Birth of the Rosicrucian Fellowship (pdf)

Birth of theRosicrucian Fellowship

The History of its Inception

BY Mrs. MAX HEINDEL

An Account of Max Heindel’s Preparationand Work in the Occult Field

The Rosicrucian FellowshipMT. ECCLESIA

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.

COPYRIGHT 2012BY THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP

All rights, including that of translation, reserved. Forpermission to copy or translate, application should be made

to the publisher.

THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIPINTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

2222 MISSION AVENUEOCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA, 92058-2329 USA

Telephone: (760) 757-6600http://www.rosicrucian.com

Max Heindel, spiritual Initiate and messenger of the RosicrucianBrotherhood, was born in Denmark on July 23, 1865. He became a shippingengineer and eventually immigrated to the United States. By 1905 he hadbecome seriously interested in the study of metaphysics and spent the next fewyears consciously working and searching for spiritual Truths. When he wasvisiting Germany in 1907, the Elder Brother of the Rose Cross who became hisTeacher made contact with him on the inner planes. He was instructed in theetheric Temple of the Rose Cross, receiving the occult Teachings that heeventually incorporated into The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, published inNovember 1909. He founded The Rosicrucian Fellowship in August 1909, andspent his remaining years, until January 6, 1919, writing, lecturing, establishingFellowship Headquarters in Oceanside, California, and generally spreading theTeachings of Esoteric Christianity—the pioneer spiritual Teachings which willprepare all humanity for the New Age of Aquarius, when all nations will join inUniversal Brotherhood.

5

EARLY YEARS OF MAX HEINDEL

Max Heindel, Rosicrucian Initiate and founder ofThe Rosicrucian Fellowship, was born on July 23,1865. His father was Francois L. Von Grasshoff, of anoble family connected with the German Court duringthe time of Prince Bismarck. After emigrating toCopenhagen, Denmark, he met and married a Danishwoman, three children being born to them. The oldestof these was Carl Louis Von Grasshoff, who lateradopted the pen name of Max Heindel.

At the age of sixteen Max Heindel entered theshipyards of Glasgow, Scotland, where he learnedengineering. As Chief Engineer of a trading steamerhe took trips into many lands, thus gaining a wideknowledge of the world and its people. For a numberof years he was Chief Engineer on a large CunardLine passenger ship plying between America andEurope.

Between the years 1895 and 1901, he was aconsulting engineer in New York City. During thistime he married, the marriage being terminated by thedeath of his wife in 1905. A son and two daughterswere born of this marriage.

After going to Los Angeles, California, in 1903,Max Heindel became interested in the study of

BIRTH OF THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP6

metaphysics, joining the local branch of theTheosophical Society and serving as its vice-presidentfrom 1904-1905. During this time there began togrow within him an increasingly intense desire tounderstand the cause of the sorrows and sufferings ofhumanity and to help alleviate them. He began thestudy of astrology, which he found to his delight gavehim the key by means of which he found he couldunlock the mysteries of man’s inner nature.

The events in Max Heindel’s life immediatelysubsequent to 1905 are given in the followingaccount of the birth of the Rosicrucian Fellowship.Until his transition on January 6, 1919, he was activein doing the pioneer work of launching theFellowship, including the acquisition of land for theestablishment of International Headquarters inOceanside, California, the building of necessarybuildings, publishing of books, etc.

7

THE BIRTH OF THEROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP

In order to make the origin of the Fellowship clearto our readers we will give a history of how and whenMax Heindel met the Elder Brothers of theRosicrucian Order. We will, moreover, use his ownwords at times to make the matter more clear.

During the summer of 1905, through overwork onaccount of his extreme desire for spiritual knowledge,Max Heindel was taken seriously ill in Los Angeleswith heart trouble, so ill that for months his life wasdespaired of. Much of the time during this illness hespent out of the body, consciously working andseeking for the truth as he might find it on theinvisible planes. He was undaunted by sickness,however, and as soon as health permitted, he went onthe lecture platform to spread his occult knowledge.

In May, 1906, this work was cut short in SanFrancisco by the great earthquake, and his lecturetour led him to Seattle and the northern part of thecountry. After a course of lectures in that city he wasagain forced to spend some time in a hospital withvalvular heart trouble. Still undaunted, he once moretook up his work of lecturing in the northwestern partof the United States.


In the fall of 1907 during a most successful periodin Minnesota, there came to Mr. Heindel a friend whohad for months been begging him to go to Berlin tomeet a man whom she claimed to be a mostwonderful lecturer and teacher. Failing bycorrespondence to induce him to leave his work inAmerica, she had come to Minnesota for the expresspurpose of personally urging him to go. She wassuccessful at last in persuading him to make the trip.

After reaching Germany he attended lectures andhad several interviews with this teacher. But in ashort time he found that this man had little to givehim, and that what he gave out was not new to him.In disappointment he was ready to go back toAmerica. As he sat in his room in great dejection,feeling that he had given up a big work in America totake this trip, a being, who he later learned was anElder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order and whoafterward became his Teacher, appeared, clothed inhis vital body, and offered to help him on certainoccult points. The information which the Teachergave him was concise and logical and beyondanything Mr. Heindel was capable of writing. On alater visit the Teacher offered to impart to him theteachings which he desired, provided that he keepthem secret. Max Heindel had for several yearssearched and prayed that he might find somethingwherewith to appease the soul hunger of the world.Having suffered and known the longings of his ownheart, he could not give the promise to the Elder

BIRTH OF THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP 9

Brother, and refused to accept anything that he couldnot be permitted to pass on to his soul-hungrybrothers. The Teacher left him.

Can you imagine the feeling that would naturallycome over a starving man who had been denied foodfor some time to have someone offer him a piece ofbread but before he could taste of it to have itsnatched away? The last condition would be morewretched than the first. So it was with Max Heindel.About a month later, however, the Teacher appearedin his room again and told him that he, Max Heindel,had stood his test. He stated that if he had acceptedthe offer, namely, to keep the teachings a secret fromthe world, he, the Elder Brother, would not havereturned. He was told of the candidate whom theyhad at first chosen, who had failed to pass his test in1905; also that he, Max Heindel, had been under theobservation of the Elder Brothers for a number ofyears as the most fit candidate should the first onefail. In addition he was told that the teachings mustbe given out to the public before the close of the firstdecade of the century, which would be the end ofDecember, 1909.

At this last interview with the Teacher he was giveninstructions as to how to reach the Temple of theRose Cross, which was near the border betweenBohemia and Germany. At this Temple Max Heindelspent a little over one month in direct communicationwith and under the personal instructions of the ElderBrothers, who imparted to him the greater part of the


teachings contained in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. The first draft of this book, which wasmade while he was in the Temple, the Teacher toldhim was but an outline. The heavy psychicatmosphere of Germany was particularly adapted tothe communication of mystical thought to theconsciousness of the candidate, but he was told thatthe three hundred and fifty pages of manuscript whichhe had written would not satisfy him when he reachedthe electric atmosphere of America, and that hewould then wish to rewrite the entire book. In hisgreat enthusiasm he at first doubted this. He felt thathe had received a wonderfully complete message. Butthe Elder Brother’s predictions were true. After Mr.Heindel had spent a few weeks in New York City,what the Elder brothers had told him proved to be afact. The style in which the manuscript was writtendid not then please him, and he set about the work ofrewriting.

He rented a cheap hall bedroom on the seventhfloor of a rooming house, and during the hottestsummer months of 1908 he sat in this hot roomtyping from 7 A.M. until 9 and sometimes 10 P. M.,when he would go out for his dinner. After a walkthrough the hot streets of New York he would againresume his work on the manuscript, continuing untilafter midnight. The heat becoming too intense, hemoved to Buffalo, New York, where he finished themanuscript about September, 1908.


The next problem which faced him was how to getthe book published and where he was to procure themeans for its publication. On account of the heat ofthat season of the year he was unfortunate in startinglectures and classes in Buffalo. But later he found agood field for his work in Columbus, Ohio, whereMrs. Rath-Merrill and her daughter assisted him inthe drawing of diagrams. In this city he spent anumber of successful months in lecturing andteaching, and then formed the first RosicrucianCenter, November 14, 1908. After each lecture hedistributed free mimeographed copies of the twentylectures of the Christianity Series. Starting withLecture No. 1, The Riddle of Life and Death, he gaveto each one present a copy to take home to study.These copies he ran off on his mimeograph machineat night after the lecture. With a small hammer, apacket of tacks in his pocket, and his advertisingcards under his arm, he walked miles each day toplace these cards where they would reach the eyes ofthe public. He wrote his own newspaper articles andplaced them in the hands of the editors, who weresometimes very prejudiced against the new teachings.Mr. Heindel, however, with his pleasing personality,could usually win them over, sometimes getting a fullcolumn write-up which brought a goodly crowd.

After delivering twenty lectures in Columbus, hispath led him to Seattle, Washington, where he hadmade many friends in 1906. He hoped to interestsome friend there in assisting him to print his book.This friend proved to be William M. Patterson, who


not only assisted him to get the book into the handsof the publisher but, being a printer and editorhimself, was able to give him much valuable advice asto the publishing. Mrs. Bessie Brewster and KingsmillCommander were also most helpful in assisting him inthe editing of the manuscript. Following this, andaccompanied by William M. Patterson, he took themanuscript of the Cosmo-Conception and the twentylectures to Chicago, where they were later published.

We will give here a few of Max Heindel’s ownwords descriptive of his work in Chicago: “TheRosicrucian Cosmo-Conception was published inNovember, 1909, about five weeks before the end ofthe first decade of the century. Friends had edited theoriginal manuscripts and had done splendid work, butI had of course to revise it before giving it to theprinter; then I read the printer’s proof, corrected andreturned it, and reread it after mistakes had beenrectified. I read it again after the type had beendivided into pages, and gave instructions to theengravers about the drawings and to the printer aboutplacing them in the book, etc. I was up at 6 A.M. andtoiled until 12, 1, 2, or 3 in the night during all thoseweeks, amid endless confusion, with tradesmen andthe roar of Chicago about my ears, sometimes almostto the limit of nervous endurance. Still I kept myfaculties together and wrote many new points into theCosmo. Had it not been for the support of the ElderBrothers, I must have gone under. It was their work,


however, and they saw me through. Yet I was almosta wreck when the strain was past.”

While in Chicago the entire edition of the Cosmo-Conception, with the exception of a few hundredcopies which were taken to Seattle, was stored with awoman who conducted a publishing house. Being indebt this woman used the Cosmo-Conception copiesstored with her to pay her indebtedness to otherpublishers. When the request was later made fromSeattle for more books, it was found that the firstedition of two thousand copies was exhausted. Thisnecessitated the ordering of the second edition. Asixty-page index was then added.

While it might seem that the loss of two-thirds ofthe copies of the Cosmo-Conception must have beena calamity to one of limited means, it was far from it.It proved to be a godsend, for the woman had beenassociated with New Thought, Theosophy, andvarious other advanced thought movements for anumber of years and had furnished them with booksshe procured from large publishing houses. Sheinduced them to accept the Cosmo-Conception,which up to that time had been comparativelyunknown. Thereby she created a demand which wasone means of spreading the Rosicrucian teachings tomany parts of the world. It was a cloud which trulyhad a silver lining.

After having established Fellowship Centers inColumbus, Seattle, North Yakima, and Portland, Mr.


Heindel returned to Los Angeles in November, 1909,to start work in that city.

To continue with this story it is now necessary thatthe writer bring in her own associations. Previous toMax Heindel’s leaving Los Angeles and between theyears of 1898 and 1906 the writer, who was thenAugusta Foss, and Mr. Heindel had been closefriends, spending much time together in the study ofoccultism, astrology, and kindred subjects. When hereturned to Los Angeles in 1909 with the RosicrucianTeachings, the writer found in the Cosmo-Conceptionthat which she had been seeking for a number ofyears. It satisfied the inner longing. It was the foodfor which her soul had hungered. She at once threwherself heart and soul into the work, and assisted Mr.Heindel with his lectures and classes.

Between November 29, 1909 and March 17, 1910,he conducted classes and gave lectures in LosAngeles. Giving three public lectures a week, he filleda hall holding one thousand full to the door eachnight. By March his health would not permit him togo on. Shortly afterward he was taken ill with theusual heart trouble, and while in the hospital at thevery point of death he had a most remarkableexperience. We will append his description of it in hisown words:

“On the night of the 9th of April, 1910, when theNew Moon was in Aries, my Teacher appeared in my


room and told me that a new decade had commencedthat night, and that in the coming ten years it wouldbe my privilege to give to the world a science ofhealing such as later described. The Fellowship wouldfurnish helpers in the great work.

“This was the first intimation I had had that suchwork was contemplated. The night before, my workwith the newly formed Los Angeles FellowshipCenter had terminated. I had traveled and lectured sixout of seven nights, and several afternoons a weekbesides, since my Chicago publishing experience. Iwas sick and withdrawing from public work torecuperate. I knew it was very dangerous to leave thebody consciously when ill, for the etheric body is thenunusually attenuated, and the silver cord breakseasily. Death under such conditions would cause thesame sufferings as suicide, so the Invisible Helper isalways cautioned to stay in his body when it issuffering. But at my Teacher’s request I was readyfor the soul flight to the Temple, and a guard was leftto watch the sick body.

“As we have stated previously in our literaturethere are nine degrees in the Lesser Mysteries ofwhatever country, and the Rosicrucian Order is noexception. The first of these corresponds to theSaturn Period, and the exercises having to do with itare held on Saturn’s day at midnight. The seconddegree corresponds to the Sun Period, and thatparticular rite is celebrated at midnight on Sunday.The third degree, corresponding to the Moon Period,


is held on Monday at midnight; and so on with theremainder of the first seven degrees; eachcorresponds to a Period and is held on the dayappropriate thereto. The eighth degree is celebratedat the New Moon and the Full Moon; the ninthdegree at the summer and winter solstices.

“When a disciple first becomes a lay brother orsister, he or she is introduced to the rite held onSaturday nights. The next Initiation entitles him alsoto attend the midnight services at the Temple onSunday nights, and so on. It is to be noted, however,that while all lay brothers and sisters have free accessin their spiritual bodies to the Temple during all days,they are barred from the midnight services of thedegrees which they have not yet taken. Nor is it avisible guard who stands at the door and demands apassword of each as he desires to enter, but a wall isaround the Temple, invisible yet impenetrable tothose who have not received the ‘Open Sesame.’Every night it is differently constituted, so that shoulda pupil by mistake or through forgetfulness seek toenter the Temple when the exercises are above hisstatus, he would learn that it is possible to bumpone’s head against a spiritual wall and that theexperience is by no means pleasant.

“As already said, the eighth degree meets at thenew and full moon, and all who have not attained to itare debarred from that midnight service, the writeramong them; for these degrees are no mere


mummeries to be obtained by the payment of a fewpaltry coins, but require a measure of spirituality farbeyond my present attainment, a stage to which I maynot attain in several lives though not wanting in effortor aspiration. You will therefore understand that onthe night of the New Moon in Aries, 1910, when theTeacher came for me, it was not to take me into thatexalted gathering of the eighth degree but to anothersession of a different nature.

“Besides, though this session was held in the nightas it occurs in California, the time being different inEurope, the exercises of the New Moon had beenheld in Germany hours before, so that when I arrivedat the Temple with my Teacher, the sun was alreadyhigh in the German heavens.

“When we entered the Temple, some time wasdevoted to an interview with my Teacher alone, andin it he outlined the work of the Fellowship as theBrothers would wish to have it carried out.

“After the interview we entered the Temple, wherethe twelve Brothers were present. It was arrangeddifferently from what I had seen it before, but lack ofspace forbids a detailed description. I shall onlymention three spheres, suspended above one anotherin the center of the Temple, the middle sphere beingabout half way between floor and ceiling; also it wasmuch larger than the two others, which hung aboveand below it.


“The various modes of vision above the physicalare: etheric or X-ray, color vision, which opens upthe Desire World; and tonal vision, which disclosesthe Region of Concrete Thought, as explained veryfully in The Rosicrucian Mysteries. My developmentof the latter phase of spiritual sight had been mostindifferent up to the time mentioned, for it is a factthat the more robust our health, the closer we areenmeshed in the physical and the less able to contactspiritual realms. People who can say, ‘I never had aday’s sickness in my life,’ at the same time reveal thefact that they are perfectly attuned to the physicalworld and totally incapable of contacting the spiritualrealm. This was nearly my case up to 1905, though Ihad suffered excruciating pain all my life, the effectsof a surgical operation on the left limb in childhood.The wound never healed until I changed to a meatlessdiet; then the pain also ceased. But my enduranceduring all the previous years was such that it nevershowed by a line on the face, and in every otherrespect I had perfect health. It was noticeable,however, that when blood flowed as a result of anaccidental cut, it would not coagulate, and a greatquantity was always lost; whereas after two years ona clean diet the accidental loss of an entire nail in themorning resulted in the loss of only a few drops ofblood; I was able to use the typewriter the sameafternoon; there was no festering as the new nailgrew.


“Upbuilding of the spiritual side of the nature,however, brought disharmony to the physical body; itbecame more sensitive to conditions around it; theresult was a breakdown. This was all the morecomplete because of the before-mentioned endurancethat kept me on my feet for months after I shouldhave given in, with the result that I came very closeto death’s door.

“Out of this precarious condition, however, hascome an increasing ability to function in the spiritualworld. While, as said, my tonal vision and the abilityto function in the Region of Concrete Thought hererelated were indifferent and chiefly confined to thelowest subdivision thereof, a little assistance from theBrothers that night enabled me to contact the fourthdivision, where the archetypes are found, and toreceive there the teaching and understanding of thatwhich is contemplated as the highest ideal andmission of the Rosicrucian Fellowship.

“I saw our Headquarters and a string of peoplecoming from all quarters of the world to receive theteaching. I saw them issuing thence to bring balm toafflicted ones near and far. While here in this world itis necessary to investigate in order to find out aboutanything, there the voice of each archetype bringswith it as it strikes the spiritual consciousness aknowledge of what that archetype represents. Thusthere came to me that night an understanding which isfar beyond my words to express, for the world inwhich we live is based upon the principle of time, but


in the high realm of the archetypes all is an eternalNow.”

You will note in the above article that Max Heindelwas able by the help of the Teacher to function in thefourth division of the Region of Concrete Thought,where the archetypes of physical form are found. Thiscan only be accomplished after passing through thefourth Initiation, or fourth degree, which correspondsto the first half of the Earth Period. Only afterpassing through the third stratum of the earth can aman function in the fourth division of the Region ofConcrete Thought.

At the time of this Initiation into the deeperMysteries the Brothers imparted to him theknowledge that an Ecclesia or Temple was to be builton Mt. Ecclesia, where a Panacea was to be prepared.The spiritual outpouring obtained in such a place bythe use of a certain formula given to Mr. Heindel onthat memorable night in the Temple will be combinedwith a suitable physical substance to facilitatetransmission. This Panacea cannot be prepared untilthe right conditions are made for it in the Ecclesia bythe Probationers.

Our Temple was erected and dedicated onDecember 25, 1920, before the second decade of thecentury had closed. This Temple, the Ecclesia, waserected for the purpose of affording more powerfulmeans for the healing of disease. Healing meetings


are held in this holy place at a regular time each dayby the Probationers who have consecrated their livesto this work. Assistance is rendered by the ElderBrothers, who are using Headquarters as a focusingpoint. Added to this is the work of the InvisibleHelpers, who are Probationers located in many partsof the world. The healing power generated in theEcclesia has increased the efficiency of the work ofthe Invisible Helpers so that the cures effected arefrequently quite miraculous, and our work of healingis spreading over the entire globe.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship teaches that thewonderful organism called the human body isgoverned by immutable natural laws. All diseaseresults from willful or ignorant violation of Nature’slaws. People are ill because in this life or in aprevious one they have disregarded the fundamentalprinciples on which the health of the body depends. Ifthey wish to regain and to retain health, they mustlearn to understand these principles and regulate theirdaily habits in conformity with them.

22

THE ROSICRUCIAN ORDER

The Rosicrucian Order, founded in the 13thcentury, is one of the schools of the Lesser Mysteries.The other Lesser Mystery schools are variouslygraded to meet the spiritual requirements of the mostprecocious among the earlier races of the eastern andsouthern people with whom they work. ChristianRosenkreuz is the 13th member of the RosicrucianOrder. Only the Brothers of the Order have the rightto speak of themselves as “Rosicrucians.”

Seven of the Brothers of the Rosicrucian Order goout into the world whenever occasion requires,appearing as men among other men, or working intheir invisible vehicles with or upon others as needed.But it must be strictly kept in mind that they neverinfluence anyone against his will or contrary to hisdesires, but only strengthen good wherever found.When any of the seven Brothers are working in theworld, they have and use material bodies just as otherpeople do, and they live in a house which people ingeneral might consider the house of some well-to-dobut not ostentatious person. They hold offices orpositions of distinction in the community where theylive, but it is only to give a reason for their presenceand not create any question as to what they are, orwho they are, or as to there being anything out of theordinary in them. Outside of the house in which they


live and in that house and through that house there iswhat may be called the Temple. This is etheric and isdifferent from our ordinary buildings. It might belikened to the auric atmosphere that is around thePro-Ecclesia at Headquarters. This is much largerthan the material building and is etheric. Manson’sword picture of a spiritual church gives an idea ofwhat such structures are. They are around andthrough buildings and churches where people aredevoted to spiritual things, and of course they differin color. The Rosicrucian Temple is extraordinary andnot to be compared with any other structure. Itsurrounds and interpenetrates the house in which theElder Brothers live. This house is so permeated withspirituality that most people would not feel verycomfortable or at ease there.

Five of the Brothers of the Rose Cross never leavethe Temple, and although they possess physicalbodies, all their work is done from the inner worlds.Though the Elder Brothers are human, they are vastlyexalted above our own status.

A considerable period of intensely zealous life as avisible helper must be lived by the aspirant before hehas evolved his soul body to such a degree ofluminosity that it attracts the Teacher. (Note: At thesame time the pupil is building his soul body, he isalso accumulating a power within in like proportion.)No listless, easy-going study or dreamycontemplation will bring the Teacher. He is himself aservant in the highest sense of the word, and no one


who is not serving with all his soul need expect tomeet him. When he does come, he will need nocredentials, for the very first sentence spoken by himwill carry conviction, and so will every other word heever speaks to the pupil, for being endowed with theconsciousness which we shall all possess in theJupiter Period (a self-conscious pictureconsciousness) each sentence will bring before thelistener a series of pictures which will accuratelyillustrate his meaning. For instance, if he undertakesto explain the process of death, the pupil seesinwardly the passing Spirit leaving the body; he maynote the uncoiling of the silver cord; he sees therupture of the seed atom in the heart and how itsforces leave the body and cling to the Spirit. TheElder Brother is able to accomplish this with his pupilin the following manner:

First, he, the Elder Brother, fixes his attention uponcertain facts which he wishes to convey to the mindof his pupil. The pupil, who has become fitted forInitiation by evolving within himself certain powers(which are still latent, however), is like a tuning forktuned to a pitch identical with that of the vibrationsof the ideas sent out by the Elder Brother in thepictures. Therefore, the pupil not only sees thepictures, but he is able to respond to their vibration.Thus vibrating to the ideal presented by the ElderBrother, the latent power within the pupil isconverted into dynamic energy, and his consciousnessis lifted to the level required for the Initiation which


he is being given. This is the reason why the secretsof true Initiation cannot be revealed. It is not anoutward ceremonial but an inward experience. Thisdescription is the nearest to what Initiation really isthat can possibly be given to one who has notexperienced it himself. There is no secret about thepictures in the sense that one would not tell it, butthey are secret because no earthly words are coinedwhich could adequately describe such a spiritualexperience. It is true that the Initiation takes place inthe Temple particularly suited to the needs of acertain group of individuals who vibrate within acertain octave, and that there are others present. Butit is not what they do or say which constitutesInitiation, for Initiation is an inward experiencewhereby the latent powers that have been ripenedwithin are changed to dynamic energy, whichInitiation teaches the pupil to use.

26

THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIPITS RELATION TO OTHERROSICRUCIAN SOCIETIES

The Rosicrucian Fellowship, founded by MaxHeindel under the direct guidance of the ElderBrothers of the Rosicrucian Order, is the authorizedrepresentative for the present period of the ancientRosicrucian Order, of which Christian Rose Cross, orChristian Rosenkreuz is the Head. This Order is not amundane organization, but has its Temple andheadquarters on the etheric plane. It authorized theformation of the Fellowship by Max Heindel for thepurpose of carrying the Western Wisdom Teachingsto the Western people. In earlier ages the Ordercarried on its work through various secret societies inEurope and elsewhere; but the growth andadvancement of the people of the United States havein recent years reached such a point that the Orderdeemed it advisable to establish an exoteric centerhere for the extension of its work. The RosicrucianFellowship is its latest manifestation in physical form,putting out the most up-to-date version of theRosicrucian Teachings, in twentieth-century scientificterms, which are at the same time simple and devoidof technical abstractions.

The particular work of the Fellowship, now (1966)being governed by a Board of seven Directors electedfrom among its Probationers by the voting members


(Mrs. Heindel passed on in May of 1949), is todisseminate the esoteric doctrines of the Christianreligion, since the Rosicrucian Philosophy is anesoteric Christian philosophy. It is destined tobecome the universal religion of the world, becausethe Christ is to have charge of human evolutionduring the present Great Sidereal Year ofapproximately 25,000 years. Anyone who is willing toconform to the regulations of the Fellowship, thePreparatory School for the Rosicrucian order, andwho is not a hypnotist, or professionally engaged as amedium, palmist, or astrologer, is eligible to enrolland study its Teachings by correspondence. There isno fixed price on any of the lessons. The work iscarried on by means of freewill offerings and theincome from the sale of books.

Other Rosicrucian societies in the United Statesclaim, we believe, lineal descent from earlier branchesof the ancient Rosicrucian Order in England, France,Egypt, or other countries. The RosicrucianFellowship has no lineal connection with theseorganizations, but represents a renaissance of theOrder in the Western World.

COMPLETE INDEX OF MAX HEINDEL BOOKS

The Rosicrucian Cosmo-ConceptionAncient and Modem InitiationDesire Body, TheFreemasonry and CatholicismGleanings of a MysticHow Shall We Know Christ at His Coming?Letters to StudentsMysteries of the Great OperasMystical Interpretation of ChristmasMystical Interpretation of EasterOccult Principles of Health and HealingRosicrucian Christianity LecturesRosicrucian Philosophy in Questions and Answers, Vol. IRosicrucian Philosophy in Questions and Answers, Vol. IIRosicrucian MysteriesTeachings of an InitiateVital Body, TheWeb of Destiny, The

FOR CHILDRENRosicrucian Principles of Child TrainingYour Child's Horoscope (2 volumes)

ASTROLOGYAstro-Diagnosis - A Guide to HealingMessage of the StarsSimplified Scientific Astrology

EPHEMERIDESOne year booklets (1857-2030 and later)10-year books (1880-2030 and later)

BOOK BY MRS. AUGUSTA FOSS HEINDELMemoirs about Max Heindel and The Rosicrucian Fellowship

THE ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIPEchoes from Mount Ecclesia 1913-1919

THE ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION

BY

MAX HEINDEL

This book gives a complete outline of the Western WisdomTeaching as far as it may be made public at the present time. Itcontains a comprehensive outline of the evolutionary process ofman and the universe, correlating science with religion. Theauthor received this Teaching personally from the RosicrucianBrotherhood. It is their latest communication.

Part I is a treatise on the Visible and the Invisible Worlds,Man and the Method of Evolution, Rebirth and the Law ofCause and Effect.

Part II takes up the scheme of Evolution in general and theEvolution of the Solar System and the Earth in particular.

Part III treats of Christ and His Mission, FutureDevelopment of Man and Initiation, Esoteric Training andSafe Method of Acquiring Firsthand Knowledge.

717 pages ISBN 978-0-911274-02-8 Hardcover

152-Page Topical and Alphabetical Indexes

719 pages ISBN 978-0-911274-34-9 Paper Bound

Write for complete price list

ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP2222 Mission Avenue

Oceanside, California, USA, 92058-2329

THE ROSICRUCIAN MYSTERIESBY

MAX HEINDEL

The author divulges the sublime truths of the WesternWisdom Teachings in a felicitous narrative style, intendingspecially to give busy people a solution to life's basic problems,as vouchsafed by the Rosicrucian Philosophy, thereby satisfyingboth heart and mind.

LIST OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 The Order of the Rosicrucians and the RosicrucianFellowship: Spiritual Wave; Christian Rosenkreuz; Choice ofAuthor as Messenger of the Brothers of the Rose Cross.

CHAPTER 2. The Problem of Life and Its Solution: Necessity forIndependent Thought; Three Theories of Life Materialistic,Theological, Rebirth; Soul and Breath; We Are Eternal (poem).

CHAPTER 3. The Visible and Invisible Worlds: The ChemicalRegion; The Etheric Region; The Desire World The World ofThought; Logos and "the Beginning"; Christ or Creed (poem).

CHAPTER 4. The Constitution of Man; The Vital Body; TheDesire Body; The Mind; Soul Differentiated from Spirit.

CHAPTER 5. Life and Death: Invisible Helpers and Mediums;Second Heaven; The Third Heaven; Birth and Child Life; TheMystery of Light, Color, and Consciousness; Education of Children;Mt. Ecclesia.

175 Pages Indexed Paper Cover

ISBN 978-0-911274-86-8

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LETTERS TO STUDENTSBy

MAX HEINDEL

This book collects the ninety-seven monthly letters thatMax Heindel wrote to students of the Rosicrucian Fellowshipfrom Christmas 1910 to January 1919. After his passing, thesepriceless letters were published in book form for the inspirationand instruction of all. Expressed in the ardent and intimate voice of a teacher andfriend, they cover a wide range of topics, including:

Baptism of Water and of SpiritThe Invisible Guardians of HumanityFlesh Food and AlcoholThe Christ Spirit and the Spiritual PanaceaThe Role of Evil in the WorldThe Coming Age of AirEastern and Western Methods of DevelopmentA Method of Discerning Truth from its ImitationThe World War and Infant MortalityChrist and His Second ComingAll Occult Development Begins with the Vital BodyThe Faust Myth and the Masonic LegendEpigenesis and Future Destiny“Lost Souls” and StragglersIncreasing the Life of the Archetype

Infused with Heindel’s characteristic fervor andcompelling conviction, these lucid letters transform theformality of the cold printed page into warmth and assurance.As a gift to yourself or another, this book may be a turningpoint in your journey toward the Light.

237 Pages Indexed Paper CoverISBN 978-0-911274-09-7

THE ROSICRUCIANCHRlSTIANITY LECTURES

BY MAX HEINDEL

Delivering these twenty lectures in person was one ofthe earliest activities of this authorized Messenger of theRosicrucian Order. A comprehensive outline with modernapplication, of the ancient truths of Rosicrucianism.

TITLES OF LECTURES/CHAPTERS 1. The Riddle of Life and Death 2. Where Are the Dead? 3. Spiritual Sight and the Spiritual Worlds 4. Sleep, Dreams, Trance, Hypnotism, Mediumship, and Insanity 5. Death and Life in Purgatory 6. Life and Activity in Heaven 7. Birth a Fourfold Event 8. The Science of Nutrition, Health and Protracted Youth 9. The Astronomical Allegories of the Bible 10. Astrology: Its Scope and Limitations 11. Spiritual Sight and Insight 12. Parsifal: Wagner’s Mystical Music Drama 13. The Angels as Factors in Evolution 14. Lucifer, Tempter or Benefactor? 15. The Mystery of Golgotha and the Cleansing Blood 16. The Star of Bethlehem: A Mystic Fact 17. The Mystery of the Holy Grail 18. The Lord’s Prayer 19. The Coming Force: Vril or What? 20. Fellowship and the Coming RaceThe titles show that these lectures were written to answerthe recurring questions in every thoughtful person’s mind.Index converts this to a reference book.

374 Pages ISBN 978-0-911274-84-4 Paper Cover

ALL LECTURES ARE AVAILABLE AS SEPARATE BOOKLETS

THE ROSICRUCIAN PHILOSOPHYIN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

VOLUME I

By MAX HEINDEL

This book answers 189 questions most frequently askedof the author in his public lectures. Perhaps many of yourperplexities are included. You will find here anauthoritative solution.

PARTIAL LIST OF SUBJECTS

PART 1. Life on Earth. Social Conditions. Marriage. Children. Sleep and Dreams. Health and Disease.PART 2. Life After Death. Cremation. Purgatory. The First Heaven. The Second Heaven. The Third Heaven. Guardian Angels. The Science of Death.PART 3. Rebirth. The Law of Rebirth. The Law of Causation. Transmigration.PART 4. The Bible Teachings. The Creation. The Fall. The Immaculate Conception. Sayings of Christ.PART 5. Spiritualistic Phenomena. Mediumship. Obsession. Materialization.PART 6. Clairvoyance. Dangers of Psychism. True Spiritual Unfoldment. Initiation.PART 7. Astrology. True and False.PART 8. Animals. Their Life Here and Hereafter.PART 9. Miscellaneous.

THE ALPHABETICAL INDEX MAKES THIS A BOOKOF INSTANT REFERENCE

This book may change your entire outlook on life


THE ROSICRUCIAN PHILOSOPHYIN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

VOLUME II

By MAX HEINDEL

This book answers 166 questions most frequently askedof the author in his public lectures. Perhaps many of yourperplexities are included. You will find here anauthoritative solution.

PARTIAL LIST OF SUBJECTS

PART 1. Life After Death. The Purgatorial Existence. Short Cut to Heaven. Earthbound Spirits. Reunion of Lovers in Heaven. How Are the “Dead” Clothed?PART 2. Rebirth. Frequency. Necessity. Rebirth of Children. Rebirth and Sex. Do Two Wrongs Make a Right?PART 3. Health and Healing. Incurable Diseases. Post- Mortem Consciousness. Idiocy. Insanity. Amputation.PART 4. The Invisible Worlds. Consciousness in the Invisible Worlds. Dreams. Trance States. Contact with Relatives During Sleep. People in the Desire World See the Sun.PART 5. Spiritual Sight. Spiritual Cognition. The Fourth Dimension. The Memory of Nature.PART 6. Initiation. The Plane of Initiation. The Tests of Initiation. Masters and Initiation.PART 7. The Bible. Jehovah. Raising the Dead. INRI.PART 8. Astrology. Influence of Stars. Aquarian Age.PART 9. Miscellaneous.

THE ALPHABETICAL INDEX MAKES THIS A BOOKOF INSTANT REFERENCE

This book may change your entire outlook on life


TEACHINGS OF AN INITIATEBY MAX HEINDEL

The process of preparation for the Aquarian Age hasalready commenced and as Aquarius is an airy, scientific, andintellectual sign, the New Faith for this age must be rooted inreason. Therefore, the mysteries of life must be solved in amanner that will satisfy both the head and the heart.

Max Heindel, Christian Mystic and Initiate of theRosicrucian Order, lived the Teachings which he taught. In thisbook are presented many of the fruits of his physical andmetaphysical labors. A scientific method of spiritualunfoldment is revealed that is in total harmony with the cosmiclaws of soul growth. If persistently followed, this method willdevelop the latent spiritual powers in any individual just assurely as constant practice will make a person proficient in anymaterial line of endeavor.SUBJECTS COVERED INCLUDE:

The Sign of the MasterThe Secret of SuccessThe Death of the Soul

The Promotion of Spiritual SightScientific Method of Spiritual Unfoldment

Eternal Damnation and SalvationThe Journey Through the Wilderness

This important work by Max Heindel is published by TheRosicrucian Fellowship which has established a school thatprovides a meeting ground for art, science, and religion.

212 Pages Indexed Paper Cover

ISBN 978-0-911274-19-6

MYSTERIES OF THEGREAT OPERAS

BY

MAX HEINDEL

Faust … Parsifal … The Ring of the NiebelungTannhauser … Lohengrin

What is the True Nature of Music Itself?Why must there be Dissonance as well as Harmony?

Where Does Music Come From?

MYTHS — LEGENDS — FOLK STORIES

Why are these age-old Tales used as Vehicles for some of theGreatest Music of all Time?

What is the Relation between the Human Spirit and Music?

Faust—Divine Discord—Sorrow of the Seeking Soul—SellingHis Soul to Satan—The Wages of Sin and the Ways ofSalvation.

Parsifal—Wagner’s Mystic Music Drams.

Tannhauser—The Pendulum of Joy and Sorrow.

Lohengrin—The Knight of the Swan.



THE WEB OF DESTINYBY

MAX HEINDEL

Sixteen of the ninety-seven monthly lessons sent out to hisstudents by this illumined teacher. They are the fruitage of trueesoteric research.

TABLE OF CONTENTSI. THE WEB OF DESTINY

Spiritual Research ~ The Soul Body; The Christ Within ~ Memory ofNature; “The Dweller on the Threshold” ~ Earthbound Spirits; The“Sin Body” ~ Possession by Self-made Demons ~ Elementals;Obsession of Man and of Animals; The Creation of Environment ~The Genesis of Mental and Physical Disabilities; The Cause ofDisease ~ Efforts of the Ego to Escape from The Body ~ Effects ofLasciviousness; The Christ Rays Constitute the "Inner Urge" ~Etheric Sight ~ Collective Destiny

II. THE OCCULT EFFECT OF OUR EMOTIONSThe Function of Desire; The Color Effects of Emotion in Assemblagesof People ~ The Isolating Effect of Worry; Effects of War uponDesire Body ~ The Vital Body as Affected by Detonations of BigGuns; The Nature of Ether Atoms ~ The Necessity of Poise; TheEffects of Remorse ~ The Dangers of Excessive Bathing

III. PRAYER A MAGIC INVOCATION

The Nature of and Preparation for Prayer; The Wings and the Power ~The Invocation ~ The Climax

IV. PRACTICAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESSBased upon Conservation of the Sex Force

167 Pages Indexed ISBN 978-0-911274-17-2 Paper Cover


THE MESSAGE OF THE STARSBy MAX HEINDEL and AUGUSTA FOSS HEINDEL

The Library of every Astrology Student should contain a copyof this Essential Reference Book.

PARTIAL LIST OF CHAPTER CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. Contains this book's specific contribution to spiritualastrology, obtained by firsthand investigation: Evolution as shown inthe Zodiac Early Atlantean Epoch Ã É; Middle Atlantean ÂÈ; Later Atlantean Á Ç ; Aryan Epoch Aryan Age À Æ ;Piscean Age Ë Å; Aquarian Age Ê Ä.

CHAPTERS 2 to 7. Amenability to Spiritual Vibrations. Were youborn under a Lucky Star? Reading the Horoscope; Mundane Houses.Influence of the 12 Signs when Rising.Intrinsic Nature of the Planets.

CHAPTERS 8 to 21. Complete Chapters on each Planet, giving ananalysis of each in the 12 Houses, in the 12 Signs, and in Aspect withother Planets. An outstanding chapter on Planetary Octaves.Delineation in a Nutshell; Keywords. Mind and the Ruling Planet.Your Luck in Life; Health, Finances, Vocation. Marriage; Children;Second Marriages.

CHAPTERS 22 to 27. Methods of Progression; Adjusted CalculationDate; Progression of Angles. Progressed Solar Directions. ProgressedLunar Directions. Mutual Aspects of Planets. Transits.

CHAPTERS 28 to 30. Medical Astrology Diagnosis. PathogenicEffects of Signs; of Planets; the Ductless Glands. 36 ExampleHoroscopes, giving a system of diagnosis based on many years ofexperience.

Thirty-six pages of revised Natal and Medical Indexes


THE VITAL BODYBY MAX HEINDEL

Since the initiate author repeatedly stressed that, “all occultdevelopment begins with the vital body,” this book will be especiallyvaluable for those who desire to advance their spiritual evolution in adeliberate, focused and fully conscious manner.

PARTIAL CONTENTS

THE EVOLUTION OF MAN’S VITAL BODY

MAN’S VITAL BODY IN THE PRESENT EPOCHIts General Nature and FunctionIn Health and SicknessIn Sleep and DreamsAt Death and in Invisible WorldsOn the Way to RebirthOf Children

THE VITAL BODY OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS

THE RELATION OF THE VITAL BODY TO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Effect of Prayer, Rituals and ExerciseAncient InitiationPositive and Negative Development

THE VITAL BODY OF JESUSAs a Vehicle for Christ

197 Pages Indexed ISBN 978-0-911274-16-5 Paper Cover


Documents

Birth of the Rosicrucian Fellowship (pdf)