Mystic Brotherhood Pt. I

Sometime in early December of 2008 I was browsing through ebay using generic search terms like “occult” or “grimoire” or “esoteric” all the while trying not to search for the obvious  “how to stop wasting hours of my life”.  To be more specific, I was not particularly looking for anything in particular.  One auction captured my eye that had a title along the lines of “Secret teachings occult mystic order.”   The auction lacked any details that were specifically specific as to what this auction was, other than that it was about 100 lessons from an occult organization and had some letters and other ephemera that dated it to the 1930’s.  Surprisingly, two words this auction did not have in it were “rare” or “haunted,”  the definitions of which are apparently not widely known amongst ebay sellers.

Now you must understand, within the plethora of occult related items that I collect are old monographs from AMORC, otherwise known as that Rosicrucian Order in San Jose that spends far too much money on advertising.  While I have a large number of these, I am missing several of the upper degree monographs .   I’m always looking for the older ones as I  find the modern ones…….well……..I don’t really know how to describe it.  I guess you could say I find the newer type dry and boring, while I find the older ones entertainingly hokey.  (Note: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of AMORC and am merely expressing an opinion that should not be taken to influence your choice in joining or not joining this organization.  In their favor I will say that their Egyptian Museum and other buildings are pretty cool.)

Anyhow, retuning to that ebay auction, I assumed (wrongly) that these were monographs from AMORC, probably blinded by my sheer excitement over the idea of getting some that were so old (most of mine date from during or right after WWII).   When they arrived I was slightly shocked, not because they were not what I thought they would be, but simply because I had no freaking clue what they were.  I don’t mean to toot my own horn here (well maybe a little) but while I may not always be the most occulty informed person in the room, when it comes to fraternal, occult and esoteric societies, I usually am damn it!  I may not know everything about every group that’s ever existed, but I’ve usually, at the very least, heard of the group.  Yet, here I had before me a stack of lessons from an organization I’d either never heard of,  or at least never heard enough of to make the groups name stick.  I had  a mystery before me, who was this group and where are they now.  The answer to the second question would be easy to answer, defunct.  The first question would take a little more investigation.

Continued in Mystic Brotherhood, Pt. II or, Maybe I wasn’t as far off as I’d thought…..

Part II