The Order of the Rosy Cross, or Rosicrucians, is a worldwide esoteric society and fraternity officially called the Ancient Mystic Order of Rosae Crucis (AMORC), whose official emblem is a cross with a single rose in the center. The order operates on lodge system and teaches metaphysical-scientific philosophy of 'practical arts and sciences'.

The Rosicrucian society was apparently founded in Europe in medieval times (its existence can be traced back to 12th century in Europe and earlier in Asia), and was given impetus by the publication of three anonymous pamphlets in successive years:

1. Fama Fraternitatis (Account of the Brotherhood, 1614) 2. The Confessio Fraternitatis (Confession of the Brotherhood, 1615) 3. The Third Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz (1616)

They describe the initiation into the spiritual and alchemical mysteries of the East (particularly of ancient Egypt) of Christian Rosenkreuz, who was allegedly born in 1378 but is presumed to be an allegorical figure. The expressed purpose of the Fama and associated writings was the spiritualization of individuals according to quasi-Christian and esoteric principles. Scholars believe these pamphlets, which are anti-papal and promote Protestant ethics, were probably written by the German Lutheran pastor Johan Valentin Andreae (1586-1654).

Despite arousing enthusiasm in the expanding occult community, no later records exist for membership of the Order. In the eighteenth century various tracts and manifestoes were published asserting the existence of the Brothers of the Rosy Cross, and several groups claiming Rosicrucian origins were active in Russia, Poland, and Germany.

The first Rosicrucian society in the United States was founded in Pennsylvania in 1694. In 1909 Harvey Spencer Lewis founded The Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC) which now has its headquarters in San Jose, California. Lewis claimed to have been initiated into the Brotherhood in France. The AMORC is an international fraternal order that operates through a system of lodges and fosters the Rosicrucian philosophy of developing humankind's highest potentialities and psychic powers. Through study and practice, members strive for the perfection with the ultimate goal being admittance into the Lodge and the attainment of true knowledge, or cosmic consciousness. Students progress through twelve degrees of mastery, with the tenth through twelfth degrees conferred psychically, usually in the Order's temples in the East. As in Theosophy, such perfection comes only after various reincarnations, each devoted to achieving a greater oneness with the Supreme Being. Rosicrucians claim influence on Freemasonry, especially since the eighteenth Masonic degree is the Sovereign Prince Rose Croix of Heredom.