Rosicrucianism

Rosicrucianism is a movement and system of magic which forms the core of the Rosicrucian Order, also called The Rosen (薔薇), the most famous of the pre-Golden Dawn magic cabals. Its name derived from Rosenkreuz (ローゼンクロイツ), both its prominent symbol of the Rose Cross and its supposed founder Christian Rosenkreuz (クリスチャン＝ローゼンクロイツ), the style forms part of the foundation of modern Western magic.

Principles
The Rosicrucian movement apparently began with a false book written by a. Though it was originally false, magicians took it and developed it beyond the falsity, leading Rosicrucianism to grow into something much more, coming to form the foundation for modern Western magic. This development was such that when the original author revealed the truth of the lie he was completely ignored.

Given their depth, the Rosicrucian texts have multiple interpretations and some people claim that some of the interpretations known to the public are clouds meant to hide the truth, with the true group and purposes lying elsewhere. Rosicrucians have claimed a number of different goals, one of which was to remove old monarchies and create a nation ruled by philosophers, another being the all-purpose medicine known as Panacea, one capable of healing humans and the world.

Rosicrucianism incorporates a number of concepts found in other fields and systems, both previous and contemporary to it. One particular subject of alchemy that features prominently in one of the three main Rosicrucian texts is the process used to create the Philosopher's Stone - specifically the four-stage conversion cycle of nigredo, albedo, citrinitas and rubedo, through which one void of worldly desires can achieve ultimate wisdom and obtain the stone, illustrated through a tale in the text. According to Rosicrucian teachings, most magic users can complete the third stage, but let their worldly desires distract them and lose sight of the item's essence on the last step, failing to control that produced and involved in the fourth and final stage.

Rose Cross
The primary symbol representing Rosicrucianism is the Rose (or Rosy) Cross, consisting of a cross with a rose placed on its center.

In terms of symbolism, the true cross and the rose are symbols of man and woman respectively. The rose is often depicted with ten petals, which according to Anna Sprengel is a symbol of female reproduction.

Used by both members of the Rosicrucian Order and the Golden Dawn, a rose cross medal acts as an all-purpose spiritual item which can mass-produce sigils, extracting the name of an angel or spirit by spelling it out in one stroke. Each of the rose's petals has one of the 22 Hebrew letters engraved on them.

Christian Rosenkreuz
The supposed founder of the Rosicrucian Order was said to be Christian Rosenkreuz (クリスチャン＝ローゼンクロイツ)}} (also spelt Christian Rosenkreutz/Rosencreutz or rendered Christian Rose Cross, abbreviated to CRC), a legendary German magician, said to have lived in the 14th century. Rosenkreuz travelled around the world and gathered knowledge during his travels. After his long journey, he organized and redistributed this knowledge in a form usable by ordinary people, establishing the Rosicrucian Order. Aside from the, and , the three grimoires initiates might read, Christian Rosenkreuz was also said to possess a highly-pure original grimoire known as the Book of M, which he claimed to have received from sages.

Rosenkreuz was said to have been buried in a seven-walled tomb, later found by an explorer after 120 years - a story which later formed part of the Golden Dawn's 5=6 ritual. When discovered in the tomb, his corpse was said to have not decomposed. Another legend connected to Rosenkreuz, supposedly described by a scroll found in his tomb, is that he created a perfect miniature of the world and by reproducing past, present and future of all things in this miniature garden, he could understand everything about the world.

Rosicrucian Order
Unlike the Golden Dawn, who sought a magical work kit that could be used by anyone, the Rosicrucian Order is a more secretive organization, choosing to keep the confusing parts of their magic system as such, seeing no problem with only a chosen few being able to wield miracles while the masses only accept blessings given to them. The order was to remain a secret for a hundred years after its establishment, and its members would hide and live among the public, leaving no signs pointing to them specifically instead of the order as a whole. Its members were not required to wear a specific uniform or reveal their actions other than helping the sick, but they would prepare a successor in advance and annual meetings were held to deep the bonds between them, to avoid needless confusion and such that their skill and influence would not be denied.

Aside from the stories concerning the supposed founder, there are a number of legends associated with the order, including ones about a drug of unaging immortality and a flame which would never go out.

The Rosicrucian No. 1 temple, also known as Lichte, Liebe, Leben (リヒトリーベレーベン), is apparently located in Germany, with Anna Sprengel as its temple chief.

Background
The Rosicrucian movement had its beginning with a false book written by, with an invented history surrounding the supposed founder of the ,. Although it began with a lie, magicians developed it further, such that the Rosicrucian system worked and was capable of controlling the supernatural. Although Johann believed he was at the center of the matter, the other Rosicrucians were not actually paying any attention to him, and when he revealed the truth about the lie, he was ignored, with Rosicrucianism having already left his control and spread into the world.

Though continuing to operate as a secretive organization, the Rosicrucian Order would come to be considered as the most famous of the magic cabals prior to the Golden Dawn.

According to Anna Sprengel,, who is considered one of the fathers of modern science, and , who played a major role in the early development of esoteric Tarot and was a major influence on the Golden Dawn, were members of the Rosicrucian Order.

Rosicrucianism was a major influence on the Golden Dawn, with aspects of it forming its foundation along with Hermeticism and Kabbalah. During the cabal's creation, William Wynn Westcott wished to give it prestige by claiming it to be the continuation of an ancient Rosicrucian line, forging the Sprengel Letters (an exchange with Anna Sprengel, a magician supposedly associated with the initial Rosicrucian cabal in Germany) in order to support his claim. As such, the Isis-Urania Temple was given the number 3 (with 1 and 2 being the supposed original cabal's temple in Germany). The cabal's Second Order was also referred to as R.R. et A.C. ("Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis", meaning "Ruby Rose and Golden Cross"), and the 5=6 ritual representing it was based on the story of the discovery of 's tomb, with Mina Mathers having reconstructed the seven-walled tomb as part of it.

Index Arc
Index refers to Rosicrucians among those after her for the grimoires in her head, during her initial meeting with Kamijou Touma. Whether she was referring to the actual Rosicrucian Order or a derivative magic cabal bearing the name isn't clear.

Toaru Majutsu no Index: Mars SS
Fleiss has a spiritual item created by the Rosicrucians, a multicolored card illustrated with a rose and a cross, which originally served as a tool of purification but could be used to eliminate the Attached Microbes.

St. Germain Arc
According to Othinus, if one were to ask a random magician to name ten famous people, Rosenkreuz's name would come up among the list.

When the crucified Zombie was dropped in front of High Priest, Nephthys and Niang-Niang, it was noted that the cross, made from intersecting steel beams, with tungsten steel spikes as nails and wrapped in barbed wire, resembled the magical rose symbol (the Rose Cross) more than the Christian cross.

Aleister Crowley Arc
During the events in the Windowless Building on December 11th, Rosicrucianism was referred to in the recreation of Aleister's past, in conversations between Mathers and Westcott.

Coronzon Arc
While Aleister, Touma and Accelerator were visiting the former Isis-Urania Temple during the events surrounding the recreated Golden Dawn, Aleister described how Westcott faked the Sprengel Letters to claim that the Golden Dawn was a continuation of an ancient Rosicrucian line to explain why the temple was number 3 despite being the Golden Dawn's original temple.

During the events surrounding the Ceremony of Mo Athair, Rosicrucianism and the Rosicrucian Order were referred to in events concerning Anna Sprengel and Madame Horos.

Kamijou Arc
Various aspects of Rosicrucianism and the Rosicrucian Order were referenced during the events which transpired Windsor Castle after Coronzon's defeat, a number of them by Anna Sprengel and Aiwass during their discussion at the Tower of London. While in the tower, Anna made use of a method derived from Christian Rosenkreuz's miniature to observe what was going on in the castle.

Christmas Eve Arc
By December 24th, Anna had spread magical knowledge over the internet, amongst the ordinary populace and into Academy City, via the new IT company R&C Occultics (the R&C derived from the Rose and the Cross).

Christmas Day Arc
Numerous aspects of Rosicrucianism were referenced or utilized during the events connected to Anna Sprengel and R&C Occultics on Christmas Day. Anna also referred to R&C Occultics as simply the modern form of her organization.

Los Angeles Arc
A Rosicrucian interpretation of the alchemical stage Citrinitas played a major role in the events that occurred in Los Angeles on December 26th, with Citrinitas being the title of the magician protecting R&C Occultics HQ and the basis of the magic they used to trapped the city's population in sand.

New Year's Arc
On January 4th, the Bridge Builders Cabal created/summoned Christian Rosenkreutz in the hopes that he would provide the answers for the world's salvation that they could not, only to find that the man's nature was drastically different and far worse than what the legends claimed.