Rose Cross

The picture above is the rose cross (or rosy cross) as it appears on the back of the cards of the tarot that Aleister Crowley designed and had painted by Lady Frieda Harris. It was my introduction to the rose cross. The symbol is associated with Cristian Rosenkreutz (= rose cross) who was the founder of the Rosicrucian Order in the early 17th century. Later it was used in Freemasonry and of course in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Crowley made his tarot because each member of the Order of the Golden Dawn at some point made their own tarot. Crowley later developed the spiritual philosophy Thelema in which the rose cross played an important part. With this the rose cross had moved from a largely Christian based philisophy to one inspired by ancient Egyptian deities. Arthur Edward Waite however, the man who designed that other well know tarot, in the same period established The Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, which was a Christian mystical organisation.

A profound symbol of an individual’s personal initiatic process, spiritual refinement and evolution, synthesis, grace found as a result of trial and suffering, and the alchemical process by which we transform the raw essence of our souls through light in extension. This is a holy oil, a representation of the triumph of spirit over matter: purest rose with sacred frankincense.

This is the interpretation of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab of the Rose Cross. And indeed this is exactly what they say: rose and frankincense, in that order. The scent starts out with a stately rose (I dare say that I find it stately because of the frankinsence beneath the rose, but it is rose what I smell). Then after about an hour and a half the frankincense has (almost) completely taken over. I was wondering if I should re-test Seraphim next, as this scent too has both rose and frankincense (but also ample rosewood although it is not mentioned as a note). I did not. In fact I later went to wear King Cobra, because the king has frankincense too. But he deserves his own page and I shall write about him when he is the one I start the day with.

The Rosy Cross Lamen as worn by Adepts in the Rosae Rubae et Aureae Crucis, 

the inner order of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.