For the lack of a better translation

It has been an interesting day. Besides recieving one of the nasty and demanding private messages ever, I did learn something today. The English translation of the Fama Fraternitatis that all the English and American Orders use is flawed compared to the German version (or so I have been informed).

(Actually, I do trust the opinion on the translation error--after all, I have seen some blunders when Hebrew is translated into English---why should German to English be any different?)

Personally, I was unable to find a German version of the Fama that was not set in the alphabet form that I struggle with, not alone a copy that might be accessible with the help of a translation program and a German to English dictionary by one's side. And it does amuse me that the one Order that I would have been expecting to use a different translation only has the same flawed English translation up on their website.

(One can only hope that one of their members does a full translation of it someday and allows those of us with limited language skills to see it. Oh who am I kidding---non-members will never be allowed to see it.)

So given that us the English Orders have been using a flawed translation, does this mean that our Rosicrucian philosophy is wrong? Of course, it does---or so I have been told. I am just not convinced that it as wrong as the person would like me to think it is. Then again, I am not convinced that we are even in the same tradition anymore---at a certain point, enourgh errors and differences of opinion create whole new systems.

(Of course, my real crime of the day was that I forgot to undermine my own authority by including fifteen million mentions of the fact that I am a wrongfully trained scholar---something that I am so sick and tired of doing in the name of peace.)

Now, I am willing to accept that the translation that we have been using loses something in the translation. But I am not sure that I am willing to bow down and toss out the version that the English and American schools have been using for a three and a half centuries. Especially in the light that it is only English version that I was able to find after two hours of internet searching.

The flawed English translation is the only version I have been exposed to in the various groups that I have belonged to over the years. It is the same version that I discuss with students when the subject comes up. And heavens knows that I have a hard enourgh time trying to maintain the little French and Hebrew that I know in the midst of my wife's plot to secretly teach me Spanish, that the very thought of trying to learn more German than the little bit I picked up studying the World Wars turns my stomach.

(Yes, I choose languages that utterly useless when it comes to the study of the Rosicrucian movement...is anyone really surprised by that?! If only I would have known in high school that I needed to make a different set of choices.)

So until I get my hands on a dual language scholar's edition, I have two choices: Keep using the flawed translation and NEVER discuss Rosicrucian philosophy ever again in public (especially if I want to keep a certain letter writer happy) or completely toss them out and make up something to replace them with. It is not a good set of choices at all, is it?

I was not talking about the Third Order

I am annoyed---very annoyed.

It has came to my attention that my previous blog post (Get paid to do the Great Work) has been read as a criticism of Griffin and company's Third Order. It was not talking about them. I did not mean for it to be read in that manner.

I was merely trying to come to a conclusion about whether or not, anything that we can call the Great Work, can be done as a form of paid employment.

And I thought it was important to include the fact that the Fama stated (or at least, the English version that I am familiar with) that physical immortality was not allowed to the members of the RC. Hence anyone who is promising to provide you with physical immortality shouldn't get paid to do that type of work if they are a member of the Fraternity; this has no bearing on spiritual immortality.

(I am sorry that I am restricted to English, bad English, bad French and bad Hebrew--and that I forget that you can not be a real Rosicrucian while being a poorly educated American. I did mention that I was restricted to an English translation.)

This fact about the fact that original Brotherhood not being able to cheat physical death really has no bearing on my personal beliefs about an afterlife, or whether or not a person can gain conscious, controllable existence after the death of their physical body. Nor does it represent a criticism of the HOGD/A&O and their Third Order.

I am sorry that I forgot that any reading of the RC documents has to be ran by Griffin's Third Order because they are the only ones with the correct reading. And yes, I am getting annoyed with the fact that one cannot write about the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians and come to a conclusion different from the HOGD/A&O official party line without being accused of criticising Griffin's group. In this case, I did not realize that my conclusion would go against their official version. (They really need to issue a complete manual on what one is allowed to say and not say.) And I especially annoyed because I did not think that my conclusion about employment had any bearing on what the HOGD/A&O is promising about spiritual immortality.

I was talking about the types of gainful employment open to a member of the RC Brotherhood. That is what I was concerned with, that is what I cared about, and that what I wanted the discussion to be about. Not every discussion has to end up reaffirming that Griffin's Third Order is the only correct method to gain spiritual immortality. Some of us, such as myself, are concerned with other Rosicrucian matters, such as one's proper place in the physical world, which includes the issue of employment.

Maybe I should have defaulted to using Crowley or the New Age materials instead. Oh wait, that material is only used by villians. Is it wrong to once again ask Griffin's Third Order to openly declare me an outlaw, so that I can focus on the work that concerns me?

Did I mention that I am annoyed? Very annoyed?

Get paid to do Great Work

Last night, one of my friends asked if there was any way to get paid to do the Great Work. Is it possible to make your livelihood doing the Great Work? or helping others do the Great Work?

Now, being a Rosicrucian, my answer is based on the Fama Fraternitatis. In this founding document of the Rosicrucian movement (which Golden Dawn and the BIORC may or may not be a part of--depending upon who you ask), we learn the original Brotherhood bound itself by six rules.

First, That none of them should profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.

Second, None of the posterity should be constrained to wear one certain kind of habit, but therein to follow the custom of the country.

Third, That every year, upon the day C., they should meet together at the house Sancti Spiritus, or write the cause of his absence.

Fourth, Every Brother should look about for a worthy person who, after his decease, might succeed him.

Fifth, The word R. C. should be their seal, mark, and character.

Sixth, The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years.

It is the first and second clauses that has the most bearing on this particular question.

Let's start with the second clause, which states that no future generation of the Order will be forced to wear a particular style of clothes, that they will adopt the customs of the country that they are living in. The extension of this clause to this question is the implication that if one normally gets paid for a profession in the country that one is living in, then a Rosicrucian is also entitled to charge for that service or product.

It is the first clause that complicates matters. There are three parts of it that we need to understand, for it applies to all in the Fraternity.

The first part is "profess"--which is not only to claim, but it is also related to the words professor and profession. It also relates to taking the vows of a religious Order. So does this mean that the only profession that a member of the RC can take is that of a doctor? Or that is the only subject that they can teach? Or are they only allowed to join religious Orders and tradtions that are focused on healing? Or something else?

The seond part we need to understand is what is meant by "cure the sick." Is this referring to physical sickness? Or to mental sickness? Or to societial sickness? Or all three?

We do know one thing that it does not refer to---the members of the Brotherhood are not allowed to cheat death. Even though they are allowed to live life free from disease and pain, "they could not live and pass their time appointed by God." Even the most learned of them, the very founder of the Fraternity, Brother R.C. dies. Yet the fact that they live from from illnesses and pain indicates that curing the sick does include the physical. So must the members of the RC be doctors and nurses? or must they be some form of healer which work affects the physical body? Ironically if the latter, it would mean that a member of the RC can work in any profession that provides care and substance to the physical body, or that has a positive effect on the human body---this would include cooks and writers.

The last and third part, we must understand is what is meant by "gratis." This word is related both to grace and to gratuity (aka tips). At the very least, the members of the RC are allowed to take tips for their work. The implication is that a member of the RC is not allowed to withhold their services from those who are unable to pay; but they are also allowed to accept payment, or at least tips, for the work that they are doing.

So given that the members of the Fraternity are allowed to adopt the customs of the country they are living in, the range of activities that could lead to healing, and the fact that the membership is allowed to take tips---yes, you can get paid to do the Great Work; just remember to have a sliding scale on your fee structure.

If you disagree with me, because you speak the original language and I am using an English translation, remember that I am allowed to adopt the customs of the United States of America which is the country I am living in. Also bear in mind that I would like to keep a roof over my head and food on the table without having to resort to robbing banks or begging on the street. Nevertheless, feel free to criticize my reading of the material---you can't possibly disagree with me more than the professors at the University of Colorado do.