(3) the highly secretive and symbolic atmosphere of his films.
Speaking of esoteric symbols we should also glance at another inhabitant of the garden habitat: H.E. Fleur-de-Lis (French: 'lily'). This noble species is a frequent part of French coat-of-arms, It is also used by the scouting movement all over the world. The Hebrew for it is *shoshana*, which is also the female Jewish name, rendered into English as 'Susan' .
Let us come back to the 'Gardeners Club', we started with this chapter. What is really the Freemasonry? How to classify its substance: an esoteric craft, a syncretic religion, an upper-class club, a Mystic Dept. of MENSA Association, a freethinkers' organization, or a free secular body of the honest people? To better understand 'the
heart of the matter', to use the book title by Graham Greene, let me go to my first-hand experience with the Freemasonic Brethren and their sources below.
The Cross and the Rose are a specific trait of the small Gnostic groups called Lectorium Rosicrucianum and Rosicrucians of Oceanside, USA, students of the late Max Heindel. The two of some more branches of the Rosicrucian Idea believe *inter alia* (Latin: 'among others') in such concepts as reincarnation, salvation by hermetic knowledge, evolution of lower matter consciousness states into more complex ones (the track goes this way: stone-plant-animal-human), Lemurian race, and the sunken continent of Atlantis. Their emblem looks like a cross with a crown of rose over the cross's arms in its central part. The name Rosicrucian means simply a follower of the Rose-Cross. During their meetings the badge they wear is a little fresh rose flower attached to the jacket above the heart.
By the way, the red rose is also worn by Socialist International family members a\ la Neil Kinnock or Tony Blair Labourists. This most probably resulting from the colour of blood spilt in the class fight; present in the flags of left-oriented states, e.g, the Soviet Union, China, or Vietnam. I might tentatively risk a hypothis that 'red rose' is the actual meaning of *Rus'* / *Rossiya* (Russian: 'Russia'). I insist on 'red rose' and not just 'rose' as the etymological archetype of the rose is 'red'; the semantic feature [plus red] being an intrinsic component of the lexeme 'rose'. This is as evidenced in Romance languages, e.g. the Italian *rosa* ('rose') vs. *rossa* ('red'), as in a well-known Communist anthem: 'Avanti popolo [alla riscossa, bandiera rossa (...)]' {Italian: 'Forward people [until the victory, red banner (...)'}. Consequently, the regional name of *Byelaya Rus'* (English: 'White Russia', 'Byelorussia', 'Belorussia', or a '90's neologism 'Belarus' ') might be a geo-fruit of the white rose flora grown there, unless it originated from another white feature in the landscape, say trees or soil.
So far in my comparative religion studies I could not notice a remarkable Rosicrucian presence in now Messianic expectation-filled Palestine-Israe-l *au fin de sie\cle* (French: 'at the end of century'; the phrase usually coloured with an apocalyptic/catastrophic overtone stressing a widespread social/religious/cultural artistic crisis) *et au fin de millennium* (French: 'and at the end of millennium').
To present the Rosicrucian Craft faithfully, let us start *ab ovo* (Latin: literally: 'from egg', i.e. 'from the very beginning'). 18o [the last character is the superscript small letter 'o' -- MdM] -- Knight Rose Croix (Prince Rose Croix) is the full name of the eighteenth degree title in the 33-degree Scottish Rite lodges (see Morals 1954: v, 276).
As for the very idea and doctrine of the Scottish Rite Eigteenth Degree,
[p. 287] 'The Degree of Rose [drawing of the Maltese cross follows -- MdM] teaches three things ;---the unity, immutability and goodness of G-o-d ***[non-hyphenated spelling in the original -- MdM] ; the immortality of
the Soul ; and the ultimate defeat and extinction of evil and wrong and sorrow, by a Redeemer or Messiah,
yet to come, if he has not already appeared. (...) [p. 289] The obligations of our Ancient Brethren of the Rose
[drawing of the Maltese cross -- MdM] were to fulfill all the duties of friendship, cheerfulness, charity,
peace, liberality, temperance and chastity : and scrupulously to avoid impurity, haughtiness, hatred,
anger, and every other kind of vice. (...) [p. 291] The ROSE was anciently sacred to Aurora and the Sun. It is a symbol of *Dawn*, of the resurrection of Light and the renewal of life, and therefore of the dawn of the
first day, and more particularly of the resurrection : and the Cross and Rose together are therefore hieroglyphically to be read, *the Dawn of Eternal Life* which all Nations have hoped for by the advent
of a Redeemer. (...) [p. 307] The Degree of Rose [drawing of the Maltese cross -- MdM]
is devoted to and symbolizes the final triumph of truth over falsehood, of liberty over slavery, of light
over darkness, of life over death, and of good over evil.'
(Morals 1954: 287, 289, 291, 307).
For more information on Rosicrucian craft from a diametrically opposite perspective of a pre-Vaticanum II comprehensive Roman-Catholic encyclopedia, cf. the entry *Rosicrucians* by Herman Gruber in The Catholic 1913:193-194 (see *Selected Bibliography.*, q.v.).
For me the notion of garden can be a good example of a democratic state should be. There different breeds grow freely side by side. Every species granted a sole independent bed. The minority species are given an equal access to sun bean 'solarium'. Their sun ray space is protected against the regular weed majority expansion by constant trimming or eradicating of the latter. On similar ideas you might like to study also the books (e.g., 'The Confessions') by an eminent French literato Freemason Jean-Jacques Rousseau, known for his theory of social contract and views of radical (cf. Latin *radix* ['root'] and English 'eradicate, uproot'!) democracy.
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