Resurrecting the Past: Hiram, Isis and the Rosy Cross

Abstract

Three dominant traditions rose to prominence in the nineteenth century and came to wield great influence on the shaping of Victorian occultism. Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and Egyptian magic each entered the century already fused with other elements of a constantly evolving magical system. It was not until the emergence of Golden Dawn magic, however, that the three became so firmly wedded. Freemasonry provided the structure of the First Order rituals, while Rosicrucianism supplied the founding myth and dominant symbolism of the Second Order. Egyptian religion and mythology permeated much of the magical language and symbolism of both orders, and directed the future magical pursuits of at least two of the Golden Dawn’s most prominent members. All three traditions have both a solid historical origin as well as nineteenth-century adaptations which were made in the spirit of the century, a spirit of invented traditions and appropriated histories. And, as we shall see, despite originating within specific historical frameworks, the role of these three traditions as fluid sets of ideas with continual potential for influence throughout history is of most interest and significance. Nonetheless, an understanding of the actual historical origins is vital in grasping the fundamental ideas these traditions embraced and how these doctrines changed and evolved into their nineteenth-century manifestations. In this way we can see to what degree Victorian occultism relied upon these contemporary forms, and to what degree it looked to the past for the original manifestations of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and Egyptian magic.