Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

ROSICRUCIAN SOCIETY

Also known as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA). An occult organization founded in England by Robert Wentworth Little with the assistance of felIow Freemasons, W R Woodman, F G Irwin and Kenneth MacKenzie.

According to some authors inauguration took place in 1886 but the alternative date of 1865 is proposed by both Francis King (1970) and R A Gilbert (1983). The SRIA claimed association with the Fraternity of the Rosy Cross, a German society, the roots of which are alIeged to trace back to Christian Rosenkreutz. This claim was supported through the collection by Mackenzie, during a stay in Austria, of certain details of the medieval German grades and rituals. These were claimed to be authentic contemporary documents though, in reality, most were almost certainly copied from a German text dated no earlier than 1781.

Rosicrucianism achieved the height of its popularity in England in the Puritan years of the Interregnum when many of its texts were translated and published, though it was being attacked for 'turning divinity into fantasy' as early as the beginning of the 17th century.

During the 19th century Rosicrucianism attracted many within Freemasonry, an essential prerequisite for membership, and a number of these Masonic Rosicrucians became interested in, and were initiated into Wicca. Amongst the most influential in England was Hargrave Jennings. The English Rosicrucians also published a short-lived magazine, The Rosicrucian. In the 20th century, Dorothy Clutterbuck, Gerald Gardner's initiator, is said to have met him through a local Rosicrucian society centred on the theatre in Christchurch, Hampshire which was opened in June 1938. Allegedly, there were also links between a number of Rosicrucians and such notable wizards as the Essex Cunning Person George Pickingill.

An inventive claim (E W Liddell, 1994) suggests that the rituals of SRIA were compiled in 1865 as a result of collaboration between Pickingill, Hargrave Jennings and W H Hughan and that Pickingill 'materially influenced the founding of SRIA and Golden Dawn'. It is implausible that Pickingill, a farm labourer, possessed the required intellect for such a task and Hughan was admitted to the Scottish Rosicrucian Society only in 1866 whilst Hargrave Jennings did not join the English Society until 1870. Neither man was involved in the foundation of SRIA.

The Society has followed loose principles of Gnosticism applying a quasi-Christian doctrine to those of other Theosophies, Alchemy, Reincarnation and Esoterism. It relies on the fundamental alchemist's notion that purity of life is a pre-requisite to scientific progress. Implications that it presents an interpretation of Christianity are strongly refuted by Christian and non-Christian scholars alike.

Many of the grades subsequently employed in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn mirror those of SRIA but suggestions that one organization was based upon the other are unsubstantiated since their respective rituals bear little similarity.

SRIA members were, at times, criticised for being overly materialistic and pre-occupied with worldly pleasures. Membership was, however, restricted to Master Masons who professed devout belief in the Christian doctrine and membership of SRIA turned out to be a pre-requisite for entry into several other occult societies which arose around the turn of the century.

The Society also supported the concepts of Clairvoyance and had, amongst their ranks, the eminent occultist Frederick Hockley. W W Westcott, one of the founders of Golden Dawn, was also a prominent member and for a time W R Woodman was its Supreme Magus.

The present headquarters of the Society are in California where it preaches 'reason' and promises 'success' .

see also: ROSICRUCIANS; FREEMASONRY

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc