RosicRucian - AMORC

Music in the WildernessKelpius’ Diarium tells us that the group “hadprayer meetings and sang hymns of praise and joy,several of us accompanying on instruments that wehad brought from London.” Documents also explainthat music filled the Tabernacle, the large meetinghouse built on the ridge. In addition, the group,dressed in academic garb, furnished the music forthe dedication of Gloria Dei (Old Swede’s) Churchin 1700, and for the ordination of Justus Falknerthere as Lutheran minister in 1703.This early appearance of vocal andinstrumental music in what was otherwise aprimitive wilderness must have set an examplefor the community and established a culturalprecedent for those who followed. Falknerhimself addressed letters overseas asking for morekeyboard instruments to continue this tradition.Healing, Alchemy and the Mystic ArtsHealing was practised, and all were welcome.Kelpius also served as attorney for the fledglingcommunity in Germantown. A document existssigned by Kelpius and witnessed by ClausRittinghuis. This contract between Georg Jacobsand Gerhard Levering/Heinrich Frey is in Kelpius’handwriting and is signed 30 th April 1700. Herethen is a concrete example of Kelpius using hislearning for the good of his neighbours.The mystic arts were also studied, andalchemical experiments conducted. Reference hasalready been made to the casting of nativities.Some members of the group invokedmedieval Germanic lore and made Zauberzettel:talismans or symbolic representations of paperor metal with assorted esoteric symbols. Perhapsthese designs were the predecessors of thePennsylvania German hex signs?The Wissahickon settlement also contributedto local folklore and legend through their arcanepractices. Settlers used divining rods, lit theSt. John’s Eve fire, released doves at burial tosymbolise the release of the soul, gathered herbsand held Rosicrucian rituals. As the Philadelphiaarea, and indeed North America, changed frombeing a colony to becoming an independentnation, it broke with the Old World tradition, andthe stories of the Hermits passed into folktales.But the legacy of the Wissahickon Hermitsis a real one; multifaceted and strong. It is thelight shining in the Wissahickon wilderness whichcontinues to illumine those who seek today.The inscribed granite monolith set up outside the so-called“Hermit’s Cave” that Kelpius used for his meditations. Thisstone was erected in 1961 by AMORC to commemorate hisname and work.The cave used by Kelpius as a shelter and sanctum for hismeditations.44The Rosicrucian Beacon -- June 2009