The Rose Cross

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

tarotbear	01 Jan 2003
The Rose Cross By Estelle Daniels (source: Llewellyn's 2000 Magical Almanac) [notes in brackets by tarotbear] The Rose Cross is most effectively done with a stick of sandalwood incense. This can also be done silently, audibly, or visualizing only. If you can't use incense, hold your hand as though you had incense in it. It can be done either alone or after performing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Part One The Rose Cross is done on the cross quarters. Light the incense. Ground and center with three cleansing breaths. Start in the southeast. Face outward. The movements that you perform at each cross quarter are identical. The crosses you make are equal-armed, in gold, with a red "rose" at the center. Each cross is connected to the adjacent ones with a blue cord. Drawing the Cross Holding the incense in your right hand, start in the center, chest height and move your hand up, then down past the center, then back up to center. Then move right and back left through the center, then back to right and pause at center. Then draw the rose with a clockwise spiral of at least two circles. The cross is established. The rose "cements" it in place and connects the cross to the blue lines forming the web. When you perform the rose cross ritual, you create a web of energy lines anchored at the cross quarters, above, and below. To make the web, draw the crosses in the following order: SE, SW, NW, NE, SE, ABOVE, NW, BELOW, SE, SW, ABOVE, NE, BELOW, SW, NW, NE and then the last cross at SE. There are seventeen crosses in all. [above refers to right over your head as you stand center; below means on the spot where you are standing.] As you make each cross, say "YE-HE-SHU-AAAH" (YHShA, Joshua, in Hebrew, another name of God). In tone it loudly. You may feel strange, but once you are comfortable it adds energy. As you complete each cross and move to the next quarter say nothing, but draw the blue energy lines connecting the roses. For the last cross at SE you say "YE-HE-SHU-AAAH-YE-HE-VAH-SHAA" (Joshua, and another tetragrammaton). When drawing the last cross and sealing it, move up and down, right and left, and also in and out in three dimensions before drawing the last rose. The rose binds the whole thing and 'fires' the net, activating the protective web, lighting all a bright luminescent silver. Take a deep breath and relax. Part Two Put the incense aside, but keep it burning for the healing aroma of sandalwood. This part calls down the light into the circle and [into] you or another person who needs healing energy. It is adaptable to most any healing purpose: physical, spiritual, and psychic. It should only be done inside the healing web, as it's not effective otherwise. When [used for] healing, the person to be healed sits on a stool in the center facing east. Draw the energy web above, below, and around the two of you. [if you do the lbrp first, the person can sit in the center for that, also.] Facing east, stand behind the seated person. If alone, just stand in the center of the circle. Relax with your feet shoulder-width apart. With your arms straight out to the sides, right hand up and left hand down, visualize the cosmic lemniscate of energy looping through your body, shaped and directed by your hands, like a figure 8 on it's side. Intone the words YOD-NOON-RESH-YOD (YNRY in Hebrew, Latinized INRI). This is another tetragrammaton, an acronym for "the beginning, life, death, and the end." Then with your right arm straight up and your left arm straight out, making an L, head tilted left, say: "Virgo, Isis, mighty mother." With both arms spread wide upward in a V, head tilted back, looking up, say "Scorpio, Apophis (ah-pahf-iss), destroyer." With both arms crossed over your breast, hands on shoulders, head bowed down, say "Sol, Osiris, slain and risen." While opening your arms upward to full extension over your head, tile your head back until you are looking up, and intone "Isis, apophis, Osiris, eeeeeeee, aaaaaaaa, oooooohh." (Resonate the vowels; it adds energy). When the resonance has died down, move your arms to the Virgo position (in an L) and say "L", then move to the Scorpio position (in a V) and say "V", then move to the Osiris position (in an X) and say "X". (This should be done relatively quickly). The repeat the arm and head motions and say "L-U-X". Then raising your arms above your head, you say "Lux (Luke's); light; the light of the cross; let the light descend!" As your arms are raised you should grab hold to the golden energy shining down from above and draw it down over the top of the head of the person seated in front of you. If doing it on yourself, pull it down over the top of your head. Do not push or force the energy. Just let it flow down. This energy is to be taken as needed, just poured, like honey. You will also get some energy, and this is okay. Once done, you might do a cleansing breath and maybe let your hands rest on the person's shoulders. You and the person seated may feel warm, energized, or a bit buoyed up. This is normal. Ask and make sure the person is okay and centered afterward. You are done. ***************** The Rose Cross is another circle that is not taken down, but allowed to dissipate on it's own. For healing, it can be done up to three times a day, morning, noon, and night; theoretically it's most effective at dawn, noon, and dusk. Twice a day is also good, and even once a day it's helpful. Try to do it at regular times each day. The healing effects may at first be only temporary, but over time it can be very effective.

cjtarot	01 Jan 2003
Tarotbear, Thank you for sharing. I have printed the text and will try this circle.. Blessings, Cj

tarotbear	01 Jan 2003
Thank you! Word of advice; practice the 17 crosses part a few times- using sticky notes on the walls if necessary! It can get a little disorienting.

Kiama	01 Jan 2003
Tarotbear, thankyou for posting that! I have recenrly become interested in reading up on Hermetics (Not practicing it: I know it's not for me), and have seen mentions of the Rose Cross many a time. I do, however, have a question: After reading the LBRP thread, and the debate about whether or not you can mix names and traditions for it, I am wondering if the Egyptian/astrological/Hebrew mix in this Rose Cros was originally there, or added by the person who write the article for the Llewellyn Magickal Almanac? Kiama

tarotbear	02 Jan 2003
Kiama- I don't know. What some people did miss in the previously posted LBRP posting is that I merely quoted a source and an author. All I did was add comments in brackets. The "I", "We," "They," mentioned in the post is a statement by the original author and not myself. I merely am following their directions since I am not in a position to argue. I still believe that a neophyte in anything magical had better listen to the directions given and not try to change things to suit themselves. What a seasoned practicioner of magick does is totally up to them.

warabi	03 Jan 2003
Hello. I am familiar with the LBRP as you call it, but I am wondering about this Rose Cross (please forgive my lack of knowledge). I undertsand from your first post that it is not an alternate version of the LBRP so what exactly is it? Is it meant to be a Circle of Protection? Is it just an excercise in gathering energy?

RingTheory	04 Jan 2003
The Rose Cross ritual is a banishing ritual like the LBRP, but these two rituals have different effects. The LBRP lights up the entire astral plane, whereas the Rose Cross acts like a curtain by containing your aura. An example of an effective way to use both of these rituals would be to do an LBRP, as you would before any magickal working, to banish any outside influences that are distracting you. Then, perform the Rose Cross to regain your serenity and peace of mind. Also. the Rose Cross works well for meditative work. It calls forth your higher self, and protects you from any psychic invasion.

zander770	04 Jan 2003
one can perform this rite w/the intention of helping another having "difficulty" and/or experiencing "pain." in the center of the room you would "build up" an "astral image" of said person, then "call down" the LIGHT upon the image, AFTER surrounding them w/the Six Crosses. when the ritual is completed, command the astral image to return to the person, baring Peace w/it--the "Peace of Yeheshuah . . ." (regardie, _the golden dawn_, 6th edition, p. 309.) once memorized, this ritual (as w/the LBRP) can be performed "mentally," that is, while laying down upon one's back, et cetera (and, this is why i thought it "funny" to hear about tarotbear's "escapade's" while "flagging traffic;" actually "performing" an LBRP rite in the congested street while dodging traffic! o, tarotbear! if you'd only known . . .) ~770

zander770	04 Jan 2003
who's going to create, then consecrate their Rose Cross Lamen, hmm??? (what's that? what's a "lamen? what's the difference between a talisman, an amulet, and a LAMEN?!!?) HA!!! ~770 })

RingTheory	04 Jan 2003
An amulet is a protective magickal object...it repels unwanted forces,,,,, A talisman is a magickal object used to attract energies... A lamen is a magickal symbol that is worn during rituals. It's usually round, made of wood or metal, and is inscribed with magickal words and/or symbols....it's supposed to represent occult authority, kind of like a cop's badge... The Rose Cross Lamen is a key symbol of the 2nd order of the Golden Dawn...the back of your Thoth deck is a stripped-down version... Just my unsolicited opinion, but I'd advise against doing the LBRP. let alone the Rose Cross, Astrally, unless you have a thorough grasp of astral projection itself, and really understand whatever ritual you're performing.....

The The Rose Cross thread was originally posted on 01 Jan 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.