Harvey Spencer Lewis
Harvey Spencer Lewis
Life and career
Lewis was born in
He later related that he was initiated into a Rosicrucian order during a trip to France. Given the mission to both bring Rosicrucian ideas back to America (an immigrant German group had a settlement in Pennsylvania during the 17th century, but it had long been dissolved), and to promote them in a modern way, Lewis established AMORC, becoming its first Imperator. He translated from French and German what became the Order's first canon of lessons in mysticism, and spent the rest of his life working ceaselessly on AMORC's behalf.
Lewis engineered and supervised the creation of Rosicrucian Park, in San Jose, California, designing its unique buildings – the Egyptian-style temple, the fifth planetarium in the United States, a science laboratory, lecture auditorium, library, and administrative offices. Today his internationally recognised Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum on Naglee Avenue is a popular tourist attraction.
His second wife was Martha. They were married at least by 1917, according to his WW1 draft card, when they were living in Flushing, New York. In 1926, they sailed on the SS Majestic to Europe and made the first AMORC Grand Tour of Egypt.[2] reported en route in The Mystic Triangle of December 1926.
Among Lewis's prodigious talents was a penchant for audio-visual technology. With a confident voice well suited to public speaking and broadcasting, he had inaugurated talk-back radio and directed a popular children's radio club in Tampa, Florida. In San Jose, one of Lewis's programs, "The Pristine Church", was broadcast from Rosicrucian Park on Sundays, with easy-listening sermons on interfaith and secular topics. His recordings of talks, chants and other items of interest to Rosicrucian students are still in demand by AMORC lodges around the world.
Under his
Inventions
According to [Michael Nowicki] (F.R.C.)'s Mysterious Inventions of Dr. Lewis page (located at the Rosicrucians Salon Website), H. Spencer Lewis built several scientific devices.[4]
They included:
Luxatone
The Luxatone or
A booklet titled "The Story of Luxatone – The Master Color Organ" was printed and sent to
Cosmic Ray Coincidence Counter
This device was a prototype of a Geiger counter and was built in the 1930s.
Sympathetic Vibration Harp
The Sympathetic Vibration Harp was built by Lewis to demonstrate the AMORC's principle of sympathetic vibration.
Alchemy
In addition to his other works, on June 22, 1916, Lewis hosted what was announced as a "transmutation" of zinc into gold – a demonstration of classic alchemical principles, in New York City. A team of AMORC Grand Masters, members, one scientist and one journalist assembled, a chosen few bringing selected ingredients, which were then mixed in a brief procedure. The scientist declared the results to have the "properties of gold", and an account appeared in the American Rosae Crucis.[5] (The ingredients for the gold recipe were not revealed; Rosicrucian Questions and Answers explained that while the necessary materials weren't hard to obtain, transmutation wasn't cost-effective; buying elemental gold was more sensible.)
Lemurians
In 1931, Lewis, under the pen name Wishar S[penle] Cerve,
Plagiarism
Lewis authored The Mystical Life of Jesus in 1929. The book is notable for defending a variant of the swoon hypothesis that Jesus survived his crucifixion.[9] Lewis plagiarized entire chapters from The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling.[10][11]
Bibliography
- Rosicrucian Principles for the Home and Business (March 1929)
- Explains portions of Rosicrucian teachings and philosophy as related to work and personal goals.
- Rosicrucian Questions and Answers with Complete History of the Order
- A two-part book: Part One gives the "traditional" history of the Rosicrucian Order, with names and works; Part Two answers common new member and prospective member questions.
- The Mystical Life of Jesus
- A retelling of the life story of Jesus; reportedly plagiarized Levi H. Dowling's Aquarian Gospel.
- The Secret Doctrines of Jesus
- An explanation of many symbols, standards, and interpretations of the work of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles.
- An explanation of many symbols, standards, and interpretations of the work of Jesus and the
- A Thousand Years of Yesterdays
- A fictional story, explaining reincarnation as a man re-experiences past selves.
- Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life
- Relates the Cycles of Life[12] system, similar in nature to biorhythm.
- An iPhone application for this book is available on the Apple App Store – Self Mastery and Fate iPhone App
- Rosicrucian Manual (1918, 1929 with reissues)
- Explains the structure of Rosicrucianshould know.
- Explains the structure of
- Mansions of the Soul: The Cosmic Conception
- Essays about .
- The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great Pyramid
- Presents an interpretation of symbology, with old and new ideas discussed.
- Presents an interpretation of
- Mental Poisoning
- A rational examination of manipulation.
- A rational examination of
- Cosmic Mission Fulfilled, 1966, Lewis, Ralph Maxwell, San Jose, Calif.
- Biography of Harvey Spencer Lewis, first Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC).
See also
Other AMORC Imperators
Notes
- ^ XII° on his burial marker means he was a 12th degree Rosicrucian.
References
- ISBN 1-893971-05-8.
- ^ Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium Archived February 9, 2004, at the Wayback Machine at www.egyptianmuseum.org
- ISBN 1-893971-05-8.
- ^ RC Salon – Mysterious Inventions of Dr. Lewis Archived December 11, 2003, at the Wayback Machine at www.rosicrucians.org
- ^ Alchemy Journal Vol.4 No.1 at www.alchemylab.com
- AMORC. title page.
- ISBN 978-0810388789.
- ^ Meisse, William C. (1993). Mount Shasta: an annotated bibliography. College of the Siskiyous. p. 146.
- ISBN 978-1-4669-1808-5
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon. (1987). The Encyclopedia of American Religions, Volume 1. Gale Research Company. p. 593
- ISBN 978-0-8108-5588-5
- ^ Rosicrucian Order AMORC Archived February 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine at www.rosicrucian.org
External links
- The Mysterious Inventions of Dr. Lewis
- Harvey Spencer Lewis in a San Francisco Buddhist Temple – 1929
- Black mirrors
- Information from the Religious Movements Homepage Project of the University of Virginia
- FUDOESI Document from AMORC Netherlands Website which lists the mystical credentials of Harvey Spencer Lewis (F.R.C., S.·.I.·., 33°66°95°)
- Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life iPhone Application
- Aum Om Amen Article by Harvey Spencer Lewis