The manifestos of the Rosicrucian movement, published between 1614 and 1616, epitomise the essential content of the Western Mystery Tradition. Apart from their theological polemic they contain two classic symbolic quests (the life and journeys of Christian Rosencreutz and the Seven Days of the Chemical Wedding); a dazzling fusion of alchemical symbolism and mystical theology; and the concept of a dedicated esoteric fraternity. They also provided much of the inspiration for the Speculative Freemasonry that grew up in England throughout the 17th century, to be formalised in 1717. Freemasonry then became the archetypal initiatic system, teaching a complex system of symbolism to its initiates and feeding ritual practice back into the revived Rosicrucianism of the 18th century which resulted in one of the most ornate collections of combined theological, alchemical and Rosicrucian symbolism ever produced.
The symbolism of The Great Mystery, the Golden and Rosy Cross. Geheime Figuren des Rosenkreuzers (1784) is clearly and essentially Christian and its Pietist content acted as the inspiration for the symbolic drawings produced within the Shaker communities in mid-19th century America - the Shakers being unquestionably children of Pietism, which had itself built upon the works of Jacob Boehme and represented the apex of Protestant Mysticism. The Pietist movement was also set over against the dry formalism of 18th century religion and represented a true current of the Mystery Tradition within the exoteric Church.
