The Rose Cross Ritual can be used for many purposes. It encloses the aura and protects
it from outside influences.. Unlike the use of Pentagrams which light up on the astral and
make entities aware of you, the Rose Cross acts like a veil.
It is also good to use before meditating as it shifts your consciousness and withdraws
you from the physical. Once familiar with the ritual it can be done in your head. Combined
with rhythmic breathing it withdraws your mind. At this point I can see it being useful in
alpha for healing purposes as much research that I have done indicates that the Rose cross
ritual is very useful to use for healing work on self and others.
For example in alpha you could call the person into your work shop and stand them in
the centre and use the coloured lights for healing and surround the person with the 6
crosses.
The Rose Cross Ritual can also be used to protect against psychic attack from others or
used in a place where there seems to be a feeling of fear to help cleanse that feeling.
My feeling is though that it can be used instead of a circle - and is particularly
handy if you don't want others to know that your working on the astral.
The below information was taken from :
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/rosicruc.html
More information on the below can be found at the above address.
The Rose Cross can be traced back to the 17th century and originated in Germany. It has
since spread into the western world where it made it's way into Freemasonry where various
ritual degrees derived their name and meaning from the Rosicrucian legend.
According to the Rosicrucian legend, the order began with Christian Rosenkreuz who was
born in 1378 in Germany. In 1393 he visited Damascus in Egypt and Morroco where he learnt
from the Masters of Occult Arts ( I can't find any reference as to which Masters or what
particular occult art - but I am assuming it was some form of ceremonial magic).
On his return to Germany in 1407 he began the Rosicrucian Order with 3 monks from a
cloister where he had been raised. He also built the House of the Holy Spirit which was
completed in 1409. The original group of 4 grew to 8. Christian Rosenkreuz died at the age
of 106 in 1484 and was entombed in the Spiritus Sanctum. Knowledge of his tomb was lost
but rediscovered again in 1604, which also led to the revival of the order.
Modern Rosicrucian groups have different opinions about Christian Rosencreuz. Some
believe he actually existed as the early documents assert; others see the name as a
pseudonym for one or more historic personages (Francis Bacon perhaps). Still others view
the story as a parable, and occult legend that points to more profound truth. Knowledge of
Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order he supposedly founded was given to the world in three
documents in the second decade of the seventeenth century:
 | The Fama Fraternitas of the Meritorious Order of the Rosy Cross (1614) |
| The Confession of the Rosicrucian Fraternity (1615) |
| The Chumical Marriage of Christian Rosenkreuz (1616 pub purportedly written by
Christian Rosenkreuz in 1459) |
Research though seems to indicate that these documents and the idea of the order
originated with a German Lutheran Pastor Johann Valentin Andrae. Andrae had envisioned a
society for the reformation of social life and he (it is not sure if he had help) created
the legend and published the documents describing it in an effort to catalyze others to
initiate the Rosicrucian work. Whether the documents were hoax or real the response to
them was immediate and intense Rosicrucian societies popped up everywhere and the rose and
cross symbol (which came from Andeae's coat of arms) became popular. The Rosicrucian
groups combined a vision of social reform, the study of alchemy, Cabalism and mysticism
with Christian theology. These groups blended in to the larger Christian community which
could be found throughout Germany during this time.
Upon further research it would seem this ritual can be tied in with the Rosicrucians,
the Masons and finally leading to the Golden Dawn where we find the ritual in it's current
form. Although I have not found anything so far that gives an actual Author for this
ritual, I am thinking from research so far that Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers may have
written the rose cross ritual when he and Dr William Wynn Wescott founded the Golden Dawn.
Both had backgrounds in the Rosicrucian Order and Free Masons.
Further evidence to support this was found at:
http://www.byzant.com/scriptorium/goldendawn.html
This particular page talks about the history of the golden Dawn and states:
"The story goes that Westcott was sent parts of a strange, encrypted document by a
Reverand Woodford, a Mason and Hermeticist, who claimed to have found it in a London
bookstall. Once Westcott had deciphered the manuscript, it turned out to be an outline for
the rituals and teachings of a magical order, with instructions to contact Sapiens
Dominabitur Astris, in care of Anna Sprengel in Hanover. Westcott did this and was told
that he could found "an elementary branch of the Rosicrucian Order in England."
Mathers helped to craft workable rituals from the outlines in the document, and the
Golden Dawn was born." I feel it would be safe to assume that the Rose Cross Ritual
was one of the Rituals mentioned in the above paragraph.
Encyclopaedia of the occult by Lewis Spence 1988 Bracken Books
Complete Golden Dawn by Isralie Regardie
http://www.americanreligion.org/cultwtch/rosicruc.html
http://www.byzant.com/scriptorium/goldendawn.html