende man en vrouw gelijke rechten, moedigde begrip en dialoog aan tussen alle geloofsrichtingen, gaf haar burgers uitstekende scholing en was zeer vredelievend en welvarend.
De eerste versies van de kabbala – die hevig leunden op oudere mystieke tradities – kwamen in de vroege twaalfde eeuw uit dit gebied. In het begin van de elfde eeuw woonden ook de Katharen, een sekte van christelijke mystici wier leerstellingen hoogstwaarschijnlijk zijn terug te voeren op de tradities van het oude Europa en het manicheïsme (Perzische gnostiek), in de Languedoc en in andere delen van Europa.

De koningen van Noord-Frankrijk (in die tijd een afzonderlijk land) en de Rooms-Katholieke kerk waren uit op de rijkdom, het land en de bekeerlingen van de Languedoc, met name de Katharen. Daarom spanden deze twee machtige krachten samen tegen de bevolking van Oc, wat in de dertiende eeuw resulteerde in hun vervolging en bijna de teloorgang van de Occitaanse tradities, althans in de openbaarheid. Gedurende een twintigjarige kruistocht tegen de Albigenzen en de daaropvolgende eeuwenlange Inquisitie zijn toen mogelijk zo’n 500.000 mensen uit de Languedoc vermoord, onder wie christenen, joden en mystici.

De troubadours die in de taal van Oc zongen, vonden een versluierde manier de Occitaanse tradities en hun bron – de aloude mysteriën – voort te zetten via een dichterlijk symbolisme. Terwijl zij leken te zingen over de liefde van een man voor een vrouw, verwezen zij in werkelijkheid naar de wetten der spirituele liefde. Zij gaven uitdrukking aan de zegening van het een worden met het Goddelijke, en aan de vrede die van dit samengaan het gevolg is. Een van de symbolen die de troubadours gebruikten om het innerlijk verlangen van de ziel naar deze mystieke eenwording weer te geven, was de roos.
Een soortgelijke werkwijze zien we ook in Italië bij de Fede Santa en de Fedeli d'Amore (zie ook The Rosicrucian Chronicles of Pater Cathare, deel 1).

De Gai Savoir en Jeux Floraux
Na de intense vervolging in het gebied stichtten in 1323 zeven personen, bekend als de zeven troubadours, in Toulouse een mystiek genootschap genaamd de Gai Savoir, wat gelukkige kennis betekent. De exoterische missie van dit genootschap was de wereld via de dichtkunst gelukkiger en beter te maken. Hoewel die versluierd was, was de esoterische betekenis van hun poëzie duidelijk voor iedereen die daarvoor ontvankelijk was.

In 1324 lieten de zeven troubadours een brief uitgaan naar alle dichters in de Languedoc, waarmee zij hen uitnodigden om hun poëzie in de komende meimaand tijdens een wedstrijd naar voren te brengen. Het panel van zeven rechters koos de winnaars die een viooltje uitgereikt kregen(waarvan de kleur symbool staat voor de hoogste mystieke graad), een goudsbloem (die het filosofisch goud vertegenwoordigt) en een wilde roos.

De Gai Savoir opereerde als een orde, met een filosofie en met regels die zij de wetten der liefde noemde. Zij gaarde oude mystieke tradities bijeen die gedurende de eeuwen verspreid waren geraakt, bracht ze op orde en legde deze op discrete wijze vast.

Gedurende de godsdienstoorlogen in Frankrijk in de zestiende eeuw (een eeuw van vreselijke oorlogen tussen de Franse katholieken en protestantse Hugenoten), begon de Gai Savoir een slapend bestaan te leiden. Later dook de groep weer op in de form van de Jeux Floraux, met de allegorische ontdekking van een tombe, vergelijkbaar met de manier waarop de tombe van Christian Rosenkreuz gevonden en geopend werd.

De tombe die in Toulouse werd ontdekt , was die van Clémence Isaure de allegorische stichtster van de Jeux Floraux. In deze tombe werden ook bloemen aangetroffen, een verwijzing naar de bloemen prijzen die eerder door de Gai Savoir werden uitgereikt. De basiliek waar de tombe – naar men zegt – staat, genaamd La Dourade, vormde de locatie van de eerste temple der Visigoten in Gallië, die voorheen gewijd was aan Minerva (Isis). Heden is hij gewijd aan de zwarte madonna, met de prachtig standbeeld van haar, dat uitkijkt over de hoofdkapel.

De Rozekruisers kondigen hun aanwezigheid in Frankrijk aan
Volgend op de publicatie van de drie Rozekruisersmanifesten in 1614, 1615 en 1616, kondigden de rozekruisers in 1623 hun aanwezigheid in Frankrijk aan, door in Parijs geheimzinnige, tot de verbeelding sprekende posters te plakken om te beginnen met:

« Nous, députés du Collège principal de la Rose-Croix, faisons séjour visible et invisible en cette ville par la grâce du Très-Haut, vers Lequel se tourne le cœur des Justes. Nous montrons et enseignons à parler, sans livres ni marques, toutes sortes de langues des pays où nous voulons être pour tirer les hommes, nos semblables, d'erreur de mort.

al snel gevolgd door een tweede aankondiging met:

S'il prend envie à quelqu'un de nous voir par curiosité seulement, il ne communiquera jamais avec nous, mais si la volonté le porte réellement à s'inscrire sur le registre de notre Confraternité, nous, qui jugeons des pensées, lui ferons voir la vérité de nos promesses ; tellement que nous ne mettons point le lieu de notre demeure en cette cité, puisque les pensées jointes à la volonté réelle du lecteur seront capables de nous faire connaître de lui, et lui de nous ».

Hierna en door de invloed van de Verlichting, Napoleon en de Egyptosofie, De Vrijmetselarij, het Martinisme, de Theosofie, het Magnetisme en andere tradities, gaf de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw en de eerste helft van de twintigste eeuw een bloeiende toename van Rozekruisers Orden in Frankrijk te zien. Hieronder vallen de Rose+Croix van Toulouse (in de Languedoc) en de Rose+Croix van Frankrijk.

Clémence Isaure – het schilderij
De Rose+Croix van Frankrijk organiseerden van 1892 tot 1897 in Parijs de Salons de la Rose+Croix. Zij deden dit onder leiding van Joséphin Péladan, die sterke banden had met de Jeux Foraux en de Rose+Croix van Toulouse. Deze salons, die ieder jaar tienduizenden gasten ontvingen, brachten muziek en Rozekruisersrituelen, maar ook kunst. De bekende componist en Rozekruiser Erik Satie werd in het begin van de jaren negentig (negentiende eeuw) tot muzikaal leider van de Orde der Rose+Croix benoemd. Claude Debussy, een vriend van Satie en een van de grootste componisten van Frankrijk, was eveneens Rozekruiser.
De Rozekruiser Salons stelden de werken van vele schilders van de beweging der symbolisten ten toon, onder wie Henri Martin uit Toulouse, wiens schilderijen in 1892 werden tentoongesteld. In het zelfde jaar kreeg Martin de opdracht om een aantal schilderijen te vervaardigen voor de Hal de Illusteren in het Capitool van Toulouse. Als thema koos hij… de Jeux Floraux.

Een van de schilderijen is de Verschijning van Clémence Isaure aan de Troubadours. Daarin toont Clémence Isaure de zeven troubadours het handvest van de Jeux Floraux, waarin opgenomen de roos en het kruis. Zij wordt begeleid door drie muzen en de godin Minerva, de Egyptische Isis.

H. Spencer Lewis en de Verschijning van Clémence Isaure aan de Troubadours
In 1908 had de toen 24-jarige H. Spencer Lewis een mystieke ervaring waarbij aan hem werd opgedragen op zoek te gaan naar de Rozekruisers in Frankrijk. Omdat hij niet precies wist waar hij moest beginnen, schreef hij een Parijse boekhandelaar aan, die hem kort tevoren een catalogus van mystieke boeken had toegestuurd met de vraag of hij hem bij zijn speurtocht behulpzaam wilde zijn. De boekhandelaar deed Lewis het voorstel om naar Parijs te komen.

Na vele synchronistische gebeurtenissen kon H. Spencer Lewis een half jaar later afreizen naar Parijs. Nadat hij de boekhandelaar had ontmoet en in vele Franse steden veel onderzoeken en beproevingen had doorstaan, werd hem op geheimzinnige wijze een briefje overhandigd dat hem liet weten dat hij op een bepaald tijdstip naar de Hal der Illusteren in Toulouse moest gaan. Hij mocht hier met niemand over spreken.

Op de afgesproken dag stond hij daar in stilte voor het schilderij na de denken over de mystieke betekenis ervan. Iemand in de galerij maakte een (Rozekruisers)teken dat hij al op andere momenten van zijn reis had gezien. H. Spencer Lewis zei tegen hem : “Neem me niet kwalijk, monsieur, maar ik heb het idee dat ik hier een heer aanspreek die informatie heeft voor iemand die Licht zoekt.”

De man antwoordde met “ja” in het Frans en vroeg hem, waarom hij nu net dit schilderij stond te bestuderen. HSL antwoordde hierop: “Omdat, monsieur, het prachtig en wonderbaarlijk is en datgene lijkt weer te geven waar ik voor sta. Ik zie er een zeer geheimzinnige betekenis in, een symbool van …”

Tevreden met dit antwoord gaf de man Lewis toen een briefje met instructies voor zijn verdere handelen. Deze man was de Grootmeester van de Rose+Croix van Toulouse. Vermoedelijk was het Clovis Lasalle, een zeer bekend fotograaf (van historische gebouwen en documenten in archieven) en mysticus in Toulouse. Via de Rozekruisers van Toulouse, de Jeux Foraux en de Société Archéologique du Midi, had Grootmeester Lasalle banden met degenen die Spencer Lewis naar zijn inwijdingsreis hadden geleid, dus ook met de Parijse boekhandelaar en degenen die H. Spencer Lewis later in de Rozekruiserstraditie zouden inwijden.

In een Rozekruisers Loge in een oud kasteeltje buiten Toulouse, ontving Lewis op 12 augustus 1909 te middernacht zijn mystieke inwijding in de Rozekruisers traditie. Hier aanvaardde hij ook het privilege de Rozekruiserstraditie opnieuw in Amerika te vestigen, en daarmee de oude mysteriën voort te zetten die er zo substantieel aan hadden bijgedragen, prachtig gesymboliseerd door de inspirerende beeltenis van Clémence Isaure;
The Rosicrucian Golden Isis.

In the footsteps of Harvey Spencer Lewis...

Do not dwell in the past,
do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment. - Buddha

IT IS MORE THAN SOME PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND DIFFERENT THAN SOME BELIEVE - HSL

"The press has the idea that we're a strange, weird cult," said Lewis, the president and imperator of the group, in an interview several years ago. "We're not. We're a study group that takes the position that human consciousness is a stream, a flow. We believe that man generally functions on only one level, but that he can function on levels higher than the objective and the subjective. - RML

The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. - Albert Einstein


In the Footsteps of Harvey Spencer Lewis by Paul DuPont, F.R.C.

In the 1980s, when I was doing research regarding the Rosicrucian Order’s history, and more specifically regarding Harvey Spencer Lewis coming to Toulouse, former Imperator Ralph M. Lewis allowed me to go to the chateau near the old town of Vieille Toulouse (Old Tolosa, some miles from Toulouse) where H. Spencer Lewis was initiated into the Rosicrucian Order.

We knew the name of the place where this chateau is situated, for Frater Lewis had described it precisely. I was of course somewhat impatient to go there, but I knew neither when nor how I could visit. An occasion presented itself to me soon, for I was asked to go not far from there for professional reasons.

It was a beautiful summer evening. The sun, still high in the sky, gave the hillsides a pink color well known in our region. I arrived near the little village, in sight of the hill where the chateau was located. From afar I could see a glimpse of the long outer wall of which Frater Lewis spoke. This wall was made of baked clay and of stones from the Garonne river. It surrounded the chateau and his property.

I walked along the wall to one of the entrances of the chateau, but it was closed by a great wooden door, which was high enough that I could not see inside. I could just barely see the façade of the chateau because of two square towers blocked my view, so I went back to the village to see if I could find another entrance.

I walked past another large door, formerly used as the main entrance. Walking outside the long outer wall running alongside the village itself, I eventually found a little door and decided to try to open it. Who knows? Maybe it was open.

Indeed it was easy to open. I stepped inside and found myself in the large park near the chateau, behind the old barns, and I was soon inside he main grounds. I thought to myself, since no one lived there, the worst I risked was to be taken back to the door. The shutters and the doors, everything was closed. With no one around I wavered between two thoughts: go back as I had come or go farther. Was I not after all completing a mission for the Grand Master and the Imperator!?

While I was there I thought while I was at it, I should take some photographs. (I learned later that Frater Ralph Lewis had hoped that I would take photographs of the interior of the building.) Therefore I proceeded further, taking some photographs here and there, in the park, and then after crossing a large carriage entrance, in the courtyard within.

And so, eventually, one step after another, I found myself in the courtyard, facing the façade of the chateau. The owners had built a swimming pool in the middle of the courtyard where the fountain had been located in H. Spencer Lewis’s drawing. I found such a thing somewhat preposterous, knowing what the chateau had sheltered. I tried to imagine that large courtyard in the state which it was in then, in the days of its mystical purpose.

I stopped taking photos and was about to leave when a fortuitous event occured. A I was retracing my steps, I saw an elderly woman hurriedly coming toward me. I prepared myself for the worst and tried to think of an explanation for my intrusion. After the usual salutations she simply asked me, “You have come for a visit?” The owners had entrusted the key and the safekeeping of the building to her because they expected visiting to purchase the estate.

Indeed, she had a huge key in her hand. The chateau was for sale. She explained to me that the owners, being in another country, had entrusted her to show visitors the property.

It was now a litttle late and perhaps the hour had arrived for her to prepare her meal. In any case, she let me visit the chateau alone. She opned the door for me, left it open halfway, and left me in the entrance hall.

Those who knew the history of the place will understand the emotions which overwhelmed me in that moment. There I stood in front of the large staircase leading the place where H. Spencer Lewis was interviewed by his initiator before the initiation itself. I was in the meeting room of the Grand Lodge of France.

Before going upstairs I pushed open the door of a room on the ground floor. It opened onto a huge room with may chairs scattered here and there in small groups. It was a vast living room for the meetings, which they held over the past centuries. The people met there and talked and exchanged their ideas about philosophical subjects.

As they were arranged, these chairs seemed to still be inhabited by their former owners. For a moment I even felt as if they were still present and I nearly excused myself for having disturbed them. I did not stay there long for I knew I knew the old Grand Lodge was one the second floor. I no longer had a lot of time. Passing by the chairs, I saw one of the ancient sculpted chairs which H. Spencer Lewis wrote, and I took a photograph of it.

I then proceeded to climb one step after another with deep veneration. I learned later from one of the owners, whom I would subsequently come to know in a friendly manner, that one of the wings of the chateau had been condemned since the beginning of the twentieth century. The owners, in order to save on heating, did not use it any longer and it had therefore stayed in its original condition. I will point out here that these rooms were in an advanced state of decay, especially the floors. This was precisely where H. Spencer Lewis had spent his initiation night!

It was a great privilege for me to be in this area, and I deeply valued this experience, however I had no flash with me and everything was in semi-darkness, therefore I do not have a photograph of this area. So I will endeavor to describe the place of the initiation itself from memory.

There was a large and high wooden door, which opened easily. Once inside the door, there was a small hall opening in front onto a room with an alcove, and on the right there was a larger room that reminded me of the reception room of our lodges. In the smaller room in front of me there was an old sofa and a huge stack of papers on a table.

I then made my way toward what I considered to be the reception room. The parquet floot was disintegrating so I cautiously put my pit my feet on the wooden boards that creaked under my weight. The room was at least ten meters (30 feet) long, stretching from one façade of the chateau to the other. There was an old fireplace, which the present owners had restored in the style of Louis XVI. Although the room was large, I crossed it quickly because I wanted to see what was next.

At the end of the room, to the left there was a twenty-meter-long (60 feet) corridor, which ran along the windows of the rear of the building. These windows had been bricked up from within, yet some cracks allowed just enough light to see that this corridor had three small doors, giving access to three small contiguous rooms and at the far end, to a square room and another small room situated on the right, in a tower of the chateau.

There was absolutely no decoration except a little picture nailed down on the edge of the door to the first room. From memory, it seemed to me that it was Gabriel, the Archangel, striking down the Dragon.

Was this the threshold chamber? I could not go into that room for it was too dark, so instead I went into the other room. It had no decoration and measured only a few meters. I went through it, not without some apprehension for it was dark, and then I pushed open the next door, which opened into a beautiful room. The walls were covered with ancient tapestries with small floral patterns in green and brown.

All this seemed to be very old. The patterned material probably dated from the 18th century, however I could not see it easily in the Darkness. Rather I tried to feel the mood of the place, and my thought was that it was quite small for a place of such importance. Here I was in the Grand Temple!

Certainly this place had not been used for a long time. H. Spencer Lewis had written that Count Bellcastle-Ligne, his initiator, told him in 1909 that the Lodge had not been active since the middle of the 1800s.

I looked for the door in the far end through which the master of this house could come and go. Indeed the rooms were linked to one another through doors in a row, which made it possible, as Frater Lewis had described, for the master of the house to leave a room and then find him again, as if by a miracle, in another place in the same room. For example, there is door that leads onto the little balcony near the grand staircase, which by a hidden passage, gives access to the room where I was.

I meditated for a while in this area before moving to the windows in the back of the building. Near one of them, through a half-open door, one could see another room situated in of the four towers of the chateau. The size of that room was that of a large sanctum, where three or four people could be accommodated without disturbing one another. I cannot describe this room from memory; again, all this was very dark.

The whole of this area that I just described is about one hundred square meters (300 sqaure fees) and as I saw it, was made up of a square roon, of three antechambers, of a small corridor for access, of a room to receive people, and of a room with an alvoce, a divan and some chairs. This is all that remained.

Of course I wish I had been able to take photographs of this area for since then the owners have remodelled it, from floor to ceiling, lowering the floor because they needed to redo the main beams.

During the months and years that followed, I visited again on several occasions, meeting the former and the new owners, as well as some neighbors. One of the eminent members of the Societé Archéologique du midi de la France lived near the chateau. He had been, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the authorized representative of one of the former owners.

We have photograph of this man, in uniform. He may have been the man in partial military dress who greeted H. Spencer Lewis in 1909 and asked him for his letter of introduction before he came before the Archivist of the Order. Within the famous Sociéte Archéologique du Midi de la France, there were personalities of whom it has been said were Rosicrucians, noticeably the Viscount de Lapasse, about whom we have some old documents, but chiefly and more directly concerning H. Spencer Lewis’s journal, “A Pilgrim’s Journey to the East”, was Clovis Lassalle.

Once he presented his letter of introduction, H. Spencer Lewis was greeted again, with some ceremony, by an elderly woman who led him to the one who would some hours later initiate him into the Order of the Rose Cross.

I had found the Light - and it had illumined me as I faced the Rosae Crucis - HSL



http://www.youtube.com/user/RosicrucianTV

Jesus of Nazareth; the City that Never Was!TruthAMORC: the Mystical Life of Jesus & his Secret Doctrines...

Jezus, gans en claer - Fama

Als je oog helder is, is je hele lichaam verlicht - Lucas 11:32

"Historia docuit quantum nos iuvasse illa de Cristo fabula".
Pope Leo X to Cardinal Bembo

Jesus, son of Mary (on whom be peace) said:
"The world is a bridge; pass over it, but build no houses upon it".

"Jezus is op aarde gekomen om te laten zien dat we allemaal zonen en dochters van God zijn." - Sir Isaac Newton

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” - Mahatma Gandhi

"Jesus said to them, When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the female one and the same, so that the male be not male, nor the female female... then you will enter the kingdom."

We are guilty of believing that Jesus Christ chose only those of His own race to be his 12 disciples, and that he did not go out and choose two Chinese, two blacks, two Indians, two Arabs, two women or two homosexuals, therefore he would be called a Supremacist, Racist and Bigot by today’s worldly standards.

All of the secret schools today which are classified as initiatic (because the students within them must first be prepared and made ready, and then spiritually and esoterically initiated before receiving the Truth) are associated in one secret organization or federation for the exchange of helpful suggestions and ideas relating to the ways and means not only of perpetuating the secret doctrines which Jesus taught but the manner of selecting the final Disciples and Apostles who shall go forth, not to destroy the faith and religions of the world, but to carry out the great mission for which Jesus was preordained and predestined to become a Son of God incarnate.
- H. Spencer Lewis, "The Secret Doctrines of Jesus", 1937

Tot al degenen die, in orthodoxe oprechtheid, veel van wat dit boek biedt zullen verwerpen, kan ik alleen maar zeggen: "Houd vast aan het goede". Als uw geloof, uw kenns en uw overtuiging omtrent christelijke zaken u voldoen en u hebt geen innerlijke drang om acher de sluier te kijken, doe het dan niet! Sta niets toe uw aanbidding en verering voor hem die uw redder en heer is te verzwakken of te verminderen! - H. Spencer Lewis

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, for he was a performer of wonderful deeds, a teacher of such men as are happy to accept the truth. He won over many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. When Pilate, at the suggestion of the leading men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him at the first did not forsake him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day. - Flavius Josephus: Antiquitates Judaicae


Jesus the Nazorean, rather than Jesus of Nazareth!?

The beginning of the Lie!
And it came to pass that in those days Jesus came from the Nazarenes of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. - Mark 1:9

Of all the books and numerous articles written by H. Spencer Lewis two are my all time favourites:

The Mystical life of Jesus (1929)
ISBN-10: 0912057467 ISBN-13: 978-0912057460
The Secret Doctrines of Jesus (1939)
ISBN-10: 0912057912 ISBN-13: 978-0912057910

It may be that you'll be quite surprised at what you'll read in these books, since it does not exactly reflect the doctrine propagated by the Christian church. You remain however, in line with the open and tolerant character of our Order, as always, completely free in your opinions in this area. In that respect our role will be limited to transferring the ancient knowledge which the Rosicrucian tradition has been passing on this subject.

They are a fascinating, non-sectarian treatment of the unknown life of Jesus, based on records preserved in the archives of ancient monasteries of the Essenes and the Rosicrucian Order.

Of all the books I’ve ever read about Jesus, and I’ve seen one or two in my life such as the weird but fascinating “Jésus ou le Mortel Secret des Templiers” by fellow martinist Robert Ambelain, these two are still by far the very best and will give you a credible insight in what really happened 2000 years ago.

Ever heard of the Essenes? Well, back in 1929 Lewis did.
He wrote at length of the Essene sect and in great detail.
And consider this: The Dead Sea Scrolls that mentioned the Essenes for the first time in modern history were not discovered until 1945! This is easily verified and cannot simply be summarily dismissed by even the most obstinately entrenched of scoffers or dogmatists.

These books will either thrill you or completely shock you!
(Dr. Lewis himself issued a warning to his orthodox readers,
NOT to read the books!), but when you do read them, and which I recommend, you will never think of Jesus the same way again!

So read the books, “THINK”, and then decide for yourself.

The evidence for a 1st century town of Nazareth does not exist – not literary, not archaeologically, and not historically.

Deze dingen verklaar Ik u, die deel uitmaakt van de innerlijke cirkel; maar tot hen van de voorhof spreek Ik in gelijkenissen. Dat zij horen, die oren hebben om te horen. – Het evangelie van de heilige twaalfen.

A tribute to Harvey Spencer Lewis by Frater E.D.C. (Eduard) van Drenthem Soesman, past Grand Master of the Netherlands Jurisdiction of AMORC.

Als het getij verloopt, moet men de bakens verzetten!

"Young man, some day you will be a member of this Order".

Met het hoofd in de wolken en de beide benen stevig op de grond.

De grootst mogelijke verdraagzaamheid binnen de meest strikte onafhankelijkheid

"Geloof, Hoop en Liefde, doch de meeste van deze is de Liefde".

"De boodschap van de Rozekruisers Orde A.M.O.R.C. is een boodschap die de wereld oproept tot meer humanisme en spiritualiteit".

Wij hebben het beste voor met allen, met onze geliefde fratres en sorores, of zij gefaald hebben of niet. “Alles sal rech kom”. Wij bouwen verder, wij bouwen beter en hechter dan ooit tevoren. Wij bouwen op goede fundamenten: Op het Leven, op het Licht en op de Liefde!

Onderstaande voordracht verscheen voor het eerst in 1982 in het boekje "Mijn Eerste Elftal".

Dr. Spencer Lewis was een gedreven mens. Uit persoonlijke ontmoetingen en vooral uit zijn correspondentie met ons, leden, bleek dit zonneklaar.
Er stond iets achter hem dat groter is dan de mens zelf kan zijn.
Dat iets was het kosmische, waarover hij ons geleerd heeft, waarover hij ons geleerd heeft hoe het te kontakten, waardoor wij Rozekruisers werden en leerlingen van deze grote Meester. Het is interessant om iets over zijn jeugd te weten in verband met the Methodistenkerk.

Zoals het vaak gaat met Rozekruisers brengt de prille jeugd de aanraking met de kerk, een kerk, terwijl het Licht doorbreekt nadat we voor het allereerst over de Orde vernomen hebben.
Dan komt er iets blijvends over ons. Zo was het ook met Dr. Spencer Lewis, de eerste Imperator van de nieuwe cyclus van de Rozekruisers Orde op het Noord Amerikaanse continent.
Hij was lid van de zondagsschool, die zoveel als een instituut is in de Verenigde Staten. Hij werd zeer toegewijd en hoe kan dat ook anders als men voor het eerst met de Christusfiguur in aanraking komt. Deze figuur heeft hem zijn leven lang vastgehouden, mede tot voldoening van alle leden die door hem een verdiepte kennis van Jezus mochten verkrijgen. Vele Rozekruisers zijn door het Kruis van Christus, door hun verering voor Jezus, tot de Orde gekomen. Het is immers deze toewijding die altijd leidt tot iets majestueus in ons leven.

Een ieder van u zal enige verwantschap voelen met deze grote figuur, die Jezus, met wie het in ons leven waarschijnlijk óók begonnen is. Begonnen met de tocht naar het licht. Om tot de Rozekruisers Orde te kunnen komen moeten we psychische aanleg hebben, iets dat anderen, misschien zelfs onze ouders, vreemd vinden.
Wij zullen ons allemaal dingen uit onze jeugd of zelfs onze prille jeugd herinneren die steeds wijzen op een zoeken naar het Pad, onze taak op aarde, een gevoeligheid voor dingen des geestes, begrip voor onzienlijke dingen, een begin van universele liefde, die nooit slap en decadent maar in de meeste gevallen krachtig is, normaal en fris. Dàt is wat mij zo bijzonder in Dr. Spencer Lewis heeft aangetrokken: zijn frisheid als mysticus.
Ik ken ze ook die graag erg gevoelig doen, willen lijken op een mysticus, vergetend dat AMORC een ander bordje heeft buitenhangen, waardoor de leden meer voldoening hebben, want op dat bordje prijken de woorden “Weest duidelijk, weest fris in uw beschouwing en laat uw mystieke gevoelens en uitingen op gewone wijze tot uw leden doorklinken”.

Dr. Spencer Lewis, en wij mogen gerust zo nu en dan over Professor Lewis spreken want hij was tenslotte ook nog Rector Magnificus van de Rozekruisers Universiteit, kreeg langzamerhand meer belangstelling voor kunsten en wetenschappen, voor mystiek en filosofie. Hij interesseerde zich voor alles wat op deze aarde interessant kan zijn, de faculteiten van universiteiten in zijn woonoord, kunt, theater, muziek.
Totdat hij door zijn kontakten met vele gelijkgestemden in aanraking kwam met mannen en vrouwen die gelezen hadden over de Egyptische Rozekruisers. Deze aanraking met wat in het begin niet meer dan een woord was biologeerde hem en vanaf die tijd, in het begin van 1908, begon zijn zoeken naar de Orde.

Nu even een grote sprong vooruit en een eigen waardering van onze Imperator, die zo enorm veel goeds voor de wereld heeft gedaan. Persoonlijk geloof ik niet dat er in deze eeuw iemand is geweest die onze Imperator kan evenaren. We kennen de namen van grote figuren in deze wereld, zoals Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Albert Schweitzer en talloze anderen, maar ik geloof niet dat ze in de schaduw kunnen staan van wat deze man vrijwel alleen tot stand heeft gebracht in het domein van de opvoeding, waarin alle menselijke terreinen hun aanvang vinden. Wèl eclatanter, maar zeker niet van de diepte die Lewis ging in zijn kennis van de esoterie, van de eeuwigheidsvragen, de kosmische wensen, welke door het mensdom worden veronachtzaamd.
Immers, onze gehele wereld zucht onder de leugen, de destructie, de corruptie, de foutieve instelling van het mensdom juist t.o.v. deze eeuwigheidsvoorwaarden. Dr. Lewis heeft ons op het pad geplaatst dat onherroepelijk leidt tot verlichting, tot inzicht, ook in de verdorvenheid van deze wereld. In Canada noemden wij deze vaderlijke vriend “Papa Lewis”.

Het ogenblik breekt nu aan dat Dr. Lewis omstreeks 1909 in aanraking komt met de Rose Croix de France. Zijn benoeming tot gedelegeerde in Amerika volgt en enige jaren later mag hij zich Imperator noemen. Dan begint zijn ongelooflijke arbeid voor de toekomst der volkeren, middels de leden die zijn onderwijs volgen, een onderwijs dat weer is samengesteld uit de oudste archieven der Orde. Wat weinigen beseffen die vragen naar de oorsprong der Orde komt nu als een lichtstraal in de duisternis van het heden, namelijk dat Lewis en vele zijner medewerkers ditzelfde werk reeds hadden volbracht in vroeger eeuwen, zij het dan op veel kleinere schaal.

Onze hogeregraadsleden, die zijn ingewijd in onze Tempels of in het geheime Sanctum zullen dan ook nooit vragen naar de historische feiten onzer Ordo Rosae Crucis eenvoudig omdat zij deze historie zelf hebben meegemaakt, deze hebben gemaakt.
De profane wereld natuurlijk des te meer. Die begrijpt niet hoe het mogelijk is dat Dr. Lewis met zoveel overredingskracht kan spreken over bijvoorbeeld Francis Bacon, alsof hij in die tijd geleefd had, sterker nog, in een vorige incarnatie deze hoge Bewaarder van de Schatkist zelf geweest was! Alle Rozekruisers weten hoe wij steeds in het defensief staan t.o.v. de profane wereld, die altijd klaarstaat om te kritiseren. Dr. Lewis zei dan wel: “Och, wat hebben zij dan wel van deze wereld gemaakt? Kijk eens naar ons en de diepe vrede die er bij ons heerst”. Hij heeft zeer veel te lijden gehad van oppositionele krachten, zeer veel. Die machten der duisternis, die wij nooit mogen onderschatten want zij liggen altijd op de loer om ons te bespringen, hebben het bestaan om hem in Amerika verdacht te maken, met modder te smijten om zijn levenswerk te vernietigen. Natuurlijk heeft hij gewonnen maar tegen welke prijs? Tenslotte heeft hij de booswichten voor het gerecht in Californië gedaagd, waar de overwinning werd bevochten. Lewis, een duidelijk trekje van de Imperator, vroeg niet meer dan één dollar schadevergoeding, die hij dan ook kreeg. Voor hem was de strijd voorbij.
In de twintiger jaren dezer eeuw werd er veel van de Imperator gevergd. Hij liet gebouwen bouwen, ging wekelijks op tournee om “zijn” orde te verbreiden, redeneerde dat leden die zelfs maar drie maanden lid van de Orde waren geweest en hun lidmaatschap dan opzegden tòch onnoemelijk veel psychische hulp bij de Orde hadden verkregen. Op dat gezegde bouwde Ralp Lewis, zijn zoon, de orde uit tot in meer dan 80 landen. Ik weet wel dat de opbouw momenteel overal revolutionair is, maar wij weten ook dat niet alle nieuwe leden blijvertjes zijn, maar voor deze nieuwe leden is het van onschatbare waarde dat zij, al is het maar voor drie maanden, lid zijn. Incarnaties later werkt die tijd nog door. Spencer Lewis heeft ervoor gezorgd dat er altijd weer iets nieuws voor ons klaar ligt in onze monografieën. Wat een Auteur, wat een architect, wat een redenaar was hij, wat een cello-speler, wat een kenner van de muziek, natuurkunde, chemie en journalistiek!
Zo ooit gezegd mag worden dat iemand een universeel genie was, en met dat woord speelt de profane wereld nogal eens, dan was dat Dr. Harvey Spencer Lewis! Ik wil onze huidige Imperator Ralph Lewis op dit punt in één lijn met zijn vader noemen.

Eén van de meest indringende ervaring welke ik ooit met Dr. Spencer Lewis heb meegemaakt was niet in een persoonlijk gesprek of tijdens een korte ontmoeting, waarbij men dikwijls werd afgeleid door de telefoon, een secretaresse, doch in een projectie. Ik woonde omstreeks 1930 in Toronto en op een donderdagavond zat ik te studeren in mijn Sanctum. Ik las toen voor de afwisseling “Hamlet” van Shakespeare. Enige dagen tevoren had ik de Imperator geschreven en hem een paar vragen voorgelegd. Plotseling die avond had ik het gevoel dat ik niet alleen was in mijn Sanctum. En warempel, ik zag de Imperator die mij een kort berichtje doorgaf met zijn prettig in het gehoor liggende stem, dat ik duidelijk kon verstaan. Hij gaf het antwoord op mijn vragen! Toen zag ik een hand vlak bij mij. “Shake hands”, hoorde ik duidelijk. Ik maakte een manuaal van handdrukken, maar vond het toch een beetje vreemd. Maar het wàs een handdruk. Ik wees op het boek van Shakespeare dat ik aan het lezen was. Vluchtig zij hij toen nog: “Good literature” en toen was hij weer verdwenen. Later hoorde ik dat hij met leden van zijn klaas veelvuldig dergelijke kontakten had, die even indringend waren als die wij heden van hem mogen ontvangen.

De grootste uibreidingen van de Orde staan nu voor de deur. Hij begint met de bouw van het Egyptische Museum en reist om inspiratie op te doen naar Egypte, was in die tijd een wereldreis was. Hij leidde een inwijding in de grote Pyramide. In de dertiger jaren liet de orde veel van zich horen in de Verenigde Staten, Canada, Frankrijk, Duitsland en Nederland. Bij ons vond de oprichting plaats in januari 1934 in “Villa Elisabeth” in Den Haag.
Op last van de Imperator werd de Kommissie van Oprichting als volgt samengesteld: Frater Coops, Grootsecretaris en de leden Soror van Drenthem Soesman, geboren Middelaer, Frater van Drenthem Soesman, Soror Van Rijn van Alkemade en Frater Corbière. Sedert 1926 was de Imperator niet meer in Nederland geweest. Wèl in Brussel voor de vergaderingen der FUDOSI, waar ook mijn grote vriend Frans Wittemans uit Antwerpen aanwezig was.

Persoonsverheerlijking dat wilde Dr. Spencer Lewis niet. Maar als men hem beter leerde kennen, hetzij uit zijn boeken, leringen, gebouwen of persoonlijke gesprekken, dan kon men het niet helpen deze persoon ter vereren. Dat deden wij dan ook en dat was waarschijnlijk het enige waarin we ongehoorzaam aan hem waren.
Hij stond op een “pied de stalle”, een voetstuk. Gelukkig dat de mens hem heeft gekend voor wat hij was. Gelukkig!
Mijn moeder vertelde mij na haar bezoek aan hem:
“Ik heb iets van de grandeur van deze man mogen zien!”
Zo wàs het en zo is het! Hij is voor de meesten van ons niet gestorven.

Ikzelf tracht steeds weer waar te maken dat ene grote dat ik van de Imperator heb mogen leren: LIEFDE IS DE WET.
Dat is o zo moeilijk in deze verdorven maatschappij. Om alles wat op je afkomt te verwerken is dikwijls ontzettend moeilijk, maar ik geloof dat datzelfde Kosmische dat hem in zo grote mate heeft geholpen ons ook helpt, gezien de grote uitbreiding van de Orde en het succes dat wij hebben.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDEKx16W8ss&feature=related

Als je geen antwoord meer weet op de vragen,
die een knotsgekke wereld je dagelijks stelt,
Als je niet meer weet of je moet lachen of huilen,
Als je hoort wat de jeugd je vertelt…

Dan is het tijd dat je rustig gaat zitten,
je ogen sluit en een taf’reeltje ziet
van blauwe luchten, een enkele vogel
en spierwitte wolkjes in ’t verschiet.

Dan komt de rust voor wie haar kan grijpen,
een meditatieve, prettige rust.
En dat is in dit knotsgekke leven
HET medicijn, word je daarvan bewust!

Though the above article of past Grand Master E.D.C. van Drenthem Soesman, taken from his booklet “Mijn eerste Elftal” was posted just as the title implies, to honour Dr. H. Spencer Lewis, I later realized that it was also an interesting talk on AMORC's history in The Netherlands, which officially started in 1934. So next year we celebrate it’s 75th anniversary! On this occasion I'd like to share parts of a letter from former Grand Master I.L.M. (Irène) Beusekamp-Fabert about the genesis of the Netherlands Grand Lodge.

quote

Onze Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie is op 1 februari 1934 opgericht. Vóór die tijd had Frater Jan Coops jaren in Canada gewoond, waarheen hij was geëmigreerd en waar hij in aanraking kwam met Frater Spencer Lewis en de AMORC. Hij werd lid van de AMORC en Spencer Lewis vroeg hem terug te keren naar Nederland en aldaar de Nederlandse Jurisdictie op te bouwen, en dat deed Jan Coops in 1934, nadat hij het Charter voor de Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie van Spencer Lewis had ontvangen.

Jan Coops begon de monografiën te vertalen in het Nederlands en na verloop van tijd had hij drie leden in Nederland, één dame, die trouwens 104 jaar geworden is, en twee heren. Een van deze twee heren was Frater L. van Gastel, die toen student scheikunde was. Langzamerhand kon in Amsterdam in de woning van Jan Coops een Pronaos worden opgericht. De dame en heren brachten de monografiën ’s nachts per fiets naar de eerste leden. Dat was dus het begin van onze Jurisdictie, die helaas door de oorlog tijdelijk aan haar activiteiten een einde moest maken. Wel hadden in het verborgene nog enige ontmoetingen plaats, maar pas na de oorlog kon Jan Coops de activiteiten van de AMORC en van de TMO goed ontplooien. Onze Jurisdictie werd dan ook een Grootloge en Jan Coops werd tot Grootmeester benoemd.

unquote

Van vrijdag 13 t/m 15 november 2009 zal t.g.v. het 75-jarig bestaan van de Grootloge van de Nederlandstalige Jurisdictie een Jubileumconvent worden gehouden. "De Rozekruiser nu", 75-jaar AMORC in de Nederlandstalige gebieden.
Dit nationale convent wordt gehouden in het conferentiecentrum "De Leeuwenhorst" in Noordwijkerhout.

On August 12, 2009 we’re also commemorating the 100th anniversary of H. Spencer Lewis’s initiation into the Rosicrucian Tradition in France!

Watch DVD: Dr. H. Spencer Lewis Restorer of Rosicrucianism

http://www.youtube.com/user/RosicrucianTV

Nicht von dieser Welt: die Geschichte vom Osterhasen or not all secrets can be kept! Is it all hearsay that I'm parrotting"!?

Tant on donne, tant on reçoit, et tant on reçoit, tant il faut donner.

Please don't lie to me, unless you're absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth.

"What gets us in to trouble is not what we don't know, it's what we know for sure that just ain't so" - Mark Twain

Richtig, der Orden der Rosenkreuzer ist unsichtbar, aber wenn er seine Lehrer / Lehrerinnen und Lehren nie im Sichtbaren manifestiert, dann belibt er doch im Akasha und bewirkt auf dieser Ebene nichts, oder?


One of the more persistent phantasmagorias on the internet is Martin Erler's alleged Grandmastership of AMORC.
Martin Erler is the founder (1956) of the Ordo Rosae Aureae (Pythagoreische Initiaten Orden der Goldenen Rose).

QUOTE (S)
Martin Erler was Grootmeester van AMORC van 1949 tot 1954 Webside: Geschiedenis van de Occulte en Mystieke Broederschappen (Though he was informed by me personally this being incorrect, Roggemans didn't bother to ever correct his webside nor his book)

Dantinne resigned from his office as early as in 1952 (He died in 1969), replaced by the former German Grand Master of AMORC, Mr. Martin Erler. (Modern Rosicrucian Groups).

OHTM/ORA O.R.A. (Ordo Rosae Aureae) was founded in 1956 by
Martin Erler after he left AMORC in 1954. Erler was Grand Master of AMORC-Germany.
www.orderofthegrail.org/history_of_the_otg.htm

In 1954, Erler resigned his office as Grand Master of AMORC, and founded the ORA (Ordo Roseae Aureae) in the Munich area with a number of interested colleagues. (Peter Koenig)

Martin Erler was Grand Master of AMORC in Germany from 1949 up to 1955. Martin Erler, still alive today, is an interesting character, mainly because of his background. Erler (Frater Albinus) belonged to a family which were close friends with the famous rosicrucian writer (1868-1932). (Milko Boogaard). This is another confabulation! Gustav Meyrink for a while lived in a house which belonged to an aunt of Erler. And yes, as a 9 yr. old boy, Martin Erler saw Meyrink once!

The O.R.A. (“The Pythagorean Initiatic Order of the Golden Rose” ) was founded in the South of Germany (Munich area, Bavaria) in 1956 by Martin Erler (1920 - …) with i.a. some members of the Fraternitas Saturni (source: Koenig) as well as other interested colleagues. Martin Erler is said to have replaced Émile Dantinne from his office, when the latter resigned in 1952 (source: Fr. Melchior). Marcel Roggemans states that Erler (Albinus) received his initiation from Dantinne in 1957. Martin Erler was involved in reviving rosicrucianism in Post-War Germany. It is stated by various sources that Erler was a Grandmaster of AMORC (1949 -1954) who resigned his office as GM in 1954.

UNQUOTE

Even Harald Lamprecht fell into the trap of parotting the above "experts", without verifying their sources, when he was writing his doctoral dissertation "Neue Rosenkreuzer" 2.3.5.4. page 153. Well, whatever: copy from one and it’s called plagiarism, steal from many and call it research…

The truth is somewhat different from fiction though: He was Not, and Never Has Been officially AMORC GM!

Martin Erler though for a while was Grand Secretary (In his letter of 26 October 1949, Ralph Lewis requests Erler to assume the office of Grand Secretary, his earliest contact with AMORC dating back to 28 June 1948). In a letter also dated 26 October 1949, Ralph Lewis asks W. Fisher to be the Grandmaster. Erler accepts on 1 November 1949 (assuming the mystical name Triunis), Fisher accepts on 2 November 1949 as Victorius.

So he may for a while definitely have been acting as such (after the untimely resignation of Fisher on 31 October 1951) but was never officially designated GM!

I'm not sure who's been responsible for the creation this myth, his admirers or Martin himself. Though, I am in the possession of at least two letters in which Erler clearly states that he was AMORC Grand Master; just like he personally told me this on more than one occasion.

Exemple quote from his letter dated 13 May 2000:
Ihre Probleme mit der historischen Richtigkeit in den Überlieferungen der Orden sind mir geläufig. Ich hatte selbst sehr damit zu kämpfen (ich war einer der ersten Grossmeister des AMORC in Deutschland).

So for completion and information here follows the official list of the "true" German AMORC Grand Masters: Fischer, Müller, Krön, Raab & Neff.

http://www.sofi-ora.com/index.php

The Daily Nonsence Generator with Ben Scaro,professional AMORC basher. Truth or Lies...

"Gelooft gij alles Gij dwaalt zeer,
Gelooft gij niets, Gij dwaalt nog meer."

Absolute consequentie is de filosofie der dwazen!

"Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies." - F. Nietzsche

Real truths are incarnated in myths, fables and prophecies. - Isaac Newton

Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours.- Voltaire

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."



As I said to you my brothers, my posts about HS Lewis are based on research on the truthamorc site, by Marcel Roggemans, by Robert Vanloo, by Milko Boogaard and others. These stem from researches many years ago by researchers Robert Vanloo, Fr Melchior and Elias Ibrahim. Those are sources, not personal opinion!
"O quanta sunt, quod nescitis!"

Well luckily there's some beginning opposition here since: I plan on my opposition not to your opinion but to you attempting to present a jaded opinion about AMORC as fact with a bunch of shifty links and research papers that turn out to be the opinions of others.
According to "O:.n:.e:."

Rosicrucian_Garden:
There were other issues there too, including endless pro-and-anti AMORC debates, and I'm hardly innocent there...

to be continued if necessary...

"I know it is the fashion to say that most of recorded history is lies anyway. I am willing to believe that history is for the most part inaccurate and biased, but what is peculiar to our own age is the abandonment of the idea that history COULD be truthfully written. In the past people deliberately lied, or they unconsciously coloured what they wrote, or they struggled after the truth, well knowing that they must make many mistakes; but in each case they believed that ‘facts’ existed and were more or less discoverable. And in practice there was always a considerable body of fact which would have been agreed to by almost everyone. If you look up the history of the last war in, for instance, the ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, you will find that a respectable amount of the material is drawn from German sources. A British and a German historian would disagree deeply on many things, even on fundamentals, but there would still be that body of, as it were, neutral fact on which neither would seriously challenge the other. It is just this common basis of agreement, with its implication that human beings are all one species of animal, that totalitarianism destroys. Nazi theory indeed specifically denies that such a thing as ‘the truth’ exists. There is, for instance, no such thing as ‘Science’. There is only ‘German Science’, ‘Jewish Science’, etc. The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but THE PAST. If the Leader says of such and such an event, ‘It never happened’—well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five—well, two and two are five. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs—and after our experiences of the last few years that is not a frivolous statement." - George Orwell

Gotta Nickname, Pen name, Pseudonym, Moniker, Alias, AKA...?

Andre has had a number of aliases but his postings are always identifiable. He generally posts on his gossip blog now as his oeuvre, eg 'Picasso was a martinist!' 'AMORC is more than 3500 years old! Much older!';etc garner him little credence on any forum where folk like a fact or two. If you read other blog entries on there, you'll see he's a *big* fan of me too. Lucky ol' Ben.

He has a major beef with Martin Erler's ORA. I get the sense he maybe tried to join them once, but the admiration turned out not to be mutual.

The Hague, Saturday March 5, 2005. Venue: Haags logegebouw (masonic lodge), 2e Sweelinckstraat 131.
A lecture by Dr Marijo Ariens - Volker, "Picasso and Martinism
new insights into the relationship between art and western esotericism.” (at the exact time and in this very location the TMO martinists held their monthly meeting).
Marijo Ariëns graduated Cum Laude in December 2004 at the Free University of Brussels as an art historian with a thesis entitled “De wangen van de Macroprosopus.”A new interpretation of the painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" by Pablo Picasso. Here she describes what influence Martinism, a secret society with a para-Masonic character, has had on the modern art of the 20th century, especially in the circle of artists and writers around Pablo Picasso.
Picasso himself demonstrates a thorough knowledge of alchemy, Kabbalah and other esoteric symbolism. This symbolism is the key to a better understanding of his famous painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and leads to the conclusion that our assumptions about Cubism must be fully revised. Her thesis drew a lot of media attention (Trouw, Telegraaf, Cultuurnet).
(More information can be found in OVN Newsletter No. 6, where a
comprehensive review of the thesis is included.)
OVN = Foundation for the advancement of academic research into the history of freemasonry and related currents in the Netherlands.
(http://www.stichtingovn.nl/)

Pablo Picasso: sein Schlüsselwerk Les demoiselles d’Avigon (1907) hat sehr wenig mit Primitivismus und Afrika zu tun. Die Komposition ist gegründet in kabbalistischen Zeichen, die im Martinismus benutzt wurden. Der Begriff ‚Kubismus’ ist freimaurerisch und stammt auch aus dem Martinismus.

'AMORC is more than 3500 years old! Much older!'

Who said what mate!? Well not me, but this Martin Erler!

But Martin Erler "Frater Albinus / Triunis" (b. 26/04/1920 - 11/08/2014), former head of the Ordo Rosae Aureae (1956), maintains in a private phonecall A.D. 2000, that its origins (of rosicrucianism i.e.)are to be set around 2.800 B.C. In his letter of 29 September 1998, he likewise avers to Marcel Roggemans: Concerning Rosicrucianism we have done serious scientific research and we had to find out that even the Fama Fraternitatis is already a Palliativum. Symbolism and rites really root back to old Egypt, but strange to say, not to Amenophis IV. We have material at hand (with full scientific evidence) but do not publish it. It is part of our top degree work. I do not intend to deride the present Orders that call themselves Rosicrucians - only the historical facts look different.
Sub Symbolo ROSAE AUREAE ::

It's 'Scaro' . . . hope I'm not causing a 'scare'.

He has a major beef with Martin Erler's ORA. I get the sense he maybe tried to join them once, but the admiration turned out not to be mutual. Well uuuh, never assume anything!

My earliest connection with Erler dates from Jan. 2000. Afer we exchanged some correspondence, we started making long phonecalls. Erler invited me a couple of times to visit him at his home in Icking Bavaria, south of Munich. When we (a friend and myself) learned that he'd be for family affairs in a small town called Eschweiler (in the Aachen / Maastricht area) thus not too far, we decided to visit him in July 2000. My friend had just been initiated in the OMPB (Ordre Martiniste des Pays-Bas) and my initiation into their first degree was already scheduled for late September that year.
When we all four left the hotel room, I carried his bags out to their car, (the Erlers still had to drive back all the way to Bavaria,
Martin gave us both application forms for the ORA and insisted that we'd apply (which my friend who later left the Martinists did).
I felt very uncomfortable though about what he'd said about Martinism. His negative attitude struck and dumbfounded me! It was really negative, since even his wife intervened, Martin leave it, let the guys find out for themselves!
Somewhat later that year, entirely coincidental and completely unintentional, I got to know a some facts, which demonstrated, that there were at least some discrepancies, between what he'd said and written such issues as:
Was he really Grandmaster of AMORC Yes or No? For the definitive answer refer to my next blog.
Ich war einer der ersten Grossmeister des AMORC in Deutschland
(Erler's letter to W*B* dated 13/5/2000)
Was or wasn't he the succesor of Emile Dantinne:
though he later denied and dismissed this claim he wrote:
I was consacrated by Sâr Hieronymus to be his successor.
(Erler's letter to Marcel Roggemans dated 29/9/98) or to me on 21/1/2000: Being the disciple and official successor of Sar Hieronymus, I am bound to utmost caution before passing on secrets. It will be necessary that we know each other know a bit better.
How well did he really know Gustav Meijrink (he saw him only once as a 9yr old boy): In 1928 when Meyrink was in financial trouble and forced to sell his villa and he rented a house with Erler’s aunt. etc. etc.

So the bottom line is that I've been pondering for about about a year and a half, was meanwhile initiated in the second degree of the OMPB, when I decided not to join them mostly because of what he'd said about Martinism. Now ten years later I'm still very happy being a Martinist. And my friend, saw him again after a long time November 2009, at the Jubileum Convent of 75 yrs AMORC in the Netherlands.
And guess what...

"The Aim is to become Artists in the Discovery of Truth"

No Regrets: La Vie en Rose

Education Does Not Necessarily Make For Profundity of Thought! Intelligence, Observation, Meditation And Reason Do!.....Validivar

Je crois en Dieu et en l'Amour, parce que j'aime Dieu et que c'est Dieu qui me permet d'aimer" - Edith Piaf

"Le verbe aimer est difficile à conjuguer: son passé n'est pas simple, son présent n'est qu'indicatif, et son futur est toujours conditionnel" Jean Cocteau

Édith Gassion, artiste de renommée mondiale connue comme Édith Piaf (1915-1963), a été membre de l'AMORC d'avril 1955 à sa mort. Elle portait un pendentif en or représentant une rose-croix, dont elle ne se séparait jamais. Un soir, elle refusa de chanter car elle avait oublié ce bijou.


Soudain une vallée

Vous avez parcouru le monde.
Vous croyiez n'avoir rien trouvé
Et soudain, une vallée
S'offre à vous pour la paix profonde.

Vous aviez dépensé vos rêves
Au hasard des bonheurs volés
Et soudain, une vallée
Où la voix d'un ami s'élève.

Marchant sous un nuage,
Perdus dans votre nuit,
Tout seuls au cœur de l'orage,
Balayés par la pluie,
Vous trainiez des regrets immenses,
Des envies, des remords voilés
Et soudain, une vallée
Vous apprend que la vie commence.

Le ciel tout grand s'éclaire
D'amour et de bonté,
Soleil pour la vie entière
Et pour l'éternité.
Vous rêviez d'un bonheur immense
Sans espoir de jamais trouver
Et soudain, une vallée
Où l'espoir et l'amour commencent.

...Et soudain une vallée
Où l'espoir et l'amour sont nés...

http://www.rose-croix.org/histoire/edith_piaf.html

The Abominable PATER CATHARE, or why we must be careful about what we pretend to be!

Part of my problem is that I cannot dispel the myths that have somehow accumulated over the years. Somebody writes something, it`s completely off the wall, but it gets filed and repeated until everyone believes it.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

Ja, degene die de waarheid aan de mensen wil onthullen,stelt zich bloot aan veel onbegrip." - Omraan Mikhaël Aïvanhov

"Een permanente, aandachtige vijand is haast dierbaarder dan onbetrouwbare vrienden." -Marnix Gijsen

It is so easy for the most clever, careful and conscientious historian OUTSIDE OF OUR ORDER, to be mistaken about facts which deal with the INSIDE. You must be initiated, to KNOW, although, of course, you may SURMIZE at any time.- HSL

"Occult truth, to be of any use, most become life experience; it must descend into the heart, pass through the fires of love and transfiguration, and rise again into the highest, a spiritual creation, to be shed abroad for the blessing of the world." ~ Raymund Andrea

Neutrality & passivity are the best friends of evil! - Christian Bernard

BROTHER WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?

Why is a person doing what he's doing, why does he like what he likes, what are his motives, in other words what makes him tick!?
What makes you tick?
Sometimes this question is extremely hard to tell such as to explain why you love your wife!?

Sometimes it's surprisingly easy though. Why would you want to write about something? Because you're mesmerized by the subject, you're very interested in it, or you're forced to do so by the authorities, or you're not so interested at all but you'd make a lot of money simply by writing about it.

If non of the above criteria do apply however and you nevertheless spend a substantial part of your time, by writing its history then, quoting Sherlock Holmes, after eliminating the impossible what remains must be the truth. So when I confronted the author of this illuminating series and frankly asked him what moved him, he completely freaked out.

Well, of course the answer's very simple, it was all my fault!

So now my conclusion is that, where he obviously doesn't like the subject he's writing about and provided he's not mental, his intentions are probably to deride it and discredit it.

quote Milko:

I'm from the Netherlands and a (former)student of CR+C
(AMORC offshoot)Fraterntas LVX Occulta (BOTA offshoot),
and a first degree Martinist.

"Does the AMORC system work"?.
Even though I am a former member myself, I am not in the position
to give a proper judgement simply because
I never advanced above the first Temple degree!?

unquote

It's a mix of tragedy and humor to reads all the attacks on AMORC on this discussion group. A lot of people, who obvious haven't the faintest idea what they are talking about, dedicate their spare time to publish lies about AMORC.
Blinded by some pathological hatred or paranoid conspiracy theories,they should rather turn and twist their minds, so as to be able to discuss the more important and essential matters. - Anonymous AMORC member


The following post was withheld by the Rosicrucian_Garden Yahoo group:

Milko & Fra Ben

To my best knowledge Milko until this week I've never addressed you, seen you, contacted or criticized you and or your writings or ever used your name. And to be honest what you write in your AMORC history or about Martinism isn't bad at all.

Well on the other hand if you read things and assume that I'm talking about you isn't that a bit paranoid!?

In various groups and on many occasions you've made it abundantly clear that you didn't exactly like them (AMORC i.e.) which is your prerogative of course.

What's so amazing though and it never fails to surprise and amuse me is that you and some others care to spend so much time on something that you in fact loathe, and which you traded in for the CRC and which again you soon left again to trade it in for... etc.etc.etc.

Talking about frustrations...

The only thing that I dare to question is the objectivity of these "researchers" and their hidden agendas.

And about my trustworthiness and popularity I couldn't care less. Being not trustworthy in the eyes of Fra Ben I rather consider it a compliment. And if I wanted to be popular I'd be doing other things in life. I am just the messenger...

So the fact that you're so f* pissed off, could this perhaps be because deep inside you know that I'm right!?

L:.L:.L:.

Pater Cathare



Two articles written By Milko BOGAARD

THE 1930'S – QUESTIONS, CONTROVERSIES, AND DISPUTES
As noted previously, AMORC's membership increased greatly during the
1930's when the Temple teachings were presented as written lessons
to all members. The introduction of the Home Sanctum membership
[developed during the latter half of the 1920's] accelerated the
increase of members.. The public magazine the "Mystic Triangle",
which had been published until 1929, had been replaced by
the "Rosicrucian Digest" in 1930. Over the years AMORC's public
magazine was issued under various names; the "American Rosae Crucis"
[1916-1918], the "Triangle" [1920-1925], the "Mystic Triangle"
[1929], and the "Rosicrucian Digest" [1930- ]. The Digest was
published for the North American jurisdiction and is still published
today. In time, other jurisdictions started to publish their own
journals, such as for instance the "Rosicrucian Beacon" [The Beacon],
issued by the "English speaking jurisdiction for Europe, Africa and
the Middle East".
Returning to the year 1930, in that year AMORC introduced a private
publication for their members called the "Rosicrucian Forum". Each
issue featured several topics of interest to members of all degrees
and often discussed current world events from a Rosicrucian
perspective. The "Rosicrucian Forum" was a bimonthly magazine.

Some of the discussions were quite controversial. In the April 1935
issue for instance, Harvey Spencer Lewis [HSL] talks about
the "Rosicrucian perspective" on birth control.. HSL emphasizes "that
the Rosicrucian Order should take any definite stand one way or the
other in regard to birth control except upon purely ethical grounds"
[RC Forum, 1935]. HSL continues by stating that he thinks that he has
touched upon this subject before "but will say again that we
agree with the view of Mr. Hitler, for instance, in Germany, who is
expressing only the view-point that the ancient Greeks had and which
all students of present-day social problems agree upon and which
scientists have indorsed; namely, that there is too little
restriction being placed upon who should marry and who should
propagate the future generations of mankind. In other words, I
believe that the doctrine of eugenics should be made universal and
enforced if possible and that in addition to the securing of a legal
license for marriage in order that there may be no violation of legal
laws in connection with marriage, there should be no violation of
natural laws either." [RC Forum, April 1935]

To some it might be shocking to find out that Lewis spoke favorably
of Adolf Hitler. In Lewis' defense it should be pointed out that at
the time he wasn't the only respectable American citizen who spoke
favorably of "der Führer" [Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, W.
Randolph Hearst, Joseph Kennedy -JFK's father, John Rockefeller, to
name but a few]. In the same issue of the "Rosicrucian Forum" there's
a short article on the situation of the Jews in Nazi Germany. Lewis
states that the Jews in Germany were treated by the Nazi's as any
other German citizen. HSL claimed he had obtained his information
from personal observation while traveling through Germany during one
of his "recent visits" to Europe. The negative reports in the
American press about the deteriorating situation of the Jews in
Germany gave occasion to Lewis' publication of the article in
the "Forum". It should be noted, however, that it was the year 1935.
It was just a year ago when Hitler's cabinet transferred the role and
powers of the head of state to Hitler as "Führer" and Chancellor. It
would take another three years before it became clear to the whole
world how the Nazi's thought the Jews should be dealt with. I am
referring, of course, to the notorious "Reichs Kristallnacht" [199].
On the other hand, Dachau [the first concentration camp] was built in
1933 and Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" had already been published in
1925. Being an exposition of the author's ideology the book was out
there for everyone to read.…

There are indicatiions that Lewis was not particularly fond of a
democratic and liberal system of government. Instead he allegedly
favored an autocratic system of government. French author René
Witzhard [200] claims that already in 1917 H. Spencer Lewis had
openly critisized the democratic and liberal models of government and
instead dreamt aloud about the benefits of autocracy.. This view will
seem controversial to many, but it must be said in defense of HSL
that this was common thinking in those days in the world of occultism
and initiatic organizations. Although I have to add for accuracy
sake, that the term `autocracy' should be replaced with `theocracy'
[`Theos'-`God']; a [wordly] government based on spiritual-social
fundaments, so to speak. We all are familiar with concepts like
the "Unknown Superiors", the Theosophical "Masters", or the "Great
White Brotherhood". Some mystics even developed a governmental
system, like Alexandre Saint Yves d'Alveydre [1842-1909] who
developed the concept of "Synarchy". Returning to H. Spencer Lewis,
according to Lewis the "Great White Brotherhood" was an association
of enlightened Spiritual Beings, "in or out of incarnation", who were
the real movers behind the Rosicrucians, hermeticists et cetera. The
G.W.B. are the overseers of the spiritual development [the G.W.B.
originated in the teachings of H.P. Blavatsky]. Strictly seen from a
theoretical point of view, it was not that unusual that Lewis adhered
to the belief in the benefits of an autocratic [read `theocratic']
government. However, this only partly explains HSL's alleged
sympathies for such dictators as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Again, it must be said in defense of Lewis that the first reference
to Hitler was made in an article on birth control. In the article HSL
explains why he believes that the doctrine of `eugenics', from an
ethical perspective, should be made universal. The reference to
Hitler which Lewis presents is just an example of a practical
application of eugenics. It should be noted however that the
philosophy behind eugenics is also considered controversial. Eugenics
is a philosophy which advocates the "improvement of human hereditary
traits through various forms of intervention" [201]. It is not hard
to undetrstand that a theory like this can lead very easily to a
slippery slope, ethical-wise… The latter reference to Hitler and Nazi
Germany only tells us that Lewis was still very naive in those days
[1935] about the situation of the Jews in Germany. Now, as for Lewis'
sympathy for Benito Mussolini ["Il Duce"], the fascist leader and
Prime Minister of Italy between 1922 and 1943, that is a whole
different story….

next: Part 52 "I TURISTI AMERICANI DELLA `ROSICRUCIAN' RICEVUTI DAL
DUCE" [HSL's visits to Mussolini]ART i

MY TEA WITH MUSSOLINI

I TURISTI AMERICANI DELLA `ROSICRUCIAN' RICEVUTI DAL DUCE"
For some reason Harvey Spencer Lewis considered it useful or even
necessary to associate himself with "Il Duce". As I have stated in a
previous work "Lewis even wins the confidence of Mussolini, who
already banned Masonry in Italy in 1925, who receives Lewis with open
arms as a friend of the family as early as 1931." [202]
Lewis met Mussolini for the first time in 1931. HSL's concern
for values and ethics is possibly reflected in his alleged sympathies
for a dictator like Mussolini. Concepts like ethics, morality,
patriotism etc. were held dear by H. Spencer Lewis. AMORC has always
extolled qualities such as "good citizenship and patriotism", next to
ones "scientific and cultural self-improvement", as it is stated in
one of their 1920's pamphlets. Lewis' commitment to these moral
values culminated in his chairmanship of the ultra-
nationalistic "United States Flag Association" for the state of
California. This association awarded Lewis in 1934 the Grand Cross of
Honor, making him a Knight of the Flag, for his activities in
connection with the "national war against crime" campaign. Regarding
Lewis' 'admiration' for the "Duce", the story goes that the Imperator
complimented Mussolini at one of his visits on the "absence of
beggars in the streets, the impressive architecture, the punctuality
of the trains" etc.[204], something which cannot be said of Italy
today, I'm afraid.. Lewis returned once more to Italy in 1937.

Together with 120 American members, HSL was received by Mussolini at
the Palazzo Venezia in Rome where a reception was held in honor of
the American Rosicrucians. To this occasion, Mussolini gives a
speech "in which he promises a radiant future for AMORC." [205] It is
even claimed that Mussolini was going to open a universaty "in which
hermeticism and occult ideas supporting the elite would be taught".
It seems that Lewis was going to figure prominently in this
educational venture. The Italian newspaper "Il Messagero" published a
frontpage article on the event, complete with pictures [dated March
6, 1937]. In addition, H.Spencer Lewis was presented a special gift
from Mussolini; a statue of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. The life
size statue was placed in Rosicrucian Park [on a side note, there was
a rumor among old members of the Order that the statue of Caesar
represented Harvey Spencer Lewis. The Imperator was said to be an
incarnation of Julius Caesar].

The complete story on these visits to Italy has been published by
Belgian historian and former AMORC member Robert Vanloo in his "Les
Rose-Croix du Nouveau Monde" [Editions Claire Vigne-1996].
Disclosures such as this one obviously cause a stir within the
esoteric community, especially among Order members [in this case
AMORC]. But, as stated previously, Lewis was not an exception – also
not in the esoteric community. There were more well-known
esotericists with elitist- and theocratic sympathies; Julius Evola,
Max Heindel [a known anti-semitist], Lanz von Liebenfels, Frater
Albertus, RA Schwaller de Lubicz, Israel Regardie to name but a few.
Their views and ideas are probably regarded by the majority of the
public today as right-wing or even fascist in nature. In defense of
[most] of the here-accused, it should be pointed out that these
accusations are in fact a bit short-sighted. It is known, for
instance, that H. Spencer Lewis admitted women as well as Afro-
Americans into AMORC in a time when it was not generally accepted..
Already during his lifetime Lewis was accused of almost everything on
the menu – from satanist to a Jesuit agent, from a Russian spy to a
radical American nationalist etc. In July 1937 there appeared an
article written by HSL in the "Rosicrucian Digest" which commented on
these accusations. The article in question is called "My coat of
changeable color" [issued under the header "The thought of the
month"]. On the alleged Nazi sympathies Lewis comments: "When I have
expressed some personal criticisms of conditions in Germany, I have
been accused by many of nearly all of our German readers of being
anti-German or anti-Hitler. On the other hand, whenever I have spoken
of the excellent things I have found in Germany I have been accused
of being a patron of secret alliances in Europe supporting the Hitler
regime." About his meeting with Mussolini Lewis states; "And right
now, I am being accused of being one hundred percent pro-Mussolini
and pro-Fascism, and one hundred per cent anti-democratic and anti-
Communistic, just because of my recent interview with Mr. Mussolini
and my honest and unstinted praise of his remarkable accomplishments
in Italy and with the Italian people." ["My coat of changeable
color", Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937].

In the article Lewis wants to make it clear to his readers that AMORC
is not "actively interested in politics or religion". Lewis
furthermore states that his objective is "to speak of the good in all
things, in all movements, all individuals, all nations, as I
personally find them and observe them" ["My coat of changeable
color", 1937]. Lewis comes across as being quite sincere in this
article, a bit naïve maybe but that's another story. Lewis is said to
have claimed in one of his publications from that period that
Mussolini's government is closer to the initiatic model than the U.S.
democracy. With what we know today, it is almost unimaginable that
anyone with a sane mind could make such a claim. Harvey Spencer
Lewis' standpoints on these issues are therefore generally perceived
by the majority of the historians as `politically incorrect'.
Lewis, like many mystics and occultists, was a follower of an
initiatic and elitist model of government [see previous page]. He was
a nationalist and a romantic, with values and beliefs which we would
define as right-wing. But the majority of the people at the time
longed for a strong [political] leader. These were the days of the
Great Depression; times were hard, it was a period of poverty and
mass unemployment. In the U.S. there was an increase of "serious
crimes", mainly due to the alcohol prohibition. Many European
countries lived under the [imaginary] threat of a communist
revolution [which fed the success of National-Socialism and Fascism].
All things considered, it once again shows us that Harvey Spencer
Lewis was human; not a saint – not a sinner, but plain human, like
all the rest of us I personally think that Lewis should have known
better with Mussolini, way better actually, especially in his quality
as a Grandmaster and Imperator, let there be no doubt about it. The
only point I wanted to make here is that there is always more to the
story than meets the eye at first glance, obviously. it's always easy
to see things clearly through hindsight…

My Coat of Changeable Color by H. Spencer Lewis in the Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM

Ones Liberties Are The Liberties Of Everyone, His Source Is A Part Of The United Power Of All Beings!.....Dr. Harvey Spencer Lewis

"Give thanks for Life, for Light, for Love. Let your love brighten your heart and the heart of others. Surround yourself with a widening aura of love and dispel the shadows of gloom and depression." - H. Spencer Lewis

"The common descent of all creatures established the fact that all human beings are brothers and sisters, coming form the one Creator and the same essence, of the same vitality and of the same consciousness, independent of questions of race, belief, colour or any other distinctions of personality." – H. Spencer Lewis in "Mansions of the Soul"

We are guilty of believing that Jesus Christ chose only those of His own race to be his 12 disciples, and that he did not go out and choose two Chinese, two blacks, two Indians, two Arabs, two women or two homosexuals, therefore he would be called a Supremacist, Racist and Bigot by today’s worldly standards.


MY COAT OF CHANGEABLE COLOR
By H. Spencer Lewis
Rosicrucian Digest, July 1937

I WANT to ask my fellow members frankly whether it is possible that I am so vacillating in any religious, spiritual and social convictions that I am really a continuous “turncoat” or wear a coat of many colors?

From time to time some readers of this magazine who do not give careful thought, to what they read, or a proper analysis of what I have written and said in the course of twenty-five years, accuse me of being pro this or pro that and anti this or anti that. From the reading of just one article of mine in the current issue of this magazine, these readers will come to a surprising conclusion and, without recalling what they have read in preceding issues, they accuse me of being what I am not.

Our correspondence here at Headquarters, shows that in the past twenty-five years, and especially within the last five or six years, I have been accused of being not only a Jew but also a secret and mysterious agent or representative of insidious Jewish propaganda; and during the same period of time In have been accused by others of being a very secret agent of the Roman Catholic church carrying on a form of disguised propaganda for the Roman Catholic religion. Then again, at other times, I am accused of being vigorously opposed to the Jewish religion and everything Jewish, and in fact a member of some Jesuitical Society pledged to eliminate the Jews and the Jewish religion from the face of the earth. Throughout these past years I have been accused very consistently in some Roman Catholic publications of being bitterly opposed to the Roman Catholic Church and one of Satan’s most subtle destroyers of all faith in the Roman Catholic religion. Then again, after having expressed some personal opinion in this monthly department of the magazine, I am suddenly accused of being an atheist and a spy of the Russian government working against all religions and a disturber of the peace of all individuals – Jewish and Gentile, Roman Catholic and Protestant, pagan and heathen.

When, at one of our national Conventions, a representative from Washington brought to the opening session the gold cross of honour of the American Flag Association, and read the citation certificate making me a Knight of the Flag and an honored member of the Order of the Flag, equalled by the same honor conferred only upon Colonel Lindbergh, thereby being dignified by the highest patriotic award of the American Patriotic Society could grant to an individual, I was being accused of being a radical kind of American and most certainly a bitter enemy of the Communist movement, the Fascist movement, and all the other undemocratic movements throughout the world.

When in one issue of the “Rosicrucian Forum” magazine there appeared one of my discussions praising the nutritive and other values of the California prune, I was accused of being biased in regards to food, vegetables, climate and scenery of this country and looked upon as one seceding from the American republic and becoming a supporter of a California empire.

When I have expressed some personal criticisms of conditions in Germany, I have been accused by many or nearly all of our German readers of being anti-German and anti-Hitler. On the other hand, when I have spoken of the excellent things I have found in Germany I have been accused of being a patron of secret alliances in Europe supporting the Hitler regime.

In some magazines and newspapers within the past ten years I have been accused of being a Jew by birth and religion, and of hiding it under cover though it were something I was publicly ashamed of but used in privacy to the detriment of the Christians. On the other hand, some Jewish publications and some Jewish individuals have tried to claim that they had evidence that I was not born in a Protestant family of Methodist faith as many and unquestionable documents will prove, but that I was born in a Roman Catholic family and secretly educated in a Jesuit school.

When some years ago I wrote, as I often do now, against war and war propaganda, I was accused of being a “slacker” and an evader of the “draft” law, in spite of the fact that I was duly registered by our government and given a draft number and was waiting my call to military duty when the war suddenly ended by the signing of an armistice, and these facts are supported by government reports. I have been accused of being a secret and hidden and promulgator of the plans of the colored race to rise in their political, economic ad social position, and these accusers have even gone so far as to intimidate that there was a strain of colored blood in my ancestry. On the other hand, because I was at one them, and probably still am, an honorary member “The Aryan Society of America, I was accused by colored factions of being secretly in opposition to any degree of fair play being shown to the colored race.

Because of my writings in support of the logical and excellent British attitude in many regards, critics have investigated my ancestry and found that I was of Welsh extraction, and therefore a secret agent of Great Britain, ready to become a British spy in America in case of war, and always pro-British and anti-American. On the other hand, in addition to having been accused of being one hundred per cent German by blood and attitude of mind, I have been accused of being so pro-French that I sing the Marseillaise every time my companions sing the American anthem!
And right now, I am being accused of being one hundred percent pro-Mussolini and pro-Fascism, and one hundred percent anti-democratic and anti-Communistic, just because of my recent interview with Mussolini and my honest and unstinted praise of his remarkable accomplishments in Italy and with the Italian people. My accusers have suddenly abandoned all of their convictions that I was anti-Catholic and anti-Italian and extremely pre-Communistic and all reversed their opinions, this time feeling that they are as absolutely sure of their conclusion as they have been on so many occasion in the past years.

And, on top of it, I now find that an article which I wrote for this department before I started on the Rosicrucian tour in January and which appeared in these pages during my cruise through the Mediterranean, has suddenly made me again a one hundred percent supporter of the Roman Catholic church, of the Vatican and the Pope, and in fact I now find myself in the unique position of being a papal legate almost ready to be vested with ecclesiastical robes of a cardinal or an archbishop or something of the kind.

Why? Because in this recent article appearing in these pages I ventured to express my personal and sincere opinion regarding the efficiency, the practicability, and necessity of an autocratic form of government for any great international movement such as the Roman Catholic Church. I do not recall whether I expressed my personal admiration for the character, mentality, and sincerity of the present Pope, but if I failed to do that I herewith express my admiration for a man of his deep learning, his great forsight, and his excellent diplomacy. But my article did not deal with any endorsement of the Roman Catholic religion or church as such, but it dealt exclusively with that form of autocratic government which has made the Roman Catholic church as an international institution an eminent success in the face of every form of attack and criticism that could be directed against it by every type of individual, by every form of government, and particularly by the mad horde of unthinking individuals who prefer no form of government to any kind. For the very same reason, I could have and should have endorsed the autocratic form of government that controls and directs the welfare, progress and destiny of the Christian Science church, for it, too, has a hierarchy much like that of the Roman Catholic Church. I am sure that I did say that any form of cultural, educational, co-operative movement, composed of and operating through the individuals and characters of diversified nations in many lands and under many conditions must be autocratic in its government and control if it is to be a permanent success and fight the many battles that will naturally come its way. But this would apply even to such movements as the Freemasonic Fraternity and similar bodies as our own Rosicrucian Order.

Certainly those critics who have written so freely and bombastically about my article that appeared in the March issue of this magazine, “The Rosicrucian Digest, did not carefully read what I wrote and did not observe that my comments were neither a criticism nor and endorsement of the Roman Catholic religion as such.I was not writing about religion but form of government.

All of our members should know by this time, and our readers who are not members should gradually learn, that AMORC is not actively interested in politics or religion. Just yesterday afternoon I spent a very pleasant hour under one of the palm trees on a comfortable bench on the lawns of Rosicrucian Park, discussing our teachings and ideals with a priest of the Catholic Church who is one of our advanced members. On my trip through the Mediterranean on an Italian steamship, I again did what I have done every time I have crossed the ocean, and that is, to spend a large part of my recreation time in philosophical and religious discussion with the Roman Catholic chaplain or priest on the ship. I am proud of the excellent ideas that I have gained from my discussions and talks with many Roman Catholic priests within our Order and outside of it, but I am also proud of the fact that I have had many similar beneficial talks and discussions with Jewish rabbis, with pagan priests, with Protestant clergyman, and with all types of religious individuals. I am proud of the fact that I have friends--real friends--among these various religious denominations. I have found extreme peace and inspiration in attending, while in Europe, the low masses and the high masses and other services of the Roman Catholic Church, but I have also found similar peace and inspiration in some Sabbath Day services in Jewish synagogues and in so-called pagan temples of the Near East.

I have no antipathy toward any religion, any creed, or any doctrine, and I certainly have no such bias or prejudice in favor of any one of them that I would attempt to say that theirs is the only path, theirs is the only gateway to heaven.

It is true that I have written critically of certain religious doctrines found in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Protestant churches, in the Jewish synagogues and elsewhere. I have written critically of the interpretations that have become standardized in the modern versions of the Christian Bible, but I have also criticised other scriptural writings belonging to other sects and creeds. On the other hand, I have praised and shall continue to praise the good things as I find them, in church, in politics, among men and woman, and groups of individuals.

I am not going to change my opinions one iota because of a hundred or a thousand German or Italian, Russian, American or other individuals write to me and accuse me of being pro this or anti that. I am going to speak of the good in all things, in all movements, all individuals, all nations, as I personally find them and observe them.

Of course I may be wrong in my conclusions. My observations may not be correct. But of one thing my readers and the members of our organization can be sure, and that is, that I am absolutely sincere and that I have no ulterior motives, and there are absolutely no secret alliances motivating me in anything I say or do.

In answer to the argument that when I praise some individual, some movement, some form of government, some nation, I am fostering that movement and may not be aware of the injustice or the unfairness of my attitude and what results from it, I can only say that it is my duty as chief of this organization to help spread the truth as I find it, and to bring light where there is darkness and to help destroy falsehood. If in my way of doing this, and through erroneous conclusions or wrong observations, I am helping to spread untruth instead of truth, it will be my Karmic debt for which I shall have to make just compensation, even though it is done innocently of wrongdoing and in absolute sincerity. But to accuse me of having ulterior motives and being wilfully, deliberately, and secretly pro this or anti that, is to be absolutely unfair and unreasonable.

In order for these accusations to be true, I would have to change my coat and turn my coat so many times a month and year that it would soon become threadbare and colorless, or else I would have to wear a coat of more colors that the proverbial Jacob’s coat. Certainly I could not efficiently, and to any degree of success, assist any of these movements, individuals, nations, or people that I praise by wearing a coat of their color one week, and a coat of opposite color another week. If I wore a coat of but one color consistently and continuously, then there might be some reason to suspect that I was so enamored of that color, so enslaved to it and by it, that it colored my viewpoint of everything else, and I might be justly suspected of being secretly a propagandist of that one color.

I believe that the majority of our members like to have me express my opinion regarding things that I have seen and observed in my tours and travels around the world, and especially because my connections with the Rosicrucian Order enable me to make many intimate contacts and to learn things at first hand that the average person does not learn. One of the things I have learned is that not one of us can put very much faith--in fact very little--in what we read in our own and foreign newspapers and magazines. Yet it is from such sources that the average individual, who have criticized me in my attitude derives his or her knowledge and beliefs regarding the things I have commented upon. And in most cases my opinions and convictions have been opposite to what is popularly claimed in the controlled newspaper propaganda.

Fortunately for me and my attitude in regards to many things of a political, social, economic and educational nature, while in various lands on this recent cruise I was surrounded and accompanied by over one hundred and forty Rosicrucian members of every walk of life, professionally and socially, and of every grade of intellectual and cultural understanding, and in nearly every instance they have concurred in and unanimously agreed with my observations and conclusion. These touring members represented not only a very fair cross-section of our entire membership, but a very excellent cross-section of American citizenship. I highly valued their opinions and conclusions, and I was glad to find that in practically every instance their opinions where in harmony with my own, therefore proving to me, at least, that my glasses are not colored, and that my attempt to be broad and tolerant in every respect is not a fanatical hallucination on my part.

In the earliest issue of this magazine, "The Rosicrucian Digest," it was editorially stated that "The Rosicrucian Digest" would become at times and on occasion militant in its attitude and especially in its attack upon darkness and falsehood. We are determined to spread the light where it will do the utmost good. In my department and in those articles signed by me I shall continue, as an individual, to express my opinion of truths and falsehoods as I observe them. No influence by one contingent or another, no threats by members or readers expressing the intention of withdrawing form our organization or from the subscriptions list of this magazine will cause me to withhold what facts I think are of interest or what beliefs I consider illuminating.

The organization does not insist that members shall adopt the opinions I hold, nor change their religious, social, economic, political or intellectual conclusions or convictions in accordance with mine or those of any officer of the organization. But at least, in fairness to yourself and in fairness to our motives in preparing these articles and expressing these opinions, our readers should read them carefully and not try to read between the lines certain ideas that are not there and were not intended. At least, if the opinions we express are incompatible with your own, allow me the same honor, the same privilege, of being sincere, as you claim in the things you believe and express.

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