What I learned at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

I have encountered the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum while searching for child-friendly places to visit in San Jose, CA. Some of my co-workers have seen it and only had good things to say. I ran the idea with Val, and he was interested in seeing this museum, so we went there on a Sunday afternoon.

Who are the Rosicrucians?

The Rosicrucians are a group of people who believe that they hold some secret knowledge handed down from ancient times. This hidden knowledge is a combination of occultism and monotheistic religious beliefs. The Rosicrucian group is symbolised by the "Rosy Cross". 

Rosy cross found near Luxor Temple, Egypt. 

This cross features a rose in the centre and is estimated to date back to around 100 AD. Reading about the Rosy Cross reminded me of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code due to the connections between the Knights Templar, Freemasons, and Rosicrucians.

A brief internet search revealed that the museum was established in San Jose in 1928 due to land affordability. The museum was founded by the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), a Rosicrucian organisation. Its founder, Henry Spencer Lewis, collected antiques with mystical symbolism. The fascination with Egypt seemingly arises from the belief that hidden knowledge can be uncovered there. Thus, he financed archaeological digs in Egypt, further contributing to the expanding AMORC collection of artefacts.

The artefacts

Left to right: Bes jar, Ptolemaic funerary mask, Assyrian king Esarhaddon

Coffin from the Nubian period

The museum's artefacts provided a glimpse of daily life in Egypt during various dynasties and the people's beliefs about the afterlife. 

The Bes jar features an artist's rendition of Bes's facial features. Bes was a deity believed to protect children, pregnant women, and husbands and wives. Bes jars were most commonly used during the Ptolemaic period (323–30 BCE) as oil containers or cosmetic jars. I noticed this jar because Bes appeared to have East Asian features. It reminded me of the replica of terracotta warriors found in the Blackhawk Museum.

The Ptolemaic period began after Alexander the Great died, and his generals divided the empire. Ptolemy ruled Egypt. His heirs continued to reign until the Romans conquered Egypt nearly 300 years later. Arguably, the most famous of the Ptolemies is Queen Cleopatra VII (who got entangled in political conflicts involving Julius Caesar against Pompey the Great and Mark Anthony against Octavian). 

Egyptian daily life was thoroughly intertwined with their belief in the afterlife. Egyptians were keen on preserving the body after death. Coffins were believed to be the homes of the dead. These used to be rectangular boxes that were ornately decorated. Eventually, the boxes gave way to human-shaped coffins, such as those dating from the Nubian period. The non-royal cedarwood coffin featured a headdress, a collar, and a long, thin beard as if the deceased person was developing a resemblance to Osiris (Egyptian god of the afterlife). The rest of the coffin was painted white. Funerary masks placed over the face and chest were supposedly made in the deceased's likeness. However, these masks were made of gold leaf to show that the deceased wanted to become like their gods in the afterlife. Egyptians believed these funerary masks allowed the deceased to breathe, eat, see, speak, and hear in the afterlife.

As a side note, this strong belief in intertwining Earthly existence with the afterlife reminds me of the Marvel television series "Moon Knight". The show featured various Egyptian deities, such as Khonshu (moon god), Taweret (goddess of childbirth and fertility), Ammit (goddess who devoured the heart of the dead), Osiris (god of fertility and the afterlife), and Hathor (sky goddess). In one of the episodes, the Moon Knight's dual personas were on a ship going to the afterlife. Taweret was holding the scale of justice. If the scale was balanced, the characters would land in the field of reeds; if not, they would be eaten by Ammit's minions.

Going back to the artefacts in the museum and what I have learned...

Before the Ptolemaic period, Egypt was part of the Assyrian empire during the Old Testament! King Esarhaddon (mentioned in the Bible) conquered Egypt, enlarging the Assyrian empire to its largest size and fulfilling the dream of the kings before him. However, Egypt didn't stay conquered for long. The Assyrian empire disintegrated soon after, leading to a relatively unstable period in Egyptian history. This is fascinating because it shows that the Bible indicates how intertwined Israel and Judaea's histories are with other nations. Previously, I thought many stories were legends (particularly in the Book of Genesis). But the later books showed the stories from the perspectives of the prophets.

A stela of Ptah-Herdis mentions Pede-Bastet as the mother of Ptah-Herdis, the Osiris.

This stela caught my attention because it mentioned Val's surname. I just had to research what Pede means. "Pede-Bastet" translates to "Wise one of Bast" in the Egyptian context, where Bastet refers to the goddess of good health and protection, Bastet. On the other hand, the Pede family is Fon (the major ethnic group in Benin).

The visit to the Egyptian Museum proved to be a fascinating experience. I learned a lot about the culture of ancient Egypt and how it is connected to other civilisations. The world history lessons I learned in high school and in college became alive because artefacts made them more real to me. I didn't know how much Donan learned from this experience; however, he had taken in more than I expected because he was talking about step pyramids and mummies.