Amorc Folder 11

AMORC FOLDER 11 (1981-2000)

1981

Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz, California Wednesday, March 18,1981 Page 14

Rosicrucian Rites The re-enactment of a ceremony that began in ancient Egypt more than 40 centuries ago is planned Friday at 8 p.m. by Santa Cruz Rosicrucians at Arion Hall According to Aldine Meader. master of Rose Chapter, the Egyptians from the time of Memphis to the Ptolemaic Peri­ od. began their New Year on or about the time oi the Vernal equinox when the sun crosses the celestial equator and enters the sign of Aries. This always occurs about March 21 in Egypt, with the coming of spring. The Rosicrucian Order is a non­ religious philosophical fraternity which m aintains that its traditional origin oc­ curred during the reign of Pharaoh Akhnaton in 1350 B.C. .New officers to be installed Friday are Master Fred McPherson. Deputy Master Tina Goodloe, Chaplain Rosalie Tempest. Inner Guardian Rachel Lowe. Outer Guardian Chester Turner. Ethel Leber is board chairman

Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz, California Friday, July 10,1981 Page 15

Photo Weekend at Rosicrucian Museum The Third Annual Photo Weekend ii scheduled for July 18-19at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Park & Naglee. San Jose Photographers may take all the photos they want, including flash and tripod photography. For f wo days there will be no restrictions on the type of photography allowed in the museum, the French Room, and the grounds of Rosicrucian Park. No photos will be allowed in the art gallery, however. For more information call 287-9171. Ext. 229

Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz, California Thursday, September 24, 1981 Page 16

Rosicrucian Observance Santa Cruz Rosicrucians will observe the “ building of the great p y r a m i d " in Egypt with a ceremony Friday a t 7:30 p.m. at Anon Hall in Santa Crxiz. The public is invited. The Rosicrucians trace t h e i r tradional origin back to Akhnaton, p h a r a o h in 1350 B.C.. described as o n e of the great personalities in history. T b i e sym­ bolic construction of a m i n i a t u r e pyramid is observed when t h e sun crosses the celestial equator, s ig n a llin g the autumn equinox

The San Bernardino Daily Sun San Bernardino, California Sunday, September 27,1981 Page 12 (Advertisements Section)

822 The Rosicrucians, Amorc — Learn the

Mastery of Lite. Practical Teachings en­ able everyone to live life to its fullest in harmonv with the creative cosmic forces for the attainment of health, happiness, peace. AMORC, Booklet, FREE §

1982

The Taos News Taos, New Mexico Thursday, A pril 8, 1982 Page 25

Was Willie a Rosicrucian?? No text except the Bible has been as much read, recited, analyzed, psychoanalyzed, speculated upon, pondered upon and generally chewed to bits, torn to tatters and worried to death as have the plays of one William Shakespeare, gentleman, late of Stratford-upon-Avon, a prosperous market town of rural England. We have had, over the eons, Jungian Shakespeare, Freudian Shakespeare, Marxist Shakespeare, Shakespeare as Catholic or Protestant apologist, Shakespeare as anti-semite, Shakespeare as nationalist propagandist. We have had endless speculation about Shakespeare as Lord this or Sir that, Shakespeare as being really Francis Bacon, or Queen Elizabeth. I haven' t yet heard Shakespeare accused of being a secret member of the Adamsltes, a minor religious sect of which Heironymous Bosch is suspected of adorning, but it wouldn’t surprise me if such a notion popped up tomorrow. WE ARE WILLING to accept any notion of the Great Bard but the simplest one; that he wasexcept for a small matter called

genius—exactly what he ap­ peared to be-a hard-working, fasttalking small town boy on the make in the big city in a new and not terribly respectable field where a fast buck could be made and important friends cultivated. One can spend an idle half­ minute speculating that if he walked among us today, he might well be a television producer or an advertising executive. Since virtually nothing is known of William Shakespeare's life, since he left no diaries, letters, and only the most aggravatingly tantalizing will, speculation is bound to be rife. The latest mold that he has been crammed into, willy-nilly, was expounded the other evening by visiting poet Daisy Aldan when she presented a program of readings at the Harwood Foun­ dation. According to Ms. Aldan, it seems that Shakespeare was actually a secret member of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, a sect which is popularly known, if I am not mistaken, as the Rosicrucians. (And if I am mistaken, I ’m sure I'll hear about it In short order.) The purpose of this Brotherhood, whose members Included Sir Francis Bacon, according to Ms. Aldan, as well as other contem poraries of Shakespeare, was to bring to the

The Taos News Taos, New Mexico Thursday, A pril 8, 1982 Page 25

world the ‘’Consciousness Soul." This expression seems to be a redundancy, but there It Is. SH AK ESPEARE’S plays, then, are not what they seem, but are actually Gr ai l Quests, and designed to educate human beings In the higher Con­ sciousness Soul. (How we long fora great genius to be something even more rare than he Is; how we long to believe that there Is some Secret Pur­ pose! ) All this may strike the audience as either very Interesting or as so much twaddle. But Ms. Aldan evidently knows her Shakespeare well and delivered It from memory, complete with sten­ torian gestures seeming to date from my m em ories of

“ recitations” attended on longago Sunday afternoons In musty halls hung with faded velvet curtains redolent of faded roses and tea. But one can always close one’s eyes, and the deathless poetry and needle-sharp insight Into human passions, as evinced In selections from ’•Richard I I I " “The Merchant of Venice/’ “ The Tempest, " “ Mac b et h” and “Twelfth Night’’ were beautifully spoken. A decided plus to the evening was soprano Kathleen Kingsllght, who also played the flute, and Susan BUnderman. playing a harpsichord lent for the occasion by Israel Stein. Their per­ formances of songs from Shakespeare's plays and time added a lovely touch to the program J.F .

News Record North Hills, Pennsylvania Friday, July 30, 1982 Page 16

WE HAVE RESERVED A SEAT FOR YOU --------------------- at tho l*c tu re ----------------------

"WHO AND WHAT ARE ROSICRUCIANS?" i

Saturday, July 31, 2 p.m.*3:30 p.m.

II!

TAVHN ON THE SQUARE Iwtouront, t AtUfh«y Cwtttr lo cate on tho Ploo behind AllogHwy Moll An opportunity to m o et informolfy w ith local Rosicrucians. Donation $3

Presented by Fist Pennsylvania Lodge. AMORC For farther Information call 243*9177

1983

Santa Cruz Sentinel Santa Cruz, California Sunday, March 13, 1983 Page B-5

Rosicrucians to celebrate rites The local Rose ( ’hapler ol the Order ol Rosicrucians will celebrate fheir new year with the installation ol new officers Friday at H p m at Anon 11.ill. 2'M) Plymouth St . Santa M as­ ter VVavne H l e \ . «*WrHer

SAN DIEOO (UPlI - The famous Mexican farmer it growing kit gt«nt vtgeublf* i n i n after a thref-yesr hiatua. and bia aecret formula is out — s u b . water and •oil combined wtih a touch of btoelectncmagnstism and a daab of hocus pocus . Jo«e Carmen Garcia of Valle de Santiago. Guanajuato. Mexico, became the marvel of hia market­ place in the late 1970* with 10pound onions. palm frond-sue eollard greens and the like. • A wandering ban Diegan, hce information officer Hill »bin»on. happened upon Garcia and wrote an fllustratca. copyright ecory in San £>> tem. It s oriented more toward practical living said Nevarez, master of the San Bernardino Pronaos ismall chapter) Rather than concentrating on dogmas and be liefs about ihe Creator. Rosicrucians proclaim the discovery of long ignored secrets about the poten tial of the humau mind Recently Nevarez and about a dozen San Ber nardinoarea Rosicrucians opened a brief meeting

to the public Most meetings dur­ ing the year are closed Members do not refer to the organization as a "secret society" that jealously guards teaching to all but a select few It would, however, be quite proper to call it a "private" organization, mem bers agree At the public meeting. Neva­ rez and the others built a small pyramid out of wooden blocks Printed in large letters on each block was an ideal character tra it. such as “honor,” "truth.'’ or "purity." These symbolize our ideals as Rosicrucians," Nevarez said Though the 15 members of the San B e rn a rd in o P ronuos meet regularly as a group, the organi­ zation's teachings are largely passed on through weekly study lessons each member does at home They explore topics like “Care of the Body." I sing Mental Powers at W ill." "The Human Con­ sciousness." Attaining Cosmic Consciousness' and Experiments on Thought Transmission " Students progress through a series of degrees similar to those of Freemasonarv Rosicrucians trace their origins back to ancient Egyptian mystery schools of esoteric wisdom dur mg the reign of Pharoah Akhnainn. about 1350 BC according to the "Mastery of Life booklet Students of the great Egyptian teachers met in the chambers of the Great Pyramid and were tm tiuted into the great mysteries These hidden truths were handed down through the centuries to loyal members of the once secret society, Itosuru clans believe

The Sun San Bernardino, California Saturday, October 12, 1985 Pages C l and C7

Rosicrucians Elise W ash ing ton , left. Cruz N evarez, center an d M arion B aco n d.spkiy a p y ra m id symbolizing ideal character traits There u ere many (treat systems in the past Very knowledgeable The Egyptians The Cireeks The Essen “s As people, we have deviated from many of their truths and put in our modern thouehts Wnat we are dofntf is K)nu hack to these great teachings We are going ba< k to the basics that have been set aside, said Nevarez, a retired San Bernardino school teacher The name comes from the rose and (he eross. a common symbol of the group But m this case the cross "has no religious significance The AMOKC organization, which sanctions the San Bernardino chapter, claims a pure pedigree Seekers are warned against other societies calling themselves Rosicrucians W h ile m a n y m o dern o r g a n iz a tio n s line up names of rock stars and actors to promote their teachings. Rosicrucians reach back into history for

names of satisfied initiate * They ila n n suih tm ru hers as Benjamin Franklin. Francis Bacon. Isjai Newton and Rene Descartes The modern I S body was organized by II .Spencer I# * is. a New VorJt advertising man. in liilfi after he had joined .1 French Rosicrucian or der There are about ttU.OUO members in the I S said MjmerMty professor Norman Mai Kcnae in his book. "Secret Societies (H olt R in e h a rt and Winston' MacKenzte * comments about the organization were not favorable Its itlic groups) publications are marked by a shallowness typical of many American bodies de­ voted to self improvement and to simplified brands of religion and philosophy They are secret only m 1Please see Rosicrucians 1 7*

Tbe San Bernardino County Sun San Bernardino. C alifornia Saturday, October 12, 1985 Pages Cl and C7

Rosicrucians (Continued fro m C-li the sense that they are not offered for consideration a n d criticism, of which outsiders are deemed inca­ pable.’* MacKen^ie wrote. Rosicrucians’ writings scatter across a range of topics. W ithin the m ov e m e nt t h e r e are those who w rife from a decidedly Chris­ tian perspective. Others explore such arcane subjects as alchemy The o r d e r ’s h e a d q u a rte rs in San .lose boasts an ornate. Egyp­

“My tendency had always been to blame somone else for my d iffi­ culties. But I found that much of the fault was my own As 1 began to correct those faults, 1 began to find satisfaction in life," he said. He worrit»s that people will ex­ pect him to be closer to perfection than he can be — and then blame his shortcomings on Rosicrucian teaching. "I am just a man. like any oth­ er. 1 fail sometimes. But being a Rosicrucian helps me get through those things," he said Members can hold to any reli­ gious beliefs they want, he said.

tian-influenced Supreme Temple; th e R ose-C roix U n iv e r s it y ; a sphinx; an obelisk, and an Egyp­ tian museum. Membership in the non profit organization is open to all for a $25 fee and monthly dues of $9.50 for materials. New m em b ers are asked to sign this statement. "1 will abide by the traditional pledge made byail Neophytes, to v. it: I will keep c o n fid e n tia l a ll re a d in g m a tte r and lessons sent to me. and will

‘‘If they are Presbyterian, be­ ing a Rosicrucian will make them better Presbyterians If Catholic, they will be better Catholics," he said. Yet. such ideas as reincarna­ tio n are e x p lo r e d . A n d so m e branches of Rosicructanism delve into occult and other secret teach­ ings. "W hat we are doing is trying to

endeavor to follow your program toward a life of greater under­ standing and a tta in m e n t.'" R o s ic r u c ia n s see m gun-shy about criticism from the outside. W ith good reason, perhaps. They have been denounced as a danger by b o th R o m a n C a th o lic s and Protestants in past centuries, and a ban on membership still holds in several denominations. For Nevarez, the organization’s teachings have been beneficial in practical living

lap those abilities that we all have and teach people how to release them It seems that in the Western world u e sometimes hold hack a n d are s k e p tic a l a b o u t these kinds of things But I believe what Rosicrucianism is about is to help people improve themselves and society in as truthful a man ner as we can." he said.

The Rosicrucians ‘Secret" group says it is not a "religious organization,’ but a 'mystical system’ By STEVE COOPER Sun Religion W rite r

SAN B E R N A R D IN O — C ruz Ne­ varez found the answers to Ins life’s questions tucked inside a dictio n­ ary. The key was there on a book­ mark he chanced upon in 1951 at the I diversity of Redlands library. It was his invitation to investigate the Anciedt and Mystical O rder Ho sae Cruets i A M O R O . m ore com m on­ ly called the Rosicrucians. “I was a young man and 1 was a searcher. I wanted to know the an­ swers W ho am I? W here did we come from ? W here are we going? And I found satisfaction." he said He began obtaining his answers by s e n d in g fo r th e R o s ic r u c ia n pamphlet advertised on the book­ mark. "O btain a free copy of the Mastery o f Life.* This fascinating book will reveal how you may receive the secrets of man s hidden pow er.” the bookmark promised. A footnote adds the Rosicrucians are ' not a reli­ gious organization." " It’s more a philosophical, ethical, mystical sys­ tem. It's oriented more tow ard practical living.” said Nevarez, master of the San Bernardino Pro naosism all chapter*. Rather than concentrating on dogmas and be­ liefs about the Creator. Rosicrucians proclaim the discovery of lone ignored secrets about the poten­ tial of the hum an mind Recently. Nevarez and about a dozen San Ber­ nardino area Rosicrucians opened a brief meeting

to the public. Most meetings dur­ ing the year are closed. Members do not refer to the organization as a “secret society" that jealously guards teaching to all but a select few. It would, however, be quite proper to call it a ‘•private’’ organization, mem­ bers agree. At the public m eeting, Neva­ rez and the others built a small pyram id out of wooded blocks. Printed in large letters on each block was an ideal character tra­ it. such as "honor," " t r u t h .’ or

"purity.” "These symbolize our ideals as Rosicrucians." Nevarez said. Though the 15 m em bers of the S an B e r n a r d in o P r o n a o s m eet regularly as a group, the organi zation's teachings are largely passed on through weekly study lessons each m em ber does at home. They explore topics like: "Care of the Body, ' I sing Mental Powers at W ill...... rhe H um an Con sciousness," "A ttaining Cosmic Consciousness’’ and "Experim ents on Thought Transmission.” Students progress through a series of degrees sim ilar to those of Freemasonarv. Rosicrucians trace their origins back to ancient Egyptian mystery schools of esoteric wisdom dur m g the reign of Pharoah Akhnaton, about 1350 B.C., according to the "Mastery of Life" booklet. Students of the great Egyptiao teachers met in the chambers of the Great Pyram id and were ini tiated "in to the great mysteries." These hidden truths were handed down through the centuries to loyal members of the once-secret society. Rosicru cians believe

S to M p h o t o

Rosicrucians Ehse Washington, left. Cruz Nevarez, center and Marion Bacon display a pyramid symbolizing ideal character traits

“There were many great systems in the past Very knowledgeable. The Egyptians The Greeks. The Fssen**s. As people, we have deviated from many of their truths and put in our modern thoughts. W hat we are doing is going back to these great teachings. We art* going bark to the basics that have been set aside,” said Nevarez, a retired San Bernardino school teacher. The name comes from the rose and the cross, a common symbol of the group. But in this case, tin* cross “ has no religious significance ” The AMORC organization, which sanctions the San B ernardino chapter, claim s a pure pedigree Seekers are warned against other societies calling themselves Rosicrucians. W h ile m a n y m o d e r n o r g a n iz a t io n s lint* up names of rock stars and actors to promote their teachings. Rosicrucians reach back into history for

names of satisfied initiates. Tht*\ claim sut h mom hers as Benjam in Franklin. Francis Bat-on. Isaac Newton anti Rene Descartes. The modern I S. hotly was organized by II Spencer Lewis, a Now York advertising man. m 1915 after he had joint'd a French Rosicrucian or dor. There art* about HO,000 members in the t S.. said university professor Norman MacKen/ie in his b o o k . “ S ecret S o cie tie s' iH o lt. R in e h a r t a n d Winston I. Mackenzie s comments about the organization were not favorable “ Its (the groups* publications art* marked by a shallowness typical of many American bodies de­ voted to self improvement an d to sim plified brands of religion anti philosoph> The\ are secret onlv in iPlease see Rosicrucians. the sense that they a re not offered for consideration a n d criticism, of which outsiders are deemed inca pable," MacKenzie wrote. Rosicrucians’ w ritings scatter across a ranee of topics. W ith in th e m o v e m e n t t h e r e are th ose who write from a decidedly Chris* tian perspective. O thers explore such arcane subjects as alchemy. The o rd e r's h e a d q u a r te r s in San .lose boasts an ornate. Egyp­

“My tendency had always been to blame somone else for my d iffi­ culties. But I found that m uch of the fault was my own. As 1 began to correct those faults, I began to find satisfac tion in life.” he said. He worries that people will ex­ pect h im to be closer to perfection than he can be and then blame his shortcomings on Rosicrucian teaching. “I am just a man. like any oth • er. I fail sometimes. But being a Rosicrucian helps me get through those things,” he said Members can hold to any reli gious beliefs they want, he said

tian-influenced Supreme Temple; th e R o se C r o ix U n iv e r s it y ; a sphinx; an obelisk; and an Egvp tian museum. Membership in the n o n p ro fit organization is open to all for a $25 fee and m onthly dues of $9.50 for materials. New m e m b e rs are asked to sign this statement. "I will abide by the traditional pledge made by ail Neophytes, to wit: I will keep c o n fid e n tia l a ll re a d in g m a tte r and lessons sent to me, and w ill

“ If they are Presbyterian, be­ ing a Rosicrucian will make th em better Presbyterians. If Catholic, they will be better Catholics." he said. Not, such ideas as reincarna> t io n a re e x p lo r e d . A n d s o m e branches of Kosicrucianisrn delve into occult and other secret teach­ ings. “W hat we are doing is trying to

endeavor to follow your program toward a life of greater under­ standing and a tta in m e n t.’ ” R o s ic r u c ia n s se e m gun-shy about criticism from the outside. W ith good reason, perhaps. They have been denounced as a danger by b o th H o m a n C a t h o lic s a n d Protestants in past centuries, and a ban on m em bership still holds in several denom inations. For Nevarez, the organizatio n’s teachings have been beneficial in practical living

tap those abilities that we all have and teach people how to release them . It seems that in the Western world we sometimes hold back a n d a re s k e p t ic a l a b o u t these kinds of things . . But I believe what Rosicrucianism is about is to help people improve themselves and society in as tru th fu l a man ner as we can.” he said

1986

The New Mexican Santa Fe, New Mexico Friday, March 7,1986 Page D1

Rosicrucian

Weekend activities planned A Rosicrucian Seminar, “ Inner Space,” will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Sheraton lan. Admission is $20. A Rosicrucian Assembly (or Grand Lodge members only will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sheraton. Admission is tree. For information about either event call 988-2958 or 455-2744 (even­ ings).

The Courier Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, October 21,1986 Page 1C

Rosicrucians: Order seeks wisdom, finds controversy 0y do ug McDa n ie l

Courier Staff Writer When Patrick Terrell travels across the country,* centuries of ancient mystical wisdom follow him. That history includes a trail of Initi­ ates both shadowy and influential. It includes philosophers, magicians and notorious charlatans. Terrell is a field representative for the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, which claims to be a link in the continuum of metaphysical knowledgo spanning 3,000 years. Terrell travels from city to city, providing sem inars for current Rosicrucians and those interested in becoming members of the once-secret, now mostly private society. The Rosicrucian, in town recently presenting one of his "Inner Space Seminars,” said his organization is for “those seeking the truth about life.” Rosicrucians seek an understanding of universal laws and principles and application of that knowledge to everyday living, Terrell says. Members attempt to learn to deal creatively with all aspects of life, and take responsibili­ ty for their own spiritual evolution. Member^ are taught, Terrell says, to be a constant question mark. “We practice mysticism, but there’s no dogma,” he says. “We don’t say, ‘You have to believe this;f that ‘ This is the only way it goes if you want to receive salvation.’ *\ In many ways the history of the Rosicrucian Order is as controversial as its teachings. Terrell says the ancient knowledge taught by the Rosicrucians began 3,000 years ago in the mystery schools of pmcient Egypt. During the reign of Pharaoh Thutmoses III, an illuminated sect of individuals came together and

decided they needed an atomsphere free of persecution by the “government and the priests.” • “They were able to meet in private * and seek the profound mysteries of life,” Terrell says. These ancient phi­ losophers sought. “ What was really on their minds?.What really was behind things?” They questioned the autocratic beliefs of their day, questioned the belief in “Forty Gods out there,” Ter­ rell says. During the latter stages of ancient Egyptian society, a religious reform u n d e r the d ir e c tio n P h a r o a h Amenhotep IV took placti. This form attempted to replace polytheism with monotheism: The concept of the Sun God was born. This, says T errell, was early Rosicrucianism at work. •

Patrick Terrell

The Courier Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, October 21,1986 Page 1C

Terrell says the gathering metaphys­ ical knowledge was passed down to‘ “worthy initiates.” Each initiate is gradually allowed a greater vision of the mysterious knowledge, he says. They more they strive, the more they are allowed to learn. Rosicrucians take credit for such influential figures in history as Socrates, Plato, and Pythagoras. Ac­ cording to a Rosicrucian Order fact sheet, such famous personalities as Aristotle, Leibnitz, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson all contributed to the body of studies offered by the organiza­ tion. Terrell says the highest member of the Rosicrucian Order was Francis Bacon, a 16th and 17th century English politician and creator of the scientific method. Bacon was the “ Imperator” of • the Rosicrucian Order. It was Bacon, Terrell says, who wrote the allegory of Christian Rosenkreuz. • Historians, however, aren’t quite so sure. The fabulous versions of early days of the Rosicrucian Order have been attracted much scepticism. *. For example, according to the En­ c y c lo p e d ia ' of O c c u ltis m and Parapsychology, “ The idea of a Rosicrucian Brotherhood has probably aroused jnore interest in the popular mind than that of any other secret society of kindred nature: but that such a brotherhood ever existed is extremely doubtful.” . A ccording to C h a m b e r's E n ­ cyclopedia, the authorship of the alle­ gory is obscure, and in the final analy­ sis was a “literary hoax.” Although scores of publications have traced the history, of the Rosicrucian Order, the best account is A.E. Waite’s,

“The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross.” According to Waite, the term was coined in Germany, where in the town of Cassel in 1614, the local theosophists and alchemists became interested in a mysterious pamplet bearing the title, “The Fama of the Fraternity of the Meritorious Order of the Rosy Cross Addressed to the Learned in General and the Governors of Europe.” It purported to be a message from 'anonymous adepts. These unknown authors proposed that all men of learning throughout the world should join forces for the establishment of a synthesis of science. The movement claimed to be Chris­ tian and protestant, but was concerned, •more with creating a new way of life than establishing new dogmatic beliefs. Included in a series of works pro­ duced by the adepts was the tale of Rosenkreuz, who reportedly lived in the 1300’s. It described the character’s initiation into the mysteries of the east (particularly ancient Egypt). It was a story of a constant quest for higher knowledge, and it sparked many of the great imaginations of the day, includ­ ing Leibniz and Descartes. The writings qlso created a tremen­ dous amount of excitement among the occultists of Europe. The notion of a mystical brotherhood, a global society of magical adepts, touched something in the popular imagination o( 17th and 18th century society. As far as what they believed, the Rosicrucians were linked with the doctrines of alchemy, astrology and occult forces in naturos Waite states. ‘But by 1620, the Rosicrucians and their mysterious publications had been forgotten, mainly because nobody could locate the mysterious adepts.*

But after a lapse of nearly a century, the R o s ic ru c ia n s rem cYgcd in Germany, and then, again, seventy years later. The development of this secret society was closely linked with the development of several mystical, .and revolutionary, organizations. During the 18th century, there were many Rosicrucian groups across Europe, many of them affiliated with the freemasons, according to Colin Wilson’s. “The Occult.” Although there are arguments to the contrary, historians have said • plethora of secret societies of the lime led-to the age of enlightenment, and eventually the age of revolution. For that reason, the 18th and 19th century Rosicrucians. Freemasons, and like groups have been accused of all types of heresy by various conspira• cy theorists. For example, in 1888, a former member of the masonic society in France decided that the organization was diabolic in conception, and cred­ ited it with creating social anarchy and the destruction of the Catholic religion. To this day, groups like the Rosicrucians'have been regarded with suspi­ cion, especially by fundamentalist Christians and arch-conservatives. As Terrell says, the very secretive­ ness of the order leads to undue suspi­ cion. “People fear what they don’t know,” he says. , Recently, while speaking on a radio show, Terrell was accused of being a member of a group which practiced Satan worship. He says these kinds of accusations aren't unusual, but they are misguided. ■ ' , "We have absolutely nothing to do with Satan worship,” he says. " I t ’s totally absurd. Trust me.”

© The Courier Prescott. Arizona Tuesday, October 21,1986 Page 1C

Rosicrucians: Order seeks wisdom,.finds controversy ■ f OOUQ McOAMCL C«ur*r StatHM-aer I k a P atrick T rrrc ll tro ve h a crnu I t * oBw rtry . c m l u r t f i of ancieat m ytf leal w itdani M i* » M u . T M b n lliry lachidto a trad mt la ltt • m M i l ihecWwy a id M M — H H k t a l M p h ila a a p tm magicians w i Teerett te a OrW n y i r n iliH lw he the Hotter urtaa Older. AMOKC orkafh d a o m la b c a lm t a ilh a cent I w af am a p h y H ra llnaw ladgi l^anal ng 3.in i w i TerreS ttraorta m y to cctty. u t, r a v r ti tram tro t* rtty p ro v id in g K m m i n fa r c u rr e n t Itta u n a rla a t M d th*e* M enw tad In b a ra w n c member* at the oncw-aacret. new moalijr private a *clrt) Dm R a a im tia a . la tawa receaily i r a M B i one at hai ' b a n Square V m w ir i m M h it erganuatiea ■ lor "4m m M t W ( the truth t U l M e " h W T K W it ae*k an la d e n u a d b tg at n n t m l law* and p rm npn t j and a p p fk a tle n a f th a t know ledge • • everyday » < m T e rm ; ta y t H im h m attempt ta tear* to deal crra t lve»y with a lle « g * ttie fM * .* a d ta t* i* * a iu e ib ilt' ty ta r their i/wn « r» " » a l n o to ia a J fc m ttH arc taucM Terrefl ta jr t. to be a n aetent gje u ile * m a rt Wr p e a rt* * tn y v k -n ir. hut tfeere't no dogma. “ hr u n We daa't aay. 'Yea iu v e to b rlle v t U m ." th a t' P u t U t»» only way ( f a r t g ywu »ant to receive aatratlsn lit u n y * * ) ' th r k ittc ry e i K ir R u tlrru rtta Order u aa cuM tr*vertU l a* ita teactanp. T m H l u y n th r ancient knowledge taught by th r R ew trerlane began J.**» y e a n ago la th* a t p u r y tchaoht of a n rx c t I ta x * Ixm zg th r m p of I ’h trw th T h titmaaw I II, an d him aiatfil (•c t lit m dltwluaU c* * m tagotkev and

d p c tM they needed ea a ta o u p h rrt treeof pererrotlaobythe " i m n n a l M l d » piWMI ' • T k j w i n aW> U in e rt » p r t a : r ta d Ir r k the p iof oand aiyoleirHa cl IB*,” Torretl u n Then* a« n n » pte i M p m m i M ' What M really *e th e * mm4»’ What m l l y > a M a < tM W flT" They t.b» a u to c ra tic WHefa J ( M r da*. qontiaaad lb * th r r r . " Tar ta ttc l a V e r y Gadt n i l ta v i D u ra * th * tatiar t t a f r i of I E c n u a n aartrty. a ra& 0 aiia a a d rr I k * d tr y c t la i P k a ra a k H a w W ip IV u 4 t p la M Thta Iana a ttM U trd la rttHaca paiythnun «Kh m m u m a The raarojK of the Saa God v a t barn T k ia . aaya T c r r r l l . wa« e a rly R a a lm a d a im al tro rk •

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Terrell aay* th r p t h t m m rtaphyt Iral knowledge n i i m i H de»n U ••worthy Initiate* " t o r t tnitlaie * jra d e a llj aBnred a p w M f 'U l an i t Ih t m ytte ritu * knowledge, h t la y i they ' r etrtei atrtvc, tha hmt * Utay I ta I r a n k p fla rn tta l l l f u r c i ia h ttta r y a< la c ra l**. rta lo . aaat Pytka«araa. Ac carding la a lU a tc ru rta * (V d w ta rt d w l , aack la m a a panaaaM ua at U M a l k . L t t b a t lr Isaac Ncwtea, t r a m Kama. Baaiiair.in PrankMa aad T h a * a a * # le ia a all cantnt»at«J to the kady « (s ta * M o ffe n d ky th r a ria a ta -

twa.

Tart ell aay* Ike h u h « l aaember ot the tU akrnctaa Otoar » h m a r k •aron. a t«tk and 171k end a ry K c i(lu * yalibriaa aad creator at th r «o aaU aaa a "lite ra ry b e a r " Ahhourh w r a ol cubUcstMOi Im t t tracad t»o hhtary a < th r R a ttm iria ii Order ih a b e M a cro u id ltA IC Watte «,

T h e Brut hrrtioad o( the Raay Craaa ” AecardM( to Watte, the terto ■ « taaed » G crnuay. v h t n ta th * tnan a l Caaatd h i H it , the local thraaaphbu aad a ir k m a u kecaae MaraMad M a myeteraua » a M la t bearai( Die UUe. - I k e Faaia at tha Prataraay a# tha Meraaoaaa Ordar al th r Raay Craas A guess is i t ’s worth at least $25,000.“ Robert Haag o f Tucson. A n /., said o f the item missing from the San Jose p lan e tariu m . “ Th e m eteorite m arket right now is going crazy. C’ra/>. People are selling them all over the place. T h e Japanese are buying up everything because th ey're really into space.” Terrs Alden. program m anager at the plane­ tarium . said a thorough search o f the facility and Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum have turned up nothing.

iMacon Daily Chronicle-Herald M acon, M issouri Friday, December 8, 1989 Page 7

No Clues On Mystery Meteorite SAN J O S E , C a lif. (U P I) — Authorities have about as much of an idea of what happened to a missing 209-pound meteorite as where it came from in space. Not even the new offer of a “substantial reward with no ques­ tions asked” has produced a single tip about the valuable space rock, which disappeared from the Rosi­ crucian Planetarium in San Jose in August, police said Wednesday. All police can say about the fate of the heavy oblong chunk of iron and nickel is that it “seems rea­ sonably clear that at least two persons w ould be required to carry such an object over any dis­ tance.”

Planetarium officials advertised their reward offer in newspapers around the Bay Area this week. It drew no responses. The meteorite could be worth as much as $25,000 but the thieves would have a hard time selling it because most people interested in it would know about a stolen 200pound meteorite. The San Jose museum got the meteorite at least 40 years ago as a donation from a collector. It came from the Arizona Meteor Crater. It could be that the new owner of the rock is just keeping it for his own use. “Some people steal things like this just to hide them in the base­ m ent and worship them ,” said Terry Alden, program manager of the planetarium. “It’s a piece of celestial material. It could have been literally anywhere in the galaxy. It could have been part of Jupiter.”

1990

Christian Research Journal San Juan Capistrano, California Volume 13, Number 2, Fall 1990 Pages 6 and 34

Infighting and Lawsuits Affecting AMORC Rosicrucians bitter legal fight over control of the San Jose, California-based Rosicrucian order has thrown organization into unprecedent­ ed turmoil that has left two men claiming to be the "imperator," or leader/chief executive officer, over its 250,000 members. The infighting has been so intense that it has dominated southern Bay-area newspapers for most of the year, giving the public a rare glimpse of feuding and alleged financial wrongdo­ ing inside the secretive, mystical organization. Although there are at least eight other active Rosicrucian

A

groups operating in the U.S., the San Jose-based group is "by far" the world's largest, according to that J.. Gordon Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions. The for­ mal name of the group, which claims to be a fraternal organiza­ tion rather than a religion, is "The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis," or AMORC. The intense publicity began in early April when Gary Stew­ art, the imperator since 1987, was ousted by an apparent coup from within AMORC. The rival Rosicrucians forced Stew­ art's ouster through a court order, and claimed Stewart had mortgaged the order's world

NEWSWATCH

headquarters on Naglee Avenue, embezzled $3.5 mil­ lion, and hid the money in the tiny European republic of Andorra, according to the July 1 San Jose Mercury News. A cco rd in g to A M O R C spokeswoman Pam Johnson, the worldwide board of directors of A M O R C elected Christian Bernard, 39, as the new impera­ tor, although he was not formal­ ly inducted until August 7. Stewart fought back with a $31.5 million countersuit. He claimed that it was the rival Rosi­ crucians who embezzled funds, and that they engineered his ouster after he started asking the treasurer

100 countries" and lodges and ch a p te rs in o ve r 4 5 0 c itie s throughout the world. The late Dr. W alter Martin annual salary, and the order considered A M O R C Rosicrupaid for his divorce and honey­ cianism a religion. In his King­ moon with his new bride. • Stew art transferred the dom o f the Cults, he called it "an eclectic theological system order's securities to a margin which mixes pagan mythology a c c o u n t and o b tain e d a with Judaism and Christianity, $250,000 loan from Dean Wit­ with traces of H ind uism and ter Reynolds. Buddhism throughout...[it] seeks D espite A M O R C 's d enials to synthesize the basic truths of that it is a religion, many con­ all religions and absorb them sider it one because it offers fol­ into a master system." lowers a New Age type of belief A M O R C c la im s a lin k a g e system. A M O R C claims its ori­ with Benjamin Franklin, Isaac gins are in "ancient Egypt dur­ Newton, Francis Bacon, Rene ing the 18th D ynasty, or the Descarte, and other famous fig­ reign of Pharaoh A kh n a to n , ures by maintaining they were about 1350 B.C.," according to Rosicrucians. But such claim s the group's booklet, "Mastery of are met with skepticism outside Life." In A M O R C 's pam phlet the order. Melton notes in his called "Master Your Life," the E n c y clo p e d ia that the order o rg a n iza tio n c la im s to have wasn't even founded until 1915 "over 250,000 members in over

(continued from page 6)

by the late H . Spencer Lewis, the first imperator. Lewis "had been associated with the various British occult orders and...m et [the fam ous o c cu ltist/m a g ic ia n ] A le iste r C ro w le y," M elton noted. H e also added that Lewis borrowed Crowley's Rose Cross emblem from one of his periodicals and c la im e d som e of C ro w le y 's O rdo Tempii Orientis (O.T.O.) teachings as his own. "Lew is was not above pure plagiarism ," Melton claim ed. "W hole chapters of his Mystic Life o f Jesus were taken from the A q u arian G osp el o f Jesus by Levi Dowling." A M O R C 's history is laced with conflict with other Rosicru­ cian groups over its claim to be the sole legitimate Rosicrucian order in the hemisphere, Melton noted. Perhaps the most heated

about money, the Mercury News reports. He also claimed to be the true imperator for life. The M ercury New s also reports that there is no end in sight to the litigation. And court documents have alleged: • AMORC's world headquar­ ters is worth up to $28 million in assets. • Prior to Stewart's ouster, the accounting department was staffed by temporary workers without supervision. No one knew how much money was in the bank. • O fficers dead for years were still named on bank signa­ ture cards. • Stewart gave himself unau­ thorized cash advances and bonuses besides his $65,000 (continued on page 34) News Watch articles are written by W illiam M. A lnor except where otherwise indicated.

clashes have been with its chief rival, the Rosicrucian*Fellow ­ ship — founded in 1907 by M ax H e in d e l and headquar­ tered in Oceanside, California. Melton listed the oldest Rosi­ crucian body in the U.S. as the Fraternitas Rosae group, which was formed in 1868. Another group, the Lectorium Rosicrucianum , claim s 10,000 North American members and has an international headquarters in the Netherlands, according to Melton. Lewis died in 1939 and was succeeded by his son, Ralph Le w is, w ho died in Ja n u a ry 1987. Stewart, 33 at the time, was qu ickly named imperator, and immediately engineered a sh a k e u p that trigge re d the departure of more than 100 em ployees, a cco rd in g to the May 14 Mercury News.

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, C alifo rnia Saturday, A p ril 21,1990 Page F I5

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S A T im n , SATURDAY, Al’RII. 21. 1990

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$3.5 Million, Sect Alleges _ —that-heliad transferredjmore t han “"^W^iiniofrwtween Haurcfi^ and -The leader of the = April 5-from' -the Rosicrucians’ Roskmttan X)»r