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Show Woman Initiate Exposes Weird Rites of the Rosicrucians I v Fearsome Oaths and Exhibitions of Magic ; A Described as Chief Features in ' Ceremony of Induction t s' the' general sad Indifference to tho I roost recent computation of vrll. the coming force, and to the latest aro-nomlcal aro-nomlcal and astrological data from Mount rfi Ecclesla thcro arc persona In New York -who are not aware that many branches of the t Itoslcruclan Society exist In America 1 1. 4 ." Spencer Lewis. F. Tv. C, grand master en-cral en-cral and impcrator ot the TtosaccrJOian ,v (note the spelling), shares this Ignorance i'. with them, or alms to, for ho says m his . history of the order in America: - "While in the United, States thcro Is an Array of organizations all purporting to be .. , true Itosaecruclans, there Is in truth but one i true order, the original and perfect Itosae- crucian order, which Is known by one only ' V name. 'The Ancient and Mystical Orier X''' Rosae-Crucls,' whose universal and world- wide symbol Is the triangle with the point ' ' ' down ward. ' Another statement by Founder Lewis will surprise a good many persona who thought they knew all about Rosicruclanlsni In this country. It is that the- American society ',' dates back from 3316. He made a misreading , of his original instructions from the Jnlll-'N Jnlll-'N files, and when In 3 013 he cnllcd upon the Society for Psychical Research to help him form a lodge here of the Rosy Cross he met with Indifference. It could not be otherwise, for the adepts had retarded the dnte to 1915. In the early part of that year, with the is-sfstance is-sfstance of Superior Secretary-General Thor Klimalehto and when "the moon was in Sar-lttarius." Sar-lttarius." armed with charter and "black book." Founder Lewis called together a Utile band of nine men and women to form a committee com-mittee to originate a Supreme Council for America, I Growth of the Organization. The preliminary wort went forward steadily. In Mnrch fifty persons had taken the "preliminary oath In tre official Black ' Sook. On April 1 thirty of the most active ac-tive workers met at a proposed lodge room In Seventh avenue and thcro and then they constituted themselves the first true Rnl-crucian Rnl-crucian convention of the 'rder ever held in the templo to America. "Since then." glowingly reports Founder Lewie, "the order has grown amazlnsrlv. . There arc now associated vith us hundred I of merchants, land owners. r.etvspapei edi tors. Government officials, phvslcians surgeons, sur-geons, lawyers, scientists. -ornfsalonal men nnd women, artists, artisans, laborers at lit-k- tie trades, all worklnir for ? "nmmor, coon 'i and meeting on a common level"' At opce the :been were enarafeil from s the goats, and ocietec e'hlch hnd a'neH , notoriety as helnc tnrtce S.C.. of thp l"i ' crucians wcr" nskcri to dvr an account of ' themselves. Manv of them dH so nnfl di- . claimed the intention n' repre.entinc orn J( ' clally hc crenf ccrct -o,-rier. Oce of those wa Mat Heinrtl n wrlt-i on mvtlr -l Jccts. lie expln'nert Miat he bad -ruined founded the "TTncjenician Fllnwchlp r,n It, niarfp nn pretension to temporal pewr Mrs. Marie Rnssak also "explained. ih mn-. . Ins and powers of her "Temple of tlw R'nsv With tl" Rni.Tielnn fucMrv of n- "Mv .,- '. inr r ai Al'cnimvn Pa.. . the American t. ., thoriTied snejeiv had mnre irn.iNe F'-nm 1 l his prlntln eontre hook" vent forh nrtnA- cast, among thrtm one called a "Secret Book Giving the First Forty-nlno Degrees of the IlluminatI of the Rosicruclan Order." This book sold for $10. But any connection between be-tween Dr. Clymcr and the true Rosaccru clans was finally disproved. What Is a Rosaccrucian? Here la Dr. Lewis's answer: "A Rosaccruclan Is one who lives a life of attainment, determined that before ho completes com-pletes this cycle or period of earthly existence exist-ence ho shall have accomplished through personal c dcavor some deed of goodness for the better nent of the human race. "The Rosaecruclans have nothing to do with any other religion, Including the Christian Chris-tian religion. They created the symbol of the cross, they say. and the Christians adopted It. They do not teach spiritualism nor mcdlumshlp. Rosaecrucianism has nothing noth-ing to do with Yogi or other philosophy. It sells no books or degrees purporting to contain con-tain secrets of Initiation. It has regular lodges or temples In various cities, each with its master officer and under officials: It has also its grand lodges, and its supremo lodge Is In this city. The work of the American branch is outlined by the supreme council of the world and is secret. The funds are collected col-lected by regular contributions." Tho Rosaecruclans lodge of New York city has apparently judged It wise to use another name than Its famous one; It functions s a society for educational purposes as the Metropolitan College. Incorporated. The president of this college was formerly a Jesuit priest and It has a large society of adepts and initiates and probationer!:, with branches and connections In other cities. TelU of Weird Inltktion. Meetings and classes or the "college" are held In the Masonic Temple in Hsirlcm. Classes for the Instruction of probationers are hold weekly and the "initiates," so:tic of whom are called "Initiates of Tibet," meet on the 15th and last orcach month. All meetings are held at night and the religious meetings, so-called, start at midnight. A candidate for probation Is obliged to show letters from three well known biwinwss men who have known him for at least t.ve years. When these have been passed on fn-vorably fn-vorably by the ofllcers he will be summ tied to the Initiation ceremonies. As the ancient and mystical order Is truly mysdea! and secret, se-cret, to know what these ceremonies are cne must depend on what is told by persons who have gone so far as to have the experlo.ice and then backed out. A woman of a high degree of Intelligence and genuinely "seeking" "seek-ing" had the experience and did retreat. She tels the story of hr Initiation in good fnlt.h and would willing to sign her statement if by do'ng so any good would be gained "Another woman snd a man were the other cftndid;ite or Initiation besides myself." my-self." aid 0ie "IVo were locked In a small antechamher whMe the coi;ity carried on Its rMuni In the main a nd'toriujn Occasionally we heard a loud voice raised in spepch Of 3" sort of .otc or chant, hut these came tn'n? muflied I t;jkd with the woman candidate who wa vcrv nervous, and learned that she mourned a de?r relative and In the hope of ceitinc Info communication with her spirit :he had sonc-hi the aid of the Rosicrucians. The m.'ile candidate impressed me as beine Influenced hy curiosity simply - "Atvthe- trn1e of mldnlcbt the doors were thrown open and we three were admlti! into ih Me chamber It was dimly licht'-d An assemblage nj -jno or -"00 persons '.ah wo-iHna a hlnok roe wjth n black hen-'idrcsn and nial moved In procpsslon par, ih hpA pmund the h'l R.ich nn whether man or woman carried a cros with a cd rose upon A ROSI CRUCIAN 277 fi? PROCESSIONAL RITUAL di To-METROPOLITAN To-METROPOLITAN CQLLEG-E. It. I'ghled by electricity. At the iicmu ot -he procession walked twp men. one barlnc a bowl of sacrificial blood and the other a r.kull. These were also illuminated by u.-c-triclly4 - f 'r1 c "Vhen the procession had paused near the lop of the room we. the candidates went blindfolded and led before them. Then oaths were administered tc us. I wish i could remember how these were phrnsed but I do not. They were long and we wore asked to repeal them in Sections, and all I recollect Is that the oaths were very weird .inn vkiiu i'ne principal oath was coached In quuini language, which we were told came down from the fourteenth centurv. The last oath .of tho series was that we would' never reveal ihic sccreia "ol the order or exhibit to an outsider any of the literature litera-ture of the Rosicrucians. "The folds were then removed from our eyes and we were given seats in a circle while initiates gave exhibitions of magic to prove what powers can be gained br a diligent dili-gent student. "Throughout this exhibition the audito- Member Who 'Resigned Tells of Attempts : to Make Her Pay Penalt? for With- ; H drawing From the Order rium remained dimly lighted, but the altar with the cross and rose shone brilliantly, "In the circle in which 1 sat to witness whatever marvels might oc vouchsafed there were. I think, abont twenty-four persons, new members and we three candidates. In our midst stood an initiate of Tibet with his feet resting on the bare floor. Wo coul-1 see him dimly and he gradually faded from view as if he sank Into the floor. As soon a3 he had completely disappeared from our circle his voice was heard from the altar, and turning our eyes there we aw him standing In front of the cross. "This seemed wonderful but It did not content the male seeker, who asked for further fur-ther miracles, and his request was echoed by several voices. The Initiate agreed to ,produco a- dozen fresh ross with the dew on them and cause them to fall from the air in our midst. Apparently he did this. The roses fell one by one In the midst of the circle, cir-cle, each ono wet with dew. as If freshly plucked. The season was winter and the initiate stood far removed from us, near the altar. Following- this demonstration nothing noth-ing further in the way of magic was done, and to repeated requests for more the adepts frankly said they were exhausted. Resignation Carries Penalty. "I went to one or two classes, after this general meeting,' but T decided that T did not care to carry out my plan to become an adept member and a3ked to be permitted to resign. The .secretary of Metropolitan College, who Is the' wife of a dealer in secret se-cret society equipment in Maiden lane, replied re-plied to my request that T could be allowed to resign only by paying into the society a sum equal to one-tenth of my Income and by returning all literature that I had borrowed bor-rowed or purchased. I have done neither and have received many letters from officers and adepts which are fairly threatening in their nature. It has corns to my knowledge slnco trying to free myself from any connection con-nection with the Rosicrucians that another aspirant in endeavoring to break with the society had an even more unhappy experience experi-ence than mine." "Our House of the Holy Ghost," is thfl veiled admission of the Society of Rosl-eruclans. Rosl-eruclans. "though a hundred thousand men should have looked upon It. is yet doomed te remain untouched, imperturbable, out of sight, and utirevealed to the whole godless world forever." As If In agreement with this desired mystery mys-tery tho boglnnlncs of the Society of the Rosy Cross are difficult to find in history. That It was founded by one Christian Ros-encreutz. Ros-encreutz. a German mystic who dwelt for a time in India and Egypt and claimed to have absorbed their secret wisdom, is vehemently denied, and so Is the statement that the name of the secret order is derived from his cognomen: cog-nomen: Lewis denies that 'It was established In Germany by him or by Andrea Valentine or by Martin Luther. Claims ofits foundation founda-tion by all of these are made by different authors seeking the fountain head. Lewis tells of a seeker named Arnaud whi had heard of a wonderful society in Egypt which held the key to all science and all arL At the Instance of Charlemagne Arnaud wept to Thebes in 77S A. D. returned to Franc six years later and established- the first Rosicruclan lodge. The place was Toulouse and the year 804. From that start we hear of It all over Europe as It pursued its course with the various tinctures of differing material, national na-tional habit and custom, but never definitely. defi-nitely. From the beginning the society pretended to transmute motals. to prolong .life, to H possess knowledge of what was occurring in lf distant places and to foretell tho future. Vaughan, who planted It in America, "lost" jH the Rosaccruclan stone In order, he said. iH "that it rflight sink into the soil and fortillzn IH the land with the thought and spirit of IH Rosic.ruclanlsm." jH Although known to the world aa Brothers IH ot the Rosy Cross, a mere exact etymology IJ Is derived from ros (dew and vosa. (roseV Dew was considered by the ancients as th most powerful solvent of gold and the, ceo? IH in alchemy is the synonym of light. In 1S3S jH a bit of doggerel fixed its mission thus: "For what we do presage Is not In grosse. For" we arex brothers of the Rosle Crosse: We have the 2tfason word and second sight Things Tor to come we can fortell aright.'' Some of tho ancient books of the society jH may be seen, according to a statement made by the head of the order here, in our public library, "but only In a private place, wher by special privilege T may show them for jH the edification of true adepts. These book are rudely bound, printed on papyrus an leather; some of the leaves are crumbllnc 'H from very age." More modem writings are titled like th , following: "Astrological Letters." "Pcath H rind the Life In Purgatory," "Life and Actlv-Ity Actlv-Ity In Heaven," "Birth, a Fourfold Event," "Astronomical Allegories of the Bible." &c. These books and others like "Continuity or Life, a Cosmic Truth." by Prof. W. L Lockwood, "Beyond the Borderline, of Life." by Guslavus Myers, may be had by address-Ing address-Ing the publishers and booksellers to the S. R. I. A., who are at ih John street. New York, but other books Intended tor student and postulates are given out mysteriously jJ at the "college." and all are warned not to permit an outsider to sec them. To do so Is to commit a crime by making the Rosi- J crucian secrets common. The Mercury Is the official organ of "Met-repolltan "Met-repolltan College" and Is Issued semlmonth-ly. semlmonth-ly. It gives the calendar for the month, a biography of some illustrious Initiate an other Innocuous matter, A book of- "Prin-ciples "Prin-ciples and Practice, for Rosicrucians" 4s issued for neophytes. Tt was written for the fraternity by "Khel." Another book cherished by seekers Is "The Landmarks of 'he Most Holy Order of the Golden and Ro?y IH Cross, and the Constitution of the Socleta Ro5lcruclana in America: to which are a?- fl pended the By-Laws of'Metropolltan College. S R. I. Prayer of tho Rosicruclan. Here Is the prayer of the PiOsicruc'an which he Is expected to repeat at least thre times daily "In a slow, forceful and intense -manner": "Great Central Flams: thee we venonte. thee we adore, thee we Invoke: not as a per- son but as Essence. Power, wisdom. Light and Life Incarnate. Be with vs in this and 1 ; all laudable undertakings. "Invisible Fratcrs of the Rose Cross: Let vour guidance be manifest through counsel of the Worshipful Adept in tMs and all 'u- jH ture convocations." To all the -secret publications from which ' jH the' above data were drawn :s appended cbta "Allegiance": "Metropolitan College S. R I A. acknowl- IH edges allegiance to the magi md officers of IH the high council of the Societas Rosicruclan IH in America as the sovereign source of th " Rosicrucian art in the United States of America- The house of the S. S Is at rts-ent rts-ent situate in the city of New York." - |