Much like Christianity, Rosicrucianism has had many different groups who all have their own interpretations of the material. The differences between these organizations can be as pronounced as, say, the Catholic and the Episcopal churches. Some of these groups disseminate the information on a large scale, while others remain secretive and exclusive.
Ancient Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis (AMORC): This group is probably the most widely known, as they do the most advertising and invite all members of the public to join (who are over eighteen). AMORC touts itself as a worldwide mystical, philosophical, educational, humanitarian and fraternal organization devoted to the investigation, study and practical application of natural and spiritual laws.
Harvey Spencer Lewis (1883–1939) founded the organization in 1915 in America, bringing over the Rosicrucian philosophies he had learned while studying in Europe. He set up a Rosicrucian and Egyptian museum (still extant in San Jose, California). Lewis was an illustrator and worked in advertising, so it is no wonder that this particular group was so prolific in this area. Lewis was an extremely productive author and his books are generally available to this day.
AMORC has a special connection to the New Thought movement through William Walker Atkinson. There has been much controversy regarding the sources of some of Lewis’ material; some claim he plagiarized it from Atkinson. Under the pen name Magus Incogniti, Atkinson wrote The Secret Doctrine of the Rosiscrucians. Then Lewis slapped Atkinson with a lawsuit for revealing the secrets of the Order38 (though Lewis certainly revealed just as much information in his own works.) The Order that Lewis was referring to was the Rosicrucians, not AMORC. Atkinson had spent his entire life practicing law before his New Thought endeavors. Lewis did not win his lawsuit.
The Rosicrucian Fellowship: In 1909, a few years before AMORC came on the scene (and having no affiliation with it), a Rosicrucian brotherhood was founded in Oceanside California by Max Heindel. The Rosicrucian Fellowship conducted Spiritual Healing-Services and offered correspondence courses in Esoteric Christianity, Philosophy, Spiritual Astrology, and Bible Interpretation. In the fall of 1907, Heindel traveled to Germany, where he attended several lectures given by Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophy movement (similar to Theosophy in intent, but with variants due to the personalities of Steiner and Blavatsky). Steiner was an avid student of Rosicrucianism, and even published his own version of The Chymical Wedding.39 Shortly after attending these lectures, Heindel claims he received his Rosicrucian initiation via an apparition who came to him in a vision. Heindel states in his writings that this entity identified himself as an Elder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order from 1313, and conferred upon him the most intricate secrets of the Order at this time. Additionally, according to Heindel, the Elder Brother gave him directions to an exclusive Rosicrucian temple located on the German border, which he traveled to, studying there with other Elder Brothers of the Rose Cross. The Rosicrucian Fellowship has no affiliation with any other Rosicrucian groups and no ties to any of the fraternities in Europe. After this time, Heindel wrote immense amounts of information on the Rosicrucian cosmology and many books on astrology, most of which are still in print today.
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA): This was one of the most infamous of the Rosicrucian groups of its time, due to some of its celebrity participants. These include John Yarker, P.B. Randolph, E. Bulwer-Lytton, Dr. Wynn Westcott, S.L. MacGregor Mathers, Eliphas Levi, Theodor Reuss, Kenneth Mackenzie, Paul Foster Case and Frederick Hockley. The SRIA was founded in 1860 by R.W. Little, an active freemason. Most of the members of this society were both freemasons and Rosicrucians. Little is said to have been introduced to the material when he came across some Rosicrucian documents from the much more ancient “August Order,” but these were never seen by anyone verifiable. The SRIA spread abroad after infiltrating Canada and the United States. The Scottish Rite Freemason Albert Pike was chartered to head a branch of the organization in the U.S. around 1879, which eventually transformed into the Societas Rosicruciana in America. Today, the S.R. in America have no ties to the original lodges in Europe, reportedly due to the fact that they admit women into their ranks. The original SRIA got into all kinds of trouble on account of sexual issues, and several of its members were tried in court for Sex Magic rituals.40 The teachings of the Rosicrucians, and the Hermetics for that matter, did include quite a bit of sexual material.
Hargrave Jennings, a founder of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, “hinted as strongly as he could that these rites and mysteries were of a fundamentally sexual nature, though to make his point in Victorian England he was obliged to resort to some involved and often poetically purple prose. Dancing around the theme of Tantric sex as the basis of the Rosicrucian philosophy, Jennings was almost specific when he pointed out that . . . the Masonic seal of Solomon symbolizes the intertwined triangles of male and female, which in conjunction represent life . . .”
—Peter Tompkins, The Magic of Obelisks
Fraternitas Rosæ Crucis (FRC) was founded in 1912 by Reuben Swinburne Clymer. Clymer was a student of the eminent mulatto occultist Pascal Beverly Randolph, and he claimed that Randolph had originally founded the Order in secret in 1856. Randolph was initiated into the SRIA in 1868, and was also a member of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. For one of Randolph’s ethnicity to rise to the ranks he achieved, at his time, was nothing short of astonishing. A good amount of time and effort in Clymer’s Rosicrucian career was spent battling with H.S. Lewis of AMORC, who devoted much of his writings to countering and disproving anything and everything Lewis had to say. This created a rivalry between the groups, and is why, if members of AMORC are asked what they think of Clymer of Randolph’s writing, they will usually respond negatively.
It is entirely possible to attract, direct and redeem by the thoughts we hold in the mind, those who are inclined to follow destructive tendencies. Our thoughts become magnets, continually attracting to us those things and people toward which our thoughts are turned, thus the nature and quality of Man’s thoughts become the ruling power in his life.41
Societas Rosicruciana Civitatibus Foederatis: This organization was founded in Pennsylvania in 1879, and the only ones welcome to join were “Master Masons.” It received many members from defunct lodges of the SRIA.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: This was an offshoot of the original SRIA, and all of its founders were members of this organization. It was started in 1888 by S.L. MacGregor Mathers, William Robert Woodman and Wynn Westcott. This society probably had the most influence on the occult world as it exists today. The writings of some of its members are widely circulated and looked upon as bibles by occultists the world over. Individuals such as Aleister Crowely, Paul Foster Case, William Butler Yeats, Bram Stoker, Israel Regardie and Dion Fortune represent some of the magi who came out of this organization.
Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) was originally founded by Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein and Franz Hartmann in 1895. Franz Hartmann’s works were particularly popular, and continue to influence students of occult history today. The Order defined itself as Rosicrucian and belonging to the original Knights Templar. The Rosicrucian influence was reinforced when Theodore Reuss became its chief, as Reuss had been a member of the Societas Rosicruciana. Under Reuss’ leadership, the organization grew throughout Europe and into the U.S. After Reuss stepped down, he appointed Aleister Crowley to lead the organization.
Collegium Pansophicum: This organization was founded by Heinrich Tranker in 1923 after he left the OTO, upset that Crowley and not himself had been asked to take over. Tranker said that his group was the only one to teach the “true” Rosicrucian secrets, but he worked closely with H.S. Lewis of AMORC in several endeavors.
Ordre Kabbalistique de la Rose Croix (the Kabbalistic order of the Rosy Cross): This group began in Paris in 1888, headed by Count Stanislas de Guaita. Like the Societas Rosicruciana, this group attracted many famous participants and had some crossover with the SRIA, including Eliphas Levi and E. Bulwer-Lytton. H.S. Lewis was also rumored to have