Secrets of the Rosy Cross

Sep 17, 2026

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Secrets of the Rosy Cross examines the symbolism behind the Golden and Rosy Cross Fraternity and traces how its ideas connected to Francis Bacon and John Dee. It outlines the early 17th-century Rosicrucian manifestoes, including Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis, and explains their publication context alongside later developments like the Chemical Wedding. The narrative also connects prominent patrons, scholars, and correspondence networks across Germany and England, highlighting how manuscripts and alliances supported the movement’s growth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Historical origins and manifestoes

Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis

The Chemical Wedding and authorship

Key patrons, institutions, and networks

Moritz of Hesse-Kassel and the Society

Links to England and scholarly circles

Manuscript circulation and transmission

Secrets of the Rosy Cross The meanings behind the symbolism of the Fraternity of the Golden and Rosy Cross and its association with Francis Bacon and John Dee. Author: Peter Dawkins The existence of the Rosicrucian Fraternity was first announced in what are known as the Rosicrucian manifestoes of the early 17th century. This is generally considered to have occurred in 1614 when an anonymous manifesto was published in Kassel, the capital of HesseKassel (a state in present-day Germany), titled Fama Fraternitatis, des löblichen Ordens des Rosenkreuzes (‘The Proclamation of the Fraternity, of the laudable Order of the Rosie Cross’) . This proclamation was placed as an appendix to Allgemeine und General Reformation der gantzen weiten Welt (‘Universal and General Reformation of the Whole Wide World’)—a German translation of the 77th Advertisement of Trajano Bocallini's Satira Ragguagli di Parnasso (‘Advertisements from Parnassus’)—and is clearly meant to be read together with the Fama, with the two working together in partnership and thus operating the Gemini principle. The Fama Fraternitatis—which is concerned with setting in motion a universal and general reformation of the whole wide world by means of partly renewing and reducing all arts to perfection, together with presenting an allegorical history of Fra. C. R.C., the Father of the Fraternity—was followed by the Confessio Fraternitatis (‘The Confession of the Fraternity’) in 1615, which completes the story begun in the Fama. Besides giving his express permission for the publication of the manifestoes, at the same time (in 1615) Moritz ‘the Learned’, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, founded the ‘Societas Christiana’, which functioned as a branch or chapter of the Rosy Cross. The Society was comprised of Moritz plus twelve officers, who included Prince Frederick-Henry, the future Stadtholder of the Netherlands, the Landgrave Louis of Hesse-Darmstdt, the Marquis JeanGeorge of Brandenburg, the Elector Frederick III, and Prince Christian of Anhalt. Other members included Valentine Andrea, Michael Maier, Raphael Eglinus, Anthony Thys and Professor Jongman. Michael Maier, who visited England regularly between 1611 and 1616 where he first heard of the Rosicrucians, became Moritz’s court physician in 1619. Moritz was an anglophile and a great patron of alchemists and medical men. His father had been William IV of Hesse-Kassel, called ‘William the Wise’, a notable patron of the arts and sciences and a pioneer in astronomical research, who founded the first European observatory in 1564 in his castle at Kassel and who was not only on friendly terms with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe but was also himself responsible for calculating many stellar positions. The link between Moritz and England was strong for many years. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the performing arts and not only employed English comedians and musicians such as John Dowland but also built the first permanent German theatre, the Ottoneum, at Kassel in 1604. He was patron of the University of Marburg, whose great chemistry faculty, under the direction of Johann Hatmann, maintained a close relationship with Exeter College, Oxford. Moritz’s neighbour was Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate, who in 1613 married Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, VI of Scotland. Immediately after their marriage Frederick and Elizabeth established a centre of Rosicrucian activity at their castle in Heidelberg, so it is possible that the publication of the Rosicrucian manifestoes was timed to coincide with and aid this ‘new beginning’. The existence of the manifestoes, however, can be traced back to at least 1610, since the composer, alchemist and physician Adam Haselmayer, in a reply to the Fama printed in 1612, states that he had seen a manuscript copy of the Fama in Tyrol in 1610. It was also circulating in manuscript form in both Kassel and Marburg from at least July 1611.1 This suggests that the p

FAQs

What are the early Rosicrucian manifestoes discussed, and what do they accomplish?

The text focuses on Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis, presented as works that initiate and then complete a universal reformation narrative. It also places them in relation to later material that reshapes how the fraternity’s father figure is titled.

How does the book connect the Rosicrucian movement to Francis Bacon and John Dee?

It highlights a relationship through communications and intellectual circles that involve Bacon. It also references patterns of interaction among prominent figures connected to the broader European learned world.

Why does the author discuss authorship and the differences among the manifestoes?

The book notes that the first two manifestoes were written in Latin and do not name the father figure as Christian Rosy Cross. It then explains that the naming comes from the third manifesto, and it emphasizes claims by Johann Valentin Andreae about authorship and timing.

Sep 17, 2026

Upload by Patrick