Rosicrucian
Although some people believe that the Rosicrucian following is relatively new considering other much older beliefs, Rosicrucians claim much earlier beginnings for themselves than can be documented. One group even claims ties to Thutmose III, about 1500 B.C. in Egypt (Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, 1915).
Their founder is generally claimed to be Christian Rosenkreuz, supposedly born in 1378 and died in 1484 (Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, 1915). However, the Encyclopedia Britannica, says, "Some regard the story as a statement of fact and hold Christian Rosenkreuz to have been the found of the order. More generally it is held to be a mythical explanation of the order and Christian Rosenkreuz is not a real person at all, but a symbolic character".
Rosicrucians are found world-wide as well as in North America. One faction in the U.S.A. known as AMORC (Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis) is located in Atlanta, Georgia where my uncle is an active Lodge member.
I became more curious about my uncle's involvement after the death of his aunt, (my great-aunt), Carrie, who also was Rosicrucian. Little to my knowledge, my uncle was greatly influenced by her beliefs in practicing this following.
When hearing about the Rosicrucian, one automatically images a picture of a cross and a rose. I asked my uncle, Nathan, what this symbol represented. He stated that the symbolism includes a Christian-looking cross, with either a rose in the middle, or a cross surrounded by roses (Benowitz, 2007). However, the cross of the Rosicrucians is not the cross of Christianity. The "Rosy Cross" does not rep ...