a survey of the writings of h. spencer lewis
TRANSCRIPT
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THEOSOPHICAL HISTORYA Quarterly Journal of Research
Founded by Leslie Price, 1985
Volume VI, No. 6
April 1997
EDITORJa m e s A . S a n t u c c i
Cali fornia State Univers i ty , Ful ler ton
ASSOCIATE EDITORSR o b e r t B o y d
Jo h n C o o p e r
U n iv e r s it y o f S y d n e y
Jo h n P a t r ic k D e v e n e y
N e w Y o r k, N Y
A p r i l H e jk a - E k i n s
C a l ifor n ia S ta t e Univer s it y , S tan i s laus
Je r r y H e jk a - E k i n s
N a u ti lu s B oo k s
R o b e r t E l lw o o d
Univer s i t y o f Sou th er n C a l ifor n ia
A n t o i n e F a i v r e
E co le Pr a t iq u e d es H a u te s Etu d es , Pa ris
Jo s c e ly n G o d w in
Colgate Univers i ty
Je a n - P i e r r e L a u r a n t
E co le Pr a t iq u e d es H a u te s Etu d es , Pa ris
J. G o r d o n M e lt o n
I n s t it u t e f o r t h e S t u d y o f A m e r i c a n R e l ig i o n
U n iv e r s it y o f C a l if o rn i a , S a n t a B a r b a r a
L e s l i e P r i c e
F o r m e r E d it o r , Theos oph ica l Hi s tory
G r e g o r y T i ll et t
U n iv e r s it y o f W e s t e r n S y d n e y , N e p e a n
K a r e n - C l a i r e V o s sSa n Jos e S ta t e Univer s i ty
Theosophical History ( IS SN 0 9 5 1 - 4 9 7X ) i s p u b l is h e d q u a r t e r l y i n Ja n u a r y ,
A p r i l, Ju l y , a n d O c t o b e r b y Ja m e s A . S a n t u c c i (D e p a r t m e n t o f Re l ig i o u s S t u d i e s,
Cal i fo rn ia Sta t e Univers i ty , P .O. Box 6868 , Fu l l er ton , CA 92834-6868 U.S.A.)
T h e jo u r n a l c o n s i s t s o f e i g h t i s s u e s p e r v o l u m e : o n e v o l u m e c o v e r in g a p e r i o d
o f t w o y e a r s . T h e j o u r n a l ’s p u r p o s e i s t o p u b l i sh c o n t r i b u t i o n s s p e c i fi c a ll y
r e l at e d t o t h e m o d e r n T h e o s o p h i c a l M o v e m e n t , fr o m t h e t i m e o f M a d a m e
H e l e n a B l a v a t s k y a n d o t h e r s w h o w e r e r e s p o n s i b l e in e s t a b l is h i n g t h e o r i g in a l
T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie t y ( 1 8 7 5 ) , t o a l l g r o u p s t h a t d e r i v e t h e i r t e a c h i n g s — d i r e c tl y
o r i n d i r ec tl y, k n o w i n g ly o r u n k n o w i n g ly — f r o m h e r o r h e r i m m e d i a t e fo l lo w
e r s . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e jo u r n a l is a l s o r e c e p t i v e t o r e l a t e d mo v e m e n t s ( i n c lu d i n g
p r e - B l a v a t s k y it e T h e o s o p h y , S p i ri tu a l is m , R o s i cr u c i a n i s m, a n d t h e p h i l o s o p h y
o f Em a n u e l S w e d e n b o r g t o g i v e b u t a f e w e x a m p l e s ) th a t h a v e h a d a n i n fl u e n c e
o n o r d i s p l a ye d a n a ff in i ty t o m o d e r n T h e o s o p h y .
T h e s u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e f o r r e s id e n t s i n t h e U .S. , Me x i c o , a n d C a n a d a i s $ 2 1 .0 0
( o n e y e a r ) o t $ 3 8 .00 ( t w o y e a r s ) . C a l if o r n ia r e s i d e n t s , p l e a s e a d d $ 1 .6 2 ( 7 .7 5 % )
s a l e s t a x o n t o t h e $ 21 r a t e o r $ 2 .9 4 o n t o t h e $ 3 8 r a te . F o r r e s i d e n t s o u t s i d e N o r t hA m e r i ca , t h e s u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e i s $ 2 5.0 0 ( o n e y e a r ) o r $ 4 5 .0 0 ( tw o y e a r s ) . A i r
m a i l i s $ 3 5 .0 0 ( o n e y e a r ) o r $ 6 5 .0 0 ( t w o y e a r s ) . S in g l e i s s u e s a r e $ 6 .0 0 .
S u b s c r ip t i o n s m a y a l s o b e p a i d i n B r it i sh s t e r l in g . A l l i n q u i r i e s s h o u l d b e s e n t
to J a m e s S a n t u c c i, De p a rtm e n t o f Relig iou s St ud ies , Ca lifo rn ia S ta te Un iv er-
sity, P.O. Box 68 68, Fullerton, CA 92834-6868 (U.S.A.). P e r i o d i c a ls p o s t a g e p a i d
at Fu l l er ton , Cal i fo rn ia 92631-9998 . POSTMASTER: Send a dd ress chan ges to
T h e o s o p h i c a l H i s t o r y ( c/ o Ja m e s S a n t u c c i ), D e p a r t m e n t o f R e li g i ou s S t u d i e s,
Cal i fo rn ia Sta t e Univers i ty , P .O . Box 6868 , Fu l l er ton , CA 92834-6868 .
T h e E d i t o r s a s su m e n o r e s p o n s i b i li ty fo r t h e v i e w s e x p r e s s e d b y a u t h o r s
in Theosoph ical History .
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P r i n t e d o n a c i d - fr e e p a p e r
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THEOSOPHICAL
HISTORY ____
ContentsApril 1997
Volume VI , Num ber 6
Editor’s Comm ents
Jam es San tu cci..................................................................................................................187
Communicat ionsThe Theosophists and the Fairies:
A Footnote to the Story of the Cottingley Fairies
Leslie Shep ard ................................................................................................................... 194
“Fairies” or “There is No Religion Higher Than Truth”
Jean Overton Fu lle r .........................................................................................................198
K.H. and Peter Davidson
Josce lyn God win ............................................................................................................. 202
From th e New paper s
Lampsakanism
The Illuminated Lampsakenoi
Notes by James Santucci ................................................................................................ 203
Articles
H. Spencer Lewis: A Bibliographical Survey
David T. Rocks ................................................................................................................. 215
H. Spencer Lewis Bibliobraphy
David T. Rocks ................................................................................................................. 219
Book Reviews
M adam e Blav atsky ’s Baboon
Rober t Boyd ...................................................................................................................... 224
Sites of Memory, Sites o f M ourn ing
Robert Ellwoo d .................. 228
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Ed i t o r ' s Co m m e n t s
In This Issue
The October 1996 issue of Theosophical
History contained the first article on a
Rosicru cian su bject, Dav id T. Rocks’ “Mrs. MayBank s Stacey.” This a r t icle focu sed on the
imp or tant issue o f AMORC fou nd er H. Sp en-
cer Lew is’c la im to having r ece ived the legi t i-
m ate transm ission o f the “an cient” Rosicru cian
her i tage or l in eage . The them e con t inu es in
Mr. Ro cks ’ “H. Spe n cer Lewis: A Bibliogr ap h i-
cal Su rve y.” AMORC and Lew is have of tenbe en cha l leng ed by o th e r r os ic ruc ian o rgan i -
z a t ions r ega rd ing the ir gen u ineness . The
p r inc ip a l defense o f Lew is’ c la ims, as m ight
b e e x p e c t e d , h a v e b e e n a d v a n c e d t h r o u g h
the con d u it of AMORC p eriod icals . Mr. Rocks
discusses the pr inc ipa l publ ica t ions in the
f i r s t a r t ic le and provides an annota ted b ib l i -og raph y o f th ir ty t it le s ( book s an d p am ph let s )
by and abo u t H. Sp en cer Lewis tha t il lus t ra te
his c la ims and teachings .
Theosophical H istory VI/6 187
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H. Spencer Lewis:
A Bibliographical Survey
David T. Rocks
During his twenty-four years as Imperator,1
Harvey Spencer Lewis (1883-1939), founder
of the Ancient Mystical Ord er Rosae Crucis, m adenu merous claims of authenticity for himself and for
his organization. In doing so AMORC became the
target of rival rosicrucian organizations who were
also touting their own authenticity. Consequently,
allegations by and about Lewis were p ublished so
frequently that the only means o f determining what
was or was not claimed by Lewis requires athorough examination of his writings.
Therefore, the logical starting point for this
surv ey is AMORC’s per iodicals becau se the bu lk
of Lew is’ cla ims w ere pu blished there in .
AMORC’s first official pe riod ical wa s The A m eri-
can R osae Crucis. Beginning in January 1916
twelve issues comprising volume one werep ublished and , nine issues of volum e two were
published in 1917. However, by October of
1916 AMORC was experiencing conspicuous
difficulty in maintaining its publishing sched
ule. As a result, nearly every issue of the
m agazine from that point o n carried an editorial
comm ent reflecting their situation. Th e ton e of AMORC’s p lea w as u nm istakable:
Hereafter the ma gazine will be issued p romptly
and in order to prevent an y delay, or skip of
issue, in you r receipt of the magazine for the
coming year, be sure to send in your renewal
for 1917 issues as quickly as possible.
Next, the Decem ber 1916 issu e w as pre faced
as follows:
NO TICE TO OUR READERS. This issu e is late,
but we have gained some on the time lost in
the past. This is the second issue we have
mailed during the month of February [1917]
and in March two more, the January and
February [1917] issues, will be mailed.
Then, in April 1917 the editors wrote:
It is useless to comm en t further on the lateness
of our issues. Try as we will, we cannot rush
the issuing of ou r pu blication w ithout injustice
to the q uality and diversity of matter w e wish
to prod uce. This Feb rua ry issue will be in the
mails before May first, although m any m ay not
receive it until May. The M arch issue is un der way and will follow in the mails about May
10th to 15th. It m ay be possib le to pu t the April
issue in the m ails before Jun e first; if so, w e can
expect to have the July issue on time by
gaining a little each month.
This was followed by the June 1917 notice
w hich read:
IMPORTANT NOTICE. This issue of the maga-
zine is date d Jun e, 1917, althou gh it is Nu mb er
3 of Volume 2. Our last issue was dated
February, 1917, wh ich was Num ber 2 of Vol-
ume 2. In order to bring our magazine up to
date we have secured permission from the Post
Theosophical H istory VI/6 215
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Office Departm ent to skip three issues and date
the present issue June, 1917. To compensate
ou r sub scribers for the loss o f the M arch, April
and May issues all subscriptions end ing in June, 1917, or thereafter will be extended three
months. By this means we hope to keep our
magazin e up to d ate and to issue it mon thly on
or abou t the 10th of the month .
Finally, the discontinu an ce of The A m erican
R osae Cru cis was announced in November of
1917. The two reasons given were:
First, this is one step in our plan for ending,
slowly and effectively, the outward, public
prop agand a of our work. Second ly, the maga-
zine as it has b een pu blished du ring the past
two years has not afforded an opp ortunity for
the p rop er presentation o f those articles, sub- jects an d stu d yre fe re n ces w h ich w e w ou ld
l ike to place into the han ds of ou r memb ers.
Therefore, beginning with January [1918] we
will issue a n ew mon thly pub lication in the
form of a unique magazine.
At that time, any state with members could
be chartered with a Grand Lodge o f its own, aswas common in Masonry. Also, there were no
home-study members or initiations by mail as
there are today. Lectures were sent to the
Masters of Lodges who read them to the mem
bers. In 1918-19, it w as w ith this in m ind th at a
new publication called Crom aat was intro
duced, for members only, by special subscription. The seven issues published were lettered
A through G, with each issue focusing on a
single su bject.
A“An In ternational Language for Rosicrucians
with Complete Grammar and Dictionary.”
The Rosicrucian language was an artificial
language based on Esperanto. However, the
p roject w as soon d iscontinued b ecau se o f timeconstraints and the lack of qualified per sonn el
to maintain the d ictionary and gram mar chan ges.
B“Official Manual for Officers and Memb ers
of the AMORC.”
This was th e first ed ition o f The R osicru cian
M an u al. (New York: AMORC College Library,
1918).
C “A Complete System of Natural Harmon-
ics.”
The law of vibrations and the u niversal
cosmic keyboard w ere introduced to the m embersh ip in this issue. Lewis later incorpo rated
these subjects into the monographs [official
teachings] of the Order.
D“The Village of the Devil.”
The story written by Lewis was p ur ported torepresent one of the oldest traditions of the
Order in France, although the tradition was
cryptically stated. Later, the story wa s rep rinted
for mem bers as a Sup plemental Discour se (un
official teachings in manuscript form).
E“Cosmic Geomancy.”
A small amount of the material in this issue
was incorporated into the official teachings,
how ever, the greater p ortion of the m aterial was
expand ed and became Lewis’boo k Self M astery
an d Fate w ith t he Cy cles o f Life. (San Jose:
Suprem e Gra nd Lod ge o f AMORC, 1929).
216 H. Spencer Lewis: A Bibliographical Survey
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F“The Im pe rator ’s Person al Mess age. The
Annu al Address to all M emb er’s in wh ich the
Imperator Explains the Paramount Problems
of our O rder .”
By this time the organization was on the
verge of collapse.2
G“An Official Communication from the Su-
pre m e RC Authorities to the O rder in North
America. ”
Lewis published a letter which he claimed
was from his superiors in France with his reply
to the m em bersh ip. Surp risingly, this early letter
was n ot includ ed in Ralph Lewis’3 boo k of
important R osicru cian D ocu m en ts. (San Jose:
Sup rem e Gran d Lodge o f AMORC, 1975).
In 1920, the April, May, and Ju n e issu es of
The A m erican R osae Crucis were published as
volum e three, comp rising a total of tw enty-four
issues of that m agazine.
Next, eight issues of The Triangle were
pu blished b etw een March 23, 1921 and Janu ary
24, 1922. Each issue was published in a four-
p age n ewsletter format. Then, The Triangle was
revived as a fourteen -page m agazine in August
1923; follow ed by the Septem ber an d October
issues, it was discontinued with the February
1924 issue.
In May 1925, the first issue of The M ystic
Triangle appeared and thereafter was pub
lished m onth ly until Sep tem ber, 1929. In Octo
ber 1929, the m aga zine’s title w as cha ng ed to
The Rosicru cian Digest. This final cha nge seem ed
to be part o f a program to stabilize the organi
zations p u blic imag e. Add itionally, the directors
o f AMORC ap par ently realized that their m aga
zine could be a more useful tool if made
available to members and non-members alike.
Therefore, in August 1930 the first issue of The
R osicru cian Foru m was introdu ced as a privatepu blication, for mem bers only, giving AMORC
a means o f pu blic and o f private prop agand a. In
the p reface o f his boo k, R osicru cian Q uest ion s
an d A nsw ers with C om plete H istory of the
R osicru cian O rder , Lewis wrote that:
The his tory of the Brotherhood must be
divided into tw o gen eral classifications. First, that which has come down to the present
t ime by word of mou th, supp orted by more
or less definite refere nces in ancient w ritings
or symbolical passages in the rituals or teach-
ings; and second , that w hich is truly historical
and supported by the records found in the
various b ranches of the organizat ion through -
out the world.4
Later, Lewis boasted that “No one has ever
[sic] bee n able to successfully refute th e h istorical
outline given by us in our literature.”5Likewise,
Lewis never p roved that it w as correct.
From its inception, The R osicrucian D i-
gest was published monthly until 1987 whenit became a bimonthly publication like the
R os icru cian Foru m , w hich a lways had been a
bimon thly period ical. How ever, in 1991 both
th e D igest and the Forum became quarterlies.
Interestingly, April 1990 was th e sev enty -fifth
ann iversary o f AMORC and it passed u nn o
t iced or, rather was surpassed by the newsthat Imperator (1987-1990) Gary L. Stewart
had been removed from office and accused of
embezzlement.6That aside, the publicat ions
of AMORC are u nq u estionably the m ost reli
able source o f w hat was or was not claim ed
by Lewis. Even so, the validity of his claims
must be treated as a separate issue.
Theosophical H istory VI/6 217
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In evaluating claims of Rosicrucian authen
ticity it would be prudent to bear in mind the
admonition of Manly P. Hall (1901-1990):
A book was wri t ten [Fam a Frate rnitatis,
1614] by an u nk now n p erson, advan cing the
claims of an unk now n society, making p rom -
ises that w ere n ever fulfilled, an d inviting the
learned to membership in an organizat ion
that nev er was d iscovered. The Society of the
Rose Cross taugh t an esoteric philosop hy that
has never been explained or revealed. I t
claimed a membership, yet no bona f ide
member of i t has ever been found. And i t
describes as its foun der and originator a m an
whose ident i ty , concealed under the sym-
bolic letters C.R.C. remains unknown. A
sta lwart group of fol lowers who admit ted
that they could no t f ind the society wrote an
elaborate literature in defense of it . This
l i terature was answ ered, at least in part, by a
series of theological criticisms and condem-
nat ions, and by others who could nei ther
prove nor disprove the exis tence of the
society. Upon this slender and exceedingly
at tenuated s t rand of c ircumstances, a num-
ber of modern organizat ions make high
flown an d con crete claims. But these claims,
for the most part, evaporate into the same
vaguen ess wh ich surround ed the ent i re sub-
je ct fo r m ore th an th re e h u n d re d years.7
Accordingly, a bibliography of thirty pam
phlets and books by and about Harvey Spen cer
Lewis follows this survey. Combined with theperiodicals, the pamphlets and books should
contain sufficient evidence to illustrate what
Lewis did or did not claim.
* * *
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H.S. Lewis Bibliography
Pamphlets
01. The Constitution o f the A v M v O •.R C
of N orth A m erica. Adopted Ratified byall Lod ges of this Order, Rep resen ted at
the First National Convention, Held in
Pittsbu rgh , Pa., July 31-Aug. 4, 1917. To
Wh ich is Add ed Specim en By-Laws for
All Lodges. N ew York: Sup rem e Grand
Lodge, 1917. 20cm x 15cm, p p .30.
AMORC’s first constitu tion and by-laws.
02. ConfessioR ...C ... Fraternitatis. Prepared by
Bro. Profundis.81918. Third edition. In
Five Parts. San Jose: AMORC, 1978.
23.5cm x 15.5cm, pp .14, 23, 14, 14, 12.
Harvey Lewis’con fession is no w show n
only to twelfth degree members. In his
introduction, Ralph Lewis wrote that “all
of the facts concernin g th e Ord er’s rees
tablishm ent in this ju risdiction could n ot
be too quickly and frankly divulged.”
03. R osicru cian In it iat ion . A S ealed B ook o f
In st ru ct ion s f o r N eophy te In it iat es. San
Francisco: The National RC Lodge of
the AMORC, Copyright ©1921. 23cm x
15.6cm, pp.17, [3].
Contains information for ne w m embers.
04. M an T riu m phan t an d T he M ast ery o f Fate.
Containing the Secret Decalogu e by H.
Spen cer Lewis. San Fran cisco: AMORC
Movement, copyright ©1921. 23cm x
15.6cm, [32]pp.
Promotional Booklet.
05. R osicru cian I llu m in at ion . A S ealed Book o f
In form at ion an d Prelim in ary In st ru c-
tion. The Rosicrucian Order of the
Aqu arian Age by Sri Ram atherio. ThirdEdition. San Francisco: The Supreme
Grand Lodge of the AMORC, [1926].
23cm x 15.6cm, 28pp.
06. The Light o f Egypt. The S trange Story o f the
R osicru cian s by Sri Ram atherio. Tam pa,
Florida: Rosicrucian Square, 1927. 23cmx 15.6cm, 32pp.
Promotional Booklet. Official Publica
tion No. 15.
07. The Light o f Egypt. The S trange Story o f the
R osicru cian s by Sri Ramatherio. Fourthedition. San Jose: Supreme Grand Lodge,
1928. 23cm x 15.6cm, p p .34, [2].
Promotional Booklet.
08. ‘W hite B ook C’ The My sterious Origin o f the
R osicru cian s. A Challenge o f Facts Ac
Theosophical H istory VI/6 219
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cepted by AMORC. San Jose: Supreme
Council of AMORC for North America,
1928. 20.7cm x 9.2cm, 40pp.
AMORC’s official re sp on se to Clym er’s
allegations.
09. In t er n at ion ales H au p t qu ar t ier v on /
O bersten R at des A lten M ys/tischen
O rdens R osae Cru cis/ In tern ation al
H ead qu art ers o f t he/ S uprem e Cou n cil
o f the A n cient / Myst ic O rder Rosae
Crucis/ S ... S ... S ... / Berlin, Germany/
1930/ Official Comm un ication/ to all
Hu manity/ I. Manifestatio/ II. Invitatio/
III. Proclamatio/ Issued through the
United Organizations/ of the Rose Cross/
. . . / An cien t Mystical Ord er Rosae
Crucis (AMORC)/ Broth erh ood of the
Rose Cross/ Fraternitatis H erm etica
Lucis/ Ord o Temp li Orientis/ Collegium
Pansophia/ Societas Pansophia/ This is
the Second Official FAMA issued by th e
Original/ Fraternity Rosae Crucis since
the Seventeen th Century. 23.6cm x
18.5cm, 8pp.
Cover title: Pronu nz iam ent o/to all the/
W orld. This fantasy later became an
embarrassment to AMORC.
10. The W isdom o f the Sages. A Story o f the
R osicru cian s by Frater R. T. XII. Second
Edition. San Jose: Sup reme Gran d Lodge
of the AMORC, 1932. 25cm x 17cm, 32pp .
Official Pu blication No. 16. Prom otional
Booklet.
11. In t h e S u per ior Cou rt . S an t a C lar a
County, California. ‘Gui lty’ is the
Verdict of the Ju d ge in this Case of
Conspiracy and Libel against the
Rosicrucian Brotherhood, AMORC.
O f Sp ecial Interest to all Freem ason s,
Th e o s o p h i s t s , R o s i c ru c i a n s , a n d
Mem bers o f Fraternal O rganizat ions.
Editor’s ed ition. San Jos e: Dep art
m ent o f Pu blication, AMORC, 1933.
20.7cm x 9.2cm , 12pp .
“(This edition prepared especially for
the Editors of Newspapers and Maga
zines of North Am erica.)”
12. W hite B ook ‘D ’A u di A lteram Partem (H ear
the Other Side). San Jos e: The Rosicru
cian Press, Ltd., 1935. 22.8cm x 15.3cm ,
41pp.
AMORC’s further reply to the allega
tions of Clymer, et al.
13. T he Secret H eritage. A S ealed Book.
Profun dis XIII. First ed ition. San Jos e:
Sup rem e Grand Lodge o f AMORC, 1935.
24cm x 17.3cm, 32pp.
Official Pu blication No. 17. Prom otiona l
Booklet.
Ap proximately three years after Lew is’
death the contents of the pr om otional
booklets were revised and re-titled
The M astery o f Life. Official Publica
tion No. 18.
220 H. Spencer Lewis Bibliography
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Books
14. A T hou san d Y ears o f Y esterdays. A S tran ge
Story o f M ystic Revelations with an in
troduction by Reverend George R.
Cha m bers.9 San Fran cisco: AMORC,
1920. 19.5cm x 13cm, 75pp.
Althoug h w ritten as fiction, Lewis wr ote
that this bo ok “will tell you the r eal facts
o f rein carn ation .” In Cha pter 8, Lewis
introduced as characters, those whom
he claimed authorized h im to establish
the Rosicrucian Order in America.
15. Unto Thee I Grant . Revised by Sri
Ramatherio. San Francisco: The Orien
tal Literature Syndicate, 1925. 18.3cm x
12.4cm, 98pp.
Lewis w rote on ly the pr eface and notes
on the terms used in the manuscript,
pp.i-vii, 93-98. He claimed that the
book was “translated by special perm ission o f the Grand Lama and D is
ciples of the Sacred College in the
Grand Temple in Tibet.”
16. The M ystical L ife o f Jesus. San Jose: Su
p rem e Gra nd Lodge o f AMORC, 1929.
19.5cm x 14cm, 320pp.
This was th e first of two b oo ks relating
to this topic. Also see number 25.
17. R osicru cian Q uest ion s an d A n sw ers with
Com plete History o f the R osicru cian
Order. San Jos e: Sup rem e Grand Lodge
of AMORC, 1929. 19.5cm x 13.5cm,
341pp. + ads.
This version of Rosicrucian h istory has
be en em bellished since its first app ear
ance in the A m erican R osae Crucis.
18. R osicru cian Prin cip les f o r the H om e an d
Bu sin ess. San Jos e: Sup rem e Gran d
Lodge o f AMORC, 1929. 19.5cm x
13.5cm, 241pp.
A self-help book.
19. Self M astery an d Fat e with t he Cycles o f Life.
San Jose : Suprem e Grand Lodge of
AMORC, 1929. 19.5cm x 13.5cm, 253pp .
Although Lewis personally believed in
astrology and other pseudo-sciences he
was convinced that his system was better.
20. M an sion s o f the Soul. The Cosm ic Con cep -
tion. San Jose : Suprem e Grand Lodge o f
AMORC, 1930. 19.5cm x 13.5cm, 338pp .
Lewis’attempt to explain reincarnation
in detail.
21. Lem u ria. The Lost Con tin en t o f th e Paci fic.
By W. S. Cerve with a Special Chapter
by Dr. Jam es D. Ward .10 San Jos e: Su
pr em e Grand Lodge o f AMORC, 1931.
19.5cm x 13.5cm, 274pp.
The au thor’s name is a pseud onym for
H. S. Lewis.
Theosophical H istory VI/6 221
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22. The B ook ofJasher. O ne oft h e S acred Books
o f the Bible Long Lost or U n discovered .
Now offered in Photographic Repro
d u ction of the Version b y Alcuin [1829
edition]. SanJose: Supreme Grand Lodge
o f AMORC, 1934. 27.5cm x 20cm, p p .[4],
xi, [3], 63, [1], 9, [1].
Lewis wrote only a preliminary expla
nation of the text.
23. Secret S ym bols o f the R osicrucians. An
Exact Reprod u ction o f the O riginal but
with the T ext an d T erm s Literally Tran s
lated. Limited Edition. Chicago: The
Aries Press, 1935. 45.5cm x 30.3cm,
pp.xiv, 58.
Preface and bibliography by Lewis. Re
printed in 1967 by Abdiel Lodge of Long
Beach, CA. Currently pu blished in SanJose.
24. The Sy m bolic Prophecy o f the Great Py ra-
m id . San Jos e: Sup reme Grand Lodge o f
AMORC, 1936. 19.5cm x 13.3cm, 192pp.
A weak contribution to pyramid lore.
Written as a self-help bo ok . Lewis con
sidered himself something of a psy
chologist.
27. A n A n thology o f Lat in A x iom s an d Epi-
gram s in Latin an d English compiled,
classified, lettered a nd d ed icated to the
lovers and students of Philosophy and
Metap hysics by Joh n W. Lang. Editio
Princeps. Preface by Dr. H. Spencer
Lewis. New York: the Author, Copy
right ©1942. 14cm x 10cm, 118pp.
Preface by Lewis was published post
humously.
28. Essays o f a M odern M yst ic. From the Writ
ings of H. Spen cer Lewis, Im perator
(1915-1939). San Jos e: Sup rem e Grand
Lodge o f AMORC, 1962. 19.5cm x
13.5cm, pp.195, [1].
Contains twen ty-three articles reprinted
from The R osicrucian D igest an d The
R osicru cian Foru m . Many of Lewis’
articles were reprinted and sold as
booklets.
25. The Secret D octrin es o f Jesus. San Jose:
Supreme Grand Lodge o f AMORC, 1937.
19.5cm x 13.3cm, 237pp.
Written as a companion volume to
number 16 above.
26. M ental Poisonin g. SanJose: Sup reme Grand
Lodge o f AMORC, 1937. 19.5cm x
13.5cm, 104pp.
29. Cosmic M ission Fu lfilled by Ralph M. Lewis.
San Jos e: Supr eme Grand Lodge o f
AMORC, 1966. 19.5cm x 13.5cm ,
p p .379, [1].
Biography of Harvey S. Lewis. Ralph
Lewis quoted extensively from his
father’s per iodical articles and b ook s,
as well as from number two above.
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30. R osicru cian D ocu m en ts. AMORC. by Ralph
M. Lewis. San Jose : Sup rem e Gran d
Lodge o f AMORC, 1975. 26.8cm x
19.3cm, pp.39, [1].
First edition. Contains th ree p ho tos and
thirty three historical documents with
descriptions in English, French, and
Span ish. The secon d edition, 1978, con
tained ch an ges in text: p age 12, Obliga
tion of Germ an Grand Master Wilhelm
Raub, dated 1973. Last page [40] has a
synop tic h istory o f AMORC.
Notes
1Al though Lewis p refer red to ca l l h im sel f Im pera to r , m ean
ing suprem e leader , he l aid c la im to m any o th er t it les
dur ing h i s t enu re . A few exam ples w ere : Genera l is s im o,
Grand M as ter Gener a l , and Sup rem e Pont if f.
2R. Sw inbu rn e Clymer. The Ros icrucian Fra tern i t y in
A m e ric a . Tw o vo lum es (Qu aker tow n, Pa . : The Ros icrucian
Foun da t ion, 1935), II: 869.Facsim ile Repr od u ct ion No. 65.
“Grand Impera to r Gr ieved a t a r res t . ” The [New York ] Su n
(19 Jun e 1918).
3Ralph Maxw ell Lewis (1904-1987) w as the so n an d su cces
sor of Harv ey Sp encer Lewis as Imp erator (1939-1987). He
had prev iously served as Sup rem e Secretary of AMORC.
4H. Sp en cer Lewis. R os ic ru cia n Qu es tio n s a n d An s w ers
w ith Com ple te His tory o f the Ros icrucian Order (San Jose :
Sup rem e Gran d Lodg e of AMORC, 1975), 17. First p u b
l ished in 1929.
5H. Spencer Lewis . “Errors in Rosicrucian History,” Th e
R os ic ru cia n Foru m 7/ 4 (Febru ary , 1937): 112-13.
6Ca t h i e Ca lv e r t . “Ro s ic ru c i an s n am e n ew l ead e r . ” S a n
Jos e M e rc u ry Ne w s (Febru ary 25 , 1987) , 4B. Ann W.
O ’N eil l. “Ros icru cian in f igh t ing ou s t s lea d er .” S a n J os e
M e rc u ry Ne w s . (Apr i l 18, 1990), 1 . Since his case w as no ta d ju d i ca t e d , M r . St e w a r t m u s t b e p r e s u m e d i n n o c e n t o f
t h e c h a r g e .
7M an ley P. Hall, The Ridd le o f the Ros icrucians (Los
Angeles: Phi losophical Research Society, 1941), 14-15.
8The na m es Brothe r Profund is , Sri Ram atherio, Frater R. T.
XII, and Profund i s XIII were a few of the pseu do nym s used
by Lewis . His in i t ia l use o f pseud onym s s temm ed f rom the
lack of an edi torial s taff .
9H. Spen cer Lewis. “Rev. Geor ge Rob ert Cha m ber s, K.R.C.,
Gran d Master , State Lodge, Iow a Ju risd ict ion .” Th e A m er i -
can Rosae Cruci s . 1-10 (October, 1916): 17. “Brother
Ch am bers is today th e Rector o f St . Pau l’s Parish in Harlan.
He is a Vice-Grand and State Lecturer for the I .O.O.F. in
Iowa, Ch ap la in o f a Ma son ic Lodge, Pr inc ipa l So journ er o f
the Royal Arch Mason s, Prelate of the Knights Temp lar. In
ad d it io n h e h as b een h o n o red w i th t h e d eg rees o f Ph . B.,
H onorary M.A., and D.C.” [Ed itor’s note : Ph.B. is correct,
bu t w hat i t re fers to is u nkn ow n. D.C. refers to Do ctor o f
Chiropractic.]
10H. Sp en cer Lewis. “A M essag e Fro m Ind ia.” By Frater
Jam es D. War d , M. D., F. R. C. The Ros icrucia n Digest . 8
2 (Mar ch 1930): 39. “Broth er Ward is the only Am ericanl iv ing today w ho en tered the m ys t ic mon as ter i es o f the
Arcane schoo l s o f Ind ia many years ago and pursued the
comple te course o f sacred mys t i ca l sc iences under the
d irect ion of the secret chiefs of the Rosicrucian an d H indu
my s t ic b ro t h e rh o o d s .
Theosophical History VI/6 223