Rosicrucian Timeline (continued)

Pythagorean School (mid-6th century - 492 BCE)
The Pythagorean School was founded in Crotona, Italy and was therefore called the Italic school. Pythagoras taught that Unity was the first great law of the universe, and that from this Unity arose numbers, from numbers points, from points lines, from lines planes, from planes solids, and from solids the four principles (fire, air, water, and earth) of which the world is composed. This mystical understanding of the universe has far outlived the actual school of Crotona, including many Greek philosophers following Pythagoras, and has influenced much of western thought in one form or another. Rosicrucian philosophy embodies many of these concepts. Until 1847, vegetarians were known in English as "Pythagoreans."

Eleusis (1800 BCE - 500 CE)
The Eleusinian Mysteries arose in Eleusis (12 miles from Athens) before spreading to all of Greece and beyond. The mysteries were based on the myths of Demeter, the goddesses of fertility, and her daughter, Persephone. The initiations were presented in three stages, what are known as the minor expression, the major expression, and the highest of the three -- the epopteia. These Mysteries were so important that during antiquity, the whole Greek world held a 55 day truce from all fighting to permit travel to and from Eleusis. The progressive concept of initiation and its effect on the individual is continued in Rosicrucian Initiation.

Isis Mysteries (4th century BCE - 6th century CE)
As the Hellenized Egyptian mysteries of Isis spread throughout the Mediterranean world, from the Middle East to Britain, they soon became one the most widespread exports of Egyptian spirituality. Many suggest that the Isis-Horus pair continues in images of the Virgin and Child. These Mysteries addressed the desire for personal transcendence and salvation, and a powerful image of the protective, nurturing and victorious Divine Feminine.

Mithraic Mysteries (2nd century BCE - 5th century CE)
An initiatic mystery school in which students were gradually introduced to astronomical truths through symbol, and how the knowledge of these could lead the seeker to union with the power behind all existence. This combination of scientific study, symbolic initiation and cosmic union is a feature of Rosicrucian work.

Hermetism (from the 1st century BCE to the present)
Based on the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the Hellenized form of the Egyptian God Thoth, Astrological and other scientific texts began to circulate in Alexandria and the Mediterranean during the 1st century BCE, and Alchemical texts somewhat later. Philosophical/spiritual texts appeared from the 1st century CE. The Hermetic tradition was honored by practitioners of Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Jewish, Christian and later Islamic religion, and many believe it represents a continuity with the teachings in the Egyptian Temples and Mystery schools. Hermetism inspired many Renaissance mystics and scholars, and modern evolutions of this tradition are often referred to as Hermeticism. Hermetism emphasizes the organic connection of the Divine with the earthly ("As above, so below") and points the way to return to the source of being. Rosicrucian philosophy is heir to the Hermetic tradition.

Gnosticism (1st century CE to 14th century CE)
One of the early varieties of the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition, the various groups we call "Gnostics" today emphasized the individual coming to personal and interior experiential knowledge (Gnosis) of the transcendent Divine One which is within the innermost being. This Gnosis then allows the person to enter into union with the source of all existence. Persecuted in the Mediterranean in the 4th-5th centuries CE, Gnostics continued their spiritual practice, moving to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Northern Italy and finally Southern France, where they were driven underground in the 14th century CE. The interior center of knowledge is a familiar theme that manifests in Rosicrucian studies and practice.

Neo-Platonism (3rd - 6th centuries CE, influential to the present)
The last flowering of the Classical Greek philosophical tradition, the Neo-Platonists synthesized the approaches of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras and others, addressing the individual yearning for salvation from a philosophical viewpoint. This philosophical school provided ways that the individual could ascend the ladder of being through theoria, contemplation of the Divine. Neo-Platonic approaches have continued to be of tremendous importance in Jewish, Eastern & Western Christian and Islamic Mysticism, as well as the esoteric schools, including Rosicrucian thought.

Qabalah (from the beginning of Judaism to the present day)
The Qabalah is traditionally the knowledge handed down by Jewish mystics since the beginning of Judaism. At the beginning it was taught only by word of mouth and in the greatest secrecy. There are strong connections to Neo-Platonism, the Sophia tradition and Martinism.

Alchemy (first written documents in 3rd century CE)
It is said that Hermes Trismegistus, to whom the Emerald Tablet is attributed, instituted alchemy so as to "manifest on Earth the power and wisdom of the gods." The goal of the alchemist is to transmute that which is base to that which is pure. Carl Jung (1875 - 1961) understood alchemy to represent the process of Self-realization. Includes both physical and spiritual alchemy, and its concepts are part of the Rosicrucian curriculum.

The Templars (11th century CE to 14th century CE)
A monastic order of Knights originally created to protect European pilgrims in Palestine, the Templars became much more, and there is evidence of their contacts with counterparts in the Muslim world, working toward a common spirituality as part of the Primordial Tradition. Rosicrucians are considered heirs to Templar esotericism.

The Sophia Tradition (12th century - present day)
This inner path of union with Divine Wisdom (Sophia) is represented throughout the western spiritual traditions, including the Jewish (Qabalah), Western Christian (Jacob Boehme, Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin), Eastern Christian (Vladimir Solovyev, Sergei Bulgakov) and Islamic Sufi ('Ali Ibn al-'Arabi) paths, as well as in western esotericism. The primacy and simplicity of the mystical marriage with the Divine Sophia within, not relying on complicated external systems, resonates powerfully with the Rosicrucian approach.

Rosicrucianism (1614 - present day)
The Rosicrucian tradition emerged in Europe with the publication of the three Rosicrucian manifestoes, Fama Fraternitatis, Confessio Fraternitatis, and Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz; published in 1614, 1615, and 1616 respectively.

Martinism (beginning in 18th century France to the present day)
From a historical perspective, the origins of Martinism go back to an 18th century organization known as the Order of the Elus-Cohen, founded by Martinez de Pasqually (1717-1774.) The Traditional Martinist Order is an initiatic Order and a school of moral chivalry based essentially on Judeo-Christian mysticism. Its name is derived from that

of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin (1743 - 1803), the French mystic and author. It was formed into an Order by the esotericist Papus in the late 19th century, and is now conducted under the auspices of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.

Rosicrucian Order, AMORC (1915 - to the present day)
In 1909, Harvey Spencer Lewis, traveled to France and accepted the charter to reestablish the Rosicrucian Order in America, which he did in 1915. Since then the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC has served as a spiritual path for hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world.