A collection of writings based on the Rosicrucian Enlightenment, a movement which went underground during the Thirty Years' War and lives on today as part of contemporary spiritual movements.

Enlightened spirits value all aspects of life over monetary wealth. But, the alchemists of old are said to have spent their lives in study of how to turn lesser metals into gold. It is often said that their manifestos are coded blueprints to the actual creation of gold. The suggestion is that they actively sought what should mean so very little to the enlightened. Is that what they were doing? If it was not their goal, what was their goal? The "Rosicrucian Trio" contains the three prominent Rosicrucian Manifestos: "Fama Fraternitatis", "Confessio Fraternitatis" and "The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz." The Introduction by Michael R. Poll suggests that these manifestos were written with a very different meaning that is far more in line with the enlightened.

The "Rosicrucian Trio" contains the three prominent Rosicrucian Manifestos. The Introduction by Michael R. Poll suggests that these manifestos were written with a very different meaning that is far more in line with the enlightened.

This new edition of Christopher McIntosh's classic book on the Golden and Rosy Cross order is eagerly awaited. The order stands out as one of the most fascinating and influential of the high-degree masonic and illuminist groups that mushroomed in Europe from the 18th century onward. Active mainly in the German-speaking lands, it recast the original Rosicrucian vision and gave it renewed vitality. At one point it became politically influential when the Prussian King, Frederick William II, was a member of the order. Historians have often perceived the Golden and Rosy Cross as having had a conservative, anti-Enlightenment agenda, but this study – drawing on rare German sources – shows that the matter was more complex. The members of the order practiced alchemy and operated a degree system that was later imitated by later orders such as the Golden Dawn. Like the latter, the Golden and Rosy Cross exerted a wide and enduring cultural influence. Both the alchemy of the order and its powerful ritual system are insightfully described in Christopher McIntosh's clear and compelling style.