Fama Fraternitatis - 1614

Wiewohl wir nun wohl wissen, daß es umb ein ziemliches noch nicht an dem, da wieder unserm Verlangen oder auch anderer Hoffnung mit allgemeiner Reformation divini et humani, solle genug geschehen, ist es doch nicht unbillich, daß, ehe die Sonne auffgehet, sie zuvor ein HELL oder dunkel liecht in den Himmel bringt und unter dessen etliche wenige, die sich werden angeben, zusammen tretten, unsere Fraternitet mit der Zahl und Ansehen des gewünschten und von Fr.R.C. fürgeschriebenen Philosophischen Canons, einen glücklichen Anfang machen oder ja in unserer Schätz (die uns nimmermehr aufgehen können) mit uns in Demut und Liebe genießen die Mühsamkeit dieser Welt überzuckern und in den Wunderwerken Gottes nicht also blind umbgehen.

Vi vet dock att det enligt vår åstundan och andras förväntningar efter någon tid kommer en allmän reformation av både gudomliga och mänskliga ting. Ty innan solen går upp, upplyses himlen av
MORGONRODNADENS ljus. I väntan på denna reformation församlas några få som med sitt antal skall utöka vårt brödraskap, höja dess anseende och stärka dess förhoppningar och ge de av Fr.R.C. föreskrivna Filosofiska Canons en lycklig begynnelse. I all ödmjukhet och kärlek skall dessa nytillkomna tillsammans med oss dela våra skatter, som aldrig skall förgås, och så lindra denna världens möda och inte längre vandra ovetande om kunskapen om Guds underbara verk.

Howbeit we know after a time there will now be a general reformation, both of divine and humane things, according to our desire, and the expectation of others: for it is fitting, that before the rising of the Sun, there should appear and break forth AURORA, or some clearness, or divine light in the sky; and so in the mean time some few, which shall give their names, may joyn together, thereby to increase the number and respect of our Fraternity, and make a happy and wished for beginning of our Philosophical Canons, prescribed to us by our brother R.C. and be partakers with us of our treasures (which never can fail or be wasted) in all humility, and love to be eased of this worlds labor, and not walk so blindly in the knowledge of the wonderful works of God.

Definition

Det brittiska ordenssällskapet Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn och den tyska Frimurarlogen L'Aurore Naissante, vilket grundades i London 1888 respektive Frankfurt-am-Main 1807, delade på samma hebreiska namn Chevrah Zerach Bequr Aur, förevisat i gyllene gult vid bloggens huvud, vilket ordagrannt kan översättas till “Stigande Gryningsljusets Sällskap”. Denna tyska Rosenkorsiska Frimurarloge i Frankfurt, vilket måste anses vara det ursprungliga modertemplet till GOLDEN DAWN, kallade sig på tyska även Loge sur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe, vilket kan översättas till “Gryende Morgonrodnadens Loge”. Detta skiljer sig åt från den engelska seden att översätta orden Bequr Aur till “Golden Dawn” eller “Gyllene Gryningen”. Med anledning av Rosenkorstraditionens tyska ursprung är en mer korrekt översättning av Bequr Aur, genom franskans L'Aurore Naissante och tyskans Aufgehenden Morgenröthe, inget annat än GRYENDE MORGONRODNADEN. Denna hänvisning till ett stigande gryningsljus, morgonrodnad eller aurora är en klar hänvisning till den allmäna reformationen omnämnt i det ovan citerade stycket från Fama Fraternitatis. Denna blogg har dock valt att behålla den försvenskade anglo-saxiska termen GYLLENE GRYNINGEN för att denna, invand som den är, lättare associeras med den Rosenkorsiska tradition som här ämnas att framställas.

Licht, Leben, Liebe

onsdag 20 maj 2009

Golden Dawn and conspiracy theories

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Recently my lectures on The Red and Golden Cross and The Sabbatian Qabalah and its relation to the Golden Dawn was commented upon on a scholarly Illuminati conspiracy blog named Roots of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn by Terry Melanson, a Christian author with an obvious aim bent on destroying the reputation of the Bavarian Illuminati, the Rosicrucians and Antinomian Kabbalists, who says regarding his choice of subject matter:
I don’t “like” the Bavarian Illuminati and their machinations for power, their subversion of society from the inside out, the professed anarchy and proto-communism in the higher degrees. I don’t “like” the Golden and Rosy Cross and their mystical obscurantist con-game. I don’t “like” Sabbatai Zevi nor Jacob Frank and the results of their messianic, revolutionary, antinomian creed.
However delighted over the keenness on making a connection between the Gold und Rosenkreutz, the Asiatic Brethren, the Frankists and the Golden Dawn, and the flattering attempt in using me as a source for his theories, and regardless of the sheer entertainment value in the writing, unfortunately I believe Mr. Melanson oftentimes takes his conclusions a little bit to far and becomes lost in pure speculations. Let me cite the pertinent portions which needs to be addressed directly. First off, the die hard “Jesuit” connection:
In my book over the Bavarian Illuminati it was established that the Gold- und Rosenkreutz [Golden and Rosy Cross] were […] also aligned with the obscurantists of religious orthodoxy, the Jesuits, and recruited members from among its ranks.
There is absolutely no substantial evidence of this Jesuit connection with the Gold und Rosenkreutz. The only circumstantial evidence being that both the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians where the target of Bavarian Illuminaty vitriol, that both the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians were the sworn enemy of the Illuminati. After the schismatic breakup between the Gold und Rosenkreutz and the Asiatic Brethren, both organizations used that same allegation against each other, which for me is proof enough that the Jesuits wasn’t held in high regard amongst the Rosicrucians. Mr. Melanson easlily forgets that the Catholic Church was on no friendly terms with the Rosicrucians, a fact that becomes clear in reading Christopher McIntosh’s seminal and important work The Rosy Cross and the Age of Reason. Mr. Melanson goes on:
As mentioned in Illuminati Conspiracy Part Two: Sniffing out Jesuits and documented in my book Perfectibilists, “ex”-Jesuit Ignatius Franciscus Franck [Ignaz Franck] (1725-1795) was not only the persecuting hand against the Illuminati in Bavaria, but he was also the Zirkeldirektor of the Munich Golden and Rosy Cross.
This is perhaps correct information, and the reference made by Mr. Melanson is also corroborated by McIntosh, but one cannot help to wonder why this Ignaz Franck was an ex-Jesuit? Is it, as Mr. Melanson has pointed out for me, a reference to the official dismanteling of the Jesuit Order in 1773? Or is it perhaps a reference to the fact that one couldn’t be a member of both organizations? Even if the Jesuit Order officially were dismantled in Bavaria, it still existed in Prussia and Russia. Perhaps in his hatred against the Illuminati Franck found the Rosicrucians a much more efficient organization to battle the Bavarian Illuminati, especially when Jesuit Order activities were forbidden i Bavaria? The situation in Bavaria was thus unique and I suspect that one cannot find any equivalent Jesuit-Rosicrucian connection (if there even were any) in Prussia, the home of the Gold und Rosenkreutz.
The 18th Century Rosicrucians had established circles in Vienna, Prague, Frankfurt-am-Main, Marburg, Kassel, Hamburg, Sulzbach, Munich, Regensburg and Augsburg, among others. The latter city was also a stronghold of the Jesuits. When their order was nominally abolished in 1773, many of them took refuge in Augsburg and published pamphlets against the Freemasons, the Enlightenment and especially the Illuminati (see R.R. Palmer, The Age of Democratic Revolution: A Political History of Europe and America, 1760-1800 – II: The Struggle, Princeton University Press, 1970, pp. 452-53). Although documented membership in the Golden and Rosy Cross is fleeting and haphazard at best, the fact that the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians made Augsburg their home – both having pitted themselves against the rationalists and the Illuminati - is significant and warrants a thorough investigation.
Here again Mr. Melanson is making simplistic speculations and conjectures. So what that both Jesuits and Rosicrucians shared the same city? Mr. Melanson easily forgets that the Gold und Rosenkreutz regarded itself as part of the Freemasonic community. Its Grades was regarded to be a species of Freemasonic High Degree system. To become a member of the Golden Rosy Cross, one had to be a Master Mason. So the papal ban against Freemasonry was definitely not in favor of the Gold und Rosenkreutz. So in this respect, the Golden Rosicrucians and Jesuits only shared one common enemy, the Illuminati, not the Freemasons (who hadn’t anything to do with the Bavarian Illuminati).
I don’t think it’s likely that the Golden and Rosy Cross had a membership comparable to that of the Bavarian Illuminati (2,000 to 3,000), however, [Klaus] Epstein [in his book The Geneis of German Conservatism, Princeton University Press, 1966, in a note on … [page 107] …, mentions a membership estimate claimed for the Rosicrucian order (in 1777) of 909 juniores, 844 theoretici, 833 practici, 822 philosophi, 799 minores, 788 majores, 777 adepti, 77 magistri, and 7 magi.
This figure of 5856 members is taken directly from the “Tableau” called For the Harmony of the Brothers of the Rosie and Cross after the Universal Reformation under the heading Number of Quorum. Anno Domini 1763, as reproduced in Der Resenkreutzer in seiner Blösse by Magister Pianco. This may or may not be an “ideal” number of members of each Grade of the Fraternity. Here it is also interesting to use Christopher McIntosh and the aforementioned book as a source reference to be able to estimate a figure. MacIntosh uses simple math, estimates the number of probably operative “circles” (the name for working alchemical groups in the Gold und Rosenkreutz) and estimates a figure well over 1000 members, probably several thousands. An estimation of 8000 members is also mentioned in this connection, although “this has the ring of exaggeration” according to the author.
The highest adepts [of the Gold und Rosenkreutz] remained hidden from the rank and file; and the magestri and magi, in particular, were elevated to the level of demigods. “Our magi do not carry on ordinary magic,” Epstein quotes from the Golden and Rosy Cross’ statutes:

“Our magic is the truly divine magic, which allows us to talk personally with God, as Moses and Isaiah did of old, or to send our messages through spirits which have been purified by the fire of God. We possess the two main secrets of Jehovah, i.e., how to create and destroy all natural matter. We can transform water into blood, as did Moses; we can turn a flourishing city into debris by the sound of trumpets, as did Joshua. We can give commands to the sun, the moon, the stars and the wind, and we can raise men from the dead as did the prophets of old” (Epstein, pp. 108-9).

Needless to say, this is obviously the origin of the so-called Secret Chiefs of the Golden Dawn. The Strict Observance of the 18th Century had similar beliefs: they called their invisible masters, Unknown Superiors.
In this instance Mr. Melanson is correct. Let us now see what he finally has to says against the Frankist Kabbalah:
The work of Gershom Scholem and Jacob Katz has established beyond doubt that Jacob Frank’s nephew and intended successor, Moses Dobruska, was a conduit for authentic Sabbatian/Lurianic Kabbalah via the Asiatic Brethren. Yet in Du Frankisme au Jacobinisme, Scholem writes that before 1780 Dobruska had also become a regular Freemason, as had other members of various Frankist families (p. 28). And on p. 29, he mentions the Golden and Rosy Cross by name – that the Frankists, extravagant Catholic monks (who had much sympathy for the Sabbatians through extensive travel in the Orient), and the adventurers from the Golden and Rosy Cross, got along well because of their shared syncretistic tendencies.

Since we know that Frankists joined Freemasonry proper and belonged to dedicated occult groups such as the Asiatic Brethren, they probably had been initiated into the Golden and Rosy Cross as well. And if you were seriously interested in alchemy during the 18th Century, affiliation with the Rosicrucians was almost required. It is for this reason that I think it’s possible that Jacob Frank himself might have been a member of the Golden and Rosy Cross.
How much I wish this to be true, there is absolutely no substance at all in this assertion. As being part of the regular German Freemasonic community, directly recruiting its membership from Master Masons (especially from German Templarism), the doors to Rosicrucianism was barred from Jews, until the advent of the Asiatic Brethren. The Frankist “Freemasons” must have been a reference to members of the Asiatic Brethren, who abolished the requirement of being a Freemason prior to initiation. Much later in 1807 the Jewish Freemasonic Lodge L'Aurore Naissante or Sur Aufgehenden Morgenröthe was created by the Asiatic Brethren to remedy this lack of Jews in Freemasony. Mr. Melanson continues:
First, some tantalizing clues are found in Kraushar’s Jacob Frank: The End to the Sabbataian Heresy (University Press of America, 2001). Krausar’s book uses standard chronological methodology, and when he discusses Frank’s activities in Brunn (or Brno), Moravia, for the first time in the text we read such things as: “Franks activities involved … alchemy: successfully persuading his followers that there were certain herbs that, when spread over iron, transmuted that metal into gold; also that there was a ‘certain substance’ giving eternal life…” “Before the element of magic was used by Frank in an attempt to practice alchemy for the purpose of creating gold, the master passed for a doctor, restoring health to the sick by the use of means known only to him” (296); “…when he was feeling better, he began to think about ways to locate new sources of income, to create gold through alchemy. He reminded himself how he had toiled over alchemy with Rabbis Issachar and Mordechai…” (303); “he gathered his brothers, and encouraged them to pursue the knowledge of how to make gold … At Frank’s court, there began the preparation of ‘gold drops’ as a medication ‘for all diseases’” (304).
This is a very fascinating account of Frankist involvement in Alchemy that I didn’t know of. But Alchemy was also, as McIntosh has pointed out, influential on the German Pietist movement, which in turn influenced the Rosicrucians. Alchemy in 18th Century was probably as big as Homeopathy is today in Germany, i.e. not being restricted to Rosicrucians. So dealing or dabbling with Alchemy is no proof of being a Rosicrucian.
All this takes place while in Brno from the mid-1770s to about 1786. There’s no mention of alchemy or gold-making, before or after. And there was a Golden and Rosy Cross circle in Brno at the time, founded by Count Karl Josef von Salm-Reifferscheidt (1750-1838) at his chateau. Count von Salm was Master of the Lodge Zur aufgehenden Sonne im Orient [The Rising Sun in the Orient] of the Templar Strict Observance, and had been a representative for Austria at the Wilhelmsbad Masonic Congress in 1782.

I have not been able to uncover whether Jacob Frank had been acquainted with either Count von Salm or his circle of Rosicrucians, but the fact that Frank started speaking of alchemy and gold-making during his stay at Brno is significant and worthy of further investigation.
All this is just circumstances. Again, German Freemasonry (and especially the Templar version of it as the Strict Observance) was definitely barred from Jews, even if they had converted to Christianity. Anti-Semitism wasn’t invented in 20th Century Germany.
That Frank had mentioned toiling over alchemy with Rabbis, does not discount (on the basis that he received this knowledge from them) a connection with the Golden and Rosy. After all, Scholem had specifically mentioned the Frankists and Rosicrucians as getting along well; and though Jews at the time weren’t exactly welcomed into regular Freemasonry, the Rosicrucians can be expected to have actively sought Jewish initiates, Kabbalistic Rabbis, Baal Shem and the like.
Unfortunatly only Rosicrucians belonging to the Asiatic Brethren, who had Jews as founding members, hence the strong emphasis not only on Kabbalah but on Frankist Kabbalah. Here Mr. Melanson also supports my view on the attitudes of Freemasons against Jews.
In any case, the Sabbatian elements detected in the Golden Dawn teachings probably descend from both the Golden and Rosy Cross and its Dobruska-influenced offshoot, the Asiatic Brethren.
Here Mr. Melanson again makes a correct assumption. As I wrote in my essay on Frankist Qabalah and the Golden Dawn, Jean-Pascal Ruggiu once made a remark regarding a Gold und Rosenkreutz Ms. containing information of a Frankist nature. So there probably was some Frankist influences already in the Order of the Golden Rosy Cross. But this is not at all strange considering the close approximity to Poland; the fact is that Poland was the center of Kabbalah in 18th Century Europe and also a stronghold for the Frankist movement.

S∴R

16 kommentarer:

Terry sa...

Re: Ignaz Franck. Correct information, and then some. Rene Le Forestier (Les Illumines de Baviere) has the correspondences between him and his Rosicrucian superiors, parts of which I've translated for an English audience. The reason why he was an "ex-Jesuit" was because the entire Society of Jesus was banned by the Pope in 1773. It is not clear, however, when he had become a Rosicrucian initiate, but he was the Munich Zirkeldirektor in the mid-80s during the Illuminati persecutions.

Your insinuation that the "ideal" of "no Jews allowed" played out in every respect in every circumstance, is faulty. One needs only undertake a membership survey of initiates at the time to see that some Jews snuck through the cracks. How they did it, I do not know; but it did happen. Scholem on p. 28 of Du Frankisme au Jacobinisme says that Dobruska was a regular Freemason before joining Asiatics, and (in n. 3 on the same page) that his father's friend, Wolf Hoenig of Vienna, was initiated into the Grand Orient of Paris in 1787 along with various other Frankist family members, before they converted. The sources for this, Scholem cites an article that Jacob Katz had written for Zion and the masonic archives of Hamburg.

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Hi Terry,

Thank's for the information regarding the papal ban of the Jesuit Order in 1773. To be honest, I didn't know about that. Yes, perhaps it seems reasonable. But who else from the Jesuits joined the Gold und Rosenkreutz? I still don't agree with you that the Gold und Rosenkreutz had many Jesuits in its membership, nor that the former was controlled by the latter. There is absolutely no proof of that.

Jews and Freemasonry. Yes, the Grand Orient (French Masonry) did allow Jews. However, Gold und Rosenkreutz mainly recruited thier members from German and Swedish Templar Rites, and from Scottish Freemasonry. They are more or less christian in nature, as distinct from the more liberal attitude of the French Grand Orient.

The Frankfurt-am-Main Lodge L'Aurore Naissante which I was referring to was authorized by the Grand Orient in 1807, and later by the UGLE.

S.R.

Terry sa...

Who else among the "ex-Jesuits" were members of the Rosy Cross? The answer to that would have to be prefaced upon a detailed monograph study of Rosy Cross membership, which has never been undertaken - if it is even possible. Just the fact that such a powerful ex-Jesuit as Franck, the confessor to the Elector of Bavaria Karl Theodor, had such a high position as a Rosicrucian is more than a bit telling. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to surmise that Franck's extended network of ex-Jesuit friends were similarly connected in some manner or other with the Rosicrucians and other mystics. A common enemy - the Illuminati, rationalist Freemasons and philosophes - wasn't the only thing they had in common. As I mentioned in the article, the Augsburg milieu is a perfect place to begin such an investigation. It is one of the places where the famous pamphlet wars (by both the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians) were headquartered.

Chapter two of Jacob Katz's Jews and Freemasons in Europe 1723-1939 documents some Jews who became Freemasons in England (UGLE) and Holland from the 1730s to the 60s. Take this paragraph, for instance:

--
The earliest Jewish Freemasons in both Holland and England were Sephardim. The participants in the Grand Lodge of London, mentioned above, included the Mendez, De Medina, De Costa, Alvares, and Baruch (the last named may possibly have been an Ashkenazi) families. Among the petitioners of 1759, such names appear as Jacub Moses, Lazars Levy, and Jacub Arons, all of whom may have been Ashkenazim. We know the exact text of a membership certificate, dated 1756, of a Jew, Emanuel Harris, a native of Halle, Germany, who had changed his name from Menachem Mendel Wolff. The text of this certificate was published in 1769 by the research scholar Olof Gerhard Tychsen, who mentioned as a commonly' known fact that in England, as contrasted with Germany, Jews were admitted to the Masonic lodges as a matter of course. Tychsen was even able to relate that one of the affiliates of the Grand Lodge of London was referred to as "The Jewish Lodge" on account of the composition of its membership. (source)
--

And there is overlap here where Jews were admitted while at the same time more specific rules were enacted in order to exclude them. So, the Jew question is more nuanced than is supposed.

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Dear Terry,

Still, as we know almost nothing of the membership roll of the Gold und Rosenkreutz, all we can do is speculate. You have expressed your opinions, I have expressed mine. Neither of us can prove our own position nor disprove the other.

Regarding Ignaz Franck, do we know if he still was a practicing catholic priest during his Gold und Rosenkreutz membership? I cannot surmise how membership in a esoteric order, be it Rosicrucian or not, can be combined with being a catholic, and a catholic Priest at that.

I personally find the thought of a larger membership of ex-Jesuits in the Gold und Rosenkreutz as non-plausible, mainly because of the fact that Freemasonry (regardles of brand) was banned by the Pope and that the Gold und Rosenkreutz considered Freemasonry as its outer court.

Even though the Order of the Jesuits were dismantled for a while, this doesn't prove that they weren't "good catholics", in other respects i.e. that they didn't adhere to the papal ban of Freemasonry.

You cannot get around the fact that (a) the Gold and Rosenkretuz represented a Freemasonic version of Rosicrucianism, and that (b) there were different kinds of Freemasonic Orders, both of the "Enlightment" kind (i.e. Grand Orient and Blue Lodge)and of the more esoteric or mystical kind (i.e. Hight Degree systems as the Scottish Rite, Stricht Observance, The Swedish Rite, etc.).

Regarding your source about Jews and Freemasonry, I have no reason to dispute these facts. Of course Jews were admitted to the Blue Lodge system of the Grand Lodge of England and Grand Orient. But I suspect that very, VERY few Jews were admitted to the High Degree Rites of more Templar and Rosicrucian flavors, such as the Scottish and Swedish Rites, and the Stricht Observance. I still hold that the Gold und Rosenkreutz recruited their membership from these christian oriented Rites. Remember that Rosicrucianism is a species of Christian Esotericism.

S.R.

Terry sa...

"still was a practicing catholic priest during his Gold und Rosenkreutz membership"

Yes. And still the confessor for Karl Theodor.

"I cannot surmise ... how membership in a esoteric order can be combined with being a catholic, and a catholic Priest at that."

It's hard to fathom but it is true. Consult Herman Schuettler's 1000+ membership list with bios of known Illuminati; their masonic and initiatory vitae are fully fleshed out in minute detail: Die Mitglieder des Illuminatenordens 1776-1787/93. Many priests were members of the Illuminati, and Freemasons as well. Some even went on to become Bishops - one went on to be a Cardinal, even, and he was a Mason - and were simultaneously members of orders such as the Knights of Malta. The Pope's little decrees against Freemasonry worked well on paper, but in the real world things are much more nuanced (and people generally do what they please).

You are to rigid. You really should spend some time perusing membership studies during the 18th Century. Many of your preconceived notions will have be readjusted.

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Dear Terry,

Regarding the membership roll of the Bavarian Illuminati attracting Catholic priests, I'm not surprised considering that even one or two Golden Rosicrucians were enrolled in Weishaupt's organization. Imagine that!

But I suppose Adam Weishaupt, in recruiting priests, left out the part that his organization promoted the downfall of the monarchy and the church. Perhaps also the Illuminaty attracted one or two disillusionated Priests; Catholic Priests are sometimes known to be drawn to Satanism (which requires ordained priests for the traditonal Black Mass), or other perverse activities that are more common today.

Still, the Illuminati isn't the main point of my discussion. Why should I even bother in studying the membership roll of such a materialistic degenerate organisation as the Bavarian Illuminati? Conspiracy theories is not my thing really, apart from amusement and entertainment; and then I prefer reading a fiction novel by Umberto Eco, Dan Brown or Robert Anton Wilson, as they don't take themselves or the subject matter to seriously.

Nothing of what you have presented proves the Jesuit-Rosicrucian connection, besides the reference to ONE person, i.e. Ignaz Franck. Considering the large membership of several tousands, one person, even if he happens to be a regional circle leader, doesn't substantiate the assertion of the Gold und Rosenkreutz being a Jesuit front organization.

I you would provide me with a membership roll of the Gold und Rosenkreutz, I would be happy to study it in detail. Until then, I won't regard anything you or anyone else write in favour of this notion to be less fictional than the writings of Umberto Eco or Dan Brown.

Even if the Jesuit Order officially were dismantled in Bavaria, it still existed in Prussia and Russia. Perhaps in his hatred against the Illuminati Franck found the Rosicrucians a much more efficient organization to battle the Bavarian Illuminati, especially when Jesuit Order activities were forbidden i Bavaria? Sometimes Occam's Razor is the best way to deal with scarce information as this.

The situation in Bavaria was thus unique and I suspect that one cannot find any equivalent Jesuit-Rosicrucian connection (if there even were any) in Prussia, the home of the Gold und Rosenkreutz.

Please note that I have amended the original essay somewhat, regarding the Jesuit Order being distmatled in Bavaria, etc.

S.R.

Terry sa...

"should I even bother in studying the membership roll of such a materialistic degenerate organisation"

You were doubtful that there were priests in esoteric societies and I told you that it has already been well documented. I told you that Schuettler had done bios on over 1,000 members of the Illuminati. In case you didn't realize, most Illuminati were Masons (and the most powerful ones on the continent at that). And I also told you that these members have their entire esoteric vitae reproduced in this book in minute detail: when they were initiated into Freemasonry (or any other org), what lodge they belonged to, etc, and the major details of their lives. Thus Schuettler's work is the most detailed survey of initiatic members in the 18th century ever produced. I'm giving you a tip here, form one researcher to another. Take it or leave it.

"doesn't substantiate the assertion of the Gold und Rosenkreutz being a Jesuit front organization"

Your words, not mine. Collusion is what I maintain. The extent of it? That will have to wait for another day.

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

O.k. Terry. Thank's for the tip. Perhaps I will make something out of it some day. In the meantime, good luck with your own research. Please feel free to post a comment here if you have done a major breakthrough regarding the German Rosicrucians. I will awaite it with great anticipation, as I am sure many of my readers also will.

S.R.

Fr. A. sa...

Care Frater S.R.,

I'm not sure about the connection of Frank himself to the Golden Rosey Cross. Although this is definitely plausible. He was involved in Free Masonry.

However, there is a history of Kabbalists involved with Alchemy that comes from circles that were connected to Sabbateanism independent of Free Masonry.

Rabbi Chayim Vital, of blessed memory, was a direct student of the Light of G_dliness, the Holy ARI, may his memory last forever. Rabbi Vital practiced Alchemy and even wrote on the topic.

Rabbi Vital's son Schmuel (the guardian of the works of the Holy Arizal) was in Egypt; and was in attendance in the circles of the Chelebi Raphael Joseph. Since the Chelebi was a staunch supporter of the Messiah Shabtai Tzvi there is also the possibility of a Sabbatean transmission of Alchemy independent of the Golden Rosey Cross Order.

Since many of the Ba'ali Shem were of this persuasion and practiced Ma'asah Kabbalah there are many possibilities here.

Also there is much within the Aesch Mezareph that seems to require a Lurianic interpretation (often resembling some of Vital's descriptions in several parts... see the chapter in my book on the Aesch Mezareph) to make sense... this is quite an interesting topic in itself.

Frank had his own Alchemical Laboratory which is also quite fascinating.

So, whether the Alchemical components came from Esoteric Christian Sources or Esoteric Jewish Sources there is much room for speculation.

Not to mention Frank's connection to the circles that developed in the Donmeh from Osman Baba (Baruchiah Russo), and their activity within certain guilds, this is another area to explore... particularly with the possibility of Arabic Alchemical influences through the Bektashis or other Esoteric Societies within Islam.

One could "speculate" that since the Frankists incorporated religious-esoteric teachings from all 3 Abrahamic Faiths, that this may have included transmission of Alchemical teachings as well.

Maybe you will eventually draw enough attention from Conspiracy Theorists that you may end up on Clifford Shack's website!

Warm Regards,
Olen

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Brother Olen Rush has had difficulties publishing comments on this blog. As I greatly admire his scholarship and level of a attainment as a Hermetic Qabalist, I will cite one of his posts on a different forum here which is a response on my essay:

The relationship between the Golden and Rosey Cross Order and the Asiatic Brethren is certainly one aspect of the topic discussed.

However, there are several things to explore here regarding Alchemy.

Yaqov Frank did indeed practice Alchemy. He had Alchemical laboratories first in Brunn and later in Offenbach. It is also significant that Frank stated in the "Book of the Words of the Lord":

"Just as the entire world seeks and wishes to make gold, so I wish to transmute you to refined gold".

This was taken to be an instruction to his disciples (Ma'aminim).

Frank's nephew Moshe Dobruschka (aka Junius Frey) was one of the primary characters in the "Asiatic Brethren" along with Ephraim Joseph Hirschfield.

Scholem indicates that there is very likely a relationship between the Alchemical endeavors of Dobruschka and the Asiatic Brethren to the Rosey and
Golden Cross Order.

However, there is another tradition that most likely had some influence in the circle of the Asiatic Brethren.

Rabbi Chayim Vital, of blessed memory was the direct student of the G_dly Light, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the "Arizal"), may his memory last forever. Rabbi Vital recorded the teachings of the Holy Arizal. He also practiced Alchemy. After
Rabbi Vital passed away, his son Schmuel was the "guardian" of the teachings of the Holy ARI, and his father's (Rabbi Chayim Vital) writings. Schmuel was a guest for some time at the home of the Chelebi Raphael Joseph in Egypt. The Chelebi was one of the first and foremost supporters of the Messiah, "Shabtai Tzvi". There is a long standing Alchemical tradition in Northern Africa,
particularly in Morroco, and especially in Fez. There was also an Arabic Alchemical influence in these same areas with some crossover to the Jewish
Alchemists... as late as the 1920's.

If we also note that Lord Frank was closely allied with the Donmeh Circle that emerged from Osman Baba (Baruchiah Russo), there is also a possibility of a
combined Arabic and Jewish influence from the Mystical groups within Islam. Particularly, since they were closely allied to circles of Bektashi Sufis. Now
there are interesting activities of the Donmeh in certain "guilds", and there is also Frankist and Donmeh involvement in Free Masonry. As Lord Frank stated in
"The Book of the Words of the Lord":

"Now Freemasonry will have to do what those two did" (paraphrase).

The two being referred to are:

"The First", i.e. "Shabtai Tzvi", and

"The Second", i.e. "Baruchiah Russo".

These were repeatedly called "The First" and "The Second" by Frank. These were the first two Avatars of the Sabbatean Faith that were originally contained within their "Shell" (i.e. "Yeheshua Ben Meriam").

Now, if we begin to examine the "Aesch Mezareph" it will be seen that in many ways the book requires a Lurianic interpretation to make sense. The chapter in my book "Ilion Kithre" titled "Sod H'Aesch Mezareph" comments in detail on the Kabbalistic aspects of this text. It also has some analogy to the Alchemy of Rabbi Vital (not completely but close).

The syncretic methods of the Frankists are evidenced by their unique synthesis of the Mystical aspects of all 3 Abrahamic Faiths. It is very plausible that because of the interconnections of this group and their underground network of communication that a similar process occurred with the Alchemical aspects of the Asiatic Brethren, and more specifically with Lord Frank.

This is just fuel for thought, as I have my own humble opinion on this topic. Also please credit the source for the information being expounded. The Donmeh West site is also a great place to explore for information on Frank.

Warm Regards,
Olen

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Care Frater Olen,

Regarding the relationship between the Alchemical endeavors of the Asiatic Brethren and the Golden Rosy Cross Order. Yes, there was ideed a relationship! Let us not forget that one of the founders of the Asiatic Brethren, Hans Heinrich von Ecker und Eckhoffen (which may have been the person behind the psedonym "Magister Pianco"), was indeed a initiate of the Gold und Rosenkreutz. Verily, the Asiatic Brethren (or Fratres Lucis) are often regarded to be a spinoff of the Gold und Rosenkreutz.

Regarding Fez. Of course. It once was the primary center of Western Esotericism, i.e. during the height of the Islamic Empire, as Alexandria was during the Ptolemic period. Paul Foster Case, the former Alphe et Omega Adept, often refers to the Sages of Fez as the real source of the Tarot.

It is extremly interesting to see the blend of Alchemy so early in the Lurianic school. I have for some time now regarded Lurianic Qabalah as very Alchemical in its description of the Qlippoth and the Restoration. It can be compared to the Alchemical principle of Solve et Coagula. The freeing of the sparks with the sublimation of Sulphur and Mercury, and the purification of the Salt from the Caput Mortum. The Caput Mortum actually representing the Qlippoth. Lurianic Qabalah comes in new light through the analogy of Alchemy and Spagery. So I shouldn't be so surprised with all this actual alchemical references you are presenting.

Regarding Freemasonry and Jacob Frank, there is also this saying by him: “G_ds of FreeMasonry will have to do for us now“

I also found this highly interesting note on the Donmwh West forum written by Prof. Harris Lenowitz:

"In 1786, having bankrupted Brunn, he [i.e. Jacob Frank] moved to Offenbach and carried on in the same manner, appearing in public, but always in a state of pomp and ceremony, and in an exotic costume; he was the pet of the Prince of Ysenburg. During the years in Brunn and Offenbach Frank was closely tied to the founders of the Freemasonic lodge known as the Asiatic Brothers, contributing ideas to their constitution and adopting some of the practices, garb and style of Freemasonry."

So if Prof. Lenowitz is correct Jacob Frank was DIRECTLY involved in the Asicatic Brethren, who were created a few years prior to him moving to Offenbach. No wonder he practiced Alchemy in Brunn and Offenbach! This thing just becomes more and more intriguing! So, what Prof. Lenowitz really is saying is that Jacob Frank indeed was a Rosicrucian!

Isn't this faschinating and truly revealing information! It all interconnects beautifully!

In Licht, Leben und Liebe

S.R.

Fr. A. sa...

Care Frater S.R.,

Professor Lenowitz definitely would know. I would also point out that some groups point to Mystical Christianity as the source for the Rosicrucians. Others point to Sufi Mysticism. In the Frankists we have a blending of both of these streams along with a syncretic Kabbalah. There seems to be quite a bit of congruity here, perhaps too much to be coincidental. I would also point out the almost Jungian view of the Partzufim and the Sephirothic Images. Abba is an expert on this end of things (he came out of Jung's inner circle) and it is well worth listening or reading his lectures for that reason, among many others.

Note the following from Scholem on Hebrew Alchemy in Morocco:

"In Jerusalem, at the end of 1924, I made the acquaintance of an octogenarian Moroccan scholar, Makhluf Amsellem, who was a Kabbalist, as well as a theoretical and practical alchemist. Amsellem showed me two large codices that he had compiled, one on Kabbalah, the other on alchemy. He told me that in his youth he had been the court alchemist for the sharif of Morocco. I later found proof of this in "Notes sur l'alchimie a Fes" (1906), an essay by G. Salmon, who by 1904 had seen Amsellem's codices in Fez. He reports that Amsellem had became the court alchemist for Sultan Mulay Al-Hasan, who dedicated all of his spare time to the study of alchemy, albeit more for magical and occult purposes than in search of the Philosopher's Stone."

Many other such things were happening in North Africa, particularly around Fez. Alot of the manuscripts were written in Arabic language but with Hebrew letters. Some were written in Moroccan cursive script.

These things are all very intriguing.

Not to mention the mysterious "Falk" and his relationship with Cagliostro and Emmanuel Swedenborg...

My Best,
Olen

Warm Regards,
Olen

Terry sa...

Fascinating. Maybe you should rethink your above statement, "All this is just circumstances." Seems I'm not far off in my initial speculation after all (re: Frank and Rosicrucianism).

Falk too is a fascinating subject. The work of Marsha Keith Schuchard on this topic is good.

Sincerus Renatus... sa...

Dear Terry,

While I must grant you more credit for your research, my initial comment that you have used circumstantial evidence was against the idea that Jacob Frank was an initiate of the Gold und Rosenkreutz, because of its Christian denomination. I still hold that this is not very likely.

However, I can really (and gladly do) accept the idea that Frank was a member of the Asiatic Brethren which, while still being a Rosicrucian organization, also was syncretic in its apporach to allow both Jews and Christians. For me it makes sense that Frank held a hand in its formation, as it expresses Frankist and antinomian ideas.

I will write a separate essay about these findings about the Rosicrucian Frank soon.

S.R.

timlittle sa...

I thought you might be interested in learning about OUR Jewish traditions which embrace the real Christ. We are the Frankist Association of America. One of our members has a new book out:

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Messiah-Throne-Origins-Christianity/dp/1906787123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245892844&sr=8-1

These are our teachings passed on through generations. If you can't afford the book you can see the website of one of our teachers - www.stephanhuller.blogspot.com.

Shalom

Beth El Jacob Frank

Unknown sa...

You are my hero.
Terry thank you for sorting out the the
crap.
http://conspiro.net/
Very intrested in the Rosicrucian and the Golden Dawn.
You continue to inspire and help me.