The Secrets of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood

by

J. van
Rijckenborgh

An esoteric analysis in 4 volumes of the three Rosicrucian manifestos written by Johann Valentin Andreae, who lived and worked in Calw, in the Black Forest of Germany, around 1600.

Volume 1: The Call of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood  (Esoteric analysis of the Fama Fraternitatis R C)

The Fama Fraternitatis R C tells the story of the founding of the Rosicrucian Order and invites the like-minded to make contact with it. When it was first published in 1614, it created a massive flurry of interest in Rosicrucians. Who were they? Where were they? How could one join them? As Jan van Rijckenborgh considers one by one the incidents described in the Fama, explaining how they relate to a practical path of self-initiation, many details of Rosicrucianism which have been obscure for centuries become clear. He also gives us glimpses of a gigantic world-plan spanning aeons of time, in which we, too, are invited by the `Call of the Brotherhood' to play our part.

Volume 2: The Confession of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood  (Esoteric analysis of the Confessio Fraternitatis R C)

The author describes this Rosicrucian manifesto, first published in 1615, as follows: On closer consideration, students of the Confessio will realise that this old document is not a confession of faith in the ordinary sense, not a dogmatic exposition of what does and does not agree with the convictions of the Rosicrucians, but a tremendous piece of prophecy. If we go beyond the simple, indeed sometimes so simplistic, exoteric aspect, its universal, unlimited significance is revealed to us and we see the radiant path of truth stretching in a wide arc from horizon to horizon.

Volumes 3 and 4: The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross (Esoteric analysis of theN Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459)

First published in 1616, this strange story of Christian Rosycross's seven-day journey to the wedding of a King and Queen, is a Hermetic allegory intended, says Jan van Rijckenborgh, to be a guidebook for people who are actively engaged in the process of inner transformation. As he unlocks the story for us, we begin to see the means by which the original Soul dormant within us can be brought back to life and united with the Spirit. This `marriage' is accompanied by the alchemical transformation of consciousness, soul and body.