ROSICRUCIAN

member of a worldwide brotherhood claiming to possess esoteric wisdom handed down from ancient times. The name derives from the order's symbol, a combination of a rose and a cross. The teachings of Rosicrucianism combine elements of occultism reminiscent of a variety of religious beliefs and practices. The origins of Rosicrucianism are obscure. The earliest extant document that mentions the order is the Fama Fraternitatis (Account of the Brotherhood), first published in 1614, which may have given the movement its initial impetus. The Fama recounts the journeys of Christian Rosenkreuz, the reputed founder of Rosicrucianism, who was allegedly born in 1378 and lived for 106 years. He is now generally regarded to have been a symbolic rather than a real character, whose story provided a legendary explanation of the order's origin. According to the Fama, Rosenkreuz acquired secret wisdom on trips to Egypt, Damascus, Damcar in Arabia, and Fs in Morocco, which he subsequently imparted to three others after his return to Germany. The number of his disciples was later increased to eight, who went to different countries. Paracelsus, a Swiss alchemist who died in 1541, is also regarded by some as the real founder of Rosicrucianism. Others, however, view 16th- and 17th-century developments as simply a revival of the order and contend that Rosicrucian doctrines not only flourished in ancient Egypt but were espoused by such outstanding philosophical and religious figures as Plato, Jesus, Philo of Alexandria, Plotinus, and others. There is, however, no reliable evidence to date the order's history earlier than the 17th century.