The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz () is a German book edited in 1616 in Strasbourg. Its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. The Chymical Wedding is often described as the third of the original manifestos of the mysterious "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" (Rosicrucians), although it is markedly different from the Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis in style and in subject matter.
It is an allegoric romance (story) divided into Seven Days, or Seven Journeys, like Genesis, and recounts how Christian Rosenkreuz was invited to go to a wonderful castle full of miracles, in order to assist the Chymical Wedding of the king and the queen, that is, the husband and the bride.
This manifesto has been a source of inspiration for poets, alchemists (the word "chymical" is an old form of "chemical" and refers to alchemy—for which the 'Sacred Marriage' was the goal) and dreamers, through the force of its initiation ritual with processions of tests, purifications, death, resurrection, and ascension and also by its symbolism found since the beginning with the invitation to Rosenkreutz to assist this Royal Wedding.
The invitation to the royal wedding includes the symbol invented and described by John Dee in his 1564 book, Monas Hieroglyphica.
There is some resemblance between this alchemical romance and passages in the Bible such as:
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: (Matthew 22:2,11 KJV) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
Historical context
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz first appeared in Strasbourg in the year 1616. It was written in German and entitled Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459. No author was named in the book, other than Christian Rosenkreutz, but Johannes Valentinus Andreae (1586–1654) claimed to be the author, in his autobiography. The first English version appeared in 1690, by Ezechiel Foxcroft, followed by translations into many languages throughout time.
Although the book first appeared in 1616, the story takes place over 150 years earlier. The events of this story span seven days and are divided into seven chapters, each chapter relating a different day. The story begins on an evening near Easter. In the final chapter—the seventh day—Rosenkreutz is knighted; the year is 1459. It was on Easter-day 1459 that the Constitutions of the Freemasons of Strasburg was first signed in Regensburg, with a second signed shortly afterwards in Strasburg. The Gutenberg Bible began printing in Mainz, Germany in 1455, and the first Bible in German, the Mentel Bible, was printed in Strasburg in 1466.
Plot
Introductory paragraph
The story follows the Passover and the seven days of unleavened bread exactly. The slaughtering and roasting of the paschal lamb begins in the evening (near Easter), as does The Chymical Wedding. The Chymical Wedding begins in the evening with Rosenkreutz sitting at a table with both the paschal lamb and the unleavened bread. This would seem to indicate that he was Jewish. However, the words "Father of Lights" are curiously in the first paragraph. This phrase, "Father of Lights", appears only once in the King James Bible and it is in the book of James (Jas 1:17). Below is the opening paragraph of The Chymical Wedding:
The Nine Lords
The Nine Lords are nine books of the New Testament: I Peter, II Peter, James, Jude, I John, II John, III John, the Gospel of John and the Revelation. Rosenkreutz believed that the Gospel of John is the only gospel that is historically plausible, and that it is the unleavened bread and its relationship to the Passover that truly divides John's gospel from the synoptic Gospels. The Nine Lords were bound together with the rest that were at the table (27 total) and Rosenkreutz cried.
The four paths
In the second chapter Rosenkreutz sits down to rest under three tall cedars. There is a tablet fastened to one of them which tells of four paths. An important point is that it's the Bridegroom (Bible) that is offering these paths. It reads as follows: