The Rose Cross Ritual is a spiritual practice that can create a sense of protection and peace, and it can also be used to consecrate a room. It comes from the esoteric Christian tradition of Rosicrucianism, by way of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, but it has since been adopted and performed with countless variations.
Building Foundational Skills
My own variation is very similar to the version found in Dr. Israel Regardie’s book The One Year Manual, a book in which he crystallizes his immense knowledge and experience of contemplative practices into a concise, practical, step-by-step guide to practical mysticism. It’s a true gem and one of my favorite books on contemplative practices. If you are looking to start with something short (Only 70 pages) but somehow also comprehensive, that would be a great place to start. It doesn’t cover any philosophy, history, psychology, or physiology of the practices, so you will want to do other reading and research, but when it comes to the practices themselves, you can’t do better. Each chapter gives a specific practice which is meant to be performed daily for at least one month until mastered before moving on to the next. He covers:
- Solar Adorations
- Body Awareness
- Relaxation Techniques
- Rhythmic Breathing
- Mind Awareness (Mindfulness)
- Concentration and Mantra
- Developing the Will
- The Rose Cross Ritual (That’s what I’ll be covering in this post!)
- The Middle Pillar Ritual
- Symbol of Devotion
- Practicing Sensing the Presence of God
- Unity–All is God
- Prayer
As you can see, the Rose Cross Ritual which I will be covering in this post is only meant to be undertaken once quite a bit of previous work has been done developing the many skills you will bring together to perform it. So, while this is rather simple and straightforward compared to other rituals it is not necessarily for beginners to contemplative practice. You are going to need to develop a few foundational skills before being able to perform this one fully, but, honestly, anyone will need to practice it quite a few times before it’s fully memorized and internalized. The skills you will need are:
- Visualization
- Concentration
- Sensing and Directing Energy
However, it would also be helpful, but not necessary, to have a foundation in:
- Meditation
- Body Awareness
- Relaxation Techniques
- Prayer
- Chanting/Vibrating Words
There are a number of ways to build these basic skills and they will give you the foundation you need to pursue whatever contemplative path calls to you. Of course, I would recommend buying the book I mentioned above, but I also highly recommend trying out some of the practices I have created and shared on the blog that helped me develop these skills. I recommend starting with my Intro to Mindfulness and Raja Yoga (This is a complete yogic path so don’t expect to “finish” or “master” this one, but at least read it and begin to contemplate the concepts.).
Then, my three daily prayers Solar Invocation (At dawn or upon rising), Prophet’s Prayer (Noon), and Lunar Invocation (Sunset or before bed). Work through those for a month or two and you should be more than prepared to begin any advanced work, including the following ritual.
I want to stress again that this does not need to be performed only in the exact manner that I am about to describe. It may be incredibly helpful to make adjustments, but this provides the basic framework and should be practiced as described at least a few times. After that, feel free to personalize it like I did. This variation is designed to fit within the esoteric Franciscan tradition that I have been developing and will once again make use of St. Francis of Assisi’s words as invocations.
Getting Started
All you need to get started is a stick of incense (If you are sensitive to incense smoke and don’t want to use it, then use the hand position described here.), and a space to perform the ritual. I like to always do this in the same room in my home and the repetitive performance creates lasting psychic impressions which work to consecrate the space and imbue it with sacredness. This is also where I do all of my meditation and other spiritual practices. After you do this for some time, you may notice that you don’t feel the need for other more basic protective practices as you have created a permanently protected sacred space.
Now, once you’ve got your incense (Use a scent that evokes peace and awe. I like frankincense or white sage. I suggest not lighting it while practicing.), you will need to start by learning to draw the rose-cross. This involves three simples steps:
- Hold the incense up and point it outward just above eye-level. Drawn a vertical line downwards while visualizing it as a pale, ethereal blue similar to the color of blue flame to a point about level with your knees.
- Now, bring the incense up to a point about 3/4s of the way up the vertical line you just drew and to the left. Then, draw a horizontal line from left to right across the vertical one, visualizing it in the same blue color, completing the cross.
- Then, bring the incense up to a point on the horizontal bar of the cross about halfway out to the left. Draw a circle going up and around clock-wise until you come back to the starting point. Visualize this as a flaming red rose in the center of the cross.
If you’ve developed concentration and visualization skills then that part should be easy enough. There is one other layer to creating the rose-crosses though. This involves the chanting or vibrating of two divine names while it is being drawn. The names are both variations of the name Jesus in Hebrew (So this can also serve as an introduction to Hebrew and Kabbalah if you wish to learn more about the origin and meaning of the names. I will not go into that here because it isn’t really necessary for this, however, I highly recommend learning a little Hebrew if you are a Christian as it will help deepen your understanding of your religion and add another layer to your ability to study the Bible.). Anyways, the names are YEHESHUAH(yeh-hesh-u-ah) and YEHOVASHAH(yeh-ho-va-shah). YEHESHUAH is pronounced while drawing the cross, and YEHOVASHAH while drawing the circle/rose.
This should be practiced until it can be done rhythmically and without much effort. Once you can do that, you are ready to move on to performing the whole ritual.
The Rose Cross Ritual
Opening Invocation
Begin in the middle of your room facing East. Place your incense in a holder on a table or altar and light it. It is recommended to start with a short relaxation technique like breathwork or meditation to help calm and center yourself before the work. Once you are calm and focused, perform the Qabbalistic Cross and then begin with the prayer below (Written by St. Francis of Assisi). Hold your arms outstretched at your sides forming a cross and recite:
God, you are holy. You are the only One.
Your wonderful deeds are all around us.
You are strong. You are great.
You are the crown, the Most High, the almighty sovereign.
You are, holy Father, ruler of the heavens and the earth.
You are Three Persons and you are One.
You are the Lord God of all there is.
And You are so good!
You are every good! You are the highest good!
You are alive, my Lord.
You are living and faithful.
You are love, wisdom, and meekness.
You are long-suffering, comforting, and shalom.
You are my joy.
You are my happiness.
You are my strength.
You are justice.
You are the Source of whatever I need.
You are beauty.
You are strength.
You are our only needed protection.
You will defend us from harm.
You will be our courage.
In You, we find safe-keeping
In You, we are faithful.
In You, we find eternal life.
God almighty, merciful Savior,
May you bless me and keep me;
May you make your face to shine upon me,
and be gracious to me;
May you lift your countenance upon me,
and give me peace.
- Pick up your incense and breath in drawing energy up from the Earth, through your feet and up to your heart.
- Then, channel the energy out through your arm and the stick of incense and draw a rose-cross in the East while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and turn 90 degrees to the right drawing a white line until you are facing South.
- Draw a rose-cross in the South while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and turn 90 degrees to the right drawing a white line until you are facing West.
- Draw a rose-cross in the West while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and turn 90 degrees to the right drawing a white line until you are facing North.
- Draw a rose-cross in the North while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and turn 90 degrees to the right drawing a white line until you are facing East.
- Draw a white line from the center of the East cross going up until you are facing straight up.
- Draw a rose-cross above you while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and draw a white line down towards the West, passing right through the cross you already drew and down to the floor underneath you.
- Draw a rose-cross underneath you while pronouncing the divine names.
- Point the incense to the middle of the cross and draw a white line towards the West and up to the middle of the cross you drew earlier.
- Place your incense back on it’s holder and face East.
- Hold your hands together in prayer at your heart and pronounce the divine name YEHOVASHAH while you visualize white light and energy drawing down from above into the cross above you and spreading over the top of the cube you just created, down over the sides, and finally completing it underneath you.
You should maintain the entire visualization as you go through the ritual so that at the end you are in a white cube with blue and red rose-crosses in all four cardinal directions as well as above and below you.
Closing Invocation
Hold your arms outstretched in the shape of the cross and recite:
Oh mighty God, beautiful Redeemer, blessed Savior, boundlessly compassionate, boundlessly merciful.
You are love absolute, peace absolute, and bliss absolute.
You are the creator of all things and the perfect Unity.
Yours is the pure light, source of all others.
Unto you be praise and glory forever.
You have permitted me to enter this far into Thy Sanctuary,
Not unto me, but unto Thy name be the Glory.
Let the influence of Thy Love descend upon my head and teach me the value of self-sacrifice so that I shrink not in the hour of trial. But that my name may be written on high and that I may stand in the presence of the Holy One, in that hour when the Son of Man is invoked before the Lord of Hosts in the presence of the Ancient of Days. Amen.
Contemplation
Sit down in the center of your sanctuary, either on the floor or in a chair, and use your chosen relaxation technique to calm yourself. Once you are calm and focused, contemplate the meaning of the ritual and the opening and closing prayers.
❤🙏☀