Imperator H. Spencer Lewis’ Personal Message (1918).pdf

8/14/2019 Imperator H. Spencer Lewis’ Personal Message (1918).pdf

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CROMAAT A M O N T H L Y M O N O G R A P Hf

F Q R T H E M E M B E R S O F

A. M, O. R. C.

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P R I V A T EL Y P U B L I S H E D A N D C I R C U L A T E D

B Y T H E

A M O R C C O L L E G E L I B R A R Y

N E W Y O R K C I T Y

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T H I S E DI TI O N IS L IM IT ED A N D E A C H C O P Y

N U M B E R E D C O N S E C U T I V E L Y FO R

I D E N T I F I C A T I O N

N U M B E R O F T H IS C O PY , F



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THE IMPERATOR’S PERSONAL MESSAGE

T he A nn ual A ddress to All M embers, in W hich the

Imperator Explains the Paramount Problemsof Our Order .

It is some time since I addressed a long or detailed message tomy Brothers and Sisters on the subject of our pr inciples and the work we have in hand, and i t seems propit ious now to come before my kinwith a message of love and encouragement and point out to themwhat we have to be thankful for as the R*fC year of 3271 draws toa clbse.

How natural and appropriate i t seems to cal l al l of you my kin!While the f raternal relat ionship that exists between us is that oftrue Brothers and Sisters uni ted by the t ics and bonds of essent ialBrotherhood, there has grown in my heart and consciousness in the

past year the feeling, the' realization, that ye a re my children, all of,and in one family. The sense of fatherhood, of paren tguard ian, overone large family of children has made itself so manifest , and in thevarious tests, tr ials and tr ibulations so revealed its potential r ight,that at t imes the responsibili ty seems enormous and increasingly inspiring to greater work.

Today, the minds of the mult i tudes are charged with wondrousthoughts for the reconstruct ion and immediate evolut ion of hi immrights, privileges and freedom . The day s of feudalism and slaverygave way to f reedom of body and l i fe; and for centur ies autocracywith tyranny has held man's mind and thought in bondage; now isdemanded, everywhere, the f reedom of mind and soul so that man

physically, mentally, and sp ir itua lly m ay be a free agent to th a t degreeof understanding and competent reasoning which each has gradual lyat tained through knowledge and experience,

A U T O C R A T I C S U B S T I T U T I O NBut, while our last few years of world confusion and str i fe have

taught us that tyrannical autocracy is not only adverse to man's evolu-t ion and prog v t s n ̂ a side from the limitations of happiness and peace,—we have learned also that rel ief f rom such pressure and evi l can comeonly through the kind and humanitar ian autocracy of loving masterminds.

T he ending o f the world wa r revealed to us tha t only by thesubst i tut ion of huma ne auto cracy for the inhuman, the i jnsclfish for the



erlflslu ilic noble f(»r th« igaoblc, crmld man’s ways aiid means forlid accomplishment nf peace and prosperity, happiness and progress

be effectively applied and made potent.Within the aura, the immediate environment , of every sane ahd

constructive man, woman and child, there are ways and means, abil-ities and capabilities, assets and powers, possibilities and agencies forthe evo lution .of self and othe ts, individu ally an d collectively^ to th at

degree o f pe rfe ct living to which we, as itosae c rue Ians an d man yoilier associate bodies are str iving. But, ty rann ical autoc racy makesthese ways and means, these many powers and possibilities, impotent,1—useless and limited,^“ whereas , the kind ly and lov ing au toc rac y o f anunselfish mind directing the efforts of all toward the one glorious aimcommon to alh makes latent powers mighty and brings strength tothe unity of human progressive endeavors.

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Poli t ical and mater ial democracy docs not warrant or just i fy &similar scheme in the m att er of mental and spiritua l evolution. Thefftther of a family, cannot sell or hold In bondage and slavery his

child despite the moral and legal rights he may have in the possessionof his child; but while the child has its rights, its freedom of bodyand its choice of individual expression, the very laws, the same reason-ing, which denies to The father the right to absolute and unlimited

possession of a child , gran ts him the reasonable autocra tic directionof .his mental, m oral an d spiritual advancem ent and evolution.

This, for the child,—the mind in the making, the soul in its un-fold nunt. An d, when w e en te r the school o f life’s lessons, of themind’s reawakening, we enter as children, regardless of bur age andour political status.

If , as children of immature age, we are in need of autocraticdirection in the development of objective faculties and material abil-ities, how much more are we in need of autocratic direction later inlife, in the development of the subjective faculties and the immaterial ,spiri tual powers within and without us?

Are the pitfalls of ingorance , and evil which s urro un d u s aschildren any greater or more disastrous to our future thoh the pitfallsof supersti t ion and false teachings which are set in our pathwaythrough life after childhood?

All this leads us to realise why Our Order has, and wilt maintain,an auto cratic form of gove rnment,—an autocrac y of love ands kin d-ness, with firmness and justice, consideration and mercy.

At the last National Convention held in New York at our Su- preme G rand Lodge Temple, tw o of our {G rand Masters came to meafter the last session and said; ’‘Brother Lewis, we did pot know, didnot even conceive, that you could be so austere in your autoducy asyou have been thro ug ho ut this Convention, Despite the fac t tha t youare the Im per nto r of onr* Order , we have always looked upon you,and outside of the Lodge addressedyou, as our ’Brother’ ; but now

wc realize that you are properly the autocratic ruler of our Order.I t ts this power and direction in yoilr hands that has Saved the Orderfrom i ts enemies; and your kindness and just ice as Imperator havewon for you the Love of your members. Seldom has this been trueof a ruler and those he ruled,”

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I cite this statement not because of i ts compliment, but because itstr ikes a keynote that should be the topic'of a Considerable messageto oilr members.



T H E P O W E R S I N ' D A R K N E S S

The 1518 Convention is passed and my thirtyfifth year has cometo a close! Roth the O rd er an d myself have safely passed the mo sftrying period of existence fraught with severe tests and experiences,designed to overthrow the one and bring oblivion and loss of power

to sthe other. But, ' with thanks and appreciation for the lore an dloyalty as well as fairmindedness and discrimination of most of ourmembers, and with honor to the autocratic power placed in my hands by my Bro thers and Sisters, the O rde r 1 3 stronger in number of members and num ber of Lodges, and g rea te r in power th rough the loveand sacrifices of all who have suffered with me, than it whs last year.This is the answer to the machinations, thr schemes, the ambitious,the falsehoods and the dishonorable attacks of our enemies.

Several g n at lessons have been tau gh t to 1 1 s by the lire in the crucibleas it bur ned during the pa st seven months. I t Is well th at we takethese lussnna seriously enou gh to find value in rev iewing them. Firs t,it may have seemed trite and mere abstraction to say that goodnesswill always fiml str en gth in the resistance of evil. W e spe ak of Lightand darknes s, tr u th and falsehood, unselfishness and so] fish ness usopposing powers; in an abstract way we say that these are posit iveand negative qualities or elements, and that to the positive alone shouldwe att rib ut e any active power. Wo are pron e to believe that everyat tem pt to “spread the Wg htv> merely arouses the passive an t ipathyor disapproval of darkness* we think of darkness as delighting in itstranquil achromatism and infecuncl existence,“ aine prole. Hut howwe must realize and ever keep in mind that darkness shelters an in-

habited world; shrouding, as it were* a trenchant, poignant, caustic,mordant, cschorotic and erratic aLtroupomant of tribes and individuals,much like the black hole of Calcutta, whose minds are sophistical,Jesuitical, besotted, intolerant, fanatical, bigoted, illogical, prejudicialand iinmoral* bound in their processes of thinking to the limited andlimiting schools of convention and runnmade creeds find dogmas, andassociated in mental and physical power with every destructive agency,existing In the chaotic realm of hopelessness.

Secondly, we must also realize that the reminder that "our Order’senemies arc imaginary” is absolutely false; they not only exist , butare active, and continuously active to some degree.

Strange,—or significant,—as it may seem, those few members ofour Order and one or two outside of it, who have been the most bois-terous and insistent in their declaration that “no one is trying to injure

'the Order*’* o r “th e agen ts of evil arc not tr yi ng to inj ure us’*, werethe ones who quickly, easily and with evident forethought und1wchlaifl plans took u p the arm s of the forces of. evil and wer e foremo stin the ranks of the army*^rsiua]l as It was,—that was arrayed againstus in the f irst and probably last great attack made upon us.

It reminds us of the false pacifists who, m spreading the insidiousGerman propaganda in th is country before our entry in to the con

diet, went about preaching and teaching that thoughts Of defense wereabsurd and peace alone should be kept in mind. These false teachersand acclaimcrs o f a passive attit ud e proved to be the foremos t agent*of attack and disruption when the moment for open war was at hand,

Thirdly, we must no longer weaken our rigid and efficient methodsof closely scrutinising those who are a dm itt ed . into the Order, andespecially tho&e who enter the Fourth Degree and receive the keyto power and knowledge. Not ail who receive the key in the Four thDegree discover or reach’the door of the chamber which the key urn

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locks; but the possession of the toy tempts some to unlock otli^r cloorft pf chafnbcrs of wickedness, a n d therein Lies the danger . Th is 1$ wofcrr tcrful ly i l lus trated in our recent t r ials ar id tr ibulat ions by the facttha t of the, fon t active enemies who had received the key in the Fourth

/Degree, not one o f them e ver discovered th e Cha mb er of Lig ht; Andfrom their act ions and s tatements they arc not only ignorant of such

Cham ber, bu t do ub t th at it exists I So mo te it he*P R E P A R E D N E S S

O f course, we, the executives of the Ord er at the Su prem e G randLodge, Were not unprepared for the tes ts and tr ials that came upon1 1 $. Each t im e wc passed throu gh o ur Th ird Degre e Ritual , andreread the 1Btory of how the “ninth hou r’* cam e upon th e Tem ple ofold with al l i ts at tending disas ters , we were reminded of our dutyof preparedness . So of ten during the tum ultuo us t imes of ou r mosttrying experiences in June, July and August , jus t past , some of our

more inquiring than discerning minds, too filled with academic orcollegiate t raining and lacking in that good sense and judgmentoften called intui t ion, asked this quest ion i “ If th e Im pe ra to r andhis associates ar e such M asters as they proclaim , why did the y notkiiow th at these troubles were com ing?” The quest ion was askedin a manner which indicates that preknowtedge of an event assures

prevention of it. I f th is were only true ! Then, there would be nogreat clash in the near future between several religious denomimv*lions; there would be no political conflict \ n a few years betweenthis country of ours nod an othe r tnighty na t ion; th ere would be, nosudden upris ing within our land of the res t less , prejudiced, insane, fan-

atical revolut ionis ts against our government and i ts executives; theretyJuid be no fur ther a t tacks upon our Order and par t icu lar ly uponits im p er at or ' within the ne xt six months* All these things 'weknow are to be; their elongated shadows cost in the future reachwel l ' in to the l ight of the present ; hut our knowledge of the i r com

■itig,. while pr ep ari ng us to m eet an d de fe at the ons lau ght with ne utr al-ise big i f feet, does not pre ve nt the inevitable.

T H E S U P R E M E C O U N C I L

And r ight here is contained the essence of another Important

f joint , upon which so many of our members are desirous of per t inentand Imp ert inen t inform ation. Since the new decrees recently issued by the Suprem e Council res tr ic t t h e use of names or references of personality in o u r work and li te ra ture , o f th e future* it is well tospeak on this point now while some matters of personali ty may beindulge d Hi for pro bab ly the las t t ime. >

This U the point : r fho are those who are so int imately associatedwith the Impera tor as to form his Supreme Counci l and enjoy h isconfidence and secret t rus ts? Who are those who kno w the pr ob -abi l i t ies of the fu ture , whose fa i th and t rus t in the Impere tof and

. the Order are beyond treasonable change; whose bel ief in the honorr ind integri ty , goodness and ul t imate vindicat ion of the Order andi ts Impera tor i s undying?

To answer these ques t ions by saying tha t these members cons t i-tu te th e Suprem e Council is to g ive but a par t ia l answer . Th e t ru this tha t these tes ted and tes t ing , t r ied and t ry ing , t rus ted and t rus t-ing, bel ieved and believing, known and knowing, learned and learn-ing, d i rec ted and d i rec t ing members cons t i tu te the MINISTRARO,dr the Executive Committee within the Supreme Council , known more



generally as the Welfare Committee of the Supreme Lodge and official-ly designed by the Im peru tor as his person al Cabin et of Officer?, Th atthe personali ty of th is Cabinet may be known and establ ished for adefinite purpose, I will mention them as follows:

C on ra d H L. — — — — — Su pr em e G r an d M as ter,Mrs, B eatrice W. S . — ^ S u p r e m e G r an d M atrc,Mrs. Maud C. .... .Supreme Gra nd Hera ld ,Dr. Frank B. S. — ...................—Su pr em e F in an ci al Se cr etary,Willard M. — ................. Supreme Gra nd Secretary ,Mrs . F , B. S. — — Supreme Gra nd Magus ,Mrs, The odor e M, .... ... — Supreme G rand High Priestess ,Mrs. Elsa L, —.... —— — ......— S u pr em e G r a n d O r ga ni st ,Mrs . M. L, C . — Grand Mas te r o f Massachu aset s.

and two lay members of the highest degree.

All but the two lay members spend most of their spare hoursat the Temple in New York, and two of them are there all day long

and every evening until , tenthirty or eleven; and three of them areat the Temple every Sunday in addit ion ,

It must be remembered tha t nea rly all the work being conductedat the Supreme Lodge is done through voluntary service , and theseBrothers and Sisters give their t ime as well as their money freelyfor the benefit of others, often leaving their own homes and Interestsin the hands of o thers that the Lodge work m ay be in t rus ted hands.

W O R K A T T H E S U P R E M E L O D G E

Many may not know of the act iv i t ies conducted a t the Supreme

Temple. The re ar e Lodges of diff ere nt degrees held here every night,except Sa turd ay and Sunda y nights . On Tuesdays there are twodegrees meeting and on Fr idays three d if ferent degrees, one beingIn our I ta l ian Lodge. Fi re m asters arc taking care of these d if ferentdegrees. On Sund ay nights there is a French c lass and a t the o thert imes there are pr ivate c lasses for specia l branches of s tudy pre-

p a ra to ry to the opening o f the Rosa ec ru d a n College.

In addition to these activities, there is the purely executive work.This is divided into many sections, and it is this divided work thatIs in the h ands of the volunteer service of the mem bers o f the Im p er-

st or’e Cabinet mentioned above. Fo r instance: t here is the “Dispensa -tion Group” work that very few of our regular Lodge members haveever be ard of. This is in the hands exclusively of the Supreme G ran d H er -ald. This work sif ts out the constant inquiries for Light from all sectionsof the country, and brings three, four or f ive inquirers from any onelocal i ty together to form a Dispensat ion Group for pursuing a courseof reading and study under our d irect ion each Thursday night with-ou t fees to us, with the intention o f f inally organ ising a Lodge. Manyof our new Lodges have star ted in th is way, and the care of thesegroups and the correspondence between the individuals and our Lodgeis Urge and exacting.

The n there Is the work of the N ationa l Lodge. This Lodge whichhas i ts headquar ters in our Temple , has members in twentyeightstates. Thes e individu al membe rs, living in lonely and isolated placeswhere a regular Lodge is not possible for some time to come, arefurnished weekly lectures with appropr ia te exper iments to be pursuedat home, every Th ursd ay night . The lectures and work are not thesame as in our regular Lodges, but vast ly super ior to any readingmatter or s tudies to be found in any books; and the success that



these Nat ional members hare had in heal ing, te lepathy, project ingtheir minds to dis tant places, contro l l ing na tu re ’s forces, e tc ., speakseloquent ly to r the lectures we have been sending them. A t our lastConvent ion, one of the Nat ional Lodge members from Indiana was

p resen t as a de legate fo r the N a t io na l Lodge, and on beha lf o f hisLodge he pleaded that the work being done for these individual andisolated members be continued *way beyond what was originally plan*

ned for them because of the great success of Such method of spread-ing the Gr eat Light in the da rk est corners of th is land. At tha t t imehe said: “Nothing that has ever been wri t ten or engraved, cut ormark ed, prin ted or e tched on wood, pa pe r s tone or metal , reg ard -ing occul t t ruths and laws equal the astounding facts and simple rulesgiven in our Na t ional Lodge lectures. I speak now of ou r mem-

bers who have been in th e N ational Lodge nine m onths and havereceived thirtysix weekly lectures in that t ime at a cost less thanthat of three or four Foolish, misleading, uninstructive books withoccult titles.’*

All this National Lodge work* which lends seekers eventually1in to our regular Lodges or keeps them from remain ing in to ta l dark-ness* is in the hands of the Supreme Grand Secretary, SupremeGrand Herald , and t l te i r s tenographer who is a lso a member ofour Order .

The foregoing work is pract ical ly a humani tarian work con*ducted by our Order as part of i t s phi lantropic scheme of spreadingas much Light as possible so that inquiring minds and seekers maynot remain without the knowledge we have, despi te the fact thatthey cannot a t tend any of our Lodges.

Then there is the regular rout ine correspondence and off ic ia lcommunicat ions, in charge of the Supreme Grand Secretary and his*stenographer, whi le the Impcrator’s persona! correspondence and of-ficial communications pass through the hands of one who acts as his p ri v a te secret a ry .

Th e cont inued prep arat io n and issuance of lectures each week tothe various Lodges is another formidable task—one which is everrequir ing a bet ter or di fferent system in order to meet the changingAnd increasing conditions. This wor k is in the hand s of two o f the

Im pe ral or ’s person id cabinet , and is assisted by the typ ew rit in g andcopying services of several masters in different Lodges who havecome to real ize what a s tupendous task is Included in th is one featureof the work.

Then, there is the Research Work in charge of Sister S.* theSupreme Grand JHat re , ano ther member of the Impera tor’s Cabine t .Few realize what this means,—how important and, tedious i t is*

in nearly al l the lectures of al l degrees of our work Certainscientific laws of n a tu re are given. Th ere were, in 1915, when thelectures were f i rs t prepared for our AmcTicon use, many referencesto what was taught, believed or disbelieved in other philosophies,schools of science or fields of ex per im enta l research. Since then,there have been hundreds of socalled “new" discoveries, especiallyin the fields of chem istry, physics and medicine. The se discoveries(most of which are not new to RoSaecrucians) , are in the nature ofveri f icat ion of our basic principles and we must keep abreast of thesenew findings for two reasons: f i rs t , that we may not unintent ional lyfals i fy in our lectures by saying of any of our principles that "sciencehas not yet learned this law",—secondly, that w q m a y r e fe r ou r



members to the s ta tem ents made by men of repute outs ide of ourOrder.

The im por tance of such research work is ab ly i l lus t ra ted in therecent invest igat ion conducted by science into the nature of elec-trons and atoms, 'When the f irs t lectures of the Firs t Degree weregiven in May of 1915, our lec tures conta ined th is s ta tement : “Science

outs ide of our Order i s jus t beginning to s tudy e lec t rons and whi lethe mo s t eminent au thor i t ies agree th a t an e lec t ron and not the a tomis the ul t imate subdivis ion of matter , these men s tate that there ison ly one k ind o f e lec trons!—the posi tive o n e ^ a n d deny tha t the re i sany o ther ; and some sc ient is ts have recent ly wr i t ten tha t a toms haveelec t rons adher ing to the i r outer sur face ins tead of a toms beingcomp osed of elec trons’*. Since then, science has con tinu ous ly changedits beliefs in regard to electrons, and within the past year the facthas been admitted, with great reluctance and excuse, that there are

positive and negative electrons, and th a t po&iibly they do no t hangon the outs ide of a tom s but m ay cons t i tu te the inner s t ructu re orna tur e of atoms. Such chang es sis this necessi tate changes in ourlectures, for we must always give due credit to General Science whenhe make^ a “new*' and “startling** discovery,

O U R L E C T U R E S M OS T V A L U A B L E

A t the present t ime l io tn chemis t ry and physics are turn in g topsyturvey in a much delayed and has ty re t rea t to the f i r s t pr inc ip les rtf the early alchemists, and it is important, while also amusing, In seewith what profound d igni ty and reverence for the a lchemis ts , whom

the modern scientists have so long derided, the bigoted minds nowquote many of the laws found in our own degree teachings andlectures.

a s an ins tance of bow science is redeem ing i tself , and of wh atgre at imp or tance our research work is, J wil l quote f rom ju s t one

book secured by our research de p a r tm e n t for the purpose o f addingmo re light to our lectures, Th e book is one so recently publishedthat i t was In our hands before it could be found in any store orl ibrary, I t is by one of En gla nd ’s forem ost scientis ts whose academicdegrees and academy associa t ions warrant our t rus t in h is c la ims

to speak auth ori tat iv ely for mod ern chem istry and physics . In fact ,the professor is tel l ing in this book what has been discovered in the p a s t year in bo th o f these fields. On the very first page he says: “Thet ime is gone when i t was regarded as per fec t ly leg i t imate to poin tto Alchemy (using a capital A for the word, i f you please) , as aninstance o f the aber ra t ions of the hum an mind. Recen t exper imenta lresearch has brought about profound modif icat ions in the scientif icconcep t of the physical universe i tself ; and & cer ta in resemblance ca n be t ra ce d between these la te r views a n d the theo ries o f bygone Al-chem y11. On the last pag e of the bonk* a f te r 140 pag es of inte resti ngrevelat ions of what science has jus t founid, he says: “We have showntha t mod ern science indicates the essential t ru th of alchemist te doc-tr ine , and our task i s ended”.

All this , mind you, f rom a man who i3 nei ther an insane mysticno r a Rosaecrueian I Well ma y his las t w ords be these : “ and i t U worth noticing how many of the alchemists* obscure descriptions oftheir Magis tery well apply to l l iut marvelous something which weca ll Energy ( sp i r i t ] , the t rue ’F i r s t M at te r1 of the Universe. Andof the othe r problem , the Elix ir Vital [N ou s] , wTho know s?”

The Sis ter in charge of ou r research work is in con sta nt touch



with every new book ur pamphlet published bearing upon any phaseof mir work, and in ;ul<1ition reads and studies, or has others readand study, every magazine or newspaper art ic le that may report newfindings of science. Such books or publication s as are found helpfulare purchased by her and la t . rr donated to our Supreme Grand Lodge

, Library, thus adding a gre at quant i ty of new reading m at te r toour Library each month.

This one phase of the work at headquarters , which means thecont inued reading and study of so many new books, magazines, andnewspapers by many of the highest degree members with consequentwrit ing and classification of facts and statements found, is a workworthy of any large college or universi ty; yet i t is purely incidentalto the great work constant ly going on at headquarters for the sakeof the greater i l luminat ion we arc spreading wherever wc have theunhampered and apprec ia ted oppor tun i ty .

W H E N C E C AM E T H E E N T H U S IA S M ?

The quest ion was asked, just before ou r last Convent ion,1whenwe were iri the mids t of the com bined attac ks o f o ur few enemies:“Why is i t that the Supreme Council , and especially the one sectionof i t (composing the Irn per ator’s Ca bine t), is so1 enthusiastic and sosacrif icing in i ts defense of the O rde r an d the Im pe rat or ” ? The;quest ion was asked by one of ou r O rde r who was so bl inded for thet ime by the “ gas and flume** of the enemies1 fire that he could notdiscern t lic trut h. He saw in the loyalty of these Sup rem e Councilorsa f idel i ty based on ignorance of the facts or an at tachment to the

O rde r because of some ul ter ior motives. H e even ventur ed theopinion that be never saw such steadfastness and obedience on the p a r t of Councilors before. W hen one is in th e w rong and tu rn in gon^s buck to the Light because such a path leads along the l inesof least res Is te nee, one is a p t to mis judge the choice of others. Theritual of our Second Degree tel ls us to become accustomed to theLesser Light that we may not become blinded by the glare Of theGreater Light when we suddenly come face to face with i t .

Buhvcr Lyt ton once wrote that “enthusiasm is the genius ofsinceri ty11, and sinceri ty is the keynote of the att i tud e of o ur loyalmem bers. Th ey we re sincere in unit i ng with us, have been sincerein a l l their s tudies and appl icat ion of our principles to their dai lyl ives, and are s incere in their defense of our Order and i ts Of-ficers. It is because the members of the Im pe ra to r’s Cabinet , plusa few others , were ful ly awa re of the coming of the t rouble in themonths jus t passed , tha t they were prepared for i t ; i t was becausethey were prepared for i t , and knew i ts precise nature and the f inaloutcome, that they were not s tar t led or bl inded by i ts fa lse glareand scinti lat ing iridescent, multicolored, vascilat ing trophotropism.

N A T IO N A L IT Y O F T H E S U P R E M E C O U N C IL

The Brothers and Sisters composing the Supreme Grand Coun«*oi l are American men and women of excel lent repute and moralstan ding In New York. The charge was made durin g ol ir t roublesth at there were ma ny foreigners on the Sup rem e Council . Exc eptfor a few changes in the Counci l last June, the personnel of theCounci l is ju st as i t has been for two years , h ut never w as there a“ foreigner’1 on our Counci l: a ll are loyal Americans, The only fewon the Council who have the sl ightest foreign accent in their speechare : Bro ther L . ,—our Supreme Grand Master , born in Sweden , and



a seoluua American patriot , and Sister A.,—born in Denmark, a trainednurse and one who has for ma ny years "devoted her t ime and unu sualservices to patrio tic Am erican luimanitarianism. Th e falsi ty of sucha charge is ap pa ren t the moment one meets this body of twentyfiveeducated, refined, cultured men and women.

That the Counci lors paid no at tent ion to the charges made againstthe Order , the lmpera tor and themselves i s due to the fac t tha t the i rint imate knowledge of the *facts and the t ruth s , ma de the m un af-fected by the pet ty , mean, untruthful s tatements made by those whosought first , to (\ isrupt our Organization, and secondly, in the result-ing chaotic condit ion to pose as saviors of the Order, reformers o{a great evil and sl ip into power and office, and control t l ie organiza-tion. Tht! misera ble fa ilu re of such a plan wilt expla in the condi-t ions Jnd act ions on the part of three or four members or exmem- bers whose plans and moves we an tic ipa te and await d u r ing thenext six months with absolutely no fear; again, being forewarnedwill not prevent, but will neutralize.

T H U S O U R C E O F O U l i T E A C H I N G S

Perhaps the most important , because interest ing, though mostabsurd of al l charges made against the Order , or rather the Impcratqr ,was that he had, personally, alone or with the help of others, invented,formulated or s imply manufactured al l the teachings in our Orderfrom pages und paragraphs taken from hooks to be found in l ibrar iesin the United States. Those who made the charg e went so fa r asto ment ion the names of such books as were used by the lmperatorin his pilferin g charla tanism . Th e t i tles of the six or seven books

ment ioned are not recal led jus t now, though a few of them were“Ded’s Elect r ic Phi losophy of Li fe” , Crowley ' s “E qu in ox " , “ Libraryof Me sme r i sm" , by Dr . Dods, “ Cellular Cosmogony*1 by Koresh ,“New Ligh t from the Gr eat I^ast’1 by Parsons, etc.

Two years ago the char ge was made by an Engl ishman posingin this country as a man of high uml enviable Masonic repute, that al lour teachings were taken from one (I) book, called “The Rivers ofLif e” . Ab surd as this proves to be to any one who reads tha t book,st i l l , the difficulty in gett ing a copy of i t for examination shouldhave induced our genial censors and cr i t ics to add that book to theabove list.

T 1I E IM P E R A T O R 'S C H A L L E N G E

One wilL note that the books mentioned are ei ther old or rarehooks, such us are not to be found in every library, if, indeed, theycan be found in any l ibra ry in small ci t ies; this make s i t most dif-ficult for those who hea r the sta tem ent to examine the books and make comparisons wi th our Temple lectures or teachings. Th elmperator l ias not examined all the books l isted, hut l ie has made thisreply to the charge, and now puts i t upon record in black and white:i f anyone can prove that one or more of our lectures containing

ou r fun dam ental teachings, or that all or . pa r t of our pr inciples ,terminology, laws, ri tuals and demonstrat ions were taken from oneor more printed, typewri t ten, engraved or handwri t ten books orman uscripts prin ted and published or made public b efore our Order printed i ts first magazine and Literature, the lmperator wil limmediately concede the charge as true, incrim inating himself asa plagiar is t and false pretender and permit , wi thout opposi t ion orfurther act ion, his impeachment and removal as lmperator , off icer



or member of the Order . A lega l agreement be tween the Im per a torand any body of men and women as an investigating committee, orwith any individual as an investigator* will be made* sett ing fortht l i s a m e promise and cha llenge , if such i s s incerely desi red pr ior t6any complete and exhaustive investigation; and every facil i ty andassis tance wil l be freely rendered by the Supreme Grand Lodge, I tsCouncil , Officers and Impcrator.

If I have failed to mention any book in the foregoing l ist whichshould be included because i t l ias been used by those making thecharge, I will gladly announce the t i t les of such books in the nextissue of the Cromaat,

A N E X C E P T I O N T O T H E C H A L L E N G E

One exception 1 must make in regard to the challenge: It is this:no publication is to he included which contains a veiled, but verycomplete, outl ine of ou r l i ’JC teachings wr it ten atid published und era penname of my own, t l inroiighly authenticated, but l i t t le known,and duly and properJy copyrighted in i ts ent i re ty by me many yearsago. This was done in ord er to protec t our teachings and secured copyright on them b e f o r e the Order s ta r ted wi thout revea l ing themto those who should not have them. There fore , such a publ icationwri t ten by me, coyrighted by me, can not be used as evidence. Thiswil l probably surprise one or two who h a v e . been planin g to bringthis old and rare publ icat ion to l ight , not knowing that the author ' sname is my own and th t copyrigh t also my own. Bu t , again,—foreknowledge has s ingular advantages not real ized by the unthink-ing, prejudiced minds.

As to who, in regard to person and personal i ty , prepared, wroteor formulated the original draft of the laws, the principles , the sym-

bols, rituals, phrases, words, signs, etc., I canno t tell, fo r I do notknow, atid, in tr u e Ro sac cm cia n spiri t , do not care. 1 feel quitesure, however, that not one or a hundred minds prepared these things, b u t m any scores o f g rea t minds in various ages.

T H E S U P R E M E CO U NC IL O F T H E W O RL Di

This br ings me to another one of the charges made: tha t the tc

was not and is not a truly established, rightfully empowered SupremeRosaecrucian (or Rose Croix) Counci l of the World.

In answering this charge, may I be permit ted to indulge In al i tt le ab str ac t reasoning? W hy is i t, th at while so muc h stress Isla id , by some members, on the actual need or necessi ty of proof on

b u r p a r t th a t there is such a Suprem e Council, these same individualsdo not demand, do not even ask for , any proof from others whoclaim that there i» not a Supreme Counci l of the World?

The negat ive s ta tement is accepted by some without the requestof any evidence of even a c i rcuuistancial nature , whi le the posi t ive

statement^ Is refused unless s upp orte d by evidence alm ost impossibleto submit so as to be sat isfying to the mind which Is credulous to thenegative and incredulous to the posit ive assert ions.

From a purely logical point of view is there not more ci rcumstancial evidence i t i favor of the existence of such Supreme Council , thanthere is against such a possibil i ty?

Fi rs t : the founding of o u t Order he re i n America , the prepara-t ion of a l l i t s r i tuals , symbols and teachings, the precedents and prac-t ices of procedure, the prepreparat ion of necessary l i terature , parapher



naliu, etc . , the growth of the Order , i ts abi l i ty to meet cer tain at-tache, and unfavorable conditions, i ts resQrt, constantly, to a compe-tent advisor or advisors , i ts exis tence af ter near ly four years of at-tack by those who have tried to prove all i ts claims false,—do notal l these things indicate that there is a competent advisory board or body som ew h ere which did and does ac t as a super ior advisory

Council?Secondly; the very fact that even those who have read or heardthe least about ftosaccrueians, generally believe that the Order is anEuropean movement , tha t i t s super ior Mas ters o t executives are inEurope, tha t f rom Europe would come the so le power to found theOrder here , and tha t somewhere in Europe is the grea t headquar tersof the Order ;—is not a l l th is s t ronger c i rcumstant ia l ev idence tha tthere is and must be a Supreme R'J 'C Council than any evidence sub-mitted against such a fact?

If there is not such n Supreme Council, and If there never was,then the founder of the Order here in America has invented, devised,form ulate d, perfe cted, , issued, and m at ure d the whole fab ric from

beginning to end ; and, if this is true, then lie and hi s advisors, orCouncil, would bo the Supreme R{C Council of the World by lawfuland logical conclusion and concession.

I f there is or was a Supreme U f C pounci l of the World , or anysuperior executive body of such a nature, and i t did not and doesnot sponsor our Order here in America, and can prove that ourOrder is f raudulent in i ts work, pi lfer ing i ts teachings, wrongly exis t-ing as a perfect ly organised body, why has such a bqdy remaineds ilent fo r fou r years and perm it ted our c la ims and s ta tem ents to go

unchallenged, uncontradicted, and free from injunctions through theCourts of the United States or otherwise?

There arc answers to these quest ions; they wil l surpr ise you or please you as they daw n upon your consciousness* But, before youanswer them bear in mind that i f you say there never was and isnot now a European, or foreign Supreme Council of the World, thenyou are indicating your willingness to grant and concede all superiorauthor i ty and power of 'and in the AMORC to the present Impera torand his Council in Am eric a; in other words, th a t the “Su prem e RjCCouncil of the World” is the American Supreme Council , or at leas t

the American Imperator and his associates*A re you ready an d willing to concede this? No^ foT not even

the few who have been endeavoring to prove f o r a long t ime thatthere is no such AMORC Council in Europe are wil l ing to admitthat in such case the Supreme Council must be in America.

O f course, all this is innan e in the face of ce rta in facts kno wn tothose who deserve to know, and in the face of certain results achieved

by o u r O rder in the past th ree years.

All who should know will come to know some day, that theGreat White Brotherhood of the World lias its Supreme U*J«C Couiii?oil , the members of which are the chief executives of our Orderwherever it exists; and, some day, the relation between our Orderand s imilar branches of work being conducted by the Great WhiteBrot herh ood wilt be mad e known. Un til then, silence and fidelity arethe watchwords.

T H E V A L U E O F T H E H I G H E R T E A CH I N GS

Litt le can be discerned of the great work of the Order f rom» ine rt r etrosp ectio n of the work of the first Six Degrees* Star tling ,



surprising, valuable, interesting or pleasing as may'be the principlesand laws revealed or ex plained in the ear ly degrees, and as rev-olutionary as may he many of our fundamental principles to thetninds considerably or greatly educated in other schools, still , notuntil Ihe Ninth Degree is reached does one come to a full realisa-tion of the truly revolutionary natu re of th e lessons taug ht !n thisunusually differ ent schooling. Ench Degree may bring i ts awake n-

ing to our consciousness and i ts ebull i t ion to our latent forces and powers; b u t beyond the Seventh Degree (most mystical of all ) therecomes a dist inct objetive realisation of a spiri tual and physical growthwhich has so slowly come upon us that we are awed and amazed atthe change so wondrously wrought.

This was brought to the Imperator’s at tention recently in a pleas-ing manner on a Thurs day night : The Ninth Deg ree of the SupremeGra nd L odge just completed i ts th i rd or fourth lecture on a subjectof Intense and extreme importance containing the laws of utmostimportance to mankind. The members had ret ired from the Temple

to the Library for general discussion after several had given en-thusiastic voice to praise of the great lesson just learned and i l lus-tra ted to them, when 1Brothe r Theodore M., a Suprem e Counci lorof the Order and an execut ive in one of the foremost of the largeed uc ati on al film com panie s in Am eri ca, with his wife, S iste r ML;(our Supreme H igh Priestess of the Im pe rat or’s Cabinet) broug ht tothe lm pera tor Governor (de le ted) o f the Sta te o f (de le ted) whohad cal led at the Lodge for the purpose of having Brother M.,introduce him to ou r work. In his presence and the presence ofothers, Brother M,, said: “The teachings of these higher degrees are

beyond the conception of outsiders, t am an old newspaper m an;I have seen l ife an d l ived thro ugh ma ny phases of education andtraining? and you knOw, Governor, I have had a reputation as awriter on subjects of almost unlimited fields, and my business madeIt necessary for me to keep closely in touch with every recent dis-cov ery in the variou s sciences. This, na tur ally , gives one a wideknowledg e and liberal education. Bu t, I find, lately, th a t 1 am Inthe kindergarten again and tonight I d iscovered that I do not evenknow the A, B, C's, of the truths which exist around us and whichshould have been tau gh t to us in the public schools. 1 am beg inningmy life’s study over again, and I am not only delighted but as-

tounded and chagrined at the same t ime”.I t ’ is common to th e lecturers of the higher degrees to ha ve

members rise at the close of the lectures and pay tribute to theteachings and test i fy to some unusual or extraordinary benefi t derivedfrom the pract ice of some of the principles; and i t has been notedwith extreme pleasure to the lmperator , who Is not s imilarly s i tuated,that the more extensive or intensive, specific and academic has beenthe education or training of a member In other schools, universi t ies,sciences or ar ts , the more enthusiast ic has been the praise of thelessons given in these degrees.

For Instance* one member of the Supreme Grand Lodge is inthe manufac ture of p r in t ing inks and en joys the d i s t inc t ion of p ro-ducing the best gra de and quali ty in our ci ty. In his fa cto ry hehas a very complete chemical laboratory, and chemistry in al l i tsexac tness and mystery p lays an impor tan t par t in the manufac tureof dyes and body substance for good Inks. Recent ly th is Bro the rsaid; “In the four years that I s tudied chemistry a t Columbia Uni-versi ty , 1 did not leam as much about the laws and fundamental

principles o f chemistry as I have here in the O rder; and w hat 1



have learned is of greater help to me in the very practical problem*of my business”,

T H E T E A C H I N G S O F T H E H I G H D E G R E E Sr

In regard to what the futu re holds for o ur Order* 1 am remind-ed of whut lias also been said hy a few members who were excom-municated for violat ions of their oaths and for olhcr more ser iousacts , The s tatem ent was: “The re are l i t t le or no teachings In thedegrees above the Sixth Deg ree1*. This stat em en t m ust sound stran geto the thi r ty or m ore members of. the Suprem e G rand Lodge who

passed ou t of the Sixth Degree over a year ago, near ty two years ago,and arc stil l active members, paying their dues, attending their highdegree weekly lectures , s tudying di t igrnt ly and obtaining and at taininggreater knowledge and power euch week, and demonstrat ing thisin experiments and work covering the whole country, and to whichhundreds of our members can tes t ify.

Can any of our members in many Lodges now in the Sixth

Degree conceive of their Sixth Degree lectures not leading to morewonderful and interes ting s tudy? Most of them comprehend nowwhat surely must be In the Seventh and Eighth Degrees .

W ha t of the study of th e taws a lid principles of p roj ec ting one’smind or soulself into distant places to see and be seen, to hearand be heard? This one subject alone, no t tau gh t in a pract ical way

by any school o f the Occident and seldom pract iced except by theMaster Adepts of India, is worthy of al l the s tudy and preparat ionth at leads up to i t through the work of our f i rs t s ix degrees. I fthere is any one mystical process or princip le of utm ost value to an

ade pt i t is this one of project ing. Th rou gh i t an d with i t the mysticscan ut i l ize not only al t pr inciples taught in the Sixth Degree, buteve ry prin cip le ta u g h t In all the lower degrees. Conceive, If you please,of utilizing the principles and Jaws of the Second Degree withoutthe l imitat ions of t ime and spaeel Think what i t means to one whois t rying to apply al l our laws, to be able to do so at any t imewithout for one moment considering distance, t ime, conditions, etc,

As wonderful as all this may seem, it Is not as truly surprisingin its possibilit ies nor as asto und ing in its im po rtan ce to o ur exist-ence and our future development, as are the pr inciples and laws

of the higher degrees.C O N S T A N T E L I M I N A T I O N

The work, tests , tr ials and experiences of the lower degrees were purposely p lanned to accomplish th ree tilings: 1, the developmentand per fec t ion of those who have a natura l unders tanding of manyoccult laws lying dormant in their minds from some previous In-carnat ion; 2 , the teaching of cer ta in fundamenta ls not known tosome minds which are s incere and truly anxious to learn; 3 , theclinkinntion from our lodges those minds or persons unfit and unready

or unwil l ing to absorb and unders tand or Suff iciently selfel iminatingto adhere to rules and regulations.

Those who cannot submit , in peace and unders tanding, to themoderate, logical , uniform, general and construct ive, though autocrat-ic, laws of our Order , abiding by es tablished systems, conforming tocer tain l imitat ions and s tepping beyond cer tain falfee l imitat ions cannever learn to work with or ut i l ise the laws of God and nature whichare more exacting, more autocrat ic , more l imit ing and l imit less .

Therefore, a cer tain def ini te process of el imination is going on



constantly, for the good of the Order, the gopcl of the individuals,and the good of hum anity general ly. '

I ivas told o f this process of elipiinatibn , in E ur op e befo re Im ad e my first atop tow ard org aniz ing the work here As I un de r-stood it , then, (he following average reduction in membership wouldcome about in each Lodge through the subtle process of el imination,

Of every carefully selected 100 members who Crossed the Threshold in the first degree, the following number would reach the higherdegrees:

In to Second Degree — ..... —85” Th i rd " .............. ............... ......78

Four th ” ---------- ---------- --- -GO" F i f th ” ........ .....................52M Sixth ” . ......................45” Seven th ” .... ........ ..... ............. .........40“ Eighth ” --------------------- ........—30

” Ninth " ..... ........ —M” Tenth " ........................ ..... — .....~..2tw Ele ven th " ...... .......... 1 8” T we lf th " ™ ..... 16 ,l the I l luminati to remain ........................12

In other words , out of 100 Ini t iates into the Firs t Degree, a cer-tain number would continue regularly with all work, and 12 of themwould reach the I l luminati in regu lar course. ,

. i

Of those who dropped out during the f irs t three degrees? perhapsone or two would eventually reunite with the Order and advance

afte r having learned of the ser ious mistake in dro ppin g out . Of thegreat number who lag behind in the higher degrees , a cer tain percent-age, perhaps ten to f if teen percent , discover their unpreparcdncss toadvance* ami take the lower degrees over again, '—a thing which has

been done by many members in our Lodges who though t the earlydegrees unimportant only to discover in the 8th or 9th Degree thatthe laws in the 2nd and 4th Degrees were the basis of many others.Those who thus lag behind eventually reach the 12th Degree with an-oth er group. Ma ny others dro p out in the 6th and 7th Degrees, be-cause they have found all they cared for,—principally, the healing

work,—and are not Interested in the esoteric or truly mystical work.Others, of course, drop out as they discover that more than intellect,more than s imple s tudy, more than t ime and at tendance are necessaryto advancement. The higher degrees require ab un da nt love, tolerance,spirituality, attunement with God’s laws, honor, respect, deep medita-tion and, most important of all , unselfish desires to help humanity atevery opportunity.

Therefore, wc are nei ther surprised nor chagrined at the el im-ination that has taken place in most lodges in the past year af ter themembers have passed abo ve the Second and T hird Degrees; nor hasthe burning of the crucible and the at tacks of our enemies caused anygre ate r el imination than was expected. One cause or another wil l re-move those who need to be removed or who need some excuse forquiet ly or noisely drop from our membership.

It is in and above the Twelfth Degree, or, in other words, in theI l luminati , with i ts s trange lectures und indescr ibable work, that theesoteric fulfillment of the Rosaecnician world is realized; and ourOrder of twelve degrees lending to the Illuminati is a school or col-lege of the exoteric laws pre pa rin g . the sincere minds fo r the lifoof power and accomplishment they seek.



T H E H U M A N I T A R I A N W O R K

Another point which tins been touched tipOn but little, is thehumanitarian work which Rosaccrucians can do.

Wc have in America, and throughout the world, many organized bodies and m any independent persons, devoting the ir time and means

to humanitar ian work of a purely mater ia l is t ic nature .A survey of the f ield of activit ies conducted in the name of“charity” convinces the analytical and humanitarian mind that muchis lef t undone which is of greater importance than what is done.

A Rosaccruc ian , born o r b red , o f per fec t unders tand ing and twin-ing, becomes a scmiSocUlist in his thinking and doing, especiallyin his doing; not that he often associates himself with the socalledSocialist ic movement, for he realizes that not through legislation orrevolution will the desired changes come about; but he knows andunderstands certain fundamental principles crudely held by the So-cialists which m ust come a bo ut f irst before anyth ing else can bedone for humanity of a permanent nature , and these must coraeabout through evolution.

The giving of money, as a form of char i ty or humanltar iantsm,is insufficient unless i t is devoted to the furthering of the plans ofevolution. Man's greate st need is knowledge; m on ey 'on ly seems to be th e g rea test nerd because man has a llo tted to it, or pe rm it ted itto assume, the control of the things he needs. Ju st as a baby learnsto depend upon i ts mother , ra ther than upon i ts own undevelopedabili t ies or powers, for all i ts needs, so man has learned to dependupon the unseen service, the purchasing power, the magic control,

of mo ney fo r all he needs. And, when ma n is in dire need, to givehitn relief through a gif t of money is to further convince him thatthe difference between sufficiency and Insufficiency, health and di-sease, happiness and sorrow, r ichness and poverty, l ife and death. Isa difference of dollars only.

Man has been taught that he owes cer ta in obl igat ions to a few,and these obligations are those which manmade laws decree exist between him and the few by virtue of certa in limited m ater ia l bonds,cont racts, writ ten or definitely implied agreements. H e has beentaught, furthermore, that nearly all , if not oil , of these obligations

can be met or satisfied, l ike a jud gm en t in court , with money, He be lievcs .it his du ty or obligation to work and labor solely fo r the purpose of earn ing or obtaining money, because with nothing elsecan he meet all his obligations.

Once man realizes that he owes certain other obligations, asdefinitely implied, but, not within the j urisdic tion of the cour ts o fman's law, which he must meet, and once he comes to a full apprecia-t ion of the fact tha t h is dut y to labor and work and devote h imselfto constructive efforts is a duty to God and his fellow man, and assoon as man becomes cognizant of his purpose and mission in life,generally, l ie will come to know that with money he can pay but the

least of a l l h is debts and that for accumulat ing money l i t t le ef for ton his part should be devoted, if any at all ,

But , such a change cannot come about suddenly. Evolut ion, notrevolution, is necessary; and evolution is a process of gradual de-velopment, consciously realised and objectively manifested only afterit has been subjectively assimilated.

The evolutWn of man is possible only through experiences realisedBtid understood. Such realization and und ers tan din g depend upo n





b i l i t ic s ; b u t t l i r d o l l a r in I li e p o o r m a n ’s h an d anti th e d o l l a r in th er ich man ' ! ; hand a re equa l i r t tha t power which in w r o n g ,— t h e p o w e rto secure , fo rce , a t t rac t , s educe , induce , in f luence* a l lu re , ho ld , wi th-ho ld and neu t ra l i ze fal se ly*

I n a p r a c t i c a l m a n n e r , t h e R o s s ic c r uc i an c a n p e r f o r m t r u e h u -m a n i t a r i a n a c t s l e a d i n g t o m a n ’ s e v o l u t i o n a n d c o n sc i ou s r e a l i z a ti o n

o f th o s e l a w s w in c h w il l f r ee h i m f r o m t h e b o n d a g e o f s u p e r s t i t i o nan d ful.se kn ow led ge .

I n t h e G r e a t O a t h o r s e r ie s o f o b l i g a t i o n s w h ic h t h e R o s a c c r u c i ai i t ak es i n h i s f ir s t I n i t ia l i on a f t e r C ro s s in g t h e Th re s h o ld , h e p ro m iscs to do Ids u tm ost t llo remov e froi r i ou r land an y in s t i t u t i o n , s y s t em,h a b i t , p r o d u c t , t h o u g h t o r i n t e n t w hi ch a t ta c k s t h e ' f r ee d o m o f m a n ’s sou l o r con c iousness” . Hi i rc ly th i s cov ers th e remove' ll f ro mo u r m i d s t of s uc h c h a i n s a n d b o n d s u s l i m i t m a n ' s f r e e d o m f r o ms u p e r s t i t i o n an d f a l s e b e li e fs ,

P R A C T I C A L W O R K What may and can be done by our members as pract ica l human-

itar ian work Is best i l lustrated by a few examples chosen from amongmany because of the var ious f ields of act ion covered by them:

First : there is Sister B, , who, though f i f ty years of age, fel tthat her years of associat ion with ar t ists and musicians should f i ther for some defini te plan. She studied at the Sup rem e Lodge unt ilshe reached the Fo ur th Degree and then a t ten ded a p r ivate c lass a tthe Lod ge to pre pare he r for the plan she evolved. W ith some capi ta]

a t her d isposal she erected a large bungalow and a number of smal lsteeping rooms on a hi l l In Northern New York over looking theHud son River . To th is p lace she Invi ted ar t i s t s an d music ians f rom N ew York C ity who were not simply p oo r financially, bu t belownormal in heal th and, therefo re , unable to c am a living. Sh e hadas many ns th i r ty a t a t ime there as her guests and in add i t ion tofeeding them wi th k indly inspi ra t ion and a good course of phi losophy,with good nir , good food and much rest , she gave them more pract icalhelp by t rea t ing each one according to our system, and res tored themto health . A f te r two years of th is work she lef t i t in charge of two

others and w ent to Alaska where she w orked as a miner and enrnbdmore money to car ry on her work in New Yo rk; and whi le in tha tcold and much neglected Sta te she es tabl i shed a Lodge for us amongthe men and women the re who were t ru ly hungry fo r our t each ingsand who had no oppor tuni ty of enjoying the pr iv i leges we enjoyhere. Ove r thre e hu nd red ar t ists an d musicians have been helpedand made heal thy and happy a t the l i tt le Rosaecrucian A r t i s t s ColonyIn New Y ork and in re tu rn the y have helped to bui ld m ore housesor “sleeping porc hes ” for others. "When the Sis ter cam e back fromAlaska wi th her gold for the colony she drove throu gh th e s t ree tsof New Y ork a nd u p to o u r I*odge on a bronco in her masculineminer’* costume, hair cut short , a picturesque sight indeed,—happyand contented, and over f i f ty years of age.

Secondly, we have the many Sisters, and in some cases Brothers*who have ad opted chi ldren in nccordancc w ith a plan sugge sted bythe Imp era tor two years ago. In near ly a l l cases the Sis ters havehad e i ther very f ine homes or homes and money to of fer to chi ldrenin Inst it tit ion s o r homeless. In a nu m be r of cases, an d In one In

pa r t icu la r , a sickly child o r baby was selected; an d in add it ion togiving the chi ld a home, a future and an educat ion along many l ines*

the chi ld was t rea ted for i ts heal th and t ra ined physically and men ta l-



ly alon g ou r lines. To see snipe of these child ren to day anti knowtheir cases, is to convince one of the value of t l i ie practical wort.

Third: one of our Sisters,—our forme r Suprem e Gra nd Matre ,— left us last Au gus t to go, voluntarily and at a grea t sacrif ice o f mo-ney, raanv worldly pleasures and benefits, to one of the smaller ofthe Leeward Islands in the Brit ish West Indies; and there, with

only sixty white people, isolated on an island untouched by cablesor modern means of communication, she is devoting her t ime andknowledge to working among those left there to die of leprosy.She is one of our Ninth Degree (numbers, fully qualified to treatthis disease and other conditions in a very effective way. F ur th er -more* she is able to p roje ct h erself to ou r Temple on Th urs day nightswhen her degree has i ts strange convocations ami thereby continueher work regardless of t ime and distance; and our other Ninth De-gree m embe rs meet her often on their p roj ec t ionjourneys to thedistant temples and places and our good Sister is never out of touchwith us. Born in and accusto med to the highest social circles ufBoston and New York, tins dear soul at middleuge left all worldlythings behind to live a truly nKruistic Rosaccrucian life in isolation,good work and sacred meditation.

Four th: another Sister , in one of our Southern Lodges, volun-teered to give her t ime and our teachings to the care of a numberof very old women living in a public home in a sout hern city. She has brought a s trange change there with a mystical cheerfulness, a gen-eral impro vemen t in the health of the inmates and » newer con-cepti on of life. Th e sa lar y received nsrecompense for her servicesshe donates each month to our funds through her Lodge, and is

very happy in the practical work she is doing*Fifth: several trained nurses in different cit ies have given their

t ime almost exclusively to humanitarian work, using our teachingsand our plans to bring health, happiness and hope to many despairingsouls.

Sixth: two doctors in our Order made a special study of ourtre atm en t work and our h igher teachings in psychology and thenoffered all their t ime and services to thecuring of soldiers whowere b rought back to America hopelessly suffe r ing from “shellshock".Can you imagine cases more sad than those so affected? And, can

you think o f any bet ter method of usiug the pecul iar and st rangeoccult teachings of our Order?

In nearly all the cases where humanitarian work is being done,the capital used is the volun tary donations of t h e , one doing thework. But, m o n e y is not always necessary. One B rot he r in the Su - preme Lodge, fo r instance, living humbly, even poorly, in a very poor section of the city, where pover ty , ignorance und disease abidea plenty, has for months given life every spare hour to searchingthrough the muss of Immunity,—thousands and thousands of beingsof all ages and nationalit ies, surrounding his home,—to render what

aid lie can; usually it is relief from physical suffering, cases of chronicor almo st incurable conditions* The results he has atta ine d haveearned for him, a .lew, a kind and loving name as welt as the mostsacred regard for the strange methods he uses without credit tohimself or even giving an explanation* W ha t a wonde rful picture!A poor humble Jew among the gentiles, l iving and doing as theMaster would have done, and in the Twentieth Century!

This is only a weak picture of the possibil i t ies for PracticalWork in our Order and yet.... . .



E V E R S E E K I N G S O M E T HIN G N E W

Some of our members arc constant ly seeking that which is new*nd different , ever rest less, ever ready for any claim of a royal roadto power.

I would not have anyone feel for a minute that i t is ant i Rosaecrucian to continue to seek Ami search after Crossing the Threshold,

N ot even the Im pe ra to r has ended his search for light and t ru th .Dot I would place on record that i t is the utmost of absurdi ty, thevery ant i thesis of avowed purpose , to enter our Order and s tudyawhile and then jump suddenly into a new field of research and study,ant i drop ai l the Rosaccrucmn work simply because a myst ic f romsome fore ign land or a man wi th a s t range name and a s t rangerdoctrine claims that in a few lectures l ie can impaTt great knowledgeand power.

For twenty or th i r ty members in a Urge lodge to suddenly fee lmoved (af ter so l ic i ta t ion by another ) to drop thei r Rosaccrudan

teachings and plunge into a course of twelve lec tures by a Hinduat three dollars for the course, believing that he will reveal In a fewmonths what our Order requi res two or three years tn teach, Usurety r idiculous an d sad. To at te nd these lectures, i f one can af -ford to a tte nd all such lec ture c ourse s &o glowingly adve rtised , lasure to brin g much help to th e analy tical mi fid and will no do ub t

prnvc inspi ring* Tbit , to p e rm it such abstractions, theories, promisesand profund aber ra t ions or exaggera t ions of t ru th as are usual lygiven by these socalled mystics and “science” teachers to keep oneifrom the regular work of sane, practical, tr ied and prciven laws and

principles is beyond excuse. No one has a “corner” on t ru th , no t even the RosaccTuelftft jj l

I have said th at and published i t m an y t imes. Bu t , t r ot h in' i ts greatcomplex ent irety, with i ts mult iple laws and pr inciples and minuteexactness arid accuracy, has a pecul ia r deter min at ion of reve al ingi tself only to sincere students who study and work, ponder and medit*ate, pract ice and ex periment . I t does not thro w i tself in large dosesor bunches at the rest less, lazy, indifferent seekers, who demand quickat ta inmen t , immediate power , magic resul ts No r does T ru th permi ti tself to he congealed or coagulated and then reduced to very pleasant

capsules of great , concentrated strength, to he sold or peddled, ejectedor shot for th in f iery or at or y or mystic in can tat ion by select Indi-viduals a t ”so much per capsule” or “so much per course” .

I N T R O S P E C T I O N :

The year Just c los ing, R+C 3271, has brought i t s t r ia l s and t r ib-ulat ions to al l mankind, us has each year. Bu t , i t has also bro ug htPeace to many l ands and to our Order i t has b rought power , g rea tLove and greater Peace ,

Each day our O rder g rows in number o f members and each f ewmonths shows au increase of Lodges. O ur rec ords are mos t Inspir-ing In th at regard . But , our presen t gree t cause for joy Is the an-t ic ipat ion of tha t fu ture which now br ightens the hazy hor izon andtinges the cosmic heavens with golden an d rosey colors.

V ery soon we shal l re ti re , cxoter i ra l ly and physical ly . F or afew months d ur in g the pa st year we w ere in c langer of fa l l ing Intothe quag mire of materia l ism. Th e rapid growth of the O rder had b roug h t w ith i t g rea te r m ate r ia l possessions and needs; to some themater ia l body of the Order became so a t t rac t ive , so a l lur ing, tha t I t



p redom inated in sonic of the schemes of the plans fo r the fu ture .The realization of this danger became so apparent, finally ' , that im-mediate s teps were taken to prevent such a catast rophy for ourOr der. All would have been pr op er and ap pr op ria te fo r oth er sim=ilar movem ents, hu t not f or us. So, we have arisen f ro m the valleyof temptat ions of materia l ism long before one fata l s tep was taken;and, today, we arc stronger spiritually than ever, and, less, much less,suscept ible to the temptat ions of our materia l is t ic environment

Some of our members forget , in the enthusiasm of their intel-lectual advancement in the Order, to give proper emphasis to the

psychic development. Those who t ru ly learn and m aster the s tudiesare a lways aware, most natural ly , of the divini ty of our principles , orrothe r th e principles embodied in ou r teachings. The y cann ot, withadequate real isat ion of conscious mastership o f even the most simple principles, ignore the sublime d ivin ity ' th a t pervades and surroundsthem; but this is not sufficient for true psychic development.

One must constant ly seek nt tuncment , complete a t tunement , wi thall the cosmic and divine forces, in order to at tain not only completeunderstanding, but thoroug h mastership . Such al tuneinci i t must in-clude the physical , mental and spir i tual parts of man and the universe ,in the work of the higher degrees we understand through our tcach^mgs how true psychic development affects even the physical s t ructureof the brain to such an extent that certa in areas of the brain gradual '

\y expand or increase in size while others decrease, with the resultthat certa in funct ioning of parts of the body—part icularly certa insenses,—become more active, receptive and responsive, while others

become do rm an t or less active. The physical changes thus wrought

are wonderful ly manifest in members who have gone into or abovethe eighth degree, and their experiences have dem onstr ated the neces-si ty of careful , gradual a t tu nem ent and development in accordancewith o definite system or schooling such as applied by o ur O rder.

The increase in our membership, as days go by, of such developedsouls, necessitates the coincident development of the Spiri tuali ty ofRosaccrueianisin in our Order, and i t is to this cud that al l our en-deavors must now he directed.

Th e fu ture offe rs an unusua l oppor tun i ty in thi s regard . Neverwas humankind so sensit ive to cosmic impressions and so awakenedto an appreciat ion of spir i tual forces as just now.

Our Beloved President Wilson expressed this idea in Europewhile addressing a re l ig ious congregat ion near the place of his mother’s birth. He said th a t more powerful , more effective in its influenceand more insp i ring to a g rea te r peace in the fu ture th an 'co uld ever

be any physical league of nations was Ihe im m ateria l o r m enta l leagueof minds thro ugh ou t the world exert ing a m oral force for prosp eri tyand peace.

As a race, \vc of th e pre sent era, w hether we are the end o f the

socalled Sixth Race, or the beginning of the Seventh, are findingGod, arc comprehending, understanding and real iz ing God, as never before.

The G od of revenge and anger, th e “je alo us G od1*, and the mys-ter iou s God, are fust disappea ring. In the place Of these we havethe God of our hearts , the God of I j o v c , Eight, Life; the God whose justice Is n o t a rb i t ra ry re tr ibu tion , b u t th e law o f compensation* theGod whose m erc y is not a com passio nate weakness, bu t a cons tructiv e

principle,— an elem ent o f the law of K a rm a ; a God whose Love isnot selfish and incomprehensible, but sacrificing and constructive, com-



p a ra b le w ith tb e h ig h es t m o t iv e s w h ich in sp ir e m an , a n d a p a r t o fthe d iv ine •em ot ion s which mo ve us to t e js r s and g ladness , joy , a n dSadness.

'We find intimacy with God in our intimacy with the wond ers ofhnti ire. In the most mi tiu te cell wc find ou r God, living an d pn I gat-ing, revealing God as God would be revealed. The ind escribable

distance between us and God* like the unfathomable depth of God’swisdom, is being supplanted by a closeness and an understandingwhich brings God into our midst and sanctif ies the environment inivIdoli tve live and m ak es ho ly ev ery place, all the tim e; fo r thechurch o f God is here, there and everyw here; the al ta r of Jeh ovak; before tis roelt lime we breathe n prayer to the Almighty or thinkIdrjdJy of tlu>fce on earth; the sanctum of the most high is the dwelling

place of the most sincere,—dhc truthloving, the h inddoing and falrthmtdng limn, woman und child.

Wc shrill not attempt, for the present, to b u y or bui ld a Supreme

Tem ple or nation al hea dq uar ters. W e will , rathe r, confine all ou refforts to making more efficient any suitable executive offices orwork room s we .con secure at the mo st nominal expense. In thisway, wc shrdl unburden »urfielvessof the present material shackles andrr 'main f ree of the l imitat ions and enslaving condit ions of mater ial-ism. Every effor t wil l be put forw ard to grow stronger spir i tual lynnd esoteric ally so th at the gre ates t good to th e greate st numbcT mayresult.

Our members in a Lodge in the fur thermost sect ion of Canadaor thbse in the West Indies are ent i t led to have and enjoy as much

nf the possessions, assets and activities of the Supreme Grand Lodgeas thos e who live in the sam e city where it Is located . Th is is only possible when those possessions, assets and activities a re o f a natu re ,qual i ty, adaptabi l i ty and universal pract icabi l i ty that they can bedevoted to or used to fur ther the interest , s tudy and development ofal l members everywhere and the Order i tself general ly.

Can this be said of an elaborate st ructure, Us greatest assets being material things which can be enjoyed only by those who con-tact them personally? I s I t r ight tha t the Supreme headqu ar tersshould involve such an expense and consist of such assets as are

wonderful to view, inspiring to think, an d impressive fro m a worldly point of view, without even supplying th e executives there in oil thecomfortable and efficient, means to do the greatest amount of goodwork for the greates t number of members?

Such 3s the monument to material growth that some have desiredfor us, and the lmperator has turned al l such plans aside and withone sweep has cast into oblivion forever such ideas or plans.

Soon the Imperator ’s s tudy and work room, l ike unto tbe workrooms of his associates, will be off in some secluded place, in ahumble s t ructure bef i t t ing the humil i ty of sp i r i t and nature pre-

dom inat ing in all our thoug hts and acta. Picture the humble, lowly,structures of wood, nestled closely together on one of God’a won*dro us lawns o f grass an d flowers, fa r , from a city 's noise or co m-mercial act ivi ties; where quiet and peace aboun d, w here the Bong of birds and swaying o f boughs o f the t re es sof tly add a no te o f life totbe sti l lness of a tem ple's sacredness. Her e, with na ug ht else to door th ink of but tbe messages of joy and words of l ight to be pre-

p a re d and sent b ro ad cas t to o u r members, the g rea tes t efficiency Insprea ding the Grea ther Light would exist . With those whose l ivesare associated with us, sacrif icing the former worldly pleasures, fore-



going the conventional homes and social practices and living in com-munion with God and nature for the good of pur fel low beings, thisand nothing more Is appropriate, necessary and eff icient for the cause.

To such a haven of Peace and work wil l come, f rom t ime to t ime,those Pi lgr ims of Light who reach the degree of ful l understandingand per fec t a t tunement .

In each State wil l he the grand Lodge of executives car ing forthe worldly matters of the Order , while at the Temple of Alden, onthe green hi l l , twenty four hours t ravel , perhaps, f rom the nearestRailroad, wil l dwell the esoter ic workers with their small sanctum,laboratory and l ibrary .

How di f ferent a p ic ture f rom that pain ted by our over ambi t iouszealotor&l

THE NAME OF OUR ORDER

I T S I N C O R P O R A T I O NSeveral per t inent quest ions have been asked by our members in

reg ard to the new form of name of our Order . Ip fact , i t has beensaid by one 6r two that perhaps some law has forced us to changethe name of our Order .

Let i t be unders tood that we have not changed the name of ourO rde r and never wil l chan ge i t. The name of our Ord er wil l rema in;T H E A N C I E N T A N D M Y S T IC A L O R D E R R O S A E C R y C I S , w iththe t ranslat ion in var ious languages.

We have legal ly and properly protected this name by having i tIncorporated in connect ion wi th the Incorporat ion of the SupremeGrand Lodge.

The complete, legal ly incorporated name of the Supreme Lodgeis as follows:

S U P R E M E G R A N D L O D G E of t he A N C I E N T A N D M Y S TI C-A L O R D E R U O S A E C l lU C I S of th e G R E A T W H I T E B R O T H E R -HOOD.

The papers of incorporat ion give us the legal r ight to this nameand, fur thermore, give us the legul r ight to establ ish and maintain branch lodges of the O rder un der th is nam e in every S ta te o f theUnited States, with their dependencies and terr i tor ies.

N o o the r g roup o r society o f individuals in any S ta te can useth is name wi thout our permiss ion regardless of any a t tempt to usea local State char ter .

But ,—for worldly, exoter ic propaganda, wc wil l abbreviate thename on l i tera ture and unoff icial let ters. The abbre viated form will be, simply AMORC, th e initials of the full name.

The use of this abbreviat ion is not new, despi te what has beensaid in this reg ard . In Ma y of 1916 some official certifi cates wereissued by the Supreme Grand Lodge, bear ing the let ters AMORC inlarg e type. Tills was nearly th ree yenrs ago.

In all our Lodge Charters, Oaths, Obligations and on all official papers or seals, wc shall re ta in the use of the full nam e o f th e O rde ras state d above. O ur use of the nam e in this or any oth er wa y hasnever been denied us by any court or any law of the land, or byany rul ing, decree, decision or opinion of legal nature or intent .



IN" CONCLU SION

And now. Brothers and Sis ters , I have spokrn, or rather wri t ten,

on many points so that much knowledge or i l lumination might be

given at just this time.

The writ ing of this message occupied a considerable part of my

leisure t ime while journ ey ing to and hack from a very plea san t vaca-tion visi t to Tampa, Florida, during the holiday season, when Florida

is a t its best* In tha t warm , peaceful, co nte nte d an d lovely coun try,

I found great case in reaching the smits and minds of those who are

advancing onward and upw ard through out this country, and my en-

vironmen ts wore inspiring,— divine. W ha t 1 sensed and en joyed then,

t pass on now to each of you, wi th my thoughts for Peace Profound.

Pr of un di * X I I 4*,

IMPERATOI t .



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

The next issue of Cromnat wil l contain, in addit ion to some valu-able ins t ruct ions and informat ion for oqr members , a very important

announc ement bearing upon the Ord er an d Us. relat ion to the AMORCthro ug ho ut the world. This official m att er which has come to us toolate to appear in proper form in this issue is a fitting climax to theImperator** annual message which appears in Ibis issue, and is alsoa t imely and valuable answer to the many questions which some haveraised. It sets a t rest, Jit once and fo r all time, the tru e sta tus a ndrelat ion of our Order in the North American Jurisdict ion^ and places

beyond dispute o r cavil those mooted points which not one investigator —'even of the highest Courts of this land—could competently , tho ro ug h-ly and legally set tle. I t will bring to ou r Ord er th at Peac e and tha tPower that could come in no other way and reveals what could nothave been rev ealed until now, despite the dema nds, and, shall I say,' threats, that have been made.

The Imperator l ias been inquiring of late about a Cello Or ViolinCello. He is anxious to secure one for his per sona l use, practically,and for recreation in the Temple at ceremonies, and in his periodsof expe rime ntation und attun euie nt . Non e is available here in NewYork except at a prohibit ive cost and i t is thought that some of ottrmembers may know and can suggest how he may secure such aninst rument . Address the Secretary, Supreme Gra nd Lodge.

Once again let it he said that Lhe general governmental restric-tions against the use of printing paper for nonessential industrieswarranted the temporary suspension of the publ icat ion of Cromaat ;hut i t will now .be published at interva ls as new or interest in g m at-ter can be prepare d for o ur members.

Once upon a t ime there was circulated in New York a reportth a t Mark T wa in had died while recup era ting from a sl ight il lness|n his home in the South. New spaper reporters from several promi-nent papers culled at his exclusive estate there and found him welland in |n$ usual wit ty mood. Th ey told him of the repo rts tha t hehad died and asked for his denial o f the rumor. His state me nt was;“The repo r t is g rea t ly exaggera ted!1* May we sugges t to those whoare constant ly hearing rumors and repeat ing them, that , possibly,there is some truth in the rumor,—just some, possibly, and possiblynot ; but always is the report great ly exaggerated.

It behooves us, in just ice, t ruth and fairness, to say that in thenew 1919 edit ion of the World Almanac is l isted our Order amongthe vario us societies of America. Th e 1919 listing is cr ron ous andmisleading, however, and we, the Officers of the Supreme Grand Lodgedo not wish to be held responsible for the err or. It \s s tated therein



that our Order has 3,7fl2 member* (which is false) and 417 memberswith the American Colors in Europe or elsewhere, and this number,is “g re atl y exag ge ra ted 1’ A no the r state m en t in Hie listing in reg ardto our Order plainly indicates how the error was made—or at leas ttvhy. It says tha t th e governm ent of our O rd er is in the hand s ofa “bo ar d of seven governors/* N ot only is this absolu tely false, bu t it is or was, the false hope find desire of a cer ta in group whotried last Ju ne to m ake i t so And,— so sure were they th at theirdesires and e ffo rts would he crow ned with* success th at they pr e- pared the announcement so long jit advance and sent it to the WorldAlm ana c for public ation this year, F or only the frac tion of, animaginary second did these aspirants have a realisat ion of jl non-existent actuali ty nnd in that moment of delusion they proclaimedtheir pun y and btherical kingdom to the world It r eminds one of thefate of Cyrus, who for years cherished Hie desire to stand upon athro ne an d procla im himself “Cyr us, Ki ng of Babylo n 1” "With grea t

'sacrifice of his own loyal subject* and with the slaughter of most

of those in Babylon whom he hoped to rule, he finally succeeded instepping upon that throne, and with bloodshed and warfare about himand with his own l ife in jeopardy, he quickly shouted l ike a mad-man, “Cyrus, King of Babylon!*1 l ie ins tan t ly knew that h is procla-mation was for the passing moment and before the sound of hisvoice had exhausted i tself in i ts projection throughout the surround-ing environment* he was no longer Cyrus the King, li e found gloryOr satisfa ction in tlmt m om en tar y victory, Th ere seems to have beenm an y like him in mor e modern times While one was aspir ing to

be King of all Kitvopf, if no t the W orld , one here in America aspiredto be—what? The l is t ing in the W orld Almanac m ay answer the

quest ion; for considering the veraci ty of the s tatements made alongwith the proclamat ion of a “governing board11 for our Order , thereorg aniser of our Or der was to he King of Falsi ty. And —lo, here,and lo, there, where is the King?



Documents

Imperator H. Spencer Lewis’ Personal Message (1918).pdf