amorc the triangle february 1924

8/2/2019 AMORC the Triangle February 1924

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amorc-the-triangle-february-1924 1/18

9 " ■ ' — 1....... ■ ■ ■ ■ : ............—..........................-

O F F I CI AL M O N T HL Y BUL L ET I N O F T HE

A N C I E N T A N D M Y ST I C A L O R D E R R O SA E C R U C I S

Volume II. Number Four

ROSAECRUCLAN N EW YE AR

Official Instruction* for the Arran gem en t of Its Celebration

iE R osaecrucian New Year will be bornon March 20th. It will be the year 3277of the Order's traditional birth.

By official Pronunziamento issued bythe Imperator, Thursday, March 20th, isto be celebrated by all Lodges, Groups,

study classes and members as a FeteDay.

The hour of birth for Europe is set bythe entr ance of the Sun into the sign of Aries. Th isoccurs at 9:20 p. m., Greenwich time, and will varyin different parts of the world according to the custo mary differences in time. In Am erica the time isset for the Eastern cities as approximately 4:24 in theafternoon; for Central cities as 3:24; for Middle Westas 2:24, and for the Pacific Coast as 1:24. Fu rth erWest, in Java, Japan and th e O riental countries thetime, and even day, will be different.

The year is a significant one from many points.Let us look at the significance of the num erals. Thedigits of the number 3277 when added give us 19 andwhen these are added we have 10 or 1. Th is is itskey num ber. It is a number signifying the beginning,the starting point; and it will prove to be so during the

whole year so far as important matters for the Orderare concerned. On the other hand, according to theChristian calendar, the year or number 1924 is reducible to 7; and this number is significant also to allmystics. The year the Imperator went to Europe andfirst con tacted the O rder th ere was 1 909; this is reducible to 19 or I ; and it was th e beginn ing for ou rO rder here. The year that the first committee meet*ings were held was 1915, reducible to 16 or 7. It issignificant that although the start was made in 1909( I ), a pause had to be made until 1915 (7 ) to makethe first move or manifestation on the proper plane.Th e following year, 1916, the first Lodge was established, an d that number is reducible to 17 or 8, anum ber signifying m aterial foundation or o bjectivesolidity, the double square. Then followed the year1917, reducible to 18 or 9, the number of the tripletriangle and spiritual growth, truly significant of theyear. Then came the memo rable year of 1918, re

ducible to I 9 or I ; and t ru ly it was a year when a newstart, a new plan*, pro ved necessary. All the forcesof evolution and devolution as relate to our Order,began their activities right after the New Year celebration and reached their culmination in the NationalConvention of Rosaecrucians held in New York inAugust, 1918. We shall never forget that occasion,that year, that won derful time of rebirth I

Then came the year 1919, reducible to 20 or 2,signifying unity and duality of action making forunity. Many important changes were made in theO rder tend ing to give it a mo re unified existence, including the move of head quar ters to the West. Th eyear 1920, reducible to 3, proved to be a year of perfect manifestation of the spiritual and material forcestand the growth of the O rder in th at year is too wellknown to need comment. Th is was followed by theyears 1921 and 1922, reducible to 4 and 5, and these

year s proved their significance. Last year , 1923, reducible to 6, the double triangle, was a most interesting and successful year.

Today we stand upon the threshold of the NewYear. It is the Christian yea r of 1924, redu cible to7; it is the R. C. year 3277, reducible to 1; it is the

9th year since the first committee meeting was heldor the 8th year since the first Lodge was establishedin Am erica. This line-up of numbers should be interesting to many of our members who know the lawof numbers.

The beginning of Spring, born at the Spring Equinox, has been the beginning of a new year in manyorien tal countr ies for centu ries. It is very logical,and only by man's attempt to fix things to suit himself has the calendar been arranged as we use it inocciden tal coun tries. But in Am erica we will agreewith our O riental b rethren and celebrate the newyear's birth on the date stated above.

According to the Constitution of our Order, allLodges or groups shall hold a special fete on that dayto which all memb ers shall be admitted. Cert ain official matters of the O rder and its Lodges must be attended to at or before the fete. Acco rding to SectionTwo of Article Eleven of the Constitution, “The NewYear Feast will occur about the 21st of each March(on the exact date decreed by the Imperator).Such New Year Celebrations shall be held in the Temples of the Lodges and attended by the Councils, Officers and members of the Lodges. Th ereshall be a symbolical Feast consisting principally of CORN or its products, SALT or that which tastesmost strongly of it, and WINE, consisting of unfermented grape juice, and other delicacies or refreshments suitable to the occasion. (Please note thatthe clause about unfermented grape juice was embodied in the text when the Constitution was adopted*— before the days of pro hibition .) All O fficers shallwear their full regalia and all others their aprons oroth er insignia. Th ere shall be only sacred music,symbollical addresses, and sincere rejoicing.'*

Further Sections of the Constitution state that onsuch an occasion it is customary for the Master who

opens the ceremony to bestow any honorary titles oroffices upon members or Officers as he may have contemplated during the year. By Amendment to theConstitution it was provided several years ago thateach Lodge should hold its annual election of electiveOfficers a few days prior to the New Year’s Feast andon the occasion of the Feast the new Master and newOfficers would take charge of the Ceremony after theSymbolical Feast, or in other words, at the last half of the evening's program, the old Officers retiringwith ceremony and speech-making, welcoming thenew. Th is refers only to the elective Officers of eachLodge or Group,, and these are: The Master, Secretaryand Treasu rer . The newly elected or re-elected Master has the power to appoint his staff of ritualisticOfficers (which includes all except the foregoing elective ones) and this he proceeds to do at that part of the New Year’s Feast when he (or she) if given thestation of Master and thus installed in power. The



Page Forty-two THE TRIANGLE

Council of the Lodge is also appointed by the Masterat this time. The Co uncil consists of all the ritu alistic Officers, the elective ones, and the Past Masters,Past Secretaries and Past Treasurers of that Lodge.Former or active ritualistic Officers may be re-ap-pointed by the new Master if he so desires.

Thus the Feast becomes an occasion of ceremony,rejoicing and starting anew of the activities of theyear. The Symb olical Feast is usually conducted by

passing to all members within the Temple a small platecontaining com bread, salted nuts and a small glassof grap e-juice. Th e Colombe or Colombes of theLodge usually serving the grape juice to each in turnas they come to her with glass to be served from a

large glass bowl. D uring the partaking of the threfood elements the Master delivers a short talk on thsymbolism of these elements and how they have beeused as such for many centuries and in ancient form

The year before us is fraught with m any po ssibilitiand many of these rise before us at this very time anecessities. Let us unite and m ake the year the mosuccessful year of our Order in this country and elswhere for growth in every sense.

Reports of any special features at any New YeaFeast will be appreciated by the editor of The Triangand we naturally expect a complete report of all eletions and appointments of officers.

A MASTER H AS RISEN

The Passing from this Earth Plane to the Highest by one of our Beloved Masters

1 annou nce with restrained emotions thepassing to the Highest Plane of our beloved Master, Dr. Olin Wright, F. R. C.,Grand Inspector General Illuminati(AMORC ) and Sovereign Grand Inspec

tor General 33° and the First GrandEquerry of the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third and Last Degree of theAncient and Accepted Scottish Rite of

Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, and member of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and MysticalO rder Rosae Crucis, North Am erican Jurisdiction.

Brother Wright passed through the Sublime Experience and Initiation on Monday evening, December17th last, being completely freed from physical expression and limitations through a sudden stopping of heart action while auto driving with his wife in Tampa,Florida. It was a peaceful passing of a wonderfulsoul, a wonderful and greatly beloved personality.

Brother Wright was bom December 1, 1852, andear ly in life became a practising physician (M. D .),attaining considerable repute for his sympathetic andkindly mann er as well as his unu sual efficiency. Inthe seventh year of his practise, however, his atten

tion was attracted to a record he had kept of unusualcases and an analysis of these confirmed the opinionthat had been growing in his consciousness,— thatmany laws and principles pertaining to the action of the mind and the psychic functionings of eian hadbeen ignored in the general practise of therapeutics.He finally decided to pursue a special course of studyand this lead him to the portals of the schools of higher thought, eventually bringing him to the threshold of the An cient and Mystical O rder Rosae Crucis.

He also became one of the foremost members of theMasonic Fraternity in the south and gradually rose inoffice until he became Master of Kadosh in the Consistory in 1904 and received the hon orary degree of Knight Comm ander of the Court of Honor. He wasgiven the Thirty-third and Last degree and crownedInspector G eneral H on orary in 1897 and was electedto membership of the Supreme Council of the AASRof Freemasonry in 1917 and became Sovereign GrandInspector General.

One year previous to this high elevation in Freemaso nry he was initiated into the AMORC (O ctob er26, 191 6), un iting with our O rder in its earliestdays and soon became an officer and councilor of hisAMORC Lodge. From that time onward his interestswere divided between the two organizations and hebecame a member of the Supreme Council of AMORCbecause of his many valuable and helpful suggestionsgiven to the Imperator as well as the services he rendered the AMORC in Masonic circles.

He passed through the degrees and grades of theAMORC faithfully, often adding to the lectures fromhis store of knowledge and experience, and was giventhe Latin name of Potestas when he entered the Thirdon October It, 1917, coincident with his becominga member of the Supreme Council of the AASR of

Freem asonry. On Feb ruary 21, 1918, he entered thFourth .Grade of the AMORC and from that time habeen one of the most active advisors and assistants tthe Imperator and the Supreme CounciL In 1918 hwas made a member of the International Loyal FideliLegion of the AMORC and after entering the 9th gradbecame G rand Inspector G eneral Illuminati of Am orand President of the Universitatis Illuminati AMORC.

Brother Wright has devoted the last few years ohis life to the one big problem in the solution of whicthe AASR and the AMORC are united and working together in many cities and through various channels,—that of non-sectarian education for children in publschools. It was because of this activity that BrothWright accepted the Presidency of the UniversitatIlluminati and directed its po licy. He jour neyed man y cities, attend ed m any con ventions in variou

jurisdictions and through an inner circle of brotheof both the AASR and AMORC was accomplishinmuch good, the real fruit of which will become manfest within the coming year.

During the Imperator's last visit to the home tow

of Brother Wright the special work referred to abovwas discussed in detail again and an exchange of datand plans revealed the hearty co-operation that wabeing given by both organizations in their united problems. Brother Wright was then quite vigorous for man of his age and was enjoying the Ninth Gradwork of the Amorc Lodge to the fullest extent. was generally known that he had attained the psychTwelfth Grade and was in the early Degrees of thIlluminati, and his simple but positive reports of hcontinued success with the laws and principles of th8th and 9th grades sounded like reports which emanafrom the Mo nastries of the H imalayas.

Brother Wright is survived by a wife, two daughteand a son. His successor as Grand Inspector G enerIlluminati, AMORC, has not been announced, but udoubtedly he will also be a Sovereign Grand InspectoGeneral, 33°, of either the Southern or Northern Ju

isdictions.In the last letter received by the Imperator from ou

beloved Brother, dated November 23, last, Dr. Wrighsaid this, speaking of the great work that was in hcharge and which he and the Imperator directethrough various channels: **lt is such a hard matter have our members realize that this work is constanevery day and every hour work, and that it must brepeated day by day, for only so can we be in any wasure of results. May Peace Profound attend you, is thsincere wish and prayer of your Brother.”

We shall miss him in the expression we were accutomed to and in the manner by which he made us anthousands so happy; but we shall know him better anbe guided by him more efficiently through the beatiful personality that remains and which shall expreagain and again.



THE TRIANGLE Page Forty-three

A ROSAECRUCIAN WEDDING

Former Supreme Colombe is Married With Ancient Rites in Ou r Temple

f Th anks giving D ay, N ovember 29, 1923,the Rosaecrucian Marriage Rites wereconducted in the Temple of the Califor

nia G rand Lodge. Th e bride was MissH arriet Riesener, former Supreme Colombe, known to many in the O rder as"Benevolentia," and the groom was Mr.Paul Leaman of Pennsylvania.

The marriage is the result of a childhood rom ance. Miss Riesener and Mr. Leaman wereborn only a few months apart in a little town adjoining Ephrata, Pennsylvania, where the first Rosicrucianswho came to America in 1694 established their commu nity institutions and Temp les. Th rough the youn gyears of childhood they were playmates and becameseparated only when Miss Riesener moved with herfamily to San Francisco. Later the war took youn gLeaman to the West an an aviator and then into service. After his discharge he returned to Californ ia andfinally found his way to the point of his unbroken correspon dence,—San Francisco.

During these years Miss Riesener and her parentsand three sisters had been initiated into the AMORC.She became a Colombe for the California Grand Lodgeand after H eadqu arters was established in the Westa number of other Colombes were initiated and she became the Supreme Colombe and as such made a visitto many of the Eastern Lodges, visiting her JuniorColombes durin g the summ er of 1921. Recently shecompleted her term of office as Colombe and was retired as Colombe Emeritus, a title she will always hold.

Having reached her twenty-first year and being importuned by the young man who had won the admiration and respect of those at H eadquarters who knewhim intimately, our Colombe asked that she be per-mttted to be married in the Temple with the full rites.We rejoiced in the opportunity to thus serve our former Colombe,— and it was a wonderful occasion.

The Temple was decorated with a bower of ribbonsand greens over the Sanctum from the Altar to theShekinah, and at the latter place there was an arch of roses under which the couple and their attendantscould stand for the second part of the ceremon y. Alarge pipe-organ was installed for the ceremony andthe app ropriate music was ably arranged and executedby Supreme Secretary Moore.

The groom's mother and brother came from theEast, the brother to act as best man for the groom,while the bride's relatives and friends were also permitted to witness the ceremony.

The first part of the ceremony was conducted inthe East of the Temple, where the groom and his bestman awaited the arrival of the bride. After a preliminary talk by the Imperator he called for the brideand with the rich music of the organ and the symbolical call’of the chimes, the bride entered the Templeon the arm of her father, preceded by a little flowergirl, a ring bearer and bridal attendant, a sister of the

bride. Never did our Colombe look sweeter in white,moving with her gracefulness toward the East of thatTemp le I Accustomed as we were to the simple whiterobes of the Colombes, the rich wedding gown andlong veil seemed so proper, so natural, and so beautiful this time. Standing before the Imperator thecouple answered the formal questions which give warrant for th e ceremony. Th ey were then directed tostand in the centre of the Sanctum, alone, beneath thecanopy of white ribbons, while the Chaplain from hisstation and the High Priestess from her station spoketo them and in turn offered prayers. Then the. Colombe of the California Grand Lodge, standing at theShekinah, spoke to the couple, reminding them of theseriousness of the act they were contemplating andcalling attention to the symbolism of promises madebefore a Colombe. At this point the Imperator took a place near the Shekinah and asked a number of ques

tions of the two, while the Colombe tied a white ribbonto the arms of the bride and ' groom. These ribbonswere then drawn across the top of the Shekinah and

held by the Colombe while the Medalist placed a redrose in the centre where the two ribbons crossed.

With further appropriate questioning and answers,the Imperator directed that the "material ties whichunite you in symbolism be severed by the mystic flameand fire of test and trial.** H ere the Medalist placedthe Sacred flame from the Altar under the two ribbonsuntil they burned and separated, freeing the only physical tie then un iting them. "Th e Holy Fire of ourAltar now frees the material bondage and your soulsmay unite in the bonds of love and peace profound,**continued the Imp erator. "Th us are the bonds of individual living separated and as one in mind, m heartand soul, shalt thou continue this life.**

With a few more symbolical acts and words theancient ritual was completed with the words Consignation estl And in this way were the two divine expressions united in mystical m arriage. It is one of the

most impressive ceremonies ever performed in ourTemples.

While standing where they were before the Shekinah, the Imperator then proceeded to perform thelegal ceremony as required by law, the Imperator acting this time as a Priest of the Pristine Church of theRose Cross.

Here again the attendants stood at the side of thecouple while the parents and flower girl and ringbear er stood near. Th e words used by the Imperatorfor this part of the ceremony are also significant.

"And now that your souls have been symbolicallyunited in the H oly union of spiritual marriage, 1 mustdirect your thoughts to the honorable estate of physical marriage as ordained by the Word of God and instituted by the customs of our land. We must recognize in this act the holiest decree of the Lord Jesus,

who reminded the people of His day that whereas Godmade them male and female they shall cleave to eachoth er in m arriage and the twain shall b e as oneflesh/ *

With further questioning and answers the Churchritual proceeded and the marriage culminated with theplacing of the ring on the bride's finger by the groomwhile he made this statement: "With this ring as asymbol, circle without end, symbolizing eternal time,and with my heart, and with my soul, and with all thepurest intentions of my conscious mind, i thee wed,and with a ll my worldly goods 1 thee endow, as I giveunto thee also my name, and plight my troth.**

Then the Imperator made this declaration: "Forasmuch as ye have consented together in holy marriageand have witnessed the same before God and in thepresence of thy brothers and sisters, and have mademutual pledge before me, the sacred Sign, and these

witnesses, I pronounce ye be man and wife together inthe name of our God and at the sacred points of ourTriangle representing the Holy Trinity of the Cosmos.What God and Love hath joined together let not manput asunder. So mote it b e!"

A pleasing incident following the ceremony was theplacing on the finger of each of the two children whoacted as ring bearer and flower girl, a special ringas a token of the services they rendered.

A marriage record book, hand illuminated, andsigned by the witnesses and relatives and memberspresent, was donated to the couple, who also receivedmany pretty gifts from friends, relatives, members andthe Californ ia Grand Lodge. Members thro ughou t theO rder will unite with us in wishing the couple thegreatest amount of happiness and success in their newventure in life.



Page Forty-four THE TRIANGLE

THE COSMIC PILGRIM

The Story of Ruth and the Children of Light in Eight Episodes

ON THE COSMIC THRESHOLDEpisode Number Four

Ruth awakened rather early this morning with asudden realization that she was still in the world of romance and living physically on the earth plane; butthere remained a clear recollection of a strange incident of the night. In fact, as she reasoned and allowed all the details to arrange themselves into logical order she was impressed with the fact that theincident had been an unusual psychic experience, unlike the many she had in recent years.

That the whole incident should centre around Rollins was not unusual. For many months he had comeinto intimate association with her in various psychicexperiences, the progress of which indicated that hewas becoming more and more free from earthboundthink ing. But the exper ience of last night,— was itprophetic > Rollins never appeared more whollyspiritual, more completely freed from earthly limitations 1 And, the Children of Light 1 That group of Cosmic beings attending his every move, seeminglyguarding and directing him, the great book he had inhis hand, the ring with its setting of fiery red, and hiscontinual cry of ”1 am content, 1 am content!" Atthe last moment of the scene—just b efore she awakened to this worldly consciousness, he was there, brilliant, beautifu l, nob le and . . . Could it be mo rethan a psychic experience?

Ruth went to the phone, even though it was stillvery ear ly, and called Rollin's mother. G uardedly,she asked : "And ho w is William ; have you seen himthe last two or three days?**

There was a brief pause; it was very brief, but intuition and the silence that seemed to last for manyminutes, warned Ruth that the answer about to begiven was as guarded as her question. Then it came:'Wh y, William is not home, dear. Don 't be fright

ened, but he had a spell the oth er day— the day afterhe had been with you and had such a pleasant time.He went to a specialist and was told that it was a mildrecurren ce of his old trouble, chron ic append icitis

Ruth gasped; she could not control theemotions that swept over her. Mrs. Rollins must haveheard the gasp, for she added hurriedly: “Oh, pleasedon’t worry* my dear little girl, for it is really nothing.You know he didn't have a real attack of appendicitis,as is commonly experienced, but the specialist saidthat now was the time to have the appendix removedbefore any acute condition set in, necessitating a hurried operation. So, they oper ated on him, day beforeyesterd ay, and last night he was doing just fine. 1 waswith him for a few minutes and he told me that he wasplanning to be with you on Sunday as he was lastSunday. Of course, he didn’t want you to know anything about it until it was all over, but now that he ison the way to recovery, 1 don’t suppose he will object

to your knowing all about it; but he didn't want youto worry, so please feel that he is all right and— youmay go to see him 1 am sure.'*

So, Rollins was in a condition where he might easilypass over the Threshold 1 The thought was terrifying, despite the reassurance of Mrs. Rollins.

Telephone inquiry revealed that the visiting hoursat the private hosp ital were from after ten o’clock. Itwas now not quite seven o’clock. Th ree whole hou rsto wait! If the experien ce of the night was pro phet ic,then every minute was of impo rtance. She could telephone the head physician and warn him, but whatphysician would take such a warning from an outsider? and with nothing more substantial to base it onthan a midnight dream! She knew well the attitud eof those who were unfamiliar with the laws governingsuch experiences. So, ther e was not hing to do butwait.

How long the minutes can be, and how endless thehours when life seems to hang in the balance and whenthe heart cries in desire im patient! Ruth was deeply

in love with Rollins; he was her William, her all. Hetoo, seemed attached to her, for often he had been onthe verge of saying so, but Ruth had checked himknowing as a woman always does, what was in himind and heart; but preferring to have the attractiongrow and grow in the way that unexpressed love doegrow until its very vitality forces it from its secrechamb er as the butterfly outgrows its prison. On thpsychic plane William had proved his natural agreement with her, for the agreement between auras, theattraction between soul expressions and the unity omind on that plane when two meet who are attuned, is a natural agreement, a law of nature unaffected by man 's assumpt ions or woman's desire. Athese thoughts came to Ruth's mind she also recalledthe last words she had said to him in a serious strainthe last evening she had seen him: "When the romanceof affection ends the re ality of love begins. * Fomonths she and William had dwelt in the world of romantic affection; had an end come to this? and wathe reality of love to be born , now? No! for love waborn I it was here, it was a living re ality! It had Ruthin its spell. Th ere was no lon ger need to hold backits power, its expression, its natural indulgence.

Ten o'clock and the visitor's room at the SanitariumRuth stood nervously toying at her hand-bag. Shmade a beautiful picture, if one should judge from thepu rely imperso nal point of view. N ervousness, anxiety, hurried walking, the fine morning air, the resolution to admit, this very morning, her love to him,—all these gave her a color in her cheeks, a sparkle inher eyes, a magnetic aura and a gentleness in her poisthat added to the charms Ruth naturally possessed.

The Secretary was making inqu iry. She would return in a few minutes and direct Ruth to his bedsideMinutes, hours, yea rs! Why the delay? Wh

couldn 't she rush to his bedside? Convent ions, rulesregulation , office customs,— why does man surro unhimself with all these things to veil or color his actsWhy is there a little screen in the corner of that roomIt is only to hide the porcelain sink that everyonknows is ther e. Why is a curtain hun g over thadoo r? For anyon e can see the re is a door behind iWhy go and ask Mr. Rollins if he wishes to see meRuth, when the youngest student of humfen naturcould tell that he was mine, my very own, and thaI will not leave without seeing him? These were ththoughts that passed through the mind of Ruth, Ruththe girl, Ruth the woman of superior understandingRuth the awakened one. Ruth the anxious one.

Then came the soft steps of the Secre tary. Th erwas a serious expression on her face and she spoke iwhispers to the man in white who accompanied hedown the stairs. They appro ached Ruth. The main white spoke first:

"A re you waiting to see Mr. Rollins? Are you member of his fam ily? You have been directed bhis moth er to call? Will his mo ther call sho rtlvYes, we sent for her. You didn't know th at? Wiyou wait until she com es?" The questions may havbeen more connected than this, but this is all thaRuth heard and she knew,— there was somethinwro ng! Q uick thinking was one of Ruth's strongeassets; it was undoubtedly a result of her keen intution. It came to her rescue again.

"I am very close to Mr. Rollins," began Ruth, "andas 1 said, was directed here by his mother early thmorning, perhaps before you Had sent for her, and am sure that Mr. Rollins would wish to see me if hknew 1 was in this building. Therefore, you wiplease take me to him and when his mother comeinform her that I am here!"



THE TRIANG LE Page Forty-tire

There was that positiveness about her words whichmany had noted in Ruth’s nature and which never leftany doubt as to her determination. Her insinuationthat Mr. Rollins did not know of her presence in thebuilding at once cast aside the guardedness that hadbeen used by Secretary and physician.

“Very well. Miss,” said the man in white, “youwill be taken to his room, but we must tell you thatMr. Rollins is in a deep sleep; in fact, let us be frank and say, that he is in a com a. We h ave notified hisattorney and his business associate, as he directed before the operation, and would have sent word to oneother, perhaps you

“Yes, to you , Miss,’* said the Secreta ry.

“But, notwithstanding his present state, we are notalarmed . His pulse is fairly regular, though weak,and while his breathing is unnatural, in a way, it ismaintainin g a rhythm that is definite. He has beenin the state since some time last evening, for he entered this coma while in a natural sleep and we didnot detect it until early this mo rning. O ur nightnurse noticed that he breathed differently about midnight, but did not try to awaken him. Th ere are threeother physicians with him now, his attorney havinginsisted that we call Dr. Pierre Dresser, the eminentbrain and mind specialist, because Mr. Rollins has beenmaking strange statements and we wish to determineif there is any indication of a drug influence or brainaffection,— oh, only of a temp orary nature. You willaccommodate yourself to the wishes of the physicianswho are at his bedside now, please!**

And with these words, meaningless and meaningfulto Ruth, she was taken to his room.

There in a sunlit room was a picture that Ruth willnever forget. Standing diagon ally near one shadowedcorner was a large white bed, larger than the usualhospital bed, and on it rested the body of William, hisarms lying limply on the pale blue covering, his facepale and wan, lifelessly turned toward the ceiling.Th ere was not the slightest movement to indicatebreathing, there was nothing in the position of thebody or the color of the flesh to indicate that WilliamRollins had not passed over the Threshold of earthlylife. N ear the foot of th e bed sat one elder ly man,unmistakably a Frenchman, with his eyes fixed in astare at the face of Rollins; while on the other side of

the room stood two men of professional appearance,nervously fumbling their watches and chains whilegazing intently at the figure on the bed. The roomwas still, significant ly still. Th e one large windo whad its doors open to the floor, leading to a small balcony, over the railing of which were vines; and onthese vines perched, on a strong twig, and baskingmerrily in the sunshine, was a sparrow chirping cheerily.

As Ruth looked at the bed in the shadowed cornerof the room and then at the little soul in the sunlight,she could not help but think of the book that Rollinshad given her for her birthday a year ago “Sunlightand Shadow.*' H ere she stood in the Shadow of Lifeand th e Light of Life. So much of our life is spentin the shadows, so much of this earthly life is but ashadow of the realities of life.

Pausing at the doorway, waiting to be invited to

enter, she soon realized that no attention was to bepaid to her. H ere was a cham ber of cont est. Shesensed th at at on ce. Life, death , science, divine law,man -made law, opinion, belief, faith ,— all were con testing. The physician who spoke to her down stairswas hopeful; these men in this room were doubtful,—aye, even more, they were positively sure that therewas no hop e. The eart hly life of Rollins was the center of the contest, and only the song of a bird gave acheering note to the aspect. Here were these menawaiting what they called death as though it weresomething that must be, regardless of time or condition. The fact that it was morn ing, daylight, and thesun shining brightly and the essence of life evervwhere,made little difference to them. Ruth r ecalled thewords of Job: “For the morning is to them even as theshadow of death: if one knew them, they are in theterrors of the shacow of death.**

Rollins’ mother would arrive shortly. Somethingmust be done at once. To witness such a sight as thiswould break down the strongest woman. She must besaved such a sombre scene. Th ere was but one thingto do and that must be done by Jher.

“I beg your pardon,” began Ruth, “but the Secretary informed me that 1 may enter this room. May 1inquire if it would be injurious to his condition, if 1appro ached his bed side? We are very close friends.’*

The two men who were standing near the bedsidelifted their gaze for a moment while the one spoke:

“You may go to him, but do not excite him withany emotional display of any kind. He is ho veringat the border of death and all depends upon a chance.He has a chance of coming back to consciousness andwe must not lose that chance.’*

As Ruth moved slowly to the bedside the man whowas sitting there in deep thought, rose and whisperedto Ruth, in broken English:

“If you are a very, very close friend, then it is goodyou come near to him. If, ah, perh aps, you love him,or, perhaps even better, he loves you, then we shallsee, yes, then there is more than what these doctorscall a chance. I see, you do love him, th at is so better, it makes me hope. 1 speak to these doctors,—you sit here and take the patient’s hand, there, justlike, well, as when h« was with you, sometime, perhap s ? So!** With these words the man placed Rollins’ hand in Ruth ’s and clasped them. Then standingerect he spoke as to all assembled there: “Now weshall see if perhaps I am right or maybe wrong andyou gentlemen perfect ly right or wrong. Th is patientis in what you call a coma. Psych ology knows noth ing about this coma, but it does know that man sleeps,sleeps in, oh, many ways. Th is is sleep, but different.Anyhow, it is sleep, sleep of the body, sleep of themind, sleep of the consciousness, but not sleep of thesoul. Th is patien t still has soul, oth erwise he be dead,no ? Th en his soul is still here. You do not treatsoul, you treat his bod y. I canno t treat his soul, Ican treat only his mind and brain. But this younglady, ah, that is different, so differen t! She love him.She is close to his soul. If he love her, his soul isclose to her, more now, while he sleep this way, thanwhen he awake. H er soul will speak to his soul, hissoul will hear , it will unders tand . If he is not to pass

beyond her call, she will be able to make him comeback. He is gone from here, his soul 1m ean, the bodyis no thing. Now we watch . We take his pu lse, we,what you call it? tabulate his pulse and breathing. Iwatch his reaction. You watch his body, she hold hishand and whisper in his ear. Please, you ng lady,you forget we are here; you act like natural, as whenyou are alon e with him. It is all right. We are gentlemen of honor, we do not listen, we only watch.**

The tears were flowing down the red cheeks of Ruth ; fire burned in every cell of her body. Theman’s consideration, his apparent tenderness, his understanding of nature and natural laws, his intenseseriousness and the responsibility that was placed inher, made Ruth feel that the most crucial moment of her life had come. H er resolution of the morn ing!This day she would no longer hold back the power of her love, its expression, its natural indulgence; shewould confess or admit her love for him. What a

circumstance to apply that resolution!Getting down on her knees she buried her face in

the palm of his right hand while with both her handsshe grasped his forearm and permitted the warmth of her bod y to flow free ly into his flesh. Aft er a moment’s pause she began to speak, softly and sweetly,while science tabulated the pulse beats in the wristof the left arm and the slight sound heard through theelectrical device attached to his chest.

“ Please, William, please!*’ thu s began Ruth. “1call to you to come back to this bodily expressionagain if it is in your power to choose and to do.Wherever thou are, look upon me, Ruth, praying as1 would pray to G od, that you answer the call of thesoul in me. I pr ay not to God, for I cannot ask Godto intercede and change His divine mind in any plan inan y case. If it is God’s will that th e soul which is



Page Forty-«x THE TRIANGLE

you must pass on to a higher plane, then so shall itbe and 1 shall know it is well. But if there is anychoic# in th y going, if it be within th y power, listento this plaa of mine. Not only for me, William, butfor your Mother whom you have loved so dearly andwho may be here soon to see you; do not leave hernow. Stay with her until she has passed beyon d. Beher protector, her joy, while she has her life’s work

to do on this plane; then at the call of God we maysee her pass in happiness, not in sorrow as she mayif you do not come to comfort and love her.

"It is sweet where you are. It is so real, and thethings of this life are so false, but mere shadows, thatpass and re-pass and ever deceive. But there is onegreat reality that is born of the divinity that ever resides on this plane. Th at is Love. Love is here , asthere where you are. Love of a soul, a pure love, alove that is eternal and cannot die or change. Th atlove calls to you now, for, William, it is the love inmy soul, in my hear t, for you, just you. Come back to me and your Mother I Let us spend many daystogether as you have hoped. In our love let us accomplish that which can be accomplished only by theun ity of love. Let the life in my bo dy give you r bodylife; let the strength in my flesh give you strength.Let me weaken to that same degree that you grow

strong, that we may be as one in united strength asin our love.

"See, William, my aura rises from around my bodyand surroun ds yours. There is a great light gather ing over you, even now. Let the tears from my eyeswash into your pores and burn there with the Are thatcomes from a heart that admits now it*s love for you,its ado ration of you r nobleness. Th is is my confession and it is my prayer . Come, William, come tome I Come back into this ho ly bod y that God hasmade; come and animate the spirit of it and let usbring the Light of this experience to the world thatwe may be Children of Light and shed the Light to theWorld. My William! My own ! My darlin g on e!My belo ved! Come!'*

Then Ruth felt a turn of the hand that was presseagainst her face. She sensed a trem bling in the forarm in which she had pressed her fingers so deeplyShe heard hurried movements in the room, some whipered orders quickly given and a door was closedSlowly she arose and looked at the face on the pillowTh ere was color in the pale face,— just a little, but was to her as a rose. She bent over the still figur

and pressed her lips to his. Warm , moist, magn etishe allowed the very life of her being to flow into hlips. For a minute or more she held this cont act anthen she felt life responding and exhaustion overcoming her. Weakly she stood erect and faced the physcians. Th ey nodded to her and said one word ''Ractio n!" And with this word science attempt ed tanalyze and classify the answer to a h eart s call, thresponse of soul to soul.

Ruth remembered but little of what followed, foshe was lead to an adjoining room, where she rclined for a while and regained a little of her strengthPerhaps an hour later Mrs. Rollins came to her andtaking her by the hands, said in a tenderly way:

"They have just allowed me to see William and hseems to be doing well, tho ugh he is very weak. Hmumb led that he would like to see you. You donthink there is any danger, do you, dearie? 1 had nidea he was so weak. 1 do hope that nothing seriou

will set in, because sending for me frightened me sand they kept me waiting a whole hour while thebathed him and prepared the room for my visit."

"No, little mother," replied Ruth, "there is no danger now of anyth ing happ ening. William is going gain strength every hour. 1 saw him just before yocame, that is, just before they, eh,— the n urse gavhim his bath and dressed him; and he is so mucstron ger now they say. 1 will go in to see him noand will come to your house this afternoon to see youGoodbye, little mother, my mother; William and I havanswered each other's call of love and each of us hafound LIFE."

(What transpired during the state of Coma willbe explained in Episode Number Five.)

NEWS OF THE LODGES

| E are pleased to state th at Lod ges aresending us better reports than in the past,that is,. reports which can be used forthese columns. Again we urgs eachLodge to appoint a reporter for TheTriangle and through such reporter sendus weekly notes that can be utilized inpreparing items for this department of The T riangle. H ere follows a part ial list

of the cities from which reports have been receivedduring the past month:

NEW YORK CITY. Wo rk is pro gressing with theusual enthusiasm and interest. The special form of propaganda arranged some time ago is attracting theattention of many professional men and women andmany new applications are being received. Thosewho have visited the Temple of the New York GrandLodge state that they found the convocations and

meetings in the Temple wonderfully inspiring and weredelighted to find such a fine Egyptian Lodge room withsuch peace and quiet in the heart of such a busy city.Visitors to New York are always welcome to call atthe Temple and see the building or attend sessionspr actically every night of the week. Th e address of the building is 361 West 23rd Street .

BOSTON, MASS. Many changes are occu ring inthe Grand Lodge due to rearrangement of the classes,advancement of members and the appointment of Masters for the various grades. Repor ts indicate thatthere is unified interest and action in this city, makingfor a great ly increased membersh ip. Th e Lodge hasa very fine library adjoining its Temple, known tomany as the Athena Library. It is open every afternoon for visitors or those who wish to come and readany of the many hundreds of good and rare occult,metaph ysical or higher tho ught books. It is one of

the best libraries of its kind in the East. Th e addr eof Lodge and Library is 739 Boylston Street, neaCopley Square.

WATERBURY, CONN. As an example of the kinof reports we like to receive, we print the followinextract sent to us by the two Colombes of the GranLodge of Connecticut, who were appointed reportefor their Lodge:

"On December 6th a class of twenty-two new^members were adm itted to the first grade. We believe this going to be an exceptional class, to judge by thmanner in which the members take part in the discusions at the close of each lectu re. We expect to adanother class of members very shortly."

HARTFO RD, CONN. We have received two verfine photographs of the new Temple building of IsLodge No. 16 of our O rder, situated in the o uts kirof H artford. Th is bu ilding was built com pletely b

the members on property donated to them, and it is credit to any organization. The Lodge room whethe convocations are held is picturesque, efficiently aranged and commodious. Adjoining it are antrooms, store rooms. Library and reception room, wilarge open fireplace. On the occasion of its ded iction last Fall, when members from other Lodges paticipated, the usual procedure was followed by firraising an American flag over the building while aunited in prayer followed by singing "Am erica." Thphotographs also show the American flag as a priciple symbol on the altar, as is also customary in aour Am erican Temples. This Lodge has started very fine library room and it is the desire of the members to have a libr ary open to visitors. For this pupose they ask the assistance of all members in an

jurisdiction who can do so to send them copies of anappropriate books which the owners can spare, as



THE TRIANGLE Page Forty-seven

donation to the library. It will not be a donation toa small group, but will really constitute a donation tothe O rder and our wo rk gen erally, for Isis Lodge ha*a large membership, an active one, and many stranger*and seeker* will be able to read th ese books. Add resssuch books to: Post Office, Box 54, South Windsor,Conn.

PATERSON, N. J. The Grand Lodge of New Jer sey is con tinuing its active, work- and members repo rt

progress and increasing interest.1AMP A, FLA. We are very glad to report an enthu siastic boost in t he work of the Florida GrandLodge. The rapid increase of membership warrantedthe members in extending the lease on the buildingthey occupy and in making many alterations so as tomore than double the seating capacity ot their Lodgeroom. New classes have been in itiated and oth erclasses are progressing with increasing inter est. Th isLodge was the hrst to establish a new form of generalservice to humanity, as noted elsewhere in this magazine. The work ot the Square of the Four is responsible for many changes taking place in the Lodge inTampa and we are watching with keen interest a planto be established there to carry out the scheme forlarge temple building, college building, experimentallaboratories an d other adjoining b uildings under a$10.0,000 fund plan inaugurated by the Grand Masterof Florida.

PHILADE LPHIA, PA. Th e Master of Delta Lodgereports continued interest and growth. We arepleased to announce, also, that the clergyman of oneof the largest Episcopal churches in the city is broadcasting his Sund ay evening services by radio. Th eyare filled with profound mystical laws and he has beenof great help to our Lodge and now augments this byreaching a very large audience. Than k you, Brother!

PITTSBURGH, PA. The G rand Master for Pen nsylvania reports that the Grand Lodge has been verybusy, the classes progressing and new classes beingformed. The advancement of the members in thiscity has been one of the encouraging features of ourwork.

SAN ANTONIO, TE XAS. The work in the TexasGrand Lodge has been advancing with unusual activityof late. The Master has secured the co-op eration of certain members who have used their influence to aug

ment the gene ral instruction . Two eminent ph ysicians and scientists have been addressing the 6th gradeclass on the subject of physiology, anatomy and othersubjects. Th is is an excellent plan that m ight beadopted by other lodges. Members report keen interest in the work there.

OMAH A, NEB. The work here is con tinuing withthe usual interest and enthusiasm.

FLINT, MICH. The Grand Master repo rts growthand advancement.

CLEVELAND , OHIO. Th e work of the GrandLodge is continuing with keen interest and advancement.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. The Grand Lodge helda special meeting of the Grand Council to arrangeplans for increasing the office, library and Lodge facilities. The discussion resu lted in a decision to occupy the entire building on Market Street where theTemple is now located. Variou s comm ittees were ap

pointed to take care of the increasing propagandawork and oth er activities. Several new classes were

IMPERATORS

In answer to the many inquiries we wish to announce that the Imperator has informed us that heforesees another tour during the spring months. According to his map of events and tendencies he willleave San Francisco about the 10th of April and goto Chicago, where he will remain a few days andthence to Florida via the Dixie Flyer, which will takehim through or into Kansas, Missouri, and adjoiningStates, to the Southern ones. A stay of several weekswill be made in Florida on official business and a return will be made early in May via the Seaboard AirLine from Jacksonville through Washington, D. C., toNew York City, with, possibly, several stops en route.

initiated recently and classes are held five nights aweek. Month ly socials are being planned so as topermit the very large membership to become betteracquainted.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Members of the G randLodge of California are in Los Angeles assisting in theestablishment of another Lodge there and we expectto have a complete report for our next issue.

CHICAGO , ILL. Fifty members in this city have

sent a petition to headquarters asking that anotherLodge be established and members there of the IllinoisG rand Lodge are assisting also. Th e Imperator willprobably visit Chicago during the spring.

STOCKTON, CALIF. The work here is p ro gres sing and the members advancing as usual.

PORTLAND, OREGON. The work is going on inthis city with the usual enthusiasm.

BANES ORIENTE, CUBA. An interest ing repo rtfrom this Lodge state* that in addition to the initiationof new members, three children were christened in theTemple the re recent ly. Th is Lodge is growing rap idlyand with excellent enthusiasm.

LONDON, ENGLAND. The Grand Secret ary forEngland reports that the Lodge in London is growingin interest and members. He also repor ts man y newapplications from time to time and many inquiries.From correspondence received by us we know that the

members there are very happy in the work.COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. Repor ts from this

Lodge indicate an increasing membership and enthus~iastic attitude toward the work. We receive manyvery fine letters from members in that country.

SOURABAYA, JAVA. H ere the work is going onwith increasing membership and remarkable interest.Monthly reports exchanged show that the members inthis country greatly appreciate their Order and Lodge.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. Report s from thiscity indicate that the work is intensely interesting andthe membership increasing.

INDIA. Repo rts from various parts of India indicate continued growth of the Order there and specialinterest in the American revision of the lectures, whichare eagerly sought and made a part of the work inthat country.

NEW LODGES

A charter has been granted to members in Beaumont, Texas, and we expect a very fine Lodge there.The Alden Lodge in Lufkin, Texas, has been doingsome propaganda work that has reached many citieaand has been of help to the various centres in Texas.

From Secondee, Gold Coast, Africa, has come apetition for help in establishing another Lodge thereunder the jurisdiction of that country. We have assisted the members in Accra, Gold Coast, to form afine Lodge of English members and now Secondee issecond in line.

In Nigeria, Africa, a n ew Lodge has been formedand we understand that the work is progressing withexcellent interest.

OTHER LODGESA great number of other Lodges and centres have

not made reports during the past month and others arein pro cess of formation. We expect to mention allthese in our next issue, including those in Canada,

Germany, France, the Orient, Japan, China and elsewhere.

NEXT TOUR

After a week’s stay in New York some trips will bemade to other Eastern and Northern points and areturn made from New York via the PennsylvaniaRailroad, stopping at Pittsburgh, Pa., and other midwest points. Th is will brin g the Imp erator back toSan Francisco about the middle of June.

Those Lodges or groups near this scheduled routedesiring to have the Imperator visit them will pleasecommunicate at once to the Secretary to the Imperator, care of AMORC, 1255 Market Street, SanFran cisco, Calif. The schedule must be completed before the 25th of March.



Page Forty-eight THE TRIANGLE

Stye OrtangUPublished by the Department of Publication, American Supreme

Council of the

AttriPttf atth fHgatiral (Dritfr

Eaaar (UruriaThe A.M.O.R.C. if affiliated with the ANTIQUUM ARCANUM

ORDINEM ROSAE ET AUREAE CRUC1S in various

parts of the world and with its branch bodies withsimilar names in other lands, all operating under

a supreme world council

OFFICE OF AMERICAN SECRETARY GENERAL

1255 MARKET STREET

SAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.

RELEASED FEBRUARY 25th, 1924

We have published no issue of The Triangle duringthe holiday season because of the many activities taking our attention and the attention of our members;and we have decided to stop dating our issues withmonthly dates, simply numbering them consecutively.This issue is numb er Four of Volume Two. At thehead of this column we will put the date that the issueis released or sent to press, simply that it may havea material time-dating, that is all.

Our last issue met with unstinted praise and repeated calls for more copies. We are glad that someof the features in that issue were so highly appreciatedand we have continued the story of the Cosmic Pilgrimand the History of the First American Rosaecruciansfor that reason. The slight increase in price wastaken in the right spirit and it enables us to continuethe large size of the pub lication. Your graciou s acceptance of these changes and your kind commentsand joyous praise are gratifying and inspiring.

A A AThis issue contains the strange combination of two

important stages in the life and evolution of mankind;— the stor y of the m arriage of one of our Colombesand the passing from this plane of one of our Masters.Both of these remind us of the passing of the earthlyelement, time; for not long ago our Colombe was buta child and our Beloved Master was a man of activephysical body; but the one has grown into adult lifeand the other has advanced to spiritual life. Timeseems to make changes, but, in truth, evolution causeschanges and the changes express as passing time.There is the delusion!

A A A

We watch with keen interest the changes that aretaking place in the churches.

Where will it end? The writing on the wall is very

plain and many can read. On the surface it app earsthat there has risen a dispute between one factioncalled the Fundamentalists and another called theModernists and that these two factions divide thechur ches. But it is more than t his: it is a division of those who have awakened to a mystical understandingand realization of The Inspired Word of God and thosewho read and see only the crude letters and their ob

jective mean ing. Beyond this th ere is the leadersh ipof those who have been illumined and who haveevolved to intim ate con tact with the Cosmic. Suchleaders have thrown off the chains that bound them—as, perforce, they must have done to become illumined— and are tr uly modernists of today as were Akhena-ton IV, Moses, Naaman, The Prophet of Chebar, Socrates, Vashti, Jesus and others, successively in theirday.

A A A

The Supreme Court of the State of California hbrought before it recently the question as to wheththe Bible constituted a sectarian book while on tshelves of the libr aries of the pu blic schools. A lowcourt had decided that the State law forbidding starian books in school libraries included the BibThe decision rendered by the Supreme Court was broad that it made a point of noting that the Korathe Talmud and similar books likewise were not setarian and p rop erly belonged on ^a libra ry shelf good literature . Kno wing the Chief Justice of tSupreme Court as we do, we are not surprised at tdecision and we are pleased with the broad view thtaken. Th is incident is reported by us merely ascomparison with another incident that happened Ohio recent ly. A United States Flag and a Bible wpresented to a public school in Akron by a patriosociety. Th e school board, dominated by membersone religious sect, refused to accept the gift. TRed Men of the city took up the matter and callthe board action an insult to God and the Flag; othwise we might have never known about it. Th e nepapers of the country have said nothing about tincident, but it cannot happen often before there wbe a general rising against sectarian influences pub lic school boards. Wh at do you know about school board in your city? If your school board pu

lishes a monthly or semi-annual report, make it yobusiness to get a copy and study it. You may be sprised at some facts. If the board does not publan y repo rt, inq uire why that is so. Th ere may star-chamber proceedings that are even more dangous.

A A A

NOTICE

As predicted some time ago, the various copies the books called Cromaats, numbered from A to are out of print and our supp ly at H eadquarters is hausted. We are receiving earnest pleas for copcontinually and from groups or individuals in partsthe world where such literatu re is very scarce. Wregret that we have to disappoint these members agroups and advise all our members who have copto preserve them well. If any have extra copies tthey can spare we would appreciate them and will

them into hands where much good will result. Cmaat “B” is especially desired.

A A A

TWO WORLDS MADE ONE

Edwin Markham

I love the mystic in his dreams

When earth a floating bubble seems—

Love, too, the bluff materialist,

Tho there are kingdoms he has missed.

I love soul-men (You ask me w h y?)

They have a God-hold in the sky,

I love earth-men,— they half know God;

They have a God-hold in the sod,

But best I love the two-in-one,The man who holds both earth and sun;A man, who, like a tree, has girth

That grapples him to rock-ribbed earth;And yet a man who, like a tree,

Lifts boughs into the airy sea,

To hear the whispers of the light

And all the wonders of the night.

Great is that man who stands on high!

Two worlds are captured by his eye;

He sees these little days of Time

Whirled into a drama, vast, sublime;

Earth has a meaning fine and far,

When lighted by a mystic star.



THE TRIANGLE Page Forty-nine

HERE IS A BRAND NEW IDEA

Something that Every Lodge and Every Group Can Put Into Practice at Once

For the first time in several years a brand new

method of helping the needy and at the same timebringing the seeker close to home has been evolvedand put into practice with profound success. Theidea originated in the fertile minds of the several officers of the Grand Lodge of Florida and we feel thateach Lodge could adopt the same means and shoulddo so at once.

The plan began its operation with the insertion of the following small advertisement in the “Personal"column of the newspapers, first in the Sunday issue,then in even the week-day issues.

FREE help. If you are sick or in trouble,write for psychic and spiritual help. Thisis the Service Department of the oldestBrotherh ood in the world. Use it if inneed. No fees or obligation s. “Th e Squar eof th e Fou r.” P. O. Bo x......................................

Such an advertisement is not costly and is boundto attract the attention of those in need. A different

version of the same advertisement could be as follows:IN TROUBLE? If sick or worried or in

need of psychic or spiritual help, write forhelp and advice, strict ly confiden tial. TheService Department of a national brotherhood is ready to help all. No fees or obligations. “The Square of the Fo ur,’* P. O.Box................................

From a purely theoretical point of view, such advertisements would seem to be inadequate to reachthose who are really in need of that sort of help thatour memb ers can give. But the proof of the puddingis in the demand it create s. And, demand the re is,to judge from the success of the plan in Tampa, Florida.

Just why the originators of the plan decided to callthemselves the “Square of the Four” is not known andit is immaterial, for it is a name that is as good as anyand at the same time seems to indicate secrecy andconfiden tial dealings. Th is, you will admit, is an important point with many who need help, and it appeals to them.

From those in Tampa who are working the planwe learn these facts. That there are from two to fiveinquiries a day and these are assigned to various members of the little committee in char ge of the work. Toeach writer a letter, personal and friendly, is sent,giving whatever advice can be given and promisingthat, if desired, a personal call will be made by oneof our members, or the troubled one may call and seethe member who has charge of the individual case.

The "troubles” submitted by the inquiring onescover the whole range of human problems, from healthand illness to marriage, divorce, separations, childrenand adults lost or strayed, others in prison or chargedwith crimes of which they claim they are not guilty,births and the attending problems without help or

advice to meet them, discouragement, wayward children, and a hundred other minor matters, most of which can be met by advice, kindly suggestions orreal, personal assistance. The large majority DONOT ask for mon ey. In fact, quite a number havebeen willing to pay for any help they could get butthey could not find anyone ready to take a PERSONALinterest in th eir case. Most of them are simp ly hun gry for friend ly advice that is not biased. Few of uscan realize what this means, for most of us have thissort of friendship, but there are thousands who do nothave it and are forced to try and find a friendly handsomewhere.

N aturally no fees are p ermitted, b ut in some casesthe ones who have been helped have sent anonymousdonations after they were helped and this little compensation has been used to continue the advertisements, which are not costly.

Quite a few have become interested in the kindly

philosophy used in writing or talking to them and haveinquired where such philosophy was taught. Whenliterature was given to them later it proved to be thevery thing they sought, and these persons united withthe Lodge.

In classifying the work, each Lodge or group adopting this plan should have the co-operation of oneph ysician, one at to rn ey (if p ossib le), one who iscapable of giving good business advice, one who cantalk to women on women’s personal problems, onewho can help in psychic and spiritual affairs. Th en,when the letters come, they should be turned over tothese various members according to the requirementsof the writers. Those needing treatmen ts can be assigned to various members who know our 6th and 8thgrade work.

Mention of the AMORC should not be made untilrequest is made to know who or what is back of thework being done. We suggest that the term “Square

of the Four” be used by all Lodges in their plan andthat all letters sent to needy ones be sent in the nameof the Square of the Four, then signed by the Latinname of the writer, unless it is considered desirableto meet the needy one. In such case make an appointment or set two evenings when the call can bemade and sign your full name and address to indicatethat you are not trying to hide behind any secretscheme.

If the question is asked: Who constitute the Squareof the Fou r? this answer can be truth fully given:“This is an organization of men and women of alldenominations and creeds, in all walks of life, living inthe principal cities of this country and all united inpreparing to do humanitarian work and ready toserve. We are memb ers of a local branch of thework in this city.” Th is should be sufficient answerfor the average inquirer and will do until after complete or sufficient help has been rendered . If, the reafter, the one who has been helped desires to knowmore, he or she may be told about the Amorc.

If problems are presented which the individual members or Lodges cannot meet, then the Lodge may callupon our National Service Department, as announcedin our last issue of The Triangle; but it must be keptin mind that the average writer for help is in need of IMMEDIATE advice or assistance and no time shouldbe lost in answering the appeal with some advice andsome encouragement.

By making this plan a truly national one in scope,it will enable each Lodge or group more efficiently tosolve some of the problems. We are reminded of onesuch problem where a mother was seeking her lostson, 21 years of age. She had the last lette r receivedfrom him dated from a small town in California. Bytransferring the case to Headquarters here and fromhere to a group in that town, the son was located

within seven days and after some talks and advicewas willing to return to his old mother and help her.We have some members in every Lodge who are

pro lific letter writer s. How well we know it! Th eylike to write and like to recieve letters. H ere is achance for them to come forward and offer their assistance in writing to those who need advice and suggestions. Please inform the Im perator by mail assoon as you put this plan into operation in your city.Let us have it in national operation before our NewYear celebration, on March 20th, and thereby add thisnew feature to our year’s accomplishments.

A A ANATIONAL LODGE NOTES

What a joy has come into the lives of those whohave entered the Fourth or Postulant’s Grade of theN ational Lod ge! Th e corresp on dence is the most inspiring and encou raging we have ever received. Mem



Page Fifty THE TRIANGLE

bers of this grade live in many parts of the world andin every state of this country, in as many diversifiedlines of business or avocation and all are agreed inpaying tribut e to the work of the National Lodge. TheMaster of the Postulant’s Grade is planning to organizethese enthusiastic members into a band of specialworkers; for these Postulants have been tried andtested for two or more years, have had special training and are being trained along distinctive lines for

definite constructive work in b ehalf of the Order.New Postulants are being accepted weekly from theranks of those who have completed the three preliminary grades of the National Lodge and who havestood certain tests and trials for the past two years.

A A A

Those now in the preliminary grades of the National Lodge are pursuing their work with enthusiasmand carefulness, realizing that the lectures were especially prepared for home study and experiment andthat each member is given such personal attentionand help as is necessary.

Members in any grade of either the National orregular Lodges who have friends who may be interested in our teachings should send the names of suchfriends to th e Secret ary of the N ational R. C. Lodge,1255 Market Street, and we will send them interestingliterature.

A A ARecently we received a package from one of the

National Lodge members along with a note which readas follows: '‘Recalling the Imperator's special messageto the N ational Members of last year, 1 am sendingherewith a box con taining such articles as 1 have nouse for at present but which can surely be used at

headquarters.** In the box was a good fountain pen,a num ber of draughtsman* s instrumen ts, such as compasses, pens, rulers, etc., and some other articles whichwill serve well in man y ways at H eadquarters. Haveyou ever thought of how such little gifts are appreciated and turned to good use instead or remainingunused at home > One member once sent us enoughtypewriting carbon p aper to last us fully a year,— a

jobber*s lot that was left on his hands and for which

he had very little use. Perhap s you, too,— but thiswas not intended to be an appeal; we do not think it isnecessary I

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS

Have you ever thought of the inconvenience andexpense that results from chan ging your address >National Lodge members and others who receive letters or lectures regularly from Headquarters, havetheir names and addresses cut on special metal platedfor use in the Addressograph machine which addressesthe envelope. Each time an address is changed itmeans a hve-cent cost for a new metal stencil, the arrangement for the change, and the care to avoid duplication and error. Some memb ers change their addresses or the initials of their name at an average of once a month, usually because of some whim. Thisdelays sending of lectures while the changes are madeand often results in a few letters going astray until

the change is in wor king order again. Some others,or rather quite a few, change their address and forgetto notify us until mail comes back, rubber stamped,"mo ved, add ress unknown.** Th en we have to makeinquiry or wait until the member writes and complains.Keep you r Lodge and H eadquarters here posted all thetime in regard to such matters.

DICTIONARY OF ROSAECRUCIAN TERMS

(Continued from the Third Number of The Triangle,

dated October, 1923.

Kno wledge— The Ro sicrucians ever held that onecould not know of anything except through personalexperience. For this reason a distinction was made

between belief and knowledge. The experiencewhich is thus necessary may be through objectiverealization or psychic reality, but there must be theperson al realism. It is custom ary for a mystic tosay that he either knows or does not know whenspeaking of the experiences, problems, or facts of life and nature; nothing is accepted by him on faithand he has no beliefs.

Karma— A term used by us to mean the wo rking of the law of com pensation . Rosicru cians do not contend, however, that the exactations of the law of compensation will result in any reversal of the lawof evolution, as is claimed by some modern schools.That a human being may be reincarnated in theform or body of a lower animal as a punishment,is inconsistent with the law of reincarnation andevolution, both of which teach us that each stage isprogressive and we shall never descend in the scaleof physical expression regardless of the karmic debtto be paid. One of the fundam ental principles of the law of compensation is that for each sorrow orpain we cause another, we shall suffer in like degree and manner and at a time when the lesson tobe gained th ereb y will be the most impressive. Onthe other hand this principle does not exact an eyefor an eye or a life for a life, for there is no vengeance in the process and no intention to causesuffering: the sole purpose of compensation is toteach us the lesson, to make us realize the error andto evolve the understanding thereby.

For these reasons one cannot be sure just whenor how the law of compensation will exact its requiremen ts. Of this we can be sure, however, wewill not suffer through any requirement of karmaand be unconscious of the fact that it is a karmicdebt we are paying. Such suffering withou t a keen

realization of why it is so and what we are compensating for, would be inconsistent with the fundamental principle of karma,— that we will learn alesson through it and advance in our understanding.

L

Life and Life Force— Th e m ystery of all ages. Two

methods of examining its nature lead to false conclusions: the chemical method would reduce all lifeto chemical action, the spiritual would reduce all todivine essence and ignore the material elements oractions. Rosaecrucians insist that due consideration be given to all parts and all actions, realizingthat in its pristine essence all life emanates fromGod through Cosmic forces; but animal life-forceas it expresses and manifests on this earth plane isnot solely a spiritual essence devoid of chemicalaction.

M

Magnetism— Every electrified body h as its aura, andwhen that aura is active it constitutes a magneticfield and the aura is sometimes called magnetism.Magnetism from a purely electrical point of viewis described somewhat differently, but even so thefundamental law involved in the foregoing definition

remains. The fact that some minerals are "n aturally** magnetic, as iron of a certain nature, whileothers can be made magnetic, indicates that magnetism is not a result of the atomic or molecularstructure of matter, but rather of an electrical action that is taking place within the substance orwhich can be set up in the subst ance. In electricalscience we are instructed how to induce magnetismin a metalic body by surrounding it with an electrical charge; but this further illustrates the lawthat magnetism results from action in the aura thatsurround s all matter. Th is aura is fundam entallyan essential part of the electron and the molecule,therefore, has an aura which is a mixture of theauras of the electron s compo sing it. Some aurasare passive, some are receptive or repulsive andsome are alternatin g in their action. Tho se whichare not restive or passive cause a manifestation



THE TRIANGLE Page Fifty-one

which we term* in physical science, magnetism, witheither an attractive or repulsive tendency or positive or negative polarity.

The cells composing the human body are sur-rounded by an aura and the body of man also hasan au ra. Th is aura can be made active, radiatingits magnetic energy, or passive, or even repulsiveor receptive. The human mind, with its control of the electrical energy in the body, is the guiding factor in the process of exciting the electrical charge

that arouses the aura of the human body to itsfullest pow er. Th e word mind is used here in thepsychical sense. (Th is subject is treated very fullywith charts and diagrams in the December, 1916,issue of the American Rosae Crucis.)

Master—The term is used in several ways in our work,but we will not touch upon the use of the word toindicate one who is an officer of a Lodge or directorof a grade of the work. O therwise the term isused to represent one who has attained some degreeof perfection in evolution or a high degree of mastership of laws and principles. In this tense wehave visible and Invisible Masters. Tho se classifiedas visible are: masters living in the flesh on thisearth plane and seen by us with our objective physical senses; and those living in the flesh on thisplane who are able to project their psychic body,thoughts and impressions, irrespective of distance,

so that such psychic bodies become visible undercertain conditions and the thoughts and impressionsbecome sensible to our psychic or objectivecom preh ension. Invisible Masters, on the oth erhand, are those who have passed from thisplane to the Cosmic Plane and from thencepro ject their perso nality to the psychic planeand never function or express upon the earthplane until reincarnated . In order that we maysense these Masters—-not see them with objectiveeyesight— we must attune ourselves ta the psychicplane to such a degree that for the time being weare psychically functioning on the psychic planecompletely (that is, with our psychic bodies whileour physical bodies are dormant or inactive in allfunctioning except that of a purely physical nature,as when asleep, in a transe state or in deep andprofound meditation) and at such time contact thepersonality, mind, thoughts and messages of the In

visible Masters. Th ese Masters may be “teen** atsuch times, but not with objective eyes and in factit is not seeing at all but a Cosmic state of sensingwhich we interpret as seeing after we have returnedto consciousness on the objective plane for want of'a better term to describe our sensing.

Complete functioning on the psychic plane for afew minutes or hours at a time, as desired, and therecontacting the personality of the Invisible Masters,is a condition much desired by all mystics and isattained by careful study and preparation, many

preliminary experiments and a pureness of purpose.It is this way that Cosmic Illumination or CosmicConsciousness is realized.

Matter— Rosaecrucians view matt er from almost thesame viewpoint as ph ysical science. D iffering fromsome schools of metaphysics, we know that matteris essential to expression or existence on this planeand has its place in the scheme of things and shouldnot be negated, ignored, hu miliated or— aggran dized. We know that matter has no consciousnessor mind independent of that consciousness or mindwhich r esides in all living form s; and we knowfurther that matter does not exist independent of the spirit ener gy that animates it. This knowledge enables us to place matter in its right categoryand shows us how to make it serve us rather thanrule us. (The fundam ental laws regard ing thecomposition of matter are fully covered in the lectures of the 1st, 2nd and 4th grades.)

Mind— The m ystic m akes the imp ortant distinctionbetween brain and mind. The brain is a physicalorgan for some of the functioning of mind just asthe lungs are organs for the functioning of breathing. Mind works thro ugh the brain to a great extent, but not exclusively thro ugh that organ. It ispossible for the mind to function in many waysafter the brain is removed. Th is has been provedwith tests on lower animals. Mind is divided intotwo dom ains of functioning,— subjective and ob jective; and while it is common to speak of thesetwo domains as two minds, it is not correct in abroad sense. Th e mind of man is immortal becauseit is a part of the soul and personality, while on theother hand the brain, like all the physical organs,are m ortal. Mind and person ality persist aftertransition from the physical body and retain as partof their attributes or equipment the complete storehouse of mem ory. Th e psychic body utilizes thesubjective functioning of the mind as its essentialconsciousness, hence in all psychic work and pro jections of the psychic body, the subjective mind iskeenly active. (See Borderline State.)

Molecule— See Atom and Electron.

N

Naming (Christening)—The Rosaecrucians have aceremony for the naming of children to be performed in their Temp les. No restrictions is placed

on the age of the child, but one or both of theparents must be members of the Order and certainpromises are exacted from the parents, such as thatthe child will be properly educated during its youthin non-sectarian schools, that it will be taught toknow and love obedience to God's laws, that thechild will be given every opportunity to enter theO rder at the proper age without interference orunn ecessary urge. Such christening may take theplace of any other ceremony or may supplement it.The ceremony is, of course, non-sectarian.

HISTORY OF THE FIRST AMERICAN ROSICRUCIANS

(Copyrighted 1924 by H. E. Lewis

CHAPTER THREE

The New Mystic LandWhat Van Bebber found upon his arrival in America

and his settlement at or near Philadelphia, would beinten sely inter esting if we had all the facts. But wecan gather only a few fragments of that early historyand of the conditions existing there.

We will not be interested in the early establishment of Penn's Province of Pennsylvania, nor are weconcern ed with the early em igrants. But, we mustrecord a few facts regarding the establishment of thecity of Philadelphia, for it reveals some interestingpoints.

Just as the various study groups were being formedin all parts of Europe, so some were formed in Eng

land. The one in London had been formed by oneDr. John Pord age, rector of Bradfield, in 1652. In1670 this group came under the leadership of Mrs.Jane Leade, an eminent mystic and scholar. At thistime the group reorganized itself, dropping the guiseof being solely a student body of Boehme’s writingsand adopting the name of the "Philadelphia Society"or Society of Brot herly Love. Th is was the first English use of the Greek word Philadelphia by any bodyof people or organization, and we must note that, although there may have been one or two Quakers inthe group, the name Philadelphia was not adopted bythe Qu akers at all. Po rdage had been severely criticised for his mystic work by the Church, but under theleadership of Mrs. Leade the little Rosicrucian groupgrew and there came into its membership Francis Leeof O xford, a well known theo logian and writer. Heeventually married Mrs. Leade’s daughter and became



Page Fifty-two THE TRIANGLE

one of the most enthusiastic workers for the Order,living in Leipsig later, as teacher at one of the universities, and affiliating with the O rder there . But,the most prominent member of the Society of Phila-delphists (as some histories refer to the body) wasWilliam Markham, one time tutor to George, Princeof Wales, and Archb ishop of York. He too was aneminent theologian, an acknowledged mystic and sincere writer and lecture r on mystical subjects. Hehad been appointed Penn’s Deputy Governor and waspreparing to leave London for America when three of the members of the Philadelphic Society decided to gowith him and also assist in preparing the way for theestablishment of a Rosicrucian colony in America in1694. To these three others were added and on Octob er 7th, 1681, Markham and his pa rty of mysticsreached the very primitive settlement near the Delaware, now known as Philadelphia.

At this time the city had no n ame,— it was hardlymore than a scattering of houses. Penn had plannedhow he would have a city built, had instructed surveyors to plan the future city and these plans werenot yet in operation. But Markham and his group,awaiting the arrival of Penn and anticipating the arrival of the three surveyors, held a meeting in July of the following year, 1682, and gave to the small hamlet,the ciiy-to-be-planned-and-built, the name Philadel

phia, in honor of their Rosicrucian Group in London.This is the authentic origin of the name of the city,and although the popular histories make no mentionof the origin of the city’s name, and the encyclopaedias do not even state when and how the name wasgiven to the city, there are ample references to thelanding of these early Philadelphic mystics from London with Markham and the steps they took to establish the city before Penn’s arrival.

In 1683, the following year, the city had grown,according to the official records of Philadelphia, to80 houses and 500 people.

Quakers had come from Europe to America beforethis period, but not to Philadelphia. In July of 1656two women Qu akers from London settled in Bostonand tried to convert some of the pilgrims. But theycaused so much disturbance at the church meetingswith their questions, their arguments and their intol

erance of the religious ideals established there, thatthe authorities caused them to be imprisoned for fiveweeks and returned them to England on the nextboat. O ther Q uakers coming from London were notpermitted to land.

In 1677 and the following year, several hundredQ uakers settled in Burlington, “West Jer sey,” andfinally in 1684 the re came some Q uakers with Pennand these united with a few who lived on the outskirts of the city of Ph iladelph ia. Those who camewith Penn were from the Palitinate, the domain of Princess Elizabeth, to whom reference has been made,because of her interest in the Rosicrucian work.

Then Penn left America in 1684 and placed thecity and the Province in the hands of the Councilto enforce his Constitution.

Thus matters stood in 1687 when Van Bebber arrived at the city of Ph iladelph ia. Th ere were 93houses and the population had increased to 601.Markham had built a home for himself and adjoiningit was the Penn cottage (which was later moved toFairmount Park in Philadelphia, where it now stands).The houses of the city were of frame, usually, twostories high and with low stoops. The city itself consisted of a park in the centre, where the Water Workswere and where the Independence Hall now stands.Around this centre park the streets were laid out insquares, the city itself being an oblong, with a small,square park at each corner of the oblong.

Penn had been invested with executive and legislative power, subject to the control of the Council andto “the advice and consent of the freemen of theprovince,*’ who were to help make the laws beforethey reverenced and obeyed them. The first Assemblyrep resen ting the freemen met in 1682. It added toPen n’s original Constitution for the Pro vince. He hadassigned only one cause for a death sentence,—

murder; whereas in England death was warranteddebts, slander and other causes. The new clawere unusually strict, and since the freemen Quakers, we have an excellent presentation ofextreme intolerance of the Quakers who settled in coun try at that time. Th ey had fled from Eubecause of the persecutions against them ,— perstions which they proclaimed due to intolerance;soon after their arrival and settlement in Philadel

they became more intolerant than any had beeE urope. The new clauses of the Cou ncil wbriefly, as follows: “forbidding and punishing prolanguage or swearing, intemperance, card-playdrinking, of healths, masks and revels, evil sportsgames,** even to inn ocen t old games of May Day. new and amended Constitution was called the “GLaw” and on every public holiday, every special at every general meeting, the Great Law was reathe public in the Square and children were obligememorize .it as part of their studies.

When Van Bebber tried to deal with the Quakefound that un less one was a Q uaker or imm ediproclaimed his intentions of becoming one, he wanored, not permitted to share in the privilegecitizenship except under protest, was slighted inbusiness dealings, denied certain freedoms and trelike one who was without the pale of salvatio

respectable citizenship.At this time there was no Q uaker Church

Friends Meeting House in the city; and the Quamet for “silent meetings** at the home of Tennis Kdert, at present the site of No. 5109 GermantAvenue, Ph iladelphia. Nor was there any other rlarly ordained church or church service held incity or neighborhood, excepting an occasional hservice by the Mennonite Brethren.

Van Bebber with his wealth and with the possesof land, settled far outside of the city limits and ceeded in building a very large hou se,— one wmight have been called a mansion in those days,sufficiently large to house and care for a great nuof persons, as we shall see. He surveyed the rounding land, made a few journeys to adjoiningtlements, purchased a few pieces of land in the sement of Germantown, nearby, and then, satisfied

the Pro vince would be satisfactory fo r the pilRosicrucians, he wrote for them to complete plans in Germany and Holland and be preparecome to Am erica. Incidentally he made arrangemwith an agent in Holland to provide the necesfunds for the trip and to secure for them a specchartere d boat. Without this help and withoutconnection of the Order in Holland and London, doubtful whether the Rosicrucians could have mthe trip in the year selected, for there was war onhigh seas, ships were scarce, funds of large amowere needed and only the great encouragement those in Philadelphia would bring them to a land which reports were constantly coming of the intance of the Q uakers, the strict laws of the Co uncthe Province and the known lack of so many of necessities. Ho wever, the plans were completed,now we will turn our attention to Germany and land and watch the selection of the Pilgrims and

making of the final arrangements.A A A

CHAPTER FOUR

THE PLANS IN EUROPE

Before outlining the further details of the planEurope it will be well to introduce a few of theusual personalities who were instrumental in the success of the plans, for the persons have been veiled in all previous histories of Rocicrucianism, bknown only by their mystic or pen names, and detail given of the great sacrifices each made to mulgate the work of the Order in their respecountries.

Because of the part he played in the planning omovement to America and because of the part heto play, we will introduce first, Johann Jacob merman.



THE TRIANGLE Page Fifty-Thre«

He typified the type of mind which resist* all attempts to force him to modify hi* views and his convictions because of into lerance. Born in the littlehamlet of Vaihingen on the Entz in the Duchy of Wurtemberg, in the year 1644, his native country andhamlet were destined to treat one of their great menin a mann er long regretted. Un usually bright andstudious in his youth, he was taken into the Ducalservice when only seventeen years of age and thereby

became known to all the official* who placed greathope* in him a* one to be held within the limits of theirdecreed principles. He was sent to the University of Tub ingen and graduated thera in 1664, when buttwen ty year s oi age, a* Master of Philosophy* H ismathematics developed along tha lines of research andcalculations into astronomy and then astrology and habecame an expert astrologer,— to such a degree thatsome years later the Royal Society of London acknowledged him as a master of astrological science,—not astronomy.

Then he studied for tha ministry and in 1671 wasmade a Lutheran clergyman and finally Diaconu* of the Church at Bietigheim, a town adjacent to hisbirthplace.

Here he was eventually deposed because of his mystical preachments in his discourses on philosophy, andhe was at once called to be Professor of Mathematicsand Philosop hy at H eidelberg in I 684. For five years

he filled this chair and the records at Heidelberg speak highly of him and his wonderful knowledge; but hewas again removed because of his unorthodox religiousviews, his broad tolerance for mysticism, and his beliefs in astrology and alchemy.

So, in 1689, when for ty-five year s of age, he accepted a position with Brandt, the Hamburg publisher,who issued in his day all the strange mystical andoccult books and especially the Rosicrucian officialpub lications. Z immerman was thro ugh with theChurch and its intolerance and now intended to devote his time to the promulgation of a broader philosophy and theology than tha Lutheran Church permitted. He was to edit and proo fread the bookswhich passed through Brandt's hands, for Zimmer-mann had an unusual knowledge of the subjects of theology, philosophy, mathematics, astrology and occult sciences, as well a* a very fine education in German and Latin. While Z immermann held this posi

tion and assisted in the production of a number of unusually learned mystical works, the Church condemned the lot by calling them tha “Suspecta Fidei*’and the set of books were later known by this generalname.

But here, in this position and through his immediate and mediate touch with the learned mystics of thaday, Zimm ermann con tacted the Rosicrucian O rder inHamburg and made the personal acquaintance of itsactive workers, including Horbius, Spener, Furly andothers. He heard of th eir talk and plans about goingto America and when he found that not only was theyear 1694 believed to be a significant one, but theproper days for starting on such a trip for such a yearwere undecided, he proposed to cast a horoscope forthe matter and this brought him his first great revelations regarding the “Cycles of Ages,'* as the mysticscalled them. As a result of his discoveries he not

only decided for the men the proper day for leavingGermany, but the proper day for embarkation, etc.,and then started to write a mystical book containinga scientific outline of what the planets decree for thevarious ages of man. Th is book was called “MundusCop ernixans” and was issued in 1684. In it he explained what the world might look for up to the year1694 and what would be after that year. To thosewho were not mystics and especially to the Church, thematter ap peared to be a prediction th at I 694 wouldbe the end of th e world, or the millenium. Thisbrought severe criticism and censure and at once leadto serious trouble for Zimmermann.

Zimmermann*s life would remain greatly shroudedwere it not for the long-hidden and dust covered records recently found through special search at theRoyal Library at Stuttgart, where not only recordsof his life but some of his own books were found and

specially-made photographic copies were made andsent to the writer here in America by a descendantof those mentioned herein, to be used for this history.From the records there it appears that he was a veryeminent scientist and astrologer and that it was hewho used the well known mystic pen-names of Am*brossii Sehmanni and Johan nia Matthaeus. This factwould not have been revealed except for his famoustrial and conviction by the Church. He used these

two names to conceal his identity in publishing thetruth about theological matter but finally the Churchdiscovered the auth or and he was tried. In thesebooks to which he gave his pen-name he challengedthe Consistorium to answer the charges he madeagainst the Lutheran Church and all the limited creedsof theology, and they replied that he sought “to elevate the Rosicrucians above the Apostles,*' for by thistime Zimmermann had joined the study groups andwas a strong adm irer of the work. Finally, when thetrial came, the charges against him numbered somestran ge and really com plimentary statements. Wefind for instance in the “Official Proceedings of theDucal Government of Wurtemberg, Carolus, versusMagister J. J. Zimm ermann , year t 70S* page 50, A rticle V,'* one section (setcion 2) which reads as follows:

“That this Magister Zimmermann has far excelledmany others in the astrological sciences is willingly

conceded. But of what service he was to the Church is a vital question, as he, by virtue of his sacred office,introduced his theories of astrology, magic, and cabbalism into his teachings.'*

In another section of these proceedings his faultsare stated thusly: “A profoundly learned astrologer,magician, cabbalist, philosopher and preacher .hath written under the pen name of Ambros Sehmannm iny profound and learned writings of the truths of philosophy, astrolo gy, alchemy and the comets . . .and because he, in these matters, agreed with JacobBoehme, he was discharged from his position at Bietigheim.**

In ano ther section. Section 3, it is stated: “H e became greatly interested in the writings of Jaco bBoehme, sought curious and divine mysteries therein,praised them highly, both orally and in writings, stroveto popularize them with the people, and circulatedbooks amo ng them. He did not confine himself tothese teachings wherein he deviated from our doctrines, but promulgated them wherever opp ortunityoffered, and courted the favor of such as gave himaudience." Th is section ends with the statement: “Itwould therefore have been a fallacy not to get rid of such a man!'*

The books written by Zimmermann, to which theChurch took exception, are listed in the indictment asfollows:

Theoriae Secondorum Mobilium Perfectae, publishedin 1664.

Com etologia, p ublished in f 682.Jovis per umbrosa, published in. 1686.Philalethae Exercitatio, published in 1689.Scriptura Sacra, published in 1704.Orthodoxia Theosophiae Bohmianae, published in

1691 * and twelve oth ers. It will be no ted that someof these were published a number of years after he

was expelled from all association with the Church anda number of years after his transition; for Zimmermann, as we shall see, passed away in I 694, the significant year. Thus, the terrible criticism and persecution of the Church did not stop the going on of hiswork and the spreading of his message to the world.

Zimmermann had six children. Four of them living at the time of the journey to America became active workers in the American colony of Rosicrucians.

It was while Zimmermann was at Bietigheim that,during an ailment, he called upon Dr. Ludwig Brunn-quell, the celebrated scientist, physician and mystic;and this man* not only a devoted admirer of the writings of Boehme, but a Rosicrucian Master, first introduced the writings of Boehme to Zimmermann, andthe Pro ceedings of th e Ducal Go vernment quotedabove, constantly refer to the fact that Zimmermannwhile a clergyman was “seduced into all manner of



Page Fifty-four THE TRIANGLE

supe rstitions’* by this famous Brun nquell. But thefriendship started at that time lasted all through Zim-mermann's life, and a wholesome uplifting friendshipit WM.

Now let us turn to one other man. Zimmermannwas destined to be the Master of the Lodge of membersto go to America, and as Deputy Master one JohannesKelpius was selected to be the real leader of the work in America.

To quote one writer of the early history of Pennsylvania: “Johannes Kelpius will always remain one of the most picturesque characters of our early history;the mo re so because of the air of mystery and romancewhich h as thus far enshrouded his personalityunfortunately, in his modesty, he left but little writtenrecord of the great work performed by him during thefourteen long years he lived on the banks of the roman tic Wissahickon in the mystic colony. By reasonof.iiis scholarly attainments, devout life, independentbearing*.and it may be said, broad humanity, togetherwith his^repeated refusals of worldly honors and civilpowers that were at various times thrust upon him, theMaster on the Wissahickon river stands out in boldrelief as a prominent example of piety and disinterestedness.**

Former Governor of Pennsylvania, the Hon. Penny-packer, in his history of Pennsylvania, and others, like

Watson, the Annalist, also speak highly of this Mystic,the Rosicrucian Master, as he is called in nearly allold records. But, we are able now to throw considerable light upon his life and to even quote from someof his writings which were found well preserved whileseeking facts for this history of the early AmericanRosicrucians.

During the last century there was a book publishedcalled “Transylvania Savans, outlining the life andwork of eminent men of T ran sylvan ia. Because of its limited edition copies never reached this country,but one was found in the old archives of Halle— thecity where Francke established the University in connection with his propaganda for the Rosicrucian Orderin G ermany. From this old book we learn facts of theeaurly life of Kelpius.

Johannea Kelpius was the son of Pfarrer GeorgeKelp, of Halwegen, who passed away in February of

1665, and was incumbent at the Deundorf, a town inthe district of Schassburg (Segesvar) in Transylvania.Pfarrer Kelp had three sons, and Johannes was bornin 1673. Soon after the fath er's death, youn g Kelpor Kelpius, was offered assistance by three friends—Count Valentine Francke, Burgomaster Michael Deli,and No tarius Johann Zabanius. Truth is strangerthan fiction, often, and here is an excellent example.This Count Francke was a cousin of Augusts HermanFrancke, the mystic of Halle, the Rosicrucian Master,and Count Francke was also a mystic and a Rosicrucian. Thus, you ng Kelpius was destined by fate tocome under the right influence at the right time, forhe had a natural inclination toward mysticism in hisyouth.

Either by chance (by the law) or by intention onthe part of Count Francke, he was sent to a highschool at Tubingen, the very city where Zimmermannwas teaching and speaking his philosophy and mysticism.

After a short stay at this town he went on to theuniversity at Altdorf, near Nuremberg, then at theheight of its fame. Here he received a thoro ughscientific and religious training, graduating in 1689 atthe age of sixteen. He was at once hono red with thetitle of Professor, or in the records of the old university, it is stated: “der frien Kunate und WeltweisheitDoctor,** or doctor of liberal arts and philosophy.And, his thesis at graduation was upon the subject of N atural Th eology. The title in Latin as given by himwas.* “Theologiae Naturalis, sen Metaphysicae, etc.,etc.** Th is from one who was destined to be a greatleader in nat ural theology and metap hysics. Thethesis was later published in a number of consecutiveeditions and became a contribution to Rosicrucianphilosophy.

It was while a student at Altdorf that his attenwas attracted by the head tutor at he university,Reverend Johannes Fabricus, whose pen name in mtic literat ure was “Altdorfinus/ * and a year follohis graduation there appeared a book on mysticand philosophy bearing on the title page the namboth Fab ricus and Kelpius,— Master and p upil,—unh eard of honor to a student in those days. title of the book, which was in eighteen parts,

the Scylla Theologica. Th is book was followed second and then a third on similar subjects and by some treat ises. Some of these are dedicated topatron s,—F rancke and Deli, etc.

The issuance of these books and the trend ofmind, brought Kelpius to the attention of Zimmermwhile the latter was at Beitigheim.

(To be continued),A A A

H OW TO HELP H EADQUARTERS

You must realize that our correspondence at hquarters is becoming very heavy and complicThe National Service Department has added to mail and the new Square of the Four plan will many letters, and all this in addition to reportsquiries about lectures, The Triangle, books, dcharters, literature, etc.

Now we have a request to make that will mvery little to each writer and mean a very great to us.

In the first place, address your letters propMatter intended for the National Service Departmshould be so addressed. Matter intended for theperator should be addressed simply, Imperator, carAMORC, etc. Inqu iries about lectures, books, liture, charters, lodge formations, etc., should bedressed to the Grand Secretary, care of AMORC,Letters containing corrections for lectures, common improving lectures, additions, etc., or special mfor special ceremonies, convocations, rituals, should be addressed to the Supreme Grand Macare of AMORC, etc. Paymen t of Royal Supdues, supply bills, etc., should be addressed to Ficial Secre tary, care of AMORC, etc. Report s of items for the Triangle should be addressed to

Triangle, care of AMORC, etc.But, the most important point-we wish to empha

is this*: Please, in writing your letter, put at theof it the subject of your letter. Business houses long since adopted the custom of putting at theof the letter this line: RE Inquiry for Catalog, orQuotation of Prices, or RE: Shipment of goods ordeetc. Now, our members can do this same thing.writing a long letter telling us about a lecture has not been received, please put at the top ofletter as the Erst line of the letter, RE: LECTURE NRECEIVED. In writing about a change of addresstelling us the whys and wherefores, please put attop of the letter RE: Chan ge of Address. In wrabout some books desired, put at the top of the lRE: Books Desired.

If more than one matter is included in your lemake separate paragraphs and put the line RE:

at the top of each paragraph or else put each reqon a separate sheet with the proper heading.

It will enable us to have our mail opened quand systematically, then scanned to see what clascation to put it into and immediately turn it ovethe right officer to be attended to. When we havread through four pages of interesting matter to cover that a lecture has been lost we are delayeour work.

One oth er point. Will all secretaries, treasuand officers as well as members please make RSupport and due checks or Money Orders payablAMORC FUNDS and not to officefs, the Lodge, orother way. Thank you!

In addressing any of the foregoing, always addwords: care of AMORC, 1255 Market Street, Francisco, Californ ia, (U. S. A.) .



THE TRIANGLE Page Fifty-five

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Note: Questions submitted to this departmentshould be of a nature that will interest the majorityof our members. Strict ly perso nal prob lems will notbe answered in these columns. Questions relating tothe work or teachings of the O rder are especiallydesired* but some of these may be unanswered herebecause of their secret nature; all others will be answered as fully as possible. Address such questions

to the Q uestion Dep artment , The T riangle, 1255Market Street, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A.

Q.— Wh at ona versa in tha Bible would you consideras typifying the aim or work of our O rder?

A.— Th ere is on* verse which is a favorite with the Imperator because it is a key to the fundamentalprincipal upon which all our endeavors are built.It is this: “God is Love; and he that dwelleth inLove dwelleth in God, and God in him.** It is apart of the 16th verse of the fourth chapter of John I. All our efforts should be directed towardattu ning with and dwelling in the Cosmic orDivine Peace and Harmony that exists throughoutthe universe. Call this Harm ony and Peace bythe name Love and the verse quoted above becomes significant. God is Love,'— H armo ny,Peace, Power,— all these. Attun ing ourselves

with these principles, dwelling in them, bringsabout that sublime state where these dwell withinus. O ur teachings are for the purpose of enablingus consciously to attune with these God-principlesand to direct others in their desire for the same.This particular verse from the Bible might wellbe p laced on th e wall (of every sanctum .

Q.— In some of our literat ure it is stated that it wasdecreed that the Rosaecrucian Order should notcome to America until 1915 or 1916 and that theImperator had to wait for that year before starting the work he was given in 1909; and in recentissues of the Triangle and in other matter we readthat the Order was really established in Americain the year 1694. Is the re contrad iction in this?

A.— Not at all, so far as fact is con cerned. Two importan t points are overlooked. First of all ourearly literature referring to the establishment of

the O rder here concerned the establishment of the Order in thia par ticular period. In manyplaces our literature explains, and many booksalso explain, that th e O rder has always operatedin cycles or periods of 108 years. Afte r 108year s of act ivity the re is a period of I Oft year sof silence, followed, then, by 108 years of activityagain. The history of the Order, as publishedin the American Rosae Crucis magazine for 1916,plainly shows this through all the past ages. TheImp erator went to Euro pe in 1909, as is wellknown, for the purpose of getting in touch withthe O rder an d assisting in its being establishedhera in full form as a separate jurisdiction . Itwas the right year to make such plans, for datingback 108 years from 1909 we have the year1801, the year that the last of the Rosicruciansin America conducted any of their work; anddating back 108 years from that date, we have

1693, the year that the European Rosicruciansmade their plans for coming to America, as isbeing explained, in the p resent installmen ts of thehisto ry in this T rian gle. From 1693 to 1801the Rosicrucians were active in America; from1801 there followed another period of 108 yearsof inactivity; and now we are in another activeperiod. The second point to be considered isthis: the Order, as an Order and with a separate

jurisdiction, was never established in Americaun til this period. Th e fact that Rosicrucians,initiated abroad, returned to America and carriedon some of the work, or that others living inEurope came here in a band and carried on someof the work, laying a foundation stone, does notmean that these pioneers established in Americathe O rder as an American Order. There were

many who did such pioneer work, among thembeing Vaughan and later Dr. Randolph, but theyhad not authority to establish a complete Orderhere and did not do so. The date for suck work was always set as th e year 191 6,— seven year safter th e date of the new birth p eriod, 1909,allowing seven years for preparation.

Q.— Do you recommend r eading of a book called:The Rosicrucians, Their Teachings?

A.— From time to time our Im perator has recommended certain books, the recommendations appearing in our official publications or mentionedin our lectures, but as for the book cited above wecan only say again what we have said about allboo ks claiming to be Rosicrucian expositions.T her e is not. one which is authentic o r which contains our teachings or our work. Certain book publishers have for years issued books with Rosicrucian titles for the sole reason that the title isvery appealing and assures a good sale. Seekersare looking for some information about the Rosicrucians and any book seeming to deal with thesubject sella qu ickly, but just as sur ely d isappo ints. If some en terp rising pub lisher wouldbuy a small edition of the Holy Bible and put anew cover on each copy and label it RosicrucianSacred Principles, he could sell thou sands of

copies and at the same time defraud his buyersnot at all. But the book app earing today asRosicrucian reference books are useless to thereal student . The on ly exception to this is thebook printed years ago and now out of print, butobtainable in some libraries or rare book stores.It is called The Real History of the Rosicrucians,and is by the well known and well loved ArthurEd ward Waite, of En gland. Do not be misled,however, by similar titles. One book that appeared a few years ago and which caused considerable comment because of its lack of anythingRosicrucian, was called Rosicrucian, and itsauthor’s name was given as Magus Incognito (theunkno wn Magus). It was issued by a wellknown New Thought publishing house in Chicago,and as a matter of fact its author was Mr. Atkinson, the New Thought writer, who was never initiated into the O rder and who kn ew nothing of its

“secr et teachings.'* Rest assured that an y book claiming to have the teachings of the Rosicrucianson its printed pages is a fraud, for the real teachings will NEVER be published in such form.

Q.— Is there a branch of our O rder in En gland?A.— O ur O rder in E ngland is under the same name

as the one here in America and is a part of theO rder throughout the world. The Grand Secretary of England is Mr. Raymund Andrea, andunder his direction the work is progressingthroughout England with tha principal group of students forming the Lodge in London.

Q.— What is the m eaning of the word Colombe asapplied to our Vestal Virgins in each Lodge?

A.— The word means dove, and has a similar equivalent in man y languages. Th e Vestals are theDoves of Peace and Purity in each Lodge as

well as Guardians of the Altar and the Altar Fire.In the symbolical ritual, they represent the conscience of the ind ividual. Th e word Colombe ispronounced, by universal custom in our Order,as Co-lomb, with accent on the last syllable.

Q.— Are th ere any landm arks still standing of the ear lyRosicrucians who established a colony in or nearPhiladelphia, as related in the story now appearing in the Triangle?

A.—Yes, in Fairmont P ark, Ph iladelphia, there remainsthe foundation of the first structure, upon itnow being a wooden building. It is located on theold road still called H erm it's Drive or H ermit’sLane; and not far from this structure is the oldcave or meditation place of one of the Masters of the colony. Th is cave is abo ut to be preservedby the Park Commission, enclosed by a railing,



Page Fifty-dx THE TRIANGLE

and marked by a bronze plate donated by ourO rder. Visitors to Ph iladelph ia can End muchinterest in these beautiful spots. At Ep hrata,Pennsylvania, however, there are a number of fine buildings in good preservation that were usedby the colony after it moved from Philadelphiato a more secluded locality.

Q.— Is it compu lsory for one to resign from other schools of philosophy or mystical study in order to unite with your body?

A.—No. We do not insist that our members forsakeany school of thought that has helped them or isabout to help them, nor do we ask th at theychange their religious, political or social con*nections so long as these are good, constructiveor helpful*

Q.— Do the app licants for admission to AMORC haveto pledge allegiance or obedience to any individualleader as in near ly all the oth er occult schools?

A.— E mp hatically, no ! All members must abide bythe constitution and that means that in all ritual*istic matters within the Lodge the members mustabide by the rulings of the Master of the Lodgeas an officer, not a person; and in all generalaffairs of the O rder all members must abide by

the rulings of the supreme officers, not person*alities. In no other sense are our memb ers askedto pledge obedience to person or office.

Q.— What has been recomm ended to those who desiredto make provision during their earthly life fora gift to the O rder after their tran sition ?

A.—When we have been asked this question by mailthe official answer given has always been the same.It is well, indeed, for all who have been benefittedby the Order or who wish to help keep its work going, to make some provision in the way in*timated. A few of our members have passed onin recent years without having made such provision and we are sure that it was regretted . Inone case a Brother, without kin, passed on without leaving any will or document, and his bank account of nearly $50,000 went to the State of

New York. D uring his life he was active in helping in all our problems and was devoted to thework. Pro crastination and lack of foresightmay defeat what many of our members havein mind. Th ese memb ers should make someprovision in their wills and testaments to theeffect that a certain amount or certain articlesof their possession are given to “The Ancient andMystical O rder Rosae C rucis, N orth Am ericanJurisdiction, with H eadqu arters at 1255 MarketStreet, San Francisco, California,** or to be moredefinite in the manner in which the gift is to beused, to “The Maintenance and Extension Fundof the Ancient and Mystical O rder Rosae Crucis,North American Jurisdiction/ ' etc.

Q.—Wh at books have been written and published bythe Imperator of our Order?

A — Of the number he has written in the past twentyyears, there is but one which is not out of printand which can be gotten easily without huntingthrough libr aries or stores with rare books. Itis entitled “A Tho usand Years of Yesterdays.” Itis a story of mystic revelation, purely fiction, yetdealing with hundreds of points that arouse theinterest and enthusiasm of the seeker. It hashad a very wide sale, has been favorably reviewedby the best critics in the country and has beentran slated in five different countries. The Englishedition, published by the College Press of SanFrancisco, was bound in an economical form sothat the sale price could be made reasonable.It is a wonderfully good book to loan to seekersor to be used as prop aganda for the Order. Itcan be secured from Headquarters here for 70cents per copy, postage prepaid.

Q .'-'-Are m embers allowed to w ear pins or symboand where can they be secured?

A.— New pins in symbo lical form will be r eady soand members may wear them if th ey desiThey often serve to introduce one seeker another and lead to many acquaintances thresult in new members. When the pins are readthey will be distributed to all the Lodges agroups.

Q.— What suggestions can be given to o ne who anxious to help several young people who aabout to h ave their first child and who are in neof advice, having no relatives to go to?

A.— H ere is truly a wonderful oppo rtunity to servThere are many such cases in all neighborhooand no greater work can be done than in givifriendly advice and help to those inexperiencin such matters. To help, or have any part helping, a child to come into th e world wbetter understanding and more love on the part the parents is one of the grandest works our mebers can do. Usu ally the physician is ready awilling to advise, but often he is not consultuntil the last month or so; and often his advice so professional (as it should be) that it does ntake the place of that from a friend or companioIt can never take the place of the advice given fa woman who knows to a woman who does nknow. Th e first step to tak e is to win the epectant moth er's confidence and friendship. This not done by being over ready with advice ansuggestion, but rather through the proper attituof friendliness, comp anionship and sympat hYet, the interest thus shown should not take tform of sympathy for the expectant sufferinfor at no time should the thought of physicsuffering dominate the interest or care. Githe mother-to-be good reading matter. One bothat will interest every expectant mother is tImperator* s book, **A Th ousan d Year s of Yestedays,'* because it deals with a birth and plainreveals the Divine, beautiful laws at work prto and during childbirth, and causes the mothto understand what a sacred and important pashe plays in this event. Then , h er tho ugh

should be directed to the laws that pertain to pnatal influences. The expectant mother shouknow that her thinking, as well as her doing, han influence on the brain of the unborn chiGood music, good pictures, should be afforded hand she should be encouraged to select an idecharacter for her unborn, and concentrate upit for a certain pe riod each day. In this waand many other ways that will come to minour members can help those who need help such a time. Make it you r business to find whesuch a mother-to-be lives, especially a youwoman, friendless and lonely, and devote part your time to her and her prob lem. It is, afall, not her problem, but yours, m ine, the Orderthe nation’s,— the world's greatest prob lem.

Q.— Are ther e one or two obelisks from E gypt Cen tral Park, N. Y. ?

A.— Th ere is but one; the twin of this one is on tbanks of the Thames in London.Q.— Is it imp erative for members of the O rder to

only vegetables?A.— No! If you find meat disagrees with you, lea

it alone; if there is any other reason for a vegable diet, stick to it; but the O rder does not copel you to do so.

Q.— Will the drinking of water strengthen one's aur

A.— Yes, for it will help the p hysical body to be mohealthy.

Q.— What are the dues of the N ational Lodge?

A.— The dues of the N ational R. C. Lodge are odollar per month payable by memb ers to Secretary, National R. C. Lodge, (255 MarStreet, San Francisco, Calif., U. S. A.



THE TRIANGLE Page Fifty-five

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Note: Questions submitted to this departmentshould be of a nature that will interest the majorityof our members. Strictly person al prob lems will notbe answered in these columns. Q uestions relating tothe work or teachings of the O rder are especiallydesired, but some of these may be unanswered herebecause of their secret nature; all others will be answered as fully as possible. Address such questions

to the Q uestion D epartmen t, Th e Trian gle, 1255Market Street, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.A.

Q.— What ona versa in tha Bible would you con sideras typifying the aim or work of our Order?

A.— Th ere is one verse which is a favorite with the Imperator because it is a key to the fundamentalprincipal upon which all our endeavors are built.It is this: “God is Love; and he that dwelleth inLove dwelleth in God, and God in him.** It is apart of the 16th verse of the fourth chapter of John I. All our efforts should be directed to wardattu nin g with and dwelling in the Cosmic orDivine Peace and Harmony that exists throughoutthe universe. Call this Harm ony and Peace bythe name Love and the verse quoted above becomes significant. God is Love,*— H armon y,Peace, Power,— all these. Attun ing ourselves

with these principles, dwelling in them, bringsabout that sublime state where these dwell withinus. O ur teachings are for the purpose of enablingus consciously to attune with these God-principlesand to direct others in their desire for the same.This particular verse from the Bible might wellbe placed on the wall i of every sanctum.

Q.— In some of our literat ur e it is stated that it wasdecreed that the Rosaecrucian Order should notcome to America until 1915 or 1916 and that theImperator had to wait for that year before starting the work he was given in 1909; and in recentissues of the Triangle and in other matter we readthat the Order was really established in Americain the year 1694. Is the re contrad iction in this?

A.— Not at all, so far as fact is con cerned. Two impo rtant points are overlooked. First of all ourearly literature referring to the establishment of

the Order here concerned the establishment of the Order in thia par ticular period. In manyplaces our literature explains, and many booksalso explain, that th e O rder has always op eratedin cycles or periods of 108 years. After 108years of activity there is a period of 108 yearsof silence, followed* then, by 108 years of activityagain. The history of the Order, as publishedin the American Rosae Crucis magazine fox 1916,plainly shows this through all the past ages. TheImp erator went to E urope in 1909, as is wellknown, for the purpose of getting in touch withthe Order and assisting in its being establishedhera in full form as a separate jurisdiction . Itwaa the right year to make such plans, for datingback 108 years from 1909 we have the year1801, the year that the last of the Rosicruciansin America conducted any of their work; anddating back 108 years from that date, we have

1693, the year that the European Rosicruciansmade their plans for coming to America, as isbeing explained, in the p resent installmen ts of thehisto ry in this Trian gle. From 1693 to 1801the Rosicrucians were active in America; from1801 there followed another period of 108 yearsof inactivity; and now we are in another activeperiod. The second point to be considered isthis: the Ord er, as an Order and with a separate

jurisdiction, was never established in Americaunt il this period. Th e fact that Rosicrucians,initiated abroad, returned to America and carriedon some of the work, or that others living inEurope came here in a band and carried on someof the work, laying a foundation stone, does notmean that these pioneers established in Americathe O rder as an American O rder. There were

many who did such pioneer work, among thembeing Vaughan and later Dr. Randolph, but theyhad not authority to establish a complete Orderhere and did not do so. The date for suck work was always set as th e year 1916,— seven yearsafter t he date of the new birth period, 1909,allowing seven years for preparation.

Q.— Do you recommend read ing of a book called:The Rosicrucians, Their Teachings?

A.— From time to time our Imperator has recommended certain books, the recommendations appearing in our official publications or mentionedin our lectures, but as for the book cited above wecan only say again what we have said about allbooks claiming to be Rosicrucian expositions.There is not. one which is authentic or which contains our teachings or our work. Certain book publishers have for years issued books with Rosicrucian titles for the sole reason that the title isvery appealing and assures a good sale. Seekersare looking for some information about the Rosicrucians and any book seeming to deal with thesubject sells qu ickly, but just as sure ly disappo ints. If some en terp rising pub lisher wouldbuy a small edition of the Holy Bible and put anew cover on each copy and label it RosicrucianSacred Principles* he could sell thousands of

copies and at the same time defraud his buyersnot at all. But the book app earing today asRosicrucian reference books are useless to thereal student . Th e only exception to this is thebook printed years ago and now out of print, butobtainable in some libraries or rare book stores.It is called The Real History of the Rosicrucians,and is by the well known and well loved ArthurEd ward Waite, of E ngland. Do not be misled,however, by similar titles. One book that appeared a few years ago and which caused considerable comment because of its lack of anythingRosicrucian, was called Rosicrucian, and itsauthor’s name was given as Magus Incognito (theunkno wn Magus). It was issued by a wellknown New Thought publishing house in Chicago,and as a matter of fact its author was Mr. Atkinson, the New Thought writer, who was never initiated into the O rder and who knew n othing of its

“secr et teachings.*' Rest assured that an y book claiming to have the teachings of the Rosicrucianson its printed pages is a fraud, for the real teachings will NEVER be published in such form.

Q.— Is there a branch of our Order in England?A.— O ur O rder in E ngland is under the same name

as the one here in America and is a part of theO rder throughout the world. The Grand Secretary of England is Mr. Raymund Andrea, andunder his direction the work is progressingthroughout England with tha principal group of students forming the Lodge in London.

Q.— What is the m eaning of the word Colombe asapplied to our Vestal Virgins in each Lodge?

A.— The word means dore, and has a similar equivalent in man y languages. Th e Vestals are theDoves of Peace and Purity in each Lodge as

well as Guardians of the A ltar and the Altar Fire.In the symbolical ritual, they represent the conscience of the individual. Th e word Colombe ispronounced, by universal custom in our Order,as Co-lomb, with accent on the last syllable.

Q.— Are th ere any landm arks still standing of the earlyRosicrucians who established a colony in or nearPhiladelphia, as related in the story now appearing in the Triangle?

A.—Yes, in Fairmont P ark, P hiladelphia, there remainsthe foundation of the first structure, upon itnow being a wooden building. It is located on theold road still called Hermit’s Drive or Hermit’sLane; and not far from this structure is the oldcave or meditation place of one of the Masters of the colony. Th is cave is abou t to be preservedby the Park Commission, enclosed by a railing,



Page Fifty-tix THE TRIANGLE

and marked by a bronze plate donated by ourO rder. Visitor s to Ph iladelph ia can find muchinterest in these beautiful spots. At Ep hrata,Pennsylvania, however, there are a number of fine buildings in good preservation that were usedby the colony after it moved from Philadelphiato a more secluded locality.

Q.— Is it comp ulsory for one to resign from otherschools of philosophy or mystical study in orderto unite with your body?

A.— No. We do not insist that our members forsakeany school of thought that has helped them or isabout to help them, nor do we ask that theychange their religious, political or social con*nections so long as these are good, constructiveor helpfuL

Q.—Do th e app licants for admission to AMORC haveto pledge allegiance or obedience to any individualleader as in ne arly all the other occult schools?

A.— E mp hatically, nol All members must abide bythe constitution and that means that in all ritualistic matters within the Lodge the members mustabide by the rulings of the Master of the Lodgeas an officer, not a person; and in all generalaffairs of the Order all members must abide by

the rulings of the supreme officers, not personalities. In no other sense are our memb ers askedto pledge obedience to person or office.

Q.— What h as been recommended to those who desiredto make provision during their earthly life fora gift to the Order after their transition?

A.—When we have been asked this question by mailthe official answer given has always been the same.It is well, indeed, for all who have been benefittedby the O rder or who wish to help keep its work going, to make some provision in the way in*timated. A few of our memb ers have passed onin recent years without having made such provision and we are sure that it was regretted. Inone case a Brother, without kin, passed on without leaving any will or document, and his bank account of nearly $50,000 went to the State of

New York. D uring his life he was active in helping in all our problems and was devoted to thework. Pro crastination and lack of foresightmay defeat what many of our members havein mind. These members should make someprovision in their wills and testaments to theeffect that a certain amount or certain articlesof their possession are given to “The Ancient andMystical O rder Rosae Crucis, N orth Am ericanJurisdiction, with H eadq uarte rs at 1255 MarketStreet, San Francisco, California,** or to be moredefinite in the manner in which the gift is to beused, to “The Maintenance and Extension Fundof the Ancient and Mystical Order Ro sae Crucis,North Amer ican Jurisdiction/ ’ etc.

Q.—Wh at books have been written and pub lished bythe Imperator of our O rder?

— Of the number he has written in the past twentyyears, there is but one which is not out of printand which can be gotten easily without huntingthrough libr aries or stores with rare books. Itis entitled “A Tho usand Years of Yesterdays.*’ Itis a story of mystic revelation, purely fiction, yetdealing with hundreds of points that arouse theinterest and enthu siasm of the seeker. It hashad a very wide sale, has been favorably reviewedby the best critics in the country and has beentran slated in five different countries. The Englishedition, published by the College Press of SanFrancisco, was bound in an economical form sothat the sale price could be made reasonable.It is a wonderfully good book to loan to seekersor to be used as prop aganda for the Order. Itcan be secured from H eadquarters here for 70cents per copy, postage prepaid.

Q .^-A re mem bers allowed to wear pins or symboland where can they be secured?

A.— New pins in symb olical form w ill be read y sooand members may wear them if t hey desireThey often serve to introduce one seeker toanother and lead to many acquaintances tharesult in new members. When the pins are readthey will be distributed to all the Lodges andgroups.

Q.— What suggestions can be given to one who ianxious to help several young people who arabout to h ave their first child and who are in neeof advice, having no relatives to go to?

A.— H ere is truly a wonderful oppo rtunity to serveThere are many such cases in all neighborhoodand no greater work can be done than in givinfriendly advice and help to those inexperiencedin such matters. To help, or have any part ihelping, a child to come into the world withbetter understanding and more love on the part othe parents is one of the grandest works our members can do. Usu ally the physician is read y andwilling to advise, but often he is not consulteuntil the last month or so; and often his advice iso professional (as it should be) that it does notake the place of that from a friend or companionIt can never take the place of the advice given faa woman who knows to a woman who does noknow. Th e first step to tak e is to win the expectant moth er's confidence and friendship. Thiis not done by being over ready with advice andsuggestion, but rather through the proper attitudof friendliness, comp anionship and sympat hyYet, the interest thus shown should not take thform of sympathy for the expectant sufferingfor at no time should the thought of physicasuffering dominate the interest or care. Givthe mother-to-be good reading matter. One boothat will interest every expectant mother is thImperator's book, *'A Thousand Years of Yesterdays,*' because it deals with a birth and plainlreveals the Divine, beautiful laws at work prioto and during childbirth, and causes the motheto understand what a sacred and important parshe plays in this event. Then , h er tho ught

should be directed to the laws that pertain to prenatal influences. The expectant mother shoulknow that her thinking, as well as her doing, haan influence on the brain of the unborn childGood music, good pictures, should be afforded heand she should be encouraged to select an idescharacter for her unborn, and concentrate upoit for a certain period each day. In this wayand many other ways that will come to mindour members can help those who need help asuch a time. Make it you r business to find whersuch a mother-to-be lives, especially a younwoman, friendless and lonely, and devote part oyour time to her and her prob lem. It is, afteall, not her prob lem, but yours, mine, the O rder'the n ation’s,— the world's greatest prob lem.

Q.— Are th ere one or two obelisks from E gypt iCen tral Park, N. Y. ?

A.— Th ere is but on e; the twin of this one is on thbanks of the Thames in London.Q.— Is it imp erative for members of the O rder to ea

only vegetables?A.— No! If you find meat disagrees with you, leav

it alone; if there is any other reason for a vegeable diet, stick to it; but the Order does not compel you to do so.

Q.— Will the drinking of water strengthen one's aura

A.— Yes, for it will help the p hysical body to be mo rhealthy.

Q.— What are the dues of the N ational Lodge?

A.— Th e dues of the National R. C. Lodge are ondollar per month payable by members to thSecretary, National R. C. Lodge, 1255 MarkeStreet, San Francisco, Calif., U. S. A.

amorc the triangle february 1924

Documents