"To such an intention of a general reformation, the
most godly and highly illuminated Father, our Brother, C. R. C., a German, the
chief and original of our Fraternity, hath much and long time laboured, who,
by reason of his poverty (although descended of noble parents), in the fifth
year of his age was placed in a cloyster, where he had learned indifferently
the Greek and Latin tongues, and (upon his earnest desire and request), being
yet in his growing years, was associated to a Brother, P. A. L., who had determined
to go to the Holy Land. Although this Brother dyed in Ciprus, and so never came
to Jerusalem, yet our Brother C. R. C. did not return, but shipped himself over,
and went to Damasco, [our note: i.e., Damascus.] minding from thence to go to
Jerusalem. But by reason of the feebleness of his body he remained still there,
and by his skill in physic he obtained much favour with the Turks, and in the
meantime he became acquainted with the Wise Men of Damcar in Arabia, and beheld
what great wonders they wrought, and how Nature was discovered unto them.
"Hereby was that high and noble spirit of Brother C. R. C. so stired [sic]
up, that Jerusalem was not so much now in his mind as Damasco; [in the Waite
translation it is stated that German editions confused Damasco with Damcar.
Damasco is Damascus, but Damcar is Dhamar, in Southern Arabia. Therefore, it
should read Damcar rather than Damasco.] also he could not bridle his desires
any longer, but made a bargain with the Arabians that they should carry him
for a certain sum of money to Damcar. [Undoubtedly along the Incense Road.]
"He was but of the age of sixteen years when he came
thither, yet of a strong Dutch constitution. [Our note. But... wasn't he a feeble
German, a few sentences ago? Hmmm...] There the Wise Men [our note: can we draw
any comparisons between these Wise Men and the Wise Men of EnKi which Sitchin
refers to in When Time Began...?] received him not as a stranger
(as he himself witnesseth), but as one whom they had long expected; they called
him by his name, and shewed him other secrets out of his cloyster, whereat he
could not but mightily wonder.
"He learned there better the Arabian tongue, so that
the year following he translated the Book M. into good Latin, [Our note: We
would still like to know just what exactly, the Book M was?] which
he afterwards brought with him. This is the place where he did learn his Physick
and his Mathematics, whereof the world hath much cause to rejoice, if there
were more love and less envy. [Perhaps the Book M., was the Isma'ili
work, Rasa-il Ikhwan as-Safa. Not necessarily impossible, after
all. Maybe he taught it to Kalonymous, who translated it into Hebrew? Who knows.]
After three years he returned again with good consent, shipped himself over
Sinus Arabicus [Our note: The Sinai Peninsula.] into Egypt, where he remained
not long, but only took better notice there of the plants and creatures. He
sailed over the whole Mediterranean Sea for to come unto Fez, where the Arabians
had directed him. [Maybe this far-flung network is really how the whole thing
works. A recruiting centre in Damascus, satellite campuses in Damcar and Fez,
and probably places in Spain prior to 1492, and elsewhere.....]
"It is a great shame unto us that wise men, so far remote the one from
the other, [Our note: but that is how it is, sad but true...] should not only
be of one opinion, hating all contentious writings, but also be so willing and
ready, under the seal of secresy, to impart their secrets to others. Every year
the Arabians and Africans do send one to another, inquiring one of another out
of their arts, if happily they had found out some better things, or if experience
had weakened their reasons. Yearly there came something to light whereby the
Mathematics, Physic, and Magic (for in those are they of Fez most skilful) were
amended. There is now-a-days no want of learned men in Germany, Magicians, Cabalists,
Physicians, and Philosophers, were there but more love and kindness among them,
or that the most part of them would not keep their secrets close only to themselves.
"At Fez he did get acquaintance with those which are commonly called the
Elementary inhabitants, who revealed unto him many of their secrets, as we Germans
likewise might gather together many things if there were the like unity and
desire of searching out secrets amongst us.
"Of these of Fez he often did confess, that their Magia was not altogether
pure, and also that their Cabala was defiled with their Religion; [Our note:
could this be a Sufi group at Fez? Or perhaps a Joujouka style group?] but,
notwithstanding, he knew how to make good use of the same, and found still more
better grounds for his faith, altogether agreeable with the harmony of the whole
world, and wonderfully impressed in all periods of time. Thence proceedeth that
fair Concord, that as in every several kernel is contained a whole good tree
or fruit, so likewise is included in the little body of man, the whole great
world, whose religion, policy, health, members, nature, language, words, and
works, are agreeing, sympathizing, and in equal time and melody with God, Heaven,
and Earth; and that which is disagreeing with them is error, falsehood, and
of the devil, who alone is the first, middle, and last cause of strife, blindness,
and darkness in the world. Also, might one examine all and several persons upon
the earth, he should find that which is good and right is always agreeing with
itself, but all the rest is spotted with a thousand erroneous conceits.
"After two years Brother R. C. departed the city Fez, and sailed with many costly things into Spain, hoping well, as he himself had so well and profitably spent his time in his travel, that the learned in Europe would highly rejoyce with him, and begin to rule and order all their studies according to those sure and sound foundations...." -- Fama Fraternitatis, from Waite, The Real History of the Rosicrucians, pp. 66 - 69.
"Composed by Abdul Alhazred, a mad poet of Sanaa, in Yemen, who is said to have flourished during the period of the Ommiade caliphs, circa 700 A. D. He visited the ruins of Babylon & the subterranean secret of Memphis & spent ten years alone in the great southern desert of Araba -- the Roba El Khaliyeh or 'Empty Space' of the ancients -- & 'Dahna' or 'Crimson' desert of the modern Arabs, which is held to be inhabited by protective evil spirits & monsters of death. Of this desert many strange & unbelievable marvels are told by those who pretend to have penetrated it. In his last years Alhazred dwelt in Damascus, where the Necronomicon (Al Azif) was written & of his final death or disappearance. (738 A. D.) ....." -- H. P. Lovecraft, History of the Necronomicon.
Scholars assert that Frater C. R. C. travelled to Damascus to seek the Wise
Men of Damascus, claiming that the Damcar of the original is a corruption of
Damascus. This has been a point of contention for a long time. Waite could have
corrected everybody, but he failed to do so, instead, making out Damcar to be
an imaginary secret place.
If one has access to the maps of Abraham Ortelius, the truth is
right out in the open. In the map, entitled "Africae Tabula Nova,"
Damcar is easily found. If one looks at Damascus, the name given is Damasco!
At the place on the map, roughly speaking, where one would look for Sana in
the Yemen region, is a place called Damcar! In fact, near Sana, but to the South,
is a town named Dhamar, the home of a very ancient Islamic University.
At any rate, this area is not outside the scope of the Authentic
Tradition. This is in Sabaean territory, and, perhaps, is even more proof that
all these traditions were connected. Rosicrucian stories, like those found in
Waite's REAL HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS, testify to the old assertion
that the Land of the Rosicrucians was to be found in Africa or Arabia. If we
examine the Legend of Prester John, we can see that from the 14th Century on,
this land was considered to be Ethiopia, and Saba (Yemen) and Ethiopia (Axum,
Abyssinia) have been intricately linked for ages and ages.
Manly Palmer Hall, former guru of former Mayor Sam Yorty of Los Angeles, tells
us:
"In order to assist in bringing about the reformation, a mysterious person
called 'the Highly Illiminated Father C. R. C.,' a German by birth, descended
of a noble family, but himself a poor man, instituted the 'Secret Society of
the Rose Cross.' CRC was placed in a cloister when only five years of age [i.e.,
1383.], but later becoming dissatisfied with its educational system, he associated
himself with a brother of Holy Orders who was setting forth on a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land. They started out together, but the brother died at Cyprus
and CRC continued alone to Damascus. Poor health prevented him from reaching
Jerusalem, so he remained at Damascus, studying with the philosophers who dwelt
there.
"While pursuing his studies, HE HEARD OF A GROUP OF MYSTICS AND QABBALISTS
ABIDING IN THE MYSTIC ARABIAN CITY OF DAMCAR. Giving up his desire to visit
Jerusalem, he arranged with the Arabians for his transportation to DAMCAR. CRC
was but sixteen years of age [i.e., 1394.] when he arrived at DAMCAR. He was
received as one who had been long expected, a comrade and a friend in philosophy,
and was INSTRUCTED IN THE SECRETS OF THE ARABIAN ADEPTS. While There, CRC learned
the Arabic Tongue and translated the Sacred book M into Latin, and upon returning
to Europe he brought this important volume with him.
"After studying three years in DAMCAR [i.e., 1397],
CRC departed for the city of Fez, where the Arabian magicians declared further
information would be given him. At FEZ, he was instrusted how to communicate
with the Elementary Inhabitants (probably the nature spirits), and these disclosed
to him many other great secrets of Nature. While the philosophers in FEZ WERE
NOT SO GREAT AS THOSE IN DAMCAR, the previous experiences of CRC enabled him
to distinguish the true from the false and thus add greatly to his store of
knowledge.
"After two years in FEZ [i.e., 1399.], CRC sailed for
Spain, carrying with him many treasures, among them rare plants and animals
accumulated during his wanderings. He fondly hoped that the learned men of Europe
would receive with gratitude the rare intellectual and material treasures which
he had brought for their consideration. Instead he encountered only ridicule,
for the so-called wise were afraid to admit their previous ignorance lest their
prestige be impaired." [Secret Teachings of all Ages.]
...and so it remains true to this day!
Here is the journey in chart form:
Germany --- Cyprus --- Damascus --- Damcar --- Egypt --- Fez --- Spain --- Germany.
Roughly at the beginning of the 15th Century, "CRC" is back in Europe,
and initiates a small number of the learned of Europe, into the mysteries he
learned in DAMCAR and FEZ. It sounds as if he might have been acquainted with
Sufi masters.
Whoever CRC actually was, if the story refers to a real person,
and it might: is a mystery we may never solve. Perhaps there was a personage
of that name, born in Germany, to a poor, but noble family. Perhaps CRC is a
Christianized version of the story of Abraham the Jew who went in search of
the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage. Perhaps we may see in
CRC a teacher of Nicholas Flamel, or Flamel himself. Perhaps CRC is none of
these. Perhaps it is Abraham ibn Ezra or Hasdai Crescas, or even Jedaiah ha-Penini.
Ibn Ezra travelled all over North Africa and Europe in search of wisdom. Crescas'
writings reveal an acquaintance with philosophy, which we see in the writings
of the Rosicrucians, including the idea of the infinity of space and suggesting
the possibility of a plurality of worlds.
But, it is not impossible to suppose that the Wise Men of Damcar, the Sabaeans, were: a) conservators of the Authentic Tradition, originated in Sumer; b) connected to the Ethiopian Tradition; c) connected to the same traditions practiced by the Sabians of Harran and Baghdad through the Rasa'il Ikhwan as-Safa and Picatrix; d) connected to Nazaraean, Nasorean, Nasoraean, Mandaean and other Primitive Christian and Gnostic traditions; e) acquainted with Isma'ili and Sufi teachings and possibly Isma'ili and Sufi teachers themselves; f) acquainted with and/or teachers of the surviving Dosithean / Johannite Tradition, which Aboulfatah says lasted at least as late as the 14th century c.e.; g) perhaps even a survival group of Borborite / Barbelo-Gnostics. We know that a long-established university existed at Dhamar. Perhaps a connection exists here too.
A final note on the seeming mess and confusion of sects is due here. Ultimately, they are of the same family. But, and we emphasize the word 'but' -- they are all separate. True, the Ebionites sprang out of the Original Church. True, the Elkesaites came out of the Ebionite / Essene tradition, and provided sanctuary for the Desposynii; mingling with the Haemerobaptist sect attributed to John the Baptist. True, the Masbotheans (and Basmotheans!), Mughtasilahs, Nazoreans and Mandaeans came out of this. (Partly.)
True again, that the Yezidis are a development of several strands, including the Magi cultus, native traditions going back to ancient Sumer, the Harranians, Sufism, Isma'ili and Nestorian currents, with a clear influence coming from the Nusairi, which is not impossible, since Sheikh 'Adi came from territory in the Lebanon that the Nusairi and the Druzes both were close to. True that the Sabians of Harran stole their name from the Mandaeans, and perhaps the Elkesaites; but also true, that they were vehicles for the Authentic Tradition, and have connections with the Yezidis and Nusairis. And, true, as well, that the Pure Brethren of Basra, the Isma'iliyya, the Batini, are related to these, through recruiting from their numbers, and assimilating all these various philosophies. And this is how they are all tied together.
The Sabaeans (of Saba) migrate, and with them, their priests spread the traditions. To Ethiopia, to Nabatea. From Nabatea, to 1) Syria, where the Nazoreans and Syrian Gnostics and Christians are; 2) to Mesopotamia, the Mandaeans, and other groups we have covered, like the Chaldaeans.
And, these Sabaeans are the Wise Men of Damcar, that Frater CRC is supposed to have found, and learned from. Also, the Sabaeans influenced the Pagans of Harran. This is all connected together.
From Babylon comes the traditions that go into the development of the Practical or Magical Kabbalah (such as that found in the Work of the Chariot, in the Sepher Reziel Hemelech), brought to Italy by Abu Aharon ben Samuel ha-Nasi of Baghdad.
The Old system, that of Sumer, passed on, to the Ophites in Phrygia, to the Samaritans, to the Haemerobaptists and their cousins, the Essenes. The Haemerobaptists, in their turn, were true Johannites, spawning sects like the Dositheans, Simonians, Nicolaitans, Sethians, etc.
So, in short, this is one big family, one big (and very very old) tradition. And all that it stands for is truly Traditional Family Values!
The conclusions we are reaching in or work have been made over a century ago by several scholars. Many of these have been dismissed by the safe scholars. Yet there are reasons that cause us to claim that people like von-Hammer-Purgstall, Ragon, Fabré-Palaprat, the Baron Tschoudy, Godfrey Higgins, Eliphas Levi, H. P. Blavatsky, Hargrave Jennings, and John Yarker were not mere quacks. Blavatsky, in ISIS UNVEILED, hit the mark quite well, in Volume II, pp. 291ff. Yarker, too, in THE ARCANE SCHOOLS. Jennings' ROSICRUCIANS, and his un-attributed works, like OPHIOLATREIA are classics. Yet, the writers of the past century, like Waite and Clegg, (in the early 20th Century, at least), have debunked these scholars' (and insiders, too, for all that!) labours unmercifully.
And, the Archaeological Scholars, and Philologists of the 20th Century have vindicated some of our predecessors' works. The discovery of Nag Hammadi helped bring Gnosticism back into favour, and give it the viability that it has always certainly possessed, its detractors to the contrary! Expert scholars, like the late William Foxwell Albright, have made our work easier as well. Also the pioneering work of Raphael Patai, whose THE HEBREW GODDESS and THE JEWISH ALCHEMISTS are a must read and in the case of the former, has helped to give the Goddess back Her Legitimacy that She has always possessed, even if humankind's eyes and minds have been closed or forced shut, due to the dogmatists and the materialists. James Burke, too, has shed a great deal of light on the history of ideas, most of which were inspired by the Authentic Tradition.
For, no longer is this to be simply regarded as our own insignificant, minor opinion, to be kept to ourselves, and never expressed outwardly or practiced. These Traditions are as Authentic as any that exist today, and are descended from the Sumerian Tradition, the Legacy of the Nephilim.
The time has come to affirm this Connection with our Ancestors, and to back it up. For it is through such an affirmation that our diseased planet may actually be reclaimed and redeemed. But in Practice as well as in Theory!
If any 'apocalypse' or 'second coming' or 'end of the world scenario' or 'immanentization of the eschaton' is actually to occur, then it shall be that the world be brought back to the original order of things, according to the cycles of the Time System; that if any of our Ancestors appear in the form of recycling Avatars, that they are able to abide by the old dictum, As Above, So Below.
Now, we shall examine another group that flourished in the Near East, that had an immense impact upon the Authentic Tradition.
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