An Explanation of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians

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THE HISTORICA!. BACKGROUND AND AM EXPLANATIOM OF

THE SECRET SYMBOLS OF THE RQSICRUCIAHS

b y

Orval Graves, F. R. C.Librarían, Rosicrucian Research Library

Copyright 1942by

he Supreme Granel Lodge of A.H.O.R.C.



Introduction

by

he 8upreme Secretary of AMORC

Symbols have many times contained the key to knotvledge* hroughout historyi man has used symbols to exprese his findings and emotionst hese symbole have varied from a crude combination of linee and curves

tó the elabórate alphabets of various races of people»

We fail to realize that symbolB are not only a thlng of the past— they are a llving evidence of man's existence on earth* ae long ae they sur- vive» he very language in which this discourse is presented—the letters, vorde and sentenees which you now read—are no more than éyrabols used as a médium to convey Information,. hese symbols Beem compara- tively simple toall who are familiar with the Latin alphabet and the English language* hey will eeem very strange, at any fuiure date, to a race which may have lost the key to the meaning of the various lettere and combinations thereof, In other wordst the simplicity of symbolism is not inherent within the symbol itBelf, but within the

knowledge on the part of the individual of the particular symbolism

used. : So it is that as many other groups contain a meaning—a mean^- ing which wa.8 • simple to the originator of the symbol, but which needs the key of knowledge on the part of he who examines the symbol iri order to obtain from it the meaning vrhich it was in tended to convey—within theBe symbols we will find the wisdom of the ages, the aocumulated knowledge which the savants of the past recorded for posterity« We are fortúnate to have preserved the symbolism itself in " he Secret Symbols óf the Hosicrucians", and we are fortúnate to have the fuíl discourse which makes it possible for the modern Rosicrucian to study these symbols in the light of his or her Rosicrucian knowledge.

he Research, which has brought together this Information, is here presented and will serve you as the key to teach you the inner meaning of

these symbols and open the way for your intuitive abilities to read into the symbol the full meaning placed in it by Its creator.

C. A. P.

ft # * « *

Part I

Most Cosmic irevelations and spiritual wisdom come to man in the form of. symbols* From time immemorial the human race has been interested iri BymbolÍ6m* oday anthropologists', philologists, historians, psy- chologists, and mystical and occult students help to keep, alive this eternal Intereet in

Bymbolism,However» it is not symbolism in gen

eral vith which this artiole deals, but rathér the great putstanding work on Roeiorucian Bymbolism entitled "Secret Symbols of the Roeicru- oianB»" Because of its length, this treatiee on the "Secret Symbols of the RoslcruciansM will be divided into two parts. Part I will dis- CUBS the first publio appearances of the Rosicrucian symbols, the ■various editions óf the workj and tht textual nvatter will be explained and eummari 2üed« Part II will deal with an explanatíon of the thirty-Bix myBtical symbols themselves»



Page wo

Moet Rosicruoians have heard of the "Secret Symbols of the Rosicru- cians" either through the writings of Dr* Franz Hartmann, or through the wrltinge of Dr* H* Spencer Lewis, asdisBeminated through the variouB roedla of the Roaicrucian Order. Its importance cannot be overeetimátedí It is one of the rarest of occult manuscripte in existence today* It an extreraely valuable work for Roslcrucíans, and has been glven such ñames as the Roeicruclan instruotlon book,

an A-B-C book for raystics and philosophere, and a great phllosophical

pillar* It ranks with the Roélcruoian manifeBtoB of the "Fama Fra- ternltatis,11 the "Confessio Fraternltatis," the "Chemical Nuptials" of Christian Rosenkreuz, and the 11 hemls Aurea" of Michael Maier, all of which ehould be read by the roember who has the courage to cali him- eelf a true Rosicrucian etudent« heBe worke are all available in the Rosicrucian Research Library*

In hie preface to the AMORG edition of the "Secret SymbolB of the Rosi

crucian 8, " Dré H* Spencer Lewie elaborates upon the valué of thiB great work tb the bibliography and literature of Rosicrucianism, he help and encouragément which Dr*. Lewie gave to the publieher, which result-

ed in the first complete translation of the "Secret SymbolB," ranks as

óne of the highlights in his work in Rosicrucianism, for this parti

cular edition of the work is now considered the best reference on the subject of.Rosicrucian symbols in the English language* he text of the forewórd in this book makes reference to the fact> which we have already Btatedj that the "Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians" is extremely valuable} that the textual material is alchemical in naturej that the work itself claims on its title pages to be taken from a more ancient manuscript which was considered of great importance to the Order* An attempt at a bibliographical treatment is glvenj where- in are .mentioned some> but not all, of the editions of the "Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians." At the end of the Bibliography the pub-

li8her has given a list of books which contain important reference

to

the "Secret Symbols." All of these references may be found and ueed in the Rosicrucian Research Library* Needlees to say, the other refer

ences quotéd as source material and research material have been avail

able to the Research Library at headquarters, either through the vast quantity of íare vxorks, incunabula, out-of-prlnt books, photoetats, manuscripts, etc., plus a number of dther works obtained from the Library of CongreBB and from friends of the Order who had lived abroad*

A very famous chemist, Andrea LibaviuB* who lived in Europe from 1560 to 1618, at first ridiculed alohemy and the teachings of Paracelsus* Later he not only becarne an ardent student of Paracelsus > but virote an

extreraely valuable Work on alchemy, "Alcheraia," which was published ln

1606, Naturally, his contact with the teachings of Paracelsus ac- quainted, hini with the literature of the Ros icruc ians* Hie attltude toward the Rosicrucians at firet was the same as it had been.toward alchemy, but later he publlcly admitted the existence of the Ros1eru- cians, proclaimed hie connection with thern, and lauded them for their wonderful oontributions to mankind. So much vías Libavius a defender of the Ros ic ruó ians that in 1616 the Order released hrough him Inv.ita- tions to become members, a list of the advantagee to be gained by Join- ing, and the promlnent use of the word Doma* his word Doma is the



Page hree

Latín vord for house* It had already been used frequently in the "Fama FraternitatiB" as a epecial eecret houee* Arnaud, the pioneer French; Rosicrucian of Charlemagne's time* during hle vlsit to Egypt

reputedly became a inember of the 'Houee' of Wiedom at Cairo, Egypt,

hl8 V/ord Doma, with periode after each letter—,D.O.M.A,—has been

used on a number,of allegorical and Rosicrucian works; in fact, it ie used many times in our preeent edition of the "Secret Symbole of the

RoBicruciane." As initiale theee letters of the Latin word Doma stand

for the. four Latín word i Deus (God), OptiBBimuB (the beet), Maximus (greatéet), AltiesirnuB (highest).

he first group of eecret eymbole of the RoBicruciane given to the world hád this word Doma prominent on the title page. he title wae "Fhysica, Metaphyeica'and Hyperphysica," with the initials D.O.M.Á, in Xárge type underneath the firBt three worde. he first time the eecret Bymbols of the Ro8Ícrucian6 were grouped together in this "Phy8icai i-ietaphyeica and Hyperphyeica”manuecript, there wae no

textual matter, Áeide from the* title page and five pages of terse proverbial statements, the manusoript wae made up of twenty-two pagee

of 8éoret Symbol

. Severa! of theee manuscripta with colored eecret

Bymbols wére oirculated among the. officers of the Rosicruciane.

Johanries Kelplus, the first Rosicrucian Maater in America, brought a

copy óf this work to America with him. It later became the property of Dr. JuliuB F. Sachse. Dr, H, Spencer Lewie posBeesed an oíd, frayed and worn copy of this manuscript. Records of book collector salea in

the paet show ub that there was also a copy of this work in Russia, anothér in France, and another in England during the twentiéth century. Fufther prpdf of the Rosicrucian origin of thie first collection of the eecret

Bymbolsof the Rosicrucians can be found, first, in the manu-

script iteélf, where freauent reference ls madé to the brotherhood of the Rosy Cross as ite eource; and eecond, in many referencesto thie

work i.n the wrltingB of other Rosicrucians, euch ae Michael Maier,

Jacob Boehme, Robert Fludd, Hénry Khunrath, and a large number of al- chemiBtB.

his manuscript, or collection of Rosicrucian eymbols, was improved from time to time. he first addition to it seems to have been made in a French edltlon» 1775, whlch

Ibknown in

RoBicrucianhlstory as

the "French Variant of the Rosicrucian Secret Symbols." From this versión wé have Píate

# 3 6 ,which was not in the oíd

workabove

refer-red to. In 1785-88 at Altona» Germany. there was published a limlted Germán edition of the "Secret Symbole, his edition was presented

In book form with more Rosicrucian symbolb and the addltion of textual

matter concerning alchemy. he title of the work was very long, mak-

ing poeeibly five linee, It ls therefore known in Rosicrucian history by thé first two words of the title, whlch are "Geheime Figuren," or*, in English, " he Secret Symbols." his le the work whlch translated

into Engllsh ls known today as the "Beoret Bymbols of the Roeicruciare." It ls distinctly etated on lts title page that It is oomposed of eecret. Bymbole of the RoBicruoians of the sixteenth and eeventeenth centurles* It wae published anonyinauBly, Further treatment and explanatlon wlll be given later of lts English translation.



Page Four

When the "Secret Bymbols of the Rosicrucians" was the subject of a leeture in the Rosicrucian Research Library, December 5, 1941, there

wae on exhibit a well preserved and rare oíd copy of this Germán edition. along with five other different edltions. his first edition

of the "Secret Symbole" ls one of many rare Rosicrucian works which repose in the archives of AMORC, It eeems that the Germán edition of this Work only turne up about once every hundred yeare. Dr, W, W, Westcott, Rosicrucian acholar in England, possessed a copy; Eliphas

Levi, famoue Rosicrucian of France, possessed a copy, and Dr, H,

Spencer Lewis posseseed a copy at one time. hie Germán edition of the "Secret Symbols" was later reprinted in 1919. ' his 1919 facsímile

was an exact copy of the oíd original book and has become almoet as valüáble as the one published in 1785-88. Gardner's "Blbliotheca

Roslcruciana" describes the "Gehelme Figuren" under his Rosicrucian artlele #257.

he famoüs Rosicrucian, Dr. Franz Hartmann, waa very much lntereBted irt Rosicrucian bibliography. He had some sort of strange adventure in Bavaria during whlch he wae led to a copy of the Germán edition of

the "Secret. Symbols," whlch we have already referred to as the "Gehelme

Figuren" worki Dr* Hartmann praised the work very highly and gave an extremely: interesting descripción of lts use. He later reprinted

twerity-five of the thirty-six symbole from the original Altona edition* his Franz Hartmann edition was published at Boston, Massaohusetts, in

1888, by the Occult Publlshing Company. It was a large folio, 16% by 11 lnches, containing forty-five pages of text* Of the textual matter

the moet valuable le the flfteen page introduction. Dr. Hartmann has left off the more technlcal part of the varlous alchemical texts, he platee are colored exactly as were those of the Altona edition, or "Gehelme Figuren." he Franz Hartmann edition whlch was on display in the Rosicrucian Research Library was still in good condition, and it

was Very notioeable that the material was of excellent quality, par-

ticularly the boards of the back, whlch were stiff and heavy*. his work origlnally sold for #6*00 a copy. oday collectors receive as high as f50.00 and as low as $25.00 a copy, depending upon the condi

tion, for Franz Hartmann edltions,

Dr. Hartmann was aoquainted with Dr, Julius F é Sachse and had examined

Sachee's Rosicrucian manuscript, known as the "Physica, Metaphysica and Hyperphysica" manuscript, However, Hartmann1s edition can nowhere

approach the Present AMORC edition of the "Secret Symbols of the Rosi-

crucians," whlch was published by tjie Arles Press in 1935* Under the inspiration and guldance of Dr. H. Spencer Lewis the publlsher of the

Aries Prese had two fine Germán Bcholars transíate the Altona edition

df the Germán "Secret Symbols" book. his was then iBsued in several

álfferent priced edltions, the ^.50*00 edition, the $25.00 AMORC edition, and the $15,00 edition. he first two of the se edltions had colored

platee, but the ^15.00 one and other less expensive edltions of later isaue were In black and white with oheaper blndlngs. By far the moet popular, and the one whlch sold the moet, was the AMORC edition, In

ciden tally, the Roeicrucian Order, AMORC, now poseeeses full rights

and ownershlp to all of the platee of this English transíatlon of the

"Seorjst Symbols of the Rosicrucians,"



Page Seven

Hermetlcal teachlngs, It is very rare and

í

one of the moet anoient bits of wledom known to mankind. here are severa! stories explain^-

ing lis existence; hovever, the one which Pr. H. Spencer Lewis gives in the September* 1927 issue of " he Mystlc rlangle" í as follows*.

"For instance, Alexander the Great found, in the Great Pyraraid of

Gdzeh, the Emerald ablet. his famous tablet was engraved with a

diamond by the great Herraes, and contained the secret Hermetic and

Roeaecrúcian eecrets of alcbemy. It was originally hidden in the tomb of Kermes by the Rosaecrucians to preserve for future generations the knowledge they possessed."

Pages eighteen and nineteen are devoted to the octosyllabic poem ex- plainlng this tablet of Kermes. Pages twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two

and twenty-three are taken up with the prose work called " he Golden

Age Restored," by Henricus Madathanus, whose real ñame was Count Hadriánus Mynsicht. He was a doctor of medicine, a Rosicrucian al- cheraist, and poet laureate in 1631 to the Duke of Meoklenburg,

As stated in the bibliographical notes to the AMORC edition of the

"Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians," this work had appeared in several

oíd Rosicrucian manuscripts previous to its addition at Altona in

1785^88 to the- "Physica, Metaphysica and Hyperphysica" manusci'ipt.

" he Golden Age Restored" is really an allegorical story which tells

of a dream and an awakenlng, but the action of the dream continúes in the wakirig state. his waking statef or Golden Dáwn, aids the hero to see more clearly the précious Jewels and stones which in his dream ap-.

peared to be rotten and smelly oíd rubbish, hus when the Golden Age of the world is restored many valuable and wonderful events will occur« In the epilogue attached to " he Golden Age Restored"• the writer tells

of the actual alchemical work with metáis and a physical elixir. He

sayB hé cannot write too openly, but he does write that he has seen the phlloBoiJher^fl stone, or that he has seen the elixir and used it* He cióses by saying that the brethren of the triie Golden and Rosy Croes are able to make, themselves, such hidden fruits of phllopphy and ,

natúre.

" he Golden Age Restored" is followed by thirteen colored plates which are heavily inscribed within and without. his completes Book I of the MSecret Symbols of the Rosicrucians." On page thirty-eight im- mediátely fdllowing these thirteen plates is the proee,text called "A Golden reatise About the Philosopher* s Stone." his is one of the

moet valuable compendiums of alchemical

truthBand

spiritualparables

ever given to •the public. It must not be confused with the lesser- known work called " he Golden ract of Kermes." Many Rosicrucian and alchemical títudents who have spent years in the great librarles of

Európe have said

that thisGolden reatise sume up all of

thewisdom

both spiritual and physical# of alchemy. A chemistry professor at

the Ró8e-Crolx University has said that the secrets of preparing the

alohemist1s philosopher's stone are plainly told in this treatise.

Aleo, another Rosicrucian in Europe, who spent thirty years studying the secret symbols of the Rosicrucians claims that this same treatise posseBses transcendental spiritual truths.



Page.Eight

" he Parjabola,11 which begine on page forty-five, ie of speoial importance to RoBloruciane, as the etíldente of the higher degreea of AMORC we11 know, his completes Part I of this treatise, which has dealt with the hietorlcal background and the textual matter of the "Secret Symbol of the Roe icruc ians. " Part 2 will deal with an ex

plana t ion of the actual eyrabolB of this great work.

* # *

Part II

he AMORC Englieh translation is of much more valué than the Germán Al tona edition, the French Variant edition, or even the copy which be- longed to Kelpius and Smchse, his AMORC edition contalns an excellent echólastic translation o the words inscribed around the symbols, Aleo, the AMORC edition contains four rare alchemical treatises and eight more Rosicrucian eymbols than are found in the Kelpius copy*

Franz Hartmann1s edition, of course, does not even have all of the Bymbols-of any of the older editions» Hartmann‘ edition is lacking

aleo the eight additional symbol6 and is not complete in its treatment

of the alchemical textual matter. herefore, anyone who possesees this AMORC edition, or who has access to such a copy,has use of the very acmé of all Rosicrucian works on symbols, not only in English, but ln any language .

PLATE #7;

Symbol #7 Ib one of the original symbols of the older sixteenth century Rosicrucian manuscript known as "Physica, Metaphyslca and Hyperphysica» It corresponds to Píate #27 ln the first work. One of the oldeet Sym

bol e of the Rosicrucians was the circle with the croes in the center.

In faot,

Bomeof the oíd books of Vaite and Hargrave Jennings show this

symbol on the outeide. Some of the Russian members wore this symbol instead of the golden and roáy croes.

PLATE #8; n c

Symbol #8 was not in the older "Physica, Metaphysica and HyperphyBlcaw Rosicrucian manuscript, but was taken from a Rosicrucian work written by George Von Welling. his was published at the end of the Beven- teenth century at Frankfort, under the title, " he Magical, Kabbalistic and heoBOphical WritingB." It has fifteen pages of very wonderful Róeicrucian symbols* his symbol #8 represente three in one, also the

great divislons of salt, sulphur and mercytry* he Kabbalistic'tree of

life ie often repre8ented by circles within circles, hese three clrcles aleo repreeent the world of phyeica, metaphyeica and hyperphyei ca. he hyperphysica is the middle matter whioh overlaps the world of God and the world of Lucifer, or the physical world. his makes a very good philoBOphical diagram for the explanation of the great philoBophi-cal question of all time, which is, "How is the world of the Coemic connected with the phyBical world?^ Incidentally, in his book Hargrave Jenninge réproduced five platee from this same eource.



Page Nlne

PIATE- 1 w r

his symbol is another Rosicrucian symbol of the seventeenth century which was not in the older "Physica, Metaphysica and Hyperphyeica"

inanuecript. It is inepired by the work, "Kabbala Denudata," by C.K.

Von Rosenroth, published in 1677. It was illustrated with numerous Kabbalistic trees and worlds. he Oíd estament has a great deal to

sáy about the tree of good and evil. he oíd Hebrew testament is al so

•the orlgin of our Christian Kabbalistio philosophy. his is a typical representation of the Christian Kabala as presented in Von Rosenroth1s

work. On one side is. good and on the other side is evil. hey both

come from the same source* Notice the Kabbalistic hexagram where the división occurs* and the signs of the Zodiac which encircle the earth, representing the universe as being the ground into which the roots of

the tree are planted. Notice that the triangle with its point down

ward is the one that .is on the side of good, his is one of the few

symbols that is falrly well explained; therefore, more need not be said concerning it.

PIATE #10: ?

Píate #10 has ten symbols on it. You will note that they are very beautiful in color. he nine symbols at the top of the píate are typi

cal geometrical Rosicrucian symbols representing the various relation- ships of the microcosm and macrocosm. he large square at the bottom

is called the Rose of Heaven, or sometimes a Solar Rose. his is the Rosicrucian adaptation of Khunrath*s Solar Chriet, he average Rosi

crucian has not yet completely grasped the concept of the Solar Christ;

or rathér, he is still partially heId with the idea of the historical Christ.

PIATE #11; 9

Píate #11 is the famous symbol of the philoBopher1s mountain, It is one of the eight seventeenth century symbols added to the group of symbols given in Kelpius* copy* It is made after a similar symbol which waB published in Germany in 1615 by Michel-Spacher. he right- hand bottom córner of this symbol has the date 1604, which is the date of the reopening of the sepulcher of the mythical Christian Rosenkreu* 120 yeare after his supposed death, his mythical Rosenkreuzj as is alwayb the case, is comlng out of his tomb and re-entering upon the Great Work. he spiritual and physical sides of alchemy are also in-

dicated by the various alchemical symbols, such as the lion, the green

dragón, the suh, the moon, etc. According to the text below this

symbol, the father metal is hidden somewhere in the symbol, and yet is supposed to be visible to the keen eye. Spiritüally, this symbol represents the body and the soul and the spiritual world> the mountain

being the body, the figure of the man in the doorway being the soul, and the heavens above being the spiritual world.



Page en

Symbol #12 i8 aleo one of the eeventeenth .century symbols which was taken dlreot from the Work of Jacob Boehme called "Mercy-Choice." It

was pübliehed in Europe in 1682. For anyone interested in Jacob Boehme's worke this is an excellent symbol to study, for it contains many principies of Boehme*s philosophy. It shows his belief in a

primitive eource of good and evil, free will, 'the emlnence of God,

and regeneration, both physically and morally, In the lower half of the píate there are six circles around one inner circle. hese repreeent the seven principal metale of alchemy, the seven plañets of the

univeree, and the seven powers of nature, in Boehme1s phllosophy. he top part of the píate also symbollzeB the great principie of oppp- eitée—posltive and negative, mercy and severity, and the blaak and white pillars of the Kabala and Freemasonryi

PLA E #13i p¿,,t

In this píate we have depicted the universal spiritual forcé known as

love or cohesion* his forcé is shown attracting and drawing as a

magnetic stone the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth; he

dew and the ;breath of heaven blqw upon the sunflower, which was the

product of the dew, heaven and fatness of‘he earth. he sunflower, known ae the first matter, in turn produces vitality, which is de-

pioted by the sun shining on the rose on one Bidé and the moon shining

on the lily on the other* he interaction of the essence of the rose

and lily with the power of the sun and the moon forma a triangle with

the point downward, which is known as the fountaln of wonders; Out of this fouritain of wonders* or eleméntary substance, i8 continually given off a peculiar liquid out of which are formed the metáis, the elements, the plante, and aíl else upon the earth. he symbols of this misceí-

laneous group are depicted in the steam that will soon become solid.

PLA E #14:

f>¿. ik

Píate #14 i8 really composed of the symbols that exist in the "Physica,

Metaphysica and HyperphyBica," the sixteenth century symbols manuscript,

on pages eeyen, eight and nine, Most of these figures are self-explanatory. If one cares to gó further into these particular symbols, he

can do so by referring to page 187 in Silberer's book, "Problems of MyBticiBm and Its Symbolism." In the older manuscript the symbols were ppread farther apart. he two rows on the left

Bidéof the píate rep-

reBented the macrocosm and microcosm, the left column being the mac-

rocoBm and the right the microcosm. Comparison of these two columns

will reveal the myetical correspondencee and relationahips between God and man»

In the three cyclee titled n hree natural euns in the world,< are Bhown the heavenly, human and elementary suns. he first oircle is the rain-

bow, which at that time consisted of four colore. he second is the heart or sun In man, and below le gold, which ie 8upp08ed to be the eun of the earthly elemente.

PLA E #1 2 ! PC./*



Page Eleven

he last división on this page shows the mystery of the seven planeta and the three worlds, or circles. his makes the mystical number 21.

Inoidentally, 21 is the Rosicrucian number for the sun. his implies that the planets are parte of the eun in the same way that the organs ofourphyelcal body are parte of each human being. In the sky, rep- reeented by the firet circle, are six planets and the eun. On the earth are the six feudal ranks and a king. Beneath the earth are six

metale and the metalllc king, or gold,

PLA E #15: ^

his píate ie taken from a eeventeénth century Rosicrucian symbol as firet published in 1618 ln the work entitled "Speculum,”by Daniel

Moégllng. hie eymbol ehowe how the world is produced from one prin

cipal; ln faot, it ie a good eymbolical representation of Rosicrucian moniBtic metaphysics. Prora the one come two, poeitive and negative; frotti the two are raade the four Rosicrucian principáis, fire, earth,

air and water. he Latín naraee for these principáis are placed on four circles. From these four principalB are formed the reet of the

material world. he qulnteeeence of everythlng in the physical world,

as pointed out in the diagram, is the circle called Azoth. his Azoth i8 the great éecret of the alchemiets. It contains the firet and last

lettere of three claeeical languagee—namely, Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

Azoth was the ñame for the universal éssence, or, as it was otherwise

known, the all-heallng medicine , elixir, or philosopher* s stone. he

figure of a man connected to the diagram above and the cup below repre- eents the microcosm. hie drinking cup or goblet of eimple truth con

tains all of the wisdom of the microcosm and the macrocosm. his is the eame title, “oculum Pansophiae,11 which was used in the original

8ymbol. It means the drinking cup of all wisdom. Some groups have interpfetéd this symbol as being the center of Rosicrucian philosophy

and have named their ehort-lived movement, Pansophia.

PLA E #16: pe. /*í

Píate #16 may well be called a symbolical representation of the God of our hearts. It shows the splrltual organ of our cccult anatomy, the spiritüal heart. hie spiritual heart ie supposed to be situated in the middle of the chest and not in the exact physical heart, In the

innermoet.ephere of this heart, incide of the hexagram, is a fíame. Oütelde of thie flaraing circle there are four other circles, which

correepónd to different planee in the spiritual world and to different ephere8 of the universe. hus we have again the macrocosm and the

microcoBin. ranslated, the Latin words written within and around the

hexagram mean morning etar, the point and host. he first circle once

removed from the hexagr.ara is the circle of the eternal spirit connect-

ing all in its cohesiveness. he eecond outer circle shows three croeses, with one of them radiating light and peace. he third outer circle is the circle of the Logos. he fourth or last outer circle is the circle of chaos and darkness. It is the región from which all of the elemente of the universe are formed. On the outermoet circum- ference of all the circles is the thin yellow circle with all of the Bigns óf the Zodiao. his is one of the most helpful symbols for



Page welve

meditation for the average Rosicrucian and occult student. It tends to take the student'e mind and intereets off his head and off intel- leotual BUbjectB and to center hie lnterests upon his heait and spirit

ual Bubjects.

PLA E #24 ; PC. i v

hie píate is made up mostly of mystical reading matter pertaining

primarily to Hermetic philosophy. At the bottom is the moon, the sun, and in the center the mystical symbol which Waite uses so often as the firet Rosicrucian symbol. here was a great deal of controversy over this Bymbol among the early Rosicrucian historlans. Some said it carne from Valentín Andrea, others from the erest of Martin Luther, but it mostly resembled the coat of arras of Slr Francis Bacon. Bacon1s coat of ariiis boré a croes with a five-pointed rose in the center.

PLA E #25 . 2 6; PC. 2 V *

Píate #25 aleo has few symbols on it. he frequent use of Biblical

quotations and religious and theologlcal words is not due primarily

to the religious nature of the material, but rather to the fact that the authors .wanted to protect themselves from being called heretics and thue driving away sympathetic seekers; Dr. H. Spencer Lewls often eaid that there was not a religious element in the oíd Rosicrucian teachings and symbols. he frequent reference to and use of Christ meant the lnner mystical Christ, or the outer Solar Christ» hus we eee a nümber of Biblical references. Actually, thiB page was devoted to the mysterieB of the alchemical salt, sulphur and mercury, as being the root of all metáis. In the older manuscript ''Physica, Metaphysica and Hyperphysica, •' the top of Píate #26 was connected to the two

colored trianglefi at the bottom of

#25.In the hlstory of alchemy the

number four is very prominent, especially so as Aristotl.e mentioned

that eyerything was made of the four essenees and a fifth^ which is today called the quinteBsence. At the bottom of Píate #26 is given a graphic and colorful diagram representative of the complete processes of phyBical alchemy. Naturally, this cannot be treated in great de

tall, but any alchemical work, such as John Read's "Prelude to Chemls- try," will explain the meanlngs of the variouB terms and tell what de- gree the phiLosopher1 a Btone has arrived at when it is in each of the se Btages*

PLA E #27: >5

his píate is another which was in the older Bixteénth century symbols

manuBcript, "PhyBlca, Metaphysica and HyperphyBica." In the original manuscript it is titled " he Secret which was hidden." he initiale at the top léft of the page, around the hexagram, etand for God, _ person, vbrd, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, God, man» and I*C. for Jesús Christ. heee letters occur many times in the secret Bymbol

, and it would be well for one who intends to Btudy the secret Bymbols to mem- orize theffl. Here again we have a rudimentary golden eross of the RoBicrucianB in Bomewhat dlfferent.form. he place of the rose has been taken by the word God. he four córner

are represented by the



Page Fourteen

hie píate shows the characteristic symbols of thé triangle on the earthly and divine planee. he great eymbol pf the two triangleb Joined together represente the continuouo alchemioal procese, It cóuld aleo represent an oíd alchemical furnace with the various ap- paratue. he eymbols of sulphur and mercury are Joined together, and

their Joining makes a circle for the spiritual seed. At the very

bottom is the earth, on the way up is the water, and the top triangle íb the flery spiritual world of llght. At the bottom of the page is ehown on the extreme left the Bymbol of putrefaction, as the alchem- iete cali it, which íb ln reality distillatlon. On the extreme rlght ie the Bymbol of resurrection, or that procese which reunitee the es- eénce to its mineral salte. Inoidentally, the Bymbol of putrefaction is embodiéd in the tj?aditlonal picture of Christian Rosenkreuz. In the center Ib the alchemical egg or bottle, in which is sealed the matter that was to be transmuted. NotIce the astrological and alchem- lcal symbols in the bottle* All of these eymbols have a double meaning. In addition to the physical alchemical meanlng there is, of

course, the spiritual alchemical meanlng, A b a matter of fact, both are closely related throüghout the entlre book of secret symbols,

hiB Bymbol.ib one of the sixteenth century Rosicrucian symbols,

PLA E #31; .fC-.'if

Píate #31 again mentions the true Rosy Croas, at the top of the page.

It one of the sixteenth century Rosicrucian symbols. Another form of the elementary Rosy Cross is ehown here ln the large circle of light, he smallér inner circles are eo arranged as to form a four-armed

croBB* Again theee inner circles show how the world is formed ln a fourfoíd manner from the Spirit, the four inner circles being next to

the center circle of Spirit* he square which endoses the four In

ner circle8 le made up of eight more circles which represent the seven planeta and the earth. his was the solar system of the ancients.

he outer twelve circles represent the Zodiac which eurrounds all creation. hie eymbol illustratee the philosophy of Paracelsus, who sai el that twelve represente the heavenly world, eight the world of the stare, and four the elemental world. Notice the number four that is upside ddwn between the circle of God and Spirit. hie four represente man, who is about ready to fall* hiB also represente the KabbaliBtlo theory of emánation, /Spirit" stands for the Kabbalistic world of Atzlluth, the eecond división of circles stands for the KabbaliBtlo world of Briah, the four circles of three circled "Mords* and one

*per8onw and all of the other eight circles representing the eight

plañete stand for the Kabbalistic world of Yetzirah. he outermo8t circle, the Zodiac circle, stande for the Kabbalistic world of Azziah, the world of moneters» Below the Hebrew word logos and the Latin word. biblia are fürther philoBophical explanatione which are easily dis- cerned,

PLA E #

3 0; PC. a*



Page Fifteen

hle is a very colorful and interesting píate of the sixteenth century

Rosicrucian symbols group, Its title, translated into English,i

wouldbe Bomething like this: " he divine figuré of Godly wisdom of theKabaía, magic, and not only philosophy but also alchemy*" his great symbol portrays the fact that the sun is the souroe of life p.nd power,

In this particular place it is used as the divine sun* symbol of all

energy and power throughout the universe, Below it are the two inter-

lacing triangles representing the macro costa and the microcosm, or the

unión of divine and material powers. Immediately below the hexagr?. n

í

the circle called Hyle, Which means primordial space* Below that

in another pair of interlaced triangles is a small circle called Chaos, with the symbols of the four elemente in lt. his is supposed to be the cOnditlon of the four elementa in the world before they are re-

arranged by divine intelligence.

he two large circles on the right and left of Chaos are called Phil

osophy ánd Alchemy. Within each of these are placed the proper symbols

of the subject they represent. In a large sense they represent the

mind and the heart. hese two spheres are mixed. he small circle has

steain rising up with the symbols of mercury, salt and sulphur, As a re

sal t of thi 8 mixture sixteen circles are produced or formed* In the se small circles are eymbols of all 6ubstances and matterB here below.

he oíd Kabbalists used to speak of phübsophy and chemistry as abba and alma on their tree of life or Sephirothic tree* his symbol is practically a synthesis of -Neoplatonic, Kabbalistic, Gnostic, Egyptian and oc- Cult principies, his was the favorite symbol of Jobannes Kelpius.

PLA E #331- PC. 5/

his symbol i.t representative of what the Hebrews called the ree of

Life, the Hindús the Golden r e e . I t is aleo sometimee referred to as Jacob* s Ladder, Primarily it is representative of the Kabbalistic

Sephirpth and the Egyptian Pantheon, his symbol is here called a Kabbalietic and magical scale of philosophy. he five large center circles, two of which are yellow and three of which are green, make the sor-CalLéd heavenly ladder divisible into four parts. hese four divisions, each vrlth four circles within, correspond again to the four worlds of the Kabbalists, the hlghest world of Spirit, God the Word, God and man, belonging to the v orld of divine ñames and called Atziiüth. he eecond división with the circles of warm, coid, damp and dry i8 the sidereal, the world of archangels or of Briah* he third

world i8 the formative world or world of angele, and is called ABsiah.

he top golden circle saya WA11 for one" and gives the Hebrew letters for Yod He Vau He, It also has the Greek letter alpha in it. he bottom golden circle has the letter omega in it, as well as the tetra-

grüjnmaton, the Latin words 11 And reduced to time. he different colored circles up and down the heavenly ladder stand for the different typés of experience, different alchemical processes toward perfection, ór different fruits on the tree of life. his whole symbol is really depicting the ladder of evolution. he different colors are used to

PLA E #3 2 ! P&. -3 *-



Page Sixteen

correspond

tothe different worlds. hese colors of the different

worlds explain why water is colored blue in one part of the book and

yellow in another part. Such apparent oontradictionB in color can be

explained by the Kabbalistic scheme of color. here is one scherae of color called the King Scale. his is used for all symbols of the world of Atziluth, he Queen Scale is used for all

Bymbolsof the world of

Briah. he Prince Scale is used for all symbols of the world of

Yétzirah. he Princesa Scale or scheme of color is used for

Bymbolsof the world of Assiah,. Incidentaily, the new light and color course as given in the Reader's Research Academy is basad upon the Kabbalistic

schemes of color.

PLA E #54 ; r ̂

Píate #34 is representative of the best work which Robert Fludd has

done in his various symbolical works. hese rare books of Fludd are on dispiay each year dur-ing the Convention. his symbol appears to be rather cómplex at first, but upon cióse examinatíon is found to be

colorfui representations of the visible and Invisible worlds. he

eharp llné of demarcation between these two worlds is shown by the

circle which is half black and half white»

PLA E #35i. PC. 33

Píate #35, which is also of the sixteenth century group of Rosicrucian symbols, has a large circle with the allegorical Rosicrucian cross in

the center, the book of seven seáis, and a lamb in the center of the

cross* hese seven seáis are the knowledge and understanding of the Kabbaíistic seven principies of U f e known only to the initiate. he words in Latin around this cross are•taken from the Rosicrucian mani

festó, "Fama Fraternitatis." ranslated, they mean something like

this' MMy all, my victory is in the Rosy Cross," At the bottom of

the page again is the symbol which at one time was used a great deal

on Ros icru clan works, Not ice also the initials, D.O*H,A*, which v̂ ere

previóusly commented upon,

PLA E #36;

his píate does not exist in the older "Physica, Metaphysica and Hyper- physica" manuscript. Rather, it has be en taken from an oíd French "Rosicrucian Secret Symbols" called the "French Variant" of our'work. he alchemical, Kabbalistical and Rosicrucian influence is easlly seen,

he eagles represent the spiritual and material, alchemical elements,

sulphur, mercury and salt. he inner circle with the interlaced

triangles is a Kabbalistic symbol, a great golden cross with "Frater

of the Rosy Cross" on the bottom being ldentlcal with the one on the front of the book.

PLA E #46; ^

hiB being one of the best and most widely known of all symbol , it

was naturally in the older sixteenth century group, Agrlppa is known to have made great use of this symbol. It represente the treatment



Page Beventeen

of the Magna Matef, the Great Mother, in all of the Egyptian and

Greciah i iyetery BchoolB, Mithralsm, Eleusianlsm, and the Legend of Qsirifi áll had outstanding feminine actors» Diana, Isis and Serapie

áre

threetího are well known. Our modern eoncept of the Madonna

waBdérived from the Egyptian reverence of Isis. Balzac has. a wonderful novel ehowing the feminine aspect of wisdom or sophia» hiB novel is called "Seraphita." his symbol, then, portrays the Great Mother aspect

of creation which forever brlngs forth from herself all things. She

has a crown of mercury, her face is the eun, her arma are the prin

cipáis' of the spiritual world, out of her bowels comes the mechanism which makes the lower world, his lower world is shown in the larger circle at the bottom of the page, which has grown out of the four prin

cipal s-̂ -f iré , earth, air and water. he circles of theGe four prin

cipáis are in direct contact with the four vital U f e circles that draw upon the vltallty of the Great Mother. Again from these four prin

cipáis we have all things in this world symbolized in many small circlef his symbol in general represente the macrocosm and the microcosm, and

aiso, roughly, physica, metaphyslca and hyperphysica, the large circle

at the'bottom of the píate being physica, or the material earth, the

Great. Mother being raetaphysica, or the spiritual principie, and the

eight circles in between being the hyperphysica, or intermediary powers.

PLA E #47: Pd-4?

Píate #47

í

in the older Rosicrucian manuscript. It an extremely

profound Kabbalistic symbol which seta forth in two parallel columna

the twofoíd world of water and firé, he rlght column, which isblue, is water, and the left is firé. he column of firé is al so the spiritual. column. he column which the sons of God descend to become God1 s children, as shown at the bottom of the. two columna on the rlght, are Ádam1s mortal children, which represent the fleshly sons of man-

kind. From the mixture of these two races is formed a third, a group

of belngs which have a true spiritual eelf within and a physical self

wlthout. his helps to make olear some of the references ln the Oíd

estament about the -marriage and intermarriage of the sons of man with the ángels. he large circle which is subdivided into four parts rep

resente that world- of the Kabala that has the potentlal elements for

either rlsing to the spiritual world abo-ve or remainlng in the material wórld of the earth.

PLA E #48: fC*i1

his píate shows the influence of ‘he seventeenth century myBtic,

Mlchael Maier. It is not in the older sixteenth century Rosicrucian

work. All of Michael Maier’ works have circles and alchemical sym

bol a which are similar to this.

PLA E #49: PC

Píate #49 represents the world of spirit emanating from a six-pointed star, v/hich in turn emanatee from the Hebrew Gylíable, lod. he

prayer at the bottom of the píate is a very excellent prayor to Nature.



Pago Eighteen

his píate is considered one of the first of the Rosicrucian symbols,

It is practically self-explanatory, the I*H.S, stancjlng for Christ and the Holy Ghost in the center of the cross. he

í

N.R. . could Just as well have the alchemical interpretation as the theólogical interpreta- tlon» which is: " he things of nature are continually renewed by

fire.'1

PLA E #51:

Píate #51 has a haloed cross placed upon two interlacing triangles.

On top of the first triangular block in Latin are the three words which mean faith, hope and charity. On the bottom triangular clock áre thé words Which mean he Way, rüth and Life, A, E, Waite be- .'lleves; that this symbol or page is the ihost important in the whole book. It does coñtain the mystlcal doctrine of the famous auler,

his doctrine of auler's said that the presence of the Christ Spirit was Immanent in the golden chalice which is placed at the bottom of the cross* his is also one of the sixteenth century Rosicrucian

symbols.

PLA E #52:

his symbol shows the Book of Wisdom sealed with the seven sealB. he eéven seáis are the seven principies of life. It is only the adept who has mastered the principies of the seven seáis who can open the book. he number 666 is the number of the be-as t, as mentioned in .Revelations» his is perhaps the most outstanding reference to thé Christian Bible

in the entire book of secret symbols, However, there are many mystics today who maintain that the Book of Revelations is ai distinctive work dealing with psychic initiation, and not with actual eccleBlastlcal or

hlstorical evénts* his symbol is one of the sixteenth century group»

PLA E #53: pt- H

Pláte #53 shows the secret Book of Life opened. Notice that the seáis are so placed that should the book be closed they would fit over each other, representing the microcosm and the macrocosm. his is a further elaboration of the previous Bymbol, and the text is self-explana

tory. his le also of the sixteenth century group.

’LA E #54: r s

his píate is again one of the older sixteenth century Rosicrucian symbols. It occupies the last páge in the older manuscript. It is titled there " he Sum otal and the Final Conclusión." he left side of the píate represente the divine nature and has the ñame of Jesús and the Holy Ghost in it, while the right side is represented by the word which translated means *hyle,the elementary earthly substance* he other three circles represent the four principies out of which the Universe is comoosed. and which have already be en mentioned, he

PLATE #5Ql 57



Pago Nineteen

two Latín phrases at the top and in the center of the diagram, when translated mean the trifolio of the philosophies, and out of matter into the imihater.lal.

PLA E #55: PC

In Píate #55 is given again a slight variation of the Rosy CrosB and the Kabbalistic representation of.the number four. It representa in effect heavenly and earthly fire» It was an axiom among the Rosicru-

cians of the Middle Ages that all thlngs had their origin in flre. Another comment on the number four is approprlate at this time. Pytha- goras placed great importance upon the number four. His etractys was the basis of all his philosophy* his symbol was, of course, one of the sixteenth century symbols.

PLA E #56:

he symbol on Píate #56 also belongs to the sixteenth century group.

It is eaid to show the secret of secrete, or the mystery of the number séven. he left side deais with the heavenly theóries, while the right

side deals with the practical theóries of the natural world. he four

alchemical symbols are shown in the smallest inside circle. he se ven conceritric circles correspond in a way to- the understanding of the universe during the Middle Ages. he universe was supposed to be like an onion, coneisting of layers upon layers. Here we see at the top heaven, and the variouB lower divisions untll the seventh world, with the world of nature on the right-hand side and the world of God .on the left-hand sida* Each circle is Just the oppoeite of the other. One inner circle represente materiality, and the inner circle on the left represents the highest spiritual world. Aleo, the figure on the left représente the maerocosm, while that on the right represents the microcosm. he figures below the two circles represent various stages

and accpmplishments of the alchemical "Magnum Opus." he text gives a

number of "quotations" for the .persqn interested in meditating upon Bymbolical scriptural statements.

PLA E #57 : U

he last symbol in the book belongs aleo to the early sixteenth century group of Rosicrucian symbols. he predominating number of symbols— twénty-eight, to be exact—do come direct from the sixteenth century riianuBcript of Rosicrucian s e c r e t symbols, of which Johannes Kelplus* copy was typical. Perhaps of all.the symbols in the book #57 portrays mo8t cleárly a complete Cosmology of our Rosicrucian, AMORC teachings,

It shows first the golden circle or source of all power, spiritual and

physical. he second circle, made up of numerous arrows and symbols and BeédB, depicts the gradual eolidification of the higher vibrations untll we have, in the last or third circle, the physical universe. he second or middle circle corresponds to the alchemical and phllosophical term of hyperphyslca. he top circle corresponds to metaphysica, and thé lower to physica. he top circle ie puré, undefiled Cosmic energy» the middle circle le an active and .pehetratlve vortex of energy that



Page wenty

gradually condense into the solid physical earth below* he large circle below oommences with the circle of the Zodiac and vrorks in

toward the center of the earth, his bottom circle aleo shows the medieval concept of the Universe. hey believed that the Universe was like an onion> made up of different layers or planes with Hades in the center and God on the outside,

his ié the last of the symbols. As we have seen, the se thirty-six

symbols have given us one of the greatest summaries of wisdom known

to man today. By meditating' upon them and studylng them periodically one can penetrate further into the ir mysteries, In fact> by continued

meditation they appear to dissolve or open and lead into higher worlds of thought. he general principies and key to the understanding of these eymbols depende upon our understanding of the Rosicrucian phlloBophy, the Kabala and its color schemes, the ancient cosmogonies, and the philosophieB of the ancient mystics of Greece ‘nd Egypt.

Alchemy further clarifies the symbols.- Physical alchemy and spiritual alchemy must aleo be stuáied before a complete understanding of the book is. achieved. In conclusión, these two difecourses have attempted

to point the way for further study by giving the basic and general

principies of lnterpretation. Further progrese and understanding depend upon the inltiative of thé student.

J-88

An Explanation of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians

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