Patterns in History.

The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Timeline.

Throughout recorded history, there have been recurring patterns where men and women have tried to recreate human society based on the partnership social structure that existed before the rise of dominator societies in the fifth millennium BCE. Two historical movements have been chosen to show that the desire for peace and harmony between men and women is not merely wishful thinking. For example, during the twelfth century in southern France, romantic love and respect for women emerged as the central themes of poetry and courtly life in Medieval Europe. Women were revered as powerful and honoured rather than dominated and despised, while the ideals for men were honour and gentleness rather than domination and brutality. This was revolutionary because it was a return to a partnership social structure where men and women were seen as equals who embraced life, freedom, and love. Like Minoan Crete, the link that bound this culture together was the veneration of a female deity - in this case, the Virgin Mary. As pointed out by Riane Eisler, “The worship of Mary was a return to the ancient worship of the Goddess” (Eisler, 1988, p.140). However, this culture was eventually destroyed during the Albigensian Crusade in the early thirteenth century, which saw southern France devastated by the armies of the Catholic Church.

Another attempt to return to a partnership social structure was during the period that lasted from 1580 to 1620 when idealists in England and Germany attempted to create an alchemical monarchy under Elizabeth I of England. Historians have long described the Elizabethan era as a Golden Age in which there was “a flood of creative energy, especially in poetry and the drama, England’s preferred form of art, but also in painting, architecture, and music” (Taylor, 1954, p.151). In 1583, this spirit of artistic and cultural flowering was taken into Germany by Elizabeth’s court astrologer John Dee, who saw the potential in the queen to bring about a universal reformation of human society. After Elizabeth and Dee died in 1603 and 1608, respectively, this dream was taken up by Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and his wife Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England, who were married in 1613. The couple embodied the essence of sacred union: “Frederick and Elizabeth really fell in love with one another and this romance was to endure throughout the vicissitudes to come” (Yates, 2002, p.2). Sadly, Frederick and Elizabeth’s dream of an alchemical monarchy in Europe ended in 1620 when they were forced into exile after the Habsburgs defeated their army at the Battle of White Mountain.

The underlying themes behind these two historical resurgences are alchemy and the emancipation of women and men. Alchemy is an ancient science concerned with turning lead into gold, which is a metaphor for spiritual transformation. According to Jay Weidner, southern France was at the forefront of a spiritual revival based on feminine values, which was “a desire to reinvigorate Europe with the ancient alchemical knowledge of the path to liberation and enlightenment” (Rose, 2002, p.105). This was demonstrated by the worship of the Virgin Mary and through the building of the Gothic Cathedrals, which, according to the French alchemist Fulcanelli, were “alchemical texts written in stone” (Melville, 2002, p.54). When this revival was driven underground, it reemerged during the Elizabethan era with the creation of the Rosicrucian manifestos, which promised a general reformation of human society and a return to a Golden Age of peace and harmony. Ultimately, the movement was driven underground again after its spokesperson, Frederick V, Elector Palatine, failed to gain the support of James I of England and was defeated by the Habsburgs at the beginning of the Thirty Years War.

Another theme of these two time periods is the increased respect for women, particularly those in leadership positions. During periods of rule by female leaders, like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Elizabeth I of England, there was a great flowering of cultural and artistic expression, along with “less social and sexual repression, more individualism, and social reform” (Eisler, 1988, p.139). Conversely, periods where there are more repressive attitudes towards women signal periods of war and violence, with the Albigensian Crusade and the Thirty Years War being two prime examples. These patterns throughout history show that partnership has tried to reassert itself through social movements like the Troubadours and the Rosicrucians, only for these movements to be suppressed by the dominator system where “a shift to an “unwarlike” and “unmanly” world – a world no longer governed by the “masculine” Blade – was not to be tolerated” (Eisler, 1988, p.145).

Despite periods of regression, another underlying theme shown by these two case studies is that men are not intrinsically violent and that, given the right social and environmental conditions, they can live in peace with women, children, and other men. In other words, the problem is not the male gender. Instead, the problem is society’s narrow definition of what constitutes true masculinity: violence and domination at the expense of love and kindness. As Michael Kimmel points out, toxic masculinity “is responsible for most of the evil in the world” and proclaims, “the unheralded goodness of the men who fight the fires and till the soil and nurture their families” (Kimmel, 1995, p.367). In other words, the dominator social structure inexorably drives us towards war and destruction, not ourselves. “In short, if we look at our present from the perspective of Cultural Transformation theory, it becomes evident that there are alternatives to a system founded on the force-based ranking of one half of humanity over the other” (Eisler, 1988, p.159). I will now present these alternatives in the following paragraphs.

The spiritual solution to the problem of war and domination is quite simple. It involves the attainment of inner peace and happiness. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote that “If there is to be peace in the world…there must be peace in the heart" (Tzu, 2019). In other words, it is the experience of love that can bring an end to violence and war. At first, this may seem overly simplistic to many people. But as Rhonda Byrne reveals in The Power, “Whatever you give out in life is what you receive back in life" (Byrne, 2010, p.13). This is the Law of Attraction.

Many people think that to eliminate something, we must focus on the problem and fight it. This, however, only creates resistance and the problem multiplies exponentially. By focusing on what we do not want, we end up attracting it into our lives. Instead, we must focus on what we do want, which is peace, and subsequently, we will attract peace into our lives. As Lisa Nichols says in The Secret, “How much sense does it make for us to give the particular problem all of the energy, as opposed to focusing on trust, love, living in abundance, education or peace?" (Byrne, 2006, p.143). Rhonda Byrne goes on to explain that “If we took our minds off it, and focused instead on love, it could not exist. It would evaporate and disappear” (Byrne, 2006, p.143).

This is not some abstract theory. It has been scientifically proven. In the early 1980s, a series of scientific studies involving several thousand people were conducted to assess whether transcendental meditation was involved in improved quality of life in society. One such study took place in New Delhi between November 1980 and March 1981 and involved approximately 3,000 meditators. Although this number eventually dropped to 250 persons by March 1981, the study showed that daily crime rates dropped by 11% during the five months when the meditators were focusing their energy on love and peace. This statistic was assessed by obtaining daily crime totals from the Delhi Police Headquarters, comprising 304 observations during this period. Similar results in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Philippines demonstrated that this phenomenon, known as the “Maharishi Effect”, was robust across many different cultural conditions.

What this study shows is that when we take our energy away from worldly power and politics and focus instead on attaining inner peace and happiness, we will reach a state where war and suffering will vanish from the planet. This new spiritual culture will be based on love, partnership, and uplifting others by focusing on their physical and spiritual beauty. Rhonda Byrne predicts that:

“When people reach the tipping point of giving more love than negativity, we will see negativity vanish from the planet at a rapid rate. Imagine it! Every single time you choose to give love, your love is helping to tip the entire world into positivity!" (Byrne, 2010, p.236).

She goes on to say that the most important thing is to give love and positivity right now. This is because happiness involves being alive and fulfilled in the present moment. To quote the Buddhist writer Thich Nhat Hanh, “There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way" (Hanh, 2019).

One last point to consider. According to the Maya and Inca, the year 2012 marked the end of the previous World Age and the beginning of a new one. In Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, John Major Jenkins explained how in the years after 2012, “our basic assumptions and foundational values will be exposed, and we will have the opportunity to embrace values long since driven under the surface of our collective consciousness" (Jenkins, 1998, p.329). According to Jenkins, these values will be based on partnership rather than domination. Riane Eisler noted in The Chalice and the Blade that, “Women and men all over the world are, for the first time in such large numbers, frontally challenging the male-dominator/female-dominated human relations model that is the foundation of a dominator worldview" (Eisler, 1988, p.189). This is also reflected in the Mayan creation mythology, which tells how the vain and false ruler of the previous world age, Seven Macaw, would be overthrown by One Hunahpu, whose rebirth symbolises the return of the partnership social structure and the dawn of a new Golden Age for humanity. Ultimately, this transformation starts from within.

Bibliography

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Eisler, Riane. The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1988.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. “There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” Good Reads. Accessed December 17, 2019. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/757799-there-is-no-way-to-happiness-happiness-is-the-way

Jenkins, John Major. Maya Cosmogenesis 2012. Rochester, Bear & Company, 1998.

Kimmel, Michael S. The Politics of Manhood: Profeminist Men Respond to the Mythopoetic Men's Movement (And the Mythopoetic Leaders Answer). Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1995.

Melville, Francis. The Book of Alchemy. Smithfield, Gary Allen, 2002.

Rose, Sharron. The Path of the Priestess: A Guidebook for Awakening the Divine Feminine. Rochester, Inner Traditions, 2002.

Taylor, Gordon Rattray. Sex in History. New York, Ballantine, 1954.

Tzu, Lao. “If there is to be peace in the world.” Good Reads. Accessed November 29, 2019. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/125184-if-there-is-to-be-peace-in-the-world-there

Yates, Frances. The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. New York, Routledge Classics, 2002.