Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
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| Author | Anonymous: attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae |
|---|---|
| Language | English, translated from German |
| Publisher | Grand Rapids: Phanes Press, 1991 |
| Released | 1616 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 172 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-933999-35-6 |
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459) was edited in 1616 in Strasbourg (annexed by France in 1681), and its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. It is the third of the original manifestos of the mysterious "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" (Rosicrucians).
It is an allegoric romance (story) divided into Seven Days, or Seven Journeys, like Genesis, and tells us about the way Christian Rosenkreuz was invited to go to a wonderful castle full of miracles, in order to assist the Chymical Wedding of the king and the queen, that is, the husband and the bride.
This manifesto has been a source of inspiration for poets, alchemists (the word "chymical" is an old form of "chemical" and refers to alchemy – for which the 'Sacred Marriage' was the goal [1]) and dreamers, through the force of its initiation ritual with processions of tests, purifications, death, resurrection, and ascension and also by its symbolism found since the beginning with the invitation to Rosenkreutz to assist this Royal Wedding.
There is some resemblance between this alchemic romance and some parables in the Bible:
- The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: (Matthew 22:2,11 KJV)
- And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
Another rich source of imagery from the Bible are the Song of Solomon and the Book of Proverbs
The name of the album The Chemical Wedding by Bruce Dickinson is derived from this story.
[edit] See also
- Alchemy
- Carl Jung
- Christian Rosenkreuz
- Fama Fraternitatis (1614) - Confessio Fraternitatis (1615)
- Esoteric Christianity
- Herbert Silberer
- Hermeticism
- Kaballah
- Lectorium Rosicrucianum - Antonin Gadal - Catharose de Petri - Jan van Rijckenborgh
- Monas Hieroglyphica
- Parabola Allegory
- Rosicrucianism
- Rosicrucian Manifestos
[edit] External links
- Text of The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
- Text of the Rosicrucian Manifestos at the Rosicrucian Library web site
- The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (You Are Cordially Invited to a Royal Wedding!)
- Les Noces Chimiques, available at Project Gutenberg. (French translation)
- The Sacred Marriage, the goal of the 'Great Work'
