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THE INVISIBLE HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS The World’s Most Mysterious Secret Society

Published in the USA by INNER TRADITIONS, Vermont, 2009

Published in the UK by Lewis Masonic (hardback) as
INVISIBLES – The True History of the Rosicrucians

The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians
The World's Most Mysterious Secret Society
By Tobias Churton
ISBN-13: 978-1-59477-255-9
ISBN: 1-59477-255-X
Quality Paperback — 09/09/09
Page Count: 576; 6.00 (width) x 9.00 (height)
74 b&w illustrations
Imprint: Inner Traditions
Availability: Usually ships within 1-2 business days.
Price: $24.95
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INNER TRADITIONS:
About The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians

The first complete historical and philosophical investigation into the “invisible fraternity” of the Rosicrucians

• Contains the latest research on the origins of the Rosicrucian movement

• Presents the ties between Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, and the Templars

• Written by a “perfected” Knight of the Rose Croix and the Pelican (18th degree, Ancient and Accepted Rite)

For nearly 400 years, incredible myths and stories have been woven around the “invisible” Brothers of the Rose Cross, the Rosicrucians. It is said that they possessed the secret of man and God, that they could turn lead into gold, that they governed Europe in secret, that theirs was the true philosophy of Freemasonry, and that they could save--or destroy--the world. In The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians, Tobias Churton, a “perfected” Knight of the Rose Croix and the Pelican (18th degree, Ancient and Accepted Rite), presents the first definitive historical and philosophical view of this mysterious brotherhood.

Starting at its beginnings in Germany in 1603, Churton unveils the truth behind the complex story that underlies the Rosicrucian movement. He explains its purpose, the motives of its earliest creators, and the manifestos “accidentally” published in the 17th century that emerged at precisely the time when modern science was emerging. He details the people who influenced its development--including Johannes Kepler, Robert Fludd, and Sir Francis Bacon--and the ties between the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, and Templars. He also shows how Rosicrucianism shaped the mythology and spiritual consciousness of both North and South America and reveals that there are many Rosicrucian fraternities still active throughout the world today.

About the Author of The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians
Tobias Churton is a lecturer in Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry at Exeter University, which offers Britain’s only master’s program in Western Esotericism. The author of Gnostic Philosophy, The Magus of Freemasonry, and Freemasonry: The Reality, he lives in England.

Praise for The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians
"There is a tendency today, fostered (in my opinion) by high-speed everything, to want to skim through things to get to the conclusion. This book is NOT amendable to such an attitude. The research behind it is meticulous. It is laid out in exquisite detail. It bears a thorough, close reading. . . . This work is eye-opening and, for those interested in the development of the Rosicrucian beliefs, a valuable resosurce."
Michael Gleason, reviewer, Oct 2009

"The mysterious story of Rosicrucianism, told through its dominant characters, reveals much that is significant with regard to all our pasts and much about ourselves, our truly human nature."
SirReadaLot.org, Nov 2009

"The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians provides a fine history of secret societies and presents the first definitive, in-depth survey of these societies . . . "
The Midwest Book Review, Vol. 4, No. 12, Dec 2009

"Perhaps the growing interest by the pubic in esotericism--and, indeed, Rosicrucianism--in recent years is a reflection of a deep desire to connect with something greater, with divine intelligence itself. Churton's book is both an education and a revelation."
Nexus New Times Magazine, Vol. 17, No. 2, Feb/Mar 2010

 

THE ESOTERIC BOOK REVIEW:

Invisibles: The True History of the Rosicrucians
by Tobias Churton
published Lewis Masonic
HB, 444pp, £19.99
reviewed by David Rankine

If you have read any of Tobias Churton’s works before, like The Gnostics or Freemasonry – the Reality, you will know he has a habit of setting himself difficult topics to cover, and then making them accessible through good scholarship and a sharp lucid explanatory style. With Invisibles he remains true to form, providing a comprehensive overview of the history and development of Rosicrucianism, one of the most significant strands of the spiritual tapestry created through the development of Western society in recent centuries. As with his other books, Churton utilises his habit of digressing down fascinating avenues of information, only to bring them back in front of the reader to illustrate the points he was making from a completely different angle! He also provides the information ina manner which allows the reader to form their own conclusions, a rare and useful quality in a work such as this.

This book could be described as the hidden or invisible history of the spiritual development of science and philanthropy over the last four centuries. It is divided into two parts, Origins and Development, both of which introduce the reader to a whole cast of historical figures, some better known and more familiar than others. Even with the better known figures, there are still details and snippets which a few produce surprises waiting to leap on the unexpecting mind and cause a re-evaluation of ideas.
Churton has produced a book which should be read over a period of time, as every chapter is full of ideas which need time to be fully explored and take seed like a strong tree. If anything, there isalmost be too much information in some chapters, hence my recommendation to take your time over this book.

Like a fine wine, it has the benefit of maturity, and is best enjoyed through sips and not gulps!
So to the essence of the book – everything you would expect is included in this work, from the Fama Fraternitas and Christian Rosenkreuz to the Rose-Croix and the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. The European essence of Rosicrucianism is explored through its luminaries, of whom there are many. For me perhaps the best quality of this significant tome is that it manages to bring out the spiritual essence which pervades the history of Rosicrucianism, a major feat for which Churton is to be congratulated. This book is an excellent and worthy study which deserves to be read by anyone with the slightest interest in spirituality, history or indeed the road of the Philosopher’s Stone to personal transformation.

 

REVIEW by MICHAEL BAIGENT in FREEMASONRY TODAY magazine:

INVISIBLES. The True History Of The Rosicrucians.
Tobias Churton, Lewis Masonic, 2009. Hardback, xix and 444 pages, £19.99.

In 1623 Paris was in uproar over the imminent appearance of the ‘Brothers of the Rosy Cross’; leaflets were stuck on Pont Neuf and placards appeared around the city. The mysterious and invisible Brothers promised to ‘draw men from error and death.’ The Rosicrucians had arrived. The fascination shown by Parisians remains with us today as many different groups now jostle for primacy in the claim to true Rosicrucian ancestry.

This book by Tobias Churton is a comprehensive and fascinating exploration through the rise of the Rosicrucian movement from the production of its initial texts, the Fama Fraternitatis first seen in 1610 and printed 1614, the Confessio Fraternitatis of 1614, printed 1615 and the great work, The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz printed in 1616. Churton has provided detail, context and analysis where so many other books have provided only scepticism or wishful thinking.

Churton is good on the context out of which the Rosicrucian idea developed. He is good on the movement itself and, in an inspired move, he is good at the whole concept of an idea’s power to move the world. And he points out the paradox which lies at the heart of the Rosicrucian idea, ‘What the world sees as useless is gold to the eyes of the spiritually reborn; what the world judges as gold is but a dead lead weight to [the Rosicrucian].’

He draws his exploration to a close by pointing out a twentieth century parallel to the Rosicrucian mystery – the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau. He points to the alternative views of the past: those of history or allegory. The Rosicrucian texts were written as allegories of their times; non-operative Freemasonry was also based upon an allegory written to convey a moral and spiritual lesson; and in a thoughtprovoking section Churton argues that the modern Rennes-le-Chateau story is another such allegory where mysteries are expressed in symbols.

Churton ends on a deeply personal note: ‘Man forever stands at the crossroads, until he makes a decision.
Will he heed the invitation to the mysterious alchemical wedding, or will he go back to sleep?’
It is hard to dismiss this call to awaken.
Michael Baigent

Review in
TemplarHistory.com:

9 June 2010

The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians: The World’s Most Mysterious Secret Society from amazon.com.
By Tobias Churton
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Inner Traditions
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-59477-255-9
Reviewed by Randy Williams

The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians is author Tobias Churton’s ambitious attempt to create the definitive book on a complex and oft-misunderstood subject. Churton, perhaps best known for his works on Gnostic writings and philosophy, is a lecturer at the Exeter University (UK) master’s program in Western Esotericism and is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on hidden wisdom and secret societies. He has touched on the Rosicrucians in his writing before, most notably in 2002’s excellent pre-history of Freemasonry, The Golden Builders. That book, however, only hinted at the exhaustive scope and detail to be found in The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians, which at nearly 600 pages outdoes even Churton’s similarly weighty tome on the Craft, 2007’s Freemasonry: The Reality.

The reason why the Rosicrucians are (according to the book’s subtitle) the world’s most mysterious secret society, and why their history continues to be so widely misunderstood, is because the fraternal Brothers of the Rosy Cross were never actually meant to exist. The earliest Rosicrucian documents — Fama Fraternitatis, Confession Fraternitatis, and The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (originating from 1607) — were written anonymously but can be traced to Germany and the pen of a young Lutheran seminary student named Johannes Valentinus Andreae. Churton asserts that the documents were written as a sort of a youthful university prank or “game,” using the allegory of a fictional mystic named Christian Rosenkreutz and his equally fictional fraternity of followers as a means of critiquing the prevailing stodginess of the 17th-century religious and educational establishments.

Andreae, who became a member of the Lutheran clergy, took pains to distance himself from both the Fama and the Confession; he admitted to writing only The Chymical Wedding. According to Churton, Andreae was horrified to discover that his anonymous, youthful manifestos had been published several years after they were written, and he later became angry when other writers, claiming to be leading members of the fictional fraternity, began to steer what was purported to be “Rosicrucian thought” in new directions, encompassing ever-heavier doses of magic, alchemy and astrology. Andreae’s later writing under his own name openly ridicules alchemists; his original manifestos had a much stronger connection to medical sciences, advocating that Brothers of the Rosy Cross should care for the sick and infirm free of charge.

Once published, the manifestos took on a life of their own as they spread throughout Europe. New Rosicrucian books began appearing almost immediately, all written by authors claiming to be members of the non-existent order. Several of the authors faced persecution (after all, the Inquisition was still active in many parts of Europe); a great many others sought to set themselves up as the heads of “real” Rosicrucian orders. Churton chronicles more than three centuries of attempts by writers, would-be prophets, and creators of fraternal ritual to manufacture authentic ties to the mythical brotherhood, a pursuit which has seen the creation of a great many forged documents and outlandish tale tales that stretch credulity to the breaking point. Some of these writers went so far as to claim that Christian Rosenkreutz was not even the founder of the order, but that the “true” beginnings of the brotherhood could be traced back to ancient Egypt (this was a popular claim in fringe Masonic degrees of the era as well). Most of these authors added their own spin and agendas, resulting in a body of “Rosicrucian” work that bears little relation to the original documents by Johannes Valentinus Andreae. It is Churton’s assertion that Andreae would likely disapprove of much, if not all of what has been done in the name of his fictional Christian Rosenkreutz. (In one section, Churton even states that the system of Christian mysticism based upon the writings of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin and known as Martinism is closer to Andreae’s original ideas than is most of what is now called Rosicrucianism.) Even so, many modern-day seekers proudly call themselves Rosicrucians — finding illumination in the works of the latter-day Rosicrucian writers and participating in the flesh-and-blood fraternal orders they have inspired.

If there is a fault to be found with the book, it is that its structure feels somewhat unbalanced. The earliest sections of the story, which take place during Andreae’s lifetime and the century immediately following the “accidental” publication of his manifestos, consume almost 400 of the book’s pages and are almost too detailed. Churton occasionally gets bogged down in minutiae of dates and events and lets his narrative sag. By contrast, the latter sections which deal with the pseudo-Rosicrucian groups that have formed over the last three centuries (quite a few of which are still in existence) speed by in fewer than 200 pages and sometimes feel as if they skimp on detail. When one considers that this section of the story features such colourful characters as Arthur Edward Waite, Rudolf Steiner, Max Heindel, and even Aleister Crowley, this reader could not help but feel disappointed that it was not more fully developed. As well, the extent to which Rosicrucian ideas have influenced fraternal ritual, whether Masonic (most notably in the Scottish Rite degrees) or quasi-Masonic (the various “Societas Rosicruciana” groups that are open only to Freemasons) gets relatively short shrift.

These are, however, minor quibbles. Churton’s book is a remarkable achievement — an encyclopedic overview spanning 400 years of Rosicrucian history and philosophy that is written in an accessible, engaging, even warm and humorous tone that takes the subject seriously but never fails to spot the many ironies inherent in the unusual story. As the author succinctly states, “What began as a game became a religion.” The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians is certain to be the go-to source for information on this fascinating subject for many years to come.

PLEASE NOTE: This book was published simultaneously in the UK and Ireland by Lewis Masonic under the similar title Invisibles: The True History of the Rosicrucians (ISBN 978-0-85318-309-9).

REVIEW ON AMAZON:

Esoteric Clarification, 30 Aug 2009 *****
This review by Todd Landman (East Bergholt, UK) is of: Invisibles: The True History of the Rosicrucians (Hardcover)

The Rosicrucians have occupied a prominent place in the history of Western esotericism;a history that often has murky details about the origins, trajectory, and belief and practices, as well as links to intellectual luminaries such as Rene Descartes. Tobias Churton cuts through the mystery and misconceptions of the movement (which is really more what it is) and traces its origins to a series of documents originally published as a playful challenge to dominant European religious and intellectual trends at the turn of the 17th Century. Churton takes us from the publication of the Fama Fraternitatis through the modern evolution of the movement and the ways in which it has influenced other strands of esoteric thought and practice. Churton teaches on the University of Exeter's MA in Western Esotericism, and this book represents a thirty year quest to study the movement and how it fits into the larger (if not hidden) history of ideas. His style is humorous and mixes references to 17th century documents with contemporary ideas (e.g. in one instance lyrics from The Doors). The book is a treasure trove of ideas, trends, and thoughts that have not been brought together in one place before (Manly Hall's work The Secret Teachings of All Ages gets close) and it is clear that Churton's research has been extensive. Overall, this is a great read and a great journey into a world hitherto unknown to a general readership. Highly recommended.

Goodreads.com:
Jim rated it *****
Shelves: esoteric
Needs to be in the library of any serious student of Rosicrucianism. Churton's final chapter alone makes this book worthy of a place on our reference shelves. Makes me tempted to move to Britain and enroll in Exeter University's master's program in Western Esotericism.

REVIEW by:
Google groups soc.religion.paganism:
Mike:
The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians by Tobias Churton © 2009
Inner Traditions ISBN: 978-1-59477-255-9 576 pgs Paperback $24.95
(U.S.)

Those who view Rosicrucianism solely as an occult topic will find their perceptions being challenged al most from the first pages of this well-written account. The documented history, although obscured
in some times and places, is discoverable for the most part. True, there is an amount of mythic storytelling involved to a greater or lesser degree, but the facts are there and Mr. Churton (a lecturer on
Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry at Exeter University [England]) has pursued them doggedly.
There is a tendency today, fostered (in my opinion) by high-speed everything, to want to skim though things to get to the conclusion. This book is NOT amenable to such an attitude. The research behind it
is meticulous. It is laid out in exquisite detail. It bears a thorough, close reading. Mr. Churton looks into all the circumstance surrounding the appearance of the Fraternity, the individuals who influenced its development, and the connections between the Rosicrucian movement and the other popular secret societies – the Freemasons and the Knights Templar. He provides translations of numerous works not easily accessible to the average reader and, while couched in language which may seem
obtuse to the modern reader, accurately portrays the appeal to the intelligentsia of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Mr. Churton’s membership (as a “pe4rfected” Knight of the Rose Croix and the Pelican [18th degree, Ancient and Accepted Rite]) in the Masons opens doors for him and his readers. There are no mystic revelations, simply good, solid scholarship, closely reasoned personal conclusions, and a desire to render less obscure an important phase in the development of the modern world.
This work contains short biographies of many of the individuals most involved in the dissemination of Rosicrucian ideas and literature. These add immeasurably to the understanding of the times in which
these ideas first found public expression. While not essential to the book, they are valuable in and of themselves. All of the commonly accepted stories revolving around Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry are explored and dissected. Connections are made and inferences drawn based on extensive explorations covering the entire period of the rise of Rosicrucian thought. This exploration is continued to the modern day on both sides of the Atlantic. How you react to his assertion that the publication of the primary Rosicrucian manifestos was an “imposture” or a game will say more about your beliefs than his. Heaven knows that there have been religious and philosophical movements motivated by fiction (think The Church of All Worlds inspired by Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and/or Scientology), as well as in response to a particular religion or movement with no preceding basis for their existence (think the Protestant Reformation). He does not assert that the subsequent development of Rosicrucianism was a game, merely that it was, and is, self-defined. Does it have identify those instances when he is being less than serious, since he is obviously aware of the tendency of some individuals to be indiscriminate in their belief. This work is eye-opening and, for those interested in the development of the Rosicrucian beliefs, a valuable resource. While it is not for everyone, it is definitely worth a look overall. INNER TRADITIONS (publisher: The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians – The World’s most Mysterious Secret Society). Publisher’s information:

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The universe answers the yearning soul
"So scientists cannot find God through microscope, telescope, spectroscope, or the like. Whoever said they would? The Bible, for example, tells people to look deeply into the cosmos and ask themselves what kind of being might be responsible for such a thing. Mystics are simply a people who, having answered that question to their own satisfaction, proceed to find evidence for their conclusion in all they see and feel around them. The universe answers the yearning soul--one way or another" (266).
--Tobias Churton, founder editor, Freemasonry Today, in The Invisible History of the Rosicrucians
Posted by Kenneth W. Davis in Cosmos, Religion, Science, Signs, Spirit.