amorc the triangle july 19,1921

8/2/2019 AMORC the Triangle July 19,1921

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PUBLISHEDMONTHLYBYTHESUPREMELODGE

ANCIENT ANDMYSTICAL ORDERROSAEICRUCIS

1255 MARKET STREET SANFRANCISCO. CALIF.

No. 5 JU LY 19th, 192! Price 5 Cents

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That there may be n o further desire on the par t of inquirer s for definite statem ent s as tO-'tko.J>rigjn andauthority of the A. M. O. R. C. in North A mer icar/and Pthat the Supreme Officers may be relieved of the unnece ssary correspond ence incident to settin g forththese facts, we are prin ting h ere in “b lack and. wh ite’*(as the saying goes---and as some think is quite inorde r) the following precise, unveiled an d signedfacts:

THE NAME “AMORC”

This is an abbreviation of the name of the Orderin North America and some other lands. Here in theUnited States the first Supreme Council of the Orderdecided to use the nam e ent irely in the EnglishLanguage because we were informed that the lawsof some States did not permit the incorporation of abody with a foreign name. Hen ce the first nam eadopted was Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rose

Cross, as appears on the first Charter issued by thisfirst Council meeting. Later we learn ed that the Supreme Lodge could be incorporated with a Latin nameso the name was partly changed to ANCIENT ANDMYSTICAL ORDER ROSAE CRUCIS. Th e full andcomplete name of the Order in all Latin countries isANTIQUAE ARCANAE ORDINIS ROSAE RUBEAE etAUREAE CRUCIS (abbreviated to A. A. O. R. R. A.C.), which may be l iberally translated into “The Ancient and Arcane (secret or mystical) Order of theRed Rose and Golden Cr oss.” W e find this Latinform of the name is still used in Ind ia, Egypt, Fr an ce,Spain, Japan, China, Russia and some other countries,whereas in England and the North American Conti nent the shorter English form is used, abbreviated intoA. M. O. R. C., and in Denmark and East India andsome other places the Latin form is slightly changedto fit the native langua ge. Th e nam e as we use ithere in America is the authorized form of the truename of the Order or Brotherhood of the Rosicrucianswhich comes to us from antiqu ity. (In many foreigncountries the Latin name of the Order is hidden underthe initials A. A. or A. A., A. A. or sometimes A- A.A. based upon the repetition of the letter A in theLatin name.)

THE AUTHORITY FOR THE ORDER

The A. M. O. R. C. in North Am erica w as startedas a branch sponsored by the Supreme Executive orHierophant of the ANTIQUAE ARCANAE ORDINISROSAE RUBEAE et AUR EAE CRUCIS of Fran ce. Itremained such unti l after i ts organization here was. completed, when it was made an independent body

with a separate Jurisdiction, but with full affiliationwith all other separate jurisdictions of the A. A. O.R,, IJv A. C. throughout the world. Th e Suprem eHierophgn| /who- thu s gran ^d the rights and pow ersfor the OrdW fiv. America: was Count Raynaud E. de Bellcastle-Ligne, who w as. also Injperatpr of diction of Aquitania^ with headquar ters in Toulouse,Fran ce. This jurisdiction of Aquitania , as a*1ju r isdic **tion of our Order, was created in the time of CBar la—magne and the first lodge of our Order, eventually theGrand Lodge, held its opening convocation in the year804 or 805 A- D. The first Gran d Master w as Free sand he received his authority through one Arnfeud, aphilosopher in Charlemagne’s School of the Palace,who journeyed to Egypt to secure the auth ority. TheGrand Lodge and i ts powers continued through manygenerations and centuries up to and including thewell known Don Martinez de Pasqually de la Tour(the teacher and master of L. C. de Saint-Martin),who in I 754 revised the work of the O rde r an d gre atlyenlarged the Jurisdiction to include all of France. (Fordetails of the history of the Order in France see pages21 an d 22 of the M arch, I 9 I 6, issue of the Am eric anRosae Cr ucis, also Art h ur EL W aite’s “Life of Lou isClaude de Saint-Martin.)

Count Bellcastle-Ligne and his predecessor as Im-perator of the A. A. O. R. R. A. C. held documents andwarrants bearing continuous authority from the t imeof Arnaud and Frees, and under these paten ts thepresent Imperator of the Order in North America wasempowered and authorized to proceed with the organization of the Order here, and was initiated intothe Order under the authority of Bellcastle-Ligne andhis associates in Toulouse, receiving the name “Pro-fundis” as Fratre, and also the Master’s jewel (GoldRosey Cross), manuscripts, symbolical keys, some rarebooks, a cartouche-seal from Egypt, altar lamp, codes

and a number of other secret articles.The powers, papers and authority thus conferred

upon our present Imperator were the first to havebeen conferred upon any American cit izen by the A.A. O. R. R. A. C. and no similar authority has beenconferred upon any one else for America since then,despite the fact that just before, during and after theImperator’• visit to Toulouse, France, six other Amer-"ican citizens, some of them high in official circles olAmerican fraternal movements, were in France and'even Toulouse for the same pur pose. Th e failure oPthe mission, the denial of their requests, is responsiblefor the organization in this country of a number o f: Ro sicr u cia n . movements*- some of which- are wait ing3for the transit ion of our present Imperator or for the2

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Page Two THE TRIANGLE

failure of his work so that a possible opportunity tosecure leadership and power in the Ord er may boseized. But the auth ority of one Im perat or i« nottransmitted to another in this manner and our presentImperator's successor was decreed some time ago.

“GENUINENESS” OF THE ORDER

For the above reasons and for-many others, it ispositively stated th at the A. M. O. R. C. in Nor thAmerica, under the direction of H. Spencer Lewis(Profun dis) as Imperator, is the only Roaicrucianmovement, order, fellowahip, fraternity, Lodge, Groupor what-not, having the Rosicrucian author ity descending from Egypt and India thr ough the earlyfounders of the Order and the Hierophant and Im-perators of France, and retaining the ancient, absolutely original and secret traditions and powers of Amenhotep IV (Akhn aton, Pharoah of Egypt) th etraditional founder of the order's mysteries and monotheistic teachings.

AFFILIATIONS

The A. M. O. R. C. is affiliated ---and connectedwith, in fraternal relations with, acknowledged by,and in exchange with --- all other foreign Lodges orJurisdictions of the Rosicrucians who hold and operate

under the same powers, papers of authorities and patents as does the Ord er here in Amer ica. Th ese foreign branches of the Ancient Order include the Supreme Shrine of the A. A. O. R. R. A. C. in Cairo,Egypt, the Illuminati of the A. A. O. R. R. A. C« inCalcutta, India, and La Loge. Suprem e Rose Cro ix of Fran ce of th e A. A. O. R. R. A. C. and-*bth ers, fromthe Grand Masters and Supreme Officers of which ourImperator holds letters and papers of fraternal relation ship, We are NOT affiliated with any other Rosi-

€Tucian society in this country or any other, nor withany fraternity, fellowship or movement using the wordRosicrucian. The Rosenkreutz Order in Germ anywas (and is) a branch of the A. A. O. R. R. A. C.)

“OUR TEACHINGS”

Only the form or fundamentals of our rituals, the“landmarks” of the Order and the underlying lawsand principles of all our teachings are like unto the

rituals and teachings as issued by the Order in thedays of old. In all cou nt ries an d jurisdiction s theteachings especially have evolved in keeping with theevolution of man and the progress of the arts andsciences. To believe that any practical knowledgeapplicable to our present needs and evolution could bederived from a study of the ancient Rosicrucian teachings without change or modification becomes a ridiculous thought as soon as one reads the many booksstill in existence containing extracts or whole sectionsof the writings of the ancient Rosicrucians. For thisreason the lectures and teachings of our Order havebeen constantly revised and amended, and added to byadvanced minds in the Order so that the fundamentalprinciples adhered to will reveal the utmost of nature’slaws and operation s. In this w ay, th is sense, theteachings of the Rosicrucians always were in advanceof any other school of philosophy and science, andalways will be. But little of ou r teachin gs, few of th ephr ases, are today as the old Masters used; but thesecret laws, the secret fundamentals and traditionalprinciples are still preserved and unknown to otherschools.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the A. M. O. R. C. of North Americadoes NOT include membership in any FOREIGNLodge or branch of this Order any more than woulcLit .embership in the French or Spanish Lodge of theOrder include membership in the Indian or EgyptianLodges. But mem bership in the A. M. O. R. C. of North America does include membership in the general Order of A. M. O. R. C. in all lands where it isestablished with the privilege of visiting and attending'sessions after members here have reached a certain

status, as has always been the custom . Mem bershipfees and du es paid to the A. M. O. R. C. of Nor thAmerica by any member are contributions solely tothe support of the work in this country and not forany rights or privileges in any international or foreignbody. (The same principle holds in other secret andfraternal movements in the U. S. A.)

ESTABLISHMENT

On February 8, 1915, the present Imperator of theOrder in North America called together nine men andwomen who were representatives of various schools of advanced thought in New York and with the Moonin Sagittarius and other signs indicating the nature of the meeting, he presented to them his papers, powers,rights and authority, and solicited their assistance incarrying out the decrees of the Masters. Comm itteeswere appointed to investigate all the claims, powersand authority the Imperator (then merely the officialLegate of the Order) possessed, and instructed to addto their committes other men and women in the citywho were prepared to assist in the great work*

The result of this meeting was that on the first dayof April, 1915, a meeting of thirty men an d wom enselected from over 100 who volunteered their assistance and moral support, met and elected a temporarychairman and finally organized themselves into theFirst Suprem e Council of the Ord er in Amer ica. Th iscouncil, acting under a pronunziamento issued by theLegate of the Order, issued the First American Charter, elected the Supreme Officers and created the firstlaws and steps of procedure for the establishment of the Ord er in all States. This charter, signed andsealed, is one of our precious American documents.Thereafter branch Lodges were established and in thesumm er of 1917 a convention was called of all theMasters, officers and delegates of all Lodges of theOrder in America and at this first National Conventionthe proposed Constitution of the Order in NorthAmerica was voted upon, section by section and finallyadopted in its present form, and the Imperator wasofficially declared the acknowledged Imperator in accordance with the Constitution. All Lodges of ourOrder today operate under this Constitution.

ORGANIZATION

The Imperator of the Order is the Chief or SupremoExecutive. The Suprem e Grand Master, Geor ge R.Chambers, is President of the Supreme Council andMaster of the Supreme Grand Lodge. Th e Supr em eCouncil is composed of the Masters of all the Lodgesof the North Amer ican jurisdiction. The Suprem eGrand Lodge is composed of all the Masters and highdegree members of the Order in North America livingin the various cities of the North American Jurisdiction. It is the Suprem e Spiritual body condu cting thespiritual and metaphysical affairs of the order and directing all its esoteric work while it advises and recommends the exoteric activities through the SupremeCouncil. Grand Lodges are the govern ing Lod ges ineach State or division of the territory in the NorthAmerican jurisdiction. Subordin ate Lodges are lo

cated in small and large cities of the various State*and in Mexico, Canada, Alaska and the various territories and dependen cies of the United Stat es 'o f Am erica and also in the cent ral Am erican coun tries. Dispensation Lodges, study groups and preparatory centers located in many small cities throughout the NorthAmerican continent are under the direct supervisionof the Supreme Lodge, while the subordinate Lodge*are under the jurisdiction of their respective Gran dLodges. The Amorc College is incor porat ed as aseparate institution and is under the jurisdiction of the Suprem e Council. Other esoteric bodies- andmovements carrying on separate branches of the work such a** prison welfare, child w elfare, Ch ur ch w ork ,public lectures, research work and a department forthe promulgation of the universal language, are underthe direction of the Suprem e Grand Master or the De*5



THE TRIANGLE Page Three

or this name and i t will prevent the use of these symbols or names or even a simulation of them by anyother person or movement o ther than our Imperatoror our Order .

OTHER MOVEMENTS

There are known to be seven different Rosicrucianmove nlen ts—-called societies, fellowsh ips, fr ate rn itiesand colleges in the United States today. All are doin ggood work in the spread of uplift, helpful principles,but not one of them are patented or chartered by oraffiliated with the A. M. O. R. C. or A. A. O. R. R.A. C., nor do they use the name which we use; andnothing said on this page should be taken as discreditable to them. W e wish merely to define, clearly andwithbut evasion, our position and our connection inregard to all other movements in this country andelsewhere.

“Spbuh anHmrrrii a nil aatii nnlo lijrm: ilfst ray lljtB ulm pir

ani) !« lljrr* bags 3 mill rata* il op.”—3fnlfn 11:19

Signed and sealed this 17th day of July, 1921, A. D.,

HARVEY SPENCER LEWIS, F. R. C., Im perato r, San Francisco, California.

W

partment of Extension, th e Departmen t of W elfare, orthe Ministraro of the Supreme Council, or in the handsof competent individuals who are acting under the direction of the Imperaton

OUR RIGHT TO THE NAME AND SYMBOLS

After a complete search and official publication of the intention, the United States Government hasgranted to our Imperator through the Patent Officeletters patent giving to him personally the sole rightto use the name and term ANCIENT AND MYSTICALORDER ROSAE CRUCIS, the several triangle symbolsas used to designate the Order, the symbol of the RoseCross, the Cartouch symbols, and other symbols unitedto designate the official name or label of our Order’steachings, lectures, diagrams, rituals, magazines,books, photographs, etc. , in ei ther printed or typewritten form. This is the first paten t protection thathas been given by our Government on such symbols

attb ( iu m lu r a

For some months seekers who contemplate unit ingwith us and who make inquiries at different pointsregarding the several “ Rosicmcian ” movements inAmerica, have been falsely informed in regard to oneincident in the history of our AMORC which should

be truthfully presented to those who have demandedan explanation for at least two year s. Again ou rsilence in regard to such matters has been mistaken.We must speak now, especially because of a very recent letter.

This letter, sent to one who sincerely and honestlyinquired of the Societas Rosicruciana in America (S.R. I. A.) about their organization and ours, containsthis misleading and insinu atin g “light’*:

“In reply to your inquiry we can state most positively that Mr. Harvey Spencer Lewis is not nor has heever been directly or indirectly associated with thisBrotherhood. We have his application for mem bership in our Metropolitan College, New York City, andsame was rejected by that body June 5, 1915. Weare well advised of his activities in organizing the so-called “An cient an d M ystical Order Rosae Crucis.**Our principles^lo not permit us to make further comment or to give furth er inform ation on th e subject.**

The important point in the matter is not that this“Rosicrucian Society’* (not O rder or Brotherhood)denies that Mr. H. S. Lewis is a member of their College, for this would in no way determine whether Mr.Lewis was a Rosicrucian or not, since he has neverclaimed to be a member of their College or any othersimilar College or Society. Th e officers of the S. R.I. A. may consider that membership in their Society(admittedly created by a few men in recent years)is the sole determining factor as to whether a man isentitled to Rosicrucian recognition or n ot, but t h * inv-

portant point, however, is that it is claimed that MrLewis sought admission in that Society and was deniedadmission. Here are the absolutely correct facts:

About the first of January, 1914, Mr. Lewis noticedin the World Almanac of that date a statement that-

among other Societies in New York City there was onecalling itself the Societas Rosicruciana, teachingamong other arcane subjects the principles of Druid-ism, Rosicrucianism, etc. At that time he was work ing on the preparatory plans and matters for the establishment of AMORC in America during the comingyears, as he had been authorized to do, and was surprised to find a society in New York using the term“Rosicrucian .’* He had been dist inct ly informed bythe Rosicrucian Master in France in 1909 that therewas no Rosicrucian Order in America and he believe<ithat he alone was the empowered Legate or representative of the old Order with sole rights to establish theOrder in America. Ther efore he wrote to the 5. R.I. A. secret ary at the add ress given in the W orld Almanac and formally asked for l i terature or information about the S. R. I. A., as was offered by them.

In the course of a few days a let ter was received

from the S. R. I. A. stating that they could not givedetailed information of their origin unless inquirer firstsubmitted an application blank for mem bership. Th etone of ' the let ter and the reading matter at the head of the lettersheet promised much information. Ther efore:Mr. Lewis filled in the application blank and sent itto the Secretary along with a letter in which Mr. Lewisexplained that he was "not unfamiliar with the his

tory, philosophy, and entire propaganda of the OrderRosae Crucis .’* He also explained that he could n otbecome a member of the S. R. I. A. and was sendingthe application blank to them as requested with the-understanding that “he was in no 'way obligated by so doing/ ’



Page Four THE TRIANGLE

Now, the S. R. I. A. had the right and privilege of refusing to send any further information to Mr. Lewtswhen he clearly stated his connection with the OrderRosae Crucis and that he could not affiliate with anyRosicrucian Society. Mr. Lewis did not con ceal th efact that he was not seeking membership in the S. R.I. A., but simply wanted whatever facts of their organization and pu rpo ses they cared to give him. Hegave the S. R. 1. A. h is hom e add ress and h e w as called

up on the phone several days later and pointedly askedif he intended to labor in connection with the FrenchRosicrucian Order in / \merica an^ whether he was inpossession of any documents, papers of authority, etc. ,from France. Upon answerin g that he w as in posses-sion of the first papers of this kind to be given toAm erica, the officer of the S. R. 1. A. sta ted he w ouldwrite an official letter to Mr. Lewis.

Here is the letter, in part. It has been in our filesall these years and hundreds have seen it after havingread the statements made by the S. R. 1. A. in connecttion with this matter . The letterhead be ars the fullnam e of the S. R. I. A. with t heir sym bol* and sealsand is dated from Grantwood, New Jersey, the homeof one of the officers and the headquarters of the Society at that time. It can be seen by anyon e wishingto see it, or complete copies will be sent to any of ourmembers who requ ire it . Only the beginn ing and

closing of the letter are important.“Grantwood, New Jersey, Seventh January,

Ann o MCMX1V. (Janu ary 7, 1914.)

“My Dear Mr. Lewis:

“Your recent letter to the Secretary-General hasbeen referred to me for reply.

“I fear there is some misunderstanding, as you statein your letter that you enclose the signed applicationblank with the distinct ‘understanding that you are inno way obligated by so doing/

* * * * * Fu rt h er m or e, if, a s y ou st at e, y ouare not unfamiliar with the history, philosophy andentire propaganda of the Rosae Cru cia’ you m ust beaware of the extent to which it has conserved its practises and operations in the past, and th e same isequally true today.

“However, laying aside the matter of the misunderstanding, 1 shall invite you to send a p hon e call to Mr.George Lewis, Rector 5355, the Senior Magus of theS. R. I. A. He will arr an ge for a per son al interviewat wh ich the w riter will also be. pre sent .

“We should be glad to have the pleasure of MAKING YOUR ACQU AINTANCE, AND IT MAY BEPOSSIBLE THAT SUCH A STEP MAY LEAD TOMUTUALLY PROFITABLE AND ADVANTAGEOUSRESULTS.

“Trusting you will arran ge with Mr. Lewis sometime during the morrow for the interview above mentioned, believe me,

“Very cordially yours,

(Signed ) K.HEI, F. R. C.. O— X.”

(“Khei” acknowledges being the chief executive of th e S. R. I. A .)

W ithout waiting for the morrow, Mr. H. Lewiscalled Mr. George Lewis on the phone and at the lat-ter’s suggestion a luncheon engagement was arrangedfor the following day or the day th ereafter. Mr.George Lewis, Mr. Khei (George Plummer) and.otherswere present. It tur ned out to be a bat tle of wits,for the officers of the S. R. I. A. refused to committhemselves except to explain their plans and hopes inr<gard to founding a society of Rosicrucian seekersand students in New York City, and asked th e cooperation of Mr. H. S. Lewis to the extent that heabandon his activities in behalf of the A. M. O. R. C.Mr. H. S. Lewis refused to do this. He offere d to cooperate with them in connection with any plan tend*ing to bring seekers-together and into a body of trueRosicrucians, but could n ot assist in th e form ing o f a

body to be known a s the Societa* Rosicruciana inAm erica. Ther e were no ill-feelings or criticisms dis- -played or sensed at this interview, nor in any interview, conversation or correspondence since then, andit was followed, on invitation, by a visit to a downtownbuilding by Mr. H. S. Lewis to have a further interview with one of the officers who was an editor of abusin ess and financial magazine. Mr. H. S. Lewis, th epresent Imperator of A. M. O. R. C., was at that time

conducting a very successful advertising business, being engaged by the very largest firms in New York toprepare their special advertising and business literatu re. He nce Mr. H. S. Lew is and th e S. R. 1. A. officer had several interviews on general business andcommercial affairs without touching upon the matterof 'Rosicrucianism any furth er than already stated.W hen th e S. R. I. A. some time later issued on e of itsofficial pamphlets, a copy was sent by them to Mr. H.S. Lewis, and there the whole matter ended.

No other correspondence passed between the Imperat or of our Order and the S. R. I. A. He nevermade any furth er request for literature and neversought to become a memb er of the S. R. I. A. W hythe officers of the S. R. I. A. therefore should nowstate that on June 5, 1914, they refused him admissionto the Ord er is incomprehensible. W hy did it takefrom January to June for the officers to decide thatone who distinctly stated he did not desire to obligatehimself to unite with them, could not be admit ted? And why did he never hear of this point until A. M.O. R. C. became very active three years later ? An dsince they see fit continually to refer to the fact thatour Imperator wrote to them asking for conditionssurrounding membership to their Order, why do theynot state also wh at was meant in their letter of Jan uary 7th when they said: “It may be possible thatsuch a step may lead to mutually profitable and advan tageous re su l t s? ’* And why do they not repeatwh at is also in that letter of Januar y 7th, viz: Inwriting to the S. R. I. A. and complying with their requests our Imperator clearly warned them of his position and motives and was seeking the information theyvolunteered “with the und er standing^that 1 am in noway ob ligated by so doin g?*’

Perhaps their “principles do not perm it** th em togive furth er information on the subject. All in all,

the matter is of little consequence except that someone who is now sending forth officially signed letter*from the S. R. I. A. is doing a good movement and.some good men a great injustice through the misrepresentation of facts to injure and deter the work of another and to mislead inquiring minds.

Again our Imperator states (as he has done in public prints and all our literature for several years):“I have never made application for membership intoany other Rosicrucian Order or Society but the onewherein I was accepted and empowered to carry onthe work of the A. M. O. R. C., nor have I ever madeapplication- for mem bership in any secret body andthen denied admission; and I challenge any one toprove such a statement and make the matter a casein any Court of Law.”

(Signed) SUPREME SECRETARY.Approved:

(Sign ed ) H . SPENC ER LEWLS,July 16, 1921.

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

This issue of the Triangle containing the Pronun-ziamento 777 should be freely distributed by our members and one or more copies preserved by each member for future reference and use in answering thosepertinent questions asked by inquiring members regarding the standing of our order. W e hope that thestatements made in this issue are final and will nothave to ber reprinted in-th e near future. Th ereforem ake good uso of thi* issue. Extra co pies will b«supplied for your Lodges or from headquarters as long:^s the issue lasts.

amorc the triangle july 19,1921

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