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"Mankind must Ascend, but is hindered by its ignorance, malice and greed. We must prepare the way in secrecy, initiating the worthy into the mysteries and spreading the enlightenment into the world. This must be done in secrecy, lest our enemies will find and destroy us. As long as we hide among our imitators we are safe. In order to guard our secrets, we must reveal them." - from 'The Rosicrucian Philosophy'

The history of the Rosicrucians (the symbol (!) being a rose and cross) is one that is clouded by a mix of intriguing truth and legend. Therefore they are notoriously hard to take seriously, but also to get any realistic grasp of. It's origins are confused with many different accounts of their formation. Paracelsus (!), a Swiss alchemist from the 16th Century, is believed by some to be the originator of the Rosicrucians. Another tells of Robert Fludd (!) 'inventing' Rosicrucianism. What we do know is that in 1615 they posted around Paris the "Fama Fraternitatis" ("Account of the Brotherhood") and "Confessio fraternitatis", two manifestos revealing through the stories of Christian Rosenkreuz, their existence and some of their powers. They also contained a request to all the learned men in Europe to join them. In the 17th Century this was of major import, and it caught the imagination of the public. Learned and not-so-learned men were curious, and wanted to join. Parrallels have to be made here with what the MNK have done in England. They placed posters and handed out leaflets to people with an address (see the Communication Sheets) inviting them to join, but I know of no examples were they directly replied. Are the MNK only replying to select people, or were they not replying at all and simply creating a mysterious aura about themselves? The Rosicrucians managed to create a hysteria about themselves, with many people attempting to search them out to expose or join them. Men were writing books about them in which they 'subtly' implied that they were wise men (and certainly prospective members). Some people mistook these books for secret messages from the Rosicrucians themselves, and claimed the authors to be part of the secret society. Furthermore others wrote texts condemning Rosicrucianism for heresy. Eventually there were hundreds of manifestos, books and texts about the Rosicrucians, and this state of affairs soon led to orders flourishing all around Europe. It is impossible to know how many (if any) were 'real' Rosicrucian orders, how many were secretly controlled by them, and how many were simply the fantasies of deluded men. If there was an enemy of the Rosicrucians (the Illuminati? the Church? other secret societies?) it would be impossible to find the 'real thing', because for every genuine order there were hundreds of copycats, and most of these were secret.

The Rosicrucian movement has evolved. Today we find many semi-real versions of the Rosicrucian secret society like the The Rosicrucian Fellowship (!) and the AMORC Rosicrucian Order (!). It is perfectly possible that these are infiltrated by 'real' Rosicrucians (or perhaps only people who think they are the real Rosicrucians). It is also likely that they are involved with Freemasonry as there is an Order of the Rose and Cross within it's hierarchy. The Rosicrucians and the multitude of its' offspring, are likely to be similiar to the Freemasons, in that most of the people involved are innocent of accusations of international espionage, and that if there is a more sinister edge to them, then it is controlled at the very heights of their hierarchial structure. If such an organisation was seriously involved in sinister dealings, then it is unlikely for them to discuss their 'secret texts' on the internet (like the above organisations).

The Rosicrucians continually start new groups and movements and use these as fronts. They initiate the 'worthy' into the secrets, but it is likely that they do not often make them into full initiates. If this is done their teachings are more easily diffused into society. It is quite likely that the MNK is one of these 'fronts'. If we look at some of their writings we can find possible hints regarding this matter. Most important is Communication Sheet 32 wherein we find them saying that the MNK are "something that has through time appeared under many disguises", a direct reference to these different orders of the Rosicrucians. They also state that they are the "Philosopher's Stone" which in Alchemy (the Rosicrucians were involved with this) is the ultimate end of their art. The practicioners of alchemy look beyond just the gold, towards a more mythical and ultimate illumination. See the Alchemy Virtual Library for more information. The MNK continue to tell you to "do what you will", and that "every man and woman is a star" which are both direct references to the Ordo Templi Orientis (!), which was the group that Aleister Crowley (!) formed after he was expelled from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (!). In turn, the Golden Dawn was an organisation that came out of the Rosicrucian tradition. The two phrases the MNK have appropiated refer again to their basically mystical libertarianism, but they have deliberately refered to Aleister Crowley, a man who during his life was regularly described as the "the wickedest man alive". This is a sinister turn in the story of the MNK. Indeed, in Oxford, the city the MNK I believe come from, there is an 'Golden Dawn Occult Society'. It is highly likely that such an organisation as the MNK would have contact with this society.

There is an enormous amount of information about the Rosicrucians on the internet due to their position as the most mysterious, yet seemingly unsecret, of secret societies. More web sites can be found using the Netscape Search, but there is also information on them at the Order Of Hermes area of the internet.

Karen Eliot 30.10.96