The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited

In 1995, to honor the role of Central Europe in the spiritual history of the West, the New York Open Center invited students of Rosicrucianism and the Western Mystery traditions to the Czech Republic to discuss the historical backgrounds of Rosicrucianism. Two years later a second meeting was held in Prague to celebrate the Hermetic world of Rudolf II.

The result is this book: in which John Matthews addresses the relationship between the Grail and the Rose; Christopher Bamford speaks of the prehistory of the Rosicrucian reformation in the late Middle Ages--among women mystics, alchemists, Cathars, Franciscan spirituals, as well as in Luther and the great Paracelsus; Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke tells the wild tale of John Dee's mission to central Europe; Joscelyn Godwin unfolds the paradigmatic Rosicrucian life of Michael Maier; Claire Goodrick-Clarke recounts influence of Comenius; Paul Bembridge speaks of Rosicrucian Resurgence at the Court of Cromwell; Robert Powell describes the roles of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Rudolf II; and Christopher McIntosh speaks of the Rosicrucian Legacy.

Also included are the texts of the two Rosicrucian Manifestos--the Fama and the Confessio. Illustrated.

C O N T E N T S

Introduction by Ralph White

1. "The Grail and the Rose"
by John Matthews

2. "The Meaning of the Rose Cross"
by Christopher Bamford

3. "The Rosicrucian Prelude: John Dee's Mission in Central Europe"
by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

4. "The Deepest of the Rosicrucians: Michael Maier"
by Joscelyn Godwin

5. "Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Rudolf II, and the Prague Hermetic Renaissance"
by Robert Powell

6. "The Twelfth Adept: Michael Sendivogius in Rudolfine Prague"
by Fafal T. Prinke

7. "The Rosicrucian Afterglow: The Life and Influence of Comenius"
by Clare Goodrick-Clarke

8. "The Rosicrucian Resurgence at the Court of Cromwell"
by Paul Bembridge

9. "The Rosicrucian Legacy"
by Christopher McIntosh