The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians [Paperback]

Magus Incognito (Author), Paul Tice (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Illustrated With the Secret Rosicrucian Symbols; Incognito, Magus; "The true Rosicrucians have no formal organization, and are held together only by the ties of common interest in the occult and esoteric studies, and by the common acceptance of certain fundamental principles of belief and knowledge." Contents: Rosicrucians and their Secret Doctrine; The Eternal Parent; The Soul of the World; Universal Androgyne; One and the Many; Universal Flame of Life; Planes of Consiciousness; Three Higher Planes of Consciousness; Sevenfold Soul of Man; Metempsychosis; Soul's Progress; Aura and the Aruic Colors; Seven Cosmic Principles.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Book Tree provides over 200 titles of similar interest, all available (and searchable by "publisher") through Amazon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Book Tree (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585090913
• ISBN-13: 978-1585090914
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,254,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting summary of basic Rosicrucian theories, January 4, 2002

By 

Ben Scaro (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians (Paperback)

I'm finding this little book to be be a useful synthesis of complex occult ideas. It appears to have been written in 1949 to set the record straight at a time when moneymaking Rosicrucian orders were warring amongst themselves.

I'm acutely aware that this book raises hackles among some Rosicrucians of particular orders. When I asked for opinions about it on one order's mail list, members talked about suing the writer. This hostility probably stems from the fact that the unknown Magus who penned it, obviously annoyed at commercial exploitation of the Rosicrucian philosophy, wrote his own version of information they'd paid hundreds of dollars for, and maybe hoped to make money from, and released it into the world so anyone could access it for $10. [It needs to be noted that Rosicrucian theories are not the property of any one order.]

On the other hand, other Rosicrucians have recommended this text to me.

However, buying this book and understanding its ideas are different things- the doctrines still are 'secret' to the extent that realising what they mean is no easy thing and is a matter for the soul rather than just the intellect.

The style of the writing is a tad dated, reflecting the time, but for all that it's pretty down-to-earth, and the better for it. A worthwhile book.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Importance of Informality, October 6, 2000

By 

Daniel Lyons (Socorro, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians (Hardcover)

The other reviewer of the book states that this book is not valid because a former AMORC member dislikes it. Hopefully, those who read the top lines of publisher's review noticed the part about Rosicrucianism not having an official society. the AMORC used to come close, but this is not the case anymore.True Rosicrucianism is a philosophy, a state of mind, a way of living. It has nothing to do with who you are paying dues to, or if you are even paying dues. This book is an excellent introduction to a particular brand of Rosicrucian mysticism, and it shouldn't be left unread because it isn't endorsed by only one of three existing Rosicrucian fraternities.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Further information on 'Magus Incognito', April 2, 2006

By 

ben scaro (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians (Hardcover)

It appears that 'Magus Incognito' was in fact a pseudonym for William Walker Atkinson, known also as 'Yoga Ramacharaka', an early 20th century writer on Hinduism, Yoga and New Thought.

HS Lewis, founder of a modern neo-Rosicrucian organisation, the AMORC, borrowed heavily from Ramacharaka's work without attribution for both the lessons of his AMORC group and the AMORC-controlled Traditional Martinist Order.

Atkinson's executors obviously got their own back by publishing his 'secrets' and putting them in the public domain as 'Rosicrucian', presumably to stop AMORC profiting from his work.

So, while one may say that this book is not about 'Rosicrucians or their doctrines' I would say that there are some differences between this book and the teachings of early Rosicrucian movements. Much of what is written here is a synthesis of East and West, influenced by Hindu and Yoga teachings.

However the book has very definite similarities to the modern-era AMORC teachings, which after all, borrowed liberally from Ramacharaka in the first place !

So . . . maybe that means AMORC doctrines don't owe much to Rosicrucianism, at least to the extent that they borrow from Ramacharaka ? An interesting conundrum !

Given Ramacharaka published his work many years before the AMORC founder, it should be quite clear that it is not Ramacharaka who was the 'wantabe'.

Ben