Remember that internet joke/meme that talked about straight men thinking about the Roman Empire?
Well, thanks to Ronnie Pontiac’s book “The Rosicrucian Counterculture: The Origins and Influence of the Invisible Society,” Bohemia is my Roman Empire.
This is Fredrick V and Elizabeth Stuart. Their predecessors and the family that followed, along with their practices, beliefs, and aspirations form the narrative center of this text. Pontiac faithfully, and with narrative flair, tells the history of Bohemia, and much of Europe, through the Thirty Years’ War, a destructive series of conflicts fought in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648. Catholicism versus Protestantism evolved into an even greater conflict for European power.
However, wandering through this historical retelling are alchemists and sorcerers. You’ll recognize some of the names, such as John Dee, Robert Fludd, William Shakespear, Edward Kelley, Michael Maier, and more. And dancing around all of this are the Rosicrucians.
Who are the Rosicrucians? Who knows. A secret society revealed through pamphlets and books, they espoused magical beliefs and an agenda towards the betterment of humanity. Of course, secret societies are well, secret. This provided a path for charlatans to claim membership, and an often times paranoid populace to make assumptions about who may be a member.
For an organization that may or may not have existed, the works attributed to them inspire people to this day. And in reading “The Rosicrucian Counterculture” it’s hard not to reflect on how much has been lost to the greed of religious factions of the era.
“The Rosicrucian Counterculture” by Ronnie Pontiac is a thought provoking read that will stay with you long after you finish the book.
You can learn more here.
Get your own copy here. (This is an affiliate link to my Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use this link to purchase the book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
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