[/img][/center] www.levity.com/alchemy/rosi_grp.html This is a fascinating list of Rosicrucian orders that have cropped up in various parts of the world over the years. The brief resumés will include names which will be familiar to most of us. Many groups claim to be descended from the original GD, some by the order of Hidden Chiefs themselves.
The rose is a yonic symbol associated with generation, fecundity, and purity. The fact that flowers blossom by unfolding has caused them to be chosen as symbolic of spiritual unfoldment. The red color of the rose refers to the blood of Christ, and the golden heart concealed within the midst of the flower corresponds to the spiritual gold concealed within the human nature. The number of its petals being ten is also a subtle reminder of the perfect Pythagorean number. The rose symbolizes the heart, and the heart has always been accepted by Christians as emblematic of the virtues of love and compassion, as well as of the nature of Christ--the personification of these virtues. The rose as a religious emblem is of great antiquity. It was accepted by the Greeks as the symbol of the sunrise, or of the coming of dawn. In his Metamorphosis, or Golden Ass, Apuleius, turned into a donkey because of his foolishness, regained his human shape by eating a sacred rose given to him by the Egyptian priests.
Love and compassion says it all to me. Compassion is a/the secret password?
As reported previously on this forum, on one very memorable occasion (for me and my dying friend) I placed my hands above her body and closed my eyes to do some Therapeutic Touch. When I did this - a perfect full technicolour miniature red rose appeared in the third eye area (externally speaking). I was shocked but delightedly so. My friend said her body felt like it 'jumped' on the bed. She then said she was taken to a delightful place where she lost all fear of her immanent death. When the fear returned, she would remember this experience and feel better.
What goes round comes round.. when my turn comes I plan to remember this experience for my own relief.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
Something we might like to consider.... rose red (the colour) is a blue red. The rosicrucian cross is most clearly another depiction of the Tree of Life. The four colours of Malkuth at the foot of the cross being a give away.
The Red Arm is Severity and the Blue Arm, Mercy. The colour rose therefore leads to synthesis.. through adversity, compassion?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
Once I went to a flower show and there was a whole stand of Cardinal red roses. The atmosphere around them was thick so that I had to push a bit harder to walk towards them.
Other stands of roses did not have that atmosphere.
Unfortunately the nature of the physical rose is not understood and RC chapters commonly use artificial flowers and hence rarely experience the core of that ritual.
Most commentary on symbols is logical, theo-logical and mystical and is not tested against the metaphysical reality. The world of full of speculatives.
Talking about metaphysical realities... following stepnwolfs excellent link I ended up with "David Spangler at Findhorn" Interesting person who talks, knows a lot about metaphysical realities. Are you familiar with him and what he has to say? Any thoughts?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
I was there when David returned for a visit. I used to listen to his talks in the community meetings and had several conversations with him.
Some of his published transmissions were edited a little to fit with the preferred theology - thus "We are ...." became "I AM ...."
His material produced there in the early 1970s was and is pretty good, in my view. I suspect,however, that like Eileen, he experienced a particular overlighting for a limited period.
You learn something new every day! I did a search and found no rose in the N.T. As "rose" it appears twice in the O.T. Sgs 2:1 and Isa 35:1.
In the Catholic tradition, the rose is often associated with the B.V.M. (Blessed Virgin Mary). It has been said the her presence is often announced by the odor of roses.
St. Rose of Lima, the first canonized saint of the new world, at her confirmation took the name Rose, since her nurses said her face resembled a rose in her infancy.
Interesting person who talks, knows a lot about metaphysical realities. Are you familiar with him and what he has to say? Any thoughts?