The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians: The Flame of Life, Higher Planes of Consciousness, Metempsychosis and the Seven Cosmic Principles

This superb study explains the spiritual doctrines of the Rosicrucian order, and the esoteric and occultist knowledge which the group has researched and taught for centuries. Founded in the early 17th century, the Rosicrucian order began as a curiosity - a group of individuals citing ancient knowledge of Egyptian and other spiritual orders. With this knowledge, these sages were said to understand the interplay between the physical world and the spiritual planes, and the relationship of the human soul to these multiple realms of consciousness. Such vivid and striking claims attracted popular attention; for centuries to follow the Rosicrucian order has remained manifest in one form or another. William Walker Atkinson, writing here under one of his pseudonyms - "Magus Incognito" - begins with a summary concerning the Rosicrucians. He then delves sequentially into matters of alchemy, the multifaceted nature of the soul, and the relationships between our lives in the physical reality and the realms beyond. He explores the symbolism inherent to the occult, the phrases and terms esoteric investigators use, cogently revealing the broad range of doctrines that have developed over generations.