rosicrucian digest, march 1942

8/12/2019 Rosicrucian Digest, March 1942

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t i f u l p r i nt i ng i s t h e p l a c a rd e nt i t l e d T h e C o nfe s s i o n l o M c ic it ."

M a a t is t he E g y p t i a n w o rd f o r trut h . It s m ys t i c a l a p h o r i s m s h a ve

b e e n re pe a t e d w i t h b e ne f i t by R o s i c ruc i a ns t h ro ug h o ut t he w o r l d .

Th e s e t wo p l a c a rd s a re o f f e re d t o R o s i c ruc i a ns f o r t h e i r h o m e s

a nd s a nc t um s t he y a re e q ua l l y a s i ns p i r i ng t o no n- R o s i c ruc i a ns

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ROSICRUCIAN SUPPLY BUREAUS A N J O S E , C A L I F O R N IA , U. S . A .

T HE IN S TI TU T IO N B E H I N D T H IS A N N O U N C E M E N T


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C R O S S I N G T H E T H R E S H O L D

Fr om out of the world of darkness, folly , superstition, and ignorance, into the light o f self- knowledge andunders tanding, steps the Neophyt e. He is over - whelmed by the irradiance of the Cosmic lig ht which envelopshim. W it h his eyes set upon the T orc h of L ight, he is led into the T emple of the Greate r L ife, w here the myseries of the univer se are unfol ded to him. Unt il one has crossed the thres hold of his inner consciousness , he has

never been initiated into the sanctuary of the soul.(Court es y of- the Rosicr ucian Diges t.)


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S b ia n C fe K eyA ,

sta st k e PouteAA, j& j M t z fyn iu eSiAeG E O M E T R I Z E S , s a id a n anc ie nt

s a g e . W i t h i n t h e s t ra i g h t l ine , c urv e , a nd

a n g l e a n d t he i r c o m b i n a ti o n s e x i s t t he f o r ce s

o f c re a t i o n. T h e s e secret symbols conta in the

m ys t e r i o us l a ws o f t he uni ve rs e . U p o n t h e i r r i g h t

us e o r t h e ne g l e c t o f t h e m t he s uc ce s s o r f a i l

u r e o f e v e r y h u m a n e nt e rp r i s e d e p e nd s .

H a ve yo u a d e s i re , s o m e t h i ng y o u wi s h t o a c

c o m p l i s h in l i f e ? Put yo ur f i ng e r o n a d o t . I n

w ha te v e r di r e c t io n y o u m ov e y o ur f in g e r f r o m

t h e d o t , y o u ha ve m a d e a b e g i nni ng . T h us a d o t

i s t h e s ym b o l o f o ne o r a b e g in n in g . Y o u r de

s i re t h e n i s a l s o s ym b o l i z e d b y one. I f y o u f o l lo w

the p r o p e r m e t h o d o r wa y t o a c c o m p l i s h wh a t

y o u w a nt , y o u ha v e a r r iv e d at p o in t two. W h e n

e ve r t he s e t wo s ym b o l s a re b ro ug h t t o g e t h e r t he

i de a a n d t he r i g h t w a y y o u p r o d u c e p o in t three th e s ucc es s o f y o ur p la n . S ucc es s , th e r e f or e , is

s ym b o l i z e d b y t h e t h re e e q ua l s i d e s o f a t r i a ng l e .

I n p l a n n i n g y o u r p e r s o na l a f f a ir s b us i ne s s ,

d o me s t ic , o r t he w e l f a r e o f y o u r f a m i l y d o y o u

use a C o s m i c f o r m u l a ? D o y o u d e t e r m in e w h e t he r

y o ur ac ts are in ac cor d w it h D iv in e tr ut hs e te r

n a l l y e x p re s s ed in s y m b ol s ? W h y d oe s t he

c i rcl e re p re s e nt c o m p l e t i o n? W h y i s i t s a id

t h a t a m a n i s o n t he s q ua re ? T h e s e sym-

THE ROSI CRUCIANS, AM OR C

hols are used by astronomers and scient ists to

p r o v e t h e p hy s i c a l la w s o f t he u n iv e r s e w h y

d o n t y o u a p p l y t h e m t o t h e p r o b l e m s o f y o u r

e v e r y d a y w o r l d ? L e a r n w h a t s y m bo l s , a s p ow e r s

a nd f o rc e s o f na t ure , yo u c a n s i m p l y a nd i n

t e l l i g e nt l y use i n d i re c t i ng t h e c ours e o f yo ur

l i fe .

L e t t h e R o s i c ruc i a ns ( no t a re l i g i o us o rg a ni z a

t i o n ) , a w o r l d w i d e b r o t h e r h o o d o f l e a r n i n g , r e

ve a l t o yo u t h e s y m b o l i s m o f s u c c e s s fu l l i v i ng .

J i m t M i U G I F T B O O K

I f y o u w a n t t o p r e p a r e y o u r s e l f t h r o u g h u n d e r

s t a nd i ng f o r t h e g re a t e r re wa rd s o f l i f e , wr i t e f o r

t h e f a s c i na t i ng f re e Se a l e d B o o k . I t e x p l a ins h o w

y o u m a y rece iv e th is ag e- ol d w is do m . U s e th e

c o up o n b e l o w.

S c r i b e S , P . C .

T H E R O S I C R U C I A N S , A M O R CS a n J o s e , C a l i f o r n i a , U . S . A .

P l e a s e s e n d m e t h e F r e e , S e a l e d B o o k . I a m in t e r e s t e di n k n o w i n g h o w I m a y o b t a i n t he m a s t e r f u l R o s ic r u c ia nt e a c h i n g s .

N a m e ..... ...............................................................................

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.


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ROSICRUCIAN DIGESTC O V E R S T H E W O R L D

T H E O F F I C I A L I N T E R N A T I O N A L R O S I C R U C I A N M A G A -

Z I N E O F T H E W O R L D W I D E R O S I C R U C I A N O R D E R

M A R C H , 1942

Crossing the Threshold (Frontispiece)....

Thought of the Month: W h a t S ho uld W e R e a d ?

A Demonstrat ion of Alchemy

Sacred Cit ies of the Andes: Land in the Sky

The Mystery of Fire

Research A t Rose-Croix University

Myster ies of Old Maya 's Cu l ture

Rosicrucian Scholasticism

Cathedra l Contacts : Is Knowledge Essential? ...

A Myst ica l New Yea r

Sanctum Musings: The Artistry of Living

The Temple of the Sun (Illustration)

Subscrip tion to the Rosicrucian Digest, Three Dollars per year. Single

copies twentyfive cents.

Entered as Second Class M atte r at the Post Offic e at San Jose, C ali-

fornia, under Section 1103 of the U .S . Postal A ct of Oc t. 3, 1917.

Changes of address must reach us by the tenth of the month preceding

date of issue.

Statements made in this publication are not the official expressions of

the organization or its officers unless stated to be official communications.

Published Monthly by the Supreme Council of

T HE R O S IC R U C IA N O R D E R A M O R C

R O S IC R U C I A N P A R K S A N J O S E , C A L IF O R N I A


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T H E

THOUGHT OF THE MONTHWHAT SHOULD WE READ?

S E E & By T H E IM P E R AT O R

HERE is no shortage in the literature market. Infact, it is becom

i n g c o n g e s t e d .Has the bri l l ianta r r a y o f g l o s s ycovers and colorf ul j a c k e t s o nn e w s s t a n d s o rbook shelves, vyi n g w i t h e ac hother for eye appeal, ever had you

w onde r ing w hat to read?W h y not beg in by as king your sel f.

" W h y do I re ad? " Obv iously , a certainamount of reading is utilitar ian: that is.

it is essential to your work and for thereceiving of instructions. Ev ery person,in our complex state of living today,must do at least that much re ading. If,however, he stops at that point, he isgoing to deny himself many experiences. pleasures, and even the opportunity to make the best of his immediate

wor ld.

T ake , for ex ample, the individual(and unfortunately there are thousandsof them) who never reads anything butthe comic strip and the advertisementsin his daily news paper. Such a person,

for analogy, might be very fond of animals, and enjoy visiting the zoo in hiscommunity. T hat zoo may have recently received, as a temporary loan fromanother institution, a very rare speci-

T h e men of a South A merican mammal.

Rosicrucian No w w ould derive very much pleas-n . ure from vis iting the zoo and seeingUigest an jma] especially if he had anyM a r c h statistical facts and information about1 9 4 2 it. A ll of such information might ap

pear in his daily newspaper, perhaps ona page devoted to his citys cultural activities . But. he does not read "s uchmatte r' so he misses the enjoy ment he

might have had.Let us f urther suppose that a Mr . X

buys an inex pensive camera. He is notinterested in photography, and in factknows nothing of its fundamental principles. T he salesman in selling him thecamer a told him to push this and

turn that" when he is to take a photograph. and he knows nothing more.Howe ver . Mr . X does like to keep afamily record of outings and gatherings, and of events in which he and hisfriends have participated. Ev ery timehe ex hibits his photog ra phs, he is o-

bliged to make some elaborate excuses.T hey are either over or under- exposed,or the composition makes the characters in the photograph look facetious orridiculous. His friend exhibits well-lighted portraits with balanced composition. and this is immediately apparent to all who see them. T heir superiority stands out, and yet this friendhas a camera no more costly than hisown.

Mr . X apologetically tries to ex plainthat his camera is just a cheap one afterall, and that he does not want to be a

photographer, and at least you can seew ho the per sons arc and recog nize themin the photog ra ph. Reg ardles s of hisremarks, he is secretly envious of thesuperb pictures taken by his companion.How is this all ex plained? T he friendpurchased a little, inexpensive handbook on photography. He does not

w an t to be a commer cia l photog rapher,nor does he even aspire to be a highlyproficient amateur. O n the other hand.


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he doesw ant suf ficient know le dg e abouthis camera so as to get the utmost results and enjoyment from it. Mr . Xdoes not know how much pleasure hecan derive from learning how to masterhis cameraby readingsomething a bout

it. B y passing up reading, he passes upinterests that really concern him.

Y ou w il l f ind that y ou hav e no hobbyor no interest about which there has notbeen some simply written and effectivebook prepared upon the subject, that

w ould mak e y our pas time so much morepleasurable if you read it. Reading canenlarge your experience. T o resort tothe above analog y ag ain. T he man w iththe camera, or Mr . X , could perhapsafter several months of conscientiouseffort and pers onal experimentation-

be able to use his camera as efficiently,so far as results are concerned, as if hehad purchased and read the little handbook on photogr aphy. However , lookat the time and materials he would needto waste, not to mention probable damage to his camera. If, as the old adagesays, T w o heads are better than one,then certainly several experiences or anumber of them as embodied in a bookare better than those limited ones hadby one individual.

Select first then, reading which willfortify you, reading which you can use,for that is the most important type ofliterature. Mak e your first readingfactual, so that when you finish a book

y ou w il l no t feel that y our time hasbeen wasted. Re ad a book or magazinethat contains information which you canuse at home, at work, or which develops

y our min dcauses y ou to think. S uchreading does not have to be dry or uninteresting. W ha t do you l ike? W ha tis your hobby? Ho w w ould you like toimprove your job or health? A nswe rsuch questions, and you are immediate

ly selecting your own reading matter.There are books in any bookstoreorin your public librarythat conform to

y our per sonal spheres of inte re st . Sincey ou hav e an af fection for certa in subjects or certa in interests in y our life,obviously then, books in plain languagerelated to them can never be dry or uninteresting. Mos t so- called dry booksare usually on subjects in which thereader has not the slightest interest.Even Little Red Riding Hood is dry

reading if your interest hungers for another type of literature, for after all,dry literature is that which bores or becomes monotonous or does not stimulate ones interest.

The word study has an ominous

sound and appearance to many people.It reminds them of compulsory application to something that does not pleasethem. It is reminiscent of their schooldays when they were obliged to devotetheir attention to topics in which, aschildren, they had no interest. On theother hand, for example, such a persontoday, as an adult, might be deeply interested in radio, and consequently hethinks nothing of reading very carefully, studiously in fact, a book or article w hich may be entitled, T he F unctions of V acuum Tubes. T o another,this same topic, this same book or article, might be very dry because thereis no corresponding interest in it.

T he reader of this book remembersw ha t he has read, and w il l in al l pr obability use much of the data he haslearned from it. W h a t difference existsthen, between his reading of the bookunder such circumstances, and studynone whatever . Fo r a homely definition, we might say that study consistsof learning how to do something youlike. T he first demands of your read

ing, as said, should be study, and in thesense just described. T he topics maybe history, music, art, travel, geography,mathematics, sewing, cooking, child culture, carpentry, radio, or domestic science. W hat ev er it is, like it, read it,and remember it.

Y ou can balance y our reading , however. T hat is, you can use re ading forrecreation. Such literature will be notably fiction. In reading f iction, youshould not endeav or to remember. Itshould not be a conscious effort on your

part. In fact, when y ou read fiction,y our cons cious ness or mind is not themotivating force behind the ideas. T heauthor is. His w ritings should carry

y ou along with little or no effort on yourpart. In non- fictional works , the opposite is true, whether the subject isphotogr aphy or sewing. T he usual procedure is that the author relates facts,similies, makes deductions, and then it isincumbent upon you the reader torelate them to your interests and to


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T he

Rosicrucian

D i g est

M a r c h

1 9 4 2

apply them, or else the effort of readingsuch works is valueless.

A g ain , in f ictio nal w rit ing , the aut horinvariably creates a problem or situation; that is, he establishes an incident,lays a background for it. and then proceeds to explain it. His imagination andhis reasoning carry the reader throughout, and with the exception of a few ofthe classics, little or no lessons arelear ned f rom such fictional re ading except such morals as the author himself wants to point out or make. Co nsider such fictional reading as amusement only. T he only benefits are relaxation, and, if classical literature orthe works of a better type author, theyprovide you with an addition to yourvocabulary, an elaboration of it.

Do not deceive yourself by thinkingthat because you are reading fictionregularly, in fact a great number ofsuch works, you are a reader in thestudious sense, and that you are doing

y our nec es sary share of rea ding . Somany persons labor under such a self-deception and illusion. If yo ur readingis all fictional, it is unbalanced. It maybe just an escape, a get- away f rom improving your mind and i/our affairs.

A ls o do not be co nf used by the bestsellers of the month appeal in advertisements. Sometimes they are the bestsellers of the month because the context of the books is the filthiest, mostrisque, most racy and immoral, whichcan just evade condemnation and suppression by the Jaw. M an y intelligentreaders have picked up a "best sellerthat has sold possibly 500,000 copies,and have been amazed that such trashcould sell. T here is no mys tery aboutit. It is just definitely a reflection uponthe taste and intelligence of the readingpublic. If a best seller is profuse withprofanity, slang, and plots involvingsex relations and intimacy, promiscuity,throw it aw ay . Ev en if it has sold tenmillion copies, it is not worthwhile literature. Do not make the mistake ofthinking that good fiction which isclean, well- wr itten, and uses a goodvocabulary, is necessarily dull or uninteresting. Read some of the worksof Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, andDumas. Y ou w ill find thrills and adventure, yet they are well- written and makeno appeal to the lower elements andnature of man.

Beware of most of the pulp magazines. A few, though fiction, are clean,inspiring, fantastic perhaps, but purelyentertaining. Unfor tunately, the ma

jo rit y are relate d to sex ex periences , attacks, perversions, infidelity, and aredegrading, cause mental depression,

and often neurasthenia. Conse quently,most of the pulp magazines are of theundesirable class, and the very illustrations on the cover disclose that. T he

w or st ty pe of these pulps are thos e tha trelate all of the sordid details of crimes

mostly sex crimes under the guiseof a kind of public education and dissemination of usef ul information. Othersare those pulp periodicals containingthe stories of illicit love and romance.

W h a t does any one g ain by rea dingthem? A momentary fascination, per

haps, followed afterwards, if they haveany self- respect, by disg usta sort ofbitter mental taste remains. T here isnothing anyone really wants to remember in the reading of such wor ks. Infact, no one w ould even w ant to discussthem in polite society, or even to revealthe fact that he has read such magazines, with their perverted love andromance themes. Pers ons do not even

w ant them in their liv ing room or anywher e in the ir home wher e friends andacquaintances can see them. T hey areusually put out of sight, all of which

indicates that in the readers bettersense and judgment he knows they aretrash. A good many people contactthem and then leave them. T hose w horeject them are the persons who aresearching for something else that isbetter. Writers of good fiction arelearned people, people who can expresstheir thoughts in simple, forceful, andmov ing language . Moreov er, their descriptions of places and of lands and ofpeoples are ones that you should trulyrepeat and remember, for in the ma

jo r ity of instanc es they are fac tua l. A

good fiction writer usually has done extensive travelling, is very observant,and has also done considerable researchon the factual things contained in hisbook.

If you do not want to study, that is,to read along the lines of your personalinterest, work, or hobby, then at leastread one good news magazine weekly,such as for example, Newsweek , pub


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lished here in the Unite d States. Readsuch a periodical so as to keep abreastof the times, and get the staid, conservative opinions of schooled writerson matters of current events. Do notrely upon the blasting comments that

come out of your loud speaker, whichare usually distorted, and which almostall reliable news writer s abhor. Suchnews periodicals would take you anhour once a week to read, but by them

y ou w il l hav e a vehicle or me dium tomove your consciousness out and be

y ond the border of y our house, city ,and your country.

Further, do not get the picture magazines habit or , as one re ader callsthem, the barber shop magazines. T hereis nothing that so destroys the goodreading habit as the indolent method of

skimming through a magazine profusew it h picture s, and v is ually snatc hing

their brief captions as you turn thepages. Good reading makes you thinkin a pleasant sort of a way. and without extreme effort. It causes you toform y our ow n mental pictures. A s weoften hear, a photograph may tell usmore than a thousand words, but itusually asks and answers its own ques

tions, and is limited to what it reveals.No photograph, for example, of athunderstorm late at night, experiencedby one alone in a deserted house far outin the country or in a remote section,can ever arouse the human emotions

w it hin y ou, as can the fo rc eful w or dsof a skilful writer describing the experience. T he w riter makes his wordsbecome keys that unlock your imagination and your memory, and consequently, on the screen of your consciousness,

y ou s upply the pictur e. It is a picturew hic h is int imat e to y ou, w hich y ouhave formed, and about which you haveno doubt. Ev ery detail of it is a product of y our own mind. In a picturemagazine, someone else has suppliedthe photograph and you must accept itas it is. T rue, there are some subjects

that are best studied or understoodthrough being presented in photographform, but they are in a minority. Schoolsand colleges have not and w ill no t discard texts for pictures. T hese picturemagazines, are at their best as portrayers of happenings or events, or foramusement. W e do not have to read,to live; but no one fully lives in thisday and age who does not read.

A SPLENDID NEW BOOKWhen Egypt Ruled The East

T hirty- five Hundred years ag o a great Empire came into existence on the Nile, andflourished for over three hundred years, and then gr adually declined. It was the birthperiod and place of nearly every great custom and practice which we cherish today inour civilization. Ou r lang uage, for example, finds its roots in the ancient E gy ptian, andmany of our principles of painting and sculpture wer e ev olved there. T he first belief ina sole God, or monotheism was conceived during t hat period by our illustrious A men-hotep IV .

W e are happy , ther efore , to announc e and bring to y our attentio n the fact tha t a mostauthentic new work on Egy pt, entitled "Whe n E gy pt Ruled the East, has just been released this month. O f par ticular importance to Rosicrucians are the follow ing facts aboutthis book. First the aut hor , Dr . Ge or g St eindorf f, is the consulting Egyptologist of theRosicrucian Eg y ptian, Orie ntal Museum. His photogr aph, taken in the Memphis Templeof the Rosicr ucian Muse um, w as published as the frontispiece of the June, 1940, issue of

the Rosicrucian Digest, where he was at the time classifying some new exhibits. SecondDr . St eindorf f's Cha pte r on the lif e of A menhot ep IV , our tr aditional Rosi cr ucia n Gr an dMaster of antiquity, is a particular ly inspiring one. T he publisher of the book is a noteduniversity and they refer to Dr. Steindorff as "The greatest living Egy ptologist." Thebook is simply and forcefully written, and contains elaborate illustrations, many of thempublished for the first time. It is beautif ully bound, with the cove r reproducing a portionof a tomb mural as its design. T he large book relates heretofore undisclosed facts aboutcertain periods of Egypt, and with its index and bibliography is the most modern authentic reference w ork of its k ind today. It is priced at $4.00, which includes the postage , andcan be obtained direct from the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau, where stock is available tomembers a nd non-members.


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T he

Rosicrucian

D i g est

M a r c h

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A Demonstration of AlchemyB y D r . H . S p e n c e r L e w i s , F . R . C .

( T h e A m e r i c a n Ro s a e C r u c is , J u l y , 1 9 1 6 )

M a n y o f t he a r t i c les wr i t t en b y o ur la t e I m per a t o r , D r . H . S pen cer Lewi s , a r e a sd ea t hles s a s t im e. T ha t i s , t hey a r e co ncer n ed w i t h t ho s e la ws a n d pr i n c i ples o f l i fe a n dl i v i n g whi ch a r e e t er n a l , a n d t hus n ev er lo s e t hei r e f f i ca cy o r t he i r i m po r t , a n d a r e a shelpful a n d a s i n s pi r i n g when r ea d t o d a y a s t hey wer e when t hey wer e wr i t t en f i v e , t en ,f i f teen , t wen t y o r m o r e yea r s a g o , a n d l i k ewi s e w i l l co n t in ue t o b e a s he lpful a n d a si n s t r uct i v e i n t he fut ur e . F o r t hi s r ea s o n, a n d fo r t he r ea s o n t ha t t ho us a n d s o f r ea d er s o ft he "Ro s i cr uci a n D i ges t ha v e n o t r ea d m a n y o f t he ea r l i er a r t i c les o f o ur la t e I m per a t o r ,

w e ar e g o in g to a do pt th e e di to r ia l po li cy o f p ub li s hin g in th e Ro s ic r uc ia n D ig e s t ea chm o n t h o n e o f h is o ut s t a n d i n g a r t i c les s o t ha t h i s t ho ught s w i l l co n t i n ue t o r es i d e wi t hi nt he pa ges o f t h i s pub l i ca t i o n .

H U R S D A Y nig ht,J u n e 2 2 , 1 9 1 6 ,t he r e w a s g i v e nto the officers andcouncilors of the

S u pr e m e G r a n dL o d g e i n t h eT e m p le in N e w

Y o r k , a demonstration of the ancient art, or science, of transmutation. It was thefirst t ime such a

convocation was held in America, andit may be several years before a similardemonstration will be given again. EachGrand Master is permitted to give, during his lifetime and term of office, one

demonstration of the ancient processw hereby the tr ansmut at ion of met al is

accomplished. B eliev ing that the timewas ripe for such a demons tr at ion be

fore the members who have been studying the laws which underlie all transmutation, our Imperator and GrandMaster General made preparations forthis most interesting manifestation ofthose fundamental laws so thoroughlycovered by the lectures of the First,

Second, T hird and Fourth Degrees ofour Order.

T he preparations consisted in w riting upon fifteen cards the six or seveningredients used in the process and the

eight or nine accessories, including asmall pair of tweezers, a small chinadish, piece of gauze, pail of filtered

w ater, etc. A ls o, on one ca rd w as w r itten 'a piece of or dinar y zinc, size about

y 2 inch wide, one inch long and 1/32 ofan inch thick, while on another card

was w ritte n small am ount of pure nitric acid for testing the zinc. T hesecards were drawn at random by themembers of the Fourth Degree on theprevious T hursday night. By this meansfifteen of the members of the Councilactually possessed, c o lle c tiv e ly , the

c o m p l e t e f o r m u l a f o r t h e p r o c e s s ,though individually each found that,except for the zinc and nitric acid, thearticle called for on the card was easilyobtainable in the home or on the street

w ith lit tle or no ex pense. In fact, eachtestified that the ingredients used, outside of the zinc and nitric acid, couldbe safely taken into the mouth andswallowed, and that some were evenused in cooking in the home.


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Each member was pledged to secrecynot to rev eal to any ot her member,or anyone else, what was written on thecards, and all were pledged not to unitethe fifteen parts of the formula untilthree years after the transition of the

present Gr and Master General. Eachmember was then told to bring the articles called for in carefully wrappedpackages and to hold them intact untilcalled for.

On the night of the demonstration allwer e on ha nd pr omptl y at eig ht oclock.In order to meet the demand for oneoutside and disinterested witness, a representative of the New Y or k W o r ld seditorial department was invited. Because of his presence a ceremony wasarranged which did not include any of

the secret rituals or work. T he T emplewas specia lly dec or ated w it h be auti fulred blooms. Bes ide the usual crucibletable stood a table draped w ith the altarcloth and symbols and an Americanflag. A ll officers were in full reg alia.

A f te r an openin g pray er an addr es swas g iven by the G r and Mas te r G e n

eral, as follows:

W e are assembled in Holy Convocation tonight in this T emple to demonstrate for the first time in this countrythe actual realization of the dreams ofour founders. For a hundred years ormore the Elder Brothers of our Orderin Egypt worked at their crucibles and

wres tled w ith the pro ble ms of alche myin an attempt to apply the fundamentallaws of our philosophy and science. A tlast they succeeded, and transmutationon the material plane, according to thelaw of the triangle on the materialplane, was demonstrated. A nd it hasnever been demonstrated outside of ourOrder.

Y ou have had ex plained to you inthe First, S econd and T hird Degrees

these same fun da m e nt al laws. Yo uknow the true laws underlying the composition of all matter and its qualitiesand classification. Y ou k now the realdifference between glass and wood, airand water, flesh and mineral; and youknow the true and actual difference between a piece of granite, a piece of lead,and a lump or gr ain of pure g old. Y ouknow that by altering or modifyingthese differences you will modify the

physical propertythe quality, the expression, of these minerals. A ll this yo uknow . Y ou have received the absoluteknowledge in our lectures and demonstrations. Y our unders tanding of thegreat principles and laws of God and

nature is based upon facts, whereas allaround us we see and meet with claimsand processes in those fields of scienceoutside of our Order, which are basedentirely upon theory or promiscuousobservation.

Since the members of this FourthDegree are the most advanced of ourow n hundreds of Rosicrucians in A merica today, I have felt the call to takeadvantage of the privilege accorded tome as your Imperator and SupremeGrand Master, to make this demonstration of the laws of tr ansmutation; andafter due consideration of its nationalimport and its immediate effect uponthe minds of those who esteem thisOrder and its work so reverently, Igrant unto you one and all the privilegeof witnessing for the first time the sacred, holy and secret process and methodof transmutation.

M ay the L ight so shine through thisdemonstration tonight that thousands of

y earning souls in ev er y par t of thisglorious country may, indirectly, see theLight and find it a beacon by which

they may be guided to our fields ofendeavor.

T hen the fifteen members holdingpackages as per instructions on theircards, were requested to place them onthe table beside the crucible in full sightof the members. Directly beside thetable sat the New Y or k W o r ld s representative keenly alive to the value ofclose observation, and as skeptical asany skeptic we may meet from a newspaper. T he W o r ld has been inves tig ating some of the other so- called Rosicrucian movements in this country, and

from the correspondence it so gladlyshow ed us, w ith the evidence of falsestatements, we are not surprised thatthis investigator was anxious to haveall the further proof he could add tothat which he already possessed regarding the genuineness of the claims madeby our Order. For this reason unlikethose bodies he is trying to investigate

we gave him ev er y pos sible opport unit y to K N O W .


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T he

Rosicrucian

DigestM a r c h

1 9 4 2

W h e n the zinc w as pr oduced by oneof our membersa mining engineer andexpert on the subject of metalsit wasat once turned back to the members tobe so marked with initials and symbolsas to make future identification positive.

T he New Y ork W orld's representativew as one of the fir st to mak e his initialson the piece of zinc in an unmistakablemanner. T hen the zinc was tested bynitric acid to prove its nature. T hefumes from the acid on the zinc wereplainly vis ible to all present. T hen thepiece of zinc w as cut in half. T he halfpieceabout half an inch square, containing the scratched initials and symbols was caref ully weig hed on as-say ers scales. It w eighed ex actly 446milligrams.

T hen the zinc w as hande d to the

V es tal V ir g in w ho to ok it w it h thetweezers and held the metal in full sightw hil e the G r a nd Ma s te r Gene r al picke dup a small china dishsuch as is usedas a butter d ish w hich a memberhad placed on the table. In this dish wecould plainly see the Master drop some

w hit e pow er s uppl ie d by one Sisterpresent. Into this wer e dropped severalpetals from a fresh red rose brought byanother Sister. T hen the V estal V irg inplaced the piece of zinc into the dishand over it were sprinkled several other

w hit e pow der? supplied by some of the

Brothers.T he dish was held over the colored

flames and fumes of the crucible whilethe Master stirred the contents of thedish with the tip of the forefinger of hisrig ht hand. T he left hand of the Masterheld the dish over the flames, and thefingers of the hand were certainly severely scorched, as could be seen afterthe allotted sixteen minutes of stirring were up, but he showed no senseof pain then nor over two hours after

w ar d, a nd the fol lo w ing mo r ning eventhe outward effects of the burn had

disappeared.During the process, which called for

continued concentration and very activehandling of dish, ingredients, etc., to amost tiring and exhausting degree, theMaster dropped into the dish the different ingredients brought by the members. T he W or ld representative wasmost careful to note the outward appearance of each ingredient, and surely

none present missed a single phase ofthe process. O ur nerves were tense, wehardly breathed, and were prepared foralmost anything.

It was the first time the Master hadconducted the process, and he and we

all realized that if any member hadfailed to bring just the proper ingredient, or if anything else was wrong, adisaster might occur. Emerg ency articles had been provided by some present, for it was not the failure of thedemonstration which all hoped wouldnot come at this time, but personal in

ju r y to the Ma s te r , w hos e w hole bo dyw as so clos e to the cr ucible and whos ehands and face were practically in thefumes.

A fte r the las t peta l of the ros e ha dbeen dropped into the dish the Master

announced that he had reached the endof the process as he knew it. It was acrucial moment. T he Master stra ightened up his figure from the bent overposition he had maintained for sixteenminutes. T hose in the rear of the roomrose from their seats and crowded tothe front of the Temple, forgetting allT emple decorum in their eagerness tosee the result of the process.

T hen, in quiet, simple manner , theMaster lifted the metal from the dish,held it close to the altar light burningin a crystal lamp brought from a Rosi

crucian T emple in the Orient, a nd aftera critical examination announced in adignified, almost reverent tone: "It isgold!

T hose close by leaned for w ard to seethe metal. T here was an almost imperceptible motion of rushing toward theMas ter by the thirty- seven memberspresent, when the Master passed themetal over to the Brother w ho hadbrought the original piece of zinc andsaid: B rother, you and the ge ntlemanfrom the W or ld may w eigh the metaland note the probable increase in

w eig ht .C a r e ful ly w a s t he m e t a l w e i g h e d

again by the same scales. Every adjustment possible showed that the piece ofmetal had increased in w eig ht. T his

was anno unced by those w itne ss ing thew eig hing . T he n the W o r ld s repr esentative announced that the piece ofmetal contained and plainly showed hisinitials and other marks, and others


13/44

stated that their identification markswer e als o vis ible . T he metal ha d abright, yellow appearance, much likethe light color of pure gold, and notlike the more copper yellow color offourteen or eighteen karat gold.

A t the request of the Ma s te r themetal was immediately subjected tonitric acid tests as w as the zinc thesame piece of metal before the transmutation. T his time there was no burning of the metal, no fumes, and the test

was re peated sev er al times. A sto und edy et kno w ing w ha t real ly ha d occurred and the simplicity of it according toour te achings - most of us felt that w ehad witnessed one of the strangest,most sacred demonstrations and experiments yet given in our Temple.

T he Mas ter fittingly closed the convocation and all retired to the Impera-tors office, the Imperator carrying withhim two pieces of metaleach originally forming one piece of zincnow different in color, w eig ht and nature. T heSecretary General remained in theT emple to destroy all the ingre dients

w hic h remained unus ed on the tablebeside the crucible.

In the Imperators office, under thebright, w hite e le ctr ic l ight the twopieces of metal were compare d. It is

needless to state that most of the members conceded that one was goldof arefined nature while the other waspure zinc. A few were less positive thatit was pure gold, and their attitude isbest expressed by the words of the

W o r ld s re presentativ e, w ho in w rit ingt he r ep o r t f or the ne w s p a p e r s said:"Whether pure gold was evolved or not

I cannot say . I am not familiar enoughw it h g old to mak e so bold a declar ation.

But of this much I am sure and willvouch for; a piece of tested and marke dzinc was certainly transmuted into someother metal of a distinctly different na

ture, color and weight which successfully passed the acid test for gold.Furthermore, it looks like gold. Whereas the metal I marked and tested wasat one time zinc it is not zinc now, andthe change was brought about beforeour eyes in fifteen to twenty minutes,in an honest, sincere and frank manner.

T he tw o pieces of metal will remainfor some time in the Imperator's office,in a case, where they may be seen.Newspapermen, editors and several scientists have examined them and gonetheir way greatly perplexed. No changein the appearance or size of the metalshas occurred since the demonstration,and none is expected, except that onesmall corner piece of gold has been cutoff and sent to the Supreme Council ofthe Order in France along with an official report.

W h il e g oing to pres s w e lear n thatSir W illia m Ramsey has left this earthlife. In our next number we will describe in detail this illustrious scientistsresearches and actual transmutations ofbaser metal into gold.*

A M O R C i s h a p p y to a n n oun c e a g a i n th e f i r s tp r a c t i c a l a l c h e m i c a l c ou r s e e v e r o f f e r e d i n m ode r n t im e s . Eq u i p m e n t h a s be e n con s tr u c te d f r omc e n tu r ie s - o l d a lc h e m i c a l d i a g r a m s . T h e c our s e i sf a s c i n a t i n g f o r w om e n as w e l l as m e n . Y ou c ann ow l e a r n h ow to e x t r a c t th e e s s e n c e of h e r bs ,e x p e r i m e n t w i th a l c h e m i c a l s p i r i tu a l p r op e r t i e s ,a n d te s t a n c i e n t f or m u l a e f or th e a r t i f i c i a l c r e at i on of s e m i - p r e ci ous s ton e s . Com p l e te i n s t r u ct i on s a n d a l l th i n g s n e c e s s a r y a r e p r ov i de d. T h i sc ou r s e i n n o w a y de tr a c ts f r om th e e x te n s i v e a lc h e m i ca l c our s e g i v e n a t R os e - Cr oi x U n i v e r s i ty .N o p r e v i ou s s c i e nt i f ic t r a i n i n g i s r e q ui r e d. P r i c e$11.00 p l u s s ta te ta x .

WITH WHOM DO YOUR CHILDREN ASSOCIATE?

Do you know w ho your children's playmates are? W ha t habits they are acquiring;

w ha t their interests and activ ities are outs ide of sc hool and the home? Ps y cholog is tsclaim that the most for mative period of a child's life is up until the fifteenth ye ar. If the

child's activities are not properly guided, character developments of that period may

bring the child great pain and sorrow in later life.

T here may be in y our community a chapter of the Junior Or der of T orch Bearers, an

organization devoted to the cultural training of childrenthe development of their char

acters and personalities, as well as their minds. W r ite to: T he Secretary, Junior Order of

Torch Bearers, Rosicrucian Park, San Jose, California, and inquire about their activities.

Remember, the Junior Orde r of T orch Bearers is absolutely a non- sectarian and non

commercial movement.


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Sacred Cities of the AndesBy T h e I m p e r a t o r

T h e f o l l ow i n g i s th e f i f th e p i s ode of a n a r r a t i on by th e Im p e r a tor c on c e r n i n g h i s r e c e n tjo ur ne y by a ir , t r a in , a nd pa ck , in to the in te r io r o f the A nd e s to s tud y a nd f il m th e an ci e ntc a p i ta l , te m p l e s , a n d c u l tu r a l r e m a i n s o f th e on c e l os t In c a n Em p i r e . Edi tor .

LAND IN THE SKY

T he

Rosicrucian

Di ge s t

M a r c h

1 9 4 2

E W E R E lo s in ga lt itude r a p i dl y .T he throb of theg i a n t p r o p e l l e r schanged to a flutt e r i n g w h ir . I na n o t h e r t hr eeminutes we wouldland at Arequipa,Peru, our destinat i o n by a i r , a n d

the terminus fromw hic h we w o u ldj o u r n e y i n la n d .

But where was the city? W e peered intently dow nwar d. A s far as the eyecould see, was a slightly rolling, vast,parched desert land. A str ong surfacebreeze was whipping up small cloudsof dust which seemed to bounce alongas though chasing each other towardthe towering range of mountain peaksfring ing the Eastern horizon. Ho w and

wher e co uld a ci ty ex ist in such a la nd?T here was no evidence of any w ater;

even the sea was nearly 100 miles westw ar d. N o v eg et at ion w as apparent,

upon which even cattle could graze, andthere were no signs of agriculture orirrigation.

Making a swift bank to the left, theplane, now at about a 2000- foot alt itude, brought into view what appearedto be another great wadi, that is, a

w at er course or chan ne l made by occa

sional streams coming from the distantmountains during flood seasons, andseeking their wa y to the sea. Fr om ourheight, it looked like a green ribbon, ora comparatively shallow ditch paintedgreen, and disappearing into the eastern foothills. A s w e approached closer,

w e obs er ved that the gre en w as ofvarying hues and interspersed withsquares and oblongs of browns, tans,and yellow s, not unlike a crazy- patch

quilt. Some distance up this green furrow of the high desert plateau in whichit was situated, and sharply contrastedagainst the vivid green of its sides, weredots of white now looming up into radiant w hite buildings . Some were topped

w ith red tile and others w ith co rr ugat ediron roofs, brilliantly painted and of thesame color.

For a few seconds the plane turnedits tail upon this scene, and then welanded at the A requipa A irport. T helanding field was built upon the desertproper, in fact, on the edge of this great

plateau, down which a road graduallyw inds to the city , w hic h is loca te d in

this ditch- like, narr ow cany on valley .Orchards and small farms cling to either

w al l, lik e some thing in d e s p e r a t io n ,holding fast to a last support neededfor life. T hree magnificent peaks, likethree great sentinels, stand in a rowfrom North to South, and form a backgr ound for the over 400- year- old city.


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T he nearest of these is but a few milesto the Northeast, and is the toweringEl Misti, attaining an altitude of 19,250feet5000 feet in excess of M t. W hi tney in California, the highest mountain

in the United States . Its brothers, Cho-chani and Pichu- Pichu, are respectively 20,000 and 18,600 feet in height. Itis the symmetrical form of El Mistiw hich adds to its maje sty . It is nea rlyconical and its peak is crowned all yearround with glistening white snow andice fields, which extend far down itsslopes in graceful streamers, like a capto which flowing ribbons have been attached. T o add to its awesomeness, afilmy cloud hangs continuously aboveit, suspended between it and the bluevault of the heavens.

Our whole beings tingled in this atmosphere. Eac h inhalat ion was scented

w ith peculiar frag ran t odors . In fact,the air produced that intox icating s ensation which one experiences on a beautiful Spring morning. It was not thestimulation of brisk or cold air, butrather a soothing, calming effect thatcaused all aggravating conditions, physical and mental, worry or concern todrop away . O f one thing you weredominantly conscious, you were verymuch alive. Each cell of your being

seemed to have been revitalized, andy ou wer e aw ar e of a ple as ing sense ofcomfort an at- peace- with- the- worldsensation gripped you. Y ou r sensesquickened and you had that disarmingfeeling of expectancy of thrilling, joyful experiences ahead, and that after alltroubles are but illusions to be quicklydispelled.

There was a physical reason for thisreaction. A re quipa even though it liesin a crevice- like cany on of a plateau, isitself at an altitude of 7600 feet. T his

tempers what otherwise would be almost unbearable heat. In other w ords ,its tropical location is mitigated by itsheight above sea level. T he res ult isa perpetual Spring . T he rainfall in thisarea, or the vicinity of Arequipa, is aninch or less annually. Occasional mountain streams alone water the canyonslopes, and they are pumped from soilinto which they have percolated.

T he city is Pe rus second largest,w ith a populat io n of 70 ,00 0, a g oodportion of w hich are Indians. T he

[

houses are principally one story structures made of stucco, painted a glistening white, which reflects the almostcontinuous brilliant sunlight. W it h theexception of two or three main thor

oughfares, which are macadamized, allstreets are of cobblestone. St one is a-bundant in Peru, and native labor,though not exceptionally industrious, iscomparatively cheap, even on the basisof the value of Per uvian money. T hePlaza de Armas, in the heart of thecity, is of striking interest. It once wasa political and religious center of theold Inca Empire, though not as conspicuously important as others. Its ancient Inca name was Huacaq Pata. Thispublic square is flanked on three sidesby a row of low buildings, some of

w hich are of stone, conta ining shops.Extended over the sidewalks and attached to the buildings, is a continuoussloping canopy, supported by a seriesof stone and wooden pillows at thecurb, giving the facade of these buildings the appearance of an old basilica.T he sun is rarely really w arm, andsnow very seldom ever falls, so thecanopy has really very little utilitarianvalue.

T he cathedral which forms one side

of this quadrangle is both historicaland picturesque. T he site on w hich itw as er ected w as once the palace of theInca Viracocha. Its bells, w hich toll offthe hours, were cast in old Spain, andthe massive wooden, ornately carveddoors w ere also made there. T he heightof these doors is about 16 feet. In eachis a smaller opening or door, which admits the passage of people, and whichcloses into the larger ones. T he latterreally constitute large gates, and arevery seldom opened, usually for religious processionals only. T hese mas

sive, gatelike doors are studded withhand wrought bronze bolts, the headsof which are designed to form rosettes.T he f acade of the cathedral is ornate

w ith a frieze of carved stone . T he intricacy of the design, and the lavishnessof the work cause one to stand in

w on de r and admir at io n bef or e it. T hecost today of such workmanship on alarge scale would be prohibitive, evenin Peru. A ll of this w ork was accomplished during the Spanish Colonialperiod, and, in fact, brought from Spain

]


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T he

Rosicrucian

Digest

M a r c h

1 9 4 2

by the church. T he psychological effect of it upon the indigent Indian de-scendents of the Incas must have beentremendous. Per haps it contributed totheir faith in a God who could manifest to them through such examples of

splendor. T he church edifice itself, tothese simple minds, may have been atheophanic appearance of Gods Divinebeauty.

T he shops w hich these bu i ld in g shoused were not by any means nativebazaars or Indian market places, yetthey were not to be placed in the samecategory as those superbly modern emporiums of Mexico City or GuatamalaCity. T heir fixtures and the manner ofdisplay of their merchandise were notunlike the shops of our small towns andvillages in the United States and Cana

da of twentyfive or thirty y ears ago.Garments hung on hangers which inturn were suspended from the ceiling,forming isles through which the customers had to pass. Counter s andshelves often had a confused array ofarticles, between which there was norelationship. T he proprietor was notalways quite certain of his prices andusually had to consult his invoices,

w hich mos t of ten clut tere d an ol d deskin the corner of the shop, the vintage of

w hich it was dif fi cult to deter mine.

A t this distanc e fr om the Unite d

States, the efficacy of its commercialinfluence has considerably lessened, anda variety of products from Germany,Italy, France, and England successfullycompete with American goods.

Our stay in Arequipa, upon our arrival, was to be brief. W e were anxiousfor the adventure ahead and our ultimate destinationthe sacred cities andshrines of the ancient Incas. W e devoted our entire day, until late in theevening, the hour of our departure, inoutfitting ourselves. Ha v ing come by

air and sacrificed the weight of personalluggage, as said previously, for cameraequipment and paraphernalia, we hadnone of the necessary clothes requiredfor the rugg ed journey ahead. Theproper size native- made hobnail shoes

was my principal proble m at the moment. First, in the hinterland into

w hic h we wer e to go, the Indian s w hoprincipally occupy it, outside of thesmall towns and villages, go barefoot

M

or wear a sandal which requires one totoughen his feet before it affords anydegree of protection. Further, the Indians, in the main, are quite small instature though broad, heavy- set andstrong. T heir feet, though of almost

unimaginable width, are quite short inlength. T he Peruvians themselves arenot tall people, and their feet are small,consequently several hours were lost infinding a pair of shoes of w hat in

A me rica w ould be cons idere d an av erage size.

W he n the hour of departur e hadcome, we were ready to board a trainof the only railroad in Southern Peru.T his line runs f rom Moll ando through

A r equipa , to the ca pital of the ancientInca Empire, namely, Cuzco, a totaldistance of abo ut 506 miles. It attains

the highest altitude of any standardgauge railroad in the world. It principally follows an old Indian and SpanishConquistador pack trail into the hiqhCordillera de los Andes, and theA nde s mountains proper.

T he first leg of our jour ney w as to beJuliaca, where we were to arrive earlythe next morning, there to change trainsand continue on the same line to Cuzco,reaching there the follow ing night. T herolling stock of this train, which was

w ai ti ng for us, cons isted of one E ur opean type sleeping car of the W ag on-

Lits type, and which, according to thedate cast in the metal work of the interior, was manufactured in Englandthe latter part of the last century. T hissleeper and the other cars, two coachesand one baggage, were of the obsolete

w ooden kind, w ithout the teles copingprotective ends between the cars. Passengers passing between them, or goingfrom one car to another were obliged tostep out on an open, wind- sw ept platform, surrounded with a low iron railing. subject to gusts of cinders from thecoal burning engine, and the whirling

dust s uck ed upw ar d by the tra insmotion.

W e a f t e r w a r d s le a r n e d tha t thisSouthern division of the National Railroad of Peru had been operating at aconsiderable loss for the past several

years. A t leas t the scarc ity of passenger travel must have been one of thecontributing factors, as the sleeping carhad but four other passengers. T he day

1


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coaches were fairly well filled with Indians and native Peruvians, their packages, their blanket rolls, and wickerlikebaskets containing food and personalpossessions; the window s of these cars

they kept open throughout the journey.For many hours, in fact, until late thenext day, our journey was to be a continual climb, and yet the engine, also ofBritish manufacture, was similar in sizeand capacity to the yard engines usedfor mere switching purposes in the railroad terminals of Amer ica. T he compartment which we occupied, thoughstandard for that type of equipment,

w as very smal l, and we wer e considerably crowded, what with our camera,tripods, film and accessory cases.

It was apparent before long why so

much time was consumed to travel sucha relatively short distance. T he enginesnorted, wheezed, and virtually shuddered as she began her ascent fromover 7000 feet upward. Shortly we hadreached the plateau, having climbedfrom out of the crevice in which thecity of Ar equipa is situated. W e werethen exposed to the unhampered wind,

w hich gathe rs tr emendous momentumas it passes over the great arid area ofthe Wes ter n slopes of Peru. T he single

w indow s wer e no bar rier s to the impalpable dust particles which cloggedour nostrils and irritated our throats.

I do not know how long I had beenasleep, perhaps for several hours, but Ifelt myself struggling desperately forair like a drow ning man. I was not entirely awake. It was as though I soughtto penetrate a swirling dense fog whichengulfed and choked me. I was becoming panic- stricken, for I w as ex periencing pain as w ell. It was as if thecontact with the fog were sufficient toproduce pain, as though it were a hardsubstance and inflicted blows on my

head. A s I s ought to push through it.or push it away, it pressed down uponme and seemed particularly to crush myhead. I could act ually feel the equalpressure on the top and sides of mycranium. Fin ally ma king a last effort tofree myself, I plunged into this enveloping massand then I awoke, with astart, to a seated position in my berth.

Beads of cold perspiration stood outon my forehead. A pulsating pain madethe cutaneous surface of my head su

persensitive to the slightest touch. M ybreathing was labored, as if I had beenparticipating in some strenuous exercise. I manag ed to dress and r each theplatform of the car, which had swayed

and jerke d to a stop. Ea ch motion ofmy body aggravated the severe headache. Mrs. Lewis was also experiencinglaborious breathing, but as yet no otherdiscomfort. A most picturesque sightgreeted our eyes. Here was Juliaca! Inreality it was nothing but a junctionchange, with a shedlike depot and oneor two clapboard houses, one of whichhad the distinction in name only, of being a hotel. Juliaca was likew ise one ofthe highest altitudes reached enroute,being 1 3,200 feet. Dur ing the nig ht wehad crossed the Continental Divide,

through a pass between mountains. Thepass itself was over 13,600 feet.

W h a t w e wer e ex per iencing as discomfort was mountain sickness, or asthe Indians called it Saro che. It isthe result of high altitude, with its consequent lack of oxygen, which affectsthe entire organis m. Its effects may lastan hour or a month. T hey may becomevery severe with nausea, headache, palpitation of the heart, change in bloodpressure, etcetera. It may repeat severaltimes after interims of apparent normal

cy, or the indiv idual may ra pidly becomeacclimated to it. T he head pain causedme to squint my eyes, as all facialnerves were sympathetically responsive,and the early morning light, though notstrong, was painful to my eyes.

I looked out on the scene before me.I felt as though, regardless of the incongruity of a train in this setting, Ihad been transported in point of timeback several centuries. Indian womenand men (many direct descendents ofthe old Incas, and not differently attired from their traditional costumes)

stood in groups, ei ther motionless,studying us, or running up to us anddangling their wares before us. Themen were about five feet, six inches inheight, heavy- set, and broa d shouldered. A lmost all were barefooted. Ma ny

w or e k nitt ed caps of w ool, w hic h s nugly fitted their heads, with flaps thatcovered their ears, not unlike skatingcaps in appearance. Other s wore overthat what looked like a high- crownedpanama hat with the brim turned down.

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These were made of a native reedw hic h g rew al ong the banks of st reamsand the A ndean lakes. A lmost all worethe common but beautifully designedponcho. These are like two oblongblankets of varying lengths, of pure

llama wool, sewn together with an interstice through which the head is put.T hus one panel of the poncho hangsdown the back and the other down thefront. A side is often draped over theleft shoulder, in the fashion of theRoman toga. T he colors are principallybrilliant reds, blues, and greens, andare made of fast earth dyes by the Indians themselves. T he designs represent the things in their lives, their animals, their flowers, themselves, ancientInca symbols, and religious characters,as we ll as geometrical patterns. T hey

constitute a very definite protection a-gainst the biting w ind and cold of thehigh plateaus and mountain slopes.Some of the men also wore ornate vestsmade of heavy wool, dyed a deep blue,the edges of which were fringed with aknitted material of a different color and

w ithout buttons.Boys dressed similarly to the men,

minus the hat or sandals, and wearingsmall ragged and filthy ponchos. Somepeddled flat pancake- like buns. T hesebuns in themselves seemed clean andinviting. A hole w as pierced through

each, and dozen or more were carriedon a stick, which was inserted in theholes. A s they ran about shouting their

war es to other Ind ia ns w ho leane d outof the train windows, to bargain withthem, as did some of the other Peruvian

passengers also, the plentitude of dustthey kicked up was settling on the food.Each prospective customer, as well,fingered the assortment with uncleanhands before he made any purchaseif he did at all. W h e n all possible sales

wer e made , the stick w ith the remainingunsold buns was propped up againstthe depot platform, exposed to furtherdirt and dust.

These Indians, though picturesque intheir dress and mannerisms were in themain quite unkempt. T hey w ere, ofcourse, ignorant of even the rudiments of hyg iene and sanitation. Germs , infections, and diseasethese meant littleto them. T rue , if they become ill (andthe mortality rate is high), they havenative medicines which they use quite

effectively, made from herbs indigenousto the terrain, and which do alleviatepain. Some of these effect definite cures.On the other hand, they have a paucityof knowledge of the prevention andspread of contagious diseases. Superstitious practices, indulging the use ofamulets and fetishes, intermingled withsuch Christian doctrines as have beentaught to them, are used in the attemptto drive away disease: and it is mainlyin those things that they take their pitiful refuge.

By this time we had made our change

to a da y coach, as the s leeping car *inw hic h we had come went no further .W e w ould need remain on it, w it h itsopen windows and many other inadequate facilities for twelve hours beforearriving at the Sacred City of Cuzco.

TheRosicrucian

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OUR NEW SUPREME COLOMBEO n Fe bruary 6, 1942, the Imperator appointed Soror Ma rjor ie Ny lin as Supreme

Colombe of the Supreme Lodge of the A ncient Myst ical Orde r Rosae Crucis. EachRosicrucian should read the functions of the office of Colombe and what it symbolizesin his or her Rosicrucian Manual. Colombe Marjor ie Ny lin is the daughter of Sororand Frater R oy Ny lin. From this date on all matters pertaining to the duties of theSupreme Colombe should be addressed to her at Rosicrucian Park, San Jose, California.

RESEARCH LIBRARY OPEN SUNDAYSDuring the month of March the Rosicrucian Research Library will be open from 1:00

to 5:00 P. M. every Sunday afternoon for the convenience of members visiting RosicrucianPark or living w ithin its vicinity. A v ail y ourself of the opportunity for quiet study andresearch on your fav orite subject. T he Rosicrucian Research Library makes available to

y ou the oppor tunity to re ad leisur ely in almost any field in w hich y ou are interested.Ne w books in var ious branches of physical science, psychology, philosophy and mysticismare yours for the time you are in the Libr ary building. In addition you w ill find one ofthe most complete sections of myst ical fiction av ailable in any librar y. Remember that inaddition to the regular hours, the Library will be available for your use from 1:00 to 5:00P. M. each Sunday afternoon during the month of March.


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The Mystery of FireBy P e r c y P i g o t t , F. R. C.

H Y do es f i re in

voke such reverence and wonder?

A i r , t ho u g h asbreath it sustainslife, and though its p e a k s o f u n iversality and inf i n it y , m a y beused picturesquely by poets, but iss e l d o m g i v e n amystic significanceand finds no place

in religious ritual. W a te r is more prominent mys tically. W e have several holyrivers and the rite of baptism. But insome religions predominantly, and inalmost all others to a minor extent, themysterious element of fire sheds its rayson devotees.

T he ancient Persians were avow edlyfire worshipers, and the purity whichfollowed the purge by fire remainedtheir ideal until the teachings of Mohammed the prophet superseded thoseof Zoroaster the avatar. In Greek mythology Prometheus lighted his torch at

the sun and gave fire as a gift to mankind. Ce rta inly it is diff icult to imaginea more valuable gift than that of fire.No greater upward ascent could havebeen taken by mankind than that takenon the day upon which he learned theservices that fire could render him. T heusefulness of a revolving wheel was agreat discovery; but we have evidenceof communities acquiring a reasonabledegree of civilization, as evidenced atleast by their architecture, without ever

using a wheel; but none have advanced

w it ho ut the use of fire. V ulcan waseven more closely associated with fire.If T hor held a hammer in one hand heheld a flint in the other. Uk ko , theEsthonian god, struck his sword againsthis nail and produced the fiery babe.

A mo ng the Ro ma ns of old the perpetually burning flames in the temple

wer e co ns ta ntly te nde d by ves tal v irgins. T here is some reason for believing they were similarly tended in theshrines of departed Egypt. Fire formsthe crucible of the alchemist and inastrology Leo, the fixed and fiery sign,rules over kings and crowns and thrones,it is the sign of the sun and the symbolof gold.

Fire is very prominent in the sacredtraditions of the Hebrews . T he first fiatto go forth was, Let there be Light.

A fter the ex puls ion from Ede n thecherubim who guarded the Tree of Lifepossessed a flaming sw ord. T he sins ofSodom and Gomorrah were purged byfire in the shape of burning brimstonedescending from Heaven. W he n Mosesfirst heard the voice of God it proceed

ed from fire, which must have beendivine, for it illuminated, but consumednot. T heir L ord w ent before Jacobssons and daughters by night in the formof a pillar of fire. T he s ame people weretaught to send their offerings to God byplacing them on an altar and consuming

or transmut ing them w ith fire. T hetest which demonstrated the God ofElijah to be the true God, and the godof the priests of Baal to be a false god,

was that the fo rmer sent fire fr om


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Heav en and the latter failed to. LaterElijah himself was conveyed to heavenin a chariot of fire. S hadra ch, Meshachand A bed- nego were cast into a burning fiery furnace and among the leaping flames was seen, One like unto theSon of Man.

In the Christian records the holyspirit descended on the apostles in theform of cloven tongues, "like as of fire.St. John described the vision he saw onthe island of Patmos as having eyes,like unto flames of fire. T he shadow-less light of Heaven and the torturingflames of Hell both proceed from fire.T o this day fire in the form of lightedcandles, is always found in the sanctuary of every Catholic church. Even ToeH. gatherings are opened and closed

w ith the lig hting of the la mp of remembrance. Burning incense is more

than a sensuous stimulant to devotion.It wafts the prayers of worshipers intospace. It was St. P aul w ho said, O urG od is a consuming fire. Chris t is theL ight of the W or ld illuminating man'spath on his grand eternal quest, asElla W heeler W ilcox calls it.

Y e t fire is the mos t terrible of theelements. Most of the worlds greatcities have suffered from its destroyingpower. T he great fire of Rome was s aidto have roared continuously for eightdays. T he damage of property in Pariscaused by the fire of 1871 was estimated to have been nearly one hundredand fifty million dollars. T wice duringSaxon periods and once during Norman, London was almost destroyed byfire. T hen there was the better knownfire of 1666. Dresden and V enice haveboth similar ly suffer ed. Fire imparts toarmies their power to terrify and destroy. V olca nic eruptions, ear thquakeup- heavals, the fierce lightning , comets,

w hic h ar e suppo se d to precede disaster,and meteors are all manifestations offire. W at e r w ill at least yield up thecorpse when it has devoured the life;

fire refuses even this consideration. Itnot only slaps its victims, it feeds onthem with a zest that proclaims its unholy appetite.

Y et, towar ds man, fir e is the mostbountiful of the elements. By means offire he warms his body and his homeand, in a hundred varied ways, he cookshis food. W it h it, when the sun has left

our world, he lights his abode and hiscities. W it h it again he reveals to mariners by night their whereabouts or

w ar ns them of the near nes s of dang er .W it h fire he moulds the metals to hisuse and produces steel and brass. T hethousand spinning, whirring wheels in

his factories are revolving and rhythmically humming and cooing in obedienceto the force of fire. Gr eat v essels, whenof yore they relied solely upon wind topropel them, were often thwarted by theelement which should have served them.

A t times the y wer e del ay ed by its contrariness, at other times they were overcome by its violence or becalmed by itsabsence. No w t hat mariners use firethey defeat the storm, they ignore thecalm, they defy adverse winds. Fireagain speeds the express and, in theshape of a minute spark, which is fire,

propels the automobile over hills andcarries the airmen up among the cloudsand over our cities.

Fire again is the most beautiful of theelements. Cons ider , during its stillness,the curves of a candle flame and thepinnacle which rises from its summit.Or throw a little salt on the embers in

y our hear th and note the or ange, red,violet and green which you thus immediately summon forth out of no

wher e. T he flame of the ca ndle giv esthe perfection of form, those producedfrom the salt the perfection of colour.

T he colours of the flowers, the green ofthe fields cannot equal these. Earthmay produce its living colours, but thoseof the flame are luminous. T he advancing flames of a roaring conflagrationmay terrify, but they are as beautifulas, and more varied than, the motionless grandeur of earths most majesticmountain. T hey are also more aweinspiring . It is because the destructivepower of flames invokes fear that weoften fail to respond to their beauty.T his is the case with lig htning, one ofthe grandest natural phenomena. Ma ny

w ho ar e los t in admirat ion ov er a s unset, also produced by fire, fail to appreciate the vivid flashes of forkedlightning illuminating, momentarily andrepeatedly, the darkness of night. T heyknow its power to strike and destroy.

W o nde r an d admirat ion are subduedby an awe bordering on fear. W he n

(Concluded, on Page 62)


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Research At Rose-Croix UniversityBy E r w i n W a t e r m e y e r , F . R . C .

T his a r t ic le , a nd ot he rs t o f o l l ow f ro m t im e t o t im e in t he pa g e s of t he " Rosi f cru c ia nD ig e st d u r ing t he c ourse of t he ne x t y e a r , a re c ont r ib u t ions of Fra t e r E r w in Wa t e rm e y e r ,

w ho w il l, f o r th e c o m in g y e a r , ca r r y o n s pe cif ie d r es ea rch in th e la bo r a to r ie s o f the Ros e-

C roix Unive r s i t y a t Rosic ru c ia n P a rk u nd e r t he di re c t ion of t he Im pe ra t o r . T he re su l ts ofhis w o r k w il l be m a de a v a il a bl e to me mb e r s , a nd c e r ta in o f hi3 a c t iv i t ie s w i l l b e a nnou nc e dIn spe c ia l c om m u nic a t ions t o m e m b e rs of t he org a niza t ion.

S U P R E M E S E C R ET A R Y .

N A previous article of this seriespublished severalmonths ago, there

w e r e enume ra tedseveral roads ofi n v e s t i g a t i o n a -l o n g w h i c h r es e a r c h a t R os e -

C r o i x U niv e r s it ycould bear valuable fr uit. In thes a m e a r t i c l e i t

w as pro mis ed thatthis topic would be discussed furtherand elaborated upon in articles to follow. Dur ing the time since that articlewas w ritte n this series dig res sed fro mthe original plan in order to report toy ou def inite w or k w hich w as in prog resshere, and also to answer various questions which have been asked by ourstudents in the Rose- Croix course ofinstruction. However, in the presentarticle it is my aim to return to theoriginal plan of the series.

It has been stated that one of themany research projects here a t Rose-Croix University is the investigationand dev e lopm e nt of the Rosicrucianteachings. Some of our students mig htw onde r w hy furt her rese arch into theseprinciples should be necessary, if, aswe all know , the y ar e already complete.

T heref ore, let us consider this question.If we examine the published writings

of the Rosicrucians, if we survey thestatements made by eminent Rosicrucians during all times, we might say thatthe Rosicrucian e x pe rie nc e presentsthree progres sive aspects. T hese threeaspects we may summarize in the words:preparation, initiation and manifestation.

T he long period of preparation constitutes the advance of the student to

w ar d a def init e g oal g uided by a painstak ing technique. T he initiation is therealization of this goal, the influx ofhigher consciousness. T he manifest ations of this realization are the fruits

w hic h the inf lux of hig her cons cious nes sproduces in the acts of the initiate.

T he tota lity of these three aspectsconstitutes the Ro s ic r uc ia n w ork.T heir most precious fr uit is the consummation of the Magnum Opus of the

alchemist.T he libraries of the w orld are filled

w ith innume rable volumes des cr ibingthe fruits of the initiation, an eloquenttestimony to the reality of the initiaticex perience. B ut of the road which ledto the experience these books speakver y little. Concer ning the initiation itself, the opening of the door, there isrever ent silence. It is wit hin the Ros icrucian initiation, in its three esotericsteps, that the true mystery of the rose


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on the cross reveals itself. T his is thegoal toward which all students arestriving.

It is important that we keep clearlyin mind the three points - the road, thegoal and its fruits. W e must not confuse the fruits w ith the g oal nor theroad with the fruits.

A considerable section of the Ros icrucian instruction is devoted to theroad, the technique, required to reachthe goal. T he student is instructed withpainstak ing care as to w hat he must doand accomplish in order to prepare himself properly. T he preparation for initiation is dual. T he student must learnto live and conduct his life according tocertain traditional maxims which mustpermeate his entire being. A t the sametime, through persistent exercise he

must sensitize his interior self. It is ofimportance that the ethical and moralpreparation precede the process of sensitization. W he n properly ex ecuted, thisdual preparation transforms the studentinto the proper temple, a fit vehicle forinitiation.

T here are three traditional methodsof instruction designed to prepare thestudent for higher initiation. Thesethree methods are the Kabalistic, thealchemical and the psychological. Inessence all three methods are identical,although the languages in which the

procedures are expressed differ considerably. T he Kabalistic and alchemicalmethods of instruction require extensiveterminological knowledge. Long preliminary study is necessary before thestudent becomes sufficiently acquainted

w ith the tools w hic h he is to use. T hethird road, which I have called the psychological method, is the road which wemodern Rosicr ucians pursue. T his roadis most clear and direct, and thereforemost efficient. If a ll three sys tems ofesoteric instruction are carefully examined, the st udent wil l discern that it is

possible to translate any one of thethree systems into the terminology ofthe remaining two, and that the apparent differences of the Kabalistic, al-

T he chemical and psychological methods

Rosicrucian disappear when the superficial cloak ofnomenclature is removed. T his possi-

*e5 bilit y of interc hange between the sys-M a r c h terns is of importance to the st udent en-1 9 4 2 gag ed in historical research, and w ho

desires to reinterpret the Rosicrucianmanuscripts of the past to make theirresults available to the present generation. T here are certain R o s icr uc ianmanuscripts which do require an extensive knowledge of all three languagesof instruction. T he most str iking ofthese is the famous book "T he SecretSymbols of the Rosicrucians.

If we examine the structure of humanconsciousness we perceive that it is astructure having several levels, from theBelow reaching to the Above, like therungs of a ladder. T he lowest rung ofthe ladder is the domain of the objectiveconsciousness. T his level is succeededin turn by what we may call the levelsof the Subconscious, the Superconscious,and finally the highest level of Cosmicconsciousness. T hese four levels of hu

man consciousness constitute what aretraditionally called the Four Worlds,as expressed in the consciousness ofman. In order for any higher force toexpress itself with the greatest efficiency, there must first exist a clear channel

w it hin the str ucture of the four levels.T here must be no obstr uction in thechannel fr om the A bove to the Below.

T he prepar ation of the student forinitiation must be a cautious one. Inorder to make him the proper vehiclefor the higher forces, the channel of hisconsciousness must be cleared. T his r e

quires a cleansing of the lower levelsof his consciousness, a removal of allobstacles which might lie in the path ofthe flow of energ y. If any such obstacles remain, then the flow of thehigher energies will be blocked, obstructed, or deviated. In the ancientmethod of spiritual alchemical initiationthe cleansing of the lower levels of consciousness proceeds in two steps. T hefirst step consists in producing a disintegration of consciousness into its component parts, followed by a process ofpurification. T his step constitutes w hat

is know n as the putref action. T he second part of the alchemical initiationconsists in a reassembly of these partsinto a harmonious, balanced whole, are integr ated consciousness. T his step is

w ha t is k no w n as the co ag ula tion. T hedanger inherent in the alchemical initiation is that it sometimes proceeds

w ith great viole nce. In the ha nds of theinexperienced initiator such a method


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w il l lead to menta l unbalance. For thisreason the methods of alchemical initiation are couched in such a veiled language as to conceal the entire methodcompletely from the view of all unqualified students.

T he modern Ros icrucian instructions,on the other hand, follow a road whichhas stood the test of time. T hese instructions, based upon the natural lawthat all genuine growth must proceedslowly if it is to bear valuable fruit,avoid both the pitfalls of excessive nomenclature and the dangers inherentin excessively rapid development. T hemodern Rosicrucian is not burdened

w ith non- essentials. His course of instruction provides him with a firm moraland ethical foundation, and upon that

foundation his interior being is sensitized by suitable exercise over a longperiod of time.

There are other methods used insensitizing the students interior being

w hic h ar e the obje ct of some of the researches at Rose- Croix Univer sity. T heRosicrucian principles provide the avenues along which the development ofthe student proceeds. T he Rosicr ucianexperiments constitute a technique with

w hich the stude nt is equippe d in orderto proceed properly.

The weekly experiments with whichthe student is provided are direct applications of the Rosicrucian pr in c ip le sinto the domain of personal development. T hey are the results of tests andreports from innumerable students overex tended periods of time. T he form ofthe experiments is in no way to be considered as static. It is a natural la wthat in order to achieve growth mattermust be in continuous motion. For thisreason the experiments are constantlybeing ex amined. Ne w methods of pro

cedure are substituted if the efficiencyof the technique can be improved upon.

A gre at ma ny im pr o v e m e n t s a ndchanges hav e com e about f rom t hefa i t hful progress report s of our s t udents. T he text of many ex perimentshas been changed whenever the procedure seemed not clear enough and gaverise to difficulties or misunderstandings.New material has been added wheneverthe reports indicated that this was necessary. A lso, new findings are being

added whenever this is to the advantageof the system of instruction.

However, there are certain researches which require highly technical andspecialized inves tiga tion. Such investi

gations are difficult for the average student to attempt in the privacy and limitation of his home. It is such hig hlyspecialized research which it is the aimof Rose- Croix Univer sity to carry out.

A t the pre sent time such resear ch canbe executed only under severe handicaps. T he limitation of resources dueto the national emergency has curtailedresearch to a certain extent. A greatmany projects which have been workedout in detail must await the end of thecycle of the present emergency beforethey may be practically realized andmade generally available.

T o give you a specific ex ample as tothe manner in which research may beof definite value and service to the system of instruction, let me take the caseof vow el sounds. In the wee kly lessonsthrough many individual experimentsthe student has been made acquainted

w ith the fac t that into nation of cert ainvowel sounds in a specified mannerserves as an aid in the development ofhis hig her consciousness. He is told inhis lessons which sounds he must intoneand at what pitch in order to producethe most desirable and efficient results.

However, it is possible to carry outthe study of vowel sounds in a muchmore detailed manner. Us ing the instrument known as the oscillograph, itis possible to transform any sound waveinto a picture which may be projectedupon a screen and thus be made visible.Using this instrument, each vowel sound

w il l produce a characteris tic pat ternupon the screen. T he patterns pro

duced by the various vowels are verycomplex in shape. B ut it can be demonstrated that no matter how complicatedthe pattern may be, it can always besynthesized from a group of simple,elementary tones having definite harmonic relationship to one another, thesevarious tones acting s im ulta ne ou s ly .Conversely, it is possible to take thepattern of any complex wave shape andby analysis discover the fundamentalharmonic components which are contained w ithin the complex tone. T hus


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it should be possible to discover whichfundamental harmonic component is responsible for any particular psychic effect. Having discovered the psychiceffect of the basic components, thisknowledge would make it possible toconstruct new vowel sounds which willproduce any des ire d p s y chic ef fectspecified in advance.

Research along these lines will notadd any new principles to the Rosicrucian teachings, but such research willextend the Rosicrucian teachings andadd to them. Such detailed analysis willadd to the efficiency of the experimentsthat are alre ady being used. A vastamount of experimental work has beenperformed in the past by analyzing the

various vowel sounds entirely alongempirical lines, and has not yet beensubjected to the precision of modernexperimental methods. Although theresults of such experiments are available, using the reports of a very largenumber of students, investigations using the very latest of scientific techniques are still in progress. A s has beenmentioned above, such investigations

w il l not nece ss ar ily disclos e facts w hichare radically new, but will aid in increasing the efficiency of methods nowin existence. Scientific a dv a nc e m e ntprogresses slowly and steadily. It is thisprocess of slow, steady growth whichis keeping the Rosicrucian system of instruction in advance of the time.

V V V

THE MYSTERY OF FIRE

(Continued from Pag e 58)

there is no fear, when we know thecosmic fire to be friendly, the wordbeauty fails to express our feelings.T hus we speak of the splendour of asunset and the glor y of the sun. A ndglory belongs to heaven.

A nd fire is the mos t myster ious of theelements. Is it matter? T he flame hasno w eig ht. If it has substance no chem

ist has analyzed it. He may give itnames, combust ion, etc. B ut this doesnot reveal its secret nor reduce our

wonde r. Mi r aculous ly the flame comesout of nothingness and disappears intonothingnes s. Does it occupy space? A s

we w at ch the fla me mome ntar ily ma nifesting then vanishing, appearing anddis a pp e a r ing over the coals in ourhearth, we almost doubt it. Y et, likeG od , fire is every where. It is w ithin therock or the tree, it is even in water inthe form of heat. W hil e the other elements gravitate naturally earthward,

fir e as n a t u r a l l y leaps h e a v e n w a r d .Earth and water are hidden by darkness, but darkness intensifies the glowof the flame. Fire alone manifests amastery over darkness.

Fire also is more rich in symbolismthan the other elements. W e speak ofthe flames of passion and we say thatlove grows cold. W e talk of the sparkof life, of fiery enthusiasm or the dark

ness of despair. Cons ider the camp fireand the hearth of the home. W e naturally associate them with love, comradeship, union, fellowship and comprehension. Ga zing into the glow o f the cooling embers, or at the form of the leaping flame, we know what has neverbeen told us.

It is a significant fact that man alone

can control fire. A nimals are afr aid ofit, or, like the moth, fascinated by it.A gor il la ma y use a roug h w ea pon, butwher e is the gor illa that can k indl e afire, or where is the man so primitivethat he cannot?

Is this significant of mans divinity?Is fire a divine element? Is it subjectonly to the immortals? Does it belongto heaven a nd not to earth? Is this thesecret of its power? Is this why it illuminates and warms, purges and purifies or even destroys and devours? Isthis why darkness flees before its ad

vent as ignorance before understanding? Is this w hy it is alway s everywher e? Is this w hy , w hile all else fa llsnaturally earthward, the flames unceasingly leap heavenwards? A re they exiles, and, like all exiles, longing forhome? Is this the secret of the splendour of the sunset and the glory of thesun? Is this why the apostle likened ourGod to fire?


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Mysteries of Old Mayas CultureBy D r . B a r n a b a s S H i u h u s h u

(Great Sachem of the Indian Assn. of America, Inc.)

N E o f th e f a s c ina t i ng , i nvolvedmyst er i es of t h eh u m a n r a c e i sburied within thed e n s e t r o p i c a l

jung le s of CentralA m e r ic a . A fe wy e a r s a g o d i spatches from thatl a n d o f a n c i e n triddles told howan expedition of

the National M useum of Mexico, digging into a tomb,found the mummies of six warriors,jewel- cov er ed a n d o r n a m e n t e d w ithgold and precious stones, and humanbones carved with old Ma y an hieroglyphs that even the most learned scientists have been unable to read. T hesecrets of the ancient civilization of theMayas, who

rosicrucian digest, march 1942

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