The Six Traditional Laws of the Rosicrucian Order

by Sar Aurelius, a student on the Path


THE FIRST LAW:  That none of them should profess any other thing then to cure the sick, and that 'gratis'.

THE SECOND LAW:  None of the posterity should be constrained to wear one certain kind of habit, but therein to follow the custom of the country.

THE THIRD LAW:  That every year, upon the day C., they should meet together at the house 'Sancti Spiritus', or write the cause of his absence.

THE FOURTH LAW:  Every Brother should look about for a worthy person, who, after his decease, might succeed him.

THE FIFTH LAW:  The word R.C. should be their seal, mark, and character.

THE SIXTH LAW:  The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years.

These are the six traditional laws of the Rosicrucians.  By these six articles, they bound themselves, one to another, to keep their agreement, their mystical covenant.

The Six Laws appeared in print for the first time in the Year of our Lord, 1615, within the text of a book that bore the title: The 'Fama Fraternitatis' Of The Meritorius Order Of The Rosy Cross, Addressed To The Learned In General, And The Governors Of Europe. The Latin words, 'Fama Fraternitatis', are translated, simply and directly, as the fame or reputation of the fraternity or brotherhood.  In a broader and better sense, the word, 'Fama', means the legend, the mythical story that surrounds and protects the truth within.  'Franternitatis' may broaden out to mean association or an assembly, just as the term first used by the Greeks and, subsequently, by the Romans for assembly-- 'ecclesia'-- broadened out to mean a church.  So the best definition of 'Fama Fraternitatis' is, probably, the Legend of the Order.  The 1615 book fulfilled that title in that it recited the origin myth of the Order.  It told the story of the founder, C.R.C., Christian Rosenkruetz; his life and works; the creation of the Order; and, of the six laws that were their articles of association.

The law that is the first is also the most important for it states their purpose: That none of them should profess any other thing then to cure the sick, and that 'gratis'.

To take this first law literally would be to imply that the Order was an early 17th Century medical association; and, this was not the case, although-- then as now-- the healing of disease and the conforting of the sick is among the highest of human professions.  We are given the insights necessary to interpret this first law by an examination of another book that was published as a companion text to the 'Fama'.  This other book was titled the 'Universal Reformation', which was a fairly literal translation excerpted from a larger work previously published by the Italian Humanist, Trajano Boccalini,  Many historians of the Rosicrucian movement have considered the 'Universal Reformation' to be unrelated to the Order since it was essentially an amusing satire of an attempt by the god, Apollo, to improve the conditions of the age through the assistance of the wise men both ancient and contemporary to the time.  In this satire, the condition of humanity is symbolized as being an old, disease-ridden man.  In an attempt to heal this sick man-- this corrupt humanity-- Apollo gathers seven wise men to a meeting on Mount Parnassus; and, there, they debate the cause of mankind's infirmities and possible cures.

Though most historians consider the 'Universal Reformation' to be just coincidental with the 'Fama'  and not really germaine to a study of the Order, I consider it to be absolutely essential to an understanding of what the Order intended to accomplish. By the beginning of the 17th Century, the "learned of Europe" (to whom, the 'Fama' was addressed)  was waiting for a great, general reformation far more radical and widespread then that accomplished by Martin Luther and the majority of Protestant Europe.  This was to be a reformation that not only continued the moral improvement of mankind as advocated by the Protestant reformers, but was to extend past the religious element into the realms of art, science, literature, and education.  The excesses and hinderances that Luther found in the Roman Catholic Church of his time with their sale of indulgences, concubinage, and so on, and that he so vehemently attacked was paralleled in all other avenues of human endeavor.  Science, in particular, was hampered by the oppressive, time worn authority of Aristotle.  Astronomy had been retarded by the 1600 year old writings of Claudius Ptolemy.  The Cpernican theory of a sun-centered universe was under attack by both Catholic and Protestant forces that used certain Bibical passages to try and maintain an earth-centered view of time and space.  Giordano Bruno had just been burned at the stake for stating that there may other worlds in space like ours; and, that may be inhabited.  It is in response to this much anticipated and broader scoped reformation that brought the Order such publicity and prominence.  The Order became the lens that focused the hopes and dreams of an oppressed society into a movement that nurtured the legitimate aspirations of much of Europe.  The Order bridged the gap between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; building on the former and giving birth to the latter.

Since the vast majority of the people lived in such wretched conditions-- physically, morally, and intellectually-- that it was viewed under the symbol of a diseased old man, it was then implicit on everyone to become a doctor of the heart, a physician of the soul.  The universal panacea for such a diseased condition as mankind existed in, was, of course, the ancient and, unfortunately, little used Christian concept of 'caritas', charity.  That special charity--tolerance, compassion, love-- that allows for freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the freedom of the indiviual mind to soar to the limits of its particular abilities, thereby opening doors and crossing thresholds to new illuminations in all aspects of human religion, politics, and endeavors.

So, we-- all of us-- are obliged to honor this first and most important law of the Order to heal whatever "sickness" of whatever type we encounter, whether it resides in a loved one or a friend, or if it is in society as a whole.  And, we are obliged to do so-- as it says-- 'gratis', free of charge.  We should seek no personal advantage for being of assistance to those around us and to our society and to our world.  But, more than that, the Latin word, 'gratis', is closely related to another Latin word, 'gratia', grace.  In Christian tradition, grace is a gift from God, and it is given freely by God to those who are worthy.  In other words, if we allow ourselves to be open to it, the Divine Spirit will function through us.  This energy which we might style as the God Of Our Heart uses our human condition as a lens by which the Cosmic Mind can focus on correcting the infirmities of humanity.  Each of us can make an impact on the world, and the Master Within each of us-- if listened to-- will guide us along the correct (and personal) path. And, this law is so vitally important at this point of time when terror has become a companion to many psyches; and, war wreaks its devastation on both the evil and the innocent inhabitants of many lands.  War- that least desirable of all human conditions-- is a fact.  War is offensive to any rational human being; and, points up the need for better intellectual instruments to resolve differences of opinions before they degrade into slaughter.  Yet, in the absence of peaceful correctives, war-- like radical surgery-- may be in fact the only available remedy we have at the moment to excise oppression and dictatorship.  Each of us is obliged to search the innermost reaches or our heart and mind-- a loving heart and an informed mind-- to find what is within us that we can contribute actively in the future that will, hopefully, negate the need for wars.  Be you, then, physicians; starting with those nearest and dearest to you.  But, before you even do that, do as is suggested in the 'Universal Reformation' : cleanse your own soul "from all fallacies, hidden vice, hatred, and counerfeit love." Physician, heal thyself... then heal others.

Because of its primacy and relevance to current events, I have dwelt on the first law.  Now I would like to briefly touch on the other five.

The Second Law states: None of the posterity should be constrained to wear one certain habit, but therein to follow the custom of the country.  On the simplest level, we conduct ourselves as do all members of whatever society we live in; and not, for example, the Hare Krishnas, who wear some distinctive robe.  But, more than this simple level, we do the work as outlined in the First Law within the context and customs of our particular and individual society.  Our works manifest within the cultural context of the society in which we live.  In America, we do it the American way; in Poland, we would manifest according to Polish tradition. It is the work that is important; the trappings in which that work appears are not.

The Third Law says: That every year, upon the day C, they should meet together at the house 'Sancti Spiritus', or write the cause of his absence.  This term-- "the day C"-- has been variously interpreted as the day of Corpus Christi, the day that the body of Christ was taken intact into heaven according to Christian tradition; and, it has also been interpreted as Christmas Day.  Neither is correct.  Indirectly, the day 'C' goes back into Pre-Christian Rome, where the calendar was divided into two sets of dates called 'Fas' and 'Nefas'.  'Fas' refers to what is permitted; 'Nefas' to what is not permitted.  On a 'Nefas' day-- a holy day-- certain business activities were not permitted.  These holy days were indicated by the use of the letter 'C'.  More directly, the Latin letter 'C' conceals the Greek letter 'C', which looks very much like our English letter 'X'.  This X-form is composed of two lines crossing and represents a celestial crossing point.  It symbolizes the crossing in space of the Sun's apparent pathway in the sky, called the Ecliptic, and the Celestial Equator, that imaginary extension into space of our world's own Equator.  The Sun moving Northward on the Ecliptic crosses the Celestial Equator on the first day of Spring; this is the Spring or Vernal Equinox.  This is the day 'C'.  This is the day that our Order celebrates the New Year.  And, we do so at the house called 'Sancti Spiritus', the house of the Holy Spirit.  The Latin words, 'Sancti Spiritus'-- Holy Spirit-- is qualified by their final letters, which place them in what the study of Latin calls the ablative case, which indicates ownership or possession.  Just as we say that the Supreme Temple is owned or possessed by the membeship of the Rosicrucian Order, so the endings indicate that the Holy Spirit is possessed by someone or something.  This someone or something is God.  God, alone, possesses the Holy Spirit and its residence or house.  God, alone, possesses the house of the Holy Spirit; and, that house is this earth upon which we dwell.  This line of thinking also occurs in the traditions derived from the Knights Templar, who had the avowed goal of freeing the city of Jerusalem from the Moslems. What they didn't say, except privately, was that the whole world was the New Jerusalem they envisioned.

The Fouth Law states:  Every Brother should look about for a worthy person who, after his decease, might succeed him.  On its basic level-- and, perhaps, appropiate to its time when Rosicrucian thoughts were heretical-- this law referred to the transmission of ideas and the work by a one-on-one master-to-student arrangement.  In its broader connotation, today, we would sday that the dissemination of the Order's ideals-- by whatever means-- would satisfy this law.

The Fifth Law: The word R.C. should be their seal, mark, and character.  The letters R.C.-- not the word Rosicrucian-- would seal our work, mark our efforts, and characterize our aspirations.  A leading Rosicucian at the time of the 'Fama', Michael Maier, wrote a commentary on the Laws, in which he states that the letters R.C. refer both to Caesar and to Pegasus, the Flying Horse.  In the year 45 B.C., Julius Caesar revised the calendar of Rome and gave us the Julian Calendar, which with minor modifications is still in use today.  His calendar corrected deviations, fixing-- in particular-- the Spring Equinox, that day 'C'.  The reference to Pegasus the Flying Horse is one of those trivial bits of history that, when recognized, give us insight into the thinking of the people of that time.  Behind the Ecliptic, the Sun's apparent pathway through the sky during the year, are placed twelve constellations or star-patterns that we call the Zodiac.  One of these constellations, Pisces the Fish, contains the Vernal or spring Equinox position in our epoch of time.  Between the two fish of Pisces, and slightly above them, is the constellation of stars called Pegasus the Flying Horse.  In the Greek myth concerning Pegasus, at one point, it says that Pegasus flew down near the earth and one of his hooves struck the ground on a mountaintop, and from this hoof-strike a spring erupted to water the land. (The gentle rains of Spring) The mountain that Pegasus struck was called Mount Parnassus, the very place where Apollo held his meeting with the wise men as recounted in the 'Universal Reformation'.  In the sky-- if one were to consult a chart of the heavens-- one would find that one of Pegasus' front hooves stands just above the point of the Vernal or Spring Equinox during the time 1604-1615, the origin of the Order and the subsequent publication of the Rosicrucian Manifestoes.  So, Michael Maier is alluding to that point of time that heralds the appearance of the Order under the Rosicrucian name.

So, Maier has given us the Macrocosmic coordinates. Yet, according to the dictum-- As Above, So Below-- we must also seek a further explanation on the Microcosmic level.  Before I present the interpretation which best fits the data, I must sketch a quick context within which this interpretation occurs.  Remember that in the early 17th Century, Europe had developed within the Christian tradition; the Church had been dominant for well over a thousand years; and, that this phenomena which we, today, call Protestant was new and ill-defined.  The Rosicrucian movement, was of the time and place, but not truly part of this Protestant phenomena.  To use a modern label, we might style the movement as a more Gnostic type of Christianity rather then Protestant or Catholic.

We read the letters R.C. from left to right as is common to both Latin and English.  But, if we read them from right to left as was common to the Greeks and use the Greek letters for R and C, we have Chi for C and Rho for R.  The Greek letters Chi and Rho, taken together, form the traditional monogram for Christ.  In a veiled form, the writers of the 'Fama' were expressing their inherrent Christian background.  But, remember, this Christianity was not what we would style as Protestant or Catholic, but nearer to an early Gnostic type as expressed by Origin or Eusebius, both of hwom recognized the Christian phenomena as being of an antiquity that pre-dated the appearance of Jesus; and, both of whom had their writings condemned as heretical a few centuries after their time.  Rather then concentrate on the Crucifixion as the preeminent act as the Catholics did; rather then concentrate on the Resurrection as the supreme message as the Protestants did, the Rosicrucian Gnosticism saw a transcendent Cosmic Christ-- the Cosmocrater similar to Byzantine Orthodoxy, and herectical in the West-- that was mystically immanent in each individual. They did not place Christ on a cross separate and remote from humanity, but a living divinity  inherrent in the soul of each individual. Today, we use a broader term that transcends any particular dogma, by referring to the God Of Our Heart or to the Master Within.  The labels are not important, the inner truth is.  To a greater or lesser degree, each of us have an element of the divine resident within us at all times and, which, allows us to be the authors of our own salvation.

The Sixth Law states:  The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years.  That sounds very straight forward; actually, it isn't.  The Order should remain not secret but secreted-- held like a treasury in our hearts, protected as something of great value-- not for a hundred years, but forever.  The reference to one hundred is a play on words for the German term of 'Gross-hundert', the Great Hundred, which is 120.  We say the word ton to mean a unit of weight; but, do we mean the short ton of 2000 pounds or the long ton of 2240 pounds.  The German  Great Hundred is 120.  And, that figure of 120 is referenced to years, but not years of 365 and a quarter days.  The Latin term 'annos' means "years"; but, it can also mean "units of time". And, in this context, the 120 years refers to 120 units of time which follows a particular cycle of the conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn which moves through the Zodiac in 20-year increments following a cycle which, with correctives included, parallels the Precession of the Equinoxes in cycles of 2160 years; a non-stop cycle that constantly repeats and implies eternity. So, the Order shall remain within us forever in our inner treasuries.

These, then, are the Six Laws of the Rosicrucian Order... then as now.  So Mote It Be!


Sar Aurelius